VISIT…

Batsford Chess Library

Winning With the

Nimzo-Indian

Raymo11d Keene

An Owl Book
Henry Holt and Сотраnу
New York
Copyright © 1991 Ьу Raymoлd Кееле
All rights reserved, iлcl udiлg the rig ht to reproduce this
book or portioлs thereof iл алу form.
First p uЬli shed iл the Uлited States iл 1992 Ьу
Нелrу Holt алd Соmралу, Iлс., 115 West 18th Street,
New York, New York 10011 .
Ori giлally publ ished i n Great Britain in 1991 Ьу
В. Т. Bats ford Ltd.

Li brary of Congress Catalog Card Number: 92-52736

ISBN 0-8050-2319- 4 (Ал Owl Book: pbk . )

Нелrу H o l t book s are avai l aЬle a t speci al discouлts for

b u l k p urchases for sales promotions, premiums,
fuлd-rai sing, or educational use. Special editioлs or
book excerpts сал also Ье created to specificatioл.

For details coлtact: Special Sales Director,

Нелrу Holt алd Соmралу, Iлс . , 115 Wes t 18th Street,
New York , New York 10011 .

First American Edition-1992

Priлted iл the United Кiлgdom

Recogniziлg the i m portaлce of preserviлg the written
word, Henry Ho l t алd Со mралу, Inc., Ьу policy , prints
а11 of its first editioлs on acid-free paper. ro

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Advisor: R. D. Keene G M , ОБЕ

Technical Edi tor: Andrew Кi nsman
Contents

BiЬliography 6
Introd uction 9
1) CapaЬlanca's Variation 22
2) Spielmann's Variation 53
� 4� �
4) The Clo sed Saemisch 64
5) The Open Saemisch 76
6) gЗ Systems 82
7) 4 еЗ- Offshoots 92
8) 4 еЗ- The Queen's Fianche tto 104
9) 4 еЗ Orthodox System
- 117
10) The Hiibner Sy stem an d Anti-Hilbner Li nes 121
11) The Queen' s Indian System (1) 137
12) The Queen's Indian Sys tem (2) 144
13) The Leningrad Variati on 154
BiЬliography

1 woul d like to mention the following sources which

proved mos t useful for reference:

Periodicals:
New In Chess Magazine, Netherlands
Perga.mon Chess, S utton Coldfield and Oxford
British Chess Magazine, Hastings
Ch ess Informa tor, Belgrade
Inside Chess, Seattle
Schachwoche, Switzerland
Sahovski Glasnik, Zagreb

Books:
Aron Nimzowitsch: Mas ter of Planning, Keene
Batsford Chess Openings, Kasparov/Keene
Ал Opening Repertoire for White, Keene
How to Play the Nimzo-lndian Defence, Keene/Taulbu t
Siegen 0/ympiad 1970, Keene/Levy

Chess Columns:
The Guardian, Barden
The New Statesman, Botterill
Th e Spectator, Keene
Th e Тimes, Keene

Tournament Bulletins:
Linares, 1991
Euwe Memorial, 1991
Watson, Farley & Williams, 1991
 1 d4 4:Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 4:Jc3 �Ь4 (1)

The Nimzo-Indian Defence

invented Ьу Grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch (18 86 - 1935)

Winning with the Nimzo-Indian

Winning strategies for White and Black in one of the

world's most popular chess openings- а favourite of such
giants as Alekhine, CapaЬlanca, Botvinnik, Fischer, Kar­
pov and Kasparov. These champions, with both Black and
White, have used the Nimzo-Indian to win! Now, you can
too, Ьу basing your play on the strategies outlined in this
book, the companion volume to How to Play the Nimzo­
Indian Defence Ьу Raymond Keene and Shaun Taulbut.
Introduction
The key battlegro und of
the Nimzo- Indian Defence
is the struggle between
White's paw n cen tre, w hich
seeks t o expand and take
over the whole board and
Black's desire to Ьlock this
pawn centre and restrict
the mobility of the white
pi eces. The decisive factor
in all this is oft en the
douЬled white pawns on
the c-file caused Ьу Black's
cap turing w i th ... .О.Ь4 х сЗ.
Whether these pawns form
а fo u nd at i on and а bast i on
of strength for White's
centre, or whether they
form а so urce of static
weak ness , is frequently
c entral to the o u tco me of
the battle.
The Indian
N imz o wi tsc h
Defence (or Nimzo-ln dian
as we use here) was intro­
duced i n th e 1920s Ьу the
gr eat chess thinker and
grandmas ter Aron Nimzo­
witsch. His defence h as
become one of the most
popular and most subtle i n
cu rrent practice. It has
been а firm f av o u r i te of
such champions as Botvin­
nik, C apa Ь lanca Fisc her
,
and Karpov.
Му a i m in this introduc­
tory chapter is to set out
the basic themes of the
struggle. In the t h ree
games Ьу Nimzowitsch h im­
self against johner, Bogol­
yubov and Reti we see
White restricted and ulti­
mate l y annihilated. In the
next two games we witness
the te rr ify i n g power of
White's centre once it h as
become liberated. If the
t e c h n i q ues e mp loyed here
are learnt and u nd erst o od ,
the student will r eap rich
rew ards, in terms of later
points scored, w hether
playing White or Black. The
strategy behind all of t hese
games is vital to the under­
s ta n d i n g of the Nimzo-
10 In troduction

Indian and wi l l repay care­

ful s tudy. 2
The prime directive of w
the Nimzo- lndian Defence
for Вlack is "First restrain,
then Ь lockade, finally de­
stroy!" ("Zuers t hemmen,
-

da nn Ьlockieren, zuletzt
vernicht en!" - Му System,
Aron Nimzowitscbl .

johner - Nimzowitsch 11 f4 е4
Dresden 1926 12 -'le2 �d7
It i s important to pre­
1 d4 4Jf6 vent White gaining space
2 с4 е6 Ьу means of g 4.
3 4Jc3 �Ь4 13 hЗ !LJe7
4 еЗ о-о 14 �е1
S �dЗ cS If \\'Ъite plays 14 g4
6 4JfЗ 4Jc6 then 1 4 . . . h5 15 g5 4Jh7 or
7 0-0 !lхсЗ 15 f5 hxg4 16 hxg4 4Jh7
An important component would l eave White's king­
of N imzowitsch's defence. side ful l of hol es.
Bl ack hopes, Ьу doubling 14 hS
White's pawns on the c­ 15 !ld2 t!JfS
file, to restrict the mobility 16 �h2 �h71 (3)
of White's central pawn
mass and also to inflict а з
serious wound оп White's w
queenside pawns.
8 ЬхсЗ d6
9 4Jd2 Ь6
10 4Jb3 eS (2)
The commencement of
Black's centr·al Ьlockading
manoeuvres, further inten­
ded to hinder White's poss­
ib llities for expansion . The completion of а
 Introduction 11

re ma r kaЬl e coпceпtration
of Black fo rce s оп the 4

k i пg' s flaпk which more w

or less paralyses White's
ch ances for freedo m of ac­
tioп. Iп particular it sho u ld
Ье пoted w h a t а m i s e raЬ le
role is поw played Ьу the
wh ite Ьishop pair. If Whi te
cannot ever play g4, he can
achieve пo t h iпg .

The poiпt o f play i n g the inability to arrange his own

Ь l ac k queeп to h7 is two­ desired advance, g4.
fol d: firstly, the fS s q uare 25 4Jf1 ZXg 7
is freed for occupation Ьу а 26 ZXa2 4JfS
Ьlack k п i g h t ; se co n dl y , оп 27 �h1 Z:!cg8
h7, the Ьlack queen defin­ 28 �d1 gxf4
i tiv e ly prevents White's g4, 29 exf4 .Q.c8
which is now destroyed Ьу 30 �Ь3 �аб
. .. hxg4· opeпing up а direct 31 �е2 4Jh4 (5)
attack from the Ьlack
queen against White's kiпg . 5
17 а4 4JfS w
18 g 3 aS
19 ZXg1 4Jh6
20 �f1 �d 7
21 �с1 ZXac8
22 dS �h8
23 4Jd2 ZXg B
24 �2 g S (4)
With White tied up iп
k no t s the time has соте Here, as is s o often the
for Black to start his оw п case when one side has
assault iп ea rn e s t Curious­
. been s t rategically outplay­
ly, Bl ack s Ьlow to the
' ed, wonderful co mblna tio ns
fo undat ioп s of White's begin to a rise пaturally
fo rt re ss is the move . . .gS, from the positioп. Thus,
а ne at paral lel to White's had W hi te поw c h ose n t o
12 In troduction

defend himself with 32 Bogolyubov - Nimzowitsch

4Jd2, then B l ack coul d sac­ Carlsbad 1929
rifice his queen most aes­
thetically wi th 32 ... .О.сВ 33 1 d4 4Jf6
4Jxe4 �f5 34 4Jf2 �хhЗ+ 35 2 с4 е6
4Jxh3 4Jg4 mate. 3 4Jc3 �Ь4
32 �е3 -'lc8 4 4Jf3 flxc3+
33 �с2 �xh3 Although Black technic­
34 -'lxe4 a1Jy squaпders а tempo Ьу
If i ns tead 34 �хhЗ �f5+ capturiпg оп сЗ (he does
35 Wh2 4Jg4+ with mate to not wait to Ье provo ked Ьу
follow . аЗ) White is, at least, ob­
34 Jlf5 Jiged to recaptu re on сЗ
35 �xf5 4Jxf5 with а p awn. From this
36 �е2 h4 poiп t оп, as i n the j o h ner
37 �gg2 hxgЗ+ game, the p l ay agai nst
38 �g1 �h3 Wh ite's douЬ i ed pawпs
39 4Je3 4Jh4 forms the l ei tmoti f of
40 фf1 �еВ Black's whole strategy .
0-1 5 Ьхс3 Ь6
White is faced with ruiп­ 6 gЗ?I (7)
ous lo sses, e.g. 41 фе1 ,
tryiпg t o flee the pi n 4 1 . . . 7
4Jf3+ 4 2 ф d 1 �h1+ (6) в

6
w

А more dyпamic possi­

Опе of the most instruc-
tive games ever played with
this defence!
bl l i ty resides in 6 flgS, in­
tendiпg �с2, еЗ and fldЗ.
Wi th the fianchetto Bogo­
lyubov somewhat weake ns
his protection of the front

dou Ьled paw n o n с 4 .
6 !J.b7
7 .clg 2 0-0
8 0-0 �е 8
"Black operates here, and
in the fol lowing play, with
prophylaxi s and centralisa­
tion, according to Му Sys­
tem. The mys terio us rook
move helps to forestall the
possibllity of 4Jd2 and е 4 ,
thus: 9 4Jd2 !J.xg2 1 0 �xg2
eS! 11 е4 exd4 and . . . 4Jxe4
fol l ow s." ( Ni mzowitscbl
9 tte1 d6
10 �с2?! (8)
8 not yet quite moblle.
в 13 dxeS
Here Nimzowitsch sug­
gested 10 4Jd2! ..a_xg2 11
�xg2 eS 12 е4 4Jc6 13 !J.b2!,
when Black has n o clear­
cut method of attacking
White's pawn fron t. Ne­
vertheless, this position,
wi th Whi te's QB reduced to
а miseraЬly d efensive role,
would certainly not Ье to
everyone's taste . We can
Introduction 13
see that it did n ot appeal to
Bogolyubov.
10 !J.e4
11 �Ь3 4Jc6
12 .,O.f1 eS!
Tempting was 12 ... 4Ja5!?
13 �а4 fJ.c6 but after 14 �Ь4
White's pos ition is not
yet "organically diseased"
( Nimzowitscbl. Black's 12th
move is timely and necess­
ary. Не mus t s trike before
White plays 4Jd2! ( attack­
ing the intrusive Ь lack
queen's blshop) and then е4!
wi th а massive centre, al­
though one w hich is still
This capture concedes
the bankruptcy of White's
openin g strategy, but 13 dS
4Ja5 i s also unattractive in
view of the fact that White
has been oЬl iged to s ur­
render con trol of the cS
square ( 1 4 tьа4 4Jd7).
13 4)хе5
14 4Jxe 5 �xeS
15 �f4 �е8
16 f3 .,О.Ь7
17 �ad1
Threatening с4 - cS .
17 4Jd7 (9)
"Now the picture i s quite
different: ln spite of the
s tout central paw n and the
Ьishop pair Whi te's posi-
1 4 Introduc tion

24 �е2 фh8
9 25 t/ia3 �е6 (10)
w

tio n s uffers from а pro­

found, i n ner decay . The
do uЫed pawn is iso lated Preparations com plete.
and, after the inevi taЬle е4, 26 t/ic1 fS
а rol li ng-up action wШ Not 26 . . . 4Jxc4 ?? 27
eventual ly take p lace on �хс4 t/ixc4 28 �xh6!=.
the e-file (. . . fS). O n top of 27 exfS tfJxfS
this White doesn ' t have а 28 tf1d2 t/if7
shred o f co un terpl ay any­ 29 t/id4
w here . " (Nlmzowl tsch). Loses at once. 29 .O.xeS
18 е4 t/ifб was loathsome, but essen­
19 �2 4::\eS tia l .
20 �d2 �е7 29 ... 4Jg6!
21 �ed1 �сб Inflicting а second set of
Consolidation directed sh attered douЬi ed paw n s .
against the possib l l ity of 3 0 �d3 4Jxf4
the tactical trick cS. 31 t/ixf4 t/ixf4
22 �f2 �ае8 32 gxf4 �f8 (11)
23 �f1 hб "Here many roads l ead to
Nimzowitsch adheres re­ Rome, and al l these differ­
solutely to his strategy . Не ent roads, thanks to the
now p l an s to tri ple in the presence of the n u merous
e-fi l e in preparation for the do uЬled pawns, are а real
rol ling-up move: . . . fS, pleasure to tread, e.g. 32 . . .
which will a n n i h i\ate �е3 Onstead o f . . . �f8) 33
White's l as t central bastion �g2 �хfЗ 34 �хfЗ �е3 35
( th e pawn on е4). �df1 �xd3 and wins." (Nim-
 Introduction 15
2 с4 еб
З 4Jc3 �Ь4
4 �с2 dS
5 еЗ cS
6 4Jf3 4Jc6
7 аЗ �хсЗ+
8 Ъхс3 Ь6 (12)

zowitsch).
33 fS .cld7
34 �dd2 .clxfS
35 �fe2 �хе2
36 .clxe2 �е В
37 фf2 �eS
38 �dS
The rest is silence ... Since Вlack h as already
38 gS committed himself to ... dS,
39 !!xeS dxeS White can now liquidate
40 cS bxcS the douЫed c-t'iJe p a wns
41 .cla6 е4 whenever he wishes. Never­
42 а4 фg 7 theless, as we shall see,
43 aS ехfЗ this very liquidation (10
44 фхf3 фfб cxdS) will give Black fresh
45 фе3 феS weapons with whjch to
46 -'lc4 �4 ch allenge the formation of
47 �аб hS White's ideal central pawn
48 _klc4 h4 phalanx (pawns stretching
49 _kla6 .cld1 from сЗ, via d4 and е4 to
50 _klb7 g4 fЗ) .
0-1 9 �d3 о-о
10 cxdS exdS
Reti -Nlmzowitsch 11 о-о с4!
Berlin 1928 12 �е2 �4!
13 �е1 _klhS
1 d4 4Jf6 14 4Jd2 �6
16 ln troduction

Even stronger than 1 4 . . .

�хе2. 14

15 tЬd1 Ь5 w

16 f3 а5? 1 (13)

valuaЬie bon us the Ьis hop

pair can Ье, once the posi­
tion has opened up.
23 �xd4+
Prophylaxis w as cal led 24 ile3 tЬd3
for here, rather than pro­ 25 �xd3 cxd3
vocation, therefore 16 . . . 26 Ь5 4Je5
�е8 ! Now White l i fts the 27 �хе4 fxe4
Ыockade Ьу means of а 28 �d4 4Jc4
paw n sacrifice to gain 29 �хе4 .fjxa3
scope for his Ь ishops . 30 Z:Xe7! !:Xf4!
17 е4! dxe4 31 �е51
18 .fjxe4 Not 31 �xg7+ фf8 32 Z:'!fl
Not 1 8 fxe4? .fjxd4! 19 �xf1+ 33 фхf1 d2 34 фе2
cxd4 tЬxd4+ winning . dltЬ+ 35 фхd1 Z:'!d8 winning.
18 �хе4 31 .fjxЬ1
19 fxe4 .fjxe4 32 .O.xf4 Z:Xd8
20 tЬс2 f5 33 Ь6
Threatening .fjxd4 The best chance. If 33
agai n . Z:'!e1 then 33 . . . . d2 34 )dd1 а4
21 �f3 tЬf6 35 Ь6 аЗ 36 Ь7 а2 37 �eS
22 �Ь1 Ь4 04) !db8! 38 �хЬ8 a1tt1 and wins,
23 схЬ4? since Whi te's В cannot re­
23 ахЬ4 ! ахЬ4 24 -'lxe4 treat in view of . . . Qa7+/
fxe4 25 �е 3! would keep хЬ7 - N i mzowitsch.
White above wate1·. An Ш­ 33 d2
us tration of just w hat а 34 �xd2 4Jxd2
 Intгoduction 17

35 Ь7 (15) 55 �f7 �d3

56 �f8 4Jg6
57 �f5 �d5
0-1

'i Keene Kuijpers -

Rotterdam 1982
'\

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 4Jc3 -'lb4
4 еЗ о-о
35 ... Z1f8 S �dЗ d5
Thre atens mateand 6 аЗ .О,хс3+
therefore gives him а vital 7 Ьхс3 с5
tempo. Without this tempo Black sho uld preface t h i s
White would have excelle n t thr ust wi th ' 1 dxc4. As . . .

drawing chances Ь у means play ed , White is gi v en the

of �с7-с8. chance to estaЬ\ish а mo­
36 hЗ 4Jc4 Ьile pawn roller in the
37 �еб а4 cen tre, а dream sit u ation
38 �аб 4Je5 for White in this opening.
39 �ха4 �ь8 8 cxd5 exd5 ·

40 �Ь 4 �f7 9 4Je2 Ьб
41 �h2 �е7 ю о-о .О,аб
42 !!h4 hб 11 -'lхаб 4Jxa6
43 �Ь4 4Jf7 12 t(yd3 t(yc8
44 �g4 g5 13 fЗ (16)
45 �е4+ �fб А key preparation for
46 �Ь4 4Jd6 achieving the vital ad vance
47 h4 �хЬ7 е 4 which will c row n White's
48 hxg5+ hxg5 ope ning strategy .
49 �а4 �ьз 13 t(yb7
50 gЗ 4Jf5 14 4Jg3 Z1ad8
51 g4 4Jh4 15 �Ь2 �fe8
52 �aS �сЗ 16 �ае1 �еб
53 �а8 �es White would like to р\ау
54 �f8 �е4 now 17 е4 but for the то-
18 In troduction
ment this is not possiЬie.
After 1 7 е 4 there would
occur 17 ... cxd4 18 cxd4
dxe4 19 fxe4 4:JcS! 20 �f3
4:Jcxe4 21 4:Jxe4 �хе4 when
White loses а pawn for no
compensation. There are
evident paral lels in this
variation with the Reti -
Nimzowitsch game we have
j u s t seen.
17 не2 gб
It i s understandaЬle that
Black wishes to deny the fS
sq uare to the hostil e white
knight. But this innocent
looking move weakens the
s upport of Вlack's other
knight on f6, permitting
White to play е 4, the whole
goal of his strategy , and to
justify this Ьу tactical
means.
18 е4 (17)
А s tandard scenario. This
type of position shoul d Ье
memori sed Ьу the student.
White here achieves the
liberating central advance,
wi thout having to s acri fice
а pawn, as in the Reti -
Nimzowitsch example.
Suddenly В lack mu st re­
cognise that his entire de­
fence has mis fired . If now
18 ... cxd4 19 cxd4 dxe4 20
fxe4 4JcS relying once again
on the d-fil e pin to dis­
mantle Whi te's centre, then
White w ins w i th 21 �f3
4Jcxe4 22 4Jxe4 �хе4 23
�xf6 �хе2 24 �xd8+. A l ­
ternatively, 22 . . . 4Jxe4 23
dS! and suddenly Bl ack is
losing, e.g. 23 . . . 4JgS 24
�с3 or 23 . . . �xdS 24 �хе4
or 23 . . . �xdS 24 �xf7 mate .
Deprived of this defensive
resource, Bl ack can on ly
watch helplessly as White's
majority of pawns in the
centre and оп the king's
wing metamorphoses into а
lethal Ьludgeon.
 Introduction 19

18 h5 3 4jc3 ilb4
19 е5 4J e8 4 tf1c 2 d5
20 f4 с4 5 cxd5 exd5
21 t!Jc2 h4 6 аЗ QхсЗ+
22 fS �с б 7 ЬхсЗ с5
23 4Jh1 t!Je7 8 4jf3 tf1a5
24 f6 tf1d 7 (18) 9 4Jd2 ild7
10 4Jb3 tf1a4
18 11 t!Jb2 4Ja6
w 12 еЗ с4 (19)

White's strategy of ad­

vancing his central and
kingside pawn m aj o rity has
proved specta c ul arly suc­ The c onto urs of the op­
cessful. ening are set. Black ob­
25 !1f4 hЗ viously enjoys an initiative
26 !1 е3 hxg2 on th e queen's wing while
27 t!Jxg2 4Jac7 White s chances reside in
'

28 �hЗ 1-0 his Ьishop pair and the long

There is ab sol u te ly no range p ossibllity of mobll­
defence against Whi t e s ' i si ng his central pawn ma­
threat to douЬle major jority. Jronically, it was
pieces on t he h-fi le thus Botvinnik himself who had
forcing checkmate. pioneered th i s central pawn
strategy in the Jate 1930s.
Najdorf - Botvinnik 1з 4Jd2 о-о
Groningen 1946 14 Qe2 Ь5
15 .a_d1 tf1a5
1 d4 еб 16 Qc2 !'Ife8
2 с4 4Jf6 17 0-0 �аЬ8
20 Introduction

18 c[jf3 the vital square е4.

Najdorf's opening play, 22 'f!JЫ �Ь6
especially the manoeuvres 23 'f!Je1 c[jd7
with his q ueen, had appear­ 24 'f!Jh4 c[Jf8
ed somewhat artificial, but 25 е4
this move announces the Having achieved this
commencement of the un­ thematk advance, White's
ravel ling process. attack plays itself.
18 'f!jc7 25 f6
19 c[je5 �е6 26 4Jg4 4Jg6
20 f3 (20) 27 'f!Jh5 'f!Jf7
28 �aet �ЬЬ8
29 4Je3 4Je7
If 29 . . . c[jf4 30 'f!Jxf7+
followed Ьу 31 4Jxc4.
30 'f!Jh4 f5
31 g4 (21)

21
в

As so often, the modest

preparatory move f3 is the
first rol ling stone in а huge
avalanche of white paw ns
which soon pour over the
central battlefield.
20 ... c[Jc5
21 �d2 c[ja4
А misguided attempt. Не
had to challenge White's
powerful knight, for ex­
ampl e 21 . . . c[Jcd7 22 c[jxd7
�xd7 and then after 23 �ае1
conti nue with 23 . . . � с6 24
'f!JЬ1 'f!Jb7 in order to con­
centrate all his strength on
Thi s destroys Black's
position in the most effic­
acious manner. If Black
tries to hold the line with
31 . . . g6 then 32 exfS gxfS
33 gxfS c[jxfS 34 �xfS �xfS
35 'f!JgS+ �6 36 c[jxdS wi ns.
31 f4
32 exdS
This wins а piece due to
 Introduction 21

the attack ag ainst h?. ting events Ьу making this

32 {)g6 thrust. But it worked only
33 dxe6 :Цхе6 in the particular circum­
34 .(lxg6 hxg6 stances o f Reti - Nimzo­
35 {)g2 :ЦЬе8 witsch. Why? Becau se
36 :Цхе6 :Цхе6 White's dream pawn ce ntre
37 {)xf4 :Цf6 was still unstaЬ l e. In the
38 �gS {)хс3 remai ning two, Keene
39 �хс3 :Цхf4 Kuijpers and Najdorf - Bot­
40 �g2 1-0 vi n nik ... с4 simply re­
,

leased the pressure on

C-File Health Warning
In the l ast three e xamples
it is vital to appreciate the
role pl ayed Ьу the seeming­
ly aggress ive Bl ack paw n
move ... cS с4. In all three
- yo urs elf to
cas es, it appeared that it
was Bl ack who was dicta-
White's centre, thus g iving
him free rein to imp lement
hi s own central offensive
more or less at will. In
your own g ames Ье very
careful before committing
.. .с4. You may
find it useful to keep the
c-file open!
1 ) CapaЬlanca' s Variation
1 d4 �f6
2 с4 е6
3 �сЗ �Ь4
4 �с2 (22)
4 �с2 has а seductive ap­
peal for the white player.
If things go well he will
acquire the Ьishop pair and
greater control of space
without suffering any da­
mage to his pawn struc­
ture, s uch as douЬled
pawns in the c-file, which
are characteristic of so
many other variations of
the Nimzo-lndian. The en­
counter between A lekhine
and Sultan Khan which
opens this chapter is а fine
example of the easy re­
wards White may gather if
Black plays passively.
Nevertheless, there are
dangers for White in this
line, associated mainly with
the possiЬl e exposure of
the white queen if it is re­
captured on сЗ and even
with some danger to the
white king, since White's
queen manoeuvres tend to
permit Black to race ahead
in development. For amЬi­
tious Ьlack players, 1 there­
fore recom mend the tactical
lines commencing with 4 . . .
0-0 5 аЗ ,О.хсЗ+ 6 �хсЗ Ь5!?
or 4 . . с5 5 dxc5 �а6 6 аЗ
.
�хсЗ+ 7 �хсЗ �хс5. The
white player must Ье ful ly
prepared to meet both of
these eventualities if he
wishes to employ 4 t/1c2 on
а regular basis.
Our first game with 4
�с2 shows j ust how deadly
it can Ье against an u n-
 CapaЬlanca 's Variation 23

sop blst icat ed defence. Black. As the fo!lowing

p lay shows, however, it is
Alekhine - Sultan КЪаn not easy to t ra n s fo rm it
London International in to а decisive one.
To urnament 1932 10 �xf6 gxf6
11 cxdS exdS
1 d4 �f6 12 ..о..ьs а6
2 с4 е6 13 Да4 �f8
3 �с3 .Qb4 14 о-о �е7
4 tfyc2 с5 15 �Ь3 �е6
5 dxcS .Qxc5 16 �ad1 �d8
1 would prefer here S 17 �d4 !J_a7
�с6 6 �fЗ t/;JaS 7 .{ld2 t/YxcS 18 �се2 ..О..Ь8
with an approximately equal 19 �f4! ..O..xf4
game. 20 exf4 ..o..g4
6 �f3 �с6 After his doubtful open­
7 .o,gs h6 ing Sultan Khan defends
is 7 .
Better . .�d4 8 �xd4 very well. The text move
..O..xd4 9 еЗ tfyaS! etc. practically forces the ex­
8 �h4 �aS change of one rook and
9 е3 d5? (23) re du ce s White's attacking
possibllities.
21 �с1 �с8
22 tfyd3 �хс1
23 :Цхс1 ..O..d7
24 tfye3 t/;Jb61
25 �с3 �g7
26 t/Yg3+ �g6? (24)
Overlooking the strength
of his opponent's next
move. Necessary was 26 . . .

�f8 27 �d1 after which the

result (win for White or
draw) wo ul d still Ье in
doubt.
27 f5! �xd4
28 fxg6 �е8
There is nothing better.
24 CapaЬlanca's Variation

24 ,� � � 25

�.t:�.t�J:�
'·· ··

w w
� � � ;:0,'�
.t: [(Щ
�-�� � ��41
.� .�..''-
� �.t:� �
�
� � � .�� �
�il� � �
11:�
.� u �11:�"
� � ..
� �
u ��� �
.. � �.�
·.�

If 28 . . . fxgб 29 !!с? Z!d8 30 lity of prolonging the fight

�dб and, if 28 . . . �d2 29 was 43 . .. �аЗ, bu t, of
gxf7+ �xf7 30 Z!d1 Z!e8 31 course, with very little
f 4 winning. hope.
29 gxf7+ �xf7 44 �еЗI �Ь2
30 �с7 !!е7 45 �xh6+ �g8
31 �хЬ7 46 �еЗ фf8
After the forced w i n of 47 �xd5 .{,lxd5
this pawn the fol lowing 48 �с5+ �g7
endi ng becomes only а 49 �xd5 �xf2
matter of technique. 50 �d7+ �g6
31 .Qеб 51 �g4+ фh6
32 !!с7 �хс7 52 а5 �а7
33 �хс7+ �f8 53 �f4+ �g7
34 �d6+ �f7 54 �gЗ+ фh6
35 hЗ а5 55 �сЗ �е7
36 �с7+ �f8 56 �d2+ фg7
37 �xaS �хЬ2 57 а6 �е5+
38 �d8+ �g7 58 gЗ �с5
39 �с7+ �g8 59 �а2 �а7
40 �f4 �g7 60 h4 f5
41 �h2 !J.f7 61 �е2 фf6
42 �gЗ+ фh8 62 �d2 фf7
43 а4 �d2? (25) 63 �d5+ фf6
Los i ng а second paw n 64 �с б+ фе5
after which he could quiet­ 65 фg2 f4
ly resign. The only possibl- 66 �Ь5+ фdб
 CapaЬlanca 's Variation 25

67 �Ь4+ �е6
68 �е4+ �f6
69 �xf4+ �g6
70 �d6+ �g7
71 �eS+ фh6
72 �gS+ фh7
73 �ь5 �f7
74 �Ь7 фh6 (26)

26
w
s i ngen Nimzowitsch handi­
capped himself at this
stage with the eccentric 4
0 0 0�хсЗ+?!
5 �5?!
А dublous gamb l t o Mod­
ern practice favours 5 аЗ,
which leads to immense
А desperate stalemate complications after 5 0 0 0

a ttempt o i)_хсЗ+ 6 �х сЗ 4::Je4, eogo 7

75 �Ьб+ �h5 �с2 е5! 8 еЗ exd4 9 cxd5
76 �а 5 + фhб �xd 5 10 {jfЗ! �с6 11 4:Jxd 4
77 а7 �Ь7+ �хс2 12 4:Jxc2 4:Jc6 13 Ь4
78 �h2 �а8 �е6 14 � Ь2 0-0 15 �с1 4:Jd6
79 �Ь6+ �h5 16 bS?! 4:Ja S 17 4:Jd4 �с4 18
80 � Ь8 1-0 QсЗ �xft 19 �xfl 4:Jac4 20
Notes Ьу Alekhineo �Ь4 �f c 8 ! 21 �е2 а6 22
i)_x d6 {jxd6 23 а4 axbS 24
\ CapaЬlanca- Nlmzowitsch axbS �aS! 25 �Ы l:1a2+ 26
Юsslngen 1928 �fЗ l:1e8 27 наl �Ь2 2 8 �fbl
�xbl 29 �xbl � eS 30 g4 hS
1 d4 4:Jf6 31 hЗ h x g 4 + 32 hxg4 g6 33
2 с4 е6 �е2 �cS 3 4 �dЗ Ь6 ЗS fЗ fS
3 4:Jc3 �Ь4 36 gxfS gx f S 37 е4 lf.z-!fz
4 't/Jc2 d5 (27) K as p a rov - Р N i k o ! i c , Baг­
Unlucky CapaЬlancao In celona 19890
his other games from Кis- 5 dxc4!
26 Capa ЬJanca 's Varia tion
А bol d and successful
stroke w hich has put S �S
out of operation. Nimzo­
witsch recogni ses that
White can not regain his
pawn and must, therefore,
con ti nue i n gamЬit style,
which w as not, perhaps,
quite in accordance w i th
CapaЬlanca's more serene
tastes.
6 4:J f3 ьs
7 а4 сб
8 �хfб gxfб (28)
Planning to parry 9 axbS
cxbS 10 �е4 with . . . �dS,
but Alekhi ne demonstrated
that the apparently dis-
astrous 8 . . . �xf6 is also
feas iЬle: 8 . . . �xf6 9 axbS
cxbS 10 �е4 �g6! 11 �ха8
�с2 and Black has а pow­
erfu l attack, e.g. 12 �хЬ8
0-0 1 3 4:Jd2 �хЬ2 14 �Ь t
�хсЗ 15 �хЬ4 �с1 mate, or
1 4 �ха7 �хсЗ 15 �d1 eS,
threatening . . . �fS - с2.
Black coul d also take а
draw with 15 . . . �xd2+ 16
�xd2 �с1+ and . . . �сЗ+, if
he so desired.
This s uggestion is а re­
markaЬ le i l l us tration of
the resources co ncea led on
the ches sboard.
9 gЗ а6
10 �2 �а7?!
It wou l d have been more
effective to employ the
simple defence: 10 . . . .О,Ь7 1 1
0-0 4:Jd7 fol l owed Ьу . . .
�Ь8. The move of the text
i s i n genious , but somewhat
artificia l .
11 0-0 �d7
12 �с1 о-о
13 �hб �хсЗ
lt is unfortu nate tha t
Black has to surrender his
wonderf'u l Ьi shop, but
White's qu een's knight is
much too dangero us а piece
to Ье reprieved. If, for ex­
ampl e, B l ack shou l d pJay
the uns uspecting 13 . . . WhH
Ontending . . . �g8 and . . .
�f8 - g 7 with fu l l conso l i­
datio n), CapaЬ l anca planned
the beau tifu1 variation 14
4:Je4 !J.e7 15 4Jfg5! fxg5 1 6
4:Jf6 !J.xf6 1 7 !J.e4 and �xh7
mate.
14 ЬхсЗ фh8
15 4:Jd2
Envisaging а change of

front , the k n i g h t head s for
th e left flank, where it is
so o n j o i ne d Ьу furth er de­
ta chments of the White
army. 15 е4, w ith е 4 - eS in
the air, was also poss iЬle.
15 fS (29)
То pre v e n t 4Je 4 .
1 6 �fЬ1?
If Whi te does have any
compensation for his paw n,
i t l ies on the ki n gsi de and
in th e centre, but empha­
tica ll y not o n the quee n­
side, where Вlack h o l ds the
superio rity. The i ll ogi c ali ty
of Wh i te ' s 16th move s t ruck
Alekhi ne who recomme nded
the dynami c Ьlow 16 е4! as
an improvement, givin g 16
... fxe4 17 4Jxe4 fб 18 4J cS
�g7 19 �fe1 with s u ff ici e n t
po sitioг..a l compensation
for the gamblt pawn. In t he
tournament book Ta rta ­
ko wer also considered 16
е4 but dismissed it as
CapaЬlanca's Variation 27
f oll ows: 16 ... eS(!) 17 exfS
Z'!dб 18 � hS exd4 19 4Je4
dхсЗ 20 4JgS hб 21 4J x f7 +
�xf7 22 �xf7 �d7 and
Black's strong pa w n mass
shou l d provide adequate
compensation for the ex­
c h ange . But Ta rtak owe r is
m i s t a k e n. After 22 ... -'ld7
al l of Whi te's pieces are in
a ct iv e p l ay , w hile B l ac k ' s
kn i ght has no moves at a l l .
In additio n, Вl ac k ' s ki ng is
open to the winds, a s can
Ье seen from: 23 axbS cxbS
(23 . .. axbS permits the
i ntervention of White's
queen's rook) 24 k!fel 4Jc6
25 QdS �fб 26 Z'!e8+ �хе8
27 �хfб+ �h7 28 �хсЗ,
threateni n g 29 �е1 and fS
- f6 or 29jdxa6 . Wh i te m u s t
wi n .
In view o f this Black
wo u ld h a v e been oЬi i ge d to
rely on Al ekhine's line
above i n reply to 16 е4!
le a d in g to а struggle with
mutual chances.
16 eS
17 4Jf3?
lt is n o t ewort hy that Ca­
pa Ь l an ca absolu tely re­
fus es to pl u n g e in to the
beckoning complications
uнtil it is, objectively
speaking, m u c h too late to
do him any good. Only
2В CapaЬlanca 's Variation
when his position is beyond
good and evil does he con­
descend to i nvolve himself
i n а hand to hand fight. The
req ui red course was 17
4Jxc4! exd4 18 cxd4 !1xd4
19 4Je5 !1d6 20 �f4: u ncl ear,
another line which stems
from Alekhine.
17 �d6
1В �е3
Now i n reply to 1В �hS,
the exchange sacrifice
men tioned i n the note to
White's 16th move becomes
more plau siЬle: 18 . . . exd4!
19 4Jg5 hб 20 4Jxf7+ �xf7 21
�xf7 dxc3 and in con tras t
to the similar posi tion ana­
lysed previously, B l ack
holds the advantage . White
has no passed f-pawn , no
control of the e-file and no
method of chalJenging
Вlack's grip on the only
open fi le ( the d-file) .
18 е4
19 4Jd2 4Jd7
20 g4
With . . . 4Jf6 - dS i n the
offi ng it is clear that Whi te
is faced with calamity u n­
less he can confuse the
issue.
20 4Jf6
21 gxfS 1lxfS?I (30)
Strong b u t not m urde­
rous. Alekhine gave 21 . . .
4Jd5 ! 22 � h 3 (22 �хе4 4Jxc3
w i n ning or 22 �g3 �gB) 22
. . . 4jf4 23 ttie3 �gS 24 4Jxe4
1lxf5 and it is all over. Ву
play i ng 21 . . . 4Jxd5 Nimzo­
witsch could have forced
CapaЬlanca's resignation in
another three moves or so.
22 �f4 ttJd7
23 Qxe4
Or 23 4Jxe4 4Jxe4 24
�хе4 !1gB+, winning easily .
23 4Jxe4
24 4Jxe4 �g6+
25 4Jg3
There is no choice but to
give up the exchange. I f 25
ф ht �dS 26 f3 �еВ wins.
25 QхЬ1
26 �хЬ1 fS
27 f3 �g7?
In furious time tro u Ыe
Nimzowitsch falters. Bet­
ter was 27 . . . ttidб 28 ttJxdb
�хdб 29 е4 fxe4 30 fxe4
�f3 winning.
28 фf2 tй;f6
 CapaЬJanca's Varia tion 29

29 axb S(!) (31) from o ne's mind Ьу more

urgent and irrati onal con­
siderations. After the text
CapaЬ l an ca exploits his
resources in bri l l iant fas h­
io n to achieve sal vati on.
32 d6 t!;;f6
33 d7 с3
34 {JxfS!
"The dance on а volca­
no." (Tartakower) .
34 . . . с2
"White captures precise­ х 35 �d6 �d8
ly at that moment w hen А Ьlockade less i l l u­
Black has no time to exa­ strious Ьу far than that
mine both possibil i ties of mentioned i n the note to
recapture." (Alekhine). move 3 1 . If 35 . . . t!Jxdб 36
29 ... cxbS? 4Jxd6 �xf4 37 dSt!J+ �f8 38
The wrong one, which t!;; c 7 �хdб 39 t!Jxc2 with а
gratuitously grants White а probaЬle draw according to
gigantic passed d-paw n . Tartakower. On the whole l
30 �d1 �g8? think Bl ack did well to
Reac hing the time con­ av oid this variation .
trol . Simpl er was 30 . . . 36 t!JeS! (32)
�dб! which would sti l l win.
(Ti me control at Кissi ngen: 32
thirty moves i n two hours) в
31 dS �хс3?
The final Ь lu nder. 31 . . .
�dб was essential, and
Black still h as winning
chances . As we know , the
Ьlockade of a l l p assed and
semi-passed paw ns i s an
integral part of Nimzo­
witsch's System, but in the Threatening �хgб+ and
smoke of battl e , system t!Jg7 mate.
can Ье driven completely 36 ... }dxfS
30 CapaЬlanca 's Varia tion

Or 36 . . . �g2+ 37 �xg2
tf/gS+ 38 �f2 c1tf/ 39 tf/dS+=
37 �xg6+1 hxg6
38 tf/e8+ �f8
39 �xg6+ i&4&
Drawn Ьу perpetual check.

