FIDE-TRG - ACS 9-Exclusive Miniatures - Book

FIDE Trainers’ Commission
Advanced Chess School

Volume 9
Exclusive Miniatures
Adrian Mikhalchishin
Advanced Chess School - Volume 9 - Exclusive Miniatures - Adrian Mikhalchishin 1
First Edition in Pdf - 2017
English Copyright © FIDE 2017 (office@fide.com - www.fide.com)
Copyright © Adrian Mikhalchishin 2015 (gmadrian@yahoo.com)
The rights of Adrian Mikhalchishin to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted
in accordance with the International Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.
All rights reserved. This book is distributed for free to FIDE certified and licenced trainers, subject
to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, sold, hired out or otherwise
circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a
similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent owner.
Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty: FIDE makes no representation or warranties with
respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaims any
implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and shall in no event be
liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special,
incidental, consequential, or other damages.
ISBN-13: 978-618-81200-9-9
ISSN-13: 978-618-81200-2-0
Cover by Efstathia Saltamara
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Commissioning Editor: Efstratios Grivas (www.GrivasChess.com)

English Proofer: Andrew Burnett
Contents
Title-Description …………………………………………………………………………………… 1
Colophon …………………..……………………………………………………………………….. 2
Contents ……………………………………..…………………………………………….............. 3
Index of Games ..…………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Foreword - FIDE Presidential Board .…………….……...……………………………………. 4
Symbols ………………………………………………………………………..…………............... 4
Concept ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
CV - Adrian Mikhalchishin .……………………………………………………………………… 50
Index of Games
When a player’s name appears in bold, that player had White. Otherwise the first-named player
had White. A total of 36 games are analysed and presented in this book.
Aronin Lev - Zheliandinov 11 Munguntuul Batkhuyag - Zhang 41

Barczay Laszlo - Bronstein 30 Nataf Igor - Volokitin 39
Beliavsky Alexander - Karpov 13 Neubauer Martin - Beliavsky 37
Beliavsky Alexander - Kramnik 29 Onischuk Alexander - Volokitin 28
Beliavsky Alexander - Larsen 16 Pachman Ludek - Petrosian 32
Beliavsky Alexander - Neubauer 37 Petrosian Tigran - Pachman 32
Beliavsky Alexander - Salem 12 Petrosian Tigran - Taimanov 45
Beliavsky Alexander - Seirawan 36 Pirc Vasja - Lasker 27
Beliavsky Alexander - Smyslov 35 Planinc Albin - Kupreichik 31
Borisek Jure - Vukic 22 Planinc Albin - Vaganian 9
Bronstein David - Barczay 30 Portisch Lajos - Stein 14
Carlsen Magnus - Radjabov 17 Radjabov Teimur - Carslen 17
Csom Istvan - Mikhalchishin 20 Rapport Richard - Medvegy 38
Donner Jan Hein - Liu 33 Romanishin Oleg - Dorfman 8
Dorfman Iosif - Romanishin 8 Romanishin Oleg - Ivanchuk 42
Dzagnidze Nana - Stefanova 7 Romanishin Oleg - Kupreichik 26
Gulko Boris - Mikhalchishin 21 Salem AR Saleh - Beliavsky 12
Iakymov Volodymyr - Volokitin 43 Seirawan Yasser - Beliavsky 36
Ivanchuk Vassily - Romanishin 42 Shcherbakov Ruslan - Sveshnikov 19
Karpatchev Aleksandr - Malaniuk 48 Smyslov Vassily - Beliavsky 35
Karpov Anatoly - Beliavsky 13 Sokolov Ivan - Vallejo 46
Kholmov Ratmir - Mikhalchishin 24 Spassky Boris - Larsen 5
Kozul Zdenko - Volokitin 23 Stefanova Antoaneta - Dzagnidze 7
Kramnik Vladimir - Beliavsky 29 Stein Leonid - Portisch 14
Kupreichik Viktor - Planinc 31 Sveshnikov Evgeny - Shcherbakov 19
Kupreichik Viktor - Romanishin 26 Taimanov Mark - Petrosian 45
Larsen Bent - Beliavsky 16 Ulybin Mikhail - Mikhalchishin 10
Larsen Bent - Spassky 5 Vaganian Rafael - Planinc 9
Lasker Emanuel - Pirc 27 Vallejo Pons Francisco - Sokolov 46
Liu Wenzhe - Donner 33 Volokitin Andrei - Iakymov 43
Malaniuk Vladimir - Karpatchev 48 Volokitin Andrei - Kozul 23
Medvegy Zoltan - Rapport 38 Volokitin Andrei - Nataf 39
Mikhalchishin Adrian - Csom 20 Volokitin Andrei - Onischuk 28
Mikhalchishin Adrian - Gulko 21 Vukic Milan - Borisek 22
Mikhalchishin Adrian - Kholmov 24 Zhang Xiaowen - Munguntuul 41
Mikhalchishin Adrian - Ulybin 10 Zheliandinov Viktor - Aronin 11
Foreword
FIDE Presidential Board
Chess has existed as a sport played at a competitive level for centuries. The common code
governing the Laws of Chess is relatively recent, and the foundation of Fédération Internationale
des Échecs (FIDE), in Paris in 1924, is even more modern. FIDE currently has 186 member
federations spread across all continents. Titles for players were introduced by FIDE in 1950, and
titles for Arbiters and Organizers followed. From 2005 we moved to a new phase, with titles for
Trainers.
Chess is on the increase in schools across the world. It is part of the mainstream curriculum in
many countries. It is a goal of FIDE to make chess an educational tool, and generate worldwide
popularity for the game. Examples of the many educational advantages of chess are: it shows the
need to make people realize the importance of advance planning; develops analytic and accurate
thinking; shows the necessity for a combative spirit; teaches fair play and emphasizes the need for
preparation and hard work for success. However, with the increasing population of chess players,
comes the need for trainers to assist with their development.
This is a new concept of the ever-active FIDE Trainers’ Commission. This series is dedicated to
advanced subjects, consisting of 80-page books. We hope that we will be able to deliver 3-4 such
books annually, increasing the level and the education of our trainers worldwide. This series will
provide excellent manuals for trainers and fulfils a considerable need in modern chess literature,
concentrating on the technical side of the game, but also covering various other topics and
providing information. The best trainers will contribute to this series, which will be an essential
tool in the preparation of trainers at all levels for the future. It will ensure that the next generation
of players will be at a great advantage over those that have gone before.
Symbols
+ check = equal position
++ double check oo unclear position
# checkmate oo/= with compensation
!! brilliant move =+ Black is slightly better
! good move -/+ Black has a large advantage
!? interesting move -+ Black is winning
?! dubious move 1-0 the game ends in a win for White
? bad move ½-½ the game ends in a draw
?? blunder 0-1 the game ends in a win for Black
+- White is winning (D) see next diagram
+/- White has a large advantage ○ White to play
+= White is slightly better ● Black to play
Exclusive Miniatures
Concept 13.Bxe5 Bf6 14.Rf3 Qe7? (14...Bxe5 15.
Miniature is considered to be a short game fxe5 f5! =) 15.Raf1 a5 16.Rg3 Bxe5 17.fxe5
in which one of the sides committed serious f5 (17...g6 18.Rf6! +-) 18.exf6 Rxf6 (D)
mistake(s). XABCDEFGHY
But such mistakes are extremely
instructive as we study the correct handling 8-+r+-+k+(
of the opening - not just from the best
examples, but from the mistakes first of all!
7+p+-wq-zpp'
There is nothing strange in the knowledge 6-+l+ptr-+&
that the world’s top players commit the same
mistakes as much weaker players - but not 5zp-zpp+-+-%
so frequently of course. 4-+-+-+Q+$
All these mistakes are very typical and
instructive, so it is useful to see which 3+P+PzP-tR-#
mistakes are committed frequently, what the 2P+PsN-+PzP"
reasons are and how to avoid them.
Of course, the main principles in openings 1+-+-+RmK-!
are clear and known - development, castling
and fighting for the centre. But many
xabcdefghy
mistakes are committed because even top 19.Qxg7+! Qxg7 20.Rxf6 Qxg3 21.hxg3
players break the rules: trying to perform Fischer,R-Mecking,H, Palma de Mallorca
something very concrete and smart, such as 1970 and Fischer produced practically a
a premature attack, winning a poisoned, miniature, as winning this position was quite
pawn or not caring about his/her own king. an easy task for him.
Let’s see some examples and try to 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nf3
remember the mistakes and avoid them, 4.e3 was preferred by B.Fischer, with the
simply by following the rules! idea to play a reversed ‘Sicilian Defence’.
In our first example we meet the case of a The move in the game reminds one of a
very risky opening strategy, which aims to reversed ‘Alekhine Defence’, which was
leave official opening theory, hoping that the also played by Larsen with Black.
opponent will not be so strong outside of the 4...e4 5.Nd4 Bc5 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.e3 Bf5
theoretical field. But in most cases it is a 8.Qc2 Qe7 (D)
serious mistake - if the opponent follows the XABCDEFGHY
principles of the central strategy.
8r+-+k+-tr(
□ Larsen Bent
■ Spassky Boris 7zppzp-wqpzpp'
A01 Belgrade 1970
1.b3
6-+p+-sn-+&
Every great player has some 'petty' sidelines 5+-vl-+l+-%
in their opening repertoire, so he can use it 4-+P+p+-+$
to avoid preparation in some sharp lines.
This first move was favoured by such greats 3+P+-zP-+-#
as Nimzowitsch and Fischer!
1...e5 2PvLQzP-zPPzP"
1...d5 2.Bb2 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Bb5 1tRN+-mKL+R!
Bd7 6.0-0 e6 7.d3 Be7 8.Bxc6! Bxc6 9.Ne5
Rc8 10.Nd2 0-0 11.f4 Nd7 12.Qg4 Nxe5 xabcdefghy
9.Be2? One of the most beautiful moves seen at the
It was necessary to try to exchange pieces top level of chess.
here, as White's structure can be a serious 13.hxg4
advantage in the endgame: 9.d4 exd3 Slightly better was the other capture
10.Bxd3 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Rd8 12.Qc2 0-0 13.Bxg4 Bxg4 14.hxg4 hxg3 15.Rg1 (D)
13.0-0 Ng4 14.Qe2 Qg5 15.Ba3. XABCDEFGHY
9...0-0-0 (D)
XABCDEFGHY 8-+ktr-+-tr(
8-+ktr-+-tr( 7zppzp-wqpzp-'
7zppzp-wqpzpp' 6-+p+-+-+&
6-+p+-sn-+& 5+-vl-+-+-%
5+-vl-+l+-% 4-+P+pzPP+$
4-+P+p+-+$ 3+P+-zP-zp-#
3+P+-zP-+-# 2PvLQzP-+-+"
2PvLQzPLzPPzP" 1tRN+-mK-tR-!
1tRN+-mK-+R! xabcdefghy
15...Rh1! (a fantastic idea, which was
xabcdefghy working in a few different variations)
10.f4? 16.Rxh1 g2 17.Rg1 Qh4+ 18.Ke2 Qxg4+
B.Larsen continues with his faulty plan, but 19.Ke1 Qg3+ 20.Kd1 (20.Ke2 Qf3+ 21.Ke1
much more logical was to start play on the Be7 -+) 20...Qf2 21.Qxe4 Qxg1+ 22.Kc2
queenside with 10.a3 h5 11.b4. Qf2 -+.
10...Ng4! 11.g3 h5 13...hxg3 14.Rg1 (D)
Spassky considered an interesting rook XABCDEFGHY
sacrifice, but it is too risky, e.g. 11...Rxd2
12.Nx2 Nxe3 13.Qc3 Rd8 oo/=. 8-+ktr-+-tr(
12.h3 (D) 7zppzp-wqpzp-'
After 12.Nc3 the dream sacrifice would
work: 12...Rxd2! -+. 6-+p+-+-+&
XABCDEFGHY 5+-vl-+l+-%
8-+ktr-+-tr( 4-+P+pzPP+$
7zppzp-wqpzp-' 3+P+-zP-zp-#
6-+p+-+-+& 2PvLQzPL+-+"
5+-vl-+l+p% 1tRN+-mK-tR-!
4-+P+pzPn+$ xabcdefghy
3+P+-zP-zPP# 14...Rh1!!
This tactic is unusual and of course the main
2PvLQzPL+-+" idea is to promote the g-pawn in
1tRN+-mK-+R! combination with an attack on the king.
15.Rxh1 g2 16.Rf1
xabcdefghy Little would have been changed by 16.Rg1
12...h4! Qh4+ 17.Kd1 Qh1 18.Qc3 Qxg1+ 19.Kc2

Qf2 20.gxf5 Qxe2 21.Na3 Qd3+ (21...Bb4 - long castling next, which would be even
+) 22.Qxd3 exd3+ 23.Kc3 a5 (23...Bxe3 better than in the game.
24.dxe3 d2 25.Rd1 Rh8 -+) 24.Nc2! 8.h3 Bh5
16...Qh4+ 17.Kd1 gxf1Q+ It is always a pity to give up the strong
And White resigned as he is mated in two bishop: 8...Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Bc5 but in this
moves. instance Black would retain a very strong
0-1 centre.
9.g4
□ Stefanova Antoaneta An interesting game Wahls,M-Nyback,T
■ Dzagnidze Nana Germany 2004 continued 9.d3 Bc5 10.g4
A13 Doha 2011 dxe3 11.Bxe3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 Bg6 13.d4 Qe7
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.b3 14.d5 Nb4 15.Nh4 Bd3 16.Nf5 Qc5
A.Stefanova usually plays here the solid and 17.Nxg7+ Kf8 18.Qf3 Bxf1 19.Ne6+ fxe6
classical central strategy with 4.d4 but it 20.Qxf6+ Kg8 21.Qxe6+ Kf8 and here
allows Black so many different choices. So, White opted to give the perpetual check.
her decision is to aim for a less-ambitious 9...Bg6 10.exd4 e4! 11.Nh4
opening strategy. Also after 11.Re1!? Nxd4 Black has good
4...d4!? chances. 12.Bb2 Bc5 13.Nxd4 Bxd4
It is always necessary to occupy the centre if 14.Bxd4 Qxd4 15.Nc3 h6 16.Qe2 0-0-0
the opponent doesn't do it himself. 17.Rad1 Rhe8 but it looks a bit better than
5.e3 the position from the game from White's
White can delay this move: 5.Bg2 and if viewpoint.
5...Nc6 6.0-0 e5 7.d3 Nd7 (7...Be7 allows 11...Qxd4 12.Nc3 0-0-0
8.b4 Bxb4 9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.Qa4+) 8.e3 Be7 Black develops powerfully in the centre.
9.exd4 exd4 10.Bb2 Nc5 but not every 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.g5 Nh5
player dreams of playing some reversed Also possible was 14...Nd7 15.Qg4 Rh5
openings - here White plays as though she 16.Re1 Bc5.
was Black. 15.Rb1
5...Nc6! 6.Bg2 e5 7.0-0 (D) If 15.Qg4+ Kb8 16.Qxe4 Nf4 17.Qxd4
Bad for White is 7.exd4? e4! 8.Ng5 Qxd4 Nxd4 with terrifying black centralisation.
9.Nc3 Bg4 Cox,J-Adams,M England 2009. 15...Kb8
XABCDEFGHY Sharper than 15...Qd7 16.Qg4 Qxg4 17.hxg4
Nf4 18.d4 Bd6 19.d5 Nd4 which promised
8r+lwqkvl-tr( Black better chances also.
16.Bb2 Nf4 (D)
7zppzp-+pzpp'
6-+n+-sn-+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-+-zp-+-% 8-mk-tr-vl-tr(
4-+Pzp-+-+$ 7zppzp-+pzp-'
3+P+-zPNzP-# 6-+n+-+p+&
2P+-zP-zPLzP" 5+-+-+-zP-%
1tRNvLQ+RmK-! 4-+Pwqpsn-+$
xabcdefghy 3+PsN-+-+P#
7...Bg4 2PvL-zP-zPL+"
It was possible to immediately change the 1+R+Q+RmK-!
pawn structure in the centre with 7...e4
8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.exd4 Qxd4 10.Nc3 Bf5 with xabcdefghy
17.Nd5?! promise Black a rosy life at all.
After 17.Qg4 Black could have played 6...Ne5 7.Be2 Nxf3+ (D)
17...Nxg2!? (Less clear is 17...Nxh3+ XABCDEFGHY
18.Bxh3 Ne5 19.Qxe4 Rxh3 20.Qxd4 Rxd4)
18.Kxg2 Ne5 19.Qxe4 Qd7 20.Rh1 Nd3 8r+-wqk+ntr(
with a very strong initiative for the pawn.
17...Rxd5!
7zppzp-zppvlp'
White possibly expected that Black would 6-+-zp-+p+&
go for 17...Nxh3+?! 18.Bxh3 Qd3.
18.Bxd4? 5+-+P+-+-%
Black is better after both 18.Qg4 Rxg5 4-+-+P+l+$
19.Qxg5 Qd6 -/+ and 18.cxd5 Qxd5 -/+ but
the text loses immediately. 3+-sN-vLn+-#
18...Rxg5! (D) 2PzPP+LzPPzP"
XABCDEFGHY 1tR-+QmK-+R!
8-mk-+-vl-tr( xabcdefghy
7zppzp-+pzp-' 8.gxf3
6-+n+-+p+& 8.Bxf3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Nf6 10.0-0-0 0-0
11.Bd4 would be a much safer decision, but
5+-+-+-tr-% White demonstrates his aggressive
4-+PvLpsn-+$ intentions also.
8...Bh5
3+P+-+-+P# 8...Bd7 9.Bd4 Nf6 10.f4 c5 11.dxc6 Bxc6
would lead to a very unclear game. The
2P+-zP-zPL+" move played by O.Romanishin is very risky,
1+R+Q+RmK-! but risk sometimes bears fruits!
9.Bb5+ Kf8 10.0-0 e6 11.dxe6
xabcdefghy 11.Be2 immediately was safer, but who
Suddenly White has no adequate defence thinks about such moves?
against the mating attack, so she resigned: 11...fxe6 12.Be2 Qh4 (D)
19.Qg4 Rxg4 20.hxg4 Ne2 #. XABCDEFGHY
0-1
But of course there are cases when one of
8r+-+-mkntr(
the top players underestimate his/her 7zppzp-+-vlp'
opponent’s originality in the opening and
played carelessly, discounting their
6-+-zpp+p+&
opponent’s unusual tactical ideas a bit too 5+-+-+-+l%
much.
4-+-+P+-wq$
□ Dorfman Iosif
■ Romanishin Oleg 3+-sN-vLP+-#
B06 Cienfuegos 1977 2PzPP+LzP-zP"
1.Nf3 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Nc3 Bg4
Black's strategy shows very aggressive 1tR-+Q+RmK-!
intentions, aiming to attack White's centre
immediately.
xabcdefghy
5.Be3 Nc6 6.d5 13.Kh1?
6.Bb5 a6 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.h3 Bd7 9.Qd2 was 13.f4 would make the king's position safer.
the correct course of play, which does not 13...Bxf3+!

