A Line for Black - 1

A LINE FOR BLACK number

1

The French Winawer

1 e4 e6

2 d4 d5

3

ANDREW MARTIN IM

S er e r ie ie s E d i t o r :

Gr an dm as te r Mu rr ay

Cha nd ler

Many club players would love to experiment with difficult opening systems, but simply lack the time and resources to delve through dozens of reference works. This Line for Black and Line for White opening series aims to change that by covering a variation from only one sides point of view. Extraneous material is further eliminated by a strong player, in this

case

IM

Andrew

Martin,

recommending

an

exact

altern ative at each major jun ctu re. T he result is a con cis e booklet, similar to the files some Grandmasters maintain for their own private use. With the minimum of home study, it is possible to learn an entire system that can be used at the club that same evening — we hope with success! Andrew Martin is an experienced author of opening books.

Published by: T.U.I. Enterprises Ltd., Lower Ground Floor, 51 Eardley Crescent, London SW5 9JT England

© An dr ew Martin 1988

A Line for Black

The French Winawer (ECO code: C01, CI5, C17-19

1 e4 e6

2 d4 d5

NIC code FR 8-13)

3

JJb4

The Winawer is a real fighting opening. This new pioneering booklet contains a mixture of old ideas and new analysis, specifically geared to playing for a win with Black. In the mainline of the Winawer (4 e5 c5 5 a3 Ä.c3 6 bc3) Black exchanges his dark-squared bishop to irrovacably shatter the White pawn formation. This dynamic imbalance gives the better prepared player excellent chances to seize an early initiative. With this in mind we recommend 6. . . W e l l  in place of the routine 6...£)e7. This tricky alternative is seldom seen nowadays even though Botvinnik, Petrosian and Portisch have all played it. Yet some new analysis takes the sting out of 7 #g4, and it may well be due for a revival. But first we deal comprehensively with all the sidelines one might meet at club level. 1

A) 4 W g4?!

opportunity, but with his Queen roaming around snatching pawns he is very vulnerable in the centre.

B) 4 £d2

4 C) 4 ± d 3

5 6 7 7 #f4/h4

D) 4 ed

...

&f 6!

Wg7 2g8 #h6 Sg6! «e3 2 g 4 T , 7 W d2 £ e 4 T .

E) 4 g6! 12 e6 jLe61 13 Ag7 000 14 c6! etc. 9 10

c5! 6

... dc

£d7!

4...£)e7 is a decent enough move and is also used to reach the standard Winawer main line position, but this would not allow us to use ourspecial system. Besides there is no reason to be afraid of White fifth move alternatives to 5 a3 (examined in H). After 4...c5 White has to look after the d4square immediately.

a) 10 Ab 2 £ c 6 11 000 ftbd7 12 c4 #e7 13 h 3 0 0 0 Ra du lo vSigurjonssen, Raach 1969. Black has completed his plan successfully. b) 10 &g 3 £ c 6 11 Ab 2 £) bd 7 12 000 £ig4! with advantage to Black. c) 10 Ag5 Sg 6 11 A f 6 (11 Wh 4 Ac6) W(6  12 # e 3 Ac 6 13 g3 f6! 16 O ef 17 AD Af3 18 2D Wc2  19 t e 5 £)d7 20 WhS £>f8 21 £>f4 2 h 6 T Fi ch tl Stulik, Prague 1953. 10 11

