ab Xe,

Also bySimon Williams

Opening HackerFiles
‘TheCarlsen Variation -A New Anti-Sicilian
The Carlsen Variation
A New Anti-Sicilian
by
Carsten Hansen
2020
CarstenChess
*
Books by Carsten Hansen
 Foreword by Grandmaster Simon Williams
Carsten Hansenhas established himself as a world-leading expert on opening the-
ory andexciting and new concepts that occurin the early stages ofthe game, and
his new and exciting book ‘The Carlsen Variation’ is no exception. Ram-packed with
original ideas, this opening will give you access to a new variation that you can use
againsttheSicilian,lines that come with the ‘MagnusCarlsen seal of approval.
| have long been a fan ofCarsten’s extensive and tireless work on openings; in
thepast, several of Carsten’s books have helped me better understand and develop
my own opening repertoire. Weshare a mutualaffection for the English Opening,
and myownlibrary holds countless, well-thumbed volumes by Carsten in this and
otheropening repertoires.
| must also praise Carsten forhis self;publication work. Bringing out your own
books can often bea stressful event, sometimes leading to below-par products.
Thisis certainly not the case with any ofCarsten’s publication; every selfpublished
work from Carsten is of an exceedingly high standard. If anything, self-publishing
hasallowed Carstento share his specialcreative ideas with the chess community.
In ‘The Carlsen Variation, the opening moves 1.24 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.dal? already
take the game into new and uncharted areas, full of potential. The ‘Carlsen
Variation’ is theideal tool to shock your opponent, cautiously and optimistically,
without taking too many unduerisks for White. The opening comprehensively cov-
ered in this bookis one ofthe most recent opening discoveries in modern theo!
by using such a set-up, you are certain to confound your opponentlIt is very rare
nowadays to discover new opening concepts, making such openings that much
moreexciting. Why copy every other chess player when you can bring something
unique, exciting, and cutting edge to the board!
Oneofthe reasons that | havefallen into love with chess is because ofthe new
and exciting ideas that even a seasoned professional can find over the sixty-four
squares. Rather than merely copying all the main standard ideas, | have found
beauty in bringing rarer and more untapped concepts to life. The ‘Carlsen Vari-
ation’ does just that. It shows how the opening can still be a rich tapestry in the
modernera; new ideas are there to be found and there to be played.
Name-sake Magnus has beenone ofthe main practitioners ofthe Carlsen Vari-
1m, making its use popular as ofonly a couple of years ago, which we see in the
introductory game where Magnususesit to destroy Grandmaster Radoslaw Woj-
taszek. This is really a model gare forthe variation; Black seems to do very little
wrong, yet White gains a decisive attack with very little risk or compromise. The
setup that you will learn in this book hasalso beengiventheseal ofapproval by a
numberof other strong and imaginative Grandmasters; Carsten goes on to name
someofthese players aftertheintroductory game.
The key concept that | really like about this variation is how it is based on very
soundpositional ideas. Yet, it contains a number of remarkably poisonous inten-
tions, my favorite being the deployment of White's Bishop to ba, which is ex-
tremely rare in theSicilian yet very effectivel Suck anideawill surely shock and sur-
prise your opponent, leaving them with much to think about from a very early stage
ofthe game.
Ona personal note, | will certainly be utilizing this opening in my chess adven-
tures, and | know that you, the reader, will also reap the benefits from the many
discoveries and developments that Carsten brings to life in this pioneering book.
Simon Williams
Godalming, Surrey,July 2020
 Introduction 3-0xd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6
Here, Black undoubtedly expected 5.865 with a likely transposition to a well-
First ofall, whatis the Carlsen Variation? Well, to be honest, I'm not even sure that knownanti: lian after 5.865 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nf3 Nf6, which has been played
this is the correct name, but sinceit was World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who in more than 7000 games in my database.
first played the opening at top level, it makes perfect sense that it is namedafter
him. Additionally, I have seen that name applied onthe excellent chesspub-
5-Qdel
lishing.com website, so | decided to go along withit.
The first time | saw this variation, | have to admit I wasa bit skeptical. What on
earth was the World Champion doing? Was this one his nutty ideas spawned by
too many online blitz games, or was he actually serious? Whatis the exact thinking
behind this line? What are thetypical ideas forboth sides?
Before continuing,let us take a lookatthat inaugural game(at least in top-flight
chess):
MagnusCarlsen (2843) —
Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2744)
Gashimov Memorial (Shamir) 2018
The exclamation pointis solely given for the surprise value. The objective value is
1.e4 65 2.No3 d6 3.44)?
no better than the above-mentioned linewith 5.865.
The first surprise, but possibly only a small one as White canstill transpose to
Beforethis game, this move had only been played in a few inconsequential
several otherlines.
games between lower-rated players. But this gamestarted a trendthat has only important to understand that Black in this gamehad noreference point, no prior
been gathering steam. Ifyou are analyzing thevariation with an engine with the typ- ‘experience with this line, and had to make up his mind about each position for the
ical assessmentwill frequently be equalplay, but in praxis, matters are far from that first time, no a fun situation to find yourself in whenplaying the World Champion
clear 6.b3
Iypically, Black will be forced to think for him- or herself right from the get-go. this 1s White's idea, developing the bishopto b2 and then castling queenside.
Additionally, Black's task to find a feasible set-up is far from easy. Standard plans 6...26 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 bs 9.43
mayinitially be acceptable, but whatthen? White's movesare far easierto find and
play than Black's moves. Also, what are the consequences ofWhite having a bish-
‘op onb2ratherthan the traditional development?Thebishopis ominously point
ing straight at Black's kingside, and the pawn on b3 prevents manyofBlack's typ-
ical counterplayideas. In other words, unless Black has specifically studied this
line, he, or she,will be hard challenged to find a good line, whereas White, being
‘on home turf, will be rather comfortable. With this in mind, it is easy to see what
attracted the World Champion to usethis line against the theoretically, very well-
armedPolish super grandmaster.
56
The Polish Grandmasterusually plays the NajdorfVariation and thereforeis not Thus far, nothing out of the ordinary has happened: White has completed his
keen on heading for the nowadays more popular line starting with 5...g6. Again,it is queenside development andis now ready to start pushing the kingside pawns
forward. Black has chosena typical Najdorf/Scheveningen setup but now hasto
start figuring out what to do next.
guh52t
In the English Attack against the Najdorf/Scheveningen, Black often resorts to
this moveto restrain White on the kingside, making the pawn advances morechal-
lenging to accomplish. However, here it creates some weaknesses that White nor-
mally will have a hard timeaddressing, but here, with the knightstill on g1 instead
ofon d4, White can play the knight to gs and even 10.Qg5l? can be considered
to.Nhgl?Bez
Ing later game, Black tried 10.867 when White after 11.Ng5 Rc8 12.Kb1 Bey
13.4 Qas 14.Be2 0-0 15.873 Rc7 16.Rhethad a comfortable advantagein the game
Kraus-Kozak, Radenci 2019
va.Ngs hg,
Black wants to prevent White from playing h2—ha, anchoring the knight on g5,
but as we saw in the gamewith 10..Bb7, White does not necessarily need to play
that pawn advance, perfectly happyto play f3-f4 instead. Therefore,it is unclear
what Black gets in return forhis investmentin time.
12.f Bby 13.Kb1
The normal square for the kirg, keeping him away from potential sheranigans
onthe h6-c1 diagonal
13.eRcB 14.Be2 Qc7 15.Rher
Model play butalso 15.Rhfi could havebeen considered.
hy?
This is definitely wrong, but matters are beginning to be quite uncorfortable
for Black. With the pawn on h4, the castling kingside seems like a step in the
wrong direction, for instance, 1§..0-0 16.8d3 (or 16.8f3) 16..Nb4 17.Qf2 (also
17.Nxb5axbs 18.Qxb4 d5 19.Qd2is better for White) 17...Nd7 18.Qxh4 Bxgs 19.Qxe5
and White has won a pawn for inadequate compensation.
16.Nxh7 Rxh7

17.8421
Ancther normal move, but White had an interesting alternative in 17.Ndsl, se-
verely challenging Black's future, for instance, 17..exd5 18.exd5 Nd8 (the computer
prefers to handthe piece back immediately with 18...Kf8 when 19.dxc6 Bxc620.Bg4
ReB 21.Qc3 leaves White with an overwhelming positional advantage;all ofWhite's
pieces are on their ideal squares while Black is struggling with his poorly coordi-
nated pieces) 19.Bg4 KAS 20.Real (intending Rder;alternatively, 20.Qd3l? Kg&
21.Bfs Rhg22.BxcB Rds 23.Quds Bxds 24.Rxds QueB 25.Rxe7 with an overwhelming
advantagefor White) 20...Kg8 21.BxcB BxcB 22.Qc3l (exchanging Black's key de-
fender) 22...Qxc3 23.8xc3 and White is completely winning as Black loses a piece
17hoxg3 18.hxg3 BF6 19.Bd3 RAB
20.8421
White grabs space on the kingside but 20.Rhil appears better, for example,
20...—Rxhi 21.Rxhi Bd4 (if 21..Ke7, then 22.¢51 Nxes 23.fre5 Bxhi 24.exf6= gxfé
25.Qh6 and White is clearly better) 22.8h7 (or 22.Nd5 exd5 23.exd5 Bxb2 24.dxc6
Quc6 25.Ret+ KFB 26.Kxb2 with a positional advantage for White) 22..Qa523.Be2l
Ke7 24.83 and White has clearly better chances. 23.8321
20..Nd4l Another option was 23...Bxb2 24.Kxb2 Rha 25.45 exfs 26.gxf5 Qes when White's
A strong reply, limiting White's dominance in the center and threatening NB. chancesare slightly preferable, but Black is still firmly in the game.
21.Reg KABL 24.Bxc3 Qxc3 25.Qe3!
Anotherstrong move, creating some safety for Black's king, White 1s not interested in excranging queens as hecontrols the initiative, and
22.Neal therefore having the queens onthe board suits him
22.Qfal? could also be considered 25R521
22...Nxe2 23.Rxe2 Or 25...Qe5 26.Q83, again keeping the queens on the board. While Black is far
from lost, it is not easy to come up with an effective plan. White, on the other
hand,is ready to launch an attack on the kingside.
26.051 dxes 27.f:e5 Rhv?
A costly mistake, possibly madein timetrouble, that costs Black the game.
Ifinstead 27..Re7 then 28.25 Rha 29.g61(or 29.Qg31? Qdg 30.Rh2 and White is
much better) 29..Qd4 30.Qe1 Qf 31.Qa3+ Qb4 32.Qxb4+ Rxb4 33.Rh2 and White
is clearly betterin the endgame.
28.Rxh1 Bxht 29.Rh2l
Likely the movethat Black had overlooked.
29.4Rxe§ 30.Rh8+ Ke7 31.Qa7~ Black resigned as after 31.Qa7+ Kf6 32.25+1 Rugs
(or 32...Keg§33.Qe7+) 33.Rxh1, White wins easily. 1-0 timein the opening, only to see themselves struggle through the middlegame.
Asis clear from this game,it is not easy to play against this set-up by White. OF Havefun with the Carlsen Variation, and play someexciting gameslAlso,ifyou
course, neither you nor|, for that matter, are as strong as Magnus Carlsen, but it is play someinteresting gameswith this variation, e-mail them to me, and the same
noticeable how White's game flowed naturally and quite smoothly, whereas Black {goesfor if you have found holes in my analysis or some improvements of your
was struggling for concrete ideas aboutwhat to co with his pieces. ‘own. | may then include them in 3 future updateofthis book. My email address is
Sincethis game, manyother grandmasters have taken upthis variation, such as carstenches@zmail.com
Caruana, Nakamura, So, Firouzja, Andreikin, Morozevich, Sethuraman, and count-
less other grandmasters and international masters. But despite this relative popu-
larity, this opening variationis still relatively unknown, and atthe timeofwriting,it
has been played fewer than300 times in my database.
In this book, | have taken all the material that is available to me, structured it,
and madeit more digestible. At the same,| have added a lot of new ideas, fresh
analysis as well as some repertoire recommendations.
| will not guarantee you any opening advantege, but | will promise you a lot of
‘exciting games, where you,with this bookin your hands, will know more about the
arising positions than youropponents.
Personally, | have played the variation several times in online games at various
time controls. In nearly all cases, my opponents have used a lot of theirallotted
Chapter:
 Minor5*" Moves
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Ne6 5.Qd2 06
Additionally, Black has some additional minorsth move options. Still, they too
tend to transpose, as we will see below, (and therefore other chapters) but there
are a feu independentideas to look at:
a) 5..85 (this move has been thepreference of Armenian Grandmaster
Gebuzyan)

ai) A different choice and not our game plan was tested in Shabalov-
Gabuzyan, Greensboro 2018: 6.Bc4l? Be6 7.Bb3 NfS 8.Nge2 (8.NF3 Be7 9.0-0
0-0 10.Rd1 h6 11.Qe2 is an alternative although hardly better for White) 8
B27 9.0-00-0
 20.44 and White has the better chances.
a2) 6.b3 Nf6 7.8b2 Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 9 f31? (9.Kb1 is discussed in the note to
Black's &th move in chapter2) 9...a§ (9...a6 10.Kb1 bsis anothertransposition
to chapter 2) 10.Kb1 Be6 11.54 Ne8 12.h4 Brha? 13.0h2 g6 14,f4l and White is
winning.
b) 5.26 6.b3 NFS (6...26 transposesto our mainline) 7.8b2 and now Black's
7.45, 7..Be7, 7..a6 transpose to subsequent chapters.
6.b3 Nf 7.Bb2 6
7.-b§is covered in chapter3
10 f42I (this is a bad idea; White should have given preferenceto 10.Rd1 when 8.0-0-0 Qas
10...ReB 11.Ng3 a6 12.Qd3 Qc7,the chances are more orless even) 10..b5I? 8...b5 9.3 transposesto chapter 3 aswell
11.Q¢3 Re8?I (Black misses an opportunity to take command ofthe game with 9-f3 Be7 10.Kb1bs
TaNbgl 12.Qxb5?1 (and 12.Q41 a6 and Black has solved his opening prob- Diack intends to stay away from castling as long as possible.
lems) 12..RbB 13.Qa4 ds 14.fxe5 Bos+ and White is clearly in trouble) 12.Qxbs v1.4 Bb7 12:hg RB
Ndgil (if 12..a6I?then 13.Qd3I? (but not 13.Qxa6 when 13...Bxb3 14.axb3 Nbg Or 12..Rd8 13.25 Nhs 14.Qf2 co 15.Nge2 and White has a good game.
15.Qas Nxc2 andBalck is fine) 13...Nb4 14.Qf3 Qc7) 13.Qd3! Nub3 14.axb3 d5, 13.85 Nd7 14.Nge2
and now 15.exd5 Nxds 16.f:e5 Bo5+ 17.Kh1 Ne3 18.8xe3 Qxd3 19.0xd3 Bxe3

The immediate 14.23 should also be discussed because White doesn't need to
allow Black the option discussed in next note; White can always follow up with
Nge2 on the next move orlater whenit is convenient
14..0-0
‘Thealternatives are:
a) Tempting but ultimately not very good is 14.4? 15.Nd5|(Yes, evenin this
line, White can use sacrifices like this; the safer alternative is 15.Naq when
thingsrapidly turn messy, for instance, 15..Nce5 16.Nd4 Nxf3 17.Nxf3 Bxeg
18.Qe2 Bxc2+ 19.Kat Bxdt 20.Qxdi whereBlack has a rook and three pawns
for two minorpieces, yet White's chances seem preferable becauseit is easier
to generate threats and Black's minor pieces are difficult to activate) 15...exd5
16.exd5 Naz 17.3 Qc7 18.axb4 0-0 19.c4 and while White only has two pawns
for the piece, Black's position 1s rather depressing because getting his piece
into play presently constitute a massive problem
b) 14..Nb4? 15.Nda (15.23 Nc6 16.8g2is clearly better for White) 15..0-0
16.23 Ne6 17.Nxc6 Rxc6 18.Nd5 Qd8 19.Qd4 f6 20.Nf4 and White clearly bet-
ter, Pirola-Carvalho,Teresina 2019.
15.932?
This pawn advance looks inaccurate becauseit allows Black's next move, but
when Black's queenis on as,itis less ofa concern
ba.
Also 15...RFdB 16.8g2 (or16.h5ba 17.axb4 Nxb418.26 fag6 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.8h3,
Nf with a sharp position where| prefer White, but Black certainly has a solid share
ofthe chances) 16..b4 17.Nd5I exds 18.exd5 Nees19.f4 Ng4 20.axb4 Qc721.c4l a5
(21..Nf2? 22. Qd4 wins for White) 22.Bf3 hs 23.Bxg4 hxg4 24.h5 and Black will have
a hard time stopping White's kingside attack
16.Naz bxa3 17.Qxag Nxa§ 18.Bxa3 and White has somewhatbetter chances.
Chapter 2:
 5Nf6 6 83: 6.005 7.26 8.0-0-0 (there is no immediate need to play 8.43 althoughit is playable,
for instance, 8..Be7 9.Nge2 0-C 10.Ng3 b§ 11.Be2 Qb6(11...Nd4l? looks like a
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.44 xd4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 NFS 6.63 65 strong alternative) 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Nd8 14.0-0-0 Nb7 15.Kb1 a5 with a sharp
position and chancesto both sides, Bork-Wuebker, Dortmund 2018) 8...Be7 (or &
BS 9.f3 hS 10.Kb1 Be7 11.Nge2 (11.h4l2) 11...Beb#l 12.g3 Qbb?l 13.Bg2 Rok 14.Nd5,
Bxdg2r5.exd5 Qf2? 16.Bh3 Rc7 17.Rdfi and Whiteis winning, Xu Xiangyu-Zeng
Chongshen, Shenyang 2019) 9.kb1 0-0 10.43, and now:

The Boleslavsky Variation set-up for Black (typically this variation is played after
1.24 5 2.Nf3 d6 3.04 cxdg 4.Nudg NFS 5.3 Nef 6.822 25) makes a lot ofsense in
practical termsasit puts a cork in the long diagonal. That being said, the weakness
ofthe d5-square and the back dé-pawn may end upaccounting for some prob-
lems for Black in the long run.
7-Bb2 Be7 a) 10...b§ 11-84 (or 11.h4 QbS 12.94 b4 13.Na4 Qb714.h5with the somewhat
better chances for White) 11...Be6 12.Nge2 Gb6
13.Ng3?l(A logical move, aiming forthe f5-square butit allows Black a strong
counter. White should play 13.Nd5! Qf 14.85 Nd7 15.Ng3 Qud216.Nxe7+ Nxe7
17.Rxd2 NeB (but not 17...d5? when 18.Ba3l wins for White) 18.f4 exf 19.Nh5
Ne§ 20.Nxf4 Bg4 21.Nds Ra7 22.Bg2 Bf 23.h4 and White hasthe clearly better
chances) 13..Nd4?l (Black can improve with 13..d51 when after 14.Nxds Nxd5
15.exd5 Bxd5, White cannot capture on ds due to ...RFdB, and therefore Black is
doing quite well) 14.Qe3 Qc5 15.Qd3 RfecB 16.Ret Nd7 17.h4 Rab8 18.Nf5 Bf
19.exf5 ds? was played in Gharagyozyan-Denishev, Minsk 2018, and now (but
Black can improve with 19..Qc6 20.Bg2 ba 21.Nag Nes 22.Nxc§ dxc5 23.Qe4
Qxe4 24.fre4 with 2 position where Black should not be worse) 20.f4! e4
21Nxed dxed 22.Qxd4 Qud4 23.Bxd4 and White has a clear advantage thanks
to the bishop pairandbetter pawns.
b) 10...Be6 11.4 (I like 11.Nge2 better, for instance, 11...Nd7 12.g31 a5 13.Nd5,
gs 14.f4 Bh6 15,Nec3 Nes 16.a4 and White hasa firm control ofthe geme and
the clearly better chances) 11...Nd4 12.Nce2 Nxe2 13.Nxe2 Qb6 14.Ng3 RFB
15.95 NeB 16.Nf5 BFS 17.Ne3 (or 17.Bd3 a5 18.a4 Nc7 19.h4 and White has a
clear plus) 17..Qc5 18.84 Ne7 19.h4 Rac 20.Qe2 a5 21.Bxe6 fre6 22.Rd3
(22.g6 h6 23.Rhfi a4 24.4 is also clearly better for White who is a lot further
with theplans than Black are with his) 22...Nb5 23.Rhd1 Na3+ was played in
Poetz-Martinez Alcantara, Graz 2020, and now White could have continued
24,Bxa3 Qua3 25.86 a4 (or 26..h6 26.Nc4 Qcs 27.Qh2with a clear advantage)
26.gxh7+ Kxh7 27.Qga axb3 28.cxb3 Rd7 29.h5 and White's attack is a lot more
dangerousthananything Black has going on.
8.0-0-0 for White but certainly better than the game continuation) 22...Qg3l seems to
White hastried a few otherthings at this poirt but since the text moveis logical equalizefor Black.
and little is achieved by postponingit, | cannot recommend thealternatives, but for
completeness sake,let us have a quick look at them: b) 8.g3 0-0 9.8g2 Nd4 10.Nge2 Nxe2 (10...Ne6I2) 11.Qxe2 Bey 12.Gd3 ReB
13.0-0 Qe7 14.4 Qcs 15.Rfe1 RAUB and while | prefer White's position, a
a) 8.4 0-0 9.0-0-0 Ndg(Black can try to exploit White early fa-fs by play- potential plan is a4-a5, Ndi followed by c2-c4,Black is pretty close to equal-
ing 9...Nhs, eg., 10.Nd5 Nog 11.Nxf4 extg 12.NF3 Be6 13.Qxf4 Qas 14.Kb1 Rac ity, Fedoseev-Najer, Sochi 2018.
15.Qg3 f6 and White should have theslightly better chances,although, admit
tedly,it is not a lot) 10.Kb1 Bgq 11.Ret RcB 12.843 Qas 13.h3 Bd7 14.Rd1 BAB 8...Be6
15.33 (This is fully playable and keeping the optionof b3-bg in reserve, but | ‘A majoralternative is 8...0-0 9.Kb1 as, and now:
like 15.NfI? better, for instance, 15..Nxf3 16.gxf3 exf4 17.Rhgi g6 18.23 (or
1B.Bc4 Be6 19.Bxe6 fre6 20.Qxd6 Rc6 21.Qd2 Bb6 22.Refi Nhs which | find
preferable for White but Black is very close to equality) 18..Bb6 19.Qxf4 Bd4
20.Rg5 Qb6 21.Ne2 and White has the better chancesalthough the fight is far
from over) 15...Bc6 16.Nf3 ReB 17-Rhe1 a6 18.Qf221(anotheroption is 18.Nd5I?
Quda 19.Nxd2 bg 20.c4 Bd7 21.b4 Nudg 22.exd5 and White has more space
and the better chances) 18..Nxf3 19.Qxf3 exf4 20.Qxf4 Bd7 21.b4 Qes, and
now 22.Qda was played in Bivol-Bodnaruk, Sochi 2018, when (Instead, White
should havetried 22.Qxes dxes 23.Nd5 Bc6 24.Re3 is at best marginally better
a) White should not rush to play 10.24?! as it makes the b4-square available
to Black's knight on c6, and from there,it can support the ..d6-d5 advance:
1o..Nbg 11.4, and here:
at) 11.051 12.NB dg 13.Qed Qb6 14.Nb5 Nxeg 15.Nxe5 Bes 16.Rxc4 Bxdg
17.Bxd4 Qh6 18.Bc4 Be6 19.Nc7 Bxc4 20.Nxa8 Bxb3 21.cxb3 RxaB and Black
has the better chances on account of White's open king, Dolzhikova-
Gabuzyan,Pati 2019.
a2) 11...Be6is also playable, for instance, 12.Nf3 exf4 (the immediate 12...RcBl?
is also an option) 13.Nda (or 13.Qxf4 RB 14.Nd4 Re§ with chances to both
sides) 13..RcB 14.Qxf4 Res 15.8d3 Nd7 16.Nd5 Bxds 17.exd5 Nes 18.Be4 Bf6
19.Nf5 Re8 20.Rhfi (like 20.Bd4l? even better, for instance, 20..Qc7 21.c4l? 18.B8d3 Bxd3 19.Nxd3 a4 20.b4 Rea 21.f4 (White could havetried 21.Qe2 when
(or 21.Nh6= KFB 22.Qf5 (not 22.Bxc5? Qxes when White's dark squares around 21...b5 22.f4lis better for White) 21.04 22.Ne1? Ne7 23.f5 Qc8 24.Ne2 Nbs
the king are ridiculous weak) 22...Re4 23.bxc4 Que4 24.Rhet Qa2= 25.Ke1 Neq 25.Re1 Qd7 26.Rhfi Bxh4 27-85 was played in Mai-Ott, Bayern 2019, and now
26.Bxf6 Qa3+ 27.Kb1 Qa2+) 21...Qb6 22.Qg? KFB 23.Rhft and White dominates 27..Qe7 28.,6 €3 29.Qd3 Qe4 would have left Black with a clear advantage.
the entire board;note that White 1s not particularly interested in winning the White can improve with 22.Nf2 which Black can meet with 22..Nxb4l with
exchange on c§ as it weakens the dark squares andif White can resist the sharp complications, for instance, 23.axb4 (or 23.Rdet Rxc2 24.Qxb4 Rxf2
temptation, Black is left without counterpley) 20..Qc7 (Or 20..b5 21.84 Bgs 25.Qd4 Rxba+ 26.Qxb2 hs! 27.85 (27.gxh5 BFS 28.Qc2 QeBl 29.Rxe4 Qb5+ is
22.Qg3followed by ha-h4, pushing Black backwards andlaunching a kingside fine for Black) 27..f§ 28.gxfB Bxf6 29.Qc2 Ras and Black hasfull compen-
attack) 21.Rf2 bs 22.axb5 Rxb5 23.Qg3 ag 24.Nd4 Ras 25.Rxf6 axb3 26.Nxb3 sation for the exchange) 23.23 24.Bc3 a2+ 25.Ka1 Qc7 26.862 Rxcz 27.Re1
Raz 27.Rd4 Ne4 (Now White can force mate) 28.8xh7+I Kxh7 29.Rha+ Kg8 Rud2 28.Rxc7 Bd8 29.Nxeq Rxb2 30.Kxb2 Bxc7 31.Rat ReB and the chances are
30.RhB+I and Black resignedbefore getting mated, 1-0, Andriasian-Gabuzyan, aboutevenin the endgame.
Philadelphia 2019.
9.Kb1 0-0 10.83,
b) 10.83 is a better try, for example, 10...Be6 11.Nge2 Nb4?! (this seems nor-
mal, aiming for ..d6-ds, but kicking the knight awayfrom b4is obviously not
that complicated; anotheroption is 11...24l?, intending 12.Nxaq d5 when
vexds Nxds 14.Nec3 Bbq 15.23 Nxc3+ 16.Nxc3 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 Bxa3 18.8x03,
Rxa3 19.865 Ras which seems close to equal, even if my computerprefers
White) 12.23 Na6 13.Ne1 Qb8 14.Nd5 Nude 15.exd5 Bf5 16.g4 Bg6 17.h4 RB

