Svidlers Archangel Puzzles

7/25/2019 Svidlers Archangel Puzzles

1/6

Svidlers

ArchangelGM Peter Svidler

Question 1.

Black to play.

In this rather typical position,

Black has driven back the

bishop from g5 to g3, where it

is out of play - but at the cost

of weakening his kingside

structure. If White manages to

consolidate, thoseweaknesses could be telling.

Is there a way for Black to use

White's current lag in

development to develop his

initiative further?

Question 2.

White to play.

What is the reason Peter

finally decided against

recommending 12...Bb7?


2/6

Question 3.

Black to play.

Black has fended off the first

wave. Is it time to castle, orshould Black take one more

precautionary measure?

Question 4.

Black to play.

Find the idea Hikaru

Nakamura missed here.


3/6

Question 5.

Black to play.

How can you justify sacrificing

the d6 pawn here?

Question 6.

Black to play.

A little tactical problem.

Assess the situation, andsuggest the move you would

like to make here.


4/6

Question 7.

Black to play.

A tough one! Can you find

Blacks best move?

Question 8.

Black to play.

A little test of tactical

awareness.

What should Black play here?


5/6

Question 9.

Black to play.

Why is 24.Bd1, as played by a

very strong GM Oleg Korneev,a bit of a mistake here?

Question 10.

White to play.

The whole following line is

study-like, but perhaps themost striking is the move

White should make here.


6/6

Svidlers

ArchangelThe Solutions.

1 17...Bc8! By recognizing that the bishop was not doing much on b7, and bringing it

back to support the g5-g4 break, Black creates serious problems for White on the

kingside.

2 13.d5 - The resulting structure with the doubled b-pawns, although quite solid,

feels very passive.

3 16...b4! Securing the knight on c5, and creating a large threat of b4-b3,

exchanging off the important a2 bishop, should take precedence over castling.

4 21...Bxf2+! 22.Kxf2 Qd4+ gives Black excellent winning chances here.

5 19...Bf5 the forced exchanges lead to an endgame which Black will hold easily.

6 16...dxe5! This move requires precise calculation, but the ensuing complications

work out just fine for Black.

7 23...Qg8! is the counter-intuitive move.

8 19...Rb3! This shot gives Black a huge edge.

9 24...Ne3+! and White's position collapses.

10 28.Rg3! This move, luring the pawn to g3 before taking on g4, so that you can pick

up the Queen with Nh6+, is very beautiful. It is not enough to win White the

game, however - the rest of the line is almost as spectacular.

Documents

Svidlers Archangel Puzzles