openings 157 | January 4 n 2012

what’s hot and what’s not?

XIIIIIIIIY
Black dominating 9rsnlwqkvl-tr0
9zppzp-+pzpp0

in Reggio Emilia
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+-zPn+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
By IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris
9tRNvLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
In this first issue of the new year we focus on rounds 2-6 Frequency
of the strong Reggio Emilia tournament, which has been
dominated by Nakamura so far. We also take a look at
several opens.

what'shot?
Score
Our Game of the Week, Caruana-Giri, shows that the Petroff doesn't
have to be a boring opening at all. In the diagram position Black went for
6...¥e7, provoking an uncommon reply. Below we discuss Ruy Lopez
games with d3 on moves 5 and 6, and we update you on the Jänisch.

Ivanchuk keeps proving that he can play any opening with both colours,
playing a sharp Sveshnikov and beating Caruana. Playing the Taimanov
was a risky choice by the highly experienced Andrei Sokolov against
Fier, since the latter is a theoretical expert on the opening for both sides.
Nakamura did very well with 1.e4 against Vitiugov, outplaying the latter
in the French. Bok beat Michalik in the Caro-Kann Advance.

Nakamura drew very comfortably against Morozevich with Black using

the QGD. Morozevich beat Vitiugov in a creative Nimzo-Indian game. In
Vitiugov-Giri and Morozevich-Caruana (see below) Black looked good
in the Grünfeld. In Giri-Nakamura another notorious King's Indian battle
took place, and as we've seen several times before Nakamura simply
made the most out of Black's practical chances in that complex opening.
Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