A Ble
3 SEY 3
White should not rush to develop the gi-knight to e2 asit opens for someaddi-
tional options for Black while not adding much for White, for instance, 10.Nge2
Qb6 (after 10...Ng4, White can play 11.Nct Bgs 12.Qe1 which does not lead to any
significant advantage, butthe simplest is 11.Ngi when Blacklikely will not have
anything better than withdrawing the knight to f6 at which point White can choose
to repeat moves or transpose to our main line with 12.3) 11.63 (alternatively,
T1LNg3l? RGB 12.Nd5 Bxds 13.exd5 Nb4 14.8c4 a5 15.23 Na6 16.f4 Nga 17-Rdet was
clearly better for White in Ayats Llobera-Porta Tovar, Linares 2018) 11...d5 12.Nxd5
Bxd§ 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Ne3 Nxc3+ (Black could improve with 14..Ne3 15.Re1 Nxfi
16.Rhxfi Bb4 with moreor less even chances) 15.Qxc3 Rac 16.843 Bb4 17.Qc4
Ndg 18.Qd5 Re§ 19.Qe4 5 20.Qe3 Kh8 21.g4 (an attractive alternative was 21.F4l2,
when 21...Qas 22.c4 Bc3 23.Bxc3 Que3 24.Qe1 Qas 25.Qxa5 Rxas 26.Rhel promises
White the somewhat better chances in the endgame) 21..QaS 22.gxf5 Bc} 23.Bxc3
Queg 24.Qd2 Qud2 25,Red2 Nxf3 26.RF2 Nd4 27.Ret a5 28.Kb2 g6 29.f6 Ne6 30.R-
fe2 and draw agreed, Y-Y2, in Haldorsen-Arvola, Norway 2019, which seems rea-
sonable as Black equalizes after 30..Nf4. Instead, White could have played
30.Begl? Rc7 31.Rd1 Nes 32.Bg2, claiming the somewhat better chances, elthough
the advantageis minimal
10..Nd4
The alternatives are also quite pleasant for White:
a) 10..ReB 11.Nge2 a6 12.4 (12.Nd5 Ne8 13.g3 is better for White) *2..bs2!
(02..Nd7I2) 13.Nd5 (13.h4 Nog 14.3 Ne6 15.85 Nd7 16.Nd5 Nb6 17.83 Bxh3
1.Rxh3 ReB 19.Nxb6 Qxb6 20.Ne3 Qas 21.b4 Qd8 22.Nd5 and White has an
obvious positional advantage, Iljiushenok-Teterev, St Petersburg 2018) 13.
Bxd5 14.exd5 NbB 15.25 Nfc7 16.4 Nb6 17.f4 £6 18.8h3 NBd7 19.fKe5 fres
20.Ng3_ and White has a dominating positional advantage,
 Libiszewski-Murzin, Stockholm 2018. A tempting active alternative is 12..Bf5 13.8d3 Bgs but White still has a comfort-
able gameafter 14.Qf Bxd3 15.Rxd3 Bf 16.g4 g6 17.h4 and White has the better
b) 10...a5l? 11.84 Ndg (or 11..Ne8 12.h4 Nez 13.85 (13.Nd5I?) 13..f521 14. Bh3 chances,
bs? a5.exf5 Bxf5 16.Bxf5 Rxf5 17.Nxbsl and White is clearly better) 12.h4 Qe7 13.4 BIS
13.Nbs(White achieves less with the direct 13.h5 h6 14.25 hxgs15.6 g6 16.h7>
Kh8 and Black seems to be doing quite well) 13..Nxb§ 14.8xb5 Qe5 15.a4 RFS
16.5 Nhs 17.Ne2 and White has the better chances.
mi.NdsP>
| think White has a strong alternative in 11.Nge2, exchanging the knight on d4
andsettling Black with a backward d-pawn,eg., 11..Nxe2 12.Bxe2 RcB 13.Nb5 Qb6
14.¢4 a5 15,Nc3 and White has better chances with nice control oftheentire board.
11...Nxd5
A legical choice, but also 11...Bxd5 can be ccnsidered,for instance, 12.exd5 a5
13.44 (after 13.04 RoB (13..Nxd5#! 14.¢3 Bgs 15.Qe1 Qb6 16.8c4 wins material for
White) 14.Bxd4 exd4 15.Qxd4 Qc7 16.843 Nd7, Black has excellent dark-squared 14.Bd3
compensation for the sacrificed pawn) 13..Qc7 14.Re1 a4 15.Nf3 Nxf3 16.gxf3 axb3 This is probably better thanalsointeresting 14.f:e5 dxe§ 15.Nf3 Bg4 16.Be2
17.axb3 exf4 18.Rgi Nhs 19.Qxf4 g6 with sharp play and chancesfor both sides. (16.83 ReB would transposeto our mainline but Black would, of course, capture
r2exds Bd7 on fj instead) 16..Nxe2 17.Qxe2 Re8I? (or 17..ReB 18.h3BF5 19.84 Bg6 20.46 when
White has the upper hand) 18.Rhet(also 18.8xe5 is possible butBlack seems to
have decent compensation for the pawnafter 18..Bf5 19.Rci ReB 20.Bxf5 Qui
21.Qd2 Qd6) 18...ReB 19.Q¢3 BFS 20.Rd2 e4 and Black has no reason to complain.
14.0. ReB 15.fe§ dxes 16.NF Bg4 17.Beq
White hasexcellent control of the board. Uf course, the knight on dé looks
‘goodfor now, but that is only a temporary situationas it canrelatively easily be
evicted
17-:Qd6 18.Qf2 Nx 19.gxf3 Bhs 20.Rhgt
(Or 20.c4 b6 21.Rhgtwith a similar position te the game continuation.
20.6 21.04 6 22.Rdet af 23.24 BET
24.Re5
White has a pleasantposition, but the text moveis particularly problematic for
Black as White intends to kill all of Black's hopesfor future counterplay, partic-
ularly those involving ...7-f
24..Kh8 25.Qg3 h6 26.8xhsl
Thepoint behind White's 24h move. Black is without counterplay, and the
weaklight squares are highly problematic forBlack.
26...gxh5 27.Qh3
 27.44 is according to the computer preferable, but White is content to tie up
Black before setting in thefatal strike.
27.Q16 28.Qxh5 Qes 29-Qxf7 Re7 30.QF5 Qxfs 31.Bxf5,
White hasa decisive advantage and eventually won the game.
UAREY 32.Bg4 RAB 33.Bxe§ Bred 34.Rxe5 Ke7 35.Ke2 RdB 36.Kd3 RAB 37.Keg KIB
38.Bh5 Rd8 30.f4 RcB 4o.f RAB 41.Re6 Rxeb+ 42.fie6 Ke7 43.Ke5 R46 44.Be8 RAB
45.Bd7 Black resigned. 1-0. Praggnanandhaa-Aditya, Moscow 2019,
Chapter 3:
 5.Nf6 6 b3: 6...a6 7 Bb2 bs Iljiushenok-Hayrapetyan, Moscow 2019.
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 NG 5.Qd2 NFS 6.b3 26 7.Bb2 b5 b) 8.0-0-0 Bb7 9.f3 Qc710.g4 e6 transposesto chapter6.
©) 8.843,

8
‘Setups for White that includes f2-f4 are covered in chapter § and 7. White has
‘two alternatives:
8.26(or 8.25 9.0-0-0 Be 10.Kb1 Be6 11.f4 exfa 12.Qxf4 Qas 13.Nge2 RB
a) 8.23 ©69.g3 Bb7 10.8g2 Be7 11.Nge2 0-0 12.0-0 ReB 13.Radt Qb6 14.h3 14.h3 (14.Nd5I? even improves for White) 14..0-0 15.¢4 Neg (15..h6I?is
RfdB 15.94 a5 16.Ng3 a4 and Black already has a pleasant game, provocative but much better} 16.25 Nh§ 17.Qe3 ba 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Nxd3,
 20.Qxd3 Bxg5 was Redondo Benavente-Represa Perez, Bratislava 2019, and
here 21.Qf3 Bf6 22.Nd4 would have been comfortably better for White) 9.0-
(0-0 Be7 10.Kb1 Bb7 11.f4 0-0 12.NF3 Nd7 13.65 dxes 14.Rhet exf4 15.Qxf4 QbE
16.Qg4 Nees 17.Nxes Nxes 18.8xh7+ Kxh7 19.Qh5+I? (a fun line was 19.Rxes!
Que§ 20.Neg Qxb2+ 21.Kxb2 Rad¥ 22.Rxd¥ Kxd¥ (22...Uxd¥ 23.Nes) 23. QhS+
KgB 24.Ngs BfS+ 25.Kc1 Rd7 with a complex endgamewhere White should be
better, but Black can definitely hang on for some time) 19...Kg8 20.Rxe5 Bf6?
{also 20...g6 21.Rd3 BFS 22.Rgsl wins for White, but; 20..Qe8 21.Qh3 fs 22.Rx-
26 Qf7 23.Qe3 would have been somewhet playable for Black, if better for
White) 21.Neq Bxeg 22.Rxeq RdB?? 23.8xf5 Rxdi= 24.QxdgxfB 25.Rh4 and
White waswinning in Der Manuelian-Mendonca,Paracin 2018. Qenh5
Both 9...Be7, and 9...Bb7 are covered in chapter 6; the remaining alternatives
8.06
Alternatively, Black has also tried 8...Bd7 9.0-0-0 (this is normal, but also the
non-traditional g.a4l? bxag 10.Rxag: and 9.Ndg can be considered for White) 9 8) 9uQe7 10.Nge2 (I prefer 10.84 h6 11.h4 Bb7 12.8h3 although, objectively,
as 10.KbI 6 11.84 0-0-0 12.85 NeB 13.F4 h6 14.NF3 Nez 15,h4 hxgs 16.Nxgs with a the chances are only marginally better) 10..b4 11.Naq Bd712.g4 Neg 13.Nd4
clear acvantage for White,Jires-Bacak, Brno 2019. Brag 14.bxaq Ned 15.Bxc4 Que4 16.Nb3 Nd7 17.Kb1 Rb8 whenBlack has full
9.0-0-0 compensation for the sacrificed exchange, Perske-Dobrovoljc, Le Castella
2018.
b) g..Nd7 10.Kb1 Neg 11.Nce2 Bd7 12.Nh3 (12.hgl? is more logical and
should bebetter for White) 12..a5 13.Nhf4 24 14.Net?l bg 15.85 Qas 16.8xc6
8xc6 17.Rhet £6 18.g4 Be7with excellent counterplay for Black in Demchenko-
Dastan, Teplice 2018. c) 9...Bd7 10.g4 h6 11.hg ba 12.Nce2(the provocative
12.Nadlis better, for instance, 12...RbY 13.KE1 Qa14.Qe2 and White 1s better)
12..a5 13.Nh3 a4 14.85 Nhs 15.g6 axb3 16.gxf7+ Kxf7 17.axb3 Ra2 with a messy
position where Black seemsto be okay, Gar-Huang Qian,Astana 2019. d) 9.
Ray 10.g4 h6 11.h4 (more accurateis 11.Kb1 Rd7 12.Qe1 Bb7 (or 12...d5 13.exd5,
Nods 14.Nxd5 Rixds 15.Rxd5 Quds 16.843 Bba 17.Qe4 f6 18.Ne2 and White has
someinitiative, but Black should be okay) 13.h4 d5 14.exd5 Nud5 15.Rxd5 Rxd5
16.Nxds Qud5 17.Bd3 Bb4 18.Qf when White's position is preferable) 11...Rd7 White has also tried 10.g3 Be7 11.Kb1 Bd7 12.8g2 b4 13.Na4 Na§ whenBlack already
12.Qer ds 13.65 (13.exd5 Nxdg 14. Nxdg Rid15.Rxd5 Qxds 16.Bd3 Bb4 17.Qea f6 had a comfortable gamein Perez Garcia-Chen Qi, Seville 2020.
is the sameas above) 13..d4 14.Nxbs Bbq 15.Qf2 Nd5 16.Nd6+ Bxd6 17.exd6 10...Bb7
Rxd6 and Blackis definitely doingfine, Xu Xiangyu-Sandipan, Xingtai 2019. Alternatively, 10...Be7 is possible, for instance, 11.Ng5 h4 12.f4 Bb7 13.Kb1 RB
14.Be2 Qc7 15.Rhet as was Carlsen-Wojtaszek, Shamkir 2018, as discussed in the
hg
Introduction.
Ta.Ngs RB
Another option is 11..Qa5 12.Kb1 RcB 13.8d3 (this bishop move is not yet
necessary; | prefer 13.h4 Be7 14.g3 followed up by Bh3) 13..Be7 14.4 (if 14.Rhet
0-0 15.h4 Re7 16.23 QbS 17.Naz RfcB 18.Nb4 a5 19.Nxc6 Bxc6 the chances would
have been about even, Black having made someprogress on the queenside) 14.
Nb4 (immediately targeting the bishop on d3) 15.Rhe1 0-0 16.23 Nxd3 17.cxd3 Qb6
(Black has a comfortable game) 18.Ne2d5?l (with 18..a5 19.Ret bg 20.24 Nd7 21.8-
dg Neg, Black could haveclaimed a clear advantage) 19.05 Ngq 20.Nd4 Bc5
21.Ngf bg 22.04 Nxh2
was Ollier-Gao, Avoine 2019, when 23.45(with 23.5 Nxf3 24.Nxf3 Qc7 25.d4 Be7,
White could also achieve a pleasant position, but the text moveis even moreprob-
lematic for Black) 23..Nxf3 24.gxf3ll exfs (24...Bxd4?? 25.f6 wins for White) 25.Rgl
Bxd4 26.Bxd4l Qe6 (26...Qxd4?? 27.Rxg7+I forces mate) 27.Rh1 Qh6 28.Qxh6 gxhS
29.Rdgi+ Kh730.e6andBlack is in serious longterm problems. The differencein
strength betweenthetwo bishops 1s palpable.
12.Kb1Be7 13.44
Similarto the Carlsen-Wojtzaszek plan.
13-.QaS 14.Be2 0-0 15.863 Rc7 16.Rher
White is in no rush. Black is basically without counterplay and, therefore, White completely, having to hopeonirr patience or indecision by White to get back into
can build up his attack accordingto hislikes. the game. White, on theother hand, can soonbe ready to jump onBlack's king,
16.64 17.Nez launching an attack with g2-g4 and then stacking up heavy artillery on the h-fle.
Possibly strongeris 17.Nag e5 18.Qf2 with a clear advantage for White 2486
17 RAB 18.h4?
18. Rell?
18...Nazl
Rerouting,if allowed,the knight to bs and onward to c3 where it could do real
damage
19.241 d5?1
Black makes a questionable decision, attempting to break open the game, but
effectively closing the center, thus causing White to control the game. Instead,
Black should have played 19...Rxcal 20.Qe3}(if 20.Qxc2 Rxc2 21.kxc2 then 21.45
22.5 Neg and Black has a clear advantage) 20...Nbsl 21.axb5 Ng4 22.8xg4 Bxg5
23.hegs Rxb2+l 24 Kxb2 Qaz+ 25.Kb1 Bxeg+! 26.Qxe4 Qxb3+ with a draw by per- 25.84?
petual check White should have safeguarded the queenside with 25,Rd2 Rc3l? (perhaps in-
20.65 Ne4 21.Bxe4 dxeq 22.Nd4 Bxgs 23.hxg5 Bd24.Qe2 tending ..e4-23, but mostly an attempt to keep White from his king) 26.f51 (break-
White has a clear advantage. Black's attack on the queenside has been stalled ing through anywayl) 26..e3 27.Rd3 Rxd3 28.Qxd3 exf5 29.Rxe3 Beg 30.Rveg freg
31.Qxe4 and White is much better.
25..NC6?
Logical, but notbest. Black had a good alternative in 25..Rxcall when Black's
counterplay jumpsbackto life, oneline runs 26.Nxc2 Bxb3 27.Ret Qxa4 28.Nxb4
Qxbd 23.Ric¥+ Nxc¥ 30.Qxed Hed 31.Kel hxgd, when White's vulnerable, open king.
provides Black adequate compensation for the exchange
26.Nxc6 Rxc6 27.Rer?
Too passivel After 27.Rd2, Black would have foundit challenging to resist
White's breakthrough onthekingside long-term.
27hxga?
A bizarre decision. Black should haveplayed 27...e31 28.Qxe3 hxga when the bishop
‘ondg once more becomesan important piece, preventing White from placing 2
rook onht and thus slowing White's kingside efforts considerably.
28.Qxg4?
White misses his chance. With the consistent 28.Qh2l, White could have won,
forinstance, 28...Kf8 (Now 28...e3?? is of no consequence,and Black will get mated
after 29.Rh1 Bxh1 30.Rxht KB 31.Qh8+ Ke7 32.Qf6+ Kd7 33.Qxf7+ KB 34.RhB#)
29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Qf6+ KeB 31.Rhi Qes 32.c4l (but not 32.Rh8+ Kd7 33.Qxt7+ Qe7
and Black saves himself) 32...bxc3 33.Rxc3 Qe7 34.RHB+ Kd7 35.Que7+ Kxe7 36.RxcB
and White is, ofcourse, winning.
28..Qcq7 29.Qdr21
Now, White should have played 29.Rhil Rxc2 30.Qh3 Reci+ 31-Rxct Qb7 32.Rh1
KAS 33.Qhe+ Ke7 34.Qfb+ Ke¥ 35.Bd4l (mot 35.RH¥+ Kd7 36.Qxi7+ Keb 37.RxcB+
QucB 38.Qxg6 when my computercalls it equal, undoubtedly spotting a perpetual
check) 35...€3 36.RhB+ Kd7 37.Qxf7+ Ke6 38.RxcB+ Qxc8 39.Qxg6 and White has the
better chances, but thereare a lot ofdraws hiding in the opposite-colored bishops.
29..KPB 30.Re3 Key
Nowthe black king is safer than on g8. White should still be better, but in the
continuation, White seemed satisfied with a draw.
31.Rh3 a§ 32.Rh7 Res 33.Bd4 Rc6 34.Bb2 Re§ 35.Bd4 Rc6 36.Bb2 and draw
agreed, Vh-Vs, Kraus-Kozak, Radenci 2019.
Chapter 4:
 SuNf6 6 b3: 6...6 7 Bb2 d5 B.exds exds 9.0-0-0 Be6
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 NG 5.Qd2 NFS 6.63 €6 7.Bb2 d5

The text move appears to be the only way forBlack to keep things relatively under
control. An untried butlogical move is 9...Bb4, and now:
Black takes a radical step toward changing the nature of the gamefrom a typical
Sicilian pawn structure to somethingthat could have arisen from the Franch De- a) 10.Qg51? Be6 11.Kb1 (11.Qxg7 allows 11...Rg8 12.Qh6 Rgé 13.Qhq Reg with
fense. This is a departure that many system players will not be comfortable with. a repetition of moves as 14.Qh3 da 15.Na4 Neg 16.Qf3 Qgs+ is pleasant for
That being said, getting any kind ofadvantage for White also requires both patience Black) 11...Rg8 (11...0-0 is met by 12.Nxd5}) 12.43 h6 13.Qh4 and White has the
and propertechnique. It is, however, comforting to know that playing White is far better chances,
more enjoyable thanitis to play Black in thesetypes ofpositions.
 b) 10.23 appears to the simplest way to address the pin: 10...8xc3 (or 10..Bas, Bf 27.Ke2 Bgi 28.Nd6 and White's queenside majority promises White the
11.Qg5 d4 12.Nb5 0-0 13.Nxd4 Neg 14.QF4 Qc7 15.Qxc7 Bxc7 16.Nh3 Nxh2 upper handin the endgamebut, ofcourse, this is by no means trivial win)
17.Be2 with better chances for White) 11.Qxc3 0-0 12.843 ReB 13.Kb1 (or 18..Bd7 19.Kd1 f6 20.Nxc6 Bxc6 21.Nd4 8d7 (21...Kf7 22.3 Ng3 23.Rxe8 BxeS
13.Ne2 Bg4 14.63 Bhs 15.Nf4 da 16.Qd2 and White has the upper handthanks 24.Nf5 Nxfs 25.Bxf5 RdB: is despite Black's isolated pawn perfectly equal)
to the pair of bishopsandbetter pawn structure) 13..Bg4 (1..Beb 14.Ne2 af, 22.f3 Ng} 23.Rxed+ RreS 24.c4 deed 25.xca+ KfE 26.b4 Bdb 27.Neb+ Bxeb
15Rhet a4 16.b4 ReB 17.Qd2is quite pleasantfor White) 14.Bhs 15.Ne2 Bg6 28. Rxe6 RdB 29.Ke2 Nhs 30.Reg bs 31.8d3 Nf4 32.Bfi andwhile | prefer White
16.h4 and Whiteis in control ofthe game and hasthe better chances. in this endgame, the computer assesses it as very close to equal and the
game, CaruanaVachier Lagrave, Karlsruhe/Baden Baden 2019, eventually
Bycontrast, 9..d4? is pointless, basically losing the d-pawn after 10.Nb5 Bcs ended in a draw.
11.Nxdz and Black does not have compensationforthelost pawn.
10.Kb1 b) 10.N3 Qas, and now
‘White has some alternatives to consider:
a) 10.4321 Bes (10..Bd6I?) 11.NF3 0-0 (or 11..Qe7 12.b4 Bd6 13.Nb5 BbS
14.Nbdg Neg 15.Qe3 a§16.5 Nxd4 17.Nxda Bd6with chances to both sides,
Legemaat-V.ivanoy, ICCF 2019) 12.8d3 Rc8 13.Rhet Re8 (Black can also con-
sicer 13.26 14.Kb1 h6) 14.3 Qag 15.Nb5I? Qxd2+ 16.Rxd2 a6 17.Nbd4 Neg
18.Rde2(White can gain an advantagewith 18.Bxeql? dueg 19.Rxe4 Bds 20.Rx-
8+ Rye21.Nf5 Bx} 22.exf3 g6 23.b4 Ret+ 24.Rdi Bxf2 25,Rxe1 Bret 26.Kdt
 24,Rxd6 would have been clearly better for White) 13.Nc7+ Kd7 14.Nxe8 Nud2
15.NDE+ axb6 16.Kxd2 Bb4+ 17.Kc1 (6 18.8b5 Kd6 19.23 Bes 20.Rfi Ke7 was
played in llonen-V.ivanoy, ICCF email 2019, and here 21.b4 Bd6 22.h3 would
have offered White the somenhat better chances.
©) 10.843

TANS! (11.Nd4 Bb4 12.Nxe6 fre6 13.Q¢3 Kf7 14.Kbi?l (White should have
opted for 14.Qh3Bxc3 15.Bxc3 Qua2 16.8d3 e5 17.Rhet RheB with approximately
even chances) 14...d4 15.Rxd4 Nud4 16.Qxd4 Rhd8 17.Qe3 Bxc3 18.Bxc3 Rdi+
19,Kb2 Qb6I andBlack is better, Guseinov-Sarana, St Petersburg 2018) 11...
Quda+ 12.Rxd2 Neg (or 12..RcB 13.Bd3 BS 14.Nbdg 0-0 15.Nxe6(15.Nxc6
Rxc6 16.Ndg Rec8 17-f3 is somewhat better for White) 15...fre6 16.Ng5 ReeS
17Ret Bb4 18.c3 BdS 19.93 e§ 20.8f5 Nd8 21.Ree2 g6 was played in 10...Qa5 (10...Be§ 11.Kb1 (11. Nge2?l Nga is better for Black) 11..0-0 12.Nf3
Stanic-Stojanovic, Porto Carras 2018, and now 22.Begl Nxe4 23.Nxeq deg
(02.Nge2 Re8 13.63 is assessed as about equal by my engine but White's posi-
tion seems easier to play) 12..Qe7 13.Na4 Ba3 14.Rhet Bxb2 15.Nxb2 Rack
16.h3 h6 17.Naq Rfd8 with chancesto both sides, Black is certainly not worse),
and here:
cl) TLNge2 Bb4 12.Qg5 RgB 13.Kb1 0-0-6 14.Nb5 Be7 15.Nbdg Nb4 16.23,
(06.agl?) 16..Nxd3 17.Rxd3 Bxa3 18.8xa3 Qxa3 19.Re3+ White is winning and
converted smoothly: 19...Kd7 20.Re7+! KeB 21.Rxb7+- Neg 22.Qe3 ReB 23.3
Ne§ 24.Nbs Qa6 25.Ne7Rxc7 26.Rxc7 Nd 27.Nda Kd8 28.Rc6 Qas 29.Rxe6
fke6 30.Nc6+ andBlack resigned, 1-0, Sadhwani-Narayanan, chess.com INT
2020.
2 In a recent correspondence game, White tried 11.Nb5 which leads to a
messy position that is difficult to assess, particularly in an over-the-board
game: 11..Nb4 (my computer claims that even 11...Qxaal? is possible as the
knight fork on c7 is not viable, so 12.Ne2 Bb4 13.Qg5 Kf8 14.Nf4 ReB when
after 15.8xf5 gxf5 16.QxfS Rg8 17.Qb2 Qas when Black has adequate compen-
sation for the sacrificed pawn) 12.04 a6 13.Nda bs 14.Ngf3 brag 15.Nxe6 feeb
16. Rhet Kd7 17.Qe3 Kc7 18.Qxe6 (after the tempting 18.Ndg , Black can play
18..e5 when 19.Qxe5+ Bd6 20.Qg5 Nxd3+ 21.0xd3 Rhg8 with a complete mess
which undoubtedly had been analyzed by both players) 18..Rd8 19.3f5 Kb7
20.bxag Bd6 21.Re3 (White can consider 21.Qe3 Quag 22.Nd4 RhfS 23.¢3 with
a sharp position where both sides have chances) 21..Ka8 22.Bxf6 gxf5 23.c3
Naas 24.Kd2 Rhe¥ 25.Qxdé , and draw agreed, i-th, Volodarsky-Kubicki,
ICCF 2019,
d) An untried idea is 10.Nge2 when10...Qa5 11.f3 Ba3 (11...Bb4 is again met
by 12.Qg5l) 12.Ndg 0-0 13.Kb1 Bxb2 14.Kxb2 Qcs 15.24 a6 16.h4 Rac17.Bh3
and White has the upper hand.
10...Qa5 11.ND5,
White achieves less after 11.Nge2 Bb4 12.23 (this is better than 12.f321 0-0
13.Nd4 Nud4 14.Qxd4 Rfc8 is pleasant for Black) 12...8xa3 13.Nxd5 Quds 14.Qxd5
Nd 15.Bxa3 0-0-0 16.Bb2 Ndbq 17.Re1 f6 18.Nf4 Bf5 with aninsignificant advan-
tage for White; Black's activity more or less counterbalancesthe pair ofbishops.
11.Qud2 12.Rd2

12..Neq
A similar idea is 12..0-0-0 13. Bc5 14.Ne2 RheB 15.Nedg (or 15.h4 KDB
16.Nbdg Bd7 17.Rdt ReB (also 17..Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Bxd4 19.Nxd4 Nhs 20.Rg1 is
somewnat better for White) 18.a3 with an edge for White) 15...8d7 16.8d3 Ne§ 17.N-
5 (17.Ba3 Bxa3 18.Nxa3 Ne6 19.Nabs with a comfortable edge for White) 17..Nxd3,
18.Nbd3+?l (White should have optedfor 18.Nf46+ Kb8 19. Rxd3 Re2 20.Bxf6 wxfS
21.Rxd5 and White has the upper hand) 18...Kc7 19.8xf6?l (19.Rxd3 Bxd6 20.Nxg7
Be7 21.Nxe8+ Rxe8 22.Be5+ with chances to both sides) 19..gxf6 20.Nxe8+ RxeS
21.Ng7 Re§ and Black has the better chances in the endgame, Eugene-Drygalov,
NewDelhi 2019.
13,Re2 0-0-0 14.83 a6 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 Bc5 17-Bxc§ Nxc§
Some more pieces have come off the board, which should favor White if he can
manage to get his pieces adequately coordinated.
18.Rd2 Rhe8 19.Ne2 Bf 20.Kb2 Ne6?l
Or 20...Re3 21.Nfq (21.Ng3 Bg6 22.Be2 Ne6 23.Rhdt Ke7 24.8with a small
plus for White) 21...d4 22.Bc4 Be6 23.Be2 Bfs 24.84 and White has an edge.
 21.84 Bg6 22.h4 h6 23.Bg2 satisfactory it is not. Nakamura makes the conversion look rather unproblematic,
which could have something to do with it being a rapid game. Nevertheless, it
looked very smooth. | have left the rest of the game for your reference, albeit with-
out annotations
27...Red8 28.h5 Bh7 29.BA REY 30.Be2 f5 31.ReI Rd7 32.95 Kh4 33.gxh6 gxh6
34.dq Rechs 35.Bc4 Ke7 36.Rdg2 £4 37.Be6 Re7 38.Rg7 Kd6 39.Rxe7 Kxe7 40.Bc8 Bfs,
41.Bxfs Refs 42.Re7+ Kf6 43.Rxb7 hs 44.Ke4 Kg6 45.d5 hq 46.d6 h3 47.Re7 RAB
4B.Kd5 Rh8 49.Rer Kgs 50.47 RdB 51.Ke6 Kh4 52.ReB 1-0 Nakamura-Vachier La-
grave, Abidjan 2019.

