I e4 c6 2 d4 dS 3 eS .irs
The so-called Closed System. Our account of the material is laid out in three parts. Chapter Three contains an analysis of the moves 4 .id3 (1), 4 lbe2 (II), 4 lbd2 (III), 4 .ie3 (IV), 4 c3 (V), 4 c4 (VI), 4 g4 (VII), 4 h4 (VIII). In Chapter Four are examined sharp variations associated with 4 lbc3. And, finally, in Chapter Five is given an analysis of 4 lbtJ.
I 4 .id3
Historically, the move 4 .id3 was the first to have been tried in practice.
However the investigations of Nimzow itsch led to the discovery of a
reliable plan of play for Black, connected with the transfer of the queen to a6 ('ifd8-a5-a6 or 'ifd8-b6-a6) w ith future control over the light squares. It has been shown that Wh ite has noth ing to counter th is plan;
moreover very often it is Black who seizes the initiative.
Many will recall the victories in th is variation gained by Nimzo
witsch and Capablanca; Tartakower over Nimzow itsch, and the game Nimzowitsch-Capablanca (New York 1 927) which to the present day has served as a model of positional play for Black. Nowadays the move 4 .id3 is not fash ionable.
4 .•• .ixd3 5 'ifxd3 e6 White has a great but not too promising choice.
A
6 f4?! is extremely dubious in view of 6 ... 'ifa5+ 7 c3 'iVa6! (on 7 .id2 would follow the same move) 8 'ifdl (transposing to an endgame that is favourable for Black) 8 ... c5 9 lbe2 lbc6 I 0 .ieJ cd II cd lbge7 12 0-0 liJfS 13 .if2 hS 14 lbbc3 .ie7 with an excellent position (Wachweger -Schmitzer, Bergen 1 997).
Advance Variation: Everything except 4 lbc3 and 4 lpf3
8
6 lbtJ 'iVaS+ (the most principled, but also fully acceptable is 6 ... c5 !?, since after 7 de tt:'ld7!? White will not succeed in holding on to his extra pawn: 8 b4 aS 9 c3 ab 10 cb b6) 7 c3 'ii'a6! 8 'it'xa6 tt:'lxa6 9 .teJ tt:'le7 10 lDbd2 tt:'lrs 11 o-o hS! 12 .tgs .te7 13 b4 f6! 14 i..f4 �17 I S llfel lDb8!
(the knight transfers to defence of the e6 pawn) 16 l:le2 tt:'ld7 17 .U.ael tt:'lrs 18 hJ aS (seizing the a-file) 19 a3 ab 20 ab lla3 Black has an undoubted advantage in this endgame (Sanyar -Podgaets, Bali 2000).
c 6 tt:'lcJ
This move (just like 6 tt:'le2) allows White to avoid an exchange of queens: 6 ... 'it'b6 7 tt:'lge2 'iVa6 8 'iVh3 ! Therefore Black's counterplay, as in the preceding examples, is to a large extent directed towards the break c6-c5.
Simplest is 6 . . . c5!? 7 de lDc6 8 lDge2 (or 8 tt:'l f3 .txc5 9 0-0 a6 I 0 .tf4 tt:'lge7 I I .U.ad I 0-0 1 2 a3 llc8 with full and comfortable equality, Degraeve - Izeta, Cappelle le Grande 1 998) 8 ... i..xcS 9 0-0 tt:'lxeS 1 0 'ifbS+
lDd7 I I 'l'xb7 'iVc8 1 2 Wbs tl'Jgf6
1 3 a3 0-0 1 4 'iVd3 .i.d6. If only we could always have such a position out of the opening! (Basman - Podgaets, Dresden 1 969).
However if Black is in the mood for a more complicated game he has the right to postpone the break c6-c5 'until later' But in this case he should take some care, otherwise White's advantage might inadvertent
ly disintegrate.
