An Opening Repertoire for Black [Drazen Marovic & Bruno Parma 1978]

8/6/2019 An Opening Repertoire for Black [Drazen Marovic & Bruno Parma 1978]

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O th er b oo ks in th e C lu b P la ye r's L ib ra ry THE CLUB PLAYER'S LIBRARYThe Batsford Guide to Chess OpeningsBecoming a GrandmasterChessIt's Your MoveLearn from the GrandmastersAn Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Club PlayerPractical Chess EndingsThink Like a GrandmasterWinning Chess Combinations

An Opening Repertoire forBlackDrazen Marovic, Bruno Parma

B. T. Batsford Limited London


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Firs t published 1978 Drazcn Marovic, Bruno Parma 1978ISBN 0 7134 1034 5 ContentsSet by Wil lmer Brothers Limited, BirkenheadPrinted in Great Britain byBilling & Sons LimitedLondon, Guildford and Worcesterfor the publishersB. T. Batsford Limited4 Fitzhardinge Street, London WIH OAH

Symbols and AbbreviationsPreface

I Queen's Gambit2 Catalan System3 Queen's Pawn Opening (without c4)4 Benoni and King's Indian Defences5 Nimzowitsch /Larsen Attack6 Bird's Opening7 Miscellaneous with 1 < ' ) 38 English Opening and King's Indian Defence9 French Defence10 Pirc Defence

Index of Complete GamesIndex of Players of the Black PiecesIndex of Variations

679343940616567698412 1153155157

BATSFORD CHESS BOOKSAdviser: R. G. WadeEditor: K. J. O'Connell


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Symbols and Abbreviations Preface

+ CheckBalanced positionGood move

!! Excellent move? Bad move

The idea for this book came to me long ago, but it was only two years agthat I decided to write it. I spoke with Bruno and, ashe shared my opinimwe did it.Itwas in 1965 when it first occurred to me that opening books should b

written differently. I trained Bojan Kurajica, then a promising younplayer, for the World Junior Championship to be held in Barcelona. Ianalysing different positions I found that the theoretical books did not helus much. The analysis finished just about when i t should have started. Iwas all clear, but it was not clear what to do next, what strategic plancould be based on a certain position.If you have a coach, any theoretical book is OK, but if you study che~

alone as most people do, and if you are not a chess master but justbeginner or a lower category player, you will soon come across serioudifficulties. Most players who know their theory play their openingquickly and correctly but as soon as they reach the middle game, they d.not know what to do and lose their way.The opening is j ust a part of the game; it should not and cannot b

separated from what comes after. I believe opening study must be based 01a selection of games relevant to the understanding of a system or ,var iation. Analysing the games, we learn not only the recommended l inebut also the strategic aims they introduce.There is another problem we wanted to solve in writing this book

Theory has become too complicated, the volumes too big. I t has becom~very difficult for a club player to choose what is good in such a labyrinthMost people have no time and sometimes insufficient knowledge to choosta repertoire, especially for use with Black.This book offersone ofthe many possible repertoires for Black. We chost

variations carefully. We tried to leave some choice to the handler of theblack pieces; he can decide whether to playa solid line or a sharp one.which may depend on the opponent and the state of the tournament. Latel

?? Losing move!? Interesting move?! Doubtful moveCh Championshipcorres Correspondence gamesimul Simultaneous displayWor Bat the side of each diagram indicates which side is to move.In the text a number in brackets refers to the relevant diagram number.


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8 Prefaceon he can also widen the repertoire, introducing new variations. We alsotried to give an answer to whatever White would play in the opening; ofcourse bizarre moves cannot be included. Most important ofall, the lineswe suggested offer counterplay and have rich strategic contents.We do hope the reader will find this book useful and interesting.Here Iwish to thank master Ervin Sindik for his help in the preparation

of this volume. Iam also grateful to my wife for her patient help.1 Queen's Gambit

DMZ ag re b, A pr il 1977

KJO'CLondon, September 1977

Symmetrical positions are, as a rule, the most solid and it isnot surprisingthat in the last decade the Queen's Gambit has acquired new followers.There isan increasing number ofplayers who introduce some variations ofthe Queen's Gambit in their repertoires. The reason isofquite a practicalnature; the tournament fight often forcesa player to avoid sharp lines andseek quiet, positional play, which perhaps offersfewer chances to win butcertainly reduces the dangers to go astray. The Queen's Gambit is not aconvenient weapon only in those cases when we need a draw but in othersituations too. Playing against players whose strong point is tactics, it isdesirable to shun the sharp systems and take refuge in a symmetrical pawnstructure. The same istrue when playing against someone who has to playfor a win: it isbetter tohave a quiet position and a stable pawn structure inwhich forcing play costs dearly, than to meet your opponent's wishesby playing, for instance, the Benoni.It isfor these reasons we are of the opinion that the Queen's Gambit

must have a place in every good repertoire. From the vast range ofpossibilities the Queen's Gambit covers, we have chosen just twovariations-Tartakower and Carlsbad. Both are current, both very solid,both have excellent results in master practice. And something important:both variations, while tough and solid, are not passive and offercounterplay, especially the Tartakower which, against a certain type oftactician, can be an excellent means to play for a win.Together with these two variations we give other possibilities White can

choose. We alsoanalyse the Catalan and some rare lines White can gointo.After 1d4 d5 2c4e6 3 ~c3 ,ile 74 ~f3 (4cd ed 5 ,ilf4 - seep. 21) 4 ...

~lli we examine:A 5 Jl,g5 0--06 e3 h6 7 ,ilxlli ltxlli - p. 10B 5 .ilg5 0--0 6 e3 h6 7 ,ilh4 b6 8 ilrc2 - p. 13C 5 .ilg5 0--0 6 e3 h6 7 ,ilM b6 8 ,ile2 -po 14D 5 .ilg5 0--0 6 e3 h6 7 AM b6 8 cd ~xd5 - p. 16

Acknowledgements

The proofs were read by the following people (apart from the authors): A.Ashby, T.G.Ashplant, T. Bcdwin, T.Borland, M. Burton, S.Butler, D. A.Curtis:.J. Dempsey,J. Ferrers-Dunn, H. Golding, R. Gral, C.Grant, W. H.Gray, K.D. Gregory,j. Hanscn.}. Hawson, G. D.Jack, S.Jamieson, D. V.Jones,J. E.Jones, A. V. King, C. Lawson, G. R. Moore, D. Morris, M.J.Morton, C. W. Pickard,j. Richards,J. Schroeder, P. Stewart, A. Stoker,M. A.Sullivan,A. Sutton, G. Thomas, R. E.Whitener,J. P.Wilkinson andE. G. Winter.


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10 Q.ueen'sGambitE 5 llf4 ~ p. 19F 511g5 0-0 6 e3 4:Jbd7 7 cd (7 ~c2) 7 . .. ed 8 ~c2 c6 9 lld3 ~ p. 23G 5 llg5 O~ O 6 e3 4:Jbd7 7 cl a6 ~ p. 26A1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 4:Jc3 !J..e74 4:Jf34::)f6 S !J..gS 0-0 6 e3 h6 7 jixf6jixf6 (1).

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In order to determine exact ly theidea of the exchange of the black-squared bishop, and the dangersthis position hides for Black, wehave to start from its basiccharacteristics. White gave up hisblack-squared bishop but helimited the activity of the !J..ffi bythe pawn structure in the centre. Inmany cases White will try tomaintain the blockade of the blackbishop, cas tle Q-side and then startan attack on Black's castled positionwith h4, g4 and g5; the exchange onffimakes i t easier. Carrying out . ..c5 Black, on the contrary, must tryto strengthen the activity ofthe jiffiand counteract in time. On 8 h4, forexample, Black immediatelyanswers 8 ... c5 9 g4 cd 10 ed )c6and exerts pressure in the centre

before White can endanger his kingposition.Let us examine the main lines:8 ~b3. White prepares for Q

side castling. At the same time heexerts pressure on d5, wishing toforce ... c6 and prevent ... c5. Itproves, however, that Black canplay 8 ... c6 9 O-O-{) 4:Jd7 10e4 (if10 g4 then 10 . . . !J..h4 II ~c2~e7 12 !J..d3 de 13 .ilxc4 e5 withgood play for Black as inHernandez -Spassky, Tallinn 1975)10 ... )b6, as recommended byPachman. If White chooses 9 e4then after 9 ... )d7 10 cd cd II ed)b6 12 de jixe6, Black hassatisfactory compensation for thepawn. Besides, on 8 ~b3 there isalso 8 de 9 Axc4 c5 10 de 4:Jd7with 4:Jxc5 to follow and it is'obvious White cannot realize hisoriginal plan.8 ~c2 eS. Neither does the

queen onc2 prevent the standardcounterblow. If9 de then simply 9... ~a5 10 j ie2 de with level play.On 9 O-O-{) follows 9 cd 10 ed(or 10 )xd4 )c6) 10 )c6 IIh4 ~c7 12 )f{bl ~4 which checksWhite's attack. If 13 a3 then 13 .d8 14 c5 e5. Apart from 12 .~f4, 12 ... d8 is a lso strong (seethe game Ivkov-Guimard below).8 el. Directed against ... c5

this move IS certainly more

consistent than the above lines.Black is compelled to play c6 (seeGligoric-Filip) .8 i! rd2. This move also prevents

the freeing ... c5, but Black hasenough counterplay. For example:8 . .. )c6 (8 . . . b6 leads to adifficult game; see Korchnoi~Ciritin Petrosian-Spassky.) 9 dl de 10Axc4 e5 II d5 )e7 12 e 4 )g6 or12 )e4 )f5 followed by ... 4:Jd6,as Spassky played once. In caseWhite plays 9 cl, Spassky's planis not good any more, becauseWhite already exerts pressure onthe c-file and the backward pawnon c7. In that case Black can playthe simple 9 ... b6 (comparePetrosian-Spassky; here White hasno possibility to blockade the Qwing with b4).Ivkov-GuimardArgentina 19551 d4 d5 2 e4 e6 3 )e3 )f6 41tgSjie7 S e3 0-0 6 )f3 h6 7 Axf6jixf6 8 i!rc2 cS. Weaker is 8 ...c6, because after 9 0-0-0 )d7White s tarts an attack on the K-sidewith 10 h4 de II g4. Black has tofight that plan at once. 9 0-0-0 ed10 ed )c6. After 10 .. . de II. ilxc4 )c6, White would continue~e4 and unpleasant threats to theK-side appear. 11h4 ~e7. On 12cd there is a simple 12 . .. )Mnow and at the same time g4 isprevented: consequences of theprevious weakening of White'spawn structure. 12 )f{bl .d8. The

Q.ueen'sGambit 11threat is 13 ... dc, while g4 is stillthwarted. 13 es b614 4:JbS. Whitehas lost the strategic bat tle and nowenters the tactical complicationsunwillingly. 14 i!rb8 IS )d6.On 15 cb ~xb6 16 g4, Black has astrong tactical blow in 16 ... e5!and it turns out that 17 g5 is notgood because of 17 ... 4:Jb4followed by ... llf5+ etc. IS be 16 de ~b4. Prevents g4 andmakes possible ... b8. 17 a3i!raS 18 g4 (2).2B

I vkov knew he was lost, but hewas lucky. Guimard did not findthe strongest continuation-c-IS .... xd6! 19 cd .b8 and there is nodefence. For example: 20 ~xc6. xb2+ 21 )f{cl .ild 7 etc. 18 .b8 19 )bS g6 20 gShg 21 hS gh22 . xhS . xbS 23 .llxbS i!rxb524 )xgS .ilxgS. But not 24 ....ilg7 25 .h8+! 25 . xg5+ ' lftfB26 f4 d4. Very bad. 26 ... jia6 or26 ... )f{e 7 is indispensable. 27~h7 ~e2. After this Blacksucceeds in losing. 28 .g8+ )f{e729 ~h4+ )f{d7 30 . xd8+ )f{e730 .1 xd41-O. In spite ofa ll errors


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12 Qyeen> Gambitthe game isexceptionally instructivefor the problems arising after theopening stage.

Gligoric-FilipZagreb 1965I d4 dS 2 c4 e6 3 )c3 Ae7 4 )f3)ffiS .1lgS " 6 e3 h6 7 A xffiAxffi 8 !1cl c6.Asa matter offactBlack has another possibility worthyofattention-Petros ian's 8... Ae 7.8 ... b6isnotsogood;after9cded 10Ad3 Ab 7110--0 i t i s obvious that II... )d 7doesnot work, whileII...f!re7 12 !1el creates the unpleasantthreat e4. 11... !1e8 is better, butdifficult ies remain. 9 Ad3 )d7.Several rounds (of the sametournament) later, Portisch played,against Gligoric, 9 ... de 10Axc4)d 711 )e4eS 12)xffi+ f!rxffiI30--0i!te7 I4e4ed ]S i!txd4 )b616Ab3 itg4 with a good game.IOHde 11Axc4 eS 12 )e4. On 12dS,Gligoric gives 12... )b6 13.1lb3 e414 )xe4 .1lxb2 IS !1c2 cd. 12 eel 13 )xffi+ i!txffi. This is anerror, although it does not look likeone: It was necessary to play 13 ...)xffi 14 i!txd4 Ag4 with levelplay. 14 i!txd4 i!txd4 IS )xd4~ 16f3 (3).Black has difficulties with his

development, while White simplytakes space and squeezes him. Theendgame is clearly favourable forWhite ..16 Ad717 !1fdl !1ad818 e4 !1fe819 b4 .1lc8 20.1lb3 a621 ~. The more active king is

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also an important factor in thisposition. 21 g6 22 )e2 J1e6 23Axe6. White's knight is bound forc3with a possible manoeuvre to cSvia a4 or !1xd8 and eS and Blackdecided he could not wait anylonger. His next move, however,creates a lasting weakness. 23 fe24 )f4 ~ 2S )d3 )d7 26 )b2)b6 27 a4 'Ile7 28 as !1xdl 29!1xdl )d7 30 )a4 !1f8 31 )c5)xc5 32 be. Practically White isapawn up and now he realizes hisadvantage with masterly precision.32 ti33'1le3~34h4hS3S'Ilf4 eS+ 36 'Ile3 'Ilg7 37 g3 e738f4ef+ 39gf~40 d6+ 'Ilg741eS~42'1le4'1lg743f5gf+ 44'Ilxf5 1-0.

