Fernandez Daniel The Modernized Modern Defense, 189-289
October 12, 2022 | Author: Anonymous | Category: N/A
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A) 23.fxg6?! xf4+ 24.xf4 xd1+ 25.xd1 g7 Black was actually better in Gaponenko – Bodnaruk, Mamaia 2016. B) 23.xg4 B1) A draw would result from 23...gxf5 24.xd5 xd5 25.h5 d7! 26.xh8
Position after: 26.Q xh8 26...g2!N [But not 26...f3? as in Gharamian – Carlier, France 2006: 27.h3! and Black can neither regain the piece nor give perpetual.] 27.e5 f1+ 28.d2 xb5 29.xf5+=. B2) 23...xd1+!? Black keeps some play in the position. 24.xd1 d4=
Position after: 24...Bd4= A variety of endgames can result with Black having one or more passed pawns in the centre or on the kingside and White having to derive compensation from the badly placed knight on a6. C) 23.xd5 By now it is White who should be playing the safest move. 23...xd5 24.fxg6 h1+ 25.d2 g2+ 26.e3 So far as in Palac – Skoberne, Rijeka 2007. 26...d8!N
Position after: 26...Kd8!N Now White can choose who forces the draw. draw. 27.f8+ [27.xg4 xc2 28.g7 c1+= is perpetual
check: if White tries to escape, the g7-pawn is lost.] 27...d7 28.f5+ d8= 21...Qxf4+!
21...xg6 22.xh8 xh8
Position after: 22...R xh8 A) Oddly enough, the useful-looking 23. b1 is actually counter-productive. counter-productive. 23...f8 24.c4 xc3 25.bxc3 d8!N [25...f3? 26.d6+– gave White a crushing attack in Tomczak – Panocki, Wroclaw 2007.] 26.e1 d7 27.f1
Position after: 27.R f1 Black’s main drawing idea revolves around playing ... c7, and in those lines it will often be useful that Black has ... b6+ available. 27...d8 [I could not resist giving the following line: 27...c7? 28.xc7 xc7 29.f8+ d7 30. b5+ d6 31.d8+ e5 32.e2+ e4 33.h2+ f4 34.d6!!+–] 28.a4 As after 23.c4, this is White’s main constructive idea. However: 28...c7! 29.xc5 b6+ 30.xb6 axb6 31.c4 e6= and the endgame is trivially drawn. B) 23.c4! xc3 [If Black plays something else like 23...d8?!, then the right reply is clearly 24. b5!] 24.bxc3 d8 25.a4
Position after: 25.a4 The problem now is that Black can’t arrange ...c7 in a way that allows ... b6+ as a follow-up. 25...c7 [25...d7 26.a5; 25...h6+ 26. b2 b6+ 27.a3 g6 28.d2] 26.xc7 xc7 27.xc5+ b8 28.xe7 h6+ 29. b2 b6+ 30.a2 White can continue to press here for a while longer. 22.Bxf4 Rxh1 23.Rxh1
Position after: 23.R xh1 23...Rg8!
Exploiting some less-than-immediately-obvious deficiencies in how White is defending his pawns, but this is not the the last hard move. 23...c7!? draws after a similarly non-obvious resource: 24.h5 g8 25.e4 e5!=. 24.Ne4 Nb4 25.Rh5 Nxa2+ 26.Kb1 Nb4 27.d6!
27.d6! Position after: 27.d6! 27...Nc6!
27...exd6?! 28.xd6+ d7 29.xb7 f8 30.c3! White gets to keep his extra pawn and press using the very last inch of the winning margin. 30...xg6 [30...d3?! 31.d5+ c6 32.xd3 xb7 33.d8 g3 34.e3 g2 35.g1 c7 36.a8] 31.cxb4 g3 32.bxc5 g2 33.h2 g1=+ 34.xg1 xg1+ 35.a2 Amazingly, the position is still not a clean draw. 28.Rxc5
Both sides press in the sharp position after 28.d5 b6 29.d7+ b7=. 28...Bf8
Position after: 28...B f8 29.Rg5
If White tries to play on with 29.h5 exd6 30.g7 xg7 31.xd6+ d7 32.xb7 d4= then Black can also win. 29...Bh6 30.Rxg4 Bxf4 31.Rxf4 Rxg6= 3.4) 7.Bxd7+ (...Nbxd7) 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.Bxd7+
Position after: 7.B xd7+ 7...Nbxd7
The only reason for taking backwards is to avoid e5. But the knight will be needed on f6 in time to come. 7...fxd7?! 8.d5 b5 9.e2! This loses a tempo later, but it is worthwhile to get the knight to d1. [9.xb5?! a5+ 10.c3 xc3+] 9...b4 10.d1 0-0 11.0-0 b6 12.f5 8d7 13.fxg6 hxg6 14.e1 White is ready to play h4 and g5/h6, while Black’s queenside counterplay is still nebulous.
Position after: 7...Nbxd7 8.d5 A) 8.e5?! This intuitive move is actually wrong. 8...h5!
Position after: 8...Nh5! A1) 9.g4?! xf4! A piece sacrifice that must be accepted and then returned. 10.xf4 cxd4 11.e4 [11.xd4?! dxe5 12.xe5 xe5; 11.e6 fxe6 12.xd4 xd4 13.xd4 e5 14.xe5 xe5 This is a better version for Black than the one with White’s pawn on g2.] 11...dxe5 Black scores 100% from this position and can continue with ... b6, ...c8 and perhaps ...f5. A2) 9.exd6 0-0! The principled way, but not the only one. [9...cxd4 10.xd4 b6=] 10.0-0
[10.dxe7?! xe7+ 11.f2 cxd4] 10...exd6=
10...exd6= Position after: 10...exd6= Much analysis has been done on this position, which I will omit here. Black has a playable game and there are no ways to make him work especially hard to demonstrate it. A3) 9.e6 fxe6 10.g5 xd4 11.xe6 xc3+ 12.bxc3 c8= White only just has compensation. A4) 9.e3 xf4! 10.xf4 cxd4
Position after: 10...cxd4 11.e6! White has to give back the piece. [11.e4 dxe5 12.g5 b6 13.0-0 f5] 11...fxe6 12.xd4
xd4 13.xd4 e5 14.xe5 xe5 15.0-0-0 0-0= B) 8.0-0 cxd4 It is also possible to castle first as 8...0-0 9.e5 can be met by ... h5 as before. 9.xd4
Position after: 9.Q xd4 9... b6 [The sac 9...0-0 10.e5 g4 11.h3 dxe5 12. b4 e4!? 13.xe4 gf6 14.xb7 a5 gives Black full compensation.] 10.a4 [10.e3 0-0 11. b4 g4 12.xb6 xb6+ 13.xb6 axb6] 10...0-0 11.a5 fd5! 12.d3 xc3 13.axb6 xb6+ 14.h1 b5 15.f5 ac8 8...0-0
Position after: 8...0-0 White has three moves here. The most direct is 0-0, but there are two others (9.e2 and 9.a4) which both have the idea of preventing ...b5. Those moves make Black’s play a lot less automatic and are therefore more critical. 9.0-0 b5! 10.Qe2
Preparing the standard regrouping with d1-f2. A) 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 g4 Now this doesn’t bother Black too much. Best play seems to be 12.e6 fxe6 13.dxe6 de5 14.xd8 axd8 15.xb5 a6 16.c3 d6! with decent counterplay for the bad structure. B) 10.e1!? fails to force Black to play ...b4, so he can continue with 10... b6 leaving White short of real plans. 10...b4
10... b6?! 11.e5 11.Nd1 Re8!
