WINNING WITH THE FRENCH Grandmaster Uhlmann has played the French almost exclusively throughout the whole of his chess career, defending its honour against some of the alltime greats. No one could be better qualified to explain how Black should go about Winning With the French. In this book, uptotheminute theory is based oround sixty of Uhlmann’s most important games, dealing with variations in which Black can play for the full point with confidence. * Includes Uhlmann’s victories over Fischer, Bronstein ond many other grandmasters * Choice of repertoires against all of White's main options * Sharp ideas for Black against White's unambitious ‘opproaches Wolfgang Uhlmann won the championship of East Germany on eleven occasions ond played for the Rest of the World against the USSR in 1970. Renowned os a great fighter with enormous belief in his favourite ‘openings, his games have inspired a whole generation of French Defence addicts Olher titles in the 'Winning With ...' series include: ‘Winning With the Winning With the Spanish Fischer-Sozin Attack ‘Anatoly Korpov Gary Lone Winning With the Modern Winning with the Dragon Dovid Norwood Chris Ward Winning With the King’s Winning With the Gambit ‘Smith-Morra Gambit Joe Gallagher Grahom Burgess Winning With the Nojdorf Doniel King Fer «complet i of hese ond cher tater chess books pleose wee oFanerge 8 borings Set icedon WIR OAM WINNING WITH | THE | FRENCH | tet WOLFGANG _ UHLMANNWinning With the French Wolfgang Uhlmann Translated by Maleolm Gesthuysen Updated by Andrew Harley B. T. Batsford Ltd, LondonFirst published in Germany in 1991 by Thomas Beyer Verlags ‘GmbH, 8607 Hollfeld/Germany © Thonas Beyer Veilags Guibl1 1991 inglish language edition 1995 © English translation B. T. Datsford Ltd 1995 ISBN 07134 74149 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data, A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced, by any ‘means, without prior permission of the publisher. ‘Typeset by B. B. Enterprises, Brighton and printed in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wilts for the publishers, B.T. Batsford Ltd, 4 Fitzhardinge Street, London WIH OAH A BATSFORD CHESS BOOK Editorial Panel: Mark Dvoretsky, John Nunn, Jon Speelman General Adviser: Raymond Keene OBE, ‘Managing Editor: Graham Burgess Contents Foreword Preface Foreword to the English edition 1 ‘Tarrasch Variation Game 1 - Bialas-Uhlmann, Leipzig 1951 Game 2 - Hamann-Uhimann, Halle 1963 Game 3 - Kostro-Uhimann, Zakopane 1974 Game 4 - Govedarica-Uhimann, Vrbas 1977 Game 5 - Prandstetter-Uhlmann, Decin 1977 Game 6 - Stoica-Uhlmann, Bucharest 1979 Game 7 - Prandstetter-Uhlmann, Trencianske Teplice 1979 Game 8 - Radulov-Uhlmann, Albena 1983 Game 9 - Stein-Uhimann, Moscow 1971 Game 10 - Kuijf-Uhlmann, Amsterdam 1990 Game 11 - Neukirch-Uhlmann, Potsdam 1974 ‘Game 12 - Saren-Uhlmann, Athus 1971 Game. 13 -Geller-UhImann, Amstentam 1970 Game 14 - Mestel-Uhlmann, Hastings 1972/3 Game 15 - Kholmov-Uhtnann, Halle 1978 Game 16 - Suetin-Uhlmann, Debrecen 1987 ‘Game 17 -"Tischbierek-Unimann, Dresden 1984 Game 18 - Velimirovic-Uhlmann, Vinkavei 1982. Game 19 - Karpov-Uhimann, Madrid 1973 Game 20 - Vogt-Uhimann, Potsdam 1974 Game 21 - Nijboer-Unlmann, Amsterdam 1990 2 imzowitsch (Winawer) Variation Game 22 - Fischer-Uhlmann, Buenos Aires 1960 Game 23 - Fischer-Uhlmann, Stockholm 1962 ‘Game 24 - Smyslov-Uhlmann, Havana 1964 ‘Game 25 - Hertston-Uhimann, Hastings 19/2/3 Game 26 - Bogdanovie-Uhlmann, Sarajevo 1965 Game 27 - August-Uhlmann, Erfurt 1976 Game 28 - Pelitov-Uhlmann, Szombathely 1966 oN ANSseagys‘Game 29 - Becker-Uhlmann, Halle 1982 ‘Game 30 - Suetin-Uhlmann, Berlin 1967 Game 31 - Hazai-Uhlmann, Halle 1981 Game 32 - Ghinda-Uhlmann, Zinnowitz 1976 Game 33 ~ Palitz-Uhlinann, Pirstenwalde 1981 Game 34 - Unzicker-Uhlmann, Vara OL 1962 Game 35 - Enders-UhImann, Erfurt 1985 Game 36 - Bronstein-Uhlmann, Tallinn 1977 Game 37 - Lane-Uhlmann, Bucharest 1979 Game 38 - Bogdanovie-Uhlmann, Sarajevo 1963 Game 39 - W.Hartmann-Uhlmann, Budapest 1986 Game 40 - Psakhis-Uhlmann, Tallinn 1987 Game 41 - Short-Uhlmann, Thessaloniki OL 1988 Game 42 - C.Horvath-Uhimann, Debrecen 1988 3. Advance Variation Game 43 - Mohring-Uhimann, Halle 1982 Game 44 - Przewoznik-Uhlmann, Zakopane 1980 Game 45 - Enders-Uhlmann, Eggesin 1978 Game 46 - Teske-Uhimann, Nordhausen 1986 Game 47 - Badestein-Uhlmann, Berlin 1973 4 King's Indian Attack Game 48 - Savon-Uhlmann, Skopje 1968 Game 49 - Browne-UhImann, Amsterdam 1972 Game 50 - Lau-Uhimann, Potsdam 1988 Game 51 - Enders-Uhlmann, Jiterbog 1985 5 Exchange Variation Game 52 - Silva-Uhlmann, Tel Aviv OL 1964 Game 53 - Velimirovic-Uhimann, Skopje 1976 Gane 54 - aunt, Hasties 1972/3. Game 55 - Béhnisch-Uhlmann, Leipzig 1989 Game 56 - Zude-Uhlmann, Frankfurt 1990 6 — Other lines Game 57 - Kovacs-Uhlmann, Sarajevo 1969 Game 58 - Hausner-Uhlmann, Halle 1982 Game 59 - Kaklin-Uhlmann, Budapest 1986 Game 60 - Garcia Martinez-Uhlmann, Leipzi ig 1984 Index of Variations 15 B 8l a7 92 100 103 105 108 ut U4 16 U8 2 126 126 128 BI 135 3B? 138 140 a2 45 47 150 152 155 Symbols : z + F he Ey 4 ‘Check Double check Good move Excellent move Bad move Blunder Interesting move Dubious move Equal position Unelear position White is slightly better Black is slightly better White is clearly better Black is clearly better White is winning Black is winning IntendingBibliography Korehnoi, V., C18-19, Chess Informant 1993 Lane, G.W., Beating the French, Batsford 1994 Psakhis, L., The Complete French, Batsford 1992 Watson, J., Play The French, Pergamon 1984 Die Schachwoche 1993 Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings Informator 54-60 New in Chess Yearbook 29 Foreword by Dagobert KohImeyer Wolfgang Uhlmann ig without doubt one of the grestest authorities ‘on the French Defence, a half-open defensive system in which he has many theoretical and practical discoveries of lasting value to his credit. In four decades of competition there has been only one reply to White’s opening move 1 4 as far as the Dresden Grandmaster is concerned: 1.6. During all this