Kasparov - Korchnoi
Tilburg 1989

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 еб 4Jd7 3 4 4Jc3 �а6 35 �et ! d4
3 4Jc3 �Ь4 36 f5+ �е? 37 4Jd5+ фf8 38
4 �с2 d5 е6 fxe6 39 fxe6 4Jb8 40 4jfS
5 cxd5 exd5 4"Jc6 41 gS 1-0 Kasparov - Р
6 �5 h6 Nikolic, Belgrade 1989.
White's next move is а 8 dxcS! о-о
s u rprise. Normal is 7 �xf6 9 е3 4Jbd7
�хfб 8 аЗ �хсЗ+ 9 �хсЗ с6 10 �d3 �aS
10 еЗ 0-0 11 4Je2 �е8! 12 11 4Jge2 �хс3+
4Jg3 g6 1 3 fЗ h5 w i th а fine 12 �хсЗ �хсЗ+
game for B l ack, Petrosian 13 4Jxc3 4Jxc5
- Botvi nnik , World Ch ( 1), 14 �с2 g5 (34 )
Moscow 1963.
7 �h4 с5
7 . .. gS?! 8 �3 4Je4 9
еЗ с6 1 0 �dЗ 4Jxg3 11 h xg3
�е6?! 12 аЗ �f8 13 f4! gxf4
14 gxf4 �4 1 5 .O.fS ! �xf5 16
�xfS 4Jd7 17 е 4 �f6? ! 18
�xf6 4Jxf6 19 eS 4Jd7 20
4Jge2 �g8 21 �f2 4Jb6 22 ЬЗ!
�d? 23 4Jg3 �с8 24 фf3 cS
25 dxcS �хс5 26 4Jce2 �с6
(33) Black's opening has not
27 Z:!hc1! �хс1 28 �хс1 QхаЗ been а s u ccess. White has
29 �а1 .(1cS 30 4jfS! �а8 31 the advantage of the blshop
4Jxh6 феб 32 g4 а5 33 �с1 pair, Black's ki ng's wing is
 CapaЬlanca 's Vaгia tion 31

fractur ed and he has the 27 �f2 4Jd5

28
liabllity of an isolated pawn �d4+ �g6
on dS . It is,
though, in­ 29 4Jc4 1-0
structive to observ e the White wins after 29
way in wblc h Kaspa rov ex­ l'1bS 30 4JeS+ �h7 (if 30
ploits his adv antag e in а �fS 31 g4+) 31 �Ы+ �g8 32
war of dy nam ic blitzkrieg , �hS 4Jh7 33 �dbl �а? 34 а4
rather than attr ition . �aS 35 4Jc6 and Вlack is
15 "О.gЗ �е6 helpless.
16 fЗ а6
17 h4 �fc8 Кasparov Spassky
-

18 hxg5 hxg5 Unares 1990

19 о-о-о 4Jcd7
20 �Ьt �g7 1 d4 4Jf6
What follows is typical 2 с4 е6
Kasparov, Ыasting the po­ 3 4Jc3 �Ь4
sition open instead of 4 �с2
accumulating further strat­ CapaЫanca's variation,
egic plusses. popular in the 1930's. The
21 �ьз �с5 immediate point of t his
22 е4 dxe4 queen move is to prev e n t
23 �хе6 fxe6 the douЫing of Whi te s '

24 4Jxe4 �aS (35) pawns on the c-file which

would tend to ossify the
White central pawn--struc­
ture. The res u ltan t Ьlocked
position could well favour
Black, the man with the
knights. Kasparov has re­
cently s how n а lot of faith
in the fluid CapaЬianca
s y s t em
.

4 dS
5 cxdS exdS
Suddenly Korchnoi is in 6 �s h6
trouЬle on all fronts. 7 �h4 cS (36)
25 1'1he1 4Jf8 Thi s pos i tion has, for the
26 4jd6 Ь6 pa s t fi fty years, enjoyed an
32 СараЬJапса 's Varia tion

defeat Victor Korchnoi in

th� tournament at Til burg
( s ee pre vio u s gam e) .
8 4:Jc6
In theiг post moгtem an­
alysis the p layers examined
the complex alternative 8
d 4 9 0-0-0 gS 10 �3 ttiaS
. . .

11 нхd4 4:Jc6 12 нdб фе7 13

4:Jf3 f.leб 1 4 е3 �xcS 15
нхеб+ w here White sac­
exce l l en t t·epu tation for rifices the exchange in
Black. This assessment w as order to expose the Ьlack
гeally based on the evi­ king .
dence of one game, Keres - 9 еЗ gS
Botvinni k , Abs o l u te Cham­ 10 �3 4:Je4
pionship of the USSR 1941. 11 4:Jf3 tt;f6 (37)
Thi s game resu lted in а
crushing win for Black
after which the whole
variatio n , from White's
point of view, i m m ediately
went out of fas hion. Keres
- Botvinni k had conti n ued
8 0-0-0 �хс3 9 '{;/1хс3 gS 10
�3 cxd4 11 '{;/1xd 4 4:Jc6 12
'{;/1а4 �fS 1 3 е3 нс8 when
White's k i ng is eviden tly i n
а perilous si t uation. Indeed, Spas sky stakes his hopes
Botvinnik soon w o n . Nev er­ on а fierce counteг offen­
theless the ever i nven tive sive agai nst the pinned
Kasparov is ready with а white k night on с3. If
new i dea to revive White's White chooses the pass ive
chances . but natural 12 нс1, i n order
8 dxcS! to defend the kn ight then
Kas parov's novel con­ after 12 . �fS Black's
. .

cept which he had already forces stгeam out to at­

used the previous year to tack , e.g. 13 �d3 hS 14· h4
 СараЫапса 's Variation 33

4 4J g5 4Jxc3 1 6 Ь х сЗ
15 options, 14 . . . -'la5 15 �е5
�хсЗ+ 17 �хс З �хd З 18 �d6
! 4:Je4+ 16 Ь4 or 14 �f5 15 . . .

�fS 19 fЗ �хсЗ + 20 Z:ХхсЗ f6 �d2 �а5 16 �е5 were 1 ess

21 fxg4 �x g 4 22 4Jf3 �хfЗ than appe tizin g.
2 3 gxfЗ �d 7 24 Z:!b3 Ь6 25 15 �eS 4:Je4+
�f2 �е6 26 Z:!g1 Z:!hg8
27 16 ахЬ4 �fS
Z:Xxg8 !!xg 8 2 8 �ьs Z:!c 8 29 17 �xh8 g xfЗ
�f4 bxcS 30 Z:XxcS 4:Je7 31 18 Z:!g 1 (38)
�хс 8 11-;.-11-;. Gelfand - Bala­
shov, USSR Ch 1989.
12 �bS! 4:Jxc3
Black accepts the chal­
lenge and tries to win
material Ьу uti l isi ng his
pressure agains t White's
kn i g ht on сЗ. If now 12 ...
-'lf5 then 13 �хс6+ Ьхс6 1 4
�е5 4:J x c3 15 Ьхс3.
13 �хсб+ Ьхсб
14 аЗ Kasparov has to proceed
The cunning point of with the utmost caution.
White's play, which under­ А! though he ha s w o n rook
mines the influence of for knig h t his Ьishop on h8
,

Black's dangerous Ьishop. is in distinct danger of

Of course 1 4 Ьхс 3 would Ье becoming incarcerated and
worse than useless after 1 4 meanwhile Spassky's con­
. . -'lxc3+ followed Ьу
. . . . centration of force round
-'lxa1. the white king has become
14 ... g4 exceedingly threa teni n g.
After l o ng thought, For example, White c o ul d
which resulted in Black easily have gone astray
having consumed an hour's here with 1 8 gxf3 �хfЗ 19
th inking time more than his !:1g1 �4 an d if 20 !:1а6 4:Jxf2
opponent, Spassky, in the and White's pos i ti o n fa ll s
style of his youth, d e ci d es apart since 21 �xf2 fails to
to sa cr i f i ce material to 21 . . . �d1 mate.
l au nch а virulent co un ter­ 18 . .. �g 4
attack. Inde ed the other In this finely contested
3 4 CapaЬlanca 's Varia tion

battle the older man fi nal ly su ddenly assumed а dom­

goes astray and misses his i nating post i n the centre
chance to demonstrate that of the battlefield.
he has real compensation 22 ... 'lf;Jg6
for his sacrifice. The text 23 'lf;JxfЗ f6
certain ly looks promising, Black's fiпal chance is to
but Spassky had doubtless trap the w hite Ьishop
underestimated the defen­ w hich is stranded on h8.
sive energy which cou l d Ье 24 'lf;Jf4 фf7
generated Ьу the retreat of 25 fЗ 4jg5
White's q ueen on move 19. 26 �d2
The correct course, w hich Connecti ng his rooks and
the players demonstrated preventing the im mediate
to те in the post mortem capture of the White Ьish­
would have been 18 . . . fxg2 op Ьу 26 . . . �xh8 on account
19 'lf;Je2 and now either 19 of 27 �ха?+ �f8 28 �d6+ or
. . .4jgS 20 f4 4je4 with а 27 ... фе8 28 'lf;Jb8+ .
light sq uare Ьlockade or 26 'lf;JfS
even 19 . . . 'lf;JhЗ 20 fЗ 'lf;J h 4+ 27 h4 �xf4
2 1 �d1 QhЗ w hen White 28 exf4 4jh7
can not play 22 fxe4 on 29 g4 (39) 1-0
account of 22 . . . �4 net­
ting the white queen. I n 39 ж � �
both cases Black's pros­ в ��
- , � � � ��� �4J
pects would sti l l have been
alive. Now , however, Kas­
� :t �
� �·� ��' . .
��� �- :t � �
� � �д �
parov transforms the situ­ "'/� � Ф r/, ·�
ation to his advantage with -
just а few swift decisive �""�'/"'� m � к �
stt·okes. "" �
�
�
� w;
��./, ��3: �
19 'lf;Jd1 4jg5
" -· z
�
20 'lf;Jd4 4je4
��
�- - - -� � � �
���
21 'lf;JeS+ �е6 Ironically, just at the
22 tfjf4 moment when Black is on
Black's error on move 1 8 the verge of captuгing t he
has resu l ted i n two wasted white Ьishop he has to
moves with his knight, recogпise the u tter hope­
while White's q ueen has lessness of his situation. I f

29 . . . z;Ixh 8 30 �ха?+ фg8 31
f5 !J.f7 32 z;Ie1 фg7 33 z;Iee7
�f8 3 4 Ь5 cxbS 35 с6 and
Black i s utterly paralysed,
while the w h i te c-paw n
marches o n to coronation.
Alternatively 29 ... фg8 30
g5 hxg5 ( 30 ... фхh8 31 g6
4:)f8 32 g7+ w ins) 31 hxg5
фхh 8 32 g 6 !:lg8 33 Z!xa7. А
symbolic cJash between
two generations.
Lautier - Piket
Lyon Zonal 1990
1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 4:)с3 !J.b4
4 tf/c2 о-о
5 аЗ -'lхсЗ+
6 tf/xcЗ (40)
40
в was played in Tseitl in -
There is m uch s tudy ma­
terial in this l i ne . For ex­
ample, in 1973 1 i ntroduced
the move 6 . . . tf/e8 here
(Dueball - Keene, Dortmund
Ca pa Ьlanca 's Varia tion 35
1973) . O ne recent example
was 6 ... tf/e8 7 f3 d6 8 �S
4jbd 7 9 е3 е5 10 0-0-0 Ь6 11
.(ld3 .(lb7 12 �f5 е4 13 фЫ h6
1 4 �h 4 g6 15 �h3 Ь5 1 6 d5
g5 17 �3 Ьхс4 18 �xd7
4jxd7 19 h 4 f6 20 h xg5 hxg5
21 4:)е2 exf3 22 gxf3 �g6+
23 е4 4jb6 24 -'lf2 z;Iae8 25
4jf4 g xf4 26 z;Idg1 tf/xg 1 + 27
z;Ixg1+ фf7 28 Z!g4 фе7 29
z;Ixf4 fS 30 �g7+ фd8 31
!:lh4 1-0 Bareev - Bischoff,
Novi Sad 1990.
.i
6 Ьб
6 . . . 4:)е4 7 tf/c2 fS 8 4jf3
dб 9 Ь4 4Jd7 10 е3 aS 1 1 .(lb2
ахЬ4 12 ахЬ4 z;Ixa1+ 13 �xal
cS 14 �d3 схЬ4 15 0-0 4jdf6
16 tf/a4 �d7 17 tf/xb4 �сб 18
4jd2 tf/d7 19 4Jxe4 fxe4 20
�е2 dS 21 cS bS 22 -'lc3 tf/f7
23 tf/Ь1 4:)g4 24 �е1 �е? 25
g3 tf/f7 26 �d2 tf/gб 27 f3
Savon, M oscow 1989. Black
has an active position.
7 �5 .(lb7
7 . . . .(lаб 8 4jh3 hб 9 -'lh 4
dS 10 е3 4jbd7 11 cxdS �xfl
12 фхf1 exdS 13 tf/c6 Z!c8 1 4
-'lxf6 4jxf6 1 5 4jf4 tf/e8 16
Z!c1 tf/e4 17 h4 Z!fd8 18 hS
tf/fS 19 Ь4 4:)е4 20 фgl �d6
21 tf/b7 tf/d7 22 4jd3 сб 23
tf/xd7 z;Ixd7 Tisdal l - Pinter,
Haifa 1989. White stands а
little better.
36 Capa Ьlanca 's Varia tion

в 4Jh3 pos ition from а 4 V'/Jr:'.!.

8 4Jf3 d6 9 4Jd2 h6 10 �h 4 N i m z o . Не has every t h i ng
4Jbd7 1 1 f3 с5 12 е4 �е8 13 he wants na mely: а f l exiЫe
�f2 �с8 14 dxc5 Ьхс5 15 pos i ti o n wi th no obvious
�d3 d5 1 6 cxd5 exd5 17 0-0 weak nesses, g reater con­
dxe4 18 fxe4 �хе4 19 4Jxe4 trol of space and the Ь i s hop
4Jxe4 20 �хе4 �хе4 is du­ pair. ln fact, this is j u st the
Ьi ous for White, Korch noi ki nd of thing B l ack s h ou l d
- Lj ubojevic, Tll burg 1 989. Ье trying to avoid i n the
в dб Ni mzo- I ndian .
9 fЗ 4Jbd7 14 �еВ
Further study materi a l 15 �f1 V!Jc7
here i s 9 . . . h 6 1 0 �h 4 а5 1 1 16 �ad1 V!JbB
е 4 с 5 1 2 d5 4Jbd7 1 3 V'/Jc2 17 4Jf2 cxd4
4Je5 14 �е2 4Jg6 15 �f2 е5 1 6 1В V'/Jxd4 4Je5
�е3 �с8 1 7 4Jf2 4Jf4 1 8 .Q,f1 19 Ь3 �edB
а4 1 9 g4! 4Jh7 20 �xf4 exf4 20 V!Jb2 �d7
21 4Jd3 �е8 22 h4 and White 21 �d4 Ь5
i s i n co ntrol , M i l es - Ceba lo, B l ack J oses his patience
Pal ma de M a l l o rca 1989. and tries to break Ьу t'orr:e
10 е4 с5 out of the s trait-jar:ket
11 �е2 hб w h i c h W h i te's strategy has
12 �еЗ �сВ i m posed . However, Lautier
13 0-0 �аб i s a l ert with а tactica l
14 �fe1 (41) refutation of B l ack ' s p l ay .
22 с5! �хс5
41 23 f4!
в Pi ket had probaЬ iy been
expecti ng 23 .klxc5 dxr:S
when Black has co mpe n ­
sation f o r h i s l os t materia \ .
lnstead , Lau tier conce n ­
trates his fire o n а direr:t
attack aga i n st thc Ы ar:k
king.
23 4Jg6
White has obtained what 24 �хfб gxfб
m i g ht Ье termed a n ideal 25 4Jg4 (42)
 Capa Ьlanca 's Varia tion 37

After t h i s c o u p i t i s c l ear which are t hem a t i c e x­

that Bl ack' s p o s i t i o n can­ amp les of p l ay in t he
not s ta n d the pres s ure . N i m z o - l n d i a n . 1 h ave a l s o
25 �dc7 i n cl u ded copi o u s s t udy m a ­
26 4Jxf6+ �fB teri a l a n d t heoret i ca l ref­
27 �xd6 �сВ eren ces in the note s , b u t
I f 27 . . . �с2 2В �хс2 �хс2 the reader may , i f h e o r s he
29 4Jd 7 + �е? 3 0 4Jxb B фхd6 so c h o o ses , p o s tp o ne p l ay ­
31 4Jxa6 and wi n s . i n g over t h e s e s u bv a ri a t i o n s
28 �ed1 �е7 u n ti l s ub seq uen t read i n g s ,
29 �d4 е5 o r i ndeed s k i p t hem en­
30 fxe5 4Jxe5 t i reJ y i f а s trateg i c o v e r­
31 Ь4 1-0 view is w ha t is p r i m ari l y
req u i red .
Gulko - Chandler 'Х 6 . . . d6 7 �5 4Jb d7 В е3
Нasting s 1990 h6 9 �h4 �еВ \0 �d 3 е 5 1 1
4Je2 exdf 1 2 exd 4 4)fB 1 3
1 d4 4Jf6 -. �с2 � 4 1 4 f3 �hS IS 0-0
2 с4 еб Qg6 16 4Jc3 �xd 3 17 �xd3
3 4Jc3 �Ь4 4Jg 6 1 В � xf6 't{yxf6 19 f 4 ! с6
4 �с 2 0-0 2 0 f5 4Jf8 21 4Je 4 �dB 22 f6
5 аЗ �хс3+ d5 2 3 �g 3 4Jg6 2 4 4Jd 6 � е 6
6 �хсЗ Ьб (43) 25 4JхЬ7 �Ь 6 26 4Jc5 ttxf6
Thro u g h o u t t h e c o u rs e 27 tt x f 6 g x f 6 28 �f2 ! dxc4
of th i s bo ok 1 h a ve ado p ted ".\'29 4Jd 7 � d 8 3 0 4Jx f6+ � h 8
t he p o l i cy o f gi v i n g f u l l 3 1 нf1 �Ь8 32 � d 2 ! � g 7 3 3
g a m es , e xp l ai ned i n d etail 4J h 5 + �g 8 3 4 � x h 6 � x d 4 +
3В CapaЬlanca 's Variation
35 �h1 �еВ 36 �g5 �е6 37
�f5 �е? 3В h3 �dB 39 �f6
�fB 40 �с3 �е5 41 �f6+
�hB 42 �е1 �dB 43 �g 4 f6
44 �xf6 �d3 45 Z1f1 �е5 46
�g3 1-0 1 Sokol ov - Wi lder,
Haninge 19В9.
6 . . . d6 7 �f3 �bd 7 В g3
Ь6 9 !lg2 ..{lЬ7 10 0-0 �е? 1 1
Ь4 с 5 12 ..{lb2 cxd4 1 3 �xd4
Z1fcB 14 Z1fd1 �еВ 15 е4 Z1c7
16 �d2 �асВ 1 7 t"(ac1 �f6 1 В
�xf6 �ехfб 19 f 3 �fB 20
�f1 фе7 2 1 ..{le2 g5 22 �f2 g 4
2 3 fxg4 �хе4+ 24 �хе4
�хе4 25 g5 �е5 26 t"(d4 �6
27 h4 �сб 2В �d2 �е5 29 h5
�е4 30 �cd1 �хс4 31 �f6+
�еВ 32 �хс4 �хс4 33 �xdb
�d5 34 �е1 фfВ 35 t"(e2 11-z--lfL
Kasparov - Andersson, Skel­
] eftea 19В9.
7 �5 �Ь7
8 fЗ h6 (44 )
44
w
More material for those
stu dents w ho wish to del ve
into the openi ng in greater
detai l .
В . . . с5 9 dxc5 Ьхс5 1 0 еЗ
�сб 11 �h3 hб 12 �h4 Z1cB
13 0-0-0 d5 1 4 �хfб gxfб 15
cxd5 exd5 16 \t'bl ! �dб 1 7
�f4 d4 I B �е1 ! �е5 19 �g3+
�g5 and White has а clear
advantage, Hjartarson
Salov, Ams terdam 19В9.
В . .. dб 9 е4 с5 10 dS 4jbd7
11 �h3! hб 12 .,O.f4 exd5 13
cxd5 �еВ 14 0-0-0 �е5 15
�f2 аб 16 �d2! Ь5 1 7 �aS!
�е? 1В �Ы �еЬВ 19 Z!e1!
�сВ 20 4Jd1 ..0.d7 21 �а1 Ь4 ? !
22 ахЬ4 с4 23 �с3 �f8 24
�Ы �сВ 25 �е3! �Ь7 26 �е2
�ьв 27 4Jd1 �Ь5 2В �а2
4.jeB 29 f4 4Jg4 30 �g3 4.Jefь
31 �хс4 �Ь7 32 �d4 �еВ 33
..0.f3 Z1cB 34 h3 hS 35 hxg 4
hxg4 3 6 ..{lсЗ �Ьс7 3 7 4Je3
�хсЗ 3В ЬхсЗ gxf3 39 �xfb
�хе4+ 40 фЬ2 1-0 Agde­
stei n - Short, Belgrade 19В9.
9 �h4 dS (45)
9 . . . cS 10 dxc5 bxcS 1 1 еЗ
 CapaЪlanca 's Varia tion 39

4:Jc6 12 4:Jh3 d6 13 0-0-0!

t!;Je ? 1 4 -'lxf6 gxf6 15 4Jf4 fS
16 4:J h5 f6 17 g 4! 4Je5 18 �е2
f xg 4 19 � h g 1 fS 20 fxg4
fx g4 21 -'lxg 4 �h8 22 -'.lhЗ
.о_е 4 23 -'lg2 -'.lxg2 24 �xg2
and Whit e stands better,
Vaganjan - X u j u n , Lucerne
1989 .
10 cxdS
А more s ubtle move
order is 10 е З 4Jbd7 11 4Jh3 Кing, Palma de Mallorca
cS 12 cxdS exdS 13 -'ldЗ gS 19 89 .
13 . . . �е 7 14 1J.f5 cxd4 15 10 еЗ 4:Jbd7 1 1 cxdS 4Jxd5
�xd4 4'Je5 16 0-0 JJ.c8 17 е4 12 -'lxd8 4::)х с3 13 -'.lh 4 4::)d5
JJ.xf5 18 exf5 4:Jc6 1 9 �d2 d4 1 4 -'.lf2 fS 15 -'.lc4 �ас8 16
20 .J1ac1 lfa c8 21 !1fe1 �d6 22 4:Je2 cS= Gurevich - Karpov ,
�[4 !Jfd8 23 �xd6 !Jxd6 24 Linares 199 1 .
tfjf2 d3 25 lfcd1 tfjd4 26 10 exdS
J:fxd3 tfjxf5 27 !Ixd6 4'Jxd6 11 еЗ �е8 (4 7)
28 lfd1 tfjf5 29 jJ.xf6 gxf6 30
tf)e4 f!;g7 31 lfd2 l!c7 Gel­
fand - Lerner, USSR Ch.
1989.
14 -'lg З cxd4 15 tшxd4 4:)с5 16
-'.lc2 !!с8 1 7 0-0 4Je6 18 tшd2
d4 19 е4 4jhS 2 0 �f2 �f6 21
�fe1 �fd8 22 �dЗ tfieS 23
�ad1 �с6 24 -'tc4 ! �а4 25
Qxe6 �хе6 26 �с1 dЗ 27
�хс8 tfixc8 28 �еЗ �d? ? ! 29
�с1 �с2 30 4:)f2 tfid6 31 4Jg4 White has the Ьishop
�h 7 (46) pair, which is us ually con­
32 eS �d5 33 h4! �а5 3 4 Ь4 sidered an advantag e. Ву
�х аЗ 35 -'.lxg S ! 4:Jg3 36 фf2 playing f2 - fЗ he has al so
{Je2 37 !!хс2 ! dxc2 3 8 �xd8 ass erted control over е 4, as
� х Ь4 3 9 4jf6+ фgб 4 0 �dЗ+ ! 1 have pointed out fre­
�g 7 41 �h 7 + 1-0 Gelfand - quently in thi s book, а key
 40 Capa Ьlanca 's Vi1 ria tion

s q uare i n the N i m z o - l n d i a n . ;ga c 8 1 6 ;g fe1 c x d 4 1 7 �xd4

So does Whi te suш d bet­ 4:Jc5 18 ;gad1 4:Je6 19
�d 2
ter? I n th i s ca se the a n s wer 4:Jc5 20 .klb S ;ge d 8 21 4j f 4 g 5
is по, si nc e Wh i t (� · s deve­ 22 Ь 4 ! 4Jce4 23 f x e 4 4:Jxe 4
l o p m e n t i s d e f i c i e rт t . 2 4 tiYb 2 4j x f 2 25 4"J h 5 4j h 3 +
In his firs t 11 m ov es 2 6 g x h З f S 2 7 е4 dxe4 2 8
Wh i te has m o v e d bo t h h i s �d7 1 -0
q u e en a n d q u e e n ' t: Ь i s h o p 12 4:Jh 3 �е?! (48)
tw i c e a n d has pJ ay ed п о
i e s s th an s i x pa W J l m o v e s .
That sort of hyper a cti v i ty
with the paw n s m ay Ь е
p e r m i s s i Ь \ e i n c l o �> e d p o s i ­
tions . But this position
isn't c l osed . Bl ac k . a l rea dy
cas t J ed , h a s а rool'- beari n g
dow n t h e hal f- o p e n e - f i l e ,
a n d i s rea dy to disrupt
t h i n g s eve n m o r e w i t h . . . с ?
- с5. А simple and effec t i v e
Sei ra w a n - K a rpo v , Rot­ w ay of getti n g in ... cS
terdam 1989: 1 2 �f 2 с5 13 w i t h o u t a l lo w i n g dxcS and
.Q.b5 cxd4 14 �xd 4 .klc6 1 5 1!x f6 .
.Q.dЗ 4jbd7 1 6 4je2 {.)с5 an d 13 .Q.f2 cS
the u n p l ea s an t t h r e a t o f . . . 14 - 1!Ь5 .Q.c6
{.)ЬЗ i s а si g n o f' B l ac k ' s 15 �е2 Qd7
g ro w i n g p re s s ure .. Karpov 16 0- 0
w e n t o n to w i n . U n for t u n ate ly t h ere is
B u t p e r ha p s Wh i t e co u l d n o ti m e fo r 1 6 4jf4, a s B l a c k
i mprov e his c h a. n c es Ьу wo u l d re p l y 1 6 . . . gS 1 7 4:Jd3
ke e p i n g t h e Ь i s h o p on h 4 а c x d 4 1 8 � x d 4 4:Jc6 1 9 �сЗ
l i ttle l o n g e r ? Th i s i d e a w a s d 4 e tc .
s o o n tried o u t i n t . h e USS R 16 QxhЗ
C h a m p i o n s h i p a n<l i t m e t 17 gxhЗ 4:Jbd7
w i t h s u cce s s . 18 фh1 4Jh5
Be l i av sky - Vaga n i a n ,
Od­ 19 �g1 4Jdf6
essa 1989: 124:Jh3 4:Jbd7 13 W h i te ' s Ьishop pa i r is

.Q.e 2 cS 1 4 0-0 �е7 1 5 Qf2 us e l ess , s i nce his g e n er a l

 CapaЬlanca 's Varia tion 41

en co m­ Mohr - Christiansen
struc ture ha s be
shat tered . German Bundesliga
pl e te ly
20 dxc5 Ьхс5 1989/90
21 �ае1 �аЬ8
22 �h4 tfiie 5 (49) 1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4Jc3 ;У fJ.b4 �
4 tfiic2 о-о
5 аЗ ,klxc3+
6 tfiixc3 Ь5!? (50)

Chandl er trades the o ne

piece that is holding
White's paw ns о п the Thi s pawn sacrifice i s а
board, and the rest of the refres hing alternative to
game is а massacre. the standard 6 . . . Ь6.
23 tfiixe5 �xeS 7 схЬ5 с6
24 f4 �хе3 7 . . . 4Jd5!? 8 t/iic 2 f5 9 4Jf3
25 fJ.f2 �xh3 с6 10 а4! fJ.Ы 11 е3 схЬ5 12
26 fJ.f1 �хЬ2! fJ.xbS �f6 13 0-0 �g6 14 fJ.e2
27 fJ.xh3 �xf2 4Jc6 15 fJ.d2 t/ii f6 1 6 �fc1 �f8
28 �е7 4Jxf4 17 t/iib 3 fJ.a8 18 �аЗ! 'l'!;Jf7 19
29 fJ.f1 hS Ь4 �еВ 20 Ь5 4Jce7 21 4Je5
30 �ха7 4Jg4 4Jc3 22 Qfl 4Je2+ 23 fJ.xe2
31 fJ.g2 {Je3 � xg2+ 24 �f1 �xh2 25 Qf3
32 fJ.xd5 4JfxdS 4Jg6 26 'l'!;Jd6! f 4 27 е 4 4JxeS
33 а4 4Jf4 28 t/JxeS �hЗ 29 fJ.b 4! �f6 30
34 h3 4Jf1 'l'!;Jc7 �f7 31 '{;!JcB '{;!JxcB 32
35 �gS h4 �хс8 1-0 Gel fand - Adams,
0-1 Palma de Mal lorca 1989.
42 CapaЬlanca 's Varia tion

8 fЗ?! 11 4Jc6
Apparently Kouatly once 12 ..О.хЬ5
got away with 8 Ьхс6 12 Ь4!? to s top . . . 4JaS
4Jxc6 9 Ь4, but this looks was an alternative.
s uspicious, e.g. 9 . . . ,О.Ь7 10 12 4Ja5
4jf3 �с8 11 �Ь2 4Je7 12 е3 13 �dЗ �Ь8
-'le4 13 -'ld2 Kouatly - Stangl, 14 Ь4
1989. Another example is 9 14 0-0 �Ь6 i s embarrass ing
. . . "О.а6 10 �5 h6 11 ..O.xf6 14 ... r!xb51 (52)
�xf6 12 4jf3 �ас8 13 �Ь2
�с7 14 е3 ..O.xf1 15 фхf1 with
counterplay for Black, Po­
lugaevsky - Dzindzhihas h­
vi li, Reykjavik 1990.
8 4Jd5 ! (51)

51
w

15 bxaS
15 �хЬ5 was correct
when Black, after 15 . . . 4Jb3
16 �bl , has two al terna­
tives;
1) 16 ... �с7 17 0-0 4Jc3 18
9 �d2 �d3 ..0.а6! 19 t/Jxa6 4JхЬ1 20
Better was 9 �d3 f5 10 е4 t/Jd3 4Jxc1 21 �хЫ �с8 with
4Jc7! with interesting play. play for the pawn;
9 f5 2) 16 ... t';yh 4+ 17 4Jf2 ( 17
10 4Jh3 gЗ? t/JxhЗ 18 �хЬЗ �g2 19
10 еЗ схЬ5 11 �хЬ5 4Jxe3! �f1 �с2 wins) 17 . . . 4Jxc1 1 8
is not satis factory. }':1хс1 4Jxe3 and Black has
10 . . . схЬ5 tremendous play for the
11 еЗ exchange.
11 е4 fxe4 12 fxe 4 4Jf6 13 15 .{la6
4jf2 ..О.Ь7 14 �d3 4Jc6 looks 16 ..O.d2 }':1Ь61
good for Black. 17 �с2 }':1с6
 Capa ЪJan ca 's Vaгia tion 43

18 �d1 �h4+ pari n g for i t . The te x t came

19 4Jf2 �gS! as а s urpri s e , as can Ье
20 . gЗ {53 ) seen fro m the i naccurac i e s
that В l a c k n o w co m m i t s .
А pa r al l e l i s 6 а З �хсЗ+ 7
�х с З aS 8 �S h6 9 �x f6
�x f6 1 0 е3 0-0 11 �е 2 e S 1 2
dxeS dxeS 1 3 0- 0 � 4 1 4 hЗ
.а_ь s 15 f{fd l rrfe8 16 rrds
�6 17 rrcdl �f S 18 �Sd2
Ч2-Ч2 L.a s ker - Alekhine,
No tti n g h a m 1 9 3 6 .
6 о-о
7 аЗ ДхсЗ
Of co urse th ere is no 8 �хсЗ rre8
possiЬle hope. Best is 8 . . . �е 7 as in
20 4Jxe3 G u r ev i c h - Ti m m a n , Euwe
21 4Jh3 �h6 M e m o ri a l 1 9 8 9 , w h i c h c o n ­
22 �ьз ti n ued 9 gЗ eS 1 0 dS 4jd8 ? !
Re1 ative1y bes t w as the 1 1 � 2 � 4 ? 1 2 4j h 4 ! с 6 1 3
abs o l u t e ly pathetic 22 4Jg 1 . 0-0 c x dS 1 4 cxdS � d 7 \ S f 4
22 4:Jg 2+ �b S 1 6 е 4 �е2 1 7 rrfe1 �dЗ
0-1 1 8 �d 2 rre в 1 9 !it'ht g6 20 а 4
�а6 21 ЬЗ �с В 2 2 �f З 4Jd7
Whlteley - Keene 23 � a d 1 4JcS 2 4 f x eS bS 25
Slater Tournament Qd 4 Ь ха 4 26 �xcS 1 - 0 . In
Southend 1968 this gam e , В l ack s w i ftly
r u i ned his g o o d hand ! i n g of
1 d4 4Jf6 the o p e ni ng with 10 ...
2 с4 е6 4jd 8 ? ! i n s tead o f 1 0 . . . 4Jb8 !
3 4Jc 3 �Ь4 After Ti m m a n ' s move, t he
4 �с2 4Jc6 knight was per· ma n e n t ly
Thi s c o u n ter- atta cks ag­ s h llt o u t of the game.
a.t n s t d4 at on ce. 9 еЗ aS? !
5 4Jf3 d6 B e s t i s 9 . . . eS!
6 �d2 10 1ld3 eS
1 had expe cted 6 �S a nd 11 dxeS
ha d sp en t s o m e
t i m e p re- Thi s is good b lt t 1 1 dS
44 CapaЬlanca 's Varia tion
wou ! d Ье even more un­ 21 4:JeS
pleasant for Black. E ntering the complic a­
11 dxeS tions is the only way to
12 0-0? (54) make progress.
22 4:Jxb3 4:Jc4+
23 фd1 ахЬЗ
24 �xg7 (55)

А major i nexacti tude.

Correct is 12 4:Jg5 h6 1 3 4:Je4
and Wh i te's blshop pai r
comes i nto powerful play. 24 . . . f(xcS
After the text BJ ack can Thi s s ho u l d Ье on ly
overcome t h e defects of his s u ffici ent to ac hievP а
opening and even secures draw. 1 spent half an hour
slightly s uperior chances. analysi ng the sacri ficial
12 е4! l i ne 24 . . . 4:Jxe3+ 25 fхеЗ
13 �xf6 �хdЗ нхеЗ and convinced my sel f
14 �хdЗ ехdЗ t hat that White wou l d lose
15 Q,сЗ Q,e6 his Ьi s hop, e.g. 26 .,O.h6 }.1е2
16 cS 27 f!сЗ нхg2 28 �еЗ f4: b u t
16 .fjd2 w o u l d Ье safer. 1 cou l d see n o good rep ly
16 Q,ЬЗ to 26 f!сЗ �xg7 27 )":!хЬЗ.
17 f(fc1 а4 e . g . 27 . . . нхсS 28 фd2 or 27
18 �f1 �ad8 . .f1e2 28 fXxdЗ! However Ьу
.