Position after: 11...Re8! ow White has to decide which pawn to push, because ...e6 is almost ready to be played. 12.f5?!
A) After the optically quite attractive 12.e5 xd5 13.e6 f8 14.exf7+ xf7 15.g5+ g8
Position after: 15...K g8© White has nothing in particular. B) White can continue to build with 12.f2 but in the meantime Black can play simply 12...e6! C) On positional grounds the move 12.c4 deserves consideration. Black gains more than adequate Benoni-type play after 12...bxc3 13.xc3 e6!= making the queen feel quite out of place on e2. 12...gxf5!
As recommended by Marin, who showed that White’s attack is not especially dangerous. Play can continue: 13.Nh4 fxe4 14.Nf5 Kh8 15.Nxg7
15.f2 g8 16.xe4 xe4 17.xe4 f6 15...Kxg7 16.Nf2 Kh8 17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 f6³
18...f6 ³ Position after: 18...f6 3.5) 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 8.d5 0-0 9.Qe2 and 9.a4 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 8.d5 0-0
Position after: 8...0-0 9.Qe2!?
This move is quite tricky to face. 9.a4!? In my view, an underrated and very principled response. In the Benoni structures it often makes sense to play a pre-emptive a4 provided there is no risk of ...a6-b4. 9...a5
Position after: 9...Qa5 Black creates the double threat of ...xe4 and ...b5. A) 10.d2 Now Black can play various ideas, including ...c4 as a pawn sacrifice. 10...c4!? 11.xc4 a6 12. b5 fc8 13.e2 c5 B) Also not threatening is 10. d2 a6 when in order to disrupt the queen’s line White must either play b5 (upon which Black can sacrifice the the exchange) or trade queens (thus limiting limiting his own future attacking chances. 11.e2 xe2+ 12.xe2 e8! 13.he1 c7 14.f2 a6 15.a5 b5 16.axb6
xb6 C) 10.0-0 b5 11.e5!? Otherwise Black can draw upon the ideas already mentioned, with the bonus that ...a5 is more useful than a4. 11...dxe5 12.fxe5 g4 13.d6! exd6 [13...e6?! 14.xb5 gxe5 15.xe5 xe5 16.g5 causes some issues.] 14.exd6 c4!
Position after: 14...c4! 15.h1! In connection with White’s 20th, this is a deep idea and probably White’s only way of playing for an edge. I found it only only after quite deep thought. I recommend recommend ‘falling for the trap’. [15.d4 b4 16.cb5 de5=; After 15.xb5 a6 16.c7 b6+ 17.h1 ad8! Black takes back the pawn or else gains an exchange under better better circumstances.] 15...b4 16.d5 c5 17.h3 f2+ 18.xf2 xf2 19.e3 g3 20.f4! ae8! 21.e2 xf3 22.gxf3 xe3
Position after: 22...R xe3²
White has some advantage in this position, but with this material balance anything can happen and computers don’t handle it well either. 9...Re8!
Position after: 9...Re8! Black tries to make use of the fact that White’s queen and king are lined up along the e-file. The rationale for 9.a4 is exactly this: sometimes a queen on e2 will turn out to be a liability. 10.f5
The most natural is 10.0-0 e6 11.dxe6 xe6 when White has some attacking tries but the knight on f6 is good enough to see most of them off. 12.f5!? gxf5 13. g5 So far as in Dudyev – Lohmann, email 2007, but now the improvement 13...e7!N was noted on ChessPublishing. 14.xf5 b6 10...gxf5!
If White does not take back immediately, then his 10th move had no point as Black will be able to simply play ...e6. 11.exf5
Position after: 11.exf5 11...a6!?
Black goes after the d5-pawn in what seems like the most natural way. A) 11... b6?! 12.g5 Black cannot take on d5 due to a later h5 when his kingside will be totally undefended. B) This is possible, but on principle I would prefer not to detach the c-pawn from its ‘friends’ in the center, especially when it isn’t clear exactly when the d5-pawn can be regained. 11...c4 12.0-0 b5 13.xb5 b6+ 14. bd4
Position after: 14.Nbd4 14...c5 [14...ab8?! Since White most likely wants to play b3 anyway, this move could be a waste of time. 15.h1 c5 16.e3 xd5 17.b3 ec8 18.ae1] 15.d1 [15.a4!? xd5 16.a3 is possible, but a bit experimental.] experimental.] 15...xd5 16.h1∞
Position after: 16.Kh1∞ This is the position that I think should be compared with the main line. There is more going on here, which can only be a negative when the file leading to Black’s king is open.
12.0-0
12.a4 b5! Anyway. This is why Black played ... a6!
Position after: 12...b5! A) 13.0-0 b4 14.e4 c8= followed by ...a5 and either ...a6 or ...c4. B) 13.axb5 axb5 14.xa8 xa8
Position after: 14...Q xa8
15.xb5 [15.xb5 xd5 16.c4 c7 17.xc7 a5+=] 15... b8 16.c6 b6= 12...b5
Position after: 12...b5 12...b5 13.g4!?
13.d1 b6 only makes sense if White White has the following contrived idea idea in mind: 14.a4!? b4 15.a5 bxc3 16.axb6. However, Black is is fine here after 16...xb6 17.bxc3 a5∞ since if White starts pushing pawns on the kingside there there is always ...e6. 13...e6 14.fxe6 fxe6 15.dxe6 b4 16.Ne4
16.a4 e7 17.e1 [17.g5 h6=] 17...e5 18.xe5 xe6= Black regains his material and stands well.
Position after: 18...Q xe6= 16...Rxe6 17.Nfg5 Re8
Position after: 17...Re8 18.Qd3 A) White can choose not to go for a draw, but even if he wants a draw Black can opt to play on. One of the unclear lines is: 18.d1 h6 19.f7! xf7 20.d5+ f8 21.g5∞.
B) Another one: 18.g2!? xe4 19.xe4 e7 20.g3 e6 21.h3∞ Neither king is really weaker than the other.
Position after: 21.h3∞ C) 18.d2 h6 [18...c4!? 19.xb4 d5] 19.xd6 hxg5 Black should not be worse here, since the position favours the rook but but his two knights are very well developed already. D) 18.c4+? d5 19.xf6+ xf6 20.xc5 d7 White is in big trouble. 18...d5
18...c4!? would be the way to get a game, if Black is averse to an immediate repetition of moves. 19.Nxf6+
19.d6?? e5!–+ 19...Nxf6 20.Rxf6 Qxf6 21.Qxd5+ Kh8 22.Nf7+ Kg8=
Position after: 22...K g8= Conclusion to Chapter 3 This chapter is a mix of sneaky attempts to win based on minor points in obscure endgames, and lines which can be neutralised quickly by accurate yet essentially unique continuations. Clearly, the former are far more dangerous, and the third subchapter contains a huge number of them. One of the important things is to develop a sense for which pieces to exchange in the third subchapter; that is if you’re not mad enough to try and memorise the whole thing.
Chapter 4 Austrian Pirc with 8.e6
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6
Chapter Guide Chapter 4 – Austrian Pirc with 8.e6
1.e4 g6 2.d4 g7 3.c3 d6 4.f4 f6 5.f3 c5 6. b5+ d7 7.e5 g4 8.e6 4.1) Intro, 8...xb5?! and 8...fxe6 9.g5 xb5 10.xg4?!
