Game 24 Orlov - Tal New York 1990 1 d4 e6 2 c4 �f6 3 �f3 d5 4 g3 J..e7 5 iL.g2 0-0 6 0-0 �bd7 7 W'c2 c6 8 �bd2 b6 9 e4 (D)
Quite natural. White elects to ex pand in the centre without spending time on other moves such as .:.fl-d1 or b2-b3 and iL.c1-b2, thus depriving Black of time which could be used to prepare for the middlegame. How ever, it could also be argued that it is premature to push the e-pawn before development has been completed. As is often the case, it comes down to what the player feels most com fortable with - a build-up of tension or earlier direct action.
9 . . . J..b7
After 9 •.. J..a6 White may also
push his e-pawn still further, 10 e5, and this was first seen in Cifuentes Flear, Polanica Zdroj 1992. The game continued 10 ... �e8 1 1 .l:.e1 l:tc8 12 J..fl ! �c7 1 3 b3 dxc4 14 �xc4 �5 15 'ii'e4! and White stood better. Black now chased the knight away with 15 ... b5, cutting across White's plan to bring his queen over to g4 (threatening J..c1-h6) in order to take control of the d6-square with J..c1-g5, etc. After 16 �e3 .:.es 17 h4 �f8 White played the ostensibly helpful 18 �xd5 ! and, despite allow ing Black to 'repair' his pawn struc ture, this was enough for a clear advantage: 18 ... cxd5 (18 ... 'ii'xd5 19 'ii'xd5 cxd5 20 a4 l:.b8 21 iL.d2 is also good for the first player) 19 'ilt'g4 .l:.c6 20 h5 with a King's Indian Attack style initiative.
10 e5
The point. The attack on the knight is what gives 9 e4 inde pendent significance; alternatives such as 10 b3 should transpose to the other games in this chapter.
10 ... �8
11 b3
The modem treatment of this par ticular line. White is not afraid of his opponent's coming ... c6-c5 break because Black will eventually have
Closed Catalan: White plays e4-e5 147 to address the communication prob
lems created by the e8-knight. Previously, the over-simplistic 11 cxdS?! had been equally popular, but by releasing the tension in the centre and on the queenside White runs the risk of allowing Black to in vade down the c-file, something which is not so easily achieved in similar King's Indian Attack posi tions. An interesting response to 1 1 cxd5 is ll ... exdS!?, with the idea of
bringing the troubled knight back into the game with ... lDe8-c7-e6. Perhaps afraid that this would leave his centre pawns vulnerable to attack and invite White to put his kingside pawn majority to good use by throw ing forward his f-pawn, Black chose the conventional recapture 1 1 ... cxd5 in C.Hansen-Eingorn, Dortmund 1988. The game continued 12 J:tel ( 12 'ilfa4 a5 gets White nowhere) 12 ... J:tc8 13 1i'd1 'ilfc7 !? 14 .to 'ti'c2 15 'ti'xc2 J:txc2 16 .id3 J:tc8 with equality (in fact the weakness of the d4-pawn and Black's queenside edge mean that White should be careful). White lacks a constructive method of preventing the exchange of his most powerful piece once the c-file has been opened. In this line 14 lDb1 would be fine after 14 •• Ji'c2? 15
'ti'xc2 J:txc2 16 lDc3, when the rook is trapped on c2, but 14 ••• b5 fol
lowed by ... 'ti'c7-b6 and ... f7-f6 gives Black more than enough counter play.
11 .•• J:tc8
Preparing ... c6-c5. 12 .ib2 cS 13 dxcS
The other central pawn exchange is also possible, though less advis able with the queen in the firing line of Black's rook:
a) The variation 13 cxdS cxd4 14 'ti'd1 .ixd5 15 .ixd4 'ilfc7 16 J:tcl 'ti'b7 ! .17 1i'e2 lDc7 illustrates how Black can benefit.
b) In Goldin-Bouzoukis, Phila delphia 1992, White first played 13 :acl, and the postponement of c4xd5 was justified after 13 ••• 1i'c7
14 cxd5 .ixd5 15 lDe4 'ii'b7 16 :rei h6 17 'ilfe2 lDc7 1 8 lDfd2 :fd8 19 lDc4, when the weakness of the d6- square was uncomfortable for Black. The queen manoeuvre ... 'ti'd8-c7-b7 is less effective here because White has not lost time with his queen, so the more relevant 13 ••. lDc7 makes
more sense.
13 ••• lDxcS
Better than 13 .•• .ixc5 14 h4,
when Black will regret neglecting the g5-square.
