Annotated Games
Chapter 6. 3.tllf3 tllc6 4.g3 �b4 5.tlld5
Annotated Games
12. Agdestein - Topalov Stavanger 2014
1.c4 e5 2.liJc3 liJf6 3.liJf3 liJc6 4.g3 .ib4 5.liJd5 .ic5 6 • .ig2 0-0 7.0-0 d6
8.e3
White prevents the unloading ope
ration 8.d3 liJxd5 9.cxd5 lild4 10.lilxd4 hd4 ll.e3 [email protected] with easy equality. Black only should refrain from undermining the centre with ... c6. Such an idea would have had some sense if Black had knights and the d5-pawn was restricting them.
With only long-range pieces left on board, ... c6 is anti-positional be
cause:
1. It does not solve any strategic problems;
2. It only prolongs the diagonal to the g2-bishop;
3. In principle, one should not dis
play unnecessary activity on the wing where the opponent is stron
ger . Thus, after:
12.a4 a5! 13.id2,
instead of preparing ... c6, we should turn our attention to the kingside where .. .f5 is a natural idea. We can push it immediately:
13 .. .f5 14.Whl, but here we need to turn again to l 4 ... [email protected], since 14 ... g5 is a bit premature due to 15.'&h5, e.g. 15 ... [email protected] 16.f4 exf4 17.gxf4 g4 18.h3. This line sug
gest that perhaps it would be better to wait for White to shift his queen from the dl-h5 diago
nal:
13 ... [email protected] 14.'&c2 f5! 15.Whl when we have two possible set-ups.
a) Simplest is to open the e-file and trade all the rooks with a proba
ble draw: 15 ... !lfl 16.f4 exf4 17.exf4 109
'!\1f8=. Note that Anand's rook lift ... 1lf8-f6-h6 is clumsy since White can easily prevent ... '!\1h5 with f4, if3.
b) The same idea could be modified by gaining space first with 15 ... g5 22.ib2 1lae8 23.'!\1c3 @h7=.
The first plan is certainly safer and is effective against all White's move orders, for instance, 14.!lcl (instead of 14.'!!.1c2) 14 ... '!\1e8 15.b3 (15.1lc4 cS=) 15 .. .f5 16. l!lh1 sf7.
On a final note, I should add that if White begins with 12.b4 (instead of 12.a4 ), it is best to counter it with reduces Black's counter-attack
ing options.
13.bxa5 (13.b5 a4!) 13 ... ixa5
14 . .ib2
14 . .id2 f5 15.ha5 1lxa5 16.f4 '!\1e7 17.!lel b6, Rogozenco-Ba
logh, Germany 2009.
14 ... '!\1e7 15.e4. Here the game Ma
rin-Komarov, Cairo 2001, finished in a draw, but Black obviously has a slight edge owing to his better pawn structure.
s ... a6 9.b3
White's most unpleasant plan is based on the attack with lilh4, f4, aiming to open the f-file. Therefore, 9.lilh4 should be his most princi
pled continuation. However, the sharp attack 9 ... lilxd5 10.cxd5 lile7 11.f4 (ll.b3 c6 12.dxc6 lilxc6 13.ib2 d5 14.!lcl ie7=, Tari-Matlakov, Ye
revan 2014.) ll ... exf4 12.b4 ib6 13.1lxf4!?, Romanov-Fressinet, Hamburg 2014, could be tamed by 13 .. .f5 or even 13 ... WeS, intending to meet '!\1h5 by ... f5.
9.d4 ia7 should not be a problem:
10.dxe5
10.lilc3 h6 ll.h3 (ll.d5 lile7) 11 ... ifS 12.a3 (12.dxe5 dxe5) 12 ... lile4 13.lile2 exd4 14.lilexd4 (14.exd4 d5 15.cxd5 lile7 16.lilc3 lilxd5 17.Wb3 lildxc3 18.bxc3 c5)
14 ... ltlxd4 15.ltlxd4 th7 leads to normal play in the centre.
10.b3 exd4 11.ltlxd4 ltlxd4 12.exd4 ltlxd5 13.cxd5 id7 14.ie3 a5= is rather dull.