4.2) 8...fxe6 9. g5 xb5 10. xb5 a5+ 4.3) 8...fxe6 9.g5 xb5 10.xe6 xd4 11.xb5 a5+ 12.d2 8...fxe6 9.g5 xb5 10.xe6 xd4 11.xb5 a5+ 12.c3 f2+ 13.d2 e3+ 14.c2 a4+ 4.4) 15.b3?! 4.5) 15. b1
Introduction to Chapter 4 It would hardly be valid to write about the 5...c5 Austrian Pirc without giving these critical variations, starting with 8.e6. Initially (4.1) I give two ideas – one for each side – of how to avoid heavy-duty theory. That said, there is some kind of quantum-mechanical effect with these things, whereby through my having published the analysis, these lines join the canon of heavy-duty theory...
It might seem that the next two subchapters deal with similar variations, but this is not true: the first one (4.2) is a middlegame where both sides make some rather counter-intuitive moves (especially leaving a bishop available to be taken with check: 13...cxd4!) but most likely Black has quite good winning chances in the long run because he has a better structure, while the second is a deep endgame. This arises from the trivial point that after 8...fxe6 9.g5 xb5 10.xe6 xd4 11.xb5 a5+ 12.d2 the knight on b5 cannot be taken; it seems to me that due to some very concrete elements 4.5) that version thebecause endgame slightly more promising for White. Essentially, you may skip in 4.1) and 4.4) if youof like theiscrux of this chapter are these endgames where Black has one or more pawns for an exchange. The most original part of the chapter is the final line: I was able to uncover some very dangerous tries for White starting with the unconventional 18. hxc1 and continuing with the deep 23. b1!? setting up a mating net several moves down the line! Unfortunately, in chess if your opponent knows that much analysis on any line it is impossible to win as Black (and usually also as White.) However, I think I have succeeded in neutralising the tricks. 4.1) Intro, 8...Bxb5?! and 8...fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Qxg4?!
N N B N B B N 1.e4 d6 2.d4 f6 3. c3 g6 4.f4 g7 5. f3 c5 6. b5+ d7 7.e5 g4 8.e6
Position after: 8.e6 This is not considered theoretically challenging, though it was for a long time the ‘yellow brick road’ of the Pirc. 8...fxe6!
8...xb5!? 9.exf7+ f8
Position after: 9...K f8 An interesting sideline that avoids the forced draw. White gets a small advantage with good play as the price of Black’s winning chances. 10.xb5 a5+ 11.c3 cxd4 12.xd4 A) 12...c6! 13.e6+ xf7
Position after: 13...K xf7
14.xg7! [After 14.0-0 Black has options like 14...xe6 15.xg4+ f5 16.e2+ d7= gaining time using the ‘threat’ of ...xc3.] 14...f6 15.e2 xg7 16.e3 With queens on, White does not need to do anything special to prove an edge. As Black I would be tempted to play ...h5 offering an endgame. B) 12...xf7 I don’t like this move, but it makes the game interesting.
Position after: 12...K xf7 B1) 13.xg4 xd4 14.d2 f5 Black was basically OK in Nakamura, H – Carlsen, M Stavanger 2018. B2) 13.0-0 c5! 14.xg4 [14.ce2 xd4+ 15.xd4 c6 16.c3 xd4 17.cxd4 f5 18. b3+ d5 19.e1 d7 The position was balanced in Cornel – Launhardt, email 2013.] 14... xd4+ 15.h1
Position after: 15.Kh1 15...xc3!= Black is just in time: Since f5 now would be met by ...f6, Black gets time to consolidate with ...f5, ...d7 and ...h5 as necessary. B3) 13.f3! White cannot avoid damage to his queenside structure, so he may as well keep pieces on and try and maximise the dynamic chances he gets in return. 13...xc3+! This at least leads to some unclear positions where White needs to be accurate. [13...c6?! 14.d2 f5 15.e2] 14.bxc3 f6 15.g5+ g8 16.0-0 Black is not able to control this position: if he plays ...h6 White will always have the tactical option of e2. Luckily he seems to just hold with accurate play. 16...c5+
Position after: 16...Qc5+ B3.1) 17.h1 h6 18.e2 f5! 19.f3 [19.xe7 hxg5= now simply doesn’t work.] 19... c6 20.h4 h5 21.xh5 gxh5 B3.2) 17.f2! Ensuring that White can always recapture on g5, counterintuitive though the move may be. 17...c4! [17...h6?! 18.e2+–]
Q Position after: 17... c4! 18. b1 [18.d3!? White is content with a small edge. 18...xd3 19.cxd3 bd7] 18...h6 19. b4
d5 20.e2 hxg5 21.d4 xa2 22.fxg5 [Black can likely draw the messy position after 22.xe7 bd7 23.fxg5 e8 24.xd6 e1+ 25.f1 xf1+ 26.xf1 h7 27.gxf6 f7.] 22...c6! [22...fd7 23.xd6!+–] 23.gxf6 xd4 24.cxd4 h7 25.fxe7 e8 26.g4 g7 27.g5 f7 Here too White retains the initiative and can force a draw at will. 9.Ng5 Bxb5
Position after: 9...B xb5 10.Qxg4?!
The main moves are 10.xe6 and 10.xb5, seen later. 10.xe6 xd4!!
Position after: 10...B xd4!! 11.xd8 The main interesting move, 11. xb5, will be seen later as well. [11.xg4?! d7 12.f5 xe6 13.fxe6 c6 14.f1 xc3+! 15.bxc3 a5 Black has much better coordination; likewise 11.xd4?! d7! fails to impress.] 11...f2+ This is the famous draw, known since Sax – Seirawan, Brussels 1988, and used for pre-arranged or ‘understood’ draws since. 12.d2 e3+ 13.e1 f2+ 10...Bc4! 11.b3
White should avoid pawn-grabbing. 11.xh7? d7 [11...xd4!?] 12.g5?! cxd4 13.f7 a5–+ Black was already completely winning in Kosanovic – Popchev, Stara Pazova 1988. 11...Bxd4! 12.Bd2 Bd5
Position after: 12...Bd5 13.Nxd5
13.0-0-0 Arguably a better order for White, but it doesn’t change much; the extra options are few if Black puts his queen on d7 anyway. 13...d7 14.he1 c6 15. b1 f6! 13...exd5 14.0-0-0 Qd7 15.Ne6
Position after: 15.Ne6
So far as in Nunn – Benjamin, Thessaloniki 1988. 15...Na6!N 16.Rhf1 Nc7 17.f5 Nxe6 18.fxe6 Qc7 19.Rf7 0-0-0 20.Bg5 Rde8 21.Qh4
Position after: 21.Qh4 A critical position, but thankfully for us the only question is whether Black is obligated to take a draw at this point. 21...Qa5
21...h6!? 22.xe7 g5 23.xg5 a5 This line avoids ideas of xd4. Now White has to consent to perpetual check with 24.f6 a3+ 25.d2 b4+=. 22.Rxd4! cxd4 23.Bxe7
Position after: 23.B xe7 This was the focus of previous analysis, and indeed there are some very tricky lines where Black does play on. 23...Kb8!? 24.Bf6!
24.xd6+ a8 and Black’s king is safe, while the push ...d3 will soon seriously undermine White’s king safety. 24...g5!
24...g5! Position after: 24...g5! 25.Qf2!