Blocking White’s firebrigade (the pawn f2) 9.e3 Nc6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Be2 Bf5 12.0-0
and creating a fantastic, but typical, mating d4 allowed Black to equalise immediately,
construction. but R.Vaganian tries to fight for the centre,
14.Bxf3 Be5 forgetting about his problems with the
0-1 development of the king's flank.
9...h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.cxd5 exd5
The following games involve a
12.Qxd5?!
materialistic approach in the opening.
Materialism in chess is a risky business
We all know that it is wrong, but we
sometimes. Much safer was development of
believe that if (let’s say) White has an extra
the bishop after 12.e3 = but White believes
tempo then it is possible to allow sometimes
that he can get the advantage…
some loss of the tempo to win some
12...Rd8 (D)
material.
But such an approach is often punished XABCDEFGHY
severely and typically with mating attacks. 8rsnltr-+k+(
□ Vaganian Rafael
■ Planinc Albin
7zpp+-+pzp-'
A32 Hastings 1974 6-+-+-wq-zp&
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6
5.Nc3 Bb4 5+-+Q+-+-%
This popular variation appears from the 4-+-+-+-+$
‘Nimzo-Indian Defence’ or the ‘English
Opening’. Theory deals mainly with 6.g3 3zP-sN-+-+-#
and in modern chess this variation has been 2-zP-+PzPPzP"
played by such top players as Kasparov and
Kramnik. 1tR-+-mKL+R!
6.Ndb5?!
This move aims at an exploitation of the
xabcdefghy
weaknesses of the dark squares, but White 13.Qf3?
will face problems with his development. A different retreat (13.Qb3) was more
6...0-0 7.a3 logical as it was closer to the weak b2-pawn,
Another option looks more dynamic: 7.Bf4 but the move in the game intends to win a
d5 8.e3 Nc6 9.a3. tempo, speculating on a queen exchange.
7...Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 d5 (D) 13...Qb6!
Retreat with an attack - a sign of all the top
XABCDEFGHY attackers!
8rsnlwq-trk+( 14.Rd1 Rxd1+ 15.Nxd1 Nc6 16.Qe3
This is a very risky strategy (better was
7zpp+-+pzpp' simply to develop) but a sample variation
6-+-+psn-+& shows that Black would have sufficient
compensation for the pawn regardless: 16.e3
5+-+p+-+-% Be6 17.Qe2 a6 18.Qd2 Rd8 19.Qc3 Na5
4-+P+-+-+$ 20.Be2 Nb3 21.0-0 Rc8.
16...Nd4!?
3zP-sN-+-+-# A.Planinc has to play riskily, as other
options to obtain positional compensation
2-zP-+PzPPzP" for the pawn would not be so easy for him:
1tR-vLQmKL+R! 16...Qd8 17.Nc3 Be6 18.Qc1 Rc8 19.e3 Ne5
20.Be2 Nd3+ 21.Bxd3 Qxd3 22.Qd2 Qa6
xabcdefghy 23.f3 and the king is ready to complete
9.Bg5 artificial castling.
17.Qe8+ Kh7 18.e3 Nc2+ 19.Kd2 (D) 23.Qxc7 Nb3 # 0-1
XABCDEFGHY □ Mikhalchishin Adrian
8r+l+Q+-+( ■ Ulybin Mikhail
E01 Uzhgorod 1988
7zpp+-+pzpk' 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.g3
6-wq-+-+-zp& d5 6.Bg2 e5 7.Nc2
The main line here is 7.Nf3 d4 8.0-0 Nc6
5+-+-+-+-% 9.e3 but there was one old and extremely
4-+-+-+-+$ interesting piece of analysis from the famous
trainer Igor Bondarevsky which claimed a
3zP-+-zP-+-# white advantage.
2-zPnmK-zPPzP" 7...d4 8.f4 Nc6 9.Bxc6+
White wins a pawn but creates some
1+-+N+L+R! weaknesses in his position, plus Black has
the bishop pair. So, it is not easy to be
xabcdefghy objective here…
19...Bf5!! 9...bxc6 10.fxe5 Qa5+ 11.Qd2 Qxe5
The only chance to continue the attack - it is 12.Qxd4 (D)
necessary to play for initiative with this rook
offer - but Black will lack additional XABCDEFGHY
firepower in his attack. 8r+l+kvl-tr(
20.Qxa8 Qd6+ 21.Kc1 Na1! (D)
XABCDEFGHY 7zp-+-+pzpp'
8Q+-+-+-+( 6-+p+-sn-+&
7zpp+-+pzpk' 5+-+-wq-+-%
6-+-wq-+-zp& 4-+PwQ-+-+$
5+-+-+l+-% 3+-+-+-zP-#
4-+-+-+-+$ 2PzPN+P+-zP"
3zP-+-zP-+-# 1tRNvL-mK-+R!
2-zP-+-zPPzP" xabcdefghy
12...Qh5
1sn-mKN+L+R! Here the great Svetozar Gligoric played
against your author 12...Qf5!? 13.Qd3 Qxd3
xabcdefghy 14.exd3 Bh3 with compensation for the
Creating a beautiful mating threat and White pawn.
now cracked under the huge pressure! 13.Qe3+!
22.Qxb7? With this check White destroys the co-
The only defence was 22.Bc4 Qc5 23.Nc3 ordination of his opponent's pieces.
(not 23.b3 Nxb3+ -+) 23...Qxc4 24.Qd8 13...Be6
Nb3+ 25.Kd1 Qg4+ 26.Ne2 Qxg2 27.Rg1 Bad is 13...Be7 14.Qf3 Qc5 15.b3!
Qe4 28.Ke1 Nc5 29.Nc3 Qc2 30.Qd2 Nd3+ 14.b3
31.Ke2 Bg4+! 32.Rxg4 Nc1+ 33.Ke1 Nd3+ White's plan is to exchange dark-squared
and Black can only perform a perpetual. bishops. Wrong was the forcing line 14.Nd4
22...Qc7+!! Bc5! 15.Nxe6 Bxe3 16.Nxg7+ Ke7 17.Nxh5
With this queen sacrifice A.Planinc forces a Bxc1 18.Nxf6 Bxb2 19.Ne4 Bxa1 -/+.
beautiful mating picture. 14...Bd6! (D)
The plan would work after 14...Bc5 15.Qf3 piece joins the action. Wrong was the
Qxf3 16.exf3 Bf5 17.Be3! +/-. natural 19...Qe5? 20.Qd5! Qxa1 21.Qxe4 +/-.
XABCDEFGHY 20.Be3
The logical rook move 20.Rf1 would be met
8r+-+k+-tr( by Mikhail Ulybin's long variation:
20...Rxf1+ 21.Kxf1 Nxg3+! 22.hxg3 Qxe2+
7zp-+-+pzpp' 23.Kg1 Qd1+ 24.Kg2 Re2+ 25.Kh3 Qf1+
6-+pvllsn-+& 26.Kg4 h5+! 27.Kg5 (27.Kh4 Rh2+ 28.Kg5
Qxc1+ 29.Kf5 Rf2+ 30.Ke5 Re2+ 31.Kd6
5+-+-+-+q% Qh6+ 32.Kd7 Re7+ -+) 27...Qxc1+ 28.Kxh5
4-+P+-+-+$ (28.Kf5 Qc2+! 29.Kf4 g5+! 30.Kxg5 Re5+ -
+) 28...Re5+ 29.Kg4 Qg5+ 30.Kh3 Qf5+
3+P+-wQ-zP-# 31.g4 Re3+ -+.
2P+N+P+-zP" 20...Qe5
This move decides matters, as Black starts to
1tRNvL-mK-+R! pick up material.
21.Bf4
xabcdefghy 21.Rf1 Nf6! -+.
15.Nd4? 21...Qxa1 22.0-0 Qxa2 23.Qa4 Qxe2
White halts his logical plan and opts to win 24.Qxa7 Ng5!
material instead. Such deviations from the 0-1
right track are the reason behind thousands
of losses! 15.Ba3 Bxa3 (15...Be5 16.Nd4) Sometimes players prefer to focus on their
16.Nbxa3 0-0 17.0-0-0 Rfe8!? 18.Qf4 Bg4 opponent’s king, forgetting about the safety
with unclear play. of their own!
15...0-0! □ Aronin Lev Solomonovich
15...Be5 16.Ba3. ■ Zheliandinov Viktor
16.Nxe6 fxe6! B08 Riga 1962
Not 16...Rfe8 17.Qg5. 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bg5
17.Qxe6+ Kh8 18.Qxd6 Ne4 19.Qxc6 (D) 0-0 6.Qd2 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.0-0-0
Every other retreat is met by an unpleasant Of course, it was much safer to exchange
move: 19.Qd4 Nxg3; 19.Qd3 Nf2; 19.Qc7 queens, but in this case it would be
Rac8. impossible for White to pretend he has any
XABCDEFGHY opening advantage: 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bd3.
8...Qa5 9.Bh6? (D)
8r+-+-tr-mk( XABCDEFGHY
7zp-+-+-zpp' 8rsnl+-trk+(
6-+Q+-+-+& 7zpp+-zppvlp'
5+-+-+-+q% 6-+-+-snpvL&
4-+P+n+-+$ 5wq-zp-+-+-%
3+P+-+-zP-# 4-+-+P+-+$
2P+-+P+-zP" 3+-sN-+N+-#
1tRNvL-mK-+R! 2PzPPwQ-zPPzP"
xabcdefghy 1+-mKR+L+R!
19...Rae8!!
Such moves are always powerful - the final xabcdefghy
The right strategy, but wrongly executed! caring about development and improvement
The correct way in such situations is the of the positions of his own pieces.
strategy to gain a space advantage, and then □ Salem AR Saleh
to eliminate the g7-bishop: 9.e5 Ng4 ■ Beliavsky Alexander
10.Bxe7 Bh6 11.Bg5 Bxg5 12.Nxg5 Nxe5 A86 Khanty Mansyisk 2010
13.f4 Nec6 14.Kb1 Bf5 15.Bd3. 1.d4 f5
9...Nxe4! In modern chess, the choice of the ‘Dutch
Now the white king will taste life in exile! Defence’ is an extremely aggressive
10.Nxe4 Qxa2 11.Qg5 approach.
Less costly would be to play two pawns 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.c4 Bg7 (D)
down, but with a safe king: 11.c3 Qa1+ XABCDEFGHY
12.Kc2 Qa4+ 13.Kc1 Qxe4.
11...Qxb2+ 12.Kd2 Qb4+ 13.Ke3 f5! 8rsnlwqk+-tr(
A continuation of the attack on the white
king from the other side.
7zppzppzp-vlp'
14.Ned2 f4+ 15.Ke2 (D) 6-+-+-snp+&
XABCDEFGHY 5+-+-+p+-%
8rsnl+-trk+( 4-+PzP-+-+$
7zpp+-zp-vlp' 3+-+-+-zP-#
6-+-+-+pvL& 2PzP-+PzPLzP"
5+-zp-+-wQ-% 1tRNvLQmK-sNR!
4-wq-+-zp-+$ xabcdefghy
3+-+-+N+-# 5.b4?!
Modern theory believes that this quick flank
2-+PsNKzPPzP" attack is the best answer to the ‘Leningrad’
1+-+R+L+R! variation. It is possible to delay it,
developing the knight to f3 first, but there
xabcdefghy have been many games played with this
15...Rf5! move order. A.Beliavsky himself did it with
Destroying the contact between his White, but nobody seems to have noticed
opponent's queen and bishop. until now that White loses a pawn!
16.c3 Qa4 5...Nc6
Also possible was 16...Qxc3 17.Qxe7 Bxh6 Otherwise the best plan was 5...Ne4. When I
18.Ne4 Qc4+ 19.Ke1 Qb4+. looked in the database at what else Black
17.Qxe7 Bxh6 18.Ne4 Nc6! had tried in this position, 5...d6?! 6.Bb2
Once more Black follows the rule that deve- Beliavsky,A-Mitrovic,B Murska Sobota
lopment is more important than material. 2007 was found.
19.Nf6+ Rxf6 20.Qxf6 Bf5! 6.Nc3
Continuing to add new power to the attack - Quite wrong would be 6.b5 Nxd4 7.Qxd4
now the a8-rook awaits its turn to enter the Nh5, winning not just a pawn, but
attack. additionally the exchange.
21.Ke1 Bg7 22.Qh4 Bxc3+ 23.Nd2 Re8+ 6...Nxb4 7.Rb1 Nc6 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0-0 d6
0-1 It looks unexpected, but White has quite
realistic compensation for the
In other cases, a material advantage sacrificed/blundered pawn. After all, the
obtained in the opening makes a player too semi-open b-file has some value!
relaxed and he stops thinking normally, not Another development plan was possible, but
it leads to a game without serious Black Also terrible for Black is 15...Bd7 16.Na4!?
counterchances in the centre: 9...b6 10.Bf4 Qc8 17.Nc5 and so on...
Bb7 11.Nb5 Ne8 The famous specialist on XABCDEFGHY
pawn sacrifices, GM Oleg Romanishin, once
explained - 'In most cases after a pawn 8r+l+r+k+(
sacrifice the balance of the position is
unchanged, but the player with the extra
7zppzp-+-vlp'
pawn feels an obligation to play for the win'. 6-+n+-wqp+&
And this is a grave mistake in an equal
position. 5+-+-zpp+-%
10.e3 e5 11.dxe5 Ng4 4-+P+-+-+$
11...dxe5 It was possible to open the
position, giving White a few tempi to launch 3vLQsN-zP-zP-#
an attack, but Black should still complete his 2P+-+-zPLzP"
development successfully: 12.Ba3 Re8
13.Nb5 e4 14.Ng5 Bd7 15.c5 Na5! 1+R+R+-mK-!
12.Ba3 Re8
After the capture with 12...Ncxe5 13.Nxe5
xabcdefghy
Bxe5 14.Ne2 Qe7 15.Qd2 Bg7 16.Nf4 16.Bd5+
White continues to play a pawn down, but But not 16.Nb5? Qf7 and now 17.Bd5 is
his free development guarantees good parried by 17...Be6.
counterchances. 16...Re6
13.Qb3 Ngxe5 14.Nxe5 (D) 16...Kh8 17.Nb5; 16...Be6 17.Qxb7 +-
17.Nb5 Ne7
XABCDEFGHY Of no help is 17...Qf7 18.Bxc6 bxc6
8r+lwqr+k+( 19.Rd8+ Re8 20.Rxe8+ Qxe8 21.Nxc7.
18.Bxe6+ Bxe6 19.Nxc7
7zppzp-+-vlp' A classical game to support one 'joke'
6-+nzp-+p+& theory. Once, the famous Grandmaster Mark
Taimanov was asked, 'Grandmaster, your
5+-+-sNp+-% pawn sacrifice looks very interesting?!' He
answered - 'At the moment I don't know if I
4-+P+-+-+$ sacrificed a pawn or I overlooked it!'
3vLQsN-zP-zP-# 1-0
2P+-+-zPLzP"
1+R+-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy
14...dxe5? In some cases the position in the centre
Even after the correct capture 14...Nxe5 looks very solid, but one of the players
('with a playable position') 15.c5+ Be6 underestimates the power of a flank attack
16.Qxb7 Nc4 17.Nb5 White would keep real by the central pieces.
pressure, thanks to his development.
However, in the game Black’s pieces start to □ Karpov Anatoly
feel as though they are in the middle of a ■ Beliavsky Alexander
busy street rather than the centre of a E05 Linares 1994
chessboard. The alternative 14...Bxe5?! 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2
15.c5+ is wrong as 15...Be6?! 16.Qxb7 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4
clearly favours White. Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qd3 c5 12.Nc3 (D)
15.Rfd1 Qf6 (D) Premature would be the exchange of the g5-
bishop, e.g. 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.e4 Bc6 14.e5 Qb6 18.a5.
Be7 and ...Nd7 =. 16.Rfd1 Nc5 17.Qc4
XABCDEFGHY The best place for the queen, and other
moves were not so strong, e.g. 17.Nf5?!
8rsn-wq-trk+( Nxd3 18.Nxd6 Nxb2 19.Rd2 Bxd6 20.Rxd6
Nc4; 17.Qc2 Qb6 18.a5 Qb4 +=.
7+p+-vlpzpp' 17...Rfd8 (D)
6p+-+psn-+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-zpl+-vL-% 8r+-tr-+k+(
4P+-zP-+-+$ 7+p+-vlpzpp'
3+-sNQ+NzP-# 6p+-wqpsn-+&
2-zP-+PzPLzP" 5+-sn-+-vL-%
1tR-+-+RmK-! 4P+QsN-+-zP$
xabcdefghy 3+-+-+-zP-#
This variation is considered to be one of the
most important opening tabiyas of the late 2-zP-+PzPL+"
20th century. Both A.Beliavsky and 1tR-+R+-mK-!
A.Karpov have played it in numerous
games, with extremely positive results. xabcdefghy
12...cxd4 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 (D) 18.b4! Nxa4
Better would be to try to exchange dark- The black knight is desperately seeking its
squared bishops with 13...Nxd5 14.Bxe7 best place. A very unpleasant position arises
Nxe7 (14...Qxe7) 15.Nxd4 +=. after the other knight retreat: 18...Nce4
XABCDEFGHY 19.Bxf6 Nxf6 (19...Bxf6?! 20.Bxe4 Bxd4
21.e3 Bxa1 22.Rxd6 Rxd6 23.Bxb7 +/-)
8rsn-+-trk+( 20.Bxb7 Rab8 21.Qxa6 Qxb4 22.Nb5 +/-.
19.Qb3! Qb6
7+p+-vlpzpp' Black could not effectively use the
6p+-+psn-+& dangerous weapon of the pin: 19...Qxb4
20.Qxb4 Bxb4 21.Rxa4 Bc3 22.Rc4 Bb2
5+-+q+-vL-% 23.Rd2, but now the knight is defenceless.
4P+-zp-+-+$ 20.e3
1-0
3+-+Q+NzP-#
2-zP-+PzPLzP"
1tR-+-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy
14.h4! Nbd7
A forcing line also promised some
advantage to White: 14...Nc6 15.Bxf6 Bxf6
16.Ng5 Qf5 17.Be4 Qa5 18.Bxc6 Bxg5 King safety is the most important thing
19.Bxb7 Ra7 20.Be4 +/-. and it is very dangerous to forget about it;
15.Nxd4 Qd6 overlooking special tactics by the opponent.
Serious problems with the b7-pawn would □ Stein Leonid
appear after 15...Qa5 16.Nb3! Qb4 17.Bd2 ■ Portisch Lajos
B42 Stockholm 1962 12...dxe5 13.Nh4 0-0 14.Nf5 (D)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 XABCDEFGHY
5.Bd3 Nf6
The modern attitude to this position is 8r+l+-trk+(
completely different: 5...Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7
7.Qe2 Nc6 8.Be3.
7+-wq-+pzpp'
6.0-0 Qc7 (D) 6p+p+-sn-+&
XABCDEFGHY 5+-vl-zpN+-%
8rsnl+kvl-tr( 4-+-+P+-+$
7+pwqp+pzpp' 3+-+L+-+-#
6p+-+psn-+& 2PzPP+-+PzP"
5+-+-+-+-% 1tR-vLQ+R+K!
4-+-sNP+-+$ xabcdefghy
3+-+L+-+-# 14...Be6
The opponent's strong pieces have to be
2PzPP+-zPPzP" destroyed, so 14...Bxf5 15.Rxf5 Rfd8
1tRNvLQ+RmK-! 16.Qf3 Ne8 with ...f6 next, creating a strong
defensive wall.
xabcdefghy 15.Qe2
7.Nd2 A bit shy. More direct was 15.Qf3.
Transposition to a hedgehog structure (7.c4) 15...a5 16.Bc4
was preferable, as White would fully control Another option would have kept a small
the centre in this case. The strategy with the advantage also, e.g. 16.Bg5 Ne8 17.Rad1
knight on d2 was developed by Kiev master Rb8 18.b3 Kh8 19.Bc4 Bxf5 20.exf5 h6.
Yury Sakharov. The idea is to wait for ...b5 16...Kh8 17.Bg5 Nd7
and to answer it with a4, creating some Black refrains from exchanging off the f5-
weaknesses on the queenside. knight forever, miss-evaluating the power of
7...Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 the attacking piece: 17...Bxf5 18.Rxf5 Ne8.
Less safe was 8...dxc6 9.f4 e5 10.Nc4 with 18.Rad1 Nb6? (D)
mounting pressure in the centre. Here was the final chance to play 18...Bxf5.
9.f4 Bc5+ XABCDEFGHY
A bit safer would be 9...d6 10.Qe2 Be7
11.e5 Nd5 12.c4 Nb4 13.Bb1 but here 8r+-+-tr-mk(
castling seems too dangerous.
10.Kh1 d6
7+-wq-+pzpp'
Active counterplay could be achieved after 6-snp+l+-+&
10...d5 11.e5 Nd7 12.Nb3 Bb6 13.c4 a5.
11.Nf3 5zp-vl-zpNvL-%
White could prepare e5 in a different way, 4-+L+P+-+$
with 11.Qe2.
11...e5 3+-+-+-+-#
Very risky - but still possible - was 11...Ng4 2PzPP+Q+PzP"
12.Qe2 Qa7 13.h3 Nf2+ 14.Kh2 a5.
12.fxe5 1+-+R+R+K!
The positional approach is less concrete than
the text move: 12.Qe1 0-0 13.fxe5 dxe5
xabcdefghy
14.Bg5 Nd7 15.Rd1. 19.Nxg7! Bxc4