10 ... ltlxe5! ll.b3 ig4 12.ltlf4 ltle4 was equal in Kuzubov-Gupta, Iasi 2015.
Finally, the plan of a queenside pawn storm 9.d3 b7 10.td2 has no bite.
10.illxf6+ 111'xf6 ll.td2 invites Black's queen to the kingside -ll ... 1!1'g6 12.Ac3 Wh5 13.ltlh4 ig4 14.if3 f5!=, Grischuk-Adams, Warsaw 2013.
10 ... ltlxd5 ll.cxd5 ltle7 12.1!1'b3 c6 13.dxc6 ltlxc6 14.ic3 gb8 15.d4
Now 15 ... exd4 is enough for equality, but in Tomashevsky
Svidler, Moscow 2007, Black opted for:
15 ... e4!? 16.ltld2 d5 17.f3, when 17 ...
ie6! 18.'ll'dl f5 would have accom
plished Black' s main strategic goal in our anti-English repertoire - to occupy the centre and hold it.
9 . . • Aa7 10.ib2 ltlxd5 11.cxd5
lile7 12.lilh4
White hopes to open up the f-file with f4. 12.d4 is harmless owing to 12 ... e4 13.ltlg5 f5 14.Wh5 h6 15.ltle6 he6 16.dxe6 c6.
12 ... f5!
12 ... c6? 13.dxc6 ltlxc6 14.f4 led to Black's rout in Swiercz-Balogh, Bu
dapest 2014.
13.f4
In Marin's opinion, critical here is 13.gcl ib6 (to free the queen) 14.f4 e4 15.g4, but he only considers:
15 ... lilxd5?! 16.lilxf5 hf5 17.gxf5 We7 18.gc4. We have the much better option of:
15 ... fxg4! 16.he4 \We8 with active play. For example:
a) 17.'l!l'el lllf5 18.ixfS ixf5 19.'l!l'g3 g6 20.lllxf5 !lxf5! 21.'l!l'xg4 !lxd5 22.!c3 !lf5 with a firm blockade on the light squares;
b) 17.f5 'l!l'h5 18.!lf4 'l!l'xh4 19.!lxg4 'l\lh6 20.!lxg7+ 'l!l'xg7 21.hg7 @xg7 22.'/;!lg4+ @h8 23.'/;!lh4.txf5 24.'l!l'xe7
!lae8 25.'/;!lxeS !lxe8 26.ixfS !lxe3!=.
Note this tactical hit. It exploits the inclusion of 13.!lcl !b6. So Marin's improvement may be not better than Agdestein's choice at all!
13 ... e4 14.g4 lllxd5
l 4 ... fxg4 15.he4 'l\le8 16.f5 '/;!fh5 17.!lf4 '/;!fxh4 18.!lxg4 is already in White's favour. The above-men
tioned endagame with opposite
coloured bishops might be a draw, but a pawn is a pawn.
15.lllxf5 txf"5 16.gxf5 'l!l'e717 .@hl lllf6
18.d3
White's flank attack 18.!lgl d5 19 .Ml should not succeed owing to Black's superior centre. A simple
The most principled retort was 18 ...
llld5. Then White has nothing bet
ter, but push 19.f6 when both cap
tures are possible:
19 ... !lxf6 20 . .txf6 '/;!fxf6�;
19 ... gxf6 20.he4 lllxe3 21.!lgl+
@h8 22.'l\lh5 d5co.
19.dxe4
Agdestein fails to assess realistical
ly the position. He overestimates the significance of the open g-file.
19 . .txf6 !lxf6 20.dxe4 he3= was called for. The threat of e4-e5 would provide sufficient counterplay.
19 ... lllxe4 20.'l!l'c2 !laeS 21.!lgl lllf6 22.!lael
The stranded e3-pawn is a cause of constant concern for White. Black can choose a solid set-up as ... !lf7, ... @hS, '/;!ff8 or the more active:
22 ... 'l!l'f7 23.e4?