25.h3 e1+ 26. b2 g4 27.d3 c3+ 28.xc3 dxc3+ 29.xc3 hg8 30.e7 c7 and Black presses with no risk. 25...Rhg8 26.Bxd4 Qa3+ 27.Kb1 Rxe6 28.Rxb7+ Kxb7 29.Qf7+ Kc6 30.Qxe6 Rf8 31.Qe2³
Position after: 31.Qe2³
Black has some vague winning chances here (for an ambitious player) but I would be somewhat scared of losing control of this position. 4.2) 8...fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6! 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxb5
Position after: 10.N xb5 10...Qa5+ 11.c3 Qxb5 12.Nxe6
12.xg4 cxd4 13.xe6 c4 14.xg7+ f7 leads to the next note. 12...Qc4
Position after: 12...Qc4 13.Qxg4
13.xg7+ It is seldom bad to take a bishop with check, but this isn’t White’s most testing continuation. 13...f7 14.xg4 cxd4 15.f5 e6+ [15...h5!? is an interesting attempt to get a further improved version of some of the endings.] 16.e3 dxe3
Position after: 16...dxe3 16...dxe3
17.f3 [17.xe6+ xe6 18.xe3 c6 Black is completely fine here. It is easy to develop queenside counterplay in the time it takes White to make a passed pawn on the other side. 19.0-0 hf8 20.c4 d7=] 17...c6 Black just needs to keep it simple. A good model of how to do so was offered in the following game: 18.0-0 hf8 19.xe3 g8 20.b3 a5 21.ae1 a4 22.c1 f7
Position after: 22...Q f7 Dolmatov – Chernin, Moscow 1990. 13...cxd4!
13...cxd4! Position after: 13...cxd4! 14.cxd4!?
14.f5?! This is actually a slight mistake. 14... f6 15.fxg6 g8 16.g7 c6 17.c7+ d8 The game Shirov – Khalifman, Groningen 1990 ended in a draw here by perpetual check. Later Shirov also took the black side of this position! 18. e6+ [After 18.xa8? e5–+ Black’s attack is decisive.] 18...d7!!
Position after: 18...Kd7!! Remarkable. Black walks into double check and emerges with an advantage. 19. xd4+ [19.f4+ e6 20.h5 xg7! 21.xg7 af8 White cannot save his piece, and in the meantime Black has a ferocious attack; 19.f8+?! e8 20.h5+ f7 21.xf7+ xf7 22.xh7 xg7; 19.c5+?! e8 20.d7+ f7] 19...e6
Position after: 19...e6 20.f1 [20.e2 xe2+ 21.xe2 xg7 is similar.] 20...xg7 21.e2 xe2+ 22.xe2 e7 Black’s pieces are better placed for the endgame.
Position after: 14.cxd4!? 14.cxd4!? 14...Bf6
I have a strong feeling that this is the best move.
Engines like the ‘heroic’ 14...c6 but I would worry about continuing to leave the bishop en prise. 15.d5!? [15.xg7+ f7 16.f5 gxf5 17.xf5+ e8 18.h5+ d7= Black recovers the piece with a safe king position; 15.d2 xd4 16.xg7+ f7 17.c1 d3 18.c3!? might also be awkward to meet.] 15...e4+ 16.f2∞ White can probably obtain a reasonable version of the endgame with same-coloured bishops.
Position after: 16.K f2∞ 15.Be3
15.d5 a6! 15...Kf7 16.Ng5+ Bxg5 17.fxg5 Nc6=
Position after: 17...Nc6= As usual, Black’s pieces are more harmoniously arranged. He is ready to play ...d5, or ...hf8 followed by ...g8. White lacks immediate threats with which to cross those plans. 4.3) 8...fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 Bxd4 11.Nxb5 Qa5+ 12.Qd2 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6! 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 Bxd4!! 11.Nxb5 Qa5+! 12.Qd2!?
This is a somewhat critical line, since Black will be playing with just one pawn for the exchange in a not-especially-forcing endgame. In the last two subchapters I will look at 12.c3. 12...Qxd2+
Position after: 12...Q xd2+ 13.Bxd2
The other recapture is possible, albeit counterintuitive: 13.xd2 d7 14.ec7 a6 15.xa8 axb5 16.a4 bxa4 17. b6+ c6 18.xa4 e5!
Position after: 18...e5! 18...e5! 19.fxe5 [19.h3?! f2 20.e1 exf4 21.c3 e3+ 22.e2 xc1 23.axc1 e4 Black already has very
good winning chances.] 19...xe5 20.h3 f2 [It is also possible to allow c4 and then play ...d5 anyway, e.g. 20...f6 21.c4 bd7 22.c2 d5=, but Black should be careful as he only has one pawn for the exchange.] 21.f1 e4+
Position after: 21...Ne4+ 22.d3 [22.e3 e8!–+ Due to the unfortunate position of White’s rooks, Black is already winning.] 22...g3 23.f7 c4+ 24.xc4 b5+ 25.d3 bxa4 26.xa4 d5! Black has undiminished activity but the material stakes have been equalised. 13...Kd7
Position after: 13...Kd7 14.Nec7
An annotated game starting with 14. bxd4 is offered in Part I (Karjakin – Grischuk, Moscow 2001). 14...a6 15.Nxa8 axb5 16.a4
16.c3 seems to gain a tempo, but will most likely lose one in the end. 16...e3 17.a4 bxa4 18.xa4 c6 16...bxa4 17.Nb6+ Kc6 18.Nxa4 Nd7
Position after: 18...Nd7 19.h3!?
White’s best try for an advantage. A) In this version 19.c4?! e5 is very bad for White. The c4-pawn is a weakness more than anything else. B) I am not especially convinced by the move Marin thinks is most dangerous, which is 19.c3. Now there follows 19...e5! opening opening the centre and, in some lines, lines, arranging for the d2-bishop to be be overloaded. 20.h3 [20.fxe5?! dxe5 21.d1 e8 Black has a massive attack.] 20...xc3!
Position after: 20...B xc3! B1) 21.xc3 loses a pawn: 21...e3 22.d2 xg2 and although White gets to open lines, nothing too major happens. 23.fxe5 dxe5 24. hf1 h4!= All is under control. B2) 21.hxg4?! also loses a pawn, but without the benefit of the last line: 21...xd2+ 22.xd2 exf4 and with two pawns for the exchange and the beautiful e5-square available to him, Black is thinking about winning this game as well. B3) 21.bxc3 gf6 22.fxe5 xe5 23.0-0 d5 The machines obviously like White’s position somewhat, but with the two central knights and structural targets I can’t imagine having difficulties playing Black here. 19...Nf2
After 19...e3 20.xe3 xe3 21.f1 f8 22.g3 e6 23.e2 d4 24.c3= the position is still playable for Black, but White is unravelling. 20.Rf1 Ne4 21.Nc3 Bxc3 22.Bxc3 Re8©
Position after: 22...Re8© 4.4) 15.b3?! 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6! 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 Bxd4!! 11.Nxb5 Qa5+! 12.c3 Bf2+ 13.Kd2 Be3+ 14.Kc2 Qa4+
Position after: 14...Qa4+ 15.b3?!
We will examine the critical 15. b1 in the final subchapter, but for now let us look at a line where where queens stay on the board. 15...Qe4+ 16.Kb2
16.d3? xg2+ 17.d2 d7! 18.ec7 a6 19.xa8 axb5
Position after: 19...axb5 19...axb5 In this version White is unable to save the knight and the bishop. There is nothing better than: 20.xb5+ c6! 21. b6+ [21.xb7+? e6 22.c7+ f7 Black threatens ...xd2 as well as ...d4, with decisive effect.] 21...c7 22.hd1 f2 23.d5+ xd5 24.xe3 e4+ 25.d3 a8!–+ 16...Qxg2+ 17.Ka3 Nf2!N
Position after: 17...N f2!N 18.Nxd6+!
