The Open Games for Black.pdf

7/26/2019 The Open Games for Black.pdf

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Techncal Edtor: M ergey oloov

Cover desgn by: Kaloan Nachev

Translaton by: GM Egeny Ermenkov

The ublshers would lke to thank Phl Adams for advce regardng

the Englsh translaton.

Coyrght gor Lys, oman etchkn 202

Prnted n Bulgara by "Chess tars Ltd. oaBN3: 978 954 8782 883


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Ig Lys Rm O

The Open Game for Black

A complete black repertire with .e4 e5 againsteveryhig except the Ruy Lpez

Chess Stars


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BbogaphyOning for ite Ac to and (vo I) by ia, Chess Stas 2003Beang the Open Games by Mihail Main, Quali Chess 2008

he CESS ST Book

Repertoire books:

Opening for Wite Ac. to Kamnik l. by A alifmanVolume 1a: Od Indian, rare lines in the Classical Variation, 2006Volume 1b: The Classical Variation, 2006

Volume 2: An-NimInd, An-Qun's India, Ensh, 2008Volume 3: English (1 ... c5), Engish (four knights), 2011Voume 4: Maroczy, Modern, Trifunovic, 2011

Openng for Wite According to Anand l.e4 by A. aifmanVolume 8: The Sicilian, Paulsen-Kan and rare lines, 2006Volume 9 he Siclian, PaulsenTaimanov and oher lines, 2007Volume 10: The Sicilian, Sveshnikov, 2007Volume 11; The Sician, Dragon, 2009Volume 12: The Sicilan, Rauzer Attack, 2009Volume 13: The Siclan, English Atack, 2010

Opening for Back According to Karpov by Khalifman

Current theory and practice series:The Sharpest Sicilian by Kri Georgev and At Kolev, 2007he Safest Siclian by Delchev and Semkov, 2nd reved 2008he Queen's Gambit Accepted by Sakav and Semkov, 3rd rev ed, 2008

The Easiest Sicilian by Koev and Nedev, 2008The Petrosian System Against the QID by Beliavs and Mialchishin, 2008ll KID by Semko Semkov, 2009The Kng's Indian A Complete Black Repertoire by Victor Bologan, 2009he Scotch Game for White by adimir Barsky, 2009The Modern Phiidor Defence by adimir Barsky, 2010The Moscow & Ati-Moscow Variations by Alexey Dreev, 2010Squeezing the Gambits by ril Georgiev, 2010

A Universal Weapon d4 d6 by adimir Barsky, 2010The Meran & Ati-Meran Variaions by Alexey Dreev, 2011The Safest Grunfeld by Alexander Delchev and Evgenj Arest, 2011Fighting the French: a New Concept by Denis Yevseev, 2011The Modern Rei A Ai-Slav Reperoire by Alexander Delchev, 2012The French Defence Reloaded by Nikta Viiugov, 2012The Berlin Defence by Igor Lys and Roman Ovetchkin, 2012


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C

Pefa

Par l e Lnes wo 2.l.e4 e5

1 aePaed Moves. Centr Gam 2.d4 exd4 . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 ing's Gambit 2.f4 dS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vienna Game 2.c3 f6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 ishops Opening 2. 4 f6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Par 2. l e Lnes wo 3 b5l.e4 e5 2. c6

5 aePaed Moves. Ponziani Opening 3.c3 dS . . . . . . . . . . . . 666 egrade Gambit 3.c3 f6 4.d4 ed S.dS e . . . . . . . . . . . . Gek Variation 3.c3 f6 4.g3 dS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828 our ights Game 3.c3 f6 4.b5 b4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Scoch Gae 3.d4 exd49 Gring & cotch Gambits 4.c3 dS; 4.c4 cS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

10 .xd4 f6 wo S.xc6; S.xc6 b wo 6.e5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 .xd4 f6 S.x6 b 6.e5 e .e2 dS wo 8.c4 . . . . . . 3812 .xd4 f6 S.xc6 b 6.e5 e .e2 dS 8.c4 a6 . . . . . . . 44

Goco Pano 3 . c4 c513 vans Gambit 4.b4 b4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5814 .d3 f6 various; S.b3 00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

15 .c3 f6 S.d3 h6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 .00 f6 S.d4 d4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 .00 f6 S.d3 00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888 .c3 f6 various; S.d4 xd4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 .c3 f6 S.d3 00 wo 6.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2620 .c3 f6 S.d3 00 6.00 dS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Ind ofVaraons . . . . . . . 24


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PRFACE

M main opening weapon throughout m chess career om 998 to200, was the French Defence. However in the ast ve ears of thisperiod paed a arge number of games in the strongest tournamentsin ussia, most against paers rated over 2600 and suered manhumiiating but wedeseed defeats

These osses made me reconsider the situation and came to theconcusion that the cramped positions in the French efence are stra

tegica ris and do not quite suit m pang se. At the beginningof 200 quaied for the Word Cup and had to make up m mindhow was going to tr to neutraize eective Ostap Benders favourite

move (e4).*

The overwheming maorit of the words theoretica experts consider that in rep to e2e4 there are rea on two good movesince the sharp iciian positions might turn m hair premature gre, decided to stud the camer move .eS

managed to stud the new positions quic and easi and fetquite comfotabe with them in practice B the summer of 20 wasaread paing nothing but ..eS and had no opening probems withBack either in the Finas of the Championship of ussia or in theWord Cup.

n this book have presented a m anases and m discoveriesduring the Word Cup beieve that it wi be use for chess paersat a eves to stud the, together wth the exceent annotations andexpanations of oman Ovechkin

*English Editor's note: Ostap Bender is he hero of the famous Russian comic

l l Ch i b d


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The reader might ustiab pose the foowing question: "How tocope th the u Lopez if ou are Back?. n fact amost ever variation of this opening desees to e anazed in a separate voume sowe sha revea to ou the tremendous compicated and fashionabeBerin efence in our next book.

Fina and m coauthor .Ovechn shoud ike to expressour immense gratitude to our iends Grandmasters .KurnosovP.Ponkatov and A.iazantsev as we as to m ongtime coachN.Ogoin for their generous contributions and invauae hep dur

ing the iting of this book

Ior LysyEkeriur, Ferury 2012


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Pat l

l.e4 e5

Wite Lies wtout 2.f

n Chapter , we deal withWhites least popular moves. Themost serious among them seems

to be 2.d4 - the Centre Game,but it went practicall fell out ofuse aer the game Nepomniacht

chi - Valleo Pons, Moscow 200.We base our analsis on this particular encounter.

n Chapter 2, we stud the omnipresent opening of the roman

tics - the ings Gambit (2.f4Unfounatel, the 2st centur

computer programs have dealta severe blow to chess romanticism. We recommend to Black

to pla 2... d5 3.exd5 exf4, aerwhich ite is forced to ght forequait.

n Chapter 3, we analze theVienna Game - 2.c3Just as in

t to advance dd5 as quick aspossible. His ee piecepla and

the ght for the centre enable himto equaize eortlessl. The readers should pa special attention tothe line: 2 .. f6 3.f4 d5 4.exd5xd5 we think this quite fashionable variation ll reduce considerabl the adherents to the Vi

enna Game.Nowadas, even some of thestrongest grandmasters in the

world are tring to avoid thePetro Defence and the uLopez b plang 2 . c4 and

we suggest Black develops hisknights to c6 and f6. er this

ite can hard nd anhingmore sensible than transposing to

the Giuoco Piano, which is studied in Part 2.

We ask our readers not to beamazed that in the main lines ofseveral of these chapters Black

even obtains an advantage, whilein some of the side variationsite somehow maintains thebalance. This is because in themain line of ever variation wehave tried to present either themost popular, or the most ambi

tious moves for ite in his ght


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Chaper 1 e4 e5

arey-Payed Mes

Cene Gae

In this chapter we sha anaze some rare paed moves forWhite, among which the mostpopuar is

2.d4For 2c3 dS 3exdS xdS 4d4

exd4 (it is aso good for Back tosimp deveop a piece 4 c6!?=)Scxd4 c6 6f3 g4 - seeChapter

2hS - Natura, we shahave a ook at this move on because it has been paed severa

times, against grandmasters atthat, b GM Nakamura We cannot nd an other puses of thismove, though Back equaizeseoess, to sa the east 2c6 3c4 g6 4 f6 Se2

kov - Vukanovic, Internet 2004,Back seizes the initiative and obtains the advantage of the bishoppair wth 6aS b3 xb3 8axb3 dS) d6 6h3 g d3e6 8b3, Nakamura - Mitkov,Minneapois 200S (It is evenworse for White to pa 8bc3?b4 .d his king isstranded in the centre and impedes the coordination of his owpieces), 8 0-0 0-0 d 0

xe6 e6 g3 e8= Back'spawnstructure has been disrupted, but he has exceent pa on

the opened fe2d3 - This move is soid, butsomewhat passive 2 c6

3 f6, or 3c3 dS 4d2f6 Se2 aS 6g cS - see


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Chapte 1

3c3 f6 4f4 ( 4f3 d5 seeChapter ; 4g3 d5 5exd5 xd56g2 xc3 bxc3 c5 - see

Chapter 3) 4exf4 5f4 d5 6e5Kuehn DTrinoc Gadenbach 1999 Now Backs best rep seems to be 6 d4 exf6 dxc38bxc3 xf6 9d2 a3 - hispieces are much more active than

their counterparts and Whitemight fai to deveop atogether

3g3 d5 4g2 (it is worse forhim to opt for 4exd5 xd5 5f3

g4 and now White oses aer 6g2? e4+ but even aer themore precise rep 6bd2 f5Back is better because he has occupied the centre and eads in de

veopment) 4 dxe4 5e4 f66c6+ bxc6 White must ghtfor equait since his ightsquared bishop is absent from the

board and the ight squares on hiskingside are vunerabe Meiers Krivonosov Latva 1994

3f4 d5 4exd5 (aer 4c3

dxe4 5xe4 f6 6xf6+ xf6e5 xe5 Back is considerab ahead in deveopment Janturin Feoktistov Moscow 1996)4 xdS 5c3 b4 6d2 (6e5xeS+ e2 Bardahchian Vasenina Varna 2010 f6

he eads in deveopment) 6 e6 Nikoin Markovic Vrnacka Bana 1996 (e2 exf4 8f3f6 see f3) aer exf4+8e2 f6 94 d5 10d2e3 xe3 xe3 Back obtains

the advantage of the two bishops3d2 f6 4g3 d5 5g2 g4

has an exceent game thanks tohis perfect depoed pieces andthe passivt of Whites bishop on

g2 Maninderpa bragimovangi 20002 .. .exd4 3.d43 c6 see Chapters

912; 3c3 d5 4exd5 xd5 5cxd4c6 6f3 g4 see Chapter 9;3c4 c6 4f3 (4c3?! f6 5 xe4 60-0 d5) 4 c5 -

see Chapter 93 .c6

4.e3

This is the main move forWhite and it is considered to bethe most aggressive His queen isread to go to g3 attacking Backs

kingside4d1 This move is too sow

4 f6 5d3 d5 6exd5 xd5

g4 - Back is far ahead indeveopment Lange - PausenLeipzig 1864

4d3 - Whites queen is notbeer paced here than on e3 4 f6 5c3 (5?! d5) 5 d5 6

g5 d4 d5 Badev - MarhoevBorovetz 2008 (He can weaken


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le4 e5 2d4 exd4 3 xd4 4 e3

with xf6 gxf6 8d5 fS butBacks advantage of the two bishops and his free piecedeveopment are much more important)aer b4 8xb4 xb4+ 9c3dxc3 10xd8+ xd8 110-0-0+e8 12bxc3 xc3 White canhard prove that his sight ead indeveopment is sucient to compensate Backs extra pawn in thisendgame

4c4 f6 5c3 (Sd3 dS 6exd5 xdS - Back eads in deveopment and aer 5 g5 b4+6c3 e f3 dS 8exd5 TBauer- im Pzen 2004 he shoudkeep the queens on the board andaer 8 xd5 his superior de

veopment provides him withgood attacking prospects) 5 b4 6d2 d6 0-0-0 Guns berg- Mortimer London 188 aere6 8d5 xd2+ 9d2 0-0Back has better deveopment andis read to begin active operations

4a4 Whites queen does

not impede the deveopment ofhis own pieces on this square 4 f6 5g5 (5c3 b4 6d2 0-000-0 d6 8a3 Amit Haimovich srae 2002 and aer 8cS Back gains important tempifor the organization of his attackdue to the mispacement of theenem queen; 5 cS 6b5e c3 eS! 8xe5 xe5 9f4 e 10e5 0-0 11e2 g4!White has deaed the evacuationof his kng awa from the centreand might be sorr for that Prie- eange Nice 1994; in the vari

d5 800-0 e Backs piecesturn out to be much better pacedKainsk - ubinstein Kiev 1903)5c5 6f3 (6c3 xf2) 6 h6 h4 g5 8g3 dS 9c3 dxe410e5 e3 11e3 0-0 He has

weakened his casted positionbut has tremendous active pieces thanks to his opponents kingstranded in the centre for exampe: 12xc6 bxc6 13 d3 xe3

14xc6 d 15xc xc 16xc fe8 1f1 d4 White hassucceeded in exchanging queensbut has great probems coordinating his pieces

4f6

5c35c4 b4+ 6c3 0-0 d2

xc3 see 5c3 5e5 g4 6e2 d6!