19 �е1 �dS conti n u i n g w i t h 27 . . . )":ХеЬ

20 �d2 Black might sti l l count о п
j us t i n time. s u ccess, e.g. 28 f(хЫ f(e2
20 ... fS 29 )":!хс7+ �f8 ! w ith pow er­
21 4:Jd4 ful th reats , or 28 f! сЗ fXg b
21 g З! i s neces sary . 29 gЗ f(h6 30 h 4 f(g6 a nd
 Capa Ьlan ca 's Varia tion 45

i l l pene trate
on e ro ok w 57
.
in t o Wh it e' s c amp w
25 �d4 Jd cб
26 JdaЬ1 f4
Wh ite t h r e ate ne d to
co n sol id ate w i th JdcЗ so
Black m ust res ort to vio -
Jen ce .
2 7 �с3 fxe3
28 fJxd 3? (56 )

56 34 фd1 rJdB+
в 35 �е1 !!d 2
36 �3 jdc2
37 !!d1 4JхЬ2
38 �d7+ �g б
39 _f!xc 7 4Jd3 +
40 �d1 4Jf2+
0-1

Gelfand - Beliavsky
This J o ses . After 28 Unares 1990
fхе З ! Whi te co u l d draw
since the fears o m e- J ooki n g 1 d4 {Jfб
28 . . . �f8 29 �е 1 d2+ 30 � е2 2 с4 еб
would accompl i s h nothi n g . 3 {Jf3 dS
Bl ack woul d have to 4 {Jc3 �е 7
acq u i es ce in а draw n rook 5 � f4 о-о
and paw n e n d i n g after 2 8 . . . · б е3 cS
4Jx e3+ . 7 dxcS �xc S
28 ef 8 . �с2 {)с б
29 !lxf2 �fб 9 аЗ �as
30 Jdg3+ �f7 10 о-о-о (5BJ
31 �f 3 �d 8+ Thi s is t he s h arpes t v a r­
32 We 1 JdxfЗ iati on of the Queen's G a m ­
33 gf �еВ + (57) Ьi t, which can al s o ari s e Ьу
No w W h i te i s tied i n transpos i t i o n fro m t h e 4
k n o ts .
�с2 vari atio n of the N i mzo-
46 CapaЫanca 's Varia tion
Indian, e.g. 1 d4 4:]f6 2 с4 е6
З 4:]сЗ �Ь 4 4 'tШс2 с5 5 dxc5
0-0 6 4:]fЗ Qxc5 7 �f4 d5 8
еЗ 4:Jc6 9 аЗ �а5 10 0-0-0.
That is why it is important
to examine it i n detail here.
PossiЬle deviations from
this route are: 6 аЗ ,Clxc5 7
4:]fЗ 4:Jc6 8 Qg5 4:Jd4 9 4:Jxd4
�xd4 10 еЗ �а5 11 exd 4
�xgS 12 �d2 �xd2+ lЗ �xd2
Ь6 14 Ь4 d6 15 ,Cle2 �Ь7 16 fЗ
�fc8 17 а4 а5 18 �hЬ1 �с6!
19 Ьха5 Ьха5 20 4:JbS �d8 21
�еЗ �f8 22 �аЗ фе 7 2З 4:JсЗ
�db8 24 �аЬЗ �хЬЗ 25
�хЬЗ 4:Jd7 26 �dЗ �-� Pol u­
gayevsky - Andersson, H an­
inge 1989 and 6 ... �Ь6 7 еЗ
'tШс7 8 Ь З а6 9 ,Clb2 Ь6 10
4:]d4 Qb7 1 1 Qe2 4:Jc6 12
4:Jxc6 ,Clxc6 13 ,ClfЗ 0-0 14
0-0 �хfЗ 15 gxfЗ 'ft1c6 16
4:Je4 4:Jxe4 17 'ft1xe4 �ad8 18
�fd1 'ft1xe4 19 fxe4 fS 20 .O,eS
�f7 2 1 exfS l'XxfS 22 .O,d6
.O,xd6 23 �xd6 �df8 2 4 �f1
�g5+ 25 �h1 �aS 26 а4 Ь5 27
ахЬ5 axbS 28 �xd7 Ьхс4 29
Ьхс4 �а2 ЗО �g2 �с2 lf2�
Petursson - Tivj akov, Mos­
cow 1989 .
From the diagram posi­
tion, the game Speelman -
Short, Candidates Quarter­
final, London 1988, contin­
ued 10 ... �е? 11 g4 �d8 12
hЗ а6. Beliavsky, well aware
of this game, had prepared
what he must have believed
to Ье an improvement on
Black' s p lay.
10 .O,d7
11 g4 �fc8
12 �Ь1 (59)
12 h 4 Ь5 1 З cxbS 4:Je7 1 4
�Ь1 ,СlхаЗ 1 5 �а4 .О,Ь4 16
�ха5 .O.xaS 17 �d6 i,1хсЗ 1 8
�хе7 4:Jxg4 1 9 ЬхсЗ 4:Jxf2 20
�е2 4:Jxh1 21 �xh 1 �хсЗ 22
�h2 �xbS 2З �хЬ5 �ЬЗ+ 24
�с2 �xbS and Bl ack we n t
on t o w i n after 53 moves,
Shabalov - Tisdall, Oslo
 CapaЬlan ca 's Varia tion 47
ainst the weakene d resi­
1 9 91 .
12 �fB dence of the Ьlack ki ng.
12 . . . b S!? cert ainl y looks 20 4Jxg3
pro ve ment over 21 hxgЗ f5
like an im
e.g . 13 схЬ 5!? 22 g4
the text,
( O th er va riations are also Consistently playing to
una ttrac tive for Wh ite: 13
Ьlast open а ro u t e to the
cxd S Ь 4 ! 1 4 d xc6 �х с6 15 Ь lack monarch.
ахЬ 4 �хЬ 4 16 .cle2 �х с 3 17 22 !Jg 7
Ьх сЗ .,О.е4 1 8 ld d 3 1dab 8 + ; 13 23 gxf5 exf5
Ь4 .,О.хЬ 4 1 4 ахЬ 4 4Jxb 4 1 5 24 4Jxg6 hxg6
�Ь2 Ьхс4; 13 4Jxb5 4Je7 !) 13 25 4Jb5 �Ь6
. . . t;Je7 14 4Jd2 �d8 15 4Jb3? 26 �Ъ3
t;Je4 ! 16 4Jxc5 �хс5 17 �eS The crude threat of 27
4Jxc3+ 18 �хс3 �xbS 19 cS+ enaЬles White to invade
.,O.xbS r!xbS 20 h4 r!c8 21 h S at h 7 with his rook.
�d6! 22 �а4 �Ь8 23 �е5 26 �fB
tуЬ? 24 gS 4Jc6 25 r!c1 d4! 26 27 �h7 �dB
.O.xd4 r!b8 ! 27 �сЗ r!xb2+ 28 28 �dh1 �6
�а 1 r!Ьб! 29 g6 r!аб 30 gxf7 + 29 с5 r!d2 (60)
�xf7 31 �f4+ фg8 32 �d6
4jd4 ! 0-1 Gelfand - Beliav­
sky, Linares 1991 .
13 g5 4Jh5
14 �3 4Je7
15 4Je5 �е В
16 .О.е2 f6
17 gxf6 gxf6
18 4:)f3 -'lg6
19 е4 dxe4
20 4Jh4
Whit e is oЬliged to sac­ The cli max of Вlack's
rifice а paw n as 20 4Jxe 4 counter-attack, which ob­
wo uld r un into 20 . . . f5 liges White to make а fresh
fo llo ': ed Ьу . . . f
4 wi nning sacrifice.
materщl . In com pensa tion, 30 �xg7 �xg7
� �ough , White gains signi­ After 30 . . . f1 xg7 31 4Jc7
Ican t c ounterc han ces ag- threatens both 4Jxa8 and
48 CapaЬlanca's Va riation

4:Je6+ forking the Ь l ack king

and queen. 61
31 4:Jc7 't/1e5 w
B l ack has no time to
move either of his rooks.
Не must make the fб
square avail aЬ l e for bls
king otherwise 4:Je6+ wou l d
Ь е fatal .
32 4:Jxa8 rrxe2
33 4:Jc7
А bril l iant and unex­ pawns never pose any
pected riposte. The threat genuine threat.
of 4:Je8+ obl iges Black in 48 't/1d4 g4
his turn to sacrifice his 49 Jdd1
rook for the energetic The threat of Jdh 1 now
white knight. drives B l ack's king into the
33 't/1xc7 open.
34 't/1c3+ �f7 49 '/Ьс5
35 't/1c4+ �f6 50 '/Ьd7+ �е5
36 't/1xe2 't/1xc5 51 '/Ье8 �f4
37 rrct 't/1d5 52 �Ь8+ �g5
38 rrdt 't/1c5 53 �d8 �f4
39 rrd7 't/1c6 54 �с1 't/1b4
40 't/1d1 �е6 55 !'!сЗ 4:Jg6
41 rrd8 4:Jd5 56 �f6 4:Je7
42 't/1b3 а5 57 �е6 фg5
43 't/1g3 4:Je7 58 !'!с7 1-0
44 �Ь8 't/1b6 Black lost on time. Не is
45 rrd2 't/1c6 in any case q uite los t since
46 't/1d8 Ь6 58 . .. 4:Jg6 59 !'!g7 wins the
47 а4 gS (61) Ьlack knight.
B l ack is c learly under
pressure but this move Мiles - de Firmian
appears to Ье misguided in Manila Interzonal 1990
that Black vol untarily de­
prives his king of l ateral 1 d4 4:Jf6
shelter. The Ь l ack kingside 2 с4 е6
 Capa Ьlanca 's Varia tion 49

f)сЗ .О.Ь 4 to wi n.
з
4 '{hc2 cS Other materi al to con­
5 dxcS f)a6 s id e r is: 14 fxe4 Zlb 8 15
6 аЗ �хсЗ+ t/Ja4+ -'ld 7 16 с6 ( 16 t/J c 2
� х сЗ 4:Jx c5 4J x e 4 17 4jf3 0-0 18 е3 �fc8
7
8 fЗ 19 �d З "t/1xc5 20 "t/1xc5 {)хс5
Ever sin ce it was di s ­ 2 1 �с 2 4je 4 22 �d 3 lJ:l-Ч:z

c o ve r ed that the q u i et Dj u k i c -Gl igoric, Yugosla­

an swer s to 4 t/1c2 w ere no t
as e q ua l as had been
tho ugh t, Black p l ayers have
been looking for sharp
ways t o disrupt the b u i l d
up.
In rou nd four of t h e Ma­
nila Interzon al Ivanchuk
de Firmian s aw th e al ter­
-
via 1990) 16 . . . 0-0 17 -'ld2
.О,хс6 1 8 t/JaS "t/JeS! 19 Zl c 1
4Jxe 4 20 4jf3 t/Jb2 21 еЗ �bS
22 "t/1b4 -'lxft 23 "t/1xb2 �хЬ2
24 � x f 1 �fЬ 8 25 1lc3? ! �xg2
26 1leS Zla8 27 t!_g 1 4Jd2! 28
Zl x g 2 {JxfЗ+ 29 Wf1 {)xeS 30
Zlc7 4Jc4 31 Zle2 {)хаЗ 3 2

Zla2 {)bS 33 Zlb 7 {)d6 34

native 8 Ь4 {Jce 4 9 '/hd 4 d5
10 с5 Ь6!? 11 fЗ Ь хс5 12 Ьхс5
t!Ja5+ 1 3 �Ь4 , w h e n Black
tri e d the startling 13
t/Jc7!? (62)
. . .
Zlaxa7 Zlf8 3 5 �d7 4j e 4 36
�е2 4Jf6 3 7 Zldc7 g6 38 �f3
gS 39 Zle7 hS 40 ZlaЬ7 4Jg 4!
41 h3 4Je 5 + 42 WgЗ {)g6 4 3

�ее ? � g 7 44 е4 dxe 4 45
Zlb 4 h4+ 4 6 фh2 �а8 47
62 Zlxe4 {)f4 48 ZleS � g 6 49
w �с3 f5 50 ZlfЗ �f6 5 1 �Ь5
Zla4 52 zrьв g 4 53 h xg 4
fxg 4 5 4 �f8+ фе5 55 )'dft
g3+ 56 � g1 h3 57 �et+ �е4
58 �а1 4Je2+ 59 фh1 g2+ 60
�h2 �g4 61 фхh3 ZlgЗ+ 0-1
Gurevi ch - Tim m an , Linares
1991.
А further pos sibllity
l4 fxe 4 !:!Ъ 8 1 5 '/h a4+ �d 7 16 after 8 Ь 4 i s 8 4Jce4 9
. . .

сб 0-О ! ? 1 7 �d 2! �х сб 18 "t/1 d 4 d5 1 0 cxd5 0-0 1 1 �Ь2?

t!JaS !:!Ь 6 19 е3 �fЬ 8 2 0 Zlc1 е5! 12 tf;teЗ ( 12 vt;JxeS 4Jxf2 !)
4Jx e 4 21 4jf3 . Whi te had 12 . . . .O,fS 13 {)h3 4Jx dS 1 4
co ns oli dat ed and
we n t o n vt;Jd З �6 ! 1 5 "t/1d1 н с 8 16 g З
50 CapaЬlanca 's Variation
4Jxf2! 17 4Jxf2 ( 17 фхf2
�Ь6+) 17 . . . 4Je3 18 �xd8
4Jc2+ 19 фd2 g:fxd8+ 20 4Jd3
4Jxa1 21 QxeS 4Jb3+ 22 фе3
�е8 23 Qh3 �cd8 0-1 Hi.ib­
ner - C hristi ansen, Germa­
ny 1990. Hi.ib ner's best was
11 4jf3!
8 dS
8 . . . d6 also contain s а
drop o f poison, 9 е4 �d7 10
Qf4 eS 1 1 Qe3 Цс8 12 Ь3 0-0
13 Цd1 4Jfxe4 (63)
14 fxe4 �h4+ 15 фе2 (15 Qf2
�xf2+ 16 фхf2 4Jxe4+ 17
фе3 4Jxc3 1 8 g:d3 dS!) 15 . . .
4Jxe4 1 6 �е1 �hS+ 1 7 c[jf3 Ь5
18 �h4 �xh4 19 4Jxh4 4Jc3+
20 �е1 4Jxd1 21 фхd1 Ьхс4
22 �xc4 1lg4+ 23 фе1 �е6 24
�хе6 fxe6 25 фd2 е4 26 g4
аб 27 Ь4 Цс4 28 �с1 �хс1 29
фхс1 1df1+ 30 фс2 �h1 31
�f4 g5 32 Qxg5 �xh2+ 33
фс3 Jdh3+ 3 4 фd4 �g3 35 а4
�xg4 36 Qd8 е3+ 37 �хе3
Jdxb4 38 а5 фf7 39 4Jf3 е5
Not the kind of move the
great masters used to have
to deal with; RuЬinstein -
johner, Carlsbad 1929 dis­
couraged repetition w ith
its oЬl iging 9 . . . �xd5 10 е4.
Here, and l ater, 10 dхеб
Qxe6 would show up tl1e
drawbacks of developing
only the queen and some
pawns. Throughout the
game Miles turns down
material i n an attempt to
preserve the sanity of the
position, but to no avail .
10 Ь4 4Ja4
11 �ьз ьs
12 е4 а6
13 4Je2
13 �d3! exd5 1 4 е5 - Hazai.
As played, White's ki ngside
is bogged down until it is
too late.
 Capa Ьlanca 's Varia tion 51

13 о-о answer to t h i s u n rave l l i ng

14 шs hб atte m p t i s n o t so obvio u s .
15 .(lh 4 exdS 22 . . . нхеS! !
16 eS Це8! The thunderbo l t w hi c h
17 f4 tears the white p o s i ti o n
Rig htly s c o r n i n g the s ec­ ap art. E v en thi s o ffer is
ond s acrifi ce too; 17 e xf6 refused Ьу an u n g ra t e f ul

d 4 is hard to mee t, e . g . 1 8 opponent; o n 23 .Q.xe S �е7

!J.е б . Whi te will lose b ack the
XXd1
17 gS rook at l e a s t .
18 !J.f2 {)е 4 23 !J.e2 �еВ
The point of 16 . . . Це 8 . 24 �hS нxfS
19 !J.d4 Qе б 25 �еЗ нс3!
20 �f3 Natu ral l y !
20 g З ! ? may Ье the l a s t 26 .Q.хс З �ахсЗ
o pp ortu ni ty to co m p l ete 27 .Q.g4? ! (66 )
develop m e n t .
20 Ц с8
21 fS !J.d 7
22 �g3? (65)

Wh i t e · s dream o f e s ca-·
ping the centre is at an end,
but this h a s te n s th e fi n a l e .
27 . . . d4!
Fi n ally а c l ear e rror ; 28 �xd4 {)cS+
Whit e m u s t try t h e c o n s i s ­ Anne x i n g the q u ee n .
t e n t 22 е б ! forcing Bl ack t o 29 �d2 4:Jb 3+
go for b r o k e w i t h 22 . . . 30 �хс3 �xd4
.Q.�еб ! ? 2 3 fxe6 н х е б i f he 31 !J.xfS �е3+
Wi s hes to a v o i d а draw ( 22 32 .Q.d3 .Q.fS
еб fхеб 2 3 �hS) . У e t the 33 наd1 �е2+
52 Capa Ьlanca 's Varia tion

34 �с2 �eSI 35 �d2 �Ь2+

An attractive touch. If 35 36 \tte3 �4
�xfS, В lack w ins the queen­ 37 .§d2 �d4 mate
side pawns, then the ex­ Notes based on those Ьу
change, and final ly the Grandmaster William Wat­
Ьishop on fS. son.
2) Spielmann ' s Variation

1 d4 4jf6 cap ture on сЗ with the

2 с4 еб quee n , thus preserving the
3 4jc3 �Ь4 i n tegri ty of Whi te's p aw n
4 �ь3 (6 7) structure. Not only does
White achi eve thi s , but he
al s o attacks B l ack's Ь i s h o p
in to the bargai n . However,
Ьу t·eacti ng with 4 . cS S. . .

dxcS 4ja6 6 аЗ -'lх сЗ 7 �хсЗ

ln the late 1920s 4 �ЬЗ w as
co пsi dered the main li n e
against the N i mzo - I ndian .
Ind eed , i n t h e Alekh i ne
4jxcS Bl ack can e n gi neer а
direct tran s po s i ti o n to o ne
of the m o s t promi s i n g l i n es
agai n s t 4 '/11 с 2 , w h ic h we
have j u s t e xa m i n e d . There­
fore , I h ave devoted vегу
l i tt le space to 4 �ЬЗ since
i t l acks i ndepend e n t si g n i ­
ficance.
-

Bog oly ub ov Wor l d C ham­ Stablberg Nimzowitsch

-

pio nshi p m atch o f 1 9 29 i t Match (1) , Goteborg 193 4

acc oun ted fo r a l l the g am e s
played w i th t h e Nim z o­ 1 d4 еб
ln di a n defe nce . Th
e m o ve 2 с4 4jf6
Was p i o ne ered Ьу the -'lb 4
Au s ­ 3 4jc3
t ri an G r an dmas
ter Rudo l f 4 �ь3
Sp ie l m an n ( 1 883 - 1942) . The Spielmann v ar i a tion
Its ,

virt ue i s that ,
as with 4 which was S tah lberg ' s fa­
�с2, Whi te prep ares to vo u r i t e l i n e a t the ti m e a n d
54 Spielmann 's Varia tion
which he employed coпsi­
steпtly iп this match. Iп
1929, тапу experts coпsid­
ered this to Ье the maiп
l i пe !
4 4Jc6
B l ack сап, iп fact, rob 4
�ЬЗ of апу i пdepeпdeпt
sigпificaпce, Ьу p l ayiпg 4 . . .
cS! S dxcS 4:)а6 6 е З .,О.хсЗ+ 7
�хсЗ 4JxcS, traпsposiпg
directly to опе of the most
critical weapoпs agaiпst 4
�с2. This was aпalysed i п
the previous game, Miles -
de Firmiaп. Naturally White
саппоt permit S аЗ? w heп S
. . . 4Jxd4! 6 �хЬ4 4Jc2+ w i пs
White's q ueeп.
S еЗ 0-0 (68)
Iп game 7 of the match
Nimzowitsch chose the
immediate S . . . aS? ! апd
there fol lowed 6 .0.d2! eS 7
dS 4Je 7 8 .О.dЗ d6 9 4Jge2
4Jd7 10 �d1 {:)cS 11 .0.с2 � 4
(prepari пg t o exchaпge all
the Ьis hops for the еп е111у
kпights) 12 0-0 .,О.хсЗ 13
.О.хсЗ bS 1 4 cxbS .0.хе2 1S
�хе2 4JxdS 16 .O.xeS! dxeS 17
�fd1 �d6 18 �fЗ 0-0-0 19
е4 �f6 20 �аЗ 4Jb6 21 �xcs
w ith а w iппi пg positioп for
White, although Nimzo­
w itsch p u t up tremeпdo us
resistaпce апd lasted uпtil
move 72.
6 .О.dЗ aS
7 4:Jge2
As we h ave sееп, 7 �d2
would Ье best, i пh iЬiting
Black's fol lowiпg thrust.
7 а4
8 �d1 аЗ
9 ЬЗ?
After this White's q ueen­
s ide forfeits апу mobility
factor i t may опсе have
possessed. After his error
оп move 7 the most pro­
misiпg course availaЬle to
White was to permit the
isolatioп of his а-раwп in
order to gaiп compeпsation
iп the ceпtre, thus: 9 ЬхаЗ
.О.хаЗ 10 .О.хаЗ �хаЗ 11 4Jb5
followed Ьу е4.
9 dSI (69)
Goiпg i пto а position
characteris tic of а Queen's
GamЬi t b u t where Black
has severa] advaпtages over
the пormal situatioпs ge­
пerated from that opeпing.
 Spielmann 's Variation 55

to wit: (i) Black 's pawn o n acc ount o f 15 4:Jxd3 ! 16

. . .

аЗ depriv es White ' s queen's �хdЗ !J.a6 wi th а deadly pin.

Ьishop o f the useful de­ 15 c[JfxdS
velopme nt sq uare Ь2 ; (ii) 16 !J.e4
White's a-p aw n is а poten­ Threatening 17 4:Jxc7 .
tial weakness for the end­ In tere sting is 16 е 4, but
game ; (iii) Black's res trai n t after 16 . . . 4:Jxd3 17 �хdЗ
o f White's q ueenside paw ns 4:Jb4 18 � d 2 сб 19 4:Jbc3
has elimi nated any future �fd 8 Black has the threat
pos s iЬi l i ties of а minori ty of . . . SJ.a6 in addition to his
attack from that sector. pro spects o f op erating in
10 0-0 Ь6 the d-file ag ai n s t White's
11 !J.d2 !J.b7 shaky cen tre .
12 �с1 t!Je7 16 с6
13 c[jbS !J.xd2 The moment of truth.
14 �xd2 4:Jb4 17 !J.xdS
Anoth er plus for Black: 17 4:Jbc3 may well have
th e Ь4 square repre sents а been s tro nger. The text
per m an ent and unass ailaЬle leads Ьу force to а position
o � tpos t for а k ni g h t whic
h charac teri s tic o f а minori ty
Wi l l m enac e the Whi te a­ attac k w here Вlack has the
pawn in perp etui ty . Wh ite's traditio nal ki ng side coun­
knig ht o n Ь5, howev er, i
s terplay but Whi te has no
fate d to Ье cha sed bac
k to minori ty attack !
its s taЬl e i n n
o ti me at al l . 17 exdSI
15 cxd5 (70) The half open e-fi le i s
And no t 15 cS? on e s s e n tial to Black's attack-
56 Spielmann 's Variation

i ng plans. of White's counter-chances

18 4Jbc3 �а6 against аЗ or сб. As thes e
B l ack's Ьishop i s а good army corps gradually i n­
piece so it might seem crease their contact an d
strange to prepare its ex­ co-operation White's posi­
change for а white knight. tion evinces а marked and
However, Nimzowitsch in­ steady deterioration - in
tends to reduce White's other words: White is
possibllities Ьу removing а caught in а strategic pincer
potential Ьlockader of the movement.
Black kingside pawns 22 �d2 �а5
19 4Ja4 �хе2 23 4Jc3 f5
20 �хе2 �а7 24 4Je2 Z!f6
Coming round to support 25 lфJh1!
his knight. А good try, Stahlberg
21 z:!fd1 I:!ae8! (71) wants to manoeuvre his
knight to eS (via g1 and fЗ) ,
71 whence it will shield his
w position from frontal ass­
ault.
25 h6
26 4Jg1
Overlooking or undere­
stimating Black's excellent
reply. Не should have
played 26 gЗ.
26 ... f4! (72)
The right rook. Nimzo-
witsch's army now splits 72

up i nto two detachments W

which operate i ndependent-

ly of each other. On the
kingside Black's rooks pre-
pare а breakthrough Ьу
means of . fS
. . f4; mean­
-

while the queen and knight

on the opposite wing are
occupied with the restraint
 Spielmann 's Varia tion 57

А ve ry fi n e p aw n s a c r i ­ wi ns ) .
fi c e wh i c h c o m p l e t e l y c u ts 33 �хе4
acr os s Wh i te ' s p r oj e c t e d 34 f3 (73)
de fen ce . If W h i t e d oe s not
ac cep t the o f f e r ( e . g . 27
f
4J 3) t h e n 27 . . . fхеЗ 28 fхеЗ
rlef8 w i l l prove m o s t un­

p l eas an t .
2 7 exf4 �е4
28 g 3
Or 2 8 4:Jf3 �exf 4 a n d the
poor k n i g h t can n o t go a ny
further iп i t s pl l g r i m age
to war d s jerus alem ( th e
square eS) . I n lieu o f a ny 34 �е В
o b v i o u s rel i e f o p e r a t i o n 35 �е1
Whi te re s o l ves to c l i n g t o There i s 1 i t t l e e l s e Wh i t e
his s p o i l s . can un d e r t ak e agai ns t the
2в . . . �ь5 i m mi n e n t advance of
Very g o o d . Now � е 1 i s B l ack ' s d - pa w n . After the
foi l e d Ь у а cav a l ry i n v a s i o n exchange of rooks Wh i te
o f dЗ whi l e 4:j f 3 loses t o а d o e s at l e a s t threaten per­
rook invasion o f е 2 . petual check fo r o n e m ov e .
29 �с3 с5 35 �хе1
Another fi n e m o v e . The 36 �хе1 �d7
paw n s w h i c h now соте i n­ 37 �с1 d4
to b e i ng at cS and d S are The deci s i v e adv ance .
hang i n g b u t Wh i te is i n no 38 4:Je2 �ьs
posi tio n to at tack the m . 39 �е1 �dЗ
30 dxc5 Ь хс5 40 4:Jc1 �xf3+
31 �d c 1 �с6 41 фg1 фf7
32 �е3 �се 6 / C e n tral i s at i o n e v e n n o w !
33 �хе4 42 �f2 �е 4
lf 33 �ес З , hop i n g for re­ 43 �f1 d3
pe ti tio n , 3 3 . . . �d 4 ! w o u l d 44 �d1 �еЗ+
� e at l y trap Wh i te's q ueen 45 фg2 0-1
1П t he m i d d l e o f h e r o w n ( e . g . 45 . . . d2 46 4Je 2 4Jd3
POsi ti o n ( j f 3 4 �x cS � x c S t h r e a t e n i n g . . . 4:Jb2) .
3) 4 fЗ

1 d4 4Jf6 weakeпed Ьу the move fЗ

2 с4 еб but i п compeпsatioп White
3 4Jc3 !J.b4 either dominates more
4 fЗI? (74) space or сап go for an early
win of material if Black
decides to couпter-attack
vigourously i n the centre.
These lines require tre­
mendous пerves from both
sides апd а razor sharp
abll i ty to calculate var­
iatioпs, а prime example
beiпg the game Sblrov -
Eingorп .

А modern i nveпtioп wblch Gelfand - Spassky

сап, if Black so chooses, Unares 1990
traпspose directly i пto the
Ореп Saemisch Variatioп 1 d4 4Jf6
with 4 . . . dS S аЗ �хсЗ+ 6 2 с4 еб
ЬхсЗ с5. The choice, there­ 3 4Jc3 !J.b4
fore, lies with Black as to 4 fЗ
whethr to provoke а more А somew hat uпus ual sys­
radical s truggle Ьу meaпs tem but опе that is gaiпin g
of 4 . . . с5 or 4 . . d5 5 аЗ
. i n popularity. Black's bes t
!J.e7. respoпse i s probaЬly 4 cS
. . .

For these particular l i пes 5 dS 4jh5.

Whi te's structure ofteп 4 dS
appears to Ье seriously If 4 . . с5 5 dS bS?! 6 е4
.
 4 [3 59

ьхс4 7 ,.О_хс4 ex d S ? ! 8 ,.O.x dS Rl l ton C up 1989 . One of the

4Jxd 5 9 �xdS
4Jc6 10 {)ge2 m o s t asto u nding games of
О-0 1 1 0- 0 !(Ь 12 ,.O.f4 , whe n
8 rece nt years .
White mai n tai n s а slig h t 12 �xg1 �Ь6
grip . 13 �h1 {)cS (76)
5 аЗ !J,e7
6 е4 cS 76

Or 6 . . . dxe 4 7 fxe 4 eS 8 w

dS ,.O_cS 9 ,.O.gS h6 to ,.O.h4

�d 4? ! 11 {)fЗ cS 12 !J,xf6
�xf6 1 3 {)bS t!УЬб 14 {)bxd 4 .
7 cxdS exdS
8 dxcS �xcS
9 eS {)fd7
10 t!YxdS 0-0
11 f4 �xg1
Amazing compl ications Thi s pawn sacrifice of
can Ье s u mmoned u p after Black's l ooks quite promi­
1 1 . . . �Ь6 12 4jf3 �f2� 13 �е2 sing since White can not yet·
4JcS 14 Ь4 �d8 15 bxcS �xcS cas tle and Вlack i s o n the
16 �е4 �ьз 1 7 �d2 �xd2+ 18 verge of es taЬ l i s h i n g а
�xd2 �Ь2+ 19 � dЗ �ха1 (75) d o m i nati ng l ead in deve lop­
ment. Neverth eles s , w i t h а
few powerf u l s trokes Ge l­
w fand demons trates that
Black ' s compensation is
Ш usory.
14 Ь4 {)еб
15 {Ja4 �с7
16 !J,еЗ {)сб
17 t!Ydб
А fi ne move, forci ng the
exchange o f q ueen s which
20 еб ! ! fхе б 21 {)gS g6 22 ceme nts Whi te's advan tage.
�eS �е 7 23 {)хеб �f7 2 4 17 �хdб
�g7+ �е В 25 {)с 7 + �d 8 2 6 18 ехdб не8
�h 8 + � d 7 2 7 {)ха 8 �хаЗ 28 19 �f2 !J,d7
�с 2 1-0 Shirov - Ei ngorn , 20 {)cS {)xcS
60 4 {3

21 Ьхс5 4Jb8 (77) 5 аЗ �d6!?

5 . . !le7 is normal, as we
.

have seen.
6 е4?
The l ogical consequence
of his fourth move, but
Stein demonstrates to per­
fection that the white po­
sition is overextended. 6 cS
and Ь4 is more to the point.
6 с5! (78)

Tbls is an amazing move

but transferring bls knight
to d7 is the only way to
gain any counterpl ay .
22 z;rы Ъб
23 �Ь5 Ьхс5
24 �хс5 !lxbS
25 z;rxb5 4Jd7
26 �Ь4 g6
27 z;rc1 z;re6
28 z;rc7 а5 7 cxd5
29 z;rxaS z;rxaS White plays to win а
30 !lxa5 z;rxd6 piece, but this turns out to
з1 !lb4 z;rd5 Ье impossiЬle against
32 а4 1-0 Stein's resourcefu l meas­
Ulti mately he cannot ures. The i mmediate 7 eS
prevent the promotion of fails to 7 . . . cxd4 8 �xd4
White's extra passed pawn. 4Jc6.
7 exdS
Gheorghiu - Stein 8 eS cxd4
Mar del Plata 1965 9 'tfjxd4 'tfje7
10 !lf4 4Jc6
1 d4 4Jf6 11 �ьs о-о
2 с4 е6 12 !lxc6
3 4Jc3 !lb4 Do ubtless expecting the
4 f3 d5 favouraЬ le turn of events
 4 fЗ 61

12 . . . Ьхсб 13 4Jge2 �cS 1 4 17 �е3 �dS!

ехfб �хе2+ 1 5 4Jxe2 �xd 4 16 18 f4 r!ad8 (80)
4Jxd4 and wins. However,
Black has а surprise i n
store.
12 �cS! (79)

19 QxcS
At firs t sight it l ooks as
though Whi te might have
contested the control of
Saving the piece. After 13 this vital diagonal Ьу 1 9 фf2
�d2 Ь хсб 14 4Jge2 {jhS but this would allow 19 . . .
White is thrown back i n r!d2 2 0 r!ae1 �8d3 21 QxcS
confusion, s o h e resolves �xcS+ 22 �f1 r!xe2! 23 �хе2
to accept Black's pawn sac­ r!d2!
rifice. 19 �xcS
13 4Jxd5 4JxdS 20 Ь4 �Ь6
14 �xdS r!d8 21 r!f1 �d2
15 �е4 Ьхс6 0-1
16 4Je2 White is completely
After the rash 16 �хсб helpless , e . g . 22 �f2 �хе2+
�Ь7 17 �ьs r!dS Black's 23 r!xe2 �g1+ mate.
attack is rapidly decisive,
but the text cannot save Ivanchuk Csom
-

White: his Кing is perma­ Erevan 1990

nently s t uck in the centre,
open to the onslaught of 1 d4 4Jf6
Вlack's entire army , and 2 с4 е6
White's extra paw n is irrel­ 3 4Jc3 Qb4
evant in the circumstances . 4 f3 cS
16 �а6 5 dS �хс3+
62 4 fЗ
5 . . . d6 6 е 4 0-0 7 �ge2
�е8 8 �g3 �хс3+ 9 Ьхс3
�а5 10 �d2 .{ld7 11 .О,.е2 ,.О.а4
12 �с1 �bd7 13 0-0 а6 14
�f4 �с7 15 �Ь1 �f8 16 h4
bS (Black's strategy of
playing to eli minate the
white douЬled c-pawns is
incorrect) 17 �d2 �g6 18
.o_gs 4Jd7 19 h5 4Jgf8 20 h6
g6 21 f 4 �аЬ8 22 eS exdS 23
cxdS dxeS 24 d6 t!:/c6 25 fJ..e 7
с4 26 fS �хе7 27 dxe7 �cS+
28 �f2 �хе 7 29 �е4 �с5 30
tf1e3 �с2 31 fxg6 hxg6 32
�f6+ фh8 33 �bf1 {)d3 34
-'lxd3 .O,.xd3 35 �е1 е4 36
�d4 �d8 37 �dS+ �h7 and
now , in desperate time
trouЬle White missed 38
�g7 mate, but won anyway
in Wel ls - Кing, Watson,
Farley & Will iams 1991.
6 ЬхсЗ �hS
7 gЗ fS
8 е4 f4 (81)
9 dхеб
Martz - Csom, Skopje
1972 went 9 �е2 е5 10 .{lh3
0-0 11 0-0 d6 12 �4 fxg3 13
�xhS gxh2+ 14 �h1 �h4 and
Black had а winni ng attack
for the sacrificed piece.
9 fxgЗ
If 9 . . . dxe6? 10 tf1xd8+
фхd8 11 g4 �f6 12 �xf4
with а winning position for
White.
9 . . . t!:/f6 10 �е2 fxgЗ 11
�2 gxh2 12 �xh2 g6 13
exd7+ �xd7 14 tf1dS Moskav­
jenko - Novikov, Lvov 1988.
10 tf1d5 (82)
10 g2
Black had to play 10 . . .
�f6 first, e.g. 1 1 exd7+ �xd7
12 tf1eS+ фf? 13 hxg3 �aS 14
�d2 �с6 15 �f4 �ае8 . The
text looks tempting but is
refuted in а drastic manner.
11 tf1xhS+
The Hungarian grand­
master had been relying on
11 fJ..x g2 tf1h4+ 12 фf1 dxe6
 4 f3 63

wi th а s uperb position for

B lack .
11 g6
12 Vf;je5 vt;;h 4+
Thi s is а necessary pre­
li minary. 12 . . . g xh1� 13
't!Yxh8+ �е? 14 .(:lg S + finishes
thi ngs at once.
13 �е2 gxhtvt;;
14 vt;;x h8+ �е7
Вlack must have been
fee l i n g q u i te co nfident with 20 �d1 4:Jc6
hi s extra queen, b u t i t soon 21 t!Yxd6+ �Ь6
transpires that the white 22 t/igЗ (84 )
attack is too s tron g .
15 t!Yg7+ �хе6
If 15 . . . �еВ 16 t/if7+ � d 8
17 �f8+ �с? 1 8 �f4+ �Ь6 19
�Ь 1 + фа6 20 t/ixcS.
16 �hЗ+ (83)
16 . . . �d6
lf 16 . . . vt;JxhЗ 17 't!Y g 8 + �f 6
18 �S+ �xgS 19 4:Jxh3+
fol lowed Ьу �xh 1 .
1 7 t/if8+ �с7
The fi n a l diffi cu l t move.
If 17 . . . �eS 18 �f 4 + t/ixf4 19 22 hS
vt;Je? mate . 23 �хс8 �хс8
18 !J.f 4+ tfixf 4 24 4:Jh3 h4
19 �xf4+ d6 25 t/if2 1-0
4) The Closed Saemisch

1 d4 4:Jf6 gains compensation in his

2 с4 е6 command of the centre and
3 4:Jc3 �Ь4 in particular hi s ability to
4 аЗ �хсЗ+ thrust forward wi th the
5 ЬхсЗ о-о f-paw n , p lanning to demo­
6 еЗ cS (85) l i s h Black entirely on the
king's win g . The douЬled
c-paw n s , in this sense,
form а b uttress w hich
make it i mpossiЬle for
Black to cou n ter-attack
q uickly in the centre. Ву
deferring the move аЗ
slightly, or Ьу i nsi sti ng o n
fol l owing а З Ь у е З rather
than fЗ, White avoids the
li nes of the Open Saemisch
( 4 аЗ �хсЗ+ S ЬхсЗ cS 6 fЗ
This variati o n i s one o f the dS) where Black can s tart
most characteristic fot· the an early counter-attack
whole of the Ni mzo-lndian agai n s t Whi te' s somew hat
Defence. White posi tively exposed central paw n s . The
i n vi te s the creation of deferred (or C losed) Sae­
douЬled pawns in the c­ misch is designed to gai n а
fil e , fully conscious that i n massive attack, albeit at
the endgame they may the cost of douЬled pawns ,
prove а terminal weak ne s s . while denying Black any
Meanwhi l e , though , White early counte r acti vity .
 The Closed Saemisch 65

Keene - Vella 9 4Jg3! (87)

Malta 1985

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4Jc3 �Ь4
4 е3 с5
5 �d3 4Jc6
6 аЗ
The d e ferre d Samisch
variatio n , as recommended
in my book Ал Opening
Repertoire for WЪite. А theoreti cal no ve l ty ,
6 �хс3+ offering а paw n f o r open
7 Ьхс3 dб l i nes after 9 cxd4 10
. . .