White counted on 23 ... hgl 24.!lxgl which would have given him de
cent compensation, but he misses Topalov's counter-blow. The calm 23.'/;!ld2 kept things under control:
3.lilf3 lilc6 4.g3 �b4 5.lild5 23 ... '/;l'h5 24.Ml or 23 ... d5 24.if3
when Black cannot double rooks on the e-file in view of ia3. ia7+ 36.©fl Whl+ 37.©e2 1/ile4+
38.©dl �b8 39.'lll'f3 1/ilxf3+
40.� he5 41.fxe5 !lxe5 42.hb7 !lexf5 43.a4 a5 44.h3
!lf2 45.ia6 g5 0-1
1 3.Sonofluck,Rybka-lntuitivestra PAUCSS Freestyle 2007 1.c4 e5 2.lilc3 lilc6 3.lilf3 lilf6 4.g3 �b4 5.lild5 e4 6.lilh4 0-0 7.�g2 d6 8.0-0 g5 9.d4 h6 10 . .ilil �a5 11.lilg2 "13
White's kingside is a funny sight.
Especially the hl-bishop is rath
er awkward. Lines like 12.b4 lilxb4 13.lilxb4 ixb4 14.!lbl c5 15.a3 ic3 16.dxc5 dxc5 17.!lxb7 1/ilxdl 18.!lxdl
!lab8 underline that. Every ex
change increases the weight of the remaining black pieces. White's
only counterplay could be based on the temporary weakness of e4. If the bishop could take it, the whole course of events would abruptly change since Black will have to wor
ry about his king. Therefore, the fol
lowing sacrifice is timely and good.
12.li:lge3! bfl. 13.©xfl ©h8?!
This move is too hesitant. The e4-pawn could not be defended with 13 ... !leS due to 14.li:lf5 ©h7 15.h4 so Black should have thought how to limit the scope of White's would-be
a-beast light-squared bishop. I pre
fer 13 ... li:lxd5! 14.cxd5 li:le7 15.ixe4 f5 16.�g2.
The potential strength of the g2-bishop discourages immediate ac
tive actions with ... f5-f4, but in fu
ture the f-pawn could tum into an important resource.
I think that White has just enough for the exchange to balance the game, e.g. 16 ... li:lg6 17.li:lc4 ib6 18.e3 'l;l'f6 19.a4 f4 20.©gl.
It looks safer to gain some space on the queenside with 16 ... b5!?
17.li:lc2 ©g7 18.©gl li:lg6 19.a4 bxa4 20.!lxa4 ib6 21.e3 \1ijd7=.
14.�1 .ib6 15.b4 hd4 16.b5 h:e3 17.bxc6 h:cl 18.cxb7 !lbS 19.Wl'xcl liJxd5 20.cxd5
According to the engines, the posi
tions on the last two diagrams have the same evaluation, but from a practical point of view, White has made a big progress. The b7-pawn secures him at least a draw while any mistake will cost Black dearly.
Without the a-pawns, Black would not have risked anything, of course.
The rest of the game shows that even computer's help is often not enough to save such "equal" (?!) positions.
20 ... Wl'e7 21.Wl'c4 f5 22.e3 Wies 23 . .ig2 !lf7 24. lilgl !le7 25 • .ib3 h5 26.a4 f4 27 . .icS h4 28.g4 lilg7 29 . .if5 a5 30.Wl'b3 lilf7 31 • .ie6+
lilg6 32 • .ifS+ lilg7 33.Wl'c4 @f7 34.Wi'b3 lilgS 35 . .ie6+ @f8 36 • .ifS Wl'f6 37.Wl'c2 h3 38 . .icS Wl'e5 39.Wl'b3 !lf7 40.Wl'c4 lilg7 41 • .if5 !le7 42 • .icS lilgS 43.Wl'b3 fxe3 44.fxe3 !le8 45.MS
1 1 A
45 ••• !le7?
Black should always threaten to take the bishop. 45 ... !lfS! 46.Wl'c4
!lxf5 47.gxf5 Wi'xf5 48.We2 Wf3 49.Wxf3 exf3 50.lilf2 g4 51.lilg3 lilg7 52.Wxg4 f2! is a draw.
