TWIC THEORY
Tuesday 17th May, 2005
NEW PATHS IN THE
SVESHNIKOV SICILIAN
(Photo  John Henderson)
Larry Christiansen is a Grandmaster.
Larry has been one of the foremost figures of American chess for many years. A Grandmaster
since 1977, Larry is well-known as a fearsome attacking player. He has downed many of the
world's elite players, including a 12-move victory against ex World Champion Anatoly Karpov!
Larry has been a mainstay of the American national team, competing in numerous Olympiads
and team championships. He was a member of the team that won the World Team
Championship in 1993.
As well as playing in tournaments and team events all over the world, Larry is a successful writer
on the game, and his books "Storming the Barricades" and "Rocking the Ramparts" have
introduced chess players to his unique brand of aggressive chess.
Introduction and 9...Qa5+ [B33]
The Sveshnikov Sicilian has long been a popular fighting defence and has survived many
attempts at refutation. The latest craze in the line involves the move order
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5
which will be the focus of our discussion here on TWIC. For the sake of convenience, I will adjust
all games mentioned in this article to conform with this standard move order, although of course
many games start 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8.
Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Nd5
In my younger days I played the Sveshnikov Variation with both colours and I have a healthy
respect for this dynamic variation. Except for the Najdorf, it is unquestionably Black's most
dynamic fighting defence to 1. e4. My main attention will be on the answer 9...Be7
but of course Black has an interesting option with 9...Qa5+
which evades the pin on f6.
Nowadays,
10.Bd2
is an almost automatic answer
but the gambit 10.c3!? is interesting and very tricky. White seems to have a promising position
after 10...Nxd5 (The real test of 10. c3 is to grab a pawn with 10...Nxe4 while attacking the bishop
on g5. Then 11.b4? a) Also dubious is 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.Bxb5 Bd7 13.b4 Qa7 14.Be3 Qb7 15.a4
Nd4!; b) The best try for White is 11.Be3 Rb8 12.Nc2 intending to undermine Black's queenside
with a subsequent a2-a4 while also setting up tactics involving Bb6 Rxb6 b4. (12.Qf3 f5! is strong;
and 12.Bd3 Nc5 does not give White enough for the pawn) One fun line goes 12...Ne7!? (After
12.Nc2, a more solid continuation for Black is 12...Be6 when 13.Ncb4 Nxb4 14.Nxb4 (14.cxb4
Qd8 15.Rc1 Rb7 is fine for Black) 14...Rc8 15.a4! Nxc3! 16.bxc3 Rxc3 17.axb5 there is nothing
better 17...Qxb4 18.Bd2 axb5 (18...Qe4+; and 18...a5 are also reasonable) 19.Bxb5+ Qxb5
20.Bxc3 Qc6! 21.Qa4 Qxa4 22.Rxa4 leads to a favourable ending for Black.
Which explains why 10.Bd2! is an almost automatic move.) 13.Bb6 Rxb6 14.b4 Nxd5 15.bxa5
Ndxc3 16.Qd3 Rc6 17.a4 (17.f3 Nf6 is unclear - Black has two pieces and two pawns for the
queen with a very active game) 17...d5! 18.axb5 Bc5! 19.Ne3 (19.bxc6?? Bxf2#) 19...Nxb5 with
chances for both sides.; 11...Qxa3 12.Bc1 Nxc3 13.Nc7+ Kd8 14.Bxa3 Nxd1 15.Nxa8 Nc3
16.Rc1 Bb7 17.Rxc3 Bxa8 is clearly good for Black.) 11.exd5 Ne7 12.Bd3! Then, if Black plays
12...h6? 13.Bd2! White is primed to play a quick c3-c4 tearing open the queenside.
After
10...Qd8
the sharpest continuation for White is
11.c4 Nxe4 12.cxb5 Be6! 13.Bc4 Ne7 14.Be3
14.0 0 Bxd5 15.Bxd5 Nxd5 16.Ba5! Ndc3! 17.Bxc3 Nxc3 18.bxc3 d5! 19.Qb3 Bxa3 20.Qxa3
axb5 21.Qc5 Rc8 22.Qxb5+ Qd7 23.c4 Qxb5 24.cxb5 Kd7 25.a4 Rc5! leads to a double-edged
double-rook ending with chances for both sides
14...Rc8
(Kasparov)
15.Nb6 d5!