Bund
Black decides to change the dynamic ofthe position by sacrificing a pawn. The
alternative is unpleasant for Black 23..Rd7 24.Rhdi Red8 25.c3 Bh7 26.8f1 g5 27.h5
and Write has a pleasant edge in the endgame, although the conversion is neither
obvious noreasy.
24,Rhd1d3 25.003 Ndg 26.Nxd4 Red 27.Key
Black has some activity to compensate for the sacrificed pawn, butentirely
Chapter 5:
 SuNf 6 b3: 6...6 7 Bb2 Be7 8 0-0-0 0-0 when 12.23 Ne§ 13.h4 would have beenbetter for White) ) 10...b5 transpose to
chapter 6
teed c§ 2.Ne3 d6 3.44 cxdg 4.Qudg Ne6 5.Qd2 NFB 6.b3 €6 7.Bb2 Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0
9Qa5
ofa The immediate counterstrike in the center looks impossible at first glance,
apparently losing a pawn. Still, it has been tned: 9...d5 10.e5 (Andreikin was not im-
pressed by White's chances after 10.exd5 exd5 11.Nxd5 Quds 12.Qud5 Nud 13.Rxd5,
Be6 14.Rd1 Bes as White will lose the gained pawn because 15.g3?1 Nb4l 16.23 Bds
is even worse) 10...Nd7 11.Nf3 a6 12.Kb1 bs

aes aban of
With the king castled, White can play this pawn advance at case, not needing to [oe
prepare with f2-f3, unless he so desires. These are still options, however, 9.Kb1 fol-
lowed by f2-f; and 9.f a6 10.Kb1 (but 10.g4? can be met with 10..Nxgal after BAe By:
which the recapture is impossible on account of..8g5, winning White's queen
(rather than 10...Nd7 11.Kb1b§ as played in Zasukhin-Bocharov, Cheliabinsk 2019,
i)
13.h4 (White has an interesting alternative in 13.651? Ndxes (or 13..b4 14.Nad exfs
15.Qe3 Ne§ 16.Nxcs d4 17.Nxd4 Bxc5 18.QF3 with better chances for White) 14.Nxe5
Nxes 15.fre6 Bxe6 16.Nxd5 and White has the upper hand) 13...Ne5 14.Ng5 b4 15~
Nag Nxa4 16.Qd3 g6 17.bxaq f5 18.h5 Brgs 19.fre5 Ques 20.hxg6 Qxg6 21.Qe3,
when White, despite being a pawn down and with a ridiculous pawn structure, has
better chances because of Black's weakened king shelter and poorly organized
forces, Andreikin-Shevchenko, Minsk 2018.; 9..a6 transposesto lines covered in
chapter 7.
10.Kbt RAB
Here, 10...26 11.Nf3 is covered in the noteto Black's 10th move in chapter 7.
.Qer 12..NeB
Another try is 1.Nf3 but now 11...d5lis quite effective, for instance, 12.¢5 Neg 12...Nd7 13.Nb5 Quer 14.Rxet Nes 15.Nf3 a6 16.Nbd4 Ned 17.8d3 Nf2 18.Rhft
13.Nxe4 dxeg 14.Nd4 Queda15.Rxd2 Be§ (Black already hasa pleasantposition, hav- Nxd3 19.003 Bd7 20.Ret RdcB 21.Rfd1 Nud4 22.Bxd4 Rect+ 23.Rxct RoB 24.RxcB=
ing freed himself of most ofthe usual headaches) 16.c3 b6 17.Re2 Nxd4 18.00d4 Bxc8 with equal chancesin the endgame, Mohite-Sapale, Zadar 2018.
Ba6 19 Rxe4 Bb7 20.8d3 RacB 21.dxes Rud3 22.Rdg Redg 23.Bxd4 bxcg and the 13.NBd7
opposite-colored bishopsensure equali Koykka-Szustakowski, Pardubice 2019. In another correspondencegame, Black survived after 13...Bb4 14.Qe3 Nc7 15.8-
rad 12.05 d3 (both 15.h4l? and 15.a4l2, each having their purposes, one aggressive and the
other one defensive) 15..d4 16.Qe4 Bxc3 17.Qxh7+ KFS 18.Ng5 Nd5 19.0h5 Rd7
20.Qh8+ Ke7 21.Qg8 NdB and later a draw after 36 moves in Filipchenko-Sykora,
ICCF email 2018, but 22.Qxg7l Bxb2 23.Kxb2 Re7 24.Neg, White can keep an in-
tense pressure on Black, which he may or may not survive. In overthe-board
games, Black will definitely be struggling, whereas, in correspondence games,
Black with engine support will likely have more success.
1484
14.Nbs, intending Nbd4 with a French Defense-like clamp on Black's position,
is best prevented with 14..Nb4l when White's Lest move is simply to retreat the
knight as 15.2421 Bxbs 16.Bxbs a6 gives Black's pawns and pieces purpose and tar-
gets on the queenside.
14.--RacB 15.h4 Bb4 16.8h3l? ayaa?
Defendingthe knight sideways. A freeing move, allowing Black to activate his crampedpieces. This option is
16...Nc7 17.Qe3 worth keeping in mind, as White may not wantto allow it, and Black would def-
nitely want to use this resourceif looking for active counterplay.
18.Nxd4 Nxdg 19.Qxd4 Nb5 20.Bxb5 Bxbs 21.Qe1 Bc6 22.hs
22.Rhd3 Rxd3 23.Rxd3 may be an improvement, but thepositions that arise are
quite similarto thosein the game.
22.4Rxdi+ 23.Qxd1 RdB was played in Filipchenko-Tombette, ICCF email 2018,
and now 24.Rd3 Rxd3 25.Qxd3 h6 would have led to more orless evenchances,
Black's bishop pair provides excellent compensationfor the missing pawn
Chapter6:
 Su.Nf6 6 b3: 6...e6 7 Bb2 a6 8 0-0-0 b5 can play on the dark squares. Theplus side, the bishop on b2, is a beast ardis en-
tirely unopposed onthe longest diagonalofthe board. Additionally, it is not always
1ee4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Neb 5.Qd2 NFG 6.b3 €6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 b5 ‘easy for Black to create an effective counterplay onthe queenside because White's
96 fianchetto set-upis more robust than what Black typically encounters.
obey
Black's move order in these set-ups arerelatively fluid, and there are plenty of
transpositions, admittedly, | found myselfa little confused more than once. But at
this juncture, the main alternative is 9..8b7, and here:
a) 10.84

This position looks a bit ike the English Attack, exceptthe bishop is on b2 instead
of e3. There are both plusses and minuses to this “discrepancy.” To start with the
negative,the bishop on 3is very good at supporting the advanceofthe kingside
pawn,providing them with an extra guardian. Its absence from 3 sometimes.
causes headaches because ofthelack of support and that Black with more potency
 bi) 10..Qc7 11.84 h6 12.Bg2 (or 12.Nge2 RAB 13.NF4 Be7 14.Qe3 ReB (14
Nesl?) 15.h4 Nes 16.81 Qcs 17.Qe2 Bc6 18.8g2 QbSA (18..b4l2) 19.Ndi ba
20.Nf2 Bbs 21.Qd2 a5?lwas Bellahcene-Talbi, Oran 2018, and now 22.25 Nfd7
23.Nhg would have beenvery unpleasantfor Black) 12..0-0-0 13.Nge2 ds
Td.exd§ exd5 15.Qf4 da 1o.Ned Nxed 17.fre4 Qxf4 18.Nxfd Bdo 19.RhA Bxte
20.Rxf4 f6 21.RF5 R46 22.Rdg RhdB 23.Ba3 with a marginal plus for White in
Darban-Nalbant, Manisa 2018.
ba) 10...Be7 11.g4, and now:

b)10...Nd7 (or 10..Qe7 11.95 Nd7 12.he Nese! 13.Kb1 0-0-0 14.23 Be7
15.Nge2 RheB 16.Bg2 Nd7 17.4 Nb6 18.Rh3 f6 19.Nd5 exds 20.exd5 and White
is winning, Morozevich-Lupik, Tallinn 2019) 11-h4 b4 12.Nee2a5 13.95 a4 14.5
h6 15.86 f6 16.Nf4 Nog 17.Bh3 axb3 18.axb3 Bcf 19,Nge2 Be7 was Henris-
Verheyen, Charleroi 2018, and now 20.Nd4 Nxd4 21.Qxd4 Qas 22.Kd2 would
have offered White the somewhat better chances.
©) 10.Kb1,and here:

a 232) 12.Qe3 Nd7 13.4 Qb6 14.Qe1 RgB 15.NF3 g5 16.Nd5 exds 17.exd5 gxtg
ARIA
[2 2y 2]
bar) 11..0-0 12.h4 Nd7 13.g5 Nb6 14.83 Rc8 15.F4 d5 16.Nf3 (White can also
consider 16.exd5 Nad17.Nxd5 Quds 18.8h3 Qcs 19.23 with somewhat better
chances) 16..Q¢7 17.45 b4 18.exd5 Ne§ 19.Ne4 Nxf3 20.Qg2 Nes and Black has
avery nice position, Cuenca Jimenez-Ortiz Suarez, Chihuahus City 2019.
baz) 1..Qc7 12.95 Nd7 13.h4 0-0-0 14.6h3 KbB 15.Nge2 b4 16.Na4 Nes
T7.Nxc§ dxes18.Qe3 €5 19.F4 Bd6 20.fres Nues 21.Rhft RheB 22.Nf4 and White
is clearly better, next upis Nd5, Krzyzanowski-Bashirli, Budapest 2019
bag) 11...h6 with anotherfork in the road:
bagi) 12.Bg2ReB 13.Nge2 Qc7 14.h4 Nd7 15.95 NB616.26 bg 17.gxf7+ Kf was
Hernandez Sanchez-Rivera, Cartagena 2019, and now 18.Na4 Nxad 19.bxa4
Neg 20.8h3 BFS (20...Ne4 21. 0f4+) 21.Nf4 RheB 22.Q¢2 would havelead to a
sharp position with chances :o both sides.
T.dxe6 Qxc6 19.Be2 Rugs 29.Rf1 Rg? 21.8d3 with a position where White is
clearly better, Lagarde-Donchenko, Brest 2018.
233) 12.hg Qb6 13.Nh3 0-0-0 14.85hugs 15.Nxgs RhfB 16.8h3 KBB 17.Rhgi ds
TB.exds Nuds 19.Nxd5 Rxd§ 20.Qe2 RAUB 21.Qh2+ Bd622.f4 Qc7 23.Rxd5, and
draw agreed, Ya-h,in Petrisor-Dambacher, Maastricht 2018, although White
hasthe clearly better chances in the final position, forinstance, 23..exd5
24.0xg7 Oxf 25.Qf2 ReB 26.Rgq Bh2 27.Db2 when White's betterplaced
pieces along with the dangerous h-pawn should give him excellent winning
chances,
baga) 12.Nge2 Qe7 13.NF4 Nes 14.Be2 RcB 15.23 Bc6 16.h4 NFU7 17.Nh5 26
 18.Ng3 Nes 19.f4 Ned720.Nxb5axbs 21.8xh8 Nxeq 22.Nxe4 Bxeq 23.Bd3 Bxhi
24,Rxh1 was better for White in Ramos Silvera-Diaz Garcia, Pinar del Rio 2019.
Finally, 9..Qc7, 9...Nd7, and 9...Bd7 areall covered in the noteto Black's gth move
in chapter3.
9.-hgtransposesto the main line in chapter 3
r0.Kbr
White need to pay attention at this juncture,for instance, 10.4? is a mistake
10...Nxg4l(or 10..b4l? 11.Nag?l(11.Nee2 a5 12.25 Nhg 13.Kb1 0-0) 11..Nxeg 12.Qe1
Nf6 13.843 Qas 14.Nh3 h6 15.Rg1 Nes and White does not have adequate compen-
sation for the pawn, Lazov-Stanojoski, Skopje 2019) 11.Nh3 Nf6 12.Rg1 RgB (12.
g6I? 13.Kb1 0-0 was safer and better, promising Black the better chances) 13.Kb1
(Qb6 14.f4 Bb7 15.f51? Nes 16.Bg2 Nfgg 17.fre6fre6 18.Ng5 Bxgs 19.Qxg5 and White
was in command in Guseinov-Martinez Alcantara, Barbera del Valles 2518, no
small feat, considering hefell into an openingtrap!
Anotherideais 10.h4 hs 11.Nh3 (immediately headingfor gs) 11...8d7 12.Ng5 b4
13.Nag Qc7 14.Kb1 a 15,f4 (15-Bb5I?)15...05 16.23 0-0 17.8b5 NBB 18.c4, and draw
agreed, Vi-th, in Sisdk-Morozov, ICCF 2019, something Black could not have been
unhappyabout as White's position looks easierto play evenif objectively about
evenly balanced
0-0
The normal continuation, focusing on bringingall of his pieces to natural
squares, including castling, evenifWhite's attack is just about to head in the king's
direction. Thealternatives are:
a) 10...h5 11.Nh3 8d7 12.Ng5 b4 13.Ne2 (13.Nagl? 0-0 14.h4 could also be
considered; | prefer White, butthatis entirely a matter oftaste) 13.05 14.h4 a4
15.Ne1 Qas 16.f4 Naz 17.Bc4 Nb§ 18.Bxb5 Bxbs 19.Qd4 Bc6 20.Nd3 axb3
 21.axb3 Bb7 22.Rhe1 0-0 23.Ke1 RfcB 24.Re2 Ba6 andBlack has an enjoyable
position, Meissner-M. Brunello, Berlin 2018.
b) 10...Qb6 11.24 Bb7 12.8g2 (there is no urgency to placethe bishop on this
awkward square:if instead 12.25 Nd7 12.h4. White appears to have the better
chances) 12...Nd7 13.4 Nes 14.Nf3 0-0 15.g5 b4 16.Naq Nxaq 17.bxag RfCB
18-5 Nas 19.Qd4 Qxd4 20.Nxd4 was seen in Katkov-Kuhar, Pardubice 2019,
and now 20...Bxg5 21.fre6 fre6 or 20...Ne4 seemto offer Black a comfortable
game.
A significant alternative that has been tested several times is 11...Nd7 12.h4 (or
12.Nge2 NB6 13.Ng3 b4 14.Nce2 a5 15.Ndg Nxd4 16.Qud4 e§ 17.Qd2 Qe? 18.NF5
Bxf5 19.gxf5 RFdB 20.Rg1 BFS 21.8d3 ds 22.Qe1 with aninteresting position, where
both sides have their chances,altnough in this particular case, | think Black's posi-
tion — and attack ~ 1s easier to play, Gabrielian-Isybikov, Samara 2018) 12...NcS
13.85 b4 14.Nce2 as, and now we have reached a position that has been tested sev-
eraltimes, but in all encounters, Black has won(I):

ve84
‘The main line and the most natural, English Attack style, continuation,but also
T1Lh4 has beentried: 1..Qc7 12.g4 bg 13.Na4 d5 14.25 Nhs 15.8d3 da 16.Nea es
17-4 exf 18.Nxd4 Bgg 19.Rde Nes 20.Rhgi g6 21.Nfs Bxf5 22.Bxe5 Ques 23.exf5
Qc7 with a sharp position and chances to both sides as in T.Schmidt-Mirkowski,
ICCF 2019, which ultimately ended in a draw, but frankly in over the board chess,
this is 2 tough position to play for either side, ezch having weaknesses and poorly BB a
placed nights. 2 2
M.b4
a) 15.Nh3?l e5I? (this pawn advance seemsbetter leaving White with issues of
whereto place his knights; alternatively, Black has also tried 15..a4 16.Ncv?l
(06.Ndgl? was certainly better, but Black does not have any problems) 16.
axb3 17.cxb3 Ba6 18.Nf4 Qa19.Nh5 e5 20.Qd5 Bb7 21.Qd2 RfcB 22.8h3 Bas
23.Qd5 Rey 24.Rh2 Bb7 and Black was clearly better in Tadic-M. Popovic, Bel-
grade 2019) 16.Rgt2l(White 1s playing foran attack that is currently notthere;
instead, he should have limited the extent of Black's advantage with 16.Nf2)
16..a4 17.96 feg6 18.Qd5+ Be6 19.Qxc6 Qag 20.Ne1 was played in M.Popov-
Bocharoy, Ekaterinburg 2019, and now 20..RacB 21.Qb5 Qubs 22.8xb5 Bxh3
would have been clearly betterfor Black.
b) 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.8xd4, and now:
bi) 16..Qc7 17.Ne2 (White should have played 17.h5l? Bb7 18.Nh3 with
chances to both sides) 17.25 18.Bxc5 dxcs 19.Nct RdB 20.Qe1 Be6 21.8h3,
Bxh3 22.Rxh3 c4 23.RxdB+ RedB andBlack is clearly pressing and Whiteis in
trouble, Sulskis-Lupulescu, Batumi ol 2018,
ba) 16.04 17.Qxb4 Qc7 18.Qc3 €§ 19.Bxc§ (19.Be3l? BeS 20.8h3 Bxh3 21.Nxh3
whenlprefer White but Black has decent compensation for the sacrificed
pawn) 19...dxe5 20.Bc4 Ba6 21.Ne2 RAB 22.Nc1 Bxc4 23.Qxc4 Rb4 with a
 comfortable position for Black as seen in Brodsky-Peng Shunkai, Charlotte
2020.
3) 16...25 17.Bxcs dxc§ 18.QxdB Rxd8 19.Rxc8+ Bxd8 20.8c4 Ba6 21.Ne2 Bxca
22 bxca f6 with equal chances, Maters-De Boer, Hoogeveen2018,
12.Naq
I'm not a fan of 12.Nce2?l which seems to give Black the kind ofplay he is hoping
for, ané White's minorpieces are struggling to find a way to untangle themselves:
12..a5 (or 12...Qa5 13.NF4 (13-951? Nd7 14.£4 improves) 13..Rd8 14.h4 d5 15.e5 Nd7
16.Nh5 dg 17-f4 Bb7 18.Rh3 NBG 19.8g2 Nd5 20.8xd5 Reds with chances to both
sides, Vagman-Han Yichen,Bratislava 2019) 13.h4 a4 14.h5 axb3 15.axb3? (15.cxb3is
thelesserevil, but Black still has a comfortable game after 15..Qa5 16.Ne1 Nd7)
15..Qa5 1e.Net?? Nxedl 17.fre4 Bfbl (the point: Black threatens mate on al and
White could have resigned on the spot) 18.e5 Bxe5 19.8xe5 dyes 20.c3 bxc3 21.Qa2
2+ 22.Qxc2 Qat# 0-1, Gharagyozyan-Mosadeghpour, Poti 2018. Let that be a
warningifyou thinkthat yourking will survive anythingon the queensidel
1d7 13.h4
(Once more, we have a couple ofalternativesto cover:
a) 13.Qe3 Qc7 (13.8671?) 12.F4 Neg 15.Nxc§ dies 16.NF3 a5 17.8b5 Bab 18.Bx-
6 Qué 19.Ne5 Qbs 20.g5 RFS 21.Rxd8+ RxdB was Nasuta-Bonade, Vienna
2019, and now 22.fs| would eave White with an initiative and a space advan-
tage.
b)13.F4 Neg 14.Nxc5 dxc§ 15.Qxd8 RxdB 16.RxdB+ Bxd8 17.NF3 Bc7 (17.
Bb7I?) 18.f5 Bb7 19.fre6 freS 20.Bc4 ReB 21.Rd1 Re7 was played in Asensio
Linan-Perez Pastora, Barcelona 2019, and now 22.Ng5 Bc8 23.¢5 would have
 left Black's bishoppair quite limp. 18.f5 £6 19.Rg1 Bhs 20.Qd5+ Quds 21.Rxds when White has more space,but Black
should be okay.
TaN 14-85 17.Ng3h?
White chooses to ignore that Black can capture on a4, ruining White's queen- For pure shock effect, White could also have played 17.Nd4lalthough ater17.
side pawn structure. Understandably. if White is playing for a win. then 14.Nxcs Qc] TK.NES BxfS 19.exf5, White, lke in the game, would have had a small but clear
dxe5 15 Bc4 Qxd2 16.Rxd2 Nag 17.Be2 8b7is net something that will make Black advantage.
shake in his boots. Qc7 18.421
1g.niNxag 15.bxa4 e5 16.Ne2 Nas? 18.N65I transposesto theline in the previous note.
18...Bd7?
Black should have played the natural 18..Ne4 when 19.Bxc4 Queg 20.fre5 dxe5
21.Qd5 Quds 22.exd5 Bg4 would have equalized
19.Nfy Bf 20.exf5

Surprisingly, this moveis a mistake. A better continuation was 16..Qa5 17.f4 Bg

20..RFCB 21.16 gxf6 22.¢xf6 Bxf6 23.Re1+
(Or 23.Bd3 Neg 24.Qg2+ KFB 25.Bxc4 Qxc4 26.Rxd6 and Whiteis winning.
23..Kh8 24,Bd3,
Also 24.Qxd6 Quca+ 25.KaRe6 26.Qd5 wins for White,albeit not as clean as in
the gamecontinuation
24uNe4 25,Qe21 Nxb2 26.Bxh71
The point: now, Black's kingis stripped ofhis cover.
26...Nxdt 27.Qhs! N3+ 28.Kat Bg7 29.Bd3+ Kg8 30.Qh7+ KIB 31.Rxg7 d532.fres,
33.0621
‘The most convincing win was 33.Qg8+ Kd7 34.Qxf7+ Ke6 35.Qf6+ Kb7 36.25 and
Black can resign.
+33---Ke7 34.Rxf7+ Kd6 35.Rd7+ Ke6 36.Rxc7+ Rxc7 37-Q26?
37.87 was more accurate.
37--Re7 38.Qf6 Rg8 39.23 Ret+ 40.Bfi a5 41.axb4 axb4 42.05 Kd6 43.Qf4+ Ke6
44.Kb2 Nag+ 45.Kb3 Nes+ 46.Ka2 Neq 47.Qe3 Rxe6 48.Qxg1, and Black fnally
resigned, 1-0, Aravindh-Sandipan, Majitar 2019.
Chapter 7:
 5..Nf6 6 3: 6...e6 7 Bb2 a6 8 0-0-0 Bez should haveplayed 23.Qg3 Nud4 24.261 (24.Rxd4 8b7 25.Rc1 is also fine) 24..Re7
25.gxh7+ Kxh7 26.Qg6+ Kg8 27.Rxd4 with a clear advantage for White, tharks both
teed c5 2.No3 d6 3.44 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Neb 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 £67.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 Be7 theextra pawn and Black vulnerable king.
9.4 9.63 hs(while 9..b5 and 9..0-0 are other transpositions to chapter 6) 10.Nh3
b§ transposes to chapter3 and the introduction.
9..0-0 10.NB3
White continues with normal development which makes sense, but has a
sharp, exciting alternative in 10.gql?, and now Black has to choosehis path care-
fully:

g.Kb1 0 © (9...b5 10.f3 transposcs to chapter 6) 10.f4 (10-f3 also transposcs to

chapter 6) 10..b5 11.8d3 Qc7 12.84 Nd7 13.Nf3 Ns 14.25 f52l(this advance seems a
little panicky, instead 14...8b715.h4 would have been normal with chances to both
sides) 15.exf§ Nxd3 16.Qxd3 Rxf§ 17.Qe3 BRB 1B.Nhg Res 19.Rd2 ds 20.Ne2 «5
21 fke§ d4 22.Nxd4 Rxe§ was Kolotilina-Alsina Leal, Marbella 2019, and her White
 bi) 11..Nd7 12.h4 Neg 13.Bd32l(this is a mistake, White should instead have
played 13.23 bg 14.axb4 Nxbq 15.h5 e5 16.6 g6 17.Bc4 Bb7 18.Nd5 with a com-
fortable edge for White) 13..b4 14.Nce2 a5 15.Nf3 a4 16.Kb1 axb3 17.0xb3 d5,
TB.Nfd4 Nud4 19.Nxd4 was Ly-Varshini, Bangkok 2019, and here 16...Nxd3,
20.Qxd3 Bb7 would haveoffered Black a clear advantage.
ba) 11..Ne8 12.Nf3 Bb7 13.h4 b4 14.Ne2 Qas 15.Kbr ds 16.exd5 RAB 17.Nfd4
Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Bxd5 19.Rh3 Nd6 was played in Caglar-Kocyigit, Skopje 2019,
when 20.8g2 offers White a small advantage.
©) 10...Nxggl? 11.Nf3 NF6 12.Rg1 b5 13.5 NeB 14.exd6 (White could also con-
sider 14.Kb1 dg 15,f5 but 14..cxe5 would likely improve) 14..Qxd6 15.843 Bf6?
a) 10.5? is a little desperate, White gains an advantage after 11.g5 Nhs
(05.-Q¢7 is better) 16.Ngsl Bxgs 17.Rxgs (the counterintuitive 17.fxg5!?is even
12.exd5 exds 13.Nxds and White has won a pawn without a trace of compen-
better, intending Neg-f6= with mayhem) 17..Q¢7??(total collapse by Black;
sation for Black. The rest of the gamewent as follows: 13..Be6 14.Ne2 Bxds
necessary was 17...f5 18.Qe3 with excellent compensationfor pawn for White)
15,Qud5 Qe7 16.Qd7 Qag 17.852 Qua2 18.Nc3 Qas 19.Bxc6 Ba 20.Bxb7 Quez
18.Qg2 £6 19.Rh5 Qc7 20.Bih7+ Kf7 21.Bg6+ Ke7 22.Qe4 Qb7 23.Nd5+ Kd8
21.Bxa3 Rad8 22.Rd3 Qai+ 23.Kd2 Qua3 24.Qxd8 Qb4s 25.Kc1 Qub7 26.Ret
24.Nxf6+ and,utterly busted, Black resigned, 1-0, Xu Xiangyi-Liu Yuan,Tianjin
and Black resigned, 1-0, N.Petrov-Kraemer, Switzerland 2018,
2018.
b) 10...b5 11.85, and now:
10...b5
‘The sharpest answer and according to my analysis also Black's best. A couple
ofotheroptions have beentried:
a) 10..Qa5 11.Kb1, and now:
a1] 11..Rd8 12.Bd3 Nb4 13.23 Nxd3 14.0043 Qb6 15.Ka2 Bd7 16.24 a5 17.5 Ne
185 a4 19.b4 exf5 20.Nd5 Be6 21.Nd4 Bxd5+ 22.exd5 and despite his odd
pawnstructure, White is in commandof the game, right now, only Black's
queenis on an “active” square but even on b6, she is severely restricted by
White's moveactive pieces, Gabrielian-Zubritskiy, St Petersburg 2018
a2) 11...b5 12.Bd3 Nd7 13.84 Nes 14.h4 Nb415.Be2 Nc6 16.Nd4 Qc7 17.Nxcb
Qxc6 18.8f3 (Here, White should have played 18.h5 bg 19.h6 g5 20.Qd4 with
clear advantage for White) 18..Bb7 19.Qd4 e5? (a mistake; Black should have
played 19...Bf6 20.5 Qc7 21.Nd5 Bxds 22.Bxds Bxes 23.fres dxes 24. Ques Ques
25.Bxe5 exd5 26.Rxds and White's more active pieces ensure White at least a
‘small advantage) 20.Qd2 Rfe8 21.Nd5 exf4 was Gomez Barrera-PupoiLazo,
Asuncion 2019, and now 22.e51is close to winning for White.
b) 10...Qc7 11.Bd3 bs 12.94 b4 13.Nag ds 14.¢5 Ned 15.Qe3l Nez (or 15..Qa7
16.Qxa7 Nxa7 17.Nb6 RbB 18.Nxc8 RbxcB 19.8xe4 dxeq 20.Nd2 and White
‘once more has the better chances) 16.Nxc3 bxc3 17.Bxc3 Nb4 18.Kb1 Qas,
19.8xb4 Qxb4 20.Nd4 Bd7 21-f§ and even when missing the dark-squared
bishop on b2, White is completely dominating the game,Ibarra Jerez-Aguilar,
Seville 2019,
11.Bd3 11...Bb7 12.84
Again, the pawn sacrifice with 11.g4l?is an option, forinstance, Wehave already looked at similar pawn sacrifices above, but at this juncture, it
is probably no longer the best. Instead, like the untried 12.e5 Ne8 (or *2...dxe5,
13.feg Nd7 14.8xh7+ Kxh7 15.Qxd7 Qb6 16.Qd3+ Kg8 17.Qe2 seems promising for
White) 13.Kb1 Nb4 14.Be2 dee15 Qed¥ Rxd¥ 16. Rud Bxd¥ 17.23 Nd5 18.Nnd5 Bxd5,
19.f:e5 when White's advantage in space promises him someinitiative, but objec-
tively, Black should be okay.
T2Nb4 13-85