Easily losing was 19...Kxg7 20.Bf6+ Kg8 XABCDEFGHY
21.Bxe6.
20.Bf6!! 8r+-wqk+-tr(
The key move of the combination, and one
which was overlooked by L.Portisch. The
7+p+nvlpzp-'
simple queen sacrifice is decisive. 6-+p+psn-zp&
20...Be7
20...Bxe2 21.Nf5+ Kg8 22.Nh6 #. 5+-+-sN-+P%
21.Qf3 4p+-zP-vL-+$
There is no defence against mate.
1-0 3+-+Q+-sN-#
2PzPP+-zPP+"
1+-mKRtR-+-!
xabcdefghy
15.Ng6!
A beautiful strike, but A.Beliavsky had
already used it once before in a similar
□ Beliavsky Alexander position against M.Tal.
■ Larsen Bent 15...Nd5
B19 Tilburg 1981 Wrong was 15...fxg6? 16.Qxg6+ Kf8
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 17.Rxe6 Qe8 18.Rde1 Qxg6 19.hxg6 Bb4
5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 (19...Nd5 20.Rxe7 Nxe7 21.Bd6 Re8 22.Nf5
9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Ngf6 11.Bf4 e6 12.0- +-) 20.c3 Nd5 (20...Ba5 21.Bd6+ Kg8
0-0 (D) 22.Nf5 +-) 21.Bd2 (21.Nh5 Be7) 21...Ba5
Here White can start with 12.Ne4. 22.c4 Bxd2+ 23.Kxd2 N5f6 24.Re7 +-.
XABCDEFGHY Continuation of the same incorrect strategy
was possible: 15...a3! 16.b3! The only
8r+-wqkvl-tr( correct decision; other moves were wrong,
e.g. 16.Nxh8 axb2+ 17.Kb1 (not 17.Kxb2
7zpp+n+pzp-' Ra3 18.Qxa3 Bxa3+ 19.Kxa3 Qa5+ 20.Kb2
6-+p+psn-zp& Nb6 -/+; 17.Kd2 Ra3 18.c3 Qa5 with an
attack for Black) 17...Ra3 18.Nxf7 Qa8
5+-+-+-+P% (18...Kxf7? 19.Qg6+ Kf8 20.Rxe6 winning)
4-+-zP-vL-+$ 19.Qg6 Nf8! 20.Nd6+ Kd7 21.Nc4 Qa6! -/+
or 16.Nf5 axb2+ 17.Kb1 Qa5 18.Nxg7+
3+-+Q+NsN-# Kd8 19.Qb3 fxg6 20.Nxe6+ Kc8 21.hxg6 oo
2PzPP+-zPP+" - 16...Nd5 (16...fxg6? 17.Qxg6+ Kf8
18.Rxe6 Qe8 19.Nf5! (19.Rde1 Qxg6
1+-mKR+-+R! 20.hxg6 Bb4) 19...Qxg6 (19...Nxh5
20.Qxe8+ Rxe8 21.Rxe7 Rxe7 22.Bd6 +/-)
xabcdefghy 20.hxg6 Bb4 21.c3 Nd5 (21...Bxc3 22.Bd6+
12...Be7 13.Ne5 a5 +/-) 22.cxb4 Nxf4 23.Re7 +/-) 17.Nf5 exf5
In typically aggressive Larsen style! Other 18.Nxe7 Nxe7 (18...Nxf4 19.Ng6+ Ne6
options were calmer: 13...0-0 or 13...Nd5 20.Nxh8 Qf6!? [20...Qg5+ 21.Kb1 Qxh5
14.Bd2 Bg5 15.Ne4 Bxd2+ 16.Qxd2 0-0 22.d5 +/-] 21.Qe3 f4 22.Qe4 Ndc5 23.Qe5
17.g4 +/-. Qxe5 24.Rxe5 Nd7 25.Rxe6+ fxe6 26.Ng6
14.Rhe1 a4? (D) f3 27.gxf3 +/-) 19.Bd6 Ne5 20.dxe5 0-0
Continuing the 'anti-central' strategy, but 21.e6 +/-.
castling was required. 16.Nf5! Bf8
16...exf5 17.Nxe7 Nxe7 18.Bd6 Ne5 4.0-0 Nge7 5.c3
19.dxe5 0-0 20.e6 +/-. 5.b3 and 5.Re1 were other serious options,
17.Bd6 Rg8 18.c4 Nb4 (D) but top guys like M.Carlsen prefer this
XABCDEFGHY central strategy.
5...a6 6.Ba4 b5
8r+-wqkvlr+( 6...c4 7.Qe2 b5 8.Bc2 Ng6 9.b3! would
prevent the building of White's powerful
7+p+n+pzp-' centre, but on the other hand would allow
6-+pvLp+Nzp& him to attack Black's queenside.
7.Bc2 Bb7
5+-+-+N+P% Counterplay in the centre leads to very
4psnPzP-+-+$ complicated situations: 7...d5 8.e5 d4 9.Be4
Nd5 10.d3 Bb7 11.c4 Nb6 12.Bf4 Be7
3+-+Q+-+-# 13.Nbd2 g5 14.Bg3 h5 15.h3 Qd7 16.Re1 0-
2PzP-+-zPP+" 0-0 17.cxb5 axb5 18.a4?! Nxa4 19.Nc4 bxc4
20.Rxa4 cxd3 21.Qxd3 Nb4 (Shirov,A-
1+-mKRtR-+-! Ivanchuk,V Tallinn 2006) and the situation
on the board is understandable only for such
xabcdefghy players as V.Ivanchuk and A.Shirov!
19.Qh3! 8.Qe2 d5
Other queen moves were also possible: In Linares they played 8...Ng6 9.d4 cxd4
19.Qf3 or 19.Qg3. 10.cxd4 Rc8 11.a3 Be7 12.Nc3 0-0 13.Rd1
19...fxg6 20.Rxe6+ Kf7 21.hxg6+ Kxe6 Na5 14.g3 Nc4 15.h4 Nxa3!? 16.bxa3
22.Re1+ Ne5 23.Bxe5 (16.Bb3!?) 16...Rxc3 17.h5 Qc7 18.Bd3 Nh8
Or 23.Rxe5+ Kd7 24.Nxg7+ Kxd6 25.c5+ 19.Bb2 (19.a4 =) 19...Rb3 20.Rac1 (20.Rdc1
Kc7 26.Ne6+ Kc8 27.Nxd8+. Qa5 21.Qc2 Rxd3 22.Qxd3 f5 23.Nd2 and
1-0 White kept his advantage) 20...Qa5 21.d5
A king in the centre is always a king in the Bxa3 22.Bxa3 Rxa3 23.Qe3 Carlsen,M-
centre – the non-castled king is in danger, Radjabov,T Linares, 2009. 8...g6 was a very
even when it looks as if everything is calm! logical continuation and might be the topic
of their future encounters. 8...c4 9.b3 d5
□ Carlsen Magnus 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.bxc4 Nf4 12.Qe3 Bd6 –
■ Radjabov Teimour leads to really complicated positions and
B30 Nanjing 2009 was Black's best choice.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5! 9.e5 d4 10.Be4 (D)
A correct decision by the young player, to
avoid the main lines in the ‘Sveshnikov
XABCDEFGHY
Sicilian’, T.Radjabov’s speciality. He also 8r+-wqkvl-tr(
saw that T.Radjabov's score here had not
been at all consistent. 7+l+-snpzpp'
3...e6
The main guru, Evgeny Sveshnikov,
6p+n+p+-+&
believes that this is the most ambitious 5+pzp-zP-+-%
approach for Black. The less-principled 4-+-zpL+-+$
3...d6 4.0-0 Bd7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.c3 a6 7.Bf1
Bg4 8.d3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 g6 10.Qd1 Bg7 3+-zP-+N+-#
11.Nd2 0-0 12.Nf3 Ng4 13.a3 Rc8 14.Rb1
Nge5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.Bg5 Qd7 17.Qd2 2PzP-zPQzPPzP"
Rfe8 18.Rbc1 b5 19.h3 Nc6 20.Be3 += led 1tRNvL-+RmK-!
to a more comfortable position for White in
Grischuk,A-Radjabov,T Moscow 2002. xabcdefghy
10...Qb6?! 19.Bg5 Rc8 20.Nfxd4 Nxb2
A new idea. Less logical here was 10...Ng6 20...h6 21.Be3 Qb7 22.f3 Nxe5 23.Qe2 Be7
11.cxd4 cxd4 12.d3 Be7 13.g3! 0-0 14.h4 24.Ra5 0-0 25.Rxb5 loses a pawn without
with unpleasant pressure on the kingside. any clear compensation.
10...Nd5 11.d3 dxc3 12.bxc3 Be7 13.c4 21.Qe2 Nc4 22.Rfc1 (D)
promises better chances to White also. XABCDEFGHY
11.d3
11.a4!? was possible, but M.Carlsen was 8-+r+kvl-tr(
born classical so he tends to develop first.
11...Rd8 12.a4 Nd5 13.axb5 axb5 14.cxd4
7+-+-+pzpp'
14.Bg5 Be7 15.Bxd5 Rxd5 16.Bxe7 Nxe7 6-wq-+p+-+&
17.Na3 Rd7 18.c4 b4 19.Nb5 0-0 promised
no advantage to White. 5+p+-zP-vL-%
14...cxd4 4-snnsNP+-+$
14...Nxd4 15.Nxd4 cxd4 16.Bg5 Rc8
17.Na3 Be7 18.Bxd5 Bxd5 19.Bxe7 Kxe7 3+N+-+-+-#
20.Qg4 would be too risky, as Black's king 2-+-+QzPPzP"
would be under fire. The variation 20...Rhd8
21.Qh4+ Ke8 22.Qxh7 b4 23.Nc4 Bxc4 1tR-tR-+-mK-!
24.dxc4 Rxc4 25.Qxg7 supports this
evaluation.
xabcdefghy
15.Nbd2 (D) 22...Bc5?
22...Be7 was the only developing move,
XABCDEFGHY after which White has two options: 23.Nxb5
8-+-trkvl-tr( Qxb5 24.Bxe7 Kxe7 25.Ra7+ Kf8 26.Ra5
Qb6 27.Rxc4 and 23.Be3.
7+l+-+pzpp' 23.Nxb5! 0-0?
6-wqn+p+-+& T.Radjabov's desire to castle is clear, but
unclear is why he had not seen his
5+p+nzP-+-% opponent's upcoming tactics. But even after
4-+-zpL+-+$ the best 23...Bxf2+ 24.Qxf2 Qxb5 25.Qe2 0-
0 26.Nd4 Qc5 27.Be3 White keeps a clear
3+-+P+N+-# advantage.
24.Nxc5 Nxe5
2-zP-sNQzPPzP" 24...Rxc5 25.Be7 Qxb5 26.Bxc5 Qxc5
1tR-vL-+RmK-! 27.Qxc4 was another way to resign.
25.Be7
xabcdefghy 1-0
15...Nf4?
15...Be7 completing development had to be
played. But T.Radjabov is an active player
himself and fights for the initiative. 16.Nb3
0-0 17.Bg5 was practically forced, with
slightly better chances for White.
16.Qd1 Nb4?!
16...Ng6 was much safer, but T.Radjabov
starts a mess with ideas other than safety.
17.Nb3 Bxe4 18.dxe4 Nfd3
18...Ng6 19.Nfxd4 Nxe5 20.Qh5 Nc4
21.Bg5 didn't solve the main problem-
development.
□ Sveshnikov Evgeny Too risky was 13...Ncxe5 14.Bxa8 Qxa8
■ Shcherbakov Ruslan 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.cxd4 cxd4 17.Nxb5 +/-
B30 1991 but on the other hand, the knight on a7 is not
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0-0 Nge7 5.c3 well placed.
a6 6.Ba4 b5 7.Bc2 d5 8.e5! (D) 14.Bxa8 Qxa8 15.Qb3 Qb7
XABCDEFGHY Very risky was 15...c4 16.Nxc4! bxc4
17.Qa4+ Kd8 18.Nxd4 +/- but now White
8r+lwqkvl-tr( wins a pawn.
16.cxd4 cxd4 17.Nxd4 Bxa3 18.bxa3 Nxe5
7+-+-snpzpp' 19.Bb2 Nc4 (D)
6p+n+p+-+& Black had no time to castle, e.g. 19...0-0
20.Nxe6 Nf3+ 21.gxf3 fxe6 22.Qxe6+ Kh8
5+pzppzP-+-% 23.Qe4 +-.
4-+-+-+-+$ XABCDEFGHY
3+-zP-+N+-# 8-+-+k+-tr(
2PzPLzP-zPPzP" 7snq+-+pzpp'
1tRNvLQ+RmK-! 6-+-+p+-+&
xabcdefghy 5+p+-+-+-%
The correct decision is to start looking at the 4-+nsN-+-+$
kingside. Not so ambitious was 8.exd5 Nxd5
9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 =. 3zPQ+-+-+-#
8...d4?!
A rather dubious move, which weakens the 2-vL-zP-zPPzP"
light squares. More logical was 8...Bb7 +=. 1+-+-+RmK-!
9.Be4 Bb7 (D)
XABCDEFGHY xabcdefghy
20.Qg3!
8r+-wqkvl-tr( Creating a battery attack on g7.
20...0-0
7+l+-snpzpp' A very nice variation might appear in the
6p+n+p+-+& case of the capture 20...Nxb2 21.Qxg7 Rf8
22.Nxe6.
5+pzp-zP-+-% 21.Bc3
4-+-zpL+-+$ Premature would be 21.Nf5? f6!
21...g6
3+-zP-+N+-# After 21...e5 22.Nf5 f6 23.d3 Nb6 24.Bb4
2PzP-zP-zPPzP" Rb8 25.Be7 White would cut Black's queen
from the defence.
1tRNvLQ+RmK-! 22.d3 Nb6 23.Qe5
The battery is prepared for action!
xabcdefghy 23...Nd7 (D)
10.a4! It was possible to destroy the battery only at
Keeping an eye on the possible weakness on the cost of a pawn - and a lost position - with
b5. 23...f6 24.Qxe6+ Kg7 25.Qd6 (threatening
10...Ng6 11.axb5 axb5 12.Rxa8 Bxa8 Ne6) 25...Re8 26.Ne6+ Kf7 27.Ng5+. But
More active was the other capture: now an extremely beautiful and quite
12...Qxa8!? effective combination follows, obviously
13.Na3 Na7 completely overlooked by Black!
XABCDEFGHY of premature maneuver, however, there is
just one question - does Black have enough
8-+-+-trk+( time to conduct such escapades? More
natural was development with 11...Bd7.
7snq+n+p+p' 12.e5!
6-+-+p+p+& 12.Qd3 was once tried against I.Csom here,
but without success.
5+p+-wQ-+-% 12...dxe5 13.fxe5 (D)
4-+-sN-+-+$ XABCDEFGHY
3zP-vLP+-+-# 8r+l+k+-tr(
2-+-+-zPPzP" 7+pwq-vlpzp-'
1+-+-+RmK-! 6p+-+psn-zp&
xabcdefghy 5sn-+-zP-+-%
24.Qg7+! 4-+-sN-+-+$
With this beautiful sacrifice the white bishop
and knight create a deadly combination. 3+-sN-vL-+-#
24...Kxg7 25.Nf5+ Kg8 26.Ne7 #
1-0 2PzPPwQL+PzP"
In some cases some players intentionally 1+-mKR+-+R!
apply risky opening strategies and the xabcdefghy
punishment is difficult to find. But when it is
13...Nd5?
found, then no home preparation will help!
Black had two serious options here, after
□ Mikhalchishin Adrian which White would have to play extremely
■ Csom Istvan aggressively and precisely: 13...Nd7 14.Nf5!
B66 Copenhagen 1980 exf5 15.Nd5 Qd8 (15...Qxe5 16.Bf4! Bg5
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 17.Bxg5 hxg5 (D)
5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 h6 XABCDEFGHY
9.Be3 Qc7 10.f4 Be7 11.Be2 Na5? (D)
XABCDEFGHY 8r+l+k+-tr(
8r+l+k+-tr( 7+p+n+pzp-'
7+pwq-vlpzp-' 6p+-+-+-+&
6p+-zppsn-zp& 5sn-+Nwqpzp-%
5sn-+-+-+-% 4-+-+-+-+$
4-+-sNPzP-+$ 3+-+-+-+-#
3+-sN-vL-+-# 2PzPPwQL+PzP"
2PzPPwQL+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R!
1+-mKR+-+R! xabcdefghy
18.Rhe1 0-0 19.Bf1 Qxh2 20.Ne7+ Kh7
xabcdefghy 21.Bd3 +-) 16.e6! fxe6 17.Bh5+ Kf8
A very aggressive approach, immediately 18.Nf4! +-. More principled was the capture
aiming at c4 and to exchange off the of the pawn: 13...Qxe5 14.Bf4 Qc5 15.Na4
lightsquared bishop. As always in such cases Qd5 16.Kb1! with serious threats such as