7 . . . eS 8 4Je2 е4 ! ? 9 �Ы cxd4 exd4 1 1 e x d 4 4Jxd4 12

Ьб 10 4Jg3 �аб 1 1 f 3 �хс 4 12 0-0 to Ье fo l l owed Ьу �Ь2 .
fxe 4 d6 13 �f3 0- 0 (86 ) 9 g6
То p rev e n t {JfS i n the
fut ure.
10 d5 4Je7
11 е4 h6
M o re prophylaxi s , this
time directed against � 5 .
1 2 а4 �с7
S tron ger is the i mmed­
i ate . . . а5 fol l owed Ьу a n
evacuati o n of Black ' s mon­
ar c h w i th . . . �d 7 - c 7 .
1 4 eS d xeS 1 S �хсб e x d 4 16 13 а5 �f8?
cxd 4 !!еВ 1 7 4:jfS g6 1 8 �а2 Here B l ac k ' s k i n g is ex­
gx f5 1 9 �хс 4 �xd4 20 0-0 po sed permanently . Не
�ха1 21 g 4 ?! 4Jxg4 22 h3 should now s tri ve for
�с3! 23 �xf7+ �xf7 2 4 h x g 4 0-0- 0 after . . . �d7 .
�ad 8 25 �h6 �g8 26 g xf5 14 f4 exf4
� g 7+ 0- 1 P s ak h l s - Pl askett , 15 ,klxf4 gS
Bor 1 9 85 . 16 �с1 4Jg6 (88)
8 4Je2 eS Black con trol s е5, but
66 The Closed Saemisch

thing.
26 gxf4
27 �xf4 �g6
28 4jf6+ �xf6
29 �xf6 �g8
30 фh2 Jdg6
31 �h4
Avoiding 31 �е7? l'1xg2+
32 r3)xg2 �хhЗ+ winning
White's queen.
31 Jdg5
there are tangiЬle weak­ 32 �f6 4jg6
nesses on hS and in the f­ 33 �xf7+ фg8
file. 34 �xh6 r3)xf7
17 о-о 4Jg4 35 �xg5 1-0
18 !le2 4:)4е5 In this example it i s im­
19 -'lh5 r3)g7 portant to note how the
20 �е2 �d7 douЬled white c-pawns
21 �f2 �hf8 acted as а firm b ul wark for
22 �f6+ r3)h7 the white centre, thus en­
23 h3 �ае8 aЬling White to have а
24 �е2 Jdg8 solid foundation from
25 4jh5 4jf4 which to launch the decis­
26 .{lxf4 (89) ive attack agai nst the Ьlack
king.

Polgar Zs - Remlinger
New York 1986

1 d4 4jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4jc3 -'lb4
4 аЗ -'lxc3+
5 Ьхс3 d6
The present game was
I f now 26 . . . �gб 27 �xeS played i n round six. I n
�хfб 28 4jxf6+ r3)g6 29 -'lhS+ round eig h t Lombardy
r3)g7 30 4jxe8+ wins every- played 5 . . . cS б е3 �aS! ?
 Th e Closed Saemisch 67

an d in round ni ne Gurevich 4:JfS and White h ad а f i n e

play ed S . . . Ь6 . Now if 6 f3 pos i ti o n < fi n al ly h e Ьlun­
4JhS ! 7 4:J h3 eS 8 4:Jf2 о- о 9 dered and lost) .
е4 4Jc6 10 g 4 4:Jf6 i s good 13 �а2!?
for Bl a c k , Diez del Corral­ 13 f4 i s al so possiЬle.
K or chnoi, Buenos Aires 13 -'la6
19 7 8 . 14 �е2 �d7
Also possiЬ l e is S . . . 0-0 15 а41
6 е3 cS 7 4:J e2 4:Jc 6 8 4:Jg 3 Ь 6 That was the difference
9 е4 4:Je8 10 dS 4:Ja5 11 -'ld3 be t wee n 12 J:!a2 and 13 !!Ы .
.Qa6 12 � е 2 �h4 13 0-0 4:Jd6 15 . . . f6
14 eS 4:Jd xc 4 15 4:JhS 4:Jb 3 16 16 -'le3
g3 �h3 17 4:Jf4 � h 6 18 �хс4 16 f 4 ! ? is the alternative.
-'lxc4 19 �хс 4 4:J x a 1 20 4:Jxe6 16 g6
'lf1g6 21 4:Jxf 8 � x f 8 22 .Q.xb2 17 -'lh6 �f7
4Jc2 23 �с1 1-0 Z P ol g ar 18 h41 (91 )
- Stigar, C o p e n h a g en 198 6 .
6 е3 е5 91
7 �d3 с5 в
8 4:Je2 Ь6
9 о- о 4:Jc6
10 е4 0-0
11 d5 4:Ja5
12 4:Jg3 4:Je8?1 (90)

Pl anning 19 hS.
18 ... 4:Jg 7
19 f4 �h8
Perhaps 19 . . . exf4 20
!'Ixf 4 J:!e8 i s better.
20 h5 J:! g8
21 hxg6!
21 fxeS w o u l d Ье а mi s­
In the s ame round take as 2 1 . . . dxeS fo1 1owed
M c C a m b r i d g e - Lj ubojevic Ьу . . . 4:Je8 - d6 i s okay for
We nt 12 . . . �а 6 13 f4 4:Je 8 1 4 Black .
68 The Closed Saemisch
21 hxg6
22 f5! 4:Jh5 ! ? (92)

Threatening 32 �xg8+!
31 �f7
Black's position i s hope­ 32 �xf7+ �xf7
less, e.g. 22 . . gS (22 .
. . . 33 l'!h7+ l'!g7
gxfS 23 exfS! 4:Je8 24 �f2! ) 34 Цh8! ЦхgЗ+
2 3 \Эf2 4:Je8 24 l'!h1 l'!h? 25 35 I{Эf2 Цg8
l'!h2 plann i ng to douЬle 36 Ц2h7+ l'!g7
rooks on the h-file and 37 l'!xg7+ !(Эхg7
play �f8 . 38 Ца8 I{Эh6
23 4:Jxh5 gxh5 39 !!ха? �g5
24 �xh5 !!h7 40 I{Эf3 4:Jc4
25 l'!f31 �хс4 41 Z!g7+ �h5
26 �хс4 4:Jxc4 42 Цg6 4:Jb2
27 Z!h3 4:Ja5 43 Z1xf6 4:Jxa4
27 . . l'!gS does n o t work:
. 44 l'!xd6 Ь5
28 �xgS l'!xhS 29 �хfб+ 45 �а6 1-0
�g8 30 l'!xhS winning the
quee n . Johner - CapaЬlanca
28 g3 � е8? (93) Carlsbad 1929
If 28 . . . bS 29 Цаh2 Ьха4 (Notes based on those
30 �f8 ! wi n s . Ьу Tartakower)
29 � 7+!
The res t is а matter of 1 d4 4:Jf6
tech nique. 2 с4 е6
29 I{Эxg7 3 4:Jc3 �Ь4
30 �xh7+ �f8 4 е3 0-0
31 l'!ah2 5 Qd3 с5
 The Closed Saemisch 69

6 4Jge2 cS �хdЗ 16 {jxdЗ dxcS etc.

Again s t N imzowitsch at 13 �с7
Dresden 1926 johner h ad 14 �ас1 �с6 (95)
played 6 {jfЗ . The game
con ti nued 6 . . . {Jc6 7 0-0
� сЗ 8 ЬхсЗ dб 9 4Jd2 ( see
introd uctio n ) .
6 4Jc6
7 аЗ �хсЗ+
8 ЬхсЗ Ь6
9 о-о �а6 (94)

Si mple and good, b u t

preparing the exchange o f
queens with 14 . . . �d8!
would Ье even stronger.
15 �хс6 4Jxc6
16 eS
The best chance agai nst
the threat of ... {JaS .
Pressurising с4. White 16 cxd4
co unters Ьу advanci ng in 17 cxd4 dxeS (96 )
the centre.
10 е4 4Je8 96
В lack foresta l l s the dan­ w
gerous pin on the k night Ьу
ЩS and prepares to meet
the thrust f4 w i th the
Ьlock adi ng reply . . . fS.
11 �еЗ d6
12 �а4 {JaS
13 �fd1
Becker poi n ts out that 13
4Jc1, i ntending 14 4Jb3 is 18 dS
too s J ow. It can Ье m e t Ьу White's paw n sacri fice
1 3 . cxd4 1 4 cxd4 l'Ac8 ! 15
. .
оп his 16th m ove has de-
70 The Closed Saemisch

prived the attacked knight

of the eS square. 98
18 exd5 в
19 cxd5 -'i.xd3
20 �xd3 (97)

activate his king. It would

Ье better to play 32 фе3.
32 �g7!
33 g3 фf6
34 фе3 а6
20 ... е4! 35 4Jd6 !1d8
Tbls com p letely refutes 36 4Jc4 4Jb3
Whi te's idea, the Ыасk А neat zwischenzug. If
knight gets to the eS i mmediately 36 . . . bS, then
square after a l l . 37 4Ja5 when 37 . . . �eS fails
21 �ddt 4Je5 to 38 4Jc6+.
22 �d4 f5 37 !1d1 ьs
23 �f4 4Jd3 38 4Jb6 феS
24 �с6 !1d8 39 d6 (99)
25 f3 4Jf6
26 fxe4 fxe4
27 �5 4JcS
28 4Jc3 !1de8
29 �xf6
То allow Whi te's king
across the f-fi le.
29 !1xf6
30 !1xf6 gxf6
31 фf2 fS
32 4JbS (98)
This expedition wastes Desperation
time which Black uses to 39 ... !1xd6
 Th e Closed Saemisch 71

40 4Jd7 + �е6
41 4Jf 8 + фе7
42 Z!xd6 �d6
43 g4 fxg4
44 �хе4 4Jd2+
45 �d3 4Jf3
46 4Jxh7 4Jxh2
47 4Jf6 фе5
48 4Jh5 а5
0-1

Yusupov - Кarpov red 11 . . . 4Ja5 12 fS f6 13

Candidates Sem.l- Flnals 4Jf4 ! ? cxd 4 ! ? 14 �hS exfS 15
London 1989 exfS 4Jd6 16 Z!f3 . As can Ье
(Notes based on those of seen White r u s h es to the
Anatoly Кarpov) attack, but Ьу а series of
acc urate moves Black can
1 d4 4Jf6 parry the ons laught: 16 . .
2 с4 е6 �е8! 1 7 4Jg6 ! ? !J.xc 4 1 8 .0.f4
3 4Jc3 �Ь 4 .O.xd3 19 Z!h3 �xfS 20 �xh7+
4 е3 о-о фf? 21 Z!g3 4Je4 22 4Je5+
5 �d3 cS фе6! and Black won . Later
6 аЗ �хс3+ Larry C h ri stiansen improv­
7 Ьхс 3 ed White' s p lay with 13
"Thu s the Saemi sch sys­ fхеб! , whils t 14 cxd 4 ! i s
tem has ari sen o n the a l s o a n i mprovement.
board . It was very pop ular 12 4Jg3 g6
i n the fifti e s , and now it is "There is no thi ng new
again beco ming fashion­ under the sun; this is any­
aЬle" (Karpov) . thing but а novelty. As
7 4Jc6 early as 1962 this move was
8 4Je2 Ь6 reco m mended in anno ta­
9 е4 4Je8 tions to the game Sodom­
10 0-0 !J.a6 sky - Go lovko, and five
11 f4 fS (100) years later Р. Dely played i t
In the \Vell known game against Toth . The b u l le ti n
Ti m man Polugayevsky, of the match mentioned 12
Til burg 1983 , Black prefer- .. 4Je7 13 exfS 4Jxf5 1 4
.
72 The Closed Saemisch

4Jxf5 exf5 15 dxc5 Ьхс5 16 if he does not wish to end

�Ы нЬ8, M artin - Short, up i n an inferior position.
Commonwealth Ch 1985, as 15 �хс4!?
one of the alternative con­ "The other exchange sac­
tinuations. 1 considered а rifice is weaker: 15 fxg6
similar variation at the 4Jxe3 16 �hS t/Je7 17 �ха6
board, but the positions 4Jxf1 18 нхf1 hxgб 19 t/Jxg6+
which ari se after 16 �еЗ or t/Jg7 20 t/Je4 cxd4, because
even 16 t!JfЗ seemed unclear the white-squared Ьishop
to me. White is slightly is no great help to the
better, isn't he?" ( Karpov) . attack" ( Karpov ) .
13 ,О_е3 15 �хс4
13 exf5 exf5 14 dxc5 Ьхс5 16 fxg6 �xf1
15 �еЗ d6 16 �xfS gxf5 17 17 t!JhS t!Je7
tf1dS+ is very unclear. 18 нхf1 hxg6
13 4Jd6! The i ntermediate 18
А new move. 13 . . . 4JaS 14· cxd4 19 cxd4 h xg6 20 t/Jxg6+
dxc5 4Jxc4 15 �хс4 �хс4 16 t/Jg7 21 t/JdЗ etc. leads to an
нf2 has been played, but unimportant transposition
did not give equal ity. White of moves.
has а positio nal advantage 19 t/Jxg6+ t!Jg7
because his pieces have the 20 t!Jd3 cxd4
central square d4 at their 21 cxd4 t!Jh7! (102)
disposal .
14 exfS!? 4Jxc4 (101)

101
w

This strong manoeuvre

shows that Black's chances
Black has to al low the are Ьу no means worse.
compl ications w hich follow 22 t!JbS?!
 The Closed Sa emisch 73

"Thi s is а d o ubtfu l deci­ 30 hЗ

sio n . Whi te should h ave "The acti v e 30 g 4 tf;fб 31
tri ed to b u i l d up an i ni tia­ gS does not ach i e v e its goal
tive о п t h e kingside w i t h 22 after 31 . . . �h8 . Another
fS t;Je7 23 Z!f3 .fjxfS 2.4 way to fi g h t for а w i n is
4.JxfS and 25 jdg3+" ( Karpov ) . po s s iЬle too , but more
22 ... а6! risky 30 g4 �е 4 ! ? 31 fS? !
The idea b e h i n d the tex t '/fyx f3 32 �h 7+ We B ( 32 . . .
i s clear after 23 � х Ь б �d3 'f!}fб?? 3 3 gS+ mate) 33
fol l owed Ьу 24 . . . jdab 8 , �h8 + ! ? (33 �g 8 + r3;;e 7 34
tak i n g over t h e i n itiative . .,O,gS+ .fjfб 35 .,O.xf6+ Wxf6 36
23 'lfybЗ 4.Je7 gS + фxfS 37 � f7+ ф g 4 38
24 �fЗ jdac8 h 3 + �xh3 39 .fjh2+ t!;xh2+ !
25 �хЬ6 !!с6 ?! 40 фхh2 �Ь2+ and Wh i te
"lt is i m p o s siЬle to play l o s e s . ) 33 . . . фе7 (33 . . . 'f!}f7
the attack i n а l e i s ur e l y 34 �h7+ draw) 34 -'lg5+ Wd6
manner - one or two l o s t 35 '/fyx b 8 + �с7 ( 35 . . . 4.Jc7?
tempi and every th i ng has 36 tl;b 4+ фdS 37 4J e 3 + фе4
to begin agai n . O f course 38 dS+ ) 36 '/fyf8+ фс6 and
25 . . . .fjdS ! was c orrect and tho ugh the roaming of the
it i s di ffi c u l t for White to ki ng com plemented Ьу а
hold the p o sition" ( Karpov). hanging fl a g w o u l d rem i n d
26 �aS t;Jd5 one of а horror mov i e , after
27 .fjft 'lfyf5 37 tf; a 8 + �bS everything
28 '/fye1 jdb8 w o u l d end wel l for B l ack"
28 . . . �с3 ! ? is p o s s i Ь l e . ( K arpov ) .
29 '/fyh41 �f7 (103) 30 jdcЗ
31 r3)h2 jdg8
32 4Jg3 � f6
33 �h5+ �g6
34 '/fyeS t!; g 7! (104)
Avoidi n g а draw t h roug h
3 4 . . . 'i'J:Jf6 �a l l ow s an u n ­
pleasant fork afte r 3 5 4Je 4 !
3 5 tf;dб
Obj ectively, 35 '/fyhS+ i s
b e t t er , w i t h 35 . . . tf; g б 36
tf; e S as а draw o ffer .
74 The Closed Saemisch
35 ... �еВ (105)
"White's positioп looks
terriЬl e . Not опlу because
he is ап exchaпge dowп,
but maiпly because his
pieces doп't cooperate. His
queen h as ап active posi­
tioп, but she stands аlопе.
The kпight саппоt support
the attack, because it has
to protect agaiпst mate оп
g2. The rest of White's
pieces are packed aloпg the
tblrd rank . Yusupov uses
his last сhапсе" ( Karpov) .
36 fS
"Here bei ng s hort of time
(or, more accurately, havin g
п о time - s lightly more
thaп опе miпute for five
moves), 1 missed а straig ht­
forward w i n with 36 . . .
;g:xe3 ! !
1 ) Now 3 7 f б is followed
Ьу the beautiful 37
�xg3+! 38 r{xg3 ZXexg3 39
f7+ �xf7 40 �xd7+ �fб апd
Whi te canпot avoi d mate.
(At the same time you
should notice that 37 . . .
4:Jxf6 38 �е3 4:Jg4+ 3 9 hxg4
�hб+ is bad because o f 40
4:JhS �хе3 41 4:Jf6+).
2) lt was not easy to see
that after 37 fхеб ZXxf3 38
gxf3 Black might coпtinue
with 38 . . . dхеб! апd after
39 �хеб+ 4:Je7! , while 38 . . .
�xg3+ is поt so clear a t all ,
due t o 39 �хgЗ ZXxg3 апd
the iпtermediate 40 exd7+ .
3) However, the most
di fficul t thing to see in
time trouЬle was that after
37 �Ь8+ Black has to allow
а douЬle check ; 37 . . . �f?
wins at опсе" ( Karpov) .
36 �е7?
37 �ЬВ+ �d8
38 �eS �с7??
Anythiпg but this !
39 'ljjx c7??
Now it is White who
misses ап excel lent poss-
 Th e Closed Saemisch 75
trouЬle approaches.
48 4:Jb4? !
49 h5 �d5
50 4Jf6+ �е5
51 �сЗ+ �f4
52 g4 �dBI
53 h6 �g5
54 h7 �g6
55 �gЗ 4Jc6
56 �f4 �g7!?
57 g5 �dЗ
ibl lity wi th 39 fб, to aпswer 58 �е5 !dd1 (107)
39 . . .t/YxeS with the imme­
diate 40 f7+ . After this , the
chaпces are Bl ack's agaiп.
39 �хс7
40 fxe6 dxe6
It is much easier for
Black to prove his s uper­
iori ty after the exchaпge o f
rooks i . e . 40 . �с3! 41
. .

exd?+ �xd7 42 ..a,d2 ,t:Ixf3 43

gxfЗ �с8 44 4Je4 �с4 .
41 4Je4 z:!c2 59 gб??
42 �d2 а5 "Of co urse 59 �dб had to
43 �ьз �d7 Ье played, forci пg Вlack to
44 �Ь5 �а в co пsider а perpetual check
lt was possiЬle to go for оп the first raпk" ( Karpov ) .
complic atioпs after 44 59 нft+
�сб 45 �xaS 4Jf4. 60 �g5 4Jxe5
45 а4 �с6 61 4Jh5+
46 h41 �с4 Thi s move was sealed
47 �с5+ �хс5 апd Whi te resigпed; 61 .. .

48 dxc5 �h8 62 �h6 4Jg 4+ leaves п о

Agaiп White is поt hope.
Wors e апd , iпevi taЬly , ti me 0-1
5) The Open Saemisch

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4Jc3 .Clb 4
4 аЗ QхсЗ+
5 ЬхсЗ с5
6 fЗ d5
7 cxd5 4Jxd5 (108)

Saemisch Variati o n , 4 аЗ, is

tlщt Вlack can renou nce h i s
customary w a r of attrition
agai n s t White's douЬled
c-pawns and s te�r i n stead
for i mmediate coн nterp l ay
based on the activ i ty of his
pieces . Althoнgh Wh ite has
1 d4 4Jf6 scored some nota Ь l e and
2 с4 еб spectacнlar s uccesses in
3 4Jc3 Qb 4 thi s vaJ·ia tion (e.g. the
4 аЗ QхсЗ+ game Shi rov - Renet) ту
5 ЬхсЗ с5 be lief i s that Wh i te's deve­
6 fЗ d5 lopment i s too deficient,
7 cxd5 exdS (109) his pawn structure too
rickety and h i s queenside
One of the disadvantages light sq uares too exposed,
of p l ay i ng the i mmedi ate for this Hne to Ье worthy
 Th e Ореп Sa emisch 77

of recommendation for contro l of the centre w i t h

Whlte . А nasty exam p l e of В �d3 , e . g .
what can happ e n i s the а) В . c x d 4 9 cxd 4 4:Jc6
10 е 4 {jЬб 1 1 .О,е3 0-0 12 .О,е2
. .

гeference Gurevich -
Ti m­
man , Ams terdam 199 1 where � h 4 + ( 1 2 . . . .O,d7 13 {jh3 4Ja5
Wh i te di sco vers that he is 1 4 .o,gs f6 15 Qd2 <fjbc4 1 6
strugg l i ng for e q u a l i ty af­ �Ь 4 � е В 1 7 <fj f 4 �сВ 1 В 0-0
ter j u st а few of the ope n-· QbS 1 9 dS �Ьб+ 20 Wh1 {jd6
ing m o ves . 21 �d1 �хе2 22 �хе2 4Jb3
23 �ad 1 4Jd 4 24 �f2 eS 25
Beliavsky - Portlsch 4Jh5 �edB 26 � g 3 <fjeB 27 f4
OHRA 1990 <fje2 2 В �g 4 4Jxf4 29 4Jxf4
exf4 30 f:i.e7 {jd6 31 Qх�·ь
1-0 Shirov Re net matc h .
game S , 1991) 13 g 3 �е 7 1 4-
-

f4 f5 1 5 4jf3 fxe4 16 � х е 4
cfjdS 1 7 .Qc4 �h8 1 8 0 - 0 4Jf6
1 9 �d3 .O,d7 20 �fe1 �d6 2 1
Qd2 �feB 22 f5 <fjdS 23 fxe6
Qxe6 24 4Jg5 � В 25 �хеВ
�хеВ {JIJ)

111
w

26 � x h 7 + ! Qx h 7 27 {jf7+
фg 8 28 4:J x d6 1 - 0 S h i rov
Renet, match game 3, 1 99 1 .
-

8 dxcS Ы 8 0-0 9 е 4 4:Je7 10

Wh i t e Qe3 �а 5 1 1 �d2 �d B 1 2 Qd3
. . .

can a l s o adopt а
str ategy i nvo l v i ng re tai n i n g 4:Jbc6 1 3 <fje2 Ьб 1 4 �а2 �аЬ
78 The Орел Saemisch

15 0-0 cxd 4 1 6 4Jxd 4 е5 17 15 {Jd3 4Jd7

4Jxc6 4Jxc6 18 с4 �хс4 19 16 �е3 (112)
�xaS 4JxaS 20 �хс4 4Jxc4
21 �f2 �ас8 22 h4 fб 23 а4
4Jd2 24 �d1 4Jb3 25 �Ь1 4Jd2
26 l':!d1 4jb3 27 �Ь1 �d3 28
фh2 �d2 29 �xd2 4Jxd2 30
�d1 �с2 31 Wg 1 hS 32 �el
4Jc4 33 �d8+ �h7 34 �d7 аб
35 �Ь 4 4Je3 36 �d2 4Jc4 37
�Ь 4 4Je3 '-12-'-12 Gurevkh -
Ti m man , Amsterdam 1991.
8 f5
Ti m man - Karpov Can­ Whi te's openi ng p l ay i s
didates fi nal 1990 saw 8 . . . arti ficial a n d he is reduced
�aS 9 е 4 {Je? 1 0 �е3 0-0 1 1 to amazing co ntortions to
�Ь3 �с? 1 2 �ьs {Jесб 13 �dt defend his extra pawn on
{JaS, which l ed to а draw in cS.
61 moves. 16 ... е5
l n their game from Lin­ Trying to cut the Gordian
ares 1 991 , Karpov varied knot.
with 13 . . . eS 14 �а2 {Jc5 15 17 с6 Ьхс6
�dS �d 7 1 6 �xd7 �d8 and 18 4Jxe5 {Jxe5
thi s also eventually led to а 19 �хе5 J':!e8
draw. 20 �а5 {Jb6
9 {Jh3 21 е3 h6
This whole opening line 22 �f4 !J.e6
is considered so mewhat If Bl ack plays 22 . . . gS
risky for White because h i s White repl ies 23 �eS. How­
pawn structure is loose. ever it is poss i Ь i e that the
9 0-0 i mmediate 22 {Jxc4
10 с4 �h4 + wo ul d Ье an i m provement.
11 {Jf2 �fб 23 �f2 �хс4
If 11 . . �хс4 12 е4 wins а
. 24 h4 �ad8
pi ece . 25 �с1 �xf1
12 �d2 {Jc3 26 �hxf1 {Jd5
13 �с1 {Ja4 27 �хс6 �h5
14 �5 �f7 28 !Xh1
 The Орел Sa emisch 79

Now 28 . . . 4Jx f 4 wo u l d BeHavsky - Short

m ake i t di ffic u l t for Wh i te linares 1990
to wi n s i n ce h i s extra pawn

i s d o u Ьl ed . 1 d4 4jf6
28 r! d 7 2 с4 е6
29 �а 4 �ed8 3 4jc3 �Ь4
30 �с4 фh7 4 f3
31 Qe5 4Jb6 Thi s co mbati ve system
32 �с 1 ldd2+ turned o u t to Ь е extreme ly
33 �g 3 tfif7 pop u l ar at Li nare s . Here i t
34 h5 t/;Je 7 merely f u n c ti o n s as а

35 Qf4 r! 2d 7 tran s po s i ti o n to t h e Sae­

36 �с2 tfi f7 misch.
37 е4 (113) 4 d5
ln а l ater
ro u n d Ge l fa n d
- Short conti n u ed 4 . . . c S S
dS b S 6 е4 Ь х с 4 7 Qxc 4 exdS
8 Qxd S 4Jxd5 9 t/;JxdS w h e n
Wh i te had g reater co n tro l
of the ce n tre .
5 аЗ Qxc3+
The classi cal
ap proac h .
The al ternati v e ,
as w e have
see n i n chapter 3 , i s S . . .
Qe 7 6 е 4 when Kasparov -
Lj ubojevic fro m Li n a res
w e n t 6 . . . dxc4 7 �хс4 c S 8
Thi s u n pretenti o u s m o v e dxcS tfixd1 + 9 �xd t�xcS
leads to а s u rpri s i ng l y swift wi th an e v e n tua l draw
d e n o u em e n t . Ву Ь lasting w h i l e Be l i avsky - Spas s ky
орел diagonal s t o w ard s t he from the s a m e round v a r i ed
Ьlack k i n g Beliav sky s u c­ from the above w i th 6 . . . cS
ceeds i n demol i s h i ng the 7 c x d S exdS 8 eS 4Jfd7 q
pawn s h e l t e r i n that are a . 4JxdS cxd4 1 0 4Jxe7 �хе7
37 fxe4 when Whi t e tri ed the p ro ­
38 �хе4+ �hB m i s i ng gambl t 11 f 4 f6 1 2
39 .{le5 фg8 4Jf3 fxeS 1 3 -'lc 4 .
40 � g 6 1-0 6 ЬхсЗ Ь6 Ш4J
80 The Ореп Saemisch

Now w e have а direct 1938 . It has been accepted

transposition to the Sae­ since then that White has
misch Variation . the advantage since he can
force throu g h the central
advance е4. Over the next
few moves Nigel defends
ingeniously to prevent this
thrust for as long as poss­
iЬl e . Note also the strong
similarity to the game
Keene - Kuijpers in the
introduction to this book.
15 �е6
16 �е2 �аеВ
7 cxd5 exd5 17 �fe1 h5
в е3 о-о 1В �f5 g6
9 1ld3 с5 19 �f4 �d7
10 4:J e2 1la6 20 1lЬ2 cxd4
11 о-о �еВ 21 cxd4 �с6
12 4:Jg3 �с В 22 е4
13 1lxa6 4:Jxa6 At l ast it comes but
14 �d3 �Ь7 BJack h as had time to
15 �а2 (JJS) organise his defe nces . ln
particu l ar the lat J nt pres­
s ure against White's pawn.
on d 4 has oЬliged White"s
blshop to ass ume а defen­
sive posture.
Note that Short h as not
released the tension for
any temporary gains Ьу
playing . . . с4, and thus re­
tains the use of the c-file
for the pos sibility of а later
This formation is k nown cou nter-attack.
from а famous game bet­ 22 4:Jc7
ween Botvinnik a nd Capa­ 23 4:Jf1 aS
Ьl anca p l ayed in Hol land in 24 h3 Wg7
 The Ореп Sa emisch 81
25 g4 hxg 4 l e aves th e w h i te g - p a w n
2 6 hxg4 {)е6 w i t ho u t an adeq uate de-
The b e s t w ay forw ard fe n c e .
n o w w o u l d Ье 2 7 �eS ! Wi t h 30 f4 4Jg7!
his next move W h i t e s tarts 31 �f3 4jh6
to J o s e t h e th read . 32 �h2 �g8
27 �е3 �h8 33 fS gxfS
28 4Jg3 фf8 34 gS {)g4
29 eS 4Jg8 (1J6) 35 �xh8+ фхh8
36 4je2 �с2
116 -� -� ��41 �� 37 �Ь3 �с6
w � � � � .L � 38 �с3 4Je3
39 �f2 f4
� - �4J � .L � =
m ·� � 1: �
�д
�
�
40 �h1+ �g8
· · '
41 �h6 �с8 ( 1 1 7)
�
� � .� �д
� ф� 7
///
Л, 0-1
�
�- · �
� � ;� lt �
�.
� � ы � f" 'l1�
� �
� � iг �� �
Wh i te s t Ш h a s t h e ad­
vantage b u t he m u s t p ro­
ceed w i t h cau t i o n . there i s
m uc h to Ь е s a i d f o r 3 0 � с 1
t o e l i m i n a t e o ne o f B l ack's
m o s t a c t i ve p i eces o r ev e n
t h e s h arper 30 а4, pe rm it ­

t i n g 30 � с4 i n t h e i n ter­
. . . There i s n o defence to
ests o f a l l ow i n g �аЗ + . The the t h reats o f 42 �g 4
. . .

m ov e c h o s e n Ьу W h i te i s a n d 42 . . . �хе2+ 43 фхе2
act u al ly а sev ere error �g4+ u l ti mate l y l ea d i n g to
s i n c e B l ac k ' s f o r c e fu J rep l y check m ate .
 6 ) gЗ Systems

1 d4 4Jf6 nothing to help White's

2 с4 е6 doubl ed front c-pawn on
3 4Jc3 �Ь4 с4 should B l ack swiftly
4 4Jf3 cS trade Ьishop for knig ht.
5 gЗ о-о Meanwhile, recent games
6 �2 (118) Ьу Grandmaster Mihai Suba
( against Ward and Crouch)
indicate that Ьу simple
development Black may
also render the Whi te set­
up somew hat artificial and
l acking in Ьite.

Crouch - Suba
Calderdale 1990

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 е6
The king's fianchetto varia­ 3 4Jc3 �Ь4
tion enjoyed а brief vogue 4 4Jf3 cS
in the 1920s and 1930s but 5 gЗ о-о
real ly received а b oost 6 �2 cxd4
from Kasparov's adoption 7 4Jxd4 dS
in his 1985 and 1986 World в �ьз �хсЗ+
Championsh i p matches ag­ 9 �хсЗ
ainst Karpov. Nevertheless, Batsford Chess Openings
the l ine seems suspect for quotes as the main l i ne 9
White since devel opment ЬхсЗ 4Jc6 10 cxdS 4JaS 1 1
of the Ьishop on g2 does 'lf1c2 4Jxd5 12 'lfJdЗ 'lf1d7! with
.
 gЗ Systems 83
the signiOcant pedigree of
Kas parov-Suba, D u b ai 1986,
and i s ass e s s ed as uncl ear.
ВСО als o gives 9 � х с З е5
intendi ng d 4 with equal
chances .
9 eS
Even here Whi te's choice
i s suspect: 10 4Jc 2 d4 11 � d 2
4Jc6 12 Ь4 l ooks better,
when Whi te сап under m i ne
the Ь l ack centre from both Suba, British Ch 1990.
flanks w hile the с2 k n i g h t 12 4Jc6
guard s b o t h Ь4 and еЗ. 13 �d2 4Jd7
10 4Jb3 d4 14 f4 f6
11 �aS �е8! 15 �h4 4Jb6 (120)
Up to here all the moves
were Ь l i tzed out i n under 15
minutes , b u t now White
stopped i n his tracks . I f 11
. . . �е7 12 �S 4Jc6 13 �с5,
whereas now the white
forces are driven b ack.
12 .klgS
12 0 - 0 res ul ted i n а bri l l­
iant vi ctory for Suba after
12 . . . 4:)с6 13 �а4 h6 14 4Jc5
а5 15 аЗ е 4 1 6 Ь4 �е7 17 4jb3 Forcing another artifici al
1dd8 18 �Ь 2 еЗ 19 f4 �hЗ ! ! reply , whereas with the
Ш 9J knight at с2, ЬЗ wo uld Ье
20 �хhЗ ахЬ 4 2 1 �bS ЬхаЗ possiЬle.
22 �с1 4Je 4 23 � 4 dЗ 24 Whi te's openi ng has been
ехdЗ �хdЗ 25 с5 4jf2 26 а di saster, and already
Z!xf2 exf2+ 27 �xf2 � е4 28 Black is s u re of а s trong
1da2 �d5 29 �d2 �xd2+ 30 passed pawn coupled w i th
�xd2 а2 3 1 i)_fЗ � х f З + 32 active pi ece s . Suba now
�хfЗ а1� 33 �хЫ �h1+ 34 dri ves home his advantage
�еЗ �Ь 8 0-1 in Ward - with energetic play .
84 gЗ Sys tems

16 �с1 exf4 3 4:Jc3 �Ь4

17 gxf4 �4 4 'f!1c2 �хсЗ+?!
18 о-о �хе2 Pre rnature to say the
19 ;ge1 ;gd8 least but Nirnzowitsch
20 �d2 dЗ played this three tirnes at
21 ;gac1 �hS Bad Кis s i ngen!
22 .O,f2 .O,f3 5 Ьхс3?1
23 �cS �xg21 (121) The natural rnove is, of
The exchange s acrifice course, S '{;{ухсЗ, as played
puts the w hite king in the Ьу Tartakower and Ru bl n­
firing 1ine. stein in their garnes agai nst
Ni rnzowitsch fгom the
sarne tournarnent. After
the text BJ ack's fourt h
rnove i s j ustified.
s d6
6 4:Jf3
lt would have been more
appropriate to p l ay 6 е4, 7
QdЗ and then fol low up
with 4:Je2 and f2 - f4 - thus
entering а kind of Saemisch
24 �xf8 .,(lfЗ Variation with an extra
25 .,(lcS �g4+ tempo ( no move wasted
26 rфJf1 �е2+ p l aying аЗ) .
27 Wf2 ;ge8 6 'f!1e7
28 ;gc3 ;ge4 7 g3 Ь6
29 �d6 �fЗ+ 8 .klg2 �Ь7
30 rфJg1 4:Jxc4 9 0-0 4Jbd7
31 ;gxc4 ;gxc4 10 а4 (122)
32 ;gc1 ;gc2! А good move which pro­
0-1 vokes the defensive reac­
tion . . . a7-aS from Black,
Bogolyubov - Nimzowitsch thus hinderi ng the i ntended
Bad Кissingen 1928 . . . c7-cS (in view of the
weak ness of Black's b­
1 d4 4:Jf6 pawn) w hich would have
2 с4 е6 been а useful l i nk in the
 gЗ Sys tems 85

I f 1 2 . . . exdS 1 3 а6 .Qc6 1 4
�d 4 i s h i g h ly u np l eas a n t
for В l ack . H i s b e s t rep l y i s
the Ь l o c ka d i n g 1 2 ... {'jcS ,
with good c h a n ce s .
11 �ЬЗ aS
12 �hЗ
Pl a n n i n g to chase a w ay
B l a c k ' s Ь i s h o p w i t h co n s e­
quent ga i n s in ti m e and
space . T h e k n i g h t m u s t Ье
p l a n o f Ь l ocka d i n g W h i t e ' s ' u n p i n n ed' be fore this is
douЫed p aw n s . ln the p o s s iЬ i e .
tou r n am e n t book Tarta­ 12 0- 0
k o w e r reco m m e n d s 10 �et , S u re l y 1 2 . . . Qxf3 co m e s
but why sho u ld Wh i te i n to co n s i d e r a t i o n here.
v o l u n t ar i l y re n o u nce his N i m z ow i tsch s u gg es t e d 12
bl s h o p pair? l n tere s ti n g ly . . . �f5 = ( 1 3 -'lg2 .Qe 4 e t c . ) ,
enough, N i mzowi tsch had or 1 3 �xf 5 ? ex fS 1 4 �bS 0-0
been i n v o l ved i n а s i m i l ar 1 5 �е 1 �е 4 1 6 4jd2 � с2 ! +
seq u e n c e a g a i n s t Col l e at 13 �d2 �Ь7
Lo n do n i n t h e pre v io u s year 14 fЗ eS
( 1 927) , but in th a t game 15 е4
Nimzowitsch had been AJ I accord i n g to p l an.
Wh i t e . ( 1 d 4· � f 6 2 �fЗ е6 3 Wh i te ' s cen t re is now а

с4 Ь6 4 g3 �Ы 5 .ktg2 �Ь 4+ gre a t force , the m o re so

6 4Jc3? ! 0-0 7 0-0 �х сЗ 8 si n ce Bl ack h a s been u n a Ь / e
Ьс d6 9 а 4 а5 1 0 �а З �bd7 1 1 to orga n i s e any p r e s s u re
4jd2 �x g 2 1 2 �x g2 е5 1 3 е 4 agai n st t h e d o u Ь i ed paw n s .
�е 8 1 4. f3 4:'Jf8 15 �f2 [ 1 - 0 W h i te's J o ng te rm s t rate g i c
7 8 ] , a l t h o u g h Bl ack s p u r n ­ t hre a t is to i m prove the
ed s e v eral d ra w s ) . pl a c i n g of the k ni g h t Ьу
10 �е4 m ea n s of the m a n oevre:
Crf t i c i s ed Ьу Tar t ak o w e r 4J - f 1 - е3 - dS , bu t b e fore
w h o g i v es 1 0 . . . 0-0' ! ' 1 1 а5 carry i n g o u t t h i s t h reat he
� fc8 , fo l l o w e d Ьу . . . с 5 . B u t masses h i s h e avy p i e c es i n
h ow s h o u l d B l ac k m e e t 12 t h e cen tre . The n e x t p h a s e
dS ! ? with the threat o f а 6 ? o f t h e g a m e , p l ay e d pow er-
86 gЗ Systems

fully, i l l us trates j ust how f-file and some dark

dangero us а player Bogol­ squares) , e.g. 24 g4 4Jhf6
yubov could Ье. 25 �xf4 4Jh5 (25 . . . 4Jxg 4 26
15 �ае8 �3) 26 �d2 4Jf4 27 �xf4
16 �е1 фh8 �xf4 fol lowed Ьу . . . t!!Jf 7
17 4Jf1 �с8 and �ef8 .
18 � 2 .о_Ь7 24 tf!Jb5 f4
Not so m uch а tacit offer 25 �h3 4Jdf6
of а draw as а recogn i tion 26 gxf4 4Jxf4
that he will have to answer 27 .O.xf4 gxf4 (124)

� � �� i '
the invasion 4JdS with . . .
.Q.xdS . 124 �
� �,�
� �, '� �
� .t.
..