Thus, in the classic game Nimzowitsch-Capablanca (New York 1 927) was played 6 ... 'it'b6 7 tt:'lge2 cS 8 de .i.xc5 9 0-0 (present-day grandmasters would hardly miss the opportunity to ' turn around' the position by 9 'iWg3 !? lDe7 10 'iWxg7 .txf2+ I I �ft .U.g8 1 2 '1Vxh7, though the complications might result in Black's favour: 1 2 ... -'ld4 1 3 lDxd4 'iWxd4 1 4 'iWhs lDfS 1 5 'ii'e2 l:lh8 1 6 'Wf2 lbd7) 9 ... lDe7 1 0 tt:'la4 'ii'c6 I I lDxcS 'iVxcS 1 2 .te3 'ii'c7 1 3 f4 lDfS
Everybody knows what happened next: Nimzowitsch chose the passive 1 4 c3 and was outplayed in brilliant style by Capablanca. Meanwhile, as was pointed out by Alekhine at the time, the position is in White's favour! It is necessary to play more
Advance Variation: Eve1ything except 4 ll.k3 and 4 /:Q/3
actively: 1 4 .Uac I lL!c6 1 5 �t2 h5 1 6 c4! de 1 7 'ilfxc4 0-0 18 llfd l , and who knows how it will all end ...
Vasily Ivanch uk's treatment is worth looking at: 6 ... lL!e7 7 lL!ge2 lL!d7 8 0-0 a6!? 9 lL!d I c5 l 0 c3 l::tc8 I I lL!e3 h5 12 il.d2 g6 l 3 h3 'iib6 14 b3 lL!c6 1 5 .Uac l cd 16 cd 'ilb5 ! 1 7 1rxb5 ab. Black also got in c6-c5 and exchanged queens (Hellers -lvanchuk, Biel 1 989).
However the most frequently seen order of moves in our time has surprisingly become the following:
6 ••• 'ilfb6 7 lL!ge2 lL!e7 8 0-0 lL!d7 9 a4!? Extraordinarily interesting is also the possibility 9 b4!?, found by the Hungarian Peter Acs. True, this move has not won fame: 9 .... h5 I 0 lib l lL!f5 I I �g5 �e7 12 �xe7 Wxe7 1 3 b5 l:thc8 l 4 lL!d l cb 1 5 lL!e3 g6 1 6 lL!xf5+ gf 1 7 .Uxb5 ..,a6, and Black is not worse (Acs - Sargissian, Athens 2001 ). But nobody before
hand had hit on the radical break c7-c5.
9 . . . cS!? 10 aS (weaker is 1 0 de
lL!xc5 I I 'ilfh3 lL!c6 1 2 lie I lL!d7 13 'ilfg3 g6 1 4 a5 Wa6 1 5 �g5 �g7, Kapnisis - Izoria, Athens 200 l ) 10 •.• 1ra6 1 1 1i'h3 lL!c6 12 �e3 cd 13 lL! xd4 lL!xd4 14 �xd4 1i'c6 IS 'iVgJ g6 16 'iVeJ a6 17 lL!a4 �e7
Black's position is quite solid but no more than that (Berg - Sargissian, Athens 200 I ).
The conclusion is clear: the simpler Black reacts to 6 lL!c3, the better it is for him!
D
6 lL!e2!? A ruse of war: White prepares castling and also in good time closes down the a6-fl diagonal to the black queen. Possibly, Black should in general refrain from the manoeuvre 'ilfd8-a5-a6. Quite acceptable, for example, is 6 ... c5!?
7 c3 lL!c6 8 0-0 h5 9 lL!d2 lL!h6 I 0 lL!f3 lLlf5 I I lL!g3 lL!h4 1 2 lL!xh4 'iVxh4 1 3 f4 g6 1 4 'ilb5 'ilfe7 (Raudsepp - Podgaets, Riga 1 968).
6 .. .'iVaS+ 7 lL!bcJ! 'ilfa6 8 'ilfhJ!
The superiority of White's position should not be overstated. Soon h is advantage will bear a psychological character: he foresees the enemy plan ('ii'd8-a5-a6) and renders it harmless. Black should simply gather his forces-h is position is still not too bad.