Nb6. □ Gulko Boris
14.Nxe6! Bxe6 ■ Mikhalchishin Adrian
A nice variation with a deflection at the end E04 Volgodonsk 1981
was 14...fxe6 15.Bh5+ Kd8 16.Nxd5 exd5 1.c4 e6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2
17.Qxd5+ Bd7 18.Bb6 +-. b5?!
15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.Qxd5 Rc8 (D) This is an extremely aggressive system in
XABCDEFGHY which Black wants to keep the pawn. But it
is not so simple, as White can obtain a
8-+r+k+-tr( strong centre plus an advantage in
development.
7+pwq-vlpzp-' 6.a4 c6 7.Ne5 Nd5 8.axb5 cxb5 9.Nc3 (D)
6p+-+-+-zp& XABCDEFGHY
5sn-+QzP-+-% 8rsnlwqkvl-tr(
4-+-+-+-+$ 7zp-+-+pzpp'
3+-+-vL-+-# 6-+-+p+-+&
2PzPP+L+PzP" 5+p+nsN-+-%
1+-mKR+-+R! 4-+pzP-+-+$
xabcdefghy 3+-sN-+-zP-#
17.c3 0-0 18.Bd3!
Black's king will never be safe - White again 2-zP-+PzPLzP"
prepares the classical battery of bishop and 1tR-vLQmK-+R!
queen.
18...Rfe8 19.e6 Bf8 20.exf7+ Qxf7 xabcdefghy
XABCDEFGHY 9...Bb4
I thought that this was a logical
8-+r+rvlk+( developing/attacking move and I made it
very quickly. Many years later black players
7+p+-+qzp-' found that it was necessary to fight against
6p+-+-+-zp& the main white piece - the powerful knight
on e5: 9...f6!? 10.Nf3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bb7
5sn-+Q+-+-% 12.0-0 Be7 13.Qc2 f5! with a slightly better
4-+-+-+-+$ position for Black, Ulybin,M-Kharlov,A St
Petersburg 1993.
3+-zPLvL-+-# 10.0-0 Bxc3 11.e4!
2PzP-+-+PzP" This is what Black overlooked - it was, of
course, only the automatic capture which
1+-mKR+-+R! was calculated: 11.bxc3 Nxc3 12.Qd2 Nd5
11...Ne7
xabcdefghy Here other captures have been tried, even at
21.Bh7+ the very highest GM level: 11...Bxd4
1-0 12.exd5 Bxe5 13.dxe6 +/-; 11...Nf4
12.Bxf4! (12.bxc3 Nxg2 13.Qg4 g6 14.Bh6
oo) 12...Bxb2 13.Rb1 Bxd4 14.Nxc4! bxc4
15.e5 +/-. The best chance here would be
11...Bxb2 12.exd5 Bxa1 13.Ba3 a5 14.Qg4
b4 15.Qxg7 Rf8 16.Rxa1 Ra6!? 17.Bc1 (D)
and now:
XABCDEFGHY 15.e5
Strange that such a simple attack was
8-snlwqktr-+( overlooked by Black. Now the material
problems mount.
7+-+-+pwQp' 15...Nc6 16.Bxc6+ Bd7 17.Bxa8 Qxa8
6r+-+p+-+& 18.Bh6!
Dynamic and much more exact than the
5zp-+PsN-+-% capture with 18.exf6 0-0 19.Bg5 a5 with
4-zppzP-+-+$ some imaginable counter-chances because
of the a5-pawn.
3+-+-+-zP-# 18...Kf7 19.exf6 a5
2-+-+-zPLzP" Of no help was 19...Kxf6 20.Ra6! adding
some new threats.
1tR-vL-+-mK-! 20.Bg7 a4 21.Bxh8 Qxh8 22.d5 e5
1-0
xabcdefghy
17...exd5?! (17...f6! 18.Nxc4 [18.Bf3?! Qe7; □ Borisek Jure
18.Qxh7?! fxe5; 18.Bh6?! Qe7 19.Qxe7+ ■ Vukic Milan
Kxe7 20.Bxf8+ Kxf8 21.Nxc4 a4!] 18...Rf7 B45 Ptuj 2010
19.Qh6 exd5 20.Ne3 Be6 21.Bf3 oo/=) 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
18.Bh6! Rxh6? (correct was 18...Qe7! 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 (D)
19.Re1 Be6! oo/= [19...f6? 20.Qxe7+ Kxe7
21.Ng6+ Kf7 22.Nxf8 Bb7 23.Bf3!])
XABCDEFGHY
19.Qxh6 Be6 20.Re1! Qe7 21.Nxc4! dxc4 8r+lwqkvl-tr(
22.d5 with a position which is very difficult
to defend as Black, but the evaluation can be 7zp-+p+pzpp'
given as unclear! (Balashov,Y-Beliavsky,A 6-+p+p+-+&
Kiev 1986).
12.bxc3 f6? 5+-+nzP-+-%
The text move is clearly dubious, and the
best try was definitely to solve the problem
4-+-+N+-+$
of the king in the centre: 12...0-0 13.Ba3 f6 3+-+-+-+-#
14.Nxc4! bxc4 15.e5 Nbc6 16.Bxe7 Qxe7
17.Bxc6 Bb7 18.exf6 Rxf6 19.Qa4 +/-. 2PzPP+-zPPzP"
13.Qh5+! g6 14.Nxg6 Nxg6 (D) 1tR-vLQmKL+R!
XABCDEFGHY xabcdefghy
8rsnlwqk+-tr( 8...Qc7
In this highly topical theoretical position
7zp-+-+-+p' Black has a few different possibilities, but
6-+-+pzpn+& the move in the game is the most popular:
8...f5 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.Nd6+ Bxd6 11.Qxd6
5+p+-+-+Q% Qb6 12.Bd3 c5 13.Bf4 Bb7 14.0-0 Rc8
4-+pzPP+-+$ 15.a4 Qxd6 16.Bxd6 Rc6 17.Be5 c4 18.Be2
0-0 19.Bf3 d5 20.Rfe1 1-0 Saenz
3+-zP-+-zP-# Narciso,M-Diaz Sanchez,J Villava 2009;
2-+-+-zPLzP" 8...Qa5+ 9.c3 Ba6 10.Be2 Bxe2 (10...f5)
11.Qxe2 f5 12.exf6 (12.Ng5? Nxc3)
1tR-vL-+RmK-! 12...Nxf6 13.0-0 (13.Nxf6+; 13.Bf4)
13...Be7 14.Rd1 Qe5 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Be3
xabcdefghy d5 17.Qa6 Qd6 18.b4 Qd7 19.Bc5!? +=.
9.f4 Qa5+ 18.g4!!
Here it is also possible to play without this White has the huge potential power of the
'smart' check, viz: 9...Qb6 10.Bd3 (10.c4 bishop pair and this opening of the position
Bb4+ 11.Ke2 f5 12.Nf2 Ba6 13.Kf3 Ne7 is worth much more than one pawn.
14.Be3 Bc5 15.Bxc5 Qxc5 16.Qd6 Qb6 18...Nxg4
17.b3 c5 18.Rd1 Rd8 19.Be2 Nc8 20.Qxb6 The other capture 18...fxg4, allows 19.Rhg1
Nxb6 21.Ke3 +/-) 10...Be7 11.Qe2 f5 oo. Rb8 20.Rxg4 Nxg4 21.Qxg4 Rf7 22.Qh5 +-.
10.Bd2 Qb6 11.Bd3 Be7 12.Qe2 a5 19.Rhg1 Bb7
And here it was possible to change the Of no real help was stubborn defence by
course of the game radically, switching to 19...h5 20.h3 Bb7 21.hxg4 hxg4 22.Bxg7!
the other flank with 12...f5 13.exf6 Nxf6 Bf3 (22...Kxg7 23.Bxf5 Kf7 24.Bg6+)
14.Bc3 (14.Ng5) 14...0-0 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 23.Qe5 Rf7 24.Rdf1 Rxg7 25.Rxf3 +-.
16.Bxf6 Rxf6 (16...gxf6) 17.0-0-0 d5 20.Rxg4!
18.Rhf1 Bd7 19.c4 Qc7 20.g3 Re8 21.Qc2 Another winning possibility was 20.Bxg7! +-.
Rh6 22.Rde1 Qa5 23.Kb1 += Palac,M- 20...fxg4 21.Qxg4 Rf7 22.Qh5 h6
Kuljasevic,D Zagreb 2004 and finally, 23.Bh7+!!
capturing such pawns is considered deadly - A beautiful tactical idea!
or at least very risky - but things are not 23...Kf8
clear at all after 12...Qxb2 13.0-0. 23...Kxh7 24.Qxf7 Rg8 25.Rg1.
13.c4 f5?! 24.Qg6!
Much more logical now would be play on There is no defence against Bg7 followed by
the other flank with 13...Nb4 14.Bc3 Ba6 Qf6 with mate.
15.Qd2 Nxd3+ 16.Qxd3 0-0 17.0-0-0 oo. 1-0
14.Nd6+
White decides to take the bishop pair and a □ Volokitin Andrei
strong pawn, but the other plan was not so ■ Kozul Zdenko
bad either: 14.exf6 Nxf6 15.Be3 Qb4+ B30 Portoroz 2001
16.Nc3 0-0 17.a3 Qb7 18.0-0 +=. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3
14...Bxd6 15.exd6 Nf6 The idea of this positional move is to avoid
15...Qxb2 16.Rb1 Qxa2 17.cxd5 Qxd5 18.0- the forced and complicated lines of the
0 Qxd6 19.Qe3 0-0 20.Bc3 +/-. ‘Sveshnikov’ variation.
16.Bc3 3...e5 4.Bc4 d6 5.d3 Be7 6.0-0 Be6?!
16.Bxf5 Qxb2 17.Rb1 Qxa2 18.0-0 Qa3 The other development with 6...Nf6 is more
19.Qe5. usual.
16...0-0 17.0-0-0 c5 (D) 7.Nd5! Nf6 8.Ng5! Bxd5 9.exd5 Nb8 (D)
XABCDEFGHY XABCDEFGHY
8r+l+-trk+( 8rsn-wqk+-tr(
7+-+p+-zpp' 7zpp+-vlpzpp'
6-wq-zPpsn-+& 6-+-zp-sn-+&
5zp-zp-+p+-% 5+-zpPzp-sN-%
4-+P+-zP-+$ 4-+L+-+-+$
3+-vLL+-+-# 3+-+P+-+-#
2PzP-+Q+PzP" 2PzPP+-zPPzP"
1+-mKR+-+R! 1tR-vLQ+RmK-!
xabcdefghy xabcdefghy
10.f4 It was possible to choose a positional path
Here White had a wide range of choices, all (14.Qf3 Qb6 15.Bb3 h6 16.Ne4), but young
of which were equally interesting: 10.Bb5+; players usually prefer concrete attacking
10.b4; 10.a4. solutions.
10...exf4?! 14...Kxf7 15.Qe6+ Kf8
Actually wrong would be the logical-looking The other king retreat leads to mate in five:
10...0-0?! 11.fxe5 dxe5 12.Qf3 Bd6 13.Qh3 15...Kg6? 16.d4 cxd4 17.Bd3+ Kh5 18.Qh3
+/-. It was better to try to keep the important #.
square e5 under control: 10...Nbd7! 11.Qf3 16.g4!
(11.fxe5 Nxe5 12.Bb5+ Ned7 13.Ne6 fxe6 It was also possible to attack differently by
14.dxe6 0-0 15.exd7 a6 16.Ba4 b5 17.Bb3+ 16.Re3 a6 17.Rg3 Ne5 18.Bxe5 dxe5 19.d6.
Kh8 =) 11...a6 12.a4 h6 13.Qh3 0-0 14.Nf3 16...a6
+=. 16...h6 leads to a lost opposite-coloured
11.Bxf4 0-0 bishop ending after 17.h4 Qc8 18.g5 Ne5
Other options were preferable, despite the 19.Bxe5 Qxe6 20.dxe6 dxe5 21.gxf6 Bxf6
fact that White would retain slightly better 22.Rxe5 Ke7 23.Ref5.
play, e.g. 11...h6 12.Nf3 a6 13.a4 Nbd7 17.g5 b5 (D)
14.Qe2 0-0 15.Nh4 +=; 11...a6 12.Qe2! b5 XABCDEFGHY
13.Bb3 0-0 14.a4 +=.
12.Qe2 Nbd7 8r+-wqrmk-+(
Wrong according to A.Volokitin would be
12...Re8? 13.Bb5 Nbd7 14.Nxf7! Kxf7
7+-+nvl-zpp'
15.Qe6+ Kf8 16.Bh6!! Ne5! (16...gxh6 6p+-zpQsn-+&
17.Bxd7 +-) 17.Bxe8 gxh6 18.Bh5 Kg7
19.Rae1 Kh8 (19...Nxh5 20.Rxe5 dxe5 5+pzpP+-zP-%
21.Rf7+ Kh8 22.Rxe7 Qg8 [22...Qf8 23.Rf7 4-+L+-vL-+$
Qe8 24.Qf5 Ng7 25.Qf6 Qg8 26.d6 +-]
23.Qxe5+ Ng7 24.d6 Rd8 25.d7 Qf8 26.g4 3+-+P+-+-#
+- ; 19...Qf8 20.c3! +/-) 20.Rxe5 dxe5 21.d6 2PzPP+-+-zP"
Qxd6 22.Qxd6 Bxd6 23.Rxf6 +/-. He prefers
12...h6 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Nd7 15.Rae1 1+-+-tRRmK-!
Re8 16.Qf3 a6 17.Bb3 Nf6 18.c4 b5 with
counterplay.
xabcdefghy
13.Rae1 Re8 (D) 18.Re3!
Also possible was the retreat 18.Bb3.
XABCDEFGHY 18...Ne5
8r+-wqr+k+( A.Volokitin had to calculate the forcing line
18...bxc4 19.gxf6! Nxf6 20.Bh6! Qc7
7zpp+nvlpzpp' 21.Rg3 Bd8 22.Rxf6+ Bxf6 23.Qxf6+ Qf7
6-+-zp-sn-+& 24.Bxg7+ Kg8 25.Bh6+ winning.
19.Bxe5 dxe5 20.g6!
5+-zpP+-sN-% The quickest route to mate.
4-+L+-vL-+$ 1-0
But there are cases when the opening
3+-+P+-+-# preparation of the opponent can be refuted.
2PzPP+Q+PzP" In such cases try to play logical developing
moves and the machine starts to work itself!
1+-+-tRRmK-!
□ Kholmov Ratmir
xabcdefghy ■ Mikhalchishin Adrian
14.Nxf7!? C42 Minsk 1985
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 powerful - to castle long and to start
5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bg4 pressure on the opponent's centre. Much
9.c3 f5 10.c4!? (D) weaker was the previously played 11...Bxf3?
The main theoretical line 10.Qb3 has been 12.gxf3 Qxd4 13.Qxd4 Nxd4 14.fxe4 Nc2
known for 100 years, but the experienced 15.Re2 Nxa1 16.exf5 0-0-0 17.Rxe7 Rd1+
GM had prepared some even older idea! 18.Kg2 Rxc1 19.Nc3 +/-.
XABCDEFGHY 12.Nc3 0-0-0!
Once more premature was the tactical
8r+-wqk+-tr( operation with 12...Bxf3 13.gxf3 Nxf2
14.Qe2! (14.Kxf2 Qxh2+ 15.Kf1 0-0-0
7zppzp-vl-zpp' 16.Be3 Bh4 -/+) 14...Nh3+ 15.Kg2 Nf4+
6-+n+-+-+& 16.Bxf4 Qxf4 17.Nd5 (17.Bb5 Kf8! oo)
17...Qg5+ 18.Kh1 Kd8 19.Rg1 Qh4 20.Rxg7
5+-+p+p+-% +/-.
4-+PzPn+l+$ 13.Nxe4
There were other options; 13.Nb5 Qb4 14.b3
3+-+L+N+-# a6! (14...Nxd4 15.Nbxd4 Bxf3 16.gxf3
2PzP-+-zPPzP" Rxd4 17.Qe2! Ng5! =+) 15.Ba3 Qa5 -/+ but
better would be to try to hold his centre with
1tRNvLQtR-mK-! 13.Be3 Qg6 (13...Bf6 14.Nd5) 14.Be2 oo.
13...fxe4 14.Rxe4 Qg6! (D)
xabcdefghy Every move has to create some new threat -
10...dxc4! it's the modern way! Possible was the simple
Earlier games went 10...Bh4!? 11.cxd5 14...h5 15.h3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Nxd4 oo.
Bxf2+ 12.Kf1 Bxe1 13.dxc6 Bxf3 14.Qxf3
oo/= but the final position was not to my
XABCDEFGHY
taste. 8-+ktr-+-tr(
11.Bxc4 (D)
11.Bxe4 fxe4 12.Rxe4 Qd7 with long 7zppzp-vl-zpp'
castling next just leads to huge White 6-+n+-+q+&
problems.
XABCDEFGHY 5+-+-+-+-%
8r+-wqk+-tr( 4-+LzPR+l+$
7zppzp-vl-zpp' 3+-+-+N+-#
6-+n+-+-+& 2PzP-+-zPPzP"
5+-+-+p+-% 1tR-vLQ+-mK-!
4-+LzPn+l+$ xabcdefghy
15.Rf4?
3+-+-+N+-# The only chance was 15.Bd3 Bf5 16.Ne5
2PzP-+-zPPzP" Nxe5 17.Rxe5 Bxd3 18.Rxe7 Rxd4,
although leading to very unclear play is the
1tRNvLQtR-mK-! exchange sacrifice 15.Rxg4 Qxg4 16.Be3
Bf6 17.Qb3 Rd6.
xabcdefghy 15...Nxd4! 16.Rxd4 Rxd4 17.Qxd4 Bxf3
11...Qd6! 18.Bf1
We prepared a similar maneuver with Of no help was 18.g3 Rd8 19.Qxa7 Rd1+
A.Karpov before his match against 20.Bf1 Rxf1+! 21.Kxf1 Qd3+ -+.
G.Kasparov. The idea is simple and 18...Rd8 19.Qe3 (D)
19.Qxa7 Rd1 20.Qa8+ Kd7 21.Qa4+ c6 -+. XABCDEFGHY
XABCDEFGHY 8r+l+-trk+(
8-+ktr-+-+( 7zp-zp-snpzpp'
7zppzp-vl-zpp' 6-+-zp-+q+&
6-+-+-+q+& 5+p+-+-+-%
5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-vLP+-+$
4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-zP-+-+-#
3+-+-wQl+-# 2PzP-+-zPPzP"
2PzP-+-zPPzP" 1tRN+Q+RmK-!
1tR-vL-+LmK-! xabcdefghy
xabcdefghy 12.Nd2?
19...Bxg2! 20.Qxe7 It is always tempting to complete
Transferring into the endgame also does not development and to conduct some useful
help: 20.Qg3 Qxg3 21.hxg3 Bxf1 22.Kxf1 operation - here the protection of the e4
Rd1+ -+. square - but better is to conduct this function
20...Bxf1+ 21.Qg5 (protection of the centre) with 12.f3 =.
Other tries are losing as well, e.g. 21.Kxf1 12...c5!
Rd1+ 22.Ke2 Qd3 # or 21.Bg5 Re8 22.Qc5 Now Black starts to develop his own
Bh3 23.Rc1 c6 h6 -+ initiative, by attacking White's forces in the
21...Rd1! 22.h4 centre.
22.Qxg6 Bh3 #. 13.Be3 f5
22...Be2+ 23.Kh2 Qe4 Now Black will obtain a pawn advantage in
0-1 the centre, plus a serious initiative on the
light squares.
14.Qf3
Preventing at least the positioning of the
bishop on b7.
14...Bd7 15.Rfe1
The only chance in such positions is to
reduce the opponent’s initiative by a queen
exchange, so 15.Qg3.
15...Rae8 16.exf5
There are cases when one player
Now the queen exchange was too late:
underestimates his opponent’s ability to
16.Qg3 fxe4 17.Nxe4 (17.Bf4 Qf7 18.Rxe4
create powerful central counterplay.
Bc6 19.Rxe7 Rxe7 20.Bxd6 Re6 21.Bxf8
□ Kupreichik Viktor Rg6 -+) 17...Qxe4 18.Bg5 Qxe1+!! 19.Rxe1
■ Romanishin Oleg Nf5! -+.
C45 Moscow 1976 16...Nxf5 17.Qd5+ Be6 18.Qd3 c4
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 This idea is purely tactical: at the cost of
5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Bb5?! weakening the dark squares, O.Romanishin
An interesting try, preparing someday to gains the possibility of placing his bishop on
capture on c6. the long diagonal.
7...0-0 8.0-0 d6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc5 cxb5 19.Qf1
11.Bd4 Qg6 (D) Immediately leading to problems is 19.Qc2
Bd5 20.g3 Qg4 -+.
19...Bd5 20.Bxa7 Nh4 (D) Qxc4 11.f5 (the same plan of attack in the
XABCDEFGHY centre as in E.Lasker's game) 11...Be7
12.Qg4! h5 13.Qf3 (wrong, of course, was
8-+-+rtrk+( 13.Qxg7 Bf6) 13...Bf6 14.fxe6 fxe6 (D)
7vL-+-+-zpp' XABCDEFGHY
6-+-zp-+q+& 8r+l+k+ntr(
5+p+l+-+-% 7+p+-+-zp-'
4-+p+-+-sn$ 6p+-zppvl-+&
3+-zP-+-+-# 5+-+-+-+p%
2PzP-sN-zPPzP" 4-+qsNP+-+$
1tR-+-tRQmK-! 3+-sN-vLQ+-#
xabcdefghy 2PzPP+-+PzP"
Finally Black has achieved full coordination 1tR-+-+RmK-!
of his attacking pieces on the kingside.
21.g3 xabcdefghy
21.Rxe8 Bxg2; 21.f3 Rxe1 22.Rxe1 Bxf3 15.e5!! (primitive centralisation is too slow
23.g3 Bd5. here: 15.Rad1 Ne7 with the idea ...Ng6-e5)
21...Qf7! 22.Rxe8 15...dxe5 16.Ne4 Qc7 17.Qg3! (This
Insufficient was the only other defence with beautiful pin makes the new game more
22.f4 Ba8 and the light squares around complicated than the old one) 17...Ne7
White's king are undefendable. 18.Rad1 h4 (of no help is 18...Bd7 19.Rxf6
22...Nf3+ gxf6 20.Nxf6+ Kf7 21.Nf3! Kxf6 22.Bg5+)
0-1 19.Nxf6+ gxf6 20.Qg7 Rf8 21.Rxf6! Rxf6
22.Qxf6 Qd6 (after 22...exd4 23.Qh8+ Kd7
[or 23...Kf7 24.Rf1+ Nf5 25.Qh7+]
24.Rxd4+ Nd5 25.Qg7+ Kd8 26.Bg5+
White mates) 23.Bg5 exd4 (the counter pin
will be destroyed: 23...Qc5 24.b4!) 24.Rxd4
Nd5 25.Rxd5! 1-0 Nunn,J-Sokolov,A Dubai
1986.
3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 e6
7.0-0 a6 8.Be3 Qc7 9.f4 Na5?
In the ‘Sicilian Defence’, in some cases such