Anatural and strong movewhichprevents ... cSand prepares for theblockadeoftheQ-wing.l0 J1b7II bl c6. Korchnoi-Ciric,USSR-Yugoslavia 1966,continued: II ... )d712bS e813a4 )ill 14 g3 )e6 IS !J..g2 withpressure forWhite. 12 J1d3 )d713H !1e8 14 fcl as. White hassucceeded in giving the posit ion aclosed character inwhich the pair ofbishops loses significance. The lastmove will not change essentially theposition, because White's a2 pawnwill not be a weakness, while thepressure on b6 and c6 remainslasting. IS ba xaSl6 Af5 a6.Blackwould prefer toplay 16... bS,but he can't because of 17 a4. 17b3g618.1ld3 a719 cb1.0n19 e4, grandmaster Suetin pointedout 19 ... de 20 )xe4 cS 21 )d6j}_xf322)xe8itgS.19 Ag720a4 i!te7 21 Afl Aa6. Black wasafraid probably ofg3 and j}_h3andhe decides to exchange bishopshimself. However, it isnot difficult tonotice that after the exchange the

Petrosian-Spasskvmatch 19691 c4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 4Jf3 Ae74.lc3)ffi SUS H 6 e3 h6 7 AxffiAxffi8i!td2b6. This, at firstsightanatural move, allows White torealize a favourable position. 9cdeel10 b4 (4).

Queen's Gambit 13c6 pawn becomes the heel ofAchilles. 22h4 .Q_xfl 23 xn h5.Neither this nor the followingwaiting moves are the best solutions.24 el aa8 2Sg3 i!td6 26~g2~f827 ebl ~g828 i!tdl J1f8293b2 J1g730 c2 a731 bcl)b832 )e2! c733 i!td3 a734i!tb3 a6 3S )f4 d836 )d3J1f8 37 )feS c8 38 c3. On 38)f4, Blackwould pla y38... cSwithcounterplay. 38 J1e7 39 )f4J1ffi 40 )eel3 as. )xdS wasthreatened. 41 i!txb6 Xa4 42cS a6 43 xd5 i!txf4 44i!txa6 i!te4+ 4S f3 f!re6 46 f!rc4f!rxe347 )eS f848 cSJ1e749bl J1xcS50 xb81-O. Itisveryuseful to analyse this gameattentively because it points out thedifficulties Black must overcome ifhe does not play his openingprecisely.B1d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 )c3 J1e7 4 )f3)ffi S J1gS H 6e3h67 AM b6 8f!rc2 (5).

5B


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14 Que en 's Gamb itAs in the previous variation this

move is an introduction to the planwith Q-side castling and attempts toattack on the K-side.8 ... c5.IfBlack decides on a sharp fight he

can choose here 8 . .. A,b7,the movewe analyse in Uhlmann- Spassky.9 dl.Black has no difficulties in the line

9 de be 10 cd ed, because after ...A,e6 and ... .ld7 his hangingpawns will not be weak. 90-0-0 cd10 .lxd4 J,tb7 also gives Blackactive play and he has no reason tofear the pressure on the d-file.9 cd 10 .lxd4 J,tb7 11 J,te2

.lbd7 12 0-0 c8 The game islevel.

Uhlmann-SpasskyMoscow 19671 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 .lc3 J,te74 .lf3.lf6 5 .Ilg5 0-06 e3 h6 7 J ,th4 b6 8i!rc2 J,tb7 9 .{ixf6. 9 0-0-0 is alsopossible here. Black's bes t reply is9... .lbd7withanimmediate ... cS.9 J ,txf610 cd ed 11 ()....()....O c5.Now White's strategy becomesclear. In comparison with thevariation in which White takes on ffiat once, he has lost a tempo here, butthat has no importance. It isnecessary to notice that Black'swhite-squared bishop would bemore useful on his original diagonal:itwould make itdifficult tocarry outthe attack with h4 and g4. Besides,Black IS not so quick

Quee n 's Gamb it 157 to oppose these plans veryB cautiously.In order to understand the

dangers we shall analyse aninstructive game.

with ... cS. 12 g4. On 12 dc sometheoreticians recommend 12 ....{ixc3 13 i!rxc3 .ld7, some othersagain 12 ... be 13 .lxdS .11xdSl4J,tc4 .ld7 with initiative for thesacrificed pawn. In our opinionBlack has good counterplay in bothcases. 12 cdl3ed .lc614h4g6.A typical defensive possibility insuch positions. 15 g5 hg 16h5 ~g717 hg fg 18 A,b5 g4 (6).6

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than on b7. After 90-0 -'\ ..b7 10cl(on 10i!re2 werecommend 10... cd1red .lc6 with enough pressure inthe centre and a good game) 10 ....lbd7 11. i!re2 c8 12 fdl (incase ofexchanges on dSBlack retakeswith pieces) 12... .le4 Black forcesthe exchanges and gets rid of thecramped position.8 -'\..b7 9 J,txf6 -'\..xf6 10 cd

ed 11 0-0.Now White's idea becomes clear.

He enters the exchange variation atempo down, but in return, thereare some fine points. Because of theposition of the white-squaredbishop on b7, Black will find itdifficult to carry out ... cS. Forexample : 11 . .. cS 12de be 13 i!rb3-and White's pressure on Black'shanging pawns is too strong.White's intention is to prevent ...cS altogether, either with b4 ori!rb3. If Black decides upon thepassive line with ... c6, White willbase his strategy on the manoeuvre.Q.,d3, fe1 and e4 at a favourablemoment. Since Black's bishopshave no open diagonals, Black has

White should have played first~bl. He sees now that after .{ixc6.11xc6, .leS J,txeS Black has ...i !rgS+ . Soafter . .. g4 the initiat iveiscompletely on Black's side and thedecision comes quickly. 19 i!rd2 gf20 i!rh6+ ~ 21 i!rh7+ .Ilg7 22h3 h8 e-i. If 23 xf3+ i!rffiWIns.C1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 .lc3 J,te7 4 .lf3.lf6 5 Jlg5 0-06 e3 h6 7 J,tM b6 8.{ie2(7).On 8 _ild3 the best choice is8 ...

cS immediately. In case Whiteexchanges on cS and dS, Black'sbishop will be better posted on e6

Korchnoi -Gellermatch 19711 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 .lc3 !i.e74 4Jf3.lf6 5 Jig50-0 6 e 3 h6 7AM b68!i.e2 -'\..b7 9 -'\..xf6 -'\..xf6 10 cd ed11 0-0 i!re7. In the eleventh gameof his match against Karpov,Spassky chose 11 i!rd6.However, after 12 c1 a6 13 a3.ld7 14 b4 bS (14 ... Ae7 wascertainly better, with the intentionto post his bishop on the idealsquare d6) IS .leI followed by.ld3, White was clearly better. 11 . . i!rd6 does not impress us as agood move. In our opinion it isbetter to play 11 ... Ae7 aiming at . . -' \. .d6. Another alternat ive is 11 .. .lc6, but the fact isBlack has toreconcile himself to defensiveposit ions. Whoever does not like itmust take another direction with 8 .. de 9 J,txc4 Ab7. Here theblack bishop has his diagonal openand after 10 0-0 .lbd 7 11 i!re2there is the freeing manoeuvre ....le4 with approximately levelplay. 12 i!rb3 d8 13 adl c5.The active lines are not always thebest lines. Grandmaster Suetinrecommended here 13 . . . c6 14J,td3 .ld7 IS fel .lf8 with apassive but tough position. 14 deJ,txc315 i!rxc3 be 16 cl. Black


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16 Queen'sGambithas freed himself but at a high cost.He is left with hanging pawns in atypical position in which they aresubjected to constant pressure.Black is compelled to sustain adifficult defence. 16


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18 Queen's Gambitde . xb3 25 Aa6 . xe5 26 . xe5be 27 .xe5 .bl+ 28h841 ~4I~. A brilliant lesson on hangingpawns.

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material. White has to accept thesacrif ice because of the threat . .. c4with the advance of the Q-sidepawns. 15 de be 16 . x e5 . xe517 ftxe5 .!)a6. The criticalmoment of the game. IS ~c6does not work because of IS ...~xc6 19 Axc6 .bS!. After theexchange on a6 White cannotcastle. Besides. his pawn on a2 ishanging, and it is White who has tofight for a draw. 18 Axa6ftxa6 19 ~a3 ~d 20 ~e3. InTimman-Geller White tried toplay for a win, but after 20 ~d2''fg4 21 .g I d4 he was indifficulties he did not overcome:That game continued: 22 .!)xd4(on 22 ed .bS 23 b3 Ad5 Black'sattack breaks through) 22 ... ''fM23 .e 1(what else?) 23 ... i!rxf2+24 .e2 ''ffl 25 ,!)xe6 fe 26 ''fd6)fj>h8 with a strong initiative forBlack. 20 ''f xa2 21 0 -0 bS 22b4 ''fa423 .al ''fxb4 24 ''fx b4xb4 t-l

Szabo-KavalekIBM, Amsterdam 1973I d e6 2 d4 4Jf6 3 4Jf3 d5 4 .!)c3Ae75 U5 0-0 6 e3 h6 7 Ah4 b68 cd .!)xd5 9 Axe7 "t!rxe7 10.!)xd5 ed 11 cl Ae6 12 ''fa4c513 ~a3 .e814.llb5 ''fb7 (11).Grandmaster Geller was the fi rst

to play this excel lent move againstTimman, AVRO 1973. Black offersa pawn, but he counts on betterdevelopment to compensate for the

Szily- MarovicWijk aan Zee 1972I d4 d5 2 d e6 3 .!)c3Ae74 4Jf3

Queen'sGambit 19~ffi5h50-06e3h67 AMb68cd .!)xd5 9 Axe7 ~xe7 10.!)xd5 ed 11 .cl Ae612 ~a4 c513 ~a3 .e8 14 Ae2 a5 15 0-0fta7. 15 ... .!)a6 used to beplayed, but after 16 Axa6 and thefollowing de Black has problemswith his hanging pawns. This moveis much more effective. Blackthreatens ... c4 and in case ofb3 hehas ... a4.16debeI7 e3 .ld718.fc1 .cbS. The best. The c-pawnis well protected by the knight andBlack can build pressure along the b-file. The queen isvery wellposted ona7and will soon reach b4via b6withinitiative. Itishelpful to notice thatby moving the rook from cS, Blackprevents .!)d4. 19 .!)el. The usualmanoeuvre against the hangingpawns. Here, however, i thas not theusual strength and we shall see why.19 a4. Black decided todirect hisforces towards b2 and he stops b3 inadvance. 20 .!)d3e421.!)f4 .lffi22Af3 ftb6. So white provoked c4,but it brought more headachesrather than relief. Black's pressureon the b-file is more valuable andthere isno doubt Black is better. 23le2 .a5 24 .d2 b5. Drawagreed, although Black is clearlybetter .EI d4 d5 2 d e6 3 .!)c3Ae74 4Jf3.The line 4 cd ed 5 Af4 will beanalysed in the games of the matchSpassky-Korchnoi. 4 4Jff i 5Aft (12).


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20 Queen'sGambit12B

As with all other continuations,this one has its advantages and itsdrawbacks. From the square f4 thebishop controls only one centralsquare, eS, while from g5 its effectisfelt on dS and e4 and sometimeseven on cSbecause ofthe pin on thediagonal. It leaves Black with alarger choice and imposes lessproblems. On the other side,however, Black has no simplifyingknight jump, ... 4Je4, which helpshim in so many cases. 5 0-0 6.cl. For the line 6 e3 cS see thegame Gipslis-Marovic, 6 4Jbd7. 6 ... c5 at once is alsopossible. See the game Petrosian-Bikhovsky. 7 e3 e5. With the whitebishop on g5 this standard blow ismore difficult. Here the freeingmove comes naturally and that isthe basic difference between thetwo positions. 8 de 4Jxe5 9 lte2.On 9 cd 4Jxd5 isunpleasant, whilethe text move leads to a simpleposition. 9 de 10 ltxc4 a6 114Je5 i!txdl+ 12 .xdl b5 13lte2ltb7 and Black has solved hisopening difficulties successfully.

