[Event "Odorheiu Secuiesc"]
[Site "Odorheiu Secuiesc"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Sax, Gyula"]
[Black "Wells, Peter K"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C94"]
[WhiteElo "2570"]
[BlackElo "2485"]
[Annotator "Ernst,T"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "1993.05.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 036"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1993.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1993.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d3 Bb7 11. Nbd2 Nbd7 12. Nf1 Nc5 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Ne3 (14. Ng3
Bf8 15. Nh2 (15. b4 Ne6 16. d4 a5 17. bxa5 Rxa5 18. Bd2 Qa8 $10 {Renet,O-Van
der Wiel,J/Lyun zt/1990/}) 15... d5 16. Ng4 Nxg4 17. Qxg4 Kh8 $10 {Tolnai,
T-Lukacs,P/Stara Zagora zt-A/1990/}) 14... Bf8 15. b4 Ncd7 16. Bb3 Nb6 17. Bb2
g6 18. c4 $14 bxc4 19. Nxc4 Nxc4 20. Bxc4 Nd7 21. Qb3 Qe7 22. d4 Rab8 23. Rac1
exd4 24. Bxd4 c5 25. bxc5 Nxc5 26. Bxc5 dxc5 27. Qa4 Bg7 28. Rcd1 Red8 29. Rb1
Bc3 30. Re3 Bc6 31. Qc2 Bg7 32. Rxb8 Rxb8 33. e5 Bh6 34. Rb3 (34. Re1 $2 Bxf3
$17) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Moscow op"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Minasian, Ara"]
[Black "Yemelin, Vasily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C94"]
[WhiteElo "2395"]
[BlackElo "2515"]
[Annotator "Kudrin,S"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2000"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d3 $5 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Nf1 Nc5 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Ne3 $5 a5
(14... g6 15. Nh2 d5 $11) 15. Nf5 Bf8 16. Nh2 d5 17. Qf3 Ra6 18. Bg5 h6 19.
Bxf6 Rxf6 20. Ng4 Rfe6 21. exd5 Bxd5 $2 (21... Qxd5 22. Qg3 Kh8 $11) 22. Qg3
$16 Qg5 23. d4 $1 exd4 24. Rxe6 Bxe6 25. h4 Qd8 26. cxd4 h5 27. Ngh6+ Kh8 28.
dxc5 Qd2 29. Ne3 gxh6 30. Qxc7 $2 (30. Qe5+ Bg7 31. Qe4 Kg8 32. Rd1 $40) 30...
Qb4 31. Qe5+ Bg7 32. Qxh5 Qxb2 33. Rb1 Qc3 34. Bb3 Bxb3 35. axb3 Qd3 36. Rd1
Qxb3 37. Nf5 Re6 38. Qg4 Qxd1+ $4 (38... Rg6 $13) 39. Qxd1 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 10th"]
[Site "Caleta"]
[Date "2012.01.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Short, Nigel D"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C94"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2012.01.24"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "GGB"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 147"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.03.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.03.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Nb8 {Mamedyarov plays his trusted Breyer system. Over the past years
he has enriched this opening with a wealth of new ideas. In this game, however,
his opponent will take him out of the well-known paths at an early stage.} 10.
d3 $5 {An old-fashioned move, which enjoyed some popularity in the '70s. The
systems of development based on d2-d3 form a family of their own, but the
d3-Breyer stands sometimes aside as explained below.} ({Since White will play
b2-b4 soon, it is interesting to compare with the following famous game:} 10.
d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. b4 Bf8 14. a4 {Strictly speaking, White
is a tempo up in main line of the d3-Breyer. However, this tempo will be spend
on transferring the queen's knight to the kingside, which doesn't necessarily
fit with the advance of the queenside pawns. In the old game, play went} Nb6
15. a5 Nbd7 {If we only count tempi, it is already Black who has fallen behind
with respect to the main game.} 16. Bb2 Qb8 17. Rb1 {In Fischer,R (2785)
-Spassky,B (2660)/Reykjavik 1972/MainBase/[ChessBase] (1-0, 56) Black opened
the centre with ...c5, which led to one of the most fascinating Spanish
battles ever.}) 10... Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Nf1 {Time has come to examine the
specific particularities of the d3-Breyer. In the Spanish opening, the
light-squared bishop is one of the most dangers pieces. Black usually tries to
neutralize it with either ...Na5 followed by ...c5, or ...Be6 possibly
prepared by ...Re8 (the latter applies to the d3-systems only). In the Breyer,
Black disposes his pieces in such a way that neither of these tho methods is
available. This leaves him with the move played in the game, which is likely
to caus loss of time, though.} Nc5 ({Leaving the bishop active for too long is
dangerous.} 12... Re8 13. Ng3 Bf8 (13... Nc5 {is still possible.}) 14. Ng5 $1
d5 15. exd5 {It is not easy to prove Black's compensation for the pawn.} Nc5 (
15... h6 $6 {only makes things worse after} 16. Ne6 $1 fxe6 17. dxe6 Kh8 18.