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Chapte 1

exd6+ e6 8dc xcWhite has won a pawn but hema fai to develop his forces

h6 8exd6+ (8 xh6h4+ g3 xh6 0exd6+ e6 d+ xd Black has lost his castling rights but has obtained theadvantage of the two bishopshaving a considerable lead in development too) 8e6 dxcxc

h3 gxe5! White fails to na piece 8f4 d4 e4 h4+0d Taubenhaus GunsbergHamburg 1885 10 e6 g3f6 2c3 c6 Black ends up

with a solid extra pawn5 d2 - This modest lookng

move is necessa anwa andseems reasonable since it prevents the development of the enem bishop to b4 where it would

be most active 5 e 6c3 (6c4 dS exd5 xdS 8g3? Cabrera - uasnabar Lima 2000opening of the central es is in

Black's favou since he has superior development White's lastmove has enabled Black to startan immediate attack th themove 8 d4!) 6d5 exd5 xd5

rate for ite to pla 8xd5xdS e2 fS although even

then Black's chances are preferable thanks to his perfectl centralized pieces) 8 cb4 xd5 (

ter 0-0-0 xc3 0bxc3 xa2+White loses aer b e6 12c4bS! 13xa2 bxc4+ as well as after b2 xc3 2xc3 f6+3b3 d4-+ Hernandez Munoz Guadamuro Torrente Lin

ares 200 and in both casesBlack's attack is decisive) xdS 0xb4 (10xg? xc2+d1 xa 2xh8+ f8 3c3 e6-+ ite's kingside pieces have completel faied to comeinto action) 10 e4+ 1e2

xb4+ 2c3 b6 30-0-000 Black has an overwhelmingadvantage with his superior de

velopment and a powerl bishoppair in a position with an opencentre anchez Castillo - Otazoanchez Merida 200

5b4+!?

This is a standard resourceand the readers will encounter itve oen in this book lack forces the enem pawn to c3 here itoccupies the est square for the


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le4 e5 2d4 exd4 3 Wxd4 4 e3

63 (ae 6d2 0-0 b4b4 8d3 d5 White cannotevcuate is king fom the centethout mateial losses) 6 a5c4 Neia Gacia - Flea anebastian 2005 (in epl to d3jagos - Csikos unga 2010Bck can eploit te exposed posiion of te enem queen to activte is pieces wth b6 8f4d5 9e5 h5 10a4 d) b6

8d3 0-0 90-0 e 10bd2d6 ite as poblems with thedevelopent of his queenside inew of the lneabilit of his e4p

5e2 e! - This supisingmove enabes Black to open theposition to his advantage 6c3d5 exd5 b4 8d3 Mason -lecte Pais 1900 8 xd3+9d3 f5 10ge2 xe3 e3, o 8xe+ e 9d3cies chlechte Nuem

beg 896 9 xd3+ 10cxd3f5 and in bot cases Black e

gins is pawn peseving his advantage of te two bishops

. . .b4 6 . d2 -

t is bad fo White to opt fog3? d5 and Black opens thecental les to his advantage

while ae c4? xc3 8xc3xe4 he wins his opponentscente paw and ite is unabe

to etain the advantage of thebisop pai Kupeichik - LeinVoonezh 1969

7 .. .e

.g3White is ting to oganize a

pieceattack against the enemkng but he is likel to fail due to

his lag in development8ge2 d5! 9xd5 xd5 10

f3 d2+ 1xd2 cb4! 2exd5xa2+ 3b1 b4 White's kngposition has been weakened andBlack's pieces come into actioneasil and eotlessl

8f4 xc3 9c3 xe4 10d2 (o 0g3 d5) 10 d5 e8 12e2 e 3f4 d4! 14

d4 xd4 15xd4 f5 - Blackas mobilized his foces and seizes te initiative thanks to his cen

talized pieces8 d5 9f2 (In answe to


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Chapte 1

vana 80 it is good for Back topa e! 0xd5 xdS xdS e6 and he competes the

activation of his forces and beginsan oensive; g5 d4 0d5xd2+ xd2 xd5 2xd5 eBack is considerab ahead in de

veopment and this prodes himwth exceent attacng chances) dxe4 gS (n the variation0xe4 xd2+ xd2 e 2

xf6+ xf6 unike his opponent Back has no probems wth

the deveopment of his forcesMeising - EmLasker Copenhagen ) 0 d! d5 OKainina - ZMamedarova Chisinau 2005 White's kingside stands

ide and Back begins an attackth the hep of the energetic ine:e3! 2h4 d2+ 3@b fS4xf6+ gxf6 5 xf6 d6

8 c4 d6

f3 - With this move Whiteforties his e4pawn but weakens the dark squares in the centree5 0b3 aS a3 cS 2e bS! 3xb5 a4 4 a2 c65c3 b6 - White's kngsideforces have not et come into ac

tions Pieroni - ada Equiza,

t is not good for White tochoose e2 cS 0g3 eSb5 Zezukin - Hudecek Lito

ms 4 because aer the concrete rep 1 h5 2g5 xgS3xg5 c6 4 d3 g4 Backforces a tansition into an endgame and succeeds in wnning ateast a pawn

er h3 Luboevic - osino Venice 66 Back soves his

probems with e6 0xe6xe6 ge2 dS and maintainsan edge thanks to his active pieces

e h3 eS 0b3, Jakobsen - Lhagva iegen 0Back can pa 0c6 f4 eg4

2d3 h6 and he covers the important dSsquare and restrictsboth his opponent's kights

e6 0e6 xe6 gS e8 2f4 h6 3h4 d 4 g4 White's aggressive actions have ed to the appeaanceof the exceent g4outpost for

Back's pieces and probems forWhite th the protection of hise4paw, Winawer - JanowskVienna 86

8.xe4 9.xe4 xe4


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l e4 e5 2d4 exd4 3. xd4 c6 4. e3 f6

1 0 . f4106? f6 11g5 e6-+er 10b4 xb4 a3 b6

1e d5 Back has a soid extrapawn in the centre

He manages to comfotabreroup is pieces in the centre inte variation 10g5 e h4 d51 e6 13c4 d6 Ostbergriksson weden 008

10c3 e! Wite is unabe to

expoit te exposed position ofte enem rook

er f3 d6 1h3 e5Back has a soid extra pa in

the centre

f4 - ite weakens theight squares in the centre 11 d5 12 (12d3 f5 13 e4

e4) 2f5! 3d3 d 14e4 e4 udd - A London 010 White has won a pawbut Backs attack against hisking be dead aer a5 a4etc

d3 h4! - the rook mustreturn to base 12e8 13h5(13c?! d6 4h3 e5 15h5g6 16h6 h3 1gxh3 f3-+and aer g5 Back enter aneasi nning endgame Waschk

2004) 13g6 146 e5 15 e2d5 16 g4 1xh4 x4 18xh4 xe2 White oses at eastanoter paw umats - Vaniemsdik ao Pao 009

10 . . .f6 11 .3er 11c? d6 12 d6

6+ 13b1 d6-+ Whitesback rank was so weak that e osthis bishop in te game FMaer -Geske Oenbac 005

. . .d6 2 . d31? d4 13xd4 xd4-12 . . .d4

13 . e33b1? - This move oses b

force 3 e2 14f3 a3!! 15bxa3 (15c3 xc3-+; 15c1 xf316gxf3 e8-+ igb - Tuvshin

tugs Las Vegas 008) 15 c3+16c xa2+ 1b1 c3+ 18c h3 19e4 g! 0xgxf4+ b xe4-+ Nepomniachtchi - Vaeo Pons Moscow00

t is not good for White to pa3g5?! e6 14c3 xa2 15cxd4Masiakov - Orov t Petersburg00 and now Back wins with


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Chper1

1f5 4- 6 xh 1xd4a1 182 fS 9b3 e6!202 a4 2d3 e8!

ite's kng is ompete bareand he is hepess against his opponent's mating attak, despitehis extra rook: 22h4+ g8 23 e3 bS 242 5-

13.?In the diagrammed position

even oung Capabana faied tond the right path and he endedup an exhange down aer 13 g4? 14g5 xe3 15xg4 e2+

16e2 xe2 e4 xe4 18xe4 Mieses - Capabana, Berin 193

There is an interesting aternative to the move in the text and

th i GM Korhnoi's reommendation 3 g4!?

14.Y e 15g5 %e

16.c3 c3

Bak obtains more than suient materia equivaent for the

piee and ompete open up theenem kng1.bxc3 %xc3+ 18c2 (18

b? b4 9a d4- 18al+ 19.d2 (9 b1? e5-19xa2 ite's bishop on gSnot on prevents his knight fromusing this square, but does not

partiipate in the protetion of hisking either, so there is no doubtthat in the near ture he wi haveto trade the queens and defend arather unpeasant endgame


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Chapter 2 .e4 e 2.f4

Kng' Gambt

2 .. .d5Blacks main move in the dia

gram position is 2... exf4. t hasbeen analzed in GM K akaevsbook "The Petro: an Eert

Repertoire for Back.The basic advantage of the

move we recommend is thatite does not get the tpe ofgame he would ike - with sacrices of paws and pieces andmating attacks. er 2... d5 Blackeortlessl completes his development in most variations andoccupies the onl open le; thisprodes him with chances notonl of equalizing but of seizingthe initiative as wel.

3.exd5For the moves 3.f3 exf4 4.

4... f6 - see 3.exd5 or 3.c3 f6

- see Chapter 3 variation AAll other alternatives for White

are clearl worse for exampleaer 3h5 f6 4.xe5 e-+Blacks lead in development is sogreat that he should be able to set

tle the issue ver quick.

3 .. .exf4This move is much more natu

ra than 3... e4 which was considered as a retation of Whites entire attacking concept b the woldfamous "knight of the KingsGambit - udolf pielmann.

Black restores the materialbalance has the unpeasant threat4 .. h4 and his pieces come intopla eortlessl. His f4pa re


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Chapter 2

drkqured bihop nd enbe f6 8.f3 00 nd he m fiBck piece to ght for the e3 eveop hi queenide owing toqure. the unfavourbe pcement of hi

4.t i not good for White to p

4.d4?! h4+ 5.d2, Trtakower

- zbo, Ljubjn 1938, 5...d8! Bck remove hi queenfrom n poibe enem ttckth tempo, whie White' king ibound to remin trnded in thecentre for ong time; or if 4.c3?! h4+ 5.e2 (in the gmbitvrition 5.g3 g3 6.e2+ e

White h no compention whtoever for the ot pwn) 5...g4+ 6.f3 d6 nd Back wicontinue with e nd d, inthe 4. c4 vrition. t woud notbe in the pirit of the poition forWhite to chooe 4.e2+?!, be

cue in thi verion of the King'Gambit White' queen i mipaced on the ee and wi comeunder attck with tempo. 4... e5.c3 f6 6.d4 0-0

t i rther dubiou for Whiteto opt for 4. b5+?! c6 5.e2+(5.dxc6 xc6 6. f6 - ee

queen on e2.er 4. e2 h4+ 5.f d66.d4 c6 .3 d8 8.dxc6 xc6White king i tot mipcednd he wi hve to return with in

teret the tempi ot b Bck onmnoeuvre th hi queen.

4.?! - White h protected

hi d5pwn nd prried the threto h4+, but hi g in deveopment i o gret tht he cnnot evenequize, nd here er 4 ... f6

5. b5+ c6 6.dxc6 xc6 .d4,

piemnn Nimzotch, Munich 1906, ... b4+ 8.c3 0-0+Bck' ack i deciive.

er 5.c3 d6 6. b5+ c6 .dxc6 0-0 8.cxb e+ 9.e2xb 0., eatcro ergeant, Margte 1939, it eem

ver attractive for Back to pa10... c6 1.0-0 e8 12.d1 f5and he h n overwheming edin deveopment.

er the more ccurte repone for White 5. c4 c6 6.c3d6 .e2+ e 8.d4 (aer 8.d6?xd6 9.d3 0-0 0. d2 b5 ll. b3


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daneous initiative J.Poga -Benin Buenos es 992

whie e obtains et ead indeveopment ae 8.dc6 c6 9.d3d4) 8... 0-0 9.f4 cdS 0.b3 b4 hites his queen povesto be ispaced on e2 and Whitewi ose oe tempi ate Endes Moehing azwede 1982.