Petrosian-BikhovskyMoscow Championship 19681c4 e6 2d4 d5 3 4Je3 Ae74 Jtf44Jffi 5 e3 0-0 6 .cl e5 7 de 4Jc6 84Jf3 Axe5 9 a3. We have reachedour position in a somewhat differentorder of moves. It is evident thatWhite cannot grab the pawn on dSand. he decides upon the pawnadvance. 9 d4 10ed. If 104Ja4then 10 . . . ilfaS+ followed by apiece sacrifice. 10 4Jxd4 114Je5 b6 12 Ad3 Ab7 13 0-0 h6.13 .,. as was correct here andBlack would have a good game.The text move, as well as thefollowing withdrawal of the knight,shows that Black loses the thread ofthe fight and White takes theinitiative. 14 'el 4Jc6 15 .e2ilfc8 16 4Jg4. Black's indecisionand the lack of a natural plan hasallowed White to start an attack onthe weakened K-wing. 16 Ae7174Jxffi+ ltxffi 18 4Je4 Ae7 19i!thS .d8 20 .c3. Moving therook into an attacking position,while the black pieces are cut offonthe other sideofthe board. 20 f521 4Jg3ltffi (13).13W

22 4Jxf5. This sacrifice breaksthrough. 22 . . . ef does not workbecause AxB traps the queen. 22 Axe3 23 4Jxh6+ gh 24i!tg6+ Ag7 25 Axh6 .d7 26i!th7+ < i J l f B 27 .xe6. Now theking cannot escape, the game isover. 27 .e728 .ffi+ ~e829i!tg6+ ~d7 30 Af5+ 1 ....Gipslis- MarovicZagreb 19651d4 dS 2 c4 e6 3 4Jf3 4Jf6 4 4Je3Ae75 Af4 0-0 6 e3 e5. This isthesimplest method to equalize. 7 deAxcS. In our opinion Black shouldnot sharpen the fight with 7 ...i!ta5, because after 8 a3 de 9 Axc4i!txcS 10 '-e2 White has a stronginitiative. A game between Portischand Eliskases continued: 10... a611e4bS 12AdS Ab7 13 .cl i lfb6(13 ... ~h5 is better.) 14 h4 4Jbd7 IS e5 with a strong attack.Therefore we recommend the text.8a3de9 Axc4 i!txdl+ 10 .xdla6. White is somewhat betterdeveloped, but that is not enoughfor any serious advantage. With ...b5 and . .. Ab 7 Black will freehimselfcompletely.ll Ad3 4Jbd7.On 11... b5 White would play 124Je4. 12 4Je5 b5 13 4Je4 Ab7.Giving up the pair of bishops butcompleting hisdevelopment intime,which isof decisive importance. 144Jxd7 4Jxd7 15 Abl AdS 164Jc3. After 16 4Jxc5 4Jxc5 Whitehas no advantage whatever. 16 4Jb6 17 4Jxd5 4Jxd5 18 lte4

Queen'sGambit 21.ad819 .1lxd5ed20~e2d4. Thisleadsquicklytoadraw. 21e4f522ef.xf5 23 Ag3 Ad6 t-t.Korchnoi -Spasskymatch 1969, 2nd game1d4d52c4e63 4Je3 Ae74eded5 Af4. After 5 4Jf3 4Jffi6 Af4 c6 7e3 Black develops his QB-7 ..\lB, while 7 ilfc2 ismet by 7 g6and the development difficulties aresolved. 5 e6 6e3 Af5 7 g4 .\le68 h3 Ad6. The black bishop movestod6 with a lossofa tempo, but in aclosed position this is of noconsequence and the move iscertainly good. The question onlyremains whether it was better toplay 7 ... Ac8. 9 4Jge2 4Je7 10ilfb3. After 10 Axd6 ilfxd6 114Jf4 Jd7 Black can castle long. 10 Ae8 11Ag2 Jg6. 11... 4Ja6immediately is better. 12 .\lxd6i!txd6 13 h4 4Ja6 14 g5 4Je7 154Jf4 4Je7. 15 ... ~b4 also cameinto consideration, although withthe queens exchanged and aftercastling Q-side, White has some-what the better play. 160-0-0 i1.g41713. 17 .d2 isslightly better. 17 .1ld718 4Jfe2. 18i!tx b70-0 19'-b3 AB is too dangerous. 18 0-0-0 19 e4 ffi (14)20 Ja4. The strong move ... ffi

checked White's advance in thecentre and he is trying to get aninitiative on the Qside. On 20 f4there is 20 ... Ag4 aswell a s 20 .de 21 4Jxt'4 ,-e6 (but not 21 .~d5 because of 22 ~b4) 22 d5


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22 Queen'sGambit14I'V

.:lexd5. 20 .:le621 gf gf 22~bl. Or 22Ah3 .:lf4.22 ~b823 Ah3 ~hg8. Though at firstsight cramped, Black controls theposition and advantage for White isout of the question. 24 ~e3 de 25fe G. Spassky had to foresee thisand the whole series of followingmoves-at his 24th, which was noteasy. It isimportant now that on 26efhe has 26... .:lg7.26 e5 .:ld527~d2 ~f8 28 ~dfl .:le729 ~b4-'te8 30 ~fl ~n31 ~hfl ~gf832 .ilg2. Bad is 32 Axf5 .:lxf533~ xf5 ~g6 34 h5 ~ xf5 35 hg~ xfl + and ... hg. 32 .:ld533-'txd5 ~ xd5 34 .:lae3 ~dd8 35d5. Seeking for advantage at allcosts, Korchnoi was forced intotime-trouble by the first-ratedefence ofhis opponent and now hecommits an error. 35 .:le4 wasbetter. Naturally, it causes nospecial troubles to Black and intime-trouble it is not easy to makesuch a step, especially ifyou see 35... ~g6 36 .:ld6f4+ 37 ~al f3 or35 ... ~h5 36 .:ld6 ~xh4 37.:lxf5 ~ xf5. 35 cd 36 .:ld4

~e7. Black seizes the opportunity.37.:lxG ~xe538 .:lb5.0r38 .:le7~ x2 39 .:lc6+ ~a8 40 .:lxe5~ xfl + and White will not hold outfor long. 38 d4 39 ~el ~e5 40~b3 ~xG 41 ~e2 ~xb5 ~I.

16~e3 d4. 15 c4 16 ~e3 ~a217 h4 ~a518 ~h2 ~al 19Ad3.The sacrifice paid off. White mustgive back the material. But Blackthinks it isnot enough, he wants theking's head. 19 b3 20.:le21tb421 h5 ~ 22 hg fg. 22 ... cd wasalso possible. 23 ~dhl cd 24~xd3 ~e7+ 25 .:lec3. On 25~dl, 25 ... ~c4 wins. 25 .:lb6.An oversight in time trouble.25 ... Axc3 26 be ~xf4 27~xg6+ ~ffi won simply. 26~xg6+ hg 27 ~h8+ ~ 28~lh7+ ~e829 ~xf8+ ~xf830~xe7 .:lc431 ~xb7 Axe332bcb2+ 33 ~e2 ~e8 34 Ag5 ~a6.Black can still draw with 34 ...Ad7 35 e6 Aa4+ 36 ~d3 ~ffi 37Ae7+ ~g7 38 Ad8+ ~ffi etc. 35.:ld2 Ae8 36 ~e7+ ~f8 37.:lxc4 de 38 ~xb2 ~b6+ 39~e2 Ab7 40 ~ xb7 ~ xb7 41f4~h7 42 ~b2 1-0.

Korchnoi -S passkymatch 1969, 6th gameI d4 d5 2c4 e6 3 .:le3-'te7 4cd ed5 Af4 c6 6 ~e2 g6 7 ~. It isthe only way to wage a real battle .After 7 e3 -'tf5 8 Ad3 Axd3 9~xd3 .:lbd7 the position isrelatively simple. 7 .:lffi8 f3.:la6. Playing originally, Whitechose a sharp road and Blackaccepted the challenge. The lastmove leads to a piece sacrificewhich will reveal the drawbacks ofthe early advance in the centre andlong castling. 9 e4 .:lb4 10 ~b3Ae6 11 e5 .:ld7 12 a3 a5 (J5).15W FI d4 d5 2 c4 eO 3 .:lc3Ae7 4 .:lf3

.:lffi5 Ag5. For the line 5 cd ed 6Ag5 see Bobotsov-Petrosian. 5 ~ 6 e3 .:lbd7 7 cd, Here wehaveto be acquainted with the dangersof Rubinstein's attack starting with7 ~c2; White prepares to castlelong, hoping to have his hands freeon the other side. 7 . .. h6 8h4 (For8 Ah4 see Lasker-Capablanca. 8Af4 is best met by 8 ... c5, tryingtoopen the position. For example: 9cd cd followed by ... .:lxd5 or 9.:lb5cd 10.:lc7 Ab4+ II \t>e2 e5

A brilliant sacrifice based on thethreats to the white king and thefact that White is behind indevelopment. 13 ab ab 14 .:lblc5 15 g4. 15 llb5 came intoconsideration. Bad is 15 de .:lxc5

Queen'sGambit 23and Black iswinning. The textmO\Tis grandmaster Tolush's mowleading to very sharp positions.) 8.. , c5 9 0-0-0 ~a5 10 g4 dc IIAxc4 .:lb612Ac2 Ad7 13Axffigf 14 g5 cd and Black hascountcrplay+Pachman's analysis.If Black wants to avoid thisdouble-edged line, he has to insert 6 ... h6.We shall see these positions in ourchosen games. 7 .. ed 8 ~c2 e6 9Ad3 (16).

16B

The basic position of theExchange Variation. White hasprevented the freeing manoeuvre... .:le4and now has a choice: K-side castling with a minority attackon the Q-side or Q-side castling andan attempt toattack on the K-wing.The latter plan isnot realistic, sinceBlack has not weakened his kingposition and, posting his knight atffi, he can attain a defensiveposition not easy to break down.The minority attack, on the otherhand, isa dangerous weapon, but aswe shall seeyou can beat it back. 9 ~e810~.After 100-O-O.:lffiII .:le5Black simplifies with ...


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24 Queen's Gambit.)g4, while any sort of K-sideattack ismet by a simple plan- ...~e6, ... ,c8 and ... c5 withenough counterplay. 10 .)fBll,abl. We shall note some otherpossibilities for White, too. Blackhas prepared for . . . .)e4, whichmay be prevented by II ,ae l. Ifthen II .. . .)e4, White continuesAxe7, .)d2 and 3 . That's why, incase of II ,ae1, Black must resortto another freeing manoeuvre - II. . . .)h5 12Axe7 "tIrxe7. IfWhitetries toprepare thisplan with II h3,then 11... .)e4is possible. Takingon e4 does not help here, while aminority attack after 13 ,abl a514 a3 does not work because of 14... .)d6 15b4 ab 15ab b5. Whitecan quicken. the advance of hispawns by II Axffi Axffi 12 b4,but after 1"2 Ae7 Black willmeet b5 by c5 and, supportedby the pair of bishops, his isolatedpawn will not be weak.

11 a5.There are several moves here,

but this is the correct one. White'sintention is to play b2~b4~b5forcing Black into an unpleasantdecision: to take on b5 weakeninghis d-pawn or toallow the exchangeon c6 with the appearance of abackward pawn. Such an actionmust be prevented at once.After 12a3 .)e413 Axe7 "tIrxe7

14 ..Q.xe4de 15 .)d2 5the blackbishop will take his place at e6 ord5, while 14 b4 11.5causes noproblems to Black.

Bobotsov- PetrosianLugano Olympiad 1968Id4 .)ffi2 c4 e6 3 .)f3d5 4 cd ee l5 .)c3 c6 6 Ag5 Ae77 "tIrc2g6.When White develops his KN at anearly stage he cannot prevent thedevelopment of the black QB. 8 e3Af5 9 Ad3 Axd3 10 "tIrxd3.)bd7. Precisely played. On 10...0-0, White can take on ffiarid playb4. 11 Ah6 .)gt l'l Af40-0 130-0 , e8 14 h3 .)gf6 15 .)e5.Without the white-squared bishopit isdifficult to organize a minorityattack and White tries to get aninitiative by different means. 15 ..)b6 16ltg5. White starts to roamwithout a plan. 16 .)e4 17Axe7 "tIrxe7 18 "tIrc2 .)d6 19.)a4 .)bc4. Preferring toexchange the centralized knight. 20.)xc4 .)xc4 21 .)c5 .)d6 22,acl "tIrg5. Black is graduallyimproving his position. The queensally prepares for action on the K-side, while White still wanderswithout a plan. 23 "tIrdl h5 24hl. Foreseeing ... .)5-h4. 24 ,e7. A natural and simplemove, but of exceptional strength.From e7 it defends and attacks. 25.)d3 .)e4 26 .)c5 .)d6 27 .)d3~f5 28 .)e5. A pawn avalanchethreatens White's castled king, butWhite seems to be paralysed and hiswaiting moves are grist to Black'smill. 28 rs 29 .)f3 ,g7 30.)h2 ,e8 31 ~gl .)e4 32 ~f3"tIre633 ,fdl (17). Once again apointless move and Black starts the

attack with a pawn sacrifice. 33,fel was better.

17B

33 g5 34 "tIrxh5 f5 35 ,elg4 36 hg fg 37 rs gf 38 .)xf3.Following the golden rules ofattackBlack opened the files and thecomedy is over. On 38 "tIrxf3, 38... ,ffi and 39 ... ..f2 wins. 38 ,h739 "tIre5"tIrc840~4 ,fB41 "tIre5 ,f5 and the queen istrapped in the middle ofthe board.Bobotsov evidently did not playwellthis game, but the course ofthestruggle nevertheless points out thepassiveness of the pawn structurereached after the opening.Lasker~Capablancamatch 1921, 10th gameI df d5 2 c4 e6 3 .)c3 .)ffi4 Jig5!J..e75e3 0-0 6 .)f3 .)bd77 "tIrc2c58 ,dl "tIra59Ad3. The seventhgame of the match continued: 9 cd.)xd5 10 Axe7 .)xe7 II Ad3.)ffi 12 O-{) cd 13 .)xd4 Ad7 14.)e4 .)ed5 with a good game forBlack. 9 h6 10 11.h4 cd. Thetheoreticians discovered later onthat the best answer was 10... de

Queen'sGambit 25l' Axc4 .)b6 and now the bishopcannot take his excellent place atb3, while on !J..d3,Black continues. " .)bd5. When White castleslong, ... de followed by ... .)b6again gives Black the most. The textmove isnot precise. It isvery usefulto analyse this position thoroughlybecause we get a deep insight intoits problems which are rathertypical. 11 ee l dc-12 Axc4 .)b6 13Ab3. That's the point: there is noBlack c-pawn and no threat of ...c4, so that the white bishop canpreserve his attacking position onthe diagonal a2~8. 13 Ad7 140-0 ,ac8 15 .)e5 Ab5. 15 ...Ac6 was correct; a move earlier,too. The Ab3 issoactive that Blackmust shut his diagonal. 16 ,fel.)bd5 (18).