exd7 Qxd7 19. Ne4 $16 {Alavkin,A (2500)-Karabakhtsian,A (2302)/Soukhumi 2007/
EXT 2009 (1-0, 40)}) 16. c4 (16. d6 Nxb3 17. Qxb3 Qd7 18. dxc7 Rac8 $44 {
Berg,E (2550)-Adams,M (2724)/Caleta 2012/(0-1, 36)}) 16... Nxb3 (16... c6 17.
dxc6 Bxc6 {As played in Lehmann,H-Durao,J/Malaga 1970/EXT 98 (1/2, 24) should
be answered with} 18. Be3 {inviting to a transposition in case of an exchange
on b3.} h6 $6 {allows} 19. Bxc5 $1 Bxc5 20. cxb5 Bd5 21. N5e4 $16) 17. axb3 c6
18. dxc6 Bxc6 19. Be3 $14 {Black's compensation doesn't seem quite adequate at
this stage of the game. White obtained a kingside attack soon:} Qd7 20. Kh2 Qb7
21. Qe2 g6 22. N5e4 Nd7 23. Qg4 Kh8 24. Qh4 f5 25. Ng5 Re7 26. d4 $40 {
Nezhmetdinov,R-Forintos,G/Sochi 1964/MCD (1-0, 39)}) 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Ng3 Bf8
15. b4 Ne6 $5 {It seems that Mamedyarov has his own ideas even in the
sidelines.} ({The classical continuation is} 15... Ncd7 16. d4 {This used to
be one of Karpov's favorite tabyias in the years before he became a World
Champion.} h6 (16... g6 17. a4 Bg7 18. Bd3 c6 19. Bg5 h6 20. Be3 Qc7 21. Rc1
Rad8 22. Qd2 Kh7 23. Qa2 Re7 $14 {Black has a flexible position, but White
retains some pressure. The next pawn break is premature, though.} 24. c4 $6
exd4 25. Bxd4 Ne5 $132 {Karpov,A-Lengyel,L/Budapest 1973/EXT 99 (1/2, 49)}) 17.
Bd2 Nb6 18. Bd3 g6 ({Black's plan of breaking the centre in the following game
was rather hazardous:} 18... Rc8 19. Qc2 Qd7 20. Rad1 Qc6 21. Be3 Na4 22. Rc1
Nb6 23. Qb1 Qd7 24. Nd2 c5 $6 25. bxc5 dxc5 26. d5 Na4 27. c4 b4 28. Rf1 Qc7
29. f4 $16 {Karpov,A (2630)-Gligoric,S (2575)/San Antonio 1972/MCD (1-0, 52)})
19. Qc2 Nfd7 20. Rad1 Bg7 21. dxe5 dxe5 22. c4 {Once again this pawn break.
There are no obvious alternatives, in fact. We can feel that the g3-knight
could be more useful somewhere on the queenside.} bxc4 23. Bxc4 Qe7 $6 (23...
Nxc4 $1 24. Qxc4 Rc8 $132) 24. Bb3 $14 {It is interesting to follow the way
the preliminary queenside play allows White to start a devastating kingside
attack.} c5 25. a4 c4 26. Ba2 Bc6 27. a5 Ba4 28. Qc1 Nc8 29. Bxh6 Bxd1 30. Rxd1
Nd6 31. Bxg7 Kxg7 32. Qg5 $1 f6 33. Qg4 Kh7 34. Nh4 {1-0 Karpov,A-Spassky,B/
Moscow 1973/MCL}) 16. d4 g6 $146 {A typical Breyer move, preparing the
bishop's re-development and restricting the g3-knight. It implies a pawn
sacrifice, though.} ({Giving up the centre doesn't offer sufficient
counterplay:} 16... exd4 17. cxd4 d5 18. e5 Ne4 {Black will not be able to
keep his outpost on e4 for too long, while his queenside pawn play has been
frozen.} 19. a3 (19. Rb1 g6 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Qd5 23. Re2 a5
24. a3 axb4 25. axb4 Ra4 26. Reb2 c5 27. bxc5 Nxd4 28. Rxb5 $16 {Ivanchuk,V 
(2625)-Southam,T (2285)/Adelaide 1988/TD (1-0, 36)}) 19... a5 20. Rb1 axb4 21.