This is the only interesting move. 18.g1 xd1 19.xg2 d7 20. bc7 a6 21.xa8 xe6 22.xe3 xc3 Black will be playing with three pawns for the exchange. 18...Kd7! 19.Qe2 Bxc1+! 20.Raxc1 exd6 21.f5
Position after: 21.f5 White is scrambling for compensation here due to the idea of ...e4 retaining the whole piece. 21...gxf5 22.Rhe1
22.hf1 e4 still works. 22...Nc6 23.Nf4 Qg8 24.Qxf2 Re8³
Position after: 24...Re8³ White’s compensation for the two pawns is not completely adequate. 4.5) 15.Kb1 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6! 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 Bxd4!! 11.Nxb5 Qa5+! 12.c3 Bf2+ 13.Kd2 Be3+ 14.Kc2 Qa4+
Position after: 14...Qa4+ 15.Kb1 Qe4+!
The text looks less intuitive than 15... xd1, but the problem now is that after 16.xd1 xc1 17.xc1 Black lacks knight checks and the d1-rook is better placed than on h1. 16.Qc2 Qxc2+ 17.Kxc2 Bxc1
Position after: 17...B xc1
18.Rhxc1!?
This is ‘interesting’, which is preferable to the existing well-analysed paths where White definitely has no advantage. A) 18.axc1?! d7 19.ec7? [19.he1 White should bail out with this but the compensation is tenuous after 19...c6.] 19...a6 20.xa8 axb5 21.a4 bxa4 22. b6+ c6 23.xa4 b5 Now the
knight is trapped. B) 18.xc1 The safe recapture. 18...d7 19.ec7 a6 20.xa8 axb5
Position after: 20...axb5 20...axb5 White has two possible ways to save his knight, of which only one works. 21.c4! [21.a4? Now White will definitely be worse. 21...bxa4 22. xa4 c6 23.a7 The only way to stop ...a6 now. 23...c4! 24.e1 e5 Black was significantly better in Bauer – Chabanon, Nantes 1993.] 21...bxc4 22. b6+ c6 23.xc4 f8! 24.g3 d7 There is no particular need to commit to either ...b5 or ...d5 yet. White is struggling despite the nominal material advantage. a dvantage. 18...Kd7 19.Nec7 a6 20.Nxa8 axb5
Position after: 20...axb5 20...axb5 The final version out of many analogous possibilities we’ve looked at. 21.a4 bxa4 22.Rxa4 Kc6 23.Rb1!?
A very testing continuation. A) 23.b4!? e3+ 24.d3 xg2
Position after: 24...N xg2
Black is doing well here, and gains tempo on the f4-pawn even by comparison to the text move. The only forcing line is probably 25.b5+!? xb5 26.a7 c6 27. b1 xf4+ 28.d2 d5 29. b6+ e6
Position after: 29...Ke6 30.e1+ f5 31.xb7 c6, but Black finds the kingside to be every bit as safe as the queenside was. B) 23.a7 is unlikely to be any better than the same move in other positions. 23...Ne3+ 24.Kd2!
Position after: 24.Kd2! 24...Nxg2 25.b4 c4!
25...d5?! This is the most natural move, but it fails. I’ll give White’s approach with minimal notes because it is quite spectacular: 26.b5+! 26.b5+! Why give the f4-pawn up if you don’t have to? 26...d6
Position after: 26...Kd6 27.g1! A very odd move with an equally odd idea. [27.a7 d7!] 27...h4 28.ga1 d7 29.a6+!! bxa6 30.xa6+ b6 31.xb6 b8! [31...c4 32.c8+! c5 33.a7]
Position after: 31...Rb8! 32.c4! A final strong move to fragment Black’s pawns in the endgame. Now it’s quite important that Black isn’t pressuring the f4-pawn. [32. a4+ c7 33.c6+ d8 34.xc5 is obvious and also okay.] 32...dxc4 33.c3 f5 34.xc4 e3+ 35.d3 c7! 36.a4 g2 37.c4 26.b5+ Kc5 27.Nc7 Nd7
Position after: 27...Nd7 28.b6
An immediate draw with 28. e6+ d5 29.c7+= is also on the cards. 28...d5 29.Ra5+! Kc6 30.Rxd5
30.xd5 c5! 30...Nxb6 31.Rdb5 Kxc7 32.Rxb6 Rd8+ 33.Kc1 Rd3 34.Rxb7+ Kd6=
Position after: 34...Kd6= The game will most likely end with a +h vs +g+h position. Conclusion to Chapter 4 Based on what we have seen in the last two chapters, both 8.xd7 and 8.e6 can be interesting attempts for White to get an advantage. To my mind, despite the extent to which both have been explored, there are still things to be learned about the endgames where Black sacrifices an exchange after 8.e6 and so that move might well be the one I chose if I were playing White. Broken down in this way, though, I think the theory on 5...c5 has been manageable; once again, if you don’t agree or don’t consider the winning chances good enough there is 4...a6. Most likely, the right analogy to draw is penalty shootouts in football: even if your personal favoured approach is to shoot to the right, sometimes you should also shoot to the left so that the goalkeeper doesn’t know what to expect!
Chapter 5 Classical Pirc with 7.Bf4 and 7.Bg5
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Be2 Nf6 5.Nc3 0-0 6.0-0 c6
Chapter Guide Chapter 5 – Classical Pirc with 7.Bf4 and 7.Bg5
1.e4 g6 2.d4 g7 3.f3 d6 4.e2 f6 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 c6 5.1) Motivation and 6...e6!? 5.2) 7.f4 bd7 8.e5 and 7.e5 5.3) 7.f4 bd7 8.d2 c7 9.e5 5.4) 7.f4 bd7 8.d2 c7 9.a4 5.5) 7.g5 intro and 7...c7 8.e5 5.6) 7.g5 c7 8.d2 b5 9.a3 5.7) 7.g5 c7 8.a4 e5 5.8) 7.g5 c7 8.a4 e5 9.a5!?N
Introduction to Chapter 5 Finally it’s time to move away from the Austrian Pirc to something a bit less razor-sharp. To
compensate for that, though, this time I don’t have a backup, and White can force the diagram position by using the the 4.e2 order (once again, the order that begins with 3.f3 is the more flexible one.) I tried to analyse 6...e6!? in order to address this deficiency, but at the end concluded that White is pressing with the bishop-pair in a rather unpleasant way. Hence, this chapter and the next. The material divides fairly evenly into cases where White develops the bishop on move 7 (this chapter) and cases where he doesn’t (next chapter) although I’ve tried to take care of transpositions in a flexible way. I would say that within this chapter, the cases where White plays a preventative a4 are the most worrying, because then there is some risk of Black actually ending up without counterplay. As an illustration of what kind of counterplay ...b5 leads to (even just by itself) you can look at line 5.6). In the final subchapter I develop some completely original material based on taking this prophylactic strategy to its logical limit. The point is that at unexpected moments White can sometimes push the a pawn onwards to a6, which (in conjunction with a d5 break) has the potential to prise apart Black’s Black’s queenside, whereas if Black halts it with ...a6 there will be huge issues surrounding the b6-square. Black does have a choice of how to play: I have given both a line where Black offers a repetition (a relatively boring approach which may additionally not meet your needs) and a ‘fun’ line where Black sacrifices his queen but may stand worse. 5.1) Motivation and 6...e6!? 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Be2!?
Position after: 4.Be2!? In this initial subchapter I’ll motivate why we’re talking about the Classical Pirc in this book.