time his faith in this move has been unshakeable, and his successes entirely justify his choice. In the his- tory of chess there have been numerous great players who have made the French their main weapon: Tarrasch, Nimzowitsch, Botvinnik and Korchnoi, for example. Each of these grandmasters had the French in his opening reperivire, ut least for a time. Wolfgang Uhlmann, how- ever, has remained true to this defence throughout his chess career, and his authority as a living legend where the French is concerned is undisputed. Some years ago no less a player than Anatoly Karpov sought Uhlmann’s advice on the French Defence while he was pre- paring for a World Championship match, ‘This book contains the sixty best French games from the Dresden grandmaster’s long chess career. His opponents were mainly world- class players and include twenty or so famous grandmasters - among them former World Champions Bobby Fischer, Vassily Smyslov and Anatoly Karpov. Woltgang Uhimann’s high proportion of wins with the French is quite astounding. This is a record unequalled by any other player in the world and is, in a sense, his reward for remaining so loyal to this most intevesting system. IL is also, any doubt, the reason why he has carefully guarded his secrets in this opening for so long. With the publication of this book, however, some of these secrets have finally been revealed. The reader gets an idea of just how pro foundly Uhlmann has penetrated the mysteries of this opening. His annotations are precise and to the point - a conscious decision was taken to dispense with endless analysis, since the games speak for themselves. In view of the fact that many of the encounters in this book were decided by brilliant combinations, every chess enthusiast will derive tremendous enjoyment, as well as theoretical knowledge, from playing through these gamesPreface ‘The sixty most instructive French games of my chess career, span ning more than forty years, are significant not only from « theoreti- cal point of view but also as achievements in their own right. In each encounter I have demonstrated the ideas which can be utilized in the particular variations, Another important consideration is the fact that my opponents mostly adopted modem lines and were only defeated afier a hard stuggle. In annotating these ganies I have fe- ‘cused most attention on presenting the essential plans of each game to the reader, my aim always being to give an accurate assessment Of the position, In this regard it is interesting to note how opinions (on certain variations and lines have changed over the years. It is always important to learn from your own mistakes, to draw the ap- propriate conclusions and consequently to do better in future. When played correctly, the French Defence is a real joy, itis always inter- esting and leads to extremely hard-fought contests, Even in the called simplifying lines (see the Exchange Variation) there are still ‘opportunities tor gaming @ winning advantage. As an advocate of the French Defence I am particularly pleased that this opening is currently experiencing a revival. Chess enthusiasts now have the plessute of playing through my best French games, eolleoted here in a single book for the first time. Special thanks are due to the Berlin chess journalist Dagobert Kohlmeyer, whose. patient assistance: has contrihuted greatly to the success of this book. Wolfgang Ublinann Foreword to the English Edition It has almost become a cliché to say that it is far more important to understand an opening than to know lots of variations. Anyone who plays through the sixty games in this book cannot fail to gain a deep understanding of the French Defence. Yet it would be foolhardy to be unaware of important theoretical variations. So in publishing this book in English, under the title Winning with the French, we have updated the text with enough theory to cnable the reader to play the French safely and successfully, using just the information in this book. This hook does not pretend to cover every nossihle Tine of the French but it does provide a complete repertoire for Black. For in- stance, the currently popular 3 2 ¢5 4 exd5 WrdS and 3 3 6 systems are not covered. For a more thorough theoretical cov- erage of all the lines of the French, refer to The Complete French. Yet why play the fashionable lines when White is s well prepared for them? This book fs an insplratlon to original thought and active play. Many of Uhlmann’s ideas in this book were original to him, and have greatly influenced future theory and will continue to do so. ‘The French is often dicmicced ac a ‘eolid defencive eystem” (and variations such as the isolated pawn system 3 @d2 c5 4 exd5 exds especially) yet Uhlmann shows us how to play actively and win in every variation, Andrew Harley4 The Tarrasch Variation Grandmaster Siegbert Tarrasch was bom in Breslau in 1863, lived for many years in Nurem- berg, and died in Munich in 1934, He formulated Steinitz’s doctrine into a scientific system aud Uecame Geinany’s fore most chess authority. His main works, Das Schachspiel (The Game of Chess), 300 Schach- artien (300 Chess Games) and Die moderne Schachpartie have hhad a significant influence on entire generations of chessplay- ers. Led e6 2 d4.d53 “d2 (D) ‘This system, characterized by the move 3 @d2, was intro- duced into tournament practice by Dr Siegbert Tarrasch in 1890. As an adherent of the classical solid approach to pawn play he had a preference for this move, which is regarded as one of the soundest responses to the Fietch Defenve. The chatactes- istic feature of the knight move to d2 is that, rather than apply- ing immediate pressure on the centre, White aims for a long- term strategic build-up. As a rule this system enables sharp lines, such as are possible after of White's knight in the Nimzowitsch Variation (3 3 kb4), to be avoided. After 3 Daz Black has two fundamen- tally different replies to choose from. Firstly the move 3...2f6, which provokes 4 e5, ensuring a spatial advantage for WI Little material is exchanged, and White is able to stabiline his centre by playing £4 and c3. After this, Black attempts to get counterplay with the pawn thrusts ..c5 and ...