axb4 Nxg3 22. fxg3 c6 23. Qd3 g6 24. Be3 Bc8 25. g4 Bd7 26. Rf1 Be7 27. Rf2 Qb6
28. Qc3 Ra7 29. Rbf1 Rea8 30. Bb3 Be8 31. h4 Qd8 32. g3 Ra3 33. Bc1 Ra1 34. Kg2
Qd7 35. Bc2 $14 {Tukmakov,V (2560)-Rukavina,J (2460)/Leningrad 1973/IZT (1-0,
51)}) ({Black probably discarded} 16... Nd7 {because of} 17. Nf5 {, when the
molesting knight cannot be pushed back easily.}) (16... a5 $5 {is an
interesting alternative. In the following game, White didn't find an antidote
to this simple plan.} 17. bxa5 Rxa5 18. Bd2 Qa8 19. Qb1 Nf4 20. Bb3 c5 21. d5
g6 $15 {Renet,O (2520)-Van der Wiel,J (2550)/Lyon 1990/CBM 018 (1/2, 38)}) 17.
Bd2 {A typical move in this kind of mobile structures. The modestly placed
bishops tandem can become quite dangerous if the position opens.} ({With his
development incomplete, Short rightly refrains from pawn grabbing.} 17. dxe5
dxe5 18. Nxe5 ({If} 18. Qxd8 Raxd8 19. Nxe5 c5 $44 {Black is fully mobilized,
which offers him ample compensation.}) 18... Qxd1 19. Rxd1 Bd6 {Suddenly,
White has problems keeping his position together.} 20. Ng4 (20. f4 Nxf4 $1 $15)
(20. Nf3 Bxg3 21. fxg3 Nxe4 $15) 20... Nxg4 21. hxg4 a5 $45 {Both white wings
are submitted to strong pressure.}) 17... Nd7 {Black decides to clear the
f6-square for his queen, defending his central pawn at the same time. In doing
so, he releases the pressure against e4, allowing more liberty to the Spanish
bishop.} 18. Bb3 $1 Qf6 19. d5 {It may seem strange that Short obstructs the
a2-g8 diagonal right after occupying it with the bishop. In fact, it makes a
lot of sense. The b7-bishop is passive and Black should try to open the centre
with ...c6, but then the white bishop would suddenly return to fe, too.} Nf4 {
This knight is nicely placed, but Black doesn't have enough forces to threaten
the white king seriously. If he could transfer his bishop to d7 his pressure
would become real, but he will not have the time to do it.} 20. c4 $1 {A very
effective attack. In similar King's Indian positions, White has to work a bit
harder in order to establish pawn contact on the queenside.} Nb6 $6 {Black
keeps the position static for too long, allowing White to consolidate his
space advantage. Possibly, he overlooked White's 24th move.} ({He should have
opened the centre at any cost with} 20... c6 {True, after} 21. dxc6 Bxc6 22. a4
{White retains the better chances.}) 21. Rc1 $1 {With this natural but very
strong move, Short discourages ...c6 and threatens both cxb5 and c4-c5. Sadly,
Black has to give up the tension.} bxc4 22. Bxc4 Nxc4 23. Rxc4 Rac8 {This is
the position Mamedyarov had aimed for. Black has the bishops' pair and it
seems that ...c6 is unstoppable, since the queen is bound to overdefend the
f3-knight. Or maybe she is not?!} 24. Qc2 $3 $16 {This accurate move clarifies
the matters. Black will never get to free his position with ...c6. There is a
small tactical detail involved, see the next comment.} Be7 ({The point is that
} 24... Nxh3+ $2 25. gxh3 Qxf3 {loses the queen to} 26. Bg5 $3 $18 {followed
by Rc3. A great example about the way strategy should go hand in hand with
tactics. The game move takes the control over the h4-d8 diagonal, thus
reinforcing the threat.}) 25. Bxf4 (25. Rxc7 Nxh3+ $1) 25... exf4 (25... Qxf4
26. Rxc7 $16) 26. Ne2 Bd8 27. Ned4 {White has a harmonious position and big
space advantage.} Rb8 28. Qa4 Kf8 {Black's last moves are suggestive for his
complete passivity.} 29. Nc6 Bxc6 30. Rxc6 Qb2 {Finally a "long" move.
Ironically, this unjustified display of activity will cause an abrupt end.} 31.
a3 f5 $2 32. e5 $1 {Suddenly, the active queen is trapping!} (32. e5 $1 dxe5
33. Rc2 $18) 1-0