4...Nf6
The problem with 4...a6 is not even 5.c4, but 5.0-0:
Position after: 4...a6 5.0-0! [5.c4 g4 6.c3 c6 7.e3 e5 8.d5 xf3 9.xf3 d4 Maybe White has something here, but lots of people have already published inconclusive analysis on the position.] 5...d7 [5...f6 6.c3 I would rather not do this if White isn’t going to play a4. See chapter III.4.] 6.c4 e5 7.c3
Position after: 7.Nc3²
This is some kind of KID or Philidor position where Black’s ...a6 looks odd. 5.Nc3 0-0 6.0-0
If White jumps the gun with 6.a4 then Black can present a choice between Sicilian and Benoni structures. 6...c5! 7.0-0 [7.d5 e6 8.0-0 exd5 9.exd5 a6=] 7...cxd4 8.xd4 c6 9.e3 d5!? 10.exd5 b4 11.f3 fxd5= Kryvoruchko – Bauer Switzerland 2017.
Position after: 6.0-0 6...e6!?
Tiger’s suggestion, and not actually mentioned at all by Hammer despite Hammer having consulted the work of his older Nordic colleague. 6...c6?! 7.d5 b8 This line has been played by Carlsen a few times in faster games, but the overall impression created by it is not a good one. 8.a4 e6
Position after: 8...e6 9.g5 h6 10.e3 exd5 11.exd5 e8 12.d2 g4 13.d4 d7 14.xg7 xg7 15.d4 gf6 16.a5 Yu, Y – Svidler, P Shenzhen 2018 7.a4
Position after: 7.a4 7...a5
This is the move that you want to play. My impression is that allowing White the bind with a5 is a bad idea and that Black wants to to play moves like ...h6, ...b6, ...b6, ... b7, but it seems that White White can move fast to nevertheless create a bind on the queenside. Saying that, I like the idea of this system (which has much in common with the Hippo, of course.) A) 7...c6 8.a5! This bind will become annoying very quickly. 8...a6 9.h3 e8 10.e3 h6 11.d2 g5 [Neither can the c8-bishop c 8-bishop move: 11...h7 12.fd1 d7 13.b4] 12.h2 Preparing h4. 12...e5 [12...h7 13.f4] 13.d5 d4 14.g4! xe2+ 15.xe2 h7 16.f3
Position after: 16.f3² Playing in this way White would demonstrate extremely good understanding of structures. The position now resembles a King’s Indian where Black lacks any way to bring pieces to bear on White’s king. B) 7...b6 8.a5 b7 is at least different, but now now danger takes a different form: 9.e5 dxe5 10. 10.xe5 8.e5 dxe5 9.dxe5 Qxd1 10.Rxd1
Position after: 10.R xd1 10...Nfd7
10...g4?! Here the knight is vulnerable, so Black should avoid this unless he is actually going to take the pawn. 11. b5 c6 [11...a6 12.f4] 12.d6 xe5 13.xe5 xe5 14.h6 g7 15.g5!
Position after: 15.B g5! 15...f6 [15...xb2 16.ab1 e5 17.xc8 xc8 18.xb7] 16.e3 a6 Now White can play in
various ways, like a3-b3. 11.Bf4
This seems like the best order for White, and I wasn’t able to find a suitable answer for Black.
Position after: 11.B f4 11...b6 A) 11...c6 12. b5 B) 11...a6 12. b5 c6 13.xa6 xa6 14.e4 C) 11...c5 12.g5! with annoying pressure. D) 11...h6!? Trying to get a better version of the lines with ...b6 below. 12.h4 b6 13. b5 a6 14.c3
Position after: 14.c3² 12.Bd3!
Position after: 12.Bd3! 12...Nc5
12... b7 13.e4 xe4 14.xe4 and now the computer wants to sign up for the dismal endgame after 14...c5 15.xc5 bxc5.
13.Ne4
13.e4 xe4 14.xe4 b7 [14...d7 15.d4] 15.f6+ h8 Maybe White has some path to an advantage here, most likely starting with 16. d3. So it is logical to ask if White can save a tempo on this process. 13...Nbd7!
13...xd3 14.xd3 b7 15.f6+
Position after: 13...Nbd7! 14.Bb5 Bb7
14...xe4 15.c6 a7 16.xe4 c5 17.c6 15.Nxc5 Nxc5 16.Nd4 Rad8 17.Nc6 Bxc6 18.Bxc6²
Position after: 18.B xc6 ² White can press here with the bishop-pair, even if the engines do give it as equal (0.2). 5.2) 7.Bf4 Nbd7 8.e5 and 7.e5 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c6
Position after: 6...c6
In this subchapter we’ll examine the various bishop moves. 7.Bf4
7.e5 Not a critical continuation, but something which it is important to see first, so that we can compare future lines with it. 7...dxe5 8. xe5 [8.dxe5 xd1 9.xd1 g4 10.f4 d7= Black wins a pawn and without queens on the board, board, White’s compensation is not not going to add up.] 8...f5
Position after: 8...B f5 A) 9.f4 bd7 10.e1 xe5 11.xe5= Thus far as in Alvarez Ibarra – Azmaiparashvili, Euskadi 1991. Marin mentions a plan with ...h5 and ...h6, which I find adequate here. B) 9.f3 fd7!? In my opinion the best move. Black is not afraid to give up the bishop-pair and can now also play for an advantage. [Black can also play 9... bd7 10.f4 xe5 11.xe5 as against 9.f3, while Marin gives some convoluted plan based on 10... b6 and only then ...fd7. I am not sure how well it works if White continues with 11.e1.] 10.g4 xg4 11.xg4 b6 12.e2 8d7 13.a4 e5 C) 9.g4!? e6 10.f4 bd7 11.f5 [11.f3 xe5 12.fxe5 d5= and Black is fine.] 11...d5 12.xd7!
Position after: 12.N xd7! C1) 12...xd7 is really erring on the side of caution and Black might well regret it after 13.xd5 cxd5 14.c3: he has no pawn on e6 and so the centre lacks the stability it might usually have in a minority-attack position. C2) 12...xd7 13.d3 ad8 14.g5 e8 7...Nbd7 8.e5!? dxe5! 9.dxe5 Ng4 10.e6 fxe6
10...fxe6 Position after: 10...fxe6 This position is similar to one we could get from 7.e5, but queens are still on the board. This means that White gets sufficient play. 11.Ng5! Nde5 12.Qxd8
12.g3 h6 13.ce4 f5 gives Black counterplay. There is no need for White to lose this tempo right now. 12...Rxd8 13.Rad1 Rf8! 14.Bg3 Nh6!
Position after: 14...Nh6! 15.Nce4
Marin only considers 15.xe5 xe5 16.c4 b5!= when Black is escaping from the positional pressure easily. 15...Nhf7 16.c3
Black lacks freeing ideas, so White can improve his position slowly. 16...Nxg5 17.Nxg5 Nf7 18.Ne4 e5! 19.Bc4 Bf6=
Position after: 19...B f6= White can still bail out, but he is running out of time somewhat. 5.3) 7.Bf4 Nbd7 8.Qd2 Qc7 9.e5 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Bf4 Nbd7 8.Qd2 Qc7 9.e5
Position after: 9.e5
This is the last (and probably best) moment at which White can break in the centre. 9...Nh5 10.Bg5!