46.Wl'c4 !lg7 47.Wl'd4 Wl'xd4 48.exd4 !le7 49.@f2 1-0
I'm not sure what has actually hap
pened, but this position is probably still a draw after 49 ... e3+! 50.lile2 Wg7 51.�e6 (51.!lb3 @f6 52.�cS;
51.�cS !le8 52.�e6 Wg6 53.Wxe3
!lf8) 51...Wf6 52.!lb5 (52.Wxe3?? c5;
52.f1b3 f1xe6) 52 ... f1xe6 53.dxe6 d5!.
Chapter 7. 3.'2lf3 '2lc6 4.g3 ib4 5.ig2
Main Ideas
1.c4 e5 2.liJc3 liJf6 3.liJf3 liJc6 4.g3 �b4 5.�g2 0-0 6.0-0
6 ... e4!?
I do not say 6 ... d6 or 6 ... ge8 are bad, but I will always choose the aggres
sive approach unless it's proven wrong. And practice shows 53 per
cent in Black's favour!
7.liJg5
7.4.lel hc3 8.dxc3 h6 9.liJc2 d6 10.liJe3 ges may be of equal worth.
However, the strategical plot in this position is much simpler than after 7.illg5. White's only serious plan is connected with f3 and we must learn how to meet it. I suggest ll.'l:l'c2 liJe5!? - see Grune 14 Kel
ly-Gormally, Birmingham 2002. It is enough to trade any pair of minor piece to achieve comfortable play.
7 ... hc3 8.bxc3 ges 9.f3 e3!?
The other reasonable option is 9 ...
exf3 10.lllxf3 when most solid looks 10 ... 'l:l'e7 (10 ... d5 seems to hold, too, but I suspect that we could ex
pect surprises from White here), although this idea is based on the positional pawn sac ll.e3 llle5 12.illd4 d6! 13.d3 c5 14.lllf5 .\hf5 15.gxf5 d5! 16.cxd5 c4oo. It is a fair alternative to 9 ... e3.
10.d3 (10.dxe3 'l:l'e7! ll.liJh3 'l:l'c5=) 10 ... d5
115
Since the source game Kasparov
Karpov, Seville 1987, 11.Wfb3 was White's main retort. The bulletin of the world title match awards it an exclamation mark and puts an evaluation "�". Indeed, I also pre
fer White after n ... qia5 12.Wfa3 c6.
However, I suggest the more active set-up:
12 ... b6!. Instead of b7-c6, we'll build the pawn chain b6-c5. That will leave c6 free for our knight.
Have in mind that 12 ... b6 is nearly inexplored. Play may continue:
13.cxd5 qixd5 14.£4 �b7
Black's game is very easy. He will trade bishops with ... fjje7 and will block the long diagonal with ... c5, ... qic6-d4. White's threats on the
1 1 6
£-file only look dangerous, but he cannot do much without his queen which is stranded on the other flank. My main line runs:
15.c4 qie7 16.hb7 axb7 17.f5 c5!
18.£6 ac6 19.�b2 h6 20.ae4 g6 2U1ael fjjd4oo.
Perhaps Svidler also was not satis
fied with White's game since at the Candidates tournament 2016 he came up with the novelty:
11.Wfa4!?, but after 11 ... h6 12.cxd5 axd5 13.ae4 £5 14.ac5 £4 he failed to revive his king's bishop.
The g2-bishop is a poor sight, but the position remains extremely tan
gled - Game 15 Svidler-Karjakin, Moscow 2016.
The same idea works in the event of 11.cxd5 qixd5 12.qie4 £5! 13.c4 ade7 followed up by .. .£4.
Conclusion:
The ball is in White's court in the 9 ... e3 line. 9 ... exf3 also seems in good shape.
Chapter 7. 3.lllf3 lllc6 4.g3 .itb4 5
..itg2
Step by Step
l.c4 e5 2.lilc3 lilf6 3.lilf'3 lilc6 4.g3 �b4 5.�g2 0-0 6.0-0 6.llld5 e4 7.lilh4 d6 transposes to the previous chapter.