8 ... lL!d7 In the game Holmsten -Dreev (Ubeda 1 999) Black easily got away from the obtrusive guardian of the white pieces and pawns by means of 8 ... lL!e7: 9 �e3 lL!d7 1 0 f4 g6 I I g4?! h5! 1 2 lL!g3 c5 l 3 f5 cd 1 4 �xd4 �h6 1 5 fg fg 1 6 gh 0-0-0!
etc.
9 0-0 c5?! Playing w ith fire: in the presence of queens and with an incomplete development, opening the game could be dangerous: Sometimes it can work out, sometimes not:
Advance Variation: Everything except 4 lbc3 and 4 lbj3
10 .i.e3!? &i:Je7 1 1 de &i:Je6 12 a3!
(we have already met this method and we will again come across it from time to time - White consolidates the c5 pawn, preferring to give up the one on e5) 12 ••• lLlexeS 13 b4 'ii'e4 14 f4
&i:Je6 15 llad1 lLlf6 16 fS eS 17 .i.gS d4 1 8 .i.xf6! de 19 .ixg7! .i.xg7 20 f6 .ixf6 (more tenacious but still not saving him is 20 ... ..th6 2 1 'iVd7+
Wf8 22 'iVxb7 lle8 23 llfe l .i.e3+
24 �h I lbd4 25 &i:Jxd4 ed 26 c6, and after the pawn gets to the 7•h rank, the blow lbd4! will be decisive) 21 llxf6 winning (Sax - Arlandi, Baden 1 999).
10 a4!? (with the idea of securing an outpost for h is knight on b5 should the occasion arise) 10 •• .'iVe6 I I ..teJ a6 12 de .i.xeS 13 'iVgJ lLle7 (Black sacrifices a pawn, striving to obtain counterplay along the open g and h
files) 14 ..txeS 'iVxeS I S 'iVxg7 llg8 1 6 'ifxh7 lLlxeS 1 7 'iVhS &i:J7g6 18 lLlgJ 0-0-0 19 'iVgS llh8 20 .J::tae1 It seems that things have settled down (Kotronias - S.-B. Hansen, Gausdal 1 990); after 20 ... &i:Jd7 Black has obvious compensation for the sacrificed pawn.
We want to conclude our discussion of 6 lLle2 'ii'a5+ 7 &i:Jbc3 with the game van der Werf - Khalifman
(Wijk aan Zee 1 995), in which Black, judging that the move 7 ... 'iVa6 only urged on the white queen to the handy outpost h3, rejected this plan:
7 ... &i:Je7 8 0-0 &i:Jd7!? 9 a4! c5 10 .i.d2
I O ... 'iVd8 !? I I .i.g5 a6 1 2 f4 g6 1 3 lLlg3 'iVc7 14 f5 cd 1 5 fe fe 1 6 'iVxd4 'iVc5 ! Khalifman's reward was a better endgame.
One thing is unclear: if it is possible to reckon on an advantage, by randomly losing two tempi ('iVd8-a5-d8), then is it not better to start directly with 6 ... c5!?
II 4 lDe2
Not such a harmless continuation as seems at first sight. It has been played with success by world champions Tal and Spassky and pretender to this title Bronstein. Even
Advance Variation: Everything except 4 liJc3 and 4 liJj3
today the move 4liJe2 is met now and then in the games of strong grandmasters.
4 ... e6 Now play divides up depending on how Wh ite intends to pursue the enemy bishop: 5 lbf4 (with the threat of 6 g4 .i.e4 7 f3 .i.g6 8 h4) or 5 liJg3 .i.g6 6 h4.
A
5 liJf4 For a long time Black automatically replied to this with
5 . . . c5, and, overcoming some
inconvenience associated with the hunting of his bishop, usually achieved a good position:
6 g4!? Of course it is possible to re frain from this venture: 6 de .i.xc5, but then the manoeuvre liJg l -e2-f4 loses all purpose.