The Slow Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.e3) was in bad shape this week, as White scored only half a point from three games
(see below). It's supposed to be a rock solid opening choice for White, but Black is finding ways to create play. Nakamura got two
bad positions with his English Opening this week. He did score well from them though, drawing against
Caruana (see p.4) and even winning a lost position against Ivanchuk (see PGN). what’snot?
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 openings what’s hot and what’s not?
Attacking with the Petroff
Early readers of CVO may remember this title from CVO 27, when Kramnik beat Naiditsch
in a good attacking game, somewhat improving the social status of the Petroff Defence. Giri
also did a good job in that respect.
gameoftheweek Caruana - Giri
Caruana,F (2727) - Giri,A (2714)
Reggio Emilia, 31.12.2011
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤f6 3.¤xe5
Recently Giri suffered a painful defeat in a
blindfold game against Almasi after 3.d4 ¤xe4
4.dxe5 ¥c5 which was covered in CVO 155.
3...d6 4.¤f3 ¤xe4 5.d4 d5 6.¥d3 ¥e7
A more common move-order is 6...¤c6 7.0–0
¥e7 which has been mentioned numerous
times in CVO. An uncompromising alternative
is 6...¥d6 which has been analysed extensively
in CVO 27 and 28.
7.c4
An attempt to make use of the chosen move-
order. As mentioned before, 7.0–0 ¤c6
transposes to the main lines.
7...¥b4+ 8.¤bd2
8.¢f1 worked out well once in practice: 8...0–0
(8...¥e7! seems like a simple improvement.)
9.£b3 ¥e7 10.cxd5 ¤f6 11.¤c3 c6 12.¥g5
cxd5 13.¥xf6 ¥xf6 14.¤xd5 ¤c6 15.¤xf6+
£xf6 16.d5 ¤d4 17.¤xd4 £xd4 18.¦d1 and
White was just a pawn up in Slobodjan-
Schumacher, Germany 2003.
8...0–0
8...¤xd2 9.¥xd2 £e7+ 10.¥e2 ¥xd2+
11.£xd2 0–0 12.0–0–0?! (An attempt to sharpen
the fight, as Black has no problems at all after
12.0–0 ) 12...¥f5 13.g4 ¥xg4 14.¦hg1 £e4
15.¦xg4 £xg4 16.¦g1 £e6 17.¥d3 was seen
in Edouard-Bu Xiangzhi, Cap d'Agde rapid
2010 and now after 17...g6 White's attacking
aspirations would have been brought to a halt.
9.0–0 ¥f5
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsn-wq-trk+0
9zppzp-+pzpp0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+p+l+-0
9-vlPzPn+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-sN-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
10.¤b3?!
White purposely decides to keep as many
minor pieces as possible on the board. On
the other hand, he allows his opponent to
seize control over the centre. The alternatives
were: 10.cxd5 ¤xd2 11.¥xf5 (11.¥xd2 ¥xd3
12.¥xb4 ¥xf1 13.¥xf8 ¥c4 gives Black an
edge.) 11...¤xf1 12.£xf1 £xd5 13.£d3 ¦e8
(13...g6? 14.¥e4 and b7 hangs.) 14.¥xh7+
¢f8 (14...¢h8? can be met by 15.¤e5!)
15.¥e3 gives White some compensation for
the exchange, though it doesn't seem very
likely to be sufficient after 15...¤d7; 10.a3
¥xd2 11.¥xd2 ¤xd2 (11...¤xf2? 12.¦xf2 ¥xd3
13.¥g5 gives White a dangerous attack.)
12.£xd2 ¥xd3 13.£xd3 dxc4 14.£xc4 ¤d7
with equality.
10...dxc4
Simple and strong. It's inferior to immediately
complete development with 10...¤c6 because
of 11.c5! and the ¥ gets into trouble.
11.¥xc4 ¤c6 12.¥d3
Another possibility is gaining space in the
centre with 12.d5 though after 12...¤a5 Black
gladly trades some minor pieces.
12...¥g6 13.a3 ¥d6 14.¦e1 f5!
When possible Black prefers to retain
his knight in the centre. Obviously a solid
alternative might be 14...¤f6 but Giri senses
that Black can generate some active play on
the kingside.
15.£c2
Perhaps a better continuation would have been
to undermine Black's outpost with 15.¤bd2
even though Black can force at least a draw
with 15...¤xd4 16.¤xd4 ¥xh2+ 17.¢xh2 £h4+
18.¢g1 £xf2+.
15...¢h8 16.¥e3 £f6 17.¤c5
Again White might have considered the central
thrust 17.d5!? ¤e5 (17...¤e7 18.¥d4 £f7
19.¤c5 gives White some intiative.) 18.¤xe5
£xe5 19.f4 and White seems to be doing OK,
as after 19...£xd5 20.¥c4 £c6 21.¤a5 he
regains the pawn.
157 | January 4 n 2012
17...¥xc5 18.dxc5 ¦ae8 19.¦ad1 ¥h5
The tempting 19...f4? is premature, since after
20.¥c1 the ¤ on e4 has lost its support.
20.¥e2 f4 21.¥c1 a5!
An extremely strong and necessary move. If
White could play the two moves b4 and ¥b2
his pair of ¥s would have given him a clear
advantage. After the text move White finds it
hard to come up with a sensible plan.
22.£c4
22.b3? intending to play 23.¥b2 is strongly met
by 22...£c3! while 22.¦d5? fails to 22...¥xf3
23.¥xf3 ¤c3! and Black wins material thanks
to White's back rank problems.
22...¦e7 23.h3 ¦fe8 24.¢f1 h6 25.£c2
25.¥d3 is also met powerfully by 25...¥xf3
26.gxf3 ¤xf2! and White's position collapses.
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+r+-mk0
9+pzp-tr-zp-0
9-+n+-wq-zp0
9zp-zP-+-+l0
9-+-+nzp-+0
9zP-+-+N+P0
9-zPQ+LzPP+0
9+-vLRtRK+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
25...¤xf2! 26.¢xf2
Neglecting the ¤ with something like 26.¦d2
hardly helps, because of 26...¥xf3 27.gxf3
(27.¢xf2 £h4+–+) 27...¤xh3 and Black wins.
26...¥xf3 27.gxf3
27.¥xf3 doesn't help either, in view of
27...£h4+ with mate to follow.
27...£h4+ 28.¢f1 £xh3+ 29.¢f2 £g3+
30.¢f1 ¦e5!
White is absolutely helpless against the threat
of 31...¦h5 and therefore desperately returns
the piece.
31.¥xf4 £xf4 32.£c4 ¦e4 33.£b5 £g3 and
White resigned. Black retains a marvellous
attack, since 34.fxe4 quickly leads to mate
after 34...¦f8+. 0–1
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 openings what’s hot and what’s not? 157 | January 4 n 2012

thisweek’sharvest
Ruy Lopez, 6.d3 1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 a6 4.¥a4 ¤f6 5.0–0 ¥e7 6.d3 b5 7.¥b3 d6 8.a4 ¥d7 9.c3
XIIIIIIIIY 0–0 10.¥c2 b4 11.¦e1 ¦e8 12.h3 ¥f8 13.¤bd2 g6 14.¤c4 bxc3 15.bxc3 d5 16.¤e3
9r+-wqrvlk+0 As we noted last week, White has a whole range of possibilities to simply get a playable position after 1.e4 e5.
9+-zpl+p+p0 This week in the Ruy Lopez Ivanchuk beat Morozevich with 6.d3 and Naiditsch beat Shchekachev with 5.d3.
9p+n+-snp+0 On the way to the diagram position 13...g6 should have been replaced with 13...¦b8, but Black's position is still
9+-+pzp-+-0 fine. Remarkably, Morozevich made a serious positional mistake here with 16...dxe4?. For a moment it looks
as though Black's pieces are activated (¤h5–f4), but in reality they're quickly pushed back. The essential point
9P+-+P+-+0
is that White can make good use of the stronghold on d5, while Black doesn't have a similar square on d4.
9+-zPPsNN+P0 Ivanchuk went on to win the game after some tactical complications. Naiditsch had an interesting build-up with
9-+L+-zPP+0 5.d3 d6 6.c4!? which is known, but not that common in the Ruy Lopez. With the first new move 12.h4!? he left the
9tR-vLQtR-mK-0 trodden paths for good, and with 14.0–0–0!?, which is another uncommon feature in the Ruy Lopez, Black was
xiiiiiiiiy confronted with a whole new set of problems. On move 23 Black blundered and had to resign a few moves later.

