[Event "Olympiad-34"]
[Site "Istanbul"]
[Date "2000.11.06"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Degraeve, Jean Marc"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C22"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2668"]
[Annotator "Lukacs,P"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2000.10.28"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2001"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.11.22"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.11.22"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "France"]
[BlackTeam "Hungary"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "HUN"]

1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qe3 g6 (4... Nf6 {is the main line
according to nowaday's theory.}) (4... Nb4 $5) 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Bd2 Nf6 (6... Nge7
{- Van de Mortel-Onischuk, B Wijk aan Zee 1996 CBM 52}) 7. O-O-O O-O 8. h4 {
This is the direct attacking approach.} (8. Qg3 Re8 9. h4 {This is too
aggressive, sacrificing the P doesn't bring the desired result.} Nxe4 10. Nxe4
Rxe4 11. Bg5 Qf8 12. Bd3 Ra4 13. Kb1 Bxb2 $1 {Suddenly Black's counterattack
becomes the real thing!} 14. Bxg6 Rb4 $1 15. c3 Bxc3+ 16. Kc2 Rb2+ 17. Kc1 Qa3
18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. Qf3+ Kg8 20. Qd5+ Kh8 21. Bf6+ Bxf6 22. Rd3 Rb1+ $1 $19 {
Levi-Solomon, Melbourne 1996}) (8. Bd3 d5 $5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Qg3 Nxc3 {
solving all the problems.}) (8. Bc4 Re8 (8... Na5 {chasing away the B from the
a2-g8 /^.} 9. Be2 Re8 10. Qg5 Nc6 11. f3 d6 12. Qh4 Be6 13. Nh3 d5 14. Bg5 h6
$1 15. Bxf6 (15. Bxh6 Nxe4 $1 {This is the typical solution of the pin on the
h4-d8 /^.} 16. Bg5 Nxc3 $1 17. Bxd8 Nxe2+ 18. Kb1 Bxh3 19. Qxh3 Raxd8 $15 {
and three pieces are stronger than the Q.}) (15. exd5 $2 {is out of question:}
hxg5 16. Nxg5 Bxd5 17. Bc4 Ne7 18. g4 Qd6 19. Kb1 c6 $19 {Vukovic-Todorovic,
Tivat 1995}) 15... Bxf6 16. Qxh6 Bxh3 17. Qxh3 Bxc3 18. bxc3 (18. Rxd5 Qf6 19.
bxc3 Qxc3 $17) 18... Qg5+ 19. Kb2 dxe4 $15 {and again the white K's position
is more dangerous.}) (8... d6 9. f3 Ne5 10. Bb3 c5 {The target is again the B.}
11. f4 c4 12. Ba4 Neg4 13. Qe2 a6 14. h3 Nh6 15. g4 Nhxg4 16. hxg4 Bxg4 17. Nf3
b5 $15 {Jakobiec-Markowski, Polanica Zdroj 1999}) 9. f3 Na5 10. Qd3 (10. Bd3 d5
11. Qg5 h6 12. Qh4 d4 13. Na4 b6 14. b3 Bd7 15. Nb2 Nb7 16. g4 b5 17. Ne2 c5
18. g5 Nh7 19. f4 hxg5 20. fxg5 Nd6 21. Rdf1 Rc8 $17 {with a cramped position
for White, Popa-Caruso, Padova 1999.}) 10... c6 11. Bb3 d5 $1 {This is the
typical counterblow here.} 12. exd5 (12. Nge2 Nxb3+ 13. axb3 dxe4 $17) 12...
Bf5 13. Qf1 Nxb3+ 14. axb3 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 (15. Nge2 $2 Bxc2 $1 16. Kxc2 Nb4+ 17.
Kb1 Qd3+ 18. Ka1 Re5 $1 $19 {Peray-Mikhalevsky, London 1999}) 15... Qxd5 16.
Ne2 (16. Bc3 $2 Bh6+ 17. Bd2 Bxd2+ 18. Rxd2 Qa5 $19) 16... Rad8 $17 {^^}) (8.
f3 d5 9. exd5 (9. Qc5 dxe4 10. Bg5 Qe8 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nxe4 Bg7 13. Bb5 Qe5
14. Qxe5 Nxe5 {^^ in an open position.} 15. Ne2 a6 16. Bd3 f5 17. N4c3 Be6 18.
Kb1 Rfd8 19. Nf4 Bf7 20. Be2 Nc6 $15 {Blackburn-Lasker, Germany 1892}) (9. Nxd5
Nxd5 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Qb3 Qxb3 12. axb3 a5 13. Bb5 Nd4 14. Bc4 Bf5 $15 {
and Black grabs the |^.}) 9... Nxd5 10. Qc5 (10. Nxd5 Qxd5 {- 9.Nd5}) 10...
