G. #13 GM Alex
M. 1991
+ 4.Bd2Qe7 Nc6 6.Nc3 Bxc3 Ne4 Ne4 d6 9.Bg2 Nxc3 13.Nd2 a5 14x5 Na6 15xxd6 cxd6 Qd8 17*3 b5 Bd7 19.Qbl b4 20*xb4 axb4 21.Rccl Nc5 23.Rc4 b3 Bxe4 26.Bg2 Qa5 Qb5 28.Qc3 Na4 29.Qb4 Qxb4 31.Rxb8 Rxb8 32.Rbl Rc8 g6 34x4 Rc2 35.Ral Nc5 36.exfS Rxb2 37.fxg6 39.Ra8+ 0-l #14 GM Elisbar Georgi Orlov, Belgrade 1988 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Ne4 8.Qc2 Nxg3 g4 10.d5 fre2 12xxd7 + Bxd7 13.Bxe2 13.Bxe2 Bc6 14*3 15.Rh5 Bd4 16.Nb5 a6 17.Nxd4 Qxd4 18.Rdl Qf6 Rd8 Rd8 + Qc3 22.b5 axb5 23xxb5 Bd5 Bb3 25.Qbl Bc2 26.Qa2 Bg6 + 28.Ke2 29.Qd2 Qxa3 Qc5 31.Bc6 h5 e5 33.Kgl Qe7 Rd8 35.Qc3 Rd3 36.Qc4 Rd2 Bxh5 Qf6 38.Qc5 39.Rxh5 + Rd2 41.Qxc7 1-0 #15 GM World Open 1991 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Bg5 h6 g5 Bg7 8.Bd3 d6 Bd7 10*3 Qd8 12.d5 Ne7 13.dxe6 14.Bbl Be8 15.Nd4 Qd7 16.Nce2 Bg6 17.Bxg6 18x5 dxc5 19.Rxc5 b6 Ne5 21.Rc2 c5 22.Nh3 Qa4 23.Necl Rad8 24.Qe2 g4 25.Rdl h5 26.Rxd8 Rxd8 27.Rd2 Rd5 28.Rxd5 29.Qdl Qc4 Qb5 31.Qc2 Qd7 32.Ne2 33.Ng3 b5 36.Nfl dxe4 37.Nle3 Qf6 a6 39.Ng3 Qxb2 Nxb2 41*xb5 axb5 42.Nxe4 b4 Bh6 44.Nd5 Nd3 47.Nb6 Nb2 48.Nc5 Kd6 49.Ne4 + c3 51.Ne7 + c2 + + 55.Nxcl 0-1 #16 GM Georgi Orlov, Washington Open 1991 Nf6 2.ND e6 3x4 Nc6 4*3 d6 5.Nc3 Be7 6x4 7Bd3 e5 8.d5 9.Nd2 a5 lO.Rbl Na6 g6 12.b4 axb4 Nh5 Bh3 15.Rel Qe8
16.Be2 Ng7 17x5 dxc5 Nb4 b6 Bf6 Bxe5 22ixe5 Qxe5 23.Qd2 Ne8 24.Rh3 25.Rdl Nd6 26.Qb2 Qb5 Na2 R8xa2 31.Bb2 Rxdl f 32.Qxdl 33.Qe2 34.Re3 35.Qc2 36.Ra3 cxd4 38.Rd3 Nc5 39.Rd2 Qxd5 Kg7 Kg7 41.Qb2 Nd3 42.Qc2 Nc5 43.Qn2 Na4 45.Rd2 46.Qe7 c5 d3 + 49.Qf4 Nd4 + #17 F. Inumerable (2194)-IM Georgi Orlov, National Open 1991 2x4 Nc6 3.ND e6 4*3 d6 5.Nc3 Be7 6x4 7.Be2 e5 8.d5 Nb8 9.h3 aS Na6 12.b4 cxd5 13xxd5 Bd7 14.b5 Rc8 15.Na4 Nc7 16.Qbl Na8 17.Nd2 Ne8 18.Nc4 Bg5 19.Bb6 Rxc4 21.Bxc4 Qg6 Qh625.Qb2 Nf6 Bh4 27.Bel Bg3+ 28.Kgl g5 29.Nc3 Qh4 31.Ne2 32.Bxg3 fxg3 33.f4 exf4 35.Rxf4 Qg5 36.Rxf6 + 38.Kxfl + Ke7 + 43.Qh5 + Kf6 44.Qh6 + Ke5 45.Qg7 +
#18 Jeremy Georgi Orlov, Western Western States Open, Reno 1991 Nf6 2x4 e6 3*3 Bb4 + 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.Bg2 Nc6 Bxd2 + 7.Nbxd2 d6 8x4 e5 9.d5 Nb8 10.b4 c6 12.Nel a5 13*3 cxd5 14xxd5 Bd7 15.Nd3 Bb5 16.Qb3 a4 17.Qc2 Nbd7 Qd8 19.Bfl Qb6 21.Kxfl Qd4 Rac8 23.Qxc8 Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Rxc8+ Nf8 b5 26.Rel g5 27.Kg2 h5 28.Ndl Qd3 g4 Qc3 Nxg4 hxg4 + 34.Kxh3 Ng5 Qc8 Nh3 + 38.Kg2 Qg4 39.Rd2 + .Rc2 Qxg3 42.Ke3 Nf6 43.Rgl Ng4
#19 IM S. Alex World Open 1991 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7 5*3 Ng6 6.Bg2 Bb4 7Bd2 8x3 d6 a5 Nd7 11x4 Nc5 12.Be3 f5 Bxf5 Na6 15.Nec3 Bc5 16.Qd2 Bxe3 17.Qxe3 Nc5 Bxe4 19.Bxe4 Nxe4 b6 21.Rael Qd7 23.Qg2 25.b3 Ne7 26.Re4 27.Re3 28.Re4
22
RO Qg4 R3f6 32.Reel Qd4 33.Re4 Qd3 34.R4e3 Qg6 35*4 36.Rg3 Qc2 38.Qh3 39.Ne3 Qxb3 40*5 Qxa4 gxh6 42.Ng2 R4f6 43.Qg4 Qe8 Qg8 45.Qd7 Rg7 46.Rxg7 Qxg7 + 4 7.Khl Ng8 48.Qd8 Qg4 49.Ng6+ Kg7
#20 IM Gia Alex Yermolinsky, World Open 1991 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7 5*3 Ng6 6.Bg2 Bb4 7.Qc2 8.Bd2 d6 Ne7 10*3 BXC3 11.BXC3 b5 12xxb5
Nfxd5 Nxc3 14.Qxc3 a6 16.Rcl axb5 17.Qxc7 Ba6 18.Qxd8 19.Rc7 Rb7 Bxb7 21*xb5 Rb8 Rxb5 24.Rdl d5 25.e3 f5 26.Rd2 Ke6 28.Kel e4 29.Be2 Rb7 Kd6 Kd6 Nc6 Ne5 33.Rd2 Rb4 34.fxe4 35*4 h6 36.Rc2 Rb3 g6 38.Rc2 g5 39.hxg5 hxg5 Kc5 41.Rc2+ Nc4 42.Bxc4 42.Bxc4 dxc4 43.Ke2 Kb5 0-1 #21 SM Larry Georgi Orlov Nf6 2x4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7 5x4 Ng6 6.Be3 Bb4 7.Bd3 7.Bd3 Bxc3 + 8.bxc3 d6 10.Ne2 Nd7 ll.Qd2 b6 12*3 fxe4 18.fxe4 Nxd8 Ba6 22.Rb3 Rib8 23.Ncl Rb6 24.Ke3 25.Be2 Bd7 26.Kd2 Ng5 27.Ke3 28.Nd3 Ke7 Bc8 33.Rh4 34.Bg4 35.Bxc8 Rxc8 36.Rg4 Nh3 37.Ke2 Rcf8 38.Rxa6 g5 39.Ra7 Kd7 4 1*5 Rg2 + 42.Kel 0-1 0-1 #22 Nick Raptis (1900)-IM Georgi Orlov, Portland 1991 1x4 Nf6 Nc6 3.d4 e5 4.ND exd4 Bb4 6*3 d5 7.Bg2 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 c5 d4 ll.Nd 5 Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Qxd8 Rxd8 13.Bxd5 Bh3 14.Rdl Be6 15x4 Bxd5 16xxd5 b5 17*3 Ba5 18.b4 Bb6 19.bxc5 Bxc5 Rxd5 21.Rd3 Be7 22.Be3 Rxb5 23.Bxd4 Rd5 24.Radl Rad8 25.R3d2 Bxa3 26.Ral Bb4 27.Bc3 Bxc3 28.Rxd5 Rxd5 29.Rxa7 h5 Rd2 31.Ra4 Bd4 32.Ra8+ Kh7 33.Rd8 33.Rd8 Rxf2+
The MEXICAN DEFENSE ("The Black Knights Tango") transpositions : ECO A50 (main) Qp game, E33: Nimzo/ind.classical line, E04: catalan , E51: Nimzo/indian with 4.e3 published by ICE (int'l chess enterprises) 1997, A SIN 1879479036 ISBN 0 71348349 0, 128 p. 20 $ this issue: 4€20 released by : kingfischer
Yucatan Press
TABLE OF CONTENTS art One: A)
2
The Center Grab plays far the all-out win, to refute the Black Knights Tango at Play is at times an Defense, Black for space with his pieces having good squares.
Part Two: 8)
,
p. 4
The Solid Fianchetto Line chooses the solid plan of a retaining a lot of but allowing central break.
Part Three C)
p. 6
The White develops while keeping the tension high. The position is very fluid wkh both sides having the of different plans. Original play figure; very B lack choose; as center break.