And now two recent games:
16.Qa4
16.Nxc8 Nxc8 17.Bd3 Qa5+ 18.Kf1 Bxa3 19.bxa3 0 0 20.Qb3 axb5 (20...d4 21.Qb4 Qxb4
22.axb4 Bf5! looks fine for Black) 21.Qxb5 Qc3? (21...Qxb5 22.Bxb5 d4 23.Bc1 Ncd6 gives Black
fine compensation for the exchange. I would rate that +/= at best.) 22.Rc1 Qxa3 23.Bxe4 dxe4
24.Qxe5 with a clear edge for White, Am Rodriguez-Llorens, Santiago 2005.
16...dxc4 17.Rd1 Nd5! 18.bxa6+ Bd7 19.Nxd7 Bb4+ 20.Kf1
20.Bd2!? Bxd2+ 21.Rxd2 Nxd2! 22.Nb6+ Ke7 23.Nxc8+ Qxc8 24.Qa5! Rd8 25.Qxd2 c3 26.Qg5+
Kf8 27.0 0 cxb2 28.Qxe5 Qc3 29.Qg3=/+ is at least equal for Black
20...Qxd7 21.Qxd7+ Kxd7 22.Rxd5+ Ke6 23.Rb5 Bxa3 24.bxa3 Nc3 25.Rb6+ Kd7 26.a7 Nd5
27.Rb7+ Kc6 28.Rxf7 Nxe3+ 29.fxe3 Rhf8 30.Rxf8 Rxf8+ 31.Ke2 Ra8
and Black held a plus in the ending, Dominguez-Radjabov, Tripoli 2004
In conclusion, 9...Qa5+ remains a good, albeit complicated, answer to White's move order.
11.c3 Ne7 [B33]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5
Instead of 9...Qa5+, most Sveshnikovers play
9...Be7
setting up
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3
White occupies d5 and looks forward to bringing his bad knight into the game with Nc2. He had
other ideas like a2-a4 to weaken Black. Black is interested in creating kingside play with an
eventual ...f7-f5, working around that powerful knight on d5. Black has four main ideas after 11.c3
11...Ne7
The idea behind 11...Ne7 is simple enough - he plays to trade off the powerful outposted knight.
11...Bb7;
11...Bg5;
11...0 0 are covered below
White's only promising continuation now is
12.Nxf6+ gxf6
and here he must choose between 13. Nc2, 13. Bd3 and the solid 13. g3.
13.g3
The Russian GM Korneev has had great success with 13. g3 - White's aim with that move is to
support e4 while eliminating counterplay on the g-file.
13. Nc2 is favoured by the Icelandic GM Steffansson,
while 13. Bd3 is favoured by the likes of Nick de Firmian, Jonathan Rowson and Sergei Tiviakov.
Rummaging through the various databases I would tend to favour 13. Bd3 or 13. g3 myself. The
play is relatively controlled compared with many wild lines of the Sveshnikov. Here are some
recent offerings with comments by me:
13.Bd3 Bb7 14.Qe2 (14.0 0 Castling kingside is not recommended - Black quickly begins an
attack with 14...f5 15.exf5 Rg8 16.g3 d5 17.Nc2 e4 18.Be2 Nxf5 with good play) 14...Qb6 15.Nc2
d5 16.Nb4!? (16.0 0 0 0 0 0 17.Rhe1 looks a bit better for White) 16...0 0 0!? (16...Rd8 is
safer 17.a4!? is a little better for White) 17.a4 f5! 18.axb5 fxe4 (18...dxe4!? 19.bxa6 Ba8 is also
interesting) 19.bxa6 Ba8 20.Bb5 Rhg8 21.g3 Nf5?! (21...f5!? 22.a7 Rg6! looks worth checking)
22.a7 Bc6 becomes a threat now, along with Ra6 22...Rd6 (22...Rg6) 23.Ra6 (23.Qh5! is
stronger, e.g. 23...Nd4 (or 23...Qxb5 24.Qxf5+ Kd8 25.Qxe5 and Black is busted) 24.Qxf7 Qxb5
25.Qxg8+ Rd8 26.Qg4+ Kb7 27.cxd4 Qxb4+ 28.Kf1 exd4 29.Qg7+ and wins,) 23...Qc5 24.Qh5!