18T V

Perhaps Black had in mind 16... Ad and then discovered that itleads to problems after 17 Axc4.)xc4 18 11.xffi Axffi 19 .)d7,fd8 20 .)xffi+ gf21 ,d3. Sowehave the position in which GyulaBreyer found a way to a wonposition: 17!J..xffiAxffi (in case of


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26 Queen's Gambit1i ... ~xf6, 18 ~g6 fg 19 .xe6decides) 18 .llxd5 ed 19 ~g4.llg520 f4 Jlxf4 21 ~f5 Ac7 (otherwise22 ilrxd5 a6 21 al ~~..)xd.'iwiththe superior game. Neither Laskernor Capablanca saw thispossibility. 17 Axd5 ~xd5 18Axe7 ~xe7 19 ~b3 ,ilc6 20~xc6 be 21 .e5. All issimplifiednow. Both opponents have oneweakness each. White, however,starts to play superf icially. The lastmove has no sense. 21 ~b6 22~c2 .fd8 23 ~e2 .d5 24. xd5. 24 .e3 keeps the balance.This is clearly bad and it is strangethat Lasker plays such a move. 24 cd 25 ~d2 ~f5 26 b3 h5 27h3. 27 g3 is undoubtedly stronger.27 h4 28 ~d3 . c6 29 )frO g630 ~bl ~b4 31 )frgl. Whitecannot oppose on the c-file becauseof his weakness at d4 and he canonly wait. Some proposed ~b2 asbetter, but the position remainsdifficult . 31 as 32 ~b2 a4 33~d2 ~xd2 34 . xd2 ab 35 ab.b6 36 .d3 .a6. The rookprepares to occupy the seventh rankand with White weaknesses at b3and d4 the win is only a matter oft ime. 37 g4 hg 38 fg .a2 39 ~c3.c2 40 ~dl ~e7 41 ~e3 .cl+42 )fj>f2 ~c6 43~I .bl 44 )fre2. xb3 45 )fre3 . b 4 46 ~c3 ~e747 ~e2 ~f5+ 48 )fj>f2 g5 49 g4~6 50 ~gl ~e4+ 51 )fj>fl.bl+ 52 )frg2 .b2+ 53 )fj>fl. f2+ 54 )frel .a2 55)fj>fl )frg756.e3 )frg6 57 .d3 f6 58 . e 3 )fj>f7

59 .d3~e760 .e3)frd661.d3.f2+ 62~el .g263~ .a264.e3e565 .d3ed66 .xd4~c567 .dl d468 .cl+


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28 Queen's Gambitbecause of 22 ... Axc5 with ...E!c8 to follow. 22 . e8 23.)xd5 Axd5 2411xd5 ,-xd5 25a4. Making use of the weakness atc4 has paid off.With his centralizedpieces, Black dominates the board.The last move weakens the b-pawn,but White obviously had to get ridof the weakness at a3. 25 Af626 .)3. 26 E!dI is met by 26 ...E!d8. 26 Ab227 E!el. It turnsout that ... Ab2 is a veryunpleasant move. On 27 E!bI thereis the unexpected 27 ... .)a3 28,-xb2 .)xbl 29 '-xbl '-b3followed by ... ba, while Alekhineintended to answer 27 E!dl with 27... ba 28 '-xa4 .)b6 29 . xd5.)xa430 E!dl .)c331 E!el E!c432 Ad6 .)e4 33 Ae 7 ffi 34 E!bI~f7 35 ~fl Ac3 etc. 27 E!d828ab ab 29h3 e5... e4willdecidequickly. The Ag3 isout ofplay andWhite's knight has no good squares.30E!ble431.)d4. There isnothingbetter.After 31.)e1~d2, White isalmost in zugswang. 31 Axd432 .dl .)xe3 ~I.

Polugaevsky-PortischPortoroz 1973I d4 .)f6 2 c4 e6 3 .)f3d5 4 .)c3Ae75 Jtg5 0-06 e3 .)bd77 E!cla68a3c69l1.d3h610 Ah4de 11Axc4 b5 12 Aa2 es , This time thebishop comes to a2where it isbetterposted. 13 0-0 Ab7 14 de f}xe515 .)d4. The previous game taughtus that the squares b3 and c4 arepotentially weak. It also helps to

understand why the bishop at a2 is.souseful. 15 E!e816 3. In caseof 16~e2, preparing for E!fdl andpressure on the d-file, Black resortstothe freeing 16... .)fe4.The textmove will limit the activity ofBlack's pieces in the centre and itseems to be the best choice forWhite. 16 i!rb617 b4 f}ed718Af2 Ad6 (21).

.llxc8 . xc8 26 f4 .)c4 27 e5, butthen understood that the simple 27... Jtxe5 23 Ie f}x('.'J ga\T macka superior attack. 25 E!xes,The counter-sacrifice simplifies itall . 26 E!xc3 f}xe4 27 .e3 f}xf228 ~xf2 .)c4. The best again. On28 ... f}c6, 29 .Q..f7s unpleasant.29 Axc4 be 30 i!rxc4 .f8 31E!d4. This is quite a mistake.Polugaevsky was ofthe opinion thatthe proper move was ~e 1. NowBlack wins the exchange. 31 .Q..e532 E!de4 Axe4 33 E!xe4~b6+ 34 ~g2 Af6 35 E!e6 i!rb536 ~xb5 ab 37 E!b6 E!a8 38E! xb5 . xa3 39 h4. Very bad. Anew weakness on g3 appears andBlack quickly makes usc ofit. 39 Ac340 E!b6 Ael 41 E!g6 Axb442 h5 Ael 43 ~h3 ~g8 44 ~g2~45~h3 E!e346~g2 E!e647g4 E!a6 48 E!h4 .a2+ 49 ~h3Af250 g4 a551 ~g2 Ad452h4 Af6 53 .hl al ~1.

21W

An excellent move. Chased fromone diagonal, Black will dominateanother. 19 e4 ~e7 20g3 i!rbB 21~e2 f}e5. Directing his cavalrytowards White's weakness at c4andjudging rightly that 22 f4 is notdangerous: 22 '" f}eg4 23 e5ofjxf2 24 xf2 E!xc3 followed by. .. f}e4 etc. White should havereacted the same way, namelythinking of his opponent'sweaknesses with f}b3. Polugaevskymakes the same mistakeCapablanca made. 22 E!fdl fd823 f}xe6. 23 f4 is out for the samereason as above, but this move isrisky and not appropriate here. 23 fe 24 .Q..xe6+ ~h8 25 f4.Perhaps White had had in mind 25

Grunfeld -AlekhineCarlsbad 1923I d4 f}f6 2 c4 e6 3 ofje3d5 4 Jtg5Ae75.)f3 f}bd7 6 e3 0-0 7 clc6 8 ~c2 a6. They played in adifferent order of moves but i t hasno importance. After 7 c I a6 8~c2 h6 White can choosecourageously 9 cd hg lOde fe IIf}Xg5 f}b612 Mwith a dangerousthreat of h5, and he can answer 9. " ed with 10 Af4. That's whyBlackiswaiting with c6. 9 a3. 9 a4 ismet by 9 ... f}e4. 9 h610 Ah4

Queen's Gambit 29e8 11 Ad3. Useful moves havebeen exhausted. 11 . de 12Axc4 b5 13 Aa2 c5 14 dl Correct was 14 0--0, but Whitefollows other ideas. 14 cd 15ofjxd4 ~b616 Abl Ab717 0-0.Alekhine set a trap. On 17 lldxb5he would play 17 . .. ~c6 and ...~xg2, not 17 ... ab 18 xd7. 17 ac8 18 i!rd2 f}e5 19 Axf6Axf6 20 ~e2 g6 21 i!re2 ofjc4 22Ae4 l1g7. Black saw through hisopponent's intention. If 22 '"ofjxa3 then 23 i!rf3 .Q..xe4 24ofjxe4 etc. 23 llxb7 ,-xb7 24 cl e5 25 ofj3 e4 26 f}d4 ed827 fdl .)e5 28 f}a2. 28 f3 wasproposed as better. 28 ofjd329xe8 ~xe8 30 3 (22)22B

This is an error. 30 f}c3 wascorrect. 30. xd4 31 fe NowWhite understood he could not play31 ed llxd4+ 32 ~fl f}f4 33~xe4 i!rc4+ 34 'lttel llxg2+ 35'lttd2 lle3+ etc. 31 .)f4 32 ef'-c4. The point of the com-bination. Black winsmaterial or 33 ~xc4 E!xdl+ 34 '-fllld4+~1.


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30 Queen's GambitOlafsson-MarovicTallinn 1975I d4 .Jf62 c4 e6 3 . J f 3 d5 4 .Jc3!J..e75 !J..g50-06e3 .Jbd7 7 cI.68.4. White allows ... de but not. .. bS. 8 '" .Je4 is not goodbecause of Axe7 and cd andthere's a pawn hanging on c7.8 e5. 8 ... c6 is possible, but thismove looks very sound. 9 Ad3.With his king in the centre Whitecannot enter any combinations. On9 de the simplest is9 ... "8'aS.9 cd 10 ed de 11 Jtxc4 .Jb6 12Jtb3. If instead of 7 cl Whiteplays 7 Jtd3, then we have thissame posit ion with the differencethat White now has cl instead of0-0. The difference favours Whiteand we see it, for example, in theline 12 ... .JbdS13.JeSAd7 andnow after the exchanges on dS thewhite knight will be superior. Itpoints to some difficulties Blackmust overcome. He can block theisolated pawn, but White retainsmore active play, while Black has tothink ofthe development ofhis QB.That is Black's essential problemand hisbest try was to play ... Ad 7and ... !J..c6 at once. 12 . .Jbd5130-0 .Jb414 .Je5Ad7 15f4. 13... b6 is bad and it offers White adear advantage in the endgame: 144jxdS .JxdS IS Axd5 andAxe7. That's why Black enters aposit ion similar to those from theQueen's Gambit Accepted. But hesees now, that IS ... Jtc6 16 f 5 ef17 xf5 gives White a very strong

attack. 15 e8 16 ~hl Ac6.The position has become criticaland Black cannot wait any longer.175 !J..d5.Black should have doneit earlier. Now it isalmost too late.Olafsson thought long of 18 AxffiJtxffi 19 .Jxf7, but he came to theconclusion that 19 ... xf7, 20fefc7 did not give him enough. Inmutual time-trouble the gamesteers to a draw. 18 fe fe 19 .Jxd5ed 20 Axf6 xci 21 "8'xclAxf6 22 f3 a5 23 h3 "8'd6 24"8'el g6 25 e3 .ilg5 26 e3 !J..f427 f3 Ah6 t-l Though notexemplary, the game gives aninsight into the problems theopponents must solve. We turnyour attention to the position afterWhite's II th; it is worthy of aspecial analytical effort.

White cannot blockade Black's Q -wing and he must seek for otheradvantages. 9 b6. Stahlbergaffirmed that 9 ... eSdid not workand to prove it he continued: 10Axffi Jtxffi II de Jte7 12 "8'c2h613 .Ja4. Nevertheless, in aforgotten game, played in Nice1974 between Visier andLombardy, the American masterplayed these same moves andseveral more: 13. . . "8'aS+ 14~e2"8'c7 15"8'c3f!e816 f!helJtill 17~ .JxeS 18 .JxeS xeS 19.Jb6 b8 with level play. So wehave the refutation of therefutation. But Petrosian's move isalso good. 10 eb e5. In Madrid1973, Portisch played against Hortthe weak 10 ... "8'xb6 11 0-0"8'xb2, and found himself in greatdifficulties after 12 .Ja4 "8'b7 13.Je5. 11 0-0 c4. This move wascriticized without good reason,White would meet 11... b8 with12 Jtf4, while II ... "8'xb6 is notgood because of 12 .Ja4.Black wasalso afraid, perhaps without reason,that 11 ... cd 12 .Jxd4 meantinfiltration by the white pieces. 12Jte2 .Jxb6. Here, however, 12...b8 was correct. Taking at b6,Black cedes eS to White and theadvantage with it. 13 .Je5 .lb7 14A f!b815 5. The error at Black'stwelfth has serious consequences.~eS was the first step towards theattack. In the meantime Black hasplayed useless moves. When weknow how sensitive Petrosian is to

Portisch-Petrosianmatch 1974, 10th gameI d4 d5 2 e4 e6 3 .Je3 .le7 4 .Jf3.Jf65 .ilg5 0-0 6 e3 .Jbd7 7 cI.68 e5. An attempt at refutat ion. 8. . . b6 would be met by 9 c6 andBlack's Q-side isblocked. So ... c6isindispensable. 8 c6 9 Ad3. If9 b4 then 9 ... as 10 a3 (After 10bS White does not defend his c-pawn any longer and it makespossible 10 . .. eS II de .Je8. 10"8'a4 is bad because of 10. .. bS.)10 ... ab II ab b6 12 Af4 (or 12Ad3 be 13 be eS) 12 ... be 13 bea3 14 Ad3 "8'aS IS "8'd2 Aa6,Alekhine-Henneberger, Bern1925. These variations show that

Queen'sGambit 31all attacking possibili ties his lastmoves catch us by surprise. 15 .Jbd7 16 .lf4 f!e8 17 "8'f3. Theattack grows: the threat is fe and"8'h3. 17 ef 18 Ax5. Thethreat is .Jxd7 followed by 'l!th3.18 ... g6 does not help because of!J..h6 after the exchanges at d7.Black is lost. 18 .Jxe5 19 de.Jd 20 .Jxe4 de 21 't'fh3 g6 22cdl 't'fb6 (23)

23T i l

23 d7 ee8 24 e6 gf. Or 24... ffi 2SAh6. 25 xe7 xe7 26'l!tg3+ ~h8 27 !J..h6 fe 28 AxfB d7 29 Ah6 'l!ta530'l! tb8+ ~d831 ' t'fe5+ ~g8 32 ~ xe6+ f!f7 33x51-O Capablanca -Alekhinematch 1927, 27th game1d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 .Je3 . J f 6 4 Ag5.Jbd75 e3 Ae76 . J f 3 0-0 7 cI.6 8 cd. We have alreadymentioned the similarities with theExchange Variation, here we giveonly the differences. 8 ed 9Ad3 e6 10 'l!te2 h6. This is notbad, but the standard 10 . .. e8II 0-0 .Jillseems better. Playing