4 c4?! 4+ S.@f1 d6

Bck has protected is f4pa nd wishes to pepae thepenettion of kniht to te e3squae. This outpost inevitab become avaiabe to Back because White cannot continue the

ame without d2d4 o d2d3.6.c3 e .e4 (aer .d4

00 8. it is good fo Back topa 8... h5 - see 6. or 8...h6? Bronstein - Beiavssovodsk 982) ... 0-0 8.d6(in rep to 8.e Westeinen -destein Espoo 989 it seemsogi for Back to avoid the echange of queens with 8... h69f3 fS 0.d3 d and his

knight head for the g4square;o if 8.f3 h6 9.b3?! g4 0.d6 cd6-+ ite wi be una

be to deveop his piees) 8... cd6

le4 e5 2 4 3ed ef4 .f6

2.c4 g4 Back wi doube isooks on the ce and White wiose his c4paw Dekic NinovUcinj 1998.

6.f3 S c3 e 8.d400 9.@f2 (The endgame aisinge 9e5 d+ 0.d d.f4 b6 2.b3 bdS 3.d2 is nea hopeess fo WiteDe Wit Winants Haaem 99and now 13... a5 and despite the

ecane of queens White hsconsidebe dicuties connected with the fact that his kng is somispaced that e cannot coodinte is foces.) 9... d 0.e(10. b3?! f6 e g4 2.h33.f3 h4+ 4.@ f5-+Htmann - G.chmidt Baen2000) 10... b6 . b3 edS 2.dS dS 13.c4 e3 4.e3e3+ 5xe3 J.Pogar - TopaovMeico Cit 200. Hee it woud

be ve stong for Back to continue with 5... c5! he contosthe dark squaes and estricts the

mobiit of his opponents ightsquaed bishop. Backs handswoud then be fee fo active opertions on the kngside.

4{6


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Chapter 2

n the diagram position Whiteusual pas the moves A)5.ib5+ ?! and B) 5c4.

For Sc3 dS see Chapter3 variation A.Se2?! The bishop is rather

passive on this square er 5dS 6c4 b4! d4 fS 8a3gS 900 e Black has succeeded in keeping his etra pawn

Sd4 dS

6c3 b4 see Chapter 3; 6c4 e6 - see variation A

6c4? b4+ f2 e3! Backquickl completes his development and organizes a decisive at

tack against White's king stranded in the centre Hisler - MureMetz 2003

6 d3 e+ e2 (if f2e3 8e2 S Black controls thedark squares in the centre and obtains ecellent attacking pros

pects) b4 8xf4 xd3+ 9cd3 c6 - Black is clear better thanks to his bishop pair andWhite's weaknesses aong the dle

6 e2 b4+! c3 Tartakower- Alekhine New York 924 d6 Back has a stable advan

White's vulnerable e3 and e4squares

Sc4 c6!

Black is tring to expoit hislead in development and at thesame time eliminate his opponent's cramping pawn

6c3 cxdS cxd5?! (for d4

b4 - see 6d4) xdS Even ifWhite regains his pawn he wilend up with an isolated pawn n

the game Borrowdale - Panteleev Email 200 there followedlater 8e2+? e6 9b5+ c60xb db4 llbS d-+ andite was osing a lot of material

6dc6?! - This move onl enhances Back's piecedevelopment 6 c6 d4 b4+ 8c3(ae 8d2? 0-0 Black's attackis decisive) 80-0 9e2 e4 0d2 xd2 xd2 g4 itewil be faced with a long and dif

cult defence in view of the absence of his darksquared bishopand his weakesses in the centeHermanowski - Grube uhrge

biet 986d4 b4+ c3 (If d2?!

then aer the exchange of thedarksquared bishops ite wil


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his e3square and need to recapture the enem f4pawn withhis queen which provideBack with additiona tempi for

the activation of his pieces. ...d2+ 8.xd2 cxdS .xf4 0010.c3 c6 Martinez Martin Meszaros Peniscoa 2002.) ...cxdS 8. xf4 0-0 .e2 dxc4 10.

c4 (10.00 c6 11.c4 g4 -see 10. xc4) 10... c6 11.0-0 g4

12.a3. White shoud drive theenem bishop to the aSsquare.(12.e3?! c8 13.b3 Handoko -Matanoc urakaa 182 13...aS) 12... aS

There has arisen a compicated position with a damic baance in which Wites d4pawmore oen than not proves to be a

weakess rather than a strongcentra passed paw.

13.gS?! 14.x xd4+S.xd4 xd4 White has endedup a paw down and has prob

ems on the ce Bronstein -Nikoaevsk Leningrad 11.

n the variation 13.dS d4 14.h1 x 1S.g geov - Marinescu uharest S akcan obtain a ve good position

l.e4 e5 2j 4 3ed ef4.f6

g6 White wi be unabe tomaintain his knight on the e4outpost and aer its disappearance his king wi be terrib endangered.

13.h1!? This is a use movesince it removes his king from a

ver dangerous diagona. 13... (in answer to 13... c!?Ageichenko - Khomov Moscow168 ite has the response

14.gS wth a ve compicatedposition) 14. xd4 1S.f1 e56.eS xeS 1.e1 d4 18.dh4!

White has exceent compen

sation for the pawn but tournament practice shows that it shoud

be sucient on for equait:in the game Winberg - Weg

man Emai 200 aer .h3gS 20.g3 eS= Backs queenwas we paced in the centre.

White faied to create seriousprobems for his opponent with1.g3 h6 20.b4 c 21.d4 e22.h4 gS 23.e4 xe4 24.xxg3+! 2S.hxg3 x 26.x+h8 2.hS g4 28.d3 Nieadomski - Pietruske Emai 200since at the end of the forced ine:


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Chapter 2

c2+ 3.h3 c8+ 32.h4 b6=Back has exchanged his opponents most active pieces and the

game wi inetab end in adaw.

A) 5 . 5+?!The bishop is bette placed on

c4 than on b5.

5 . . .c6 6.c6For 6.e2+?! e .dxc6 xc6

- see 6.dxc6.6 . . . x6

Whites centre can hard beadvanced owing to the weakenedcomplex of squaes on the ee

whie Blacks pieces have no dicut coming into pla.

.d4

White oses a piece aer .0-0?? b6-+; it is also bad fohim to opt fo .e5? b6 8.e2e 9.c4 d 10.c3 0 hehas transfered his ight to a

ve bad square and lags considerabl in development.

.e2+?! This loses an im

8.d4 0-0 9.c6 bxc6 10.0-0e (Backs power theatd6 folowed b the tansfe of

his knight to the e3square forcesWhite to sacrice his queen.) 11.f4 a3! 12.xe8+ xe 13.xa3 e6 and ong to the unfa

vourabe position of his knight ona3 Whites compensation is insucient.

.c6+ bxc6 8.0-0 d6 9.

e1+ e6 10.d4 (10.g5 0-0 11.xe6 e6 White is considerab

behind in development and cannot win a pa: if 12.xe6? cS+13.h1 ! with a decisive attackfo Black) 10... 0-0 with the

bishop pai and a powerl pawn

on f4.ite cannot equalize with.c3 d6 8.e2+ e6 9.d4 (tis sightl bette fo him to opt fo9.c6+ bxc6 10.g5 d 11.xe6 xe6 12.0-0 0-0 whenBlacks f4paw considerabcramps Whites position but the

absence of queens should enablehim to gradual equaize irotti- chmidt Emai 2008.) 9... 0-010.xe6 e6 11. xc6 bxc6White is a ong wa behind in development and ma come under adangerous attack for exampe

aer the greed 12.xe6+? h813.0-0 b6+ 14.h1 ae8! 5.h3 (Back mates quic aer15. xd6? f2!! 16. xf8+ g8-+)15... f2 16. h4 Whitesqueenside is undeveloped whileall Blacks piees are participatingin te action.


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8.2+8.c3?! 00 9.00 b6 - see8.0-0.

White oses ae 8.d5? xd5-+ and Back's knight is untoucha

be in view of b4+.Back has no probems aer

8.0-0 0-0.

9.c3 g4 10.bd2 e8 - see9.bd2.

9. xc6?! bxc6 10.e5 RJ.Fischer - Witeczek Detroit (sim)1964 10

b6 .e1 b6 Backexerts powerfu pessue againstthe enem centre.

9.c3?! b6 10.h1 g4 11.xc6 bxc6 Back has obtainedthe bishop pair and has superiodeveopment whie White's kingside is weak Green - tken un

l e4 e 2/ 4 3.ed ef4 f6

9.c4 g4 10.c3 c8 . xc6bxc6 12.e2 h5 Van Eik -winkes Dieren 2005 or .h1b8 12. xc6 bxc6 Corde Fecher Emai 200 and in bothcases Back's f4pawn considera

by cramps White's pieces.9.bd2 g4 10.c4 (Back

eads in deveopment and has anexceent position on the kngside

with contro of the on open e.

He has ongasting initiative andin the vaiation 10.c3 e8 . d3h6 12.c4 c) 10... c . xc6(11.c3 e8 12. xc6 bxc6 13.ce5xe5 14.dxe5 b6+ 15.d4 h5 he succeeds in peseving thepower pawn on f4 Nowak Daenen Emai 2009) ... bxc6 12.d3 e8 3.h3 (in the ine: 13.b3

f3 14. Pedersen PordzikEmai 1995 it ooks ver attrac

tive for Back to continue with thecentraizing operation 14... e415. b2 d5; 13.fe5 f5! 14.xf5 xd4+ 15.h1 xe5 ite

wi regain his pawn but Back'sook wi penetrate to the seventhank. White cannot sove hispobems even aer the more accurate rep 13.ce5 14.x d5 since Back's piecesare considerab more active than

their counterparts.) 13... 14.x e4 15.c3 c5 chter -chueer Eai 2000.

8 . Je6(diagram)

9.g59.e5? 0-0 0. xc6 bxc6

Back has an obvious advantage


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Chapter 2

bette development and geatpieceactivity and aer ite'sgreedy attempt 1f4? b6 12c3 dS, folowed by eS, Black'sattack becomes decisive, Long -Wygle, Columbus 1977

9 . . . 0 - 0 1 0 .x6

10 c6? g4 1d3 aS+12d2 xgS-+ ite's king wllll be stuck in the centre, McTavish - Puri, Winnipeg 1985

1 0 . .6!

.c6Jakubiec - Bulsk, Cracow

20111xf8? xd4 12xh7 (12

d7 xd7 13 d7 xe2 14xe2d8 1Sf5, Petroc - Petran,

has a lot of pieces for the queen,but they wll be unable to comeinto play) 12 xe2 13xf6+gxf6 14 e2 e8 1Sd1, Gysi Vayser, Email 1995 and hereBlack wns easily ae 15 xe2!16xe2 c6-+ - the coordinated actions of his queen, bishopand f4pawn are quite sucient

to wn the gameIn answe to 110-0 Black's

atack is crushing aer 11f3!?12xf3 ae8 13c6 xe6 14d3 bxc6

11. . .xc6 ( bxc6!?) 12.0 0 (ae 12xf8?? e8+White obtains two rook fo hisqueen, so mateial is not his eal

problem: his king has no safeshelter and will come under a veydangerous atack) 12 .. .8 13. x 14.x x6 15.3(In the endgame aer 1Sxf4?e1+ 16f2 h1 17d6 e4+18e2 xd6 White has an extrapa, but his enire queenside is

pactically immobilized) 15 .g5

White cannot advance his cen


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roo are restricted by his oppoet's f4paw I additio, Blackcotrols the oly ope le adca mprove his positio at leisure He ca trasfer his kg tog6 ad prepare the peetrato ofhis kight to the e3outpost

B) 5.Jc4This calm move is hite's

best5 .. .xd5

6 . 0 - 0

For 6 c3 xc3 see Chapter3.