‘Sicilian Defence’ classics developed plans to transition the knight to c4 work, but
different central attacks, and nowadays from the point of view of classical theory it
knowledge of them is wide, but not always... is an anti-central strategy and in many cases
it is punished - look at the Mikhalchishin,A-
□ Lasker Emanuel Csom,I Copenhagen 1980 game for instance.
■ Pirc Vasja The correct 9...Be7 would lead to classical
B85 Moscow 1935 ‘Scheveningen Sicilian’ positions.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 10.f5 Nc4
Practically a very similar position occurred After 10...e5 11.Nb3 Nc4 12.Bxc4 Qxc4
50 years later in the game between two top 13.Qd3! Qxd3 14.cxd3 h6 15.Na4! the
young players via a different move order weaknesses in Black's queenside are too
2...e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 vulnerable, even in the endgame.
d6 7.Be3 Qc7 8.f4 Na5 9.0-0 Nc4 10.Bxc4 11.Bxc4 Qxc4 12.fxe6 fxe6 (D)
XABCDEFGHY 19.Qxa8 Bxe3+ 20.Kh1
And here Vasja Pirc resigned as further
8r+l+kvl-tr( developments do not promise him real
chances: 20...Bc6 21.Qh8 h6 22.Rf1.
7+p+-+-zpp' 1-0
6p+-zppsn-+& Now, about pawn sacrifices in the centre
5+-+-+-+-% with the idea to keep the opponent’s king in
the centre: try to avoid them!
4-+qsNP+-+$
□ Onischuk Alexander
3+-sN-vL-+-# ■ Volokitin Andrei
2PzPP+-+PzP" E16 Aue 2010
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2
1tR-+Q+RmK-! Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Nbxd2
Generally speaking, theory prefers a knight
xabcdefghy on c3, but here it allows Black to conduct
13.Rxf6! another useful exchange after 7.Qxd2 0-0
This exchange sacrifice is typical, but the 8.Nc3 Ne4. Black decides on immediate
beauty of E.Lasker's attack is not diminished. action in the centre.
13...gxf6 14.Qh5+ Kd8 7...c5 (D)
If Pirc attempted to stop the queen's 7...0-0 is the most commonly played move
penetration of his position, then his king here.
would come under attack with other - typical
for the ‘Sicilian Defence’ - sacrifices:
XABCDEFGHY
14...Ke7 15.Nf5+!! exf5 16.Nd5+ Kd7 8rsn-wqk+-tr(
17.Qf7+ Kc6 18.Qc7+ Kb5 19.a4+.
15.Qf7 Bd7 7zpl+p+pzpp'
The other bishop move would be answered 6-zp-+psn-+&
by an exploitation of the pin, e.g. 15...Be7
16.Nf5! Qc7 17.Na4! exf5 18.Bb6. 5+-zp-+-+-%
16.Qxf6+ Kc7 17.Qxh8 Bh6 (D) 4-+PzP-+-+$
XABCDEFGHY 3+-+-+NzP-#
8r+-+-+-wQ( 2PzP-sNPzPLzP"
7+pmkl+-+p' 1tR-+QmK-+R!
6p+-zpp+-vl& xabcdefghy
5+-+-+-+-% 8.e4!? Nxe4?
4-+qsNP+-+$ In Zhukova,N-Bojkovic,N Dresden 2008
after 8...cxd4 9.Nxd4 (9.e5!? is probably the
3+-sN-vL-+-# most testing line) 9...d6 10.0-0 0-0 we have
2PzPP+-+PzP" a Hedgehog-type position. But A.Volokitin
is an extremely active type of player, for
1tR-+-+-mK-! whom such passive structures is alien.
Therefore he prefers to enter a sharper
xabcdefghy variation - the sooner the better as far as he
Black fights with nice counterstrikes, but is concerned!
E.Lasker finds new tactics. 9.Ne5! d5
18.Nxe6+! Qxe6 The tactical attempt 9...Nc3 fails to 10.Qh5
Immediately losing is 18...Bxe6 19.Qxh7+. g6 11.Qh3! +-.
10.cxd5 (D) After 13...Qd6 14.0-0 cxd4 15.Rxd4 Qxe5
XABCDEFGHY 16.Bxe4 Nc6 17.Bxc6 Bxc6 18.Qxc6 (an
interesting alternative is 18.Qa3+!?)
8rsn-wqk+-tr( 18...Rhc8 (not 18...Qxd4? 19.Re1+ Kf8
20.Qxa8+ +-) 19.Rd7+ Kf8 20.Qf3 White
7zpl+-+pzpp' has a strong initiative: 20...Qe6 (20...Qf6
6-zp-+p+-+& 21.Qxf6 gxf6 22.Re1 +/-) 21.Rfd1.
14.0-0 (D)
5+-zpPsN-+-% XABCDEFGHY
4-+-zPn+-+$ 8rsn-+-+-tr(
3+-+-+-zP-# 7zpl+-mkpzpp'
2PzP-sN-zPLzP" 6-zp-+-+-+&
1tR-+QmK-+R! 5+-zpqsN-+-%
xabcdefghy 4Q+-zPp+-+$
10...exd5
After 10...Nxd2 11.Nxf7! Kxf7 12.dxe6+ 3+-+-+-zP-#
Kxe6 13.Bxb7 Black loses.
11.Qa4+ 2PzP-+-zPLzP"
With this check Black's castling plans are 1+-+R+RmK-!
destroyed and his king has to spend some
time in the centre, which is always xabcdefghy
dangerous. 14...f5?
11...Ke7 Also hopeless is 14...Rd8 15.Rfe1 f5 16.f3+.
Insufficient is 11...Kf8 because of 12.Nxe4 The only way was 14...cxd4 15.Rxd4 Qxe5
dxe4 13.dxc5 +/- and if 13...Qc7 14.Rd1 or transposing to a line which was examined
even 14.0-0-0. above: 16.Bxe4 Nc6 17.Bxc6 Bxc6 18.Qxc6
12.Nxe4 dxe4 (D) Rhc8 19.Qb7+ Kf8 20.Rfd1 Qe6, when
XABCDEFGHY White is better but Black keeps some
defensive possibilities.
8rsn-wq-+-tr( 15.f3!
With this move, Black's centre will be easily
7zpl+-mkpzpp' and effectively destroyed, creating serious
6-zp-+-+-+& problems for his king.
15...e3 16.Rfe1 Kf6
5+-zp-sN-+-% Or 16...cxd4 17.Rxd4 Qxe5 18.f4 +-.
4Q+-zPp+-+$ 17.dxc5 Qxe5 18.Rd6+ Ke7 19.Qh4+! Kf7
20.Qc4+
3+-+-+-zP-# Black resigned because of 20.Qc4+ Ke7
2PzP-+-zPLzP" 21.f4 +-.
1-0
1tR-+-mK-+R! Of course in many cases more powerful
xabcdefghy measures are necessary to destroy the
13.Rd1! opponent’s central structure.
An interesting move is 13.0-0-0!? but the □ Kramnik Vladimir
text seems to be more exacting. Wrong ■ Beliavsky Alexander
would be 13.dxc5 Qd5. D02 Belgrade 1995
13...Qd5 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Bg4 4.0-0 Nd7 5.d4
e6 6.Nbd2 f5 A terrific central blow, which completely
A somewhat dubious attempt to stop White's destroys his opponent's centre.
central strategy - the preparation of e4 - but 12...fxe4 13.Ng5 Bf7
on the other hand there is a lot of logic Other options were also insufficient, e.g.
behind it as the light-squared bishop is 13...Qxg5 14.Nxe4 Qe7 15.Nxd6+ Qxd6
prepared for exchange. 16.Bf4 +- ; 13...Qe7 14.Nxe6! Bf7
7.c4 Bd6 8.Qb3 Rb8 (D) (14...Qxe6 15.Rxe4 +- ; 14...Nf6 15.Bxe4!
8...b6 might be stronger. dxe4 16.Nxe4 +-) 15.Nxg7+ Kf8 16.Nxe4
XABCDEFGHY Kxg7 (16...dxe4 17.Bxh6 Bxb3 18.Nf5+ +-)
17.Bg5 dxe4 18.Bxe7 Bxb3 19.Bxd6 Bd5
8-tr-wqk+ntr( 20.Bxb8 Rxb8 21.Bxe4 +-.
14.Ndxe4!
7zpp+n+-zpp' And this great move completes the process
6-+pvlp+-+& of central destruction.
14...dxe4 15.Nxe6 Bxe6 16.Qxe6+ Qe7
5+-+p+p+l% 17.Rxe4 Kd8 18.Qd5
4-+PzP-+-+$ 18...Qf8 19.Bg5+ Nf6 20.Rae1 Nf7 21.Re6
+-.
3+Q+-+NzPP# 1-0
2PzP-sNPzPLz+" □ Bronstein David
1tR-vL-+RmK-! ■ Barczay Laszlo
B56 Szombathely 1966
xabcdefghy 1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 Nc6 3.Nc3 d6 4.d4 cxd4
9.Re1 Nh6 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.f4 e5
This looks logical, but it is a clear There also exist such options as 6...g6, a
decentralisation! Correct was 9...Ngf6. favourite approach of ‘Sicilian Dragon’
10.cxd5 cxd5 11.h3! specialists. The most solid would be 6...Bd7.
The other option 11.Ne5 Bxe5 12.dxe5 0-0 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bc4 0-0 (D)
13.Qe3 Qa5 was not so strong.
11...Bh5?! (D) XABCDEFGHY
This was the only chance to play 11...Bxf3 8r+lwq-trk+(
12.exf3 Qe7 13.f4 Nf6 14.Nf3 - White
controls the e5-square with great efficiency. 7zpp+-vlpzpp'
XABCDEFGHY 6-+nzp-sn-+&
8-tr-wqk+-tr( 5+-+-zp-+-%
7zpp+n+-zpp' 4-+L+PzP-+$
6-+-vlp+-sn& 3+-sN-+N+-#
5+-+p+p+l% 2PzPP+-+PzP"
4-+-zP-+-+$ 1tR-vLQmK-+R!
3+Q+-+NzPP# xabcdefghy
2PzP-sNPzPL+" It is possible to protect the f7-square with
the exchange 8...Be6 9.Bxe6 but here White
1tR-vL-tR-mK-! can start a very dangerous light square
strategy after 9...fxe6 10.f5! exf5 11.exf5 d5
xabcdefghy 12.Bg5 d4 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Ne4. A more
12.e4!! complicated idea would begin with 8...Bg4.
9.f5!? bxa6 17.Rg1 and even in the endgame White
White closes the centre and shows his would threaten with many different
intentions are to either attack the opponent's attacking resources.
king, or to play positionally by occupying 14.Kf1 Qxd4 (D)
the central square d5. Black would have no XABCDEFGHY
problems in the endgame after 9.fxe5 dxe5
10.Qxd8 Rxd8 11.Bd2 Bg4 12.0-0-0 Bb4. 8r+l+-trk+(
9...Qb6
Trickier would be 9...Qa5.
7zpp+-+pzp-'
10.Bb3 h6 6-+-zp-+-zp&
The threat was Bg5, so Black plays a double
prophylactic move - to stop the positional 5+-+-zpP+-%
threat, and also to open a square for his king. 4-+-wqP+nvl$
11.g4?! (D)
White plays a sharp and somewhat ‘bluffy’ 3+LsN-+-+-#
move. Much more logical and solid was 2PzPP+Q+-zP"
11.Qe2 Nd4 12.Qd3.
XABCDEFGHY 1tR-vL-+K+R!
8r+l+-trk+( xabcdefghy
15.Rg1! Qf2+
7zpp+-vlpzp-' Strange, but suddenly there are no good
6-wqnzp-sn-zp& moves! For example 15...h5 16.Rxg4! hxg4
17.Be3 Qb4 18.Qxg4 Bd8 19.Bh6 Bf6
5+-+-zpP+-% 20.Nd5 +-.
4-+-+P+P+$ 16.Qxf2 Nxf2 17.Bxh6 Kh7 18.Bg5!
The simplest - now the knight on f2 has no
3+LsN-+N+-# safe retreat squares.
1-0
2PzPP+-+-zP"
But every attack by the opponent can be
1tR-vLQmK-+R! calculated properly, not allowing the
xabcdefghy psychological factor to dominate negatively!
11...Nxg4!? □ Kupreichik Viktor
Of course a GM such as David Bronstein ■ Planinc Albin
can allow such risky captures, but there was C66 Sombor 1970
a very interesting and risky counterstrike 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Be7
here with 11...d5?! 12.Nxd5 (12.exd5 e4 3...Nf6 4.0-0 d6 5.d4 Bd7 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Bxc6
[12...Nxg4 would be an even better option] Bxc6 8.Qd3 Nd7 9.d5 Nc5 10.Qc4 Bd7
13.dxc6 exf3 14.Qxf3 Bb4 = or 12.Bxd5 11.Be3 Bg4 12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.Bxc5 0-0
Rd8! creating a position with an unpleasant 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.f3 Bh5 16.a4 Kh8 17.a5 f6
pin and the king in the centre) 12...Nxd5 18.b4 Rfc8 19.Qc5 Qd7 20.Rfd1 Kg8
13.Qxd5 and Black's pieces are suddenly 21.Rd3 Be8 22.Qc4 Bf7 23.Rad1 h6 24.a6
stuck for moves. b6 25.b5 Be8 26.Rb1 Kh7 27.Na2 Rab8
12.Qe2 Nd4 28.Rdb3 Rd8 29.Nc1 f5 30.Nd3 Qd6 31.Qc3
A logical continuation, as weaker would be fxe4 32.fxe4 Rd7 33.Rf1 Kg8 34.Rf5 Re7
12...a5 13.Qg2 and Black's king would soon 35.Rxe5 Bg6 36.Rxe7 Qxe7 37.Qe5 Qxe5
be in trouble. 38.Nxe5 Bxe4 39.Nc6 Ra8 40.c4 Kh7
13.Nxd4+- Bh4+ 41.Re3 Bb1 42.Kf2 Ba2 43.Re4 1-0
Clearly better, but still insufficient, was Keres,P-Lehmann,H Marianske Lazne 1965.
13...exd4 14.Nd5 Bh4+ 15.Kf1 Qa6 16.Qxa6 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Re1 d6 6.c3 0-0 7.d4 Bd7 8.h3
8…Re8
An old variation, invented by the great □ Petrosian Tigran
Alekhine, is trickier: 8...Qe8!? creating the ■ Pachman Ludek
threat of ...Nd4. It is named the ‘Kecskemet A04 Bled 1961
Variation’. 1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.d3
9.Nbd2 Bf8 10.Bc4!? e6 6.e4 Nge7 7.Re1 0-0
Of course - the idea is to directly attack the This position is a mixture of the ‘Closed
most vulnerable square on f7. Sicilian’, ‘French Defence’ and ‘King’s
10...exd4 11.cxd4 d5? 12.Bb3 Indian Defence’ reversed. White could
Possibly better was 12.exd5 Rxe1+ 13.Qxe1 develop his knight now to c3 or d2, but
Nb4 14.Qd1 b5 15.Bf1 Nbxd5 16.Ne5 with T.Petrosian chose instead an unusual move,
a very unclear position. with the idea of playing an open position, as
12...dxe4 (D) Black will have to fight against this
XABCDEFGHY unpleasant pawn on e5.
8.e5 d6?!
8r+-wqrvlk+( Black tries to do so immediately, but more
cautious was to develop his bishop first and
7zppzpl+pzpp' only then to start his central counterstrike.
6-+n+-sn-+& 8...b6!? 9.d4!? or 9.Na3-c4-d6.
9.exd6 Qxd6
5+-+-+-+-% 9...Nf5 10.Nbd2 and Nc4-e5.
4-+-zPp+-+$ 10.Nbd2 Qc7 (D)
3+L+-+N+P# XABCDEFGHY
2PzP-sN-zPP+" 8r+l+-trk+(
1tR-vLQtR-mK-! 7zppwq-snpvlp'
xabcdefghy 6-+n+p+p+&
13.Bxf7+!? 5+-zp-+-+-%
White obtains nothing after 13.Ng5 Be6 4-+-+-+-+$
14.Nxe6 fxe6 - the d4-pawn is under attack.
13...Kxf7 14.Qb3+ Kg6? 3+-+P+NzP-#
A faulty calculation of the upcoming
developments. Correct was 14...Be6! 2PzPPsN-zPLzP"
15.Ng5+ Kg8 16.Nxe6 Na5 17.Nxd8+ Nxb3 1tR-vLQtR-mK-!
18.axb3 Rexd8 19.Nxe4 Rxd4 20.Nxf6+
gxf6 21.Be3 Rd3 with a very good endgame xabcdefghy
for Black. The correct way again was to immediately
15.Nh4+ Kh5 16.Nxe4! look to develop his bishop with 10...b6
Another winning way was 16.Qf7+ g6 11.Nc4 Qd8 12.Bf4 (12.a4? Ba6! =+)
(16...Kxh4 17.Rxe4+ Kg5 18.Nf1+ Kf5 13...Nd5 14.Ng5! Rb8! 15.Ne4 Ba8 16.a5!
19.Ng3 #) 17.Nxe4 Rxe4 18.Rxe4 Bh6 Nce7! 17.axb6 axb6 18.Qb3 h6! 19.Ned6?
19.Nf3 Nxe4 20.Qxh7. (19.Ra7 Nc8 =) 19...b5! 20.Nxb5? (20.Rxa8!
16...Rxe4 17.Rxe4 g5 Rxa8 21.Qxb5 Qc7 22.Ne4 Rfc8 23.Ncd6
Or 17...Nxe4 18.Qf3+ Kxh4 19.Qxe4+ Kh5 Rab8! =+) 20...Bc6! with a very sharp
20.Qxh7 #. position, favourable for Black, Oratovski,M-
18.Qf7+ Kh6 19.Nf5+! Yudasin,L Israel 1995.
19.Nf5+ Bxf5 20.Rh4+. 11.Nb3!
19...Bxf5 20.Rh4+ Black has certain problems, as White has
1-0 started to attack on the queenside.
11...Nd4? 19...Kxf6 20.Be5+ Kg5 21.Bg7!
11...b6 12.Bf4 Qb7 13.Ne5 (Not 13.d4 c4) Cutting off the escape route for Black's king
13...Bd7 14.d4 would increase the pressure and preparing mate in two moves.
on Black's centre. 1-0
12.Bf4 Qb6
After 12...Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 e5 14.Be3 c4
15.dxc4 Qxc4 16.c3 Black has huge
problems with his queenside, especially the An aggressive attitude can be shown as
b7-pawn. early as possible. There are cases when it
13.Ne5 Nxb3 works brilliantly - but sometimes it can be
More stubborn was to try some exchanges, countered even more powerfully.
followed by the creation of a dark square
pawn wall with 13...Bxe5 14.Bxe5 f6. □ Liu Wenzhe
14.Nc4! ■ Donner Jan Hein
The capture was also good, but much less B07 Buenos Aires 1978
convincing: 14.axb3 Nd5 15.Nc4 Qc6 =+. 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be2 Bg7 5.g4!
14...Qb5 (D)
Possible was another retreat 14...Qd8 XABCDEFGHY
15.axb3 Nf5 16.Qd2 Bf6 17.b4 but there are
still serious White threats on the flank.
8rsnlwqk+-tr(
15.axb3 a5 7zppzp-zppvlp'
Slightly better would be 15...Nc6.
16.Bd6 Bf6 6-+-zp-snp+&
Or 16...Re8 17.Bc7 Ra6 18.Rxa5 Rxa5 5+-+-+-+-%
19.Bxa5 winning a pawn.
17.Qf3 Kg7 (D) 4-+-zPP+P+$
XABCDEFGHY 3+-sN-+-+-#
8r+l+-tr-+( 2PzPP+LzP-zP"
7+p+-snpmkp' 1tR-vLQmK-sNR!
6-+-vLpvlp+& xabcdefghy
5zpqzp-+-+-% A very interesting and aggressive opening
strategy, which has become extremely
4-+N+-+-+$ popular in the 21st Century. White
3+P+P+QzP-# immediately shows his intentions to not only
attack his opponent's king, but also to create
2-zPP+-zPLzP" strong pressure in the centre after kicking
away the black knight from f6.
1tR-+-tR-mK-! 5...h6
xabcdefghy Here there were a few other possible tries,
18.Re4!? for example 5...Na6 6.g5 Nd7 7.h4 c5 8.d5
Here T.Petrosian could already have c4 9.h5 Nac5 10.h6 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 f6
implemented his ever-green queen sacrifice, 12.Qd4 Qa5 13.Bd2 0-0 oo Katalymov,B-
but he wanted to improve his position to the Tseitlin,M Daugavpils 1978 or 5...c5! 6.g5
maximum first! 18.Qxf6+!! Kxf6 19.Be5+ Nfd7 7.Nf3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 and the value
Kg5 20.Bg7! Rg8 21.f4+ Kg4 22.Ne5+ Kh5 of White's g-pawn advance is unclear.
23.Bf3 #. 6.h3
18...Rd8 19.Qxf6+!! A rather strange approach, but also very
Finally! tricky! White pretends to play just for a