Nd4 25.Qxf7 Qxb5 26.Qxg8+ Rd8 27.Qg4+ Kc7 28.cxd4? (More definitive was 28.Rf6! Nf3+
29.Kd1 Qa4+ (29...d4 30.Na6+ Kb7 31.Qg7+ Rd7 32.Qxd7+ wins) 30.Nc2 Qa2 31.Rf7+ Kd6
32.Kc1 d4 33.Qg7! Kc5 34.Rf6 and Black has no defence to the many threats) 28...Qxb4+ 29.Kf1
Qc4+ 30.Kg2! (Also strong was 30.Qe2! exd4 31.Re6 (31.Qxc4+ dxc4 32.Ke2 should win as well
- Black's pawns are not as strong as they look) 31...Qb4 White threatened Rxe4! 32.Kg2 and
White should win easily thanks to Black's exposed king) 30...Qxa6 31.Rc1+ (31.Qg7+ Rd7
(31...Kb6 32.Qf6+ wins at once) ) 31...Bc6! 32.b4? (32.Qg7+ Kb6 33.Rc3! is strong) 32...Kb7
33.b5?! and Black lost on time. Tiviakov-Sulava, St. Vincent 2004.
13...Bb7 14.Bg2 f5 15.Qe2
15.Qd3!? is worth a try
15...Qb6 16.0 0 0
The most forceful continuation.
16...0 0 0
16...Rc8 17.Kb1
17.f4!
I like this active move attacking the centre and breaking the pin on the e4 pawn
17.Nc2 h5! 18.h4?! (18.f4! Qc6 19.Qf1! with the idea of (19.Nb4 is also a little better for White)
19...fxe4 20.fxe5 dxe5 21.Qxf7 looks promising for White) 18...Kb8 19.Rd2 f4! 20.gxf4 Ng6! Black
secures the f4 square for his knight, promising excellent play for the pawn sacrificed. 21.f5 Nf4
22.Qf1 Nxg2 23.Qxg2 Rhg8 24.Qf3 Rg4! 25.Re1 a5! White is kept busy on all sides of the board
26.Qh1 Rdg8 27.b3? (27.f3! Rg1 28.Qh2 is playable) 27...Bxe4 28.Qf1 Qc5 29.Kb2 Rc8 30.Re3
Bb7 31.Qd1 d5 32.Red3 Rxh4 33.a3 f6 34.b4 Qc7 35.bxa5 Rc4 36.Nb4 Rxc3 37.a6 Ba8 38.a7+?
(38.Nxd5 Bxd5 39.Rxd5 Qa5 40.Kb1 held out some hope, however slight) 38...Kxa7 39.Nxd5
Bxd5 40.Rxd5 Qa5 41.Qa1 Qa4 White resigned Kutuzevic-Babula, Pula 2001
17...fxe4 18.Bxe4 d5 19.Bg2 e4 20.Nc2
White has a nice blockade working against Black's centre
20...Kb8
20...h5!?
21.Rd2
21.Qh5!? has its merits too, but it makes sense to keep the queen near that potentially strong
centre. White must also watch out for a minority attack with ... b4.
21...h5 22.Rhd1 Bc8?! 23.Qe3 Qc7
The queen trade is obviously not very appealing for Black, the ending after 23...Qxe3 24.Nxe3 f5
25.Nxd5 Nxd5 26.Rxd5 Rxd5 27.Rxd5 h4 28.Kd1 hxg3 29.hxg3 Rh2 30.Rd2 gives White good
winning chances
24.Nb4 Bb7 25.Kb1
25.Bh3!? restricting Black's knight and planning to meet ... h4 with g4 looks interesting
25...a5 26.Nc2 Nf5 27.Qe2
27.Qe1! is better - the queen soon obstructs the f1 a6 diagonal for the bishop on g2
27...Qb6 28.Bh3 Nd6 29.Rd4 Qc5 30.Qe1 Nc4 31.Bf1 Nb6 32.Ne3 Bc8
Black is obviously groping for some kind of activity.
33.Qe2
33.f5 to both create (f4) and deny squares (g4) was also good. It is also useful to have the
kingside pawns ready to mobilise with h3 and g4.
33...Bg4! 34.Nxg4 hxg4 35.f5?
35.Qxg4! Rxh2 36.Rxe4 b4 37.Re2! Rxe2 38.Qxe2 bxc3 39.Qe5+ Ka7 is good for White
35...f6?
Black should play 35...b4! to remove the b5 pawn as a target and loosen up White's king position.
36.Qxg4 Rxh2 37.Qf4+ Kb7 38.Rxe4 Rf2 39.Re7+ Ka6 40.Rc7! Rxf4 41.Rxc5 Rxf5 42.Bxb5+
Kb7 43.a4
The ending is lost. Korneev shows excellent technique to secure the point.