1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 f5 4.¤c3 fxe4 5.¤xe4 ¤f6 6.¤xf6+ £xf6 7.£e2 ¥e7 8.¥xc6 bxc6 9.¤xe5 Ruy Lopez, Jänisch
£e6 10.¤c4 d5 11.£xe6 ¥xe6 12.¤e5 ¥f6 13.f4 ¥xe5 14.fxe5 d4 15.d3 ¦f8 16.b3 ¦f5 17.¥a3 0–0–0 XIIIIIIIIY
In CVO 129 we covered a popular variation in the Jänisch, where Radjabov confidently neutralized Karjakin's 9-+ktr-+-+0
extra pawn. Generally in this specific line Black obtains some long-term compensation for the pawn investment 9zp-zp-+-zpp0
as the two ¥s are stronger than the ¤+¥. However, this type of position might not appeal to everyone as Black 9-+p+l+-+0
often has to be satisfied with a draw if White doesn't intend to do anything. This week after a long think Tiviakov 9+-+-zPr+-0
introduced a new plan for White by playing 10.¤c4, deviating from the above-mentioned game where White
9-+-zp-+-+0
proceeded with 10.¤f3. Black got reasonable play for the pawn, but Tiviakov stubbornly held on to his material
advantage and later exploited some miscalculation by his younger opponent. In Dominguez-Fressinet, Black
9vLP+P+-+-0
came up with a more concrete approach of steering the game into a double ¦ ending with opposite-coloured
9P+P+-+PzP0
¥s. The critical continuation might be to take a second pawn with 13.¤xc6, although Black seems to become 9tR-+-mK-+R0
very active. xiiiiiiiiy

Slow Slav 1.¤f3 d5 2.d4 ¤f6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 ¥g4 5.h3 ¥h5 6.¤c3 e6 7.g4 ¥g6 8.¤e5 ¤bd7 9.h4 dxc4 10.¤xg6 hxg6 11.g5 ¤d5
XIIIIIIIIY 12.¥xc4 ¥b4 13.¥d2 £e7 14.a3 ¤xc3N 15.bxc3 ¥a5 16.f4 0–0–0 17.£b3 ¤b6 18.¥d3 ¢b8 19.¢e2 £d7 20.¥e4 f6
9-mk-tr-+-tr0 The Slow Slav is supposed to be a very solid opening choice for White, but it really depends on the particular
9zpp+q+-zp-0 variation that White chooses. In the diagram position Morozevich has just played 20...f6! and is about to crack
9-snp+pzpp+0 open the centre to hunt down Giri's ¢. A few moves later a piece sacrifice broke down the final resistance.
9vl-+-+-zP-0 An improvement may be 17.¥e2 ¤b6 18.c4 but here Black is fine as well. 9.¤xg6 is another main line, but in
the recent game Tomashevsky-Eljanov Black was actually doing perfectly fine (before he went on to lose in a
9-+-zPLzP-zP0
complicated battle). In Istratescu-Howell 5.£b3 £b6 6.¤c3 e6 7.¤e5 (instead of the main move 7.¤h4) was
9zPQzP-zP-+-0 played, but Black was never worried and the game was eventually drawn. In Tikkanen-Solak Black showed
9-+-vLK+-+0 himself to be a true expert on 4...¥f5 5.¤c3 e6 6.¤h4 ¥g6 7.¥e2 (7.¤xg6 is the important alternative) ¤bd7
9tR-+-+-+R0 8.0–0 ¤e4!. From start to finish Solak was aware of all the tactical finesses of the position and cashed in on the
xiiiiiiiiy initiative starting with the strong 14...£g5!.

1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤c3 d5 4.¥g5 ¤e4 5.h4 ¥g7 6.e3 c5 7.cxd5 ¤xc3 8.bxc3 £xd5 9.£f3 £xf3 10.¤xf3 ¤c6 11.¦b1 ¤a5 Grünfeld, 4.¥g5 ¤e4 5.h4
12.¥b5+ ¥d7 13.¢e2 ¦c8 14.¥xd7+ ¢xd7 15.¦b5 b6 16.dxc5 ¦xc5 17.¦xc5 bxc5 18.¦d1+ ¢e6 19.e4 ¥xc3 20.¥e3 ¥f6 XIIIIIIIIY
Lately a new weapon against the Grünfeld has appeared on the map. After 4.¥g5 ¤e4 people have started 9-+-+-+-tr0
playing 5.h4!? rather than retreating the ¥ to that square. If Black decides to eliminate the dark-squared ¥ the 9zp-+-zpp+p0
h-file will be opened, which enables White to develop an initiative on the kingside. Although Black isn't forced to 9-+-+kvlp+0
do that, after the main continuation of 5...¥g7 practice has shown that the position is also by no means without 9sn-zp-+-+-0
venom. Jobava's recent successes in the line convinced Morozevich to use this variation against Caruana. The
9-+-+P+-zP0
Italian deviated from the game Jobava-Nepomniachtchi, though soon Black's ¢ started to look a bit suspicious
on e6. Morozevich attempted to weave a mating net around the ¢ but failed to make it work. In the diagram
9+-+-vLN+-0
position the Russian showed his aggressive intentions by refraining from a draw, which could easily have been
9P+-+KzPP+0
achieved with 21.¥xc5, and finally pushed too hard and went down due to Black's passed c-pawn. 9+-+R+-+-0
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 openings what’s hot and what’s not? 157 | January 4 n 2012

it’syourmove
XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
o 9r+-wqr+k+0 o9r+-+-trk+0
9+l+n+p+p0 9+p+nwqpzp-0
9pzp-wQ-snp+0 9p+-zplsn-zp0
9+-zpp+-+-0 9wQ-zp-zp-+-0
9-+-zP-+-+0 9-+P+P+-+0
9+-sN-zP-+-0 9+-+P+PzP-0
9PzP-vL-zPPzP0 9PzP-vL-+LzP0
9+LtR-+RmK-0 9tR-+-sNRmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy

lastweek’ssolutions
XIIIIIIIIY
Corrales Jimenez-Gonzalez Vidal, Carlos Torre Memorial (Merida, Mexico), 2011 9-+rwq-tr-mk0
Material is distributed equally, though the asymmetrical pawn structure offers plenty of play. White's handling 9+-+-+-zpp0
of the position is highly instructive. 22.g3! ¤c4 23.£d3! Obviously White isn't interested in trading the ¤s off 9-snp+-+-+0
with 23.¤xc4 dxc4 followed by 24...£d5 when Black is better. 23...g6 24.f3! White's pawn structure is more 9+p+psNp+-0
flexible than Black's. White's intention is to bring the ¦s to the h-file and open the kingside with a well-timed g4.
9pzP-zP-zP-+0
24...¢g7 25.¢f2 £e7 26.¦h1 £e6 27.¦bg1 h5? Creating a new target for White on g6. More resistance could
have been offered by something like 27...¦f6 though after 28.¦h4 White will find an appropriate moment to carry
9zP-+-zP-+-0
out the opening of the kingside with his g-pawn. 28.g4 (See PGN file for the rest of the game.)
9-+Q+-zPP+0
9+R+-+RmK-0
XIIIIIIIIY xiiiiiiiiy
9rsnlwqr+k+0 Michalik-Zherebukh, Groningen Open, 2011
9zpp+-+pvlp0 The combination of White's last two moves was not a very fortunate one, and Zherebukh profited tactically:
9-+pzp-+p+0 11...¥e5! 12.gxh5 Not taking the ¤ leaves Black with a clear positional advantage. 12...£h4 13.f4 The only
9+-+-+-+n0 move to prevent a direct checkmate. 13...¥xd4+ And now it's clear why the ¦ on e1 is very badly placed.
14.£xd4 £xe1+ 15.¢g2 £h4 Positionally White would be fine with some dark-squared play, but Black's
9-+PsNP+P+0
initiative still isn't over. 16.¥e3 ¥g4 17.h6 f6 18.¥xg4 £xg4+ 19.¢f2 ¤d7 20.£xd6 ¤e5!? Continuing in style:
9+-sN-+P+-0 21.fxe5 ¦ad8 22.£c5 ¦xe5 23.£xa7 ¦h5 24.¦h1 ¦h3 25.¥d4 £f3+ 26.¢g1 ¦h4 27.h3 £g3+ 28.¢f1 £d3+
9PzP-+L+-zP0 29.¢g2 ¦xd4 30.£xb7 £d2+ 31.¢g1 £e1+ 0–1
9tR-vLQtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

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