space advantage and feints at the develop- The Chinese player shows very clearly that
ment of his knight from g1 to e2 next. A he wants to transfer his queen closer to his
much more direct idea would be 6.Be3. opponent's king.
6...c5 7.d5 0-0? (D) 11...exd5 12.Nxd5 (D)
Better was to try to create counterplay on the Perhaps a more aggressive attitude was the
queenside with 7...Na6-c7. following shorter path to opening the
XABCDEFGHY position of the black king: 12.Qg3!? f5
13.gxf6 Nxf6 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Bc4.
8rsnlwq-trk+( XABCDEFGHY
7zpp+-zppvl-' 8rsnlwqntrk+(
6-+-zp-snpzp& 7zpp+-+pvl-'
5+-zpP+-+-% 6-+-zp-+p+&
4-+-+P+P+$ 5+-zpN+-zP-%
3+-sN-+-+P# 4-+-+P+-+$
2PzPP+LzP-+" 3+-+Q+-+-#
1tR-vLQmK-sNR! 2PzPP+LzP-+"
xabcdefghy 1tR-vL-mK-sNR!
8.h4!
An unexpected move! The Chinese player xabcdefghy
suddenly revives his attacking idea. 12...Nc6?
8...e6 Such a knight as White has on d5 has to be
A much sharper response was the counter- eliminated as soon as possible! So 12...Nc7!
attacking possibility 8...Qa5 9.Bd2 Qb4 but after which White would have to sacrifice a
the other defensive option with 8...Nh7 was pawn and hope to exploit some weaknesses
too passive. on the dark squares afterwards: 13.Nf6+
9.g5 hxg5 10.hxg5 Ne8? (D) Bxf6 14.gxf6 Qxf6 15.Bd2 Nc6 16.0-0-0
A much better approach was to build a Nd4.
defensive position by transferring the knight 13.Qg3
to f8 with 10...Nh7, planning ...Re8, ...Nf8. Now a defence for Black is practically
XABCDEFGHY impossible to find.
13...Be6
8rsnlwqntrk+( An exemplary variation justifying White's
strategy is seen after 13...f5 14.gxf6 Nxf6
7zpp+-+pvl-' 15.Qxg6 Ne5 16.Nxf6+ Rxf6 17.Qh7+ Kf8
6-+-zpp+p+& 18.Bg5.
14.Qh4 f5
5+-zpP+-zP-% The opposite flank counterattack loses
4-+-+P+-+$ immediately, viz: 14...Qa5+ 15.b4.
15.Qh7+ Kf7 (D)
3+-sN-+-+-# Now follows a rare and beautiful mating
2PzPP+LzP-+" attack... and this was a historical game, as it
was the first time that a Chinese player was
1tR-vLQmK-sNR! able to beat a Grandmaster. Unfortunately
for the great Jan Hein Donner, he was the
xabcdefghy first victim of what would later become a
11.Qd3! long list…
XABCDEFGHY Safer again would be a continuation of
logical, central development with 7.Nh3
8r+-wqntr-+( Nxc5 8.f3 Qa5 9.Rd1 Ne6 10.Be3 0-0 11.g3.
7...Bxh6 8.Qxh6 Nxc5 9.Nh3
7zpp+-+kvlQ' Another option is quite dangerous for White,
6-+nzpl+p+& viz: 9.0-0-0 Qa5 10.Kb1 b5!
9...Qa5
5+-zpN+pzP-% It was also possible to take a more positional
4-+-+P+-+$ approach here: 9...Nce4 10.Nxe4 fxe4
11.Qd2 d5 12.e3 Bxh3 13.gxh3 e6 with a
3+-+-+-+-# very strong centre and destroyed pawn
2PzPP+LzP-+" structure on White's kingside.
10.0-0-0 (D)
1tR-vL-mK-sNR! XABCDEFGHY
xabcdefghy 8r+l+k+-tr(
16.Qxg6+!!
16.Rh6 +-. 7zpp+pzp-+p'
16...Kxg6 17.Bh5+ Kh7 18.Bf7+ Bh6
19.g6+ Kg7
6-+-+-snpwQ&
19...Kh8 20.Rxh6+ Kg7 21.Rh7 #. 5wq-sn-+p+-%
20.Bxh6+ 4-+P+-+-+$
1-0
3+-sN-+-+N#
2PzP-+PzPPzP"
□ Smyslov Vassily
1+-mKR+L+R!
■ Beliavsky Alexander xabcdefghy
A85 Sochi 1986 10...b5!
1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bg5 Time is precious in such positions - and
A very interesting try and such great players much more important than material. It's
as Smyslov always had their own ideas in necessary to start action against White's king
the openings. A similar plan Smyslov also immediately.
usually adopted against the ‘King’s Indian 11.Ng5
Defence’, but it should be stated that the The capture was too risky and would allow
classical fianchetto (4.g3) is much safer and Black to immediately conduct his attack.
simpler. 11.cxb5 Bb7 12.Ng5 Na4.
4...Bg7 5.Qd2 11...Bb7
White had another sharp try here to create a Moves like 11...Rg8 12.e4! are too slow and
very strong centre: 5.f3. allow the opponent to counterstrike.
5...c5! 12.Qg7 Rf8 13.Nxh7
Much more passive was simple development Another capture also leads to a direct Black
with 5...b6 6.Bh6 0-0 7.Bxg7 Kxg7 8.f3 Bb7 attack: 13.Nxb5 Rc8 14.e3 Qxb5 15.Nxh7
9.0-0-0 e6 10.Nh3. Ne6.
6.dxc5?! 13...Nxh7 14.Qxh7 b4
It is not recommended to destroy your own A multi-functional move (defending and
centre and to open the dangerous g7-bishop. attacking at the same time) would be
More logical was the continuation of his 14...Qb6, but top players rarely choose to
development with 6.e3. retreat!
6...Na6! 7.Bh6 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.Rxd5 d6 17.Kb1 (D)
XABCDEFGHY □ Seirawan Yasser
■ Beliavsky Alexander
8r+-+ktr-+( D14 Bruxelles 1988
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 cxd5
7zp-+-zp-+Q' 5.Bf4 Nc6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Nf3 e6 8.Bb5 Nd7
6-+-zp-+p+& 9.0-0 Be7 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Rc1 Rc8
It was possible to launch a flank attack
5wq-snR+p+-% immediately, but it would be premature:
4-zpP+-+-+$ 11...g5?! 12.Bg3 h5 13.h3 g4 14.hxg4 hxg4
15.Nd2 and e4 oo.
3+-+-+-+-# 12.Na4? (D)
2PzP-+PzPPzP" White's move in the game can be described
as decentralisation. Clearly correct was to
1+K+-+L+R! play in the centre, but it would not give
White any advantage, e.g. 12.Ne5 Nxe5
xabcdefghy 13.Bxe5 f6 14.Bg3 c5 =.
17...b3 18.axb3 Rb8!
Perpetual is not Black's target: 18...Qe1+ XABCDEFGHY
19.Ka2 Qa5+. 8-+rwqk+-tr(
19.Qxg6+ Kd7 (D)
XABCDEFGHY 7zp-+nvlpzpp'
8-tr-+-tr-+( 6-+p+p+-+&
7zp-+kzp-+-' 5+-+p+l+-%
6-+-zp-+Q+& 4N+-zP-vL-+$
5wq-snR+p+-% 3+-+-zPN+-#
4-+P+-+-+$ 2PzP-+-zPPzP"
3+P+-+-+-# 1+-tRQ+RmK-!
2-zP-+PzPPzP" xabcdefghy
12...g5!!
1+K+-+L+R! As the centre is fixed and no counterplay is
available there, Black is able to launch a
xabcdefghy very dangerous flank attack.
20.Rxf5? 13.Bg3
Now Smyslov did not find the required 13.Be5 f6 14.Bg3 h5 15.h4 was the correct
multifunctional queen move - to attack the try, as the h4-pawn would not be attacked.
rook on g8 and to try to return to defence: 13...h5 14.h3 g4
20.Qh6! Rxb3 21.Qxf8 Rxb2+ 22.Kxb2 Not so strong was 14...h4 15.Bh2 g4
Qb4+ 23.Ka2 Qxc4+ 24.Kb1 Qb3+. 16.Ne5! (16.hxg4 Bxg4 17.Qe2 h3 -/+)
20...Qe1+ 21.Kc2 Nxb3 16...Nxe5 17.Bxe5 Rg8 18.hxg4 Bxg4 19.f3
0-1 Bh3 20.Rf2 oo. It is important to open the h-
file in order to create threats along it.
15.hxg4 hxg4 16.Ne5
Another knight retreat was no good either
We all say centre, centre, centre, but there 16.Nh2 (or another way) 16...Nf6!
are cases when central strategy is not useful (16...Bh4! 17.Nxg4 Qg5 18.Bxh4 Rxh4 -/+)
- it must be replaced by a fierce flank 17.Nc5 Bxc5 18.dxc5 Ne4 19.Nxg4 Qg5
initiative. with decisive threats.
16...Nxe5 17.Bxe5 □ Beliavsky Alexander
17.dxe5 allows Black to obtain a huge ■ Neubauer Martin
advantage in the centre after 17...c5 -/+. A10 Szentgotthard 2010
17...f6 18.Bg3 Kf7 (D) 1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.d4 cxd4
XABCDEFGHY 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Nc2 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Qa5
This is a very risky system strategically, as
8-+rwq-+-tr( Black has exchanged his important bishop
for doubled pawns.
7zp-+-vlk+-' 8.Ne3! (D)
6-+p+pzp-+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-+p+l+-% 8r+l+k+ntr(
4N+-zP-+p+$ 7zpp+pzpp+p'
3+-+-zP-vL-# 6-+n+-+p+&
2PzP-+-zPP+" 5wq-+-+-+-%
1+-tRQ+RmK-! 4-+P+-+-+$
xabcdefghy 3+-zP-sN-+-#
Black solves the weighty problem of his
king and prepares a transfer of his heavy 2P+-+PzPPzP"
pieces to the kingside. 1tR-vLQmKL+R!
19.Re1?
Better was to try to destroy his opponent's xabcdefghy
blockading pawn with 19.f3 gxf3 20.Qxf3 8.e4 Nf6 9.f3 d6 10.Bd2 Be6 11.Ne3 0-0
Qg8 21.Nc5 Qg6 22.Kf2 Rcg8 but even here 12.Nd5 Rfc8 (it is better to try to develop
Black's pieces are grouping ominously the pieces actively, as the building of a
against White's king. strong centre allows Black to create serious
19...Rh5! counterplay) 13.Qb3 Rab8 14.Be2 Qd8
The same idea could be wrongly conducted 15.0-0 Nd7 16.Be3 b6 17.f4 f6 18.Qd1 Na5
by 19...Qg8 allowing the opposing king to 19.Qd4 Rc5! 20.e5 dxe5 21.fxe5 Nxe5
escape with 20.Kf1-e2! 22.Rad1 Bxd5 23.cxd5 Nac4 with a
20.Qd2 complete blockade of the pawn center,
After 20.Kf1 an unexpected attack would Mikhalchishin,A-Vilela,J Havana 1982.
start from the other side 20...Qa5! 21.Ke2? 8...d6
Qb5+ 22.Kd2 Qd3 #. It is too risky to accept the pawn sacrifice
20...Be4! 21.Kf1 immediately: 8...Qxc3+ 9.Bd2 Qg7 10.Rc1
Of no help was 21.Nc3 Qh8 22.Kf1 Rh1+ d6 11.Bc3 Nf6 12.Nd5.
23.Ke2 Bxg2 -+. 9.g3 Be6 10.Bg2 Rc8
21...Bf3!! Once more it was risky to take the pawn
The decisive move, cutting-off the escape of 10...Qxc3+ 11.Bd2 Qg7 12.Rb1.
the white king. 11.0-0 Nf6
0-1 And it's still bad to take the pawn: 11...Qxc3
12.Rb1 +/-.
12.Nd5 Bxd5
Necessary now was to castle, which allows
Which weaknesses are more important, White to keep just a small advantage, e.g.
pawns or squares? Players prefer to think 12...0-0 13.Rb1 b6 14.Nxf6+ exf6 15.Qxd6
that pawns, as they are materialistic, but it is Rfd8 16.Qf4 Qe5 17.c5! +/-.
the opposite case mainly. 13.cxd5 Ne5 (D)
XABCDEFGHY f6 23.Qxa7 Kf7 24.a4 Rxe2 25.a5 +/-
although White's a-pawn would become a
8-+r+k+-tr( dangerous weapon.
17.Qb1! Nxg4
7zpp+-zpp+p' Nothing is seriously changed by 17...Rb5
6-+-zp-snp+& 18.Qe4 f5 19.Bxf5 gxf5 20.Qxf5 Nf7
21.Qc8+ Qd8 22.Qc4 +/-.
5wq-+Psn-+-% 18.Qxb7+- Rc5 19.Bg7 Rg8 20.Bd4 Rc4
4-+-+-+-+$ 21.Qb8+ Qd8 22.Qb5+
1-0
3+-zP-+-zP-#
A risky strategy involves pawns sacrifices
2P+-+PzPLzP" and direct attempts to open the opponent’s
1tR-vLQ+RmK-! king in the centre or on the flank.
□ Medvegy Zoltan
xabcdefghy ■ Rapport Richard
14.Bh6 A40 Szeged 2010
Another positional plan deserved serious 1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 3.a3 c5
consideration: 14.Rb1 b6 15.Rb4 Rc7 Of course, more logical is the classical plan
16.Qb3 0-0 17.Ra4 Qxc3 18.Qxc3 Rxc3 here, tried in hundreds of games: 3...Bb7
19.Rxa7 +=. 4.Nc3 f5 5.d5 Nf6 6.g3 Na6 7.Bg2 Nc5
14...Nfg4 8.Nh3 Bd6 9.Nf4 0-0 10.0-0 e5 11.Nd3
Better was to fight against the bishop on h6 Nxd3 12.exd3 c6 13.d4 Qc7 14.dxe5 Bxe5
with the other knight 14...Neg4 15.Bg7 Rg8 15.Bd2 f4 with a very unclear position,
16.Bxf6 Nxf6 17.Rb1 b6 18.Rb4 +=. Cramling,P -Koneru,H Doha 2011.
15.Bh3! Rc5 4.d5
Clearly better would have been to defend the White prefers to play Benoni structures, but
knight with the pawn 15...f5 16.Bxg4 Nxg4 it was very tempting to try to play
17.Bg7 Rg8 18.Bd4 Qxd5 19.e4 Qc4 20.Re1 hedgehog-style: 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6
Kf7 21.Rb1 oo. 6.Nc3 Bb7 7.Bf4 d6 8.Ndb5 e5 9.Bg5 a6.
16.Bxg4 Rxd5? (D) 4...exd5 5.Qxd5?!
XABCDEFGHY It was also possible to play the usual Benoni
structure, where the move a3 is more useful
8-+-+k+-tr( than b6: 5.cxd5.
7zpp+-zpp+p' 5...Nc6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Qd3 (D)
6-+-zp-+pvL& XABCDEFGHY
5wq-+rsn-+-% 8r+lwqkvl-tr(
4-+-+-+L+$ 7zp-+p+pzpp'
3+-zP-+-zP-# 6-zpn+-sn-+&
2P+-+PzP-zP" 5+-zp-+-+-%
1tR-+Q+RmK-! 4-+P+-+-+$
xabcdefghy 3zP-+Q+N+-#
Black had to transfer into a heavy piece 2-zP-+PzPPzP"
endgame with 16...Nxg4 17.Qd4 Ne5 1tRNvL-mKL+R!
18.Bg7 Rg8 (18...Rxd5 19.Qh4) 19.Bxe5
Rxd5 20.Qg4 Rxe5 21.Qc8+ Qd8 22.Qxb7 xabcdefghy
7...Bb7?! Continuing the material hunt. It was
It is always necessary to start a central necessary to stop, and try to complete
attack, whenever it is possible 7...d5 8.cxd5 development 17.Qc2 g6 18.Nd5 Bxd5
(wrong would be 8.Bg5 d4 9.Nbd2 h6 19.Rxd5 Qxg4 20.Qd1 =
10.Bh4 Bb7 11.e3 g5 12.Bg3 Qe7 -/+) XABCDEFGHY
8...Qxd5 9.Qxd5 Nxd5 10.e4 Nc7 11.Nc3
Be6 with comfortable endgame for Black 8r+-+r+k+(
after long castling.
8.Nc3 Be7 9.Bf4 0-0
7zpl+Q+pzpp'
Black can’t fight successfully against the 6-zp-+-+-+&
unpleasant f4-bishop: 9...Nh5 10.Be3 0-0
11.Rd1 Nf6 12.Bf4 Nh5 13.Bd6 when the 5+-vl-+-+-%
famous backward pawn on d7 will cause 4-+P+-wqP+$
him a lot of problems.
10.Rd1 Nd4!? 3zP-sN-zP-+-#
Better is the other knight move 10...Nh5!? 2-zP-+-zPP+"
11.Nxd4
Another interesting and playable idea is 1+-+RmKL+R!
11.Be5 Nxf3+ 12.exf3 Re8 13.Be2 d5
14.cxd5 Bd6! oo but young players
xabcdefghy
sometimes prefer material gains. 17...Bxe3! 18.fxe3 Qg3+
11...cxd4 12.Qxd4 Bc5 13.Qd2 This was overlooked by White - he only
It was possible to use another developing calculated the capture on e3.
plan: 13.Qd3 Re8 14.e3 Rc8 15.h4!? 19.Kd2 Rad8 0-1
13...Ng4
Possible, but a bit too slow, was 13...Re8!? □ Nataf Igor Alexandre
14.e3 Qf6 (D) ■ Volokitin Andrei
B47 Gera 2004
XABCDEFGHY 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6
8r+-+-trk+( 5.Be2 Qc7 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Nc3 b5 8.Nxc6
This is a special line, with the idea of
7zpl+p+pzpp' obtaining a fixed structure. Otherwise, a
6-zp-+-wq-+& more classical move would be the
developing 8.Be3.
5+-vl-+-+-% 8...dxc6 9.a4 (D)
4-+P+-vLn+$ XABCDEFGHY
3zP-sN-zP-+-# 8r+l+kvlntr(
2-zP-wQ-zPPzP" 7+-wq-+pzpp'
1+-+RmKL+R! 6p+p+p+-+&
xabcdefghy 5+p+-+-+-%
15.h3 4P+-+P+-+$
Not bad would be to drive the opponent’s
strong bishop away: 15.Na4!? Be7 16.h3 +/- 3+-sN-+-+-#
with the next move Black goes va banque. 2-zPP+LzPPzP"
15...Rfe8 16.hxg4
Possible, but extremely risky, was another 1tR-vLQ+RmK-!
option: 16.Qe2 Qxf4 17.Qxg4 Qe5 18.Rxd7.
16...Qxf4 17.Qxd7? (D)
xabcdefghy
9...b4! 13.Qe2?
Such moves look as though they just weaken White loses his feeling for tactics. But it is
important squares, like c4, but in such necessary to add, that this tactic is extremely
situations the key element is dynamism. unexpected. Correct was to continue
10.Nb1 Nf6 11.Bd3 development with 13.Nd2 e5! (13...Ng4
In such situations it is necessary to conduct 14.Nf3 Qg3 15.Qe2 e5 16.Bd2 +/-) 14.Nc4
one's own plan accurately, so 11.Nd2 Bd6 (14.Nb3 Ba7) 14...Be6 15.Be3 Nd7 or
12.Nc4 Nxe4 (the piece sacrifice is 13.Re1!? e5 14.Be3 (14.Bg5 Nd7 15.Nd2
unsuccessful, as Black's pieces can't join Nf8 16.Nb3 Ba7 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.Rxe3 Ne6)
their queen in attack: 12...Bxh2+ 13.Kh1 0-0 14...Bxe3 15.Rxe3 a5 with chances for both
14.g3 Bxg3 15.fxg3 Qxg3 16.Qd3) sides.
13.Nxd6+ Qxd6 14.Bf3 Qxd1 15.Rxd1 f5 13...Ng4!!
16.Bxe4 fxe4 17.Be3 (D) This typical move looks wrong here, but
XABCDEFGHY A.Volokitin correctly saw the forthcoming
developments.
8r+l+k+-tr( 14.hxg4
7+-+-+-zpp' The pawn sacrifice 14.e5 does not save the
position, e.g. 14...Nxe5 15.Bf4 Bd6 -/+.
6p+p+p+-+& 14...hxg4 15.e5 f5! (D)
5+-+-+-+-% XABCDEFGHY
4Pzp-+p+-+$ 8r+l+k+-tr(
3+-+-vL-+-# 7+-wq-+-zp-'
2-zPP+-zPPzP" 6p+p+p+-+&
1tR-+R+-mK-! 5+-vl-zPp+-%
xabcdefghy 4Pzp-+-+p+$
In opposite-colored bishop endings only
White can be better, despite being a pawn
3+-+L+-+-#
down. Black's pawns are extremely weak. 2-zPP+QzPP+"
11...h5
A very sharp and aggressive idea, instead of 1tRNvL-+RmK-!
standard development with 11...Bb7. xabcdefghy
12.h3 Bc5 (D)
This is the key move - Black's idea is to
XABCDEFGHY transfer the queen to the kingside attack.
8r+l+k+-tr( 16.g3
There were a few possible defences, but
7+-wq-+pzp-' none of them were sufficient to stop
A.Volokitin's attack: 16.Be3 g5 17.Bxc5
6p+p+psn-+& (17.f4 g3 -+) 17...Qh7 -+; 16.Rd1 Qf7!
5+-vl-+-+p% 17.Qd2 g3 18.Qg5 Bxf2+ 19.Kf1 Rh5
20.Qf4 Rh1+ 21.Ke2 Qh5+ 22.Qf3 Qxf3+
4Pzp-+P+-+$ 23.gxf3 Rxd1 24.Kxd1 g2 -+ ; 16.Re1 Qd8!
3+-+L+-+P# 17.g3 Qd5 18.Be4 fxe4 19.Be3 Bxe3
20.Qxe3 c5 21.Nd2 Bb7 22.Nxe4 0-0-0 -/+.
2-zPP+-zPP+" 16...Qf7
The realisation of the advantage would have
1tRNvLQ+RmK-! taken much longer after 16...g6 17.Bg5 Qh7
xabcdefghy 18.Bh4 g5 19.Qxg4 gxh4 20.Qxh4 Qxh4
21.gxh4 Rxh4. 2008) 11.f5 b5 12.fxe6 fxe6 13.Ne2 b4
17.Bg5 Qh5 18.Bh4 g5 14.Nf4 Nb6 15.b3 a5.
Now nothing can stop Black's attack, and 10...b5!
White's sacrifices don't really change the Time is more important than material! It's a
course of the game. 'rule' in chess.
19.Bxf5 exf5 20.Qc4 gxh4 21.Qxc5 Bb7 11.g4
22.Qd6 Rh6 23.e6 Rd8 24.Qc7 hxg3 The pawn capture did not promise any real
0-1 improvement of White's position, e.g.
11.fxe6 fxe6 12.Nxb5 Rb8 13.Nd6 Bxd6
To get to the king on the flank in many
14.exd6 Nf6 (14...Nb4 15.Kb1 Nf6 16.a3
cases demands closing the centre and
Ne4 17.Qe1 c3 18.b3 Qa5 19.Bc1 Nxc2
concentrating on the wing-attack
20.Kxc2 Bd7 21.b4 Qa4+ 22.Kd3 c2 23.Rd2
immediately.
Qb3+ 24.Ke2 Bb5+ 25.Rd3 Qxd3 # 0-1
□ Munguntuul Batkhuyag Pruijssers,R-Li Shilong Dieren 2006) 15.c3
■ Zhang Xiaowen (15.Ne5 Qb6 16.Qc3 Ne4 17.Qa3 c3 18.Nd3
C11 Subic Bay 2009 e5 19.b3 exd4 20.Bf4 Ba6 21.Bg3 Rbe8
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 22.Nf4 Bxf1 23.Rhxf1 Nb4 24.d7 Rd8
c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 25.Ne6 Rxf1 26.Rxf1 d3 27.Nxd8 Qe3+
(D) with a winning attack, Szelag,M-
XABCDEFGHY Gurevich,M Warsaw 2007) 15...Bd7 16.Qc2
Be8! with activation of Black's light-squared
8r+lwq-trk+( bishop, which is the sign of a huge
positional improvement for Black in the
7zpp+nvlpzpp' ‘French Defence’.
6-+n+p+-+& 11...b4 12.Ne2 Qa5 13.Kb1 (D)
5+-zppzP-+-% XABCDEFGHY
4-+-zP-zP-+$ 8r+l+-trk+(
3+-sN-vLN+-# 7zp-+nvlpzpp'
2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 6-+n+p+-+&
1+-mKR+L+R! 5wq-+pzPP+-%
xabcdefghy 4-zppzP-+P+$
A typical position from the ‘French 3+-+-vLN+-#
Defence’ has arisen, and here Black decided
on the immediate transfer of play to the 2PzPPwQN+-zP"
queenside. In general, White has the 1+K+R+L+R!
opposite-flank attacking option available,
plus some real space advantage, but Black's xabcdefghy
direct attack here looks so powerful! 13...c3! 14.Qe1
9...c4!? 10.f5 There was no rosy future promised for