19 4Je3 4Jh5 w
�
�
- �
20 �а2! g6 (123)
� � ���
� � �
� ;м; �,с
�
� g � jt � �
'
% ·�

;tt � ;tt �
'� �,�/. �
;tt � Q
� � �
������
� � i.l1���W] ��
28 dxe5?
Stronger is 28 �е6! to
prevent Black's next move.
After the text Nimzowitsch
21 �ае2 f5 succeeds in conjuri n g up
22 4Jd5 �xd5 adequate counterplay .
23 exd5 28 • . . �g8+!
Opening up an i ntense 29 фh1
bombardment ( hi therto The tactics com mence. l f
conceal ed Ьу White's e­ 29 фf2 4Jxd5! and . . . tf!J h 4 + ;
paw n ) against eS . o r 2 9 ф f 1 dxeS 3 0 �е6 �g7!
23 . . . g5?! 31 �xg8 �xg8 32 �f2 е4! 33
Provoking а sharp fxe4 f3 winning.
strugg]e. At this point Tar­ 29 ... dxe5
takower proposed the po­ 30 �е6
sitional pawn sacrifice 23 . . . То give up his rooks for
f 4 ! ? (to gai n control of the queen and pawn wou l d Ье а

di sas trou s idea. After 30
�xeS? 'ltixeS 31 t:!xeS �xeS
White's h1 square becomes
а sarcoph ag u s for his own
king i n view of the pos si-
bl l i ty o f ... t:!e1 .
30. . . t:!gS
31 cS
' ! !' from Tartakower. The
point of this move is to
s h u t Black's queen out o f
play ( there were unpl easant
possibll ities of invasion Ьу
mean s of . . . t.;УаЗ i n the air) ,
whi l e s i m u J taneously shat­
teri ng Black's q u eenside
pawns. I t seems that the
text m u s t lead to the cap­
ture both of Black's e­
pawn and a- paw n . If White
seeks to distrain upon
Black's e-paw n at once
wi th 31 !:rxeS !:XxeS 32 нхеS
then 32 . . . �аЗ! guarantees
Black ample reco urse.
31 bxcS
32 с4 (125)
gЗ Systems 87
Once again White avoids
32 �xeS on acco unt of 32 . . .
!:XxeS 3 3 �xeS <i:JxdS ! Now
dS is adequately protected
and White has also opened
up the l on g dark diagona l ,
thus permitti ng t.;Yb2, i n­
creasing the pressure
against Black's e-pawn. On
top of аН this Bl ack stiJ 1
has proЬ1ems with his a­
pawn, though probaЬiy that
was the very least of his
worrie s . I n spite of t he
mounting th reats Ni mzo­
wi tsch succeeds in saving
himself Ьу vi rtue of а series
of proЬi e m moves .
32 . . . с6! !
А move which tru ly de­
serves twin exclamation
mark s . l f now 33 t.;Yxco
there wou ld fol l ow : 33 . . .
е 4 ! (expanding paw ns) 34
fxe4 !:XeS and Bl ack's threa t
of . . . fЗ, comblned with the
offside position of Wh ite's
quee n , grants him а vehe­
men t attack , e.g. 35 t.;YbS fЗ
36 !:Xf2 (or 36 !:Хс2 <i:Jxe4 37
t.;Yb2 t.;Yg7 38 l::Xg 1 <i:JgЗ+ 39
hxg3 !:XhS+ 40 !:Xh2 t.;Yxb2
wi nning) 4Jxe 4 37 Z:Xxf3 4Jf2
or 35 QfS f3 36 d6 (36 !:Хе3
f2 and . . . !:XxfS) 36 . . . t.;Yg 7 37
d? fxe2 38 dxe�+ �хе8 39
t:!xe2 l::Xg 8 40 'lf1xc5 4Jxe4!
( threatening . �а1 +) 41
. .
88 gЗ Sys tems

t/Je34Jc 3 42 �d2 t/JЫ+ a n d And not 37 4:JxdS? 38

wins . I f 4 2 � Ь 2 4J d 1 wins .
. . .

l'!xdS 1'!хе6 39 l'!xcS .

33 t!JЬ2 38 z:!gS!
А re trea t b u t p o w e rfu l Otheг moves lose fo r
t h e l e s s . Howe ver , White : 3 8 нfS с3 39 нх f4 с2
,

поn е
Bl ack's p r ev i o u s m o v e now 40 1'!с4 4:JxdS ! w i n s .
e n a Ы e s him t o u nd eгm i n e 38 с3
t he s upport of W h i t e s 39 Z!gi Z!d8
d-pawn i n s u c h as t o
'

а w ay 40 z:!c1 9jxdS
cr eate а vari ety of neat 41 �xdS Z:XxdS
pi n n i n g m o t i fs in the e - fi l e . 42 z:!xc3 z:!d4
33 cxdS 43 фg2 �g 7
34 cxdS �d6 44 ф h3 )":!ха4
35 )":!xeS )":!xeS 45 фg4 1.2 �
36 t/JxeS B l ack's ехtга paw n i s
ln rep ly to 36 l'!xeS N i m ­ sy m bo l i c . It i s of no u s e f o r
zowi tsch had p r e p a г e d а wi nning purposes s i nce
m o s t beau t i f u l vaгiation : 36 Wh i te ' s pi eces are wel l
. . . 1'!Ь 8 37 t/1c3 1'!Ь3! 38 �хЬ3 p l a c e d and B l ack ' s гооk i s
(ог 3 8 t/Je l when the purs u i t tied t o t h e defence o f h i s
co nt i n u e s w i t h 3 8 . . . �Ь1 ) ow n s c a t tered а- a n d f­
3 8 t/JxeS a n d Вl ac k , w i t h paw n s .
c e n t r a l i s e d Q a n d N a g ai n s t А s u p eгb duel be t w e e n
Q and В , hol d s some posi­ t w o o u ts ta n d i n g fi g h te г s .
t i o nal ad v an tag e .
36 �xeS Gygli Nimzowitsch
с4 (126)
-

37 �xeS Winteгthur 1931

1 d4 9jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4:Jc3 Qb 4
4 �Ь 3 tf1e7
S 4:Jf3 Ь6
6 g3 �Ь7
7 �2 �хсЗ+ ? !
l d i o syncra t i c , b u t i n N i m­
z o w i t s c h ' s eyes i t is W h i te
who sq uanders а tempo Ьу
 gЗ Systems 89
playing аЗ to force this 9 dб
exchange rather than Black 10 t!Ya4 t!Yd7
who wastes а move Ьу ex­ 11 4Jd2 о-о
changi ng Ьishop for knight 12 е4 eS
with o u t p rovocation. 13 о-о нfе8 (128)
8 ЬхсЗ? 027)

Nimzowitsch poi nted o u t

Of co urse, given the pre­
sent state of our theoreti­
cal know ledge, we now
realise that White sho u l d
recapture w i t h t h e q ueen .
Gyg l i was probaЬ ly seduced
Ьу the possibl l i ty of p l ac­
ing hi s q u een's Ьi shop on аЗ
vis-a-vis B l ack's q u een .
8 4Jc6
Head i n g for aS, whence i t
wi l l pl ace the m axi m u m
strai n o n Whi te's fro n t
douЬled paw n .
9 �аз
As p l a n ned with h i s pre­
v i ous m o v e , b u t the embar­
rassment cau sed to Black
is of p ure ly temporary d u­
rati o n . The douЬled paw ns
are peгmanent.
an interesting possibl l i ty at
this poi n t which wo u l d
have led to a n u nclear po­
sition with Bl ack having
several pawn s fог а piece:
13 . . . 4Jxd 4 1 4 �xd7 4Je2+ 15
�h1 4Jxd7 16 4JЫ ! ilaб 17
�е1 ilxc4 18 ilf1 4Jxg3+ 19
hxgЗ ilxf1 20 нхf1 . How­
ever, this adventure wo u l d
have г u n co u n ter to Nim­
zowitsch's strategic de­
signs, therefore he avoided
it.
14 ilb2 4Ja5
15 �с2 cS
Fi xi ng the douЬied paw n
complex as а permanent
target. Bl ack i ntends to
bring further latent p гes­
s u re to Ьеаг o n the с4 paw n
90 gЗ Sys tems
Ьу means of . . . �ас8 (threa­
tening cxd4) w he n White
w i l l Ье oЬiiged to release
the pressure with dS, thus
red ucing the mobiJity of his
ow n central pawn s to zero .
16 f4 �ас8
Now White has to side­
step the possibШty of 1 7 . . .
cd 1 8 c d 4Jxc4 fol lowed Ьу
. . . �аб.
17 fxeS dxeS
18 dS V;Jje7
19 'l;JJdЗ �а6
20 нае1 (129)
12
в 27 ыr2
White has n o possibility
of creati ng mobll i ty for his
paw ns, so there is nothing
for him to u ndertake apart
from aimless manoeuvres
with his pieces . This type
of situati o n , w here o ne side
compl etely runs out of
constructive p l a n s , often
occurs in Nimzow i tsch
games.
20 нсd8
А mys terious rook mov e
of the first water.
21 !(еЗ нf8
The spectre o f the Ьl ock­
adin g knight looms up С . .
4Je8 - dб) .
22 нfе1 4Je8
23 Qf1 4Jd6
24 V;Jjc2 'l;JJd 7
25 �с1 f6
With two bad Ьishops
White сап only sit ar.d
wait. Mean w hi le, Black pre­
pares to store up e nergy
for а rainy day Ьу do uЬiing
his rooks on t he f-fi le.
26 ыrз нf7
нdf в озоJ
28 'l;JJd1 Qc8
Capturing o n с4 wou!d
represent а brutal proce­
dure q uite alien to Nimzo­
witsch. Rather than sate
his appetite on а hu m Ы e
pawn Nimzowitsch prefers
to torment his opponent Ьу
embark ing on gt·and ma-
 gЗ Systems 91

noeuvres ( ' l avieren') , de­

signed to wear dow n p sy­
ch ological resistance.
I n fact 28 . . . 4j(ei ther) xc4
wou ld lead to а nasty
sel f-pin against the .О.аб,
while 28 . . . �хс4 29 4Jxc4
wou l d unnecessari ly re­
lease la Bel le au Boi s dor­
mant (1_f1) from its s l um­
bers. Nг �ura l ly B l ack does
not object to the exchange This move prepares а
of his queen's Ьi shop for victorious onslaught ag­
Whi te's king's Ьis hop s ince, ainst the w hite king in­
in that case, the front c­ volving а prelimi nary k i ng­
paw n co u l d Ье devou red i n march . (39 . . . �е? fo llowed
safety. Ьу 'i11 f 7 - е8 - d8 - с? - Ь7 -
29 !,ld3 �g4 а8) i n conj unction with gб,
30 �е2 �d7 �h7 and h4. With no ade­
31 ildЗ �еВ quate counter-measure and
There is no hurry. dazed Ьу the l av ieren White
White's position is petrified i s now ready to Ьlu nder.
and Black cannot dissipate The end of the game must
hi s advantage without the have соте as somethi ng of
contribution of а gross а relief to White.
Ы u nder on his part. 39 4Jf1 4Jaxc4
32 ile2 ild7 40 !lxc4 4Jxc4
33 ild3 41 �Ь3 4Jd6
Whi te refuses to Ье inti- 42 с4 fS
midated for the moment. 43 4Jd2 4Jxe4
33 �сВ 0-1
34 ilf1 Ш4 Of course W hite is hope­
35 �с2 �h3 lessly weak on the l ight
36 ild3 �d7 squares after 44 4Jxe4 fxe4
37 �d1 ilg 4 45 �xf7 �xf7 46 �еЗ !lhЗ
3В �с2 (131) and he w o u l d certainly lose
3В hS this positi on.
7 ) 4 еЗ - Offshoots
1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 4Jc3 i.lb4
4 еЗ (132)
4 еЗ has tradi tional l y been
the most pop u lar move for
White in the Nimzo-lndian.
I t has the virtues of solid­
i ty and flexibl lity and does
not expose Whi te to any
i m mediate co unter-attack
right i n the openi n g s tages .
I n this i n trod uctory chap­
ter I give the reader а fla­
vour of what can occur
with vari o u s o ffshoots, not
readily classi fiaЬ1e i nto
m ai n l i ne sys tem s.
In I-lort - La ngeweg we
observe the disadvantages
that may dog Black in the
middlegame if he prema­
turely Ь l ocks his c- paw n
with . . . 4Jc6 , Chan d l e r· -
Li ttlewood shows that
White m u st Ье carefu 1 even
with this sol id sys tem of
giving Black too m u ch l ee­
way on the l i ght sq ua res .
whi l e the mighty clash bet­
ween Korch noi and Karpov
gi ves i nsig hts i nto а l it t l e­
known Beno ni/Bi u me n fe l d
lookalike w h ich may one
day Ье due for а revi va l .
Fi naJ iy the game Speel man
- Karpov revea\ s the tacti­
cal reso urces concea l ed in
WЪ ite's set- u p even i f
Вlack does oЬtai n theoret­
ically adequ ate co u n ter­
play .
Hort - Langeweg
Amsterdam 1982
1 d4 4Jf6
 4 е3 - Offshoots 93
2 с4 е6 has аwinning attack .
3 4Jc3 �Ь4 15 4Jd4 Ь4
4 еЗ 0-0 16 4JdS 'ijxdS
S �d3 dS 17 .O.xdS .O.xdS
6 4Jf3 {jc6 18 exdS �f6
6 . . . cS enjoys а more re- 19 �с2
liaЫ e reputation. White has а consideraЫ e
7 0-0 аб po si tional advantage, but
8 �е1 h6 now tries to win Ьу tactical
9 h3 d.xc4 mean s .
10 �хс4 �d6 19 �fe8
11 е4 eS 20 �ad1 r!ad8
12 _k1e3 bS (133) 21 {jfS �g6
22 \tlf1 {jd7
23 1ld4 �xel+
24 �хе1 .f)f6 {/34)

13 d.xeS
Wh i te also stands better
after 13 �Ь3 exd4 14 �xd4!
4Jxd4 15 �xd4- w hen his 25 �еб!
increased grip on the А beautifu l move, but
cen tre more than co mpen­ Black can perhaps sti 1 1
sates for the loss of the defend wit h 25 . . . �h? 26
Ьishop pai r. 1lxfб fхеб 27 �xd 8 �xfS 28
13 {jxeS tfixfS+ exfS 29 �е2 \tlgб.
14 �Ъ3 1lЬ7 After accepting the sacri ­
1 4 . . . Ь4 looks attractiv e , fice Black's res i s tance co l l -
b u t after 1 5 {jdS {jxe4 16 apses .
Qxhб 4Jx f2 17 \tlxf2 4Jxf3 18 25 fxe6?
�хfЗ gxhб 19 {jfб+ White 26 {je7+ _k1xe7
94 4 е3 - Offsh oots

27 �xg6 �xdS 1-0 Kasparov - Viewer s,

28 �еЗ �f8 Spani s h TV 1991.
29 f4 �aS 6 Ь6
30 g4 �ха2 7 аЗ?
31 gS hxgS Correct is 7 0-0 .О.Ы 8 аЗ
32 fxgS {JdS or 8 cxdS.
33 �d4 1-0 7 �хсЗ+
8 ЬхсЗ �а61
Chandler - Р Littlewood Now Black has this op­
British Ch 1981 tion which \ eads to а
favouraЬ le exchange of
1 d4 {Jf6 light-squared Ьi s hops.
2 с4 е6 9 cxdS .О,хdЗ
3 {JсЗ .0.Ь4 10 �хdЗ exdS
4 еЗ о-о 11 с4 {Jc6
S .(ldЗ dS 12 .О.Ь2
6 {JfЗ More cautious wou l d Ье
6 cxd5 exd5 7 {Jge2 �е8 8 12 0-0.
0- 0 Ьб 9 f3 .О,Ь7 10 g4 h6 11 12 . . . {JaS
{Jg3 �f8 12 h4 с5 13 �f2 13 {Jd2
{Jfd7 1 4 g5 hxgS 15 hxg5 g6 If 13 cxdS �xd5 with ad­
16 f4 cxd4 17 exd4 �7 1 8 vantage to Black .
{jb5 f 5 1 9 �xf5 gxf5 2 0 {Jd6 13 ... cS (136)
�е6 21 {Jdxf5 .(lh8 22 Z:!h2
�е8 23 �g4 �е1+ 24 �f2
.(la6 25 .(ld2 (135)

14 dxcS dxc4
15 �сЗ
Perhaps 15 �xd8 Z:Xfxd8
�ха1 26 �h4 �f1+ 27 �g2 16 .(lxfб is better.
 4 е3 - Offshoots 95

15 ... t1Yd5 Korchnoi - Кarpov

16 схЬ6 !ifd81 Match (7) Baguio Clty 1978
Sacrificing а paw n to
preve nt Whi te from cast­ 1 d4 4Jf6
ling kingside. 2 с4 е6
17 Ьха7 �ха7 3 4jc3 �Ь 4
18 е4 �е7 4 е3 о-о
19 0-0-0 Karpov varies from 4 . . .
А desperate expedient c S w i th which he g o t into
after w hich White's king hot water i n the third and
becomes horriЬly exposed. fifth games, but Korchnoi
19 �а8 sti l l has something up his
20 �Ь1 ldd3 sleeve.
21 �с2 lded7 5 �dЗ с5
22 е5 4Je8 6 d5 (138)
23 4Jf3 V1Yd5 (137)

An entirely new move at

24 4Jd4 ldb7 the time s uggested Ьу
25 ldxd3 cxd3 Murei. The idea i s either to
26 �а4 reach а Benoni-like struc­
I f 26 �хdЗ {Jc4. ture after 6 . . . exdS 7 cxdS
26 ldb8 d6 or else after 6 . . . bS,
27 �а1 4Jc7 which Karpov actual ly
28 ldЬ1 d2 p] ays, to achieve the sort
29 Qc3 ЫхЬ1+ of position in which Karpov
30 �хЬ1 �с4 does not feel at home. I f
31 �с2 �f1+ BJack tried 6 . . . exdS 7 cxdS
0-1 {JxdS 8 �xh7 + �xh7 9 �xdS
96 4 еЗ - Offsh oots
White has some advaпtage,
due to his ce ntгal grip and
the exposed Ы асk king, for
which the Ьishop pai r
offers insufficient compen­
sation.
6 ьs
After twe nty m i n u tes
tho ught Karpov accepts the
chal lenge an d plays the
most active move. This
m u s t have been а d i fficu l t
decision as he never fee ls
parti c u l aгly comfoгtaЬle
when he has to offer а
gamblt .
7 dхеб fхеб
8 cxbS Qb7
8 . . . а6 9 4:Jge2 dS 10 0-0
е5 11 аЗ axbS 12 �хЬ5 �хсЗ
1З ЬхсЗ �аб 1 4 �Ы �d6 15
с4 d4 16 {jgЗ 4:Jc6 17 а4 4JaS
1 8 �dЗ �е6 1 9 exd4 cxd4 20
с5 �fc8 21 f4 �xcS 22 Qхаб
t!;; xa6 2З t!;; х аб �ха6 24 �аЗ
�dS 25 {jfS фf? 26 fxe5
�xeS 27 �ьs {jc 4 28 �Ы+
феб 29 4:Jxd 4+ �d5 ЗО {jfЗ
{jхаЗ З 1 {jxeS фхеS 32 .t:!e7+
фd 4 ЗЗ �xg7 {)с4 З4 �f4+
4:Je4 З5 �d7+ �еЗ З6 �fЗ+
фе2 37 �xh? {)cd2 З8 �аЗ
�сб З9 �а1 {JfЗ+ 0-1 Koгch­
noi - Karpov , M atch ( 17) ,
Bag uio C i ty 1978.
9 {JfЗ dS
10 0-0 4Jbd7
11 {Je2 t!;;e B
Black certainly has co u n­
terp lay for his paw n i n the
shape of а powerfu 1 cen tre,
b u t this move looks too
arti ficial and s u pports the
view that Karpov is not
а gamblt master.
12 {jgЗ eS
13 �fS gб
14 QhЗ аб
If Black t1·i es to p revent
Wh ite's next move Ьу 1 4 . . .
h 6 , 1 5 е 4 smashes the posi­
tion open to White's ad­
vantage.
15 4Jg5! (139)
А vегу good move w hich
wins the exchange. A l­
though the position is
tense, and i ndeed one of
the most original ever to
occu r i n the opening of а
World C hampions hi p game.
there was а genera l feel ing
in the press room that
Wh i te was now on top. An­
other idea for Wh ite is 15
 4 еЗ - Offshoots 97

ьхаб .clxa6 16 �xd7 �xd7 17

{)xeS b u t it looks too riskyo
15 ... ахЬ5
16 4:Je6 с4
17 .ktd2 .clc5
18 4:Jc7 �е7
19 4:Jxa8 ldxa8
20 аЗ 4:Jb6
21 �с2 .clc8
22 �хс8 �хс8
23 �aS
Also good is the pawn when White shou l d w i n o
sacrifice 23 �Ь4 �хЬ4 24 29 �е6
ахЬ4 �хЬ4 25 �а?, opening 30 4:Je2 �с6
lines for the rookso Korch­ 31 hЗ Jde8
noi is one of the greatest 32 Ь4??
exponents i n exploiti ng the Every schoolboy knows
advantage of the exchange, that you can't p l ay moves
but from now on he beg i ns l i ke thi so Now BJ ack ob­
to contradict this i mage o tains two J usty passed
23 4:Jbd7 pawnso
24 �d2 �d6 32 .(lb6
25 �Ь4 4:Jc5 33 �Ь2 Wg8
26 �хс5 �хс5 34 Jdfe1 �f7
27 �h1 �d6 35 �с2?
28 �ad1 Another lemon w hich
J prefer 28 f4, trying to eases the advance of
blast open lines at onceo Black's passed pawnso
28 ... �h8 (140) 35 d4
29 �с2 36 4:Jg3 �d8
Korchnoi was now J osing 37 exd4 exd4
the thread of the game and 38 �d2 dЗ
dri fting i nto time trouЬle 38
0 0 0 Jdd7 J ooks safer
and so Вlack begins to get but the text is good
superb compen sationo Cor­ enougho
rect was 29 е4 d4 30 �gS 39 �h6
4Jd7 31 f4 exf4 32 4:Je2, А desperate attempt to
fo l lo wed Ьу 4:Jxf4 and 4:JdS, obtai n counterp l ay which is
98 4 еЗ - Offshoots
remarkaЬly s uccess f u l .
39 сЗ
. . .
40 {Je4 {Jxe4?
Кю·роv was now also in
time tro uЬJ e and throws
away the win with the last
move before the time con­
trol. 40 . . . �g8 l eaves
White with no counter to
the expansion of the p assed
pawns .
41 �xh7+ фf8 041)
The fa mous adj ourned
posi tio n.
42 �h8+ �...1,2
The sealed move, after
which the draw w as agreed.
Here now is а s u m mary o f
the analysis which J ed us to
the u ne xpected concl u sion
that В l ack has no clear win:
1) 42 �h8+ фf? 43 �h7+
фfб 44 �h4+ фg? (or 44 . . .
{Jg5 4 5 f4 foJ lowed Ьу
fxg5+) 45 �хе4 �е8 46
�хе8 �хе8 47 �xd3 �et+
(or 47 . . . с2 48 �f4 �е1 + 49
�h2 с1� 50 !Xd7+) 4 8 � h2
�с?+ 49 g3 �xf2+ with а
draw s i nce White has а
threat of �d?+ and if Bla c k
takes the rook there is а
perpetual check.
2) 42 �h8+ �f7 43 �h7+
�е8 44 �g8+ �d7 45 �xd3+
�с8 46 ldxd8+ ,.O.xd8 47 фg1 !
(/42)
Thi s is M u rei's m iracle i n­
gredient. Вl ack now has
tro u Ы e co-ordi nating his
pieces and the position can
become douЫ e edged.
which is probaЬiy what
frightened Karpov off, e.g.
2а) 47 . . . фd7 48 а4 Ьха4
49 Ь5 �хЬ5 50 �xg6 ( not 50
�хе4? �Ы+) 50 . {Jd6 51
. .
�g?+ and �хс3.
2bl 47 . . . gS 48 а4 {Jfб
(48 . . . Ьха4 49 Ь5) 49 axb S
{Jxg8 ( 49 . . . �xg2+ on l)'
li berates Whi te's k i ng) 50
Ьхсб {]е? 51 �е5 {Jg6 52
!Хе2. White then puts h is
 4 еЗ - Offshoo ts 99

rook o n с2 and l eaves i t

the re , e v en al l o w i n g
{Jxc2 �хс2 wi th а draw .
2 с ) 47 . . . {Jd2 ( l f 4 7 . . . с2
48 r!c1 p l u s �ЬЗ o r �а2) 4 8
r!c1 �с 4 ( or 4 8 . . . g5 49 h 4
g xh 4 50 �g 4+ �Ь8 51 � g 8
etc . ) 4 9 �хgб 4:Je 4 ( o r 4 9 . . .
{JЬЗ 5 0 � f5+ and another
ch eck wil l win the p aw n o n
сЗ) 50 �с2 �dЗ 51 �хсЗ+
�хсЗ 52 � хе 4 and Вl ack's the white p aw n s .
e x t r a p i ece c a n n o t w i n . b u t 11 �Ь 1
if Black w i shes t o p l ay for O n e w o u l d n o r m a l l y e x­
а wi n he can try 50 . . . �d5 pect Spee l m a n to Ье s e e n
w he n the p o s i ti o n remai n s on t h e Ь l ack s i d e of t h i s
b u t B l ack c a n n o t
ob sc ure , variati o n , s i nce he i s more
stand w or s e . а knig h t man than а Ь i s h op

man. For e xa m p l e 11 �Ь2

Speelman - Кarpov �с 7 12 1la2 � d 8 13 �с2 � 4
Linares 1991 1 4 4:Jg3 �е 7 1 5 dxe5 4:Jxe5 1 6
с 4 {JdЗ (144) w as Seirawan
1 d4 {Jf6 S p ee l m a n , Phi l l ips &
2 с4 еб Drew /GLC Lo n d o n 1 9 82, а
з {Jс З �Ь4 g a m e w h i c h re s u J t e d i n а
4 еЗ о-о bri l l iant w i n for S p ee l m a n :
s �dЗ dS
6 аЗ �хсЗ+
7 Ь хсЗ dxc4
8 �хс4 cS
9 {je2 {Jc6
10 о-о eS (143)
А c l a ss i c confro n tatio n
ha s developed between
Wh i te ' s pawn cen tre an d
bi s hop p a i r again s t Black's
effi c ien t m obl l i sation a nd
at t ac ki ng p ro s p e c t s ag ai n s t 17 1lc3 4:Jh5! 1 8 4Je 2 �f5 1 9
100 4 еЗ - Offshoots
�adt �g5! 20 4:Jg3 4:Jxg3 21
hxgЗ 4:Jb4 22 �Ь2 4:Jxa2 23
�ха2 �g 4 24 �d5? ( An
oversight b u t W h i te's posi­
tion was pretty miseraЬle
in any event.) 24 . . . -'ldЗ 25
�xd8+ �xd8 26 �d2 �d7! 27
�с1 -'lxc 4 28 �с2 h6 29 fЗ
�е6 30 е4 Ь6 31 Qxg7? (Sei г­
awan misses his chance to
prolong the s trugg le - Ьу
advanci ng his g-paw n . ) 31
... �xg7 32 �хс4 �хс4 33
�хс4 �d3 34 а4 �f6 35 �h2
�е6 36 f4 �d6 37 g4 а6 38
gЗ Ь5 39 ахЬ5 ахЬ5 40 �с1
Ь4 41 �g2 Ь3 42 �f2 Ь2 43
�Ь1 �ьз 44 �el с4 45 �d1
с3 46 �с2 �аЗ 47 eS+ �е7
48 f5 �at 0-1 Seirawan -
Spee l man, London 1982.
Another possibl li ty i s : 1 1
-'ld3 е4 ? ! ( T h i s looks prema­
tuгe . Не s ho u l d prefeг 1 1 . . .
4:Jc6 12 �Ь2 е4 13 .О,Ь1 4:Jа5 1 4
4:Jg3 �е8 1 5 f 3 4:Jc4 with
equal chance s . ) 12 .О,с2 4:Jc6
13 f3 cxd 4 14 cxd4 exf3 15
�xf3 � 4 (Tempting fate,
inas m u ch as Whi te is pre­
sented with а typical ex­
change sacri fice oppor­
tuni ty .) 16 �xf6! gxf6 1 7 �dЗ
( 1 45 )
Critical here i s 1 7 . . . f5 1 8
4:Jf4 �ас8 1 9 h З 4:Ja5 2 0 �а2
�с4 21 �хс4 ,tXxc4 22 -'ld2 !
,tXfc8 2 3 �dЗ. Ho wever,
t here are many co mp l i ca­
tions concea l ed i n this
variation, and w hat B l ack
play s l eads to un mitigated
disaster: 17 . . . �fd8? 18
�xh7+ �f8 1 9 4:Jf4 �ас8 20
Qd2 а5 21 -'lb3 �d7 22 нf1
-'lf5 23 �hб+ �е7 24 �g7
-'le4 25 �xf7+ �dб 26 �х fб+
�с7 27 4:Je6+ �Ь6 28 4:Jxd8
�g 4 29 �f2 �xd8 30 �f4
�gб 31 -'lf7 �h7 32 -'leb �h8
33 QсЗ �а7 34 d5 ,tXe8 35
.O,f7 нd8 36 dхсб -'lxc6 37
�d 4+ �а8 38 �f5 � h 4 3q
�ха5+ �Ь8 40 �е5+ �сВ 41
�с7+ 1-0 Kee ne - Toth.
Rome 1979.
11 �с7
12 �а2 Z:Xd8
13 �с2 Ь6
14 4:Jg3 exd4
15 cxd4 (146)
15 cxd4?
So mewhat u n characteris­
tically, Karpov misses 1 5 . . .
.О,аб ! 16 ,tXd1 (16 Z:Xet ! is bes t.
 4 еЗ - Offsh oots 101

s t r u c t ure and the co n se­

q u e n t e x p o s u re o f h i s k i n g .
21 �fe1 t&f7
22 t&сЗ нdd8
23 {Je4 е5
24 'itJgЗ+ Wh8
25 �h 4 1
Now t h a t t h e q u ee n h as
s w u n g over to j o i n i n w i t h
t h e attack В l ac k ' s p os i ti o n
s u d den ly beg i n s t o l oo k
but loses а paw n for terriЬ i y s h aky . 2 5 . . . f5?
obsc ure c o m p e n s a ti o n ) 16 fai l s to 26 нхс6 ! , 25 �f8 . . .

. c x d 4 1 7 e x d 4 {Jxd 4 and
. . meets 26 {Jd6 and 25 . . . фg7
Black win s since 18 �хс7 i s o bv i o us ly o u t beca u s e o f
fai l s to 18 .. . {Je2+ w i th 26 �сЗ - gЗ. Therefore B l ack
mate to fo l l o w . m u s t g i v e u p а p a w n . Per­
16 exd4 ile6 haps the best w ay to do
17 ilxe6 fxe6 t h i s w a s 25 . . . 'l!Je 7 .I f 26
18 Qg5 �ас8 {jxf6? �f8 w i n s a n d 26
18 . . . �d6 was an i n ter­ 'l!Jx f6+ � x f6 27 {Jxf6 is а
esti n g p o s s i b l l i ty : 19 �xf6 l i t t l e better for W h i te , b u t
g x f6 20 {Je 4 ? {Jxd 4 ! i s i t s ho u l d Ье t e n aЬ i e .
g o o d for B l ack , b u t 20 {Jh 5 ! 25 ... {Jd4
{jxd 4 2 1 t&e4 t&e7 2 2 �a d 1 If B l ac k ' s seeks to d e ­
w i t h good c o m pe n s a ti o n f e n d h i s f6 paw n w i t h 25 . . .
for the p aw n ( 2 2 . . . е5? 23 �g7 t h ere w o u l d с о т е 26
!!x d 4 ! ) . нсЗ w i t h the d read f u l m e n ­
19 �xf6 g xf6 a c e o f нg З+ .
20 �Ьс1 нхd4 26 нхс8 нхс8
No w , i n c o n trad i s ti n c t i o n 27 {Jxfб (14 7)
to th e v ariati o n s w h i ch Spee l m a n av o i d s the d i ­
m i g ht h a v e ari s en a fter 15 abo l ic a l trap 2 7 {Jd6? 't!J g 7
. . . �а6 16 не 1 , White h a s 28 {J x c 8 {JxfЗ+ , u t te r ly
com p e n s ati o n f o r th e l o s s turn i n g the taЬ i e s . A fter
o f h i s d 4- p aw n . Th i s comes the te x t , th o ug h , Karpov
in t he s hape o f B l ac k ' s s ti l l has а h i d d e n res o u rce
s h attered k i n g si d e pawn which m ay e n aЬ i e him to
102 4 еЗ - Offshoots

save the game, name ly, 27 Ьу keeping roo ks on the

. . . �е?! setting up а p i n ag­ board but SpeeJ man cor­
ai nst w h i te's k n ig ht. After rectly perceives that once
that 28 �xd4-? fai ls to 28 . . . the rooks have been e l i mi n­
exd4- 29 �хе7 �с1+ . l nstead, ated the expos ure of the
White would h ave to play ЬJ ack k i ng w i l l actual ly
28 hЗ 4Jf3+ 29 gxf3 �f8 and increa se and he w i l l Ье un­
now there are three possib­ aЬ i e to defend his weak and
i li ties: 30 �xeS met Ьу 30 . . . scattered paw ns from the
�xf6; 3 0 � x h7 + �xh7 31 manifold threats gen erated
4Jxh7 �xh7 ; or 30 f4- �xf6 Ьу the comblned efforts of
31 �xeS �gb+ 32 �gS . ln a l 1 Wh ite's queen and knight.
cases W h i te maintain s а 32 �g8
small m aterial advantage, 33 �xg8+ �xg8
but, as Speel man poin ted 34 �f6+ �g7
out, i t i s probaЬJy not en­ 35 �d8+ �g8
ough to w i n . 36 �е7 4Jg6
27 �g6 37 �ха7 �е6
28 4Jg4 4Je2+ 38 �Ь8+ �g7
29 �h1 4Jf4 39 �с7+ �h8
30 h3 �е8 40 4Jh6 �f6
31 �d1 �g7 41 �с8+ �g7
32 �d8! (148) 42 4Jf5+ �f7
Real ly this is the last 43 �d7+ �f8
diffi c u l t move o f the game. 44 g3 h5
lt m us t have bee n tempting 45 h4 �g8
to play for а further attack 46 �g2 4Jf8
 4 еЗ - Offshoo ts 1 03

47 t.:Yd5+ �h7 Karpov q u i te rig h t l y r e ­

48 t&b7+ � g8 sig ned si nce his ki n g has no
49 4Je7+ �h8 escape ro u te fro m t he
50 4Jd5 'l!J dб mati n g t h reats .
51 '{fJf7 4Jg 6 N o tes based on com m­
52 4Jf6 1-0 e n t s Ьу j o n S pee l man .
8) 4 еЗ - The Queen' s Fianchetto

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 4Jc3 -'lb4
4 е3 Ьб
5 -'ld3 �Ь7
6 4Jf3 (14 9)

14
в

Unfortunate ly, against 4 еЗ

it is difficu l t to recommend
the fianchetto unreservedly.
If White plays norma l ly
with �dЗ and 4Jf3 B l ack's
attempts to gain contro l of
1 d4 4Jf6 the е4 sq uare may i nvolve
2 с4 еб him in too much of а loss
3 4Jc3 �Ь4 of time, although the posi­
4 е3 Ьб tions are rich in possi Ы J i­
5 4Je2 (150) ties for both sides and
Вlack should certain ly not
The queenside fianchetto feel di ssatisfied if he can
wi th 4 . Ьб forms, per­
.. reach this (e.g. Yusu pov -
haps , the concept that Timman and Keene
woнld have been closest to Wright) .
Nimzowitsch's own heart. The real di fficu l ty for
 4 еЗ - The Queen 's Fianchetto 1 05

B la ck arises after 4 е3 Ь6 5 move gives Вlack а decisive

4Je2 which simply c uts attack) 2З f3 е5 24 -'lh2
across Black's whole stra­ exd4 25 t/Jxd4 4Jg5 26 с6?
tegy of occupying е4. Вlack t/Jxc6 27 �с1 �с4 28 �ха?
tends to get а very l i feless �е2 29 t/JcS t/Je6! ЗО �3
position in this variation �xg2+ (151)
and sometimes ends up in
something akin to the De­
ferred Saemi sch Variation
where White has not had to
squander а tempo on the
move аЗ. The Sadler -
Arkell reference from Lon­
don 1991 i s typical .