43...Rc8 44.Rxc8 Kxc8 45.Rd3 Kc7 46.Ka2 Kd6 47.Ka3 Na8 48.b4 Nc7 49.c4 axb4+ 50.Kxb4
Rf2 51.cxd5 f5 52.Bc4 f4 53.Ka5 Rc2 54.Bb3 Rc5+ 55.Kb6 fxg3 56.Rxg3 Nxd5+ 57.Bxd5
Rxd5 58.a5 Rd1 59.Rb3
11.c3 Bb7 [B33]
Now let's move on to Black's second major alternative, namely 11... Bb7
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bb7
This flexible move is still played at high levels (Luke McShane continues to play it) but White
seems to get a small but enduring advantage after
12.Nc2 Nb8
This knight seeks a greener pasture on d7 where it can jump to c5 or b6.
13.a4!
White must create a weakness and activate his Ra1
13...bxa4 14.Rxa4 Nd7
and now both Kasparov's
15.Rb4 promise White a small edge. As most everyone knows, the retiree won a beautiful game
against Shirov at Horgen 1994 with
(and 15.Bc4 with the point of 15...Nc5 16.Ra1 Nxe4?! 17.Qf3 Nc5 18.b4 e4 19.Nxf6+ gxf6 20.Qf5!
d5 21.Ne3 dxc4 22.bxc5 and Black's position is a wreck)
15...Nc5?
So players turned to the more solid response 15...Rb8 16.Bc4 0 0 but here also White looks to
enjoy a small but enduring plus after 17.Qe2! (attacking a6). It is very difficult for Black to churn
up counterplay and he must reckon with potential exchange sacs on b7, for instance 17...Nc5
18.0 0 Bg5 19.Rd1 Kh8 aiming for kingside play with ...f7-f5 20.Rxb7! Nxb7 (20...Rxb7 21.b4
Ne6 22.Bxa6 gives White more than enough comp for the exchange) 21.Ncb4 Na5 22.Bxa6 f5
23.exf5 Rxf5 24.Bd3 and again White has total control of the position plus a pawn in return for the
exchange sacrifice.
16.Rxb7 Nxb7 17.b4!
11.c3 O-O [B33]
As 11... Bb7 gradually faded from tournament play, new setups have been employed, most
notably
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0 0
This move often transposes to 11...Bg5 but it has some independent lines. One interesting
recent game from the 2004-5 US Championship was Kamsky-Benjamin which continued
12.Nc2 Rb8
which is popular nowadays because it aims to prevent a2-a4. The downside is that it invites the
annoying
13.h4!
(again an idea from Kasparov), which prevents ...Bg5 and is very flexible.
13...Ne7!?
A very sharp move that seems to invite the breakup of Black's king position. But it has some nice
advantages. Black's centre is ready to advance, and the Black rook on b8 is well placed to
support quick play with ... b4 if the two sides becoming locked in mutual king-hunting. There is no
question, however, that the Yakovich line 13... Be7 looks like a very reliable continuation.
Black's sturdiest continuation is 13...Be7! (Yakovich) when I think White's most effective
continuation is 14.Nce3 more flexible than (14.Bd3 Be6 15.Nce3 Qd7 with the plan of Bd8 and
Ne7) 14...Be6 15.a4! I think it is important to open up another front and keep Black busy on both
sides of the board and now 15...bxa4 (I must admit though that the continuation 15...Qd7 16.axb5
axb5 is a very hard rock to break. Black plans simply ... Bd8 and ... Ne7, coupled with the
positional idea of ... Bb6. Perhaps 17.b4!? Bd8 18.Be2 Ne7 19.h5 offers White the slightest of
safe advantages (h5 enables 0 0 without fearing ...Bxh4)) 16.Qxa4 Bd7 17.Qa3! eying the d6
weakness while guarding b2, looks very promising.
Anyway, 13...Ne7!? was the continuation of Kamsky-Benjamin, which continued
14.Nxf6+ gxf6 15.Qd2
Kasparov's old move, played in his famous game against Kramnik in Novgorod 1994
15...f5?!