6e2+ ?! e7 70-0 c6 (it isless eergetc for Black to cotiue wth 7e6 - see 60-0) 8d40-0 9c3 b6 ite is faced

wth a upleasat choice - to remai a paw dow, or to presethis oppoet wth the bishoppair, okolov - Byovs,Pavlodar 199

6d4 e6(dagram)

70-0? e3 - see 60-0; or 7b3 b4+! see 6b3

le4 e5 2 4 d5 3ed ef4 f6

b4 ite wll fail to regai hispaw, or he wll ed up wth a

weakeed pawstructure o thequeeside) 8c6 - see 60-07e2 b4+ 8c3 e7 90-0

0-0 10xd5 xdS xf4 cSBlack has a stable advatage wthhis powerl bishoppair i thisope positio

6b3 e6 7c4 (70-0 cS - see600; 7d4 b4+! - e deprves

the eemy kight of the c3square, which is its best ad aer8c3 e7 900 0-0 10c4 e3xe3 e3 Black obtais the

bishop pair) 7e7 8d4 g690-0 e7 10c3 0-0 e2

g4 White ca regai his pawi several ways ideed He willpreset Black with the bishoppair, which wll prode him wthloglastig iitatve, or aer12xf4 h4! the pawshelter ofhites moarch will be weakeed

Black should ot be afraid of6xd5 xd5 7c3 (700? c68d4 e6 see 60-0, or 8c3f5 9d4 e6 - see 7c3; 7d4

b4+ 8d2 b5 Black preseeshis extra paw ad prevetsite from castlig kgside) 7


28/247

Chapter 2

8e2+ e7 (8 e6 9d b see 8d) 9 6 1000 (10

b5 00 7? a5-+ JoitaNikolaevsky, eningad 1960 10d5 b d f6 12d6 d613db5 5 1f 0- Blakmainains a geat advantage wthhis bishoppai in a posiion wihan open ente, Kuheenko -

ahenko, akov 2006) 10 e6 5d5 12d5 d5 13f 0-0-0 Blak has an etapawn in a quiet position, Jalas -atal, Email 2009

White plays only vey seldom80-0?! 6 9d e6 10h(ae 10e5 xe5 1xf g6

12de5 5+ 13h1 0-0 he egains his pawn, but falls onsideably behind in developmen, Fa

kas - yell, Keskemet 2010 10e2 g5 b3 0-0-0 12b2 g713 g 1e1 f3 15gx hg8+Blak has a ushing atak in a

position with mateial equality,Eames - MAdams, Cantebuy2010) 10 a5 Now, ae 00-0 12f4 xd 13xd4d-+ hama Kislik, Keskemet 2010, o d5 0-0-0 12xf b 13f3 xd5 1x5d5-+ Kelle - Piot, Bad Wo

eta pawn and he only needs toplay auately to ealize his ad

vantage

8d b 9e2+ (ae 90000 10e5 3 11bx3 it wouldbe inteesting fo Blak to play aggessively wih g5!?, while

the simples way fo him to equalize would be d7 12xfe5 13e5 d7 1d3 f6 15g3 b6 16d5 b7 17 fe8) 9

e6 0f 0-0 11e6 e612f2 (in the vaiation 1278 13b8, Misa - Geogiadis,ovdiv 2008, Blak an foesimpliaion into a vey pleasanendgame, wth equal mateial but

whee his bishop is supeio o

he enemy knight, with 13 31b3 3+ 15e2 a1 16a1 b8) 12 3 13b3,Zhang Pengiang Nisipeanu,

Tigna 2002, and ae 13d7he maintains a longlasting iniiaive thanks to his supeio pawnstuue an moe ative mino

piees6 J6

7J3


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so White shoud t to neutaizethis theat quickl.

7.d5?! - This move ll onlmake mattes wose. 7...xd5 8.d4 c6 9.f4 0-0-0 Back hasa cea advantage with his two

bishops, fee piecedeveopmentand a ceacut plan of opeationson the kingside, Ovetchkin -

Taasova, Begood 008.7.e This is a hamess

move but it enabes White to keepthe position baanced 7. e7

8.c3 c6 (The position wodbe much moe compicated ae8... c6!? 9.d4 g5) 9.d4 0-0 10.

xd5 d5 .d5 xd5 1.f4d6 - see 8.d4.

8.d4 This is objectivel thebest move fo White, but the aising position does not pesent anypobems fo Black. 8... 0-0 9.c3(9.b3?! f6 10.c4 e3 .e3e3 1.xe3 e8 - Black occupies the onl open le and hisdaksquaed bishop exets powe pessue on the a1h8 diagonal, chaub - vendsen, Email000) 9... c6 (Thee aises aghting position ae 9... xc3!?10.bxc3 c4 11.xc4 d6 1.b5

le4 e5 2 4 d5 3ed ef4 f6

etains some good tmps, Machisotti atici, Emai 00)10.d5 d5 .xd5 xd5 .

f4 d6 13.d (3.d6?xd4! with an exta pawn foBack) 13... f4 4.xf4 ae8 15.c3 d7 16.ae1 f6 17.b3 e7 18.c4c6 and Whites d4pawn wi bemuch moe of a liability than adangeous passed pawn, zzanowski - Patici, Email 009.

7.c5Black is ghting fo the cente

and the dak sqaes.

8.d38.e5?! d6 9.a4+ f8 10.

e f6 .c4 c7 1.d3 a6 -Black has ost his castling ights,

but is consideab ahead in deveopment and peseves his exta paw, Viwock e, Budapest 009.

8.c3?! c4! 9.a4+ (9.xc4?xc3+) 9... c6 10.d4 cxd3 11.cxd3 e7 1.xd5 d5 13.xf40-0 ites pieces ae discoodinated and his d3pawn is weak,anzani - Godena, Mian 00.

8.c4 f6 9.c3 c6 10.e


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Chapter 2

13xd4 13xd4 cS f4= Black will quicky occupy

the central les with his rooks)13 c7 14h1 h6 White hasfailed to regain his pawn and his

bishops are passive8h1 e7 9d4 0-0 10c4 e3

11xe3 e3 12d g4 Black'sbishop has gained access to theimportant a1h8 diagonal, whileite's bishop resembles a pawn,

Fier - aralegui, Turin 20068d4 cxd4 9xd4 Black

should not be afraid of the line:9h1 e3 10xe3 dxe3 11xd8+ xd8 12xe6 e6 13gS d6, ngylfsson Lukase

vcius, Email 2004 and here,ite's only move is 14+e7, but he ends up in a dicultposition aer 1xh8? c6 16c3 xh8 and Black's centralpawns should settle the issueWhite fails to equalize th 1xd6 e2 16e1 xd6 17xe2c6 and Black remains th an

extra pawn and a more activeng) 9c 10h1 xd4 11xd4 0-0 12xd 12xf4 c613f2 xf4 14xf4, Hague -Bezinsh, West Bromwich 2004,

14xb3 1b3 d4! 16xd4xd4 - Black has weakened hisopponent's queenside pawnstructure and forces his ight togo to the a3square) 12 c6 13xf4 xdS White's king is insufciently protected and he lags indevelopment, Lyell Haslinger,Great Yarmouth 2007

8.c6

9.d5er 9c3 xc3 10bxc3 d6

11xe6 e6 12e2 e7 hitefails to regain his paw

9 .. .d5 104 J7 11.c3 Wd Black has obtained the

bishop pair and dominates thecente, Hynes - ochor, Email2008


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Chapter3 e4 e5 23

Vienna Gae

White has developed a pieceand covered the dSsquare and isnow ready to sharpen the game byadvancing f2f4.

Black has several good movesin the diagram position; we recommend

2 . . .f6Just as n the ing's Gabit,

Black should strive to advancewith dd5.

Now White can pay .c4c6, transposng o the Bishop'spening see Capter 4, or .c6 see Caters 68, but hismost prncled moves are A)3.f4 ad B) 3.g3

3 . . .d5!Here, in contrast to the ng's

Gambit, ths move is denitelyBlack's best.

White's main attempts now toght for the advantage, are )4.5 and A2) 4.xd5, although he has aso tried someother moves in practice.

4., R.J.Fischer - Holgerson, acramento sm 64. heonly vrtue of this move s that teeleventh World Champion plaedt once in a simuaneous dispay.er 4... dxe4 .xe4 exf4 6.de . f4 00 8.0-0-0 cS .e2 c6 Bck obans a lead indevelopme d dvantae inthe centre.


32/247

Chapter 3

oen ansposes o vaia 2.4 ef4 5e5 (5ed5 d5 o 5d5 d5 6ed5 d5 - see

vaiaion 2 5 e4

6d4?! - Whie weakens imporan cenal suaes wh hismove 6 b4 d Plajnsek -Pavasovic Pokljuka 99 ae

7c5 8d3 c3 9bc3 c4 0e c6 0-0 g5 Black remains wih an era pawn and apowel knigh in the cene

I seems ahe stange foWhie to ry 6e2?! since ae6 g5 70-0 c6 8b5 a6 9c6+ bc6 Black presees his

etra pawn obtains he advanage of the bishop pai and hasgood attacking prospects pielmann - Bogoljubow Berlin 199

er 6e c5 7d4 e6 8d c5 9dc5 c6 00-0-0c5 Black is no behind in de

velopment and he keeps his etrapaw6d3 - White ejecs he enemy

kight from is wondel suarebu acuiesces o he fact that hewill be unable to regain the f4paw 6 c3 7bc3 g5 8h4(The piecesacice aer 8e2

no bing him any dividends inhe game Mayo - ulme Grangemouh 005 8d4 g4 9g h4+

10@e Gunsbeg - Mieses ienna 903 0 h6 Black peseves his ea pawn and his leadin developmen and has goodatacking chances agains heenemy king sanded in ecene) 8 g4 9d4 c5 0b3c6 f4 g d4 (The c5

paw is untouchable owing oc5? a5 and Whie losesboh his paws on c3 and e5) c4 Black has ecellen pospecsfo acive opeaions on heueenside aida - Molisch Bno193

4d3 ef4

rangely enough only foumoves have been played to reach

this position and ye White needso eac vey accuraely in orde

not o lose uicklyIn he variaion 5e5 d4! 6ce d5 f4 b4+ 8@fc6 9 0-0 Black has managed to keep he enemy king inhe cente and achieve a considerable lead in development and afe ie's careless eply 0e?


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isive in e ame Lombardy -myslov, eside 1975

Or 54 b4 6exd5 (6e0-0 7e5 h5 e3 f6 6e5 d47exf6 dxc3 e e6 9b3Chiorin Lesky Mosow199 9 xf6 and in boh asesBlak is larly ahead in developmen) 6 xd5 7 d 3

bx3 0-0 9f3 e 10 e e74 f6 hies kin is srand

ed in he cnre and impedes heoordination of his own pieespielman - masker, Peersbur 1909

er 5exd5 xd5 6xd5xd5 7f4 d6 d6 (d0-0) xd6 9d 0-0 10f3, Broein - Matano,Vienna 195 by plan 10 e+e 5 20-0 6 Blak esablishes conrol over the entreand easily eploys his piees oexellen quares

) 4.5 x4

Aa) 5.d3A) 5."

le4 e5 2 c3 f6 3 4 d5

5d4? - Whie fories his e5pawn, bu leaves his opponenspowerl kniht in the enre andas a resul is unable o develophis piees 5b4 6d3 (6f3x3 7bx3 h4 3 xd4 9e 4-+ bin -eiss, Vienna 190) 6 0-0 7f3 f5 e35 9d3 6 10a3 xd4 1xd4Gusev - Leonov, Donskoj 007Blak an turn his remendous

lead in development ino materialains in he simples way h heline xd4 1ab4 h4 133 x3 4x3 x3 15hx3d3 6xd3 7d1 xa1-+

Blak should no be afraid of5xe4 dxe4 6d4 (6e d5)6 exd3 7xd3 (even aer hiesmore aurate response 7d3h4+ 3 e7 9f3 6 100-0 4 his kin is very poorlyproeted and his prodes Blakwih exellen aakin hanes)7 6 f3 4 hies enral pas are weak and Blak

omplees developmen beforehis opponen, Marshall - Napier,New York 196

5e - hies queen onlyimpedes his development on hissquare 5 6 6 (6xe4?d4) 6f5 7d3 x3 bx3d4 9b1 (aer 94? b4+ 10f20-0 5 d7-+ hite is ompletely inapable of ompleinhe developmen of his piees,Fries Nielen - Mahiesen,

Aarhus 2003) 95 10f2 e711b5 a6 12xb7, Castro RojasRajna, Budapest 1977 and now


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Chapter 3

0-0-0! 13b3 x5 14.x5x5+ 15.2 dxc3 16. h8Black nds up with a so_tra

paw and good attacking chancsagainst it's king strandd inth cntr.

a) 5.d3Whit forcs th xchang of a

powrl nmy pic.

5 .. .xc3 6.xc3 d4 7.Thr is a transposition of

movs ar 7.2 c6 8.f3 c5,or 7.d2 c6 8.f3 6 - s 7..

7. . c6!Tounamnt pactic has

show that Black can asily obtain an dg if h ignos his opponnt's c3pa. H lads in d

vlopmnt and his pics havxcllnt squas.8 . 2r 8.b2 g4 9.2 dxc3

10.xc3 c5 11.d2 0-0 12.0-0-0 d5 13.f4 6 Whitsuccds in vacuating his king toth qunsid, but it is not wll

placd thr ith, Y.haposhnikov - Korchnoi, ochi 1958.

Black has good attacking

prospcts a 8. d2 6 9.cxd4xd4 10.c3 xf3+ 11.x 712.xb7 h4+ 13.d1 0-0

8.cxd4 b4+! 9. d2 xd2+10.xd2 xd4 11.c3 (It woud bovroptimistic fo i tochoos 11.0-0-0 0-0 12.3,Nidrmai - Pantlv, Gma

ny 2010, sinc ar 12... c5 hl hav srious poblms withth safty of his king, whil in thvariation 11.2 x+ 12.d4 h loss his 5pawn) 11 ...x+ 12.gxf3 0-0 13.g1 (13.0-0-0 d5 14.d4 c5 15.g1 g6

16.c4 6 17.2 cxd4 18.xd4a6 Black has managd to dstroy th nmy cntr and his

king is much safr, Tushv - Kazantsv, Email 2009; 13.d4 h4+14.f2 f4 Whit l hav problms with his cnt v soon.Black will ithr undmin it

th f6, or h ll play c7c5, oboth... ) 13.. .f6 14.f4 5 15.5,Wintrfld - Gohring, Gmany1993. Whit's king has no safshltr, thrfo Black shouldcomplt his dvlopmnt and at

tack th nmy cntr only latr.