11...b4 (accepting the pawnis quite dangerous as everything, very quickly, points in
thedirection of Black's king: 11...Nxg4 12.Rgi Nf6 13.65 Ne8 14.Q63 d5 15.45 with a
nasty initiative for White) 12.85 bxc3 13.Qxc3 Qb6 14.gxf6 BxfB 15.Qe1 (or15.Qd2
Bxb2+ 16.Kxb2 Bb7 17.Rgi and White's positionis a lot more fun to play) 15...Bxb2+
16.Kxb2 a§ 17.Rxd6 Qc§ 18.Rd3 Bb7 19.Rc3 and White has a clear advantage, Ga-
lopoulos-Gian-noulakis, Rio Achaea 2018.
BeaNxdg+l
Exchanging this bishopis typically in Black's interest in this variation, and this
position is no exception. In a recent online game, Black instead tried 13..Nd7?l
14.Kbr {it may be even better to preserve the bishop with 14.Be2I2, leaving the
knight sitting a little loose on b4, but Black has a tactical resourceup his sleeve
that we should familiarize ourselves with: 14..Re8 15.Kb1 Nxcal 16.Qxe2 b4 17.84
Rxcg 18.bxc4 bxc3 19.8xc3 fs (or 19...Ne5l? 20.Nd2 £6) 20.gxf6 BxfS when Black has
excellent compensation for the exchange thanks to White's open king) 14..Rc8
15.h4 d5?1 (Black should still have played 15..Nxd3 16.Qxd3 Ne§ 17.Qd4 f6 with
chances to both sides) 16.exd5 Nuds?l (16...Ne5I2) 17.Nxds Bxd5 18.Qe2 Qe7 19.h5,
152 20.Bxf5 Refs 21.Rxd5 exds 22.Qe6+ Rf7 23.g6 and White was winning in Sad- 18...9d721
hwani-Barri-entos Chavarriaga, chess.com INT 2020. Here, 18...d5| is very unpleasant for White, Black is at least clearlybetter.
14.cxd3, Nd7 15.421 19.Qe3 Rfc8
Natural but not best, after 15.Kb1 Ne§ 16.Ne2 a5 17.Ng3 and White has a Or 19..a4! 20.b4 a3! 21.Nxa3 Nagl and White is clearly in trouble.
playable position. 20.Kb1 Ba6 21.44 Bxbs 22.dxcs Rxc5 23.Ba3?1
15,..0§ 16.26 fg6 17.Nd4 Nes 18.Ndxbs, Now, 23.5 d5 24.h5 would have been the way to go for White.
23.RecB
23..RhsI?
 24.85
24.h5 would have brought White back into the game. Therest ofthe game will
remain unannotated,but itis far from error-free.
24..Bc6 25.0xd6 Bxh1 26.dxe7 Bds 27.Qe5 Rxx3 28.Qxc3 24 29.Re1 axb3 30.axb3
Kiz 31.Qb4 Qa7 32.Qaq Qb7 33.Qb4 Qa7 34.Qaq Qb7 35.Qb4 and draw agreed,
ath, Purygin-Kavyev, Samara 2019.
Chapter 8:
 5..Nf6 6 b3: 6...g6 7 Bb2 Bg7 8 0-0-0: minorlines
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.44 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Ne6 5.Qd2
In this chapter, we will look at those lines where Black chooses a Dragon set-up
but wherethe play does not enter the main lines.
56
An important moveorder alternative is 5...g6 6.b3 Bg7 (the main line, 6...Bh6 is
coverecin chapter 11-14), and here:
a) 7.Bb2, and here:
a1) 7..Qa§ 8.0-0-0 Bga 9.Be2 Bxe2 10.Ngxe2 0-0-0 (Black avoids havingto
stare downa kingside attack by sending the king to the queenside, but White
nonetheless has a pleasant game) 11.Kb Kb8 12.Nds(this is not necessary
yet, instead 12.f3 Nf6 and on'y now 13.Nd5 was the wayto go,for instance13.
Qud2 14.Rxd2 Ne8 15.Rhdi with a positional advantage) 12..Qxd2.13.Rxd2
Bxb2 14.Kxb2 e6l (evicting the knight from ds and allowing Black to set up a
solid, yet somewhat passive, defensive stance) 15.Ne3 Nf6 16.Nc3 (16.31?)
16...Rd7 17.3 a6 18.Nag bs 19.Nc3 Rhd8 20.Rhd1 Ke7 with an endgamethatis
abouteven, Luukkonen-Koyk«a, Helsinki 2018.
2) 7..26 8.0-0-0 usually transposesto chapter10 after 8..Nf6 9.f3 0-0, but
Black can also play &..Be6 9.Kb1 bs (or 9..Nf6 10.Nge2 o-0 11.Nf4 Bd7
12.Nfd5 (12.h4l? hg 13.63 is also pleasant for White) 12...b5 13.43 Nxds 14.exd5
Naz 15.h4 RcB 16.Ne2 Bxb2 17.Kxb2 Reg 18.h5 BFS 19.c3 bg 20.c4 and Black
without an attack of his own and White getting ready to strike with force on
the kingside will have to pull a miracle to survive, Odeev-Ozguner, Ankara
2018) 10.h4 h5 11.NF3 ReB 12.Ng5 Nd4 13.8d3 NFS 14.Ne2 Nxe2 15.Qxe2 0-0
 16.e5 Nd5 17.Bxg6 fig6 18.Nxe6 Nf4 19.Nxf4 Rtg 20.exd6 e5 21.d7 Reg 22.846
Kh7 23.Rhdi and Black resigned, 1-0, Ter Sahakyan-Baghdasaryan, Yerevan
2018.
b)_7.f4 seems unnecessary andill-advised: White can always play this move
later if deemed necessary; usually, it makes senseto play f2-f3 to support the
kingside attack where g2-g4 and h2-hais the usual way forward. After 7..Nf6
8.Bd3 0-0 9.Bb2 e5 10.Nge2ds 11.exd5 Nud5 12.Nxd5 Qxds (Black has a com-
fortable game at this point) 13.0-0-0 exf4?l (both 13..Bg4; and 13..Rd8
should leave Black with the better chances) 74.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Nxf4 Qes (15..Qc5
weuld still be fine for Black) 16.Kbt Bf5? (a better option was 16..Bg4 17.Rdet
8.f3 0-0 9.0-0-0 a6 10.KbI transposesto chapter10.
Qd6 which would have kept White's advantage to a minimum) 17-Rhet Qcs,
8..Be6
TB.Nhg+ Kh8 19.Qh6 Rg8 20.Nf6 Rg7 was played in Sadhwani-Aditya,
Somekey alternatives are:
Lichess.org INT 2020, and now 21.Bxf5 Quf5 22.Ne8 RgB 23.Nd6 would leave
White winning. a) 8..Qa5 9.KbI, and here:
6.b3 26 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0

A AB
3 SEY 3
at] 9..Be6 10.f3 0-0-0 11.Nd5 Qud2 12.Rxd2 Bxds?l (Black should consider
grabbing some space with 12..h5) 13.exd5 Nes 14.Nh3l Kb815.Be2 RoB 16.Re1
Rhe8 17.Bb5 Red8 18.f4 Bh6 19.Rddi and White waswell on the way to winning
in Morozevich-Wtnasunay, Sochi 2019.
a2) 9..a6 10.f3 bg? 11.Nd5 Ray 12.Qxa5 Naas 13.Nxf6+ BxfS 14.8xf5 exfé
15.Rxd6 and Whiteis a clean pawnup, BodnarukLi Zhenyu, Harbin 2019.
83) 9..0-0 10.f3 (or 10. Nge2 Ng11.NF4 Nxf2?? 12. Qxf2 Bxc3 13.Rd5 Qb4 14.23,
(Qxe4 15.843 and Black's queen was trapped andsoonlost, Bracker-Ven Dael,
Hamburg 2018) 10...d8 11.Nge2 e5 12.¢4 Be6 13.25 Nhs 14.h4 BAB 15.8h3 Bxh3
16.Rxh3 Ne7 17.4 exfg 18.Nxf4 Nxfa 19.Qxf4, and White had a substantial
advantage in Ivic-Sahajasn, Veliko Gradiste 2018.
b) 8..Bd7 9.Kbi (9.f3 Re& 10.Kb1 transposes to chapter 16) 9...Qa5 (9..0-0
10.83 also transposesto chapter 16) 10.f3 hs?(10..0-0 was more normal, tak-
ing play to the following chapter as well as chapter 16) 11.Nd5 Nxds??(Black
should have played 11...Qxd2 12.Rxd2 0-0-0 although White is clearly better
after 13.Bb5!) 12.Qxas (or 12. 8xg7) 12...Nxa§ 13.Bxg7 Ne3 14.Ret Nofi 15.8xh8
Nd2+ 16.Ke1 Ndxb3+ 17.0cb3 and White was winning, Hamidi-Shamsi,
Teheran 2020.
©) Finally, 8...a6 9.f3 typically transposes to chapter 10.
96
(Once more, we have a couple ofalternativesto explore:
a) 9.Kb1 Re8 10.63 (or with a different move order: 10.Nge2 b5 11.f3 a5 12.Nf4
b4.13.Neds Bxds 14.exd5 Nes 15.Bb5+ Ned716.hg 0-0 17.h5 Nes 18.hxg6 hxgS 9.26 10.Kb1
19.Rh3 Reg 20.86 Nxc6 21.dxc6as played in Kollars-Goossens, Rome 2019, White hasa couple ofattractive alternatives that needto be explored:
and now 21...Qc8 22.84 €5 23.Rdh1with a stronginitiative for White; compared
to a normal Dragon, where White frequently tries to eliminate Black's knight a) 10.Nd5
‘onfb to weaken Black's kingside defense, White,here, constantly threatens
8x6, creating immediate havocfor Black) 70...0-0 11.g4 Qas 12.Nge2 bs(or
the normal 12..RFd8 13.95 Nhs 14.23 (14.Nd5I?) 14.06 15.Nd5 Qud2 (15.
Qesl2) 16.Rxd2 h6 17.h4 Bxb2 18.Kxb2 Kg7 19.Ne3 a5 20.f4 Bd7 21.8g2 and
Black is struggling for air with little of coming, Nayhebaver-Turqueza, Batumi
2018) 13.Nf4 b4 14.Nce2 RFAB 15.Nxe6 fre16.Nf4 KF7 17.h4 Nes was playedin
Gutenev-Gaydym, Sochi 2019, when 18.g5 Nhs 19.8h3 Nxf3 20.Bxe6+ KeB
21.Qd5 Quds 22. Nxdsis overwhelmingly better for White.
b) 9.f4 (having completed the queenside development, this move makes
more senseat this juncture now, but | still think both 9. and 9.Kbi are
preferable) 9..Qa5 10.Kb1 0-0-0 11.Nf3 dy 12.85 Neg 13.Qe1 f5 14.843 KbB. b) 10...Nes§ 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12:44 Qc7?? (Black should havegiven preference to
15.Nb§ Qxet 16.Rhxet a6 17.Nbd4 Nudg 18.8xd4 with a small, positional plus 12..h6 13.h3 g5 although 14hgl? looks better for White) 13.25 Bg7 14.f4 and
for White, Henriquez Villagra-Biastoch, Barcelona 2019. White wasalready winning in Magnusson-Znuderl, Cagliari 2019.
 ©) 10.Nge2 ReB 11.Kb1 Nes 12.h3 (White intends to play f3-f4, but also 12.Nf4 Not strictly necessary, but it is a tempting option to keep in the back pocket;
was better for White) 12..b5 13.Nf4 Qb6 14.Nxe6fre6 15.Ne2 0-0 16.Nda Kf] also, 11.Nge2 0-0 12.Nfa is better for White.
(having to play this as Black is anindication that things have gone wrong) 11..Qxd2 12.Rxd2 0-0-0
17.4 Nc618.Ne2?l(too timid, instead 18.g4l, threatening g4-g5 with serious
issues on eb) 18..Qas 19.Qxa5 Nxa§ 20.g3 and White hasa pleasantpositional
advantage, Bajarani-Vokhidoy, St Petersburg 2018.
10..Qa5
Alternatively, 10..0-0 11.4 (11.Nge2 Qa5 12.g4 transposesto chapter 9; see
Vasiesi Roseneck in the first note) 11..b5 12.h4 (White could play 12.Nd5! RcB
13.h4 with a comfortable advantagefor White) 12...h5 13.5 Nd7 14.f4?l (14.Nd5 was,
better) 14..Ne5 15.Ret (15.8g2 was necessary) 75..RcB?l (Black had an attractive
alternative in 15..d51 16.exd5 (16.Nxd5?? Nxe4l wins for Black) 16..b4l 17.Ndi Qxds
18.Qxd5 Bxds and Black would have beenin command ofthe game;this is a good
13,Nxf621
example why White has to keep the ..d6-d5 advance in check) 16.NdsI? Bxb2
This type of exchange riddles Black with a passive, inflexible pawn structure,
17-Kxb2 Bga?l 18.8h31 Bxhg 19.Nxh3 e5 20.Rhft exfg 21.Nhxf4 Nd7 22.Nxhs gxhs
but the exchanges also makesit difficult to build on the pressure on Black's posi-
23.Nf6+ KhB 24.g6 NxfS 25.g7+ and White was winning in Sindarov-A.Nguyen,
tion. Black will keephis isolated pawn on défor now, but after ...f6-f5 at some
Hamedan 2018.
pointfor Black, he may eventually be able to free himself entirely. Instead,| prefer
mi.Nds
13.c4l Nhs 14.93 Kb8 15.Ne2 Bxb2 16.Kxb2 g5 17.82, which leaves White with a
pleasart positional advantage, Black will be struggling for counterplay for a long
time to come.
13..Bxf6 14.Bxf6 exfB 15.04 £5
A typical pawn break, as discussed above, here it makes extra good sense be-
cause Whiteis far from having completed his development.
16.exfs Bxfg+ 17.843,
Also 17.Kb2 d5 18.cxd5 Be619.84 b§ would equalize for Black.
Bxd3+ 18.8xd3 Rhe8l?
Black could have pushed his lead in development to rid himself ofhis remain-
ing pawn weakness with 18..d5l 19.0d5 Nbg 20.Rc3+ Kb8 and Black has the initia-
tive,
19.Nh3 Re2 20.Nf4 Rf2 with equal chances in the endgame, Jires-Koutny, Brno
2019.
Chapter 9:
 SuoNF6 6 b3: 867 Bb2 Bg7 8 0-0-0: 8...0-0 93
reed c§ 2.Ne3 d6 3.44 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Neb 5.Qd2 NI 6.b3 g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0 0-0
96
In this chapter, we will focus on the lines that involve 9.f3 notfollowed by a
10.Kb1, asthoselines tend to transpose to what we will be covered in chapter10.
9-Qas
Black has several alternatives at this juncture but as discussed in the previous
chapter, what Black is struggling with in “classical” Dragon set-ups(I define those
as the lines without ..8h6 and ...e7-e5), Black does not havehis typical plans of
counterplay available: ..d6-d5 is rarely possible, .Nc6-e5-c4 is not possible be-
causeofthe pawn on b3 andthe exchange sacrifices on c3 is not even a threat be-
cause White will not end upwith a doubled pawnalong with a weakened king shel-
ter because White 1s protecting the knight with thebishop on b2. So, Black has to
comeupwith something different, and thatis not easy at all. In fact, | will venture
the guess that unless Black has thoroughly studied this line and knows whet he (or
she) is doing, playing this Dragon set-up will be a slow but a fairly certain death
sentence.
‘Thealternatives are:
a) 9.26 10.g4, and now:

a1] 10...Qa5 11.Kb1 Be6(or 11...RdB 12.85 Nhs 13.Nge2 BeS 14.f4 bs 15,.Bg2 Bga
16.h3 Bxc3?? (this capture falls flat immediately and loses whereas 16...Bxe2
17.Nxe2 b4 18.8%g7 Nxg7 19.h4 is clearly betterfor White as Black is no closer
te achieving any counterplay and White's kir gsideattack is just about ready to
make contact with Black's king shelter and the dark-squared bishopis notice-
ably absent) 17.Bxc3 bg 18.hxg4 buc3 19.Nxc3 Nuf4 20.Qxf4 Que3 21.Rxh7 RB
22.Rdhi f6 23.e5 and Black resigned, 1-0, Meissner-Jazdanovs, Pardubice
2018) 12.Nge2 RFCS 13.8g2 (also 13.h4 is perfectly logical, for instance, 13..h5
14.gxhs (14.959?is even better) 14..Nxhs 15.f4 Bg4 16.Rg1 Bxe2? (Black sees a
tactical opportunity and goesforit, a common disease among Dragor players
- I'm allowed to saythis because | belong in that group- but Black forgets to
look far enough and his combination faces a terrible refutation. Instead 16,
Nfe was necessary but comfortably better for White after 17.NdSl) 17.Bxe2
Nag?? 18.Qxf4 Bxc3 19.Be4l (Ouch! Thethreats against both £7 anc g6 are
impossible to parry) 19...Ne§ 20.Bxf7+ Naf 21.RxgS+ KAB 22.RF1 KeB 23.Qxf7+
and Black resigned, 1-0, Vasiesiu-Roseneck, Bad Blankenburg 2018) 13..Qc5
14.g5 Nhs 15.3 Qf2 16.Rhgi Ng3 17.Nf4 Bdg 18.Rger bs 19.h4 Qxd2 20.Rxd2
Bes 21.Nfd5 b4 22.Nag Bxb2 23.Kxba2 and White has a clear advantage, Black
has no prospects ofactive counterplay, Lagunow-Pallas, Willingen 2018.
a2) 10..b5 Thal?

(this traditional wing attack move is probably better than 11.Nge2 867?! (Black
should have opted for 11...b4 12.Nag Qas 13.Kb1 Bd7,whenit looks like Black
is finally making some headway on the queenside but after 14.85 Nh5 15.Ng3
x52 16.Nxb2 Ng7 17.£4, White's position seems little easier to play) 12.h4
(02.KbIP? is also perfectly good) 12..ReB 13.h5 Nes 14.8g2 ba 15.Na4 Qc7
16 hxg6 hxg6 17.Nd4 (17.NF4l? e6is better but very complicated and quite un-
clear) 17...d5 18.g5 Nh19.exd5 was seenin Amonatov-V.Karthik, Bhubaneswar
2018, and now 19...Bxd5 20.Kb1 RFUB 21.Qf2 Nc6 would havebeen better for
Black... finallyl) 11..h§ (This pawn advanceplays into White's hands, but |
don't see many good alternatives) 12.Nds| (without the knight on f6, the
h7-hs is just a hideous weakness of the kingside) 12..e5 13.Nxfé+ QufS
14.gxhs exhs15.Kb1 (sidestepping the ...Bh6 threat) 15..Bh6 16.Qf2 Bb7 17.Nh3
Rack 18.Ng5 Nb4 19.Rd2 and Black is completely busted, Milosevie-zturk,
Manavgat 2018.
b) 9..Bd7 is quite passive and relatively uncommonin this move order.
However, when Black plays 4...8d7 instead of 4...Nc6,there will frequently be
a transposition to this particularline, which is pleasantfor White. We will just
‘show oneline here, but for referenceto this line, head to chapter 16 for a more
complete & detailedcoverage.

1 hg (the better 10.g4l?is the mainline in chapter16,including the critical
main gameSevian-Xiong, Saint Louis 2018, and also the promising alternative
10.Kb1as in Andrade-Martins, Recife 2018, which is also coveredin chapter
16} 10.485 (OF 10..ReB 11.Kb1 Qas 12.84 Re7 13.Nge2 b5 14.NF4 RACE 15.55 Nef
16.Neds Qud2 17.Rxd2 and Black was struggling in Kashlinskaya-A. Wagner,
Dortmund 2018) 11.24 (stoppingthe advanceofthe a-pawn is natural but not
necessarily best, for instance, White could consider 11.g4, 11.865, and 11.Kb1,
inall cases, claiming a good game for White;the text move is not a mistake as
much asit is unnecessary) 11...Nb4 12.Kb1 Rc8(Black could even contemplate
the immediate 12..d5 when 13.exd52!Bfis betterfor Black) 13.Re1
(White should haveplayed 13.Nge2l? intending to meet 13..5 with 14.5 when
White has Ndg available whenBlack throws ...Bf5 at us) 13...d51 (now Black is,
already better) 14.exd5 Be6 (14...Bf5l is even better, when 15.g4? Nfxdsl is a
disaster for White, e.g., 16.Nxd5 Bxc2+ 17.Ka1 Quds and White's position col-
lapses) 15.Nh3 Nfcd5 16.Nxd5 Quds 17.Qxd5 Nxd5 18.8xg7 Kxg7 19.Ng5 Bd7
and Black has successfully solved his opening problems, Khusnutdinov-
Makarian, Moscow 2019,
©) 9.-Be6places the bishop on a better square than on d7 andbetter sup-
ports ..d6-ds, but it is also not withoutits independent problems.
1) 10.Kb1 a5 11.Nge2(11.h4l?is also fine; Black's attack with ..a5-aq should
not worry White unduly, eg., 11..a4 12.Nxag Rea13.bxaq Qb6 14.Bb5 and
Black does not have enoughfor the sacrificed exchange) 11..a4 12.Nxad (a
better try was 12.Nf4l? axb3 13.0xb3 Bd7 14.4 and White's position is prefer-
able although Black is not entirely without his share ofthe chances) 12...b5 13.-
Nac3 bg 14.Nag?l Rxag 15.bxa4 Qas 16.c4 Qxag 17.Nct Nd7 18.8xg7 Kxg7
19.h4 he 20.Nb3 Ne§ and Bleck has morethan adequate compensation for the
sacrificed exchange, the white queenside is weak and exposed, and 20 boot,
the black pieces are better ccordinated, Kostolansky-Razafindratsima, Bratisla-
va 2019.
2) 10.84 ReB (or 10...a5 11.Kb1 Nd7 12.865 (12.hal?) 12...Ne§ 13.04 Nbg?l (13.
Ndgl?)14.Nge2 ReB (or 14...Nxc2 15.Kxe2 Bxb3+ 16.Kb1 Bxdt 17.Qxdi e8 with a
messy position where | nevertheless prefer White, but that could be a matter
oftaste) 15.Nd4 Bd7 16.h4 Bxbs 17.Ndxbs Qb618.h5 Ne6 19.f4 Re§ 20.F5 Nez
2i.hxgé fxgS 22figé hxg6 23.Qh2 and Black was busted in Babaniya-Safiri,
Lorestan 2019) 11.g5 Nd7 12.Kb1 Nes 13.Nge2 a5 14.hal (14.2421 Nbqis what
Black is hoping for) 14...a4 15.h§ axb3 16.cxb3 (16.axb3 can also be considered
although Black can pursue the sameline as after cxb3) 16..Nxb3?! 17.axb3,
Bxb3 18.hxgé fig6 19.Nc1 Be6 20.8h3? (Black's optimistic attack could be
refuted by 20.Qhal Kf7 21.Nd5 8xb2 22. Qxb2 andBlack will not stay alive for
long) 20...Bxh3 21.Rxh3 Nes 22.f4 and while Black has reasonable compen-
sation for the sacrificed piece at this juncture, White should have theslightly
better chances, Tirelli-Calavalle, Arco 2018.
a] 10.Ngel? Qb8
(Black is hoping to launch both a- and b-pawns toward White's king; an alter-
native is 10..ReB 11.Nf4 Bd7 12.g4 (White canalso consider 12.Neds!? Nxd5
13.Nxds Bxb2+ 14.Kxba which can quickly become unpleasantfor Black on the
kingside, considering the absence of defenders) 12..Qa5 13.Kb1 RGB 14.h4 hg
15.85 NeB 16.Neds Qud2 17.Rxd2 Bxb2 18.Kxb2 KAB 19.Be2 Nc7 20.Ne3 Ne6
21.Nxe6+ Bxe6 22.f4 and White has an overwhelming space advantage, Nig-
matov-Man-ish, New Uelhi 2020) 11.4 (note that after 11.Kb1, Black can try
the trick 11...d5I? which exploits the fact that White's rook on di is unpro-
tected, but White can possibly meet this with 12.Nf4l? Bh6 13.Qell- thank you,
computer! - 13...Bxf4 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Nxds Bxds 16.Rxd5 Rd8 17.8c4 and White
has a nice plus) 11..b5 12.Nd5 Qb7 13.95 Nhs 14.Ng3 Bxb2= 15.Kxb2 Ng7?l
16.h4 a5
 even better after 20.hxg6l fxg6 21.Qxh7+ Kf7 22.Nf4. Ne§ 23.Nxe6 andit is cur-
tains for Black) 20..b4 21.a4 Ne§? 22.Ba6 Qxa6 23.Nxe7+ Kh8 24.hxg6 hs
25.Qxh5+ and Black resigned before he would get mated, 1-0, Harutjunyan-
Tologontegin, Cheliabinsk 2019.
d)_9..a5 is a logical approach by Black, hoping to knock a hole in White's
queenside armor, but White should not worry unduly:

17.23 (possibly evenbetteris 17.h5 a4 18.Kb1 axb3 19.cxb3 and Whiteis clearly
better) 17..Rac8 18.hs a4 (or 18...b4 19.24 and White is entirely in command)
19.Qh2?(19.b4l?closing the queenside looks more promising as Black misses
fan good chancefor counterplay with his next move.) 19..axb3?(19..b4l is
the wayto break White's king shelter wide open; the computerindicates sev-
callines leading to a perpetual check, for instance, 20.hxg6 bxa3+ 21.Kb1 feg6
22. Quhy+ KAZ 23.NF4 a+ 24.Kb2 a1Q+ 25.Kxat (25.Rxa1 Nes is better for
Black!) 25...axb3 26.Qxg6+ KgB 27.Qh7+ Kf7 with a draw) 20.0xb3 (White is
di) White decides to stop Black's active plans before he gets started; White
has several otherinteresting ideas; for instance, 10.85 Qb6 11.KbRd12.24
(02.Nge2, creating connection betweenthe rooks,is also considering as it
eliminates Black's tricks with ..d6-d5; after 12...05 13.Bc4 Be6 14.Nds, White's
position seems preferable) 12..Heb 13.5 Ne¥ 14.2421 (White should have
played 14.Nge2I? Nc7 15.8xc6 bxc6 16.Na4 Qb4 17.8xg7 Kxg7 and here the
computer claims an advantage for White, starting with 18.Qctl?) 14..Ne7
15.Nge2 ds 16.exd5 Bxds 17.Nxd5 Rds 18.Bd3 Bxb2 19.kxb2 Ne6 and Black has
achieved everything he was hopingfor and has theclearly better chances,
Heavamae-Garanin, Palanga 2018
2) 10.24 Bd7 (10...Nb4 looks more natural, saving the decision regarding the
placementofthe bishopforlater although d7 is thelikely destination) 11.Ngea
RcB 12.Kb1 Nbg 13.94 Regi(Black should probably have opted for 13..Qb6
14.Nd4 Rfd8 when the chances are fairly balanced, White has to watch out for
Black playing ..e7-e5 following by ..d6-d5 with strong counterplay) 14.Nd4
Qba2l 15.Na2l? (or 15.Ncbs RFeB 16.c3 and Black's counterplay seems stuck)
15..Nxa2 16.kxa2 RFS 17.41 (if White can successfully setup the
Maroczy-like bind, Black will regret his decision to go for ..a7-a§ as the
counterplay is non-existent and a long period of sufferingis likely) 17..b6
18.Bd3 Ne8 19.h4 &620.h5 d5 21.exd5 exds 22.hxg6 hxg6 was played in Hen-
dersondela Fuente-Antova, Sitges 2018, and here, the young Spanish grand-
master could have decided the game with 23.Nfslgxfs 24.Bxg7 Nxg7 25.Qh6 f6
2b gxfs Qde 27.Qh7+ KA7 28.Qgb+ and curtains for Black
Finally, two untried options are 10.kb1 and 10.h4, both ofwhich are perfectly fine
for White
ro.hgl?
10.Kb1 transposes to chapter 10
10...Be6 11.Kb1 RacB
A couple ofalternatives are 11...RfcB 12.Nge2 bs 13.Nf4 Bh6 14.23 Neg 15.Ncd5
is clearly better for White, Kutchoukov-Van Randtwijk, Hoogeveen 2018. and 11
RFdB 12.Nd5 Qud2 13.Rxd2 Bxds 14.exd5 Nbq 15.c4 a5 16.Ne2 Na6 17.94 Nd7 when
White at best is marginally better.
r2.Nge2 RFEB 13.Nd5
After 13.Nf4, Black can considerthe typical 13...d5 trick we have seen a couple of
times previously, although hereit is less potent, for instance, 14.Nxe6 fre6 15.Qe1
dg 16.Nag and White is doingfine.
 Nxd521
Or 13...Qxd2 14.Rxd2 Bxd§ 15.exd5 Ne§ 16.c4 Bh6 17.Rd1 Be3 18.Nc3 is can be-
comeuncomfortable for Black unless he figures out a way to generate some coun-
terplay.
14.Qxa5 Nxa§ 15.lxg7 Ne} 16.Rd3 Kxg7 17-Rxe3 Neb 18.NE4 a6 19.23 d5 20.exd5,
Bxd5
21.Bh33t
White can improve with 21.c4l Be6 22.Nxe6+ fre6 23.8h3 would haveleft White
with a clear advantage in the endgame.
22.84 Kf6 23.Rher?
White could still push for an advantage with 23.gxf5 gxf5 24.Rhet, but after the
text move,Black takes overtheinitiative.
23.05 24.Nd3 Nd 25.Nb4 Bx¥3 26.gxd8 gxfh 27.Rxe$ Bed 2B.R5xe4 fed 29.8x-
cB NB 30.Re3 RxcB and Black has the clearly better chancesin the endgamethanks
to his active king, supporting the passed e-pawn. Yet, at this point, the players
agreed upon a draw, Y-Y2, undoubtedly on account ofWhite being rated almost
200 points higher, Asadli-Babazaca, Baku2019,
Chapter 10:
 SuNf6 6 b3: 6...g6 7 Bb2 Bg7 8 0-0-0: 8...0-0 9 Kbt
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.44 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Ne6 5.Qd2 NI6 6.63 26 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0 0-0
9.Kbr
White decides to tug the king away to b1 immediately before doing anything on
the kingside or continuing the development. So.is that necessary?Strictly speak-
ing, nol But there are sometacticaltricks for Black thatinvolves the king and queen
being on the c1-h6 diagonal, also after ..Qas, it can come in handyto have the a-
pawnprotected to be able to play Nd5, in some cases forcing an advantageousex-
changeof queens. Are there any downsides to having the king on bi? Yes,thereis.
As we will see, there some tactical tricks where Black can play ..d6-d5 and exploit
that White's rook ondi is no longerprotected bythe king; additionally, Kbt takes a 9.Qa5
‘Two important alternatives are:
tempoawayfrom anything White is doing,particularly on the kingside. So, there
are pros and cons. a) 9.2612, and here:
21) 10.83 bs, and no

