CVO_081.pdf

No. 81, July 21, 2010

OPENINGS

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT?

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Fighting chess

rewarded in Dortmund

By IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris

Frequency

Ponomariov had a dream start by beating arguably

the two most solid players in the world in his irst two

games. In this issue you'll ind the irst ive rounds of

Dortmund covered, the irst two rounds of Biel and

we checked out the Lake Sevan GM tournament.

WHAT’S HOT?

Score

Ponomariov is doing very well with the Berlin Wall lately, but against Naiditsch

he had to defend for 82 moves before reaching a draw. Naiditsch-Leko was

an interesting Ruy Lopez Archangelsk (see PGN file). In Ponomariov-Leko

(Scotch) Black didn't manage to save the ending (see below).

Ponomariov turned into a fantastic force with the White pieces, equally

dangerous with 1.e4 and 1.d4. In our Game of the Week Ponomariov

scored a historical win with the Catalan (!) against Kramnik. In the diagram

position he played the most popular move 8.£c2. Kramnik himself couldn't

win with the Catalan against Leko, but did so against Naiditsch. More

Catalan: Rodshtein-Negi can be found in the PGN file.

There is more Ponomariov, as he won the crucial battle against Mamedyarov

with the 4.£c2 Nimzo. Le Quang Liem-Naiditsch was a topical Vienna we

examine below. While Mamedyarov-Kramnik (QGD) and Kramnik-Le

Quang Liem (Slav 4...dxc4) were solid draws for Black, Mamedyarov-Le

Quang Liem (Slav 4.£c2) was a good win for White. Leko-Mamedyarov

was a KID Fianchetto that initially looked more comfortable for White.

Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

Taking a risk or two is clearly paying off in Dortmund this year so far, but losing a game with White is very expensive as both tailenders,

Naiditsch and Leko, discovered. Naiditsch lost with 6.¥c4 against Mamedyarov's Najdorf. This line that once was Bobby Fischer's favourite

line must still be quite effective at club level, but at grandmaster level Black is doing very well

against it (see below).

WHAT’S NOT?

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

No. 81, July 21, 2010

Beating Kramnik in the Catalan

Kramnik is the world’s leading expert in the Catalan, with both colours that is, as he likes to

add. Ponomariov with White in Dortmund was in a class of his own, and beating the 14th

World Champion on his own territory pretty much underlines that.

GAME OF THE WEEK

¤xf8 and Black is still alive.

18.¤c7?!

Ponomariov doesn ’ t play precisely. More

straightforward would have been 18.£f5!

gxf4 19.¦c6! (with the idea of 20.¦h6)

19...¥g5 (19...¤xe5 20.£xe5 ¦e8 21.¦c7

¥g5 22.£f5 ¦f8 23.h4) 20.h4 ¥b7 21.¦d6.

18...¦c8?

The decisive mistake, overlooking White ’ s

next move. To be recommended is 18...

gxf4! 19.¤xa6 (19.£f5!? ¥c8 20.¤xa8 fxg3

21.hxg3 ¤c5 is unclear.) 19...fxg3 20.hxg3

¥g5 21.f4 ¥xf4! 22.gxf4 £h4 and White has

to accept a draw by 23.¦xd7 £g4+ 24.¢f2

£h4+ (24...£xd7?! 25.¦h1) 25.¢e3 £h3+.

19.e6!

Ponomariov, R (2734) - Kramnik, V (2790)

Sparkassen Chess Meeting (Dortmund),

11.07.2010 C67, Ruy Lopez, Berlin Wall

for White.) 17...£xc6 18.¦xd3 £e4! was better

for Black in Llanes Hurtado-Sargissian, San

Sebastian 2006, as 19.¦d2? loses to 19...£e1+

20.¢g2 £f1+ 21.¢f3 ¥b7+.

b) 13...¥e2 14.dxe5 (14.¦e1? ¤f3+) 14...¥xd1

15.£xd1 exd5 16.¤c3 with compensation for

the exchange: Biriukov-Yevseev, St Petersburg

2007.

c) 13...¤f3+! (Black's best option.) 14.¥xf3 ¥b7

15.¤c3 ¤a6 16.a3 ¤c7 17.¥e4 f5 18.¥g2 (18.

d6 fxe4 19.dxe7 £xe7 20.¤xe4 wins a pawn,

but after 20...£f7 the presence of opposite ¥s

give Black ample compensation.) 18...¤xd5=

Hammer-Lauber, Stockholm 2009.