6 ... e4!?
This advance perfectly fits in with our aggressive approach to the opening as it promises active piece play in a strategically unbalanced position.
Alternatives are rather passive:
a) 6 ... se8 7.llld5 lllxd5 8.cxd5 lild4 9.lllxd4 exd4. If Carlsen was will ing to defend this, it should not be dangerous, but it looks deadly dull to me.
b) 6 ... d6 gives White some spa
tial advantage due to the plan
e3-d4. Tue best shaping of this idea is, however, the slower 7.d3 h6 8.lila4!
(8.llld5 �c5 9.e3 a6!) 8 ... a5 9.b3
White defends c4 and enables thetacticalshot9 ... �c5 10.lilxe5!
lilxe5 ll.d4 with the easier game.
9 ... M5 is dubious in view of 10.d4! (threatening a3).
9 •.• V!!Je7 could prove a waste of time as in Aronian-Topa
lov, Moscow 2016: 10.�b2 �c5 ll.e3 �a7 12.lllc3 !le8 13.lilh4.
Tue ex-world champion did not find anything better than 13 ... V!!ld8 14.V!!ld2 lile7 15.sadl c6 16.llle2 lllf5 17.lilxf5 hf5 18.d4 V!!lc8 19.lllc3 exd4 20.exd4 llle4 21.lllxe4 he4 22.he4 !lxe4 23.!lfel !lxel+ 24.1'1xel V!!lf5 25.se7t.
In general, the queen stands bet
ter on d7 in this line.
9 ... !le8 10.�b2
117
Reviving the threat of 10 ...
.ic5 11.i2lxe5 i2lxe5 12.d4 i2lxc4 13.bxc4 h7 14.e3�.
Svidler-Nakamura, Candidates, Moscow 2016, saw 10 ... Ms 11.e3
"lfle7? when White missed 12.d4!, trapping the b4-bishop. Corres
pondence chess has seen:
10 ... .ig4 11.h3 .if5 12.e3 Vfld713.1!1h2 l'lab8 and Black is holding thanks to the possibility of ... b5. Still, the whole Black's set-up is hanging on a hair.
7.lilg5
7.lilel hc3 8.dxc3 (8.bxc3 l'le8 9.f3 exf3 10.lilxf3 d5 transposes to line B.) 8 ... h6 9.i2lc2 d6 10.i2le3 l'le8
does not pose any theoretical prob
lems. I suggest to meet ll.Vflc2 by ll ... 1De5!? - see Grune 14 Kelly
Gormally, Birmingham 2002.
118
7 ... hc3 8.bxc3
8.dxc3 l'le8 9.1Dh3 d6 10.lilf4 (10 . .ig5 hh3!? 11.hh3 h6=, Mut
haiah-Costachi, Porto Carras 2015) 10 ... lile5 11.b3 M5 12.1Dd5 h6 is similar to the previous comment -13.lile3 .id7 14.h3 /Dg6 15.1!1h2 l'le5 16.f4 exf3 17.exf3, J.Gabriel-Gyime
si, Deizisau 2009. The open e-file is a decent insurance against White's kingside attack.
8 ... l'le8 9.£3
9 .d3 is senseless. After 9 ... exd3 10.exd3 d6 11.l'lbl h6 12.lile4 /Dxe4 13.he4 th3 14.l'lel lile5 it turns out that 15.l'lxb7 is not a threat in view of 15 ... .ig4 16.f3 IDxf3+.
We have now two good options:
A. 9 ... e3!?; B. 9 ... exf3.
The latter is more dynamic and complex, but it is up to you to de
cide whether that is a plus. The aris
ing positions with a fluid centre are rather chaotic and demand perfect calculation.
9 ... e3 is easier to play and Black is commonly the active side.
3.lilf3 lilc6 4.g3 .ib4 5 . .ig2 in Bagio against Korchnoi, but later he discovered an older correspon
dence game Berndt-Zaets, 1979.
The idea behind this sacrifice is that Black easily restores the mate
rial balance in the event of 10.dxe3
\We7! ll.lilh3 \Wc5 12.lilf4 \Wxc4 13.e4 d6 14.'/,lld3.