Wright - Keene
Slater Tournament
Southend 1968 З1 �xg2 ( I f З1 4Jxg2 4JxfЗ+
З2 �f2 �е2 mate, or 32 �h 1
1 d4 {Jf6 t/Jxh3+) 31 . . . t/Jxh3+ 32 'itj!f2
2 с4 е6 t/Jf1+ 33 �еЗ 0-1 Patterson -
3 {JсЗ �Ь4 Keene, Trai ni ng game, Cam­
4 еЗ Ь6 bridge 1968.
5 �dЗ �Ь7 7 0-0 fS
6 4JfЗ {Je4 Whi te has а strong att­
А vigorous line for Вlack ack i f Black accepts the
which has been empl oyed pawn in either of the ways
Ьу Spassky , Larsen and availaЬle.
Fischer. 8 4Je2!? (152)
6 . . . 0-0 7 0-0 с5 8 {Ja4 Rather passive. Usual is
cxd4 9 exd4 t/Jc7 10 h3? d5 8 'f!1c2 �хс3 9 ЬхсЗ 0-0 1 0
11 cS! ? bxcS 12 аЗ с4 1З ахЬ4 4Jd2 � h 4 w i th а sharp posi­
cxd3 14 �S {Jbd7 1 5 4JcS tion and chances for both
�xcS ! ? ( 15 . . . t/Jb6! ) 16 Ьхс5 sides. Gligoric tried 8 Qxe4
�е4 17 Ь4 �с6 1 8 t/JxdЗ against Larsen in the 1967
!'lab 8 19 �fЬ1 �ьs 20 t/JeЗ CapaЬlanca Memorial , bu t
�Ь7 21 �f4 �Ье8 22 4Je1? after 8 . . . fxe4 9 4Jd2 Qxc3
(2 2 4jd2!) 22 . . . f6! (This 10 Ьхс3 0-·0 11 �g4 �f5!
Юб 4 еЗ - The Queen 's Fianchetto

Black's i n fl u ence оvег the

cen tral light sq uares gives
h i m the advantage.

153 ··� �· ��"�

� &\ � + � ..u, � �+
в � .:. � ...... � � � ......
� '�1:1] �
.
· · · ·
.
'
W»
� � � .i. �
� .ft � � �
-� � �. W»
� ,
�
.:.-"'. /
� §?N�. � �
.

� �� � �
...
/,
. �
Black stood wel l . ·
·
�
�
.
·
� �
� � ·

. ��
�
·

� ·
· ·

. .
8 !J.e7
То foresta l l the possib­ � � � ���� � ?.'l/.
, . .
.
i l i ty of cS fol lowed Ьу аЗ. 16 !J.h4
Overamblti ous is 8 . . . !J.dб?! Biack's pieces beg i n to
as in Ti sdal l - Kee ne , New seep rou nd to the k i ngside.
York 1981. That game con­ gradu a l ly as s u ming тоге
tin ued 9 ЬЗ t/je7 10 t/jc2 4Ja6 threaten i ng posts.
11 аЗ с5 12 !J.b2 0-0 1З 4Je5 17 t/je2 t/jgб
�ad8 14 fЗ {Jfб 1 5 4Jg3 and 18 �f1!?
Whi te went on to w i n . White w i s hes to thгeaten
9 tfJc2 о-о �hS forci ng the q u een ex­
10 4Jd2 4Jxd2 change wi tho u t hav ing to
11 !J.xd2 !J.f6 reckon with !J.xgЗ and t he
12 t1ad1 t/Je7 intermezzo !J.xf2+ , hence
13 �fe1? the text, w hi ch does have
Thi s acco m p l i s hes noth­ the virtue of forcing Black
ing. White shou l d play 1 3 to cl ari fy the situation . On
е 4 ! fxe4 1 4 !J.xe4 !J.xe4 15 the other hand, White's
t/jxe4 {Jсб w hen he has а manoeuvre does l ose two
perfectly good posi ti o n . temp i and 18 !J.b4, a i m i ng
13 4Jc6 for с5, was pre feraЬ i e.
14 аЗ t/jf7 18 .,О_хgЗ
15 !J.сЗ t;je 7 19 hxgЗ !J.e4
16 4Jg3 (153) 20 �g1 d6
I f i ns tead 1 6 е4 fxe4 17 20 . . . �h8 at once w a s
!J.xe4 !J.xe4 18 �хе4 d5! and more accu rate.
 4 еЗ - Th e Queen 's Fianch e t t o 1 07

21 �с2 �h8 29 f3 Qd7

Thre a t e n i n g to transfer 30 �f2
th e k ni gh t to g 4 , via g8 and Wh i te has c o n ce i v ed t h e
f6 , w i t h а s tron g a t tack . idea of fleei ng with his
22 ,О.Ь3! ki ng fro m the t h reate n ed
Th r e a t e n i n g in his turn sec tor - b u t t h e c e n tre a l so
to c u t o ff t h e Ьi s h o p Ьу d 5 . pro v e s to Ье a n i n adeq u ate
22 ... �Ь7 h a v e n . Go l o mbek has s u g­
23 dS? 054 ) g e s ted �с 2 fo l l o w ed Ьу Ьу
Ь 4 and с5 , b u t t h i s o pe n i n g
of more lines wou l d Ье
even m o r e i n B l ack's fa v o u r.
30 �hS
31 �еЗ aS (155)

А grave s t rategi c a l error.

Corre ct w as 23 �с2 w h en
Black сал take а d raw w i t h
2 3 . . . �е4 o r p l ay for а w i n
with 2 3 . . . 'f!Jf7 2 4 � f 1 4:Jg6
and if 25 е 4 then 25 . . . f 4 . Pl ay i n g to ki l l W h i te's
Thi s way W h i te co u l d p u t Ь i s h op s and c ri p p l e his
u p trem e n d o u s re s i s ta n c e . q u e e n s i d e pa w n s ; i n a dd i ­
As p l ay e d h e m u f f l es h i s t i o n to hi s o th e r ad v a n ta­
Ьi s hop p a i r a n d ce d e s the ges , if W h i te e v er p l ay s g3
initiative to Вl ack over the to keep а Ы ас k p i e ce o u t o f
e n tire f ro n t . f 4 , t h e n Б l ack a l s o h a s t h e
23 eS poss i b l l i ty of crea t i n g an
24 е4 f4 o u ts i de p as sed paw n (g­
25 �d3 �с В a n d h- p a w n s ) s h o u l d Wh i te
26 gxf4 �xf4 s u rvi v e to the e ndgame
27 �g3 � g4 stag e .
28 �xg4 �xg4 32 �d2 4:Jg6
108 4 еЗ - The Qu een 's Fianchetto

33 �g1 �h2 41 фе2 4:Jf4+

Commencing а slege of 0-1
the pawn on g2. lf 42 -'lxf4 �4 wins the
34 We3 4:Jf4 queen.
35 �d1
35 Wf2? 4:Jh3! Yusupov - Timman
35 а4 Tilburg Match (1) 1986
36 �с2 �f8
37 -'le1 1 d4 4Jf6
If 37 g 4 4Jh3 38 �е1 �xf3 2 с4 е6
39 Wxf3 -'lxg 4 and . . . 4:Jf2+ 3 4:Jf3 Ьб
winning. 4 4:Jc3 �Ь4
37 4Jxg2 5 е3 4Je4
38 't!Jf2 -'lh3 б tfyc2 �Ь7
39 !ld2 (156) 7 �d3 f5
8 0-0 �хс3
9 Ьхс3 о-о
10 4Je1 с5
Normal i s 10 . . . �h4.

11 f3 4Jd6
12 �аЗ 4Ja6 (157)

Losi ng at once. If 39
-'lxa4 then 39 . . . �xf3 40
't!Jxf3 .klg 4 41 t/Jxg4 4Je3+ 42
�с1 4:Jxg4 43 �xg 4 tfye2 44
�g 1 �е3+ etc., but а b etter
try w o u ld have been 39 .Qd3!
h6! and if now 40 �f1 �xf3!, 13 е4 �е7?!
but at least White w o u l d A l so leadi ng to an un­
not have bee n faced with cl ear position l s 13 . . . f4
i nstant resig nati o n . when Whi te should p l ay 1 4
39 нхf3 .а_е2!, fo l lowed Ьу 4:Jd3,
40 �xf3 �xg1+ rather than 14 eS 4JfS which
 4 еЗ - Th e Queen 's Fianchetto 1 09
favo u r s B l ack . ProbaЬ l y the concern h i m s e l f w i t h fi n d ­
be s t i s t h e s trai g h tforward i n g effec t i v e ro l e s for h i s
conti n u ati on 13 . fxe4 1 4
. . i n active q u e e n s i d e p i eces .
f x e 4 нхf1+ 1 5 � x f 1 eS! w h e n 19 fф>h8 ? !
Black h a s а s m all b u t en­ Better is 19 .
. . нае 8 ,
dн r i n g p o s i t i o nal advantage feed i n g В l ac k ' s q u ee n s i de
i n v i ew of his better paw n pieces i n to t h e g a m e , w i t h
s tructure an d White's i m ­ а h i g h ly u n c l ear p o s i t i o n .
pri s o ned bl s h o p pair. 20 �f2 �g 7
14 eS li:Jf 7 21 h4! (159)
15 f4 gS!?
Perhaps this should Ье 15
prepared w i th . . . � h 8 . в
16 dS! gxf4
17 li:JfЗ li:Jh 8 (158)

А s h arp c o n c e p t w h i c h
g u ara n tees Wh i te t h e i n­
i t i a tive o n t h e k i n g s i d e . The
i m m ed i a te t h re a t i s 22 h S .
21 �hб
А fine N i m z o w i t s c h i an S i n c e W h i te' s last move
retrea t , echoed o n B l ac k ' s has weakened his k i n g' s
30th m o v e , w h e n he p l ays pos i ti o n , B l ack c o u l d h i m ­
. . . li:Jb 8 ! sel f try to u s urp the i n­
18 н ае1 li:Jg б i t iati v e o n the k i n g s i de w i t h
19 �с1 21 . н g 8 ! ? so a s to meet 22
. .

Red e p l o y i n g the blshop hS li:Je7 23 Qxf4 w i t h t h e

to а u s e f u l d i a g o n a l w h ere co mbati v e 23 . . . �g 4 , w h e n
it p re s s u ri se s the v i ta l f4- a t fi rst s i g h t B l a ck s ee m s
pa w n , w h i ch is i mpeding to Ье h ol d i n g his ow n.
Wh i te ' s k i n g s i d e p i eces . O n Howeve r , W h i te then has
the o ther hand , B l ack m u s t t h e p o w erfu l re p l y 2 4 �d2! ,
1 1 0 4 еЗ - The Queen 's Fianchetto
when B l ack has to reckon
with � S - fб.
22 {JgS!
The secoпd profound
poi nt of his 21st move. The
knight is so menaci ng on
thi s outpost that Вlack has
по real choice b u t to ac­
quiesce in an exchangiпg
operation i пvolving not
опlу the q ueens b ut also
Black's front f-pawп for
White' s h-paw n. This en­
sures White play in the half
open h-fi le w hi ch wil l fully
compensate for White's
раw п minus iп this semi­
endgame.
22 �xh4
23 �xh4 {Jxh4
24 �xf4 {Jgб
25 нf3 наеВ?
Black w i shes to untangle
and eventu ally develop his
q ueenside pieces , but the
first priority is to drive
back White' s s trong knight
and c l ari fy the si tuation on
the kiпgside. After 25 ... h6
26 нh3 фg7 27 {jf3 �h8 28
фf2 , followed Ьу 29 нhе1,
Whi te would have good
co m pe nsation for the раw п .
26 �h3 не7
27 нhб нgв
28 фf2?
Apparently natural , b u t
the vigorous 28 g 4 ! keeps
White оп top. The point is
that 28 . . . fxg4 loses in ­
s tantly to 29 d6 and 28 . . .
exdS 2 9 gxfS {JxeS 3 0 нхеS
is hopeless for Black , so
the best defence is 28 . . .
�eg7, meetiпg 2 9 gxfS with
29 ... 4:Je7 , now 30 f6! нxgS+
31 -'lxgS нxgS+ 32 фf2 {jfS
33 �hЗ.
28 ... {Jf8
29 dб?l
The advance 29 g4! is sti l l
best, though after 29 . . .
fxg 4 3 0 фg3 exdS 3 1 cxdS
с4! 32 -'lxc4 4JcS 33 dб неg7
Black does have good
chances of а s u ccessfu J
defence.
29 неg7
3о нf6
The beginning of а du­
blou s tactical idea, based
оп trying to win the ex­
change.
30 .. . 4:Jb8! (160)
The secoпd piece of ho­
m age to N imzowitsc h i n
this game, w h o loved to
p l ay retreati ng moves s u c h
as {Jh1 ! ? , . . . �h8!? etc.
зt нЫ?
It i s necessary to p l ay 31
g3 so that the knight on gS
i s no longer pinned to the
pawn on g2. After 3 1 . . .
{Jсб ! 32 4Jf7+ �xf7 33 X!xf7
4Jd8 Black h as adeq uate
 4 еЗ - The Qu een 's Fianchetto 111

o-t

Portisch - Fischer
Siegen Olympiad 1970

1 d4 {Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 {jc3 �Ь 4
4 е3 Ь6
5 {je2
The mai n al ternative, as
compens ation for the ex­ we have seen, i s 5 4jf3 , e . g .
change . On 34 � f б а good 5 . . . �Ь7 6 �dЗ 4Je4 7 0-0
reply is 3 4 {jgб , fo llowed
. . . f5 . The te xt was originally
either Ьу 35 . . . �g7 or 35 . . . desig ned i n order to pre­
4Jc6 . Wh ite should play 34 vent the douЬling of White's
�е? when 34 . {]сб offers
. . c-pawns but, as in the pre­
а draw Ьу repetiti o n . sent game, the knight can
31 4Jc6 al so travel to g3 to support
32 �f4 �xg5! the advance of the white
Thi s exchange sacrifice ki ng paw n .
smashes White's initiative. 5 �аб
33 �xg5 �xg5 6 {Jg3 (161)
34 �xf8+ �g7
35 z:rеВ {Jxe5
36 �f1 4Jg 4+
37 �е1 {Jf6
38 �е7+ фg6
39 1dh3? �xg2
40 �е3 �с 6
Yus upov now sealed а
move b ut re sig ned without
res umption. His rook in
Вlack's camp i s useless;
Whi te's pawn on dб i s The older line 6 аЗ is not
doom ed ; and Black's passed very dangerous for Black.
h-pawn virtually unstopp­ There could follow 6 . . .

aЬle. �хсЗ+ 7 4Jxc3 d5 8 ЬЗ 0-0 9

112 4 еЗ - The Queen 's Fianchetto
�е2 4Jc6! 10 а4 4Ja5 11 4Jb5
с6 12 4JаЗ �е? 1З 0-0 е5
with equality.
6 �а4 с5 7 аЗ �хсЗ+ 8
4JхсЗ 0-0 9 d5 �е 7 10 fЗ
exd5 11 cxd5 �xf1 1 2 фхf1 d6
wi th equality Speelman -
Ti mman, Linares 1991.
6 �хсЗ+
The essential thing for
Black i n this position is to
prevent the formation of
the massive and essenti a l ly
unch al lengeaЬle white pawn
centre, and this is the point
of 6 . . . �хсЗ+ . ( Hence not 6
. . . 0-0 7 е4 4Jc6 8 �dЗ е5 9
d5 �хсЗ+ 10 ЬхсЗ 4Ja5 11
�е2 4je8 12 �аЗ d6 13 0-0
4jf6 14 f4 4Jd7 15 f5 f6 16
4Jh5 4jc5 17 �хс5 Ь хс5 18 g4
Jdb8 19 h 4 g6 20 4JgЗ �d7 21
;ldf2 Jdf7 22 Jdaf1 Jdbf8 2З g5
fxg5 24 hxg5 �а4 25 �g 4
�сВ 26 �h4 Jdg7 27 �h2 �аЗ
28 fxg6 .§,xf1+ 29 �xf1 �хсЗ
30 4Jh5 'ftjeЗ+ З1 Jdf2 �xg6 32
4Jf6+ �xf6 ЗЗ g xf6 фf8 З4
f7 4JЬ7 35 �f6 �g3+ З6 �2
1-0, Sadler - К Arkell, Lo n­
don 1991) .
Another possibllity along
the same lines is 6 ... h5! ? ,
which has been tried Ьу
Keres and Korchnoi. The
rationale behind this move
is that after 7 h4 (which is
virtual ly oЬligatory) the
weakening of the respec­
tive kingsides will Ье of
advantage to Black, since
he is in а Ьetter position to
play . . . 0:-0-0. One example
is Donner - Korchnoi, Ha­
vana 1969: 7 h4 �Ы 8 �d2
а5 9 аЗ �d6 10 Jdh3 4jc6 11
�е2 �хgЗ 12 JdxgЗ 4Je7 13
�dЗ 4Jg4 14 е4 4Jc6 15 �S
f6 16 �е3 �е7 17 !le2 0-0-0
18 �xg4 hxg4 19 �xg4 fS
with compensation for the
pawn and а rapid draw.
Another is 6 . . . h5 7 h4
�Ь? 8 аЗ (Не should not·
invite douЬled pawns. 8
.(ld2 i s stronger) 8 . . . !lхсЗ+
9 ЬхсЗ cS 10 �с2 4Jc6 11 .(lb2
�с7 12 е4 d6 13 !ldЗ е5 14 d5
(Sealing the centre i n this
fashion is inimical to the
operation of White's Ьish­
ops. Instead he must pro­
ceed sharply with 14 4jfS g6
15 4Je3 exd4 16 4Jd5, s i ngle­
mindedly pursuing the ini­
tiative. After the text Black
takes con trol of the game)
14 . . . 4JaS 15 f3 �а6 16 4JfS
g6 17 4JеЗ 0-0-0 18 �с1
.§,dg8 19 .§,Ь1 �d7 20 �е2
фс7 21 �с2 4Je8 22 а4 4Jg7
2З !3,а1 .§,f8 24 g4 hxg4 25
fxg4 .§.h7 26 .§.аЗ .§,fh8 2 7
�f2 t/;Je7 28 g5 4jh5 29 .§.а2
4jf4 30 �f1 f6 (162)
(This rupture of the centre
 4 еЗ - The Queen 's Fianch etto 113

�Ь4 't&a4.
2) 10 0-0 't&d7! , followed
Ьу . . . 4:Jc6 and . . . 0-0-0.
3) 10 tl;/a4+ t/!1d7 11 ttJxc4
4:Jc6 when Black wi l l fo l low
up with . . . 4JaS and . . . 0-0-0
with excel lent pl ay on t he
light squares.
I n his book of memor­
aЫe games, Fischer a l so
gives as strong for Bl ack 8
ensures t he decisive pene­ .Q.аЗ dxc4! 9 �f3 't&dS 10 е4
tration of White's camp) 31 �с6 conc luding "and White
g xf6 tl;/xf6 32 {jg4 t/!1e7 33 has got e nough for the
-'lxf4 exf4 34 �xf4 �f7 35 pawn " . Doubtless Fischer
'(;fye3 l"lxh4 36 l"lxh4 tl;/xh4+ was anxious to try ou t his
37 4:Jf2 .Q.xc4 38 �хс4 4:Jxc4 own idea i n practice.
39 tl;/h3 tl;/gS 40 l"lc2 t/Jg1+ Porti sch - Fischer, Santa
0-1 W i l son - Law son, Var­ Monica 1966 went ( i nstead
sity Match 1990. of 8 .Q.a3!?) 8 �f3 0-0 9 е4?
7 ЬхсЗ dS (163) dxe4 1 0 4:Jxe4 4:Jxe4 1 1 tl;/xe4
�d7 12 .Q.a3 1"le8 13 .Q.d3 fS 14
163 - � ��·� �:1 't&xa8 4:Jc6 15 ttJxe8+ 't&xe8 16
f�
� m � .L f� �, .L
�
w "
0-0 4JaS 17 l"lael .Q.xc4 and
� .L � Bl ack won in 35 moves .
.�. � ///м
� � ,L � � 7
1 am s l i ghtly surprised

� � �. � �
that Porti sch did not repeat
� jt .� Шh 8 't&fЗ since the 'equa lisi ng'
� � �
� �
7 i mprovemen t Fischer gives
� .·щ �
�······
for White i n his 60 Метог­
jt � � �jt �
�� ����!m
{.�� �� 0 �� � �"�.
� ·�0
аЬ/е Games actu a l l y l eaves
Whi te with а great advan­
8 .Q.аЗ!? tage. Let us take а J ook: 8
Thi s m ove is not highly 't&f3 0-0 9 cxdS! exdS 1 0
regarded Ьу theory on �хаб 4:Jxa6 1 1 tl;/e2 't&c8 12
accou nt of 8 . . . Qxc4 9 0-0 cS and now Fischer
,О.хс 4 dxc4 and now : gives 13 dxcS ( w hich is а
1) 10 't& f3 �dS 1 1 е4 't&aS 12 dreadful move) 13 . . . 4:JxcS
114 4 еЗ - The Queen 's Fianchetto
14 с4 as eq ual . In fact after
1З fЗ! Whi te reaches а posi­
tion from а variation of the
Saemisch Nimzo-lndian (4
аЗ) already regarded Ьу
theory as favouraЫe for
White, but with the differ­
ence that White has not
played аЗ and sti l l has this
sq uare for the use of h i s
q ueen's blshop, and the
tempo thus s aved has gone
to add а u seful developing
mov e !
1 s upport т у contention
Ьу q uoting from the game
Bouwmeester Mednis,
also from Siegen: 1 З fЗ!
cxd4 14 cxd4 �с4 15 �хс4
dxc4 16 е4 �fd8 17 4:Jf5 �d7
18 �5 4:Je8 19 �fc1 and
White went on to score а
crushing victory with his
central paw n roll er, even
after the exchange of
q ueen s .
Black m u st, in fact, play
8 �fЗ 0-0 9 cxd5 �xd5!
with chances for equality.
8 dxc4 (164)
Fi scher has repeatedly
shown himself willing to
undergo press ure for the
sake of an extra paw n .
9 е4 �d7
10 �е2 4:Jc6
11 �с2 о-о-о
12 0-0 hS
13 �fd1 h4
14 4Jf1
А sharp posi tion has
arisen in which B l ack's
chances do not seem in fer­
ior. One idea now wo u l d Ье
to play 14 . . . hЗ i n order to
conti nue, after 1 5 gЗ, with
15 . . . 4:Ja5 with а position
di fficu l t to eva l uate.
The move Fi scher actu a l ­
l y plays is a n unc haracter­
istically careless Ы u nder
which over l ooks the l oss of
material and causes а
marked deteri orati on of his
prospects.
14 4Jh5??
15 dSI 4:Je5
Or 15 . . . exd5 16 Jdxd5.
16 dхеб �е8
Disaster has stru ck. If 1 6
. . . �хеб then 17 Jdxd8+
фхd8 18 �d 1 + and а piece
drops off the edge of
Black's positi on.
17 �xd8+ �xd8
 4 еЗ - The Queen 's Fianch e t to 115

18 .O,xhS нxhS l o okers h ad given up

19 f4 4:Jd3 Fi s c h e r ' s game as beyond
20 exf7 (1 65 ) redem pti o n , but i t is at this
very m o m e nt t h at he is
gi ve n а c hance t o s u rv i v e .
Wh i te s h o u l d h a ve p re f a c ed
thi s adv ance w i t h 23 tffy e 4 ,
tyi n g d o w n B l ac k ' s Ь i s h o p
to the defence of с4 and
d e nyi n g t h e v i ta l sq u are fб
to the Ь l a c k q u een . M ean­
w h i l e , W h i te w o u l d al s o Ье
аЬlе to s u p p o r t еб w i th f5 .
23 . . . tffy fб
А h urri c a n e has swept 24 не1 �bS!
thro u g h В l ack ' s position N o t 24 . . . 4:jxe 1 25 tffy e S+ .
an d n o thing b u t а s m ok i n g The Ь l ack Ь i s h o p n o w co ­
rui n r ema i n s . B l ack ' s o n ly o p e ra tes i n co v e ri ng o n e o f
compe n s a t i o n i s the s tro n g t h e pro m o t i o n sq u are s .
knig h t a t dЗ. In the f urthe r 25 .O,xcS
cours e o f t h e g a m e F i s c h e г А r a t h e r a r t i f i c i a l co n t i n ­
defends real ly bri l l i a ntly t o u a ti o n , b u t Ь у n o w Port i s c h
avo i d de feat , b u t , o f co urse , m u s t have rea l i s e d that h e
thi s res u l t w a s o n l y p o s s ­ had mis sed two gol den
iЬ! e Ь у k i n d permi s s i o n o f o p portu n i ti e s and was ex­
hi s oppo n e n t . pe ri e ncin g great d ifficu Jty
20 . . . cS in p ro s ec u t i n g his atta c k
21 tffy e 2? s u cces s f u l ly . I n part i c u l a r ,
Dr i v i n g the roo k to the hi s quee n ' s b l s h o p w a s n o t
back rank w here it he l p s to co n t r i b u ti n g to the war
i m p ede the ad v a n ce of the effo rt and В l ack was
f-p awn . B e tt e r w as 2 1 е5 at threate n i n g to reco v e r
o nce , a n d if 21 . . . 4:jxf4 22 s o m e o f h i s m a t e ri a l on t h e
the 4. ki n g ' s wi n g . After t h e text
21 нhв it is d o ub t f u l w he t h e r
22 eS фЬ 8 White can s ti l l wi n so he
23 еб? s h ou l d have p l ayed the
At thi s s tage the o n- cal m 25 �с1 !
1 1 6 4 еЗ - The Queen 's Fianchet to

25 ... Ьхс5
25 . . . �eS+ !
4:Jx c5? 26
26 I1Ь1 а6
27 а4 4:Jxf4
28 t{f;f3 4:Jxe6
29 t/Jxf6 gxf6
30 ахЬ5 ахЬ5
31 1dxb5+ фс7 (166)
S o m e k i n d o f mirac le has
o c c u rred .
32 4:Je3 1df8
33 �aS фЬ7
34 4:Jxc4 �xf7
35 �хс5 4:Jxc5
36 4:Jd6+ �с6
37 4:Jxf7 4:Je4
9) 4 еЗ - Orthodox System

1 d4 4Jf6 tral paw n s , are usua l ly

2 с4 е6 circumvented in this varia­
3 4Jc3 �Ь4 tion. White tends to get
4 е3 о-о the advantage of the two
5 Qd3 d5 Ьis hops but Black has
6 4Jf3 с5 plenty of piece activi ty in
7 о-о 069J the centre. Many games
with this line end in draw s .
16 If White сап mai ntai n an
в advantage it is only with
very s ubtle pJay , as seen in
the example 1 have chosen
between lvanc huk and Kar­
pov .

Ivanchuk - Karpov
Linares 1991

1 d4 4Jf6
Amongst grand mas ters this 2 с4 еб
is con s idered the main line, 3 4Jc3 Qb4
and а very tough nut to 4 е3 0-0
crack it is i ndeed. Both of 5 .O.d3 d5
the two great themes of 6 4Jf3 cS
the Ni mzo-Indian, for Black 7 о-о cxd4
the Ьlockade of White's 7 . . . 4Jc6 8 аЗ QхсЗ 9 ЬхсЗ
per manently douЬled е­ dxc4 10 Qxc4 t!;Jc7 11 Qa2 eS
раwns, and f or Whi te the 12 hЗ е4 13 4Jh2 .O.fS ( 13 . . . Ь6
rnarch of h i s liberated cen- 1 4 t!;Je2! 4JaS 1 5 4Jg4 4Jxg4 16
118 4 еЗ - Orthodox Sys tem
hxg4 .(le6 17 d5 Qd7 18 с4
t/1e5 19 .(lb2 t/Jg5 20 f3) 1 4
4Jg4 4Jxg 4 1 5 hxg4 .o,g6 16
а4 �fd8 17 f4 exf3 18 t/1xf3
�d7 19 .(la3 с4 ( 1 9 . . . cxd4 20
exd4 4Ja5 21 �ае1 h6 22 �е5
was slightly better for
White in M arkauss - Fech­
ner, corr. 1990) 20 е4 �е8 2 1
�ае1, M arkauss - Harl amov,
corr. 1988-90, where White
went on to win.
8 exd4 dxc4
9 �хс4 Ьб
10 �5 !lb7
This partk u l ar sys tem is
an old favourite of Kar­
pov' s . The m ost commonly
p l ayed move in this posi­
tion has been 11 t/Je2. Beli­
avsky - Karpov, USSR 1975
was а typical example: 11 . . .
!lxc3 1 2 Ьхс3 4Jbd7 13 !ld3
t/1c7 1 4 с4 4Jg 4 15 .(le4 �хе4
16 t/Jxe4 4Jgf6 17 t/Je2 �ас8
18 �ас1 t/1Ь7 19 t/1b2 tl;; a6 20
t/1b3 �с6 21 �с2 �fc8 with
pressure agai nst the hang­
ing p awns.
11 flc1
Cl early i n tending to cap­
t ure on с3 with the rook.
11 4Jc6 (1 70)
Karpov u sed to Ье а
devotee of the fl exiЬl e l i ne
starti ng 11 . . . 4Jbd7, for ex­
ample 1 2 �е2 flc8 13 4Je5 h6
14 �f4 4Jxe5 15 .(lxe5 t/1e7
with equality , as i n the
game Keres - Karpov, San
Antonio 1972. It was, how­
ever, l ater discovered that
White has а king size im­
provement i n this, namely
1 4 4Jxd7 t/1xd7 15 .(lxf6 g xf6
16 �fd1 t/Jc6 17 t/Jg4+ �h7 18
4Jd5 ! with а winni ng attack
(Taimanov - Browne, Wijk
aan Zee 1981) , since 18 . . .
exdS fails t o 1 9 �d3+ winn­
ing the Ь lack q ueen .
12 аЗ .(le7
13 t/JdЗ
The players have arrived
at а fairly standard isolated
queen's p aw n position.
Black has the proЬlem of
how to relieve his slightly
cramped position . With this
in mind Karpov exchanges
some minor pieces, which
changes the character of
the position but still l eaves
him under press ure.
1 wo uld prefer а m o ve
 4 еЗ - Orth odox System 1 19

H k e 13 . . . Zdc8 , w a i t i n g to
se e w h a t W h i t e p l ay ed be­
fore c o m m i tti ng m yse l f.
I n ci de n tal ly , t h e attem p t a t
wi n n i n g а p a w n w i t h 1 3 . . .
4Ja5 1 4 �а2 �х fЗ 1 5 �хfЗ
t1Yx d 4 f a i l s to 16 Ь 4 ! 4Jc4 1 7
_jj f d 1 .
13 4Jd5
14
�xdS
1 4 !J.xe 7 ? 4Jcx e 7 ! w o u l d
g i v e B l ac k e xact l y w h a t h e a ny s e ri o u s c o u n t e r p l ay .
w a n t s - firm c o n trol o v e r 17 h4 h6
d5. 18 hS
14 exdS Later on, B l ac k ' s king
14 .,(lxg 5 would l e ad fi n d s i ts e l f sev ere l y cra m p ­
to great co m p l i cati o n s : 15 ed beca u s e of t h i s paw n ' s
{) x g S � x g 5 1 6 �е 4 !dfd 8 ! ( 1 6 march .
. . . g6? 17 4jb 5 ! 4jaS 1 8 �хЬ7 18 �с7
4:JхЬ 7 1 9 Zd c 7 ) 1 7 f4! �f6 1 8 Kar p o v h as i d e a s o f r e ­
dS ! w i th а p o w e r f u l i ni t i a­ acti vati n g hi s Ьi s ho p w i t h
ti v e . . . . .,(lc8 - f5 o r , m o re i n ter­
15 �хе7 t;jxe 7 es t i n g l y, bгi n g i n g h i s k n i g h t
16 Zdfe1 t o t h e e x c e l l e n t s q u are d b ,
A l t h o u g h t h e p a w n s tr u c­ via с 8 , w h e n ce i t m i g h t l e a p
ture is virtu al ly sy m m et ­ o n to t h e o u t p o s t s a t е 4 o r
ri ca l , W h i t e h a s t h e advan­ с4. Iva n c h u k reacts s w i f t ly
t ag e b e c a u s e o f h i s lead i n t o keep K ar p o v on t h e d e ­
de v e l o p m e n t an d better f e n si v e .
m i n o r p i e ce s : B l ack ' s Ьi s h ­ 19 4Jb5 Zdxc1
o p i s l o c k e d i n beh i n d the 20 Zdxc1 �а6
paw n o n d S . Ri d di n g h i m s e l f o f o n e o f
16 Zdc8 (1 71 ) his p r oЬ l e m s , the 'Ьаd'
W h i t e h a s а s teady ad­ Ьi s h o p , b u t W h i te' s p r e s s -
v antage based o n h i s more u re re m a i n s .
ac t i ve p i e ce s while th e 21 а4 !J.xbS
fi x ed nature o f t h e c e n t r al 22 �xbS 4Jf5
pa w n s de p r i ve s Bl ack of 23 g3 4Je7
120 4 еЗ - Orthodox System

24 l;je5 �dб
25 � аб l;jf5 1
26 �d3 l;je7
27 �f3 а5
28 � g2 fб
29 l;jd3 !'!сВ
30 �е1 �с4 (172)

Karpov's cl ock fl ag fe l l
j u s t as he made the deci sive
Ь l u nder, 35 . . . �f4. This
was а dreadfu l time press­
ure error si nce after 36
�xdS �xg 4+ 37 �fl t/1h3+ 38
�е2 t/1g4+ 39 �d 3 �xgb+ 40
Неге the si mplest for �хс4 �с2+ 41 фЬS the
lvanchuk is 3 1 �е3! �f7 (31 w hite king escapes t"rom
... l;jfS 32 �е8+ �h7 33 the checks and White w i ns.
t/1g6+ wins) 32 l;jf4! А Afterwards Karpov sug­
beautiful move, eyei ng all gested 35 . . . d4. This pre­
of the B l ack weaknesses. vents gS ( 36 gS .§.cS! 37 �е4
Now 32 . . . .§.ха4? l oses to t/JdS! draws) and opens the
33 l;jg6 l;jxg6 34 �е8 mate long diagonal to mol est
so Вlack m u s t stay о п the White's king. The best for
defen sive but s u rely m ust White is 36 �е6! �d8 37
Ье doo med. �bS and now 37 . . . .§.с8 38
l ns tead , Ivanchuk sacri­ �хЬ6 , with the idea of �Ь7,
fices а pawn goi ng for а is very dangerous for Bl ack
q uick ki l l . so perhaps he should play
31 l;jf4 .§.xd4 37 . . . нсS to force an end­
32 l;jgб l;jxgб ing: 38 �хЬб �хЬб 39 нхЬ6
33 hxgб �fB and he сап probaЬiy draw
34 �f5 �с4 with 39 . . . d3! 40 нd6 нс 4.
35 g4 �f4 (173) Notes based on those Ьу
Black l ost on ti me. Grandmaster Danny Кi ng.
10) The Htibner Systern and
Anti-Htibner Lines

In this chapter we deal

with three i mportant sys- 17
tems: в

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4Jc3 .c.lb4
4 е3 с5
5 �d3 4Jc6
6 4Jf3 �хс3+
7 Ьхс3 d6 (174)

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4Jc3 �Ь4
4 е3 с5
5 �d3 4Jc6
6 4Jge2 (176)