6 ... .i.e4 7 13 'ifh4+ 8 'it>e2 .i.g6 9 cJ lbc6 10 .i.e3 'ifd8 1 1 �f2 lbge7 12 .i. b5 ( 1 2 .i.d3 'ifb6! ?) 12 ..• 'ifb6 13 'ifbJ c4 The position is slowly defined in Black's favour (Kobese
Karpov, Cap d' Agde 1 998).
But in the very latest times another idea has emerged, proving its worth :
5 .•. liJe7!? 6 g4 (6 h4 h6) 6 .•. .i.e4 7 tJ i.g6 8 h4 h5 9 c4 de 10 liJcJ hg 11 fg .i.h7 12 .i.:xc4 liJd7 13 .i.eJ lbb6 14 .i.bJ liJed5 15 'iftJ 'ifd7 And everything is in order for Black (Chepukaitis - Devyatkin, St.
Petersburg 2003);
5 ... h6!? Of course not so active as 5 ... c5, but a very solid, reliable move.
6 .i.dJ lbe7!? 7 0-0 liJd7 8 lbaJ .t:xd3 9 'iV:xdJ liJf5 10 c3 .i.:xaJ 1 1 ba h5! Securing an outpost on f5 for the knight. Less attractive is l l ... 'iVe7 1 2 l'.tb l b5 13 '1Vf3 g6 14 lbd3 lbb6 1 5 liJc5 a6 1 6 a4 �f8
17 'it'd l �g8 18 :te l 'iPh7 19 g3 l'.thb8 20 1Wd3, and all the same Black has to weaken his king's flank:
20 ... h5 (Rabiega - Bareev, Frankfurt 2000).
1 2 l'.tb 1 (Morozevich - Leko, Frankfurt 1 999).
In this position, as righ tly mentioned by grandmaster Lukacs, worthy of consideration is 1 2 ... b5 !?
13 a4 a6 14 .i.a3 lbb6 15 ab cb with a good game for Black.
It appears that on 5 liJf4 there are at a minimum three worthy replies:
5 ... c5, 5 ... lbe7!? and 5 ... h6.
8
5 lbgJ The basic reply is 5 ... .i.g6.
More rarely encountered is the idea of the Hungarian grandmaster Barcza - 5 ... liJe7, but it is also sufficiently reliable:
6 .i.d3 .i.xd3 7 •xd3 'iVa5+! (the manoeuvre 'iVd8-a5-a6 again works without a hitch) 8 c3 'iVa6! 9 'it'xa6 liJxa6 1 0 .i.e3liJ f5 I I liJxf5 efwith at least an equal endgame (Simagin -Gufeld, Moscow 1 96 1 );
6 h4 h6 7 liJc3 liJd7 8 .i.e3 .i.h7 9 i.d3 .i.xd3 1 0 cd h5! I I liJce2 This is how one of the games continued in the world championship match Tal
-Advance Variation: Eve1ything except 4 iDcJ and 4 lDj3
Botv innik (Moscow 1 96 1 ). I n this position, instead of the logical l l . ..g6, grandmaster Pachman suggested l l ... lDg6!? as a more active way of conducting the game.
But returning to 5 ... .i.g6 ...
6 h4 The main continuation. There is no advantage in 6 c4 lDe7 7 lDc3 de 8 .i.xc4 lt)f5 9 iDxf5 .i.xf5 t o 0-0 because of 1 0 ... .i.g6! In good time Black moves away his bishop, thereby avoiding the pawn attack on the king's flank. If White tries to carry out this plan by 1 1 f4, Black succeeds in putting the brakes on the advance of the white pawns: l l ... h5!
12 .i.e3 iDd7 1 3 'Wf3 lDb6 1 4 .i.b3 'Wd7 1 5 llad 1 .tf5 1 6 h3 h4!
(Gergens - Kreizkamp, Germany 1 994).