In 2001 Kasparov drew as White with Sadvakasov in the endgame after 14 ... lileS 15.\Wxc4. A year later Khalifman-Grischuk made only the moves 14 ... .ie6 15 . .ie3 before sign
ing a peace treaty. Curiously, mod
em engines evaluate both moves as 0.00 which is highly unusual for a position without forced variations.
10.d3
White keeps his pawns connected.
The obvious threat is lile4, .ixe3 so Black must quickly find targets in order to distract the enemy from the overextended pawn.
10 • • • d5 11. \Wb3 11.cxdS lilxd5 12. \Wb3
12.lile4 f5 13.c4 lilde7, intend gives Black nice compensation.
Svidler's novelty ll.'/,lla4!? does not change significantly Black' s play - ll ... h6 12.cxdS lilxd5 13.lile4 f5 14.lilcS £4 - see Gaine 15 Svidler
Karjakin, Moscow 2016.
11 ... lila5 12.\Wa3
12.\Wa4 does not protect c3. That en
courages 12 ... c6 (although 12 ... b6 is
This rare set-up is more active than the well tested 12 ... c6 13.cxdS cxd5 14.f4 lilc6
14 ... .ig4 15.lilf3 lilc6 allows
White to launch a pawn storm . on the kingside after 16.h3 id7 (16 ... hfS 17.!lxf3) 17.!lbl '/!Jc7 Karpov /Zaitsev /Zaets variation.
16.lilf3!�
The stem game Kasparov-Kar
pov, Seville 1987, saw 16.ib2 ig4 17.c4 dxc4 18.M6 gxf6 19.lile4 @g7 with active play.
Perhaps White's best conti
nuation is 20.'/!Jc3 (20.h3 he2 21.lilxf6 Ml 22.'/!1c3 !le5!) 20 ...
'/!Jd8! 21.!lxb7 (21.dxc4 Wid4=) 21...lild4 22.'/!Jxc4 !lf8 23.lilc5
!lc8 24.h3 with unclear compli
cations.
White could try to improve over Kasparov's 17.c4 with 17.lilf3, but then 17 ... '/!1d7! restricts the enemy on the kingside (White's game is easier after 17 ... !lad8 18.h3! ic8 19.lild4 lilxd4 20.cxd4 b6 21.!lbcl.) 18.c4 dxc4 19.dxc4 !lad8 20.ial (20.
lile5 lilxe5 21.fxe5 he2 22.exf6 Ml 23.!lxfl e2 is dynamical
ly balanced.) 20 ... h6
(Prepar-ing to meet 21.!lb3 by 21...'/!1e6.) 21.!lfel te6! Black has a com
fortable equality. For exam
ple: 22.M6 gxf6 23.'/!Jb2 @g7 24.'/!1xb7 hc4 25.'/!Jxd7 !lxd7 or 22.!lecl '/!Je7 24.'/!Jxe7 !lxe7.
16.lilf3 anticipates the manoeu
vre ... ig4 (with tempo!), ... '/!Jd7 and leaves Black in a somewhat cramped position. White may then proceed with h3, g4, or with the more solid ib2, c4 (he can also pre
pare it with !lfcl).
13.cxd5 lilxd5 14.f4
If White lingers with this move, he might never achieve it, for instance, 14.lile4 f5 15.c4 lile7 16.lilc3 f4!.
14 . .. tb7
15.c4
15.ib2 should transpose after 15 ...
c5 (15 ... lile7 16.f5 hg2 17.@xg2 f6 18.c4 '/!1d7 19.lile4 lilxf5 20.M6
@h8 is also possible.) 16.c4 lile7.
This move order offers Black addi
tional possibilities, but I think that e7 is the best retreat anyway. For instance, White's attack is more
3.ltlf3 ltlc6 4.g3 .ib4 s.tg2 dangerous after 16 ... ltlb4 17.1Wc3 f6
18.hb7 ltlxb7 19.ltlf3 ltlc6 20.©hl.
16 ... ltlc7 is also dubious in view of 17.ltlf3 ltle6 (or the knight will be clogged with f4-f5) 18.l'labl f6 19.fS when 19 ... ltld4 20.hd4 cxd4 21.1Wb2 ltlc6 22.ltlh4! l'leS 23.l'lf4 surrounds the d4-pawn.
15 ... ltle7 16.hb7 ltlxb7 17.f5 17.tb2 c5 18.f5 ltlc6 19.f6 transpos
es to the main line.
It might seem that White has a ter
rible attack, but once again we wit
ness that good control of the centre is a fair insurance against flank as
saults.
17 ... c5!
17 .. .f6 18.ltle4 1Wd7 19..ib2 illxfS 20.txf6 l'lf8 21..ib2 c5 is "only" bal
anced.
18.f6 ltlc6 19.tb2 h6 (19 ... g6) 20.ltle4 g6 21.l'lael ltld4
White should be very careful. For instance, 22.11:iia4 ltld6 23.ltlc3 ltl6f5 obviously favours Black. On the
other hand, 22.11:iia6 ltld6 23.ltlc3 does not guarantee him a repetition of moves with 23 ... ltlc2 24.l'lcl ltld4.
Instead, Black plays on with 23 ...
11:iid7! 24.1Wa4 bS 25.ltlxbS l'leSt.
B. 9 ... ext'3 10.ltlxt'3
In my opinion, Black has two decent options here:
Bl. 10 ... dS; B2. 10 ... 1We7
The latter is more cunning and easy to play. It is based on a positional pawn sacrifice which gives Black significant strategic advantage.
Bl. 10 ... dS 11.d4
11.cxdS 1Wxd5! helps Black activate his queen. The point is that 12.ltld4 1Wh5 13.ltlxc6 (13.e3?! tg4 14.tf3 Illes 15.hg4 ltlexg4 16.1We2 l'lad8 17.11:iig2 ltle4 18.l'lbl cS) 13 ... bxc6 14.e3 tg4 15.1Wa4 th3 gives Black a significant positional advantage which amply compensates a small material deficit.
15 ... l'le6 has similar ideas -16.hc6 (16.l'lbl?! .ie2 17.l'lel
lilg4 18.h3 1/iff5 19.!lxe2 1/ilxbl 20.1/ifxg4 1/ifxcl+ 21.@h2 ad8 22.1/ifb4 h6 23.c4 1/ifdl 24.af2 1/ifel 0-1, Sigurjonsson-Smys
lov, Reykjavik 1974.) 16 ... adS 17.1/ifb5 ae5 18.°l>l'h7 fili3�.
16.�3 (16.'/!lxc6 hg2 17.'/!lxg2 '/!lg6) 16 ... '/!lxh3 17.'/!lxc6 aab8
The game Girth-Scwenk, corr 2010, went on 18.af4 '/!lh5 19.h3 abdS 20.ad4 when 20 ... axd4 21.cxd4 '/!la5! 22.icl axe3 forces a perpetu
al, but Black could certainly play on with 22 ... hs 23.a4 abs.
White has tried to improve on 12.lild4 with 12.ib2?!, but 12 ... ig4!
13.d3 1/ifa5 14.af2 aad8 is clearly in Black' s favour.
Another attempt was 12.d3 '/!lc5+
13.@hl lilg4 14.'/!lel 1/ilh5!? 15.M4 (15.e4 f5) 15 ... lilce5 16.he5, Van Wely-Ruck Los Angeles 2011, when 16 ... !lxe5! would have left Black with a more mobile rook which could at
tack both h2-and a2-pawns. 15.lild2 id7 16.lilxc4, Tomashev
sky-Gajewski, Berlin 2015.
The common ll...lile4 is anoth
er way to prevent the pin from g5, but the knight is somewhat hang
ing on that square. For instance, 12.'/!lc2 dxc4 13.lile5 lilxe5 14.Wxe4 looks unpleasant: 14 ... lilg4 (14 ...
lilg6 15.'/!ld5 1/ife716.e4 c6 17.'/!lxc4�) 15.'/!lf3, but 15 ... f5 16.1/ifd5+ Wxd5=
saves the day.