a
AA A a2) 10.Bd3 bs 11.f4 Be6 12.N¥3 ba 13.Na4 Qc7 14.h3 Bd7 15.4 (White should
Bak
a1’) 11.4 bg 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.8xg7 Ne3+?l(this check is a mistake; a bettertry
was 13...Ne3, although White,also has better chances after 14.Qxe3 kxg7 15.h4
h6 16.h5 g5 17-F4 exts 18.Qxf4 e5 19.Q¢3 Nd 20.NF3 Nuf3 21.Qxf3 and White is
in commandofthe game, particularly the pressure against Black's d-pawnas
well as the breakthrough with g4-g5 will cause Black headaches) 14.8xc3 bxc3
15.Qxc3 Bd7 16.h4 Qb6 17.h5 g5 18.Nh3 h6 19.F4 Bxg4 20.Rd2 Qas 21.Qxas
Noas 22.feg5 Bxh3 23.Bxh3 hxgs 24.Rd5 and White was clearly better in the
endgame, Andreikin-Amonatoy,St Petersburg 2018.
ata) 11.hg hg 12.Nge2 Ne5 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Qc7 15.Ng3 Bd7 16.Be2?l
(White could play 16.f4! Ng4 17.8xg7 Kxg7 18.f5 Rac8 19.8d3 with a dangerous
attack on the kingside) 16..Rac8 17.Rc1 a5 18.Neq?! (this looks normal, but
White should have given preference to 18.Rhe1 Qb619.f4 Nea 20.8xc4 Bxb2
21.Kxb2 buc4 22.Qe3 c3+ 23.Kal Qb4 24.5 with a sharp position and chances
to both sides) 18.04 19.4 hxg4 20.f:g4 axb3 21.0%b3 Qa7 whenBlack is
doing fine, Dubov-Alekseenko,Sochi 2018.
strongly consider15.e51? at this point, forinstance, 15...dxe5 16.fre5 Nd5 17.Beq
26 18.Bxds exd5 19.Qxd5 and Whiteis clearly better) 15..RFb8 16.5?! (a better
choice is 16.Rhetl? RdB 17.Qe3 Na7 18.Qb6 and White is in command) 16.
Nhs 17.8xg7 Nxg7 18.Nb2a5 19.84 Na7 20.5 (finally, White can improve with
20.Nes dues 21.Qxd7 Qxd7 22.Rxd7 exfg 23.8d5 and White has the better
chances) 20...gxf5?? (Black would have beenfine after 20...Nbsl, e.g., 21.Bxb5
Bxbs 22.Nd4 ag 23.Nxbs Rubs 24.fig6 hxg6 25.Nxa4 Qc6and Black has excel-
lent compensation for the sacrificed pawn) 21.g6ll hxg6 22.Qh6 e6 23.Ngs and
White was winning in Bodnaruk-Voit, St Petersburg 2018
b) 9.2512, and now:
bi} 10.24 Nb4 11-3 BeS 12.g4 ReB 13.Nge2 Nd7 14.Nf4 No§15.Nxe6 (White
should probably give preference to 15.8b5 Bd7 16.8xd7 Nud17.h4 Ne§ 18.8h3
and White's kingsideattack is more likely to cause Blacktrouble than anything
Black can come up with on the queenside) 15..Nxe6 16.h4 Ndg 17.Bc4? (17.45
Ndxc2 18.Bc4 (or 18.hxg6 fig6 19.f4 d5 with a messy position and chances to
both sides) 18..Rxc4 19.bxc4 Qb6 with excellent compensation for the
sacrificed exchange) 17...Nxf 18.Qe3 Ne§ 19.8e2 Qc7 and Black has a pleasant
game thanks to his superior pawnstructure, especially White's dark squares
are weak, Danielyan-Sakaey, St Petersburg 2018.
ba) 10.f3 Be6 11.865? (with this move, White deters Black from playing
a§-ag; however, even 11.hg Qb6 12.Nd5 Bxds 13.exd5 Ne§ 14.4 could be
considered as Black will struggle to gain counterplay) 11..Qb6 12.Nge2 RfcB
13.hg hg (13...Qf2 14.Rdfi is also better for White) 14.Nf4 Nb4? 15.Nxe6 fre
16.23? (16.Qe2l is much simpler, leaving White with a large advantage) 16.
Rxc3_17.Qxe3_ Qxb§ 1B.axb4 axb4 19.Qc4 Qas 20.Qxe6+ KAB 21.Ke1 Bhé=
22.Rd2 was played in Xu Xiangyu-Keymer, Sitges 2018, and now instead of
capturing on d2, Black should have played 22...Qcsl 23.f4 Qe3 and Black is
still in the game, admittedly it is messy, but computer approved. However,
considering White's improvement on move 16, this is not a line Black should
pursue.
©) 9..Be6 10.Nge2 ReB 11.Niq
 as played in M-Popov-Gurvich, Moscow 2019, or 24.Nd3 Rfc& 25.Rc1 leave
White with clearly better chances as Black's counterplay is not sufficient com-
pensation for the sacrificed piece
t0.Nge2
White can also play 10.63 first, and after 10...Be6, and now:
a) 11.94 Rac8 12.23 a6 13.Nge2 Re7 (13...b5 14.Nf4 Nd7 15.Nfd5 Bxd5 16.Nxds
EA BSI Qud2 17.Rxd2 RFd8 18.8g2 with a pleasant space advantage for White) 14.h4
RfcB 15.h5 Nes 16.Bg2 bs 17.hxg6 hxg6 18.g5 Nfd7 19.4?
2 2 Se |
(01.83 is also perfectly playable) 11..8d7 (Black can also consider 11..8h6 al-
though | still prefer White, for instance, 12.g3 Bg4 13.Be2 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Bg7
15h4 hs 16.and | feel White's position is easier to play) 12.f3 Bh6 13.Nce2
2g7 14.84 25 15.Ng2 Be6 16.h4 QbE 17.Ne2 ds 18.g5 d4? (this pawn advance
looks natural butis wrong;a bettertry was 18...Rfd8 even ifWhite has the bet-
ter chances after 19.gxf6 dxeq 20.Qc3 BS 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.23 when Black
doesn’t not appearto havefull compensation forthesacrificed piece) 19.Ne4
Bxzq 20.gxf6 Bxf6 21.bxc4 Nas 22.Ne1 Nxcg 23.Bxc4 Rxc4 when either 24.Nb3
 14.Nxe6 fre6 15.Ne2 when | think White has the better share of the chances)
12.05 13.Nd§ Qxd2 14.Rxd2 Nd7 15.Nef4 Bxb2 16.kxb2 Rab8 17.Be2 Nes 18.h4
h6 19.Nga KAS 20.Nge3 a5 21.23 with marginally better chances (but we are
talking margins and a wet finger in the air to trace the advantage) for White
Odeev-Karaoglan, Marmaris 2019) 12.Nd5 Qxd2 13.Rxd2 Ne¥ 14.c4 Rack
15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Kb2 Nf6 17.Nec3 Nd7 18.Be2 h6 19.Re1 ReB 20.f4 Ne§21.83,
8d7 22.Nb5 with more spece and comfortable edge for White, Kazakov-
Amonatov, Astana2019.
10.05 11-6 RAB 12.241

(White is tempted to take more space away from Black, but Black has a clever
counterstrokeavailable; instead 19.Nd5! Qxc2 20.Rxd2 Bxds 21.exd5 and White
is clearly better) 19..Ng4 (Black could have played 19...Ne4ll 20.bxcq Nb6
with a dangerous attack for Black) 20.Nd5 Quda 21.Nxe7+ KAB 22.Rxd2 Kxe7
23.Bxg7 Ne3 24.Nd4 Nxga 25,Rxg2 and Whiteis winning, Plazuelo Pascual-
Perez Gonzalez, Madrid 2019.
b) 11.Nge2 RFdB (or 11..RFCB 12.g4 (White can consider 12.23 b5 13.Nf4 b4

This pewn advanceis far more challenging for Black than 12.Nd5 which never-
theless is an option, for instance, 12..Qxd2 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Rxd2 Bg5 15.Rd1
(White can try 15.Rd3 Nb4 16.Rd1 Be6 17.Nc3 Rac8 18.23 NB 19.Nd5 Ne7 20.84
with a slightly better game) 15..Be6 16.Nc3 (16.h4l? Be3 17.Nc3 Rac8 18.Nd5 Bxds
19.Rxd§a6 20.Rd3 with better chancesfor White) 16..Nd4 17.8d3 Rac8 18.Rhft Nc6
19.33 (19.g312) 19...Ne7 20.Ne2 Be3 21.h3?! (21,f4l? is another way to fight for the
initiative) 21..g5 and Black has equalized, Nakamura-Vachier Lagrave, Stavanger
2018.
12..Be6 13.25 Nhg
It looks like White's kingside ettack has ground to a halt with the knight on hs,
and admittedly removing that knight is far from easy, but on the plus side for
White, the knightis also quite out ofplay while onhs.
vghg
So,whyis White playing h-hg ifthe prospects of advancing the pawn further
are slim to none? The answeris that White can then play Bh3 and exchange on e6
orplay Bg4 when convenient. Note that 14.Ng3#l is answered by 14...Nfgl when
15.Nd5 Qxd2 16.Rxd2 Bxd5 17.exd5 Nd4 with about even chances.
14.0Kh821
This king shuffle makes very little sense, but clearly, Black was struggling to
come up with a constructive plan.
15.Bh3 Ne?
Black is keen on making ...d6-d5 happen, but he may havefailed to account for
White's next move, which adds to Black's already abundant headache. It was
necessary to play 15...Bxh3 16.Rxh$, when White has a clearadvantage,primarily be-
causeheis almostentirely without counterplay.
16.Bg4l
The knight on hg will now be removed.
16...Qb6 17.Bxhs gxhs18.Ng3
NowBlack's kingside collapses.
18..d5 19.Nxh5 d4 20.Nxg7 Kxg7 21.Ne2 White is winning, Sethuraman-Zou
Chen, China 2018.
 5.6 6 b3 BhG 7f4: Minorlines
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Ne6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.F4 e521
Anothertry is the simple 7...8g7, claiming that White's f2-f4 is an achievement for
Black &.Bb2 Nf 9.0-0-0 a6 10.Kb1 0-0 11.Nf3 bs 12.Qe1 (my computersuggests
12.23 €6 13.843 Bb7 14.h3 but this looks unconvincingafter 14..Qc715.Rhet RFGB
with chancesto both sides, but the immediate 12.Bd3I? Bgq 13.Nd5 is worth con-
sidering) 12..Qa5 13.h3 Bb7 14.Nds (14.Rgil?) 14..Qxe1 15.Rxe1 Nhg?l (Black should
have opted for 15...Nxds| 16.8xg7 kxg7 17.exd5 No4 and Black cannot be worse,for
instance, 18.Rxe7 8xd5 19.23 Nc6 20.Re1 RfeB 21.Rd1 Ne7 intending..Bxf3 followed
by ...Nf§ with a pleasant endgame advantage for Black) 16.g4 Ng3 17.Rg1 Nxfi
1B.Rexfi Rac 19.Rd1 RFB 20.Rfet Bxb2 21.Kxb2 with a comfortable advantage for
White in the endgame, Pourramezanali-Duzhakoy, St Petersburg 2018.
3.NbSI
B.g3?lexfs (B..NF6 9.8b2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a5 11.Bg2 (11.a4 transposes to chapter13)
11...Be6 12.Nge2 Qb6 13.Nd5 Bxds 14.exd5 Ne7 15.Nc3 NFS 16.Rdetext 17-gxf4 Qa
with a sharp position where Black seems to enjoy the better chances,
Paravyan-Ofitserian, Loo 2018), and now:
a) 9.Bb2? feg3 10.Qg2 Ne§ (10..Qasl?) 11.hxg3 was played in Lodici-
Boruchovsky, Lichess.org INT 2020, when 11...Bg4 is betterfor Black.
b) 9.Nb5I?is almost certainly an improvement
©) g.gxts Qhgs 10.Qf2 Quf2+ 11.Kafa Bg7l? (11...NFS 12.Nge2 0-0 13.h3 Be
14,8g2 Bg7?l 15.Ba3 RFdB 16.Radi BfB 17.Rd2 a6 18.Rhd}is better for White, S.-
Tadic-Rigat-ti, Nova Gorica 2019) 12.862 Nf 13.843 Ng4+ 14.Kg2 Nb4 15.Kf3
0-0 16.3 Nh6 17.23 Nxd3 18.cxd3 Be6 19.b4 f5 was clearly betterfor Black in
Sarkar-Woodward, chess.com INT 2020. 1.833,
8...Bxf4 9.Qxd6 Qxd6 10.Nxd6+ KB White hasa couple of importantalternatives to consider:
A recent online game sawBlack play 10..Ke7?when 11.8a3 Kf6 12.Ne8+ Kgs a) 11.Be4 Bxct 12.Rxct Nh6 13.Ne2 (or 13.Nf3 Ke7 14.Nbs Bd7 15.Nc7 Rack
13.h4+ (or 13.83 Be3 14.NF3+ Kh6 15,B/8+ Khs 16.Ng7+ Kg4 17.Be2 anditis curtains 16.Nd5= KFB 17.0-0 Kg7 18.Ng5 f5 19.2xf5 gas 20.Red1 RhdB 21.Nxh7al (21.g31?
for Black) 13..Kh6? (now Black gets mated by force) 14.8f8+ Kh5 15.Ng7+ Kea. Kg6 22.Nf3 looks slightly better for White) 21...Nasl 22.Ne7 Nxc4 23.NxcB Ne3
16.Bea+ Kg3 17.873 Ndg 18.Ne2+ Nxe2 19.Kxe2 Bg4 20.8c5 Bh6 21.Bf2+ Kfs 22.934 24.Nd6 was Apryshko-Eynullayev, St Petersburg 2018, and now 24..Rg8
1-0,Gabrielian-Mhango, chess.com INT 2020. 25.Ng5 Bc6 would have kept the chances about balanced) 13..Ke7 14.NxcB+
RaxcB 15.Nc3 Rhd8(15...f5 16.Nd5+ KFB 17.exf5 gxf5 18.0-0 Kg7 19.Redi RhdB
 20.Rd3 Rd6 21.Ne3 Nd4 and Black had equalized in Gomez Dieguez-Sanchez sooner, but, obviously, the text move is more than sufficient) 16..Be6 17.Kf2 Bg3+
Aller, Santiago de Compostela 2020) 16.Nd5+ KB 17.c3 R46 18.0-0 Kg7 18.hyg3 and with mate being delivered on the next more, Black resigned, 1-0,
19.Ne3 f6 20.Bd5 Ng8 21.b4 Nge7 22.Nc4 Rdd8 23.86 Re7 24.b5 (I'm not Gabrielian-Guo, Lichess.org INT 2020.
super keen on this pawn advancealthoughit does have somepoints to it;
after 24.Red1 b§25.Ndb ab 26.Kfal? £5 27.ex15 gxfS 24.94, White has the some-
what better chances) 24...Rf8 25.Nd6 NdB 26.863 b6 with a small plus for
White in Li Chao-Sarana, Qinhuangdao 2018,
b) 11.Bxf4 exf4 12.0-0-0 Nf6 13.NF3 (13.Bb5 Ngd (13..Ke7I? 14.NF3 Ng4 15.8%
6 bxc6 16.Rhet Be6 17.¢5) 14.8 Ke7 15,Bxc6 Kxd616.8d5 95 17.h4 Ne3 18.RF2
£4 19.Rxfand White wasclearly better in Gokerkan-O'Gorman, Montebelluna
2020) 13...Bg4 (13..Ng4 14.Rd2 Ke7 15.Bb5 RdB 16.8xc6 Rxd6 17.8ds) 14.865
(14.Be4 Bx 15.gxf3 Neg 16.Nxb7 Naf 17.Rhfi) 14...Bxf3 15.gxf3 Nes 16.Be2 RbE
17.24 Ke7 18.Rd2 Rhd8 19.Rhdi Rd7 andthe chancesare close to equal, Xu Xi-
12.NB
angyu-Alon- Rosell, Moscow 2019,
White has several interesting options at this juncture. The alternatives to the
v1..Nge7
Black loses quickly after 11..Kg7?? 12.NeB+ Kh6 13.Bf8+ Kgs 14.Nf+ Kh
a) 12.Bc4 f62l (this allows White a clear advantage, but even the alternative
15.Ng7+ Kg4 16.B8e2 (strictly speaking, 16.Kf2l is more accurate, forcing mate
12..Nd4 promises White an edge after 13.83 Kg7 14.03 Ndc6 15.Nf3 RdB
16.Ke2 RDB 17.Nxc8 Rbxc8 18.g3 8h6 19.Radi with a pleasant gamefor White) in space, Santos Ruiz-VanDelft, Belgium 2019.
13.Ne2 Be3 14.Rd1 Bb6 15.Nf7 RgB 16.Nd6 Rh8
b) 12.8d3 Kg7 13.Ne2 (13.NFBIP RDB 14.93 Bh6 15.NxcB Rbxc8 16.0-0 £6
17-Radigives White a pleasant edge on accountof his bishop pair and queen-
side pawn majority) 13..Be3 14.Nc4 Bh6 15.0-0 f6 16.NdS b6 17.Ne3l?
(07.NxcB?l Raxc8 18.Rf3 and now instead of 18..RhfB? as in Ten Hertog-Visser,
Hilversum 2019, when (Black should have played 18..Rhd8 19.Raft Ng& and
heis only marginally worse) 19.Raft would havebeen clearly better for White)
17..Bd7 (17.Be3+ 18.Kh1 Bd19.Ndb5 Bxc3 20.Nxc3 is nice for White} 18.Kht
Be3 19.Nd5 Nuds 20.exd5 Ne7 21.Raet Bd4 22.c3 Bc5 23.Bxc5 bucs 24.Rxes!
fxe§ 25.R¢7+ Kh6 26.Rxe7 and Whiteis clearly better.
©) 12.03? Kg7 13.NB 5

17.Bct (White seems able to improve after 17.8b5I2, e.g, 17..Bag+ 18.Kf2 Bb4
19.Bxc6 Nxc6 20.8xb4 Nxb4 21.NxcB Rxc8 22.Rd7 is clearly better for White)
17..h5 18.c3 Kg7 19.b4 Rd8 20.4 a6 21.RFi Bey 22.NxcB Rudi+ 23.Kxdt RxcB
24,Be6 Rd8+ 25.Kc2 Rd6 26.8b3 with a small but comfortable edge for White
thanks to his bishop pair and queenside majority as well as general advantage
14.9321 (14.8d3! RdB 15.3 Beg 16.Rd1 promises White a comfortable advan- with a perpetual check but possibly Black can play for more due to White's
tage) 14..Be3 15.Ke2 Bh6 16.NxcB RaxcB 17.Bh32l(here 17.Rd1 RhdB 18.8h3, pieces being poorly coordinated) 17..fte4 18.Nd2 Bxd2 19.Bxc8 Bxc3 was
would have kept the chances more orless even; the computer continues 18, played in Mamalis-Gaehwiler, Zuerich 2019, and now 20.8xb7 Ndg+ 21.kf2
frag 19.Nda Ndg+ 20.014 Red 21.Bxe7 Redg 22.805 Roda+ 23.Rxd2 Redat (21.Keg?? Neat is much better for Black) 21..03+ 22.Kxe3 Nefg+ (now 22.
24.Ke1 Re2 25,Bgi Reis 26.Ke2 Re2t 27.Ket Ne2+ 23.Kd3 wins for White) 23.Keq Bxat 24.Rxat Rb8 25.Bd5 Nc2 26.8b2
Rbg+ 27.Kxe§ Nxa1 28.Bxa1 and Black hasthe slightly better chances.
12.Kg7 13.83 Be3 14.Neq
 Or 14.c3 RAB 15.Bc4 (15.Rd1 Bgg 16.Ke2 Bb617.Bg2 Rab18.Nc4 f6is at best
marginally better better for White) 15..f6 16.Ke2 Bb6 17.Radi h6 18.NxcB RaxcB
19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Rd1 with a pleasant endgame for White
14..Bh6 15.Neoxes Re&
16.Bb2
16.Kfal? limits Black's opportunities to generate active counterplay, eg., 16.
Be6 17.Ne4 Ne8 (17...f5 18.NdS is much better for White) 18.Rdi, when Black sim-
ply does not have enoughfor the sacrificed pawn.
16... 17.Neq NEG
Black could possibly improve with 17..Nd5I2, for instance, 18.8d3 (or 18.¢5 fires
19.Nexes KfB 20.Bb5 Bh3 and Black's active pieces ensure adequate compensation
for the pawn) 18...8h3 19.Kf2 Ndbg 20.Rad1with a small plus for White
18.843
‘Oncemore, White can consider 18.Kf2I? when 18...Rxe4 19.8d3 Re7 20.Rhe1 has
White with a lead in development andbetter chances.
x bs 19.Ned2 Nd6 20.0-0
Black is struggling a bit to demonstrate sufficient compensation forthe sacri-
ficed pawn.
20.06
(Or 20...Bh3 21.Rfet Rad8 22.Radi a6 23.¢5 and White is better.
21.Rfet Nf7 22.24 Rb8 23.axb5 axb5
24.NAL
24.Kgal? is a decent alternative
2duuNfe5 25.Nxes Nxes 26.Bxe5 Rxe§ 27.Kf2 Rb7 28.Ne3 Rbe7 29.Nds, when
White despite extra pawn, was unable to convert his advantage and eventually set-
tled fora draw after 107 moves, Dominguez Perez-Topaloy, Saint Louis 2019.
Chapter 12:
 6 6 b3 BhG 743 Jf Black does not have any problemsafter 8.Bd3 fxeg 9.8xe4 Nf6 10.B8xc6+ (the
fact that White has to play this move should give us anindication that something
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.44 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 26 6.b3 Bh6 7.F4 FI? is already off, however, even 10.8f3 Bf5 11.Bb2 0-0 12.Nge2 is not without prob-
lems, for instance, 12..Rc8, or 12..NeS or even 12...65 are all attractive options for
Black) 10...bxcb 11.Bb2 0-0 12.Nge2 ef 13.0-0-0 d§ 14.Kb1 Ng4 15.Nad dé (Black is
clearly better) 16.Qb4 Ba6 17.Nxdg exd4 18. Rdg Qc7 19.Ne5 BcB 20.Re1 NFB 21.93,
8g7 and White has some but not full compensationfor the sacrificed piece and
eventually lost a long game, Lagarde-Donchenko, Brest 2019,
8...Nf6 9.Bd3