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3 2 Q _u ee n's Ga mb it10 ~c2 White prevents ... 4:::le4.\ Incase of 100-0 there is IO ...4:::le4immediately, for example: 11~xe7 ~xe7 12 ~bl 4:::ldffi 134:::le5 .Q.f5 14 4::: la4 4:: :ld6, as inGligoric- Portisch, Bath 1973_)After10 ... ~e8 110 -0 4:::lf812 ~bI a5we are in the Exchange Variation.No danger is hidden in 12 4:::la4Jtg4 13 4:::le5~h5, with ... . Q . g 6to follow, 14 ~b3 ~ b8 and Whitecannot make use of his dominanceat h6. LeI us note two importantexamples:I) 12 h3 4:::le413 Axe7 ~xe7 14Axe4 de 15


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2 Catalan System

Smyslov-KeresWorld Championship I(l-+8I d 4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 g3 :\f6 4.a.g2 de.This at first sight inconsistent move,which helps White to open the longdiagonal, has its logic. Till Whiterecaptures the pawn, Black willdevelop and get enoughcounterplay. 5 ~a4+. 5


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36 Catalan Systemba he would play 24 ... ~a8. 24.)d3 ~a8 25 Ag2. Sticking to hisplan. A serious alternative, here aswell as on the previous move, is totake on a5 and move his bishop tob4 where it would be more active.25 ~a7 26 ~el ~h7 27 b5.This is bad just because of theexcellent ~h7. Nimzowitsch wouldpraise that move; Black controls thecritical point e4 more times than isnecessary, achieving by that themobil ity of all pieces protecting i t.A very good example of over-protection. 27 .)xb528 ~e5e629 a4 .)d7. Itseems that White didnot foresee this. 30 ~e2 .)d6 31.)e5. Keres demonstrated this was alossof time and that 31 .)c5was theright move, because Black could nottakeonc5. It's true, Black could play31 ... .)ffi32e4fe33feb6 34 ~ aclbe 35 ed ~xc2 36 ~ xc2 ed 37~ xc5 ~c8 38 ~e6 .)fe439 .Q.xe4.)xe4 40 ~exc6 ~xc6 41 ~xc6~b7.31. .)f632 ~acl ~aa833.)d3 ~ab8 34 .)c5 b6 35 e4 fe 36.)xe4. On 36 fe Keres intended 36... be 37 ed ~xc2 38 ~ xc2 ed 39~xc5 .)de440 ,xc6 ~dc8 andBlack's knights are superior toWhite's bishops. So White carriedout his e4, but Black wil l not feel theconsequences. 36 ~g6 37 ~e2~d738.)c3Ac439~b2b5.Blackstarts moving his pawns and it is theend of an extraordinary strategy.Both players are in time-trouble. 40ab eb 41 .)e4 .)dxe4 42fe.)gf43 ~ xc4 (26)

26B

Tukmakov- Korchnoi.Leningrad 19731d4 .)f6 2 c4 e6 3 g 3 d5 4 -'tg2 de5 4Jf3 b5. White offered a pawnand in our opinion Black did well tocapture it . It leads to sharp play,but it offers Black more chancesthan the quiet variations where hecedes the initiative to his opponent.After 5 ... c5 6 0-0 .)c6 White hasthe unpleasant 7 .)eS withadvantage. On S ... a6 White cancontinue 6 .:)e5c5 7 e3 (but not 7.Q.e3 .)dS 8 de ~c7 etc.) withsomewhat better play. 6 a4. Thealternative, 6 .)eS, is analysed inthe following game. 6 e6 7 0-0.On 7 .)e5 there is7 . .. . :)d58 .:)c3m9 .)g4b-lwith a good game. 7 .Q.b78 .:)e5a6. Asfar back as 1967an important game for thisvariation was played in Moscow.Furman played, agains t Krogius, 8... ~c8 and after 9 b3 cb 10~ xb3b4ll as .)fd7 12 .)d3 cS 13Axb7~xb7 14 dc .)xc5 IS ~xb4~xb4 16 .)xb4 .)b3 17 ~a4.{lxa5 18 .{ld5 ed 19 ~ xa5 d4 20.a4 .Q.c5 21 .:)d20-0 22 .)b3, adraw was agreed. Already then thetheoreticians were of the opinionthat White had compensation forthe pawn but not more than that.Lat('r games confirmed theopinion. Korchnoi's move seemseven sounder than 8 ... ~c8,because Black retains the possibilityto move his queen to the moreactive place-b6. 9 b3. It seemsthat White has no better plan. 9

White falls into a trap. 43 ~h5 44 ~ e2. 44 h3 was not goodbecause of 44 4Jxf2 followed by... ,f8+ and be, while 44 h4 isalso bad because of44 ... 4Jxf2 4S~fl 4Jd I46 ~b3 4Je3 etc. Thefight is practically over. 44 ~xh2+ 45 ~fl sn 46 ~ee2~xg3 47 ~c3 ~xc3 48 ~ xc3~ bf8 49 ~ ee2 .)xf2 50 ~ xf2~ xf2+ 51 ~ xf2 ~ xf2+ 52~xf2 a4 53 .Q.h3 ~ 54 d5 ed55Ad7 ~f6 56 .Q.c6 d e 57 .Q.xb5 a3~I. The game isa brilliant piece ofinstruct ion about the Catalan.After I d4 d5,2 c4 e6 3 g3 4Jffi 4

.a_g2 de White can continue todevelop his forces. There isno hurryto retake the pawn. As we sawSmyslov did it with ~a4+ at once,but we noted that the early sally ofthe queen was not a happy idea.Black gained several tempi byattacking the queen and once againwe understood its best was at d I .What happens, in case of 5 .:)f3weshall find out in the gamesLengyel-Karpov and Tukrnakov-Korchnoi.

Catalan ~stem 37cb 10 .,ilb2 ~b6 11 t!rxb3 .:)bd7.Black delays castl ing and seeks forthe exchanges in order to alleviatethe pressure. 12 .:)xd7 l:\xd7 13.)d2 Ae7 14 d5. White must playthis, otherwise he has nocompensation for the pawn. 1 4 cd 15 .Q.xg7 ~g8 16 .Q.c3 ~g4(27).27W

Black's king is forced to stay inthe centre for a while, but theposition is closed and the danger isnot so great . Besides , the last movetransfers the theatre of the fight tothe Q-side, where Black isstrongerand a pawn up. 17 ~tbl -'le518e3 Axe3. Very well played. Thepiece sacri fice gives Black a stronginitiative. Now he dominates thefield. 19 fe ~xe3+ 20 ~hl ,e8.20 l:\cS came intoconsideration. Itwould also followin case of21 ~cl. 21 Aa5 ~xb322 .)xb3 ~ xa4 23 ~ xa4 ba 24l:\d2 -'l c6 25 ~ c 1 l:\e5 2 6 ~g 1~d7 27 l : \ f 3 . Since 27 ... .:)c4 isvery bad because of 28 ~ xc4,Black is forced to take on f3. 27 .)xf3+ 28 .Q.xf3 d4. White must


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38 Catalan Systemavoid the exchanges, soBlack moveshis pawn mass with tempo. 29 ~h5f5 30 g4. Excellent! Although intime-trouble, White understands hemust break the pawn chain. 30 fg31 .dl.Lateranalysisfound that 31.c4was indispensable. 31. ~d532 . xd4 .c1+ 33 ~ a3 34~xg4 a2 35 1i,e3. And not 35. xd5+ because of35 ... ~c6. 35. e2+ 36 ~el . xe3 37.xd5+ ~e7 38 .dl .b3, Withhisking on the firstrank there isnowayout for White. ~I.Lengyel-KarpovMoscow 1971Id4


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29B

4 Benoni and King's Indian Defences

We recommend just one variation of the modern Benoni: I d4 .!fjf62 c4 c53 d5 d6 4 .!fjc3g6 5 e4 ~7 6 .!fjf30-0 7 .Ile2 e6 8 0-0 . e8.Of course weshall analyse all the other positions White can go into on his way as well assome positions of the King's Indian Defence \Vhite can force on hisopponent: Let us make clear why we choose just this line. Many years ofexperience teach us that after 8 ... ed 9 cd Black's position is seriouslycompromised. The change in the pawn formation clearly favours White.His KN moves towards his new base c4, after which Black has more reasonsto worry about the central thrust eS than White has to worry about ... bS.During the last two decades Black has defended his position resourcefully,discovering always new tactical possibilities. But when we analysecarefully all these tactical blows we come to a firm belief that they are aconseq uence ofsome direct error, not the objective way to keep the balanceof the position. Against a strong positional player chances for Black in theBenoni are very bad indeed; and that is not surprising. Watched from astrategic point of view it is a fortress with an open door-eS. Only a smallnumber ofgreat players can afford to play that position, not the mortals. I fBlack does not take on dS, we face a totally different position, but moreabout it later on. First ~e follow other lines.After 1 d4 .!fjffi2 c4 cS we examine:A 3 .!fjf3 c d 4 .!fjxd4 e6-p. 40

B 3 dS d6 4 .!fjc3 g 6 S e4 .Ilg7 6 f4 0-0 7 .!fjf3-p. 4SC 3 dS d6 4 .!fjc3 g6 S e4 Ag7 6 Ad3 0-0 7 h3-p. 47D 3 dS d6 4 .!fjc3 g6 S e4 Ag7 6 Ae2 0-0 7 AgS-p. 49E 3 dS d6 4 .!fjc3 g 6 S e4 Ag7 6 .!fjf3 0-0 7 .Ilc2-p. S3F 3 dS g6 4 .!fjc3 . Ilg7 S g3 0-0 6.1lg2 d6 7 .!fjf3 c6 8 0-0 ed 9 cd-po S7

centre, he allows his opponent toliquidate the pawn centre. It isquite simple: 3 ... cd 4 .!fjxd4 dS.The continuation S cd .!fjxdS 6 e44Jffi 7 AbS+ (or 7 .!fjc3eS 8 .!fjdbSa6 with quick development andgood play) 7 ... Ad7 8 eS AxbS 94Jxb5 'lirxdl+ 10 ~xdl .!fjdSwith 4Jc6 and 0-0-0 to follow isnotdangerous for Black. But whenBlack decides to play the Benoni heevidently wishes to fight, not tosimplify. So we recommendanother solution: 3 cd 4 4Jxd4e6. This simple continuation is thebest here .... dS is made possibleand the KB has an open road. Thetemporary weakening of d6 is of nosignificance whatever. Since Whitecannot play e4, the only way tobring more pressure to the centre isby fianchettoing his KB. Butfianchetto means time and Blackwill succeed in exerting strongpressure in the centre and on the Q-wing. White can choose between S.)c3 and 5 g3 and we shall analyseboth alternatives.

AI d4 .!fjf6 2 c4 c53 .!fjf3 (29)This isone of the ways White can

avoid the Benoni and transpose intothe English Opening. However,giving up the blockade of the

Benoni and King's Indian Defences 41Zilberstein -VasyukovUSSR Championship 1972I d4 . ! f J f 6 2 c4c5 3 .!fjf3cd 4 4J x d4e6 5 g3 Ab4+ S ... dS 6 Ag2 eS 7.!fjf3 d4 is also possible, but weprefer to develop pieces. 6 Ad2'lirb6 7 Axb4 i!rxb4+ 8 4Jc3i!rxb2. The game enters turbidwaters. 8 . .. 'l irxc4 isweak becauseof 9 e4 'lircS 10 .!fjb3 withdisagreeable consequences, but asimple 8 ... a6 ispossible, renewingthreats and preventing .!fjbS.Attention should be paid to thisalternative. 9 .!fjdb5 i!rb4 104Jc7+ ~d8 11 'lird2 (30).30B

First the threat was to trap thequeen by . b I and now Whitedefends both knights and retainsthe threat 4Jxa8. Black, however,has a counterblow, simplifying theposinon by giving back thematerial. 11 4Je4 12 4Jxe6+fe 13 4Jxe4 'lirxd2+ 14 ~xd24Jc615 Ag2 b616 hdl. This israther slow. 16 cS offers more toWhite. 16 ~e717 ~c3 f818d2 .b8 19 adl .\e5. Anindispensable move, which White