£6, Variations arise which are characterized by an intense struggle and which frequently prove to be decisive, fone way or the other.12 Tarrasch Variation ‘The second reply to 3 £42 is the classical move 3...c5. With this move Black initiates the battle for the centre immedi- ately, since he can exploit the relatively passive position of the white knight, and this re- sults in the central tension being, released. In retum, however, Black must accept the fact that, a8 a result of exchanges on cS and d5, he gets an isolated pawn on d. In the endgame this pawn frequently becomes an object of attack, but Black can ‘offact thio with active piece play. From the games that I have selected it will be seen that Black is able to counter the Tar- rasch Variation successfully. Game 1 Bialas-Uhimann Leipzig 1951 Tachieved my first major chess success as a sixteen-year-old in the East German Junior Cham pionship in Leipzig in 1951. 1 ended up as the clear winner by a margin of 1% points, and this served as the necessary stimulus for further tournament victories. In 1951 the French Defence was, already my favourite weapon against White's opening move 1 4. Even today T consider the following sensational — game against Bialas to be a little gem in my collection. 1 cf 06 2 44 5 3 Oa Ne 406 Dta7 5 &d3 5 6 3 Deb 7 Qe Whe 8 ONS exdd 9 exis 16 10 ext = bat In the light of modem theory is move can no longer be. js tified, but my first insights into this opening had to be from tournament practice. ‘The immediate 10...2\xf6 is better. M1 a2 Dxf6 B00 00 Bad Of course, Black could have exchanged off his good bishop on bé at this point, but he would then have had problems activat- ing his light-squared bishop, as can often be the case in this ‘opening, AS 1 Bue 14 ba ‘An inaccuracy from my op- ponent, and one which has seri- ‘ous consequences. 14 @c3 is correct, since 14,.Wxb2 is not playable on account of 15 b5. Kom GL Black opens lines and gets play for his pieces which offers him plenty of chances before ‘White has even managed t0 of- ganize his forces properly. 1S dxeS— DlxeS 16 DxeS — Lxe5(D) As a result of White's inap- propriate, 14th move, Black al- ready has a decisive advantage. For example, 17 Hel fails to y Dgd, with a double attack £2 and 2. 17 3 also falls to solve Whie's problems, after 17..We7 18 Hel Sxh2+ 19 dehi Wes 20 g3 Sig4! White would be defenceless against the threat of... 17 c3 xh! An attack based on a well- known theme. 18 dxh2 Desi 19 & After 19 Sg Wh White wonld have had to piece back with 20 eS in order fo avoid being mated. Moving the king out of the comer is the ‘any chance of refuting Black's combina- Hxf2! (D) sacrifice is that Black wins the ‘As a recult, the deprived of all protection, Black now threatens the devastating 20..We3+ and Tarrasch Variation 13 20...Wd6+. Capturing the rook with 20 Rxf2 succumbs to 20, Waf2+ 21 Gh3 Beds, fole Towed by mate. 20 Sar? After this, the game tums into a fiasco for White. The best de- fence was 20 Wel! Wc7+ 21 fd Exfl 22 Sxfl gs, when Black regains his plece and re- tains an extra pawn, but there ‘would still have been some play in the pocition. Ze Det 21 x2 Or 21 Sxe3 Wxe34 22 dih2 Wh3+! mating, or 22 deh xe? etc. 2 Wes Wa6+! 22 GI3? ‘The lesser evil was 22 Af4 Dxd1 23 Bxdl g5, when Black has a clear advange, 2s ght 23 toxe3 _ WeS+ (D) ‘The final position in this ‘game merits a diagram, On ‘An edifying finish. The white14 Tarrasch Variation king dies surrounded by a whole army of faithful servants, all of whom ate quite unable ccome to his aid, Game 2 Hamann-Hhlmann Halle Z 1963 1 e4 6, 2 d4 dS 3 2a Bf6 4 eS Afd7 sf S 6 3 Deb 7. Bats Aftor 7 Dgf3!?, Black should probably strike | immediately with 7..cxd4 8 oxd4 £6! with the point that 9 Sd3 (9 @b112) -fxe5 10 fxe5? can be met by A\xd4!, but be careful to avoid 7..£6?! 8 2d3 cxdd 9 Dxdatt, Tae Woo 8 Ber A swutine move, which al- lows Black a good game mediately. 8 g3, a continuation which has been known since 1960, is better. After 8...0xd4 9 cxdd b4+ 10 f2 £6 White thas the move 11. #22 and so can evade any pins along the gl-a7 diagonal and the f-file. Not until 1984 did Black man- age to revitalize this. Tine with the sharp 10. Shed pa! or 11 fxg! critical alternatives) 11...gxt4 12 gxf4 £6 when 13 dg? is no longer an option. This ted White to try 8 hd!” bot this is well met by B..cxd4 9 exds e7!, for example: 10 g3 (10 £d3? Badd) 10.05 11 Sf of 12 Ded £6 13 see? 0-0 14 hS a3 15 b3 £5 16 e3 Babs 17 eh2 Ga7 18 &h3 Qa6 19 Bel Bac8t Adams-Dimitrov, Bul- aria 1993. si a fe 9 8 ‘A move too late! er) 10 exdd bdr mi Baar Now 11 £2? would be a mistake, because of 11...fxe5 12 fxe5 DdxeS winning a pawn, ‘but White could still have es- ccaped the worst with 11 23; then Smagin-Dimitrov, Prilep 1992, continued 11...0-0 12 «3 LeT 13 Bh3 fres! 14 Lxe6+ deh8 15 @xd5 Was 16 Sxa7 Sixd7 17 dxeS Spd 18 0-0 (18 ‘e3? Hdd!) 18..Lc51 19 3 ‘Bred 20 Bix Woe 21 Wa2 x63 22 Hxf3 Dad with plenty of play. "1 3 freS 12 fxeS 0-0 A lovely piece suctifiee, ‘made possible by the open f-file ‘and the fact that the white king is still in the centre. 14 dxeS DxeS 15 Dedd Since 15 @xe5 allows 15..W2#, the text move is the only option. 15 Sixbé is also bad for White in view of 15..Wxb4r 16 2 (16 Wa2 is met by 16..2xf3+, while after 16 €\c3, Black wins with 16..Wxb2) 16..WeA! with the crushing threat of 17..2xf3 or 17..Bg4+. 15 Qasr 16 Ger Axb2 17 Wb3— Wa6+ 18 Giz xd? 19 Wab2 Wa3! Now, with his queen and two bishops, Black closes a mating Het avund the white hing. White has no way to defend; for example 20 Hael loses’ to 20..