Black challenges White's set-up in the most chaotic way possible. Similar ideas are
seen in both theSicilian Accelerated Dragon as well as the English Opening with
thecolors reversed. It is an excitingline that has been tested by both Vachier La-
graveandGrischuk, but objectively speaking, Black should not beable to equalize
as hefrequently struggles with structural issues.
8.Bb2
Natural, protecting the e4-pawn butthis is a significant intersection ofalternatives
‘onbothsides, which we will take a look at now:
a) 9.0-0-0, and here we have several forks in the road:
a1) 9..0-0 10.Kbt Bg7 11.exf§ Bxf5 12.NF3 Qas13.Bc4+ KhB 14. Rhet RacB 15.23
Bgq 16.Re3 5 17.fKe5 dxe§ 18.Qe1 and White had thebetter chances in Caru-
ana-Vachi- Lagrave, Stavanger 2019.
a2) 9...Qas 10.Kb1 fre, and now White hastried a few different moves
21) 11.h3 Bg7 12.84 0-0 13.Nge2 Be6 14.882 d5 15.f5 axis 16.Nf4 BFF 17.2xf5
RFGBPI (17.23 18.Qd3 RFdB was a betteroption although 19.Bxd5 Kh8 20.23
with better chances for White) 18.Rhgt Kh8 19.8h1 Nes 20.Nxe4 Qud221.Nxd2
and White was clearly better in Morozevich-Kulaots,Tallinn 2019.
222) 11.Bc4 RFB 12.Nge2 Bga (Black also has the very sharp 12...g51? available,
eg.. 12.6185 Bxgs 14.0¢1 with chances to both sides) 12.h3 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Bxfa
15.Nxeq Bes 16.Nuxd6+ exd6 17.Rxd6 Nd7
1B.Rd5? (a mistake; after 18.8xe5 Ndxes 19.Rhdi Black's bare king in the center
will eventually cost material of somesort, promising White more than suffi-
cient compensation for the missing piece) 18..Qc7 19.8b5 0-0-0 20.Bxc6
Quc6 21-Rees Nxe§ 22.Bxe5 RfeB and Black was clearly better in Andreikin-
Firouzja, St Petersburg 2018, the material advantagewas duly converted
83) 9...freq 10.Kb1 RAB (or10...Be6 11.h3 Qas 12.4 Bg7 13.Nxeg Qud214.Nxd2
(0-0 15.Ret Bf7 (also 15...8d5 16.Rh2 RaeS 17.c4 Bf7 18.Rhe2 seemsbetterfor
White) 16.Ne2 a5 17.04 Rac8 18.c4 Nd7 19.Bg2 Nc§ 20.Net Re7 21.Neq Nxeg
22.Bxeq Nb4 23.Na2 Bxb2 24.Kxb2 Nxa2 25.Kxa2 with more space and small
plus for White, enough to make Black's life a little uncomfortable, but in
Kostenko-Ter Sahakyan, Taleigao 2019, Black managed to secure 2 draw)
TLNge2 Be612.h3 Qas 13.84 Bg7 14.Bg2 d5 15.f5 gxf5 16.Nf4 BAG 17.gxh5 Bxfs
1B.Qf2 Bxf4 19.Qxf4 BeS (or 19..d4 20.Nxeq Nd5 with a clear advantagefor
Black) 20.Ne2 RcB 21.03 Qc7 22.Qh6 Rg8 23.Rhg? Bf7 and here a draw was
agreed upon, Ye-Ya, in Morozevich-Sakaev, Sochi 2019, but Black is two
pawns up and comfortably better, leaving us to conclude that Whites repu-
tation helped him in his time oftrouble.
a4) 9. RAB 10.exfs BxfS, and here:
agt) 11.Bb5 Qbé 12.Nge2 Ned 13.Nxe4 Bred 14.Bxc6+ Quc6 15.Kb1 e5 (also 15,
RcBI? can be considered) 16.Rhe 0-0-0 17.g3 BF3 18.Qas Bxe2 19.Rxe2 ext
20.Qxa7 f3 21.Re7 Rd7, and now White saw nothing better to force the draw
with 22.Qa8+ Ke7 23.Qa5+ KeB 24.Qa8+ Ke7 25.Qa5+ KcB 26.Qa8+ Ke7
27.QaS+, and draw agreed, th, in So-Voloxitin, Douglas 2019,
242) 11.83 Qas 12.Nge2 0-0-0 13.Bg2 e5 14.0321(14.84 wasbetter) 14.45
15.5421(White could have kept his disadvantage to a minimum with 15.Nxd5,
Quda+ 16.Rxd2 Neg 17.Bxe4 Bxeg 18.Rhdt BFS 19.04 exf4) 15..Qc7 16.Nag? dg
17.Nes Nd5 18.Bxd5 Rxd5 and Black is much better, Koykka-Kenneskog, Pardu-
bice 2019)
b) g.exf5 Bxfs and now:
bi) 10.8321is a pooridea and promises Black a comfortable gameas White
ruins his pawnstructure 10...Bxd3 11.0<d3 0-0 12.Nge2 Qb6 13.0-0-0 Rac8
14.Kb1 Bg7 15.h3 Qa6 (15,..ND4l? is an interesting alternative; Black intends to
plunk a knight on d5 next, claiming a good game) 16.g4 Nbq 17.f5 Nfds 18.23,
Nxc3+ 19.Nxe3 Ne6 was Gevorgyan-Mikaelyan, Yerevan 2020, and now
20.Rhfi would have been White's best chance, for instance, 20..Nd4 21.Qe3
 Rxc3 22.Bxc3 Qua3 23.Qc1 Qxb3+ 24.Qb2 Qub2+ 25.Bxb2 and White has a TiLNxe4 Qud2+ 12.Ked2 Nxeg+ 13.Bxe4 0-0 14.Rhfi,but this hasyet to be tested in
‘small plus, butitis not a lot. any kind ofgame), and here White hastried:
2} 10.Bc42l Qas (10...e61?intendingto play a quick ..d6—d5 would also have
promised Black a good game) 11.Nge2 0-0-0 12.Nds Qxd2+ 13.Kxd2 Negt
14.Keg? (14.Ke1 was safer and better) 14..RhfB 15.Nd4 RdeB 16.Nxf5 ext
17 Radi e6 18.Nc3 d5 19.Nxe4 freq and Black is clearly better, Kazmin-
Eynullayev, Moscow 2020.
ba] 10.Nf3 RAB 11.g3 Qas 12.0-0-0 0-0-0 13.KbtI(White should given pref
erence to 13.8d3 although 13..Bg4 14.Be2 Kb8 15.Kb1 e5 16.Rhe1 BFS with
chances to both sides) 13..05 14.23 exf 15.Nd4?l Nudg 16.Qxda £3 17.Nb5 Kb8
18.Nxd6?? wasplayed in Xu Xiangyu-Sasikiran, Moscow 2019, and now (18.3
8g7 19.94 Ne8 20.Qe3 Bxb2 21.Kxb2 Bd7would have kept Black's advantageto
a) 11.3 freg 12.Nxeq Qud2+ 13.kxd2 (in a recent game, White tried 13.Nxd2
a minimum) 18...Qc7 would have been a simple path forBlack to claim a deci-
Nb4 14.No3 Nxd3+ 15.cxd3 b6 16.Ndeg Bb7 17.0-0-0 Kd18,Rhe1 Rack 19.Kb1
sive advantage.
Nd5 20.Nxd5 Bxds and Black has comfortably equalized,in fact | prefer Black's
9--Qas ro.exfs position at this juncture, Gabrielian-Le Quang Liem, Lichess.org INT 2020)
Another option is 10.Nge2 RFS (Black seemsable to equalize with 10...fre4 13...Nxe4gs 14.Bxeg BfS 15. Bxf5 Rf 16.Rafi e§ (16.251? is possibly ever better)
17-94 Bufgs 18.Nocg Rif 19.Rxf4 exf4 20.Rfi gs 21.h4, and draw agreed, Vo,
 Paichadze-Aravindh, Abu Dhabi 2019; theposition is more or less equal. superior pawn structure and well-organized pieces promise White the better
chances.
b) A brand new idea was tested in anonline gamejust before the publication 12.0-0-0
ofthis book: 11.exfsl? Bxfs 12.Bxf5 gxf5 13.0-0-0 Rc82I(this is wrong although
even the better 13..0-0-0 14.Kb1 Rg8 15.92 with better chances for White)
14,Kb1 Bg7 15.Rhet (White is alreadyclearly better, Black's king is stuck in the
center, and Black has several serious structural issues) 15...Nb4??(this move
has a particular tactical idea in mind, 16...Ne4, butit is easily refuted) 16.23,
Neg (if Black tries to retreat with 16..Nc6 then 17.b4 Qc7 18.Ng3 leaves him
with a hopeless position) 17.Nxeq Rxc2 18.Nxd6+I and Black resigned,1-0,he
will suffer heavy material losses, Sadhwani-Warmerdam, chess.com INT
2020.
10...Bxf 11.Nge2 0-0-0
Here, 11...Bxd3 wastried out by Grischuk, which naturally deserves attention for White can take the gamein a different direction with 12.23 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Qf5 14.Rdi
that reasonalone, but White should be able to obtain an advantage: 12.Qxd3 Nb4. Bg7 15.Ne4 Qxeg 16.Qxe4 Nxeg 17.Bxg7 Rhg8 18.8b2 Ref 19.0-0 €6 20.RF3 d5 with
13.Qd2 ReB 14.23 Ne6 15.0-0-0 0-0 16.Kb1 Bg7 and here Nakamura wentfor 17.h3 at best a minimal edge for White, Khismatullin-Sarana,Yaroslavl 2019.
bs 18. Rhet bg 19.axb4 Nxb4 with chances to both sides, Nakamura-Grischuk, Leu- 12d
ven 2018, White can instead try 17.Rheil? bs 18.Ngil RF7 19.Nf3 and White's In this position, Black has a couple ofalternatives:
 a) 12...KB 13.Kb1 RheB 14.Rhfi BoB 15.h3 e5 16.94 exfs 17.Nxf4 Nb4 18.23 19..Bxe2 20.Nxe2 Be§ 21.h3 RAB (21..Nd7l2) 22.RA Nd7 23.RxfB+ NxfB ard while
Noed3 19.Qxd3 Bg7 20.Qb5 Qxbs 21.Nxbs and White has an obviouspositional the continued for a while longer, White was unable to do anything with miniscule
advantage,Ibarra Jerez-Durarbayli, Caleta 2020. ‘endgame advantagein Le Quang Liem-Vaibhay, Caleta 2020.
13...65 14.Qe3 Kb&
b) 12.05 13.Bxfs+ exfS 14.Kb1 (a better try was 14.0d3 exf4 15.0h3 (15.Kb1 A sharp alternative 14.65 1§.Qd3 Rh®S (after 1§..2421 16.Qh3, White has better
RheS 16.Nd4 Nud4 17.Qxd4 Ng4 18.24 KbB and while Black's pawns are scat- chances) 16.Qxf5+ KBB 17.Qh3 Bufg+ 18.Nxf4 exf4 19.24 and thanks to Black's
tered and his pieces look scattered across the board, he has sufficient activity loose pawn, White has somewhat better chances.
and counterplay to makeup forthat) 15...Bg5 16.Nd4 Nud4 17.Rxd4 KbB 18.Kb1 15.Ndq Neg
Rhe8 19.Qd3 and while | prefer White's position, the advantageis minimal)
14..RheB 15.Rhft ds 16.Qd3 ©4 17.Qh3 Ng4 18.Qh5 Neg 19.Qxh6 Nf 20.Roxfi
dq 21.Nag Qd2 and Black has the better chances, Andriasian-Kulacts,Tallinn
2019.
13.851?
White can also consider 13.Kb1?l, but it seems insufficient for an advantage:
13..d4 14.Nb§ Quda 15.Red2 Bg4 16. Nbxd4 (or 16.Rddt a6 17.Nbxdg Nxdg 18.8xd4
Rud4 19.Nxd4 Bxdi 20.Rxd1 Bxf4 with an endgamesimilar to the game contin-
uation) 16...Nxd4 17.Bxd4 Redg 18.Nxd4 Bxfg 19.Re2?I (or 19.h3 Bxd2 20.hxgg RIB.
21.NF3 Bc3 22.85 Nhs 23.23e5is also insufficient for any kind of useable advantage)
16.Qe61?
White can improve with 16.Qf31? Nxd4 17.2xd4 e6 (or 17..e5 18. Rxds Reds
19.Nxds Rd8 20.Rd1 and Whiteis clearly better) 18.h3 Nf6 (or 18..NeS? 19.Qh5 Qcs
20.Qxh6 Qudg 21-fres Ques 22.Nb§ and White is winning) 19.Ra4 Qb6 20.Nbs! and
White 1s clearly in command ofthe game
16...Bxfgs?
Natural but wrong, capturing @ pawn with a checkis difficult to steer youratten-
tion away from. A much better try was 16...8g7, forinstance, 17.Nxc6+ bxc6 18.Ne2
Bxb2+ 19.Kxb2 Nf2 20.Nd4 Rc8, and here has some movesto consider:

a) 21.Nxc6+ Rxc6 22. Qxc6 RB 23.Qxd5 Qe3+ 24.Ka3 Nuht 25.Qxf5 a6 26.Rd7,
with a complicated position that canbe difficult to assess accurately, my com-
puter claims White to be marginally better, but will leave it at that.
b) 21.Naf§ Qe7 22.Rhet Nxdi+ 23.Rxd1 RheS 24.83 and while White is an ex:
change down, his active pieces andBlack's passive counterparts and looser
pawn structure, guarantee White the upper hand.
 ©) 21 Rhft Nudi+ 22.Rxdt Qe7 23.Nxf5 Qxf4 (23.-RheB transposesto line ‘b’)
24,Nxe7 RheB 25.Nxc6+ KaB 26.Qxd5 Qeg 27.Nes+ Quds 28.Rxd5 Red8l and
while White has three pawns forthe exchange,it is unclear how big his advan-
tage actuallyis.
17.Kb1 Bes 18.Ncbs Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Qb6 20.Rhet Bg7 21.Qxf5 Qz6 22.Rxe7 Qxis
23.Nxf Bxb2 24.kxb2 and White has an extra pawn and the clearly better chances,
which were eventually converted into a full point, Xu Yi-Chen Qi, China 2019,
Chapter 13:
 5.86 6 b3 BhG7f4: 7...Nf6 8 Bb2 e5
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7-F4 NFB 8.Bb2 ©5

a) 11..Qb6 12.Kb1 Be6,and here:

This is, in my opinion, the sternest and most ambitious test for White's opening
setup. Black attacks White on the diagonal where both the queen and soon king
will be located, so attention is definitely required by White. Meanwhile, Black has
another option worth considering: 8...a5I? 9.a4 0-0 10.0-0-0 e5]? (again,this plan!
10...Nbtransposesto chapter 14, the note afterWhite's 11th move) 11.g3, and now
Black has several moves available:

Lal B ly better, Kollars-Wachinger, Magdeburg 2019) 14...Nxe6 15.Nge2 RFd8 16.Nd5
So PV aI
at) 13.NF3 RFdB 14.Ng5 Bxgs 15-fxgs Ng4 16.Nd5 Bxds 17.exd5 Nbq?l(Black can
improve with 17...Ne7l? 18.Qe1 Ne3(18...Nf2 is met by 19.Bd4 exdg 20.Qxf2
N&§ 21.Bbs Qcs22.Rhft and White is better) 19.Rd3 N3xds 20.8g2 Nbq 21.Rd2
when White has compensationfor the pawn) 18.Rc1 Nf2 19.Rg1 Neg 20.2
Nags 21.8c4 Qe3 22.Reet Qf3 was played in Pridorozhni-Sarana, Ekaterinburg
2018, and here 23.h4 Qug? 24.Rig2 Nf25.R23 and White's chances are prefer-
able.
22) 13.8h3 with anotherforir the road:
21) 13..Rad8 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.Qg2 exfg 16.Qh3 Bg7 17.exf4 e5 18.Nge2 Kh8
19.Rhgt Ne7 20.Qe6 Nfg8 21.Nbs andBlackis in trouble, Iljiushenok-Sarana,
Khanty-Mansiysk 2018.
222) 13..Nd4 14.Bxe6(or 14.Qf2 Nd7?(a mistake, Black can improve with 14.
Qc6 15.Bxe6 fre6 with chances to both sides) 15.Bxe6 fre 16.Nce2 Nxe2
17.Qxb6 Nxb6 18. Nxe2 exf4 19.Rxd6 £3 20.NF4 Bx21.gxF4 and White is clear
Nad17.exd5 Ne5 18.Nc3(White is already comfortably better) 18..Qb4 19.h4
Rac8 20.h§ Bg7 21.hxgé feg6 22.fre5 Bxes 23.Rh4 and White once more had
the clearly better chances, |.Popov-Ofitserian, Sochi 2019.
a3) 13.h4 Nhs 14.Nge2 Rad8 15.Qe1 Nbq 16.8h3 Bxh3 17.Rxh3 Qc6 18.Ba3 NFS
(08...ReBI?)19.h§ Og7 20.h6 Bhwith a complex position with chances to both
sides, but here is prefer White, Danielyan-Drygalov, Moscow 2019.
b) T..Nbg 12.Nf3 (White should stay awayfrom 12.Bh3?l exf4 13.Kb1 BeS
(03.-ReSI?) 14.9xf4 ReB 15.Qf2 Bxh3 16.Nxh3 Nxeg 17.Nxeg Rxeg 18.QF3 d5
19.Qc3 d4 20.Rid4 Rxd4 21.Qxd4 Qudg 22.8xd4 ReB 23.Rfi, and here a draw
was agreed, Vi-¥s, BrkicArsovic, Tuzla 2019, but after 23.827 24.8xg7 Kxg7
Black would have had a clear advantage) 12..Bg4 13.8g2 (13.Be2 ReB 14.Kb1
ReB 15.h3 Rxc3 16.Qxc3 Nxeg 17.Qe1 QcB was Meissner-Ftacnik, Hamburg
2019, and now White should have played 18.c3 even though Black canforce a
draw with 18..Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Nxc3+ 20.Qxc3 Qf5+ 21.Kat Neat - thankyou,
Stockfishl) 13..ReB 14.Kb1 exf4 15.h3 Be6 15.g4 Bg7 17.Nd4 ds 18.Qxf4 Qbs
19.¢5 Nd7 20.Rhe1 and White has nice control and thebetter chances, Meiss-
ner-Boru-chovsky, Pardubice 2018.
©) 11. Re8 12.Kb1 Bg 13.Be2 Bxe2 14.Nexe2 ext15.Nxf4 Nxeg 16.Nxeg Reed
17.Qd3 ReB 18.Qxd6 Qud6 19.Rxd6 Rad8 anc Black has equalized,Pridorozhni-
Gabrielian, Sochi 2018.
d) 11...8e6 12.Kb1, and here:
di) 12..Nb4 13.8g2 (in a very recent correspondence game, White, a corre:
spondence grandmaster,tried 13.Nf3l? Re8 14.Qxd6 Qudé 15.Rxd6 exf16.Nd4
Rxc3 17.Bxc3 Nxe4 18.8xb4 axb4 19.Nxe6 fre6 20.Rxe6 Ne3t 21.Kb2 F3 22.84
Kh8 23.Rb6 Bg7 and draw agreed, Yih, Lecrog-Emelyanoy, ICCF 2020) 13,
RcB 14.Nge2?l ReB? (14...Ngal improves andis better for Black) 15.Qxo6 Qudé
16.Rxd6 Ng4 17.8h3 BFB?? (17...Nf2 wasstill playable for Black) 18.Rxe6, and
Black resigned, 10, Sadhwani-Valenzuela Gomez, chess.com INT 2020.
da) 12..RcB 13.8g2 (White can also consider 13.Nf3 Qb6 14.865 (14.8g2 trans-
poses to the main line) 14..Nb4 15.Ngs Bxg5 16.fxgs Rxc3l 17.gxf6 Rxc2 18.Qh6
Rxb2+ 19.Kat (19.Kxb2 Qf2+ iis better for Black) 19...Ra2+ 20.Kb1 Rb2- with a
perpetual check) 13..Qb6 14.Nf3 RFdB 15.Qe2 Nbq 16.fxes Nuc 17.Quc2 Bxb3
18.Qd3 Bxdi 19.Rxd1 dies 20.Nd5 Nuds 21.exd5 Bg7 22.Qb5 Qubs 23.axb5 Res
and Black is clearly better, Alsina Leal-Mingarro Carceller, Marbella 2013,
Finally, both 8...0-0 9.0-0-0 ۤ and 9...a5 transposeto otherlinesin this chapter.
9.83 0-0
Black has a couple ofalternatives:
a) 9..Nd4 10.82?!(10.0-0-0 transposesto Bodnaruk-Sloiwicka below) 10.
0-0 (10...Bg4l?) 11.Nge2 (11.NAI? Ne6I? 12.0-0-o1exf4 13.Kb1 Ngg 14.Nd5
fg3 15.Qe1 and White has compensationfor he sacrificed pawnbut not much
more than that) 11...8h3 12.0-0 Bxg2 13.Kxga Nxe2 14.Qxe2exf 15.gxf4 ReB
16.Qd3 ReB 17.Raet a6 18.Re2 Qas 19.Nb5 Rxe4 20.Rxe4 Nxeg 21.Qxea Qubs,
and Black has the better chances, Quesade Perez-Albornoz Cabrera, Havana
2018.
b) g..exf 10.gxf4 Nhs 11.Nds 0-0 12.0-0-0 Be6 13.Kb1 (13.Ne2 transposes
to Tereladze-Eynullayev in the note to Whtie's 15th move) 13..Bxd5 14.exd5,
Neg 15.Qf271 (15.Ne2 Qh16.Qb4 was better option although White can
hardly hope for an advantage) 15...Nxf4 16.Nf3 Bg7 17.Ne1? Qf6 and Black is
clearly better, Isanzhulov-Zhalmakhanov, Almaty 2019.
10.0-0-0 r0..exf4
Black has numerous alternatives at this juncture, so let's take a look at trem:
a) 10..Re8, and now:
a1) 11.Kb1 Ndg, and here:
ait)12.Bg2 Bg4 13.Rf1 (or 13. Ret a§ 14.h3 Bd7 15.NF3 Nbs 16.Qd3?I (16.NxbsI?
Bxbs 17.Nh2 Bg718.Ngs is definitely better than the game continuation but
whether White is actually better is another question) 16..Nxc3+ 17-8xc3 Qc7
18.Bd2 Bg7 19.84 exfs 20.Bxf4 Nxeg 21.Rxe4 Rees 22.Qxe4 Qc3 and Black is
winning, Sethuraman-Sunilduth Lyna, Sitges 2019) 13...d5I? 14.exd5 Bf5 15.Rc1
bs 16.Nge2 ba 17.Na4 Nxd5 18.Nxdg exd4 19.8xd4 Qas 20.Rhet Red8 was
played in D1 Nicolantonto-Lamard, Paris 2019, and now 21.Be4 Bxed 22.Rxed
Rac8 23.Qf2 and White hasthe better chance.
aia) 12.Nge2 Bg4 13.8g2 (White has also tried 13.Nxd4 exdg 14.Qxd4 Bg7
15.Nds?l (Another try is 15.Re1 Nxeg (or 15..Bf3 16.Rgi Nxed 17.Qxg7+ Keg?
1B.Nxeq+ KFB 19.Ng5 Beg 20.Nxh7+ KgB 21.NfS+ KAS 22.NxeB Que 23.8d4
when the material is appriximately balanced but with his better pawn structure
and bishoppair, my sympathieslie with White) 16.Qxg7+ Keg7 17.Nxea+ KB 121) 17.Qd2 a618.Bf3 bs 19.23 QbS 20.Qxd6 Qf 21.Qd3 Quh2 22.¢5 Nh5 was
TB.NF6 BF 19.Rei Re7 20.Nxh7+ Kg8 21.Nfé+ KfB 22.84 and White's chances played in Gabrielian-Matlakov, chess.com INT 2020, and 23.Ne4 would have
mustbepreferable) 15..Bxd1 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Qxf6 Quf6 18.Bxf6 BF3 19.Rg1 been clearly better for White
Bxeq and White does not have enough compensation for the exchange,
Gabrielian-Giri, chess.com INT 2020) 13..ReB 14.Nxd4 Bxdt 15.Rxd1 exdg 8122) 17.Qxd6 Qag 18.Qd3 Ng4 19.Nds?(White would have had a large advan-
16.Qxd4 Bg7 and here White hastried a couple ofthings: tage after 19.65 Nf2 20.Qd5 bs 21.Rf1 and Black is obviously in trouble) 19.
Nf2 20.Qd2 Qud2 21.Rxd2 Nxeg 22.Bxeq Rxe4 and Black was better in
Gabrielian-Sunilduth Lyna,chess.com INT 2020.
2123) Best is 17.Nbsl Nhs (or 17..Re7 18.25) 18.Qxa7 Bxb2 19.Rxd6 Qe7
20.Kxb2 and Black's positionis a disaster.
22) 11.Bg2 and here:
a2t) 11..exf4 12.gxf4 Bg4l? 13.RF1 8g7is interesting,
a22) 11..a5 12.2421 (12.Kb1 Bg 13.Nge2 exfa 14.gxf4 a4 is sharp and pretty un-
clear) 12.45 13.exd521(White is gradually getting himself into moretrouble; a
bettertry was 13.Nads Nxds 14. Qxd5 Qud5 15.Rxd5exf4 16.kb1 Bga is pleasant
for Black) 13...Nb4 14.8h3 ext15.gxf4 Qd6 16.Kb1 Bxfg was already clearly bet-
ter for Black in Sadhwani-Sarana, Lichess.org INT 2020,
23) 11...Be4 12.Rfl RB 13.Kb1 Qas 14.h3 Be6 15.Nge2 and here a draw was
agreed upon, Vi-¥s, in Sindarov-M. Andersen, Abu Dhabi 2018, which, of
course,is wildly premature, thebattle is just about to start. A possible contin
uation could have been 15,.b5 16.Rd1 (16.a3!?)16.87 17.Rhfi ba 18.Nd5 Bxd5,
19.exds Nd4 20.Nxda exd4 2° Bxd4 and White is better.
a3) 11.N® Bg4 12.Be2 RcB [the computer recommendsthe following fasci-
nating line: 12..exf4 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Nes 15.8g4 d5 16.exd5 Nfxga 17.hxg4
Nf 18.Qg2 Nhq 19.Qd2 Nf 20.Qg2 with a draw by repetition, but there is 2
lot to unpack there andalternatives are undoubtedly possible) 13.Kb1 Bxf3,
14.Bxf3 Nd4 15.Bg2 bs 16.Re1 Qas 17.Rhdi b4 18.Ne2 Nbs was played in
Gabrielian-Sunilduth Lyna, chess.com INT 2020, and here White should have
played 19.c3 bxc3 20.Nxc3 Nxc3+ 21.Rxc3 Rxc3 22.Bxc3 Qc7 23.Bb2 and White
has the clearly better chances.
b) 10...Bg4 and now White hastried several ideas:
br) 11.Be2 Be6 (11..Ndq?l 12.Bxg4 Nga 13.Nd5 Ne6?l (13..ReBI?) 14.Kb1 Nes,
15.Qe2 NF6 16.fkes dxes 17.Bxe5 Nuds 18.Rxd5 with a clear advantagefor White,
Potapova-Solozhenkina, Sochi 2018) 12.Kb1 Rc8 (alternatively, Black has tried
12..Re8 13.8f3 Nd4 and draw agreed, Ye-Y2, Sindarov-Saydaliev, Tashkent
2019, and 12..a5 13.24 (but 13.h4l appears to bean effective improvement for
White, for instance, 13..Nd4 14.h5! Nxe2 15.Ngxe2 Nhs 16.Qe1 Bg4 17.Rhg
Qd718.Nd5 f6 19.Qf2 and White has a stronginitiative; Black's pieces are
poorly coordinated) 13...Nb4 14.Nf3 Nga 15.8b5 Qb6 16.Rdet Rad8 17.3 NFB
18.Qh2 with chances to both sides in Grabinsky-Mendonca, Budapest 2020)
13.NF3 a6 14.Qe1 Qc7?l 15,8632! (15.Nd5| Bxds 16.exdsis better for White) 15,
gd TERA Nd4 17.Nxd4 exdd 18.Ne2 RfeS (18..Nxed! 19.xe4 Rfe¥ is clearly
better for Black) 19.h3 Bxe2 20.Qxe2 Nd5 21.Qf Ne3+ 22.Ke1 Nxa2t 23.Kd2
(ass 24.Ke2 Nb4 andBlack hasa clear advantage; that white king in the mid-
dle ofthe board is not an ideal situation, Xu Xiangyu-Sasikiran, Moscow 2019.
ba) 11.Ret?l ReB 12.Bd321 (12.Kbt looks more normal) 12..Nd4?l (12..d5)? is
unpleasant for White) 13.Kbi a6 14.Nd5 Nuds 15.exd5 Qb6 16.Qf2 Qe7 17.c3,
Nbs18.Rc1 8g7 wastested ir Bodnaruk-Mendonca, chess.com INT 2020, and
now 19.h3 Bd7 20.c4 Nd4 21-fres dxe§ 22.Ne? leads to interesting play where |
prefer White but objectively, the chances are close to even.
ba) 11.Nge2?l Bf} 12.Rg1 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bxeq 14.Nc3 Bf3 15.Be2 Nd16.Reft
Bc6 17.Kb1 RcB and White does not appear to have sufficient compensation
for the sacrificed pawn, Gabrielian-Mendonca, chess.com INT 2020.
©) 10..Nd4 15.Bxe4 (15.Qxb4l? looks even better) 15..Bxe4 16.Nxd4 Bxh1 17.Rxh1 exdg
1B.Qud4 f6 19.Qxb4 RAZ 20.5 RDB 21.Qd4 and White has thebetter chances
but lostin the end, Morozevich-Zakhartsov, Skolkove 2019) and now:
1) 12.Ret ReB 13.h3 Beb 14.Bd3 Qas 15.Rd1 Nhs 16.Qe1 Nxg3 17.Qee3 Rxc3
18.Qe1 Rid3 19.cxd3 Quel 20.Rxet Bx21.Ne2 Nxe2 22.Rxe2 dg and Black has
excellent compensationfor the exchange, Pridorozhni-Zakhartsov, St Peters-
burg 2018.
2) 12.Ret d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Quds 15.Bg2 Qd7 16.h3BFS 17.Ne2 RFGB
TB.Nxd4 exd4 19.Rhdi Bg7 20.4 Be6 21.Qb4 RabS 22.Rd3 and White was
clearly betterin Timofeev-Oganian, Khanty-Mansiysk 2018.
3) 12.Be2 Nxe2 13.Ngxe2 BF3 14.Rhfi Nxeg 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Qb4 Bf 17-fre5,
TKbr (11.Nge2 Bg4 12.Nxd4 Bxdt 13.Qxd1 exd4 14.Qxd4 Bg7 15.Bc4 (but it
QB 18.Nd4 (White could get an improved version ofthe gamecontinuation
seemspossible for White to improve with 15.Nd5 Ne8 16.Qb4, forinstance,
with 18.Rxf5 Qxf5 19.exd6 RadB 20.g4 QeG 21.Qd4 when White is in com
16...Bxb2+ 17.Kxb2 Nf6 18.Qxb7 and White kas the upper hand) 15...a6 16.Nd5,
mand) 18..Bg4 19.exd6 Bxd1 20.Rxdi Qgal 21.Rd3 RadB?? (21..Qe4 would
NeB 17.Qb6 Bxb2+ 18.Kxb2 Qxb6 19.Nxb6 Rd8 is about balanced, Mohite-
have beenfine for Black) 22.Nc6l (Ouch! White threatens mate on e7 and now
Gaehwiler, Aracaju 2018,) 11...Bg4 (a tempting alternativeis the active 11..b5
White is winning) 22..f5 22.Qc3 Rd7 24.Qh8+ Kf7 was Bodnaruk-Sliwicka,
but White appears to be better after 12.822 Bb7 13.Nge2 b4 14.Na4 Nxeg
Wroclaw 2019, and now White could have forced mate with 25.Qf6+ Kg8 Souleidis-Wachinger, Hamburg 2018.
26.Ne7+ Rxe7 27.Qh8+ Kf7 28.Qxh7+ Bg7 2¢.Qxg7+ KeB 30.Qxe7#
iagef Nhg 12.Nge2
d) 10.25 11.Bg2 Be(11..Bgql2) 12.Nge2?l (12.KbtI?looks like a solid im- 12.Nd5I? Be6 13.Ne2 Qhg14.Kb1 Bxd5 15.exd5 Neg transposesto the note after
provement) 12..Qb6 (12...Neal?) 13.Nds Bxds 14.exd5 Ne7 15.Ne3 Nfs 16.Rdet Black's 15th move.
ext 17-2xf4 Qb4 18.Kb1 Bxf4 19.Qd3 RFeB with chancesto both sides, but 12..Qh4 13.Nd5 Be6 14.Kbt
Black cannot be worse, Paravyan-Ofitserian, Loo 2018.
€) 10..Be6 11.Kb1 Qb612.8h3 Ndg 13.Bxe6 fre14.Nge2 Nxe2 15.Qxe2 ext
16.Qc4 RaeB 17.Nb5 Nxeg 18.Qxe4 Qxb5 19.Rxd6 was seen in Colin-Ortiz
Suarez, Avoine 2018, and now 19...f3l 20.Rx26 Bg7 whenBlack seemsto have
decent chances.
#) 10...Nhg? is too optimistic and single-minded and White easily obtains an
advantageafter 11.Nd5 (11-Kbil exf4 12.Be2 is even better) 11..Be6 12.Nf3
(02. Deal?) 12..Oxds 13.ed5 Ne7 14.Kb1 Qd7 15.Ng5il (White can do even better
with 15.Qgal,, for instance, 15...f6 16.Qh3 Quh3 17.8xh3 Ng7 18.Rhe1 and White
is clearly better) 15...Bxg5 16.f:g5 £5 17-gxf6 (17-Be2l?) 17..Nxf6 18.Qeil? Neg 14..Bxd5 15.exd5,
19.8h3 hs 20.Qe2 with somewhat better chances for White, This is better than 15.Qxds?l Nu 16.Nxf4 Bxf4 17.865 Rac 18.Rdfi Bes 19.Bxe5
dxes (Black would have beenclearly better after 19..Nxe5! 20.Qxb7(or 20.Qxd6?
(Queq whenBlack is much better) 20...Re§ and Blackis in command) 20.Qd7 Qd8
21.Bxc6 bxc6 22.Qxa7 c5 with chancesto both sides, Tereladze-Eynullayey, Poti
2019.
15..Ne7
Black can also play the more active 15...Ne§ , using the pin on the pawn to place
the knight, at least temporarily, on a more active square; after 16.Qb4l? RAAB (16.
Bg7l?) 17.Qxb7 Ng4 18.Qb4 Bg7 (alternatively, 18...Qf2 can also be considered,for
instance, 19.Ng3 Ne3 when play soon gets complicated 20.Rc1 Qxf4 21.Qa5 Nf6
22.865 Nfg4 with sharp play and chances to both sides, whereas; 18...Nf2 is met by
19.Qerl? Re8 20.Bd4 Nxfg 21.Qxf2 Qufa 22.Bxf2 Nxe2 23.Bxe2 Rxe2 24.8g3 with an
endgamethat difficult to assess accurately) 19.8xg7 Nxg7 20.f521 (20.Qe1 Nfs 20.Qb4
21.Qxha Nxhg 22.Rg1 Nf2 23.Rc1 ReB 24.Ng3is a better option for White) 20...Nxfs White hasother options, e.g. 20.RdetI?; or 20.8f3 Nef 21.Neg Qh4 22.Rhet,
21.Rgt ng 22.Ng3 Nge3 23.Qxh4 Nxh4 24.Re1 Re8 and Black has clear advantage, which both lead to positions where | prefer White, but where my computer spits
Vallejo Pons-Banikas, Patras 2019, ‘out evaluations close to 0.00. The actual "truth" ofthese posi ns will require
16.Bg2 Bg7 17.Bxg7 more tests, so for now,if considering playing these positions with eitherside, try
White can consider 17.8f31? but whetherit is noticeably better for White after to define a plan for how you would proceed and which factors you value as impor-
17..-Bxb2 18. Kxb2 Ng7 19.Nc3 Nefsis questionable. tant, that will be moreimportant than an assessment by meor a computer engine.
17 Nxg7 18.Ng3 Rfe8 19.Be4 QFE 20.85 21.Qxb7
 Ballsy, but thatis Firouzja.
2 ‘Reb8 22.Qc7 a4 23.Ne2 RcB 24.Qb6 Nets 25.Qb4 axb3 26.cxb3 with a very
complicated position where Black has reasonable compensationforthe sacrificed
pawnthanks to White's open king; an exact evaluation is challenging to offer,
White eventually won the gamebut rt being an online blitz game and White being
Firouzja, doesn'ttell us much, Firouzja-DominguezPerez, chess.com INT 2020.
Chapter 14:
 5..g6 6 b3 BhG 7f4: Nf6 8 Bb2 0-0
1.e4 65 2.NG d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Ne6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4 NF6 8.Bb2 0-0 in
theprevious chapter, we looked at what happens when Black plays the sharp 8..e5,
Here, we will focus on what happens whenBlack avoids that central counterpunch
but rather opts for moretraditional counterplay.
9.0-0-0 a5
A logical response, aiming to make something happen on the queenside. It
looks anti-positional by weakening thelight squares, b5 in particular, but if Black
has to get something started, he must make some compromises alongthe way.
‘Thealternatives are:
a) 9..Bg4 10.82 RcB 11.Kb1 (I would probably have been tempted to play
11.Bxg4 Nga 12.Kb1 Qas 133 Nf6 14.84 Bg7 15.Nge2 with a pleasant space
advantage for White) 11..Bre2 12.Ngxe2 bs (or 12..8g7 13.h3 a6 14.24 b5
15.Ng3 Qas 16.Nd5 Qud2 17.Rxd2 Nd18.h4 Bxb2 19.Kxb2(this type of posi-
tion looks a bit dull, but it is Black who is truly suffering with lack of active
counterplay and lack of room for his pieces) 19..RF48 20.h5 a5? 21.heg6 figs
22.Rdh2 NAB 23.f5 KAZ? 24.%xh7+1 Nxh7 25,Rxh7+ and Black resigned,1-o,
Deac-DeLucas Bello, Benasque 2019) 13.Qd3 a6? (This is mistaken, but also
13..Qa5 14.h3 Rfd8 15.24 Bg7 16.g5 or even 14.g4l? are better for White) 14.85
NeB 15.Nd21_(15-hgldxes 16.Qh3followed by h4-hs looks horrendous for
Black) 15..Bg7 16.h4 (16.exd6lis somewhat better for White) 16...e8 17.5?
(07.Neg) 17...exd5 18.hxg6 fxg6 19.Qxd5+ KhB?? (19...RF7! was clearly better for
Black, White's attack does notfully compensatefor the sacrificed piece)
20.Qe6 Ne7 21.exd6 Nxd6 22.Rxh7+! Kxh7 23.Rhi+ Bh6 24.Rxh6+ and, Black
resigned as there is mate in the next move, 1-0, Ssegwanyi-Osunfuyi,
Casablanca 2019.
 b) 9.25 transposesto chapter13.
©) 9.26 10.Kb1 bs 11.8d3 Bg4 12.Nge2 Nbq 13.h3 Bd7 14.94 Bg7 15.05 NeB
16.Be4 RcB 17.23 Nc6 was played in Valeanu-Lim Z, Graz 2020, and here
18.Rhet would have left White with a dominating advantage: Black's position
is rather passive and depressing.
r0.84
This move makes an awfullot of sense, apparent y putting a cork in Black's attempt
at creating counterplay onthe queenside and from a pure scoring perspective, it
has done very well for White, butit is not without problems as the b4-square now
completely is in Black's hands, helping to support the ..d6-d5 advance and poten-
tially Black can put a lot ofpressure onthe cfile. Therefore, before we continue,let
us havea lookat thealternatives:
a) 10.8d3 Nbgl?(or eventhe immediate 10...d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Nxc5 Quds
13.NF3 Qes and Black should have equalized) 11.Kbt(I'm not keenonletting
Black capture the bishop on d3, so White can considerretreating the bishop,
11.Be2 when 11...a4 12.23 Ned 13.b4 e5 leads to sharp & messy positicns) 11
Naxd3 12.0xd3 Bd7 13. Nge2a4 14.bxaq Brag 15.Nxag Rxag 16.Nc3 Rag and Black
should bebetter, Bodnaruk-Antova, Moscow 2019.
b) 10.Bb§ (another“cork” move, aimed to stop ..a5-ag from happening)
10...Qb6I?(threatens ..Nxe4, so White needs to react to thatthreat) "1.44 (or
11.Bag Bg4 12.Nf3 Qcs 13.Kb1 Rab8 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.h3 Bxf3 16.gxf3 Nhg 17.Ne2
a4 with chancesto both sides, but Black cannotbe worse, Golubov-Yeletsky,
Moscow 2018) 11...Nb4 12.Kb1 Bg4 13.8 d5 14.h3 Be6 15.¢5 d4 16.Na2 Neg
17.Qe1 Nxa2 18.Qxe4 Ne3+ 19.8xc3 dic} 20.Ne2 RFUB andhere Black should
be doing fine as well, Vavulin-Kokarey, Yaroslavl 2018.
©) 10.Kb1 (choosing to ignore Black's ideas) 10..a4l, and here:
cr) 1LNxag Nxeq 12.Qe3 NFS 13.NF3 Qas 14.Nda Nxda 15.Qxd4 Bea 16.8c3
Qc7 17.Rd3BFS 18.RF3? (or 18.NDE Bed 19.Nxa8 RxaB 20.Re3 (20.8d2 bsl) 20.
5] and White is in trouble) 18..Be4 19.Rf2 Rxa4l 20.bxa4 RcB, White's posi-
tion is a disaster, White is an exchangeup, but he has moreissues to deal
with than is worth mentioning, needless to say, this is not something White
should be aiming for, Bivol-Kevlishvili, Saint Louis 2018,
2) 11.bxa4, with additional paths in the road:
21) 11...Be6 12.Bb5 Nes 13.Nd5 Bxds 14.exd5 Ned7 15.Ne2 Nes 16.Qb4 8g7
17.Rhet Qc7with a complicated position and chances to both sides, Tadic-
Mullick, Belgrade 2019.
22) 11..Qa5 12.NF3 e5 13.804 Ng4 14.Qe2 Bxf4 15.Rxd6 Neg 16.6b3 Bgg
17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.Rxd5 Qc7 19.Qf2 and White has the clearly better chances,
Engel-Van Dael, Hamburg 2018.
23) 11...Bg4l? is an untested but promising option for Black, for instance,
12.NF3 Nhs 13.Bb5 Bxf3 14.9xf3 Bxf4 15.Qf2 €6with a pleasant position for
Black
3) 11.Be2 axb3 12.axb3 Qas 13.h3? (13.NF3 would havebeenbetter, but Black is
doing very well after 13..Nbq andit is Black who has the attack and White
dreaming of counterplay) 13..8g7 (13..51 14.3 Re8 and White is already in
 serious trouble) 14.Bd3 Nb4 15.Nge2 Nd7 16.h4 Nes 17.84 Nxeg 18.Q63, Bxf6 20.Nd5Bxd4 21.Ne7Kg7 22.Bxd4+ (6 23.NxcB Rxc8 with equal chances
Noe3+ 19.Nxc3 BS 20.Rd2 was played in Paramzina-Afanasieva, Moscow 2018, in the endgame, StuderOrtiz Suarez, Batumi 2018,
and now just about anything wins for Black: 20...d5, 20..b§ or 20...RFCB.
©) 10...Be6