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42 Benoni and King's Indian Defencesprobably did not see when hestarted to build pressure on the d-file. Black's knight is moved to f7whence it defends the crit ical pointd6. 20 f4 t;Jf7 21 c5. Now all theadvantage has disappeared. 21 h4,with the intention g3-g4-g5-g6,would still cause many worries toBlack. 21 be 22 t;Jxc5 d6 23t;Jb3 }-1.Ivkov-FischerVinkovci 1968I d4 t;Jf6 2 c4 c5 3 t;Jf3 cd 4 t;J xd4e6 5 t;Jc3 AM 6 t;Jc2. This is amove ofdubious value. Itisnot thatsimple to allow such damage to thepawn structure. A couple of yearslater Reshevsky played againstFischer the also weak 6 e3. Let ussee what happened: 6 ... t;Je4 7~c2 t;Jxc3 8 be Ae7 9Ae2 0--0100--0 a6 II f4 d6 12 f5 ef 13 t;Jxf5Axf514~xf5 t;Jd715 . Q . J ' 3 ~c716..bl ..ab8 17 AdS t;Jffi 18 Aa3..fe819 ~d3 t;Jxd5 20cd b5 21 e4Am 22 ..b4 ..e5 23 c4 ..be8 24cb ab 25 ~hl ~e7 26 ~xb5..xe4 27 ..xe4 ~xe4 28 ~d7~f4 29 ~g I ~d4+ 30 ~h I ~f20-1. If 6 g3 there is 6 . . . t;Je4again, as played in a gameBertok-Marovic, with clear advan-tage for Black. 6 Axc3+ 7 he~a5 8 ~d3. White allowed thedoubling of pawns counting onAa3. Of course, he does not like togive up the idea by playing Ad2. Inhis game against Karpov, Lenin-grad 1973, Rukavina played 8

t;Jb4, but after the natural 8 ...0-0 9 e3 b6 10 Ae2 Ab7 II 0-0..c8 he already had the worse of it .It is evident White has nocompensation for his weak pawns.Karpov exerted the pressure veryinstructively: 12 f3 t;Jc6 13 ~b3~e514 t;Jxc6 ..xc615 Ad2 ~c716 ~a4 as 17 ..fbl Aa6 and thefight was decided. 8 t;Jc6 9Aa3 b6 (31).31W

all of a sudden finds himself in adifficult position. II ... b5 was abad move and it had sense only incase of 12 cb Axb5 13 ~xb5~xc3+ 14~dl t;Jxe4.ButWhitealso misses his best move-12 c5after which Black has nocounterplay. 12 be 13 ~e3~b6 14 f3 0-0-0 15 ~. In case of15 ~xb6 ab 16 ..bl Fischercounted on 16 ... ~b7 17 Ac5..a8. 15 ~xe3+ 16 t;Jxe3t;Je8 17 Ag3. 17 ..fdl would stillkeep the pressure. After this Blackgets free. 17 d5 18 ed ed 19..fdl t ;Je720 ..d2 t ;Jc7 21 ..adl.ll.b7 22 Ae5 f6 23 Ad4 t;Jc6.Black is seeking active play, but thesimple 23 ... a6 seems sounder. 24.ll.c5 ..he8 25 ~f2 t;Je6 26 Aa3t;Jf4 27 Afl t;Je5 28 t;Jf5. Itseemsthat Black did not take intoconsideration this excel lent move.28 ~c7 29 t;Jxg7 ..g8 30 g3{)h3+. Both players play theirbest. 30 ... ..xg7 31 gf t;Jg6 32.ll.xc4 t;Jxf4 33Afl would favourWhite. 31 Axh3 ..xg7 32 Afl. ll.a6. This is what Black preparedwhen playing his 30th. 33 J'lc5t;Jd3+ 34 Axd3 cd 35 Axa7. Int ime-trouble, Ivkov decides, withno reason, to sacrifice the exchange:35 ..el still gives him a slightlybetter position. 35 ..e7 36..xd3 .Q.,xd3 37 ..xd3 ..a8. Thesacrifice does not pay. 38 Ae3..xa2+ 39 .Q.,d2 ~c6 40 g4 f5.Starting from this point Fischer'splay isworthy ofadmiration. 41 gf

Black commits an error andcedes the initiative to his opponent.9 ... d5 was correct and in case of10 e3 Black had 10 ... e5 with theidea . . . Ae6. The move ... d5frees Black. Without i t, as we shallsee, it is not easy. 10 ll,d6.Naturally, Ivkov does not misssuchan opportunity. The white bishop isa bone in Black's throat. White hasresolved his problems and theposition isequal. Black should play10 ... t;Je5 II ~d4 t;Jc6, draw. 10 .Q.,a6II ri.Fischer pointed outI I t;Jb4 ..c8 12e4 with advantageto White. Now Black again had II. .. t;Je5 12 ~d4 t;Jc6 13 ~e3t;Je5. II b5 12 Ae2 Playingfor a win Black risks too much and

Benoni and King's Indian Defences 43..f7 42 'lftg3 ..xf5 43


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44 Benoniand King's Indian Defencesfavourable to White. IOAh4 g5(32).

The correct move was 10 d411 .le4 (or 11 .lb5.lc6) 11 g512 .lxff i+ ''xffi 13 ~3 .lc6.White is behind with hisdevelopment and he cannot takeadvantage of the weakening ofBlack's king posi tion. Black has agood game. II Ag3 d4 12 .lb5.lc6 13 e3 de 14 fe e5 15 Ad31ig4. This is a critical point whereBlack chooses a dangerous road. 15. .. ~b6 was indispensable. 16''c2e417 Ae2 ~a5+ 18~. Itbecomes evident that White doesnot need to castle and that Black'sking is going to be the moreexposed. 18 Axe2 19 ~xe2f!ae8. White threatened b4followed by f!adl. 20 .ld6 f!a821 f!adl ~ 22 .!tel. The bishopmoves to the long diagonal. Thesign for attack. 22 ~b6 23 gi4jf6 24 .!tc3. Now it isal l clear andWhite wins easily. 24 .lxgi 25~xe4 fS. On 25 ... h5 26 f!d5wins, so 25 ... fS was forced. Ofcourse, it brings the end near. 26

~e6+ ~b7 27 .lxfS .leeS 28f!d7+ .lxd729 ~xd7+ ~g630h4 h5 31 .le7+ ~h6 32 hg+~xg5 33 ~d5+ I ....

analysis and i t isnot clear whetherPlaninc found the win at the boardor already knew it. 16 .ld4 17~e8+ ~h7 18 e3 .le2+ 19 ~d2(33).

Vaganian - Plan incHastings 1974/51 d4 .lfti 2 c4 es 3 .lf3. After theanalysis of the previous games wecan say that this is a bad movewhich gives up all the openingadvantage. Our game will onlyconfirm it. 3 cd 4 .lxd4 e6 5.lc3 AM 6 .lb5 0-0 7 a3,a,xc3+ 8 .lxe3 d5 9 Ag5 h6 10Axfti. Vaganian accepts the offer.10 ~xfti 11 cd ed 12 ~xd5.To grab a pawn with his K-wing onthe first rank cannot be correct. 12 f! d8 13 ~ ''b6. We shallnote here another game,Kapengur-Kaminsky, USSR1974: 13 . .. ~g614 f!dl f!xdl+15 .lxdl .lc6 16 e3 .11('6 17 ile2f!d8 180-0 f!d2 19 f::)r3 f!xb220.!tb5 f!c2 2Iltxcb be 22 ~xc6~d3 23 ~a8+ ~h 7 24 .ld 1 ,a,c425 f!eI Ad5 26 ~xa7 ~e4 27 f3f! xg2+ with a quick debacle. Itstrengthens the impression White isalready lost. 14 f!dl f! xdl+ 15.lxdl {)c6 16 ~e3. Uhlmann-Barcza, Havana 1963, continued:16 e3 Ae6 17 Ae2 f!d8 18 b44Jxb4 19 ab ~xb4+ 20 ~fla5 and the pawn decides. After thegame the players analysed ~e3 andwith Tal's help they reached thefinal position from our game.Grandmaster Barcza published the

33B

The scene was set for one of themost beautiful combinations inrecent years. 19 .Q.fS. Abrilliant sacrifice which White mustaccept. The king is left at the mercyof Black's pieces. 20 ~xa8 ~d6+21 ~cl. 21 ~c3 loses a little moreslowly. It is only now that thefollowing move becomes evident. Acouple of moves earlier it was easyto overlook it. 21 {)al 22~xb7 ''e7+ 0-1.B1d4 {)fti 2 c4 e5 3 d5 d6 4 {)e3 g65 e4 -'lg7 6 f4 0-0 7 {)f3 (34).This isone of.White's deviations.

The posi tion iswel l explored and itcauses Black no troubles. It is true,White's pawn formation looksominous, but we must be aware itcost White a couple of tempi. Blackhas castled already and until White

Benoniand King's Indian Defences 45

also does, he can create pressure onthe e-file and keep the balance.7 e6 8ile2.After 8 de fe Black's QN gets a

dear road to d4 and his QB can befianchettoed. After 8ild3 edWhitemust take with his c-pawn. 9 cdleaves Black with a choice: 9 ...Ag4 10 h3 .Q.xf3 II ~xf3 4Jbd7followed by ... .le8, and thepossibility of {)c7 and b5, as suchpositions are played usually (it isimportant here to control e5 andprevent the central thrust) or 9 ...~b6 (prevent ing castl ing) 10{)d2{)g4 11{ )c4 ~d8 12 ~f3 fS with agood game.

8 ed 9 cd.Apart from this there is also 9 ed,

which may look i llogical, but i t hasits point and hides dangers. White'sintention is to play Ad3, aftercastling, and to carry out fS , seekingfor an attack. It is a dangerousattack, because Black has nocounterplay and it must bethwarted at i ts roots. There are twoaccepted roads. First, Black has 9. .. {)e8, preparing for ... fS ,while the knight moves to c7 in


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46 Benoni and King's Indian Defencesorder to cover the weakened e6 andsupport ... bS. The other way isthe simple 9 ... E!e8 10 0--0 4Jg4.Now 11 Ad3 ismet by the strong II... 4Jh6 with ... 4J5 to follow (or... A5 first, in case White plays h3threatening g4): On 11 h3 there isII....f)e3 12 Axe3 E! xe3 13~d2 E!e8 14 E!ael 4Jd7 IS .Q.d3E!xel 16 E!xel 4Jill with equalplay. Without the black-squaredbishop the attack is not so serious.Besides, Black can always blockfurther action with ... 5.The posit ion after 9 cd isworthy

of special attention. It is a verydynamic position, characterized byi ts asymmetrical pawn structure.The threat eS is very unpleasantand the possibility of the centralthrust is the main characteristic.Black must prevent eS. One of theways is ... Ag4 and ... .Q.xf3,followed by . . . 4Jbd 7, . . . 4Je8.However, 9 ... lL;4 can be met by10 4Jd2 Axe2 11 ~xe2 and it isnot clear whether Black canequalize. So Black must turn to hissimplest means-the pressure onthe e-file.9 E!e8 10 4Jd2.The sharp, double-edged thrust

10 eS is not so dangerous, becausewhite has not castled as yet whichmust reflect on his ear ly attack. Forexample: 10 ... de 11 fe 4Jg4 12AgS (12 e6 is not sufficient: 12 ...fe 130--0 ed 14 4JxdS Ae6 ISJtc44JeS. Or: 13 d6 Ad7 140--0 Ac6IS 4JgS 4JeS with 4Jbd7 to follow.

The pawn is blocked and Blacksuperior.) 12 ... ~b6 13 0--04JxeS 14 4JxeS AxeS. Theposition is not 'naive', but theattack is not worth a pawn. On ISj'tbS Black plays IS ... Ad7, while15 .Q.c4 is met by IS ... A5,developing the Q-wing. On thefurther 16 ~f3, there follows16 ... 4Jd7 and g4 does notwork.After 10 4Jd2 in the main line

new characteristics appear and wemust understand these properly.The direct threat, eS, is removed,but some other possibilities arisewhich may be disagreeable toBlack. White's knight wil l move toc4 and the threat of a central thrustwill be renewed. At the same time,having secured the dominantposition for his knight, White willexert strong pressure on Black'squeen's wing and make impossiblethe liberating move ... bS. Blackmust take some measures againstthat plan. Theory notes thecontinuation ... 4Jg4, but thatmove israther complicated, leadingto tact ical complicat ions which arenot soclear asis popularly believed.We recommend therefore anotherline, which we consider moreappropriate to Black's openingstrategy.

10 .. 4Ja6 (35).Black moves the knight to c7,

where it performs several dut ies: i tsupports the advance of the pawns,it prevents eS by exerting pressure

35rr

on dS, it allows ... Jta6 after thefurther ... b6. FD r example: 110--04Jc712Jif3 E!b813a4b6144Jc4Aa6 15 ~b3 Jtxc4 16 ~xc4 a6.In this position Black won't miss hiswhite-squared bishop. His plan istostop eS by ... 4Jd7, at the sametime trying to strengthen theactivity of his KB by carrying out... bS.We shall note here another

posit ion White may go into. After Id4 4Jili 2c4cS 3dSd64 4Jc3 g6 Se4.11,g76f40--o, White can play 7Ad3e6 8 4Jge2 ed 9 cd. The positionshould not worry Black, but it isuseful to know your opponent'splans . White is going to transfer hisknight to g3, seeking to attackBlack's king. In this type ofpositionsome typical sacrifices are possible,e.g. eSde, 5with strong pressure onthe f-fileand the diagonals. The bestreply again is the exchange of thewhite-squared bishops, which heachieves with 9 ... b6 100-0 Aa6.Giterman-Suetin continued: II.Q.xa6 4Jxa6 12 4Jg3 c4 and Blackhad a level game.

Benoni and King's Indian Defences 47C1d4 4Jf62 c4c53d5d64 4Jc3g65 e4 Jig7 6 Ad30-0 7 h3 (36).36B

NDW we can read White'sintentions quite easily. Whiteexpects . . . e6 and . . . ed, so hedevelops his bishop at d3 whence itshould support the advance ofhis f-pawn. 7 h3 prepares for 4Jf3,depriving Black of ... Jtg4. He isgoing to meet the check on the opene-file by Ae3, ignoring ... Jth6.The difficulties Black has toovercome are due to his crampedposition. It is a problem we mustnot underrate. \Ve shall learn fromtwo grandmaster games.Gheorghiu-AnderssonManila 19751d4~f62c4c53d5d64 4Jc3g65 e4.klg7 6 Ad3 0-0 7h3e6 8 4J13ed 9 ed E!e8+ 10 Jte3 Ah6. It isuseful to know why this seeminglynatural move is not good. 11 0-0Axe3 12 fe a. 12 ... E!xe3gives White an important tempo forattack. Playing 13 ~d2 and ~h6he starts a dangerous action.


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18 Benoni and King's Indian DefencesAndersson therefore tries to finishhis development and control e5. 13e4 .f}bd714 ~f2. In case of 14 ....f}e5 White will take on e5 and 15 .. i!rxe5 does not go because of~f3. We can already feel a strongpressure growing on the open f-file.14 ~f815 i!rd2 .f}e8. After 15 .. .f}e5 16 .f}xe5 i!rxe5 17 i!rf4,Black will not be able to realize thedominant position at e5 for hisknight. The endgame is again badfor him. 16 ~afl a617 a3 ~a718Ac2 (37).

