CVO_006.pdf

No. 6, February 11, 2009

OPENINGS

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT?

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+L+K+NTR0

9ZPP+-+PZPP0

9N+P+P+-+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9-VLP+Q+-+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9PZP-+LZPPZP0

9TR-+QMK-SNR0

XIIIIIIIIY

Why not try that other

Marshall Gambit?

By IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris

Frequency

Between Wijk aan Zee and events like the Topalov-

Kamsky match and Linares, we have time to look at

the level slightly below that. At the Moscow Open

many new interesting ideas were played.

WHAT’S HOT?

Score

In our game of the week White did a good job with the Marshall

Gambit in the Semi-Slav. Since White lost quickly in the high-

profile game Van Wely-Gustafsson in Dortmund last summer,

many questions remained, but in Lysyj-Sjugirov some of them are

answered. In fact, in the diagram position all three ¥ moves have a

nice score for White. Below we take a closer look at 9.¥a5.

Creativity is the key word in describing further opening

developments this week. While some former world champions

have predicted the death of chess and these days opening

novelties are found beyond move 20 or even move 30, it is still

possible to invent new stuff early in the game. Even in very well

known positions, that is!

Nikolenko’s 6.¤d5!? is a very tricky anti-Dragon line that never

caught on after it was played by Tal amongst others back in the

seventies. Entirely new is Boris Savchenko’s 6.¤3e2!? as a way

to battle the solid Caro-Kann, and Hillarp Persson’s 8...b5!? in

the Slav is a spectacular new pawn sacrifice that was repeated in

Moscow by Lastin. Chess is not exhausted yet!

Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

At the level slightly below the absolute world top, most openings seem to be playable again. Remarkable is the further suffering of the

Sveshnikov. In all grandmaster games this week, the positional 9.¤d5 ¥e7 10.¥xf6 ¥xf6 and now the trendy move 11.c4 was played,

with good results for White. Is it too much to weaken the d5 square after all? The game

Timofeev-Smirnov features a beautiful positional exchange sacrifice followed by strong

domination (see page 3).

WHAT’S NOT?

1 of 3

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

No. 6, February 11, 2009

Beating the Semi-Slav: 9. ¥ a5 in the Marshall

Suddenly the Marshall Gambit of the Semi-Slav (4.e4!?) appeared in a super tournament last

year (Van Wely-Gustafsson, Dortmund 2008) but the brave Dutchman lost after a mere 18

moves. At the Moscow Open, GM Lysyj fared better, using a devastating novelty.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Lysyj,I (2620) - Sjugirov, S (2562)

Moscow Open, February 7, 2009

D31 Semi-Slav., Marshall Gambit, 9. ¥ a5

The decisive mistake! Correct is 17...£g4! 18.h3

(18.¦d4 £xg2 19.£xe6+ ¢f8 20.¦g4 £f1+

21.¦e1 £d3 seems to win but after 22.¥xf6

Black takes the full point home after the cool

22...¤g6!) and only now 18...£f4! since after

19.¦d4 (19.g3 £h6 20.£xe6+ ¢f8 and Black ’ s

defence is stubborn) 19...£h6 20.£xe6+ ¢f8

21.¦h4 ¤c5 the killer 22.£h3 is no longer

available! After 22.£c4 £g6 23.¦g4 £f7 24.¥b4

£xc4+ 25.¦xc4 ¤a6 26.¥xe7+ ¦xe7 27.¦xe7

¢xe7 28.¦xc6 the ending is equal.

18.¦d4 £h6

18...£f5 19.g4 £g6 (19...¤c5 20.gxf5 ¤xd7

21.fxe6+) 20.£xe6+ ¢f8 21.¤e5 also wins.

19.£xe6+ ¢f8 20.¦h4 ¤c5

And so does 20...£g6 21.¤e5 fxe5 22.¦f3++-.

21.£h3! £g6

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+-+RMK-+0

9ZP-+-SN-ZPP0

9-ZPP+-ZPQ+0

9+-SN-+-+-0

9-+-+-+-TR0

9+PVL-TRN+Q0

9P+-+-ZPPZP0

9+-MK-+-+-0

XIIIIIIIIY

22.¤d4!N

The first new move and easy to spot with help of

the computer. A previous game saw 22.¦xh7?

¤d5! 23.¦h8+ ¢f7 24.¦exe8 ¦xe8 25.¦xe8

¤xc3 and Black was taking over in A.Barsov-J.

Geller, Moscow 2006.

22...¤d5

22...h6 23.¦g3 £h7 (23...£f7 24.¦xh6!) 24.b4!

Now if the ¤ moves, then ¤e6 comes while

after 24...¤d5 25.¥d2 ¤e4, 26.¦xg7 ¢xg7

27.¦xh6 gives a decisive attack.

23.¦g3 ¤d3+

23...£f7 24.¦xh7 ¤f4 (24...¤xc3 25.¦h8+ ¢e7

26.¦xg7+-) 25.£g4 is killing.

24.¦xd3 ¤xc3 25.¦xc3 ¦e1+ 26.¢b2 £b1+

27.¢a3 ¦e5 28.¦h5 g5 29.¤xc6 ¦e2 30.¦xh7

¦xa2+ 31.¢b4 £e4+ 32.¦c4 £e1+ 33.¢b5 1–0

genius computer play! 12...¦d8!? 13.£g3 £g6

14.¤h4 £xg3 15.hxg3 ¤h6 16.f4 ¤c5 17.0–0–0

¤e4 was Vallejo Pons-Pavasovic, Crete 2007

while 12...0–0–0!? is the third option.

13.0–0–0 £xe2

After 13...¦d8? 14.¦he1 ¤c5 White wins with

the brutal line 15.b4 ¤a4 16.¤g5! £g6 17.¥h5!

£xh5 18.¤xe6 ¥xe6 19.£xd8+ ¢f7 20.£xh8

¤xc3 21.¦d8+-.

14.£xd7+ ¢f7 15.¦he1!?

Also interesting is 15.£d4 ¦hd8 16.£g4 ¢f8!

(16...£xf2? 17.¤g5+) 17.¦de1 £d3 18.¦xe6

(18.¤d4? ¦xd4! 19.£xd4 ¤b4! 20.£xd3 ¤xd3+

21.¢c2 ¤xe1+ 22.¦xe1 e5 gave Black a healthy

extra pawn in Volkov-Frolyanov, Moscow 2008)

18...h5! (18...¤c5? 19.¦xe7 wins for White)

19.£f4 (19.£xh5 £xc4 20.¦he1 ¤b4! and

after 21.¦xe7 there is nothing better than to

accept the perpetual: 21...¤xa2+ 22.¢c2 ¤b4+

23.¢c1 ¤a2+ 24.¢c2 ¤b4+ ½–½ Kaganskiy-J.

Geller, Moscow 2006) 19...¤c5 20.¦xf6+!? gxf6

21.£xf6+ ¢e8 22.¤e5 £h7 23.¦e1 a5! but this

may be a bit too much for White.

15...£xc4 16.¦e3

Protecting the ¥ and thus creating the threat b3.

16...¦he8

16...£xa2? 17.¤e5++-; 16...¦hd8? 17.¤e5+!

fxe5 18.¦f3+ £f4+ 19.¦xf4+ exf4 20.£xd8 ¦xd8

21.¦xd8 with a technical win.

17.b3

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.¤c3 c6 4.e4!?

The Marshall Gambit is a very principled way to

grab the initiative right from the start. After 4.¤f3

Black may want to play the sharp Noteboom

Variation 4...dxc4 5.a4 ¥b4 6.e3 b5 7.¥d2 a5

8.axb5 ¥xc3 9.¥xc3 cxb5 10.b3 ¥b7 11.bxc4 b4

12.¥b2 ¤f6 with lively play ahead.

4...dxe4 5.¤xe4 ¥b4+ 6.¥d2 £xd4 7.¥xb4

£xe4+ 8.¥e2

Now Black is a pawn up, but his black squares

are weakened and he is lacking in development.

8...¤a6

8...£xg2 has always had a dubious reputation,

ever since the game Ragozin-Botvinnik,

Moscow 1951.

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+L+K+NTR0

9ZPP+-+PZPP0

9N+P+P+-+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9-VLP+Q+-+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9PZP-+LZPPZP0

9TR-+QMK-SNR0

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+-+R+-+0

9ZP-+QSNKZPP0

9NZPP+PZP-+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9-+Q+-+-+0

9+PVL-TRN+-0

9P+-+-ZPPZP0

9+-MKR+-+-0

XIIIIIIIIY

17...£f4?

9.¥a5

The other critical continuations are 9.¥d6 and

9.¥c3.

9...b6 10.£d6 ¥d7

10...bxa5? loses on the spot to 11.¦d1 f6 12.f3

and Black has to give up the defence of the c6-

pawn.

11.¥c3 f6 12.¤f3

12.0–0–0 0–0–0 13.¥f3 ended in a nightmare for

White in the recent game Van Wely-Gustafsson,

Dortmund 2008: 13...£xc4 14.¥e2? £xa2

15.¤f3 ¤c5 16.¤e5 ¤e4 17.¥c4 £a1+ 18.¢c2

£a4+ and White resigned.

12...¤e7?!

From now on the character of play becomes

forced and Black can only save himself by

LYSYJ - SJUGIROV

2 of 3

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

No. 6, February 11, 2009

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

Accelarated Dragon

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+LWQKVLNTR0

9ZPP+-ZPP+P0

9-+NZP-+P+0

9+-+N+-+-0

9-+-SNP+-+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9PZPP+-ZPPZP0

9TR-VLQMKL+R0

XIIIIIIIIY

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.¤c3 ¤c6

4.d4 cxd4 5.¤xd4 g6 6.¤d5

Sicilian, Sveshnikov

XIIIIIIIIY

9R+-WQ-TRK+0

9+-+-+PZPP0

9-+-ZP-+-+0

9ZP-SNPZP-VL-0

9-ZP-+P+-+0

9+-+QSN-+-0

9PZP-+LZPPZP0

9+-TRR+-MK-0

XIIIIIIIIY

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4

¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6

8.¤a3 b5 9.¤d5 ¥e7 10.¥xf6 ¥xf6

11.c4 b4 12.¤c2 0–0 13.¥e2 a5 14.0–0

¥g5 15.£d3 ¥e6 16.¦fd1 ¥xd5 17.cxd5

¤b8 18.¤e3 ¤d7 19.¦ac1 ¤c5

Caro-Kann

XIIIIIIIIY

9RSN-WQKVLNTR0

9ZPP+-ZPPZPP0

9-+P+-+L+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9-+-ZP-+-+0

9+-+-+-+-0

9PZPP+NZPPZP0

9TR-VLQMKLSNR0

XIIIIIIIIY

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 dxe4 4.¤xe4

¥f5 5.¤g3 ¥g6 6.¤3e2

Slav

XIIIIIIIIY

9RSN-WQKVL-TR0

9ZP-+-+PZPP0

9-+P+PSNL+0

9+P+P+-+-0

9-+PZP-+-SN0

9+QSN-ZPP+-0

9PZP-+-+PZP0

9TR-VL-MKL+R0

XIIIIIIIIY

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.e3 ¥f5

5.¤c3 e6 6.¤h4 ¥e4 7.f3 ¥g6 8.£b3 b5

This odd-looking move was

invented back in 1971 already

and used by both Ljubojevic and

Tal. With the chosen move-order

White is aiming to avoid a sharp

theoretical Dragon. White is

threatening ¤b5 and so provokes

Black to weaken his black squares

with 6...e6. In Nikolenko-Li Chao,

Black's 9...¤e5 is a serious error

and so you can see it's not White

who gets punished for playing twice

with the same piece in the opening!

The Caro-Kann is a tough opening

to beat, although it was under

pressure during the Corus Chess

Tournament. The classical main

line with 4...¥f5 is well analysed,

but new ideas keep cropping up.

Even on move six novelties are

possible as is witnessed by Boris

Savchenko's 6.¤3e2!? against

Vuckovic. The idea is to exchange

the bishop on g6 while ending

up with a more potential ¤ on g1

instead of g3.

This inspired new idea was

introduced during the Corus

Chess Tournament last month

by Hillarp Person. The Swede

probably got inspired by Dobrov,

who played the same move in the

Latvian (7.g4) attack in the Semi-

Slav. Giri's decision not to accept

the pawn sacrifice doesn't seem

to be the critical test of Black's

setup, since c8-bishop is outside

the pawn chain compared to the

Chebanenko-Slav (4...a6).

White is scoring very well with the

relatively new 11.c4 in the positional

main line of the Sveshnikov. In

Timofeev-Smirnov the novelty

17.cxd5, giving up the strong

square on d5, was backed-up by

the fantastic positional exchange

sacrifice 20.¦xc5! after which White

kept domination until the end.

OPENING EXPERT

Who:

Peter Svidler

Expertise: Grünfeld-Indian

Why:

Born:

June 17, 1976

His enormous calculating

abilities suit very well with this

dynamic opening system.

Nationality:

Russia

Rating:

2723

For many years already Peter Svidler is the leading expert on the Grünfeld. In Gibraltar, his Grünfeld successes

(2.5 out of 3) helped him a lot in earning tournament victory. His games with Berczes and Beliavsky are true model

games of what Svidler is capable of and may give other Grünfeld-lovers new hopes how to play against the ever-

dangerous 7.¥c4 system.

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:

€ 18 for six months / € 25 a year (that’s less than € 0.50 per issue!). More info can be found at www.chessvibes.com/openings .

well as posting on the web, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

3 of 3

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: