7...b6 8.e3 Bb7 9.Be2 d6 10.0 0
Andrew Martin:
10.b4 a5 11.Bb2 ab4 12.ab4 Ra1 13.Ba1
Modern games
Ne4 (13...Qa4! 14.0 0 Ne4 was a more
accurate move-order) 14.Qc2 Nd7 15.0 0 f5
In the coming article I present some recent
16.Ne1 Qg6 17.f3 Ra8 18.Bb2 Nef6 19.Nd3
games for use in training sessions. They
Qh6 20.Qd2 Nf8 21.Bc1 Qg6� Buss R. :
reflect the variety of modern chess.
Lossau S., Germany 2005.
10...Nbd7 11.b3 Ne4 12.Qc2 f5 13.Ne1
Rf6!?
Ghane Gardeh S. : Hou Yifan
XIIIIIIIIY
Bangkok 2012
9r+-+q+k+0
The first game features the Classical
9zplzpn+-zpp0
Variation of the Nimzo-Indian. Black
successfully disturbs White's solid build-up
9-zp-zpptr-+0
with an unusual idea of Raymond Keene.
9+-+-+p+-0
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0 0 5.a3
Bc3 6.Qc3 Qe8!?
9-+PzPn+-+0
XIIIIIIIIY
9zPP+-zP-+-0
9rsnl+qtrk+0
9-+Q+LzPPzP0
9zppzpp+pzpp0
9tR-vL-sNRmK-0
9-+-+psn-+0
xiiiiiiiiy
9+-+-+-+-0
If Black wants to attack the White King,
then this is the move. The Rook may swing
9-+PzP-+-+0
to either g6 or h6 and the Queen is ready to
9zP-wQ-+-+-0
intensify the pressure at a moment's notice.
Either of 13...e5 or; 13...a5 maybe better
9-zP-+PzPPzP0
though.
9tR-vL-mKLsNR0
14.f3
That's why White played Ne1.
xiiiiiiiiy
14...Ng5 15.e4 f4 16.Nd3 e5 17.d5?
The main ideas of 6...Qe8 can be stated:
Closing the centre is classic mistake in a
1) Black keeps maximum flexibility with his
position of this kind, giving Black a free
pawns.
hand on the kingside.
2) He may play ...b6 and ...Bb7.
To build any pressure at all, White has to try
3) He may play ...d7 d6 and ...e6 e5!
17.c5! bc5 18.de5 (18.dc5 d5) 18...Ne5
4) He can activate his Queen via ...Ne4, ...f5
19.Ne5 de5 20.Qc5 and he may stand better
and ...Qh5 or ...Qg6. All these options
here. This is why 13...e5 or 13...e5 might
combine to make 6...Qe8 very playable,
have been superior.
although not especially fashionable.
17...Qh5 18.Nf2 Rg6 19.Qd3 Nf6 20.Rd1
7.Nf3
Bc8!
Hardly critical. White makes a rather routine
All the Black pieces gravitate towards the
reply and Black, undisturbed, builds up a
White King, making a sacrifice on h3
very nice position.
inevitable.
FIDE Surveys  Andrew Martin 1
21.Ra2 Rh6 22.h3 Bh3! 23.gh3 Nh3 Re8 20.Ba3 a5 21.Bc5 Ba6 22.d3 Rad8
24.Nh3 Qh3 23.a3 Rd5 24.b4 Rg8 25.Rf3 Rg5 26.Qd2
Qg7 27.Bf8 Qf8 28.Qg5 f6 29.Qh4 a4
XIIIIIIIIY
30.Re4 c5 31.bc5 Rc5 32.Rg4 Bb7 33.Rfg3
9r+-+-+k+0
Bd5 34.Rg6 Rc6 35.Qh7 Kh7 36.Rh3, 1:0,
Gelashvili T. : L'Ami E., Dieren 2000.
9zp-zp-+-zpp0
Black's absence of the traditional Sicilian
9-zp-zp-sn-tr0 queenside counterplay has been noticeable.
4...d6
9+-+Pzp-+-0
4...Nf6 5.d3 Be7 6.Nc3 0 0 7.Nge2 d6 8.0 0
a6 9.a4 Rb8 10.Qd2 Nd4 11.a5 Nh5 12.f4
9-+P+Pzp-+0
Again!
9zPP+Q+P+q0
12...Ne2 13.Ne2 Bf6 14.fe5 Be5 15.Be5 de5
16.Rf2 Qe7 17.Raf1 Be6 18.h3 Bc4 19.bc4ą,
9R+-+L+-+0
Gelashvili T. : Ihsan J., Dubai 2006. White is
9+-vLR+-mK-0
better all over the board.
5.f4 Nf6 6.Nf3!?
xiiiiiiiiy
XIIIIIIIIY
White has no comeback from here.
25.Bf1 Qh1 26.Kf2 Rh2 27.Ke1 Ra2
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
Would that all games against 4.Qc2 were so
9zpp+-+pzpp0
simple! 0:1.
9-+nzp-sn-+0
Gelashvili T. : Krishnan V.
9+-zp-zp-+-0
Las Vegas 2012
9-+L+PzP-+0
2.b3 against the Sicilian is an excellent
surprise weapon. The so-called theoretical
9+P+-+N+-0
test is supposed to come when Black plays
9PvLPzP-+PzP0
...e7 e5, attempting to shut the Bishop on b2
out of the game. This is a very double-edged
9tRN+QmK-+R0
procedure as it encourages White to play the
xiiiiiiiiy
move he wants to make anyway, f2 f4!
1.e4 c5 2.b3 Nc6 3.Bb2 e5 4.Bc4 Giving the game a King's Gambit-like
4.Bb5 has been played many times and is flavour. There are other moves which are
equally viable. If you are at all interested in perhaps less sharp: 6.fe5 Ne5 7.Bb5 Ned7
2.b3, I strongly recommend you keep up 8.Nc3 Be7 9.Nf3 0 0 10.0 0 a6 11.Bd7 Bd7,
with the games of Gelashvili, who is a Velickovic S. : Paunovic D., Brezovica
fountain of ideas as far as this variation is 1988, whereupon 12.d3 gives rough equality.
concerned. 6.d3 a6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.0 0 Be7 9.h3 Bf3
4...Nge7 5.Ne2 d6 6.0 0 g6 7.f4! Bg7 8.Ng3 10.Qf3 0 0 11.Nd2 b5 12.Bd5 Nd5 13.ed5
0 0 9.f5 Nd4 14.Bd4 cd4 15.Rae1 Rc8 16.fe5 de5
This seems like a very good version of the 17.Re5 Rc2 18.Ne4 Ra2 19.d6 Bf6 20.Rf5+
2.f4 Sicilian. , Makropoulou M. : Jiretorn E., Istanbul
9...gf5 10.Bc6 bc6 11.ef5 Nd5 12.Nc3 Nf6 2003.
13.Nce4 Qe7 14.Nf6 Bf6 15.Ne4 Kh8 6...Bg4
16.Qh5 d5 17.Nf6 Qf6 18.Rae1 d4 19.Qe2
FIDE Surveys  Andrew Martin 2
Extraordinarily 6...ef4 7.Ng5! Ne5 (7...Be6 28...Qg6 29.Kf1 Qg3 30.Qg3 Bg3 31.Rfh5
may well be safer, as after 8.Be6 fe6 9.Ne6 g6 32.Rg5
Qe7 10.Nf4 Qe4 11.Qe2 Qe2 12.Ke2 Be7 Even with the queens off, White's attack is
13.Nc3 Kd7 White has only a fractional crushing, as he now threatens both the
edge.) 8.Be5 de5 9.Bf7 (9.Nf7 Dd4!) is not a Bishop and Rg6 mate!
stone-cold win for White, but he should still 32...Kg7 33.Rg3 f5 34.ef5 Rf5 35.Ke2 Rf2
be a little better after, say 9...Ke7 10.Bc4 36.Ke3 Rc2 37.Rhg1 b5 38.Rg6 Kh7
Bg4 11.Qc1 h6 12.Nf3 Qd6 13.Nc3, as 39.Bg8
Black still has to contend with the position Blocking the long diagonal with ...e7 e5 and
of his own King. holding with ...d7 d6 might well be a logical
7.fe5 de5 8.h3 Bh5 9.g4 Bg6 10.d3 Bd6 defensive idea, but these positions are not at
11.Nc3 a6 12.a4! all easy to handle. Importantly, the attack
Correctly restraining counterplay, before after f4 comes quickly and requires Black to
turning to the kingside. show great care. 1:0.
12...Rb8 13.0 0 0 0 14.Qd2 Ne8 15.h4
It has been quite clear from the opening Carlsen M. : Vallejo Pons F.
moves that Gelashvili is happy to drag his Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012
lower-rated opponent into a sharp, unclear
position from where he can simply outplay Modern chess compels us to play with a
him. wide repertoire and Magnus Carlsen has one
15...h5 16.gh5 Bh5 17.Ng5 Nf6 18.Qg2 of the widest of them all.
White's plan is clear. He will now attempt to 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.ed5
place his major pieces on the open kingside Evgeny Alekseev has been playing this
lines. variety of the exchange variation with
18...Nd4 19.a5 Be7 20.Rf2 Qd7 21.Nd5 reasonable success in recent times. It gives
Ng4 22.Bd4 cd4 23.Rf5 Ne3 24.Ne3 de3 the game a more open quality than one is
25.Nf3 Bf3 26.Qf3 Bh4 27.Kg2 Qd6 used to in the French Winawer.
28.Rh1 4...ed5 5.Bd3
Larsen was fond of 5.Qf3 here.
XIIIIIIIIY
5...Nf6 6.Nge2 Bg4
9-tr-+-trk+0
Vallejo chooses a straightforward approach
with simple,quick development as his aim.
9+p+-+pzp-0
6...0 0 is, of course, a decent move, but
9p+-wq-+-+0 Black is outplayed in this recent game: 7.0 0
c6 8.a3 Bd6 9.Bf4 Re8 10.Qd2 Bg4 11.Bd6
9zP-+-zpR+-0
Qd6 12.Qf4 Qf4 13.Nf4 Nbd7 14.f3 Be6
15.h4 h5 16.Rfe1 Nf8 17.b4 Bd7 18.Re8
9-+L+P+-vl0
Re8 19.a4 Ne6 20.Ne6 Be6 21.a5 a6 22.Re1
9+P+PzpQ+-0
g6 23.Kf2 Kg7 24.Na4 Nd7 25.g4 hg4
26.fg4 Rh8 27.Kg3 Kf6 28.Nc3 Nf8 29.Re3
9-+P+-+K+0
Ke7 30.Ne2 Kd6 31.Rf3 Ke7 32.Nf4 Bd7
9+-+-+-+R0
33.Re3 Kd6 34.c4 dc4 35.Bc4 f6 36.Bb3
Rh6 37.Nd3 g5 38.hg5 fg5 39.Nc5 Rh4
xiiiiiiiiy
40.Bd1 Kc7 41.Re7 Rh7 42.Re5 Rh1 43.Bf3
Mission finally accomplished. Please note
Rb1 44.Rg5 Rb4 45.Rg7 Rd4 46.Rf7 Rc4
the inhibting role of the pawn on a5.
47.Nd7 Nd7 48.g5 Rc5 49.Kh4 Kd6 50.g6
restraining Black's queenside counterplay.
FIDE Surveys  Andrew Martin 3
Rc4 51.Kh3 Ne5 52.g7 Nf7, 1:0, Popov I. :
XIIIIIIIIY
Vitiugov N., Tyumen 2012.
9r+-wqr+k+0
7.0 0 0 0 8.f3 Bh5 9.Nf4 Bg6 10.Ng6 hg6
11.Ne2
9zpp+nvl-zpn0
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+p+-zpp+0
9rsn-wq-trk+0
9+-+p+-vL-0
9zppzp-+pzp-0
9-+-zP-zP-zP0
9-+-+-snp+0
9+-+L+QsN-0
9+-+p+-+-0
9PzPP+-+P+0
9-vl-zP-+-+0
9tR-+-+RmK-0
9+-+L+P+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
9PzPP+N+PzP0
is just nonsensical here, inviting disaster on
the kingside: 17.Bg6! fg5 18.fg5 Rf8
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
(18...Ndf8 19.Qf7 Kh8 20.Nh5; 18...Ndf6
xiiiiiiiiy
19.gf6 Nf6 20.Rae1+ ) 19.Qh5 Rf1 20.Rf1
White has two Bishops and a small opening Ndf6 21.gf6 Nf6 22.Bf7 Kf8 23.Be6.
edge as a result. Something to work with, 16...Qb6! has to be played if Black is just not
you would have thought. Importantly, Black going to submit to being attacked. The move
has been denied any active counterplay was criticized as superficial on the
whatsoever. 11.a3 is slightly more Chessbase website with the intimation that
ambitious, but Black should be able to get Black was just going to be automatically
into the game after 11...Bc3 (11...Bd6 mated, but I just don't see this mate: 17.c3
12.Be3 c6 13.Qd2 Nbd7 14.Rfe1) 12.bc3 c5? (17.Qf2 Bd6 18.c3 Ndf6 19.f5 Ng4 20.Qf3
13.dc5 Nbd7 14.Rb1 Qc7. Ne5! 21.Qd1 Nd3 22.Qd3 Ng5 23.hg5 Qc7
11...Re8 12.Bg5 Be7 13.Ng3 Nbd7 14.f4! 24.fg6 fg6 ) 17...Qb2 18.Rac1 (18.Rab1
If White can, he will play f4 f5! Qc3) 18...Qa3 19.h5 gh5 20.Qh5 Ndf6
14...Nh7! 15.Qf3 21.Qh4 Nf8.
15.Be7 Qe7 16.c3 Qh4 17.Qf3 Nhf6 18.Rfe1 17.Rae1 Qc7 18.Be7 Re7 19.Re5 f6?!
offered very little to White. Carlsen knows Vallejo plays too passively. Why not now
he has to keep the pieces on for his 19...Rae8?
impending kingside attack. 20.Re7+ Qe7 21.h5 gh5 22.Qh5
15...c6 White now has the momentum he needs to
I think Black should take on g5 here: set the attack into serious motion . 22.Nf5
15...Bg5 16.fg5 Ng5 17.Qd5. Now 17...Nb6! Qf7 23.Qg3 was a less obvious, but equally
is a good move, possibly underestimated by effective method: 23...Kh8 24.Re1 Qg6
Vallejo: 18.Qd8 (18.Qb7 Qd4) 18...Rad8 25.Re7 Qg3 26.Ng3 h4 27.Nf5ą.
19.c3 Re3 20.Rad1 Rde8. In view of what 22...Qf7 23.Qg4 g6 24.Nf5 Kh8 25.Nh4 f5
happens, this would have been much better 26.Qh3 Qe6 27.Kf2!?
for Vallejo than the game. 27.g4! seems very strong, the point of which
16.h4 Ndf8 is 27...fg4 28.Qg3 with the idea of 28...Qf6
16...f6? (28...Nf6 29.f5) 29.f5!ą.
FIDE Surveys  Andrew Martin 4
27...Re8 28.Nf3 Re7 the shackles and despite White's extra piece,
28...Qe3 achieves nothing: 29.Kg3 Qe7 all he can do is return the material to save his
30.Re1 Qd7 31.Ne5 Qg7 32.Kh2 with g2 g4 King: 16.f4 Nd5 17.Bb2 Nc3 18.Bc3 Qc7
eventually to come. 32...Re6. 19.Rfc1 Rc8! Regaining the piece. To be
29.Ne5 Nd7 30.Rh1 Ne5 31.de5 c5 32.b3 honest, this all looks like prior preparation.
OK, but 32 g4 looks better: 20.Bh7 Kh8 21.Bd3 Rc3 22.Qc3 Qc3 23.Rc3
32.g4! fg4 33.Qh4 Rd7 (33...c4? 34.Bg6! Rc3 24.Bb5 Ba3 25.Kg2 g6 26.Rd1 Rc7
Qg6 35.Qe7) 34.Qg5 Rg7 (34...Kg8 35.Qg6 27.Rd7 Rd7 28.Bd7 Kg7 29.e4 Kf6 30.Kf3
Qg6 36.Bg6 Nf8 37.Bf5 Rf7 38.Rh5+ ) a5 31.e5 Ke7 32.Ba4 Bc5 33.h3 Bb6 34.Bb5
35.Rh6 Kg8 36.Qg6!! Rg6 37.Rg6 and Bc5 35.Ba4 Bb6 36.Bb5 Bc5 37.Ba4, draw,
Black is lost. Possibly by this stage the Topalov V. : Kasimdzhanov R., London
players were getting short of time and 2012.
Carlsen wanted to defer any type of risk. 12...c5!
32...c4 33.bc4 dc4 34.Be2 g5 35.g3 Qb6 Afterwards Anand mentioned that he had
36.Kg2 Qe3? prepared this classic, freeing break for the
36...Qc6 gave hope of a recovery: 37.Kf1 2012 World Championship match against
gf4 38.gf4 Qe4 39.Qf3 Qc2 40.Kf2 Qd2 Boris Gelfand. Black offers h7 and obtains a
41.Rd1 Qa5 42.Qe3 (42.Bc4 Qc5) 42...b5 strong initiative. It's also possible to take on
43.Qd4 Qb6 44.Qb6 ab6 45.Rd5 Rc7. h2 though: 12...Bh2 13.Kh2 Ng4 14.Kg1
37.Kf1+ Rf7 38.Qh5! Qg3? (14.Kg3? Qg5 15.f4 Qh5 16.Bh7 Kh8
He had to try 38...Re7 39.Rh3 g4 40.Rh4 17.Bd2 Qh2 18.Kf3 (18.Kg4 Qg2 19.Kh4
Qg3 but even here the King is surprisingly f5 +) 18...Qh4 19.Rh1 Nh2 20.Ke2 f5)
safe, allowing White to proceed with 14...Qg5 15.f3 Ngf6 16.b4 Nh5 17.e4 Qe7
41.Qg5! Rd7 42.e6+ . 18.Ne2 e5 19.g4 Nhf6 20.Be3 h5 21.de5
39.Qf7+ Qf4 40.Kg2 Qe4 41.Bf3 Qc2 Ne5 22.Bc5, Wojtaszek R. : Negi P.,
42.Kg3 f4 Germany 2012. Despite an eventual draw,
42...f4 43.Kg4 Black cannot prevent both White has the advantage here.
Qf8 mate and Rh7. 1:0. 13.Nh7
13.Bh7 is being suggested by my analysis
Aronian L. : Anand V. engine, but according to Anand Black has
Wijk aan Zee 2013 compensation in all variations. Let us see if
this is true: 13...Kh8 14.f4
The fourth round of Wijk aan Zee 2013 a) 14.h4 Bb8 15.Qd3 b4 16.ab4 cb4 17.Ne2
produced a spectacular game. There is ample Bd5. White's position is difficult to organise;
scope from just this one game for a whole b) 14.Bd3 Bh2 Black reverts to an earlier
day of training! variation, this time with interest! 15.Kh1
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 (15.Kh2 Ng4 16.Kg1 Qg5) 15...Bb8.
Nbd7 6.Bd3 dc4 7.Bc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bd6 14...cd4 15.ed4 Qb6 16.Be3 Ng4 (16...Nd5
A move with a similar motivation to 8...Bb7, 17.Qd3 N7f6 18.Be4) 17.Qd3 g6 18.Bg6 fg6
the Wade variation. Black tries to save a bit 19.Qg6 Ndf6. White now forces a draw with
of time by omitting or delaying ...a7 a6. 20.h3 Ne3 21.Qh6 Kg8 22.Qg6.
9.0 0 0 0 10.Qc2 Bb7 11.a3 Rc8 13...Ng4! 14.f4?!
All well-known moves by now ... Maybe 14.h3 but even then either 14...Bh2
12.Ng5 (or 14...Qh4 15.f4 cd4 16.Nf8 Kf8 17.ed4
12.b4 attempts to cramp the Black queenside Qg3 18.hg4 Nf6 19.Qf2 Qd3�) 15.Kh1 Qh4
but is very well met by 12...c5! 13.bc5 Bf3 16.Be4 Be4 17.Qe4 f5 18.Qe6 Kh7 19.Qd7
14.gf3 Nc5 15.dc5 Rc5. Black has broken cd4 20.ed4 Bb8.