Further play develops according to how much confidence Black has in his forces. He could save the bishop g6 by the reliable but rather passive 6 ... h6. But he could also possibly try to thrust counterplay on his opponent at once by 6 ... h5 !?
1) 6 ... h6 The defect of this move lies in the fact that it allows a fixing of the black kingside pawns. As a consequence this might lead to a di fficult endgame for him.
7 hS .i.h7 8 .i.d3 .i.xd3 9 cd!?
First encountered in the game Van den Bosch - Opocensky (Prague 1 93 1 ). White's plan is revealed if the opponent should want to undermine the centre by c6-c5. Then, by exchanging pawns, White again consolidates his pawn bastion anew by d3-d4.
9 'ii'xd3 is not considered dangerous, but, as shown by analysis, even in this case it is necessary for Black to play accurately, otherwise he risks falling into the worse position.
It is possible to recommend the following variation: 9 ... c5 !? I 0 c3 ( t o de lDd7) 1 0 ... 1Wb6 I I 0-0 lDc6 1 2 lld l (on 12 de he should give preference to the intermediate 1 2 .. .'tlt'c7 ! 1 3 f4 .i.xc5+ with equality - analysis by Pachman) 1 2 ... 0-0-0!?
(it is not so simple to equalise the game after 1 2 ... 1lc8 1 3 lDa3 cd 1 4 cd .i.xa3 1 5 'tlt'xa3 !, and all because 1 5 ... iDxd4 leads to a perceptibly worse endgame after 16 .i.e3 iDc2 1 7 .i.xb6 iDxa3 1 8 .i.xa7! ? lDc4 1 9 .i.d4 lDe7 20 llac l �d7 2 1 b3) 1 3 �h I ? (stronger, of course, is 1 3 b3 'iii>b8 14 .i.c3 llc8 with chances for both sides) 1 3 .. . lDge7 1 4 b3 g6 1 5 .i.a3 iDf5. Black happily solves all
Advance Variation: Eve1ything except 4 lbc3 and 4 ib.P
his problems (Sobolevsky Vladimirov, Bamaul 1 988).
9 ... 'iVb6!? The most principled reply. after wh ich White must sacrifice a pawn in order to develop an initiative. Otherwise, as shown by practice, Black has a satisfactory game:
9 ... lbe7 1 0 lbc3 lba6 I I 0-0 'iVd7 1 2 lbce2 ibf5 (Matulov ic - Pachman, Sarajevo 1 96 1 ). furthermore, in order to figh t for an advantage, Pachman suggested that White tum his attention to the puzzling move 1 3 lbh I !? with a sample variation going 1 3 ... c5 1 4 de �xeS 1 5 d4 �b6 1 6 g4 lbe7 1 7 lbhg3 0-0-0 1 8 f4 f6.
By avoiding exchanges, the sides are all ready in nervous anticipation for hand to hand fighting.
9 ... lbd7 10 lbc3 c5 !? 1 1 de lbxe5 1 2 d4 lbc6 1 3 b4 ibf6 ( 1 3 ... lbxb4?! is too hasty in view of 1 4 l:tb l 'iVa5 1 5 �d2 lbd3+ 1 6 �fl 'iVa6 1 7 lbb5 with a great advantage for White) 1 4 b5 lba5 1 5 0-0 �e7 1 6 1Wd3 0-0 l 7 lbd l a6 1 8 ba .:xa6 l 9 l:tb l 'ifd7 20 lbc3 lbc4. In the forthcoming struggle Black's chances are perhaps still a bit better (Matanovic - Donner, Bled 1 96 1 ).
1 0 �c3!? Th is interesting, but dubious pawn sacrifice was first played by Tseshkovsky in a game with one of the authors of this book.
Inferior is 1 0 'it'g4 because of the strong reply 1 0 ... 1Wb5! I I 0-0 'iVxd3 1 2 �e3 lbd7 1 3 lbc3 lbe7 14 l:tad l 'it'h7 1 5 f4 g6! with a great advantage (Loanzon - Adianto, Manila 1995).