Th bst way for him to bgin iswth th mov 15... 68. JBlack ortlssly dploys his

pics to xcllnt squars andmaintains an dg. Whit's cn

tral pawns ar only a liability forhim.


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9 0 0Whi soe he pobemswth th afe o his kng but sacrice pa, nd egaining itmay be dicu k

9cd4 d4 0b1 00 11b2 e d4 Blackfoces hi oppon ihe o sacrice pa, o o go in fo anunpleant posion wih bishopsof oppoite colo

9g5 d 10c4 h6 11 d20-0 1200 e7 Whie will havediculis t he potection ofhis pawn on d4 nd eS

9b 0-0 10cd d4 11c3, ewdowsi Paprocki, Tofarm 005, 112 12e2 e613d4 4c4 b4 152 c6ie cn ardy oganize meanigl cotely with his lightsquaed bso bsent om theboad d is wn centre ishames for Back, ince it caneasily be udermined with f6,or een wit bb5

9. 1 0 0 0 .te11 4 d4 er te e

change of the knighs, Black'sshop wil occupy the ecelent

le4 e5 2 c3 f6 3 4 d5

. .d4

2d4 d4 13g3, Boo

ke - aas, aalem 011, 13 e 14h5 g6 Back hopes oatack the enemy eSpawn and hiskingside is secuely poeced

In he vaiation 12c3 b613d2 f3 14 d4 15b1eS hite will have poblemswih he deence of his kngside,becuse Blck is theatening h4,Yuublijev - Filev, Teteven2004

12 13., Opl -Donchnko, Desden 2010, andh Bck cn py 13c6 eicing hi opponen's lightud bishop and pesevinghi pwn ate he can ack the enemy eSpawn, whileWhie' pieceactivity is almoshmles and cannot compensaefo he mateial dect

) 5.tThe queen is bette placed

hee than o e2, because i doesnot peent te development of


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Chapter 3

aions i omes unde atak wiempo

5 c6 6i56xe4? d4 73 7d1

dxe4 83 6 9 b5 d5 10e2d7 116 x6+ The ligh

squaes in his amp ae aasophially weak, pielmann Moewig, Cobug 1904) 7 de48 e2 6 9g3 d5 10 4xeS 110-0, Tzemiadianos AMastovasilis, Ahens 2002, 11 f5 Blak has an exta enepa and an eolessly develop

his piees, so his podes himwth a lea advantage

6 . xc3ite is faed now with a

athe diul hoie

7c3This is Whie's best opion

is e5pawn may be a bi weak,bu his piees ome ino playwithou any diulies

e 7x3 h4+ Wie lagsin developmen and has poblemswih the poeion of his e5paw

7bx3 h4+ 8g3 e4+ 9xe4 dxe4 10 x6+ 10d4 exd3

11xd3 d7 2 f4? xe5 13d7+ xd7 14d2 00-0Blak has a solid exa pawn, Caozzi - Daniel, Besaon 1949)10 bx6 11e2 11d4 exd3 12xd3 f5 13e2 d8 14d4,Koenige Maie, Munih 1993,

ae 14 5, Blak emphasizeshe vulneabiliy of his opponen'senal pawns) 11 5 12d4 12d4? 00 13x6 e8 14 b2d7 15b4 xe5 White hasfailed o wn a pawn, his kigh on

b4 might be los and his bishop isve passive, al - Bik, Wiley

2001) 12 exd3 13xd3, Voja -paek, Czeh Republi 2011 and

by plang 13 a6 14d4 e7Blak onols the ligh squaes in

the ente and ae ompletinghis developmen he an begin undermining White's pawnhain

7.

W4+It looks vey good fo Blak tot hee 7 a6? 86+ bx6=when his advantage of the bishoppai guaantees him equaliy, buhe an y fo moe, Paulsen -Blakbune, Beslau 1889

8g3 t4+ 9tx4 4


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weake than the e4paw andWhite must pay peisey tmaintain the balane

1 0 . xc6+White disupts his ppnent's

pawstutue, but nw Blak'slightsquaed bishp might beme ve ative

It is nt gd f Wite t ptfr 10e3 d7 11x6 x6 12e2 g6 130-0-0 g7 14d4xe5 15x6 bx6 16d4 xd417xd4 f5 18hd1 and hemust play vey enegetially; th

ewise, Blak's ental paws wilpmte, Adamk - Pheby, Emai2009

e 10e2 d7 116x6 12d4, Baljn - nx,

Teesside 1978, Blak an peseehis impant bishp, avdingany defets f his pastruture,

wth the mve 12d710f4 d7 110-0-0 (ite

annt eah mplete equalitywith 11e2 0-0-0 124 e613xe6+ e6 Blak's e4pawis safe, while hite's e5paw wllneed prtetion) 110-0-0 12

2

Pigaad, Vilagaia de Asa2002, ae 13 hf8 14e1 h6Bak mpletes his develpmentand is eady t begin ative pea

tins The geedy attempt 15xe4a5 16f3 6 wud lead t thess f the exhange f White:17d3 (17e3? g5) 17 f6! 18exf6 f6, beause ae 19e3?g5+ he wud lse a piee

1 0 .xc6 11.2 ic5 12.

d4, wansn avage, Hinkey Island 2009

Nw it wuld be vey stng

f Blak t pay 12.i6 13.a4(13x6?! h3 14d4 0-0-0White might fai t mplete hisdevepment and his e5pawn isseiusy endangeed) 13a514.Jf4 6 15.4 Jg4 Witemust nd seveal ve preisemves t neutalize Blak's ativepiees

A) 5. J7This is the ideal square for the

bishp It annt be attaked one7, it ves the g5square and as


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Chapter 3

6.2ite mut ght against

Black centalie night othewe he may en up in a wose poition

6d4 cS 73 (White woulnot equalie with 7 b5+ c6 8

0-0 0-0 9xc6 bxc6 103,Menzel Buchholz, Mecklenbug2000, becaue Black can continue

with 10f5 h4 cxd4 12xf5dxc3 13bxc3 cS+ 14 e3 b6an he gain an edge, thank tohi powel knight in the centeand White weakene pawn

stuctue) 7 xc3 8bxc3 c4 9e2 c6 100-0 0-0 e3 (Afte 11e1 fS the vulneabilityof White' c2pawn is emphasize) bS Blacks position ispefeable ong to his cleacutplan of queensie attack, pan

genbeg - AnKapov, Buenose 19946 e2 0-0 70-0 cS 8h1

(White can get id of his opponent powel knight wth 8xS xS 9d3 d6 10exd6x6, but Black would maintainan edge in ew of his contol ove

bxc3, Anoni - apea Eetia2011, 10 f6 exf6 xf6 White'sc3pawn i weak and he has no ac

tive counteplay o he mut thinkabout efending6d3 - White gets id of the

powel enemy knight, but theaising pawtructue is inBlack favou 6 xc3 7bxc3 cS8 e2 (8g3 0-0 9 g2 c6 1000 g4 White has poblem

with the potection of his eSpawnand hi c3paw is a liability too,einz - Pelt, Mehlingen 1992)8 c6 90-0 (in espone to 9f4, Blacks enegetic reaction 9gS! 10g3 hS emphasizes thatWhite' king has no safe shelter,

o he ha no compensation fo hisweakene pawntructue) 9 0-0 10e1 (othese, Black'play follows the aleady familiascript: ae 10b1 f6 exf6 xf612d4 c4 Malienko - Kanaukh,Kiev 2010, o 10d4 aS d2,chmidt - Beckmann, Gemany

1988 c4 12h3 f6 13exf6xf6 Black xe his opponent's

vulneable queensie pas andexchanges the eSpawn, whichcamp hi position In answer to10f4, it seems easonable foBlack to choose aS 11d2

f6 eyeing the enemy c3pawand deping White of his onlytmp - his space advantage)10f6 d4 {exf6 xf6 12d2d6 Black has deployed his pieces aggessivey and exes pessue against the weak c3pawn)eS 12dxe5 fS 13c4 h8


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voked radical changes of thepastructure, but has notequalized yet, because his eSpawn and all his queenside pawnsare lnerable, Kutsenko - Karnau, ev 2011

6 d3? cS 7b5+ (7e2?d4) 7 c6 8d4 cxbS 9dxc5 e610e3 a6 11d3?! (ite failsto equalize even aer the more accurate line: xbS xcS 1200

00, but although Blacks bishops can hardly be activated for the

time being, his position is preferable owing to the weakness ofites eSpawn) b4 12c6bxc3 13cxb7, Lu hanglei VMalaov, Chaongqing 2011White will inevitably regain hispiece, but we believe that Blackcan still create problems for him

wth the aggressive lie: 13 b414b5+ d7 1Sba8 xc2+ 16f2 xa8 17e2 xa1 18bxc300 19xa1 b7 - The forcedplay has ended, leaving Black th

the advantage, thanks to his powel bishoppair and Whitesrather weak paws

6xc3

le4 2c3 34

7.xc3ites position would be

worse aer 7bxc3 0-0

Now:8e3 f6 9c4 c6 10 b2 eS

cxdS xdS The position hasbeen opened up and Black has abig lead in development, Meijer Euwe, Utrecht 1926

8d4 f6 9e3 (9f4 eS xe g4 11e3 c6 12e2xeS 13dxe5 b6 Whites kng isstuck the centre, Becker - Cygon,Espelkamp 1975) 9e5 10xeS, Pashkin - hromeev,imferopol 1989, and now the

best way for Black to exploit hislead in development is to exchange his opponents only activepiece wth the move 10 c6

8g3 cS 9g2 c6 100-0 e6d3 d7 12 g5 ae8 13ae1 h614e7 xe7 White has deployed his pieces relatively well,

but he is not likely to improve hisposition in the near ture, whilehis queenside weaknesses remaina cause of concern for him, Olsze

wski - Malaniuk, Kowalewo Pomorske 2006

7c5


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Chapter 3

8 . f4It is not so good for him to opt

for 8.3 c6 9.f2 aS 10.g36 11.2 (d3 0-0-0 120-0 hS Backs chancs of organizing an attack against th nmy kng ar not wos than thos

of his opponnt) 11...a4 12.d3,Kujovic - Panchanathan, allas2004, ar 12 ... 0-0, Black is

thratning to n a pawn withth mov cSc4, whil ar 13.b3g4 Whit is facd with th rathr unplasant choic btwn aninfrior ndgam and an attmpt

to protct his wak pawns in thcoming middl gam.

8.f2 b6! - Back prvntsth dvlopmnt of th nmybishop on c. 9.2, Hctor ocx, Gothnburg 200S (In rply

to 9.g3, Back is rady to trans

fr his qun to th othr sidof th board: 9... g6 10.xg6hxg6. It would b wors forWhit to continu with 9.c4 610.cxdS dS .c3 c6 - h hasgot rid of his bacward pa, butlags in dvlopmnt and his Spawn woud b mor of a targt

Tatansk Zruby 2008 It is moraccuat fo Whit to pay 9b36 10.d3 d7 .c4 dxc4 12.

bxc4 c7 Backs position is abit crampd, but if Whit fais toxploit this, his qunsid waknsss a bound to tll.) 9.. 0-010.00 c4!? Back has givn thd4squar to his opponnt, buthas radically solvd th probmof protcting his kingsid. Whit

can hardly avoid th xchang ofquns and ony h may havproblms in th ndgam.