FIDE Surveys  Andrew Martin 5
14...cd4 15.ed4 L'Ami E. : Wang Hao
White can take the exchange, but Black's Wijk aan Zee 2013
attack is very strong: 15.Nf8 Bf8 (15...Kf8
16.ed4 Qf6! 17.Qd2 Qd4 18.Kh1 Bc5 More from Wijk aan Zee, a game which
19.Be4 Be4 20.Qd4 Bd4 21.Ne4 f5 22.Nd6 features one of the sharpest lines in the
Rb8 23.Bd2!) 16.ed4 Ndf6 17.h3 Qd4 Bogo-Indian complex.
18.Kh1 Bc5! 19.hg4 Ng4. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4 4.Bd2 c5!
15...Bc5! I have always had a liking for this variation.
The fireworks commence. Black makes Black entices White to take on b4, after the
room for his Queen to join the party. which the black pawn will prevent the
16.Be2 Knight on b1 coming out to a good square.
Aronian is already feeling battered and 5.Bb4
bruised. 16 Be2 runs into another spectacular But this is what they almost always do.
blow. Probably the only way is 16.dc5 Nc5 5.g3 Qb6!? is another story entirely.
17.Nf8 (17.Qe2 Qd4 18.Kh1 Nd3) 17...Nd3 5...cb4 6.g3 0 0 7.Bg2 d6 8.0 0 a5
18.h3 Qd4 19.Kh1 Ndf2 20.Rf2 Nf2 21.Kh2 Black is fashioning the pawn structure to his
Kf8 22.Qe2!, with ideas of Be3 or Qxb5, but design. He almost always angles for dark-
intuitively one recoils from such a line, as squared control, with ...e6 e5 as the eventual
White's queenside is as yet, undeveloped. culmination of his opening plan.
16...Nde5!! 9.a3 Na6 10.Nbd2 Qc7
What a move! Smothered mate on f2 might 10...Qe7 11.e4 e5 seems another very solid
not be so far away. way, possibly even preferable to our featured
17.Bg4 game, although Wang had played 10...Qc7
Two short variation see the mate graphically before, with a positive result and that counts
displayed: for a lot. 12.Qe2 b6 13.Rfc1 Re8 14.Qe3
17.fe5 Qd4 18.Kh1 Qg1! 19.Rg1 Nf2#; Sieciechowicz M. : Weichhold P., Rewal
17.Nf8 Qd4 18.Kh1 Qg1 19.Rg1 Nf2#. 2012, when 14...Qc7 is approximately equal.
17...Bd4 18.Kh1 Ng4 19.Nf8 11.Rc1
19.Ng5 f5 20.h3 Rf6! leaves White lost. Previous Wang went 11.Qc2 Re8 12.Rfd1
19...f5! Bd7 13.Rac1 Rac8 14.e3 e5 15.de5 de5
It is important for Black to be accurate. 16.Ng5 Nc5 17.ab4 ab4 18.Bd5 Rf8 19.Qb1
19...Qh4? is surprisingly wrong: 20.Qh7! Bg4 20.f3 Bh5 21.Nde4 Nfe4=, Zhou Weiqi
Qh7 21.Nh7 Kh7 22.h3 22...Nf2 23.Kh2 a6 : Wang Hao, Xinghua 2010. Alternatively,
24.Ra2. A new game begins here. White managed a win with 11.h3 but this
20.Ng6 Qf6 does not look the sort of move to give Black
White is so uncoordinated that he cannot palpitations: 11...Rd8 12.e4 e5 13.Qe2 b6
even begin to formulate a defence. 14.a4 Bb7 15.b3 Re8 (15...ed4! 16.Nd4 Re8
21.h3 Qg6 22.Qe2 Qh5 23.Qd3 17.Qd1 Nc5 is one obvious improvement)
23.Rf3 Nf2 24.Kh2 Bf3 25.Qf3 Qf3 26.gf3 16.Rad1 Rad8 17.Rfe1 ed4 18.Nd4 Nc5
Nd3 27.Kg3 a6 28.Ne2 Bb6 keeps the game 19.f3 Nh5 20.Nf1 d5 21.cd5 Bd5 22.ed5
going for White, but it probably wouldn't Re2! 23.Re2 g6 24.f4 Nf6 Black should be
last very long anyway. winning this position 25.Nc6 Rd7 26.Ne5
23...Be3! Rd8 (Now, why not 26...Nb3! 27.Nd7 Qd7
Setting up the unstoppable threat of..,Qh3. 28.d6 Nc5 29.Bf3 Qa4 when Black's pawn
Superb! 0:1. armada is about to set sail.) 27.Nc6 Rd7
28.Ne5 Nb3 29.Nd7 Nd7 30.d6 Qc5 31.Kh2
Kg7? (31...Qc3! 32.Re8 Kg7 33.Re7 Nbc5
FIDE Surveys  Andrew Martin 6
34.Bd5 b3 35.Ne3 b2 36.Bf7 Kf8) 32.Re7 worse, but he has plenty of counterplay with
Qc8 33.Ne3 Nf6 34.d7 Qd8 35.Ng4 Kf8 those advanced kingside pawns.
