CVO_167.pdf

openings

167 | March 14 n 2012

what’s hot and what’s not?

XIIIIIIIIY

9RSNLWQ-TRK+0

9ZPP+-ZPPVLP0

9-+P+-+P+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9L+-ZPP+-+0

9+-ZP-+-+-0

9P+-+NZPPZP0

9TR-VLQMK-+R0

XIIIIIIIIY

Grünfeld experts

in action

By IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris

Frequency

Caruana was the sole winner of the Reykjavik Open, while

Harikrishna won the Cappelle lsa Grande Open ahead of

Negi and 72 other grandmasters.

what's hot?

Score

A.Sokolov-Neverov was an inspiring game for white players in the

Breyer Variation of the Ruy Lopez. The encounter between Open

Spanish experts Caruana and L'Ami was eventually decided in White's

favour in the endgame. Negi didn't have much faith in the Ruy Lopez

(because of the Berlin Endgame?) and won his game against Maiorov

playing the Scotch. The top pairing Negi-Harikrishna was a Spanish

Four Knights that never became unbalanced.

Negi is very dangerous with the Najdorf as Black. In Capelle he beat

Sanchez in the 6.¥e3 e6 7.f3 variation and Tomczak in the 6.¥c4

variation, both in under 40 moves. Jones won an attractive game with

Black against Kristjansson's Alapin, while with White he obtained an

edge against Caruana with his 2.¤f3 e6 3.g3 Anti-Sicilian (both can be

found below).

We also take a look at Iotov's theme match in the Slav. In our Game of

the Week , Cheparinov-Caruana, Black came out on top in the Grünfeld.

In the diagram position he went for 9...c5. Harikrishna beat Zakhartsov

with White, while Navara beat Grünfeld author Avrukh with Black in the

Fianchetto Variation of the Grünfeld (see below). Sandipan-Harikrishna

eventually saw Black come out on top in a sharp 4.£c2 0-0 5.e4 Nimzo-

Indian.

Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

It wasn't a very hot week for the Caro-Kann. Firstly, it was only played a handful of times at grandmaster level. Secondly, Black lost

both games with the critical 3...¥f5 Advance Variation. At the European Women's Championship T.Kosintseva beat Stefanova using

a sharp approach with 11.g4. At the Zagreb Open Palac beat Doric with a more restrained 11.h4 (in a

different position). Black could use some new inspiration in the Caro-Kann.

what’s not?

1 of 4

openings what’s hot and what’s not?

167 | March 14 n 2012

Dealing with the 7. ¥ b5 Grünfeld

Caruana’s star keeps rising, as he’s currently the world number 6. In the following game he

successfully dealt with Cheparinov’s latest try against the Grünfeld, with his two bishops

ultimately prevailing.

game of the week

Cheparinov - Caruana

Cheparinov,I (2664) - Caruana,F (2767)

Reykjavik Open, 11.03.2012

D85, Grünfeld Indian

White went for 13.¤f4 e6 (13...¤c4? is

a bad blunder, in view of 14.¤d5! ¤xe3

(14...£d8 15.¥g5!) 15.¤xc7 ¤xd1 16.¦fxd1

¦b8 17.¦ab1 and Black had real problems in

Aleksandrov-Yandemirov, Smolensk 1997.)

14.¤d3 b6 15.¥b5 ¥b7 16.f3 ¦fd8 17.£c2 ¥c6

18.¥xc6 £xc6 and Black obtained reasonable

compensation for the pawn in Shariyazdanov-

Dvoirys, Moscow 1998.

13...¥g4

Eliminating White ' s strongest piece with

13...¤xb3 isn ' t yet a serious option because

of 14.axb3! and White improves his pawn

structure.

14.f3 ¥d7 15.£b1?!

The £ seems a bit odd here. 15.¤f4 looks

more natural, though it ' s also hard to imagine

White can count on anything after it: 15...e6

16.£d6 ¦fc8 seems fine for Black.