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4Jc3 Q.b4
4 е3 с5
5 4Jge2 (1 75)
122 The Hiibner Sys tem and An ti-Hiibner Lines
One of the most prom­
i s i n g l i nes for Bl ack , ag­
ainst which White hardly
ever seems to w i n , is the
Ыockading system intro­
duced i n the early 1970s Ьу
the German Grandmaster
Robert HUbnero It is based
very c losely оп Вlack's
s uccessful р1ау i n the game
joh ner - Nimzowi tsch w hich
1 q uo ted in the i ntroduc­
tiono The mai n di fference
between this and the н uь­
ner system i s that i n the
l atter B l ack delays castling
and thus has the choice o f
placing his king on the
ki ngside ог the q u eenside
or even leaving it i n the
centгeo The HUbneг system
is а real rock and 1 w o u l d
advise White players n o t to
take i t o n o А typical case i n
point wh ere Whi te thrashes
around hel plessly as the
game Kamsky Karpov
from Li nares 1991 0
When faced with 4 с5
0 0 0
White's best is to avoid the
HUbner system and d o u Ь l ed
pawns entirely Ьу playing
�dЗ and 4:Jge2 or i n deed 5
4:Jge2 at onceo
Miles - Romanisbln
USSR-World
London Docklands 1984
1 d4 4:Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 4:Jc3 .klb4
4 еЗ
4 оо о�хсЗ+ 5 ЬхсЗ с5 Ь
4:Jf3 4:Jc6 7 �dЗ d6 В е4 eS
9 d5 4:Je7 10 �Ь1 4:Jg6 1 1 gЗ
0-0 1 2 h4 1lg4 13 �хЬ7
4:Jxe4 1 4 1lxe4 fS 15 h5 fxe4
16 h xg6 hxg6 (177)
17 4:Jxe5 .Q.h5 1 8 �xhS g x hS
19 4:Jg6 �f7 20 �xf7 фхf7 21
�xh5 �fo6 22 4:Je7+ g6 23
�h7+ t/1g7 24 �xg7+ фхg7
25 4:Jсб �h8 26 .Q.f 4 �h 1 + 27
фе2 �а1 28 .Q.xdб �ха2+ 29
феЗ а5 30 .Q.xcS 1-0 Raicevic
V - Rai cev ic L , Y u gos lavia
Ch 19900 А curiousity!
4 cS
5 .Q.dЗ 4:Jc6
6 4:Je2!
The cuггent trend for
White i n the Nimzo is to
avo id douЬi ed pawns on the
c-fileo 4:Je2 was, after a l l ,
behind RuЬin stei n's origi-
 Th e НйЬпег System and An ti-Hйbn er Lines 123
n a l s t r a t e gy w h e n h e i n tro­
du ced 4 еЗ in the 1920s . 1 78 ж � · �� · � �-
6 dS
в � .1: � � .1: � .1:
7 cxdS
Le s s e ff e c t i ve is t h e i n ­
�4)
� �
� �
� �
t e rpol ati o n of 7 0-0 0-0 �.ft � .L � �
e . g . 8 c xd S e x d S 9 аЗ с 4 ! � � ·� · �
wi th i n tere s t i n g coun ter­ �
� -� � �
�� 1l � �
p l ay , as in Keene - Balina s , � � � � Ф (".''
� �"LJ � d.Ь �.
D u b a i 19 8 4 . I сап , however,
c l ai m to have b e e n r e s p o n ­ �� г� � � � �
siЬ l e for t h e g eneral ope n­ deve l o p m e n t , with two
ings c o n c e p t e m p l oy e d Ьу s p l e n d id l y active bl s h o p s .
M i l e s i n t h i s g a m e s i nce l Romani s h i n p re f e r s to el­
i n trod u c e d the i de a in my i mi n a t e one bl s h op and
ga m e as Whi te v Lan g e w e g , l eave Wh i t e wi th d o u Ь \ ed
Ro tterdam 1980 : 7 0-0 0-0 b - paw n s .
8 cxdS e x d S 9 аЗ c xd 4 ?! 10 11 4Jxc3 4Jxd3+
ахЬ4 d хсЗ 11 bS! {JeS 12 12 �хdЗ 0-0
4Jxc3 tf:Jc7 ( be t te r is 12 ... 13 ЬЗ .О.е6
4Jxd 3 , a s i n t h e m ai n game) Threate ni ng to s o l v e h i s
13 �е2 �d 8 14 � d 4 Ь б 15 ЬЗ s t r a te g i c proЬ l e m s wi th
.clfS 16 .0.Ь2 4Jg 6 1 7 g 4 ! d4!
7 exdS 14 4Je2 4Je4
8 аЗ cxd4 15 .О.Ь 2 t!J g S
I f 8 . . . с 4 ? ! w i th o u t the W h i te e x e r ts an o v e r a l l
i n s e rt i o no f m u t u a l cast­ gri p on the d ark s q u ares
l i ng then 9 ах Ь 4 схdЗ 10 w hi c h cannot reaJ ly Ье
tt1xd3 4Jxb4 1 1 �bS+ 4Jc 6 12 shak e n ; d 4 , in parti c u l ar , i s
4jf4 gives enduri ng p r e s s ­ a n e xce l l e n t o u t p o s t fo r а

ure agai n s t B l ac k ' s pawn o n knight, Ь i s hop or even

dS . q u ee n . B l ac k ' s co u n te r p l ay
9 ахЬ4 d.хсЗ m u s t соте o n the c- fi l e or
10 ьs (178) a g ai n s t Whi te' s d o uЬ \ ed
10 4Je5 b- pawn s .
As in my game w i t h Lan­ 16 о-о 4Jc5
g e we g , 10 . . . схЬ2 11 .О.хЬ2 17 �с2
would cede Whi te fine М ауЬе 17 �d 1 !
124 Th e НйЬп еr Sys tem a n d A n ti-Hйbner Lines

17 Ыfс8 tics , sniping at B l a c k fro m

18 �d4 JlfS both w i n g s . Eviden tly , 24
19 �d1 �е4 f4 is п о l onger v a l i d , s i n ce
20 4Jf4 BJack sti l l h as . . . fle4 a t h i s
Here 20 fЗ is worth а di sposal .
t ho ug h t . 24 aS
20 . . . 4Je6 25 Ьхаб Ьхаб
21 f3 flc2 26 Z!fc1 Z!ab8
21 . . . {jxf4? 22 exf4 �x f4 27 �d6 flxb3
23 fxe4 j us t l oses а piece. At last.
The text, o n the other 28 !Ххс8+ �хс8
hand , appears to win а 29 flxg7 ! !
paw n . Ro m an i s h i n c a n h a r d l y
2 2 4Jxe6 fxe6 have foreseen t h i s cou р .
23 �е1 (1 79) There are three variati o n s ,
n o t hard t o s e e , b u t bea u ­
ti fu l i n t h e i r geometry .
1 ) 29 . . . lit1xg7 30 � d 7 +
and 31 � хс 8
2) 29 . . . �xg7 30 �хе6+
a n d 31 �хс 8+
3) 29 . . . !Хс2 (the wors t
choi ce) 30 �f8 mate.
The effect of а \ 1 t h i s is
that the Ьl ack ki ng's p r o ­
tecti on i s s tri pped away ,
Why n o t now 2 3 . . . .,О.хЬ3 w h i le i n any endi ng, White's
with the addi tionaJ threat kingside pawn majority w i \ 1
of . . . .0.с 4? Things are n o t Ье а mos t formidaЬ le force.
a t a l l clear, but i t seem s to Ul ti m ately , however, B l ack
me that 23 . . . .О.хЬ3 24' f 4 ! must seek such a n end i n g,
m u s t have been Whi te's otherwis e а l i ne - u p of
i n tention planning нf3 - g3 White's Ь i s hop and q ueen
with kingside pre s s u re ag­ along the а1 - h8 diagon a l
ai n s t g7 to compen sate . w i l l Ье fatal for his k i n g .
23 . . . �g6? 1 29 ... fla4
24 �Ь4 30 fld4
M i l e s s t ar t s gueri l l a tac- If 30 !lxa4 Z!c1 + 31 !it1f2
 The Hiibner System and An ti-Hiibner Lines 1 25

�с2+ 32 �е1 �с1 +. 43 ... �ь3

30 �с2 Trying to s hepherd for­
31 g4 �ьs ward his a-paw n. No ad­
32 �h1 фf7 journment, since this was
33 �g1 �еВ the Jast rou nd.
34 �f4 t/1f7 44 фf2 аЗ
35 �f6 tf1c7 45 hS
36 tf1xc7 �хс7 The maj ority q ui etly an­
37 �g2 а5 (180) nounces its presence.
White's u l timate ai m is а
sacrificial kingside break­
through, leading to а

winning passed h-pawn, set

to promote on h8, а square
under the ab sol ute contro l
of White's dark-squared
queen's Ьishop. lt is also of
vital significance to White's
plans that а1, the route to
apotheosis of Black' s own
"Black's a-pawn looks pas sed paw n, is domi nated
more dangero us than any Ьу Whi te's Ьishop.
of White's, but Miles dis­ 45 .о,ь s
proves this Ьу perfect end­ 46 gS �d3
game p lay , in an exci ting 47 �dt а2
race o f pawn on opposite 48 g6 hxg6
wi ng s . " ( В. Н. Wood, Daily 49 h6! gS
Telegraph ) . Covering h7 with his
38 �Ь1 �Ь7 blshop. Now 50 �хdЗ �xd3
39 фg3 а4 51 h? d4 is not clear, but
40 �а1 �с6 Whi te has а superior meth­
41 �f4 �d7 od of s hort-ci rcuiting the
42 h4 �Ь4+ acti vities of Black's Ьis hop.
43 фg3 50 е4! (181)
Не must keep his king l f now 50 . . . dxe4 5 1 h?
cl ose to the ki ng side mass. е3+ 52 �х е3 and B l ack's
lf 43 фе5 d4! destroys their Ьishop is pinned.
co hesion. 50 ... �хе4
126 The Hйbner Sys tem and A n ti-Hйbner Lines

2 с4 еб
3 4:)с3 �Ь 4
4 еЗ о-о
5 .(,1d3 d5
6 cxd5 exd5
7 4:)е2 с5
в о-о 4:)с6
9 аЗ cxd4
10 exd4
А new concept, varyi n g
from the ахЬ 4 idea o f the
51 fxe4 �hЗ Mi l es - Rom a n i s h i n gam e.
52 !Jg7 '3}е7 10 �d6 (/82)
53 фg2 Ь!h4
54 exd5 exd5
55 Ь!а1 фf7
If 55 . . . �а4 56 h7.
56 Ь!ха2 \;1;g6
57 Ь!аб+ �h7
58 Ь!а5 фgб
Bl ack loses h i s d-paw n ,
since i t can not Ье protected
and after 58 . . . d4 59 �d5
wi n s
.

59 �xd5 �а4 The fas h ionaЬ l e varia­

60 Ь!dб+ фh7 tion , i m prov i n g on 10 . . .

61 �g З �е4 �хсЗ? 1 1 ЬхсЗ 4:)е7 w h i ch

62 Ь!аб �с4 Tal h i mse l f p l ayed as B l ack
63 �fЗ Ь! h4 agai nst Kasparov i n thei r
64 �еЗ �g4 game f r o m S WIFT 1987. The
65 Ь!еб �а4 co ncl usion was dras tic - 12
66 �d6 g4 t/!Jc2 �d7 1 3 �s 4:)g 6 1 4 f 4
67 �d4 1-0 h6 15 .O.x f 6 '/iYxf6 1 6 fS 4:Je 7
17 4:Jg3 4Jc8 18 �f4 4Jd6 19
Tal - Sax '/iYf2 1dfe8 20 4Jh5 t/!Jd8 (183)
Subotica IZ 1987 21 4:)xg 7 4:)е4 22 .(lxe4 �хе4
23 f6 �h7 2 4 �хе4 dxe4 25
1 d4 4:)f6 t&f4 .Q.c6 26 �е1 t/!JfB 27 с4
 The Hйbner System and An ti-Hйbner Lines 127

19 ... �xf4
20 �fe1 �с 4
Forced. If instead 20
�хЬ2 21 �е8+ �f8 22 �f?+
wi ns .
21 �е8+ �f8
22 �с1 � 41! (184)

�хаЗ 28 {)fS �f8 29 �еЗ

�d7 30 �gЗ �xfS 31 �xfS+
1-0.
11 f3!
Tal ( now switching to
the white side of the varia­
tio n) employs the attacking
method Kasparov had in­ А bri l l iant defensive гi­
dicated i n his analysis. N ot, poste. В lack cl everly avoids
however, 1 1 !JgS? �xh2+ 12 22 . . . �хс1 23 �f?+ �h 7 24
�xh2 {)g4 + . �gб+ wins.
11 h6 23 �хс4 �xh5
12 �h1 4Jh5 24 �ха8 �ха8
13 � е1 25 �xh5 �d8
Inadvi saЬ l e i s 1 3 {)xdS 26 �g3 �f8
�h4 14 f4 �4 and B lack 27 d5?
sei zes the i ni tiative. А shame. 27 !Jgб! retai ns
13 f5 some winning chances in
14 4Jxd5 �xh2 the endgame, si nce his
15 �xh2 �xd5 bl shop is superior to
16 �h4 f4 Black's knight. The text is
17 �6 �е6 а mi scalcul ation which per­
18 �xh5 �хе2 mits easy equal ity.
19 �xf41 27 �xd5
А typically ingenious 28 �f4+ �е7
sacrifice from Tal to pene­ 1.2--1.2
trate Вlack's back rank . А s tirгing battle in which
128 The Hйbner System and An ti-Hйbner Lines

both sides shared the ad­

vantage.

Мiles - Short
Esbjerg 1984

1 d4 е6
2 с4 4:Jf6
3 4:Jc3 ..О.Ь4
4 е3 с5
5 4:Je2 cxd4
6 exd4 dS 15 f5! exf5 16 ..O.xd7 �xd7 17
I n other games e.g. схЬб 4:Jc6 18 �f4, G l i goric
Torre - Karpov 1984, Black - Lein, Lone Pine 1981, in
has been faring badly with both cases with White on
the once popular 6 . . 0-0 7
. top. Nigel's i dea is to s low
аЗ ..0.е7 8 dS! etc. Signifi­ down any White kingside
cantly, Torre himself pre­ attack based on f5.
fers, as Black, 6 . . . dS. 15 �ае1 ..О.хЬ5
7 cS 4:)е4 16 4:Jxb5 Ьб
8 .O.d2 4:Jxd2 17 g4?!
9 �xd2 а5 White insi sts on forci ng
10 аЗ ..О.хс3 through f5 and abandons
11 4:Jxc3 а4 his queen's wing. In fact,
12 ..O.bS+ Whi te might do better to
Trying to i mprove on the sacrifice the pawn at once
12 .0.dЗ Ьб 13 0-0 Ьхс5 1 4 with 17 f5! ?
dxcS �а5 15 �ас1 0-0 o f 17 Ьхс5
Miles - Torre, also London 18 f5 exf5
1984, w here White could 19 dxc5 4:Ja6
make no real progress . 20 gxf5 4:Jxc5
12 ..O.d7 21 fxg6 hxg6
13 о-о о-о 22 �h6 4:Je4
14 f4 g6 (185) 23 �е3 �Ь8
ln h i s turn, trying to i m ­ 24 4:Jc3
prove on 14 . . . f5? ! 15 �fe1, The last chance to con­
Korchnoi - Seirawan, Bad fuse the i ssue is 24 4:Jc7!
Кis si ngen 1981, or 14 . . . Ьб �хс7 25 �hЗ or 24 . . . �хЬ2
 The Hiibner System and An ti-Hiibner Lines 129

25 4Je6! fxe6 26 'lfJxg6+o 41 �с4 !:!Ь3

Black has to p l ay 24 о о о 42 �ха4 фf3
tt:Jg5+ , losing а tempo on 43 �Ь4 !(хЬ4
the gameo 44 ахЬ4 фе2
24 ... �хЫ 0-1
25 �h1 tt:Jg5
Ending White's attack Ьу Torre - Karpov
exchanging queenso London 1984
26 'lf:1xg5 4Jxg5
27 4Jxd5 �d8 1 d4 4Jf6
28 �d3 C3)g7 2 с4 е6
29 �f4 4Jh3! (186) 3 4Jc3 !lb4
4 е3 с5
5 4Je2
In recent years 5 .Q.dЗ
4Jc6 6 4jf3 !lхсЗ+ 7 ЬхсЗ d6
fol lowed Ьу the Ы ockading
о о о е5 has been shown to
give White nothingo А good
example is Kamsky - Kar­
pov, Linares 1991: 8 е4 eS
9 d5 4Je7 10 hЗ h6 11 �еЗ
'lfJa5 12 'ltJbЗ 'lf:1c7 13 4Jd2 4Jh5
This forces а l iqu idation 14 gЗ g5 15 0-0-0 4Jg6 16
'w hich leaves В l ack with а �е2 4Jf6 17 z:!df1 'lfJe? 18 'lfJЫ
totally won rook and pawn �d8 19 4Jf3 фс7 (187)

� �­
ending o
30 �xh3 �xd5 187 ж � .t �
31 �hf3 �d1+ w �� � � �.(о'//. ��-�--��
� � f!''"
�
� �.J � �....
;1. . . . . /. /• . • . •;;:
32 �f1 �xf1+
.

11! m .1t m m
33 �xf1 �а2
34 �f3 g5
35 �с3 �g6 il! .ft il! .ft il! �
36 �g1 f5 � �
�
� .
/
-"
�"LJ �д
�N�� �% �
.
37 �с6+ �h5 .ftil! 11! � �. �
38 �с3 f4
39 �d3 �g4 il!�m � � 11! �
40 �с3 �Ь2 The Ьlack position is
130 The Hйbner System and Anti-Hйbner Lines
compl etely i mpervious to
assault and he is free to
devel op his own plans as he
wi shes.
20 h4 g4 21 4:Je1 {Jh5 22 'tfjc2
'tfjeB 23 �dЗ �d? 24 'tfjd2 'tfjfB
25 {Jc2 'tfjg? 26 фЬ2 1daf8 27
4:Ja3 аб 28 фа1 Ьб 29 Х:ХЫ
tхьв 30 �Ь3 4:Je7 31 !(hЫ
'tfjgб 32 'tfjb2 {Jc8 33 4:Jc2
4:Jg7 34 'tfjaЗ а5 35 'tfjc1 f5 36
exf5 �xf5 37 �xf5 4:Jxf5 38
�d2 �fB 39 {JаЗ �ь 7 40
rl3b2 �fб 41 'tfjdl фd8 42
'tfia 4 {Jfe? 43 �е3 �fЗ 44
4:Jc2 �fб 45 4:Je1 'tfie4 46 l::Xd 1
�с? 47 'tfjb5 {Jf5 48 �с1 фе?
49 'tfia4 фf? 50 {Jd3 4:Jg7 51
{Je1 фg8 52 �еЗ �cf? 53
'tfjcб �f8 54 'tfia4 {Jf5 55 �с1
�бf? 56 {JdЗ фg? 57 4:Je1
�fб 58 'tfjd? + {Jfe 7 59 {Jd3
'tfixc4 60 4:Jxe5 dxe5 61 dб
�8f7 62 dxe? 4:Jxe7 63 �d2
�еб 64 'tfje1 е4 65 �bd2 {Jсб
66 �е2 �fЗ 67 �d?+ фf8 68
�еЗ фе8 69 �Ь 7 {Je5 70 �Ь2
{JdЗ 71 'tfjd2 �ffб 72 !:ХЫ �dб
73 'tfjc2 а4 74 аЗ фd8 75 h5
фс 8 76 �а? Ь5 77 �g? Ь4 78
�d1 ЬЗ 79 'tfie2 4:Je5 80 'tfje1
�xd1 + 81 t;Yxd1 �dб 82 нg8+
фс? 83 �g?+ фсб 84 'tfic1
0-1
As so often i n the pu re
Hiibner, White was banging
hi s head against а brick
wall the whole time!
А few stubborn c l assic­
ists, such as Gl igoric and
Porti sch, have surprising\y
cl ung to this treatment,
but they have both been
slaughtered in droves. The
text move strives to ac­
quire the Ьishop pair, at the
same time avoiding con­
traction of doubl ed paw ns.
5 cxd4
6 exd4 о-о
The most fas hio naЬ i e
move, though 6 . . . d 5 i s also
possiЬi e .
7 аЗ !J.e7
8 dS exdS
9 cxdS �cSI?
The major al ternati ve to
thi s is 9 . . . �еВ. For
exam ple: 10 hЗ �с5 11 Ь4
!J.Ьб 1 2 g4 а5 13 Ь5 4:Je4 1 4
4:Jxe4 �хе4 1 5 �2 �еВ 16
0-0 �fб 17 .O,d2 dб 18 !J.сЗ
�g5 19 4:Jd 4 h5 20 1de1 �хе1+
21 'tfixe1 фf8 22 'tfie4 hxg4 2З
�е1 �d7 24 hxg4 фg8 25
{Jf5 �cS 26 4:Jxg7 �xg 4 27
'tfieB+ фh 7 28 �xf? 'tfjgб 29
'f!Je7 {Jd? ЗО {Jеб+ фg 8 31
'tfjxd7 �хаЗ 32 'tfje? �еВ З3
'tfjf6 'tfjxfб 34 !J.xfб фf? ЗS
fJ.cЗ -'lb 4 36 !J.xb4 ахЬ4 3 7
4:Jg5+ фf8 38 {Jh 7+ фf? 39
�хеВ -'lf5 40 �е4 !J.xe4 41
�хе4 1-0 Keene - Mednis,
New York 1980.
10 Ь4 fJ.b6
 The Hiibner System and An ti-Hiibner Lines 131

11 4:ja4 d6
12 4:Jxb6 ахЬ6
13 4:Jg3 (188)

the сб s q u are , but the

bl shop never makes it .
21 �fe1
Or 13 g3 �еВ 1 4 �2 �4 Seirawan thought the
15 �еЗ 4:jbd7 16 h3 �fS 17 i mmediate 21 f4 stronger
0-0 �сВ 1 В �а2 hб 19 �d4 than thi s . А matter of
Miles - Adorjan , Wijk aan taste?
Zee 19В4, w hich was better 21 �сВ?
for Whi te (but 0-1, 56) . The second and deci s ive
Positionally Whi te stands error. Correct is 21 . . . hб!
wel l , with his two blshops 22 �хсВ �хсВ
and s uperior paw n struc­ 23 f4 4:Jg6
ture, but B lack now has If 23 .. . 4:Jc4 24 �хс4
time to rou nd up Whi te's �хс4 25 �е7! or 23 . . . 4::)с 4
d5 p aw n . 24 �хс4 Ь хс 4 25 �хfб gxfб
13 �еВ+ 26 4::)е 4 fol l owed Ьу �сЗ.
14 �е2 �eS 24 .O.xf6 gxf6
15 �Ь2 �xdS 25 �f3 (190)
16 �с1 4:Jc6 It i s n o t o f such great
17 о-о 4:Je5 sig n i ficance that White can
1В �е3 �е6 trap the Ь l ack roo k and win
19 h3 bS? (189) the exchange - this is an
B l ack's first m i s take. occupational hazard if you
Instead o f thi s he should p l ay the adven turo us ma­
p l ay 19 . . . �сВ! a t once. noeuvre . . . �еВ - eS х d5 in
20 �ас1 �d7 the opening. What is rea l ly
Perhaps hoping to reach seri o u s , thoug h , is that
132 The НйЬпег Sys tem and A n ti-Hйbner Lin es
1 feJ t t h a t m o r e res i s t­
ance w a s p o s s i Ь i e w i t h 32
. . . !J..c 6 3 3 �f5 + � е ? , k e e p i n g
o p e n t h e а8 - h 1 d i a go n a J
for t h e q u eenand Ь i s hop
battery . S ti l l , i t is n o t a t a l l
p l e a san t .
33 �с3 f5
34 �g7 �d2
35 �xh7 �е 3+
36 �h2 �g5
Wh i te s ti l l has а very 37 h4 �g4
powerf u l attac k a g ai n s t 38 �h6+ �е 5
B lack ' s fractured k i n g s i d e . 39 �g5
25 �с4 Wh i te correc t l y t ra n s ­
26 .Q.xd5 �xd5 p o s e s i n t o а w l n n i ng e n d­
27 4Je4 �g7 ing.
28 4Jxf6 39 �xg5
Fo rci n g а fav o u raЬ i e s i m­ 40 hxg5 е3
p l i fi ca t i o n . If 28 �сЗ �f5 ! 41 gб фf6
28 . . . � xf6 If 4 1 . . . f4 Torre i n t e n ded
29 � с3+ 4Je5 42 r:J; g 1 ! , foJ J o w ed Ьу Z!d 1 .
Fo rced . 29 . . . � fS 30 g 4+ Wh i te ca n t h e n a l w ay s со ре
� x f 4 31 tftje3 m ate . w i th . . . е2 Ьу m ean s o f фf2.
30 fxe5+ dxe5 42 � g 3 !J..e 6
31 �f1+ �е 6 43 фf4 е2
32 �с2 е4 (191 ) 44 t!e1 .Q.c4
45 g7 1-0
B l ack sea l e d 45 . . . � x g ?
a n d res i g n ed w l th o u t re­
s u m p ti o n . W h i te u se s the
g - paw n as а decoy to b ri n g
ab o u t а w o n k i n g a n d paw n
e n d g a m e : 45 . . . фх g ? 46
фx fS ф f ? 47 �е 4 � f6 48
� е 3 � e S 4 9 Z! x e 2 !J..x e2 5 0
� х е 2 a n d t h e rea r g - p a w n
d e c i d e s m atters .
 Th e НйЬпег System and An ti-Hйbner Lines 133

Calvo - Csom
Torremolinos 1984

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 4Jc3 Qb4
4 еЗ cS
5 4Je2 cxd4
б exd4 о-о
7 аЗ !J.e7
8 dS exdS
9 cxdS �ев error renouncing bls extra
This i s where Karpov pawn to free h i s pieces .) 16
preferred 9 . . . Qc5! ? agai nst 4:Jcxd5 �с6 17 �xf6+ !J.xf6
Torre. 18 �dS Q,eS 19 �h5 �а4 20
10 dб! Q,f4 Q,d7 21 ЬЗ �а5 22 Ь4
А bold pawn s acrifice �а4 23 �ad1 !J.xf 4 24 gxf 4
invented Ьу Tal . Al terna­ �ad8 25 �d3 фh8 26 �с7
tives here are 10 gЗ, 10 �е3 �е7 27 �с5 �е2 28 �xd7
and 10 h3, for exampl e : 10 1-0. 28 . . . �xd7 29 �f8
Q,еЗ 4Jg4 11 Qd4 4Jh6 12 mate. 1 1 . . . �Ь6 is а cum-
4Jg3! ? Qxa3+ 13 �е2 �хЬ2 14 bersome way of picking up
4Jb5 with unclear complica­ White's far-flung d-pawn,
tions ( Ree - Ligterink , Wijk which exposes the Ь lack
aan Zee 1984) . We have al­ queen to harrass ment.
ready seen 1 0 hЗ at work in Black's best is actual ly
the reference Keene - Med­ the i m mediate 11 . . . Ь6 12
nis from the previous Qg2 �с6, i n tending . . . Qa6!
game. with counterplay.
10 !J.f8 12 Qf4
11 gЗ (192) An obvious enough move,
11 �еб but one that had been over­
1 1 . . . �Ь6 12 Qg2 !J.xd6 13 looked until recently. The
�еЗ �а6 1 4 0-0 �е5 15 4Jf4 point is to force Bl ack to
gave White good val ue for decentralise his king's
the pawn in Korch noi - knight if he wishes to i n­
Miles , Wijk aan Zee, 1984: gest White's far-fl ung d6-·
15 .. . d5 (An admission of pawn .
134 Th e Hii bn er Sys tem and An ti-Hiibner Lines

12 �2 rк x d 6 13 t/1c2 �е6
14 о- о 4Jc6 15 Ь4 d6 16 �5
rке5 17 t/1d2 hб 18 -'lxfб t/1xf6
19 4'JdS �d8 20 z:ladt w i th
compe ns ation , Keene
Lei n , Gausdal 1983.
12 . . . Ьб?!
А m o ve too late! This
now m eek rep] y perm its
the whi te paw n to remai n
J i ke а s w ord splitti n g
Black's p o s i t i o n i n t w o . 16 -'lg2 а6
Criti cal is ac ceptance w i t h 17 4Jf3 4Ja5
12 . . 4'J h S e . g . 1 3 .Qe3 �xd6
. 18 �dЗ 4Jb3
and now : 19 �ad1 4JcS
1) 1 4 t/1b3 4Jc6 15 � 2 Ь6 20 'lt/f5 4Jce4
16 4'Jb5 ne6 17 4'Jed 4 �е7 1 8 21 4JgS g6
�dS , Tatai - H m ad i , Lugano 22 t/1h3 4Jxc3
1984 ( 1-0 24) . 23 �хЬ7
2) 1 4 t/1c2 �е6 15 �2 4Jc6 If now 23 . �Ь 8 24 ,О.ха б
. .

16 0- 0 4'Jf6 17 rкad 1 rке 8 1 8 4'Jxd1 25 .(lc 4 or 2 3 . . .4Jxd 1

4'Jd4 4Jxd 4 1 9 �x d 4 dS, 24 -'ldS! ; i n b o t h cases,
Korch noi Kinderman n , Black co l lapses at f7 .
Beer S heva 1 9 8 4 (!f.l--Ч:z , 2 4) . 23 . . . 4Je2 +
3) 1 4 4'Jd4 ! ? , Calvo's o w n 24 �h1 hб
s ugges ti o n , also deserves Or 2 4 . . . 4Jxf4 25 gxf4 h6
atte n tion . 26 4Jxf7 �x f7 27 �g l , fo l­
13 �h3 -'lb7 lowed Ьу t/1g 2 , wi th а
14 0-0 4Jc6 terriЬ l e attack .
15 4Jd4 (1 93) 25 4Jxf7! (1 94 )
Whlte has no i n terest ln 25 �xf7
taking the exchange wlth 26 �еЗ �Ь 8
his k i n g ' s b l s hop. B l ac k 27 �fЗ 4Jxg3+
would ce rtai nly ro u nd u p 28 t/1xg3 rкеб
t h e d6 pa w n and Whi te
- , 29 нg1 4Je8
wo uld s u ffer w eaknes ses 30 ,O_dS t/f1f6
on the li g h t square s . 31 �d4 t/1f5
15 �е8 32 Slxe6+ t/f1xe6
 The Hiibner System and An ti-Hiibner Lines 135

44 h4+ �g4
45 �g2 �f8
в 46 'l!Jeб+ 1-0

Кasparov - Psakhis
La Manga 1991

1 d4 4:Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4:Jc3 �Ь4
4 е3 с5
33 t!Jf3+ 4:Jf6 5 4:Jge2 d5
34 �xg6 (195) 6 аЗ �хс3+
7 {Jxc3 cxd4
8 exd4 dxc4
9 .а,хс4 4:Jc6
10 �е3 о-о
11 о-о Ь6
12 �f3 (196)

This is the decisive

breakthrough.
34 фхg6
35 �g1+ �f7
36 .a,xf6 �хfб
37 �hS+ феб
38 �g6 �хdб The standard move is 12
At long last, the cram- 'l!JdЗ. I previous]y suggested
ping paw n fal l s . this i dea first, in fact,
39 �g4+ фе7 during the 1978 Worl d
40 �хfб фхfб C hamp ionship match when
41 �xd7 �е5 I acted as as sistant to
42 �h7 �f4 Viktor Korchnoi . Korchnoi ,
43 'l!Je4 �g5 however, never had the
136 The Hiibner System and An ti-Hiibn er Lines

chance to use it agai nst fice which enaЬ les Wh ite to

Karpov, his opponent at utilise his Ьishop pair and
that ti me. superior control o f terrain.
12 ... �Ь7 18 exd5
13 �d3 �сВ 19 .(lf5 �е7
The point of White's 20 h4 �с7
play , which 1 discovered in 21 t/i;Jxc7 �хс7
1978, i s that 13 . . . �eS fai ls 22 �fe1 �е7
to 1 4 �хЬ7 �хdЗ 15 t/i;Ja6 23 �Ь5 �fe8
�хЬ2 16 'f!;;e 2, trapping the 24 �хе7 �хе7
Ьlack knight. 25 .(lh3 �с8
14 �ad1 !'!с7 26 �хс8 �хс8
15 'f!;;h3 �е7 27 �ха7 �с2
16 �5 �gб 28 Ь4 �f8
17 �g3 29 .(le3 �f5 (1 98)
Not the tempti ng 17
�xg6?! hxgб 18 t/i;Jh4 ( i n­ 1 98 � i'li �
tendi ng �d3 - h3) on w � % . � � � :t
::t �-�
accou nt of the di abol ical �
exchange sacri fice 18 . . .
m· '· � �
ж
�хс3 ! ! 19 Ьхс3 'f!;;d S 2 0 f3
� � ::t �4) �
�h7 and . . . �сВ when it is �
-� � � ..Т'/.
very hard for Whi te to � � �'f�
� � �� � �
m ake progres s . - � ж � �.ft -� �
�
17 ... � d7
18 d5! (197)
� �§� m
Не s h o u l d content him­
se l f with the pas sive 29 . . .
�d7. A fter the text move,
the white q u eenside paw ns
beco me the decisive factor.
30 QхЬб �g4
31 �с5+ �еВ
32 4Jb5 �а2
33 4Jc3 �хаЗ
34 4Jxd5 fб
зs ьs rхьз
А profound pawn sacri- 36 Ьб 1-0
11) The Queen ' s Indian
System (1 )

1 d4 {Jf6
2 с4 е6 20

3 {Jc3 Qb4 в

4 {Jf3 Ь6
5 �с2 (1 99)

the advantage that W h i te i s

al ready co m m itted to {JfЗ
and cannot therefore con­
struct а mighty pawn
centre with paw ns at с4,
1 d4 {Jf6 d 4 , е4 a n d f З w i t h any deg­
2 с4 е6 ree o f ease . Also in ВJac k " s
3 {Jc3 Qb4 favou r is his abl l i ty to
4 {Jf3 Ь6 occu py t h e е 4 sq uare with а
5 �ь3 (200J knight. I n theory, perhap s ,
White's Ьi s hop pair ought
This chapter i s related to 4 to give h i m а s ! i g h t advan­
�с2 b u t W h i te has the ad­ tage, b u t in practi ce B! ack's
vantage that B l ac k ca nnot tactica! pi ece activity , es­
strike back wi th the dan­ pecially along the diagonal
gerous tacti cal v ariation 4 а8 - h 1 , has a l ways given
. . . cS. Conversely Black has h i m ple n ty o f chances .
1З8 The Queen 's Indian Sys tem (1)
Polugayevsky - Speelman
Phillips and Drew
London 1984
1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 {JfЗ Ьб
4 {JсЗ �Ь4
After 4 . . . �Ь7 Wh ite
wo uJd perhaps have p l ayed
S аЗ, enteri ng the 'Petrosian
Variation' which has scored
so well i n the hands o f
Kasparov. А recent exam p l e
is S . . . d S 6 cxd5 4Jxd5 7 еЗ
g6 8 �Ь5+ с6 9 �а4 �7 10
е4 {JхсЗ 11 ЬхсЗ, Kasparov -
Timman , Amsterdam 199 1 .
5 'i'!Jc2 (201)
5 �ЬЗ is a l s o possiЬ 1e as
seen i n three of the games
from the Seirawan - Tim­
man matc h from Hil versu m
1991, ( with Seirawan p laying
White in all the examples)
e.g.
5 'i'!JbЗ с 5 6 а З �а5 7 еЗ
0-0 8 �е2 {Je4 9 d5 ,.О.хсЗ+
10 ЬхсЗ �а6 11 �Ь2 'i'!Je7 12
�d1 �е 8 13 �d3 {Jd6 14 'i'!Jc2
е5 15 {jd2 е4 16 �е2 {Jf5 17
0-0 d6 18 4Jxe4 'i'!Jxe4 19
�dЗ {JхеЗ 20 fxe3 'i'!JxeЗ+ 21
�f2 gб 22 �с1 'i'!Je7 23 �df1
4Jd7 24 �xf7 'i'!Jxf7 25 �xf7
�xf7 26 �f4 4Je5 27 .(lxe5
dxe5 28 Qe 4 Qxc4 29 'i'!Ja4
Ь5 30 'i'!Ja5 а6 31 dб Ё{аd8 З2
�с7+ фg8 33 d7 �f8 34 h 4
fJ.e6 35 'i'!Jxe5 �f7 36 Qсб с4
З7 'i'!Jdб h5 З8 �h2 �g8 39
фg3 g5 40 h xg5 �xg5+ 41
фh2 �f5 42 а4 Ьха4 43
Qxa4 а5 44 'i'!Jd 4 r(J)e7 45 'i'!Je4
�g8 46 fJ.c6 �d6 47 'i'!Jd4+
r(J)xc6 48 d84J+ �xd8 49
'i'!Jxd8 �с5 50 фgЗ �f5 51
фh4 �с5 52 'i'!Je7 fJ.d7 53 фg3
�d5 54 фf4 r(J)b5 55 �е4 fJ.c6
56 �Ь1 + фс5 57 'i'!Ja2 r(J)b5 58
�Ь2+ фс5 59 gЗ �dЗ 60
'i'!JaЗ+ фЬб 61 �Ь2+ �с5 1J.z.-1J.z.
was game 1 .
Games З artd 5 were,
however, tremendou s suc­
cesses for Whi te:
5 'i'!JbЗ cS 6 аЗ �а5 7 �5
hб 8 fJ.h 4 4Jc6 9 0-0-0 fJ.xcЗ
10 'i'!Jxc3 cxd4 1 1 4Jxd 4 4Je4
12 'ltJh3 'ltJc7 1 3 {Jb5 'ltJe5 1 4
�еЗ f5 15 f 4 'ltJb8 16 g4 0-0
17 �2 dS 18 g x f5 exf5 19
.(lxe4 fxe4 20 cxd5 fJ.aб 21
{JсЗ 4Ja5 22 d6 {Jc4 23 'i'!Jd 4
1-0 (Game З)
5 �ьз с5 6 аЗ fJ.a5 7 �.,g 5
{Jc6 8 0-0-0 fJ.xcЗ 9 d5 exd5
10 cxd5 fJ.e5 1 l dxc6 'i'!Je7 12
cxd7+ �xd7 IЗ еЗ r{d8 1 4
!lxd7 l'!xd7 15 �ьs JJ.dб 16
l'!d1 0-0 17 ,.O.xd7 'i'!Jxd7 18
�f4 с4 1 9 'i'!Jc2 4Je8 20 4Jg5
f5 21 'i'!Jxc4+ фh8 22 �xd6
{Jxd6 23 'i'!JdS r{d8 24 {Je6
'ltJcB+ 25 �Ь1 r{d7 26 'i'!Jxdб
1-0 (Game 5) .
 The Queen 's Indian System (1) 139

Black may do better to 6 аЗ �хсЗ+

capture on сЗ on move 6, 7 t(ухсЗ aS
e.g. 5 �ЬЗ с5 6 аЗ .с,tхсЗ+ 7 8 ьз о-о
t(ухсЗ 0-0 8 g З cxd4 9 �xd4 9 еЗ d6
{Jc6 10 �h4 �Ь? 1 1 �2 �с8 10 �dЗ {Jbd7
12 �d2 {Ja5 13 �ха5 Ьха5 1 4 11 �ы t/Je7 (202)
Ь4 'f!!J c7 1 5 с 5 d 6 1 6 �с1 ахЬ 4
17 ахЬ 4 dxcS 1 8 �xcS �Ь6 19
�хс8 �хс8 20 0-0 �а6 21
{Je5, Gurevich - Kasparov,
Linares 1991. Black s tands
m uch better and went on
to win in 42 moves .