11.¤c3 ¤bd7 12.¦ac1

A logical new move, increasing pressure on the

centre. 12.¥f4 didn ’ t yield White anything special

in the only previous game Sambuev-Smirnov,

Krasnoyarsk 2003.

12...¤xe5

12...¥xc4 13.¤xc4 dxc4 14.b3! (Shipov only

gives 14.¤e4 b5 15.b3 ¤b6=) 14...cxb3 15.£xb3

and White has nice play for the pawn deficit.

13.dxe5 ¤d7

13...¤g4 can be met by 14.¥h3 since 14...¤xe5

fails to 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.¤xd5!.

14.cxd5 cxd5 15.¥f4

15.£a4!? also comes into consideration.

15...g5

A very double-edged decision, although

alternatives don ’ t equalize: 15...£b7? allows the

tactical shot 16.¤xd5! and 15...¥b7 16.e4!.

16.¥xd5!

A fantastic blow.

16...exd5

16...gxf4? loses to 17.¥xa8 £xa8 18.¦xd7.

17.¤xd5 £d8?

Kramnik cracks immediately. 17...£xc2? loses

to 18.¤xe7+ ¢g7 19.¦xc2 gxf4 20.¦xd7 but

17...¥d8! was stubborn, e.g. 18.£d2 (18.£f5?!

¤c5 19.¤f6+ ¥xf6 20.£xf6 ¤e4!) 18...£b8 19.e6

(19.¥xg5 £xe5) 19...gxf4 20.e7 £e5 21.exf8£+

1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 ¥b4+ 4.¥d2 ¥e7 5.¥g2

d5 6.¤f3 0–0 7.0–0 c6 8.£c2

The main alternative 8.¥f4 has hardly been

seen since the 7th match game between

Anand-Topalov (CVO 70), which continued

with 8...dxc4!? 9.¤e5 b5 10.¤xc6 ¤xc6

11.¥xc6 ¥d7 12.¥xa8 £xa8 and it turned

out Black obtained sufficient compensation.

8...b6 9.¦d1 ¥a6 10.¤e5

10.b3 has been seen more often: 10...¤bd7

11.a4 ¦c8 (11...c5 12.¤a3 ¥b7 is a very sensible

alternative.) 12.a5 c5 13.axb6 £xb6 14.£a2 ¥b7

15.b4 (15.¥a5 £a6?! was seen in CVO 72, but

instead 15...£d6 offers Black equal chances.)

15...cxb4 16.c5 ¤xc5 17.dxc5 ¥xc5 18.e3 with

complex play.

10...£c8

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Protecting c6 and so preparing ...¤bd7.

However, a more popular option is 10...¤fd7

11.cxd5 (Obviously, after exchanging ¤s with

11.¤xd7 ¤xd7 White cannot count on an

opening advantage.) 11...cxd5 12.e4 (12.¥f4

¤xe5 13.dxe5 ¥b7 (13...g5? 14.¥e3 ¤d7

15.¥d4 ¦c8 16.¤c3 £c7 17.e4 dxe4 18.£xe4±

Koneru-Thejkumar, Mumbai 2008.) 14.h4 ¤c6

15.¤c3 ¦c8 16.¦ac1 a6 17.£b1 £e8 18.¤a4

¥d8 19.b3 ¥c7= Damljanovic-Roiz, Valjevo

2007.) 12...¤xe5 13.exd5 (13.dxe5?! d4!) and

now:

a) 13...¤d3?! 14.d6 £xd6 15.¥xa8 ¦c8 16.¥c3

¤c6 17.¥xc6? (Instead 17.£a4! looks better

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After this powerful move White is winning.

19.£c6? is met by 19...¤b8! when after 20.£h6

gxf4 21.¦xd8 ¥xd8 White has nothing better, but

giving perpetual 22.£xf4 ¦xc7 23.¦xc7 ¥xc7

24.£g5+=.

19...fxe6

After 19...gxf4 White wins by force 20.¦xd7 ¦xc7

21.£xc7 £xc7 22.¦cxc7 ¥f6 23.e7 ¦e8 24.¦xa7

¥xe2 25.¦d8 ¦xd8 26.exd8£+ ¥xd8 27.¦a8.