8 .. c6

9 . 0 - 0 09.d2 h6 10.2 (10.0-0-0

6 Black controls th cntrand is rady to bgin an onsivon th qunsid.) 10... gS 11.3g4 2.g1 d4 13f4 dxc3 14.

xc3, Aabrg - Barkhagn, wdn 1996, 14... dS - H not onlyattacks th g2squar, but his othr pics ar all pfcty prpard

to com into action immdiatly.9.f2 6 10.g3 aS (It is

lss nrgtic for Black to continu with 10... b6 1.00-0 0-0-0


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g6, although he wld not havean poblems even en, Ponka

tov GTimoscenko, atka 2008)a3 (xg7 0--0 2h6d - Black has begn a decisiveattack against Wite ng at thepice o onl a paw) h6 h (It would be wos fo White toopt o 2xg7 0-00 3g3a and Blacks theats ae temendousl dangeous o 2

00-0 g 3e3 --m: andhee he has a ve unpleasantpan of advancing ith dd)20-0-0 30-0-0 8 itehas pvented his oponent omoccuping additional pace on the

kingside, but Backs osition hasno weakesses and has excelent countepa on the queenside

9 .. .6

10.h40c - White is ghting o

the esquae, but th on hepsBlack oganize activ opeationson the queenside 0d d2,Hecto - Ivkov, Cans 989 (inesponse to h, Hecto -

l.e4 e5 3 4 d5

also good to pla d7 2b when Back has deploed hispieces pefect and is ead to

begin active pla on the queenside) and ae d7 2h3 003g ab8 th the idea b7b,Black begins a diect attackagainst the enem king

0b - This is a usel pophactic move fo White 0a a3 (in the endgame ae

b x 12xb 0-0 Blackhas no poems at all) h6 2h oensen ZPoga, Tunja989 he best pace fo Blacksking would be on the queenside,so she must pepae active opea

tions on the queenside th2 0-0-0 followed b a moving he king to the asquae

0f2 aS a3 (in answe tob, Baleste - Haslinge DosHemanas 200 it seems ve at

tactive fo Black to begin a diectattack wth d 2c b 3d2 b8) h6 2e3 b6 -

Black has obtained a ve solidposition and ae moving his ngto a8 he can stat to eae thecental pabeak dd4 o oganize an attack against the enem king

1 0 . h6 11.g3f2 a5 2a3 0-0-0ll .Yd7 12 g2In answe to 2f2 it seems

ve easoabe fo Black to continue with 12000 Whitesonl attempt to put this move indoubt would be connected with3e3, but Black can counte this


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Chapter 3

xd4 \d5 he ll inetably egain his pawn and his pieces wll

be temendously active

12

0 - 0 - 0 13.513\ he8 14h3 h3 15\xh3 \xh3 16xh3 f6= - Blackeliminates the enemy e5pa

which camps his position and hecompletely equalizes BaeasGaca - Piccoli Email 2008

13ig4

14.114\ \e6 15b1 (ae the

exchange of the lightsquaed

bishops with 15h3 h3 16\xh3 d7 17d2 a6 18b1 Moales Pecino - Kozlov Email2007 Black can play 18\xh319xh3 d8 emphasizing thatite's e5paw might become aweakness) 15 d7 16a3 hd8

17d3 Moales Pecino banovaes Email 2008 and ae17 f5 18d2 a5 Black ob

tains excellent attacking pospects

148 15.W W6 16.i3 3 17.Wxh3 d7 18.g4d8 19.a3 d4 Glukhovtsev -

4.xd5White plays this move quite

oen even at gandmaste level

He shes to ght fo the advantage in a position th an exta pawn ae 4 e4 but

4.xd5!This natual move is the most

pecise fo Black

Now ite can choose between seveal possibilities 2a)5xd5?! , 2) 5. and55

ong his altenatives we

must mention that in the vaiation 5\h5 xf4 6xe5 e6ite's queen wll come unde attack with tempo by Black's developing pieces Noble - Baunbege Fankt 2010 while ae 5\f3 xf4 6c4 c6 Black ends

up with a solid exta pawn Blanch- Janev Balague 2011

2a) 5. xd5? ! Wxd5Black's queen is pefectly

placed in the cente of the boadbecause it impedes ite's development and cannot be attacked at


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6.5Fo 6.f3 c6 7.e5 g4 -see 6.e5.

6.e2?! White fails to evictthe enemy queen fom the centeth this: 6... e7 7.d4 the seemingly moe consequent 7.c3?

h4+ foces ite to give up awhole ook.) 7... h4+ 8.g3 exd49.c4, Halpin - Blumbegs, Email2005, and now with 9...c6Black impedes the developmentof his opponent's lightsquaed

bishop and is quite eady tolaunch a decisive attack in a few

moves.e 6.e2 c6 7.c3 e7 8.e5 h4+ 9.d1, Van de ekmoel - Gorla, witzeland 1992,

the simplest for Black would be toregain his pawn th 9... xe510.f3 Black does not lose his

knight, because in the variation10.d4? g4 . 0-0-0-+ite is unable to capture it.)10... g4 1.b5+ xb5 2.b5+c6 13. e2 x 14. + 15.gxf3 0-00 The mateal isequal, but Black has a supeopawstucture and his pieces

le4 e5 2 c3 f6 3j 4 d5

6 . . . c6 7. ig4 8.i2x

9.d4 In the vaiation 9.0-0c5+ 10.h1, Inkiov - Dobev,aklion 1992, Black maintains astable advantage, thanks to hislead in development and contolof the cente, with 10 .. xf3 11. f3 12.x 0-0) 9 . + 1 0 . 11. 12. 0 - 0 - 0 Blackhas a much bette pastuctureon the kingside and a lead in de

velopment, anz onso - Mala

niuk, Wasaw 2008.

2) 5. xf4


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Chapter 3

his position is eached muchmoe oen fom the ngs Gam

bit but fo the sake of a convenient pesentation of the theoetica mateial we shal anayze ithee

6c46d4?! his move weakens

the important e3squae and povides Black with sevea tempi fohis development 6 b4 7d

c3 8b3 m=6 e2?! Whites bisho is

moe passive hee than on c4 6c3 7bc3 d6 8d4 0-0 900d7

6d5?! d5 Blacks queeis perfecty paced in the cente7d4 e7 8c4 (8 d3 c6 9fgS! 10g3 g4 c e6+ e5eS 13de5 b4+ 4 f d7and Back will evacuate his king to

the queenside) 8e4 9 f (9e c6 100-0 g4 dS eS1 h1 0-0 13e5 e 14e1d1 15e4 c 16e2 d6

White has played quite sensibyso fa but has faied to equalizeHe eithe emains a pa downo must ght against his oponents powel bishops in aopen position elie chmidtEmail 009) 9f5 10c5 (theendgame ae 10e e+ 1 e gS is vey dicult foWhite not least because of themissing pawn) 10 c6 bSd5 12f4 (it woud be moe accuate fo White to play 1ee4 13e fS 14xf4 0-0-0but even then the vulneability of

otection of his king woud uhim) 1 0-00 13 e3 f6Kieninge - Eliskases tutga1939

6 b5+?! c6 White has lost atempo but now Blacks knighthas no immediate access to thec6squae 7e+ e6 8 c4 e79d5 cdS bS+ c6 1dc7 White has not egained hispawn yet ad ags in deveo

ment Rubinstein - aaschMeano 194

6 .. .xc3 7.xc37dc3 d1+ 8 d d6 9

e1 + f8 10e5 eS eS f61c5 c6 13 f4 b6 4d5(ites compensation fo the echange is insucient ae 4b8 bcS 15 d6+ e8 16c5fS) 4cd5 15 d5 gS! (Backfees the g7squae fo his king incase of an eventual check fomthe d6squae!) 16 e3 (16 g3?!g4+ 17 e1 c6 18 c6 c8 9bS Black has coodinated

his ooks and has no pobemswith the ealization of his advantage) 16g4+ 17 d c6 18c6 d8+ 19d4 d6 AlthoughWhites bishop on d4 is a beauti piece it cannot comensatefo the ost echange

7..d6 8.\2+Whites position in the midde

game is clealy wose: 800 009d4 d7 10 d3 e8 c4 cS 1c3 f6 White has failed to egainhis pawn and his centa pasae weak Nobe - Cipka Email005


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1 0 . 0 - 0er gS e6 xe6 e6

20-0 c6 Black has the betterprospects thanks to his extrapawn

10 . . .6 11 7 12.6+ 6 Farle - Kahgaleev Yerevan 1996

2c) 5.5

This mov has been tried bgrandmasters Ivanchuk, Nakamura and Ponkratov The bestthat ite cn rely on is an approximately equa endgame

5 . . .xc3 .bxc3er 6dxc3? h4+ 7d2 cS

l.e4 e5 2 3 4 d5

would be completel irrelevantwith his king stranded in the centre

6 .. .4+ 7.2 g4+ 8. c6 9.1

9d4? 0-0-0 10d2 Hamppe teinit, Vienna 859 (for 0e hS - see 9e1 while aer0f4 f6 ite wil be unable toparr his opponents atack) HereBlack forces mate wth 10 xd4!

cxd4 xd4+ 2d3 fS+ 3c3 x 14x b4#

9 .. .5

10.4?!Objectivel speaking this is

not the best move for White but itis the most ambitious He preserves his extra pawn and hopes

to graduall consolidate his position Black must react wih maximum energ in order o rete

this planThe best move fo White eads

to a much camer me aer 10d1! x+ gx 0-0 (Blackcan obtain v ood posiioneven with the ser ine: 11x+!? 122 dS) 12e4


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Chapter 3

xd4! 13cxd4 x+ 14e2xd4+ 15d2 xd2 16xd2x1-+ okes - Haast, Haalem 2011) 12 xe5 13d4 (Tepositio would emai appoximately equal ae 13xe5 xe5ite as te advatage of tebisop pai, but is pawstuctue is bad ad e as poblemst te coodiatio of ispieces) 13 a5 14d2, Naka

mua - Milliet, Cap d'Agde 2010(it is o bette fo im to play14d3 a3) t is essetial eefo Black to take te fSsquaeude contol by playig 14 g6

Black plas to advace ispaw to fS, estictig Wite'sligtsquaed bisop ad moeo

ve e is teateig to play 6e 15a4 6 16f4 (16 x6?xc3-+) 16 e8 17 e7,

o 15c4 6 16f4 e8 17f3fS e is able to foce is oppoet to place a paw o f4, weeit ll become a easy tagetfo attack, wile i te variatio15d3 3 6b1 e8 174dS 183 fS Wite ll beuable to coordiate s pieces

q

Tis move is foced; otewise, e caot develop is kigside

11 {6!

e tis pawadvace, it becomes obvious tat Wte's kg

will ot be safe o te kigside eite126?

Tis is a picipled move, butit loses by foce Black must eactvey eegetcally toug

It would be more accuatefor Wite to cotiue wt 12

bS eS 13xc6 bxc6

I ts positio, o mate oe recaptures o eS, Whte mustgt fo a daw:

14xe5 d6 5 8 16


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xg4 te has to gve up hsqueen in the variaton 18.xe5de8 19. f4 xe5-+, but een af

ter 18h4 g3 19.xg4 xeite is stll a long way fromequalty) 17... xe5 18.dxe5 d1+19.h2 xh1+ 20. xh1 f+ 21. h2 fS - The presence of bshops of opposite colours on the

board podes him wth somechances of savng the game, but

no more than that, Gavrlov -Pavlkov Emal 200914.xe5 g6 15.e1 (15.e2

d6) 15... d6 16.g5 df8 17.e2 18.xg6 hxg6 19. e3xh2 Black has regained thepawn and hs pieces contue tobe ve active, iogo - eevec,Email 2009.

12 13Ye6+Whte practcally loses by

force aer 13.gx h4+ 4. e2xf6

15. e (e must deelop,protectng hs d4square n theprocess.) 15... b4! 16. h3 b817.cxb4 (the d4square wasmpossbe to defend anay... )17... xd4+ 18.d4 xd4 . f5he8+ . e4 xe4+ .e4

le4 . 3/ 4 d5

24.g3 d4+ 25. g2 e4 26. g1 -+

13 8 14 6

It looks as f Whte has a soldcentre, an extra pa and the ad

vantage of the bshop par, and ts hs move... Neetheless, he sdefenceless. Black successybreaks hs opponent's centre andhas a decsive attack, wth varousspectacular sacrces.

15Yh3Whte cannot save the game

th 15.h4 e8 and aer the re

treat of hs queen Black's aack scrushng.

16.c4 d6 . e2 hg8 18.d3 eS .dxe5 cS 0. exeS 1.4 e7-


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Chapter 3

xd4 19cxd4 d4+ 20@f1 e321e3 xf3+ 22@e1 e8 23@d2 e3+ 24@c3 d4+ 2S@b4hS 26d3 e3-+

16xf6 d6 17h6 dS 18b1 xd4 19cxd4 hg8-+

It is no bette fo White to optfo 15d3 b4! 16b1 (16cxb4h4+ 17@f1 he8 18g4 e1+19@g2 c3 20f4 g8+ 21@f2xa1 22xc7+ @a!-+) 16

h4+ 17@ de8 18g4 e1+19@g2 e7-+

15 . . .a5 16.f4White loses even faste ae

16b2 a3 17a3 xc3!-+16. . .x4!!