36.Ne5 Nc5, 1:0, Karapanos N. : Zoler D., 23...c4 24.Qa7 Ra7 25.Rfd1 Be6 26.Nf1
Chalkida 2009. By contrast, White's passive knight is now a
11...Rd8 liability and Wang even uses it to set up a
11...b6 led to two recent short draws, which tactical winning trick.
tells us little other than the White players 26...Rd1 27.Rd1 c3 28.bc3 bc3 29.Ne3 b4
were none too impressed with their chances: 30.Bf1 b3 31.Rd8 g6
12.e3 (12.Ne1 Bb7 13.Bb7 Qb7 14.ab4 Nb4 Yes,by now Black can even give away the
15.Nc2, draw, Nanu C. : Berescu A., Baile Knight.
Olanesti 2010) 12...Bb7 13.Ne1 Bg2, draw, 32.Re8 Kg7 33.Bd3 Rd7 34.Bb1 Rd1!
Jirovsky P. : Voloshin L., Czechia 1999. 35.Nd1 c2 0:1.
12.Ne1 A very attractive finish.
12.Ng5 h6 13.Nge4 Ne4 14.Ne4 Bd7.
12...e5
I would say the opening is now over and the Caruana F. : Svidler P.
middlegame is about to begin. White has Russia 2013
very little to speak of and it is difficult for
him to create active chances. It's equal, but One of the greatest American chess thinkers
my impression is that it is easier to play the of the 20th century, Robert Byrne, passed
Black position. away in 2013. In our last game, Svidler
13.Nd3 Bf5 14.e4 Bg4 shows respect to Byrne by employing one of
Probing, to create weaknesses. his opening systems. This game was played
15.f3 shortly after Byrne's death.
After 15.Qc2 Black can successfully open up 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nc3
the dark sqaures: 15...ed4 16.ab4 Be2 0 0 6.Nge2
17.Rfe1 Bd3 18.Qd3 Qb6! 19.ba5 Nb4 6.Be3 is no longer automatic here, as White
20.Qb3 Qa5. I would say this is a very players try to find a way around lines with a
thematic representation of what Black is quick ...c7 c5.
aiming for, where his dark-squared control is 6...a6
strong and the proud white bishop on g2 I guess the idea is that 6...c5 7.d5 gives
ineffectual. White options based on Bg5. In our game
15...Bd7 16.ab4 Nb4 17.Nb4 ab4ł 18.Qb3 Caruana takes this opportunity immediately.
Qb6 19.c5! 7.Bg5 c6 8.Qd2 b5
Definitely the best try, although L'Ami This method of counterplay gains in strength
falters in the follow-up. when c4 is unprotected. Good timing by
19...dc5 20.Nc4 Svidler.
But not 20.dc5 Qa5 21.Qe3 Qa2!, when 9.h4 h5 10.0 0 0
White's queenside is vulnerable. 10.e5 whilst the d file can be opened, looks
20...Qa7 21.de5 Ne8 22.Qe3 premature. Black acheived good prospects in
22.Qc2 b5 23.Ne3 c4 24.Qf2 Be6 25.f4. the following recent game: 10...de5 11.de5
22...b5 23.Nd2? Qd2 12.Bd2 Nfd7 13.f4 f6 (13...Nc5 14.Ng3
It is hard to say why White didnt play Bg4 also looks perfectly OK.) 14.ef6 Nf6
23.Nd6 as the position after 23...c4! 24.Qa7 15.Ng3 e5! 16.fe5 Ng4 17.Nce4,
Ra7 25.f4 Kf8 26.Rf2 Ke7 27.Nf5 Bf5 Harikrishna P. : WenY., Biel 2012, after
28.ef5 Nc7 is acceptable. White may be a bit which 17...Be5! leads to a position which
can only be a bit better for Black 18.Bb4
FIDE Surveys  Andrew Martin 7
(18.0 0 0? Bg3 19.Ng3 Nf2) 18...Re8 19.0 Undermining what is left of the White
0 0 Bf4? 20.Kb1 Bg3 21.Ng3 Nf2. centre. What becomes clear is that the white
10...Nbd7 11.g4!? king is by far the more vulnerable of the two.