Kasparov-Kramnik, Novgorod 1994 continued 15...Bb7 16.Bd3 d5! 17.exd5 Qxd5 18.0 0 0 e4
19.Be2 Qxa2 20.Qh6 (Kamsky must have had something in mind if Benjamin played a la
Kramnik, and one guess is that he planned 20.Qf4!? with the points of 20...Qe6 (or 20...Nd5
21.Qh6!?) 21.Rd6 Ng6 22.Qxf6 with a slight edge in the ending) 20...Qe6 21.Nd4 Qb6 and now
Kasparov recommends 22.g4 Kh8 23.Nf5 Nxf5 24.gxf5 Rfd8 (24...b4 25.Rd7! bxc3 26.Rxb7!
wins) 25.Bh5 e3 26.Rhg1 Rxd1+ 27.Bxd1 Rg8 28.Rxg8+ Kxg8 29.Qxe3 although this looks very
drawish.
16.Qg5+ Kh8 17.Qf6+ Kg8 18.0 0 0 Be6!?
A new move apparently but it did not impress Kamsky.
19.Bd3
19.Nb4!? looks good
19...Nc6 20.Qh6
20.Qg5+ is interesting
20...f4 21.g3 f3 22.Qg5+ Kh8 23.Qxd8 Rfxd8 24.b3
and White held a plus in the ending, although Benjamin was able to draw after 51 moves.
11.c3 Bg5 [B33]
This brings us to the hottest line of this variation, 11... Bg5
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5
12.Nc2 0 0
12...Rb8 to discourage 13. a4 is also possible when 13.a3!? (preventing ... b4) 13...a5 14.Bd3
Ne7 15.Nxe7 Qxe7 16.Qe2 Bd7 17.0 0 0 0 18.b4 Rfc8 19.bxa5 Qd8 (19...Rxc3!? 20.Nb4 Qe8
looks playable) 20.Nb4 Qxa5 21.c4 bxc4 22.Bxc4 gave White a small plus, Dominguez-Gongora,
Cuba 2002.
13.a4
is currently the most fashionable line of the 9. Nd5 variation, with lots of interest generated by the
game Ponomariov-Kramnik, Wijk aan Zee 2005 and other games.
13...bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5 15.Bc4 Rb8
and now the subtle
16.Ra2
has taken hold on the world's experts of this line. The rook gets off an exposed outpost and
guards the b2 pawn in preparation for events depending on circumstance.
16...Kh8
Black prepares to launch kingside activity with an eventual ...f5.
17.Nce3 g6
Another parting of the ways. White can go with either 18. O-O or play the speculative sacrifice
18. h4!?
18.h4!?
The quieter alternative 18.0 0 had a recent test in Anand-Kasparov, Linares 2005 which
continued 18...f5 19.Qa4! Bd7 20.Bb5 Rxb5 (20...Nb4!? 21.Bxd7 Nxa2 looks like a try, ehen play
might continue 22.exf5 Rxb2 23.Nc4 (23.Qa3!?) 23...Nxc3 24.Nxc3 Rb4 25.Qc6 Rxc4 26.Qxc4
Qxd7 27.fxg6 hxg6 28.Qd5 and White has compensation for the pawn deficit) 21.Qxb5 Nb4
22.Qxa5 Nxa2 23.Qxa2 fxe4 24.b4 Be6 25.c4 with a substantial plus for White, although the
game was eventually drawn after an intense battle
18...Bxh4
Declining the offer with 18...Bxe3 19.Nxe3 hands White a modest but durable advantage
19.g3 Bg5
Too passive is 19...Bf6?! 20.b3! Bg7 21.f4! with a powerful attack, Ponomariov-Kramnik, Wijk aan
Zee 2005
20.f4 exf4 21.gxf4 Bh4+ 22.Kf1
22.Kd2?! is too slow.
22...f5
This move looks imperative. Black needs to be able to guard h7 by means of ... Rb7 if need be.
Of course he is also bearing down on White's own king with this move.
23.b4!
This has much more impact than
23.b3?! because White needs to dislodge the knight which protects d4 with b4-b5 if his attack has
any chance of succeeding.
23...fxe4 24.Rah2 g5 25.b5 Ne5 26.Qd4 Rb7
Black is on the verge of playing ... Bg3, so White must now play Rxh4.
27.Rxh4 gxh4 28.Ke2!
An improvement over
28.Ke1? played in Holmsten-Filipov, Polanica 1999, which continued 28...h3 29.fxe5 Rg7 30.exd6
Qxd6 31.Rg1 Qh6 32.Nf1?? (32.Qe5! is unclear) 32...Qc1+ 33.Ke2 Bg4+ 34.Rxg4 Qxf1+ 35.Kd2
Rf2+ 0 1
28...Re8 29.fxe5 Rxe5 30.Nf4
30...Qg5?
If 30...Bd7 (taking aim at the b5 pawn) the position is very tricky but better for White after 31.Rg1!