37B

Preparing for the infiltration ofwhite pieces via a4. A difficult planto meet. 18 f6 19 b4 b6 20.1la4.f}g7 21 Ac6 ~c7 22 .f}a4. Blackhas no counterplay whatever andhe loses material; quite enough tolose the game. 22 4Jh5 23.1lxd7 .1lxd7 24 .f}xb6 ~g3 25~el .ile8. If 25 ... .f}xe4 \Vhitecan simply play be. 26 e5. A littlecombination deciding quicklybecause of the weakness at d6. 26 fe 27 .f}xe5 i!rg7 28 ~ xf8+~xf8 29 .f}g4 .f}h530 i!re3 .f}g7

31 be de 32 i!re5 ~b7 33 .f}h6+


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50 Benoni and King's Indian Defences39B

e-filewith ... e6, but, playing ~d2,White thwarts any counterplayand then slowlypushes his opponentinto a cramped position on bothwings. In order toget an idea aboutthe difficulties he would have toovercome wemention here a typicalcontinuation: 7 . .. e68 ~d2 ed 9ed e8 10.lf3 Jig4 II 0-0 .lbd7 12h3l,txf3 13Axf3 a6 14a4 i!re7 15ael i!rffiI6_ildi xeII7 xele818 xe8 i!rxe819l,tf4. In thefurther courseofthegame White willexchange queens as well and playavery favourable endgame: hecontrols more space, he can startaction on both wings and finally hehas a pair of bishops which mustshowin the end. InouropinionBlackmust not allow i!rd2 after which hisK-side is paralysed. 7 ... h6 isindispensable. White can withdrawhis bishop tof4,h4or e3and weshallsee these alternatives in a number ofgood games.Uhlmann-AdorjanIBM, Amsterdam 1971I d4 g62 c4 ~7 3 .le3 es 4d5 d65 e4 .lf6 6 Ae2 0-0 7 .ilg5 h6 8

Af4. The last move was played inorder to prevent ... e6, but one dayit dawned upon somebody that ...e6 nevertheless could be played.Polugaevsky-Bilek, Bussum 1968,where the order of moves wasslightly different, proved that thepawn sacrifice made sense and theline was scrutinized thoroughly. 8 e5 9 de Axe610 Jixd6 e8.The critical position. Black hassacrificed a pawn, but has obtainedexcellent play for his pieces. Theknight enters the fight via c6, theJig7 is very active, the possibility. .. i!ra5 and ... d8 is alsodangerous. Of course, all this gainsvalue because White needs twotempi to castle. The otherimportant thing is that II Axc5 isnot possible due to II ... ~a5 12b4 ~a6 13 .lb5 .lxe4 14 ~c7~c6 15 ~xe8 Jic3+ 16 ~fl.ld2+ 17~e I i!rxg2 etc. II e5 isalso out of the question because ofII ... ~fd7 12 f4 g5 13 .lf3 gf 14~d2 .lc6 15 i!rxf4 ~dxe5 16Axe5 .lxe5 17 ~xe5 i!rd4 18.ld3 Axc4 etc. II .lf3 ~c6 120-0 .ld4 (40).40

The idea is based upon thefollowing variation: 13 .\1.xc5~xe2+ 14 ~xe2 ~c8. In case of13~xd4 cd 14 ~xd4 Black wouldplay 14 ... ~xe4 15~xe4 ~xd616 i!rxb7 ab8 with ... xb2.On 13 l,te5, 13 ... ~xf3+ issufficient. 13 e5 .ld7 14 el.White considered 14 .lxd4 cd 15i!rxd4, but concluded that after 15... .lxe5 hehad noadvantage. Hedefends the pawn, but it comes outsoon that the pawn cannot bedefended. 14 .lc615 .le4. Thepreviously mentioned game,Polugaevsky-Bilek, was slightlydifferent: ... h6 was not played,because White played .\1.f4withoutJig5. White continued: 15 ~d5c8 16 ~b3 ~dxeS 17Axc5 b618 Ae3, but after 18 ... .la5 itturned out he had nothing. 15 b616 Afl' e8. On 16 ... .ldxe5there is 17 .lxe5 .lxe5 18 .lxc5,but 18 ... Jig4 is strong. 17 ~b3Ag418 adl. Ready to sacrifice apawn after 18 ... .ld4 19 .lxd4Axdl 20 xdJ cd 21 xd4. 18 Axf3 19 ~xf3 .ld4 20 ~h3~xe5. Black has recaptured thepawn and what is more he hascentralized his pieces. 21 b4.Perhaps White is nearer to a drawafter 211lxe5 with .lc3 to follow.21 IS 22 Axe5. 22 be fe 23d4 ~f3+ 24 gf llxd4 25i!rxh6 ~ffi etc., does not work. 22 Xe5 23 .lc3 i!re8. Blackrightly does not care about thepawn, trying to reinforce the

T ' j ; T

Benoni and King's Indian Defences 51position of his pieces. 24 xe5~xe5 25 be be 26 ~d5 b8.Dominating open files, Blackdominates all the board. 27 ~a3b2. Excellent. On 28 i!rxc5 hewould play 28 ... xa2, while on28 ~xa7 he has something else onhis mind. 28 i!rxa7 ~e4 29 i!ra4.29 ... ~c2 has to be prevented. 29 ~h4. Time-trouble. This moveshould have been prepared by 29 . . ~h7. 30 i!re8+ ~h7 31 i!re3.White had time to see 31 .le7~f3+. 31 xa2 32 bl h533g3. 33 b7 was correct. 33 i!re4 34 ~xe4. Again 34 b7 wasbetter. 34 fe 35


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52 Benoni and King's Indian Defences41B

continued 17 ... ~xd3 18 i!rxd3, c 8 19 , a d I i!ra5 overlookingthe strong 20 lic 7.Antunac did notknow the earlier game and foundthe right answer at the board. 17 ,c8. What's the point? At firstglance you do not see the difference,but then it becomes clear that 18~xa7 does not work because of 18 . . ~xd3 19 ~ xc8 (not 19 i !rxd3,xc5) 19 ... ~xb2 20 ~e7+i!rxe7. 18 .l1e2. White is taken bysurprise and commits an error. Heshould have chosen 18 A x e5 (18Ae4 Ac4) 18 ... Axe5 19 ~d6Axd6 20 cd i!rxd6 21 Ae4,although he is worse here, too. 18 .)c4 19 i!ra4. On 19 b3, Blackintended 19 ... .)b2, while 19.)xa7 is met by 19 ... .)xb2followed by 20 ... b8. The text iseven worse. 19 .)xb2 20 i!rb4.On 20 ~xa7, 20 ... Ad7 wins. 20 .. a s 21 i!rf4 Ad7 22 ~d2 AfS.White has avoided material losses,but Black has so'activated his piecesthat there are no doubts about theoutcome. The threat is . .. xe2and ... Ad3. 23 fcl. If23 felthen 23 ... xc'i, 23 xe2 24

~xe2 ,ilc13 25 "i'3 ,ilxb5 26i!rxb7 ~d3 27 i!rxb5 .)xcl 28 xci ~xd6 0-1.

42B

Uhlmann -ByrneHastings 1970/71I d4 ~6 2 c4 g6 3 .)c3 ltg7 4 e4d65 Ae2 0-0 6 ltg5 c5 7 d5 h6 8,ile3. Apart from this we shallmention here the continuation 8Ah4. The best reply is 8 ... a6 withthe intention to meet 9 .)f3 with 9... b5, making use of the absence ofWhite 's QB. White would do bet terto prevent ... bS by 9 a4, but after9 ... i!raS 10 i!rd2 there is again 10... bS with a pawn sacrifice. AfterII cb ab 12 AxbS Black can play12 ... ,ila6 with initiative for thepawn. In Kristianssen-Olafsson,1966, instead of 10 . . . bS Blackplayed 10 ... .)bd7 II .)f3 bS 12cb ab 13 llxbS .)xe4 14 .)xe4~xbS with better play, but Whitecould have prevented the tacticalblow by the simple IIa3leavingBlack in a passive position. 8 e69 de. Preparing for ~d2 (attackingh6) and O-{)-{) with pressure on thed-file. The quiet 9 ~d2 is alsoposs ible when Black's bes t choice is9 ... ed 10 ed ~h 7 IIh3 .)a6 12.)f3 AfS. 9 Axe6 10 ~d2~h7. Black has to defend thepawn, because after 10 ... ~aS II,ilxh6 Axh6 12 ~xh6 .)xe413 cl .)c6 14h4 White maintainsthe attack. 110-0-0 ~c612 ~xd6~xd6 13 ,xd6 (42).

13 .)d4. White realized hisplan, but at an evil moment .....)e8 is threatened and after takingon d4, ... .)g4 follows and Whiteloses the exchange. So White'sst rategy has failed. Capturing on d6is a slow manoeuvre, unjustifiablyneglecting development. 14 e5.)e8 15 xd4 cd 16 ..Q.xd4 .)d6.Very well played. Black wins apawn, since he can meet 17 .1lcS by17 ... AxeS. 17 b3 .) fS 18 Ac5fc8 19, .)e4 Axe5 20 .)f'3 ltg721 gt b6. Defending the pawnindirect ly he remains a pawn up. 22.Q.a3 ~4 23 .)xd4 Axd4 24.Q.f3 h8 25 dl Ae526 elad8 27 ~c2 he8 28 h3 fS 29~.Q.d430 e2fg3IhgAt732.Q.e4 a6 33 rs ~g7 34 Ad g5 35. .Q.d2 . . Q . g 6 36 .)d5 as 37 ~d3..Q . d 3 8 .Q.c3+ ~ 39 Ad4 d6.. a3 ed8 41 ~c3 Axa3 42.Q.xb6 Ab4+ 43 ~b2 c8 44. . Q . f 2 6 45 ~c2 lUll 46 ~c3~ee847~d3 b848 b2 be8.. ..Q.d4 xe4 50 fe xe4 51~12+ C4+ 52 ~c3 xf2 53..Q.xf2 ..Q.e454 ..Q.b611f3 55 .)e3.Q.b4+ 0-1.

Benoni and King's Indian Defences 53EI d4 .)62 c4 c5 3 d5 d64 .)c3 g65 e4 1ig7 6 ~f3 0-0 7 ,ile2. Analternative is 7 Ad3 transposinginto the known position after 7 ...e6 8 h3. In case of 8 O-{) ed 9 cdBlack can choose 9 ... 1tg4 whichsuits his general plan. Smyslov-Polugaevsky, Interzonal 1973,continued: 10 h3 .1lxf3 II i!rxf3.)bd7 12 i!re2 a6 13 a4 e8 14lif4c415 Ac2 (iftS Axc4then IS... .)xe4 and ... fS) 15 ... .)c516 fe 1 , c 8 and Black had levelplay. As a rule the exchange of theQB for White's KN is favourable toBlack because it diminishes White'spower on the critical point e5 andprevents the pawn's central thrust .The pair of bishops is not sopowerful in such positions. Blackgets rid ofhis bishop which does nothelp him much and which, in theBenoni, represents quite a problemin development. The other bishop isimportant, the fianchettoed one. 7 e6 8 0-0 e8 (43).

Up to a couple of years ago, 8 ...ed was played without thinking.


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54 Benoni and King's Indian DefencesThe waiting move bears witness tothe difficulties Black had toovercome in the normal variationsof the Benoni. After the exchangeon d5 White regularly obtained anadvantage by the simplemanoeuvre 4Jd2-c4. The road tolevel play is hard. Seeing that theknight manoeuvre isa trump-cardin White's hand it occurred tosomebody to postpone taking ond5, depriving White of it. That'sthe idea ofthe last move. It isbasedon the tactical possibility 9 deAxe6 10Af4 4Jc6 as we saw inquite a similar position.Let us see what happens after 8

. .. .e8. Black exerts indirectpressure on e4. Of course, Whitedoes not have to protect e4 oncemore, but in that case he will haveto meet ... ed byedand the tensionin the centre disappears. 9 4Jd2maintains the tension, 9 ... ed 10cd transposing into the standardpositions. But now Black does nottake on d5 and does not free c4 forWhite's knight. White's normaldevelopment isthwarted, he has noclear plan.We shall form an opinion about

our position on the experience ofsome grandmaster games.Gheorghiu -LarsenTeesside 1972I 4Jf3 c5 2 c4 g6 3d4 Ag7 4d5d65 e4 4Jf6 6 4Jc3 0-0 7 lle2 e6 80-0 .e89de Axe610 Af4. Slowis 10h3 4Jc6 II Ae3 i!rb6 12 .bl

4Jd7 13 4Jh5 4Jde5 and Black hascounterplay, while the backwardpawn isnot a weakness. 10 4Jc6II Axd6 i!ra5. In Popov-Cebalo,Zagreb 1973,the same position wasreached with the only differencethat Black had his pawn on h6 (theyplayed a King's Indian variat ionwith 5 lle2 and immediatelyAg5). Popov played 13e5 4Jd7 144Jd5, but after 14 ... llxd5 15i!rxd5 .ac8 Black recaptured thepawn with a good game: 16 a34Jdxe5 17 i!rxc5 i!rxc5 1811xc5b6 19 lld6 4Jxf3+ 20 Axf3llxb2 21 .a211e5 and White hadto worry about a draw. 1211f4. 12a3, threatening 13 b4, is new andstrong. Therefore Blackshould turnto the line in Lengyel-Antunac (p.51).12 . .ad8 13 4Jd5 (44).

be able tooccupy the central squared4. 14 llg4 15 h3 .Q.xf3 16i!rxf3 4Jd4 17 i!rdl. Giving backthe pawn. The play is level. 17 4Jxe4 18 .el 4Jd6 19 Jlxd6.xel+ 20 i!rxel i!rxel+ 21.xel .xd6 22 .e7 .e6 t-t.