10 ... 1Wxb2! The most principled.
However it is quite possible to wait a little with the capture on b2:
I O . .. ibd7!? I I 0-0 lbe7 1 2 ibc3 'ifxb2 1 3 .:c l 'iVa3 14 'ifg4 'iVa6 1 5 llb l b6 1 6 llb3 l:tg8 1 7 lie l (Tseshkovsky -Podgaets, Lvov 1 973). After the logical 1 7 ... g6!? it is not quite clear how White continues the attack.
I I ibd2 'it'cJ! ? 12 llbl 1Wxd3 13 llxb7 'iVa6 1 4 l:tb3 ibd7 15 'it'g4 llb8 16 llxb8+ lDxb8 17 lbe2 lbe7
18 0-0 lDd7 19 lDg3 cS
Black has come out of the first wave of complications with honour.
If he overcomes the second just as confidently then he will be left with a healthy extra pawn (Kotan - Stajcic, Topolchanki 1 994).
2) 6 . . • h5!? Objectively the strong
est (compared to 6 ... h6) move. In not one of the main variations has White yet succeeded in justifying his claim for even a minimal advantage.
Advance Variation: Everything except 4 lbc3 and 4 lbj3
a) 7 ..ie2 cS 8 c3 Other moves by White also do not present any danger.
On the other hand, more often it is Black who succeeds in taking the initiative:
8 .i.xh5?! ..ixh5 9 lb xh5 g6 I 0 ..ig5 ..ie7 I I ..txe7 1Wxe7 1 2 lbg3 lbh4 (Brzoszka - Veresov, Polanica Zdroj 1 958);
8 lbxh5?! .i.xh5 9 .i.xh5 g6 10 .to llxh4 1 1 llxh4 1Wxh4 1 2 c4 lbc6 1 3 cd 'iih I + 1 4 �e2 lbxd4+ (Hecht -Hort, Kecskemet 1 964);
8 de?! ..txc5 9 lbd2 1Wb6!? (also acceptable is 9 ... lbc6 1 0 tt:)b3 .i.b6 I I ..txh5 tt:)xe5 1 2 ..txg6 tt:)xg6 1 3 ..ig5 'iVd6 1 4 'ife2 'i'e5 1 5 'ii'xe5 tt:)xe5, Bronstein - Botvinnik, USSR 1 966) I 0 0-0 tt:)c6 I I tt:)O tt:)h6 1 2 ..ixh6 D.xh6 1 3 ..id3 0-0-0 1 4 ..ixg6 llxg6 1 5 lbxh5 'ifb4!
(Malada - Eperjesi, Budapest 2000);
8 ..ig5?! ..te7 9 ..ixe7 tt:)xe7 1 0 c3 'ifb6 1 1 ..ixh5? 1Wxb2 1 2 ..ixg6 tt:)xg6 1 3 h5 'ifxa I 1 4 1Wb3 tt:)e7 1 5 0-0 cd 1 6 'iixb7 de (Kovalev - Adams, Tilburg 1 992).
8 ... tt:)c6 9 .i.e3 The idea of the Czech grandmaster Filip. In reply to 9 tt:)xh5 Black can rightly choose between 9 ... cd 1 0 cd ..ixb l !?
I I lbb l g6 12 lb f4 llxh4 1 3 0-0 tt:)ge7 1 4 g4 .i.h6 1 5 ..te3 'ifb6 1 6 tt:)g2 ..ixe3 ! 1 7 fe (it is highly dangerous to accept the exchange sacrifice: 1 7 tt:)xh4 ..txd4 1 8 tt:)O ..ixe5 1 9 lbxe5 lbxe5 etc.) 1 7 ... l:th7 1 8 b4 0-0-0 1 9 'iVc2 Wb8 20 'iVc5 tt:)c8 (Ricardi - Bologan, Buenos Aires 2000) and 9 ... ..txh5!? 1 0 .i.xh5 g6 I I .to .U.xh4 1 2 lhh4 'iixh4 1 3 g4 0-0-0 1 4 .i.f4 .i.h6 1 5 1id2 f6
1 6 ef ..ixf4 1 7 1ixf4 tt:)xf6 18 de e5 (Espig - Vadasz, Tmava 1 979). In both cases Black's game clearly deserves the preference.