15...e6 16.¦d1 ¦fd8 17.¢h1 ¥e8

Black shouldn ' t hurry to regain the pawn on

c5 with 17...¥f8?! because 18.¥g5! is quite

unpleasant for him.

18.£b2 ¥f8 19.f4

19.£a3 ¦xd1+ 20.¦xd1 ¦c8 is also

unproblematic for Black.

19...¥xc5 20.¤d4 ¥f8 21.f5

21.e5 ¤c4 also favors Black. With the text

move White aims to open the a2-g8 diagonal

for the ¥, so Black finally decides to exchange

his ¤ on b3.

21...¤xb3 22.axb3 e5 23.¤f3 f6

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+-TRLVLK+0

9ZPPWQ-+-+P0

9-+-+-ZPP+0

9+-+-ZPP+-0

9-+-+P+-+0

9+PZP-VLN+-0

9-WQ-+-+PZP0

9TR-+R+-+K0

XIIIIIIIIY

White ' s attempt to launch an attack on the

kingside has easily been parried. Black has

a pleasant advantage because of his ¥ pair

and the potential outside passed pawn on the

queenside.

24.c4

In case of 24.fxg6 ¥xg6 (24...hxg6 is also

good.) 25.£c2 ¦xd1+ 26.¦xd1 £c6 27.¤d2

¦c8 Black retains a powerful initiative.

24...¥c6 25.£c2 ¦xd1+ 26.¦xd1 ¦d8 27.¦xd8

£xd8 28.fxg6 hxg6 29.¥xa7 b6 30.c5

XIIIIIIIIY

9-+-WQ-VLK+0

9VL-+-+-+-0

9-ZPL+-ZPP+0

9+-ZP-ZP-+-0

9-+-+P+-+0

9+P+-+N+-0

9-+Q+-+PZP0

9+-+-+-+K0

XIIIIIIIIY

30...b5!

Not fearing the protected passed pawn. Black

should obviously refrain from 30...¥xc5?

because of 31.b4!.

31.b4 ¥h6 32.¢g1 ¢g7

Very useful prophylaxis. 32...£a8?!

unnecessarily complicates matters after

33.£a2+ ¢g7 34.£e6!

33.¢f2 £a8

It ' s absolutely over. Black will capture White ' s

remaining central pawn, when White just

collapses.

34.£a2 ¥xe4 35.£a5 £b7 36.¥b6 £d7

37.£a7 ¥b7 38.¥d8 e4 39.¤e1 £d2+ 40.¢g3

40.¢f1 ¥e3 41.£xb7+ ¢h6 also leads to a

quick mate.

40...£f4+ and White resigned, because of

41.¢h3 £f5+ 42.¢g3 ¥f4+ 43.¢f2 (43.¢h4

£g5+ 44.¢h3 £h5#) 43...¥b8+ and Black

picks up the £. 0–1

1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤c3 d5 4.cxd5 ¤xd5 5.e4

¤xc3 6.bxc3 ¥g7 7.¥b5+

This ¥ sortie isn ' t as popular as 7.¥c4 where

theory has developed rapidly in the last couple

of years, mainly due to the efforts of Topalov

and Cheparinov, see e.g. CVO 69.

7...c6 8.¥a4 0–0 9.¤e2 c5

Another option is 9...b5 10.¥b3 a5 and in CVO

150 we covered Ivanchuk ' s invention of 11.h4!?

which leads to very double-edged play.

10.0–0 ¤c6 11.¥e3 ¤a5

12.dxc5

This is the main option, but it ' s also worth

considering 12.¦b1 b6 (12...¤c4 13.¥g5 h6

14.¥h4 b6? 15.¥c6 ¦b8 16.¥d5 ¥a6 17.£d3

b5 18.a4 and White had a clear advantage

in Topalov-Svidler, Linares 1998.) 13.dxc5

¥a6 14.¥b5 ¥xb5 15.¦xb5 ¤c4 16.¥g5 h6

17.£xd8 ¦fxd8 18.¥xe7 ¦e8 19.¦b4 ¤e5

20.¥d6 ¤d3 21.¦a4 b5 22.¦a6 ¦xe4 and Black

had everything under control in Arencibia

Rodriguez-Shirov, Salamanca 1998.