Bxb5 32.Bxb5 Rbxb5 33.Nc4 Qf6 34.Nxd6 and White seems to have the edge.
30...Rg7 31.Rd1! also looks good for White, with the idea of 31...Qf6 32.Rf1!
31.Qxd6 Bg4+?!
31...Re8 offered more chances.
32.Ke1!
Black cannot meet the threat of Qf8+
32...Qxf4?
32...Re8 loses to 33.Rg1 h5 34.Nxg4 hxg4 35.Rxg4! Qxg4 36.Qh6+ Rh7 37.Ng6+ Qxg6 38.Qxg6
and wins.
33.Qd8+ Kg7 34.Qg8+ Kh6?
34...Kf6 35.Nxg4+ Ke7 36.Nxe5 wins.
35.Rxh4+
Black resigned Kramnik-Van Wely, Monte Carlo 2005.
Conclusion: The 9. Nd5 variation of the Sveshnikov is currently very popular but Black seems to
be doing fine in the 9...Qa5+ line at present. He also looks to be OK in the line 9... B7 10. Bxf6
Bxf6 11. c3 O-O 12. Nc2 Rb8 13. h4!? Be7! The dynamic 11...Bg5 12. Nc2 O-O 13. a4 bxa4 14.
Rax4 a5 15. Bc4 Rb8 16. Ra2 Kh8 17. Nce3 g6 18. h4 seems to be under a cloud.
Supplementary Games
Hagesaether,A (2178) - Armstrong,William [B33]
Open Coventry ENG (3), 25.03.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Qa5+
10.Bd2 Qd8 11.Nxf6+ Qxf6 12.c3 d5 13.exd5 Bxa3 14.bxa3 Ne7 15.a4 0 0 16.axb5 Nxd5 17.c4
Nf4 18.g3 Bb7 19.f3 Ne6 20.Bg2 Rfd8 21.0 0 Nc5 22.Qe2 e4 23.fxe4 Qb2 24.Rad1 axb5 25.Qf2
Nxe4 26.Qxf7+ Kh8 27.Bc3 Qxg2+ 28.Kxg2 Nd6+ 29.Qxb7 Nxb7 30.Rxd8+ Rxd8 31.cxb5 Kg8
32.Bb4 g6 33.Rc1 Ra8 34.a3 Nd8 35.Re1 Nf7 36.Kf3 h5 37.Ke4 Ng5+ 38.Kd5 Nf3 39.Re2 Kf7
40.Rf2 1 0
Korneev,O (2611) - Felgaer,R (2593) [B33]
It Dos Hermanas ESP (5), 05.04.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Ne7 12.Nxf6+ gxf6 13.Bd3 Bb7 14.Qe2 Rg8 15.g3 Qb6 16.0 0 0 0 0 0
17.Nc2 Kb8 18.Rhe1 d5 19.a3 h5 20.Qxh5 Rh8 21.Qxf7 Qd6 22.Ne3 Rdf8 23.Qg7 Rfg8 24.Qf7
Rf8 ½ ½
Charleshouse,G (2251) - Cherniaev,A1 (2509) [B33]
Open Coventry ENG (5), 26.03.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bb7 12.Nc2 0 0 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 Nb8 15.Nce3 Nd7 16.Rb4 Ra7 17.Rxb7
Rxb7 18.b4 a5 19.Nc4 axb4 20.cxb4 Qb8 21.Qd2 Bd8 22.Bd3 Nf6 23.Nce3 Nxd5 24.Nxd5 Bb6
25.0 0 Bd4 26.g3 Ra7 27.Kg2 Qa8 28.Qg5 f6 29.Qg4 f5 30.Qg5 Kh8 31.b5 Raf7 32.f3 Qa2+
33.Kh3 f4 34.g4 Qb3 0 1
Lengyel,B (2302) - Radnai,A (2191) [B33]
FSIM April Budapest HUN (8), 09.04.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0 0 12.Nc2 Bg5 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5 15.Bc4 Rb8 16.b3 Kh8 17.0 0 g6
18.b4 f5 19.exf5 Bxf5 20.b5 Bxc2 21.Qxc2 Ne7 22.Qe2 Nxd5 23.Bxd5 Qb6 24.c4 Bd8 25.g3 Qa7
26.Kg2 Bb6 27.Qd2 Rbe8 28.f3 Qc7 29.Be4 Rf6 30.Rfa1 Rb8 31.Rd1 Qc5 32.Qe1 Qc7 33.h4
Rg8 34.Qd2 Qc5 35.Bd5 Rg7 36.Bc6 Ra7 37.Qe1 Qe3 38.Qxe3 Bxe3 39.Kf1 Kg7 40.Ke2 Bb6
41.Rda1 Kf8 42.Rh1 Kg7 43.Rha1 Kf8 44.Bd5 Ke7 45.R4a2 Kd8 46.Kd3 Kc7 47.Be4 Kb8 48.Rh1