9 ... 'ifb6! 10 de. It all comes down to the fact that in the future White will not be able to maintain the centre: I 0 1id2?? cd I I cd .i.xb I
1 2 llxb I ..ib4. But after 1 0 1Wb3 c4!
1 1 1Wxb6 ab Black manages, with advantage to himself, to rid himself of the doubled pawns: 1 2 tt:)d2 b5
1 3 f4 tt:)h6 1 4 ..tt2 b4 (M ieles Palau -Moreno, Quito 1 999).
1 0 ... 1Wxb2 1 1 0-0 0-0-0 1 2 'ifb3 1Wxb3 13 ab a6
Agreed a draw (Spassky -Djindjihashvi li, Tilburg 1 978), though, by rights, Black does not risk much by continuing to play for a win.
b) 7 ..id3!? As in the variation 6 . . . h5!? White plays this most frequently even if without particular success.
7 ... ..txd3 8 cd (on 8 1Wxd3 comes the standard 8 ... 'ifa5+ 9 c3 1Wa6) 8 ... 'ifb6 It is worth giv ing some attention to 8 ... g6!? In this variation the Hungarian grandmaster Barcza deserves the most flattering words.
This is how he outplayed his less skilled opponent in a positional stmggle:
Advance Variation: Everything except 4 lt!c3 and 4 tq{3
9 lt\d2 .tb4 ! Not an obv ious decision. It would seem that once Black has weakened his dark squares it is unfavourable for him to exchange the bishop. However he reckons on the fact that White will be tied to the defence of the d4 pawn.
I 0 a3 .txd2+ I I .txd2 'iVb6 1 2 .tc3 a5 1 3 b3 ltld7 14 l:tc I ltlh6 1 5 l:th3 ltlf5 ! 1 6 ltle2. Of course, it is unfavourable for White to exchange:
after 1 6 ltlxf5 ef Black transfers the knight to e6 and obtains a strategically winning position.
1 6 ... �ffi 1 7 'it>fl �g7 1 8 Wg I 'ti'd8 1 9 g3 b6 and Black has decidedly the better prospects (Sikora - Barcza, Decin 1 977).
9 ltle2 ltle7 10 ltld2 ltlf5 l l ltlfJ cS 12 de .txc5 13 d4 .te7 14 .tgs
In this position Black, in the game Spassky - Adams (Cannes 1 989), preferred not to alter the pawn structure and announced check on b4.
Meanwhile after 14 ... f6!? 1 5 ef gf 1 6 i.d2 ltlc6 1 7 .tc3 .td6 he could reckon on nothing more than simple solid equality.
Ill 4 ltld2
This continuation was introduced into practice by the Moscow master
Vasilchuk in a game against Shatkes (Moscow 1 96 1 ).
White transferred the knight to b3 in order to prevent c6-c5. All very well but what does the knight b3 do if Black declines to break in the centre?
Practically nothing. Therefore Black should show flexibility in the variation 4 ltld2 and then difficulties
will pass him by.
4 ... e6 At the highest level 4 ... h6 5 ltlb3 e6 has been tried, and then:
6 c3 ltld7 7 .te3 ltle7 8 f4 h5 9 ltlf3 h4 1 0 .te2 .tg4 I I 0-0 ltlf5 1 2 .tf2 .te7 1 3 lt\bd2 c5 1 4 h3 .th5 1 5 .td3 .tg6 with equality (Anand - Karpov, Bastia 2002);
6 ltln lt\d7 7 .te2 ltle7 8 0-0 .th7 9 c3 l:tc8 I 0 .td2 ltlg6 I I .ie3 .te 7 1 2 ltle l c5 1 3 f4 0-0 14 ltlf3 c4 1 5 ltlc I b5 1 6 'iVd2 a5 I 7 .td I f5 1 8 ltle2 b4 1 9 h3 1:tb8 20 g4 (Kasparov - Vallejo, Linares 2003). It is impossible to predict whose attack - White's on the king's flank or Black's on the queen's - will develop quicker.