It was also possible to slow down Black's White in the line 14.bxc3 Nb6 15.cxb4 Bxb4
development somewhat, but it still looks 16.Qd3 Ba6 17.Qb3 Bc4.
very promising: 10.Kb1 Rb8 (10...b5 14...cxb2 15.f6
11.Nxb5 Rb8 12.Nd6 Bxd6 13.exd6 Nf6 No better was 15.Nf4 Nb6 16.f6 gxf6
14.Qe1 Qxd6 15.Bc1 Bd7 16.Ne5 Nb4 17.a3 17.exf6 Bxf6.
Nxc2 18.Kxc2 Ba4+ 19.Kd2 Ne4+ 20.Ke2 15...gxf6 16.Qh4 Ba6!
Bxd1+ 21.Qxd1 Rb3 -/+, as White's king is A strong move, completing development
kept in the center, Petrov,M-David,A Kavala and getting ready for further developments.
17.Ng3 (D) O.Romanishin starts immediate action in the
XABCDEFGHY centre. Also possible was the developing,
positional move 10.Bf4.
8r+-+-trk+( 10...Qxe5 (D)
Stronger was to solve the problem of the
7zp-+nvlp+p' white king with 10...0-0-0 11.cxd5 Qxe5
6l+n+pzp-+& 12.Bf3 Bd6 (12...exd5 13.Re1 Qd6 14.Nc3
(14.g3) 14...Nf6 15.b4 Bc6 16.bxc5 Qxc5
5wq-+pzP-+-% 17.Bd2 Kb8 18.Rc1 Qa3 19.Rb1 Bd6
4-zp-zP-+PwQ$ 20.Nb5 Bxb5 21.Rxb5 Qxa2 22.Bg5 a6
23.Rb3 Rhe8 24.Rf1 Qa5 25.Bd2 Qc7
3+-+-vLNsN-# 26.Qa1 Bxh2+ 27.Kh1 Be5 28.Qxa6 Rd6
2PzpP+-+-zP" 29.Qa2 Ree6 30.Rfb1 Ra6 31.Rxb7+ Qxb7
32.Rxb7+ Kxb7 33.Bxd5+ Kb8 34.Bxe6
1+K+R+L+R! Rxa2 35.Bxa2 ½-½ Timman,J-Nikolic,P
Nederlands 1997) 13.g3 Nf6 14.Nc3 Nxd5
xabcdefghy 15.Bxd5 exd5 16.Bf4 Qf6 17.Bxd6 Qxd6
17...b3! 18.Ne4 Qc6 19.Nxc5 Bh3 20.Rc1 Kb8
Once more, chess is about timing, as the 21.Nd3 with unclear play. 10...d4 11.Bf4
great Bobby Fischer used to say. Ne7 12.Nd2 Nf5 (12...Ng6 13.Bh5) 13.Bd3
18.cxb3 Nb4 19.a4 Qc7 20.Ne1 Qc3 Be7 14.Ne4 0-0 (14...0-0-0!?) 15.Qg4 Kh8
21.Bd3 Bxd3+ 22.Rxd3 Nxd3 (15...g6) 16.Qh3! Qd8 17.Bd2 Be8
0-1 (17...g6!? 18.g4 Ng7 19.Nxc5 Bxc5 20.Bxg6
h5) 18.g4 Nh4 19.f4 Bg6 20.Be1 h6
□ Romanishin Oleg 21.Bxh4 Bxh4 22.f5! Bf7 (22...Bh7 23.Nxc5
■ Ivanchuk Vassily +-) 23.fxe6 1-0 Zaitsev,I-Tarjan,J Quito
C02 Irkutsk 1986 1977.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7
6.Be2 f6 XABCDEFGHY
An interesting and dynamic plan of 8r+-+kvlntr(
immediate attack on his opponent's centre.
Much more tested is the classical 7zpp+l+-zpp'
continuation 6...Qb6, or 6...Nge7. 6-+-+p+-+&
7.0-0 fxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.dxe5 Qc7 (D)
XABCDEFGHY 5+-zppwq-+-%
8r+-+kvlntr( 4-+P+-+-+$
7zppwql+-zpp' 3+-+-+-+-#
6-+-+p+-+& 2PzP-+LzPPzP"
5+-zppzP-+-% 1tRNvLQ+RmK-!
4-+-+-+-+$ xabcdefghy
11.Bh5+!
3+-zP-+-+-# The usual move in this situation has been
2PzP-+LzPPzP" 11.Bf3 or 11.Re1 0-0-0 12.Bf3 Qf5 13.cxd5
exd5 14.Qxd5 Qxd5 15.Bxd5 Nf6 16.Bf3
1tRNvLQ+RmK-! Bd6 17.Bg5 Rde8 18.Nd2 Ng4 19.Bxg4
Bxg4 20.Nc4 Bc7 21.Be7 b6 22.f3 Bd7
xabcdefghy 23.Rad1 ½-½ Honfi,K-Rubinchik,L Donau
10.c4! 1989 or, finally, 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Qc2 oo.
11...g6 12.Bf3 0-0-0 Also failing to save the situation was
Problems frequently arise from the open 17...Qb6 18.b4! Qxb4 19.Rab1!! +-. The
centre. Much more solid was to close it with best chance was 17...Qa6! 18.Qxa6 bxa6
12...d4 13.Bxb7 Rb8 14.Bf3 Bd6 15.g3 Qg7 19.b4! c4 20.Rec1 but Black's king will
16.Re1 Nf6 followed by castling short. come under fire soon.
13.Re1 (D) XABCDEFGHY
XABCDEFGHY 8-+ktr-+-tr(
8-+ktr-vlntr( 7zpp+lvl-+p'
7zpp+l+-+p' 6-+-+psnp+&
6-+-+p+p+& 5+-zp-+-+-%
5+-zppwq-+-% 4-+Qwq-vL-+$
4-+P+-+-+$ 3+-sN-+L+-#
3+-+-+L+-# 2PzP-+-zPPzP"
2PzP-+-zPPzP" 1tR-+-tR-mK-!
1tRNvLQtR-mK-! xabcdefghy
xabcdefghy 18.Nb5!! Bxb5 19.Bxb7+! Kxb7 20.Qxb5+
13...Qd6 One move until mate, so…
Other queen moves do not solve Black's 1-0
problems either: 13...Qd4 14.Qxd4 cxd4
For an attack we need weaknesses in our
15.cxd5 exd5 16.Bf4! with a very unsafe
opponent’s king position. We can force it
position for the black king after a rook
with sacrifices, or with the concentration of
check. 13...Qf5 14.Nc3! (not so clear is
our pieces on this part of the board.
14.cxd5 exd5 15.Nc3 Nf6 16.Nxd5 Bc6
17.g4 Qd7 18.Nxf6 Qf7 19.Qe2 Qxf6 □ Volokitin Andrei
20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.Be3 h5) 14...d4 15.Qb3 ■ Iakymov Volodymyr
Bc6 16.Bxc6 bxc6 17.Ne4 +/-. C11 Kharkov 2010
14.Nc3! 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4
A possible, but much more complicated way c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5
was 14.cxd5?! exd5 15.Nc3 Nf6 16.Bg5 9.Qd2 a6 10.0-0-0 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 (D)
Bc6! 17.b4! cxb4 18.Qd4 Bg7 19.Nxd5. XABCDEFGHY
14...dxc4
14...d4 does not fully close the position, e.g. 8r+lwqk+-tr(
15.Ne4 Qb6 16.b4! +-.
15.Qe2!
7+p+n+pzpp'
Not good enough was 15.Qxd6?! Bxd6 6p+-+p+-+&
16.Ne4 Be7 17.Ng5 Rf8! 18.Nxe6 Rf5.
15...Nf6 5+-vlpzP-+-%
White's pressure increases after 15...Bg7 4-+-vL-zP-+$
16.Bg5 Nf6 17.Rad1 Qc7 18.Qxc4.
16.Qxc4 3+-sN-+-+-#
Equally strong was 16.Bg5. 2PzPPwQ-+PzP"
16...Be7?!
Clearly better was so-called 'simplification': 1+-mKR+L+R!
16...Qd4 17.Qe2 Bd6.
17.Bf4 Qd4? (D)
xabcdefghy
11...b5?! Bb7 20.h5 Rac8 21.h6 g6.
This move lands Black in hot water. 16.Qe3 0-0 17.Bd3
12.Ne4! Be7 Now Black can't play ...Qxd6 in view of
Obviously the line 12...dxe4 13.Bxc5 Bb7 Bxe4 and Bxg7.
14.Bd6 +/- did not appeal to Black. 17...Nxd6 18.Qh3! (D)
13.Nd6+ Bxd6 14.exd6 (D) XABCDEFGHY
XABCDEFGHY 8r+lwq-trk+(
8r+lwqk+-tr( 7+-+-+pzpp'
7+-+n+pzpp' 6p+-snp+-+&
6p+-zPp+-+& 5+p+p+-+-%
5+p+p+-+-% 4-+-vL-zPP+$
4-+-vL-zP-+$ 3+-+L+-+Q#
3+-+-+-+-# 2PzPP+-+-zP"
2PzPPwQ-+PzP" 1+-mKR+-+R!
1+-mKR+L+R! xabcdefghy
xabcdefghy 18...f5
14...Nf6 Now Black is strategically lost, but it seems
After 14...0-0 White can opt for 15.Bd3 Nf6 that this move was practically forced. If
16.Qe1 for example: 16...Ne8 (if 16...Qxd6? 18...g6 then 19.Qh6! f6 20.Bxg6! Qe7
17.Qh4! +-) 17.Bc5 Nxd6 18.Qe5 +/-. 21.Bd3 with a decisive advantage. Black is
15.g4!? (D) also lost after 18...h6 19.Qh5! as there isn't
After 15.Bd3 Qxd6 16.g4 (16.f5!? much he can do about the g5 break.
Lamoureux,C-Gurevich,M Clichy 1993) 19.Rhg1 Rf7
Black can try 16...0-0 (16...Ne4? 17.Bxe4 After 19...g6 20.gxf5 exf5 21.Qh6 Rf6
dxe4 18.Qe3 +-) though it won't solve all his White can take his time before cashing in.
problems, for example: 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.f5. 20.gxf5 Nxf5?!
XABCDEFGHY 20...exf5 was necessary but Black is lost
anyway: 21.Rg5! Ne4 22.Bxe4 fxe4 23.Qh6.
8r+lwqk+-tr( 21.Bxf5 exf5 (D)
7+-+-+pzpp' XABCDEFGHY
6p+-zPpsn-+& 8r+lwq-+k+(
5+p+p+-+-% 7+-+-+rzpp'
4-+-vL-zPP+$ 6p+-+-+-+&
3+-+-+-+-# 5+p+p+p+-%
2PzPPwQ-+-zP" 4-+-vL-zP-+$
1+-mKR+L+R! 3+-+-+-+Q#
xabcdefghy 2PzPP+-+-zP"
15...Ne4 1+-mKR+-tR-!
Black could try 15...Qxd6!? with the idea
16.g5 Ne4 17.Qe3 0-0 18.Bd3 Qc7 19.h4 xabcdefghy
22.Bxg7! Rxg7 23.Rxg7+ Kxg7 24.Rg1+ 14...a5 (not the best idea. Two other
Kh8 25.Qe3! propositions were clearly better: 14...Kh8!?
Of course not 25.Qh6? Ra7 -+. 15.Bb4 c5 16.Bxc5 Nxc5 17.dxc5 f5
1-0 [17...Qxc5? 18.Ng5 +/-] 18.Qd5 Rd8 19.Qf7
+= or 14...Bd6!?) 15.Ba2! Nf6 (15...Kh8!?
□ Petrosian Tigran 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Nd4 +=) 16.Qh4 e4
■ Taimanov Mark (16...exd4 17.exd4; 16...Be6 17.Bb1)
D46 Moscow 1955 17.Ne5! with a clear advantage for White,
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Botvinnik,M-Euwe,M Den Haag/Moscow
Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bb4!? 1948.
A favourite variation of M.Botvinnik's, and 7...0-0 8.Qc2
also his first pupil Mark Taimanov! The simplest decision, as the bishop on c1 is
7.0-0 best placed on b2: 8.Bd2 Qe7 9.Ne5 c5
7.a3!? Ba5 (it is better not to exchange this 10.cxd5 exd5 11.a3 Bxc3 12.Bxc3 Nxe5
important bishop, as the other one on c8 is a 13.dxe5 Ne4 14.Bxe4 dxe4 15.Kh1 a5
longstanding problem for Black in such 16.Qa4 Bf5 17.Rad1 Ra6 18.Rd6 Rxd6
structures: 7...Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.0-0 Qc7 19.exd6 Qxd6 20.Rd1 ½-½ Portisch,L-
10.Nd2! e5 11.Bb2! e4 12.Be2 Nb6! Botvinnik,M Leipzig 1960; 8.Ne5 Nxe5
[12...b5?! 13.cxb5 cxb5 14.a4! bxa4 15.c4 9.dxe5 Nd7 10.f4 Nc5 11.Be2 (11.Bc2 dxc4
dxc4 16.Nxc4 Nb6! 17.Nxb6 axb6 18.Rxa4 12.Qh5 g6 13.Qe2 =+) 11...dxc4 =+.
Bd7 19.Rxa8 Rxa8 20.Qb1 Re8 21.Rc1 Qd6 8...Bd6? (D)
22.Qc2 +/- EuweM-Alekhine,A Netherlands A premature retreat, and other ideas were
1937] 13.c5 Nbd7 14.c4 Rd8 =) 8.Qc2 (8.b4 much simpler, e.g. 8...dxc4 9.Bxc4 Bd6;
Bc7 9.Bb2 0-0 10.Qc2 dxc4 11.Bxc4 e5 8...Qc7 9.a3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Bd6 11.Ne4
12.Rd1 Qe7 13.Ba2 exd4 14.Nxd4 Nb6 Nxe4 12.Qxe4 c5 = Castaldi,V-Van
15.Nf5 Bxf5 16.Qxf5 Rfe8 17.0-0 Qe5 = Scheltinga,T Hilversum 1947.
Kottnauer,C-Kotov,A Moscow 1947) XABCDEFGHY
8...Qe7?! (8...0-0 9.0-0 Bc7 10.e4 dxc4
11.Bxc4 e5 Botvinnik,M-Taimanov,M 8r+lwq-trk+(
Moscow 1952) 9.Bd2 dxc4?! (9...Bc7
10.cxd5 exd5 11.Nb5 Qd8 12.Nxc7+ Qxc7
7zpp+n+pzpp'
+=) 10.Bxc4 e5 11.0-0 0-0 (11...e4? 6-+pvlpsn-+&
12.Nxe4!) 12.Rae1 Bc7 (12...exd4 13.exd4
+/- ; 12...Re8 13.Ng5 +/- ; 12...e4 13.Nxe4 5+-+p+-+-%
+/-) 13.Ne4! Nxe4 14.Qxe4 (D) 4-+PzP-+-+$
XABCDEFGHY 3+-sNLzPN+-#
8r+l+-trk+( 2PzPQ+-zPPzP"
7zppvlnwqpzpp' 1tR-vL-+RmK-!
6-+p+-+-+& xabcdefghy
5+-+-zp-+-% 9.b3! dxc4
4-+LzPQ+-+$ The typical counterattack in the centre is
dubious here: 9...e5?! 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Nb5!
3zP-+-zPN+-# +/-.
2-zP-vL-zPPzP" 10.bxc4 e5 11.Bb2 Re8 12.Ne4!± Nxe4
13.Bxe4 h6
1+-+-tRRmK-! It looked very dangerous to weaken the long
diagonal, but no concrete problems are
xabcdefghy visible: 13...g6 14.Rad1 (14.Bd3!? Qe7
15.c5 Bc7 16.Bc4!) 14...Qe7 15.Rfe1 f5 17...Qe7
16.dxe5 Bb4 oo. White would keep a clear advantage after
14.Rad1 exd4 (D) 17...Rf8 18.Rd1!
XABCDEFGHY 18.Re4! Qf8 19.Rh4! f6
19...Nf6 20.Rxh6! +-.
8r+lwqr+k+( 20.Bg6 Re7 (D)
7zpp+n+pzp-' XABCDEFGHY
6-+pvl-+-zp& 8r+l+-wq-mk(
5+-+-+-+-% 7zpp+ntr-zp-'
4-+PzpL+-+$ 6-+p+-zpLzp&
3+-+-zPN+-# 5+-vl-+-+-%
2PvLQ+-zPPzP" 4-+P+-+-tR$
1+-+R+RmK-! 3+-+-zPN+-#
xabcdefghy 2PvLQ+-zPPzP"
15.Bh7+! 1+-+-+RmK-!
A very important intermediate move, as the
direct capture was weak: 15.Rxd4 Nf6! xabcdefghy
15...Kh8 16.Rxd4 Bc5 21.Rh5!
In this critical position there are many A very fine idea, to include the knight in the
options, but none of them is sufficient to attacking team.
equalise, e.g. 16...Be7 17.Ne5 Rf8 18.Nxd7 21...Bd6 22.Rd1 Be5 23.Ba3 c5 24.Nh4!
Bxd7 19.Rfd1 +- ; 16...Qe7 17.Rfd1 Bc7 And here M.Taimanov decided to resign, as
18.Re4 Qd8 19.Rg4 f6 20.Bf5 Qe7 21.Nh4 his undeveloped queenside can do nothing to
+- ; 16...Nf6 17.c5 Nxh7 18.Rxd6 +=; help stop T.Petrosian's final attack.
16...Bc7 17.Rfd1 Qe7 18.Re4 Qf8 19.Rh4 1-0
+/-. Relatively better was 16...Be7.
XABCDEFGHY
8r+lwqr+-mk(
7zpp+n+pzpL'
6-+p+-+-zp& Counterattack is always more powerful than
5+-vl-+-+-% attack, especially when it is possible to keep
the opponent’s king in the centre.
4-+PtR-+-+$ □ Vallejo Pons Francisco
3+-+-zPN+-# ■ Sokolov Ivan
D45 Germany 2005
2PvLQ+-zPPzP" 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nf3 e6
1+-+-+RmK-! 6.b3 Bb4 7.Bd2 0-0 8.a3?! Bd6 9.b4?!
It was possible to immediately close the
xabcdefghy position, but it does not promise an
17.Rf4! advantage: 9.c5 Bc7 10.Bd3 Nbd7 11.Qc2
The Grandmaster's Rook - it is an old chess e5 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.f4 Bc7
proverb that the rook is at its strongest on 15.0-0 Re8 =.
the 4th or 5th rank. 9...Nbd7 10.Qb3 (D)
XABCDEFGHY a5 20.e4 axb4 21.axb4 h6 22.e5! hxg5
23.Bxg5 Bxe5 24.Qc2 Re8 25.Re1]
8r+lwq-trk+( 19.Ncxe4 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 Bxe4 21.fxe4 Qxe4
22.Qb1! =) 16.Nxd5 Nf6 17.Nxf6+ Qxf6
7+p+n+pzpp' 18.Qd5 Bf5 19.Rc1 (19.Qxb7 Qe6)
6p+pvlpsn-+& 19...Rab8 (19...Rac8 20.Rxc8 Rxc8
21.Qxb7) 20.Ng5 Rbe8 with much better
5+-+p+-+-% play for Black.
4-zPPzP-+-+$ 14...Nf6
Not many players would prefer the risky
3zPQsN-zPN+-# strategy 14...Qh4!? 15.cxd5 (15.cxd5)
2-+-vL-zPPzP" 15...Nf6.
15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Nxd5 Be6!
1tR-+-mKL+R! Ivan Sokolov has given up his extra pawn
and used this time for completing his
xabcdefghy development.
10...e5 17.Bc4 Bxh3 18.gxh3 (D)
A logical central blow. Possible was a
different form of central counterplay with
XABCDEFGHY
10...Ne4!? 11.Bd3 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 and only 8r+-wq-trk+(
now 12...e5 13.0-0 exd4 14.exd4 dxc4
15.Nxc4 Nf6 and Black, with the bishop pair 7+p+-+pzpp'
and control over the centre, can look
optimistically to the future.
6p+-vl-sn-+&
11.Rd1? 5+-+N+-+-%
White immediately commits a mistake, as 4-zPLzPp+-+$
this allows his opponent to take space. More
logical was to take in the centre with 3zPQ+-zP-+P#
11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 (interesting
was 12...e4 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.Ng1 Nb6 oo) 2-+-vL-zP-sn"
13.Qxd5 Nf6 14.Qb3 exd4 15.Nxd4 (weaker 1+-+RmK-+R!
is 15.exd4 Re8+ 16.Be3 [16.Be2? Rxe2+
17.Kxe2 Be6] 16...b5 17.Be2 Be6 18.Qb2 xabcdefghy
Ng4 oo) 15...Be5 (15...Ne4?! 16.Qc2 +=) 18...Nh5?!
16.Qd3 Re8 17.Be2 Bg4 18.f3 Bh5 with An instructive moment. Every trainer
very real compensation for the pawn, but teaches that a knight on the edge is
White would at least have something for his shameful, as the great Dr.Tarrasch used to
troubles. say. But even the strongest players tend to
11...e4 12.Ng5 play concretely - trying to calculate, not only
At least this is some activity, but not the to evaluate a position logically and to make
poor retreat 12.Ng1 dxc4 13.Bxc4 Nb6 -/+. simple decisions on this basis. Much better
12...Ng4!? was 18...Nxd5 19.Bxd5 Qh4.
After the simple 12...h6 13.Nh3 dxc4 19.Nc3?!
14.Bxc4 Nb6 Black has an advantage. It was necessary to play differently, when
13.Nh3 White would retain some chances to save the
Very bad would be 13.h4? Qf6 14.Nh3 Nxf2 game, e.g. 19.Be2 Qg5 (19...Qh4?! 20.Nf4!
-+. Nxf4 21.exf4 Bxf4 22.Bxf4 Qxf4 23.Qg3
13...Nxh2 14.Be2?! Nf3+ 24.Bxf3 Qxf3 25.Qxf3 exf3 26.Kd2 a5
White had to fight differently: 14.cxd5! =+) 20.Bc3 b5 21.Kd2 Nf6 -/+.
Nxf1 15.Kxf1 cxd5! (15...Nf6 16.dxc6 bxc6 19...Qh4-+ 20.Bd5
17.Ng5 Qe7 18.f3 Bf5 [18...exf3?! 19.gxf3 Or 20.Be2 Bg3!
20...Rae8 (10...Be6 looks stronger) 11.Bb3 Qd8
Equally strong would be 20...Nf6 21.Bxb7 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.Qxd4 0-0 14.Qxd8 Bxd8
Ra7 22.Bc6 Nhg4. 15.Bf4 Bb7 16.Nd2 Nd5 17.Bg3 f5 18.c4
21.Bxb7 Qxh3 22.Qd5 bxc4 19.Nxc4 f4 (D)
A nice variation arises after the capture XABCDEFGHY
22.Bxe4 Rxe4 23.Rxh2 (23.Nxe4 Nf3+
24.Ke2 Nf4+! 25.exf4 Nxd4+ 26.Ke1 Qxh1 8r+-vl-trk+(
#) 23...Qxh2 24.Nxe4 Qh1+.
22...Nf3+ 23.Ke2 Ng3+
7+lzp-+-zpp'
0-1 6p+-+-+-+&
And in some cases it is not clear till a 5+-+n+-+-%
certain moment whose attack is more
important! Clearly, he who can better 4-+N+-zp-+$
concentrate his all pieces. 3+L+-+-vL-#
□ Karpatchev Aleksandr 2PzP-+-zPPzP"
■ Malaniuk Vladimir
C78 Senden 2010 1tR-+-tR-mK-!
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-
0 Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2
xabcdefghy
Another logical central counterattack is 20.Na5 with much better play, Zelcic,R-
tempting, but Black is able to defend: 7.d4 Saric,I Zadar 2009.
bxa4 8.dxc5 Qe7 (8...Nxe4) 9.Qxa4 Qxc5 8...dxe4 9.dxe5 exf3
10.Be3?! Qe7 11.h3 (11.Nh4!?) 11...0-0 The immediate exchange leads to a better
12.Nbd2 Bb7 13.b4 h6 14.Rab1 d6 15.c4 endgame for White: 9...Qxd1 10.Rxd1
Qe6 16.Qc2 Ne7 17.a4 (D) Bxf2+ 11.Kf1 Ng4 12.Bxe4 Bb7 13.h3
Ne3+ 14.Bxe3 Bxe3 15.a4 Ke7 16.Na3
XABCDEFGHY Rhb8 17.axb5 axb5 18.Nxb5 Rxa1 19.Rxa1
8r+-+-trk+( 1-0 Areshchenko,A-Gupta,A Mumbai 2009.
10.exf6 Qxf6 11.Re1+
7+lzp-snpzp-' Possible is direct development with 11.Nd2
6p+-zpqsn-zp& 0-0 12.Ne4 Qg6 13.Ng3 Qf6 14.Qd3 g6
(Correct was not to weaken the dark squares:
5+-+-zp-+-% 14...Qg6) 15.Ne4 Qf5 16.Nxc5 fxg2 17.Re1
Qxc5 18.Qf3 (D)
4PzPP+P+-+$
3+-+-vLN+P# XABCDEFGHY
2-+QsN-zPP+" 8r+l+-trk+(
1+R+-+RmK-! 7+-zp-+p+p'
xabcdefghy 6p+n+-+p+&
17...Nxe4 (17...Nh5 18.g4 Nf6 19.Nh4 Nxg4 5+pwq-+-+-%
20.hxg4 Qxg4+ 21.Ng2 Nf5 22.Qd1! Qg6 4-+-+-+-+$
23.Qf3; 17...Nh7!? 18.Nh4 Qf6 19.Nf5 Nxf5
20.exf5 Bc8 21.g4 Bb7!) 18.Nxe4 Qg6 3+-zP-+Q+-#
19.Nfd2 f5 20.Ng3! f4 21.Qxg6 Nxg6 2PzPL+-zPpzP"
22.Nge4 fxe3 23.fxe3 = Anand,V-Adams,M
New Delhi 2000. 1tR-vL-tR-mK-!
7...d5 8.d4
8.exd5 Qxd5 9.d4 exd4 10.Re1+ Be7?!
xabcdefghy
18...Kg7? 19.Be3 +- Svidler,P-Stefanova,A Wrong is the other defensive try 15.g3
Gibraltar 2009. Qxh2+ 16.Ke3 f2! -+.
11...Be6 12.Be4 (D) 15...fxg2
12.Nd2 0-0-0 (Why not try to destroy the Very unclear is the alternative 15...f2
opponent's structure with 12...Ne5?) 16.Rh1 Ng4+ 17.Kd2 Qd8+ 18.Kc2 Bf5+
13.Qxf3 Qxf3 14.Nxf3 Bd5 15.b4 ½-½ 19.Kb3 Qxa8 20.Qf3 and Black has to find
Svidler,P-Onischuk,A Beersheba 2005. an unusual continuation of the attack - a
XABCDEFGHY transposition into an equal ending with
20...Qe4.
8r+-+k+-tr( 16.Bxg2
Slightly better would be 16.Bc6+ Nxc6
7+-zp-+pzpp' 17.Nd2 Qxh2 18.Nf3 Qg3.
6p+n+lwq-+& 16...0-0-+ (D)
5+pvl-+-+-% XABCDEFGHY
4-+-+L+-+$ 8-+-+-trk+(
3+-zP-+p+-# 7+-zp-+pzpp'
2PzP-+-zPPzP" 6p+-+l+-+&
1tRNvLQtR-mK-! 5+p+-sn-+-%
xabcdefghy 4-+-+-+-wq$
12...Ne5!? 3+-zP-mK-+-#
Possible was a different move order, viz:
12...Bxf2+ 13.Kxf2 Qh4+ 14.Kf1 Ne5 2PzP-+-+LzP"
15.Qd2 Qxh2 16.Bxf3 Nxf3 17.gxf3 Qh1+ 1tRNvLQtR-+-!
18.Kf2 Qh2+ 19.Ke3? (Better is to accept
draw by allowing perpetual with 19.Kf1) xabcdefghy
19...Qg3 with a strong attack. Now White's king is under fire from all sides
13.Bxa8 Bxf2+! 14.Kxf2 Qh4+! and his huge material advantage - rook and
A different line of attack does not work bishop - doesn't help.
here: 14...Ng4+ 15.Kg3 0-0 16.Bxf3 Rd8 17.b3 Re8 18.Kd2 Bf5 19.Rxe5 Qf4+
17.Qe2 h5 18.h4. 0-1
15.Ke3