D) The Main Line with White tries to put astop while planning the center Transpositions are likely here Black having the greater say in ing the game into paths of choice Many opportunities abound for play by both
Carlos Torre (1905 - 1 978), inventor of the Mexican Defense
Introduction
T
he purpose of this monograph is to introduce chessplayers to the interesting and sharp opening play resulting from the line Nf6 2.c4 Nc6. The Black Knights Tango is among the few openings which give Black a chance to fight for initiative from the very beginning of the game and I feel it has been unfairly neglecte d by theory. 1 have played this line for almost six years in tournaments at normal time limits, and blitz. The results have been very good. As I I have lost only three tournament games while winning a couple of dozen. By any standard this is a great result with the Black pieces. 1 was intro duced to The Tango in 1985 when 1 cam e to live in the city of Kishinev, the capital of the small republic of Moldavia (one of the 15 former Soviet republics). 1 was working full-time as a chess coach at a local school and I did not have enough time to keep up with modern theory. After having some opening troubles while facing in several tournaments, I started looking for a solution. Fortunately, 1 met a strong player and great chess coach named Viacheslav Chebanenko (who numbers several Grandmasters and International Masters among his former students), who captured my attention with 2.c4 Nc6. Several of his students (mostly expertlevel players) had played the opening with respectable results but nobody took it too seriously. I had a very strong tournament coming up (the Semifinals of the (1986 USSR Championship) and I thought this line would be a perfect opening surprise. When I got the chance, I played The Tango against Michael Krasenkov, a strong Master (2450 FIDE back then, GM nowadays). After having a little problem in the beginning of the game, I developed an at tack but missed a winning move and the game was drawn. I made Soviet Master in that tournament! That experience convinced me that The Tango would be a good opening choice for me and I have played it ever since. Here are some GMs 1 have played Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 against: Yasser Seirawan (two 30-minute games), Michael Rohde (1-hour game), Alexey Dreev, Lubomir Ftacnik, Elisbar Ubilava, Joel Benjamin
(several blitz games and one tournament game which transposed into a dian Defense, one of the transpositional possibilities of The Tango), plus many International etc. There are several reasons that I have come to believe in the Some of them are sporting, and some are chess-related. First of the is virtually unknown to most players. Your opponent often starts thinking a long time after move two! Even if he solves all the problems of the opening, he may suffer from a time shortage in the With time controls getting faster and faster, this is very important. Secondly, original play starts right away. There are lots of undiscovered possibilities and opportunities for original play and that's one reason why people like to play chess in t he first place. The Tango is rich in both tactical and positional play, as well as maneuvering and improvising. Because a game may transpose into so many different systems (from the and dian to the Dutch and in one case even the King's Indian!), you never get bored by playing the same type of position every time you face Also you don't have to memorize lines 25-30 moves deep as in other openings. Another benefit of this monograph is that a player can gain some understanding of several chess openings from one source! Th e only shortcoming I know about this line of play is that you have to be flexible, and ready to play all of the above-mentioned systems. This does not mean that you have to study all these openings if you want to play The Tango, for only certain transpositions are possible and they will be covered in this work. For players who like to play blitz chess, The Tango gives amazing chances even against much stronger opponents, because with five minutes on the clock it is a very tough opening to face, even for a Master. The same thing may also be said about rapid chess (game/30 etc.). For those of you who will decide to include The Tango in your repertoire, I recommend practising it in speed chess for some time because some positions are very unusual and take a while to get used to. Georgi
International Master
The Black Knights Tango by IM Gcorgi Orlov
Part One
T
This opening, which has given excellent results to its pioneering practitioners, can transpose into the Nimzo-Indian, Bogo-Indian, the King's Indian Defenses or lead into original middle-game positions. Most of the time at Black's discretion. What is this opening that puts YOU in the driver's seat? None other than the following:
he Black Knights Tango is an opening which has thus far managed to evade the microscopic scrutiny of modern theoreticians. Even the En1.d4Nf6 2.c4Nc6!! cyclopedia of Chess Openings fails to give it the smallest mention. Most opening books these days do not explain to the average chessplayer why this or that move has actually been played but give a lot of variations instead. The drawback of this kind of opening "knowledge" is simple: when the opponent plays a move which has not been analyzed in the book many players get confused and have no idea what to do next. I will try to explain why things are done according to my understanding of chess. GM Joel Benjamin, in his July 1991 article in Chess Life, attributed this open"In our day, many strange things haping to the American player Alexander pen," noted the German chess magazine Kevitz (1902-1981) and to the Yugos- Deutsche Schachzeitung back in 1925! lavian Master Mihajlo Trajkovic; but no This provocative idea by Black is in games played by these players were given. reality quite simple. Black develops his In the tournament book of the BadenKnights and White is asked what he inBaden 1925 Tournament, translated and tends to do with his pawns. Will he try to published by Jimmy Adams, we dis"punish" Black by 3.d5 or will White covered the original name given this choose simple development? When conopening and the player who first played fronted with the choice, White almost alit. ways tries the latter, as the traps resulting The Black Knights Tango was from 3.d5 can lead White into immediate originally called The Mexican Defense! danger. Part One is devoted to the 3.d5 The first practitioner was none other center grab. than Carlos Torre, the most famous player Mexico has ever produced. Having played it, however, he soon dropped the line and enriched theory in One of the main ideas behind this other areas, most notably The Torre Atopening, borrowed from Alekhine's tack (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5). (Carlos Defense, is to provoke the White Torre is most remembered for his brilpawns forward and then attack them. This can be seen clearly after 3.d5, the liant Queen sacrifice which scored him a fine victory over then World Chammost obvious attempt to punish the pion Emanuel Lasker in Moscow, two Knight moves. But 3.d5 neglects 1925.) development.
steps . I believe White has four choices: !? b)4.Nc3 c)4.Qc2 d)4.b3?! a) 4e4!? Continuing to grab as much space as possibl e. T he text is White's most natural follow-up to his third move. The e-pawn is indirectly protected, for if 4...Nxe4?, then 5.0d4 wins a Knight. The move 4...Ng6 was criticized in the tournament bulletin of Baden-Baden 1925 by Toledo Velasco, who recommende d 4...e6 as best. His comment was reinforced by Jacques Mieses (18651954) in the Leipziger Neue Nachrichten based on the line: 4...Ng6 5.f4 e6 6.Bd3 exd5 7x5 Ne4 8.cxd5 Qh4 + 9.g3 Nxg3 10.Nf3 Qh5? ll.Rgl Nf5 12.Rg5, winning a piece. But why 10...Qh5? After 10...Qh3!? ll.Rgl Nh5 12.Bfl Qf5 Black is very much alive. Furthermore Black has an excellent reply in 9...Bb4! +, which will be covered below. Nonetheless, 4..x6! given by Toledo Velasco does seem to be more precise. The game continued: 5f4 e5?! 6.f5 Nxe4?
A) 3.d5 This move was played in the pioneer game Saemisch-Torre, Baden-Baden, 1925. 3...Ne5 The position has already become a tactical land mine. White has to take careful
White has reached a winning position but Saemisch was a notoriously slow player who once lost on time at move 13! White 's time trouble imparts a certain weirdness to the rest of the game. 14...Bc515.Be3 d6 16.Bxc5 dxc5 17.Nc3 Bf5 18.Bg2 O-O-O 19.g4? Bc2!? 20.Rcl Bb3 21.Ne4 b5
Draw agreed!?? A crazy game that raises a lot more question s than answers! In my view the Black e5-Knight is ideal so why should Black move the dancing horse if he isn't forced to? It's important not to do White's work for him! Let White create pawn weaknesses!
•
Since other Mexican players haven't taken up the torch of the Mexican Defense, this no-name opening has languished, rarely getting even an honorabl e mention. I hope to change that by first highlighting the defense with a catchy name. Thus The Black Knights Tango!
13.N d4 or 13.Rg5 winning the Black Que en. Black has to play 12...Bb4 with the idea of having ...Qe4+ as an esca pe. Now 13.Qd4 renews the thre at again. Here 13...Bxc3 + 14.bxc3 h6 saves the Queen but the Black pieces are not active. These lines convinced me that Black must have something better and after some searching I found 9...Bb4 + !!
A piece sacrifice designed to confuse Whit e. Inste ad of the sacrifice, Black has a much superior choice in 6...Bb4+, when White has a space advantage but nothing concrete. 7.QD! The best. This move was doubtlessly overl ooked by Black. Less convincing is 7.6xg6 Qh4 + 8.g3 Nxg3 9.gxf7 + Kxf7 10.hxg3 Qx hl l l. Qf 3 + Qxf3 12.Nxf3, which gives White a smaller edge. 7...Bb4+ 8.Kdl! Qh4 9.g3 Qg4 10.Qxg4 Nf2+ l l.K e2 Nxg4 12.h3 Nf6 13.fxg6 hxg6 14.a3
This final position is typical of the center grab lines. White has space, but Black has good piece play. I evaluate the position as dynamically equal. b)
4.Nc3
Now White has to choose between a) 10.Nd2, b) 10.Bd2 or c) 10.Nc3 because 10.Ke2(fl) is trashed by 10...Nxg3 +. a) 10.Nd2. This eventually loses to 10...Nxg3 ll.Ngf3 Qh5 12.Rgl Nxf4. b) 10.Bd2 Nxg3 ll. Nf3 Nxf4!! A proble m-like situation! If 12.Nxh4, then 12...Nxd3 mate! Also hopeless is 12.Bxb 4 Nxd3 + 13.Qxd3 Qxb4 +; 12.Bfl! is the only move and after 12.. .Ng2 + 13.Bxg2 Qe4 + 14.Kf2 Nx hl + 15.Bxhl Qxd5 the position is very sharp and interesting. c) 10.Nc3 Nxc3 ll.b xc3 Bxc3+ 12.Bd2 Bxd2 + 13.Qxd2 Qe7 14.Nf3 d6 and Black is fine. Back to the main continuation.
1.d4 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 3.d5 Ne5 4.e4 e6
5.f4 This move brings to mind the line in the Alekhin e's Defense: 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3x4 Nb6 4d4 d6 5.f4 and White fails as often as he succeeds in punishing Black for his brave play. 5...Ng6 6.Bd3 exd5 7.exd5 As already noted, 7x5 Ne4 8xxd5 Qh4+ 9.g3 Nxg3 10.Nf3 Qh3 ll.Rgl Nh5! is unclear, e.g. 12.Bfl Qf5 13.Bd3 leads to a draw. Even more crazy play arises after 12.Nc3 (instead of 12.Bd3). Now White threa tens
7...Bb 4+ 8.Bd2 Qe7+ 9.Kf1 Bxd2 10.Qxd2 Ne4
3
A positionally solid approach. It is no secret that it is impossible to win a chess game with pawns only so White wants to give some piece support to his advanced army. 4...e6 Capturing the c-pawn is very risky for Black. For example: 4...Nxc4 5x4 Nb6 6x5 Ng8 7.Nf3 d6 8. Bb5 + Bd7 9x 6! gives White a strong initiative. 5.e4 exd5 6.cxd5 Bc5 7.Be2
White has to rein in his ambitions. If 7.f4, then 7...Neg4 invites Black to a party that White is unprepared for. And 7.h3 d6 8.f4 Ng6 9.Nf3 Qe7 10.Bd3 O-O ll.Qe2 Nh5 counterattacking the f4pawn is good for Black. 7...d6 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Nxe5 Good for Black is 9.O-O Re8 10.Qc2 Nfg4! with fine piece play. 9..dxe5 10.O-O h6! Black has emerged from the opening in fine shape. c)
I.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.d5 Ne5 4.Qc2
4.Qc2 This Queen move covers the important squares c4 and e4 but neglects development and cannot be considered as a serious threat to Black's position.
d) l.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.d5 Ne5
4.b3?!
4...e6
White resigned. Hu ge material losses are inevitable. For instance, the following beautiful line was pointed out by NM Michael Franett. 9.0 Nf2! The brave Knight jumps into the enemy's camp! 10.Kxf2 Ng4+ ll.Kg 3, a desperate journey but ll.Kel loses to ll...Ne3, winning the Queen. ll... Bd6+ 12.Kxg4 Qf4 + 13.Kh3 Qh6 + 14.Kg4 f5 mate!
Bishop, White undercuts his chances for an opening advantage because of lack of prospects for his fianchettoed Bishop and Black's control of the dark squares. 5...Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2
Part Two: B) 3.g3 The Solid Fianchetto Line
In Akhsharumova-Sheremetieva, USSR 1984, BlacK tried 4...Ng6?! but after 5.Nc3 e5 6.e3!, with the idea of h2h4-h5, White was clearly better. Once again the importan ce of waiting for White to kick Black's prancers is revealed. 5.e4 b5!? An excellent gambit possibility which gives Black a strong initiative with the purpose of destroying White's advanced center. There are strong positional reasons in favor of 5...b5!? Black has already developed two pieces and ...Bb4 + and ...O-O is a matter of one second, so Black's development is much better. According to basic principles of strategy the best way to take advantage of that is to open the game and so Black does. I am convinced 5...b5!? is best. Also possible is the qu iet 5...Bc5 6.Nc3 d6 7.Be2 O-O with a reasonable game for Black. 6.dxe6 fxe6 7.cxb5 Bb7 8.Nc3 Bb4 9.f3 d5 l0.exd5 exd5 ll.Bd2 d4
Probably the weakest move. The shortcoming of this try is that White's position becomes vulnerable to various tactics on the a5-e1 and a1-h8 diagonals. There are two games that have been played with this line. The first one was played between Frank Marshall and Carlos Torre on a ship while traveling from Europe to America in 1925 and was published by a Latvian chess magazine. Torre played here: Another try, 5.ND, was played in Balmazi-Orlov, G/30, World Open 1991. After 5...Nxf3+ 6.gxf3 exd5 7xxd5 Bb4 +, White lost a pawn and eventually the game. The best here is 5.dxe6 fxe6 6.Nf3 Nxf3 + 7.gxf3 but after 7...Bb4 + 8.Bd2 a5 Black stands better because White's pawn structure is quite compromised. 5...Bb4+ 6.Nd2?? I presume that the tactical genius Marshall was suffering from sea-sickness, otherwise he would have played 6.Nc3. However, after 6...Ne4 7.Qd4 Nxc3 8.Bxc3 Bxc3 + 9.Qxc3 Qf6 Black has no reason to complain. 6...Ne4 8.Bcl Qf6
T
he lines in Part One showed that after 3.d5 Black has at least fair counterplay and real chances to exploit White's extended center. But my experience has been that 3.d5 is the most unlikely choice from White. Faced with an opening for the first time, most players are afraid of falling into a trap. They glance at a few wild variations and quickly move on to more solid continuations. What could be more solid than fianchettoing a Bishop? Part Two focuses on the line: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.g3
This continuation hasn't been seriously tested in competition but nevertheless deserves attention. The main drawback of White's solid approach is that it allows Black to strike with 3...e5, favorably resolving the center dispute. 3...e5 4.d5 Bb4 + Now White has two choices: A) 5.Bd2 and B) 5.Nd2.
A)5.Bd2
The gambit has worked out well. Black has good counterplay for the pawn.
This line is less ambitious than 5.Nd2. White just wants to finish developing his pieces the most n atural and fastest way. I feel that by trading his dark-squared
Both sides are finishing their development and now Black has to commit to some plan. Playing for the dark squares seems quite logical and also important to stop White's queenside attack with b2-b4 and c4-c5. Therefore: 9...Nd7!? 10.O-O a5 11.e4 Nc5 The Knight has ascended to his perfect square. 12.Nel f 5 Black has managed to achieve a King's Indian pawn structure and the counterplay that goes with it minus the usual dark-squared Bishop liability. I like Black's position. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.g3 e5 4.d5 Bb4 +
11.Bel
B)5.Nd2 In Pupols-Orlov, Oregon Open 1991, White tried 6.Nxd2 and I replied 6...Nb8 preparing for dark-square play. (6...Ne7 deserves equal attention as the Knight on e7 supports ...f7-f5. He re is a sample line: 7.Bg2 d6 8.Ngf3 O-O 9.O-O a5!? Always an important move in th ese kinds of positions since it prevents b2-b4. 10.e4 Nd7 !?-g oing to c5. Black has a reasonable game.) Back to Pupols-Orlov: 7.e4 d6 8.Bg2 Na6 9.Ne2 Nc5 10.O-O a5. After giving away his King Bishop, Black tries to get a hold on some dark squares. White now plays to exchange the c5-Knight: ll.Nc3 O-O 12.Nb3 b6 13.Nxc5 bxc5 14.Qd3 Bd7. Now Black plans to double his Rooks on the b-file and force White to play b2-b3 when by playing ...a5-a4 he will create a serious weakness in White's pawn structure. 15.f4 Qe7 16.Racl Rfb8 17.Rc2 Rb4 18.h3. White has no good active plan because an attack with f4-f5 can easily be stopp ed with ...h7-h6, ...Nf6h7, and ...f7-f6. 18...Rab8 19.Rff2 h6 20.N dl?! This is only helping Black. 20...Ba4 21.b3 Bd7 and Black was fine. 6...Ne7 7.Bg2 d6 8.Nc3 O-O 9.Nf3
to play ...f7-f5 expanding the f8-Rook's horizons with some attacking chances involving ...f5-f4 later on, but if now 10...Ne8? White plays 11.h4 and if 11...f5 then 12.h5 Ne7 13.h6 g6 14.Ng5 and Black is in trouble on the kingside. 10... Ne4!? Attacking the Bishop and preparing ...f7-f5 at the same time. This also contains a drop of poison. If ll.Nxe5? to meet ll...Nxe5? 12.Bxe4 Nxc4 by 13.Bxh7 + Kxh7 14. Qc2+ and Qxc4, Black has a nice reply in ll...Nxf2! Now if 12.Rxf2, 12...Nxe5 gives Black a great position. The same holds after 12.Nxf7 Rxf7 13.Rxf2 Rxf2 14.Kxf2 Qf6 + 15.Kgl Qxb2. White wants to keep his Bishop since having two of them is the main idea behind playing 5.Nd2 in the first place. 11.h4 is not so powerful here: ll...Nxd2 12.Qxd2 h6 (it is important not to let a pawn get to h6) 13.h5 Ne7 14.Nh2 (stopping ...Bg4, as 14.Nh4 Bg4 15.Bf3 Qd7 is good for Black) 14...a5. Black wants to fix the queenside . 15.b3 Nf5 16.e3 Bd7. Play seems to be equal here. 11...f5
With 5.Nd2 White wants to win the two Bishops and is willing to spend some time on the project. This is more promising than 5.Bd2 but I think that Black's chances for an equal game are good because in a closed position Knights are no worse than Bishops. 5...Ne7 6.Nf3 Grabbing the two Bishops at once with 6.a3 Bxd2 + 7.Bxd2 d6 8.Bg2 O-O 9.Nf3 Ne4! 10.O-O f5 results in equality. 6...Ng6 Not falling into the transparent trap 6...d6?? 7.Qa4 +, winning a piece. 7.a3 White would overreach with the dubious idea 7.h4? e4! 8.Nd4 e3! 9.fxe3 Ne4, when Black has a marvelous attack. With the text, White gains his coveted two Bishops. 7...Bxd2+ 8.Bxd2 d6 9.Bg2 O-O
10.O-O Again both sides have finished their development and Black faces some difficult decisions. A typical plan with ...a7a5 and ...Nf6-d7-c5 will not work here because of b2-b4. It is impo rtant for Black
5
Black has adequate counterplay for the two Bishops. As you probably have noticed, Black sometimes achieves a Dutch Defense-like pawn structure (pawn chain d6, e5, f5), but unlike the Dutch, here White does not have a serious initiative in the center or on the queen side. Basically, by playing 3.g3 White shows that he does not want to be involved in a theoretical opening dispute.
Part Three: White Allows 3...e5 The Fluid C) 3.Nc3
P
art Three deals with White's fundamental which Knight to develop first, the Queen's Knight or the King's? Part Three examines 3.Nc3 in detail, covering a lot of interesting ground. Don't be too dismissive of this treatment by White, as you might land in hot water very quickly!
C) 3.Nc3
3.Nc3 is undoubtedly much more aggressive than B) 3.g3. White shows his readiness to jump into sharp lines against The Tango. This way of attack is better prepared than A) 3.d5 and White captures a lot of space in all lines but there is something in Black's favor. In a King's Indian type of pawn chain he does get to trade his often "bad" dark-squared Bishop tor White's Knight on c3 (which protects e4) and often with damage to White' s pawn structure. Plus there are no lines here like those in the KID where White keeps unpleasant tension in the c enter while maintaining a pawn on d4. I have had great practical success with the Black pieces in this line. 3...e5 Black takes advantage of this opportunity to break in the center. Black can also take his share of the center in a very different way with 3...d5. which leads to a transposition into the Variation of the Queen's Gambit. this may or may not be your cup of it is an indication of the versatility of the Black Knights Tango. White be prepared for a lot of different opening salvos, while Black gets to call the shots.
4.d5 In Seattle, Yasser played: 4.dxe5 Nxe5 5.e3 Bb4 6.Bd2 7.a3 Be7 8.NG 66 9.Be2 Be6 10.b3 d5 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Qc2 c6 and the game is absolutely even. After the game transposes into a of the English: e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 Nc6 4.d4, which theory considers equaJ. Let's take a look at the game Raptis Portland, G/30, 1991: 4...exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.g3 d5 7.Bg2 Black does not have to defend the d5square! Nxd4 9.Qxd4 c5 10.Qh4 d4 I decided to go for the endgame as 10...dxc4 is met by ll.Nd5 Nxd5 12.Qxd8 Rxd8 13.Bxd5 Bh3 Also a good move. Now if 14.Bxb7 then 14...Bxfl 15.Bxa8 Bxe2 and the dpawn makes all the difference. Be6 15.e4 I was prepared to meet 15.Bxb7 with 15...Rb8 and now if 16.Ba6? then 16...Rb6 17.Bb5 a6 18.Ba4 Bxc4 and Black is on top. 15...Bxd5 16.exd5 b5 and Black was fine. On 4.e3 exd4 5.exd4 d5, or 4.dxe5 Nxe5 5.e4 Bc5, in both cases Black has an easy game.
This is the key position for Part Three. White has four major alternatives: A) B) and the main line After 5.g3 or 5.Nf3 play could easily lead into the King's Indian complex.
A) 5.g3 Here Black has a choice between going into of the main lines of the KID or independent line 5...Ng6!?
6
prancer severely limited. Black can still try to fight with 7...Bb4, when the outcome of the opening is unclear, but in this line I have to give White a small plus. For that reason, most players are advised to transpose to the KID by: g6 Bg7
5...d6 6.Bg2 g6 Bg7 Leads to a main line Kings Indian. Importantly, this option of a KID is Black's choice. Available practice 5.g3 contains two games played by Alex Yermolinsky in which he stepped the KID line cited above and contin ued 5...Ng6!? with original play. I introduced Alex to the Tango during some opening preparations at the 1991 World Open. He played it twice and won both games against strong Russian Masters!
World Open 1991:
Nf6 2x4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7 One of the most important ideas of the Tango is the fast development of all your pieces! I don't understand this move since if White wants to achieve anything he has to play e4. 8...d6 9.Nge2 The move ...a7-a5 is important for Black. It prepares a way back for the Bishop in face of a2-a3, expands a Rook, and makes ...a5-a4, fixing the queenside, a possibility. Nd7! Another important reply. The Knight unlocks the f-pawn and then goes to c5 where it influences both the center and the queenside. 12.Be3 It was too late to play 12.a3 here. After 12...Bxc3 13.Nxc3 a4! 14.Bc3 Nb3 15.Rbl Bd7, Black has an easy game. 12...f5 and Black has achieved excellent play. In Georgadze-Yermolinsky, World Open 1991, White tried to improve with 7.Qc2 instead of 7.Bd2 but after 8.Bd2?! (8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 d6 [ 10.e4 a5 c6 12.Ne2 13.cxd5 a4! gives Black a good game because he takes control of the and his light-squared Bishop gets the good diagonal e8-a4. plus White falls behind in development] 10...a5 Ne4 f5 with counterplay for Black) S...d6 (8...c6!? was more aggressive) (White does not develop his pieces! Better 9.a3 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Bd7, which leads to roughly equal play) 9...Ne7! 10.a3 Bxc3 ll.Bxc3 b5!
Analysis Diagram Let's stop for a moment to analyze what's going on. After 11 moves Black has castled and built a strong position in the center, while by comparison White has made many pawn moves, won the two Bishops but neglected developTherefore Black has strong positional reasons to open up the game. It is necessary to mention that Black also has the quieter 12.dxc6 (12.e4 cxd5 Ng4 followed by ...f7-f5 gives Black strong kingside play) 12...Nxc6 13.Nf3 Be6 14.b3 h6 leading to equal chances for both sides.
12.cxb5 creates a weak pawn after 12...bxc4 13.bxc4 and an excellent squa re for Black's Knight. For in stance, 14.e4 Bf5) 14...Nd7 15.Ne2 Nc5 f5 and Black has a great game. 12...Nfxd5 Now Black wants to get all pieces off the hl-a8 diagonal and open the for his Rook. 13...Nxc3 Of course, 14Ng5 is met by 14...Bf5. 14...Rb8 15.a4 a6! and Black has the better game. After A) 5.g3, Black has the option of choosing a main line KID or playing originally. The move 5.g3 isn't very forcing and is unlikely to cause Black any real trouble. NP6 2.c4 Nc6 e5 4.d5 Ne7 This move is more troublesome. Now Black is obligated to go into one of the lines of the King's 5...d6 Now this move seems mandatory. is very risky because of 6.h4!. when t>...h5 is strongly met by intending S.e3 and leaving the
Even though you have been into playing into the diagrammed position, take heart! Think of how many of the normal challenges to the KID that you've been able to avoid. Perh aps your opponent doesn't even play the Classical line against the KID. Perhaps prefer to play a Saemisch, a Four Pawns Attack , or an Averbakh System. Much like you, he has also been tricked into the diagrammed position. Use this to your advantage! You can specializ e in one King's Indian line and almost assuredly be better prepared than your opponent. White has another interesting alternative: Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7
has really only one idea behind it and cannot promise White any advantage. Beset with a new problem, Black rose to the occasion. 5...Neg8!! This idea belongs to the Moldavian Master Viacheslav Chebanenko, as do many other original opening ideas. Now the Bishop is unlocked and the Knight has changed his route, killing the purpose of h2-h4. How about development? Both sides have developed only one piece but the advanced White pawns will soon require close attention. a6 Very original opening play. Black prepares a way back for the King Bishop because 6...Bc5 is met by 7.Na4! 6...a5 also deserves consideration. White has some choice here: a) 7.ND, or b) 7.e3. a) Ng4! Another move against all the but the Knight feels comfortable on g4 because there is no h2-pawn! Along with that, Black prepares ...f7-f5 and ...Ngf6, plus he sets a little trap: 8.e4?? Bc5! 8.e3 f5 9.Be2 N8f6 Black is okay because he has easy develop ment and clear play. For instance: 10.Qc2 d6 ll.Ng5 ! Qe7 12X3 Nh6 13.Bd2 g6 Bg7 15.Kbl Bd7 with dynamic equality. b)7.e3
C) 5.h4!?
This approach was played in GorniakChebanenko, USSR 1984. The idea is to meet with forcing the Knight to dance once more. Now Black has to dramatically change his plans to make h2-h4 less useful. This pawn push
This move lets Black's dark-squared Bishop out, so it is not as good as 8.b4 Ba7 d6, intending and 12...N8f6, SedrakianSosonkin, USSR 1986. position is perfectly satisfactory. This brines us to the main line of Part Three: 2x4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7
D) 5.e4
Larry prepares aggression with h2� h4�h5, but I don't have weaknesses there!
White has captured a lot of space with 5.e4, trying to play by classical opening principles (if you have a chance to estab� lish a it!), but he weakens his dark squares. Again, Black has a choice between playing a normal King's Indian with ...d7�d6 and ...g7�g6 or trying to play on the dark squares. I like the latter op� tion.
5...Ng6 Surprisingly, my praxis is full of games from this position. Let' s look at: I) 6.Be3, II) 6.a3, III) 6.Bd3, and the most dangerous move IV) 6.h4!?
This move is out of contact with reality as White has no chance to succeed with this plan. bxc5 Ne7 16.h6 g6 17.Qg5 Continuing his "attacking" strategy. Here was necessary. Nc6! Forcing White into an endgame be� cause if then 19...Na5 with threats like ...Ba6 and ... Rβ. 19.Qxd8 Nxd8 Nf7 Black has a large advantage and won handily. As we saw, 7.Bd3 didn't work out so well. was played in U.S. Open 1991. Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7 Ng6 6.Be3 Bb4
fce4 Bh3 + Falling into a little trap but the game was already difficult for White. 18.Qd2? Qxa2! 19.Rbl?? + 0�1 White's plan with takes too much time and Black has an easy game. In the two examples cited above White's doubled queenside pawns were terrible. Let's see someone stop the of 6...Bb4 and ...Bb4xc3. In Shahade� World Open G/30, White prevented ...Bb4: 2.c4 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7
Black would be better anyway. 14.Bb2 Be3! 15.Qxd8 16.Rdl tries to lessen the pressure by trading pieces but lack of the in the area is very significant. 17.Nxf4 Doesn't change a thing. If 17.Ncl,then 17...Rxdl+ 18.Nxdl 19.Bxcl and Black wins. 18.e5 A desperate try. 19.Nxd5 Rxd5 Bxd5 Nothing can prevent ...Ra2. 0�1 As bad as the above game was, White had a far greater disaster in Portland 1991, where 6.Bd3 was tried: III) 6.Bd3
Unfortunately the "normal" 7...Bb4 would be met by but Black should not complain. The Bishop has plenty of work on the a7�gl diagonal. 8.Be2
I)6.Be3
Typical. White prevents ...Bb4 but now Black can take over the a7�gl� diagonai.
White tries to prevent ...Bc5 and plans to build a strong Saemisch�like center but he gives Black a chance to damage his pawn structure. This was first played against me in San Francisco1991. Bxc3 + d6 The position that has resulted relates to both the KID and the Black's plan is to castle, play support with ...b7�b6 and then break with If White Black con� centrates his pressure on the play with h2�h4 and g2�g4 is met by Nd7 ll.Qd2 b6
A dangerous mistake. The developing moves 10.Bd3 and Ne2 were necessarv.
Not the best. The text preven ts b2�b4 but the a7�gl�diagonal is more important. I was mistakenly afraid to play 6...Bc5!? because of 7.b4 Bd4 8.Nge2, but what I missed was 8...Nxe4!!, hitting f2 and c3 and after 9.Nxe4 10.Bg5 f6 gxf6 f5, Black's superiority is ob� vious. 7.Rbl? My opponent missed 7.Be3 d6 and White would be clearly better. 8.b4 axb4 Bd4 c5!? Trying to hold on to d4.
As the frees the f� pawn and goes to c5! Uxxd6cxd6 Black's game is his d7�Knight gets his perfect square, the Queen Rook gets play on the c�file and the other Rook will have the after ...f7�f5 is played. Nc5 He should castle
Suddenly White's position looks suspicious. Black has developed almost all his pieces, controls the and has tangible pressure on White's center. 13x5 After 13 moves(!) Black has developed all his pieces and among the various threats has Now White should have played 14.Bd2, but after 14...b6
This pawn move is a bit better than 7.Bd3 as after ....d7�d6 White has to play anyway in order to prevent ...Nf6�g4, plus it gives White a chance to get rid of the weak c�pawn. But then Black benefits from the open c�file. 9 x5 White rids himself of the weak pawn on c4.
8
A stormy pawn move that is not really dangerous because of counterplay on t he a7�gl diagonal and the possibility of developing some pressure against the pawn by playing ...Bb4. 6...h5 7.Bg5 White tries to play all over the board. The danger of such play is that Black can counterstrike somewhere in between White's outspread army. After 7.Nf3 Bc5 8.Bg5 c6 9.Qc2 Qa5 10.Bxf6 Black's activity fully com� pensates for the structural weaknesses in his position.
A natural move which protects the e4�pawn and prepares Nge2 in case of ...Bb4. Black's counterplay remains the same as before Bishop goes to c5, and maybe later ...c7�c6. 7.Nge2?? While trying to place all his pieces har� moniously, White misses a cheapo! Huge losses are inevitable. Of course, 7.Nge2?? was a horrible blunder, but even after the The dark�squared Bishop is a very valuable piece in Black's plans so it has to be preserved and Black prepares a way back for the Bishop in case of Na4. Another possibility is 9...h6 with the idea ...Nh7�g5 playing on the kingside. In either case Black has a fine game.
This is a critical position. White has played consistently and is prepared to capture the It turns out to be inedible! 9.Bxh5? Rxh5! 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 Qxf2 + is good for Black. d6 Bd4 Black is better.
Now,
ll the above lines are not of course! Our goal is to show that
A
9
International Master Black's position is full of counterchances. In general 3.Nc3 leads to very original and interesting play. Attempts to punish Black (especially with h2�h4) can be suc� cessfully neutralized. There are a lot of options for an original player to exercise his or her tactical abilities and plenty of possibilities for adventurous players to come up with new ideas. As for myself, I like the idea of Nc6�e7�g6, concentrating pieces for kingside play. Considering the first three parts together, Black proved tactically and positionally that the idea of Nf6 2x4 Nc6 is as good as any other opening scheme. Now we move to Part Four which is most challenging and crucial for The Tango because does not seek im� mediate tactical victory but seeks to get a positional edge and slowly capitalize on it. Black has to be patient in these lines but ready to counterattack at any mo� ment. There are a lot of transpositions possible, so your mind has to be quite flexible. One thing is for sure, you never get bored! Good luck!
Part Four D) The Main Line Nf6 2x4 Nc6
D)
B
y far the most common continuation. Usually is the choice of an experienced chessplayer who avoids opening experiments and can easily imagine the complexity of lines like 3.d5 Ne5 or 3.Nc3 e5. is a solid line that does not hope for immediate opening victory, but instead builds for a middlegame in which he hopes to take advantage of Black's lack of a c-pawn in the center. is also a temporary prevention of ...e7-e5. However, available practice has proven that Black has several resources of counterplay and is able to achieve equal chances. The lack of a c-pawn in the central fight is compensated for by the quick development of all Black's pieces and his healthy pawn structure. Also, after some preparation, Black will play ...eo-e5, freeing his light-squared Bishop. Play now becomes very tricky with transposition into openings possible at several junctures. As before, Black usually decides which variation he'd like to transpose into. Black has two paths to choose from 3...e6. will focus upon 3...e6.
3...e6 After 3...d6, the game transposes into a sort of Indian Defense. This plan has been successfully used by GMs Jonathan and Tony Miles. We will follow 3...e6, as it involves more positional plans. The move 3...e6 is the first step in the following strategic plan: 1) to play ...Bb4 and trade the Bishop
for White's Bishop, or a Knight; 2) after exchanging the dark-squared Bishop to play ...d7-d6 and Black gives room to his light-squared and builds a positionally healthy center. 3) if White then closes the game by Black has the traditional method of counterplay in ...f7-f5. Barring this, Black has another plan in ...a7-a5, ...Nb8a6-c5 along with ...c7-c6. Sometimes Black can even combine both plans. After the text White has played:
Dl D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7
(?) 4.Bf4 (?!) 4.Bg5 4.g3 4.Nc3 4.a3 4.e3
If White takes a pawn with U.Qxd6 then and ...Nf5. I did not like here 12.Bg5 and if 13...Qe7 then 14.Kfl! 12.Qxd6 + Kxe7 14.Ba3 + d6 Be6 Also possible was fortifying the Black, with his material advantage, stands better. This was confirmed in Moscow 1986, because 16.Ba6? is met by the simple 17...Nd8, keeping the extra loot. 2x4 Nc6 e6
D2) 4.Bf4?!
Nf6 2x4 Nc6 3.NG e6
Dl) 4.d5?
The tempting 4.d5? fails to: + ! Black soon snares a pawn! A trap worth remembering. The only way available for White here. Since the pawn loss is inevitable, he hopes to get some compensation with the help of the Bishop pair and some space advantage. Evidently some compensation is achievable but insufficient. 9.bxc3 Nf6 10.d6!? White tries to disorganize the Black pieces. No better is 10.c4, as after ll.Bd3 d6 c5 White does not have sufficient compensation for the pawn, Nesterov-Sosonkin, Minsk 1986.
10
Played in Seattle 1991. The idea of 4.Bf4?! is to prevent ...e6e5, but this proves to be impossible. 4...Bb4 + 5.Nbd2 d6 6.e3 e5! 7.Bg5 Recognizing the failure of 4.Bf4 because 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 is met by 8...Ne4! Bg4! winning. This note shows that even GMs can fall for traps when confronted with a defense for the first time. 9.d5 Bxd2 + Black avoids a little trap. If 9...Nb8, then of course 10.Qa4 + winning a piece. 10.Nxd2 If White takes 10.Qxd2 then 10...e4! ll.Bd3 15.Rbl Qe5?! Black had to accept the offer 14...Qxa3!, asking White to prove the soundness of his sacrifice. White has captured a lot of space but Black's position remains solid. Despite the final it is clear that D2) 4.Bf4 is not a serious threat. The next try by White is:
D3) 4.Bg5
13.dxe6 fxe6 14.Bbl White has prepared everything for a attack but Black has not been wasting time. 14...Be8! 15.Nd4 Qd7 Bg6 The danger on the bl-h7 diagonal has been neutralized. Black has control over the and the dark-squared Bishop will be making a difference soon. Now back to the main alternatives after
according to Goldin and Yermolinsky. The simple 6...Bb4 followed by ...d7-d6 and ...e6-e5 was best. Also 6...g6!? followed by ...Bg7 was a reasonable possibility. 7.e3 Bg7 8.Bd3 d6 Bd7?! Goldin recommends as best. The text is a typical prophylactic measure against ...Nb4 and also White keeps the option of b2-b4.