h5 49.Rg2 Bd4 50.Rb1 Kc7 51.g4 hxg4 52.Rxg4 Kb6 53.h5 gxh5 54.Rg8 Rff7 55.Rb8+ Kc7
56.Rh8 a4 57.Bd5 0 1
Sharapov,E (2435) - Pavlov,S2 (2449) [B33]
TCh-UKR Alushta UKR (2), 08.04.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0 0 12.Nc2 Rb8 13.a3 a5 14.Bd3 Be6 15.Qe2 Bxd5 16.exd5 Ne7 17.0 0 0
Bg5+ 18.Kb1 Qd7 19.h4 Bh6 20.g4 Bf4 21.Qe4 g6 22.g5 h5 23.gxh6 f5 24.Qg2 Kh7 25.Be2 Rfc8
26.Rhg1 Rc5 27.Bf3 Qc8 28.Bh5 Qe8 29.Bf3 Qf7 30.Qh3 Rg8 31.Bh1 Rgc8 32.Rge1 Rf8 33.Qf3
Bxh6 34.Qe2 Re8 35.Ne3 e4 36.h5 g5 37.f3 f4 38.Ng4 e3 39.Qd3+ Nf5 40.Bg2 Bg7 41.h6 Bf8
42.Bh3 Kh8 43.Re2 a4 44.Ka1 Rc4 45.Nf6 Qxf6 46.Bxf5 Re7 47.Be6 Rec7 48.Ka2 Be7 49.Rh1
Bd8 50.Rg2 Rh7 51.Rh5 Qf8 52.Qg6 Rcc7 53.Qd3 Rc4 54.Qg6 Rcc7 55.Qd3 ½ ½
Sharapov,E (2435) - Grekh,A (2294) [B33]
TCh-UKR Alushta UKR (8), 13.04.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0 0 12.Nc2 Bg5 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5 15.Bc4 Rb8 16.b3 Kh8 17.0 0 f5
18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Nce3 Bg6 20.Re1 e4 21.Nf1 Ne5 22.Ng3 Bh4 23.Ra2 Nxc4 24.bxc4 Qc8 25.Qd4
Qb7 26.Rxa5 Ra8 27.Rb5 Qf7 28.Rb2 Rac8 29.Ra2 Rb8 30.Rf1 Ra8 31.Rfa1 Rxa2 32.Rxa2 Rb8
33.Ra7 Qf8 34.Ra1 Rb2 35.Nf4 Bd8 36.Ne6 Qe7 37.Ra7 1 0
Motylev,A (2680) - Filippov,Va (2621) [B33]
TCh-RUS Sochi RUS (1), 19.04.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0 0 12.Nc2 Rb8 13.h4 Be7 14.Nce3 Be6 15.Qf3 Qd7 16.g4 Bd8 17.Bd3 a5
18.Bc2 b4 19.Ba4 bxc3 20.bxc3 Qc8 21.Nf5 Bxd5 22.exd5 e4 23.Qg3 Ne7 24.Nxd6 Qa6 25.Nxe4
Rb2 26.0 0 0 Rxa2 27.Bb3 Re2 28.Bc2 Rxc2+ 29.Kxc2 Qc4 30.Rd4 Qa2+ 31.Kd3 Bb6 32.Qd6
Bxd4 33.Kxd4 Nc8 34.Qc7 Qe2 35.d6 Re8 36.f3 Qxf3 37.Re1 Nxd6 38.Qxd6 Qxg4 39.Kd3 Kh8
40.Kc2 h6 41.Qd4 Qe6 42.Kc1 f6 43.Re2 Rc8 44.Kd2 Rb8 45.Ng3 Qc6 46.Ke3 a4 47.Kf2 a3
48.c4 Ra8 49.Ra2 Qc7 50.Qe4 Qc5+ 51.Kg2 Rb8 52.h5 Rb3 53.Re2 Qg5 54.Qe8+ Kh7 55.Qe4+
f5 56.Qe5 f4 57.Qe4+ Kh8 58.Qe8+ Kh7 59.Qe4+ ½ ½
Kirillova,V (2240) - Kovalevskaya,E (2469) [B33]
TCh-RUS w Sochi RUS (3), 21.04.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 b5 8.Nd5 Nf6 9.Bg5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0 0 12.Be2 Bg5 13.0 0 Kh8 14.Nc2 f5 15.Bf3 Ra7 16.a4 bxa4 17.Rxa4 Na5
18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Nce3 Bd7 20.Ra3 Bc6 21.b4 Bxe3 22.Rxa5 Bb6 23.Ra2 Qg5 24.Kh1 Bd8 25.c4
a5 26.b5 Ba8 27.Rb2 Raf7 28.b6 Bb7 29.Be4 Qh4 30.Qe2 a4 31.g3 Qh3 32.f3 Qc8 33.Kg2 Bc6
34.Rfb1 Rb7 35.Qe3 Qb8 36.Rb4 h6 37.Bc2 Bxd5 38.cxd5 a3 39.Qxa3 e4 40.Bxe4 Bf6 41.Bc2
Qe8 42.Qd3 g5 43.Ba4 Qf7 44.Bc6 Rbb8 45.b7 Qg7 46.Ra4 Bd8 47.Ra8 Bc7 48.Rb4 Kg8
49.Qe4 h5 50.Qe6+ Kh7 51.Rxb8 Bxb8 52.Re4 Rf7 53.Re2 g4 54.f4 h4 55.Qe4+ Kh8 56.gxh4