This is an impotant esoucefo Black, to depive ite's monach of any shelte

17.cxd4 x4 18 .d3 c5

White's cente has been destoyed and no matte whee hiskng goes Black's pieces wl be allove it

19.@19@g2 g8+ 20@ xd3

21cxd3 d4-+19@f - This s edently the

19 e8 20f3 xd3 21cxd3 c322b1 b6 23b2 c2 24e1xe1+ 25 @xe1 xb2 -+ Back hasobtained moe than enoghpawns fo the exchange and theenemy king is quite open, withqueens pesent on the boad

19 .. .3+ 20.cx3 Jd4 2.3 3 22.x3 8+ 23. t5+ 24.g4 + 25.46 26.Y 8+ 27.g3 3+

White loses his queen, and moeove al his weak pawns ae dopping, 01 Jndesen - Fe Beckman Emai 2002

B) 3.g3This is a less isky move than

3f4 - Whie obtains a solid pawnstuctue on the kingside andpostpones active opeations untilhe has completed his development

3 . . .5It is also good fo Black to play

hee 3 c54.xd5 x5 5Jg2S c6 - see Chapte 7


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50/247


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the exchae of the lihtsquaredbishops, rrasch - Trenchard,Vienna 188

In resnse to 9b2?!, Felecan - Vda, Bucharest 1997, it

would be ood for Black to continue with he prophylactic move9 b6 10c1 g5 b3 g412c1 and White cannotavoid the xchange of the lightsquared bhops

9b1 d6! - This is the bestsquare for lack's queen, becauseit does no impede the development of th est of his pieces or

the advanc of his fpawn and italso protec the knight on c6

e 10d4 b6 dxe5, Verhovodko - Miton, Mureck 998(d5?! 5 leaves hite'squeenside awns securely blockaded), it is asonable for Black toenter an engame with xd12xd1 5 - his pieces aremuch mor active, while hite'squeenside wns are vulnerable

In answ to 10d3, teens -Lubarsk, ermany 2007, Blackcan play 10 b8!?

diaram)The ide of this move can be

l .e4 e5 3.g3

ne3 xe3 12e3 b5! andBlack xes his opponent's weak

queenside pawnsIt is no better for White to optfor @h1 4 (the move 10 b8also turns out to be usel here,since Black's b7paw is protected) 12h3 (aer the ris 12f4?fe ite is helpless aainstBlack's pieceactivty) 12 e6 13c4 f5 14c3 a6 15@h2 (the aggressive attempt 15d5 b5 increases the number of weaknessesin White's camp) 15 d4 16d2

b6 Black controls the centre andhas excellent prospects on bothanks till, he is a long way from

a nc4 - White wshes to deployhis knight quickly to the centre of

the board 11g4 12h3 e6 13c3 7 14@h2 b6 Black canevict his opponent's knight fromthe d5outpost by preparing c7c6

9 .. .ig4(diagram)

10.h3For 10b1 b8 e3 xe3

12e3 e7 - see 10e3er 10e3 xe3 e3 b8

12b1 e7 13c4 (hite's reedy


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Chapte e e5 2

Bshp's Openng

2 ../c6n the diagrammed postion

the overwhelming majority ofplayers prefer the move 2... /f6,

bu in that case they must be prepared to enter the varation 3.d4exd4 4.!?, while now White'smain attempts to ght for the ad

vantage are based on 3.f3 c5 -see Chapters 1320. ongWhite's other possibilities, weshall consider A) 3.c3, B) 3.d3and C) 3./c3

he poston aer 3.h5 g6,arses more oen aer anothermoveorder: 2.h5 c6 3.c4 g6and this was analed n Chapter1, whie te's other atempt tocheckate the opponent n a ash

6.xg6 hxg6 7. d6 provdesBlack wth an excellent postionfor the endgame.

3.a3?! - White saves his bishop from an exchange, but loses animportant tempo. 3.. f6 4.c3(it is preferabe for him to play4.d3 c5 - see 3.d3) 4... xe4 5.xe4 (5.x+? x 6./xe4 d57.g3 c5 8.f3+ g8 Blackhas occuped the centre, obtanedthe advantage of the bishoppairand has a clearcut plan connected th the pawnadvance h7h5h4.) 5... d5 6.d3 dxe4 7.xe4

d6=3.f4 f6 4. ( 4.c3 xe4 -

see variation C; 4.d3 exf4 - seevariaion B; 4.e5?! xe5 5.b3xe4 Black has won a pawn andll create threats against the enemy king.) 4... xe4


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8.cx4White is ced to be geedy.e 8.6? d+ 9.d1 (9.

xc 1c e6 1.xc1d+ 1.e2 d8-+) 9... e6 10.d d5 ite ll have diculty compling his development.

In the vaation 8.a c49.xc4 d+ 0. d5 Blackslead in develment and his pow

el knigt n d povide himwth moe tn sucient compensation or he pawn.

84

9.t3e 9.e xc4 10.c b4

1.e c5 1.00 c 1.bxc!S ite is e likely to comeunde a dangus attack.

9 . 1 0 g3e 10.+ x .c4+

e6 12.d 6 1.+ g8oly his que is i action, soite must dnd very accurately i ode no lose quicy.

1 0 l.c311. c2ll . .. c2+ 2.e2 td4 13

l. e4 e5 2. c4 c6

4.? c5 15.xg7 00016.x g4. White is in a citicalsituatio. His king is standed in

te cente ad his pieces ae notdeveloped. e 17.c4 xe5+18.e + 19.gx d4 0.bxe .e e8 Whites extapawn is no consolaion at all.

14xe3 15.xe3 c316.xc3 tg4+ 17. cxb5

The maeial is equal, but Blacksbishop is active, while White mustwoy abou his kng standed inthe cete and his numeous weak

paws.

B) 3.3The main idea o this move is

to ente vaiatios o the gsGambit thou sacicing aa.

3 .. .f6(diagam)

4.f44. c5 - se Chapte 14;

4.c a5 - see itio C4. g5?! (4.e2 aS) 5... h6

5.h4, ielm - chleche,lsbad 907 ( 5.6


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Chapter 4

on th dark squars). Now t svry good for Black to play 5..a5!? ganng t advantag of

th bshoppar, wil Witsdarksquard bisop might prov

to b compltly out of play.4.c3 - Wth ths mov t

savs hs bshop from xchang,but prsnts hs opponnt withnough tm to qualz. 4... a55.b5 c6 6.a4 d5 7.d2 dx48.dx4 d6 9.b4 b5 10.c2 b7=

4.a3 - Whts bshop s safnow. 4 ... c5 5.c3 (a 5. d66.0-0 0-0 7.b4 b6 8.3 6

9.bd2, Ptrov - Arnaudov, Albna 2011, Black can try to sizth ntatv wth t lin: 9...x3 10.3 xc4 11.xc4 b5 12.cd2 a5) 5... d6 6.a4 (Whtcannot crat any problms forhs opponnt wth 6.f3 d4 7.

h3, tukopn - Goganov, Krsh2011, bcaus ar 7... 6= hsmost dangrous pc s xcangd.) 6... b6 7.xb6 (Blacksould not b aad of 7. 6,snc ar 8.x6 6 9.xb6ab6 - s 7.xb6, whl n thvaraton 8.b5 0-0 9.xb6 ab6

10.0-0?! a7 11.a4 b5 12.3xb3 13.cxb3 c6 Blacks pawnstructur s bttr, so Wht must

play 10.c3 d5, although vnthn Black has an xcllnt poston. H has bttr dvlopmntand a slght spac advantag.) 7...axb6

it has th advantag of tbshoppar, but h is unabl toprvnt th xchang of hs lgtsquard bshop, so Black wll asily obtan a comfortabl gam.

8.c3 h6 Black s tryng to rstrct th oblty of Whtsdarksquard bshop. Instad,

Black could hav qualzd asilywth 8... 6!?=) 9.b3 6 10.c2 d5 11.f3 7 Wht has prsd both s bshops, but Blackhas occupd th cntr and has aconsdrabl lad n dvlopmnt, ukopin - Chadav, Ta

ganrog 2011.8.f3 6 9.x6 (n rsponsto 9.2, Ivanoc - Kovacvc,Nov ad 985, Black can try tomantan an dg wth 9... xc410.dxc4 h6 11.0-0 0-0 12.1d7 wth th da d7c56)9... 6= chonbrg Bsgur,


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8.e2 e 3, Morozeh Aroia, Mocow (bitz) 2009.hites kigh bete paed o3 tha o bt aer 9... h610.0-0 0-0 e3 d7= Bakhas o pobe at al.

4 .. . e4

5c3er 5.e 6.gxf3 d5 7.

b5 d6 es kigside is iruis, whie ae 5.f3 d5 6.exd5xd5 he wl ed to preset hsoppoet wt he advatage of

the bishop otherwise he

cao regai f4paw.5. xf4! d exd5 xd5

I aswer o 7.d2!, iela - Cho, Nureberg10, t wou very good for

l e4 e5 2. c4 c6

kigsde th 7.. h4+ 8.g3 e7+9.e2 e 10.00 5+ 1.h1e5

7.e2+ pielma - chlehter, Nureberg 1906, 7... e6 8.d5 xd .3 (ite loses after the greedy ie: 9.7? d410.3 b4 .d2 8 12.f400 - he has a exra paw, btis uabe to omplete his deveopmet wthout losig materia.)

9... a5 10.f3 0-0-0 Back obtais the advatage of the twobishops ad leads developmet.

7.d5 xd5 8.g4 9.0-000-0 api Chgor, t.Petersbrg 1881. Blak has the

bishoppair ad a better otoi the ere ad ca cotueth a learut a for a kgside oesve: f6, g5, h5 e.

5 . .Jb4

6.er 6. xf4 d exd xd5

8.d5 (8.e2+ e d, Bergez Fer, Narboe 2008,Black a lay .. d4 10.d10-0-+ ad e ata a over


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Chapter 4

8xd5 9f3 c3+ 10bxc300 is pieces are perfectlyplaced while ites pas arevlnerable

6 . .d5 exd5 xd5 8.00er 8e2+ e6 9d5

xd5 104 0-0-0 Black hassuperior development and the ad

vantage of the bishoppair and hecontrols the centre Mongredien Morphy Paris 1859

8 c3 9bxc3 00 10d5 txd5

ll.4

White must regain his pawbecause aer c4?! d6 12b1g4 13d2 (aer 13xb7 d4 14c3 + 15 h3 16f2 fe8he must worry about the safety ofhis kng) 13 f3 14gxf3 d4Black has an extra paw and bet

terpaced pieces In addition hemaintains excellent attackngprospects against his opponentsbadly protected king ezevc -Blagoevc Petrovac 2004

ll .Yc5+ 12h1 Wxc3 13c (13g5 a5) 13g4White has been deprived of any

side paws are a uicy target forBlacks attack

C) 3 c3White does not have any better

square for this knight in any case3 f6

4d34 c5 - see Chapter 154ge2 xe4! 5xe4 (5 +

x 6xe4 d5 74g3 h5!) 5d5 6d3 dxe4 7e4 d6 Blackhas a slight space advantage

4f4 xe4 5 (5 +?

x 6xe4 d5 7g5+ g8 8d3exf4 9 f4 e7+ 10e2 g4 -Blacks deveopment is clearly superior) 5 d6 (Black wns animportant tempo The osition isless clear aer 5 xc3!? 6dxc3e7 7f5)


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6.b3 e4 7.g5 (It is worse foite to opt for 7.e5 h4+ 8.g3h3 9.e2 d4 10.e3 4f5 11.g1, chmidt Thiede, Germany1993, ... e7, or 7.e2 e7 8.g5 d4 9.e3 xb3 10.ab3,Prins - toltz, altsjobaden 1952,10... c6 and in both cases, White

will have problems egaining hispawn.) 7... h6 8.gxe4 xe4 9.e2, Bogoljubow - Romanovsky,

Leningrad 1924 (aer 9.xe4 d510.g3 h5 White's dicultieswth the coordination of his pieces ae noticeable). Now Black canforce a ve favourable endgameth 9... h4+ 10.g3 e7 11.xe4(having provoked the advance of

the enemy pawn to the g3squae,Black has deprived his opponentof the esource .d5? xg3)... xe4+ 12.xe4 d4 Blackobtains the advantage of the bishoppai.

6. d5 e4

7.xe4 xe4 8.e2 e7 - see7.e2.

7.e5 g6! - Black does not allow the enemy queen to go to the5square. 8.xe4 xe5 9.xd6+d6 10.e5 e5 11.0-0 0-0 12.

l e4 e5 2 c4 c6

not succeeded either in regaininghis pa, or in obtaining anycompensation for it.

7.g5 b4 8.b3 h6 9.gxe4xe4 10.xe4 d5 .f2 e7+12.e2 f5 13.d3 0-0-0 Blackhas completed his developmenand obained a slght advantagein the cente, Bronstein - Keres,Parnu 1971.

7.e2 e7 8.xe4 xe4 9.

xe4 b4 10.0-0?! (Whiteshould preserve his bishop withthe line: 10.b3 d5 11.e2 0-0=,but his position emains unpleasant ong o the stange placement of his pawn on f4, where itdepives his own bishop of thisexcellent squae. Howeve, heshould be able to maintain the

balance... ) 10... xd5 11.xd5 c612.h5 00 Black has a stableadvantage, thanks to his bishoppai, H.Jonkman .Ernst, Groningen 1999.

4. . a5

5ge25.f4?! xc4 6.dxc4 b4 7.d3

(ite loses quickly aer 7.?