After the position is equal. Black has a strong center and is easily neutralized by White plays the Black Knight gets the excellent square d4.
White faces serious problems getting the Knight out He decides to get back to 15.Bcl Another plan worth trying was 15...h5! 16.e3 h4 with initiative. 16.e3 Bf5 17.Na3 Bd6 And Black had the better game.
D4) 4.g3 Unlike the above the developing move 4.Bg5 is really playable. A drawback is that after 4...h6 White has to give up his dark-squared Bishop or go into the ultra-sharp 5.Bh4 g5 6.Bg3 B b4+ where the advantage of the first move has no importance at all. This move was first tried in Dzandzgava-Goldin, World Open 1991. 4...b6 After 5.Bh4 g5! 6.Bg3 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Ne4 we have a direct transposition to the line 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6.
White forgets about developing his pieces. The logical was better. ll...Nxe5 c6 13.a4?! I was prepared to play and then developing some pressure on the The te xt prevents this but gives away the
The fianchetto is always a solid choice. Now the game often transposes into the Bogo-Indian Defense or the Catalan. Sharp lines are quite rare; mostly both sides try to each other. I will try to add some new ideas to existing theoretical lines. I believe 4...Bb4 + is the best continuation against 4.g3 but 4...d5 was tried in Seattle 1991. 4...d5 5.cxd5?! 5.Bg2 is better because now Black's light-squared Bishop gets too much freedom. + I like this move. It is very often played in Tango lines. There are several reasons why this move is good. First of all it gives solid protection to the Bishop and if White plays Bxb4, after ...axb4 the a8Rook gets an open file and the a2-pawn be weak. Another important point is that if White plays a2-a3, Black's Bishop can retreat or capture on d2 and then Black often plays ...a5-a4, White's queenside and the Black Knight on c6 also gets squares on c4 and b3. 9Bf4 Ne4! Black prevents the Knight from coming to c3. 10.a3 Be7 11
Variations after 5.Nc3 will be analyzed in D5. After 5.Bd2 a well-known position from the arises which will be analyzed later. Now we focus attention on the lesser-known 5.Nbd2. Once again White wants to trade his Knight for Black's dark-squared Bishop. Black's play now has to be in the center because the has lost its protection and White is behind in development. Now we have D41 6.Bg2 and D42 6.0c2. 6.Bg2
6.a3 was played in 1991: 6.a3 Be7 I had in mind a transposition into Dutch-like play with ...Nf6-e4 and Also deserving of some attention 6...Bxd2+ and if then 8.Qc2 9.Bg2 a5!? (with the idea of fixing the queenside with ...a5-a4) 10.b3 f5 Bd7 with the idea of ...Bd7-e8-h5. 7.Qc2 dxc4 8.Qxc4 Qd5 This unlocks Black's light-squared Bishop and gives Black a slightly better ending. 9.Bg2 Rd8 would be about equal.. 9...exd5 10.b4 If 10.Bg2, then 10...a5! fixing the queenside. ll.Bg2 In the postmortem we both believed this move was the reason for all the troubles White later got into. Necessary was and if as in the game, then 12.b5 Na7 13.Ne5! and White is fine. The possession of the plus the will make all the difference. White cannot hold onto the c-file because of his weak 17.Rfcl Nb4 18.Nel 19.Bxcl For 19.Rxcl I had prepared 19...Rc8! and after Bxc8 and ...Bc8-d7 winning the The text is also hopeless. 19...Rc8 Nc2 21.Nxc2 Rxc2 Now threats like ...Be7-b4 and ...Nf6g4 were inevitable and White goes in for a desperate try. 22.e4 dxe4 and Black easily won the endgame. After 6.Bg2, there are two paths from which Black can choose, A) and B) First we will see what is offerred by theory. The position that has occurred is known in the Catalan. A) Setting a dangerous trap. If here the naive 7...Nxd4?, then 8.Nxd4 Qxd4 9.Qa4 +, winning a piece. 7...c3 8.Nc4 cxb2 9.Bxb2 10.Qb3 Be7 I don't like this move. My recommendation is 10...a5 and if then and Black has a reasonable game. ll.Rfdl White has sufficient compensation for the USSR
1947. It is hard to argue with that. I suggest instead of 6...dxc4 the continuation ... B) The idea is that after Black can play Transposing into a kind of Dutch Defense. A key idea behind this is that although the Bishop on b4 often has to the loss of time will be counterbalanced by the passive position of the White Knight on d2 and lack of pressure on the d5-square. Now we have D411 8.Qc2 and D412 9.b4?! D411 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 3.ND + d5 6.Bg2 It is a very important point of Black's strategy to prevent the thrust b2-b4, which would capture a lot of space. 10.b3 With the idea of ...Bd7-e8-h5. Black has a good game. D412 9.b4?! White takes action on the queenside without suitable preparation. lO.Qel (Here ll.Bb2 is met by ll...Na4)
developed.) 14.b5 a4 axb3 16.cxb7 In case of 16.Nxb3 Black plays 16...bxc6 17.D Ng5! because if 17...Nd6 then 18.c5 Nc4 19.f4 blocking the position. After 17...Ng5 White has no such chance because 18.c5 is met by ...e5! 16...Bxb7 17.Nxb3 Ba6 18.Na5 c5 Black has good counterplay due to his strong as he does after 16.cxd5 exd5 17.Nxb3 bxc6, and if 18.Na5 then 18...C5. In addition to featured in the Makogonov-Kasparian game, ECO recommends 6.Qc2 but does not provide any variations (the game developed as a Catalan; do not think that ECO has anything to say about Nf6 2.c4 Nc6!). D42 2x4 Nc6 3.ND Bb4 + 6.Qc2 We feel that now White has fallen behind in development and Black can take advantage of this fact. For instance: 6...dxc4 7.Qxc4 Qd5 There is no hope of any advantage for White. If... 8.Qd3 Better is 8.Qxd5 exd5 with equal play. Now after White has either 9.Bg2 9.Bg2 Rd8
e5!
but no more than that.
D5) 4.Nc3 The main line here is 4...Bb4 because after 4...d5?! 5.Bg5 the game transposes into The Queen's Gambit and a Knight on c6 does not make much sense.
Again, 16...Bg6 was a must. I was attracted here to a combination with ...Nxf2 and wanted to push the Bishop out of protecting the e3-square. 17.Bb2 Qg5
By a transposition of moves we have now arrived at the Ac ECO, this particular line favors White. We will offer some new ideas for the second player that may provide a remedy. White has four moves to choose from here. We will conside r: D52 D53 5.Bg5 D54 5.Qc2 The fifth option is 5.e3, which transposes into the Ragozin variation, which lies outside the scope of this article. However, here is a sample game where White tried this option. San Diego Open, 1992) Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4
tf Also 5...Bxc3 + 6 .bxc3 d6 deserve s very serious attention.
13.cxd5 exd5 With even play. Instead of 13.cxd5, White can also try to protect the with 13.Qe2. In this case Black would play 13...a5! 14.b5 a4! axb3, achieving a marvelous game. Also good for Black is after which 13...a5! (As in the first line with Black wants to destroy White's pawn chain while his opponent is under-
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All the White pieces are pinned and Black has a decisive initiative. Or Bxd2+ 10.Bxd2 e5 U.dxe5 White has to take, otherwise e5-e4. Again with an excellent game for Black as met by 13...Ng4! or if then On the better 7.Bg2!? (instead of 7.Qxc4 after 6...dxc4) Black has 7...Bxd2 + 8.Qxd2 Rb8 b5. White has sufficient compensation for the pawn,
12.Be2 Based on a miscalculation. Instead 12...Bg4 13.d5 (after 13.dxe5 dxe5 Ne4! and ...f7-f5 Black has a nice position) 13...Nb8 Bh5 (the aggressive 15g4 is properly met by 15...Ne4! 16.0cl Bg6 17.h4 h5!) would have given Black good play. 13.Qc2 Bf5 14.Bd3 exd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4?! This makes things even wors e. 15...Bg6 was a necessity. If then 16.Nxc6 bxc6, Black will have some counterplay on the
Interesting 6...a5!? the idea of meeting 7.a3 with 7...Bxc3 + 8.Qxc3 a4!? Bxc3 8.Qxc3 a5! 9.b3 e5! 10.Bb2 White correctly declined the offered pawn. After 10.dxe5 dxe5 ll.Nxe 5 Nxe5 Re8 Black has a strong attack because White has developed only his Queen! ll.Rdl!? Lines like ll...Bg4 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Be2 were not attractive at all as the tandem Qc3 + Bb2 looked very impressive. I decided to hold on to
gives White a small advantage but I would like to dispute this. 6.bxc3 Now theory gives 6...d6?! 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Ne4 10.Nd2!? (this sets the trap 10...Nxc3?? ll.Qc2 and the Knight is lost) 10...Nxd2 ll.Qxd2 f5 Qf6 13.e3 slightly favoring White. Instead of the passive 6...d6 we Equally interesting is 6...h6!, preventing an unpleasant pin. Now if 7.e3, then after 7...d6 8.Bd3 e5 9.Nd2 Black's position looks okay. 7.Qa4 The other option does not promise much. After 7.e3 bo 8.Bd3 Ba6, Black holds the initiative. The idea 8.c5?! is met by 8...Ne4 here and 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.cxb6 cxb6 Black has a serious initiative. 8...Ba6 9.e3 h6 Black dominates after 10.Bh4 g5! 10...Qxf6 ll.Ne5
12.Bd3 Bb7
The present situation looks safe for Black.
My miscalculation was that I would be able to play 17...Nxf2 here but I realized to my horror that after 18.Qxf2 Qxe3 + 19.Be2 Bg4 (if 19...Qxb3, then Bg4 winning) Qe4 21.Qg3!! + (21...f6 22.Bxf6! gxf6 f5 24.h3 winning a piece; 21...Bxe2?? 22.Qxg7 mate) 22.Kf2 23.Qxg4 g6 24.Qf4, White's attack is winning. Bg6 White has a serious advantage. But despite the final position, 5.e3 cannot be considered as a serious threat to Black's defense, because as already noted 12...Bg4 instead of 12...Ne4 would have given Black a very good game. Nf6 2x4 Nc6
4.Nc3 Bb4
D51 + According to ECO this continuation
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This time the fianchetto does not seem very strong because Black has powerful counterplay against the damaged White queenside but of course it has to be taken seriously in any event. This is an improvement over 6...Rb8 7.Bg2 b6 Bab, as in Popov-Gur USSR 1980, which was won by White. 7.Bg2 Bb7 If 8.Ne5 then 8...Nxe5! 9.Bxb7 Nxc4 10Bxa8 Qxa8 Qc6, and Black has
compensation for the material deficit, due to the inactivity of the White Rooks and the well-placed Knight on c4. 9.Nd2 9...Bxg2 d6 Also, 10...d5 deserved close attention. 11x4 Qd7 And Black doesn't have any problems. If White pushes hard with 12.f4, for instance, then 12...h5 followed by queenside castling. D53 5.Bg5
The most aggressive approach. Now we have a situation which can be compared to the line Nf6 2x4 eo b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5. The difference is that the Knight on c6 can participate in a counterattack. 5...h6 6.Bh4 Of course, 6.Bxf6 7.e3 d6 8.Bd3 e5 gives Black easy play. 7.Bg3 Ne4 Now White has to choose between: D531 8.Rcl D532 8.Qc2 D533 8.Qd3 D531 8.Rcl A natural reaction. have much to do on
Rook did not
This plan revolves around play with so the Knight needed protection. In the game USSR 1986, Black tried another plan: 8...Qf6. After 9.e3 d6 Black wants to castle queenside as soon as possible and then attack with 10. Bd3 Bxc3 + Nxg3 Bd7 Very weU played! The text prevents and prepares Here I should have played 13...Qe7, preventing c4-c5.