10.exd6 exd6
Position after: 10...exd6 11.e4 The only challenging move. Other continuations c ontinuations offer Black comfortable play: [11.g5 b5!? ; 11.h6 d5 12.xg7 is very similar to the line after 10.g5. 12...xg7 13.fe1 f6=] 11...df6! 12.xd6 [12.xd6? drops a piece to 12...xf4 13.xf4 h5–+] 12...xe4 13.xc7 xd2 14.xd2 xd4
Position after: 14...B xd4 White’s only chance to maintain the tension is to exchange on h5: 15. xh5N [15.c3 b6 16.xb6 axb6 is a worse order as now White doesn’t get the choice of keeping dark-squared bishops. Black was okay in Solak – Petrosian, Golden Sands 2014.] 15...gxh5 16.c3 b6 17.f4 e8 18.fe1 xe1+ 19.xe1 e6=
Position after: 19...Be6= The bishop-pair gives Black good counterchances here.
Position after: 10.B g5! 10...f6!
10...dxe5 11.xe7 e8 12.d5! Now none of Black’s moves really convince me. 12... b6!? Maybe relatively best, trying to give the queen some prospects. [12... b8 13.d6 f4 14.fe1] 13.d6 d7
Position after: 13...Qd7 14.fe1! [14.g3 f6 15.xf6 xf6 Black is bringing a knight to d5 next and White needs to hurry
to simplify.] 14...f4 15.f1 f6 Now if Black can consolidate and play ... bd5 at some point soon, soon, then he will be for choice. So White’s selection is limited, but there do seem to be two good ideas. 16.a4! f5 [16...h8 17.e4 bd5 18.xf6 xf6 19.xe5!] 17.ad1 d7 Black has a lot of alternatives, but I find problems with all of them as well as my overarching suspicion of the whole line.
Position after: 17...Bd7 18.e4 Not the only move, but it seems strong, for instance: 18... bd5 19.c4 xe7 20.dxe7 xe7 21. b4 ae8 22.xb7 g4 23.h1. 11.exf6 exf6
Position after: 11...exf6 12.Be3!
12.h6 is the wrong way: after 12...d5! Black has managed to consolidate the centre. There’s no need for him to worry about the knight on h5 because that can’t be trapped. 12...f5 13.d5! c5 14.Bh6
14.g5 f4 15.xh5 fxe3 16.xe3 gxh5 14...Ndf6„
Black’s construction is far from faultless but the kingside space compensates.
Position after: 14...Ndf6 „ 5.4) 7.Bf4 Nbd7 8.Qd2 Qc7 9.a4 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Bf4 Nbd7 8.Qd2 Qc7
Position after: 8...Qc7 9.a4
We have already discussed the case of White playing e5 in various positions, and this is the only other move that really fits his ambitions. A common sense but harmless approach is the following: 9.h6 e5 10.xg7 xg7 11.ad1 e8 12.a4 f8 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.d6?! xd6 15.xd6 g4 Black soon agreed a draw in Kamenev, J – Konovalov, E Krasnodar 2002 but he could arguably have played on. 9...e5
Position after: 9...e5 10.Bh6
10.dxe5 he As can elsewhere, very critical. In fact, this even a better version for Black because go to e6this viaisc5not instead of f8. 10...dxe5 of 11.might h6 c5 12.be xg7 xg7= 10...Re8 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.a5
White prevents the stabilizing ...a5 and avoids ... c5 ideas. 12...Nf8!
Position after: 12...N f8! This move is given by Marin and it is Black’s main constructive idea in such positions. 13.h3!
The reply prevents ...g4, forcing Black to take play in a different direction. A) 13.fd1 g4 14.h3 xf3 15.xf3 e6= This line has been played a few times. It suffices for my purposes to say that Black is is definitely not worse, and move move on... B) 13.d5!? g4
Position after: 13...B g4 Again this move works well. 14.h3 [14.a6 cxd5 c xd5 15.xd5 xd5 16.exd5 xf3 17.xf3 b5= is at least fine for Black, and possibly better because of the robustness of the d6/e5 pawn formation.] 14...xf3 15.xf3 cxd5 16.xd5 [16.exd5 8d7 will be similar to 14.a6 but with an extra pair of knights on the board. Experienced players will know that a similar structure occurs in the 6.e3 Najdorf.] 16...xd5 17.xd5 d7!?=
Position after: 13.h3! 13.h3!
13...exd4
I really wanted to play the more dynamic-looking 13...e6 but it doesn’t work out well: 14.fd1! Good prophylaxis. Now Black doesn’t have a way to break free, given that 14...exd4 15.xd4 c5 16.f3 cxe4? 17.xe4 xe4 18.xe4 xe4 19.c3! is bad for him. 14.Nxd4
14.xd4 e6 15.e3 d5= might be objectively equal; Black does not really need to worry about playing with the isolated isolated pawn here. 14...Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Rxe4
Position after: 15...R xe4 16.Bf3!?
This move makes Black do some work to neutralise the initiative. It gains a tempo compared to 16.a6. 16.a6 e6!= 16...Re5 17.a6
Position after: 17.a6 17...Ne6!
17...d7?! 18.c3 is tricky because Black’s queenside is immobile and White has the idea of b5. 18.Nxe6+ Rxe6
18...xe6 19.axb7 19.Rfe1 Kg8 20.Qc3 Rb8=
Position after: 20...Rb8= Black is getting free so White should quickly seek a way to enter an equal rook ending. 5.5) 7.Bg5 intro and 7...Qc7 8.e5 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Bg5 Qc7!
Position after: 7...Qc7!
As so often, it is better to start with this move so that ...b5 cannot be met by ‘the d5 tactic’. 8.Qd2
8.e5 dxe5 9.xe5 [9.dxe5? g4]
Position after: 9.N xe5 A) 9... bd7?! Now White’s best is to go go back to f4 with the bishop, but note that if Black takes on e5 he will have a worse version of the 7.e5 lines. 10.f4 xe5 [10... b6 11.c4 d8 12.a4] 11.xe5 a5 Whether or not White has any particularly worrying idea here (an initial candidate seems to be b1, b4-b5) I would prefer to avoid this. B) 9...d5! 10.xd5 cxd5 11.g4 c6 12.c3= Now Black can play a minority attack position after ...xg4, or else try something a bit more ambitious. 8...b5!
Position after: 8...b5! 8...b5! 9.e5
I will look at 9.a3 in the next subchapter. 9...dxe5 10.dxe5
10.xe5? b4 11.a4 e4 12.e3 xg5 13.xg5 f6–+ 10...Ng4 11.Bf4 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Bxe5 13.Bxe5 Qxe5
Position after: 13...Q xe5 14.Bf3!? A) 14.xb5 cxb5 15.f3 c6 16.xc6 b8= is just fine for Black B) 14.fe1N is equivalent. 14...Bf5 15.Rfe1 Qf6 16.Nxb5 Na6=
Position after: 16...Na6=
5.6) 7.Bg5 Qc7 8.Qd2 b5 9.a3 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Bg5 Qc7! 8.Qd2 b5! 9.a3 Nbd7
Position after: 9...Nbd7 ow White’s main attacking idea is the queen lift f4-h4, but the number of possible implementations is practically beyond counting. 10.Rfe1 A) Unpinning the future a5-pawn will not be to White’s benefit since Black can now always meet d5 with ...b4. 10.ad1 a5 11.f4 e5 12.h4 h5= B) 10.fd1 avoids the issue of ...b4 but doesn’t advance White’s cause in any other way, e.g. 10... b7 11.f4 e5 12.h4 a5= when Black is ready to play ...b4 anyway and White’s main attacking idea of h6 is harmless. C) White can also play the immediate 10.f4 without swinging his rooks around on the back rank. 10...e5
Position after: 10...e5 11.h4 [11.dxe5 dxe5 12.h4 h5 is the same idea as after 10.ad1.] 11...e8 12.d5 [12.fd1 exd4 13.xd4 b7= After a future ...a5 or ...a6/...c5, White’s White’s move a3 looks like a waste of time.] time.] 12...cxd5 13.exd5 a6= 10...e5
Position after: 10...e5
11.d5!?