Nxc3 (10... Be6 $5 11. Nge2 Ncb4 12. a3 b6 13. Qf2 a5 $1 14. Ne4 Qd7 15. Kb1
Qa4 16. Rc1 Na2 $1 $15 {Kuljawski-Gorecki, Poland 1992}) 11. Bxc3 Bh6+ 12. Bd2
Bxd2+ 13. Rxd2 Qe7 14. Qxe7 Nxe7 15. Bc4 Nf5 {1/2:1/2 Felegyhazi-Veroci,
HUN-chT 1997}) 8... Re8 9. Qf4 (9. Bc4 d6 $1 $13 (9... Na5 {now is not so
effective in view of} 10. Bd3 d5 11. Nxd5 $1 Nxd5 12. Qg5 $1 $14) (9... Ne5 10.
Bb3)) 9... d6 10. Be2 d5 {This is unusual, but also good.} (10... Qe7 $143 11.
h5 Nxe4 12. hxg6 hxg6 13. Nd5 Qe5 14. Qxe5 Rxe5 15. Be3 $14) (10... h5 $1 {
was the clear-cut solution, for example:} 11. Nf3 Bg4 $1 (11... Qe7 12. Ng5))
11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Bc4 Qf5 14. Nf3 (14. Qxf5 Bxf5 $11) 14... Qxf4
$2 {Now >< c7 becomes a real target.} (14... Ne5 {was enough for equality.} 15.
Nxe5 (15. Rhe1 Bd7) 15... Bxe5 16. Qxf5 Bxf5 $11) 15. Bxf4 h6 $6 (15... Re4 $6
16. Bxf7+ $1 Kf8 17. Bd2 $16 (17. Be3 $2 Rxe3 $1 18. fxe3 Kxf7 $15)) ({The
persistant defence of the P by} 15... Re7 {was the lesser evil.} 16. h5 Bg4 (
16... Be6 $6 17. Bxe6 Rxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Bg3 $16) 17. hxg6 hxg6 18. Bg5 (18.
Rde1 Rae8 19. Rxe7 Rxe7 20. Ng5 Ne5) 18... Ree8 $14) 16. Bxc7 $16 {Now Black
cannot show a real counterplay for the P.} Bf5 17. Bd3 Bxd3 18. Rxd3 Rac8 (
18... Nb4 19. Rb3 Rac8 (19... Nxc2 $2 20. Kxc2 Rac8 21. Rxb7 Re7 22. Rxa7) (
19... Nd5 20. Rxb7 Re7 21. Rb8+ Rxb8 22. Bxb8 Bxb2+ 23. Kxb2 Rb7+ 24. Kc1 Rxb8
25. Re1 $16) 20. Rxb4 Rxc7 21. Re1 Rxe1+ 22. Nxe1 Re7 23. Nd3 $16 {and
everything is defended.}) 19. Bd6 $1 Re2 20. Rd2 Rxd2 21. Nxd2 Rd8 (21... Nd4
22. c3 Nf5 23. Bf4 $16) 22. Bf4 Nb4 23. a3 Nd5 24. Bg3 ({or} 24. Bh2 Nb6 25.
Nf3 Nc4 26. c3 $16) 24... f5 25. c4 Rc8 26. Kb1 Nb6 27. b3 Re8 28. Kc2 g5 29.
hxg5 hxg5 30. Bd6 Re6 31. Bb4 Nd7 (31... Re2 32. Bc5 $18) 32. Rh3 Re2 33. Rf3
f4 34. Kd1 Re8 35. Rd3 Ne5 36. Rd5 Ng4 $2 (36... g4 $16) 37. Bc5 $18 Bf6 (37...
b6 {is now answered by} 38. Rxg5 $1 $18) 38. f3 Ne3+ 39. Bxe3 Rxe3 40. Ne4 Be7
41. Rd7 Kf8 42. Rxb7 g4 43. c5 1-0

[Event "FRA-ch"]
[Site "Val d'Isere"]
[Date "2002.08.22"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Degraeve, Jean Marc"]
[Black "Lautier, Joel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2586"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Rogozenco,D"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2002.08.19"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 091"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 d5 7. exd6 Qxd6 8.