14.c5! Qe7 15.Nb3 Kb8 16.Rbl Ka8. Black has escaped to a corner and is ready to meet an attack. White should have played 17.Qe2 with slightly better chances. Instead, now 17.Qcl? h5!? (I could not miss this chance for counterplay!) 18.Qa3 gxh4. It is clear now that White cannot succeed on the queenside without help from a second Rook but he does not have time to bring it over. Nxa5 21.Qxa5 Bc6 22.cxd6 Qxd6, and Black seized the initiative. 9.Ne5 Played in response to Black's threat of After 9.e3 Black has 9...h5 10.h4 (if 10.Ne5?h4!ll.Nxc6Bxc3 + 12.bxc3Qf6! and Black gets his piece back, keeping the initiative). If 10.h3, as in World 1991, there follows 10...Nxg3 Bd6 12.Kf2 (12.Ne2 do es not look very attractive either) Bg3 + 14.Kgl a6. This is played to prevent a possible 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Bb5. 15.Ne2 Bd6 16.c5 The Bishop goes to g7, giving the f6-square to the Queen. 17.g3 Qf6 18.Bg2 hxg3. (I did not want to allow 19.gxh4 gxh4 Bh6 21.Qd2.) Now 19.Nxg3 Bd7 and Black's opening strategy brought him a good game. Now back to the position after 9...h5 10.h4: 10...Bc3 + Nxg3 Qd6! 13.Kf2 Now Black concent rates his forces on the White King. 14.Ngl Rh6 15.Ne2. Necessary to stop ...Rf6 +. 16.Nf4 e5! with advantage to Black. 10xxd5 Does not promise a thing. After 10.Qb3 Black has 10...Bxc3+ Nxg3 12.Nxc6 Bxc6 13.hxg3 dxc4. (The Bishop needs this diagonal.) 14.Qxc4 Qd6. ll.Q b3 Bxc3 + 12.bxc3 Nxg3 13.Nxc6 Also good for Black is 13.hxg3 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Bc6 followed by and
Now Black's light-squared Bishop does not have a diagonal but unlike White, Black has a clear long and storm White's position with pawns. Qf6 And to follow in Yermolinsky-
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Chernov, USSR 1984. Black did not have any problems.
Qxd4 18.Rdl Qf6 With equality, Belgrade Open 1988.
Rd8
We are now in the line of the NimzoIndian called the Zurich Variation. This variation is not named after the 1953 Candidates Tournament, but after the 1934 Zurich event won by Alekhine ahead of Dr. Max Euwe and Dr. Emanuel Lasker. Plans based on ...d5 favor White according to theory, so we will concentrate on systems involving the strategically healthy ...d6 and ...e5. Now White has D541 6.Bd2 and D542
This line poses Black few problems. Now Black can use the advantage of having the Knight on c6. 8...Nxg3! 9.hxg3 g4 10.d5 The strongest. If 10.Ne5, then Black has 10...Nxe5 Qg5 12.Qe4 d6!? cxd6 and Black has an easy game. Also interesting is 13...Qg7! 14.Rc l Bxd6 with the idea ...Bd7, and In USSR 1986, White tried 10.Nh2!? and after ll.Qd2 Qf6 (Black needs to get his Queen to defend the h6-pawn) 12.Nxg4 Qg7 13.Ne3! (White avoids the trap 13.Rxh6? Rxh6 14.Nxh6 f5! and the Knight is not coming back) 13...d6 14.Rh4! (a very strong idea; now the Knight has to depart) 14...Nc6 and now 15.Nedl! followed by 16.a3 gave White the game. Howeve r, after 10...Qg5! (instead of 10...Nxd4) d6 e5, White has no advantage. 12.cxd7+ Bxd7 13.Bxe2 Bc6 After several forced captures Black has ended up with a pair of Bishops but a weak h6-pawn. White's play now is quite interesting. Bc5 15.Rh5! A very strong move. The Rook blocks the h-pawn and hits Black's Bishop at the same time. Up to this I was thinking that I could get a better game. After Qf6 that would have been true, but my opponent found something better. a6 Also good was 16...Bg7 Qe7 Bxf3 a6.
This move has not received a tournament testing yet nevertheless deserves consideration. Two possible lines are: 1) 9.d5 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Qf6! If now then ll...Qxc3 +, winning the Exchange. ll.Rcl Ba3! 12.dxc6 With very complicated play that is difficult to assess. And .. . 2)8...Bxc3 + It is always important to damage White's pawn structure. 9.bxc3 Nxg3 10.hxg3 Qf6 d6 12.Rbl Black wants to play and then move his h-pawn forward. White tries to slow Black's development. 13.Be2 Bb7 With a safe position for Black. 2x4 Nc6
e6 4.Nc3 Bb4
Similar to 6.Bd2 is 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bd2 (after 7.Bh4? g5 8.Bg3 g4!, Black is winning, because 9.d5 is met now by 9...exd5 10.cxd5 Nxd5 ll.Q e4 + Be6 ) 8.a3 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Qe7 (Black prepares ...e6-e5 which is the main source of counterplay here) 10.e3 a5! (standard procedure!) e5 12.d5 Nb8 13.Be2 c6!? (An important part of Black's strategy. If White takes the pawn, then the Knight gets out with a tempo and Black may later try to play against White's weakened queenside pawns. If White lets Black capture on d5, then the d5-pawn will be attacked.) 14.dxc6 Nxc6 Bg4 (having in mind ...e5-e4 at a favorable moment) 16.b4?! (a dubious decision, since now both the b- and c- pawns are vulnerable to tactics) 16...Rfc8 17.Rfdl Qe6 18.Bel ? (It did not take long for White to make a decisive mistake. The only move was 18.b5) 18...axb4 19.axb4 e4! (suddenly the Knight has nowhere to go) 21.Nd4 Nxd4 22.exd4 Bxe2 23.Qxe2 Qxc4 and Black eventually won, 1991. Bxc3 8.Bxc3 Re8
15
A parting of the ways. White has to choose between 9.Rdl, 9.b4 and 9.e3. (1) 9.Rdl A solid positional move which prevents ...e6-e5 and maintains White's position in the center. e5 This is forced. After dxe5 12.Bg2 a5! Black would the queenside. 12.Bg2 c6 (Alekhine played 12...Nbd7 here but had a passive game) 13.dxc6 Nxc6 Be6 15.b3 h6 with the idea of ...Nf6-d7-c5 and ...Rec8 with counterplay on the queenside. (2) 9.b4 Nxe5 11x3 ECO gives 9...e5 Bg4. Black doesn't want to play + because after 12.gxf3 White would control all the central squares, plus the open is dangerous for the Black King. 12.Nxe5 dxeS Bh5 14.Be2 Bg6 15.Qb2 with better play for White, Euwe 1952. One move worth a look for Black is instead of ll.. .Bg4 . After 12.Be2 Bb7 13.Rdl (there is no advantage for White in 13.Nxe5 dxe5 because of 14...Qe7 15.D c5! with a counterplay) 13...Qe7 c5, Black has a solid position. If White closes the queenside by playing b4-b5, then ...a7-a6. (3) 9x3 10.dxe5 (in case of Black has a good position after 10...exd4 Ne4) ll.Nxe5 dxe5 12.Be2 c5! An important move in this line which does not allow White to capture space with b2-b4 and c4-c5. White has prepared action with f2-f4 but Black is ready. Bb7 with equality, Euwe-Najdorf, Groninge n 1946. He re 16.Bxe5 is met by 17.Bc3 Qxe3 + with counterplay.
10...c6!? Black does not mind opening up the game. Nxco 12.Bg2 Bg4. I was ready to meet with ...e5-e4, winning the e2-pawn. 13.e3 Ne4! Another typical maneuver worth rememberin g. 14.Qc2 Nc5 The naive 15.b4 is crushed by 15...e4! 15...a5 and Black had a pretty good game.
The principal move. White wants to get the Bishop-pair immediately. + 7.Qxc3 8.b4 The careful 8.e3 was played in Dreev 8.e3 a5 9.b3 10.Bb2 e5 1 l.Qc2. I was planning to meet dxe5 12.Rdl Qe7 13.Be2 with 13...Ne4! Nc5 and Black would be fine. H...Bg4 The "normal" 12.Be2?! is met by 12...Bxf3 13.Bxf3 exd4 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.Bxd4 Ne4 and ...c6-c5 to follow and Black would have a great game. 12...Nb8 13.Be2 Na6 Bh5 (preparing ...Bh5-g6 and ...Nf6e4) 15.Bc3 Nc5. Black already has a better game due to the superior location of his pieces. White lacks a clear plan. His subsequent actions on the queenside give Black's Knights extra targets. 16.b4 Bg6! 17.Qdl Nfe4! 18.Bb2 Na6! Really a Knights Tango! If now 19.bxa5 or 19.b5, then ...Nc5 and ...f7-f5. 19.Qb3 Bh5!? Now the threat Bh5xf3 and hangs in the air. f5 21.Bc3 Qf6 and Black is better. Among his ideas is 22...Nxc3 23.Qxc3 e4!, winning the b-pawn after 24.Qxf6 gxf6 25.Nd4 Bxe2 26.Nxe2 axb4. Also 8.b3 does not change things much. That was played in Pendergast Portland, 1991: Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.0c2 d6 6.a3 Bxc3 + 7.0xc3 8.b3 e5! A standard pawn sacrifice based on the better development of the Black pieces. 9.d5 Nb8 10.g3. In my experience this plan is not dangerous for Black because it is very slow.
As the good old books say, a flank action is supposed to be met by a counterstrike in the center. 9.dxe5 Our attention now focuses on 1) 9...Ne4 and 2) 9...Nxe5! Let's see the line recommended by theory. 1) 10.Qe3 f5 The en passant capture would not be a good idea here. After Qxf6 12.Ra2 Bf5 and with ...Rae8 to follow, things look pretty sad tor White. 12.Rcl Qe7 Qxd6
sidering only 9...Ne4 9...dxe5. Now White has a difficult choice to make: to accept the pawn sacrifice or not. Accepting:
D61 National Open 1991.
In this position theory gives only 12...Ne4 and I propose a new idea here: believing that 13x3 a5! Ra6! gives Black compensation for the pawn. As you can see, all the Black pieces are poised for a kingside attack.
R
With equality. The significant tactical detail is that after 15.bxc5 Black has and then with a great game. B) 10.Bg5 h6 Re8. Having in mind 13.Bg3 Ne4. White softens things with a trade. 12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.e3 (If 14.e3, Black has an excellent reply in 14...Ne4! 15.Bxe7 Nxc3 with an equal game.) 13...g5 14.Bg3 Ne4 gives Black a strong game because of White's poor development. Analysis Diagram
With an unclear position (ECO), Spindlerovy 1948. This way provides fairly nice play for Black but it's good to have a second choice. 2)
Analysis Diagram Theory does not give
16
con-
For instance, 15.Bxg4 Bxg4 Here Black faces a choice between the aggressive 16...Rg6 going after the White King, and the simple 16...axb4 17.Qxb4 (after 17.axb4 18.Qxal Be2 Black gets his pawn back) 17...Be2 18.Rel Rb6 19.Qc3 with an equal game. I like 16...Rg6 better. If White doesn't capture the Black gets very easy play. The exchange of the Knights on ft and c6 greatly eases Black's position. Not accepting the sacrifice: 2x4 Nc6 3.ND e6 Bb4 5.Qc2 d6 Bxc3 + 7.Qxc3 9.dxe5 Nxe5 And now we consider 10.Bb2 and 10.Bg5. A) 10.Bb2 Re8 White tries to seduce Black into damaging his pawn structure with ll. ..Nx G + 12.gxf3 but the open plus the tandem + B will kill Black then. 12.Be2 Bb7 The Bishop has a very good position here as the a8-hl diagonal is always important and Black is also ready for Nf6-e4 now.