10...Nb4,
This knight leapis a logical consequence of White's previous. Although the
scorein this line is massively in White's favor, Black is doing okay.
‘As ontheprevious moves,we have somealternativesto look at:
a) 10...Qb6 11.Kb1 Bg4 12.Be2 Bxe2 13.Ngxe2is, if anything,slightly better for
White.
b) 10..Bg4 11.Be2 Bxe2 (11...85is, once more, a natural move once: 12.g3 Be
13.Kb1 ReB 14.h4 (14.NG3I? seems to improve) 14..Nd4 15h Bg7 16.h6 Bh8
17.Bd3 Bg4 18.RA ds 19.fres Nxeg 20.Nxe4 dxeq 21.Bxe4 Bxes with chancesto
1) 11.NB3 ReB 12.Ng5 (12.Kb1 Nbg 13.Ng5 Bga 14.Re1 ds 15.05 Neg 16.Nexed
both sides, Ansat-Abdusattorov, Tashkent 2019) 12.Ngxe2 Nb4 13.Kb1 RcB
dxeg 17.Qe3 Rxc3 18.Qxc3 Bx" 19.Be4 Bd2 20.Qg3 Bxct 21.8xc1 BFS and White
14.Nd4 Qbé 15.g4 (15.g39?is better, notgiving Black the option for counterplay
has some, but probably not full compensation for the sacrificed pawn,
he used in the game) 15..e5 16.g5 exd4 17.Qxd4 Qud4 18.Rxd4 Bg7 19.9xf6
 Lye-Antova, Zadar 2019) 12..Nb4 13.Nxe6 (13-h4 Bg4 14.Ret e5 15.3 Qc7
16.Bc4 Nhs 17.Nb5 Qe7 18.Nxd6 RedB 19.Bxe5 Nc6 20.Ngxf7 Raf] was Xu Xi-
angyu-Makoveev, Moscow 2019, and now 21.Nxf7 Rxd2 22.Nxh6+ KFB 23.Kxd2
Nug3 24.Nxga Nxh1 25.Nf6 and White is clearly better) 13...fe6 14.Kb1 €5 15.23
67 16.h4 Qed 17.Qet Re§ 18.Bh3 Qhs 19 fees Rees 20.NdS and White was
winning, Brodsky-Huschenbeth, Rockville 2018.
2) 11.h3 Nba 12.94 ReB 13.g5?? Nueg 14.Nxeg Rxc2+ 15.Qxc2 Nxc2 16.kxe2
(Qb6 17.Be4 BFS 18.8d3 ReB+ 19.Nc3 Qf2+ 20.Rd2 Bxd3+ 21.Kxd3 was played in Am BAR
Pijpers-Warmerdam, Amsterdam 2019, and now 21..Qg3+ 22.Ke2 Qxf4 23.
h6 Qe4s would have ended the cold shower for White.
aby
With the bishop on h6,theking will usually belong onthis square. Ofcourse, other
d) 10...€5 11.g3 Note that transposes to chapter 13. moveshave been tried:

vn.Kbr a) TNE} Bgg 12.Be2 ReB 13.Kb1 Re§ 14.05 NUS 15.Nxds Rds 16.Qc3 dues
(Black can improve with 16...Re5I? 17.Quc5 dic5 18.Rxd RedB 19.63 BFS with
aboutequal chances) 17-Rxd5 Nxd§ 18.Qxe5 £6 19.Qe4 BFS 20.Qc4 £621.Nd4
leaves White with better char ces, Milosevic-Yakubboev,Porto Carras 2018.
b) T1.Nge2 8d7 (or 11..Qb6 12.43 Be6 13.g4 Bg7 14.Nd4 Rac8 15.Kb1 Rxc3
 (here, Black can consider 15...Nxegl? 16.Nxe4 Nxc2 leading to a messy posi-
tion) 16.Qxc3 Nxe4 17.Qe3 Bd§ 18.8g2 Nc3+ 19.Qxc3 Bxg2 20.Rh2 Beg was
Berger-Korchmar, chess.com INT 2020, when White, once more, has the
somewhat better chances after 21.Qe3) 12.Nd4?? (a blunder 12.Kb1 is much
better) 12...Re8? (Black could have punished White for her maccurate play with
12.251 13.Nde2 dsl 14.3 ReBl and White is busted) 13.Kb1 Bg7 14.8b5 Bga
15Rel 5 16.Nde2 Qe7 17.h3 Bxe2 18.Bxe2 exf 19.Qxf4 Rxc3 20.8xc3 Nfd5
21.exd5 Nxd5 was played in Larina-Bodnaruk, Moscow 2020, where White here
went completely wrong and soonlost, bu with 22.8%g7 Nxf4 23.Bxf8 KxfB
24,Bf3 the chances would havebeen fairly ecual
11..Qb6
Ancther logical move, but there are many interesting options for Black at this
point:
a) 11.059? 12.65 (White should play 12.Nf3 Nxeq 13.Nxeg Bf5 14.Qd4 £6 15.8-
d3 Nxd3 16.cxd3 dxeg 17.Qc4+ Kh8 18.dxe4 Bd7 19.f5 and while the chances
are objectively more orless even, | would prefer to play White) 12...Nhs (here,
Black could have considered 12..Neg 13.Nxeq Bf14.Nf2 Bxc2+ 15.Kat RB
16.Re1 Bxb3 17.Nf3 Rxct+ 18.Qxc1 Bxag 19.Nd4 Qd7 with a sharpposition that
is really difficult to assess accurately - the engine gives is as about equal)
13.Nge2 Bf 14.Ndg Bg4 15.Be2 Brig 16.Qe1 Bxe2 17.Qxe2 Qc7 1BRder Qcs,
19.Nebs Rac8 20.Rhfi and White had a clear advantage and eventually won,
Dubov-Hirouzya, Abu Dhabi 2518.
b) 11...Bgg 12.Be2 ReB 13.Bxg4 ugg 14.NF3 (White can gain the upper hand
with 14.h3 Nf6 15.84 Bg7 16.25 and Black is underpressure) 14..Qb6 15.Rhet
(05.512) 15...NF6 16.h3?l RFEB 17.94 d5 18.exds Nfxd5 19.Nxds Rds and Black
hassolved his opening prodlemssuccessfully and has the better chances,
Iljiushenok-Demchenko, St Petersburg 2018. ¢) 11..Qc7 12.Nf3 ds (12..Nh5
13.83 Bg4 14.Be2 is somewhatbetter for White) 13.¢5 Neg 14.Nxea dxeg
15.Nd4 RdB 16.Bc4 Bg4 17.Rdet Rac8 18.Qe3 Qcs 19.h3 Bd7 20.Qxea 6 21.84
and White has an extra pawn and excellent control ofthe position, Pichot-Asis
Gargatagli, Barcelona 2018,
72.N5,

| AB
2 2 SS
Putting the knight on 3 is undoubtedly a more natural square for theknight, but
from e2 is helps support the f4-pawn,which is likely to be attacked further when
Blackplays ..e7-e5. Both moves have beenplayed with excellent results for White,
so which is better? | tend to lean toward 12.Nf3, butlet us take a look at the alter-
native so that you can judge for yourself.
12.Mge2 Be6 (Black can almost certainly improve with the untested 12..Rd8I2,
for instance, 13.Nd5 Nfxds 14.exd5 Qes 15.Nc3Bf 16.Rc1 Rac8 17.Bc4 with a sharp
position where Black should beclose to equal) 13.Nd4 Rac8 (or 13..Bg4 14.Be2 es
15.Ndbs Bxf4 16.Qxd6 Qxd6 17.Nxd6 Bxe2 18.Nxe2 Nga 19.Nxf4 ext 20.R4f1 RFE.
21.Nxf7 Kef7 22.Rxfg+ Ke6 23.Rxg4 and White was a clear pawn up and eventually
won in Chigaev-Sunilduth Lyna, chess.com INT 2019) 14.Nxe6 fre6 15.g3 €5 (or
15..Re§ 16.8h3 Kf 17.Rhet RfcB? (Black should have played 17..Qc6 although
18.Re2ts still comfortably better for White) 14.851 dxes 19.QF2 exf4 20.Bxeb+ Qxeb
21.Rxe6 Kxe6 22.Nb§ and White was winning in Liang-Santos Ruiz, Manavgat 2018)
16.Bh3 Res 17.Be6 Kh8 18.Rhfi Qc6 19.Qe1 Bg7 20.f5 Nueg 21.Nxeg Rec2 22.Bc3
Rxh2 23.g4?1 (23.Rhi! would have beenclearly better for White; now Black is al-
lowed an opportunity to save himself) 23..Ncal 24.Qg3 Re2 25.8d5 Naj+ 26.Kat
Nea+ 27.kb1 Na3+ and draw agreed, Vi-th, in Tahbaz-Idani, Moscow 2019
12..Be6
A logical square forthe bishop: in somecases, Black is threatening to play
Nxc2 and as long as the bishop is on 6, White will not place his bishop on c4.
Black has also tried a couple of otherbishop moves:
a) 12...8d7 13.h4?(on 13.8c4, Black should play 13..Rfc8 14.Rhe1 Rxcal? 15.bx-
4 Rc8 whichis difficult to assess but Black has decent compensationfor the
exchange) 13..RacB (13..Nh5I? 14.Ng5 Rac8 (14..Ng3 is an interesting
alternative, e.g., 15.84 Nuh 16.Rxh1followed by h4-hs with compensation for
 the sacrificed exchange) 15.84 8g7 and Black is doing fine) 14.Ng5 Bg7 15.Rct
Nga 16.Bb5 Bxbs 17.Nxbs Bxb2 (17..Qe3I?is also good) 18.Kxb2 Qe3 19.Rhdt
was played in Jumabayev-Raja, Xingtai 2019, and here 19...Qg3 would haveleft
Black with a comfortable game.
b) 12..Bg4 13.822 Rac14.h3 Be6?l (14.8471? was okay for Black) 15.Ndq
Bg7?l (15..Bd7l2) 16.BF3 ds 17.25 Nd7 18.4 Bh6 19.Qh2 Rxc3 20.8xc3 and
White has a large, probably decisive advantage, Sadhwani-Raja, Lichess.org
INT2020,
13.Ng5 Bed 14.Rer e5 15.8c4 Rac8 16.Rhft Nhs??
Black does not sense the danger. He had a very reasonable option that he should
have jumped without hesitation in 16...Rxc4 17.bxc4 Qc6, which gives proper com-
pensation for the exchange.
v7.Nofyl
Thedecisive breakthrough, another reason why Black should havekilled the
bishop on c4
Rody 18.Bxt7+ Kit 19.fKe§+ Kg7 20.Qxd6 Qxd6 21.0xd6 KgB 22.Nd5 Nxd5
23.exd5 BIB 24.h3 Bd7 25.24 Ng7 26.Ba3 NeB 27.c4
 White hasa decisive advantage and eventually won the game. | will give the rest
without any further comments.
27..b6 28.Re7l?Bxe7 29.dxe7g5 30.Bb2 h6 31.RFB+ Khy 32.Bd4 Rb& 33.Ke2 Kg6
34.Ke3 Rb7 35.Be5 Raz 36.Kd4 Rb7 37.Keq Ra7 38.Kf3 Ra8 39.Kg3 Ra7 40.Bd4 Rb7
41.Be§ Hay 42.h4 gxhd+ 43.Kochd ROT 44.Bd4 RDB 45.RhB KF 46.4xch6 Ke] 47.Bes
Rb7 48.8h7+ KPB 49.25 BcB 50.g6 and Black resigned, 1-0, Sivuk-Van Dael, Skopje
2019.
Chapter 15:
 ona § b3 5.b3
‘There is not any real good reason to steer away from our intended set-up, Some
1.e4 65 2.Ne3 d6 3.d4 ocd4 4.Qxd4 a6 of the more tempting alternatives aim to exploit the weakened dark squares on
Black’s queenside, for instance:
5.Nd5 Nd7 6.Bg5I?

Like we saw in the previous chapter, some black players are concerned about White
playinglines with Bb on ...Nc6. The text moveprevents that option, but since we
did not intend to play Bb5 anyway, we are happy to see Black invest a tempoin that
(the only way for White to try for an advantage; White achieves less with 6.Qc4,
move. That being said, it is more active than ..8d7 that we saw in the previous e.g, 6...Ne§ 7.b4 e6B.bxc§ exd5 9.exd5 dxc§ and Black has a comfortable game)6.
chapter because Black will often play ..a7-a6 to support the ..b7-b5 advanceto h6 7.Bh4 Ngf6 8.0-0-0 Qas 9.K>1 €5 10.Qc3 Que} 11.Nxc3 b5 12.43 and White is
create some counterplay.
perhaps marginally better:
5.93 NFS 6.Qf2l? e6 7.Be3 Nbd78.24 with a peculiar version on an English At-
tack that will lead to originalplay.
56
Black has alsotried the immediate §...e5 6.Qc2 Nfb 7.Bb2

at) 8..Nc6 9.Kb1 Be7 10.f3 Nd (but not 10...h5? 11.h4 Qas 12.Nh3 Bxh3 13.Re-
hg bs?! 14.Rh2 ReB 15.04 Nd4 r.axbs axbs 17.Nxbs Qud2 18.Rxd2 Nxbs
19.8xb5+ and White is winning, Vial-Caderon, Nimes 2018) 11.Nge2 Nxe2
12,Bx82 0-0 13.64 ReB 14.h4 25 15.h5 (15.Rhgil?; 15.312)15...Nd7 wasplayed in
and now Black has two main moves: Chyzy-Dhrupad, Mumbai 2019, and now 16.h6 g6 17-Rhgiis comfortably bet-
ter for White,
a) 7..Be6 8.0-0-0,and here:
a2) B..Nbd7 9.f4 exf4 10.Nfy Be7 11.Qxf4 0-0 12.Nd5 Buds 13.exd5 Qas 14.23,
RfeB 15.Bd3l? (15.KbtI? Nxds 16.Qd4 Nsf6 17.Bd3 NFB will give White enough
‘compensation for the pawn but not morethan that) 15..Nc§ (or 15...Ne§ 16.K-
bi Nxd3 17.Rxd3 Nud5 18.Qg3 Nf 19.Re1 and White is command) 16.8f5 Qc7?
{also 16..\Ned7 17.Rhet h6 18.Qdq leaves Black with a miserable position)
17.Kb1 b§ TE.RhfL NAS 19.8xh7+! Kxh7 20.Qxf7 Nfb 21.Bxfo Bd8 22.Ngs+ and
Black resigned before he would get mated, 1-0, Xu Xingyu-Sousa, Lisbon
2019.
b) 7..Be7 8.0-0-0 (or 8.f3 Be6 9.0-0-0 Nbd7 10.Kb1 bs 11.g4 Nb6 12.Ba3,
0-0 13.Nge2 (White could simply capture the pawn on d6: 13.Bxd6 Nfd7 (or
13..b4 14.Nee2 Qud6 15.Qxd6 Bxd6 16.Rxd6) 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Nd5 Bxd5
16.exd5 Qa3 17.Ne2 and White has the better chances) 13..d5! 14.8xe7 Que7
and Black already has a comfortable game. Tazbir-Krak, Slovakia 2019), and
br} 8..Nc6#l places the knight on less thanideal square forthis particular
pawn structure, for instance, 9.Kb1 0-0 10.f3 Be6?l(or 10..b5 11.Nge2 RE.
12.Nd5 Nud5 13.exd5 Nas14.f4 and White has the jative) 11.g4 Nd4 12.Nce2
Noe2 13.Nxe2 Qb6 14.Ng3 and White has a comfortable advantage,
Poetz-Martinez Alcantara, Graz 2020.
ba) 8...0-0, and now:
bat) 9.f4 Nbd7 10.NF3 Qe7 (10...b512) 11.242! (here White should play 11.Bcal?
bs 12.Nd5 Nxds 13.Bxd5 Rb8 14.Kb1 and White hasthe better chances) 11...Ncs
12.g52 (it was better to play 12.Rg when 12..Nfxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe14.Qe3 Ne5
15.f:e5 d5 would have been about even) 12..Nfxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qe3 Nes
15.f:e5 Bfsl and Blackis in command, Grover-Rocco, London 2019.
b22) White should probably opt for 9.Nge2 b5 10.Ng3 (but not 10.f33! when
10...b4 11.Na4 Nxegl is comfortable for Black) 10..Nbd7 (or 10...Be6 11.Kb1
Nbd7 12.f4 Nb6 13.NfSI? anc White has someinitiative, but Black is still very
much in the game) 11.Nf5 Nes 12.Nxe7+ Que7 13.f3 RAB 14.Nd5 Nxds 15.exd5,
8b7 16.Kb1 when White's chances are preferable but objectively Black is still
very muchin the game.
Finally, 5..Nc6 6.Qd2transposes to lines covered elsewherein the book, depend-
ing on Black's choice ofsetup.
6.Bb2 Nbd7
 Another Najdorflike move, 6...5? can also be considered, e.g, 7.Q63(7-Qdal?
is once more our preferred square) 7..Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.Kb1 bs 10.Nge2 b4
TILNd5 Nxds 12.Rxds Nd7 13.Ng3 NfG 14.Rd2 af 15.865 Ng4l 16.Qf3 Qb6 17.84 g6
with a comfortable game for Black in Bitoon-Tran Tuan Minh, Ho Chi Minh City
2015,
7.0-0-0
White hasalso tried the aggressive 7.f4, which is fully playable, but allowing
Black to play the typical Najdorf counterpunch with a threat to White's queen
seems ess than ideal, for instance, 7...§ 8.Qd2 95 9.Nf3 8b7 10.0-0-0 Be7 11.Qe1
Qc7 (Back has not needed to think for himselfyet, and heis already doing quite
well) 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 ReB 14.843 exf4 15.Ndg Nuds 16.Nf5 Nes 17.Beq Ne3 There is a certain amountoflogic behind this move;forinstance,it clears the d-file
18.Nxe? fie3 19.Qxe3 0-0 20.Kb1 and White has compensation for the sacrificed for the rook on dt, and the queen can potentially swing to g3, supporting oriniti-
pawnbut not more thanthat, A.Smimnov-Stojic, Melbourne 2018. ating an attack against Black's kng. However, more importantly, andthis is the
Ton€5 8.Qe3 major downsideto this move,it makes the queen more vulnerable to attack, either
through ...Ng4 but also with ..Qb6, offering an exchange. Therefore,retreating the
queento d2, as we usually do in all otherlines, would bethe wayto go here as well.
‘An example is 8.Qda Neg (or 8..b5 9.Kb1 Be7 10.83 (10.a31? can also be consid-
ered) 10..h§ 11.24 ba 12.Nd5wita position where | prefer White) 9.f4! Noxe4?l
 (the health conscious will know thatthis is probably little too muchof a walk on
thewild side; the prudent 9...Be7 was to be preferred) 10.Nxe4 Nxeg 11.Qe1 f5?l (or
11.5 12.c4l? QF6 13.93 Be14.Nf3 Be7 15.Nxes with a clear advantage for White)
12.Bc4 Qc7 13.Nf3?I (13.g4l) 13..exf4?? 14.Ng5 Be7 15.Nxeg freg 16.8xg7 and White
was winning in Keinanen-Finnsson, Borgamnes2619.
8...b5 9.4 Qb6I?
for Black) 13...Ngxe5 14.Nxe§ Nxe5 15.g3intending either Bg2 or Bh3 depending on
Black's plans, White has the better chances.
(On the other hand, 10.Nd52I is premature; after 10..Nxd5 11.exd5 Be7 12.Nf3
(0-0 13.42! (13.Kb1Bf6is about even) 13...Nf6 14.25 Nxd5 15.Qe4 f5 (or 15...ReBl,in-
tending 16.Rxd§ ReS andBlack 1s clearly better) 16.gxfb Kixfb, Black had taken con-
trol ofthe game, Gomez Dieguez-Represa Perez, Linares 2018

rae
10.Qxb6 Nxb6 11.f:e521
Releasing the tension in the center only helps Black. A betterchoice was 11.Nf3,
although 11...b4l 12.Nd5 (12. bil?) 12... Nficd13.exd5 f6 is finefor Black.
rides 12.NB Neal
Ae oe
anne
PE
Poms
Another normal move is 9..Bb7 when 10.Nf3I? looks best, for example, 10...Be7
11.Kb1 Ng4 12.Qda 0-0 13.fresl?(this appearstrongerthan 13.h3 Ngfé whichis fine
Black has already achieved a comfortable game
13.Rev?l
White should have given preference to 13.Rd2 but 13..£6 14.Be2 Ne3 15.Ne1 Bb7
16.Bf3 ba and Black has no problems.
13.61 14-h3 Nh615.84 Nf7 16.843 Bb4
After 16..Be6I?, | would ratherplay Black
17.23 Be7 18.Nh4 Nd6
The chances arefairly even, L.Christiansen-I. Novikov, Saint Louis 2019.
Chapter 16:
 Bd7 5 b3
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.44 oxd4 4.Qxd4 Bd7
This move is typically played by those who are concerned with 4...Ne6 5.Bb5,
but that continuation is. of course, nothing we are bothered with at this point.
Black may not know this, and therefore it is seen from timeto time. For now, it
mostly amounts to a waste of timeor a slow version of the Dragon set-ups for
Black
5.b3
aCe El
Here, 5.63 NFS 6.Qf2 Ne6 7.Be3 g6 8.0-0-0 3g7 9.Nge2 Qas 10.Kbr1is also an
‘option “or White,butitis not consistent with our gameplan.
cm
17-g4l? (I prefer 17.Nds, e.g., 17..Bxd5 18.exd5 a5 19.Bxd7] Nxd7 20.fke5 dxes 21.46
SNe
Bd8 22.Nd3 Bf6 23.Rhei Rfe8 24.Qg2 a4 25.Nb4 Qc 26.Qe4 and White has a
Anether option is 5..Nf6 6.8b2 e5 7.Qd2 Bc6 8.3 Be7 9.h4 (stopping Black's
dominating positional advantage) 17..hxg4 18.Nxg4 Nxeg 19.Nxeq Bxe4 20.Bg2!
Nxeq tricks) 9..h5 (9..Nh5 10.Qf2 0-0 1.0-0-0) 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.Kb1 Qas
(In the gamewe have been following, White instead went 20.Rhgi Rac8 21.Ne3 £5?
12.Nh3 Qes 13.Nf2 a6 14.83 Qa7 15.f4.0-0 16.8h3(16.Nd5I? may improve) 16..b5
(Black could have tried 21..Rxca 22.Nxc2 RcB 23.Bc3 b4 24.Qe2 Bxcat 25.Qxc2
Rxc3 26.Qg2BFS 27.Refi when White has the upper handbutthereis still a lot play
left) 22.Bg2 RF7 23.Bxe4 freg 24.Nd5 (24.h5!) 24...BFB 25,h5 €3 26.Nxe3 Ruf 27.6
NFS 28.hxg7 Bxg7 29.Qxd6 QF7 30.Qxe5 Ng4 31.Nxg4 Bxe5 32.Nxe5+ and Black
resigned, 1-0, Liang-B Jacobson,Saint Louis 2019) 20...Qb7 21.Rhgil f5 22.Ne3 Nes
23.fe5 des 24 Bxe5 and White has a strong initiative and thebetter chances.
A sneaky alternativeis 7..Be71?
(0-0 a6 9.f3 Be7 10.Kb1, and here:
bxc6 14.8xe5 0-0 15.Qc3 f6 16.84 d5 was comfortably better for Black in
Stearman-B Jacobson, Charlotte 2018.
b) 9.KbiI Nxeg 10.Nxe4 Bxeg 11.f4 Nd7 12.fxe5 dxes 13.865 Bc6 14.Bxc6 bxcS
15.Qe2 Qc7 16.NFa £6 17.84 0-0-0l? (17..0-0 18.25 Rae19.h4is quite un-
pleasant for Black) 18.Nd4 exd4 19.Qxe7 Ne§ 20.Qxc7+ Kxc7 21.84 Nf
22.8f2 with an objectively insignificant edge for White but playing White is
definitely easier.
6.Qd26
Black can also choose a Scheveningen style set-up with 6...Nf6 7.8b2 &6 8.0-

8.0-0-0 Bc6, and now:

a) White needs to payattention, for instance, 9.f321 is met by 9...Nxeql 10.Nx-
24 Bxeg 11.Qb4?l (White should opt for 11.Bxe5 Bg5 12.f4 (if 12.Bf4 then 12.
(QfBl 13.KbBx14.Qet Bes 15.fre4 Ne6is pleasantfor Black) 12...dxe5 13.f:g5,
Quda+ 14.Rxd2 with chances to both sides) 11..Bg6 12.8b5+? Ne6 13.Bxc6+
 b) 10..Qa5 11.94 h6 12.h4 0-0-0 13.Bg2 Kb 14.Nh3 Bc8 15.g5 (15.Nf2l? ds,
16.exds exds 17.Nd3 Bd6 18.Ne2 Quda 19.Rxd2 RheS 20.Rhdi Re3 21.Nd4
leaves White with the better chances) 15..Nh§ (Black can also consider 15.
hhxgs 16.hegs (16.Nxgs RhfB 17.Bh3 is also possible) 16..Nhs 17.4 Ng3 18.Rhet
d5 19.Qe3 Nxed 20.Nxed dxe4 21.Qxe4 Bb4 22.Rh1 eS and Black1s close to
having equalized) 16.f4 e5 +7-f hxg5 18.hxgs (18.Nxgs!? RhfB 19.Nes Qud2
20.Rxd2is clearly better for White) 18.6 19.26 d5 20.Nxd5 Qud2 21.Rxd2 Bes
22.Rd3 Nb4?l 23.Nxb4 Bxb4

fi |
a) A common move for Black in someSicilians with this type of pawn struc-
ture is 10...h§ and now White should probably swing to a different set-up with a es
11.4)? (interesting but probably okay for Black is 11.8a3l? Qa5 12.Nag Qxda
13.Rxd2 Nes 14,Nb6 RdB 15.Nh3 BoS 16.8b2 0-0 17.Be2 (or 17.Nf4 g6 18.822
Ned7 19.Nxd7 Nxd7 20.8a3 Ne§ 21.Rhdi b6 and while White's position is
| oe
probably a tiny bit easier to play, it is nothing special) ) 11...b5 12.843 Nb4
13.Be2 Ne6 14.23 Qas 15,Bf3 ReB 16.Nge2 and White has a comfortable plus. AS 2
24.Rhdi (24.Ng5! Nf4 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Nf7 ReB 27.8F3 and White is a pawn up)
24...Rxd3 25.Rxd3 Be7 26.8c1 Ke7 27.8f Bd6 28.Be2 Nf4 29.Nxf4 exf4 30.Rxd6
Kxd6 31.Bxfg+ Ke7
(according to the computer, Blackis close to having equalized but this position is
far easier for White to play) 32.843 Rh3 33.Kb2 Bd734.Kc3 Bb5 35.Kd4 Bxd3 36.0003
Rf3 37.8c7 Kd7? (the king belongs one7and Black should resist the temptation to
moveit away, even when wanting to "gain" a tempo which is ultimately insignif
icantin the overall picture; therefore, 37.-Rf2 should have been played, but even
so, after 38.24 Rb2 39.Ke3 Rb1 40.866 Kd6 41.Kdg Ke7 42.Bc5+ KeB 43.b4 b6 44.8-
d6 , White has every chanceof winning the game) 38.856 Rf2 39.4 Rb2 40.Ke3
(40.BesI?) 40...Rb1? (Another mistake but also 4o...Rh2 41.Bc5 Rh8 42.25 should
win forWhite) 41.Bes Ret 42.Kdg Rb1? 43.B/8 Rxb3 44.8xg7 Ke7 45.05 fre5+ 48.8
25 Rb4+ 47.Kd§ rad 4¥.fo+ Kaj 49.47 Kag+ §0.Ke4 RueS+ 51.Kxe5 Ke7 52.04 a5
53.d5 a4 54.d6+ and Black resigned, 1-0, Morozevich-Chos, Sochi 2019.
7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0 Nf6
Waiting to deploy the knight to f6 is also possible but not necessarily better: 8
Rc8, and now:
 Ne§ was played in Caglar-K Tadic, Skopje 2019, and now 17-f4l Nef7 18.Nec3
with a dominatingpositional advantage for White,
b) White has aninteresting alternative in 9.Ndsl? Bxb2+ (or 9...KfB 10.Be2
(Qas 11.Qxa5 Nxas 12.4 Be6 13.Nf3 and White has the easier game and a nice
space advantage) 10.kxb2 Qas u1.b4 (11.c39?is also perfectly good and
playable) 11..Qd8 12.c3 Be6 13.£4 (or 13.Nf3 a5 14.23 with aninteresting posi-
tion that is difficult to assess accurately but | would prefer White) 13.25 14.N-
#3 axba 15,cxb4 NF6 16.Nxf6+ exf6 17.23 0-0 and both sides have their share of
the chances.

a) 9.Kbt Qas 10.Nge2 (10.f3 NFB 11.h4 0-6 12.94 h5 13.95 NeB 14.Nge2 Ne7 96
White has also tried 9.Kb1 0-0 10.63 Qas
15,F4 RFGB 16.Nd5 Qud2 17.Rxd2 Nuds 18.exd5 Nb4 19.23? (an oversight; White
should have played 19.8h3 Bxh3 20.Rxh3 Re§ 21.8xg7 Kxg7 22.Nc3 and White
has the easier position to play but Black is not dramatically worse) 19...Na6
(09...Nxd§lis better for Black) 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.Nd4 Nes 22.8g2 and while the
gameultimately ended in a draw, White had a small butclear positional
advantage in this position, Maurizzi-Sokolovsky, Bad Blankenburg 2018)
10...b5 TLNd§ Qud2 12.Rxd2 Bxb2 13.Kxb2 Nh6 14.f3 f5 15.Ng3 fres 16.Nxeg
 19.Qc5 and White is simply a pawn up) 12.Nge2 (or 12.h4 hs 13.g5 Ne8 14.Nge2
Nc7 15.Nfq e6(or 15..b5 16.Neds Qxd2 17.Rxd2 with a comfortable edge for White)
16.3 Nd4 17.Qe3 Ndbs 18.8xbs Bxbs 19.Rh2 Bes 20.Rhd2 Be21.Nfe2 Nbs22.Nxb5
Bxbs 23.Nd4 BeB 24/4 and White had a large advantage in Iljiushenok-
Abdusattorov, St Petersburg 2018) 12..b§ 13.h4 hS 14.gxhS Nxh§15.f4 Bgd 16.Re1
was seen in Nandhidhaa-Semenenko, St Petersburg 2019, and now 16...Bf3 17.Rg5
promises White the better chances.
9-0-0
aor Another optionis 9...Rc8 10.Kb1
amee
11.g4 (g tame alternative is 11.Nd5?l Qxda 12.Rxd2 Nxd§ 13.8xg7 Kxg7 14.exd5 Nes
15.h3 g5 16.Ne2 Bf5 (16...a5 would have kept the chances even) 17.Nd4 Bg6 18.Kba
a6 19.24 h6 20.Be2 Nd7 21.Ret (or 21.843 Ne§ 22.Bxg6 Kxg6 23.Rfi with a pleasant
‘edge for White in the endgame) 21..Nf6 22.c4 and White has the upper hand, An-
drade-Martins, Recife 2018) 11..Rf€8 (11..RacB 12.Nge2 bs 13.Nf4 a6 14.95 Ne&
15,h4 bg (15...e6 16.h§ Nb4 17.23) 16.Nagl(White played less accuratelyin the game
with 16.Neds? Bxb217.Kxb2 e6 1B.NFE+ Naf 19.gxf6 Qe5+ with chances to both
sides, Neelotpal-Aditya, Bhubaneswar 2018) 16..e6 17.8xg7 Nxg7 18.Qxd6 RAG

a
26 Bn
aya
10...0-0 (or 10..Qa5 T1.Ngea hg 12.Nfg (12.Nd5 Qxd2 13.Rxd2 Ne§ 14.Nefs Bc6
15,Be2 Nxdg 16.Nxds Rg8 and White has the upper hand)12..0-0 13.Be2 RfeB 14.63,
with an edge for White) 11.24 a6 12.4 h5 13.gxh5 (White seems able to improve
with 13.5 NeB 14.£4 Qas 15.Nd5 Qxda 16.Rxd2 Bxb2 17.Kxb2 Bg4 18.Ne3 and White
is better) 13..Nxh5 14.Nge2 Qas 15.Rg1 Ne§ 16.8g2 Bbs (also 16..RfeS 17.f4 Bh6
1B.Qd5 Re§ 19.Qd4 Ne6 20.Q¢3 (20.Qf2I?can also be considered) 20...05 21.Qf2
‘exf4. 22. Bf3 NFB 23.h5 Ne§ 24.Rxd6 and White has the much better chances) 17.Nd4
(Another option was 17.Nxb5 Qud2 18.Rxd2 axbs 19.Rd5 Res 20.Rxc5 dacs 21.f4 Neb
22.85 Bh6 23.66 Nxf 24.Nxfg Bxt4 25,ex47+ Kxf7 26.Be4 and White has an advan-
tagein the endgame) 17...Nc6? (17...RfeB 18. Nexbs Qxd2 19.Rxd2 axbs 20.Nxb5 BS
21.Rddt) 18.Nxc6 Bxc6 19.Nd5 Qd8 (orif Black exchanges queens 19...Qxd2 20.Nx-
7+ Kh7 21.Rxd2 Re7 22.Nxc6 Rxc6 23.8h3 and White is clearly better) 20.8h3 6
2ALNE4 Bxb2 22.NxhSl (now White 1s winning) 22..Qxh4 23.Qhe Qxh3 24.Nfo+
Bxf5 25.Qch3 Kg7 26.Q83 Bes 27.{4 BFS 28.¢5 dues 29.fres Be7 30.Qf4 RedB 31.RdA
Rds 32.Rh1 Kg8 33.Qh6 andBlacc resigned, 1-0, Gutenev-Kryakvin,St Petersburg
2018.
10.84 35
10...Qa5 transposesto thelines above.
m.Kbil
Here 11.24 looks natural to stop Black's advance on the queenside, but it only
makes Black's play easier with access to the bg square. A possible continuationis
11L..Nbg 12.Kb1 ReB 13.hg h5 14.95 NeB 15.843 Qb6 16.Nge2 Be6with a complicated
position andchancesto both sides.
m..ag?l
It is difficult to decide on a good plan for Black. Forinstance, looking at a cou-
ple ofalternatives:
 a) 11...Ne§ 12.95 Nhg 13.4 Nc6 14.8e2with a good game for White.
b) 11...Qb6 12.g5 Nhg 13.Nd5 Qc514.Ne2 Bxb2 15.Kxb2 a4 16.b4 Qf2 17.Ng3
(07.Nec3 Quf 18.8e2is also interesting) 17.. a3+ 18.Kb1 and Whiteis better.
12.Nxaq Rxag 13-bxa4 Qb6 14.Bb5!
Effectively putting a cork in Black's counterpley
14..RaB 15.c4 NeB 16.Ne2 Ne§ 17.Bd4 Qc7 18.Qc3 Bxbs 19.axb5,
AQeaNxe4,
Alternatively, 19..Qxe4 20.Qve4 Nxc4 21.Bxg7 (or 21.Rd3 Ras 22.Re1 Rxbs+
23.Ka1 Ne§ 24.Rde3 NS 25.8xg7 Nxg7 26.Rb1 and Black does not have enough for
the exchange) 21...Nxg7 22.Ka1 Ne6 23.Rc1 Neg 24.Rc3 and White is clearly better,
20.Bxg7 Qes 21.Rd5
Even stronger is 21.Bhbl Ra3 22.45 Rc} 23.Rec§ Najt 24.Kb2 Ruch 25.Kxa3
and White wins easily.
2rNag+ 22.Kar Qf 23,Rd2 Nxgy 24.Nd4
Also, 24.Nf4 is much better for White.
24uQh4 25.Rer hg 26.gxhs Nxhg 27.Rb2 Kh7 28.Rb3 Qf2 29.Qb2 Qxba+
30.Kxb2 Rag 31.Rxa3 Rxd4 32.Rc7 and Black resigned, Sevian-Xiong, Saint Louis
2018.
Chapter 17:
 34 Move alternatives
1.e4 65 2.Nc3 d6 3.44
In this chapter, we will look at those lines where Black does not capture on da
and therefore do notenterthelines covered in the previous chapters.
3.6
a) 3.25 4.dxes (in the only game in my databasewith this unusual move, the
gamecontinued equally puzzling - | assumeit was a pre-arranged drav: 4.4
Qc7 5.Nf3 Nd7 6.8d3 NgfS 7.0-0 Be7 8.Ne2 0-0 9.c3 ReB and draw agreed,
arth, Sarenac-Bozic, Kragujevac 2013) 4..dxe5 §.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Be3 Nc6 7.0—
0-0+ and with Black's weak light squares, unsafe king, etc., White has a clear
positional advantage
b) 3..Nd7 4.d5 (This leadsto a Schmid Benoniwhere Black has played the
very passive ..Nd7; however, White hasalso tried 4.dxes Nucs (or 4..dxcs 5.f4
26 6.NF3 26 7.24 Ne7 8.8d3 Nc6 9.25 Be7 10.0-0 and White has a good game)
5.Be3 6 6.NF3 a6 7.Qd4 Ne7 8.Rd1 NcS 9.Qd2 b5 10.23 Be7 11.Bf4 €5 12.863,
Be6 was seen in Mamedyarov-Heberla,Istanbul 2005, and now 134 Nd7
14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.Qxd5 Rc8 16:Qb3looks very nice for White although Black is
by no means lost) 4..NgfS 5.Nf3 a6 6.24 g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Nd2
(g.Ret b6 10.h3 Ne8 11.Bf1 Ray 12.8f4 (6 13.Nd2 Ne5 14.Be3 8d7 15.44 and
White has a very goodposition thanks to Black's completely passive set-up,
Miranda-Dos Santos, Itapiruba 1997) 9..RBB 10.a§ b5 11.axb6 Nxb6 12.Nb3,
RaB 13.84 Qc7 was played in Tomazi Stajner, Slovenia 2017, and now 14-
Nag would havebeen clearly better for White; Blackis almost entirely without
counterplay.
 ©) Finally, 3..e6 4.dxes (or 4.865+ Bd75.8xd7+ Qxd7 6.45 with a small plus
for White whereas 4.Nf3 will likely transpose to a normal open Si in) 4
dxcs §.Qxd8+ KxdB 6.NF3 Nc6 7.Be3 Bd7 8.0-0-0 and White is clearly better,
althoughit will take sometime to prove
a.dxest
This capture is the best attempt atrefuting Black's attempt at transposing to
normallines. By contrast, 4.d5 takes us straight to a Schmid Benoni after 4.6
which is generally considered slightly better for White, but given that it has been
used countless times by grandmasters, this is not a fireproof way ofclaiming an
advantage. But| will give a few lines to illustrate how White can play for an advan-
tage:
a) 5.Nfa Bg7 6.Bbs+ Nfd7 7.a4 0-0 8.0-0 Na6 o.Ret Nc7 10.8f1 (or 10.Be5
Nxbs 11.axbs a6 12.Qd2 ReB 13.h3 ND6 14.bxa6 bxaéwas played in Le Quang
Liem-Nakamura, Dubai blitz 2014, and here 15.3 would have beenslightly
better for White) 10...a6 11.Bf4 f6 12.95 RDB 13.Nd2 Nes 14.Bxe5 fixes 15.822
with a pleasant positional advantage for White in Sunilduth Lyna-Iturrizaga
Bonelli, chess24.com INT 2020.
b) 5.f4 Bg7 6.Bb5+ Nfd7 7.04 Na6 8.Nf3 Nc7 9.Bc4 RbB 10.0-0 b6 11.¢5 0-0
was seen in Aronian-Zvjaginsev, Mainz 2010, and now 12.Qe2 would Faveleft
White with a massive advantagein space.
Finally, note that 4.N®3 cxdg 5. Nxda transposesto a regularSicilian
4Qas

Blacktries to sharpen the game, but as we will soon see, White has nothing to
worry aboutfrom this approach. Also, the immediate recaptureis very pleasant for
White, forinstance, 4..dxc§ 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Be3 (or 6.8c4 Ke8 7.Nf3 Be6 soon lead
to a (pre-arranged) draw in Sharapov-Cyborowski, Lubawka 2008, and now (also
7.26 &.Nb§ Na6 9.25 Nds 10.8d2is clearly better for White) 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.Be3,
Blackis left with a complete disaster) 6...Nbd7 7.0-0-0 6 &.h3 a6 9.NF3 (or 9.€5,
Ng8 10.f4 bg 11.Ne4 andBlack is obviously in trouble) 9.5 10.a3 Bb7 11.Ne5 Ke8
12.Nxbs axb§ 13.Bxb5 RdB 14.8g5 BcB 15.Bxf6 gxf5 16.Nc6 and Black is close to
beinglost, R.Nielsen-M.Becker, Helsingor 2012
5.ccd6l
This is simple and best. The alternatives are decent, and we will take a brief
look at them as well:
a) 5.Bb5+ Bd7 €.Qe2 duct 7.8d2 Neb &.NF3 eb 9.25 Ngd? (or 9..Ng10.Ned
with a large advantage for White) 10.h3 Nh6 11.Ne4 Qc7 12.Bxh6 gxh6 13.Nf6+ and
Whiteis winning, Burchardt-Melamed, Germany 2005,
b) 5.8d3 Qxc5 6.Be3 (or 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.0-0 g68.Nf4 Qas 9.Nfds Bg7 10.8d2
with a small but comfortable advantagefor White) 6..Qa5 and now:
bi) 7.h3 Nc6 (Black can also headin the direction of a Pirc Defensewith 7...26
8.Qd2 Ne6 9.Nf3 Bg7 10.Bh6 0-0 11.0-0 Qhs 12.8xg7 Kxg7 13.Qe3 Qhé 14.Ng5 Nhs
as seen in Magomedov-Kantsler, Azov 1991, and now 15.Nd5 with a comfortable
‘edge for White) &.Nge2 €6 9.0-0 Be7 10.a3 (or 10.Qd2 0-0 11.Rfd1 a6 12.83 Qc7
13.Nf4 b5 14.Be2 Neg 15. Rb8 16.8f2 Bd7 with a comfortable gamefor Black,
Mossong-Etimoy, Beirut 2014) 10..0-0 11.44 a6 12.Qer bs 13.Nd4 (13.b4lé) 13.
Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Qd8 15.Rdt 867 16.€5 dxes 17.Bxe5 Qb6+ 18.Kh2 RfeB and Black has
equalized, M.Tan-Tjiam, Belgium 2009.
ba) 7.NF3 Ne8.0-0 Bga 9.h3 Bhs 10.4 Bg6 11.23 (both 1.Qd2 e612.Radt; and
11.5 Nd7 12.Nhg leave White clearly better) 11..a6 12.b4 Qd8 13.Nd5 Nd714.Qe2 clearly better, Brzeski-Ferenc, Koszalin 2007.
26 15.Nf4 Be7 (15..NdesI?) 16.Ract 0-0 and Black has equalized, Kuznetsov- 6.Qd5!
Lazarenko, Tomsk 2008. An outright refutation ofBlack's opening play!
5aNxeg, 6...Qxed5 7.Nxds Nob
(Or 7...Nab 8.Bxab brab 9.dxe7 Bxe7 10.Nc7+ Kd7 11.Nxa¥ and White is winning
8.Nc7+ Kd8 9.Nxa8 Nbq 10.Bd3 Ne5 11.Ke2 exd6 12.Bg5+ (6 13.Bd2 Nbxd3
14.00d3 with a decisive advantage for White,llincic-Negulescu, Varna 1994.

Or§...exd6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.Nf3 (also 7.Nge2 0-0 8.9-0 Nc69.Nf4 ReB 10.Nfd5 Nxds
11.Nxdg simply left White a pawn up, Berkes-Marasescu,Pecs 1998) 7..Nc6 8.0-0
Bga 9.Be2 (or 9.h3 Be6 10.8d2 and Black has nothing to show for the pawn) 9.
0-0 10.Nd4 (10.a3!?) 10...Bxe2 11.Ndxe2 Rac8 12.Nf4 and White is, of course,
 Epilogue
‘Congratulations on makingit to the end ofthebook!
I hope you have enjoyed studying the many fascinating lines and come away
with a better understandingoftheins and outs ofthis new variation. As you will
undoubtedly have noticed,thereis plenty of room for furtherexplorationin the var-
iouslines, as you may have noticed from manysuggestions, improvements, and
pieces ofanalysis. I'm confidentthatthe developments will continue at an ongoing
rapid pace, throughoutthe process of writing this little book, | had to update sev-
eral chepters multiple times because of new games.
Onthe note, the games comefrom a lot of types of tournaments,traditional
over-the-board tournaments, in particular, but also correspondenceand online
tournaments, something we have seen explode “his year as we were ensconced in
‘our ownlittle fortresses, waiting out theresolution of the COVIDcrisis in around
the world,
As for your own games and improvements in this variation, please share them
with meifyou want them to makeit into the next edition of this book, something
that undoubtedly will becomenecessary due to the rapid pace of new games by
strong and youngplayers alike.
A special thank you to SimonWilliams for agreeing to write a foreword on truly
short notice. | have been a fan of his for years, although I'm not nearly as brave as
heis whenhe plays. His creativity at the chessboardandhis ability to convey ideas
and conceptsto his readers and viewers in books and videos is uncanny. You
should definitely check outhis work:
Also, thank you to Renato Quintiliano, who send me someanalysis he had
doneon the variation and the countless others who have supported the work, re-
lease, and promotion ofthis book.
Finally, | would like to ask yu a small favor, if you have enjoyed this book,
kindly submit a short review, no morethan10-20 words are necessary, on the plat-
form where you have bought the book. If you have found mistakes, and unfortu-
nately, 'm sure there are several, please let me know. You can reach me via email:
carstenchess@gmail.com or you can visit my websits wonwwinningguickly-
atchess.com where you can sign up to the newsletter, get a free book and otherfree
mati ials, and you can catch me online:
Twitter: @cazhansen
Instagram: @chansen64
Facebook Group:Winning Quickly at Chess
 And soon,also on YouTube.
Keep havingfun and look outforthe next volumesin this new series of books
where | will explore new orforgotten, exciting, or entertaining ideas and variations.
Opening hacker greetings,
CARSTEN
 Books by Carsten Hansen ‘Winning Quickly at Chess: jiniatures in the Queen’s Indian Defense: 483
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The Sicilian Accelerated Dragon: Improve Your Results with New Ideas in This Dy-
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The Gambit Guide to the English Opening: 1..05 (Gambit Publications 1999)
The Symmetrical English (Gambit Publications 2001)
The Nimzo-Indian: 4 €3 (Gambit Publications 2002)
Improve Your Positional Chess [Gambit Publications 2004) - also available as e-
book (Gambit Publications 2016) and in a Spanish-language edition Mejore su aje-
drez posicional (Editorial La Casa Del Ajedrez 2008)
A Strategic Opening Repertoire (with John Donaldson, Russell Enterprises 2008)
also available as an e-book (Russell Enterprises 2015)
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book (Russell Enterprises 2016)
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The Chameleon Variation — Confronting the Sicilian on Your Own Terms (Russell
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The Full English Opening ~ Mastering the Fundamentals (New in Chess 2018) ~
also available as an e-book (New In Chess 2078)
TheSicilian Accelerated Dragon — 20'* Anniversary Edition (with Peter Heine
Nielsen - CarstenChess 2018) ~ Expanded version ofthe 1938 edition with approx:
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2020)
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Did you love The Carlsen Variation -A New Anti-Sicilian? Then you should read
Chess Tactics - Vol 1 by Carsten Hansen!
ot SS
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Secunia reteesis
daily on your way to mastery
Anessential part of improvingat chess is tactics. Tactics occur at every level of
chess but once the players becomestrongerthe elements involved in spotting the
puzzles tend to become more complex and deeper, whereas, among weaker play-
cers, elementary skewers, forks, and deadly pins are morefrequentvisitors.
Read more at Carsten Hansen's site.
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