Curriculum Vitae
Adrian Mikhalchishin
Adrian Bohdanovych Mikhalchishin (also Brno 1990, Eeklo 1991, Dortmund 1999,
Mihalcisin, Mihalčišin or Mykhalchyshyn, Warsaw 2002.
Ukrainian: Адріян Богданович Slovenian Champion 2002. In Ukrainian
Михальчишин, born November 18, 1954 in Championships best result was 2-3 places in
Lviv) is a Ukrainian chess Grandmaster now 1977 and Rapid Ukrainian Champion in
playing for Slovenia. Education: Lviv 1993, many times junior Champion of the
University, faculty of physics 1976. country.
Mikhalchishin is married, with two children.
Participant of Chess Olympiads 1992 for
Ukraine, 2000-2006 for Slovenia.
Winner of team Championships and
National Cups of USSR, Ukraine, Slovenia,
Yugoslavia, Croatia and Hungary.
FIDE Senior Trainer from 2004, FIDE
Trainers’ Commission Chairman from 2009.
Conducted many Seminars for FIDE trainers
in Germany, UAE, Greece, Spain,
Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, Croatia and
Austria.
Trainer of Soviet National team 1989-90
World and European Champions.
Trainer of National team Slovenia 1998-
2003, National team of Netherlands 2003-
2007, National Team of Turkey 2007-08.
Conducted trainings camps with National
teams of Poland and Switzerland. Individual
trainings with Maia Chiburdanidze 1978,
Nana Aleksandria 1983, Anatoly Karpov
1980-1986, Alexander Beliavsky 1986-
He became a Grandmaster in 1978, shared 1995, Vasyl Ivanchuk 1990, Polgar sisters
first place at the Nikolaev tournament in 1992-1994, Alisa Maric 1994-2000, Zhaoqin
1983, and was second at Hastings in 1985- Peng 2002-2007, Mateusz Bartel 2000-2009,
86. Vice President of Ukrainian Chess Ilya Nyzhnyk 2009, Richard Rapport 2010,
Federation 1998-2001. Speaks Ukrainian, Arkady Naiditsch 2005-2006.
Russian, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian, Trainer of club Agrouniverzal Belgrade,
English and German languages. three times winner of European Women Cup
As a player best result 4th place in Soviet 1993, 1997, 1999.
Championship 1984, Soviet Youth He is currently coaching the Women's
Champion 1977. National Team of Turkey.
World Youth Champion in team 1977, Author of 21 chess books published in
1980, winner of European Cup 1984, winner Germany, England, France, Spain, Italy,
of international tournaments Banco di Roma Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Turkey,
1977, Copenhagen 1980, Leipzig 1979, Yugoslavia and USA.

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FIDE-TRG - ACS 9-Exclusive Miniatures - Book

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FIDE Trainers’ Commission

Advanced Chess School

Cover by Efstathia Saltamara

Commissioning Editor: Efstratios Grivas (www.GrivasChess.com)

Aronin Lev - Zheliandinov 11 Munguntuul Batkhuyag - Zhang 41

Advanced Chess School - Volume 9 - Exclusive Miniatures - Adrian Mikhalchishin 6

Advanced Chess School - Volume 9 - Exclusive Miniatures - Adrian Mikhalchishin 8

Advanced Chess School - Volume 9 - Exclusive Miniatures - Adrian Mikhalchishin 15

Advanced Chess School - Volume 9 - Exclusive Miniatures - Adrian Mikhalchishin 20

Advanced Chess School - Volume 9 - Exclusive Miniatures - Adrian Mikhalchishin 33

Advanced Chess School - Volume 9 - Exclusive Miniatures - Adrian Mikhalchishin 49

Advanced Chess School - Volume 9 - Exclusive Miniatures - Adrian Mikhalchishin 50

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