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Chapter 4

10c3 xc cxb4 b3 01 Gallaghe - Miles Chicago 1990) 7 c3+ 8xc3 (ae 8bxc3 e793 d6 10a3 c5 ites bishop is shut out o play) 8 0-0 9e5 xe4 0d4 h4+ g3g4 124 5 Black has otiedhis knight in the cente and wishes ae suitable pepaation todevelop his bishop on b7 whee itwll be peectly placed White on

the othe hand wll have a uchoe coplex task to activate his

bishop5e2 xc4 6dxc4 b4 7

d2 0-0 8a3 c3 9 c3 e7103 d6 d2 d7 2 c513b3 5 Black is ahead in development and contols the centeHomadka - Duas Bad Pistyan1912

5b5 - Whites bishop cannotavoid being exchanged 5 c6 6a4 b5 7b3 b4 8ce2 d5 9exd5xb3 0axb3 cxd5 3 d6 -In addition to his bishoppai

Black maintains a space advantage Aitnikov Talev Evpatoa 2007

5g5 xc4 6dxc4 h6 7h4(ae 7e3 b4 8d3 emesma - Willemsen Goningen1989 Black seizes the initiative by

playng 8 g4 9d2 c5 10d1d6; 76 x6 8d5 d89h5 d6 Whites knight wll noteman o long on the d5outpost while Blacks bishops aemuch moe powel than Whites

knghts which have no secuesquaes Deshmukh - Muali

8ge2 00 9d3 Mok TzeMeng Nadanian Taakan 2008Hee Black should complete thedevelopent o his queenside

with 9 d65a3 xc4 Natually Black

will not allow this bishop to unaway 6dxc4 d6 73 (7ge2e7 83 pangenbeg - MilesMatanzas 994 ae 8c6 9d3e6 he cannot be pevented

om pepaing d6d5 7e2 e78e3 g4 93 xe3 10xe3alwe - Helbach t Petesbug905 10 c6 - Black depivesthe enemy knights o the d5squae and plans to pepae 5White cannot ceate any poblems o his opponent with 74Kobut - Malysheva Oel 2006

because ae 7 c6 8 b69d3 g4 0d1 ex4 4e6 2h3 e5 13xe5 dxe5 4xeS c5 15d4 xc4 theeaises an endgae in which Whiteust ty to hold the balance by

accuate play) 7e6 8e2 c6900 c7 10h3 h6 b3 e7Blacks gae is quite easy wth his

bishoppai Mammadov - tukopn ishi 201

5 xc4 6dxc4 b4


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e 5! De Dovitiis -Chtchei illa Maeli 2004Black shoud se the oppounity

to weake Whites pawnstucte wit c+ xc d6

7 d d6 e2! (White hado maina e alance hee yexchanes dS d2+ 9xd2c6 10xf6 xf6 1100 0-0)0-0 9 (in the variation90-00 0h4 c 11

xc Chpkov ovans AlmaAta 1968 Black otains excellen attackg prospects wth 11 a4 12 e6 1b c6 14he1 S) c 10c d7100 c 2 Oi - Colutiisheo 2 e 2 f5 heopens the le and eay acti

vtes his pces7d d6 8 d2 (0-0! c

9xc 0- ae 5 h69f6 x6 100-0-0 c 11\xc \f4+ 2e xe+ 1eb6 Black ds p wth a spiopwnstcue ossien - Ma

holev Bethue 2006) 6 9dS (It is accate fo White

to opt fo c 10c d711b Zaojovic Acs Batislva 99 ce this enbles Black

to oaniz ctive oprations onth kinsid th 11 0-0 1200fS) 9 d2+ 0xd2 d7White's kgt is utillypced on d t Black's ishop isot at all iio Chupov - Gisev oyask 200

5\f 6e2 xc 7dxc4 d6 h Black shoud ot baid of c6 9h e6

\

le4 e5 2c4

make se of the weakness of thed6pawn Dnlop Mssainovt Gallen 2008) e6 97 100-0 0-0 11 f6 12xf6 (White shold no try toavoid the tade of qeens ecasae 12d cS 1e c14xc \6 15f Dabke -Michalczak Bad Woeishofen2005 15 f5 16exf5 fS Blackhas excellent pospects on the

kinside) 12 xf6 Roes -Tnasly inapoe 1997

S x 6ax dS! - Thisis the mos conncin way foBlack to otain a ood position

In the endgame ae 54 f6 xf6 9exd5 \xdS 10 \x xf Black hasa solid centre and vey powefulishops and h can easily connecthis ooks Roedr - Mandl Voa1990

7 - Ths move leads tosimpictions 7dxe4 xe5exd 9\xd (A 9-0 Backshod no t to wn a pawn at

the expe o devopment Instead th smpe ractio 9 101 0- \xd \xd 2xd d prodes him with x


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Chapter 4

9 xd3 10xd3 fS bS!d6 - The position is completely equal, Casper - Khalifman,Moscow 1987

7exdS b4! - This is the mostprecise way for Black to solve hisopening problems He eortlesslycompletes his development

er 8 xdS 9ge2 0-0100-0, Braun - Vogt, Oder 1977,it would be sensible for him toforti his knight in the centre

with the move 10 c6er 8gS xdS 9 g4

10e2, Kovacs - Lukacs, Hungary 199S, it is good for Black to

transfer his knight to the e6square, starting with 10 d7

8d2 xdS 9 (Ratherdull and drash positions ariseaer 9xdS d2+ 10xd2xdS 0-0 arlier - harif,Orange 1994, as well as aer 9e2 0-0 10f3 g4 110-0 aS,while in the variation 9ge2 e7100-0 0-0 xdS xdS 12c3 c6 Black's pieces are moreactive) 9 e6 10g3 0-0 1xeS e8 12@ d7 13e1, Rogers - Taylor, Eerbeek 1978 itehas won his opponent's central

of his kingside and aer 13 xc314c3 f6 Sg3 c3 16bxc3aS Black is threatening to createa dangerous passed pawn with bS,a4, while in response to 17c4 he isready to open the ale, so that af

ter 17 a4 18bxa4 xa4 he can attack the enemy c2paw

8 xdS 9d2 0-0 100-0 (aer 10xdS d2+ 11xd2 xdS Black's bishop

seems stronger than the enemykight, but White should still beable to hold the balance) 10xc3 1c3 (bxc3 d6) 11 xc3 12bx3 f6 13e2 (in thevariation 13e1 aS! 14d4 exd41Scxd4 d6 16e2 b6 White'sposition is the centre is prefera

ble, but Black's powerl bishopcompensates for this, Heilala -ladek, Email 2008 aer 13d4exd4 14cxd4 e6 1Sc4 c6,White can hardly turn his d4pawn into a dangerous passedpa, while it might even become

a liability later) 13 e8 141c6 1Sc4 e8 16e3 (16d4 g417dS d7 18d3 aS) 16g417d2 aS 18e4 b6 - ite'scentralized knight is strong, butBlack's bishop is not inferior, tosay the least, Zautzig - Rosin,Email 2008

5 . c5!?The capture xc4 will not run

away, so Black does no need to bein any hurry to make it

Black has a quie reiable alternative here - Se7, but we

would like to recommend a more


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6 . 0 0Whit ls 63? g4+

Vyhnlk - tny, Dcin 1972, or6. gS? c4 f2+ 8.f2g4+ 91 gS+

6.4? 7 Black gains impont tmp, sincWhits kht ll n goback to t c3squar in anycas.

6.g3 70-0, Forgo - ukcs, Zlks 1997 (7.h3 c48.c4 3 0-0 10.007 Bl' pn is basd onh4, follo by g6 an fS; i th

varition 7.4 c4 8.c b69.b6 b= th riss a cmpltly sf position for lackth sis l hv icuty inding n iv plan, Prira -ukacs, Ald 1988) 7. g4 8.1 c4 c4 6 10.b3 0-011. 3 7

6h3 .c4 d6grm)

8.a3 93 0-0 - s8.3.

80-0 93, Tischbirk V.Chk Bli 184, 9...0-0 10.g 7

l e4 e 2. c4

siv ampt 9.f4 f4 10. f4

7 11.0-0-0 0-0 prsntsBlck ith th Ssquar, Gvric- Trkljnov, Kavo 1991; hshoul not far 9gS h6 10. h4gS! 11. g3 7 whn Blck cavcut his king to ith si f

th or, so h n not b concrn bout th wakning of his

kingsi; i th vaiation 9300 10.0-0 7 11g3 S 12b3g6, as ll ar 90-0 710.b3 0-0 11g3 h4 Bckll ppar th pavac fS th th id f opning th fl) 9. 7 10 3, Doghri

Oms Plliss, Mlloc 2004. Blck shul his pponnts qunsi pas on lightsqus th 10... 0-0 110-0 aS=

6 .. .xc4 7.c4 d6


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Chapter 4

8.d38.g5 e6 9.d5 (9.d3 h6 -

see 8.d3) 9... d5 10.cxd5 h6.x6 x6

Black can solve his problemswth nowamiliar manoeuvresaer 8.h3 (8.a3 e6 9.d3 a5 10.b3 0-0 .g3 d7) 8... e6 9.d3 d7 10.b3 0-0 .g3 h4

White cannot hurt his opponent h 8.g3 e6 9.b3 0-0

10.a4, Valen - odoma, Plen2000, since aer 10... d4 .c3b6 12.xb6 axb6, despie theabsence o his darksuared bishop Black has an easy ame: d7,h4, g6, 5...

8 . .e6

9.b3In the variation 9.g5 h6

10. x6 (aer 10.h4?! g5 .g3

h5 Black launches a direct attack against the enemy kng) x6.d5 d5 12.cxd5 0-0 13.c3a5 Blacks powel darksuared bishop provides him witha longlasting initiative, Babujian- olhikova, Tromsoe 2010.

er 9.a4 d7 10.g3 0-0

sa de Mar 2010, he obtains excellent attacking prospects with 11 ...

d4 12.b2 xb2 13.xb2 g59.d5 c6 10.x6+ (In answer

to 10.b4, Mitkov - Pavasoc,Nova Gorica 2003, Black can con

tinue with 10... cxd5 cxd5 b612.dxe6 e6 - both sides have

weaknesses, but the opening othe le is in Blacks avour.) 10...x6 .b3 0-0 12.e3, Mitkov -

Gyimesi, Yerevan 2001, 12... a39 . . 0 0

1 0 g5

White provokes the advance ohis opponents paw to h6, so thatBlack ll have problems advancing g7g6, ollowed by 5.

er 10.e3 d7 11.ad1, Bukovec - Krivec, Grie 2001, hecan play ... a6 wth the idea o

b7b5.er 10.a4 d7 .g3 d412.c3 b6 13.h1, Roeder - Renner, Vorra 1990, it is good orBlack to play more aggressively

with 13... h4, plannig to prepare f5, while a simila attemptby White to ope the fle with


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Part 2

l.e4 e5 2.f c6

All Wite Lines wthout 3.b5

I the Four ights Game(Chapter 8), readers wil becomeacquated with a unique openigmaoeuvre, which was rst tiedi the 19th cetury ad the re

dscovered in the 21st cetury! Inthe ymetrical (Pillsbury) vaiatio (.e4 e5 . c6 3.c3f6 4b5 b4 5. 0 - 0 0 - 0 6.d3 d6 7g5 Black plays 7 . e7

without beig afraid o weak

eig his gside paw structure The reects the absolutelycocrete approach to solvig theprobems of the opeig which istypical of todays chess

The cotch Game (Chapters912) is oe of Whte's mai

weapos i the ope games Ithe mai variatios White laysthe emphasis o logtermadvatages, but falls cosidera

by behid i developmet Accordgy, Black must react veryeergeticay ad quite concetely I the basic posito of the

mai lie, arisig aer l.e4 e5. c6 3.d4 exd4 4.xd4f6 5.xc6 bxc6 6.e5 e77.e d5 8.c4 a6 9.b3 g610.f4


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Chapter .e e5 2. c6

Rarey-ayed Mves

nzan Opening

In this chapter we shall analyze some openings which areplayed only very rarely, such asA) 3.d3 - the Philidor Defence

wth colors reversed and B)3.c3 the Ponziani Opening

Black has no poblems aerthe move 3c?! (the DresdenOpening) er 3 c5 c3 d65d3 ge7 6e3 0-0 7e2 d80-0 ec6 Black has a ve com

forable game, dominating hedoutpost, Krenkov - Lukacs,rnjacka Banja 985

3g3 (his is the Konsantinopolsky Opening) 3 f6 d3 ( c3 d5 - see Chapter 7) d5 5ed5 (5bd2 de 6de c5 -see vaiaion A 5 d5 6g2

xc3 9bc3 g - see Chaper 7)8 f6 9bd2 g 0c3 d7Black has deployed his pieces inideal fashion and has a wonderlposition, Ballmoos Gysi, Germany 993

3e2 f6 d this is the

Taylor Opening (it is preferablefor White to opt fo d3 - seevariation B or c3 see theFour Knights Opening) exd5e5 g 600 (in reply to 6xd it is srong for Black to con

tinue with 6c5 7xg xdand White is faced with the un

pleasant choice between losinghis e5pawn and playing he movef2f, which prevens the quickevacuation of his king away fom

the centre) 6 e7 7f (aer 7xd ge5 8f, he naturalmove 8 g6 podes Black

wth ecellent chances of neuralizing his opponents actity,while retaining the etra pawn)7 d6 8 b5 0-0 9xc6 de5 0e5 e5 e5 bxc6 2d

d6 Black has a good game withhis powerl bishop pair in thisopen posiion, AMueller - Polu


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sated for by his extra pawn especially since he lags in development Van Riemsdijk De ouzaao Paulo 1991.

7 . 0 - 0 8.38.xe5 xeS 9.d4 b6 10.

dxeS xe4 . d3 (in the endgame aer .xe4 dxe4 12.xd8xd8 it would be easier for Black

to att

Documents

The Open Games for Black.pdf