12...£c7

Theoretically speaking, 12...¤c4 is still

considered the best option for Black. It remains

a mystery what Cheparinov had in mind after

this move, as so far White has failed to prove

an advantage: 13.£xd8 ¦xd8 14.¥g5 ¥d7

15.¥b3 ¤a5 and now:

a) 16.¥xe7 leads to equality after 16...¦e8

17.¥d6 ¦xe4 18.¤d4 ¤xb3 19.axb3 ¥xd4 and

here Topalov and Kasparov agreed to a draw

in Linares 1998.

b) 16.¦fd1 ¢f8 (16...¥c6 17.f3 ¥f8 18.e5

¦xd1+ 19.¦xd1 e6 20.¥e3 ¦c8 and White ' s

extra pawn was of no use in Avrukh-Sokolov,I

Amsterdam 1999.) 17.f3 ¥b5 18.¤d4 ¥a6

19.¦ab1 ¦dc8 20.¥e3 ¢g8 with equal chances

in Ionov-Shipov, St Petersburg 1998.

13.¥b3

The first new move. In two earlier games

2 of 4

openings what’s hot and what’s not?

167 | March 14 n 2012

this week’s harvest

Sicilian, Alapin

XIIIIIIIIY

9-+KTR-VLNTR0

9ZPP+-ZPPZPP0

9-+N+-+-+0

9+N+Q+L+-0

9-+-ZP-+-+0

9+-ZP-+N+-0

9PZP-+-ZPPZP0

9TR-VLQMKL+R0

XIIIIIIIIY

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 £xd5 4.d4 ¤c6 5.¤f3 ¥f5 6.¤a3 cxd4 7.¤b5 0–0–0

Is it possible to have a big advantage with Black against the Alapin after only seven moves? Yes, as the

diagram position shows: Black has just castled queenside in Kristjansson-Jones, proving that White's standard

manoeuvre of ¤a3-b5 was completely out of place. It seems to be an attractive strategy for Black against the

Alapin to have a set of different fighting weapons available. When using the right variation against the right

opponent at the right time, the surprise effect can be devastating. In CVO 53 we already pointed out three

different variations that could be of use. 5...¥f5!? could easily be added to our list. Jones actually missed the

strongest continuation and then it 'really became a crazy game, with White losing on time after 22...¥a5' as

he explained to us. Two days later in the same tournament Michalczak-Williams saw the stronger 6.¥e3, but

Black also managed to get full counterplay, with an attractive ¤ sacrifice on f2. Maybe White can prove an edge

somewhere around here based on his bishop pair, for example starting with 11.¥e2!?. If White doesn't manage

that then the status of 5...¥f5 will quickly be upgraded from a surprise weapon to an active equalizer.

Sicilian, 2...e6 3.g3

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+-VL-TRK+0

9+-+-+PZPP0

9P+P+-SN-+0

9+-+P+L+-0

9N+-+-VL-+0

9+-ZP-+-ZP-0

9PZP-+-ZP-ZP0

9TR-+-TRLMK-0

XIIIIIIIIY

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 e6 3.g3 ¤c6 4.¥g2 d5 5.exd5 exd5 6.d4 ¤f6 7.0–0 ¥e7 8.¥e3 cxd4 9.¤xd4 0–0 10.¤c3

¥g4 11.£d3 a6 12.¦fe1 £d7 13.¤xc6 bxc6 14.¤a4 £f5 15.¥f4 ¥b4 16.£xf5 ¥xf5 17.c3 ¥a5 18.¥f1 ¥d8