$e31 21 Hal Wrf34. Tarrasch Variation 15 20 Bad We3+ 21 Stl 6! (D) This quiet_move, with the threat of 22...Sa6+, settles the outcome in just a few more moves. If now 22 Exd2. then 22,.Qa6+ 23 Be2 Hxi+ 24 or 24 @xe2 Bxt3+ 25 Sixt3 Waxf3+ 26 deg Hf8 27 Af4 5 and Black wins. 2 Wrd2 La6+ 2 Bed Exide 21 Gxt Wet 25 kel fixe? 2% Bel fads 0-41 This game was awarded a prize for being the best in the tournament. Game 3 Kostro-Uhlmann Bakopane 1974 1 ed 8 6 2 44 516 Tarrasch Variation 3 O02 ANG 4 08 @ta7 5 ft 5 6 3 Deb 7 Bats Len? ‘There are relatively few ex- amples of games with Black's seventh move, as it had previ- ously been considered inferior, but this game produced a new idea which definitely merits at- tention. 8 a3 Was 9 afar 9 Sef is better, as Botvinnik played againat mo at the Varna Olympiad in 1962. After the continuation 9..cxd4 10 exd4 hS White, had the advantage. Correct, however, was 9...b5, and in the event of 10 dxc5 then 10..b4 with equal chances. 9 Be2 is best, when Black can re- spond with the passive but sound 9...cxd4 ot the adventur- us 9...051?. The pawn sacrifice 9 La2 Whe 10 Ge2 Wab2 is unclear, Sete Wet 10 Der fet Now the difference from the main variations, in which White usually plays g3 and his king escapes to g2, becomes clear. Black threatens to win a pawn with 11..cxd4 12 exd4 fxeS 13 fxe5 Ddxes. 1 Wb3 White certainly didn’t want to play this move, but it is hard to see anything better. ae Wxp3 14 Gd2 5 An interesting pawn sacrifice, by means of which White's centre is broken up and the black pieces become fully ac- tive. The speculative piece sac- rifice 14...fxe5 15 fxe5 OelxeS!? 16 dxeS Hxe5 is another dy- namic possibility for Black. 15 exf6 15 43 fails to 15.4 1G enfG Sixf6, when Black wins a pawn. 6b Axf6 16 fea Sagi? The point of the move 14...5!. Altematively, regain- ing the sacrificed pawn with 16..Sixd4+ 17 Bxd4 @xd4 18 Lbs HAT 19 26 hxg6 20 Sxe6 Hf6 21 Bc3 would have re- sulted in a slight advantage to White. 7 fed 17 fic is even worse, on ae- count of the break 17..e5! 18 dxeS QdxeS, with the crushing threats of Axd3+ or ..A\p4+ followed by ...?\xe3. 20 Sgi? 20 Sixes Bes 21 Del is better, when Black only has a ‘small advantage. 20 a4! This gains even more space. 21 Sel Dxd3+ 22 Exd3 Des 23 Kaz Of course not 23 Kxd4 @xf3 24 Hixgd @xh2+, when Black wins. es Hest After this move Black regains the sacrificed pawn with the better game, M13 xt 25 Dxf3 a6! (D) A fine zwischenzug which, after the exchange on £3, pre= ‘Yents the white rook from in- vvading on 27. 26 wed White had to choose between ‘two evile. Black alo gete the Tarrasch Variation 17 advantage after 26 de3 @xf3 27 gxf3 Hxest. Owing to White's i paswn structure and his passive bishop on el Black has a deci 6 2 28 ddl After 28 7f2_ Black plays 28..He3, when the harvest of pawns on the third rank begins, ae Ext 29 hd a3! White's lack of breathing- space becomes even more se- vere, and he is already in zugzwang. 30. Bh2 30. BP? is met most simply hy 30...Bxf2 31 Sxf2 He2, fol- lowed by 32...8xb2-+, 30) a xa 31 bd2 —-Bxb2 32 Ba? Or 32 Ebl a3!, and then Bxel and ..cb+e, winning a piece. 2 a eet 33 Be fran OL Game 4 Govedarica-Uhimann Vrbas 1977 1 et 06 2 44 a5 3 On 26 465 Ba7 5 fds oS 6 3&6 7 Bea18 Tarrasch Variation If White offers the dangerous Korchnoi Gambit 7 ®gf3 Woe 8 0-0, Black's safest cource ie probably to decline by 8...261? 9 Bel &g7 10 dxe5 We7! 11 43. DrdneS 12264 0-0 13 Oxes Bixe5 14 Bxe5 DxeS 15 BA b6! Gipslis-Gleizerov, Alushta 1993. White can improve by 9 ‘dxc5, so Black should consider 7.961 8 0.0 Sg7 9 Bel and only then 9...W6 when Black actually threatens to take the d- pawn if White does not play 10 axe5. a wns 8 BR exdé 9 exdd 16 10 exf6 — Dxf6 1 00 © ae 2 ‘The main continuations are: a) 12 Dc3 0-0 13 &g5 (for 13 Se} £47 14 03 see the note to White's next move) 13...2d7 14 Hel #h8 (lucatcnins d4) 15 Dad WeT 16 Kel Ded! 17 g3 Sb4 Yah Matulovie-Farago, Helsinki 1981 by 12 Af 0-0 13 Hel £a7! 14 Dxe6 Hfe8 15 £F5 ba 16 Sad Sixd2 17 Wrd2 De7! with at least equality. ) 12 Bf4 Bxfa 13 Oxf 0-01? (this offers more winning chances than the perfectly ade- ‘quate 13...WWxb2) 14 Wa2 g6 15 Be2 Ld7 16 23 Baek and now, to have any chance of ndvan- tage, White has to find 17 West Ded 18 Wes AEG 19 Whd eS 20 Axes @xe5 21 eS ExeS 22 Was (vanchuk-Brenninkmei- jer, Amhem 1988), though Black can etill maintain equality by 22.651. 4) 12 Sid? 0-0 13 Shed Sad7 14 Qg3 Gh8 15 DeS Le8= Doncevic-Farago, Berlin 1987. i 00 13 ba? At this stage of the game this pawn move is a mistake. White should settle for 13 @c3 d7 14 Be3 Le8 15 bd 1S Des Det!) 15...SLhS 16 Bad We7 17 13 e5= 3) ee ost ‘This freeing manoeuvre in the centre also begins a kingside attack. 14 dxeS Axes. 15 Dyes After this White is in serious trouble. Instead 15 @ed¢ ‘maintains the equilibrium. ce Sixe5 16 Had (D) 16 &e3 loses very quickly, because of 16...Wic7 17 Hei Qxh2+ 18 Phi Wes, when the threat of 19...WhS can only be partied at the cost of heavy inaterial losses. 16. Dpat In this position it would be wrong to sacrifice the bishop with 16..8xh2+ as after 17 sth? Dede 18 dg3! Dx? 19 Wh3 Black would be unable to strengthen his attack substan- tially. 17 Dg haat 18 hi A sad necessity. 18 Wel £47 is even worse for White, since there is no defence to the threatened 19.,.Zae8, B .. a7 Black achieves nothing with 18...id6, since White can move he knight back again with 19 Dg3. 19 3 Ges 2 hed Kc! Switching from the attack to # continuation which utilizes the passed pawn on d5 comes at Just the right moment. 21° Wha 21 &d2 also fails to solve White's problems. For instance, Black has a strong initiative af- ter 21...2xd2 22 Hxd2 Le6 23 y3 Haas. a Bac8! 22 Ee2(D) This tempting rook move is a mistake. White’s best is 22 ste3 We6 25 nu? (23 £05 att) 23..d4 24 Gat Bfe8, though Black's attack should still break throngh. Tarrasch Variation 19 at Rett This fine manoeuvre, pre- venting 23 Bxc3 on account of the zwischenzug 23..d4, gives Black a large advantage. 23 a2 as 24 Wad xd? 25 Bxd2 at This is the clearest continua- tion, After 26 &xd3 @xd3 27 Exd3 @e4 Black has a won et Relatively best. 26 Sal al- ows Black to decide the game with 26..2e3, threatening of 27.4. 26 skxpd 27 xed Best This prevents the check on b3 ‘and supports the pawn on d3. 28 2p3 (D) 28 Aixgat? Black could have played more accurately at this point: 26,.De4! 