Again this is the critical test. With the lines given in these pages, I think the reader should already have a decent idea what to do against 11.ad1, 11.h3 or whatever. 11...cxd5
Sacrificing a pawn for the bishop-pair. 12.Nxb5
And once again the structure after 12.exd5 a6 is to Black’s advantage. 12...Qb8 13.exd5
13.xf6 xf6 14.exd5 e4! 15.e3 f5 13...Ne4
Position after: 13...Ne4 14.Qb4
A logical place to put the queen. Similarly, 14.a5 xg5 15.xg5 a6 16.c3 c5 gives Black good compensation. 14...f5!?
Trying to weave a net around the g5-bishop. In many lines Black will be able to play ...f4 and ...h6. 14...xg5 15.xg5 c5 is another way of getting a similar game. White has the extra option of e4 here.
Position after: 14...f5!? 14...f5!? 15.Nc3
White has to bail out. A) 15.e7 should be checked (of course) but Black is doing well after 15...a5 16. b3 f7 when the bishop has to go back. B) 15.h4 h6 leads to the bishop being trapped in most lines. 15...Nxc3 16.bxc3 Nf6=
Position after: 16...N f6= ow the weakness of the c-pawns compounds White’s other issues, and he will most likely have to give up the bishop-pair as well. 5.7) 7.Bg5 Qc7 8.a4 e5 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Bg5 Qc7! 8.a4 e5 9.Qd2
Position after: 9.Qd2
In theory, this move prepares h6 in some lines and prevents ...h6 from Black, but it may not be needed. 9...Nbd7 10.Rfe1
White prepares to defend the e4-pawn in anticipation of ...e8 and ...exd4. A) 10.ad1 e8
Position after: 10...Re8 Now nothing really works for for White. A1) 11.d5 is not effective, because White has neither the pawn at a5 nor bishop at e3. So the tactics
don’t work. 11...cxd5 12.xd5 xd5 13.xd5 h6 14.e3 f6 15.xd6 xd6 16.xd6 xe4= I would have a preference for Black in this ending. A2) 11.dxe5 dxe5 Now Black is all set for ...c5-e6, his usual manoeuvre.
Position after: 11...dxe5 A2.1) 12.e3 h6! 13.h4 h5 14.c4 f4= is given by Marin, although I find his ‘’ a bit optimistic. A2.2) 12.e3!? a6! [12...g4 13.g5 xe3 14.fxe3 f6 15.c4 e6 16.xe6 fxe6 17.d6 I would rather be playing with the knights in this somewhat exotic structure.] 13.e1 b5 A2.3) 12.d6 xd6 13.xd6 f8! This is based on the trick 14.xf6 e7! 14.dd1 g7= Black has finished unravelling and achieved a fully level game. B) 10.a5!? is interesting but does not really have much to do with the centre. 10...e8! 11.d5 cxd5 12.exd5 a6 10...Re8
Position after: 10...Re8 11.Bc4
After 11.f1 Black can play, inter alia, the following plan: 11...exd4 12. xd4 c5 13.f3 e6 14.e3 xd4 15.xd4 e6 16.ad1 ad8= Black was fine in Winants – Atabayev, Baku 2016. The plan here is to either play ...d5, or offer a trade of dark-squared bishops with ...h5.
Position after: 11.Bc4
11...a5!?
This is a logical and thematic move which Black often plays in these ‘Indian’ structures. The point is that White needs to waste time thinking about ...g4, or retreating the c4-bishop, before he can continue with the desired ad1. A) The tactical continuation 11...exd4 12.xd4 c5 13.f3 b6, intending in several lines to take on b2, is also possible. The The reason I wouldn’t recommend it is that after 14.ad1 it is not so easy to actually bring yourself to take the pawn!
Position after: 14.Rad1 However, feel free to reach your own conclusions. 14...fd7 [Following the forced line 14... xb2!? 15. b1 a3 16.e3 cd7! 17.cb5 c5 18.xf7+ xf7 19.c3 e5 20.f4 e7 White can force a draw by taking with the bishop, or potentially also play for more by taking with the knight.] 15.e3 e5 16. b3 b4 17.f2 I can’t help feeling that Black is subsisting on tricks and that his next moves need to be very precise in order to avoid tragedy. B) 11... b6 12. b3 g4 is natural, but White can afford the time needed to defend the knight. 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.e3 a5 15.h3
11...a5!? Position after: 11...a5!? 12.Rad1 A) 12.d5 b6 13.a2 g4! 14.e3 d7 B) 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.e3 h6 14.h4 g5 15.g3 h5 C) 12.h3 exd4 13.xd4 c5 is now definitely a better version of 11...exd4. D) 12.a2!? exd4 13.xd4 b6 14.e3 [14.ad1 xb2 White lacks the same forced draws as in other lines with ...xb2.] 14...g4 15.f5 xe3 16.xg7 xg7 17.xe3 b4
Position after: 17...Qb4 This should be fine for Black ‘in the long run’, but right now it is important that his d6-pawn is defended by the rather convoluted resource 18.d1 e5! 19.xd6 g4 20.f3 ad8 21.xb4 axb4 22.fxg4 bxc3 23.xd8 xd8 24.xc3 d4!=. 12...Nb6 13.Bb3 Bg4 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Qe3
Position after: 15.Qe3 Black eventually won in Lacina, R – Blodig, R Ceske Budejovice 1994 but probably best here was to find a new job for the g7-bishop without delay: 15...Be6! 16.Bxe6 Rxe6 17.h3 Bf8= 5.8) 7.Bg5 Qc7 8.a4 e5 9.a5!?N 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Bg5 Qc7! 8.a4 e5 9.a5!?N
9.a5!?N Position after: 9.a5!?N 9...Nbd7!
Instead 9...h6 10.e3 g4 11.d2! exd4 12.xd4 xd4 13.xg4 xg4 14.xg4 seems to hand White a ready-made initiative. 10.d5
Position after: 10.d5
10...h6!?
Black has to know what he is signing up for by playing this, but in the present book I’m trying to give ‘fun’ recommendations rather than equalise as fast as mathematically possible. 10...a6!? is the theoretical move. A) 11. c4!?the h6 battle 12. e3! is the only retreat12... square theChallenging bishop can continue influencing forThis d5. [12. 13.which c1 gf6 White to find a xf6 xf6=] g4from constructive move. My investigations indicate that there probably isn’t one. If allowed, Black will play ...b5 next. B) 11.d2 cxd5 12.exd5 b5 13.axb6 xb6 14. b3 d7!
Position after: 14...Bd7! This doesn’t give White anything now because the knight lacks a way to jump in. The keys to Black’s queenside defence are as follows: 15.a5 [15.xa6 xa6 16.xa6 a8 17.e2 a4 18.xa4 xa4; 15.xa6 a4 16.xa4 xa6 17.c3 xa1 18.xa1 f5] 15...a4! 16.xa4 xa5 17.c4 c7 18.c3 fb8. 11.Be3 cxd5 12.exd5 a6 13.Nd2! b5!? 14.axb6 Nxb6 15.Nb3 Nc4!
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