20.£c6 £e8

20...¤b8 is now met by 21.£xe6+.

21.£xe6+ £f7 22.£xf7+ ¢xf7

22...¦xf7 23.¤xa6.

23.¤xa6 gxf4 24.¦xc8 ¦xc8 25.¦xd7 ¦c2

26.¤b4 ¦xb2 27.¤c6 ¦xe2 28.¦xa7 f3 29.h4

h5 30.¦xe7+ ¦xe7 31.¤xe7 ¢xe7 32.g4! hxg4

33.¢h2 ¢e6 34.¢g3 ¢f5 35.a4 ¢e4 36.¢xg4

1–0

PONOMARIOV - KRAMNIK

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

No. 81, July 21, 2010

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

Scotch

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1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 exd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤xc6 bxc6 6.e5 £e7 7.£e2 ¤d5 8.c4 ¥a6 9.¤d2 g6 10.¤f3 £b4+ 11.¢d1

Leko is currently having some problems with Black in the Scotch. We all remember his game against Carlsen last

year, which caused a bit of a new Scotch hype. Ponomariov showed himself to be very flexible in the opening,

often going for 1.d4 in Dortmund, but clearly waiting for Leko in the Scotch. 9.¤d2!? is turning into a modern

main line, while instead of 9...g6, the alternative 9...0–0–0 was discussed in CVO 40. 10.¤f3! scores much better

than the more common 10.b3, the point of White's play being Baklan's 2005 idea to play 11.¢d1!. In fact this

went pretty much unnoticed until recently Rybka won a high-profile computer game with it. Leko deviated from

the common 11...¤b6 with the novelty 11...¦b8 and basically the ending was holdable for Black. While 28...¥f8

already left a bit of a passive impression, the real mistake seemed to be 29...a5? after which Ponomariov duly

went on to win the endgame. It seems that on all levels below the absolute world top, the Scotch still has even

more potential.

Najdorf, 6.¥c4

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1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥c4 e6 7.¥b3 ¤bd7 8.f4 ¤c5 9.0–0 ¤fxe4

10.¤xe4 ¤xe4 11.f5 e5 12.£h5 d5 13.¦e1 ¥c5 14.¦xe4 ¥xd4+ 15.¢h1 £f6 16.¦e1 ¥xf5 17.c3 ¥a7 18.¥xd5

0–0 19.¦f1 £d6 20.¦xf5 £xd5 21.¦xe5 ¦ae8 22.¥f4 ¦xe5 23.£xe5 £xe5 24.¥xe5 f6 25.¥c7 ¦e8 26.¦d1 ¦e2

The diagram position is the result of the 6.¥c4 Najdorf discussion between Naiditsch and Mamedyarov: Black

is clearly better in the ending with his more active ¦. As an answer to 6.¥c4 we really like Black's set-up with

¤bd7-c5 since the ¤ on c5 nicely neutralises the feared Fischer ¥. Alternatives such as 9.f5, 9.£f3 and 9.e5

used to hold some potential at the days of the famous 1993 Short-Kasparov match, but seventeen years ahead

Black seems to be clearly in control. 9.0–0 was used by Topalov to beat Kasparov in the first round of the 1996

Amsterdam tournament, but two rounds later the Bulgarian made the mistake of trying the same line again

versus Short, who in turn pretty much knew how to deal with his own pet line. Mamedyarov, well prepared for this

old coffeehouse line, fearlessly grabbed the pawn with 9...¤fxe4! and introduced the novelty 16...¥xf5. We would

prefer to retreat the other ¥ to c5 one move later, but after the tactical miscalculation 19.¦f1? (better is 19.¥g5)

Black was in charge thanks to some back rank tricks.

Open Catalan

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.¥g2 c5 6.0–0 ¤c6 7.£a4 ¥d7 8.£xc4 cxd4 9.¤xd4 ¦c8

10.¤c3 ¤xd4 11.£xd4 ¥c5 12.£h4 0–0 13.¥xb7 ¦b8 14.¥f3 ¦b4 15.£g5 ¥d4 16.£d2 £c7 17.¤d1

The position after 16...£c7 arises from a more or less forced sequence and hence Kramnik's 17.¤d1!? brings the