As the ¥b5 Sicilian can't be played versus the 2...e6 move order, White's in need of an alternative weapon here. In

his book, Jones discusses the King's Indian Attack (3.d3), but it may be more sustainable to play 3.g3!? as Jones

did against Caruana in Reykjavik, which is also a favourite of his fellow countryman Short. The move's more

flexible because it keeps open the option of d4, and thus seems to keep more central control. Quickly putting the

¥ on g2 makes a rather straightforward impression. Mixing 11...a6?! with 12...£d7?! was an unfortunate decision

by Caruana, and with 13.¤xc6! Jones favourably transformed the pawn structure. In the diagram position 19.f3

seems to preserve a nice structural edge, as it keeps the black minor pieces in check. In the game Caruana

managed to create just about enough counterplay following 19.b3 ¤e4. The most accurate course of play looks

to be 11...£d7 as in Jones-Tregubov, Bastia 2011, which seems to give Black decent counterplay.

Slav, 6.¤e5

XIIIIIIIIY

9-MK-TR-VL-TR0

9ZPPWQN+P+-0

9-+P+-+-+0

9+-+-SNN+P0

9P+-+-+-+0

9+-SN-+-ZP-0

9-ZPQ+PZPL+0

9TR-TR-+-MK-0

XIIIIIIIIY

1.c4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.¤c3 dxc4 5.a4 ¥f5 6.¤e5 ¤bd7 7.¤xc4 £c7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 ¤xe5

10.¥f4 ¤fd7 11.¥g2 g5 12.¤e3 gxf4 13.¤xf5 0–0–0 14.£c2 ¢b8 15.0–0 fxg3 16.hxg3 h5 17.¦fc1

The time has come to provide an update on Moro's 11...g5 in the Slav with 4...dxc4. This week the Bulgarian GM

Iotov was involved in two miniatures. In the first game Kacheishvili went for the most straightforward approach

with 17.¦fc1. He was possibly unaware of all the nuances as he immediately went wrong with 17...¥g4? After

this blunder White easily managed to open up the queenside as in Hertneck-Kleijn. The critical continuation is

17...¤f6, which has been popularized by GM Ragger and his trainer GM Ribli. In the second encounter Iotov

faced Kacheishvili's pupil Lenderman. Apparently Lenderman isn't convinced by 17.¦fc1 either and deviated

with 17.¦fd1, which came into fashion after Ernst's win against Smeets in 2004. Strangely enough, White

decided not to follow that game and instead went wrong with 23.a6?. Iotov took over the initiative with 23...¥c5!

and demonstrated the strength of his attacking potential in great style. As far as we can judge, 14...¢b8 seems

a good alternative to the more common 14...¤c5 and 14...¤g6.

Grünfeld, ianchetto

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+-+R+K+0

9+P+-+P+P0

9-+P+-+P+0

9ZP-+-+-VLQ0

9-+N+PZP-+0

9+-ZP-+-ZPL0

9P+Q+-+LZP0

9+-+RTR-+K0

XIIIIIIIIY

1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 ¥g7 4.¥g2 d5 5.cxd5 ¤xd5 6.¤f3 ¤b6 7.¤c3 ¤c6 8.e3 0–0 9.0–0 ¦e8 10.¦e1 a5 11.£c2 e5

12.¤xe5 ¤xe5 13.dxe5 ¥xe5 14.e4 c6 15.¥h6 £e7 16.f4 £c5+ 17.¢h1 ¥xc3 18.bxc3 ¤c4 19.¦ad1 £h5 20.¥g5 ¥h3

Since Avrukh published his two books on Grandmaster Repertoire 1.d4 , the g3-Grünfeld has grown in popularity.

The variation with 10...a5 especially has developed rapidly and lots of innovations have since been found. In

CVO we've reported on the latest developments a couple of times, but so far we hadn't investigated 11.£c2,

which was played this week by the Israeli GM himself against Navara. With 15.¥h6 White deviated from an

earlier game between Khismatullin and Grünfeld-expert Nepomniachtchi, where he failed to impress with 15.f4.