29 Ba2 9 Had @Db2) 29.42 and now: a) 30 @e2 is countered by 30, Raat20 Tarrasch Variation b) 30.2)fs et 31 Wal (or 31 ‘We2 dW! 32 Exdl Wxf2+ 33, fh2_Ber and Rlack wins) 31..Qe3! 32 fred Wre3+ 33 eh? EExfl 34 Will d1W with a win for Black. ©) If White plays 30 Det then Black continues 30...ict. Then after 31 Wb3 Exfl+ 32 sbxfl d1W+ 33 Wxdl Sc3+ the white queen falls, while 31 al fails to 31...Jixal 32 Zxal We6 with the crushing. threate of Wiel+ ot ...b2, also securing the win. 29 WaT — Aer! Not the most precise move. Black could have won immedi- ately with 29..1Wh6! 30 Wed Wad2 31 Ded We2t! 32 Weo+ she 33 We7 Wxfl+!! 34 dexfl Eel#, 30 Wes = as 31 Hel — Exa3 32 Bes Wixba 33 Mal White has no time to play 33 Zxf6, because of 33..Hal+ 34 seh (if 34 DA Exfl+t 35 sexfl Wol+ 36 Bat Wxdi#) 34..\Wh4+ and Black wins. 3 Waa! 34 Exte | Wadd 35 dh? East 36 Exa6 —bxa6 37 Wes a7! 38. Obs Afier 38 ©5 Black wins with 38...We2 39 Dh6+ def8 40 WiS+ Se8, Bw ‘Wal! 39 Wes = Waa 40 We6+ Ps a1 a2 Ot Game 5 Prandstetter-Uhimann Decin 1977 1 e4 6 2 da as 3 Oa 65 4 exdS — exd5 5 Bbs1 ‘The classical method in the ‘Tarrasch Variation, in order to exchange pieces with gain of tempo. After this White’s plan is (0 make the pawn on a5 an object of attack, sie &a7 5.26 is also worth consid- ering. In this case, instead of the customary move 6 £3, White ‘can adopt the knight manoeuvre devised by Bronstein, 6 De2. ‘The former Soviet Champion hhas had great success with this move. 6 Wer Ser In this position Korchnoi has often played 6..We7, when af- ter 7 Wxe7i Bxc7 8 &xd74 @xd7 9 dxc5 White always gets a small advantage in the end- game. The bishop move. chasen by Black leads to situations in which, for the most part, the struggle over the board domi- nates. 7 axes D6 8 Apt, Another way of countering Black’s build-up is 8 b3, in ‘order to defend the pawn on c5 first. Bown 0-0 9 Ob3 Hes 0 Oo This is a slight inaccuracy. According (0 theory White should continue with 10 Se3, for which see the next game. 0 Sixes 11 Was bs 12 ys? After this Black seizes the initiative, since with his next move he ean avoid simplifica tion. White has to exchange on 6 more or less voluntarily, and in so doing he objectively Strengthens Black's centre. ‘Therefore the correct continua- tion is 12 &xd7 Dbxa7, when the game is equal. 2. Debt Bad ‘The exchange 13 LAG WalG 14 Wrd5 2e6 is not good for White, since after 15...Wxb2 Black regains the pawn and is Tarrasch Variation 21 left with the better game, Bw 6 14 She ab 1S Lxc6 Lxe6 16 Dfdd Beat Rack is now ahle to get out of the pin on the h4-d8 diagonal with gain of tempo and at the same time he prepares to double hiis rooks on the open e-file 17 293 Wa7 18 aS This advance is necessary to prevent 18...Sx04, B . Sa7 1 cB Bac 20 fel hs! Black launches an attack on the kingside, at just the right time. White's difficulties are associated with the fact that his, rooks have no. good squares, with the result that he is unable to generate any real counter- play. 21 Abst 22 Whi 22 Wa2 is a mistake because of 22...He? followed by ..Hxb2. TE Be3 23 ff ka The bishop, which up until now had been passive, has completed an unobtrusive ma- oeuvre from c6 to take up @ dominant position. 24 Wad eT 25 Wad cd 26 Bal Db7 Black can only push on with his kingside attack by redeploy- ing his knight22 Tarrasch Variation 27 Ses (Web 2 be ONS 29 Wa DgG Capturing on 5 is not possi- ble, since the other knight ‘would mave away tof 30 Wa2 hat 31 Wes eS 32 Wigs This manoeuvre is now nec- essary, in order to get some counterplay after Black's next move. om Sixes 33. byes WxeS 34 OS We 35 d6 White would be at a disad- vantage afer 35 @\xh4 Wig 36 fxg4 Af4!, when Black threat- ens cither 37..2e2+ followed by ..2)xc3, or 37..S€2 fol- lowed by xed. 35 Wxgs 36 fxd = E807 37 eS ez! 38 abl xga 39 @xb7 -B7e6 40 Bad Het 41 cS Be7(D) ‘This was the move I sealed after fifty minutes thought. It proved to be the only move to grant any winning chances. Black has to follow it up by going flat out for an attack on the kingside 42 Dxa6 Ds 6 2n it 44 Bad! In reply to 44 3, Black can win with 44 Heft 45 dbf? Be2+ 46 ofl (or 46 gl Bg2+ 47 thi Dd3 48 BF &e2! 49 De] Gxfl 50 Bxfl DE and Black wins) 46..hS!!, and there is no defence against the threat of 47. @\xg3+ 48 hxg? +h. a, “i iG oe YA, A, Pm a na Ree 44 gst 45 93 | Ext Here too the exchange sacti- fice is very strong, 46 ext? Hed 47 ft abit (D) By means of this additional sactifice Black is able to keep his attack alive, Now the passed h-pawn is his highest trump. 48 Ebs+ dg7 49 pxf ez 50 det ‘The retreat 50 gel is hope- less: 50..u24 51 bhi Lest 52 fxg5 He2+ 53 degli h2+ 54 afl niWe. De Bxa6 Sl fxgS hed An important blocking move to prevent the white rook from being transferred to hd, 's2 Rh? My opponent's last chance was 52 Bret dact 53 fll, to ‘complicate matters a little in the rook ending. 2 Here 53. bet After 53 wd1 Black wins with 53..g2 54 Exod (the threat was 54...83+) 54..dxo4 55 Hh6 h2, followed by ...Zg1+ and ..n1W, = ant? Time trouble begins to tell Black should have played the more precise 53..h2 54 BhG Bart 55 Excd dxct 56 06 (White is in zugawang; if 56 Bh4 then 6. sph is decisive) 56..2ixa6! 57 Exh? Hal+ 58 Gg2 Bad+ 59 y3 Exh2 60 ‘Wxh2 dg6, winning easily. 54 Exed ~ dxed 35 Bho? Following Black's mistake on suove 53 White now retums the favour. 55 sgl! ExaS 56 Eic6 Exg5+ 57 Wh2 Ryd 58 dexh3 £5 59 oh2 ebt7 60 th3 cbo7 61 Tarrasch Variation 23 wh? bd7 62 M6 4 was cor rect, when Black would have had to work very hard to win the game, 45) ao ht 56 06 BxaG O41 Since after 57 Hxh2 Eal+ 58 Wig2 Halt 59 hg3 Exh? the pawn ending is lost for White. Game 6 Stoica-Uhimann Bucharest 1979 Le 2 44 as 3 Oa oS 4 exdS — exd5 5 Gbs+ 247 6 Weds R07 7 dxcS G6 8 Obs 00 9 Se3 Bes 10 A fixes ML @xes?! 11 Bxd7 Dbxd7 12 Oxcs Dyxc5 13 Ws Hc8 14 0-0 26 15 Wot Bot 16 Wd2 Zed= ‘Tseshkovsky-Uhlmann, Manila 1976 is a better choice. S17 ‘Wasi 12 Wa2 Wxbs 13 000 Stronger than 13..b6 14 Dxd7 Doxd7 15 kb Bes 16 Wes Wad3 17 Bxd3, after which White gets the’ rather better game; Karpov-Korchnoi, Baguio City Wch (22) 1978. 