2bl

12

£>d4

13 14 15

Gl) 5 #g4 G2) 5 Ad2

Ac6 £bd7 #a5 a6! &e7 Wc3

G3 ) 5 dc (or 5 £>f3) Gl

5 #g4 I assure you that the opponents who play this move will be dangerous men. They are quite willing to provoke an immediate clash in the hope of a quick and humiliating win. Black's move is forced. 5 ... £i e7

f3 Black should play... 6 7

... £>d4

In this satisfactory some time discovered; concentrated

b) 6 dc (at tac kin g b4 an d hopin g to occupy d4 with a piece in the not too distant future). 6...£c3!? 7 be Wcl. The drawback of this idea is obvious. White's Bishop may appear on a3 one day with presumably disasterous consequences. But is this a realistic assessment of the situation? White's position is very shaky and maybe Black can utilise this to his advan tage. E.g. 8 £>f3 (8 # g 7 2g 8 9 « h 7 £>d7 10 £ie2 £i e5 +) £>d7 9 Wgl 2g 8 10 f h 7 £>e5 11 & e 5 ( I l Ae 3_ Qg 4 12 Ab 5 Ad 7 13 £ d 7 &d7+, 11 £)d4 # c 5 12 £ d 2 £ d 7 j ) We5 12 2h 8! 13 # d 3 2h 2+ . We m u s t th an k Am er ic an International-Master John Watson for the bulk of this analysis which

cd! £)g6!

way Black reaches a game. It wasn't for that this method was previously analysis on 6...bc6.

The theme is self evident. Black forces White to defend his centre, at the same time he prepares to castle into safety, perhap s including £ c 3 on the way. Analysis illustrates our plan: a) 8 e4 A d 2 11 £>ed2 # a 5 (black's wedge on d4 gives him a go od g am e) 12 000 # a 2 13 h4 h5 14 # g 5 f a i 15 £>bl Ad7 16 Ab5 ?(16 Ad 3) a6 17 Ac6 A c6 18 & d 4 A d5 19 £ e 2 Ac4 20 £iec3 b5 21 S h3 b4 22 & e4 00 23 £ f 6 gf 24 ef Ba d8 25 Ehd3?? (25 S d d3 ± ±) A a 2 0:1 8

Ad7-b5 and Rooks to the c-file) 9...£>e5 10 foe6 Ae6 11 A.e5 00 (despite the White Bishops, Black's lead in development allows him to play fo r the adv ant age ) 12 Ad 3 c6 13 Ac3 (13 Ag3 t f 6 ! 14 c3 a5 15 a4 d4!) 13...d4 14 Ad2 £ie5 15 Ah7 &h7 16 # h 5 &g8 17 # e 5 2e8 18 t g 3 Ac4 19 & d l Ae2 20 &cl 2c8 21 b3 d3 22 c3 A h 5 23 2 a 2 2 e2 24 &b l 2 c6 25 G Ag 62 6 2 d l b5 27 a4 b4 28 c4 a5 29 h4 ce6 30 h3 Eel! 31 2 c 1 t d 4 32 Wh2 Wc3\  33 m>8 2e8 34 2e l 2b8 35 £ c 3 d 2 3 6 e6? t a 5 ) £sc6 10 £>c6 be 11 h4 f5! with the idea of ...d4 or ...Ac3 and d4 and Black's centre more than offsets the White 'attack'. 5 # g 4 t herefor e has a certain shock value but a careful treatment by Black ensures him a good game. G2 5 Ad2 Frequently employed by White players who prefer a solid game. The immediate threat is 'bc6 10 £>d4 f6! and Black goes over to the at tac k, T.

6 a3 is rar e. 6....4x3! (d on 't was te time) 7 £c3 (7 be is inconsistent) £sbc6! 8 ©D cd 9 £>d4 (or 9 Ad4 £>f5 10 c3 Ad7 11 Ae2 &fd4 12 cd t b 6 13 b4 ®e7 14 00 00 pla nn ing

b) 8 c3 bc6! (R ap id de ve lo pm en t and continual attack against the centre is the idea) 9 f4 t b 6 (or 9...cd 9

1 0 c d £ f 5 11 £>f3 f6). Wi th 9. .. #b 6 Black is prepares his counterplay in typical style. A further method is to invite White's Knight in with 9...a6!?. Novak-Welin. Slupsk 1986 co nt in ue d 10 £>d6 cd 11 cd f6!7 12 000 (12 ^ O £>g6 13 £ c 8 fe! T) fe 13 de and now 13...g5! would have promoted a very unclear situation which is probably OK e.g. 14 g3 (14 fg £>e5) gf 15 gf £ g 6 16 £>e2 WM .