14 :Cd1 (D)
Now both players have a rook on the same file as the opposing queen, resulting in a stand-off in the centre as neither side is ready to open until a
148 Closed Catalan: White plays e4-e5 suitable square has been found for the queens.
14 ••. llJc7
14 .•• b5!? has been suggested, in
tending to meet 15 cxb5 by 15 .. .'ir'b6 16 li:Jd4 li:Jd7 with an unclear posi tion. In Veingold-Delgado, Seville 1994, White played 15 .:.acl, bring ing added support to the c-file in stead of handing it over to Black. Indeed after 15 ... llJc7 16 b4 !? llJa4 1 7 c5 both the c- and d-files were closed by passed pawns, leaving White with unlimited use of the pre cious d4-square: 17 ... a5 18 a3 axb4
1 9 axb4 li:Ja6 20 "ii'b3 "ii'e8 2 1 .tal lDb8 22 .tn i.a6 23 lbd4 and White's domination eventually be came decisive.
15 .:.acl i¥e8 16 1Vb1
The preparations completed, at tention focuses once again on clear ing the centre pawns.
16 •.• dxc4
Black wastes no more time. Here too, challenging the c-pawn only helps White: 16 ••. b5 17 b4! llJa4 (the
black knights are misplaced after 1 7 ... llJ5a6 1 8 cxb5 lDxb5 19 a3) 18 c5 and White's space advantage and the d4-square are significant.
17 lbxc4 .te4 18 i¥a1 lbd5 (D) White's queen has not really been pushed out of the game because Black will soon find his kingside un der pressure on the al-h8 diagonal after lDc4-d6 and a subsequent ... .te7xd6, e5xd6, etc. White, in fact, is practically forced into carrying out this action now that Black's knights
have finally found two nice squares on c5 and d5. There is no way through the central flies at the mo ment, and Tal made sure to post his light-squared bishop in the heart of enemy territory before ending the journey of his king's knight. Conse
quently White is hampered by his opponent's annoying grip on the bl h7 diagonal and the proximity of the unwelcome visitor to his Catalan bishop. An urgent reaction is re quired.
19 lDd6
Although we have established that this is the most appropriate course, White is not obliged to drop his knight into d6 immediately. Worth investigating is 19 .:.d4!?, at tempting to profit from the rather un usual position of the e4-bishop (normally this active posting is un available to Black):
a) 19 .•• .tg6 20 lDd6 i.xd6 2 1
exd6 is clearly better for White ac cording to Tal.
b) The stubborn 19 . • .f5 is stronger
than retreating the bishop. Then 20 ti:)d6 i.xd6 21 exd6 1i'd7 is rather messy. Black's knights, reasonable grip on the light squares and the
Closed Catalan: White plays e4-e5 149 weak d-pawn should provide suffi
cient compensation for White's con trol of the dark squares.
White's choice in the game forces ... f7-f6, which creates a weakness on e6 and may leave Black vulnerable on the h3-c8 and a2-g8 diagonals.
19 .i.xd6 20 exd6 f6 21 :td4
It is logical to seek to punish the bishop for its audacity. Now both 22 b4 and 22 :txc5 are threatened, and protecting the bishop with 21 .•• rs
simply loses a tempo on line 'b' in the note to White's 19th move. Tal produces an aggressive response to the threat.
21 ... eS
Cleverly putting the onus on White to find the most accurate con tinuation in a critical position. An other uncompromising reply is the tempting 21 ... 'ifbS. However, after 22 :txc5 .i.xf3 23 :txc8 lbc8 White has 24 :th4! 'ii'f5 25 .i.h3, a decisive variation which justifies White's play by highlighting the susceptibil ity of the e6-pawn and the h3-c8 di agonal.
22 :txe4
A necessary exchange sacrifice there is no turning back. 22 :txcS? fails to 22 ... exd4, and the situation after 22 :tdc4 is sufficiently different from the previous note to allow Black to play 22 ... 'ii'h5 !?, for exam ple 23 b4 .i.xf3 24 :th4 'ii'f5 25 .i.h3
'ii'xh3 ! 26 :txh3 l'Lld3 and White's pieces certainly lack harmony.
22 ... l'Llxe4 (D)
23 l'Lldl?
The losing move. Correct is 23 l'LlxeS! fxe5 24 .i.xe4 l'L!f6 25 .i.f5 when the removal of the f6-pawn and the bishop pair keep the game bal anced. After the text White's queen and bishop bite on granite, so Black is able to put his material lead to good use. 23 24 .i.xdS+ 25 :tdl l'Llxd2 �h8 Unfortunately for White the obvi ous alternative 25 :Xc8 'ii'xc8 26 'ii'd 1 does not work due to 26 ... 'ii'c5 27 'ii'xd2 'ii'xd6, after which White cannot escape the pin on the d-file.
25 ... :tc2
Black is winning. The remaining moves were: 26 :tct 'iVg6 27 .i.b7 :td8 28 .i.a3 :txcl+ 29 'iVxcl 'iVbl! 30 'iVxbl l'Llxbl 31 .i.b4 aS 32 .i.el :Xd6 0-1.