5 ltlbJ lt\d7 6 ltlfJ Now and then White has taken excessive measures against c6-c5: 6 .te3. Without particular success: Black will carry out c6-c5 in some way or another,
Advance Variation: Everything except 4 li:\c3 and 4 li:\j3
while no way can the white pieces establish harmonious ccordination with one another:
6 ... a6 7 f4 l:tc8 8 li:lf3 c5 9 de li:lxc5 1 0 c3 li:la4 I I 'ifd2 li:le7 1 2 �e2 lLib6 1 3 li:laS fie? 1 4 0-0 J.g4 1 5 li:ld4
�xe2 1 6 ... xe2 lbc4 1 7 lbxc4 ... xc4 1 8 'it'f2 'ifd3 (Short - Dreev, Hyderabad 2002), or
6 ... lLlb6 7 lLlf3 lLlc4 8 l:tb l .i.b4+
9 ll'lbd2 li:le7 I 0 �d3 0-0 I I 0-0 lLlxe3 1 2 fe c5 1 3 �x5 lLlx5 1 4 ... e2 cd 1 5 ed �e7 (Short - Macieja, Bled 2002). Even such a strong player as grandmaster Short did not manage to prove the advantage of 6 �e3 in comparison to the usual 6 lLlf3.
After 6 ltlf3 Black might, according to his taste, choose one of roughly equal value continuations:
6 ... ltle7 7 �e2 Now premature is
7 • . . c5?! 8 li:lxc5 lLlxc5 9 de lLlc6.
After I 0 i.e3 i.g4 I I 0-0 i.xf3 1 2 i.xf3 ll'lxe5 1 3 i.d4 lLlc6. White has available the powerful resource:
14 c4! (Fries-Nilsson - Rasmussen, Denmark 200 1 ). The centre is opened and the light-squared bishop starts to exert unpleasant pressure on Black's queen 's flank.
Worth considering is a new idea for the present type of position dev ised
by Slovakian grandmaster Stohl:
7 ••• f6!? Black begins the struggle not against the d4 pawn, as usually happens, but against the pawn on e5 ! In the game Groszpeter - Stohl (Austria 2000) White did not succeed in placing in doubt this original plan:
8 ef gf 9 i.f4 lLlg6 10 i.g3 i.e?
1 1 lLlh4 lLlxh4 1 2 i.xh4 'ilc7 1 3 �g3
�d6 14 i.d3 i.xd3 1 5 'ilxd3 0-0-0 1 6 0-0-0 Draw.
Finally, it is worth remembering the recommendation of Dautov : 7 ... lLlg6!? 8 0-0 h5. As far as we arc aware, it has still not been tested in grandmaster practice.
A highly interesting setup was demonstrated by Black in the following game: 6 .•. .te7!? 7 i.e2 h5!? 8 h3 lLlh6 9 i.e3 h4 10 'ild2 i.g6 1 1 0-o lLlrs 12 �r4 i.hs
With some connivance from the opponent all Black's minor pieces have achieved good positions and are ready to take an active part in the game (Medved - A.Vajda, Budapest 200 1 ).
6 ... a6 In this way, Black, by averting a check on b5, prepares the liberating c6-c5.
7 �e2 c5 8 de lLle7 9 0-0 lbc6 10 lLlbd4 (Zvjaginsev - Sargissian,
Advance Variation: Everything except 4 ll)c3 and 4 ll)j3
Ubeda 2000), and here, in the opinion of grandmaster P.Lukacs, the most accurate way to equality was
1 0 ... i.e4.
6 ••• i.g6 The least forcing and most popular continuation. The f5 square is
6 ••• i.g6 The least forcing and most popular continuation. The f5 square is