D6) 4.a3
The most unpleasant reaction by White. The idea is simple: to prevent ...Bb4 forever. Now Black faces a serious dilemma because right now he has to show his plans. Black has two options here: D61 4...d6 and D62 4...d5. The difference between the two moves is after 4...d6 the position that arises is of the Indian but Black will lack a tempo due to Whereas is more of a Queen's Gambit I consider 4...d5 correct because does nothing for White's development. The following games were played recently. Also there is original analysis offered for your consideration.
•
ftftft
r
6.e3 promises White as in Washington Open 1991. 7.Bd3 e5 8.d5 Nb8 9.b3. This does not make sense. 9.h3 or was necessary. 9...C6 10.dxc6 Nxc6 h6. Black wants to develop with so Ng5 has to be neutralized. 12.h3 Be6 13.Bb2 d5 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 and Black was okay. 7.Be2 Most natural and the best. 7.Bd3?! was played in Washington Open, 1991. 7...e5 8.d5 Nb8 9.Nd2?! A strange idea. I am not impressed with 7.Bd3 in the first place, but after 8.h3 with the idea of g2-g4 it would at least be understandable (the Bishop covers the center and maybe a Knight goes to g3 later on). White tries to play as in some King's Indian lines where the Knight goes to c4 after but the situation is very different here. 9...a5 lO.Rbl Na6 White provokes ll...Nc5?! but after 12.Bc2 he will kick the Knight back with a gain of a tempo. 12.b4 axb4 13.axb4 Nh5. The Knight goes to f4 and White has to stop that. He could do it by but that would mean admitting that his previous strategy has failed. White's next move weakens his castled position. 14.g3 Bh3 15.Rel. A triumph for Black's strategy! There is no sign of White's attack on the queenside but ...f7f5 is Black's next move protects the h5-Knight. 15...Qe8 16.Be2 Ng7 17.c5?! A desperat e try for the initiative. Instead
17
was a must. 17...dxc5 18.b5 Nb4 19.Nc4 b6! This move gives up the dark-squared Bishop but all the other pieces will hold great spots. Bf6 21.f4 Bxe5 Qxe5 The attractive 23.Bb2 is well met by + and 24.Qxd4 cxd4 25.Ndl Nc2 is hopeless for White. With an extra pawn and a winning game for Black. 8.d5 It is very important to prevent ...Bg4; also g2-g4 is now possible with an attack on the kingside. Not the best response to White's strategy. 9...a5, to meet 10.Be3 by 10...a4! was a necessity. 10.Be3 a5 Na6?! Another mistake. 12.cxd5 Bd7! preparing ...Na6 and . ..Rc8 or ...Ne8 and ...f5 was much better. Cutting off the Black Knight and threatening 13.dxco bxc6 14.b5. 12...cxd5 13.cxd5 Bd7 14.b5 Rc8 Hoping for 15.bxa6 Rxc3 with some counterplay, but White is very precise. 15.Na4! Nc7 16.Qbl! White's play is remarkab le! The Queen protects both pawns and my a7pawn is now in trouble. My next move admits the sadness of my position. 17.Nd2 White's initiative is decisive. Here are some conclusions: The position after Black's 9...a5 (instead of 9...c6?!) remains full of fight. Still we have to admit th at by playing ...e6-e5 and ...Nb8-c6-b8 Black lost couple of tempi compared to the line Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.Nf3 e5 5.e4 Be7 6.Be2 7.d5. On the other hand, the moves a3 and h3 do not look like such a deal and Black keeps some counterplay. Anyway, for those of you who like a more classical type of play, here it is: Nf6 Nc6 e6 D62 4...d5 As was mentioned above, central play with 4...d5 would be a logical reaction to White's 4.a3. 5.Nc3 The careful 5.e3 was played in Graves 1991. I thought that play
would suit the situation. 5...g6!? 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Bd3 A double-purpose move. It is good for Black to have the option of ...dxc4 and ...b7-b5. Also ...a7-a6 is helpful in case of b2-b4. 9.Bd2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 b5 ll.Bd 3. The Bishop gets into a compromised position here. Better was and 11...e5! Black offers an Exchange sacrifice. 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.dxe5 14.exf6 Bxf6 Bg7. I did not like 15...Bf5 16.Radl and White threatens g2-g4 or Bd2-cl and Nc3-d5. Black has good compensation here, his Bishops are strong. 17.Nd5 Be6 18.Ne7+ Kh8 19.Qxa6 and Black had strong play for the Exchange. The disadvantage of 5.e3 is clear: White lacks the Bg5 or Bf4 option and Black can into play where a2-a3 does not make a big difference.
Development by 6.Bf4 is met by 7.Bd2 8.e3 Nf6 and Black does not have big problems because the tempo loss is compensated for by the passive Bishop on d2. Interesting is 6.Qc2! 7.Bf4 Nh5 8.Bg3 and if 8...f5 then 9.e3 Nxf4 In all of the above lines the absence of Black's c-pawn was quite noticeable. Because of that another move comes to our attention: Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 e6 5.Nc3 g6!
D7) 4.e3 This simple move has not been popular. The reason is probably as simple as the move itself. White's darksquared Bishop is locked in and ...Bb4 + is still possible. In any 4.e3 deserves some attention.
This move leads to an interesting game. 6...d5 7.Nc3 8.Bd3 Qe7 Rd8 merits consideration.. 7.Nc3 The toothless 8.Be2 e5 is equal.
you who are not familiar with this system. Now White has a choice between I. and II. 6.Nc3.
Now White has three options available: D71 5.Nc3; D72 5.Bd2; D73 5.Nbd2. D71 5.Nc3 5...d6 If then 7.a3 Bxc3 + 8.Qxc3 a5!, threatening to fix the queenside and 9.b3 Re8 10.Bb2 e5 does not promise much besides transposition into San Diego, 1992. + 7.bxc3 e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Qxd8 + Kxd8 10.a4 h6! Be6 gives Black good chances in the endgame. Bg4 Black is fine.
Now 6.Bf4 is met by 6...a6 and if 7.e3 then 8.Bd3 and Black's game is quite solid.
There has been no tournament praxis with 6...Bg7 but in a blitz game Benjamin Joel played .. . and Black continued .. . 9.Bd3 Ne7!? 8.Bh4 With the idea ...Ne7-f5.
Now Black is ready to meet 9.e4 with 9...e5. 9.h3 Risky but interesting here is .. . b5 Offering a pawn sacrifice. bxc3 13.Qxc3 Qxf6 14.Be2 Rab8 Black has no problems, if instead axb5 12.Bxb5 then 13.a3 Nbd5 and the open a- and promise Black strong counterplay on the queenside. A nother subject which deserves some attention is the above-mentioned Defense position after: 2x4 Nc6 3.ND + 5.Bd2
This simple move was played in Gut Portland, 1991. 6.Bg5 h6 After White gives up the Bishop, my problems are over. I was prepared to meet 7.Bh4 with 8.Bxe7 Nxe7 9.e3 and Black has a reasonable game. 9.Bd3 a6 A useful move on many occasions. Black already had an equal game but White's next makes his life even easier. If White had played 12.d5, then planning ...Nf5-d6. 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 Qh4 16.f4 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Bg4 and Black must be satisfied with the results of the opening. It that 7Bxf6 freed Black from the majority of his problems.
equal as Black has free play and White's Knight does not have good prospects.
6...Bxd2 + This move contains a small trap which was realized in World Open 1991. 7.Qxd2 Ne4 8.Qc2 Qb 4+ 9.Nbd2? 9.Nc3! was the only move. As soon as the Queen gets back home, Black has a winning game. 12.Qg5 13.Qe3 And Black had a winning game. 7.Nbxd2 is preferable to 7.Qxd2. Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 e6 4.g3 Bb4 + 5.Bd2 6.Bg2 Bxd2 + 7.Nbxd2 This position has reached by many strong players and Black has proven he has satisfactory counterplay. The author would like to share some practical experiences here. In the following game White was represented by a well-known theoretician. Jeremy (2510)-IM Georgi (2608), Western States Open 1991. 7...d6 8.e4 e5 9.d5 Nb8 10.b4 is more popular. The text has the purpose of preventing ...a5 and ...Na6.
Black seems to have a good game. If 7.e4 (instead of 7.e3), then 7...dxe4 h6 + Bxf6 (9.Be3 e5!) 9...Qxf6 10.Qd2 Bd7 preparing and Black must be okay. deserves close attention!
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After this move equality is reached by simple means. After 6.Nbxd2 do 7.Bd3 e5 the game is
According to theory, Black's position is quite solid in this line. We would like to add some ideas and games for those of
White plans to support his pawns with when his attack becomes really dangerous. But right now I time to counterattack. 12.Nel a5 cxd5 14.cxd5
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This is the move Black had in mind when he played The positional explanation of my play is very simple — I have more pieces on the queenside than my opponent! 15.Nd3 Bb5 16.Qb3 a4 17.Qc2 Nbd7 All my pieces are in play. Here I noticed that it would be nice for me to transfer my Queen to the a7-gl diagonal. Qd8! Qb6 The initiative is definitely on Black's side. An example of a possible strategy for Black after is the following game Benjamin, New York, 1991). Nf6 2x4 Nc6 3.ND e6 4.g3 + 5.Bd2 6.Bg2 Bxd2+ 7.Nbxd2 d6 9x4 e5 10.d5 Nb8 ll.Nel Now position transposes into one similar to the above game.
This reply is very common in such positions. Black prevents b2-b4 and also prepares 12.Nd3 Bg4 Bd7 Since does not help any of Whites play, it is useful to Black. Na6 15.Qc3 Of course not 15.Qxb7 and the Queen is trapped. 15...b6 16.b3 Nc5 Nh5
Also interesting was 17...Ra7!? with the of meeting 18...Nxd3 axb4 Rfa8! The text prepares ...Qg5 and ...f7�f5. 18.Nb2 Qg5 19.b4 Na6 Adianto avoided another trap. If 21.0xa5?, then + 22.Rf2 Nc5 and is in trouble. Bxf522.Ne4 23.Nd3 The greedy 23.bxa5 bxa5 would have been punished again, this by 24...Nc5 Bxe4 26.fxe4 Rxfl + 27.Rxfl Nf6 28.Rel Rb8! and Black has strong pressure. 23...Nb8 The Knight has nothing to do on a6 any more. 24.c5 axb4 25*xb4 bxc5 26.bxc5 Bxe4 27.Rxe4Ra2 And Black has achieved fair counterplay. e6 4* 3 Bb4 + 5.Bd2 Qe7 II.6.Nc3
15*3 Bd6 16.Nb5 g5 If White can play up his g�pawn, why can't Black do the same? 17.Nxd6 cxd6! 18.Bg3 Ne8 With the idea of playing With fair play for Black (Rashkovsky). I support that recommendation. Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 5.Bd2 Qe7 6.Nc3 B)6...Bxc37.Bxc3Ne4
4*3 Bb4+
a5!?
I wanted to achieve two things when I played this move. First, to protect the Bishop so that in case of I could respond 9...Ne5 with a fair game. Second, if 9.a3 then 9...Bxc3 10.Bxc3 a4. One more here. Since Black has to play ...e6�e5 sooner or later he must take care of Nc3�d5, when the Bb4 needs protec� tion. 9.Qc2e5 The active 10.d5 met by 10...Nd4! and Black is fine. ll .Bg5 Bxc3 12.Qxc3 h6?!