44B

Geller-SuetinKislovodsk 19721c4g62d41tg73 4Jc3c54d5d65 e4 4Jf6 6 4Jf3 0-07 lte2 e6 8 0-0.e8 9 4Jd2. Or.9 h3 ed 10ed .Q.f5with equal play. Apart from thetext White can defend e4by 9 i!rc2,in order to be able to retake ond5 with his c-pawn. Kozma-Polugaevsky, played in the sametournament, continued: 9 ... 4Ja610.el ed 11cd 4Jb412 i!rb3..Q.g413 a3 -'txf3 14 gf 4Ja6 15 i!rxb74Jc7 16 i!rb3 4Jh5 17f4 't!rM withactive play. 9 4Ja6. No matterwhat White chooses this manoeuvreis useful. Waiting tactics makeWhite's job difficult. His knight atd2 is not happy. 10 .el 4Jc7 II.Q.f t .b8 12 a4 b6 13 h3 a6 144)13, White has exhausted usefulwaiting moves. 14 ed 15 cd, 15ed means an equal position. Thetext allows Black to take theinit iative. 15 b516 e5 de 17 d6~e6, White put his hopes in thecentral thrust , but underrated thepowerful black knight bound ford4. 18 ab 4Jd4. Black loses hisa- and b-pawns, but wins thed-pawn and is very strong in thecentre. 19ba i!rxd6 201lg5 .a8.

On 13 Ad2, Black can continue13 ... 4Jd4. 13 .d7. 13 ...4Jxe4 14 llc7 .xd5 15 cd doesnot work. 14ltd3. 1411d2 i!rd8 15Ag5 h6 gives nothing, e.g.: 16Axffi llxffi 17 i!rd2 llxd5,followed by ... 4Jd4. After thetext, however, Black's knight will

Benoni and King's Indian Defences 55Unnecessary and bad. After 20...h621A xffi i!rxffi or 21AM 4jd5heisOK. 21 4Jb5 i!rb6 224Jbxd4ed 23 ltxf6 . Xel 24 i!rxelllxf6 25 i!re8+. If25 't!re4 then 25... i!ra7.25 ~g7 26 ltc4 i!rc727 4Jel. An error. Correct is 274Jd2. After the text, the whitebishop is not protected and Blackcould continue 27 ... ltxa6 with.. llxc4 to follow. But he did notsee it. 27 -'tb7 28 ~b5 jtc8 294Jd3 Ae7 30 ~a5 ~d6 31 i!fb5.a7 32 b3 Ad7 33 ~a5 Ai3 34i!fel. White isnot afraid of havingbishops of opposite colour. Hispassed pawn must decide sooner orlater. 34 Axd3 35 Axd3 Ad836 i!fe411c7 37 g3 Ab6. Here thebishop is even worse posted. 38.el .c739 .e2Aa740~g2h541 h4 ~f6. The last two movesallow White to win quickly, ... 42~f3+ ~g7 43 .e8 .e7 (45)

45W

. . . while this move allows a nicewin. 44 llxg6. 44 ... ~xg6 and44 ... fg are evidently bad and 44... ~xg610ses to 45 .g8+ and 46


28/78

56 Benoni,and King's Indian Defences.g5 etc. 44 c4 45 Axh5. xe8 46 ~xf7+ ~h6 47 ~xe8~48g4I~.Gligoric-SuetinLjubljana 1973I d4 4Jf6 2 c4 c53 d 5 d6 4 4Jc3 g65 e4ltg7 6 l)fl 0-0 7 -'te2 e6 80-0 . e8 9 .ld2 4Ja6 10 ~hl. Asin the previous game White isplaying moves hoping for ... ed.But Black can also wait . 10 .lc711a4 .b8. Our next game teachesus that II...b6 is still moreaccurate. 12 f3 b6 13 4Jdbl. Thismanoeuvre, however slow it seems,is probably the only solution in thisposition. White simply cannot waitindefinitely. 13 a6 14 .la3~e7. This isnot necessary. 15ltg5h6 16 AM (46).46B

Correct was 16 Ae3 followed by4Jc2 with the idea b4. The textgives Black the opportunity tocontrol the black squares. 16 g517.!tn ed 18 ed 4Jd7 19 ~d2. On19 .lc4 there is 19 ... .le5, butthat was nevertheless a betterchoice, because the knight on a3 is

not active. 19 .le5 20 .aelAd7 21 4Je2 ~. White is readyto meet ... b5 by ab and b4, whichBlack prevents. 22 4Je3 b5. Thestrategic battle iswon. 23 ab ab 24Ag3 .lg6. On 24 .. , b4 wouldfollow 25 Axe5. Also f4 wasthreatened. 25 4Jf5 .!tfB 26 Ad3.This loses the d-pawn. 4Je3 wasindispensable. The rest is simpletechnique. 26 b4 27 .ldl-'txf5 28 ef . xel 29 . xel 4Je730 4Je3 4Jexd531 4Jc4 4Jb6 324Je3 .e8 33 4Jg4 . xel+ 34~xel ~xb2 35 f6 ~d4 36 -'tbl.ld7 37 -'tn ~c4 38 h4 ~e6 39~d2 .lxf6 40 hg 4Jxg4 41 fg~xg4 42 gh ~h5+ 43 ~gl~xh6 44 -'te3 ~g7 45 -'ta2 4Jb546Ac4 4Jc3 47 ~d3 ~g3 48 ~d2d5 0-1.

{)f3 does not work because of ...-'txc3 and starts an action againstthe weakened white king posi tion.16 h3 ~h4 17 Ml rs (47).47W

Black goes astray. After 17 ...1td4 he would threaten perpetualcheck, while 18 ~f3 allows 18 ...{)f2+ with ... f5 to follow. 18 4Jf31!th519 e5. Allofa sudden the fightturns in White's favour. The pawnsacrifice creates a dangerous passedpawn on the d-file together withvarious tactical possibilities. 19 de 20 fe 4Jxe5 21 d6. Gligoricproposed 21 .xe5 Axe5 22{)xe5 . xe5 23 Af4 .ae8 241txe5 . Xe5 25 '{Irf4 etc. 21 {)xf3 22 de 4Jd4 23 .xe8+~ xe8 24 '{Irc4+ ~h8 25 -'tf41!th426 .fl '{Ire727 4Jb5 4Jxb528 1!txb5 'f!re6 29 .dl Ad4. 301!txe8+ was threatened. 30 b4


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58 Benoni and King's Indian Defenceswhen e5 is prepared, the defence ofthe pawn on d5 may becomeessential. In some cases it is underattack from several pieces-.!lffiand .!lc7, perhaps ltb 7 and alsoi!rd8 (after e5 de). SometimesWhite can open the long whitediagonal and sometimes the bishopindirectly prevents . .. b5, becausethe .!lc4 jumps to a5 and c6,supported by the ~2. White'sfinal aims are to carry out e5 andstop ... b5. The fianchettoedbishop serves better the former one.Black's play on the Q-side is moreactive than in other Benonipositions. Playing correctly andcautiously he has the means tocheck e5, real izing counterplay onthe queen's wing which. keeps apositional balance.There are several plans against

White's basic ideas. One of them isthe manoeuvre ... .!lb8-a6-:c7,but we do not recommend it.Considering White's plans we cometo the conclusion that the knight isbet ter posted at d7, whence it easilychases a white .!lc4by ... . !lb6or. .. . !le5.Black knights at d7 and ffiare flexibly posted. A .!lffi, forinstance, can be transferred to c7 orjump to h5 making possible ... 5in search of chances on the king'swing. The following game is a goodmodel of Black's strategy.Gheorghiu-LjubojevicManila 1974I d4 .!lffi2 c4 e6 3 .!lc3c5 4 d5 ed

5 cd g6 6 g3 d6 7 .!lf3 ltg7 8 ltg20-090-0 a6 10 a4 .!lbd7 II .!ld2..e8. A useful waiting move. On 12.!lc4, Black would play 12 .... !lb6;our game will have a similarcourse. On 12a5 Black can reply 12... b5 at once without fear of 13ab.!lxb6 14 .!lb3 threatening .!la5,because 14 ... .!lc4prevents thatpossibility. Now 15 i!rd3 is met bythe strong 15 ... ..b8. 12 h3. Thisis also a useful waiting move.Sometimes ... .!lg4can be a realnuisance. 12 ..bB. An activealternative is 12 . . . .!lh5 13 .!lc4.!le514 .!la3 5 , but in our opinionthe action on the queen's wing ismore appropriate to the position.13 .!lc4.!lb614 .!la3ltd7. Blackthreatens 15 ... .!lxa4 16 .!lxa4b5 recapturing the piece with goodplay. Of course, White can preventthe tactical blow by 15 a5, but thatweakens b5. After the further 15 ..!lc816 . !lc4Black can play 16 .ltb5 and in the late course of thegame resort to the manoeuvre ....!la7-b5. The move Gheorghiuchose is bad. 15 Af4 (49).

15 .jh5. I had found thisrefutation in 1965 already, but Ihad no opportunity to use it. 16.1lxd6. Practically there is nochoice. 16 Ad2 is refuted by 16 ...jlxc3. 16 Axc3.17 ltxbBAxb2 18 Aa7 Axal. And nowcomes the mistake. Ljubojevic haslost his way. The correct move was18 ... .!lxa4 and the Aa7 istrapped. 19 ..a2 is met by 19 ....1lg7 and White is lost. 19 Axb6i!rxb6 20 i!rxal .. xe2. Blackgrabs the pawn, but the initia-tive passes to his opponent. 21 ..bli!rc7 22 .!lc4 .. xfl. One moreoversight and the game is lost.Black considered 23


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60 Benoni and King's Indian Defences Axe3 1511xa8jie5 16 ~dli!rxa8 17 ~xd7 Ad4. The threatis 18 ... Ae6 and 19 ... j'th3,mating. 18 e3 jixfl 19 \t>xfljif6. White is a pawn up, butbehind indevelopment and with hisking in a dangerous situation. The

game has already been decided. 20~a4 ~hl + 21 ~e2 . e5 22 ~dl~xh2 23 j'td2 .f5 24 ~gl ~h325 .cl ~g4+ 26 ~el i!rf3 27.c4 Axb2 28 g4 .e5 29 ~h2~d5 30 .c3 .e8 31 ~xh6 .d832 .e2 Ac3 0-1.

5 Nirnzowitsch /Larsen Attack

Once Nimzowitsch played I b3 and during the last decade Larsen,Ljubojevic, Andersson and even Fischer have played it from time to time.White fianchettoes his QB before he moves his central pawns. H e allows

his opponent to create the central pawn formation of his choice and thentries to undermine it. To understand how dangerous this seeminglyunpretentious method can bewe shall have a look at an old game, playedin Baden-Baden 1925 between Nimzowitsch and Roselli del Turco: I b3d5 2 ~f.3 c53 e3 ~c6 4Ab2.llg4 5h3Axf.3 6 ~xf.3 e5 7 j'tb5 ~d6 8e4d49 ~a3 ffi 10~c4 ~d7 II ~h5+ g6 12~f.3 ~c7 13 ~g4 \t>f714f4h515~f.3 ef 16Axc6 be 170-0 g5 18c3 .d8 19 .ael ~e7 20e5~5 21cd~xd4 22 ~e411e7 23 h4 ~d7 24 efAxffi 25 hg 1-0. After a couple ofweak moves the fianchettoed bishop becomes a devastating weapon.The best reply to I b3 is i ... e5, closing the diagonal at once. We

recommend it and we shall learn it on the basis of a number of goodgames.Larsen-SpasskyUSSR-World 1970Ib3 e5 2 Ab2 ~c6. This is a verygood method to tame White'sdragon. 3 c4. We shall see 3 e3 inanother game. The text preventsBlack building up a full pawncentre. 3 ~ 4 ~J. Notaccurate. 4 e3 is better. 4 e4 5~4 Ac5 6 ~xc6. Even now e3 isbetter. 6 de 7 e3 Af5. Whitehas weakened d3 and already hasthe worse of i t. 8 Ae2 ~e7 9 i!re2.Damjanovic-Marovic, 1974, con-

tinued 9 a3 a5 10Ac3 h5 II ~c2but after II . .. .h6 White wasstrategically lost. 9 0-0-0 10t4.10h3 and ~c3 is preferable. Thetext weakens the position. 10 ~g4 IIg3 h5 12 h3 (51). GivingSpasskya chance to win brilliantly.12 h4. Since White is playingwithout his whole queen's wing,you can always decide upon such asacrifice confidently: it simply mustwork. 13 hg hg 14 .gl. Andanother amusing variation: 14.xh8 .xh8 15Afl ~h416 Ag2


31/78

62 Nimzowitsch /LarsenAttack51B

~hl+ 17 Axhl xhl+ 18


32/78

64 Nimnnoitsdi ILarsen Attacka tempo in a critical posi tion. 40 d5 41 e4. 41 4JgS fails to 41 ...xgS. 41 e542 fl. Or 42f3 e4+ 43 g4 hg 44 hg fS etc.42 a4 43 ba xc4+ 44 g4 kg45 4Jd6 d446 4Jb5 b4 47 kg

g248


33/78

66 Bird's Opening17 e3 b5 18 ab -gyxb6 19 Aa3. Asa matter of fact this isweak. 19 .i1,xa3 20 ..xa3 .ld5. Again e4 isinhibited by ... .lxf4. 21 ..el-gyb7 22 -gye2 ..b6. The .ld5dominates the position, forcingWhite to lose tempi and helping totake the open fi le in the meant ime.23.ld2 ..b2 24 ~el ..b8 25 ..a5f5. Black has definitely secured thecentralized posi tion of his knight,reckoning with the tacticalpossibility-25 .lxc4 ..xg2+. 26

h3h627\t>hI .lf628 ..e5 ..a229..gl. 29 .. xef would only offerBlack the opportunity to doublerooks on the seventh rank by 29 ...-gyf7.29 iI730 e4. Or 30 .lx c 4.le4. 30 ..bb231 .lxc4 ..e232 ~e3 .lxe4 33 d5 ed 34 .lb6..xc3 35 ~d4. It's time for thesettling of accounts. After thefollowing move White cannot parrythe threats. 35 ~h5 36 ~ xd5+\

Documents

An Opening Repertoire for Black [Drazen Marovic & Bruno Parma 1978]