14 kde Previously White had played24 Tarrasch Variation 14.3 hs (14...Sxf3 15 gxf3 D6 16 Lh! DeS!, or 16 Ehgi esi, in each case with a good position for Black) 15 g4 Ag6 16 Dh4 Da6 17 Axe6 hxg6 18 @xa6 Wxa6 19 db with a minimal advantage to White; Tseshkovsky-Vaganian, Lvov 1978, 14 Dea! 15 Wrst (D) ‘Accepting the saeritice of the piece would be fatal; after 15...0xf3 16 gxf3 @xcS 17 Higgl! D6 (17.96 18 We SEB 19 Sexc5+ Wixcs 20 Whe+ e721 Hgel+ and White wins) 18 Rxg7s!! @eg7 19 Bgl Bel + (19.818 20 Wd6+ Be7 21 Sixg7+ dee8 22 £6 also wins for White) 20 Hxel @d7 21 ‘Sixg7 xg] 22 We5+ the 23 Egl Black cannot cope with the threat of mate on g7. 16 Ener eo! 17 Qxed— dxed 18 Exed xed 19 Wred got 20 Wes Dhat 21 West Both players tactical complications quite brilliantly. In the transition from the middlegame to. the endgame Black has a slight plus, since his attack against the pawns on a2 and 2 eventually also brings about a weakening of White's kingside pawns. aioe ‘WrxeS 22 Dxes xed 23 a2 Best ‘The continuation 23...265 24 03 BeB+ 25 dal gives Black nothing. 2 Best A quiet move, exploiting the fact that Black's king has no flight-square. 24 b3 is weaker, because of 24..SAxb3+ 25 2 Keb 26 23 (26 Bxa7 is met by 26..l0\xa2) 26.045 27 Sixal bo! 28 Hc? HaB 29 6 W8 or even 29...£6, with advantage 10 Black. eres Res 25 dat Bast 26 © Sxa7 xpd With this move Black assures himself of a small advantage, ssince White’s kingside pawns are vulnerable. wve solved the 27 Bao After 27 Hd7 £6 28 Dd3 2.06 Black is better. 27 mw ‘erst 28 Gas Ber The knight heads for better squares in the centre and causes trouble for the white rook. 29 Be 29 &c5 would have been met by the strong 29.. sihachita 46. pawns and no longer controls 2 ad a5 ‘view of the threat of 1 bp. xd the dark squares. 3 Oa 5 ‘causes trouble on the h2 0 BeS adl 29 Bf adt I 4 Dg D6 agonal. ‘The threat 21...£b4 provokes Another stabbing blow, as a 5) cds) seas 17 3 Was White's next move, which ties result of which either the a4- 6 fbs a6 1 down the rook on al, ‘square or the c4-square is freed 7 dxeS — RxeS 18 3 is better, although 2 ad ‘West by force for use by a rook. 8 00 Be7 18...261 19 WF4 (or 19 Wixho This move brings about 30 Rbt 9 ns kao 19 20 Wes MWe5! 21 Dbds further weakening of White's White still wishes to cause 10 3 Spat fol! 22 Wra Qxft+, winning a Pawn structure. White cannot confusion on the bl-h7 diago- | On 10...0-0, White could play piece) 19...@e5! leaves Black allow an exchange of qneens, nal, hnt he had na good moves 11 Ba3 oF 11 83. fetiei since in this case the black rook for example: 30 Ef3 axb3 31 1 a3 18 7 would invade on the e-file, Hyb3 Bad, or 30 b4 fe7! 31 “This fo ienprecies Metter wore 1 Os We 2 4 || (Wg3 Re4 gs 31 Exhd xd? witha Wn tear hogs aes 23 Ras Be7 clear advantage for Black in the tT ‘h6! (D) 20 Bael is met by 20...Axf4 “ws endgame. A useful move, preventing a 21 &xf4 Exel 22 Bxel (22 White's only chance consists 30 axb3 | pin with 12 gS. Black must xc7? Exfl+ 23 xfl g6-+) inan attack on the kingside. 31 Wd3 ft (D) avoid 11...0-0 12 xh7+ Gexh7 — 22...Sxf4F. ww Sa7 This simple move deprives I 13 &g5+, which gives White a BD me Beat 23 6 = What White of his remaining illusions ‘winning position: a Hea With thie move Black rofutes and decidca the outcome. eas 21 Geo? loses a piece atter fis opponent's ostensible at- a 13 her 21,.2ine3 22 Dxe3 We7, with a tack. On account of the two 33 thi Wig7! This is the only way for double attack against ¢3 and 5. powerful threats 26...WWxd4+ 0-1 White to unpin his knight. hs Dad50 Tarrasch Variation 22. Ord Be! ‘Now that the knight has done Git is summoned to in order to elimi- nate White’s strongpoint on dé. 23 Eael kb6 4 Exchanging on e4 would have been worse. After 24 Exes dxe4 25 Hel Black has a chance for the strong zwischenzug 25,..265, threatening the g3 and 44 squares simultaneously. Am es 25 Exes dxed 26 Hel D6 27 Wes Wer! White’s defence would be alleviated hy an exchange of ‘queens. It is essential that the passed pawn on e4 should pres ‘ent a constant threat, Black tries to increase the pressure on the d4-square in order in some cit- cumstances to make use of the open d-file as well. 28 Dre —_bxe6 29 Bal? White makes a mistake in time trouble, but it is already hard to find a reasonable con- timuation for him. For instance, Black wins at least @ pawn after 29 Dd y6! 30 Wt xd 31 exda Wha, 29m 3! This forces the white rook to 0 back, since 30 Hd7 fails to 30...02! 31 Bxe7 Bxe7. 30 Sct ld also lose immediately, in after 30.2! 31 Bel jo3l! 32 Hxo2 Wgl+ 33 bf Welt 34 Sed Set! 35 Wxhs Tixe2. 30 Bet Was! 31 Wet ast With this advance Black gains even more space. In some. lines White is also threatened with the loss of a pawn on the queenside. 32 Wat We6t 3 WO oad 34 Oa ‘This move is more or less forced, After the passive de- fence 34 @cl the game should be desided very quickly with 34...21d8, with the idea of play- ing ..2a2+ and ...We2. then 35 £5 Wf6 36 23 (Black threatened 36..a3 37 bxa3 Wxc3) 36...0d5 37 g4 Wd6 is crushing, since Black threatens both 38..2d2+ and 38...L207. 4. Sxdd 35 exdd— Wea3 36 Bed On 36 Wae6 Black wins with 36..Wd2+ 37 Gf3 WE2+ 38 chet Hoo, 36 Bes! (D) With this rook move Black seals his opponent's fate, White finds himself in zugawang and can no longer avoid losing ma- terial. 37 nd Wx 38 He2 West Black threatens to push his pawn (0 e2 and sy cumpels the white rook to retum to. this square. After 39 fl Black wins with 39. xf6t 40 Weta Wal+, followed by ...Wixc2 42 hs Waar In this way Black prevents the freeing manoeuvre 43 g4. 43 Bel = th7 44 Wz 44 Bal walks into 44...e2!-+ (45 Bixd4 exd4), “4 waz 45 wen After 45 Wxd2, the game could be wrapped up as follows: 45.end2 46 Bdl Bd 47 26! 48 hxg6+ soxg6 49 G3 4 50 the? (if 50 dhe3 Ba3+ wins) 50 thS 51 Bhi+ pt 52 be? 412+ and Black wins. Ss Beat Another “subtle manoeuvre, forcing White to exchange queens, since 46 df3 loses to 46,,.He2 followed by 47...xb2. 