The text keeps more tension.
12.cxd5 Alternatively:
12.1/ifc2 dxc4 13.if4
13.abl 1/ife7 14.ab2 'l!lle4 15.Wxe4 (15.'/!la4 'l!lle6) 15 ... lilxe4 16.lile5 lilxe5 17.he4 lild7 leads to mas
sive elimination of forces af
ter 18.hb7 hb7 19.l'lxb7 axe2 20.!lxc7 lilf6 21.!lxc4 axa2 22.l'lb4!=.
13 ... lile4 14.aadl
After 14.lile5 lilxe5 15.he5, sim
plest is 15 ... lilc5 (aimed against 16.e4) 16.aabl tg4=.
14 ... 'l!lle7
14 ... tf5 15.lile5 lilxg3 (15 ... lild6?!
3.ltlf3 'llc6 4.g3 ib4 5.ig2
16.e4 ib7 17.1/:l'e2 ltle7 18.hh6 was unpleasant, to say it mild
ly, in Caruana-Anand, Moscow 2016. In the postmortem Caru
ana also proposed 18.h4!) 16.e4 'llxfl 17.exf5 'llxh2 18.hh2 'llxe5 19.he5 1/:l'g5 should be tenable.
Black could always sac the ex
change and play with 3-4 pawns for a piece. For instance: 20.afl c6 21.f6 l'1xe5 22.dxe5 ae8oi;.
However, at the press confer
ence in Moscow Caruana called the position "resignable".
15.ltle5 ltlxe5 16.he5 ltld6 17.adel (17.af2 is the same - 17 ... f6 18.id5+
@hs 19.Exf6 gxf6 20.'!l'g6= J 17 .. .f6 18.id5+ @h8 19.Exf6=.
12.ltle5 ltlxe5 13.dxe5 axe5 is at least equal after (14.if4?! ae8 15.cxd5 if5+) 14.cxd5 ig4.
12 . . . 1/:l'xd5!
13.e3
This was played by Aronian against Adams in 2015. I have also ana
lysed:
13.ltlh4 1/:l'h5 14.'!l'b3
Or 14.abl ig4 15.if3 hf3
16.axf3 1/:l'd5 17.ltlf5 ltle4 18.1!1'd3 'lld6=.
14 ... ltla5 15.'ll'b4 ltle4 16.1/:l'a4 ig4 17.1/:l'c2 f5 18.abl c6 is unclear, Musitani-Dorer, corr. 2010.
13.e4 ®xe4 (13 ... 1/:l'c4!?=) 14.ltle5
®h7 15.ltlxc6 bxc6 16.Exf6
16.hc6 is dubious owing to 16 ...
ig4 17.1/:l'a4 ib3.
16 ... gxf6 17.hc6=.
13.ltle5 1/:l'e6 14.ltld3!?
14.ltlxc6 bxc6 15.ael ltle4 16.'ll'd3 'll'g6 17.if4 M5=.
14 ... ®xe2 15.hh6
Or 15.1/:l'xe2 l'1xe2 16.hh6 ltle4=.
15 ... 1/:l'xdl 16.aaxdl ig4 17.ad2 ie2 18.axf6 gxf6 19.ltlc5 ic4
Now 20.ltlxb7 ltle7 21.'lla5 id5 would be totally even so in the cor
respondence game Zlotkowski
N owak, 2013, White tried 20.@f2!?
ltla5 21.'lle4 and got an overwhelm
ing position after 21...@hS? 22.g4 c6 23.'llxf6 ae6 24..ig5.
Black should have defended the f6-pawn with 21...ae6 22.d5 Ea6 when White has just about sufficient com
pensation for the exchange.
13.if4 1/:l'a5
13 ... 1ll'h5 stumbles into 14.!lbl lild5 15.!lb5 lilce7 16.e4 c6 17.!lb2t.
14.1ll'b3 !lxe2 15.!lfel !lg2+! 16.@xg2 1ll'h5 is excellent for Black.
14.1ll'b3 !lxe2 15.!lfel !lg2+! 16.@xg2 1ll'h5 is excellent for Black.