The current game involved interesting play with chances for both sides, but in the diagram position White went

astray with 21.£f2? allowing Black to obtain an advantage with 21...¥xg2 22.¢xg2 h6! Navara didn't grab his

chance, however, and mixed up the move-order with the immediate 21...h6?. Eventually he won anyway after

22.¥f6? ¥xg2 23.¢xg2 ¦xe4! Instead 22.¥xh3! £xh3 23.¥f6 £e6 24.e5 would have given White the initiative.

The mistakes confirm the complexity of the topical g3-Grünfeld!

3 of 4

openings what’s hot and what’s not?

167 | March 14 n 2012

it’s your move

XIIIIIIIIY

9RSN-+-TRK+0

9+LZPPWQ-VL-0

9-ZP-+-+-ZP0

9ZP-+PZP-ZPN0

9-+P+P+-+0

9+-SNL+-+P0

9PZP-+NVLP+0

9TR-+Q+RMK-0

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+LWQR+K+0

9+P+-+-VLP0

9P+-ZP-+P+0

9+-ZPPSNP+N0

9P+N+-+-+0

9+PSN-+-ZPP0

9-+Q+PZPL+0

9TR-VL-+RMK-0

XIIIIIIIIY

last week’s solutions

XIIIIIIIIY

9RSNLWQK+-TR0

9ZPPZP-ZP-VLP0

9-+-+-+PSN0

9+-+P+-VL-0

9-+-ZP-+-+0

9+-+-+-SN-0

9PZPP+-ZPPZP0

9TR-+QMKLSNR0

XIIIIIIIIY

Moiseenko-Malaniuk, Ferdynanda Dziedzica Memorial (Trzcianka), 2012

Here White's best and most surprising move is 7.¤h5! gxh5 7...¥f8 8.£e2! gives White the initiative. 8.¥xh6 ¥g4

8...¥xh6 9.£xh5+ leaves White simply winning. 9.£d2 ¥xh6 10.£xh6 £d6 11.£d2?! 11.£xd6 cxd6 12.¥b5+

(12.h4 ¤c6 13.c3 0–0 gave Black enough counterplay in Ornstein-Kristiansen, Reykjavik 1981) 12...¤c6 13.¤e2

gives White a mild initiative in the endgame, since Black still has some weaknesses to deal with. 11...¤c6 12.h3

¥f5 ½–½

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+-+K+-TR0

9ZPP+-WQPZP-0

9-SNP+-SNP+0

9+-+-VL-+-0

9-+-+-+-+0

9+LSN-ZP-+P0

9PZPQ+-ZPP+0

9TR-VLR+-MK-0

XIIIIIIIIY

Kanep-Petrosian, Cappelle la Grande Open, 2012

It looks like White has started the game in a fairly positional manner, but the truth is that he had quite aggressive

White usually enjoys the advantage of two ¥s in the Slow Slav, but that doesn't mean Black doesn't have his own

trumps. In particular, after a premature capture on g6 Black is able to launch a powerful attack on the kingside:

15...g5! Attempting to open the h-file with ...g5-g4. 16.£f5 g6! 17.£f3 The pawn on g5 is poisoned, because

after 17.£xg5? ¦h5! the £ is trapped. 17...¤bd7! An excellent idea. The ¤ on b6 was out of play and will now

soon join events on the kingside. 18.e4? g4! 19.hxg4 ¥h2+ 20.¢f1 ¤e5 21.£e2 ¤fxg4 22.¢e1 ¦d8 Also

strong is 22...£f6! with the idea of ¥f4 and penetrating with the ¦ on the back rank. Black probably missed some

better opportunities to finish the game sooner, but Petrosian ’ s play illustrates White ’ s helplessness (see PGN).

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! Why not subscribe

for € 28 a year (that’s less than € 0.60 per issue!). More info can be found at ChessVibes.com/openings .

electronic format, or in any form whatsoever), as well as posting on the web, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

4 of 4

4 of 3

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: