Z 9 9 9

Yu1|on ndct
I . d4d52. c4t
3. cd5xbI 4.a4c65. dxc6| vxc66. PxbI
A) 6. . . xd4
) 6. . . c5
A) ahcr I2 . . . c7 ) a|tcr . . . c; ) a|tcr I 4. vc5
I 5. g5' : 7. d2' a sm| cdgc
p 345
p 346
344 JeQueen'sCamblt
I . d4d52. c4$O
Jlslscertalnlynotapopularcontlnuatlon,
but\hltemustknowhowtoreacttoltlnorder
to hght lor an openlng advantage. Obvlously
lack's ldeals to catchWLlte unprepared,we
wlllbeready.
It should be sald that 2. . . Cl6` ' ls poor. Here
ls j ust one example. 3. cxd5 Cxd5 ,3. . . Uxd5
4. Cc3 Ud8 5. Cl3 transposes) 4. Cl3' ,4. e4
Ch 5. Cc3e5wouldallowlackcounterplay)
4. . . Cl65. Cc3 Cbd76. e4e67. ,d3,e78. 0-0
\hltecontrolsthecentreandhasaclearplus.
8. . . a6 9. 2eI b6 I 0. e5 Cd5 I I . Cxd5 exd5
I 2. Uc2 c5 I 3. e6 and \Llte was wlnnlng ln
Kasparov- Scamps,Slmul I 999.
3.cxd5
\Llte's maln alternatlve ls 3. Ub3 e5| wlth
extremely compllcated play. lack sacrlhces
oneandveryobentwopawnslorthelnltlatlve.
exactlythe klnd olposltlonlackhopestoget
aberchooslng2. . . ,l5 .
34 . 4$bI
1epolntolthewholevarlatlon.
3. . . Uxd5` ls absolutelyworthless aber4. Cc3,
lollowed by e2-e4 wlnnlng another tempo,
wlthagreatadvantagelor\hlte.
4.Ua4t
\hlte's bestcontlnuatlon.
4. . . c6
Otheroptlonsareclearlyworse.
4. . . Ud75. Uxd7tCxd76. Lxb I Cgl6
lack regalns the pawn, but \hlte keeps
a clear edge ln thls endgame, thanks to hls
spaceand two blshops.
7. Ct
Only one ol several optlons, but ln y
oplnlon the most natural one. 7. ,d2 Cbo
8. l3 deservesserlousattentlonaswell.
7. . . Cb68. e3
8. g3' ` alsocomeslntoconslderatlon.
8. . . Cbxd59. ,d3e6 I 0. a3
I 0. e2' ` lslnterestlngaswell.
1Lls posltlon has occurred twlce ln
tournamentpractlce,andlnbothcases\hlte
achlevedaclearadvantage.
a) I 0 . . . ,e7 l l . e4 Cb6 I 2. Ie2 Cld7
, I 2 . . . c5 I 3. dxc5 ,xc5 I 4. ,l4 ls better lcr
Whlte) I 3. ,e30-0 I 4. 2hcI c6 I 5. g4' Agoo1
posltlonalmove.\hlteprevents. . . l-l, atthe
sametlmegalnlngsomespaceontheklngslde.
Whlte's chances are clearly better, Drasko -
letrovlc,Tlvat I 995.
b) I 0 . . . c5l I . e4 Cb6Lazarev- rochet,Nlce
I 999, andhereI llke I 2. dc5,xc5 I 3. b4e7
I 4. e20-0 I 5. ,b2wlthanlceadvantage.
ChapterZZ - Z . . . l; +7
4. . . Cd7`' 5 . xb I Cgl6 6b5' `
lrobably Wlte has other lnterestlng
optlons.
( . . . b87. Cl3a68. Ud3Cxd59. e4
9.,d2e6 I 0. b4 looksverytemptlngaswell.
} _ _ .C5b6
9. . . Cb4 I 0. Ub3e6 I I . a3Cc6 I 2.,e3
I 0. b4 e6 I I . g3,e7 I 2. Uc2 0-0 I 3.,h3e8
I 4. 0-0
Whltehas achleved a dream posltlonout ol
the openlngwltha strongcentreand the two
blshops, Dlnev- Organdzlev, Skopje2007.
5.dxc6|
In myoplnlon, the most unpleasantcholce
lor lack. \hlte gets a pleasant and stable
edge ln everyllne, lack ls unable to achleve
themalngoalolthlsvarlatlon- tocompllcate
thegame.
8elore worklng on thls book I wanted to
play the lollowlng l|ne as \hlte. 5. xb I
xd5 6. C| Cd7, but I hnally came to the
concluslonthatthlngsarenotsoslmplethere.
5. . . Cc6 6.xbI
And now there l s anlmportant crossroads.
8lackcan eltherplayA) 6e e B Uxd4 and delend
d worse endlng, or B) 6. . . e5 looklng lor
compllcatlons.
( I .d4 d5 2. c4$O 3. cd5 $xbI 4.Ua4t c6
5. dc6|Oxc66. xbI)
A) 6. . . Uxd4
7.Uxd4Oxd48. e3
8. Cl3 Cc2t' 9. dI Cb4 I 0.,d2 e6 I I . e3
a6-
8. . . Oc6
8_ . . Cc2t`' does not look serlous. Ater
9. IdI Cb4 I 0.,b5t Cc6 I I .,xc6t' bxc6
I 2. Cl3 Cl6 I 3. e2 d8 I 4.,d2e6 I 5. hc I
c5 I 6. c4Whltelsclearlybetterduetolack's
perpetuallyweakpawnsona7andc5, Ornsteln
- Sylej man,Stockholm I 994.
9.b4|?
lrobablyWltehasotherlnterestlngoptlons,
butIllkethetext,whlchhrstolallpreventsall
lack's posslblej umps to the b4-square elther
wlth hls blshop or knlght. Secondly, \hlte
galnssomespaceonthequeensldeandrestrlcts
theactlvltyollack'sblshop.
9...e6 I0. a3$d6I I . OO
CertalnlyWlteshouldavold the exchange
oldark-squaredblshopsaber I I .,b2,e5' .
I I . . . Om
I I . . . Cge7 I 2.,b2 l6 I 3.,d3 wlth an
advantagelorWhlte.
+ JeQueen'sCambl t
I2 .$b21e7
I 2 . . . 0-0 I 3. g3 ac8 I 4.,g2 Cd5 I 5. e2
is also better lor \hite, odiroga lopovic,
SremskaMitrovica2006.
I3.g3|?
Averyinterestingconcept. \hitetakes the
tlme to develop hls llght-squared blshop to a
more actlve posltion on g2. Obviously\hlte
lsalsobetteraberI 3. ,d3hd8 I 4. e2tasln
lzetaTxabarrl Cervaslo, France I 999.
I 3 . . . ac8 I4 .$g2bd8I 5.1e2t
Jls position hrst occurred ln Fhlvest -
Rausis, Riga I 995, a lew more games have
slnce tested lt mrther. Jeevauatlon is qulte
clear to me. \hlte has a pleasant long-term
advantagewherehecanplaylorawlnwlthout
any rlsk thanks to hls blshop pair and space
advantage. lacklacesamllgameolsuHerlng
withadrawashlsunlnspirlnggoal.
( I .d4 d5 2.c4 $f 3. cxd5 $bI 4.Ua4t c6
5. dc6|Oxc66.xbI)
B)6. . . e5
Jls ls more ln the splritolthls varlatlon, as
lack ls hoplng lor compllcatlons. However,
\hltewlll eventuallybe betteraber handllng
thesltuatloncorrectly,returnlngthepawn,but
galnlngposltlonaladvantages.
7.$d2|
Clearly \hite's best move, as lack was
threatenlnganunpleasant7. . . ,b4t.
7. . . Uxd4
lack can keep the queens on the board as
well.
7. . . exd4
ut aber
8. g3
\hlte has a clear advantage because olhis
stronglight-squaredblshop.
8. . . ,c5
Dubious ls 8. . . Ud5, when 9. Cl3 ,c1
,9. . . b5` ' I 0. Ub3 I 0. UdI Uxa2 I I . ,g2 is
very good well| I 0 . . . Uxb3 I I . axb3 ,do
I 2. ,g2 d8 I 3. 0-0 Cge7 I 4. lc I 0-0
I 5 . aI was amost wlnnlng lor \hlte in
Shlpov - Shemeakin, Yalta I 995) I 0.,g2
Cge7 I I . 0-0 0-0 I 2. b4 ,b6 I 3. b5 Cd3
I 4. ldI ismuchbetterlor\hlte,duetohis
strongbishops, A. HoHman- SanchezAller,
Sanxenxo2006.
9. ,g2Cge7 I 0. Ch3
A very nlce manoeuvre, the whlte knight
wlll beplacedextremelywellonl4.
Je natural I 0. Cl3 ls good too. One
examplesaw. I 0 . . . 0-0` ' ,also badls I 0 . . . d3`
I I . Ce5' and\hltewlns materlal, however,
betterwas I 0 . . . ,b6) I I . b4,b6 I 2. b5Cb3
I 3. 0-0 and lacksoonlostthed4-pawnln
Skomorokhln- eznoslkov,Yaroslavl I 991.
I 0 . . . 0-0
Aer I 0 . . . d3 I I . Uc4' lack ls losing d
pawn.
I I . Cl4
Je posltlon somewhat resembles the
Tarrasch Delence wlth one huge dlHerence.
lack ls mlsslng hls llght-squared bishop.
Jlsalonesecures\hlteaclearadvantage.
ltshouldbesaldthat\hltehasoptedmore
olten lor I I . 0-0, buttheevaluatlonlsmore
orless thesame.
I I . . . c8 I 2. c I
ChapterZZ - Z . . .
+
I 2. 0-0lsgoodaswell.
I 2. . . b4
Te exchange olthe dark-squared blshops
doesnotbrlngrellet
I 2 . . . b6I 3. 0-0lsposltlonallyclearlybetter
lor\hlte.
Severalgameshave beenplayedln thlsllne.
At tlmes lack holds, but thls does not
change the assessment. \hlte has a clear
long-termedgeandlackhastodelendvery
passlvely. Fven llthe result ls not a wln on
every occaslon, the prospects lor lack are
stlllgrlm.
I 3.xb4 Cxb4 I 4. 0-0 Cbc6 I 5. Ub5 Ub6
I 6. Uxb6axb6 I 7. c4
Lehner- losch,Vlenna I 998.
8.Uxd4
8. . . Oxd4
Orlackcan try.
B . . . exd4
1e endgame aber thls move ls even more
dlmcultlorlack.
J. g3
\hlte's plan ls slmllar to hls play aber
7. . . exd4.
J. . . c5
9. . . g6I 0 .g2 Cge7wastrledlnMlkhalevskl
- Keles, Yerevan I 997. Here \hlte should
havecontlnued I I . Ch3g7 I 2. Cl4wltha
clear edge thanks tohls queensldepressure.
Once agaln the exchange oldark-squared
blshopsdoesnothelplack.9. . . b4I 0 .g2
xd2t I I . Ixd2Cl6 I 2. Ch3 2d8 I 3. 2hcI
2d6 I 4. b4 a6 I 5. b5lacksoonlostthed4-
pawnlnKruppa- Ellet,CappellelaCrande
2000.
I 0 .g2 b6
I 0 . . . Cge7I I . Ch3a;I 2. Cl4wlthapleasant
advantagelnKaunas- Rausls, Rga I 995.
I I . 2cI Cge7 I 2. Ch3 0-0 I 3. 0-0 2ad8
I 4. Cl4
\lth an obvlous advantage lor \hlte ln
Kovalyg- Sychev,Moscow2008.
9. e3Oc6 I0.$b5
Yetanothertypeolendgame,thlstlmewlth
ablackpawnone5. \hlte schancesaremuch
betterthanksto hlsblshops. Oneolhlsmaln
ldeas ls to destroy lack s pawn structure on
the queenslde by taklng on c6, thus creatlng
cleartargetslorhlsposltlonalpressure.
I0 . . . $d6
I 0 . . . 2c8
llayedwlththeldeaolrecapturlngwlththe
rooklncaseolxc6, butaber.
I I . C|
lackhast oplay. . . t-l6, weakenlngthea2-
g8dlagonal .
+o JeQueen'sCamblt
I I . . . l6
I I . . . ,d6 I 2. ,c3 ,Je slmple I 2. Ie2 also
deserves attentlon. I 2 . . . a6 I 3.,a4 Cl6
I 4. bc I b5 I ;. ,b3wlth anlcetwoblshops
advantage. ) I 2 . . . l6 lack weakens the a2-
g8 dlagonal, buttherewasno otherwayto
delendthee5-pawn. I 3. Ie2Cge7 , I 3 . . . a6
I 4. ,c4' ) I 4. hdI d8 I 5 . Cd2 \hltewas
much betterlnShlpov- Radmacher, erlln
I 992.
I 2. Ie2Ch6I 3. hc I CtI 4. ,c4'
JlslsevenstrongerthanI 4. ,xc6.
I 4 . . . ,d6 I 5. ,d57e7
Jls posltlon arose ln Dreev - Malanluk,
Alushta I 993. Here \hlte should have
played.
I 6. b4'
Startlng actlve play on the queens lde wlth
clearlybetterprospects.
I I .$xc6t
Fven wlthout the capture on c6, \hlte's
chances are better thanks to the two blshops,
ascanbeseenlnthelollowlnggame. l I . Cl3' `
Cge7 I 2. Ie2 a6 I 3. ,a4 0-0 l 4. Cg5' ` b5
I ; . ,b3 a; I 6. a3 wlth an edge, Molseenko -
Reprlntsev,Alushta I 999.
I I . . .bxc6
I 2 . . . Om
\hlte had a clear edge aber I 2. . . Ce7
I 3. Cc3 Cd5 I 4. Ie2 Cxc3t I ;.,xc3 0-0-0
I 6. bcI when theexchangeolknlghtsdldnot
helplackln\ells-Tscharotschkln, Clbraltar
2006.
I 3. cId7
I4. Oc3t
Je knlght ls translerring to a4, where lt
willbeplacedperlectly. \hltehasasmall, but
qultestable,advantagebecauseollack'sweak
pawns on the queenside, Flnegold - Haskel,
Tulsa2008.
Now both knlght moves lead to an
Conclusion:
advantage.
I2. Oe2
I 2. Cl3 Ce7 I 3.Ie2 ,Shlrov`s recom-
mendatlon I 3. e4 looks lnaccurate, slnceaber
I 3 . . . c5' lack galns some counterplay wlth
. . . Cc6-d4) I 3 . . . e4 I 4. Cd4Id7I 5 . hcI wlth
the ldea c4-a4. \hlte's chances are sllghtly
better.
\hite does not have an overwhelmlng
advantagelnthlsvarlation, butalltheposltlons
that arlse alter 5. dxc6' areveryunpleasantlcr
lack,ashehastodelendanlnlerlorendgame.
esldesbelngobj ectivelybetter,\hltewlllalsc
havetheverypleasantexperlenceolplaylnglcr
tworesultsin theendgame.
A) 3. . . 9K
) 3. . .xd5
A) ahcr . . . :dc;
Z 9 9 9 c)
Y1|1|oh hdct
I . d4d52.c4c5
3. cd5
) notc to thc th movc
8. :b;' M
) a|tcr 8 . . . "c7
9. g;' M
p 350
p 352
7U JeQueen'sCamblt
I .d4d52. c4c5?|
lrobablytheworstopenlnglackcanchoose
aber I . d4. It has always been consldered
dublous, and I have not seen any serlous
attemptstorepalrandrestorethlsllnelnrecent
years. \hlte has very easyplay lneveryllne,
usually wlth a serlous lead ln development.
From thls wlde cholce, I haveselected a llne
thatmakesgoodsensetome.
3.cd5
3. dxc5`' would not bethe best cholce.Aer
3. . . d4lackhasgoodplay.
Now lackhastwo malnoptlons, as 3. . . cxd4`
lsj ustbad.alter4. Uxd4lacklsslmplyapawn
down. Jus lack needs to choose beoeen
A)3...OmandB)3B 0 xd5.
( I. d4d52. c4c53. cd5)
4.e4|
\hlte could lnstead transler the game to
anothertheoretlcalllne. 4. Cc3 Cxd5 5. e4etc,
but the text ls much strongerand leads to an
obvlousadvantage.
4. dxc5 Uxd5 ls not clear according to the
theory.
4. . . Oxe45. dxc5Oxc5
Aother optlonlor lack that we wlll have
tolookatl s.
5. . . Ua5t6.d2Cxd2
6. . . Uxc5 ` j ust loses. \hlte plays 7. Ua4t
lollowedby8. Uxe4.
7. Uxd2Uxc5 8. Ca3'
Jhreatenlng9 LcI .
8. . . d79. Lc I Ub6 I 0. Cc4
lack has serlous problems wlth the
development ol hls dark-squared blshop,
whlle\hlteeasllyselzesthelnltlatlve.
I 0 . . . Ul6
I 0 . . . Uh6 ls met by I I . l4. Ol course lt
ls uselul lor Wlte to keep the queens on
the board. I I . . . Ca6 l 2. Ce5 Ud6 JLls ls
H. Olalsson- \esterlnen, Reykj avlk I 99/.
Here I 3. Cgt e6 I 4 .c4wouldhave led l0
agreatadvantagelor\hlte.
I I . Cl3g5 I 2. Cce5h6
Jls posltlon occurred ln Coossens
M. Zaltsev,elglum2007. \hltecouldnow
selzeadeclslveadvantagewlth.
I 3. Ub4' 0-0 l 4 .d3 |
Or I4. . . Ud6 l 5.Uxb7 g4 I 6. Cxd7 Cxd7
I 7. Lc6.
I 5 .x| Uxl5 I 6. 0-0 g4 I 7. Cxg4 3cI
I 8. LxcI Ca6 I 9. Ch6t ~h8 20. Uc3t Uh
2 I . Ce5--
Chapter25- 2. . . c;
7
Whlte'sbestmove ln myoplnlon. Itlsvery would be I 0. $e3N Cde6 I I . 0-0-0, whlch
lm
portant to dlscourage lack lrom playlng oHerslacknorellet
o. . .e5.
o. Cc3e5' l s nots oclear.
6. . . e6
6. . . g4 7. Cc3 Cbd7 8.b5 a6 9.xd7t
Cxd7 I 0. 0-0 Ce5 I I . 2eI wlthalargeleadln
development.
Iwasdlscusslngthlsllnewlthoneolmyteam-
mateslntheIsraellleague, orlsKantsler,and
heclalmedthat.
o. . . e5`
stlll works lor lack, havlng once had the
posltlonlnagamelnsomerapldtournament
lnIsrael .Jetrlckyldealstomeet.
7. Cxe5
wlth
7. . .Ue7
but lortunately \hlte has a very smooth
remtatlonollack'sldea.
8.b5td7
lack ls also lost alter 8. . . Cbd7 9. 0-0
Uxe5 I 0. 2eI Ce4 I I . Cc3 | I 2. Cxe4 be4
I 3. Ua4' lollowedbyI 4. 2xe4.
J. 0-0' xb5
9. . . Uxe5 loses to a nlce llne. I 0. 2eI Ce4
I I . Uc2l5 I 2. Uc8t, and \hlteregalns the
materlalwlthdlvldends.
I 0. e I d8 I I . Cc3e8 I 2. Cc6t
\lthadeclslveattack.
7. O3exd58.Uxd5
Desplte the queen swap, lack`s posuon
remalns very passlve and wlthout proper
coordlnatlonbetweenhlspleces.
8. . . $e7
lackhasotheroptlons.
8. . . Cc69. Uxd8tCxd8wasplayedlnDonner
- O' Kelly, Havana I 965. Now the easlest
8. . . Ue7` ' t 9.e3 Cc6 I 0 .b5 d7 I I . 0-0
lack's posltlon looks crltlcal, wlth hls klng
stuck ln the centre, lortlsch - ronsteln,
Monte Carlo I 969. I I . 0-0-0' ` ls also worth
athought.
8. . . Uxd5 9. Cxd5Ce6
9. . . Cba6 I0.b5t , I 0. Ce5' ` comes lnto
conslderatlon as well) I 0 . . . d7 I I .xd7t
Cxd7 I 2. 0-0 l6 Freelng the t-square lor
theklng. I 3 .e3 t I 4. ldI c5 I 5. Cc7'
2ad8 I 6. Cxa6 xe3 I 7. be3 bxa6 I 8. 2ac I
And wlth I 9. 2c7 comlng next, \hlte ls
wlnnlng materlal, Clelzerov - \esterlnen,
Stockholm2000.
I 0 .e3' N
Jlslsstrongerthan I 0. Cg5Cxg5 I I .xg5
d6 as played ln \ach - lenz, Austrla
2002.
I0. . . Cc6 I I . b5d7I 2. 0-0 0-0-0
I 2 . . . d6 I 3. ldI 2d8 I 4. Cl6t clalms an
advantagewlththeblshoppalr.
I 3. 2ldI b8
I 3 . . . d6 I 4. Cb6t
I 4. Cg5'
\hlte exerts strong pressure on the dark
lorces.
9.Uxd8t$d8 I0.$e3
\hltehasaclearadvantagelneveryllne.
I0 . . . Cba6
I 0 . . . Ce6 I I . 0-0-0 0-0 was played ln the
encounter lsaHls - Cershkowlch, Ashdod
2004. \hlte has many ways to develop hls
lnltlatlve, but the most loglcal ls I 2 .c4N
Cc6 I 3. Ce4 c7 I 4. Cd6.
I I .$b5t$d7I2.$d7t|
Jhetextmovelsmuchstrongerthan I 2. 0-0
xb5 I 3. Cxb5 0-0 I 4. 2ldI l6 I 5. 2acI
JZ Je Queen'sCamblt
b6 and lack heldthls posltlon somehow ln
Hjelm- erkell,Sweden2002.
I2 . . . Oxd7I3. 0-0-0Odc5
I 3 . . . Cl6 I 4. heI 00 I 5. ,d4' lsalsoclearly
betterlor\hlte.
I4.$c5|
Averygoodpractlcaldeclslon.
I4 . . . Oxc5 I5. beItOe6
l 5 . . . ,e7 I 6. Cd4doesnotchangemuch.
I6. Od40-0I7. Oxe6fe6 I 8.O
\hlte wlll have a very pleasant advantage
wlth hls strong knlght on e4 agalnst lack's
passlve blshop, Clelzerov - erkell, Sweden
2002.
( I .d4d52.c4c53. cxd5)
B)3...Uxd54. OOcxd4
Much worse ls 4. . . Cc6` 5. Cc3 Ld8 6. d5'
Cb4 7. a3 Ca6 8. e4, wlth analmost declslve
advantage, IzetaT xabarrl- MartlnezVlldosola,
lamplona2000.
5. Cc3|
Jekeymove,wlthoutwhlchthlsllnewould
probablybequlteplayablelorlack.
5. . . Ua5
Another pleasant llne lor \hlte ls the
lollowlng.
5. . . Ld86. Lxd4,d7
Jeendgamealter 6. . . Lxd4 7. Cxd4 lsvery
dlmcult lor lack. For example. 7. . . vh
,7. . . a6` 8. Cd5' ls already l ost lor lack')
8. Cdb5 Ca6 9. g3 It wlll be lmposslele
lor lack to neutrallze Whlte's pressure
down the h I -a8 dlagonal . Aso 9. ,l4 eo
I 0. 0-0-0' ` ls qultelnterestlng.
7. Ce5'
Notglvlnglackanopportunltytowlnthe
tempobackwlth7. . . Cc6.
7. . . Cl6
Alter7. . . Cc6 8. Lxd7tLxd79. Cxd7 xd/
I 0. ,e3 2d8 I I . 0-0-0t c8 I 2. xd8t
xd8 l 3. g3 Whlte has a blg advantage
thanks to his strong llght-squared blshop,
Hulak- Manlevlch, lula I 994.
8. Lc4
Lessclearls8. Cxd7 Cbd79. g3 Cc6.
8. . . e6 9. g3
A very l nterestlng alternatlve would ee
9. ,l4 Cc6 I 0. Cxd7 Cxd7 I I . 0-0-0 ,e4
I 2. Ce4 wlthbetterchanceslor\hlte.
9. . . Cc6 I 0. Cxd7 Lxd7 I I . ,g2 ,e7 I 2. 0-0
0-0 l 3. ,l4
\ith a pleasant advantage lor \hlte ln
Opocens[- luc,Vlenna I 949.
Chapter25- 2. . . c; 7
6. Cxd4Cm
Apparentlythemostplayablellnelorlack.
]ealternatlvels.
( . . .e5 7. Cb3
7. Cdb5 would be less clear. We need the
galnoltempo.
/ . . . Uc7
HereI loundaverystrongnovelty.
3. Cb5' N
AherwhlchWh|tehasastronglnltlatlve, as
lack`s queen does not have a sale square.
Forexample.
3. . . Uc6
Another llne ls. 8. . . Ub6 9. e4 ,threatenlng
,e3) 9. . . a6 ,9. . . Cl6 I 0. ,e3 b4t I I . Cd2
Ud8 I 2. a3,e7 I 3. Cc4) I 0. Uc2,lessclear
ls I 0. ,e3 ,b4t I I . Cd2 Ud8) I 0 . . . Cc6
, I 0 . . . ,b4t I I .,d2 ,d2t I 2. Cxd2 ls lost
lor lack, slnce I 3. Cc4 ls comlng) I I .,e3
,b4t I 2. Cc3Uc7 I 3. 0-0-0xc3I 4. Uxc3
Cl6 I 5. l 0-0 I 6. @bI \lth a pleasant
advantage.
J. e3
\lth the slmple |dea ol ,d2 lollowed by
c I .
J. . . a6 I 0. Ud5'
Te key move, wh|ch secures Whlte's
advantage.
I 0. . . Uxd5
I 0. . . b4t I I .,d2 ,xd2t I 2. Cxd2 Uxd5
I 3. Cc7t 1d8 I 4. Cxd5 |s also unpleasant
lorlackwlthhlsklngstucklnthecentre.
I I .Cc7t1d8 I 2. Cxd5 ,e6
Or I 2 . . . Cc6 I 3 .d2 e6 I 4. Cb6 b8
I 5. cI Cl6 I6.c4lsalsobetterlor\hlte.
I 3. Cb6 a7 I 4 .d2 Cc6 I 5. cI Cl6
I 6 .c4
Whlte has an lndlsputable advantage, as
lack's pleces are very badlyplaced ,the rook
ona7andklngond8) .
7.g3
Jhe most natural way to develop the llght-
squaredblshop.
Other llnes are qulte acceptable lor lack,
lor example. 7.,d2 e5 8. Cdb5 , 8. Cb3Ud8
9.,g5e6I 0.Uxd8t1xd8 I I . 0-0-0tCbd7
I 2. g3 @c7-) 8. . . Ca6 9. e4 c; I 0 .c4 0-0
I I . 0-0Ud8 I 2. ,g5e6wlthreasonableplay
lorlack.
7. . . e5
lackshould reactvery qulcky lnorder to
ga|nsomecounterplaybeloreVlte's pressure
bulldsonthequeenslde.
7. . . Ce4`' 8. ,d2Cxd29. Uxd2wasDonchenko
- Cavrllov,VoronezhI 999, andclearlylavours
Whlte, as lt wlll be very easy to selze the
lnltlatlve on the queenslde. g2, ac I , ldI
etc.
7+ JeQueen's Cambl t
Also alter the natural 7. . . e6 8.,g2 ,e7
9. 0-0 0-0 I 0. Cb3 "a6 I I . ,e3 \hlte ls
clearlybetter.
8. Ob3Uc7
9.$g5|N
Averystrong ldea and also a novelty. lt ls
verylmportant to prevent lack lromcloslng
the c-hle wlth . . . ,b4xc3 lorclng bxc3. Now
\hlte ls ready to recapture wlth the rook
malntalnlngthepressure.
lnstead aber the natural 9. ,g2 ,b4 I dld
notmanage to hnd anyserlous advantage lor
\hlte.
Certalnly\hltecanplay I0. ,d2,butthlsls
passlve, and lack gets normal play. I 0 . . . 0-0
I I . 2cI Cc6 I 2. 0-0 2d8, Nemet - lum,
ern I 993.
And I 0. 0-0 ls well met wlth I0. . . ,xc3'
I I . bxc30-0=anddesplte\hlte'stwoblshops,
lack'sposltlonlsqulterellable.
9. . . $b4
lackcannotplay9. . . "c6` ' slnce\hltehas
the strong reply I0. ,xl6' gxl6 I I . Cd5 wlth
the ldea I I . . . ,b4t I 2. Cxb4 "xhI I 3. "d6'
,threatenlng I 4. Cd5) I 3 . . . ,e6 I 4. Cc5wltha
declslveadvantage.
I 0. cI
\orselsI 0. ,xl6,xc3t, I 0 . . . gxl6`I I . 2cI )
I I . bxc3 gxl6 , I I . . . "xc3t` I 2. Cd2 gxl6
I 3. 2cI --) I 2. "d3 0-0 I 3.,g2 ,e6 I 4. 0-0
Cd7wlth unclearplay.
I 0 . . . Oe4
A natural reactlon. ll I 0 . . . Cbd7 I I .,g2
0-0 I 2. 0-0 \hlte has a great verslon olthe
Catalan, keeplnga clear advantage due to hls
queensldepressure.
I I .$d2 Oxd2 I2. Oxd2
Fven wlthout the dark-squared blshop,
\hlte'spressurelsqulteserlous.
I2...Oc6 I 3.$g2$e6
llI 3 . . . 0-0 \hlteshouldreactslmplywlth
I 4. 0-0,andnotI 4. Cd5Ud6 I 5. 0-0,because
lack has a nlce trlck. I 5 . . . ,xd2 I 6.Uxd2
Cd4 I 7. e3 ,h3' wlth equallty) and probably
thegamewouldtransposeto the I 3 . . . ,e6 llne
wlth I 4 . . . ,e6 I 5. a3 , I 5 . Cd5' `) .
I4.a3 $e7 I5. Od5 $xd5 I6.$xd5 0-0
I7. 0-08 I 8.$xc6bxc6 I9.Uc2t
Wlthanlceposltlonaladvantage.
Conclusion:
Te whole varlatlon ls qulte dangerous lor
lack. ln the 3. . . Cl6 4. e4' llne \hlte has a
verystableandrlsk-lreeadvantage,whllelack
ls almost lorced to delend a very unpleasant
endgame. 3. . . "xd5 ls perhaps more playable
lor lack, but my lnterestlng novelty 9.,g1'
promlses Whlte a solld edge. I can hardly
lmaglneanystrong players would opt lorthls
varlatlonas lack.
A) 5. . . c6
) 5. . . l
C) 5. . . g4

X|la Caaat:t Gm|lt
Y1|1|on ndct
I .d4d52. c4c5
3. dc5d44. vtvc65. a3
D) 5... < gc76.b4 vg67.b2
OI) 7. . . vgc5
O2)7. . . a5
A) ahcr 8 r a' C) notc to thc th movc
. A|4| M
p 372
p 375
p 376
p 378
p 37
p 38I
L2) a|tcr I 8. . . "g4
I 9. va4' M
U JeQueen'sCamb|t
I. d4d52. c4e5
JeAlbln CounterCamb|twas played and
popularlzed by Adoll Albln |n the I 890s.
lt was always consldered sl|ghtly dub|ous,
howeverslnce2004lthasga|ned| npopular|ty
thanks to the sparkl|ngexampleolAexander
Morozevlch, who managed to d|scover new
resources lor lack, olten based on rega|n|ng
thepawnwlthaklghtmanoeuvretog6.
l belleve thatthe reader shouldnotbescared
olthls gamblt. Je extra pawn |s oben lost,
butlackwlllhavetomakesomeconcesslons
torega|nlt.
3.dxe5d4
lnexchangelorthegamb|tpawnlackgets
acentralwedge atd4and ga|ns some chances
lor an attack ,especlally |n the 5 . g3 l| ne) . l
belleve\h|te's maln goal shouldbeto return
the extra pawn at an approprlate moment ln
ordertogalnaposlt|onaladvantage.
lackhasotheropt|onsonmove3,buttheyall
seemtobeweak.
Je absolutely senseless 3. . . ,b4t 4. ,d2
,xd2t 5 . Cxd2 only helps Wh|te to develop
h|s pleces. l wlll j ustglve a lew sample llnes.
5. . d4 6. Cgl3 Cc6 ,6. . . c5 7. Ce4' |sclearly| n
\hlte'slavour. ) 7. Cb3 lacklsalreadyloslng
thed4-pawn.
J|s endgame |s muchbetter lor\h|te, as
lack' s k|ng |s badly placed |n the centre
and\h|tewlllwlnalew|mportanttempos
,,g5, 0-0-0) toqu|ckydevelop h|spleces.
5. . . ,b46. ,g5t Ce7
6. . . l6 7. 0-0-0t Cd7 8. exl6 gxl6 ,lack's
poslt|onls veryd|mcultalter8. . . Cgxl6 9. e4
,xc3 I 0. bxc3 2e8 l I . l3 b5 l 2. Ce2 an1
he w|ll not survlve lor long) 9. ,h4 ,xc5
I0. bxc3b5l l . Cl3c5JlswasSundararajau
Ah, Ca|ro 2000, and here \hlte coul1
havedevelopedadec|slveattackwlth. l 2.g4
e8 , I 2 . . . ,b7 I 3.,h3 does not change
anyth|ng. l 4. g5 |s comlng w|th dec|slve
eHect) l 3. g5--
7. 0-0-0t~e8
So lar wearelnAmado - Soppe, LaFal1a
l 977. Andnowverystrongwas.
8. Cb5NCa6 9. e4,e6 l 0. Cd4
Attack|ngthec4-pawn. l 0. Cl3' ` canalsobe
cons|dered.
l 0 . . . Cc5 I I .,e3 Cxe4 l 2. Cxe6be6 I 3. d4
Cc5 l 4. 2xc4Ca6 l 5. 2g4
\h|te|sthreatenlngbothl 6.,xa6,lollowe1
byl 7. xb4, and I 8. xg7.
ChapterZ; - AblnCounterCamblt

5. . . Cc6 6. ,g5t ,e7 7. 0-0-0t ,d7 ,lackls
loslng the pawn aber 7. . . e8 8.,xe7 Cgxe7
9. Cb5' ) 8. ,l4 a6 9. Cl3 b5 I 0. g3 and lack's
posltlon ls very dlmcult, as hls pleces are
completelylacklnglncoordlnatlon.
5. . .c6 6. Ct ,6. e4 b5 7. a4 mlght be a
worthwhlle alternatlve) 6. . . Cd7 ,6. . . ,e6 ls
well met by 7. Cg5) 7. e4 b5 8. a4 b4 9. Ca2
a6 and now I 0. e6 be6 I I . Cg5 seems
to be a very strong tactlc. \hlte has a clear
advantage.
4.COOc65. a
Accordlngtotheoldtheorybooks, \hlte' s
bestmovel s5. g3andl tglveshlmaclearedge,
but wlth the appearance ol Morozevlch s
games, where he successlully used 5. . . Cge7,
Whltewaslorcedtothlnkaboutotheroptlons
onmove 5, as th|ngs turned out to benotso
slmple alter 5. g3. Jerelore ln recent years
Whlte's otheroptlons,5 . Cbd2and5 . a3, have
becomemoreandmorelashlonable.
In my analys|s l declded to locus on 5. a3.
Many strong CMs have recently used thls
contlnuatlon, but ln lact the game Topalov
- Morozevlch, Monaco 2005, was my maln
lnsplratlon. Jere are two ma|n ldeas behlnd
Whlte's move. Flrstly, \hlte covers the b4-
squareandwlllnothavetoworryaboutlack's
posslble resources connectedwlth a check on
b4. Secondly, hels ready to playb2-b4, both
galnlngspace on the queens lde and plannlng
to attack the d4-pawn wlth ,b2, b5 and
Cbd2-b3.
Our lour maln llnes are. A) 5. . . $e6, B)
5. . . $f, C) 5. . . $g4 and D) 5. . . Oge7, but
there are two other optlons that we should
lookatbrleHyhrst.
5. . . a5` '
Jl slooks qulte natural, butactually lack
cannotaHordtoplaysuchslowmoveslnthls
system. Also, lnmany llnes thelncluslonol
a3and. . . a5clearlylavours\hlte.
6. Cbd2
Now \hlte ls already threatenlng to play
7. Cb3wlnnlngthed4-pawn.
6. . . ,g4
lack has trled other moves and though he
hasoccaslonallybeensuccesslul,hlsposltlon
looksgloomy.
6. . . ,e6 7. Cb3Ud7 8. e3 lt ls always uselul
lor \hlte to exchange lack's d4-pawn,
whlch dehnltely restrlcts \hlte's lorces
,also not bad ls 8. Cbxd4 0-0-0 9. e3 ,c5
I 0.,e2Cxd4 I I . exd4,xd4 I 2. Cxd4Uxd4
I 3.Uxd4 xd4 I 4. l3 wlth extra pawn)
8. . . dxe3 9. Uxd7t ,xd7 I 0.,xe5 \lth a
clearadvantage.
Z JeQueen's Camblt
6. . . Cge7 7. Cb3 Cl5 8. ,g5' N , 8. g4 Ch4
9. Cbxd4` ' Cxl3tI 0. Cxl3 UxdIt I I . xdI
,xg4 and lack ls not worse, De Roolj -
randenburg, Netherlands 2006) 8. . . l6
9. exl6gxl6 I 0.,l4a4 I I . Cbd2Followedby
g3,,g2and0-0,lackhasnocompensatlon
lorthepawn.
7. h3
\hlte shouldavold 7. Cb3` ' ,xl3 8. gxl3 a4
9. Cd2 Cxe5wlthmutualchances.
7. . . ,xl3
7. . . ,h5` ' 8. Ub3' Ud7 9. Ub5 Jls ls one
more drawback ol lack's 5. . . a5 . \hlte's
queen gets a great square on b5 when
lack'sllght-squaredblshopleavestheh3-c8
dlagonal.9. . . ,g6,\hltewasthreatenlngI 0
e6' lollowed by I I .Uxh5) I 0. Cb3Je d4-
pawnlsdylng.
8. Cxl3,c5
Aer playlng . . . a5, castllng long ls not on
thecards,solacktrlestoarrangehlspleces
dlHerently.
Jls posltlon was reached ln Marshall -
Cohn, Hannover I 902. \Llte ls clearly
better ln many dlHerent ways, but l preler
thelollowlngldea.
9. h4' ` Cge7 I 0. h5
lreventlng plans wlth . . . Cg6, \hlte wlll
play g3 and ,h3/g2 when hls advantage ls
beyondanydoubt.
5. . . l6` ' 6. exl6
6. ,l4 g5 lslessclear.
6. . . Cxl6
Jls does notglve lackany compensatlon
lorthepawn,as\hltehasnoproblemswlth
developlnghls pleces.
6. . . Uxl67. ,g5Ug68. Cbd2does notmake
anysenselorlack.
7. e3'
Dehnitely the easlest way lor \hlte. lt ls
lmportant to mentlon that lt ls 5. a3 that
allows \hlte to play the text, as otherwlse
he would lace an annoylng check on b4.
\hlte s ldea ls rather slmple. he wants tc
exchange lack's onlytrump, thed4-pawn,
whlchlsdlsruptlnghls development.
7. . . ,g48. ,e2,xl3
8. . . dxe3 9. Uxd8t xd8 I 0.,xe3 ,e/
I I . Cc3isslmplyapawn uplorWhlte.
9. ,xl3 Ud7 I 0. exd4 Cxd4 I I . Cc3 0-00
I 2. ,e3,c5 I 3. 0-0
\hlte has successlully developed hls pleces
andhasahealthyextrapawn.
I 3 . . . c6 I 4. Cd5'
Removlngthetenslonlnthecentre.
I4. . . Cxl3tI 5 .Uxl3,xe3 I 6. Cxe3
\lthaclearadvantagelor\hlte.
(I .d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3.de5 d4 4.OO Or6
5. a3)
A) 5. . . $e6
ChapterZ; AblnCounterCamblt
6. Obd2
Wh|te has an |mportant alternat|ve at hls
1|sposal .
o.b4,xc47. Cbd2,e6 8. Cb3
8. b5 Ca5 9. ,b2 c5 I 0. bxc6 Cxc6 I I . Ua4
, I I . g3Ch6|salsounclear) I I . . . ,c5leadsto
doubleedged play. In thls poslt|onI lound
an|nterestlng|dealorlack.
8. . . d3' `
8. . . Ud5 9. Cbxd4 0-0-0 occurred | n the
gameCooksey- Lyell,Coulsdon2007, and
here \hite mlssed a n|ce tact|cal solut|on.
I 0. ,b2' w|ththeldeaolmeetlng I 0 . . . Cxe5
w|thl!

Cxe5Uxe5
I 2. Cc6' ' 2xdIt I 3. 2xdI Ud5 I 4. 2xd5
,xd5 I 5. Cxa7t d7 I 6. Cb5 and\h|te |s
s|mplyapawnup.
9. ,b2
9. exd3Ud5' |sdehnl telyhnelorlack.
9. 2bI dxe2 I 0.Uxe2 a6 leads to a compl|-
catedgame.
9. . . dxe2 I 0.,xe2 UxdI t I I .xdI 0-0-0
I 2.,c2Ch6
ldonotth|nk\hltehasanyth|ngser|ous|n
th|s pos|t|on.
6...Oge77.Ob3Of
7. . . ,xc4 8. Cbxd4 ls clearly prelerable lor
\h|te as you can see lrom the l|ne 5. . . g4
6. Cbd2Cge77. h3e6,asthe|nclus|onolh3
|shardlyrelevant.
Jhe cr|t|cal pos|t|on ol the 5. . . e6 l|ne.
lack has lour opt|ons, but none ol them
prom|sesequalplay.
8. . . a5
Dehn|telythemostchallenglngmove,butas
sald,threeotheroptlonsex|st.
|ust bad |s 8. . . Ud7` 9. g4' chas|ng lack's
kn|ght away lrom l5. Aer 9. . . Ch6 I 0. h3
\h|te has a large advantage, Hendr|ks -
\oudt,Hoogeveen2005.
8. . . h59.h4,e7I0. ,g5l6 I I . exl6gxl6 I 2.,l4
and\h|te rema|nedapawn up |nClaver|e-
Sp|tz, France 2005.
+ JeQueen'sCamb|t
8. . . e7 9. g3 h5 I 0. h3' ` ,also qu|te strong
|s I 0. h4, enklrane- loula|n, La Fere 2007)
I 0 . . . Ud7 I I . g5xg5I 2. Cxg5 Cxe5I 3. Ue4
Cg4 I 4. t Ch I 5 . Ue5 \h|te w|ns a pawn
back, w|th anobv|ousadvantage.
9.$f4|N
ln my op|n|on th|s move clearly |mproves
on the lollow|ng game. 9. g4 Ch4 I 0. CEd4
a4 I I . Cxe6`' ,probably the cr|t|cal l|ne runs
I I . Cxc6 Uxd3 I 2. exd3 Cl3t l 3. e2 xg4
w|th compensat|on) I I . . . be6 I 2. Cd2 Uxd3
I 3. exd3 Cxe5 lack|sbyno means worse, as
he rega|ns the pawn very qu|ckly, lavl|d|s -
Nabaty, Kemer2007.
9. . . a4 I0. Obd2
\h|tehasas|mplearrangementolh|sp|eces.
g3,g2/h3and0-0, thatshouldsecureaclear
edge. lack's only chance lor counterplay |s
connectedw|ththe. . . g5-advance.
Muchworse|s l 0. g4` ' Ch4 I I . Cbxd4 Cxl3t
I 2. Cxl3 Uxd3 I 3. exd3 xg4 I 4.e2 0-0-0
w|thsomecompensat|on.
I0 . . . $e7
llayedw|th the |deaolcont|nu|ngl l . . . g5.
I 0 . . . h6I I . h4,alter I I . 0-0-0g5lackrega|ns
the pawn, though \h|te seems to be better
alter I 2. g4 Ch4 I 3.g3xg4 I 4. Cxh4g|
I 5. l4 Ud7 I 6.g2) I I . . . e7 I 2. g3 0-0
I 3. g2 l do not see any compensat|on lor
thepawn.
I I .b4|
lreventlnganyposslble. . . g5-advance.
I I . . . Oxb4
Otherw|se Wh|te |s clearly better w|th h|s
extrapawn.
I l . . . h5 l 2. g3 0-0 l 3. g2 a5 l4. 0-0 Ud/
I 5. Ce4
I I . . . h6 I 2. g30-0l 3. 0-0-0' ` l6 l 4. exhxlo
I 5. h3
I2. Oxb4 $b4
Aer I 2 . . . g5 I 3. Cl5 gxl4 I 4. Cl3' \h|te
has aclearadvantage. l 4 . . . Ud7 I 5. Cg7tH
I 6. xh7g8 I 7. xh8txh8 I 8. Ch5
I3. OO$e7
Certa|nlyI 3 . . . g5wouldbeaserlousm|stake,
as aber l 4.d2 lackw|ll unavoldably lose d
p|eceaberg3.
I4. xb7
l 4. e3' ` |salso worthcons|der|ng.
ChapterZ; Abl nCounterCamblt J
I4. .. xb7
I 4. . . g8 I 5. e3' glves Whlte a clear
advantage.
I5.Ux7Ud7I6.Uxg70-0-0I7. cIOa5
I8. Od2
l do not belleve lack has sumclent
compensatlonlor the two pawns, thusWhlte
lsmuchbetter.
(I. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4. OO Oc6
5. a3)
B) 5. . . $f5
Araremove.lack sldeals toplay. . . Ue7/d7
lollowedbycastllnglong.
6.e3|
Onceagalnthesamemethodaslnthe5. . . a5
llneworksperlectlylorWhlte.
6. . . dxe3
6. . . ,g4 7. ,e2 dxe3 8. Uxd8t xd8 9. ,xe3
,xl3 I 0.,xl3 Cxe5 I I .,xb7 Cxc4 I 2. ,c6t
7e7 I 3.,xa7 Cxb2 I 4. 0-0 and Wlte's
a-pawnshouldeasllydecldethegame.
7.Uxd8txd88.$e3Oge7
8... l69. exl6Cxl6 I 0. Cc3Cg4 I I .,g5d7
I 2. ,e2leavesWhlteslmplyapawnup.
9. Oc3 Og6 I0. Ob5
Maybe even easler would be. I 0. Cd5 d7
, I 0 . . . c8 I I . Cd4 ,e6 was Hendrlcks -
Flnegold, llymouth I 984. Now I 2. Cb5' N
would leave Whlte a pawn up wlth a better
posltlon. I 2 . . . ,xd5 I 3. cxd5 Ccxe5 I 4. Cxa7)
I I . 0-0-0 Cgxe5 I 2. Cxe5 Cxe5 I 3.,xa7'
Jlswlnsapawn.
I0 ... d7I I . Ofd4 Oxd4I2. Oxd4$g4
I3.O
l was really surprlsed to dlscover that thls
posltlon has occurred twlce ln tournament
practlce. \hltelsclearlybetter.
I3 . . . $b5
JeQueen'sCamblt
I3. . . c5wasSagalchlk- Reprlntsev, Roslavl
I 989. Here\hlteshouldhavecontlnuedwlth.
I 4. 0-0-0' N 0-0 I 5. b4 xd4 I 6. zxd4 zxd4
I 7. xd4zd8 I 8 . c3e6 I 9. g3 Coverlngthe
l4-square. I 9 . . . Ce7 20. g4 Cg6 2 I . zgI Cl4
22. c2\hlteshouldconvert hls extra pawn
wlthoutmuch dlmculty.
I4.g4Oxe5 I5.g5xd4 I 6.$xd4Oxft
I7.D Oxd4I 8.$g2
lack does nothavesumclentcompensatlon
lor the exchange, Callego |lmenez - Ferron
Carcla, arcelona2000.
( I . d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3. de5 d4 4. OO Oc6
5. a)
C)5. . . $g46. Obd2
ln thls posltlon lack has malnly almed
stralghtatthee5-pawnwlth.
6. . . U e7
Je Morozevlch manoeuvre does not work
properlylnthls posltlon.
6. . . Cge7 7. h3
And now l thlnklt ls best lor us to have a
lurtherbranchlngln thellnes.
a) 7. . . xt 8. CxtCg6
Andnowllound.
9. Ub3' N
Jl sseemstobeverystrong.
9. . . zb8
Anotherl l nels 9. . . Ud7 I 0.g3 ,l preler the
text, rather than I 0.Uxb72b8 I l .Ua6e/
whlchglves lacksomeactlvlty) I 0 . . . 0-0-0
I I .g2 Ul5 I 2. 0-0 Cgxe5 I 3. Cxe5 Uxe1
lack regalns the pawn, but \hlte's llght-
squared blshop makes a dlHerence, as lt
wlll be very hard lor lack to oppose the
lnltlatlve on the queenslde. I 4.l4 Ul6 ,lt
ls dangerous lor lack to play l 4 . . . Uxe2
I 5. Ua4Ue6 I 6. b4d3 I 7. 2le I Ul6 l 8dI
b8 I 9. d5 wlth a clear advantage)
I 5. zadI g5 I 6.cI h6 I 7. Ua4 Ue6 I 8. b4
Uxc4 I 9. zd2' Wlte wlll easlly selze the
lnltlatlvealongthechle.
I 0. e3'
A very lmportant nuance' In many llnes
lack'spawnona7wlllbeunderattack.
I 0 . . . e7
adls I 0 . . . c5 lnv|ewolI I .Ub5' .
l 0. . . Cgxe5 I I . Cxe5 Cxe5 I 2. exd4 Ux14
I 3. e3 Ue4 l 4. 0-0-0 e7 I 5. zd4'
, I 5. xa7` ' g5t l 6.e3 xe3t I 7.Uxe5
Uxe3t I 8. be3 e7 and lack has some
compensatlon due to hls strong knlght)
I 5 . . . Uc6 l 6. zd5 Cd7 I 7.xa7za8 I 8. ,e5
\hltelsslmplyapawn up.
l I .e2 0-0 I 2. 0-0 Cgxe5 l 3. Cxe5 Cxe
I 4. exd4Uxd4 I 5.e3
Onceagalnthea7pawn lshanglng.
I 5 . . . Ue4 l 6.xa7' Uxe2 I 7. xb8 zxb3
ChapterZ; - Abl nCounterCamblt

I 8. Lae I Uh5 I 9. g4Cxg4 20. Ul3'
Jls grand hnale leaves Whlteanexchange
up.
b) 7. . . e6 8. Cb3xc4
Jere ls no polnt ln lack playl ng 8. . . Cl
and we are gettl ng the same poslt|on as l n
the llne 5. . . e6 6. Cbd2 Cge7 7. Cb3 Cl5
wlthWhlte's extra moveh3.
9. Cbxd4Cxd4 I 0.Uxd4
I 0. Cxd4' `N also leads to a posltlon that ls
lnWh|te'sadvantage,lorexample. I 0 . . . Ud7
I I . Uc2 Uxd4 I 2. e3 Uxe5 I 3 .xc4 Cc6
I 4 .d2 0-0-0 I 5 .c3 and Wh|te ls clearly
betterwlthsuchastrongpalrolblshops.
I0. . . Uxd4 I I . Cxd4 Cg6 I 2. l4 0-0-0 I 3. e3
,d5 I 4 .d2
lackdld nothave sumclent compensatlon
lor thepawnl nAlekseev- Korzubov, Mlnsk
I 987.
8lackcanalsotrytocastlequlcklyw|th.
( . . . Ud7
utWhlte lswell placed to advance on the
queenslde, and the black p|eces wlll soon
provetobemlsplaced.
/. b4 0-0-0
Or7. . . Cge7andnoweas|estwouldbe8. b5
Ca5 9. Ua4 b6 I 0.b2 and lackloses the
d4-pawn. l 0. c5' ` comes lnto conslderatlon
aswell.
8. ,b2Ue69.Ub3
9. h3 lsalsolnterestlng,butthetextlsstrong
enough.
9 . . . xl3 I 0. Cxl3 Cxe5 I I . Cxd4Uxc4`
JlswasplayedlnMonln- Czebe,Zalakaros
I 99 I . Now Whlte could have declded the
gamewlth. I 2. Uh3t' b8 I 3. e4
lackwill losematerlal .
7.b4
lnmyoplnlonthlslsWhlte'smostambltlous
cptlon.
7. h3
Jlsmlghtbeaworthyalternatlve.
7. . . xt 8. Cxl3 0-0-09. Ua4
Jeonlyway'
9. g3 Cxe5 I 0. Cxe5 Uxe5 I I .Ud3 , I I . g2
allows the annoylng I I . . . d3) Jhls ls less
clear, lack manages to block the hI -a8
d|agonal aber. I I . . . l5' I 2.$g2 Cl6 I 3. 0-0
Ce4 I 4. b4e7 wlth unclearplaylnWlacek
- Spltz, e-mall2004.
9. . . b8 I 0 .g5' l6 I I . exl6 gxl6 I 2 .d2
lack dld not manage to prove any
compensatlon lor the pawn ln runner -
Henrls, elg|um2005 .
7..Oxe58. Oxe5Uxe59$b2
9. Ua4t makes llttle sense l n vlew ol
9. . . d7' .
9.. 0-0-0
9. . . Cl6 and here lnstead olI 0. Ct, as was
played ln Segalat - ClaudelI 989, Wlteshould
cont|nue. I 0. h3' `NUh5 , I 0 . . . h5 I I . g4g6
I 2. Cl3 loses a pawn lor nothlng) I I . LgI
e6I2.xd40-0-0 I 3. e3Ug6I 4. Cl3Whlte
lsj ustahealthypawn up, hehasnoproblems
wlthcastllnglong.
I0.b3 $b5
Jetwo otheroptlonsarenobetter.
I 0 . . . Uh5 I I .Ua4 b8 , I I . . . a6 would allow
\hlteadeclslve attackaber I 2. b5' ) I 2 .xd4'
Jh|s w|ns a pawn, as lack cannot capture
Whltes blshop lnvlewolmateone8.
I0. . . l5 I I . Cb3Cl6
I I . . .e4 does not change the evaluatlon.
I2.xd4 Ul ,threatenlng . . . c2) I 3. La2'
Cl6 I 4. e3 d6 I 5. t' g3t I 6. d2 Uh5
I 7. cI \hlte's kng hnds a sale place on
the queenslde, lackhas no compensat|on
lorthepawn.
I 2 .xd4Ue4
373 JeQueen'sCamblt
I2. . . Ul4 I 3. e3 Ug5 I 4. Ul3 ,e7 I 5. ,e2
andWhlteeasllyholds hlsextrapawn.
I 3. e3,e7 I 4. Ul3Uc2
I4. . . Ue6 I 5. ,e2 ,e4 I 6. Ug3 Once
agaln accurate play leaves lack wlth no
compensatlon.
I 5 .I Uxb3 I 6.Uxl5t b8 I 7 zc3 Ub2
I 8. Uc2
AerthequeenexchangeWltewlllhavea
technlcallywlnnlngposltlon.
I I. g4 $g6 I2.Ua4b8I 3 B $g2Om
Jetactlcsdo notworklorlack. I3. . . ,d3
I 4. 0-0,xe2 I 5. zleI wlthadeadlypln.
Flnally we have arrlved at the game PH.
Nlelsen K. Rasmussen, Sllkeborg2008, vla
adlHerentmoveorder.
I4. OfUf4 I 5.0-0
\hltehasaclearedge,aslacklsloslnghls
centralpawn.
( I .d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4. Of Oc6
5. a3)
D)5B 0 0 Oge7
Dehnltelythemalnresponseto5 . a3.
6.b4
JLe most stralghtlorward move and ln my
oplnlonacrltlcalone. Whltehasotheroptlous
such as 6. e3 and 6. Cbd2, but the text seems
to me the most promlslng contlnuatlon lcr
WLlte.
6B B B Og6
Je loglcal lollow-up, but not the only
optlonhere.
6. . . ,e6
Nobodyhasevertrledthlsmove.
7. ,b2,xc4
7. . . Cg6 wouldtranspose to 7. . . ,e6, whlch
wewlll examlnebelow.
lerhapsthlsls untrledlorareason. \hltels
clearlybetteraber.
8. Cbd2,a6
8. . . ,e6 9. b5 followed by I 0. Cxd4 ad
Whlteremalnsapawnup.
9. Cb3 d3
9. . . Cd5 I 0. Cbxd4 Cxd4 I l . Cxd4 leavo
\ltewlth one pawnmore.
l 0. Cc5' `
l 0. exd3lscertalnlygoodenoughas well .
l 0 . . . dxe2 l I .,xe2,xe2
I l . . . Uxdl t I 2. ,xdI and lackhas to glve
up eltherhlsllght-squaredblshopor the b7
pawn.
ChapterZ; Abl nCounterCamblt 9
I 2.Uxe2b6 I 3. dI Uc8 I 4. Cd7'
Whlte'sadvantagel slndlsputable.
( . . . g4
Jls has twlce occurred |n tournament
practlce.
/ .b2 Cl5
7. . . Cg6transposesto7. . . g4.
3.Ud3
Averystrongmanoeuvre.\hlteantlclpates
lack's |dea ol. . . xl lollowed by . . . Cxe5,
as hl sknlght on l5 wlll hang. At the same
tlme \hlte's queen translers to e4, lorclng
lack to swap hls llght-squared blshop lor
\hlte'skn|ght.
3. . . g6
Alter 8. . . Ud7 9. Ue4 xl3 I 0. gxl3 \h|te`s
llght-squared blshop gets a lantastlc square
onh3. \hlte`sadvantagelsunquestlonable.
9. Ue4
ln the game abula - anlkas, Turln
2006, lack managed to obta|n lnterestlng
compensatlonalter9. e6g7 I 0. exltxl
I l . Cbd2Le8.Jls|soneolNlgelDavles'
recommendatlonsln Cam/itccr H, sothls|s
worthlooklngoutlor.
9. . . xl
Alter 9. . . h5` ' I 0. Cbd2' lack loses hls
centralpawn. I 0 . . . g7I I . b5Ca5 I 2. Cxd4
Cxd4 I 3.Uxd4--
I 0. ex|'
I 0. gxl g7 I I . l4 Uh4 allows lack
counterplay, but l dld not manage to hnd
any reasonable compensatlon lor the pawn
altertaklngwlth thee-pawn.
I 0 . . . h6
Or I 0 . . . g7 I I . l4 0-0 I 2. Cd2 e8
I 3. 0-0-0wlthaclearadvantage.
I I . l40-0 I 2. Cd2
I 2 .d3' `
I 2 . . . l6 I 3. Cl3 be5 I 4. be5Ue7 I 5. c5
Andnext\hltewlllplayc4tande6wlth
aclearadvantage.
7.$b2
\e have now reached the hnal branchlng
polntlnthlschapter.\ewlllhaveMorozevlch's
cholceasthemalnoptlon,buttaklngthepawn
back |mmedlately ls a worthy alternatlve.
So, our optlons are. DI ) 7. . . Oge5 and
D2)7. . . a5.
esldes these, l leel compelled to ment|on
twolessserlousmoves.
7. . . g4 does not work out well lor lack.
8. Cxd4 Cgxe5,8. . . Ccxe59. Ub3 leaves\hlte
a slmple pawn up) 9. Cxc6 UxdI t I 0. xdI
Cxc6 I I . Cd2 0-0-0 I 2. l e6 I 3. e3\hlte
keepseverythlngundercontrol.
lackhasoncetrled7. . . e68. Cxd4 Cgxe5, but
aberthelollowlngslmplecontlnuatlon, hehas
plenty olproblems. 9. Cxe6 UxdIt I 0. xdI
be6 I I . e3 0-0-0t I 2. e I ' Delendlng the
L-pawn ln case ola luture . . . Cg4. I 2 . . . Cg4
l 3.e2\hltewas almostwlnnlngln l.Aml
- Kulpers,Lelden2007.
( I .d4d52.c4e53. dxe5d44. OOOc65. a3
Oge76.b4Og67.$b2)
DI) 7. . . Oge58. Oxe5Oxe5
\hen l analysed thls varlatlon lt was very
lmportant lor me to understand why lack
would want to lnsert the moves 7. . . a5 8. b5,
oU JeQueen'sCambl t
belore captur|ng the pawn on e5. To be
honest,my|n|t|alconclus|onwaswrong. Ater
tak|ng a deeper look, myevaluat|on changed
andl cametowhat l hope |sa moreaccurate
understand|ngolth|s |ssue. Wew|ll return to
th|squest|onlater|nthechapter.
9.e3
Another natural continuat|on |s 9. c5. T|s
would be |mposs|ble w|th the |nclus|on of
7. . . a5 8. b5, but l bel|eve that lack has a
perlectlyplayable pos|t|on alter 9. c5. 9. . . Cc6
,less conv|nc|ng |s 9. . . e6` ' I 0. Uxd4 Cc4
I l . e3 Cxb2 I 2.Uxb2 e7 I 3 . Cc3 and lack
does not have sumc|ent compensat|on lor
the pawn) I 0. Cd2 a;' I l . b5 Ca7 lack gets
counterplayonthe queens|de.
9. . . $e6
J|s |s a very important moment lor the
7. . . Cgxe5l|ne, as\hitehastwooptions.
I0.$d4
I bel|eveth|s|s\|te'sbestcho|ce.
Jema|nalternative| s.
I 0. c5
Onceaga|nlhavetoment|onthatth|smove
would be imposs|ble |l lack had |nserted
7. . . a5 8. b5.
l 0. . . Cc6
Onlynot I 0 . . . Uh4` I I .Uxd4 Cg4 I 2. Ul4
0-0-0 I 3 .e2 e7 I 4. Ug3' and lack d|d
not manage to hnd any compensat|on lor
thepawn |n Zarub|n- Kanep,Stletersburg
2006.
Also po|ntless |s I0. . . Cc4` I I .xd4 and
lack's kn|ght |s do|ng noth|ng on c4,
Laasanen- Lardot,|yvaskyla2000.
l I . exd4
Andnowl bel|evelackshouldcont|nue.
l I . ..e7' N
Je only game where th|s position was
reachedcont|nued. l l . . . Ue7 I 2 .e2 0-0-0
l 3. 0-0 Ul6 lack rega|ns the pawn, bat
White's pieces are much more active. Aher
l 4. Cc3' lackhas alewopt|ons.
a) I 4 . . d4 Other captures are clearly
worse, as can be seen below. I 5 . =cI
Ld8 Obv|ously lack m|ght try to swap
queens w|th I 5 . . Ul4, but \hite |s clearly
better alter I 6.Uxl4 2xl4 I 7. 2ldl ,e7
I 8. Cd5 xd5 I 9. Lxd5 l6 20.xl6 xlo
2I .g4t b8 22. Lel and \h|te's p|eces
are dom|natl ng. ) J|s pos|t|on arose |n
Zhukova- D|denko, Odessa2007,andhere
! bel|eveWh|te shouldhave played I 6. ,b
Cd4 I 7. Ce2 Cxe2t l 8 .xe2Ug6 l 9. =c5
w|thunpleasantpressure.
b) I 4 . . . Uxd4 l 5 .Ua4' J|s helpsWh|tetc
se|ze the | n|t|at|ve. A wonderlul var|at|cn
runs. I 5 . . . Ud2 I 6. Labl,t l 7. 2bdI ' =xb2
I 8. Uxc6' ' d7 , I 8 . . . e7 loses |mmed|ately
Chapter2;- AblnCounterCamblt

tothe nlce I 9. ,a6') I 9. Ue4Uxc3 20. xd7'
wlthacrushlngattack.
c) I 4 . . . Cxd4 I 5 . Cb5Cxe2t I 6. Uxe2 wlth
aclearadvantage lor\hlte.
I 2. b5
I 2. ,e2`' ,l6 and lack regalns the pawn
wlthdlvldends.
I 2. . . Ca5 I 3. Cd2 ,g5 I 4. Ce4 Cb3 I 5 . bI
3d5

Andlackhasplentyolplaylor thepawn.
I0. . . Oxc4
I 0 . . . Cc6` I I .,c3UxdIt I 2. IxdI 0-0-0t
I 3. Cd2\hltekeeps theextrapawn.
II .Uc2
Less challeng|ngls I I . Cd2 Cxd2 I 2. Uxd2
d5'andlackhas decentplay.
I I . . . Od6
Too passlve ls I I . . . Cb6, as lack ls not
hghtlng aga|nst\hlte's dark-squared blshop.
Vlte has strong pressure alter I 2. Cc3
c6 I 3.,d3 , I 3. dI ls worth conslderlng)
I3. . . Uc7 I 4. 0-0 0-0-0 I 5. lc I andtheblack
klngmaysoonbeunderattack.
I2.$d3Ud7
I 2 . . . Ug5` ' makes llttle sense. Je b5-pawn
ls not hanglng compared wlth the maln llne
and \hlte slmply contlnues wlth. I 3. 0-0
Cb5 , I 3 . . . c6 I 4. l4 looks horrlble lor lack,
as\hltewlllpushawayhlsopponent's mlnor
pleceswlthl4-tandthene3-e4-e5) I 4.,xb5t
Uxb5 I 5.Uxc7 c8 I 6. Ug3 \hlte stlll has
thatextrapawn.
I3. Oc3
Jls ls more temptlng than I 3. Cd2 Cl5
I 4. Cl3.
I3 . . . $e7
Ater I 3 . . . Cl5 I 4. 0-0-0' lacksurprlslngly
lacesapowerlulattack. I 4 . . . Cxd4 I 5. exd4c6
I 6. d5' ,xd5 , I 6 . . . cxd5` I 7. ,b5--) I 7. heIt
,e7 ,or I 7 . . . ,e6 I 8.,c4 Ue7 I 9. Ub3wltha
declslve attack) I 8 . ,b5' 0-0 I 9. Cxd5 ,g5t
20. l4lacklosesmaterlal.
I4.0-0 $m I 5.$ g I6. Oe4 Oxe4
I7.$xe4 0-0-0 I8. acI
\hltehasaclearposltlonaladvantage.
( I .d4d52.c4e53. dxe5d44. OOOc65. a3
Oge76.b4Og67.$b2)
D2)7BB0 a5 8.b5Oce5
9. Oxe5
\hltehastwootherserlousoptlons,butthe
textseems to bethebest. lackhasreasonable
playllthequeensareswapped.
oZ JeQueen's Camblt
9. Uxd4 Uxd4 I 0. ,xd4 Cxc4 I I . e3 Cd6
I 2. Cbd2,d7 I 3. a4l6 I 4.,e2J|s|s leralta
- lerezCandelarlo, Spa|n2006, andherelack
should have played. I 4 . . . Cl5 I 5 . ,c3 ,b4
I 6. LcI Ie7 I 7. 0-0c6w|thbalancedplay.
9. ,xd4
Recently th|s has been \h|te's lavoured
path, butthere| saproblem.
9. . . Cxl3t' N
J| s unexpected pawn sacr|hce prom|ses
lack lnterestlng compensatlon lor the
pawn,thoughlurtheranalyslslsrequlred.
ln the game \h|te easlly galned a blg
advantage. 9. . . Cxc4 l 0. e3,e6 ,Apparently
betterwas I 0 . . . Cd6, buthere\ltekeepsa
pleasantedgeaswell. I I . Cbd2Cl5 l 2.,c3
,d6 l 3.,e2 I 3. h4' `| I 3 . . . 0-0 I 4. 0-0
Ue7 l 5 . Uc2t \hlte`s pleces are much
better coordlnated. ) l l . Uc2 Cd6 I 2.,d3
Je best square lor Wlte's blshop, where
lt prevents lack lrom playlng . . . Cl5 and
puts addltlonal pressure on the klngslde.
I 2 . . . Ch4 A desperate attempt to create
some play. l 3. Cxh4 Uxh4 I 4. 0-0 ,e7
ln Sarg|sslan - Slobodj an, Dresden 2007,
\h|tecouldhavetakenthepawn. I 5. Uxc7
a4 ,lack cannot castle, as he loses a plece
aber I 5 . . . 0-0 l 6. g3 Ug5 I 7. l4--. Aso no
use ls I 5 . . . Lc8 I 6. Uxa5--) I 6. Cd2 \lte
lss|mplyapawnup.
l 0. exl3
I 0. gxl` ' Je obv|ous drawback ol th|s
recapture |s that lack's p|eces ga|n the h4-
square as an opt|on. I 0 . . . ,e6 I I . e3 Uh4
l 2. Cc30-0-0\hlte'spos|t|onlsdangerous,
desp|tetheextrapawn.
I 0 . . . Ue7t'
I lound thls polnt belore check|ng N|gel
Dav|es' recommendatlons | n Cam/itccr F,
andhealsosuggestsexactlythl s.
lack gets good play lor the pawn. For
example.
I I . Ue2
I I .,e2` ls problematlc. I l . . . Cl4 l 2. g5
Cg2t' I 3. ~ll ,h3 I 4. ~gI 0-0-0 an1
lackls closetowlnn|ng.
l I .,e3 Ue5 I 2. Ud4 Uxd4 I 3.,xd4 ,l
lollowed by I 4 . . . 0-0-0 wlth play lor the
pawn- Davles.
I I .. . Uxe2t
Davles suggests l l . . .,e6, but I thlnk the
textmovels slmplest.
l 2.,xe2Cl4 l 3. g3 Cxe2 l 4. xe2,e6
lack hasgreatcompensatlonwlth h|s pa|r
olb|shops.
9BBB Oxe5 I 0.e3
l 0.,xd4 Cxc4l l . e3willprobablytranspose
to the maln l|ne alter I I . . . ,e6 I 2.Uc2,
although lack has the addltlonal opt|on oI
I I . . . Cd6 I 2. ,d3Cl5 orI 2 . . . ,e7.
I0BB0 $e6I I .$xd4 Oxc4 I2.Uc2
ChapterZ; - AblnCounterCamblt
Jls ls muchstronger than I 2. Cd2 Cxd2
I 3. Uxd2 Ud5' wlth decent play lor lack,
[lvoshey - Lorenzo de la Rva, alaguer
2006.
I2. . . Od6
Nobody has ever trled I 2 . . . Cb6, and
lndeed lack's knlght ls poorly placed on
b6. Whlte has good chances alter I 3. Cd2'
,less convlnclng ls I 3.,d3 e7 I 4. 0-0 ,h
I 5 . ,xl6 Uxl6 I 6. Cd2 0-0-0' andlackhas
some play) and lt ls very dlmcult lor lack
to deal wlth \hlte's posltlonal pressure.
I 3. . . Ud7 ,ll I 3 . . . d5 then I 4. Ce4' ls very
strong) I 4. d3,e7I 5 . 0-0,l6 I 6.,xl6gxl6
I 7. Cl30-0-0I 8. Cd4Wl thaclearposltlonal
advantage due to lack's weaknesses on the
k|ngslde.
Whlle studylng the recent material on the
Abln, I lound a strange recommendatlon
ln Nlgel Davles' book Oam/itccr II | n this
posltlon.
I2. . . Ud5` '
Jls seemst obeveryunnatural, as l t glves
\hltetwoadd|t|onal tempos,asslstlnghlm
lnselz|ngthelnltlatlve.Stlll,thislsthemove
Davles`reperto|rerelieson.
I 3. Cc3Ug5
Davlesendshere, whlchIwouldbetempted
to do as well, |l ! had to delend lack`s
poslt|on.
I4. l4
Loglcal and strong. We wlll check the
dlHerent retreats avallable lor the black
queen.
I4. . . Ue7
I4. . . Ug6 I 5 .,d3 l5 I 6. 0-0 UF I 7. lcI
A good posltlonal move, wlth the ldea ol
chaslng lacks knlght away aber Ce2,
thus secur|ng an edge ,lt ls not necessary
to enter lnto the compllcatlons alter I 7. e4
Cxa3 I 8. UL ,c4' ) . A posslble llne where
,b4 , I 8 . . . Cc4 I 9. Ca4 Cd6 20. Cc5 d5
2 I . e4 ls good lor \h|te, as |s I 8 . . . d8
I 9. Ca4 b4 20. Cc5 0-0 2 I . Cxe6 Uxe6
22. xc7 F 23. xF xF 24. Uh5t Ug6
25.Uh3 andwlns. ) I 9. Ub2Ue7 , I 9 . . . Cc4
20.Uxb4) 20. Ca4 d8 2 I . c3 \hlte ls
closetowlnnlng.
I4. . . Ug4 I 5.,c4 ,xc4 I 6.Ue4t ,e7
I 7.L' and lack wlll lose materlal, as
\hlte ls threatenlng bothUxb7 and,xg7
lollowlngbyUxc4.
I 5.,xc4
Jls ls much easler than the compllcatlons
alter I 5. l5 ,xl5 I 6. Uxl5 Cxe3 I 7.Ud3
Cc2t=.
I 5 . . . ,xc4 I 6. Ua4,e6
I6. . . ,d3 I 7. dI ,e4 I 8. 0-0 and lack ls
j ustlost.
I 7. 0-0
Also I 7. b6t c6 I 8. l5' , as recommended by
my edltor |acob Aagaard, looks great lor
Whlte, butl llketo keep thlngsslmple.
\hlte has a huge development advantage
and lack cannot delend agalnst thls, lor
example.
I7. . . l5 I 8. e40-0-0 I 9. Ce2be420. lcI
\hlte'sattackwlllbedeclslve.
I 3.$d3
lack reslsts thls goes. I 7 . . . Cxa3 I 8. Ue2
I3 . 4 9 Ug5
o+ Je Queen's Camb| t
Unt|l now all lack's hopes have been
connectedw|thth|sact|vecont|nuat|on. ut|t
|salsovery| mportanttoexam|nelack'sother
opt|ons.
I 3 . . . Ud7 I 4. Cc3 Cl5
Here\h|tehasapleasantcho|ce.
I 5. $e5
Also strong |s I 5. Ce2. For example.
I 5 . . . $d6, I 5 . . . Cxd4 I 6. Cxd4$d6doesnot
br|ngrel|ele|ther, alter l 7. $e4Lb8 l 8. 0-0
g6 l 9. l4T. lack|sunder strongpressureall
over theboard. ) I 6. 0-0 0-0 I 7. $b2Wh|te
|sclearlybetter,aslackhasser|ousproblems
w|thh|skn|ghtonl5 .
I 5 . . . $d6 I 6.$xd6 Cxd6 l 7. 0-0 h6 I 8. LldI
0-0 I 9.$h7tIh820. $e4
Translerr|ng the b|shop to a more act|ve
square.
20. . . Ue7 2 I . $l3
\|th apleasantadvantagelorW| te.
I 3 . . . $e7 I 4. Cd2 ,Aser|ousinaccuracywould
be I 4.$xg7 Lg8 l 5. $e5 $l6 and lack takes
over the in|tlat|ve. ) l 4 . . . $l6 I 5. $xl6 Uxl6
I 6. 0-0\h|te|smuchbetter,aslackneedsto
wastealewmore tempos belorehecancastle.
I4.f4
Dehnltelythemostamblt|ousmove.
\h|tehastr|edothermoves| npract|ce.
l 4. 0-0 Cxb5 I 5.$xb5t
l 5.$b2 $d6` ,lack should have played
l 5 . . . 0-0-0 l 6. Lc l c6 w|th unclear play)
I 6. l4J|sledtoaclearadvantage|nleralta
- Amura, SanLuls2006.
Alter I 5. Cc3 Cxd4 I 6. exd4 $d6 Whlte
canhardlyhopeloranyth|ngser|ous,hav|ng
g|ven up h|s dark-squared b|shop. lack
equal|zed eas|ly aber l 7. LabI Uh6 I 8. g3
0-0 l 9 . Lxb7 $xa3 |n Celland
Kas|mdzhanov, Moscow,blitz) 2007.
l 5 . . . Uxb5 I 6. Uxc7
And now |nstead ol the natural I 6 . . . Lc8
I 7. Ug3 when lack exper|enced ser|ous
d|mcult|esw|thh|sdevelopment| nYakov|ch
- Vorotn|kov, Moscow 2007, lack should
reactcalmlyw|th.
l 6 . . . Ud7' I 7. Ug3
I 7. Lcl Lc8 I 8. Uxc8tUxc8 I 9. Lxc8t$xc8
andtheendgame|sequal .
I 7 . . . l6
Followed by I 8 . . . $d6 and I 9 . . . 0-0 and
lackhasnoth|ngtoworryabout.
I4 $$ .Ub4t
Avery|mportantalternat|veis.
I 4 . . . Ud5
Surpr|slngly the ar|s|ng poslt|on |s very
compl|cated,butIsucceeded|nwork|ngout
thebestl|nelorWhlte.
l 5. Cc3'
Aber I 5. 0-0 Cl5' , I 5 . . . Cxb5 I 6. $xb5t
Lxb5 I 7. l5 |s qu|te dangerous lor lack)
I 6. $xl5 $xl5 I 7. Ul2 , I 7.Uxc7 probably
should lead to a draw. I 7 . . . Lc8 I 8.Uxa
I 8. Cc3 Uxg2t I 9. Ixg2 Lxc7 20. e4 Lc4'
2l . ldI $c5 and lack |s by no means
worse] I 8 . . . Lc2 l 9. Ll2 \h|te can avo|1
thedrawwith l 9. Cd2, butit|srather\hlte
whohas tobe carelulalter l 9 . . . b6 20. Lxbo
Lxd2 2I . Ub8t Id7 22. Ll2 Lxl2 23. Ixl2
$c5' 24. Uxh8 $xd4| l 9 . . . Lc It 20
Lc2\lth a drawbyrepet|t|on. ) l7. . . Lxb
ChapterZ; Ab| nCounterCamb|t
o7
I 8. Cc3 Uc4 , I 8 . . . Ud7' ` ) I 9lc I 0-0-0
Wh|te dehn|tely has compensat|on lor the
pawn, but lack's pos|t|on |s not w|thout
resources.
I 5. . . Ub3
Je po|nt beh|nd I4. . . Ud5. Wh|te has a
w|ldcho|cehere but thebestmove| s.
I 6. Ul2'
Somehowth|sappearstobethebestsquare
lor\h|te'squeen.
I 6 . . . Cl5
I 6 . . . 0-0-0 I 7. 0-0 ,worse |s I 7. c2
Uc4 I 8. b I Cl5 I 9. b3 Ud3 20. c2-)
I7. . . Cxb5 I 8.xb5 ,less clear |s I 8. ab I
Uxc3 I 9.xc3 Cxc3) I 8 . . . xd4 I 9. exd4
Uxc320. l5lackj ustlacksoneconsol|dat|ng
move such as . . . d6, meanwh|le \h|te
develops a dec|s|ve attack. 20. . . d5
,20. . .d7wouldleadto the samepos|t|on)
2I . lc I Ub3 22. Ul4 c6 ,22. . . c5 23. Ue5'
looksdec|s|ve) 23. xc6 xc6 24. ab I Ud5
25. xc6t Uxc6 26. cI \|th a dec|s|ve
advantage.
I 7.xl5 xl5 l 8. e4
I 8. 0-0 0-0-0 I 9. e4 |sj ustatranspos|t|on.
I 8 . . . 0-0-0 I 9. 0-0
Ol course not I 9 . exl5` c5' and lack
w|ns.
Jh|s |sthecr|t|calpos|t|onlortheevaluat|on
olI4. . . Ud5.
I 9 . . . b6
Jreaten|ng20. . . xd4lollowedby. . . c5.
I 9 . . . Uc420. Cd5xd5 ,lack|slos|ngalter
20. . . Uxb5 2 I . Cxc7' xc7 22. abI Ua6
23. e;t d6 24. Uc;t b8 25. b6, and
20. . . xe4 loses to2 I . Cb6t' cxb622. acI . )
2I . exd5Uxb5 ,2 I . . .Uxd522. b6' |shopeless
lor lack) 22. lc I Uxd5 23. e5 d6
24. dI Uc5 2;.xd6Uxl2t26. xl2 cxd6
27. xd6 J|sendgame |s eas|lyw|nn|nglor
Wh|te.
20. hI Uc4
2 I . Cd5'
J| sstrongmovesecuresWh|te'sadvantage,
aslack|slorcedtosacr|hceanexchange.
2 I . . . xd522. exd5Uxb5 23. lcI b7
23. . . b824. a4Uxd5 2;.xb6'W|tew|ns.
24. Ul3 d625.xg7g826. e5
lack has no compensat|on lor the
exchange.
I5.g3
336 JeQueen'sCambl t
I 5 . . . Ub5
I 5 . . . Uh3
Jlsmovewassuggestedasanlmprovement
ol lack's play by Russlan Crandmaster
NlkolalVlassovlnhlscommentstothegame
Topalov - Morozevlch, Monaco 2005. lt
waslateralsorecommendedlnNlgelDavles'
Oam/itccr II Maybe they used the same
analysls englne` lt seems to be lnsumclent
to resurrectthellne, butlsprobablystlllthe
bestoptlon.
Aersome analysls l have determlned that
lnordertohghtlortheadvantage\hltehas
to reactwlthambltlousplaylnthecentre.
l 6. e4
And now l analysed two posslbllltles, the
bestolwhlchls.
I 6 . . . Ld8
Jreaten|ng. . . :xe4.
Je other optlon |s I 6 . . . 0-0-0, wh|ch
looks very rlsky as \h|te has every chance
ol generatlng an attack, but the pos|tlon
ls verylorclng and \hlte has to proveh|s
advantage. l 7. :d2' :xb5 ,Other moves
are. I 7 . . . :xe4` loses to I8. Lc I ' , and the
slowl 7 . . . Ug2lsmetbyl 8 . LgIUxh2 l 9. b6
c6 20.Uc3 lollowed byUa5 with a strong
attack. )I 8.,xb5 Lxd4 I 9. Lc Ic5,Obvlously
bad ls l 9 . . . c6` 20. ,xc6 wlth a crushlng
attack. I 9 . . . ,d6lsclosertoplayable,butnot
much. 20. :t,b32 l . Uxb3Ug222. :xd4
UxhI t 23.,lI \xe4t 24. :e2 \hlte is
clearly better as lack has only two pawns
lor the plece. ) 20. :l3 Ld8 2I . LbI ' \hlte
selzes a dangerous lnltlatlve, whlle lack's
queenls stuckon h3.
I 7.l5
Onlyllkethls'
UnclearlsI 7. ,HLh5I 8 . ,e2 \h3 I 9. -d2
,g4 20. ,xg4Uxg42I . b6c6.
I 7 . . . :xe4
Aother l|ne |s I 7 . . . ,c4 I 8. -c3 ,xd5
I 9. Uxd3 ,e7 20. Cd5' Ug2 2 I . 0-0-0
,g;t22. bI 0-023. l6Lle8 24. h4wlthan
|n|tlatlve.
I 8. be6 Lxe6 I 9.,c4 \e7 20.,e3 -xg5
2 I . hxg3 Lxe3t 22. Le2 ,c5 23. Uxe3t ,xe5
24. La2 0-0 25. LlI Ld4 26. c2 g6 27. H
,g528. ,b3
Froma material pointolv|ew theposltlon
ls equal ,butI belleveth|sls one olthosecases
where the mlnor p|ece |s stronger than three
pawns. lack cannot create a passed pawn
qU|ckly_ whlle \L|te has clear targets lor d
assaulton thequeenslde.
I 6. C3
I 6. 0-0' ` comeslntoconslderatlonaswell.
I6B . . QO I7. 0-00-0-0?|
Aquestlonablecho|ce,buttheotheroptlons
areno b|g deal elther.
I 7 . . . Cxd4 I 8. exd4 0-0-0 ,even worse is
ChapterZ; - Albl nCounterCamblt
o
I 8. . . ,d6 I 9. | ,d7 20. ae I t l8 2 I . Ce4
wlth a huge advantage) I 9. | ,d7 20. Cd5
)d6 2 I . Cxc7' b8 22. b6 \hlte ls clearly
betterwlthanextrapawn.
I 7. . .,d6 I 8.,xl5 ,xl5 I 9. e4 ,h3 20. e5,e7
,lack ls loslng aber 20. . . ,xlI 2 I . exd6 ,h3
22. Ue4te623. dxc7 0-0 24. Uxb7as theb-
and c-pawnseasllydecldethegame. ) 2 I . Cd5
)d8 22.2 0-0 23. l5 \hlte ls domlnatlng
,aspolntedoutbyVlassov) .
I 7. . . ,e7 I 8 . Cd5' ,xd5 l 9.,xl5 0-020. e4c5
2 I . ,e5' ,aber2l .,xg7xg722. exd5,l6the
blshopond4wouldhelplacktosurvlvebelng
a pawn down - Vlassov) 2 I . . . ,e6 22. ,xe6
be623.Uc4Uh6 24. LadI wlthastrateglcally
wlnnlngposit|on.
I8.$a7|
JlsbrilllantmoveallowsWitetolauncha
1eclslveattack.
I8. . . Ug4
Jepo|nt|sthatl 8 . . . b6lslmposslblelnvlew
cl I 9.,xb6' cxb6 20. Cd5t ,c5 2 I . Cxb6t
wlthawlnnlngadvantage.
I9. Oa4|N--
\lth a declslve attack. Surprlslngly ln
Topalov - Morozevlch, Monte Carlo 2005,
\hlte went wrong wlth I 9. Ce4` and
eventually lost, though he probably stlll had
anadvantageaberthlsmlstake.
Conclusion:
Jhe varlatlon wlth 5. a3 has become a
dangerous weapon agalnst the Albln Counter
Camblt. I can hardly see a playable llne lor
lack to replace the maln llne. Accordlng to
myanalysls,thls llne currentlylavours\hlte,
nevertheless we should never lorget that the
arlslng posltlons are very compllcated and
oHer both sldes room lor lmprovements and
over-the-boardlmprovlsatlon.
A) 5. . . c5
) 5. . . K
C) 5. . . c6

C|lgatla 0:|:ac:
Y1|1||oh hdct
I . d4d52. c4c6
5. c5
O) 5. . . dc44. f5 K5.g5
OI) 5. . . a6
O2) 5. . . d5
O5) 5. .h6
L! ) a|tcr I I . . . .\d7 L5) notc to thc th movc
I 2.\b I |l I 5. Ad5' M
L2) a|tcr I I . g|5
I I . o g;' M
p 30
[
3I
p 34
[
35
p 36
[
38
p 3
9U JeQueen'sCamblt
I . d4d52. c4Oc6
Jls openlng ls named alter the lamous
I 9th century Russlan grandmaster Mlkhall
Chlgorl n. Jls llne vlolates some classlcal
rules. lackdoes notsupportthecentralpawn
on d5, and later on he ls wllllng to exchange
a blshop lor a knlght ,usually the c8-blshop
lor the t-knlght) . Je peak perlod ol thls
openlng was I 995-I 998, mostly thanks to
AlexanderMorozevlch'seHorts. Recentlylthas
beenlesspopular, becauseWhltehasmanaged
to hnd severalways to achleve an advantage.
Now lgor Mlladlnovlc ls perhaps the only
modern grandmaster who regularly plays the
ChlgorlnDelence.Anyway, lnmyoplnlonthe
Chlgorln Delence remalns playable and ls a
verylnterestlngopenlng. lnlact,ltmlghtwork
asasurprlseweapon.
3. Oc3
Je common alternatlves are 3. Ct and
3. cxd5, butthetextseemstobequltelnterestlng.
ln my oplnlon lack ls experlenclng dehnlte
problems alter 3. Cc3. Je lour llneswewlll
look at l n thls chapter do not allhave equal
value. Jhe nrst three are actually lrrelevant
lor the contlnued pract|ce olthls llne as lar
as l am concerned. Jhe optlonsareA) 3. . . e5,
B) 3...Om, C) 3...e6 and the maln move
D) 3. . . dc4.
I . d4d52. c4Oc63. Oc3)
A) 3. . . e5
Jls does not solve lack's problems. Whlte
hasanedge aberalorclngllne.
4.cxd5Oxd45. e3OO6.$b5t$d7
NowWltehasanannoylngqueenmove.
7.Ub3|Od6
lacklsworseaberdevelcplngtheg3-knlght.
7. . . Cl6 8. xd7tCxd7
8. . . =xd79. Uxb7losesapawn.
9. Ct
9. Uxb7 b8 l 0. Uc6 b4 promlses lack
dehnltecompensatlon.
9. . . Cd6
9. . . d6 l 0. 0-0 ,Agaln l 0.Uxb7 leads tc
unclear play. l 0 . . . b8 I l .Uxa7 l l .Ua6
Cc5 l 2. Ue2 e4 allows lack a lot cl
counterplay] l l .. . Cc5, wlth counterplay.)
I 0 . . . b3 l I . e4 Je most ambltlous mcve
,although there ls nothlng wrong wlth
I l . Uc2 Ch4 I 2. Cxh4 Ux4 l 3. e4 00
I 4. e3 a6 l 5 . 2ac I and Wlte ls sllghtly
better,ashewlllhaveplayon thequeenslde)
I I . . . Ce7 ,lt looks llke the compllcatlcns
aberl l . . . Cd4l 2. Cxd4exd4l 3. Cb5lavcur
\hlte, lor example l 3 . . . 0-0 l4. Cxd4 Cc5
I 5. Uc2 only not l 5.Ue3:' 2e8 l 6. l3 Uh4
wlth compensatlon lor lack] l 5 . . . Ue/
I 6. 2e I 2be3 l 7. Cl5 Ue5 l 8. g3 wlth the
advantage, slnce lack cannot capture the
e4-pawn ln vlew ol l 9. Cxd6 cxd6 20. H)
l 2.e3Whltehasapleasantadvantage.
l 0. e4e7 l l . 0-0 0-0 l 2. e3
Agaln \lte's chances are prelerable, due
to hls pressure on the queenslde. lt ls veq
lmportantthataber.
l 2 . . . l5 I 3. exl5 2xl5
\hltehas thestrongmove.
l 4. Ce4
Wlchsecures hls posltlonaladvantage.
ChapterZ6 - ChlgorlnDelence
9
Probably the lesser evll would be 7. . . b6,
but nobody has trled lt yet ln tournament
practlce.
8.$xd7tUxd79.OOm
lack has to make thls ugly move, slnce
9. . . e4 l 0. Ce5' lollowed by Ua4t ls
unacceptablelorhlm.
I0. e4g6
Otheroptlonsare.
l0. . . Ce7 I I . 0-0g5 l 2. Cd2
Jhep|ecesacr|hce l 2.,xg5' ` Eg5 l 3. Cxe5
Uc8 I 4. Ct3 comeslntoconslderatlon.
l2. . . Cg6 I 3. Cc4Ch4
Jhls |s |aracz - Nygren, Stockholm 2005.
AndhereW|teshouldhaveplayed.
l4. l3 Cxc4
l 4 . . . g4doesnotwork. I 5. Eg4Uxg4 l 6. Ce3
wlthalargeposltlonaladvantage.
I 5 ."xc4,d6 I 6.,e3
\lth an advantage lor Whlte, lack has
achlevednoth|ngontheklngslde.
I 0. . g5 I I . ,e3 h5 I 2. Cd2 Ch6 I 3. h3 Cht
I 4. 0-0-0gaveaposltlonaladvantagelnCalyas
- Shanmugam,udapest2006.
I I .0-0Ob6I2. OeIObf I3. Od3b6
l 4. Cc5wasthreatened.
I4. f4 $g7
Olcourse I 4 . . . ext4` ls bad due to I 5. Cxf4
lollowedbyCe6.
I5.fe5fe5
Jls was Rustemov - |ened, Krasnodar
l 998, andnow.
I6.$e30-0 I7. acIt
Jl sleaveslackwlthasolldbutverypass|ve
posltlon.
( I .d4d52. c4Oc63. Oc3)
B)3. . . Om
Jls l s lack's second-best optlon accordlng
to theory, but recently lack has experlenced
serlousproblemshere.
4.cxd5
Aso posslble ls 4. Cl3 whlch ln many cases
transposes to4. cxd5.
4. . . Oxd5
5. OO|
Jhepolnt. lackwlllnotbeallowedtoplay
the llne5. e4Cxc36. bxc3e5.
5. . . $O
9Z JeQueen's Camblt
Jereareolcoursealternatlves.
5. . . ,g4` '
Jl swholel l nelooksdubloustome.
6. e4Cxc37. bxc3e5
lack'sposltlonl shorrlblealter7. . . e68. 2bI
2b8 9.=a4 ,xl3 I 0. gxt Ud7 I I . ,b5,
ZAl' Chess - Rojas Kelm, Vllla Martelll
2006.
8. d5
8. . . ,xl3
lack has to make thls exchange w|thout
belngprovokedbyh2-h3.
Ater 8. . . Ce7 l would recommend the
natural 9. 2b I ,lnstead ol the theoret|cal
9. Ua4t ,d7 I 0. Ub3 Cg6 I I .Uxb7 ,c5
whenlackgetssomeactlvltylorthepawn)
9. . . b6l 0. h3,xl3 l I . Uxl3a6, I 2. ,b5twas
threatened) I 2. h4' . Cc8 , I 2 . . . h5 I 3 . LdI
Cg6 l 4. g3,c5I 5. ,e2) l 3. Ug3l6 l 4.,d3
Ud7 I 5. ,e3Whltelsbetter.
8. . . Cb8` ' 9. Ua4tCd7,j ustbad ls9. . . ,d7`
l 0. Ub3andlackloseselthertheb7- ore5-
pawn) l 0. Cxe5Ul6Someyearsagothlsl|ne
wasqultepopularlorlack,butthenVlte
lound the strong l l . ,e2' which probably
relutes lack's ldea. lack has tr|ed varlous
llnes.
a) l l . . . b5 l 2. Uxb5 Uxe5 l 3. xg4 Uxe4t
l 4. Le2Uxe2t l 5. ,xe2\ithahealthyextra
pawn, Carcla lalermo - Llbeau, Cermany
l 988.
b) l l . . . Uxe5 I 2. ,xg4 0-0-0 , I 2 . . . Uxc3t
I 3. ,d2 Uxa I t I 4. ~e2 loses on the spot)
l 3. 0-0 wlth a declslve advantage, Cylmesl
- latuzzo, Cuarapuava l 995.
c) I l . . . c6 I 2. dxc6 ,alter I 2. ,xg4 Cxe5
l 3. ,e2,c5I 4. 0-0 0-0lackhassomeplay
lor thepawn) l 2 . . . Uxe5AndnowDautov's
recommendat|on seems to be strong.
l 3. ,xg4 ,thls ls stronger than l 3. cxd7t
,xd7 I 4. Ud4 and Wh|te was only sl|ghtly
better ln Rey - Leskl, San Iranclsco l 987)
l 3 . . . Uxc3t l 4. ~e2 Uxc6 l 5. Lxc6 bxc6
l 6. bI Cl6 l 7. ,l3 Je endgame ls very
dlmcultlor lack, as he can hardlyholdon
to hlsweakpawnsonthequeens|de.
9. Lxl3 Ca5
Fvenworse ls 9. . . Cb8 I 0. 2b I ' b6 I I . ,b5t
Cd7 I 2. 0-0 ,d6 l 3. Lg4 g6 I 4. l4' and
lackreslgned|nabur|n- Qu|nn,K|lkenny
2007.
I 0. Ug3Ld6 l l .e2
Intend|ngtoplay l 2. 0-0lollowedby I 3. l4,
w|th an advantage, as Wh|te w|ll selze the
|n|tlat|veon the kingslde.
5. . . e5
Jlshasbeentrledonlyonce.
6. dxe5
Not 6. e4 Cxc3 7. bxc3 exd4 8. cxd4 ,g4
wlthcompl|catedplay
6. . . ,b4 7. ,d2
7. a3' `
7. . . Cxc3 8. bxc3,c5
1l sm|ghtl ookworth conslderlng, but| u
the game lack d| d not manage to prove
sumclentcompensat|onlor thepawn.
9. ,l4 0-0 I 0. e3Ue7 I I . ,e2,g4 l 2. 0-0ho
l 2 . . . 2ab8 I 3. Cd4'
I 3. Lc2
I 3. Cd4' `
I 3 . . . le8 l 4. 2ldI
\h|te l s better, Martys - Spanton, LSS
2006.
6.=b3e6
ChapterZ6 - Chlgor|nDe|ence
Jerelsalesseroptlon.
o. . . Cxc3` ' 7. bxc3
Jls glves Whlte a large advantage. For
example.
7. . . bo
7. . b8` loses on the spot to 8. d5 Ca5
9. Ub5tcol 0. dxcoandlack'sblshoponl5
lshanglng.
8. e4' $xe49. $b5
Suddenlylacklosesmaterlal , slnce he has
nosatlslactorydelenceagalnstCe5.
9. . . l6 l 0. Ue6 Ud5 I I .Uxd5$xd5 l 2. c4$xl3
l 3. gxl3--
Muhtarov D. Illn, Sevastopol2000.
7.e4
Averyconcrete and strongdeclslon, whlch
promlses\Llteacearedge.
7. . . Oxc38. exf5 Od5
9.$d2
lt ls verylmportant lorWhlte to cover the
e4-square, thusavold|ngaposslblecheck.
9. a3' ` lsanlnterestlngalternatlve.
utWh|te shouldnotbeL ahurrytocapture
cnb7. Alter9. Uxb7$b4t l 0. dl , I 0. $d2` '
$xd2t I I . xd2 Cde7 l 2. $b5 0-0' )
l 0. . . Cde7, wlth Whlte`s klng stuck ln the
centre, lackwlllgetdehnltecompensatlon.
9. . . Ud6
I trled to lmprove lack's playwlth 9. . . b8
but then Whlte contlnues loglcally. l 0. Eeo
Eeo I I .$b5 $e7 I 2. 0-0 0-0 l 3. le I
Udo , I 3 . . . xt l 4. Uxl3 Cxd4 I 5. Ud3 c5
l o. a4 and lack does not have sumclent
compensatlon lor the exchange) I 4. e4 wlth
astrongposltlonalpressure.
I0.Uxb7
Jerelsnolongeranyreasontoavol dtaklng
thepawn.
I0. . . b8 I I .Ua6$e7
Whlte ls wlnnlng a|ter I I . . . exl5 I 2. c I
Ueot l 3. dI ' N ,an lmprovement over
I 3.$e2 as played ln Sarglsslan- Mlladlnovlc,
llovdlv 2008) l 3 . . . bo l 4. Ua4 d8 I 5. $b5
wlththedeadlythreatoll o. el .
l l . . . xb2 loses to I 2. $b5 Cdb4 l 3. Uc8t
e7 l 4. 0-0 and ltls lmposslble lor lackto
holdthlsposltlonwlthhlsklngone7.
I2.$b5b6I3.Ua40-0I4.cI Ob8
I 5.0-0ex
Jls position arose Husarl - |amrlch,
udapest l 998, and here Whlte should play
calmly.
9+ JeQueen'sCamb|t
I 6.b3|?N
Desplte materlalbelngequal, lackhasnot
solvedhlsproblems.Wltehasalargeposltlonal
advantagethankstohlspalrolblshopsandthe
weakblackpawnsonthequeenslde.
( I .d4d52. c4Oc63. Oc3)
C)3. . . e6
I amwllllngto adm|tthlslsalegaImove, but
we reach a Queen
'
s Camblt structure w|th
lack's knlghtclearlymisplaced on c6, as it|s
|nthewayolthetyplcalmove. . . c7 -c5.
4. OO$b4
Anotheroptlonls.
4. . . Cl6 5 . g5e7
Keeplnghlsdark-squaredblshopone7.
6. e30-07. c I a68. a3
Alsoposslblels8. Uc2dxc49. xc4b5 I 0. e2
Cb4 I l . Ub l and lack d|d not manage
to achleve the typlcal . . . c7-c5. I I . . . Cbd5
l 2. Cxd5 Cxd5 I 3.xe7Uxe7I 4. 0-0wlth
a posltlonal advantage due to the control
olthec5-square, leralta- MartlnezLopez,
Lorca2005.
8 . . b69. cxd5 exd5 l 0.d3b7 I I . b4
Itlsnotclearwhatlack'sknlghtlsdolngon
c6, lsakhls- Sahovlc,Lvov I 984.
5.$g5|
It |s certalnlyvery|mportantto develop the
dark-squaredb|shopbeloreplaylnge3.
5. . . Om
Other optlons are. 5. . . l6 6. l4 Cge7 7. e3
w|th a pleasant edge or 5. . . Cge7 6. e3 ho
,6. . . l67. l4) 7. h4 0-0 8. Uc2 and I do not
see anypoint|n lacks set-up, Shar|yazdanov
- Kovacev|c,Sol|n2003.
6.e3b6
AndnowWh|teshouldcalmlyreactwlth.
7.$x
Slnce.
7. h4g5 8. g3 Ce4
Jls seemstobeverydouble-edgedalter.
9. Cd2
9.Uc2h5'
9. . . Cxc3
Accept|ngthechallenge.
ad ls 9. . . Cxg3`' I 0. hxg3 dxc4 I l .xc4
and lackdldnotgetanyth|nginreturnlor
weaken|ng h|s klngs|de, Naj er - Vokouu,
lardub|ce2005.
I 0. bxc3xc3 l l . cI b4 I 2. h4e5'
lackskn|ghtonc6|sworklng'
I 3. xe5Cxe5 I 4. dxe5c6 I 5. hxg5d4
Wlthunclearplay,|anos| -Stadler,LSS2007.
ChapterZ6 ChlgorlnDelence 9J
7..x8.Uc20-09. a$c3t I0.Uxc3t 40 B B Om
Whlte has an lmproved verslon ol the Dehnltelythemalncontlnuatlon.
RagozlnVarlatlon.
Lazarev- Skembrls, Fstensl200I .
(I .d4d52. c4Oc63. Oc3)
D)3. . . dc4
Tls ls cearlylack's mostpopularreplyalter
3. Cc3.
4. OO
Another popular alternatlve ls 4. d5, but l
hopewewlllnot need lt.
Otheroptlonsarecearlyworse.
4. . . ,g4`' 5. d5,xl3
5. . . Ca56. Ce5'
6. exl3 Ce57.,l4
lack'sposltlonlscrltlcal, lorexample.
7. . . Cd7
7. . . Cd3t8. ,xd3cxd3 9. Cb5losesatonce.
7. . . Cg6 ls met by 8. ,xc4' wlth the ldea
8. . . Cxl4` 9. ,b;tandWhltewlns.
8. ,xc4
Whlte has a large advantage due to hls
betterdevelopment,Donner- Keene,London
I 97 I .
4. . . e5` ' 5. d5'
JlsleadstoacearadvantagelorWhlte.
5. . . e4
5. . . Cb4 6. a3 e4 7. Cg5 ,e7 8. Cgxe4 and
lack remalns a pawn down, ertrem -
Schuermans, elglum200 I .
Nowtheeaslestls.
6. dxc6
Lesscearls6. Cxe4Cb47. Cc3c6.
6. . . LxdIl 7. xdI exl3 8. extbxc69. ,xc4
Wlth cearly better chances lor Whlte
due to lack's rulned pawn structure on the
queenslde.
Jeonlyplayablealternatlvemlghtbe.
4. . . e6
utaber.
5. e4
lt ls absolutely cear that lack's knlght ls
mlsplaced on c6, not allowlng lack to
dellverthetyplcalbreakwlth. . . c7-c5.Whlte
lsmuchbetterhere.
5. . . Cl6
Unlortunately lor lack 5. . . Ca5` does not
worklnvlewol6.Ua4tc67. b4' cxb38. axb3
b59. Cxb5andlack'sposltlonlscollapslng,
9 JeQueen's Camblt
Hauchard- ClHard, Montpelller2000.
6. xc4 b4
6. . . e7 7. 0-0 0-0 8eI wlth a pleasant
edge.
7. e5' Ce4
7. . . Cd58. d2andWhltehasgoodattacklng
chances, Kasparov - laleo Magdaleno,
Slmultaneous I 99 I .
8. Uc2 Cxc39. bxc3
\hltehasastrong centreandgoodchances
toselzethelnltlatlveontheklngslde,DeSouza
- Noguelra, Reglstro I 999.
5.$g5| ?
Jl slsnotthemostcommoncontl nuatlon,
butlnmy oplnlon ltlsaveryinterestlngone.
\hlteslmplydevelopshlsblshoptoanactlve
squarebeloremovlngthee-pawn.Itlsalsovery
lmportant that 5. . . g4 does not work here
andlackmustmakesomeotheruselulmove.
Jere ls no doubt that more tests are needed
ln thls varlatlon, but rlght now the sltuatlon
lookspromlslnglorWhlte.
Je maln llne runs 5. e4 g4 wlth a lot ot
theory.
Jls ls the crltlcal polnt lor my
recommendatlonagalnsttheChlgorln. Youwlll
be3-4 tlmes more llkelyto play thls posltlon
than any ol those covered on the prevlous
pages ln thls chapter. Je maln optlons at
thls polnt are. DI ) 50 6 0 a6, D2) 5006 Od5 and
D3) 50 6 0 b6. Je lastoptlon ls the malnmove
as the lncluslonolthls and the blshopretreat
toh4glveslackmanyextraoptlons.However,
Whltelsstlllbetterlnmyoplnlon.
Othermovesare.
5. . . e6`' 6. e4 e7 7. xc4 0-0 8. 0-0 ls clearly
betterlorWhlte.
5. . . g4` ' 6.d5 xl3 7. exl3 Ce5 8. Ud4 Cd3t
9. xd3 cxd3 I 0. 0-0-0 with a great lead
ln development, Ilj l n - Volovlkov, Donetsk
2008.
5. . . l5` ' lsnotreallyanoptlon,asWhlteplays
6. d5 'b8 7. Ud4' and e2-e4 ls comlng next
wlth greatpower.
( I . d4 d5 2. c4 Oc6 3. Oc3 dc44.OO Cm
5.$g5)
DI) 5B B B a6
6.d5
Inmyoplnlon6. e4' `Ng47. d5 'e5 8. e2,
ls very l nterestlng by analogy wlth the malu
llne.
Chapter26- ChlgorlnDe|ence
9
6. . . Oa7
Jekn|ghthasanotheropt|onon theedge.
6. . . Ca5 7. Ua4t'
Jl sseemstobecrlt|cal .
7. e4lsanotherposs|blemove.
7. . . c6 8 b4
Jepo|ntbehlndWhlte's lastmove.
8. . . cxb3
Another opt|on |s. 8. . . b5 9. Uxa5 Uxa5
I 0. bxa5 Cxd5 I I .,d2 ,l5` ' ,better was
I I . . . l6 but l do not bel|eve lackcancount
on sumclent compensat|on w|th only two
pawns lor the plece) Jls pos|t|on was
reached ln Lukey - Spa| n, New Zealand
,ch) l 992. Here Wh|te should have played
I 2. Ce5zc8 I 3. g4andWh|te'sl|ght-squared
blshop comestog2wlthgreateHect.
9. b3e6 I 0.,d2'
Je key move, whlch allows Wlte to w|n
ap|ece.
I 0 . . . b6
I0. . . Cxb3` would be hopeless lor lack.
I I . dxc6 Cxd2 I 2. cxb7t ,d7 l 3. bxa8U
Uxa8 l 4.Uxa6 and \h|te ls s|mply an
exchangeup.
I I . b4,xb4
lack could have trled I I . ..b5 I 2. Uxa5
Uxa5 I 3. bxa5 exd5 but alter I 4. g3 ,d6
I 5 .,g2 0-0 I 6. 0-0Wh|te ls cearlybetter.
twopawnslorthep|ecearenotenough.
I 2. Uxb4exd5 I 3. e3c5
Tls was played ln P Horvath - Antal,
udapest2003.
I4. Ub2' N
Astrongnewldea,wlththepowerlul|deaol
playlng I 5. Ca4next. Forexample.
I 4 . . . Cc6 I 5. Ca4 zb8 I 6. Ce5' ,b7 I 7. Cxc6
,xc6 I 8.,xa6
And lack has only two pawns lor the
plece.
7.e4
ltwouldbelnterestlngtotest thelollowlng
ldea|ntournamentpractlce.7. a4' `Nrestrlctlng
lack's knlght on a7. Jen 7. . . c6 8. e4 wlth
compl|catedplay.
7. . . Ob58.$xc4|
ln my oplnlon th|s pawn sacrlhcepromlses
\hlte thebestchancesolanadvantage.
Anotherlnterestlngposslblllty|s.
8. Ua4
Rega|n|ngthepawn.
8. . . ,d79. Uxc4
Andnowl bellevelackshouldtry.
9. . . h6
9. . . Cxc3 I 0. bxc3waslvanchuk - Arenclbla,
Cuba 2005, and Lallc - Qulnn, lreland
2008.
I 0.,h4g5 I I . ,g3,g7
Jls was Campora - Martlnez Mart|n,
Madr|d2007, andl wouldprelerWhlteaber
thecorrect.
I 2. 0-0-0.
8. . . Oxc39.bxc3Oxe4
Even worse ls 9. . . h6 I 0.,l4 Cxe4 I I . 0-0
andW|te'sblshop|sperlectlyplacedonl4.
I0.0-0
J|s |sthecr|tlcalposlt|onolthe8. ,c4 l|ne.
You do not need to be a CM to understand
that W|te has powerml compensat|on lor a
pawn, due tohls b|gleadln development.
9o JeQueen'sCambl t
I0. . . $g4
Averylmportantvarlatlonls.
I0. . . Cxg5 I I . Cxg5h6
Worsels I I . . . Ud6 I 2. Ce4Ug6 I 3. eI l5
I 4.Ua4t d7 I 5. Ub3 0-0-0 I 6. abI b5
I 7. a4wlthadeclslveattack.
I 2. Ce6'
I 2. Ce4 g6 I 3. Ud4 h7' lollowed by
I 4 . . . g7looksqultesolldlorlack.
I 2 . . . Ud6 I 3. Ut
Wlte'slnltlatlvelooksverydangerous.
I I .$f4|
NowWhlte keeps hls dark-squared blshop
andthelnltlatlvedevelopsltsell.
I I . . .Ud7
I I . . . g5 I 2 .e5 l6 l 3. Ue2 be5 , I 3 . . . Cd6
I4.xl6' ) I 4. Uxe4 xt I 5.Uxl3 Ud6
I 6. abI And desplte the opposlte-coloured
blshops, Whlte's advantage ls obvlous, slnce
therelsnosaleplacelorlack`s klng.
JetextlsVan derWerl- leek, Leeuwarden
2004. Andherelllke.
I2.UbI |NOd6
Je polnt ls that alter I 2 . . . xl3 I 3.Uxb7
d8 I 4. gxl3 g5 I 5. Uxa6' decldes the game,
becauseb5 lsadeadlythreat.
I3. Oe5Uc8I4.$d3
lack's posltlon looks very dangerous
wlthoutdevelopmentandwlthhlsklngstuck
lnthecentre.
( I .d4d52. c4Oc63. Oc3dxc44. OOOm
5.$g5)
D2) 5. . . Od5
JIlslsamoreor|essplayablealternatlve.
6.e4 Oxc3
Clearly bad ls 6. . . Cb6` 7. d5 Cb4 8.xc4
Cxc4 9. Ua4t c6 I 0. Uxb4 wlth a huge
advantage, Notkln - M. lvanov, Moscow
I 996.
7. bxc3
Nowlackhasacholce.
7. . . Oa5
In myoplnlonthlsls the crltlcal move, but
twoothermoves are also lnterestlng.
7. . . l6 8.e3Ca59. Cd2
JreatenlngI 0. Uh5t' lo|lowedbyUxa5.
9. . . c6 I 0. Cxc4g6 I I . Cxa5N
lack had decent play aber I I . Uc2 eo
I 2. Cd2 g7 I 3 .e2 0~0 I 4. 0-0 l5 ln
Celland- Mlladlnovlc,elgrade l 995.
I I .. . Uxa5 I 2. Ub3Ub6
Otherwlse the pressure along the a2-g3
dlagonallsunpleasantlorlack,lorexample
alter I 2 . . . e6 I 3 .c4.
I3.c4Uxb3 I 4. axb3
Wlte has a very pleasant edge ln thls
endgame due to hls strong centre and the
accesshls rookhas totheopena-hle.
7. . . g6 8.xc4 g7 9.Ud2 Ca5 I 0 .e2 ls a
goodCruenleldlorWhlte,Vaganlan- Fercec,
EuropeanClubCup2006.
Chapter2- ChlgorlnDe|ence 99
8.$xc4|?N ( I.d4 d5 2. c4 Oc6 3. Oc3 dc4 4. OO Om
I leel that thls noveltyshould be lnWhlte's 5.$g5)
bestlnterests.
Anotherlnterestlngconceptwouldbetoleave
lack's knlght on a5. 8. ,e2 g6 9. 0-0 ,g7
I 0. Ua4t c6 I I .Ub4 and Whlte has good
compensatlonlorthepawnlnCatalansplrlt.
ln the game Whlte reacted unsuccesslully
wlth 8. Cd2 b5 9. ,e2 h6 I 0. ,h4 c5 I I . Cl3
_b7 I 2.Ub I "b I 3. 0-0 e6 and lack had
theadvantagelnDlCaro- Mlladlnovlc,Italy
2005.
8. . . Oxc49.Ua4tc6 I0.Uxc4$e6
lackcannotplayI 0 . . . g6`|nvlewolI l . Ce5
,e6 I 2. d5' cxd5 I 3. Ub5t ,d7 I 4.Uxd5
,e6 I 5 . Ub5t ,d7 I 6.Uxb7 wlth a wlnnlng
posltlon.
I I .Ue2g6
I I . . . b5 once agaln runs lnto I 2. d5' cxd5
I 3.Uxb5tUd7 l 4."xd7t,xd7 I 5. exd5 and
lack does not have sumclent compensatlon
lorthepawn.
I2. 0-0$g7I3lI0-0
I 3 . . . b5 lsagalnwellmetbyl 4. d5 .
I4.b3t
D3)5. . . b6
I belleve thls ls the crltlcal contlnuatlon, as
lt could be uselul later on lor lack to have
lnserted. . . h6and,h4.
6.$b4
Certalnly the capture on l6 does not ht ln
wlth Whlte's plans. 6. ,xl6 exl6 7. e3 ,d6
8. ,xc40-0 9. 0-0l5wlthaperlectlyplayable
posltlonlorlacklnOstenstad- Causel,Oslo
I 988.
Onceagalnlackhasacholce.
6. . . a6
Sllghtly dublous ls 6. . . g5 7. ,g3 when
the tactlcal ldea 7. . . g4` ' j ust does not work.
Whlte has both 8. d5, and 8. Ce5 wlth the
ldea 8. . . "xd4` 9. Cb5' and lackwas lost ln
Chrlstlansen- Tarln,USA I 985.
Soalter.
6. . . g5 7. g3
Jelesserevllwastoplay.
7. . . ,g7
WhenWhlteshouldcontlnuewlth.
8. e3
8. d5 Ca5 9. Ua4t c6 I 0. 0-0-0 Ub6ls not
soclear.
+UU JeQueen'sCambl t
8. . . ,e69. h4g4
9. . . Ch5 I 0. ,h2 g4 I I . Cd2, lollowed by
I 2. ,c4, also promlses Whlte the better
chances.
I 0. Cd2 Cd5
I 0 . . . Ud7 I l . ,xc4
I I . ,e2h5 I 2. Cxc4
Whltehasregalnedthepawnwlthdlvldends,
lt wlll be too dangerous lor lack to castle
klngslde.
6. . . ,g4
7. d5,xl3
7. . . `a5lsablttrlcky.Whlteshouldplaythe
slmple8. Ce5wlth aclearadvantage, due to
thepoorlyplacedklghtona;.
ltlooks as llWhlte couldwln a plece alter
8. Ua4tc69. b4cxb3 l 0. axb3butherelack
has an unexpected resource. I 0 . . . e6' Here
we can see the advantage ollnsertlng . . . h6
and ,h4, as \hlte cannotplay l l . ,d2 as
he could ln the llne wlthout these moves
lnserted.
8. exl3
l came to the concluslon that recapturlng
wlth the g-pawnwas a worthy alternatlve.
8. gxl3NCe5l examlnedthe lollowlngline.
9. ,g3 Ced7 I 0. e4 Cb6 ,OtherwlseWh|te
wlll regaln the pawn wlth ,xc4 and get a
clear advantage. ) I I . Cb5 , I I . a4' `) I l . . . e5
, I I . . . Lc8` makes no sense. l 2. Cxa7 La8
I 3. Cb5 Lc8 l 4. ,h3--) I 2. dxe6 ,b4t
I 3. Ie2 0-0 I 4. Cxc7 Ch5 I 5. Cxa8 Ul6
Trylng to compllcate matters. I 6. Uc I
Delendlng both the b2-pawn and the l4-
square. I 6 . . . be6 I 7. ,g2 Lxa8 I 8. LdI I
do not belleve that lack has sumclent
compensatlonlortheexchange.
8. . . Ce59. l4'
I bellevethlslsWhlte'sbestbet.
9. . . Cd3t I 0. ,xd3cxd3 I I .Uxd3
Whlte has an enormous advantage ln
development and lt ls not surprlslng that
lack qulcky collapsed ln the lollowlng
example.
l I . . . c6 l 2. ,xl6 gxl6 l 3. 0-0-0 Lc8 l 4. LheI
cxd5 I 5. IbI e6 l 6. Cxd5--
Dreev- Schwelger, Cermany I 998.
6. . . e6
Jl slsdehnltelyamaj orconcesslon. lack's
llght-squaredblshopremalnspasslve on c8.
7. e3
Certalnlynot7. e4g5 8. ,g3,b4 and lack
lshne.
7. . . Ca5
Whlte has many temptlng contlnuatlons,
butDreev'smoveseemsbest.
8. Ce5
Otherl l nearel essclear.
8. ,xl6 Uxl6 9. Ua4t Cc6 l 0. Ce5 ,d6 ls
playablelorlack.
8. Ua4t c6 9. b4 ,a typlcal ldea) 9. . . g
,9. . . cxb3 l 0. axb3 Ub6 l l .,xl6 ,b4
ChapterZ6 ChlgorlnDetence +U
I I . . . gxl6 I 2.Uxa5 Uxa5 I 3. 2xa5 b4
I 4. 2c5wlthamaterlaladvantage] I 2. 0-0-0
xc3 I 3 . xg7 2g8 I 4 . xh6 thls clearly
lavours Whlte) I 0. bxa5 gxh4 I I . xc4
d6 Once agaln lack can clalm some
achlevements.
8. . . a6 9. Ua4t
9. Cxc4 Cxc4 I 0 . xc4 e7 I I . 0-0 0-0
I 2. 2cI ls also sllghtly better lor Whlte,
slnce alter the typlcal I 2 . . . c5 I 3 . dxc5
xc5 I 4. Ul3 Whlte keeps annoylng
pressure.
9. . . c6 I 0. Cxc4Cxc4 I I . Uxc4
Once agaln lacks maln problem ls the
passlveblshoponc8.
I I . . . Ub6 I 2. 0-0-0 d7
Jls posltlon ls lrom Dreev - Morozevlch,
Aushta I 994, and here Whlte could have
securedhls advantagewlth.
I3. d3' N Ua5 I 4. Ub3 b; I 5 . xl6 gxl6
I 6. Ce4'
7.e4
Anotherserlousoptlonls.
/. d5Ca5
Nobody has trled 7. . . Ca7, but lt ls stlll
relevant. Alter 8. e4 b5 9. e2 Vhlte has
rlch play lor the pawn, but lack olcourse
alsohasthatextrapawn. lprelerWhlte, but
nothlnglsguaranteed.
8. e4
Averylmportantmoment. Whlte does not
haveanadvantageaber8. Ua4tc69. b4cxb3
I 0. axb3 as lack once agaln has the trlcky
I 0 . . . e6' I I . b4, I I . e4` ' Ub6 lsalreadybetter
lor lack) I I . . . Cc4 I 2. dxc6 b5 I 3. Ub3
Ub6wlthdouble-edgedplay .
Here lack has several optlons, but l wlll
onlymentlonthecrltlcalllne.
8. . . c69. dxc6UxdIt I 0. 2xdI b5'
At hrst slght thls endgame looks very
attractlve lorWhlte, but I dld not manage
to hnd anythlngspeclalwhen l lnvestlgated
theposltlonmoreclosely.
Je lnlerlor I 0 . . . bxc6 I l . g3 was lndeed
sllghtlybetterlorWhltelnKovacs- Turzo,
udapest2006.
I I . e5
I I . Cd5Cxd5 I 2. exd5e6' lshnelorlack.
I I . . . g5 I 2. exl6
Not I 2 . g3Ch5' .
I 2 . . . gxh4 I 3. Cd5
AlsonotI 3. a4bxa4.
I 3 . . . 2a7
Wlthunclearplay.
7. . . $g4
Je otherway ls.
7. . . b5 8. d5
Jl sl sprobablyverydangerouslorlack.
8. . . Ca5
Whlte has a wlde cholce ol attractlve
contlnuatlons, but the most promlslng
+U JeQueen'sCambl t
mlghtalsobethemostdlrect.
9. e5g5
Aso crltlcal ls. 9. . . b4 I 0. Ua4t c6 I I . exl6
bxc3 ,aber I I . . . ext6 I 2. CdI Uxd5 I 3. Ce3
lack does not have any compensatlon lor
theplece) I 2. b4' Averystrongmove,leadlng
toanadvantagelorWhlte. Myanalyslsruns.
I 2 . . . cxb3 , I 2 . . . g5 I 3.,g3onlyhelpsWhlte)
I 3. axb3andnow.
a) I 3 . . . c2 I 4. ,d3 c I Ut I 5. xcI Uxd5
I 6. dI Jls ls j ust bad lor lack, l n
vlew ot \lte's enormous advantage l n
development.
b) I3. . . exl6 I 4. dxc6 Ud5 I 5. c7t' ,cearly
worselsI 5 .Uxa5` Ue4tI 6.,e2 ,b4 l 7.Ua4
c2t l 8 .2lI 0-0 and lack has tantastlc
compensatlon due to hls strong c2-pawn)
I 5 . . . Cc6 I 6. ,c4 Ud7 I 7. ,g3c2 , l 7 . . . ,e7
I 8 . dI c2 I 9. xd7' c I Ut 20. e2wlns tor
\hlte) l 8. 0-0 ,e7 l 9. tc l :b4 20. Cd4
Wlte wlns the c2-pawn, and hls c7-pawn
shouldeasllydecldethegame.
c) l3. . . Uxd5 l 4. Ee7 ,Less cearls l 4.Uxa5
Uxa5 l 5. xa5 ext6 I 6. ,d3 ,b4 l 7. a4
a5 and lackhas some playlor a plece. He
candevelophlslnitlatlvewlth l 8 . . . ,e6and
l 9 . . . 0-0-0 on the next moves. ) l4. . . ,xe7
I 5.,xe7 Cxb3 l 6. ,c4 Ue4t l 7. lI ,e6
I 8.,xb3Uxa4l 9. ,xa4xe720. e2lack
ls loslng the c3-pawn andWhlte has a blg
advantage.
I 0. ,g3 Ch5
I I . e6'
Whltes lnltlatlve looks very powerlul, lor
example.
I I . . . Cxg3
Or I I . . . ,g7 I 2. Ce5 ,xe5 , l 2 . . . Cxg5
transposes to l I . . . Cxg3) l 3.Uxh5 ,xc3t
I 4. bxc3 h7 I 5. 0-0-0andlack`s posltlon
lshopeless.
l 2. Ce5'
Anlcemove,whlchsecuresanadvantage.
I 2 . . . ,g7
l 2 . . . Ud6 I 3. :xf Ub4 l 4. Uc2' Je key
move. White protects the b2-pawn, and
hls queen ls ready to penetrate to g6 wltb
declslveeHect. l 4 . . . :xhI l 5.Ug6c5,Whlte
was threatenlngmate ln two wlth l 6. Cd6t
and l 7. Ue8) l 6. :xh8t Id8 l 7. 0-0-0
:xl2 I 8. d6' :xdI , l 8 . . . exd6 l 9. Cd5wlns)
l 9. Cfte820. Ce5td82 l . UfUxb2t
22. xdl \hltewlns.
I 3 ."tl5
I 3 . . . l6 l 4. :f CxhI l 5. :xd8xd8 I 6. g5
does notchangemuch.
l 4. f :xhI l 5. :xd8xd8 I 6. g3
Wlthamaterlaladvantagelor\lte.
8. d5 e5
Onceagalnltlsextremelydangeroustoplay
8. . . 'a5 allowlng9. e5:d7 I 0. e6, agaln wltb
the ldea to answer l 0 . . . Ee6wlthelther I I . h5
or l I .,e2' `
9.$g3fd7 I 0.$e2$x
Clearlyworsels.
l0. . . :x|t I l . gxt,h5 l 2.,xc4
Whltehasregalnedthepawn,keeplngallhls
plusses. Herearesomeposslblevarlatlons.
I 2 . . . g5 I 3.,e2
l 3. e5 ,g7 l 4. Ue2' ` comes lnto consl-
deratlonaswell .
l 3 . . . ,g7 l 4. Ub3b5
lackl s l ntrouble.
l4. . . :e5 l 5.,xe5' ,xe5 I 6. l4,xe2 I 7. be1
,t3 I 8. gI
Chapter2- ChlgorlnDe|ence 403
I 4 ..b3 I 5. 0-0-0b5 l 6. h4 Ce5 I 7. Ib I
I 5. 0-0-0Ce5 I 6. h4'
It ls notclearwhat lackwlll dowlth hls
klng,Whltelsmuchbetter.
I I .g
Olcourse lackshould react wlththemost
prlnclpledmove,hghtlnglorthel4-square.
I I . . . g5|N
lackhad aroughtlmealterheemployed a
more passlve strategy |n the lollowlng game.
I I . . . g I 2. l4 Cd3t I 3 .xd3 cxd3 I 4.Uxd3
g7 l 5. 0-0-0 Cc5` ' , I 5 . . . 0-0 I 6. e5 ls stlll
clearly better lor Whlte) I 6. Uc4 Ud6 l 7. l5
Wlte had an lndlsputable advantage l n
Ivanchuk- Chlbukhchlan,Yerevan2004.
However, |t |s theposltlon alter movlng the
g-pawn two steps lorwardwhl ch lslmportant
lortheassessmentolthls llne, soI decldedto
analyse thls lmprovementaswell.
I2.f4
Other optlons are I 2. h4 g7 I 3. Ud2 e6
l 4. 0-0-0 Cc5 I 5. b I Ced3 where lack
ls by no means worse, and I 2 .xc4 Cxc4
l 3.Ud4 Cce5 I 4 .xe5 Cxe5 l 5.Uxe5 g3,
whlchleadstodouble-edgedplay.
I2 . . . g
Jealternatlvels I2. . . gxl4 I3.xl4, whenI
conslderedthelollowlngoptlons.
a) I 3 . . . b5 I 4. gI Jls glves Wlte lantastlc
compensatlon. It ls not clear how lack ls
golngtodevelophlspleces.
b) I3. . . e6 I 4. dxe6 , I 4. Ud2' `) I4. . . be
I 5 .h5t Ie7 I 6 .e2 g7 I 7 .e3 Jls also
promlsesWhlterlchplaylorthepawn.
c) I 3 . . . g3 I 4. Ud2 b5 I 5. 0-0-0 lack ls a
pawn up, but all Whlte's pleces are ln play,
whlle lt ls notclear how lack ls golngto get
hlsplecestoplaytogether.
I3.fg5bg5 I4.Ud4
I4 . . .g8
Itlsolcourse also natural to keep the extra
pawnwlth.
l 4 . . . b5
utthls would allow Wlte to open up a
secondlrontwlth.
I 5. a4h7
I 5 . . .g3 I 6. axb5 axb5 I 7. xa3 Uxa3
I 3. Cxb5 leads to a posltlon whlch ls more
orless ldentlcaltothe onealter I 5 . . . h7.
I 5 . . . e5 I 6. dxe6 be6 I 7. b5 axb5 I 3. 0-0
oHersWhlteobvlouscompensatlon.
+U+ JeQueen'sCamblt
I 6. axb5axb5 I 7. xa8Uxa8I 8. Cxb5Ualt
I 8 . . . Ua5t I 9. Cc3 ,g7 20. Uxc4 Cl4
2 I . 0-0 leaves\hltewlth anextrapawn.
I 9. @d2'
Averynlcesacrlhce.
I9. . . UxhI 20. Cxc7t @d8 2 I . Ce6t @e8
22. Uxc4l6 23. Uc8t f 24. Uxd7
ltseemsthat\hltehasmorethansumclent
compensatlon.
24. . . Uxe4
24. . . UbI 25. Ub7'
25 .,d3Ub4t26. @c I
\lth a powerml lnltlatlve. AI| the black
mlnorplecesareoutolplay.
I5.Uxc4$g7 I 6. 0-0-0
Jls lsmuch stronger than I 6.,xc7` ' Cge5
I 7. ,xd8 Cxc4 I 8.,xc4 xd8 when lack
would have Fll compensatlon thanks to hls
strongdark-squaredblshop.
I6 . . . Of4 I7.bI t
lack has managed t omalntaln control ol
thelongdlagonalandthee5-square, butstlll,
wlthallhlspleceslnthegameandlack sklng
stucklnthecentre,I dehnltelyprelerWhlte.
Conclusion:
Jere are many sharp, lorclng llnes ln thls
chapter,sothereadershouldstudytheanalysls
carelully,ratherthanrelyongeneralprlnclples
tosuggestadecentmove.Obviouslythe5 . ,g5
llnerequlresmoreanalyslsandtests,butatthe
moment the sltuatlon looks qulte promlslng
lorWhlte.