46 Wxd2“ exd2 47 Rat Ber 48 G13 Exb2 49 od Tarrasch Variation 51 On 49 de2 Black plays 49.04 50 Bxd2 c3! and wins. B6t (D) BD we 4 Velimirovie realized that af- ter 50 Bxd2 Knl2 51 toad? gxhS 52 We3 ha! 53 pxh4 deg6 54 wed WhS 55 kbs dixhs 56 ‘Sxad dhp3 57 seb5 h5 followed by hd and ..h3, any further resistance would be futile. Game 19 Karpov-Uhlmann Madrid 1973 let 6 2044 ds 3 Om 4 exdS — exds 5 Dp Deb 6 fbs sa6 7 axeS — SixcS 8 00 Be7 9 Op3 a6 10 fps 00 i &h4 ‘Compared with the other continuations, this plan might52 Tarrasch Variation well be the best. The idea is to play p3, in order to exchange ‘off the strong black bichop on 46. mS pa 12 Ber ‘This is more precise than 12 fig3 Bxp3 13 hxg3 Whe 14 £03 ANS=. 2 ns ‘After 12...Wb6 White has the very strong continuation 13 shxeT Dxe7 14 Wel. 13 Bet Ws 14 fda: Here 14 c4 would be bad, since Black has the zwischenaug 14...db4. 14 Sixe7 Zixe7 15 ‘Wd4 is also ineffectual, since the bishop on g4 is no longer under attack and the black queen can avoid the exchange by retreating to c7. 4. Rest If Black were to exchange on 2 he would fal his op- ponent’s plans. 1S 3 -BfeB 16 fl Rea 17 g3 “The exchange of bishops as- sociated with this move repre~ sents a strategic achievement for White. Le Rxg3 18 ixg3_ aS? Black unnecessarily weakens his queenside, and in particular the L5-ayuate, 18..Bad8 was ‘worth considering, 19 at Dxd4 20 @xaat ‘White had no reason to play 20 cxd4, since after the move played ‘Rlack cannot reply 20...Wixb2 on account of 21 bs Hed8 22 13, winning a Piece. 20. Deb 21 bs Beds 2 gat A splendid move, underlining the 22-year-old Karpov's stra- tegic mastery. My light-squared bishop is now pushed back and ‘condemned to an insignificant ‘existence. In addition, White threatens to advance with £2-f4- 6. 2 mw Dx Ie turns out that White devel- ops @ strong initiative in the ending which arises and gets the upper hand in the contest to oc- ccupy the seventh rank. ‘There- fore 22..Hd6 or 22..h6 were ‘more appropriate. 23 Wrdd Waa 24 exdd acd Itis difficult for Black to find 1 reasonable plan. For instance, after 24..82f8 White can play 25 He3, followed by Bael and £3, when the breakthrough on the seventh rank cannot be pre- vented. 2 8 Rg6 26 Be7 bb 27 Bact 6 28 Hb7 = Bd6 If Black attempte: to become active by playing 28..Hc2, White has the immediate reply 29 Hee?, After 29... Q9..Hxb2 30 ReB He8 31 Gh2! Hoc 32 deg3 Exg2+ 33 WE, aud the eaptures on £7 and g7 are crushing) 30 Hed7 White ets a dangerous passed pawn. In addition, the bishop on 96 ie shut out of the game. 29 Bee7 hs In effect it, is already zugawang. After 29...2e2 White could play the annoying 30 Hbs+ th7 31 Lees. 30 gxhS —-SixhS 31 gat Rs 32 fat (D) This enables White tw on quer the key square £7, and this decides the outcome. at Bets 33 Gm Beat 34 we} shed Black was also unable to save the game by — continuing 34..2106+ 35 Bxe6 fxe6 36 Exbo. 35 ExT Heo 36 95) h7 Black can do nothing to pre- vent 37 Bfe7 and 38 8, a7 38 39 40 41 a2 Tarrasch Variation 53 Bfe7 ReB Sez ‘Exb2 Bb3+ Bp2+ Bae hs 10 For his superb strategic play in this game from the Madrid grandmaster tournament, Ana- toly Karpov was awarded the Lillianey prize, Game 20 Vogt-Uhimann Potsdam 1974 1&6 24 a5 3 ar 4 exdS — exd5 5S Bers Seb 6 bs aa6 7 dxeS — xeS 8 00 © Ber 9 %p3 a6 10 295 00 1 hd = ipa Modern theory currently sug- esis that 11..WD6! 12 Bd a5! 13 a4 4)f5 is the most accurate ek After my defeat against Kar- pov I did a great deal of analy- sis, Since as a rule many players like to follow the lead of others, cone always needs to have an improvement at the ready, albeit only a subtle one. Black's text move represents a gain of tempo. 13 Bet Wht54 Tarrasch Variation Black offers a pawn sacrifice; for example: 14 Sxe7 Hxe7 15 Wad Zar 10 Wa2 ads with a dangerous attack, or 16 Ws Qyxc2 17 Wxgd @xal 18 Dxal Hac8, when Black has « win ning position. 14 fd Zg6t (D) ‘A strong zwischencug, after which White is already in trou- ble. Here 15 Sxe4 fails to 15..Hxel+ 16 Wxel @xd4, ‘winning material. 15 @xc6 Bxe2! ‘Agaln, very accurate play. 16 Exe2 —bxe6 17 SB Ret Black alco hae. good chances after 17...2xg3 18 hxg3 28, followed by 19...2e6, 18 h3 Rxe2 19 Wie? 05 2 3 hs Play on both wings is the right recipe, since in this way Black gains space. It is not possible for White to capture on 13, Vevause uf 21aua4 22 Odd Wexb2, when Black has the su- perior position. 21 fds bet 22 nz 6 23 Edt ad! “The wing pawns on ad and hd cause White considerable trou- ble and allow him no active ‘counterplay. 24 Wed Wes, 25 Wa3 eB 26 bat This enables White to get rid of his weak pawn on b2. 26 om axb3 27 wxl3— Wh6 28 b4 ‘Hed! 29 246 ‘The immediate 29 £9 is mare. precise. 29 xd 30 cxdd Was As a result of the transfer of Black's queen, new dangers loom for White on the kingside. tes Sa 32 WR Wes 33 Bal &h7 Deiter than 33..0221 34 shh Qxd4 35 Sixdd Bxdd 36 Ha8+ th? 37 Wef7, after ‘which White wonld still have chances. 34 Gh? Beot 35. Wed (D) Possibly the best defence was the passive 35 gl. Waxed 35 36 xg ez 37 fl (On 37 seg! Black gets an ad- vantage with either 37../243 ot knight against bad bishop’. In some variations a favourable rook ending may result for 38 4 38 £3 D\f4 39 ig! is hopeless for White, in view of 39...2d2, followed by ..e2. 38 ant Atter 38..€ixed 39 dxcd Hb T would have had a good rook ending. 39 Bal Daye 40 hs D3 41 226 aaa Not, of course, 42 Hxo6 Hg3+ 43 Wh2 (43 Wexhd QS 44 GhS g6+ 45 Bxg6 fxg6t) 43...)p4+ 44 tht h3, followed by 45..@2+- and 46...He2#, a2 Bede Tarrasch Variation $5 45 bs On 45 £d6 Black wins the Vishiop: 43..g4+ 46 Wh2 (46 %g3 or 46 seh4 Bf6 allows Black to win a piece) 46..f2+ 47 Gogh 93 48 Bxg3 Mea! Sie att 46 tha Or 46 aha Etae 47 dips HAS+ 48 seh4 £6, with the threat of 49.2038. 6 47 has White has no defence against 47.883. 6 a7 BD 48 gs shget On Game 21 Nijboer-Uhimann ‘Amsterdam 1990 1 ef 6 2 da ds 3 dz cS 4 exdS — exd5 5 Dg D6 6 Red ‘A new idea from White. In- stead of the usual move 6 2b5 White intends on the one hand to eliminate the possibility of a gain of tempo with ...a6 and on the other hand he takes steps early on to counter the standard move ..Sp4. ne xd 7 OM Re7 Black instinctively finds the right counter-plan. The dark- squaied bishop is now going to56 Tarrasch Variation be firmly posted on the al-h8 iagonal. This manoeuvre is made possible by the fact that the white bishop on e2 has tem- porarily obstructed the e-tile ‘so prevents White from giving a check by playing Kel. This already brings to Tight the slight drawback of the move 6 her. 8 &b3 216 9 Bbxdd Dge7 10 3 0-0) Wate 11 &g5 is not playable here, because of 11./Axd4, ‘A move with a venomous ul- terior motive: White threatens 14 g4 and 15 g5, winning a piece. Be, Rg6t 14 Bae The nimble knight forces Black to be on his guard. One disadvantage of this manoeuvre, however, ic that White hax given up control of the d4- square. ‘The attempt to win a piece with 14 4 would have been dangerous, as Black could have partied it forcefully with 14...Re4; for example: 15 g5 Rxf3 16 gxfé Sixe27. the ‘wos 15 Wh3 a4! (D) Wills his last move Black lias climinated his weak pawn on d5 and he now seizes the initiative. His two superbly posted bishops on {6 and g6 now develop ‘maximum power. 16 ex ‘Also. following 16 Wixbé axb6 17 exd4 (if 17 @xb7 dxc3 18 bxc3 @d5! with the advan- tage) 17..2ixd4 18 @xd4 Sixdd Black has the better game. 16 @xds 17 SxaaWrdat White had probably been reckoning more on. 17...£xd4. Now his minor picees and the pawn on b2 are objects of at- tack, and this guarantees Black the advantage 18 Wed ‘There is nothing bettet. After 18 &g3 Wxb2 White would immediately lose a pawn with- ‘out any counterplay. 18 — Qast 1 gs ‘The passive continuation 19 Wadd &xd4 20 Rcl (20 Bal? loses & pieee after 20../Axf") 20,..@b4! also results in a clear advantage for Black. 19. Wxb2t 2 26 20 WxdS Wxe2 21 Hael is hardly any better since Black replies with 21...Wd3! 22 Wxb7 Bab8! 23 Wxa7 dd 24 Was (lack threatened _24...Wixg3) 24.2208 25 Wl Exa2, when his occupation of the ‘second rank, together with the threat of 26..d2, secures the better game for Black, particularly since the knight on d6 is in dan- ger. 20 Dest With the unpleasant threat of 21...b1, cutting off the 10k onal 21 ad Qn 21 Bael Black can reply 21..b5 or 21..2ad8, with a clear advantage. 21. Bad8(D) ‘The text move also guaran- tees Black the advantage, but 21...b1! was even stronger. White would then have had to play 22 Efxbl, since 22 Baxbl @xb1_ would then introduce the annoying throat of 23...242. Tarrasch Variation $7 After 22...@xb1 23 Ba2 We3 24 Axb7, although the exchange down, White would still be able to complicate matters, since his two bishops represent a threat to the black rool. 22 Bfet But not 22 @xb7, because of 22...8243. 2. Bh b6 24 Bact Wa3 25 Wes = Bart With this regrouping of the night new dangers loom for White. Black now sets his sights fon the squares d3 or ¢2, with ain of tempo. 26 edt ba 27 Whs 2! 28 Beat ‘White finds the only move to keep him in the game. Follow- ing other rook moves 28...d4 ‘would have been fatal Bw ‘West It would have been much too dangeruus for Black 10 pla Waixed 29 Axed Olde as White would have had a devas- tating attack after 30 WxhS g6 31 SixgGl! fxg6 32 Wrg6+ 27 33 Le. White wins in all lines: 33...2d7 34 Exd4; 33,..065 34 @®x85 Bxd1+ 35 eh2; or finally 33...De2+ 34 toh? HA7 35 SES. 29 WxeS —bxeS 30 Hed = ddd HM RxeS Axf3+ The heat of the battle has cooled a Tittle. Taking stock of58 Tarrasch Variation the situation, one can see that Black has a strong bishop pair aul, abuve all, a sound pawn structure, Moreover, White is in severe time trouble, 32 gxf} a7 33. Eel White should have preferred 33 Hdcl here, in order to play 34 Ec7. se fas 34 Det lack has an endgame advan- tage after both 34 De8 £d4, and 34 Ee8+ Bxe8 35 Axe8 tet. Mace eT 35 Het £6 36 ed a7 37 Ee6 tbat 38 Hb1 aS White’s fate is now sealed. Black can now take his time and win with either the pawn on £3 or the pawn on a4. 39 hfe Bas 40 fc7 EB 41 Dbs Bxf3 42 Das White has no satisfactory de- fence. On 42 Ral Black wins with 42.,.00b3 43 Kal £45, and if 42 Da7 then tho cimplect ie 42.45! 43 Dxc8 Lixc6 44 Exb4 axb4 45 De7+ @h7 46 @\xc6 h3 and the pawn pro- motes. 2. ast 43 Heel Eh3t 44 fh2 Hest! ‘This is more precise than 44...xcl+ 45 Exel £06 46 4 Exh2 47 Be8+ f7 48 exh? xfs 49. deh3, after which White would still have chances of a owindle. 45 Os hes 46 Exba Or 46 Eel Sixel 47 Hxel $06 and Black wins, 46m axbd 47 a6 3 Another subtlety, demonstrat- ing the superiority of Black's position. On 48 Axe8 a decisive finish is 48..2 49 Bel BaSt, followed by ...Hal and ..b1W. 48 Hes b2 49 Hbs fest on 2 The Nimzowitsch (Winawer) Variation ‘Aron Nimzowitsch was born in Riga in 1886 and died in Co- Penhagen in 1935. Between 1925 and 1930 he was one of the world’s strongest players, his greatest success being his vietory at Karlsbad in 1929, a toumament of 22 masters in ich he finished 11 points front of Capahlanea and Spiel- ‘mann, An example of his skill is his ‘Immortal Zugzwang Game* (Simisch-Nimzowitsch, Copen- hhagen 1923), but Nimzowitsch will also remain immortal by virtue of the opening systems named after him: the Nimzo- Indian Defence and also the Nimzowitsch (Winawer) Varia- tion of the Freneh Defence. 164 6 2.d4.d5 3 Ded Seba 2) This system, characterized by the moves 3 4c3 Sab4, is un- doubtedly the most critical line in the French Defence. Grand- master Aron Nimzowitsch was the first to achieve notable suc- cess with this bishop manocu- vre. Owing to the pin of his night on c3, White has to react to the possibility of the capture 4...dxe4. Besides the main con- tinuation, 4 5, analysed in this chapter, “White also has. the mows 4 242, 4 03, 4 a3, 4 ®e2 and 4 exd5 to choose from. From this wealth of possible replica it is clear that there Is plenty of scope for variation, and that with every move totally different typee. of position may Of particular importance, however, is the advance 4 €5, a ‘move which does not allow any easing of tension in the centre. ‘The correct strategy for Black is to reply ..c3, putting pressure fon the pawn at 4, but the moves 4..b6 and 4..Wd7 are alse eneountered in tournament