Here we would like to address the game Groningen 1991.
ftH4
This answer we consider the most un� pleasant for Black because it limits Black's Theory now A) 6...d5 and also B) 6...Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Ne4 here. After A) 6...d5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bg2 GM Rashkovsky recom� mended ... 9...Bg4
Black has brought all his pieces into play. Now he threatens simply ...Bxf3 and ...Nxd4. 10.Bg5 Rad8 Bh5 12*4 Bg6 13.Racl h6 14.Bh4 This clarifies why White has actually played g3�g4. The bishop can step back and keep up the pressure on the h4�d8 diagonal. 14...Be4!? The d8�Rook makes a difference here. White could not capture the e4�Bishop!
d6 9.Bg2 Nxc3 Black has prepared everything for ...e6�e5, so it's time for the Bishop to dis� appear. Another possibili ty, 9...0�0, would give Whitesome extraoptions like Nxc3 Nb8 12.dxe6 with a slightly better game. 10.Rxc3 e5 Nb8 White has finished his development and now prepares some action on the queenside. 13.Nd2 a5 14.c5 Considered as the best before this game.
12...Re8 would have been better. 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Nxe5 dxe5 15.Rfdl Draw agreed. Objectively White was slightly better. instead 9...c5 with the idea of preventing Bd2�g5 in similar lines. The position is rich in pos� sibilities. We wouldliketoemphasize thatall the positionsanalyzedabovearefullof undis� covered possibilities and anybody may find something new. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, the Knights are
ready,
Games The naive 14...dxc5 is met by 15.Nb3 and if 15...b6?? then 16.d6. 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Nc4 Qd8! This is the point of Black's defense. Now is met by 17...Nc5 and if 18.0b6 Na4! 19.Qxd8 Rxd8 then 20...b5! and if 21.Rxb5, Black plays 21...Ba6 22.Rxa5 Bxc4 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.b3 Bxe2! 17*3 b5 18.Nd2 Bd7 Black is obviously doing There is one more way recently tried in American Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 4*3 + 5.Bd2 Qe7 6.Nc3 d6 8. 20
#1 John Graves (2150)�IM Georgi 1991 Nf6 e6 3.c4 Nc6 4*3 d5 5.e3 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Bd3 a6 9.Bd2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 b5 ll. Bd3 e5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Qxd3 Bxf6 Bg7 16.Qxa8 Qxd2 17.Nd5 Be6 18.Ne7+ Kh8 19.Qxa6 Qxb2 Qf6 2t.Nc6 22.Rfdl Qg5 23.Rbcl 24.Nd4 25.Rxdl Bxd4 26.Rxd4 Qc5 27*3 Kg7 28.Qa5 + 29.Kg2 Qc6 + Ra8 Rxa3 32.Qb2 Qc3 33.Qxb5 c5 34.RdS + 35.Kg2 Qcl 36.Rxc5 + QxG38.Qc4Qxe339.Qc3+Qxc3 h5 41*4 hxg4+ 42.Kxg4 f5 +
43.Kg3 44.Rb3 Kh5 45.Rb4 Ra3 + 46.Kg2 g5 47.Rb8 Ra2 + 48.Kgl 49.Rb3 g4 Re2 51.Ra3 f4 52.Ra8 Kg5 53.Rg8+ + Ke4 56.Ral 0�1 (White lost on time.) #2 GM Alexey (2605)�IM GeorgiOrlov,NewYorkOpen1990 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qc2 d6 Bxc3 + 8.e3 a5 9.b3 Re8 10.Bb2 e5 ll.Qc2 Bg4 Nb8 13.Be2 Nc5 Bg6 17.Qdl Na6 19.Qb3 Bh5 f5 21.Bc3 Qf6 Nxc3 23.Qxc3 e4 25.Nd4 Bxe2 26.Nxe2 axb4 27.Nd4 bxa3 28.Rxa3 Nc5 29.Rcal Ra6 Rea8 31.Rxa6 Rxa6 32.Rxa6 bxa6 a5 34.Nd4 Nd3 35.Nb5 Ne5 36.Na3 37.Ke2 Ke7 39*xG Ng4 42.Nb5 a4 43.Kd3 Ne4 44.h4 45.Nxc7 a3 46.Kc2 Nd2 47x5 Nc4 dxc5 Nxd6 50.Nd5+ Kg6 h6 52.Ne7 + Kh5 53.Ng8 Nc4 + 54.Ka 4 Nxe3 55.Kb5 c4 56.Kb4 Kg6 57.Kc3 Ng2 58.Kxc4 Nxh4 59.Kd4 h5 + Kf7 61.Nc6 Ng2 62.Ke5 Ne3 63.Nd4 Kg6 Ng2 65.Nd4 h4 66.Nxf5 h3 67.Ng3 h2 + Kg5 69.f6 Nh4 Ng6 + 71.Ke4 Kg4 Kh3 73.Ke3 Kg2 Draw #3 GM Michael Georgi Orlov, World Open 1991 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 g5 7.Bg3 Ne4 8.Rcl d5 9.e3 h5 10.h3 Nxg3 Bd6 h4 13.g4 Bg3+ a6 15.Ne2 Bd6 16x5 17*3 hxg3 19.Nxg3 Bd7 21.b4 e5 22.Rfl exd4 23.Nxd4Qe5 f6 a5 26.Nxc6 bxc627.Nd4 Re8 (Black lost in time trouble) #4 Paul Shannon (2146)�IM Georgi World Open 1991 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4*3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Qe7 6.Bg2 Bxd2 + 7.Qxd2 Ne4 8.Qc2 Qb4 + 9.Nbd2 Nxd2 10.Qxd2 Qxc4 Qb4 12.Qg5 13.Qe3 Qe7 d6 16.Rfcl Re8 17.Qc3 Bd7 18*4 a5 Nb4 c6 22.e5 23.Bn bo 24.bxc6 Rxc6 Rac8 26.Nd3 Nc2 27.Rabl Nxd4 28.Rxc6 NG+0�1 #5 SM M. Orlov, Seattle 1991
Georgi
Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 d5 5xxd5 exd5 6.Bg2 Bb4+ 7 Bd2 a5 9.Bf4 Ne4 10*3 Be7 ll.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 c6 13*4 Bb4 14.Bf4 Qb6 15.Bcl Re8 16.e3 BI5 17.Na3 Bd6 18.Nc2 Qc7 19.Nel Qd7 h5 23.Rel Rae8 24.Bd2 Qc7 25.Re2 26.Qel hxg3 27.hxg3 Bxg3 28.Bxa50�1
26*xb4 Nd7 27.Qd3 Ne5 28.Qxd4 Ra8 29.h3 Ra2 30.R12 Ra3 31.Ree2 Rd3 32.Qal Rc8 33.c5 Qg5 36.KxD Qh5+ 38.bxc5 Qxh3 39.Qd4 h5 Ra8 41.Qe3 Ral 42.Qe2 Kh7 43.f6 gxf6 44x5 Qh2+ Ra3 + 46.Rd3 Qxe2 + 47.Kxe2 Rxd3 48.Kxd3 fxe5 49.Ke4 f6 Kg7
#6 Kent Pullen (2100)�IM Georgi Oriov, Tacoma 1991 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4*3 Bb4 + 5.Nbd2 d5 6* 3 Be7 7.Qc2 dxc4 8.Qxc4 Qd5 9.Qxd5 exd5 10.b4 ll.Bg2 a5 13.b5 Na7 14*4 c6 Nxc6 16.Bb2 Rac8 Nb4 18.Nel 19.Bxcl Rc8 20x3 Nc2 21.Nxc2 Rxc2 22.e4 dxe4 23.Nfl Be6 24.Ne3 Rc7 25.Bd2 Bb4 26.Bxb4 axb4 27.Rbl b3 28.G Rc3 Rd3 Bxd5 Nxd5 32.fxe4 Nc3 33.Rel b2 0�1
#10 GM Yasser Georgi Orlov, Tacoma 1991 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Bf4 Bb4 + S.Nbd2 d6 6.e3 e5 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.d5 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 Nb8 ll.B d3 Na6 13*3 e4 14.Nxe4 Qxb2 15.Rbl Qe5 16.f4 Qe7 f6 Nc5 19*4 Bd7 b6 21.Ng3 Rae8 22.Rel Qe5 a6 24x4 b5 25xxb5 Bxb5 26.Bxb5 axb5 27.Rbl Ra8 Nxe4 29.Qb2 Qxd5 Qd4 + 31.Kg2 Ng5 32.Rd3 Qxg4 33.Qd5 + Kh8 34.Re3 Rae8 35.Rbel Re5 36.Qc6 Kh7 37.Qxc7 Qh3+ 38.Khl NO 0�1
#7 John Graves (2150)�IM Georgi Orlov, Tacoma 1991 Nf6 e6 3x4 Nc6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qc2 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bd2 8*3 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Qe7 10.e3 a5 e5 12.d5 Nb8 13.Be2 Nxc6 Bg4 17.Rfdl Qe6 axb4 19*xb4 e4 21.Nd4 Nxd4 22.exd4 Bxe2 23.Qxe2 Qxc4 24.Qe3 Re8 25.Rdl Nd5 26.Qa3 e3 27.Qd3 e2 0�1 #8 Georgi Orlov. Washington Open 1991 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4*3 d6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.e3 7.Bd3 e5 8.d5 Nb8 9.b3 c6 10.dxc6 h6 Be6 13.Bb2 d5 14xxd5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 Qxd5 Bxc4 18.bxc4 f6 Rxd8 22.Rxd8+ Bxd8 Kf7 24.Ke2 Na5 25.Nd2 Be7 26x4 Ke6 27.Kd3 g6 Bc5 Kd7 30*4 Bb4 Bxc3 32.Kxc3 Nb7 33.Nb3 Kc6 34.Kd3 Nc5 + 35.Nxc5Kxc536.Kc3g537.Kb3a638.Kc3 a5 0�l #9 M. Pendergast (2100)�IM Georgi Oriov, Portland 1991 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qc2 d6 6*3 Bxc3 + 7.Qxc3 e5 9.d5 Nb8 10*3 c6 Nxc6 12.Bg2 Bg4 13x3 Ne4 14.Qc2 Nc5 a5 16.Nd2 17.Bb2 Bf5 Bd7 19.f4 Qh6 Rae8 Bh3 Bxg2 23.Kxg2 Nd4 24.Bxd4 exd4 25.b4 axb4
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Richard Georgi Oriov, Portland 1991 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4*3 d5 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.e3 9.Bd3 a6 dxc4 ll.Bxc4 e5 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.Qh5 Qg5 15.Qe2 Qh4 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Bg4 + Rad8 21.Radl b5 22.Be2 Bc2 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Rcl Be4 25x4 c6 27.KxD Rd3 28xxb5 cxb5 29.Ral 31.Ke2 Rb3 + Ke4 36.Rc4+ Kd5 37.Rc7 Ra3 38.Rxg7 Rxa439.Rd7+ + Kd5 42.Kd3 Ra3+ 43.Kc2 a4 44.Ra6 Rc3+ 45.Kd2 a3 Kc4 47.f6 Rd3 + 48.Kcl Rxe3 50.Ra7 Kb3 51.h4 a2 52.h5 0�1 #12 Yuri Repkin Georgi Orlov, San Diego Open 1992 Nf6 2x4 Nc6 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 d6 6.Qc2 7*3 Bxc3 + 8.Qxc3 a5 9.b3 e5 10.Bb2 Re8 Qe7 12.Be2 Ne4 13.Qc2 exd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 c5 17.Bb2 Qg5 Bg6 Qe7 Ng5 f6 22.Qd2 Qc7 23.Bc2 Rad8 24.f4 25*4 b6 26.h4 b6 27.Qg2 Re7 28.Rd5 Rde8 Qc8 Bh7 31.Kg3 Re6 32* 5 hxg5 33.hxg5 fxg5 34.Qc3 gxf4 + Ne5 36.Ke3 Rf6 37.Bdl Bxe4 38.Kxe4 + 39.Ke3 Nxc4 mate