Catalan with 5...c5 in dire straits. White has gratefully accepted the pawn and has wisely decided to cling onto

his extra material. In earlier encounters White returned the pawn, although his remaining advantage of ¥ vs. ¤

proved insignificant, because Black's pieces were actively coordinated. Kramnik's idea is worth considering: he

voluntarily retreats his ¤, while his weakness on b2 is perfectly defended. White doesn't hurry to bring his pieces

into play, since Black can't really accomplish anything. Subsequently, White will carefully force back Black's ¦

after which White will be libarated from the queenside pressure. Naiditsch rigidly kept his ¦ on the 4th rank, but

paid a high price for it. With a tactical intermezzo (24.¤xd4!) White sacrificed an exchange and managed to

lock up the ¦ on a4. Although Black might have put up some more resistance in the ending (the White ¢ easily

transfered to the other wing), Kramnik once more proved to possess excellent technique.

Vienna

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 d5 4.¤c3 dxc4 5.e4 ¥b4 6.¥g5 c5 7.¥xc4 cxd4 8.¤xd4 ¥xc3+

9.bxc3 £a5 10.¥b5+ ¥d7 11.¥xf6 gxf6 12.¥xd7+ ¤xd7 13.0–0 a6 14.¦b1 £c7 15.£f3

In a hypersharp and deeply analysed variation of the Vienna, Le Quang had an interesting new idea up his

sleeve. After his last move 15.£f3 the black ¤ is doomed to protect f6, while simultaneously the £ keeps an eye

on b7 (e4-e5). Soon Naiditsch experienced the dangers of his position, when White directed his forces to the

queenside (18.¦c4!). Black's main problem in this line is still the safety of his ¢ and hence Black should consider

to locate his ¢ on the other part of the board. White finds it much harder to bring his pieces to the kingside (there

are no open files for the ¦s and the £ blocks the f-pawn), and if he succeeds Black might be in time to answer

with ¢h8 and ¦g8-g7. In the game the Vietnamese youngster let his advantage slip away with 20.£f5? (instead,

20.a4 ¦hd8 21.g3! would have given Black serious problems), when Naiditsch immediately grabbed his chance

to activate his pieces at the cost of a pawn. White's pieces were suddenly discoordinated and nothing but a

repetition of moves remained.

3 of 4

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

No. 81, July 21, 2010

IT'S YOUR MOVE

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LAST WEEK'S SOLUTIONS

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9ZP-+-VLP+P0

9-ZP-+PSNP+0

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Halkias-Kourousis, Greek Team Ch (Peristeri) 2010

White has sacrificed a pawn for a dangerous initiative. All his pieces have joined the attack, while Black's

queenside is not even fully developed yet. Furthermore the Black £ stands in an annoying pin. Time for action!

19.¤xf7! ¢xf7 20.¥xf6 ¥xf6 21.£xh7+ ¢f8 21...¥g7 22.¥xg6+ ¢f8 23.f4 followed by 24.f5 with a crushing

attack. 22.¤f4! White yields nothing from 22.¥xg6?! ¦e7 23.£h6+ ¥g7 with unclear consequences. 22...¥g7

23.¥b5 ¦e7 23...¤d7 fails to 24.¥xd7 £xd7 25.¤xg6+ ¢f7 26.¤e5+. 24.¤xg6+ ¢f7 25.¤xe7 £xe7 26.¦xd5!

and Black resigned in view of 26...exd5 27.£f5+ ¢g8 28.£xd5+ winning the ¦. 1–0

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David-Feller, Paris Ch 2010

It wasn't easy to foresee that this game would last only three more moves, but as White's king position is softened

up (while its counterpart feels perfectly fine in the corner), things can easily go wrong. Feller started by increasing

the pressure with 21...¥b7! 22.exf5 Now it looks like Black is unfortunately pinned along the e-file, but he simply

plays 22...e5! reminding White of the fact that the diagonals a7-g1 and a8-h1 is what it ’ s all about. 23.¤db5??

White goes astray. 23.¥f4 ¥c5 24.¥xe5 £xe5! 25.¦xe5 ¥xd4+ 26.¢g2 ¥xe5 was the lesser evil. 23...¥c5+

24.¥e3 £c6 Too many white pieces are hanging. 0–1

www.chessvibes.com/openings

ChessVibes Openings is a weekly PDF magazine that covers the latest news on chess openings. Which openings are hot in top level chess?

Which are not? Editors IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris keep you updated once a week! Singles issues cost € 1. You can subscribe too:

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