Speelman tries to im­

S �с2 used to Ье popular
in the 1920's when the
Nimzo and Queen's I ndian
were unexplored territory.
lt is enjoying а revival at
the moment, though 5 �S
(discussed in the next
chap ter) is also becoming
more freq uent. The point
of S �с2 is to aq uire the
Ьishop pair without per­
mitting the c-pawns to Ье
douЬled .
s �Ь?
prove on 11 ... {Je4 1 2 t(yc2 fS
13 0-0 �f6 ! ? , Pol ugayevsky
- Psakhis, 50th USSR Ch.
1983. After the astute 14
cS! , speculating on the ex­
posure of Black's king's
rook on f6 to attack from
the white queen Ьishop,
White gained the advan­
tage.
12 о-о {Je4
13 �с2 fS
Speelman commences the
reg ulation kingside attack
which characterises this
line.
14 {Je1 · t(ygS
Impeding fЗ and building
up pressure against g2.
15 �с1!?
140 The Queen 's Indian System (1)

А very strange move, of kingside pieces .

wasti n g а lot of time to try 18 'ё/1хh5
to force throug h f3 and е4. 19 fxe4 fxe4
An alternative deservi ng 20 -'txe4
consideration i s 15 'ё/1е2 with I f 20 нхf8+ нхf8 21 .0.хе4
f3 i n view. 'ё/1h4 22 �хЬ7 'ё/1хе1+ 23 iфlh2
15 'ё/1g6 нft .
16 f3 4:Jg5 20 нхf1+
17 h4 21 фхf1 нfв +
Highly ambltious, hoping 22 �f3
for 1 7 . . . 4:jf7 18 g4 and then If 22 iфlg1 'ё/1h4 as above.
4:jg2-f4 crowding ВJ ack's 22 ... е5
pieces out of the game. 23 фе2?
The sol u tion Speelman con­ Over l ooking а bri l liant
ceives i s startling. resource. Correct is 23 iфlg l
17 4:je41!? 'ё/1h 4 24 �е2 w i th chances
of beating off the attack .
23 ... нхf3!!

18 hS!
The best w ay of capt ur­
ing the piece and one which
Speelman m ay have u nder­
esti m ated. After 18 fxe4
fxe4 19 �е2 the ВJack e­
pawn severely ham pers the
mobility of White's forces.
Furthermore, White's h­
pawn w o u l d soon Ье l ost to
B lack's rapi d concentration
Speelman now paced the
stage with а demonic gri n,
while Pol ugayevsky became
ever more frantic, clutching
h i s head and getting into
more desperate cl ock pres­
s u re.
24 gxf3 е4
25 dS?
 Th e Queen 's Indian System (1) 141

Watchiпg, 1 thought this 2 с4 еб

forced but it loses. After 3 4Jc3 !lb4
25 фd2! ехfЗ 26 4Jd3 �е4 4 t/Jc2 о-о
fol lowed Ьу . . . t/Jf5 and the 5 аЗ !lхсЗ+
advance of Ьlack's kingsi de 6 t!Jxc3 Ьб
paw ns things remain colo­ 7 4Jf3 !lb7
ssally unclear. 8 е3 dб
25 exf3+ 9 !le2 4Jbd7
26 4Jxf3 4Je5 ю о-о 4Je4
27 �е4 �с8 11 t!Jc2 f5
If 28 !lb2 {jxfЗ 29 нh 1 12 4Je1
�xh 1 30 �е8 is mate, but White should consider
28 ... !lf5! throws а gigantic moving his b-pawn first to
span ner i n White's works. further devel opment on
28 !lb2 !lf5 that flan k . Now Black can
29 t/Jf4 4Jxf3 (205) move up wi th fu l t aggres­
sion on the other wing.
12 t!Jh4
13 f3 4Jg5 (206)

30 е4 4Je5+
31 фf1 �h3+
32 фg1 t!Jg6+
0-1 14 f4
А great fighting game. А very ugly move si nce it
weakens е4; but it aJ i ows
Кarpov - Yusupov Wh ite to defend his ki ng­
Candidates Semi-Final side. 14 d5 z:lae8 15 Ь4 {jf6
London 1989 16 �dЗ exdS 1 7 cxdS {JxdS
18 �с4 4Je6 19 t/JbЗ сб 20
1 d4 4Jf6 !lxd5 cxdS 21 �Ь2 �1с4 and
142 The Queen 's Jndian Sys tem (1)

Black i s winning, Andruet Now 19 h3 on ly weakens

- Dokhoian, Wijk aan Zee 11 g3, since B l ack has not
1989. compromised himse l f with
14 {Je4 . . . gS.
15 {Jf3 �h6 19 е5
Better is 15 . . . �е7!? 20 fxe5
planning ... h6, ... фh7, . . . 20 �h4 �xh4 21 {Jxh4
g S , which is t h e way that exd4 22 exd4 g6 23 d S is
Nimzowitsch h i m s e l f used not c lear.
to handle s uch positi ons, 20 ... dxe5
e.g . his game against Wo lf, 21 h3?1
Carlsbad 1923. Whi te's last chance for а
16 Qd3 {Jdf6 quieter life was 21 �h4. The
17 �е2 text is very risky, probaЬiy
А good defensive ma n­ very bad.
oeuvre which w i l l give 21 4Jef2!
White the option of trading 22 .,О_е2
queens to break the attack. 22 �xf2? 4Jxf2 23 �xf2
17 4Jg4 е4.
18 �е1 (207) 22 . . . Qxf3!?
Considered to Ье deci sive
20 for а while. It is not bad.
в but Dvoretsky's idea of 22
exd4!? may Ье even
better.
23 Qxf3 (208)

18 �ае8
The logica] continuation,
completi ng development
and prepari ng to break the
stonewall formation. 18 . . .
gS is w e l 1 parried Ьу 19 h3.
19 Ь4 23 ... е4?
 The Queen 's Indian Sys tem (1) 143

Yusupov overestimates 26 f4
the game continuation as 27 �хе3 fxe3
time trouЬle mounts. 23 . . . 28 �xf8+ Z!xf8
4jd3! would keep u p the 29 Z!e1
pressure. Karpov has escaped.
24 �d11 4Jxd1 29 �d8
25 �xd1 4Jxe3 30 dS с6
26 �е2 31 dxc6 �хс6
The beginning of а forced 32 �хе3 �хс4
sequence which re-estab­ 33 �хе4 1.2-'-.2
lishes the balance. Very An excel lent Ш ustration
much а case of weathering of Black's chances in this
the storm . type of variation.
1 2 ) The Queen' s Indian
System (2)

1 d4 4:Jf6 ai n s t B l a c k ' s k i n g s k n i g h t
'

2 с4 е6 from Whi te' s q u ee n ' s Ьi s h ­

3 4:Jc3 �Ь4 o p . At ti m e s t h e p i n са п Ье
4 4:Jf3 Ь6 dead l y , a t o t h e r ti m e s t he
5 �5 �Ь7 coun ter- attac k i ng advance
6 еЗ (209) of Bl ack's k i n g si d e p a w n s
с а п ov erw h e l т W h i te ( e . g .

i n Sal o v - Do h o i a n i n t h e
no tes t o M i l es - C h a n d l e r ) .
On top of a l l thi s is t he
co m p l i cati n g factor that
both s i des m ay c h oose t o
cas t l e o n ei t h e r w i n g ( e . g .
i n Kasparov - M i l e s , b o t h
s i des ca s t l ed q u ee n s i de ) .
Thi s is one of the most
гich ly rewaгd i n g fi e l d s of
the e n tiгe N i m zo - J n di a n
O n e of the m o s t fa sci n a ti n g a n d the g a m e s h e re w i l l r e ­
vari ati o n s of t h e N i m z o­ pay carefu 1 s t u dy .
Indian . Whi te i n vari aЫy
c o n tracts at l e a s t one s e t Miles - Chandler
of d o uЬ l e d p aw n s , a l w ay s London 1987
h a s t h e p o te n t i a l for cen­
tral expan s i o n (see M i l es - 1 d4 4:Jf6
B e l i avsky) but added to 2 с4 е6
thi s ty pkal , i f p o te n t , brew 3 4:Jf3 Ь6
there is the add i ti o n a l el e­ 4 4Jc3 �Ь4
m e n t p o s e d Ьу the pin ag- 5 Дg5 �Ь7
 The Queen 's lndian Sys tem (2) 1 45

6 еЗ h6 16 gS hxg5
7 .(lh4 .(lхсЗ+ 17 ,ClxgS exd4
8 ЬхсЗ d6 18 cxd4 dS
9 4Jd2 4Jbd7 Having refrained fro m 15
ю · rз �е7 схЬ5 ахЬ5 16 �xbS f[fЬ8
11 �а4 with good p l ay for the
Preventing . . . 0-0-0, this paw n , White now finds
was fi rst tried in Salov - himself а pawn down with
Dohoian, Irkutsk 1986 ; 1 1 е4 insu ffici ent cou nterplay .
is more u s u al . 19 l'!g1 .Q.c6
11 е5 20 4JЬ1 l'!fЬ 8
12 о-О-0? 21 ,ClhЗ f[b6
Salov p l ayed 12 е4 g5 13 22 �h6 {)еВ (211)
,Clf2 �f8 1 4 .(le2 4jh5 15 0-0
4jf4 16 l'!fe1 1'!g8 17 4Jf1 and
now 17 . . . g4 would have 2; i�m,�,�� � ,.,
given co unterp l ay instead
of the 17 . . . f5? p l ayed . lt
��� J. � � �
� С.
soon becomes clear that � � � � �-
.1: �
com m i tting the king to the � � ' � �
queenside at this side is � � � dt � �
too ri sky , as B lack сап
dt � � � � �"
easily open l i nes there .
12 0-0 �4J�
� . �Р" �r:�.� .i��
г· ..

13 l'!e1 а6 The crisi s. With 23

14 �с2 Ь5 (210) frab8 m enaced, M i l es now
m akes а last effort.
23 f[xg7+ {jxg7
24 f[g1 4Jf8
25 .Q.fS
Or 25 f[xg7+ (25 .Q.xg7
4Jg6) 2s . . . �па 26 �s
f[xbl+ fo l lowed Ьу а w i n n­
ing queen check.
25 ... 4Jg6
26 Qxg6 fxg6
27 �xg6
15 g4 Ьхс4 If 27 l'!xg6 Qa 4.
146 The Queen 's lndian Sys tem (2)

27 ... �е8 13 h4 g4
28 'l{Jf5 14 4Jd4 'l{Jf6
Or 28 t/ixg7+ 'l{Jxg7 29 15 о-о r21зJ
.O.xg7 �6.
28 ... Z!xh6
29 tfjxd5+ � 1
29 . . . 'l{Je6 and i f 30 'l{Jxa8
'l{Jxe3 + .
А typical game of attack
and cou nter-attack in tbls
variation.

Мiles - Beliavsky
Tilburg 1986
Apart from the text
1 d4 4Jf6 move, 15 . . . 4Jxd3, Black has
2 с4 е6 an interesting al ternative:
3 4Jf3 Ь6 15 . . . 4Jba6 16 4Jxe6 4Jxe6 17
4 4Jc3 -'lb4 -'lxf5 4Jg7 18 �б+ фd7 19 f3
5 ,ag5 .О.Ь 7 z;taf8 20 fxg4 'l{Je7 21 е4 �с8
6 е3 h6 22 'l{Jd2 4Jc5
7 �h4 g5 Timman's last move i s an
8 ,ag3 4Je4 attempt to i m prove on 22 . . .
9 'l{Jc2 d6 �Ь8 which he had played i n
10 -'ld3 -'lxc3+ game 4 of his 1985 match
11 Ьхс3 f5 (212) with Kasparov. In that case
Kasparov had c l ai med а win
with 23 t/id4! fo l lowed Ьу
g5 and h5. Timman's move
is а l ogical improveme nt,
but with his ki ng sti l l on
сВ there is a lways the
chance of an annoying
check.
23 Z1xf8+ Z!xf8 24 t/ixh6 'l{Jf6
25 -'lf5+
The difference. White
12 d5 4Jc5 tran sposes into an ending
 The Queen 's Indian Sys tem (2) 1 47

with а golden horde of the spectacu l ar if sl ightly

passed pawns. less co nvi nci ng pi ece s ac­
25 . . . 4Jxf5 26 tt;Jxf6 �x f6 27 rifice 1 8 4Jd 4 in game 6 of
exfS �а6 2 8 �f2 .О,хс4 29 hi s matc h with Ti m man,
.O,d 4 �f7 30 f6 �h7 31 �хс5 H i lvers u m 1 985, while Miles
dxc5 32 �d1 .O,bS 33 g5 �еВ himse l f had lost with 1 8 е4
34 �е1 фd7 35 g3 bS 36 фg2 �xfS 19 exfS? ( 1 9 f4!!) in an
а5 37 фh3 Ь4 3 8 схЬ4 ахЬ4 earlier exhibltion game
39 g4 �h8 40 hS \tld6 41 agai nst Ti m man . john Nunn
�хе8 ! 1-0 tol d me that Black is
After 41 . . . �хе8 42 g6 probably l ost after this
White soon queens а paw n, new move.
M i l es - Ti mman, Ti lburg 18 tt;Jxf5
1986 . 19 е4 tt;Jh5
15 . . . 4Jxd3 20 fxe5 dxe5
16 tt;JxdЗ е5 21 с5 фd8
17 4Jxf5! 22 dб tt;Je8
If 17 4Je6 4Ja6 18 f3 .О,с 8! 23 dxc7 + фхс7
19 fxg4 �хе6 20 dxe6 tt;Jxe6 24 tt;Jd5 4Jc6 (215)
21 g xfS tt;Jf6 with Ь lockading
compensation for the pawn. 215 ж � t. � � � ��
17 . . . �сВ w � � � � . . � �
18 f4!1 (214)
�4)
�
. , � � � .
� � �j .м. j �
Q;� �ш
� � :!l � :X �'/-
�
� �
� �� � ���
:11 � · � � :11 �
�r.�
� � � � m
�§ � �
25 �f7+ �d7
26 �af1 �d8
27 �1f6 фс8
28 схЬб ахЬб
А bri l l iant i mprovement 29 tt;JbS 1-0
prepared jointly Ьу Mil es А magnificent co nception
and john N u n n before the Ьу Miles, and one that
game. Kasparov h ad p l ayed ki lled this particu lar varia-
148 The Queen 's Indian Sys tem (2)

tio n for Black s tone dead. �хе 4 4jf6 1 5 �d3 w i t h some

edge for Whi te, Ras hovsky
Vaganian - Timman - Short, Bak u 1983; or 1 1 . . .

Phillips and Drew d6 1 2 �d3 �е? 13 0-0 4jc6 1 4

London 1984 а4 4ja5 with l evel pros­
pects , Rashovsky - Tai m ­
1 d4 4jf6 anov, USSR 1 983 . А bette r
2 с4 е6 try, perhap s , i s the ga m Ы t
3 4Jf3 Ь6 1 4 d5 ! ? exd5 1 5 cxd5 �хеЗ+
4 4jc3 �Ь4 16 фh1 ; or 14 . . . {Je5 1 5
5 �5 h6 {Jxe5; w hi l e i f 1 4 . . . {Ja5 1 5
6 �h4 !J.b7 е4 fo l lowed Ьу {jd2-b3 to
7 е3 g5 chal lenge B l ack's kn i g h t
8 -'lg 3 {Je4 and t he open a-fi l e .
9 �с2 �хс3+ 12 {Jh4 4Jc6
10 Ьхс3 {Jxg3 12 . . . �g5 13 �d2 d6 1 4
11 fxg3!? (216) �d3 {Jd7 15 0-0 115 1 6 t!f4
t!h6 1 7 t!af1 t! f 6 18 �f2 С!;; е 7
21 6 - � �i] tJ � ' 19 е4 f];.h8 20 с5 Ь хс5 21 �bS
в Ш .t Ш 1: � 1: � с6 22 .(ldЗ !J.c8 23 фh 1 t!h h 6
�� �
-� � ...Г"..
� .1: � 24 eS dxe5 25 dxeS �хе5 26

� � �
4jf5 + t!xf5 27 t!xfS exf5 28
� � t!el �f6 29 t!xeS 4::) x eS 30
� ;tt -�
� � � � � �хс5 !J.e6 31 �f8 a n d , w i t h
� �
� -� �{J �
-� � the material advan tage,
Whi te won easi ly i n Sal ov -
:lt � � � � :Jt ["
�� �
'
� Ш 1l �
···'
��'· '
Van der Wie l , A m sterda m
1991 .
Two years prevlou s ly a t 13 !J.d3 tf;f6
t h e Phi l lips and Drew Kar­ PossiЬ ly а new m o v e ; bad
pov nearly lost as Whi te v for Bl ack i s 1 3 . tf1gS 1 4
. .

Spee l m a n w i th 11 hxg3 . The �е2 f];.g8 1 5 0- 0 t!g 7 16 t!aЬ I

text is the latest fashion.
White hopes for an attack
to materi al ise on the f- fi l e .
11 g4
Al ternatives are : 11 . . . d6
12 �d3 {jd7 13 !J.e 4 !J.xe 4 1 4
�а6 17 cS! �x d3 1 8 �xd3
Ьхс5 19 t!b5 d6 20 f];.b 7 w hen
Black's k i ng is not very
secure , Ras hovsky - C s o m ,
Fru n z e 1983 .
14 �е2 h5
 The Qu een 's Indian Sys tem (2) 1 49

15 �ы ZLJe7 24 �хе3 ZLJc8

16 е4 е5 25 �а1 0-0
17 �f1 "/!Jg7 Very l ate to castle!
18 �е3 d6 26 ахЬ6 ZLJxb6
19 �f2 27 �Ь а2 aS
19 с5 dxc5 20 dxcS 0-0-0! 28 ZLJf5? (218)
is fine for Black.
19 �h6 (217)

White has to play 28

�xaS �xaS 29 �xaS f!a8,
lt makes good sense o n when Black has adequate
Black's part to swap compensation for the J ost
queens; this enhances the pawn, but no more. The
positional characteris tics game would probaЬly Ье
of the game, i .e. the weak­ drawn. Vaganian's deci sion
ness of White's douЬ l ed wi ns material under con­
pawns m ay become more sideraЬly less favo uraЬie
significant than any tactics circumstances . The remai n­
he might generate. ing minot· piece ( the ki ng's
20 �Ь2 с5 Ьishop) is much less mobl \е
То fix Whi te's c-pawn. than Black's knight. A l so,
21 d5 �с8 Black is presented free of
22 а4 charge with а passed е-
Trying for cou n terplay pawn.
with the inte n tion of i so­ 28 . . . �xf51
lating one of Timman's O f course.
queenside paw n s . 29 exf5 �g7
22 �d7 30 f!xaS �xaS
23 aS �хе3+ 31 f!xa5 �а8
150 The Queen 's Indian Sys tem (2)

32 �ь5 z:.Ia6 45 .О,Ьt 4Jxf5

33 h3 �f6 46 �Ь2 е2!
34 z:.IЬ1 4Jc8 47 �h1 4Jxg3
35 .О,е4? 0-1
1 do not see the poi n t o f An excel lent s trategic
thi s. M ore active is 3 5 h g ! display Ьу Timman, w h o
hg 36 Z!h1. was sti l l waJking on
35 4Je7 crutches after а footbal l
36 фd3 4Jg8 accident. The above game,
37 Z!b7 фg7 Ьу the w ay, is а truly mar­
38 фd2 �а2+ vellous adverti sement for
39 -'lc2 е4 (219) the Ьlockading theories of
Nimzowitsch himself.

Lputian - Plaskett
Hastlngs 1986

1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 е6
3 4Jf3 Ь6
4 4Jc3 .О,Ь4
5 .o_g5 .о_ь7
6 е3 h6
Once the extra e-pawn 7 .O,h4 g5
starts to rol l White's 8 -'lg3 4Je4
whole rickety set-up be­ 9 4Jd2 (220)
gi ns to fal l apart at the
seams. Vaganian has far
too many weaknesses to
survive once Black at last
gets the i n i tiative.
40 Z!b8 4Je7
41 hxg4 hxg4
42 Z!e8 фf6
43 фс1 е3
White has totally lost
his co-ordination.
44 нh8 на1+ А pawn sacrifice which is
 The Queen 's Indian Sys tem (2) 1St

а perfectly good al ternatiYe 16 eS

to the more usual 9 tt;/c2. Thi s may Ье playaЬl e , b u t
9 �хс3 the f S square looks s u s pi­
А prelude to decl ining ciously exposed.
the pawn. 17 tt;/f3 Wg 7
10 Ьхс3 4:Jxg3 More sensiЬ le is 1 7
11 fxg3 4:Je8 fo llowed Ьу 4:Jg7 p ro ­
White obYiously plans to tecting fS.
pile up al ong the f-fi le, as 18 1df2 �св
in Vaganian - Timman. 19 4:Jf1 4:Jg4
11 tt;/e7 20 1de2 с5
12 е4 d6 21 h3 4:Jf6
13 �d3 4:Jd7 22 g4
14 tt;/a4 А powerful move to
То discourage Black from which Black should prob­
playing . . . 0-0-0. aЬiy react with Lp u tian's
14 о-о suggested . . h S 23 gxhS g4.
.

15 0-0 4:Jf6 22 cxd4?

16 tt;/d1! (221) 23 cxd4 exd4
24 eS dxe5
25 4:Jg3! (222)

Pure KasparoY. The tt;/d1

retreat was used Ьу him i n
game 7 У KarpoY , 1985 This foi ls Бlack's idea
match; Game 18, 1986 match which lay in 25 tt;/xa8 �xg4!
and in the game У Miles with obscure complica­
which fo l lows . The q ueen tions .
moYe stops . . . {jhS and 25 !J.d7
further prepares tt;/fЗ. 26 1df1
152 The Queen 's Indian Sys tem (2)

The threat i s �хfб and Кasparov - Мiles

4Jh5+. White's pressure is Dubai Olympiad 1986
overwhelming.
26 ... 4Jh7 1 d4 4Jf6
If 26 . . . е4 then 27 �хе4 2 с4 е6
4Jxe4 28 �хе4 i s devasta­ 3 4Jf3 Ь6
ting. 27 �хfб+ �хfб 28 4 4Jc3 �Ь4
{JhS+ \tth 8 29 �хfб exd3 5 .QgS �Ь7
also looks great for White 6 е3 h6
but i s less clear. 7 Qh4 gS
27 4Jh5+ �h8 8 .Qg3 4Je4
28 �xh7 �xh7 9 4Jd2 4Jxg3
29 �f6! (223) Alternatively 9 . . . {JхсЗ
10 ЬхсЗ .0.хс3 1 1 нс 1 .(lb4 1 2
h 4 gave Whi te а dan gerou s
attack for the pawn i n
Kasparov - Timman , H i l ­
vers um match (2) 1985.
10 hxg3 Qf8
Withdrawing the Ьis hop
to forti fy his k ing's de­
fences .
11 f4 .Qg7
12 �а4 4Jc6
Very n eat. 29 {Jfб+ фg7 13 о-о-о �е7
30 �е4 �h8 31 {Jh5+ also 14 �е2 о-о-о
w i n s , b u t 30 . . . �хfб 31
�xf6 �хfб 32 �хе5+ �gб
resists somewhat.
29 �xf6
30 4Jxf6+ фg7
31 4Jxd7 �fe8
32 r:IxeS d3
33 r:IefS !!е7
34 {JeS d2
35 нхf7 + rtxf7
36 !!xf7+ �g8
37 �f1 1-0
 Th e Queen 's lndian Sys tem (2) 1 53

ki ng i s safest o n the same 25 нс3 Ь5

side of the board as Kaspa­ ProbaЬly the decisive
rov's, yet even here the error. Now White has а
World Champion fi nds а target o n bS.
way to s tart а direct attack. 26 �с2 �сВ
15 �Ь1 �ь в 27 а4 �h7
16 нс1 �Ь4 2В ахЬ5 cxbS
17 �d1 29 с6
Threatening to cut off Вlack's king is cut off
Black's q u een with cS. and w i l l soon Ье stormed
17 �fB Ьу White·s massed legions.
1В Q.f3 f5 29 а6
19 �а4 g4 30 �с1 �dб
Not 19 . . . �Ь 4 ? 20 �хсб! 31 �Ь3 �е7 (226)
winning а piece.
20 Дхс6! dxc6 (225)

�� ��
w � J. f�
� �
22

� . .... .
?'
"''/1

� .L � .L � �
� .
�.�
� � � .L �
� � jt � � .L �
�
� � � � � .�
� � �
% . .

lt .� � jt � % .
32 4Jc4 �хсб
� ф �� � � � 33 4Ja5 Ыхс3
I f 20 . . Qхсб 2 1 4JbS
. 34 �хс3 .О,Ь7
�xbS 22 cxbS with i ncipient 35 4Jxb7 �хЬ 7
pressure in the а- and c­ 36 4Jd5 �f7
files against the Ьlack 37 4Jxf6 �xf6
king . 3В �хс7+ �аВ
21 с5 е5 39 �с5 �ь в
Exploi ting the d- file to 40 �d7 нfВ
start central counterpl ay . 41 �сб 1-0
22 fxe5 �xeS If 4 1 . . . 'tШЬ7 42 'tШdб i s
23 4Je2 �f6 deci s ive. А ty pi cal ly vigor­
24 4Jf4 �еВ ous game Ьу Kasparov .
13) The Leningrad Variation
1 d4 4:)f6
2 с4 еб
3 4:)с3 �Ь 4
4 .Q.gS (227)
As i n the previous chapter,
all the key elements of the
Nimzo-lndian are present
here, enriched Ьу the pin
from White's queen's Ьish­
op agai n s t the Ы асk ki ng's
knight. The Len i ngrad has
been responsiЬle for some
of the most typical Nimzo­
Indian games, whether wins
Ьу W hite or wins Ьу B lack.
B lack cannot avoid the
Leningrad, but conversely
he should not Ье over­
scared of it. Play in the
Leni ngrad for either co l o u r
real ly gives the player the
fee1 of being involved in а
red-Ьlooded Nimzo-Indian.
Many of the genera l
comments I made in the
introduction to the pre­
vious chapter also hold
good here, b u t it shou ld Ье
noted that Ьу deferring 4:)f3
White adds the additional
string to his bow of а
direct punch at the centre
with f4.
Bareev - Sax
Foreign and Colonial
Hastings Premier 1990/91
1 d4 4:)f6
2 с4 еб
3 4:)с3 �Ь4
4 .Q.gS
The Leningrad Variation,
а former favourite of
Spassky and Timman, w hich
leads to very s harp play.

4 hб (228)
4 . . . с5 5 d5 d6 6 е3 Qxc3+
7 ЬхсЗ �е? 8 {)f3 {)bd?
Al ternatively 8 . . . е5 9
{)d2 h6 10 .O.h 4 g5 1 1 Qg3
.0.f5 12 h4 нg8 13 h xg5 hxgS
14 �Ь3 �с? 15 fЗ {)bd? 16 е4
Qg6 17 .0.f2 g4 18 �а4 а6 19
нЬ 1 0-0-0 20 .0.h4 нdе8 21
нЬ2 нh8 22 {)Ь3 {)Ь6 23
�а5 {)fd? 24 .0.d3 f5 and
Black had an excel l ent
po sition and went о п to
wi n in Bareev - Beliavsky,
USS R C h 1 990.
9 {)d2 h6 10 .0.h4 {)eS (229)
The Leningгad Vaгiation 155
Bareev played the Le ni n­
grad four times at Ha­
stings. Two of his other
opponents continued 10 . . .
0-0 here . Bareev - Chandler
went 10 . . . 0-0 1 1 .0.е2 4:Je5
12 Qxf6 �xf6 13 f4 4:Jg6 14
4:Je4 �е? 1 5 dxe6 fS 16 4:Jg3
�хе6 17 �d3 наd8 18 0-0,
whi l e Bareev - O lafsson
saw 10 . . . 0-0 11 .О.е2 4:JeS 12
dxe6 �хе6 13 0-0 не8 1 4
.о_gз .0.d7 15 �с2 .0.с6 1 6 наd1
наd8 17 hЗ 4:jfd7 18 f4 4:Jg6
19 е4. Bareev's score with
this variation was 4/ 4!
11 �xf6 g xf6 12 f4 {)g6 13
�f2 fS 14 gЗ �d8 15 dхеб
fxe6 16 Qg2 �с? 17 нЬ1 {)f'8
18 е4 fxe4 19 {)хе4 {)d7 20
�е2 4:Jb6 21 4:Jxd6 (А crush­
ing Ьlow which leaves
Black in а hopeless posi­
tion . ) 21 . . . �xd6 22 нhdt
{)d5 23 cxdS �еВ 24 �hS
1-0 Bareev - Kosten , Ha­
stings Premier 1990.
5 .(,lh4 cS
6 dS dб
The classical way o f
handling the defence. А
wild alternative i s 6 . . . bS.
7 еЗ .О.хсЗ+
8 ЬхсЗ eS
8 . . . �е? 9 .(.ldЗ eS 10 4:Je2
g5 11 -'lgЗ е4 12 .О.с2 4:Jbd7 1 3
h4 нg8 1 4 hxgS hxgS 1 5 �Ы
�d8 16 а4 а5 17 на2 �с? 18
156 The Leningrad Variation
�Ь2 Ь6 (230)
19 �хЬ6!? {Jxb6 20 �Ь5 �а6 advantage to White, Тim­
21 �хс5+ �d 7 22 �Ь5+ �d8
23 {Jd4 {Ja8 24 {Jc6+ �хс6
25 dxc6 {Jc7 26 �ха5 �g6 27
с5 dxc5 28 -'lxe4 �g8 29 -'lЬ1
{jfd5 30 0-0 f5 31 -'la2 �еб
32 Qxd5 .klxd5 33 �d1 f4 34 advance. Another idea is 10
�xd5+ 1-0 Bangiev - Zugda,
corr. 1989.
9 fЗ (231)
The most ambltious try,
but also the most artificial.
The developi ng attempts 9 .
.kld3 or 9 tf'jc2, w hi ch are the
main al ternatives, run i n to
the possibllity of . . . е4 at
some moment.
9 gS
9
. . . {Jbd7 10 .kld3 g5 11
�3 tf'je7 12 {Je2 е4 13 .klxe4
4:Jxe4 14 fxe4 {jf6 15 е5
dxe5 16 {Jc1 {Je4 17 �f3
4:Jxg3 18 �xg3 f5 19 0-0 е4
20 а4 а5 21 �Ы �а6 22
�хЬ7! ! .klxЫ 23 �Ь8+ �d8
24 tf'jxЫ �f6 25 �Ь5+ �g7
26 �хс5 �d6 27 �d4 with
man - H u l ak , Zagreb 1985.
10 ilgЗ е4
The H u ngarian Grand­
master refuses to Ье de-·
terred from this standard
. . . -'lf5 s ince 11 е4 weakens
t he f4 square. After the
text Black has an active
position but the p aw n on
d6 is weak .
11 h4
11 f4 tf'Je7 12 Qe2 �g8 13
{Jh3 .klxh3 1 4 gxh3 gxf4 15
�xf4 {Jbd7 16 нЫ 4Jb6 17
а4 нЬ8 18 �d2 нg2 19 �f1
4Jxc4+ 20 Wet нхе2+ 21
'(t;;xe2 {Je5 22 �хе5 �хе5 23
с4 �е? with compensation
for the sacrificed exchange,
as i n Timman - Smyslov,
Teesside 1975.
11 g4
12 hS
Wiй1 а serious threat of
 Th e Leningrad Varia tion 157

1 2 _klh 4 . 20 t!e7+ �d8 , a l t h o u g h i t

12 ехfЗ lo oks desperate for В l a c k ,
13 gxfЗ Vjj e 7 does not l ead t o а c l e a r
14 ,klh4 wi n . For t h a t reason , Wh i te
Wh i te carri es out his does b etter wi th the s i mp l e
t hreat anyway . Th is sacri­ 1 9 _klx g З ф d 7 20 _klhЗ+ фс7 21
fice o f two paw ns i s а _klxc8 �хс8 22 �xh6 t!d8 23
fas c i nati n g idea a n d makes �el , w i th an i n i tiative.
t h i s g a m e o n e of g reat 18 fxg4 4Jg7
t h eore tical i n tere s t . 19 4jg3 l\tlf8
14 Vjj x eЗ+ 20 4je4 4JeS
15 �е2 �хе2+ 21 4Jxd6 .Q.xg4
16 4jxe2 4jxh5 22 �е1 4jf3
17 0-0-0 (232) 23 .Q.e7+ l\tlg8
24 �еЗ fS
23 B l ack is s ti l l one paw n
в ahead b u t h i s pos i ti o n i s
th oro u g h l y d i s o rg a n i s e d
and the w hi te d - p a w n i s
a l m os t bound to q u ee n .
B l ack w a s , i n a d d i t i o n , v ery
s h o r t of ti m e .
2 5 _kle2 4Jg5
26 _klxg4 fxg4
27 t!g1 l\tlh7
17 4jd7 28 .t!xg4 rt;g6
Bl ack s ud d e n ly l oses the 29 �еgЗ 4Jh5 (233)
courage of his gl u tt o n o u s
co n v i cti o n s a n d fi nds h i m ­
s e l f dri v e n i n to а pas s i ve
p o s i ti o n N everth e l es s , i f
.

h e s n at c h e s t h e third paw n
w i t h 17 gxfЗ t h en 1 8 4j g3
4j xg3 1 9 � e l + 4je2+ 20 �хе2
. . .

fxe2 21 �хе2+ l\tlf8 22 !J.e 7 +

rt;g 7 2з t!g 2+ W h 7 24 !J.f 6
g i v e s Whi te а w i n n i n g at­
tack . H o w e v er , 1 9 . 1\t'd?!
. .
158 The Leningrad Varia tion
30 �xg5+ 1-0
Black faces ruinous
losses of material after 30
. . . hxgS 31 �xgS+ �hб 32
4JfS+ фh 7 33 �xhS+.
Baglrov Keene
- has swung back and now 1
Thillsi 1974
1 d4 4Jf6
2 с4 еб
3 4Jc3 �Ь4
4 �5 hб
А natural reply, but i n
Tim man - Korchn oi , Match
1976, В l ac k deferred this
and obtai ned а sati sfactory
position: 4 . . . cS S dS -'lxc3+
6 Ь хс3 d6 7 е3 eS 8 f3 4Jbd7
9 -'ld3 4Jf8 10 4Je2 4Jg6 1 1
0-0 h6 1 2 .clxfб '/hxf6 13 4Jg3
0-0 14 '/hc2 '/hgS 15 '/hd2 fS
with equal i ty.
5 -'lh4 с5
6 d5 -'lхсЗ+
7 Ьхс3 е5?1
More circ u m s pect is 7
d6, b u t I wanted to tempt
White's fo l l owing advance,
believi n g that the d6 paw n
wo u l d Ье weak .
8 dб!
An notati ng this game i n
The Guardian, Leonard Bar­
den wrote: " Boris Spassky's
m ove, l earnt from his boy­
hood trai ner V. Zak . lt was
for а long time consi dered
so strong that Black should
not allow it - b ut now the
verdict on 8 dб is changing.
lt is now regarded as too
sharp ."
Since then the v erdict
cons ider that it is 7 . . . eS
which must Ье condem ned
as "too s harp" .
8 4Jc6 (234)
9 tf1c2?
Bagirov misses 9 е3! gS
10 -'lgЗ {Je4 11 -'lxeS ! {JxeS
12 tfJdS, i naug urating com­
p l ications. His l ess active
choice in the game permits
Black to create а favour­
aЬle c l i mate for the ex­
ploitati on of White's do u b­
led pawns .
9 gS
ю .a,g3 4Jh5
11 е3 '/hfб
12 �d1 Ьб
13 �е2 4Jxg3
14 hxg3
 Th e Leningrad Variation 159

One m i g h t have expected B l ack ' s temporary paw n

а Rus sian to try th e less sacri fice h as
exposed the
d o g m a t i c recapture , i . e . 1 4 rad ical weak nes ses in
fxg З ! ? al ong th e l i n e s o f White's s tructure .
Lp u tian - Plaskett a n d Va­ 19 .(lfЗ .{lxfЗ
gani an - Ti m m a n . Of course, 20 gxfЗ �хfЗ
thi s wo uld wreck his pawn 21 4Jg1
s tructure, but there w o u l d Thi s sets а neat trap ; i f
Ь е pos sib l liti e s f o r c o u n t er ­ 2 1 . . . �g 2? 2 2 �е2 е 4 23
attack i n the f-fi l e . Bl ack �d2 jdh8 ( p l ayi n g to w i n
now s u cceeds in deve l op i n g the i m mobl l i zed k ni g ht) 2 4
his p i eces
aro u n d the � d 5 4Jc6 25 а 4 ! jd h 1 26 �xf7
pawn' w h ich , far
'Spas s ky �xg1 27 �xg1 �xg1 28 �е 8+
from being а bone j a m m ed 4Jd8 29 �хе4 � Ь 8 30 �еВ
i n Black ' s throat, i s abo u t wi t h а draw .
t o Ье cru s h ed Ьу Bl ack' s 21 � g4 !
jaws. The most c l ear- c u t .
14 �Ь 7 Вl ac k w i pe s out White's
15 �fЗ о-о-о quee n s i de and the d6 - p a w n .
16 4Je2? 22 �h7 �хс4
Whi te al ready h as а dif­ 23 4Je2 4Jc6 (236)
fi c u l t g ame and t h i s m i s ­
tak e makes i t w o rs e . The
best chance was 1 6 g 4 !
16 h5!
17 �xh5 �xh5
18 .O,xh5 4JaS (235)

The threat of . . . е 4 and . . .

4Je5 i n d uces Whi te to s h ed
m ore p aw n s .
24 е4 �ха2
25 fЗ �е6
26 �f2 �f6
160 The Leningrad Variation

27 rrы �xd6 rest is easy.

VioHt! 31 ыrв
28 �xf7 g4 32 f4 exf4
29 �d5 �xd5 33 gxf4 t;Jf5
30 exd5 t;je7 34 rrg1 нgв
31 с4? (237) 35 t;Jg3 t;jd6
36 �е3 t;Jxc4+
37 �е4 �с7
38 f5 t;jd6+
39 �f4 с4
40 f6 Ь5
41 rrat �Ь6
42 �е5 t;Jf7+
43 �d4 rrg6
44 rrf1 а5
45 rrr2 а4
46 t;je4 g3
0-1
The last try was 31 fxg4 А typical Black win i n
t;jxdS 32 �f3 . As p layed, the Nimzo- lndian, and а
B lack's queenside -pawn fi tting way to end this
rol ler is irresistiЬle. The book.