Qc3 57.Qe3 Qf6 58.h5 Kg7 59.Qe6 Qxf4 60.Qg6+ Kh8 61.Re8+ Rf8 62.Rxf8+ Qxf8 63.Qe8 Qxe8
64.Bxe8 1 0
Korneev,O (2611) - Radjabov,T (2673) [B33]
It Dos Hermanas ESP (9), 09.04.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 Ne7 13.Ncb4 0 0 14.a4 bxa4 15.Qxa4 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 Bd7
17.Qd1 a5 18.Bc4 ½ ½
Gao Rui - Wang Yue (2576) [B33]
Torch Real Estate Cup Jinan CHN (1), 20.04.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7
10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 Ne7 13.Nce3 0 0 14.a4 Bxe3 15.Nxe3 Bb7 16.Bd3 d5 17.axb5
dxe4 18.bxa6 exd3 19.axb7 Rb8 20.0 0 Rxb7 21.Nc4 e4 22.Re1 Qd5 23.b3 Nc6 24.Rb1 f5 25.f3
Re7 26.Kh1 Ne5 27.Nxe5 Rxe5 28.f4 Re7 29.Qd2 Ra8 30.h3 Rea7 31.Rb2 Ra1 32.Kh2 Rxe1
33.Qxe1 Qc5 34.b4 Qb6 35.Qf1 Rd8 36.Ra2 Qc7 37.Qf2 Qxc3 38.b5 Qd4 0 1
Larry refers to Yuri Yakovich s treatise on the Sveshnikov.
The Sveshnikov Sicilian is one of the most uncompromising lines of the
Sicilian Defence. Black accepts an apparently loose pawn-structure in
return for a great deal of piece activity. Decades of experience have shown
that it is far from easy for White to neutralise Black's active play, and the
Sveshnikov is now firmly established as a favourite weapon for players who
wish to win games as Black.
To purchase: US & Canada
http://www.classicalgames.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=P
ROD&Product_Code=000133&Category_Code=gb&AFFIL=CBL
Rest of the World
http://www.chess.co.uk/shop/item3832.htm
Larry s lessons in attacking chess.
Many books provide training in how to round off a successful attack with a
final combination, but that's really just the easy part. The difficult thing is to
decide how and where to attack in the first place, and to build up the
offensive without giving the opponent real counterchances. Grandmaster
Larry Christiansen is one of the strongest American-born players of recent
decades, and was part of the team that won the World Team Championship
in 1993.
To purchase: US & Canada
http://www.classicalgames.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=P
ROD&Product_Code=000816&Category_Code=gb&AFFIL=CBL
Rest of the World
http://www.chess.co.uk/shop/item1422.htm
About TWIC Theory A new electrical magazine for the chess community. High quality
articles delivered to you in ChessBase, PGN or PDF format.
Buy a subscription for 3 months for March, April and May 2005 here:
US & Canada
http://www.classicalgames.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=P
ROD&Product_Code=001316
Rest of the World
http://www.chess.co.uk/shop/cat183_1.htm