Really going for it, but White has burned his 24.de5 de5 25.Qe3 a5 26.Nb6 Be6 27.Nc4
bridges already by playing h4 and then After 27.Bc4 Rbd8! Black can comfortably
castling long. 11.e5 looks a bit more allow his pawns to be doubled, as the d5
dangerous now, but Black can lie on the square is then covered and he can occupy d4.
ropes with 11...Nh7! and soak up the 28.Be6 fe6 29.Nc4 a4 30.ba4 Rd4.
pressure: 12.Bh6 Nb6 13.Bg7 Kg7 14.Nf4 27...a4
Psakhis L. : Gentilleau J., Andorra 1995 and Another excellent move, opening lines.
now 14...bc4! would have been best, with 28.ba4 Rb4 29.Nb6 Qa7 30.a5 Rd8 31.a6
plenty of counterplay. Ba2
11...b4 12.Na4 hg4 13.Ng3 I think I prefer 31...Rbd4! 32.Bd3 Nd7
If he moved on with 13.h5 we might have 33.Nd7 Qd7, with total control, although as
seen an extraordinary sequence: 13...Nh5!? Black wins quickly one can hardly be
14.fg4 Nhf6 15.Bh6 Ng4 16.Bg7 Kg7 critical.
17.Qf4 Rh8 18.Rh8 Qh8 19.Qg4 Nc5 32.Bd3 Bb3 33.Nf5 Be6 34.Kc2?
20.Qg5 Na4 21.Qa5 Qh6 22.Kb1 Qe3 After this, White is swept away. 34.Ra3 put
23.Qa4 Bg4. up sterner resistance, but even there 34...Bf5
White's Queen has enjoyed a world tour, but 35.ef5 Rbd4 36.Bc2 e4 looks completely
I prefer Black in this final position. winning for Black.
13...Nh7 14.Bh6 gf3! 34...Bf5 35.ef5 e4 36.Bc4 Rc4 37.Rc4 Qa6
14...Qa5 was a serious alternative, but 38.Qb3 Qa5 39.Rc3 f2 40.Rb1 e3 41.Nc4
Svidler cannot see a reason why he should e2
not capture on f3.
XIIIIIIIIY
15.Bg7 Kg7 16.h5 g5!
9-+-tr-+-mk0
Absolutely necessary, to block lines.
17.Qb4 Ndf6
9+-+-+p+n0
17...Rb8! 18.h6 Kh8 19.Qd2 g4.
18.Rd3 g4 9-+p+-sn-+0
To the end White will be labouring to get rid
9wq-zP-+P+P0
of the advanced Black pawns. This is classic
King's Indian play by Svidler, who first
9-+N+-+p+0
drains all the life out of White's attack and
9+QtR-+-+-0
then completely takes over the position.
Caruana is already struggling to find a way
9-+K+pzp-+0
to revive his initiative.
9+R+-+-+-0
19.Rg1?
19.e5! was the best try, initiating
xiiiiiiiiy
complications and keeping Black's
A very picturesque final position. 0:1.
advantage to a minimum: 19...Nd7 20.ed6
Touchdown !I hope you have enjoyed this
Rb8 21.de7 (21.Nf5 Kh8 22.Qd2 ed6 23.Nd6
series of games from the past year and that
Nb6 24.Nb6 Qd6 25.c5 Qf6; 21.Qd2 ed6
you will able to use them profitably in your
22.Nf5 Kh8 23.Nd6 Qg5! 24.c5 Ndf6)
teaching and training sessions.
21...Rb4 22.ed8Q Rd8.
19...Qc7 20.Qd2 Kh8 21.c5 Rb8 22.b3 Rg8
23.Rc3 e5!
FIDE Surveys  Andrew Martin 8