6

...

7

£d3

&bc 6 d4!

Forcing White to declare his hand. 8 9 10 11

a3 b4 ab 00

ji.a5 &b4 £b4

c) 8 £>f3 (stupifyingly solid) 8...a6! (drawing the knight away from d4) 9 &c3 cd 10 £>d4 £>bc6 11 f4 £id4 12 Wd4 &c6 13 # d 2 f 6 = . Black can think about bringing his bishop out via e8 to g6. So this was the idea. The young British masters Joe Gallagher, Julian Hodgson and Byron Jacobs have researched this position extensively, but to my knowledge they haven't analysed the following recommendation. 11 ... Ac 3

d) 8 dc (i nter esti ng, but overoptimistic. White hopes to use d4 as a base.) 8...£>d7! 9 f4 £>c5 10 £ d 3 (10 e4!) lO.-.^bö! 11 000 £c6 with good play for Black. Rapid development with chances to attack. This is the theme versus 5 Ad2. Remember that the moves £>bc6, cd, # b 6 and f7-f 6 are an internal part of Black's plan.

12

h6!

White depends very much on playing h4 # d 5 ! 14 f4 £ d 7 15 f5 ef 16 £f5 when 16...£f5 17 £>f5 £>f5 18 3f 5 000 19 # g 4 # e 6 leaves White struggling for compensation. Zinser-Ackermann. correspondence 1954.

G3) 5 dc I would say this is a weird move. But White's plan is straightforward enough. He dispenses with forming a centre and simply develops. If Black can do the same, and there is no reason why he cannot then he reaches a good position with ease. 5 ... &e7! 6

Sbl

£>13

6 #g4 transposes to variation Gl. 10

H2

The Main Line H

4 5 6

e5 a3 be

c5 £c3

7

&D

HI 7 #g4 The biggest advantage of having the queen at c7 is that the g7 pawn can be defended along the second rank. 7...f5 is Black's oldest defence, but my recommendation is a little known move, covered by only a solitary footnote in the 487B of Chess page Encylopedia Openings! 7

...

f6 !

In the main line of the Winawer White hopes to be the attacker. He has the twa bishops and Black has the better pawn structure. The natural imbalance leads to highly interesting play. Our recommended move is 6 ... We ll This is an older continuation and hasn't been played much in recent years. Everyone has preferred 6...£>e7 when 7 Wg4?? is a dangerous and extensively analysed continuation.

Black attacks e5, defends g7 and threatens a later King's side attack. If necessary he will seal up the Queen's side by means of c5-c4. Hll

Yet a major benefit of Black's queen move is that it almost entirely defuses 7 #g4. Our first task will be to find out why. 6...#c7 also sets a couple of cheap traps which superficial White players can fall into: a) 7 a4? cd! =F thr eat eni ng # c 3 .

8

£1 3

b) 7 h4? cd with the same idea. Thus 6...#c7 'threatens' 7...cd.

H12 8 Ab 5 Instead 8 ef is harmless. 8...£>f69 '#g3 (having helped Black to develop with gain of tempo White seeks relief in exchanges) 9...Wg3! 10 hg £ c 6 11 £ e 2 (11 £ f 3 £ e 4 ) ll...eS! It is obvious that Black has no problems. Probably White can scratch his way to equality with very careful play.

HI

Hll

7

#g4 11

8

More of a challenge. But it is in this variation that the depth of Black's idea is best revealed.

11 # h 3 £,ge7 12 a4 £d7 13 Aa3 White's bishop reaches its 'optimum' post. What is it doing there? 13 ... 000! 14 a5 h5! T 15 &d2 fe (15...£)f5! threatening 16...g5> 16 de # f 4 17 &f 3 £>g6 18 A d 6 # e 4 (18...£sge5!? wins a safe p a w n e.g . 19 e5 20 & h l 1T 6) 19 A d l £>f420 ®g 3 h4 21 # g 5 £ie2 22 Ae2 We2  23 Sfe l # c 2 24 # e 3 Wd3?7   (24...h3 25 Sabl #g6 26 g3 # d 3 ) 2 5  Wc5 Wc3 26   Seel # d 3 27 S a b 1 c3 28 a6! # a 6 29 S a l b 6 30 # c 3 # b 7 31 d7 11 ef White is being forced to make horrible moves to avoid losing material.

a) 8 £ d 3 b6! 9 a4 (9 dc be 10 00 £ a 6 11 Se l £ d 3 12 cd £ d7 != ) 9. .. Aa6 10 £ a 6 £ a 6 11 00 £ b 8 ! (Black retreats the knight to the defensive sq ua re d7 ) 12 a5 ba! 13 A a 3 f5 17 c3 h5! 18 £>h5 ®c3 19 g4 Wh3 or 18 # f 3 g6 intend ing 19... Sc 8. In fe ri or is 17...g6?! 18 # 0 # b 5 19 g4! £>e7 20 Sf cl Sc8 21 Sa b l # c 4 22 £ig2 S c6 23 £ie3 # a 4 24 S a l # b 5 25 c4!! 1-0 SteinR Byrne, Sousse Interzonal 1967.

12

Black seems to be able to give himself time to reinforce the position with moves like b7-b6 and £ib8-d7. If he beats off White's initial attack he enters the middlegame with chances either on the 'c' file (with a possible ...cd at some point) or the 'P file, after 17-f6. 10 11

... 00 

jL el

000!?

You will notice that the move b7b6 is not a weakness in this position. The pawn protects the c5 square, dissuades a4-a5 and provides a bolt hole on b7 for either the queen or the king. There are few game examples now. Here is a short survey of White's alternatives:

£>bc6 c4!? 14

a) 13 Aa3 (logical enough. Black should aim as quickly as possible for f7-f6) 13...£f5 (planning 14...f6) 14 g4 £ h 6 15 i d 6 # b 7 16 £)h4 f6! Having provoked a weakness on White's kingside Black re-routes his knight to f7 expelling the dangerous bishop. White need not have entered with 15 JLd6, pr ef er ri ng 15 £h4 (planning 16 f4) but then either 15... f6 16 f4 £i f7 or 15...f5 16 gf £>f5 17  f5  ef (planning 18... Ae6) is OK White plays obvious moves after 12...000!? but the &a3-d6 idea didn't give him very much.

The analysis of this position stems from John Moles. He suggests that if Black is not happy with the exchange sacrifice, he may try 18... Ae 8 p re pa ri ng 19... h 5! with a heavyweight game in progress.

b) 13 £ g 5 (another dange rous idea) 13...2df8 (from here the rook supports f7-f6 or f7-f5) 14 &g4 (restraint, otherwise f7-f6 but...) 14...h6! 15 £>h3 T5! 16 ef 2 f 6 (16...gf 17 Q f 4 e5 18 £>e6 ± ) 17 f4 £if5 18 £ f 2 £ d 6 19 A O (planni ng %4-e5) 19...h5! 20 £h5 (20 £ h3 !? ) 20... 2 f h 6 21 £.g4 2h 2 22 £ h 3 (22 &h3 2 h 3 is unclear) 22... 22h3 23 gh £>e4

c) 13 a5?! An attempt to blast Black off the board. At the cost of a pawn White tries a combination of the previous ideas but Black is very solid 13.. .£a5! 14 £ a 3 £a c 6 15 £ d 6 # b 7 16 £ g 5 Ed f8 17 Ag4 h6 18 £>h3 f5 19 ef 2 f 6 20 f4. After 20...£f5 White does not have enough.

15

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