O-O Be6 9. Na3 Bxb3 10. Qxb3 e6 (10... Qd3 $1 {as was demonstrated in
Sermek-Gelfand, Portoroz 2001, brings Black a good play. The game continuation
is possible too, although it is less ambitious. Black fights for equality.})
11. d4 cxd4 12. Nb5 (12. Rd1 {is another way.}) 12... Qd7 13. Nbxd4 Nxd4 (13...
Bc5 14. Be3 Bxd4 15. Rfd1 O-O $14 {/=}) 14. Nxd4 Be7 15. Rd1 O-O 16. Be3 (16.
Nf5 Qc7 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Be3 Nd5 19. Bd4 {is another possibility for White
to get a slight plus.}) 16... Qc8 17. Nb5 Bc5 18. Bxc5 {In the game Pavasovic,
D-Kharlov,A/Ljubljana 2002, the players agreed to a draw in a similar position.
Black queen was on c6 there, which makes no difference, since Black must take
on c5 anyway.} (18. Bf4 Nd5 19. Bg3 a6 20. c4 Nf6 21. Nd6 Bxd6 22. Bxd6 Re8 23.
Rac1 Qc6 24. Be5 Ne4 25. Qd3 f6 26. Bf4 Nc5 27. Qd6 Qxd6 28. Rxd6 Rac8 29. Be3
e5 30. b4 Ne6 31. a4 Kf7 32. c5 Red8 33. Rb6 Rd7 34. Kf1 Rc6 35. b5 axb5 36.
Rxb5 Ra6 37. a5 Nd8 38. f4 {1/2-1/2 Lemmers,O-Cardon,H/Gent 1994/EXT 97 (38)})
18... Qxc5 19. Nd6 $146 (19. Rd3 Nd5 20. Rad1 a6 21. Nd6 b5 (21... Qxd6 22. c4)
22. Ne4 Qc6 23. Rg3 $6 Rad8 24. Rd4 $6 h6 25. Qd1 f5 26. Nd2 e5 $17 {Vannerom,
R-Kamsky,G/Val Thorens 1989}) 19... Qc6 20. Qb5 {From now on White has a very
clear plan - to trade as many pieces as possible and use his majority on the
queenside in order to create a passed pawn. It is amazing how apparently easy
he succeeded to achieve this task.} Qxb5 21. Nxb5 a6 (21... Rad8 $142 22. Nxa7
Na4) 22. Nd6 Na4 23. Rd2 (23. Nxb7 Nxb2 24. Rd7 Rfc8 25. Rc1 (25. Nd6 Rd8 $11)
25... Nc4 $11) 23... Rfd8 24. Rad1 b5 (24... Rd7 $2 25. Nxb7 Rxd2 26. Rxd2 Rb8
27. Na5 Nxb2 28. Nc6 Nc4 29. Nxb8 Nxd2 30. Nxa6 $18) 25. c4 $1 Kf8 (25... b4 $5
26. Ne4 (26. f4 $14) 26... Rxd2 27. Rxd2 Kf8 28. b3 $16) 26. cxb5 axb5 27. Nxb5
Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Rb8 29. Nd4 Rxb2 ({Better is} 29... Nxb2 30. Nc6 Rc8 31. Rd8+
Rxd8 32. Nxd8 Ke7 33. Nb7 Kd7 34. Kf1 Na4 35. Ke1 Nc3 36. a3 e5 {and White
king cannot approach easily.} 37. Kd2 $2 Nb1+ $17) 30. Rxb2 Nxb2 {It is
well-known that for evaluation of knight endgames, often one needs to imagine
the same position without knights on the board. Here the pawn endgame would be
difficult for Black and so is the knight endgame. The presence of knights
increases Black's chances to escape, but in principle the game shows that the
above-mentioned general rule is valid here too.} 31. Nc6 Ke8 32. Kf1 f6 (32...
Kd7 33. Ne5+ Ke7 34. Ke2 f6 35. Nd3 (35. Nc6+ Kd6 36. Nb4 {is the game
position with an extra tempo for Black.}) 35... Na4 36. Kd2 $16) 33. Ke2 Kd7
34. Nb4 Kd6 35. Kd2 Na4 36. Kc2 e5 37. Kb3 Nc5+ 38. Kc4 f5 (38... Na4 39. Nd3
e4 40. Ne1 f5 41. Kb4 Nb6 42. a4 {same as the game.}) 39. Nd3 Na4 40. Kb4 Nb6
41. a4 {The first step is achieved. White started to push the a-pawn. His idea
is to push it as far as possible in order to distract the opponent king. When
black king goes to the queenside, white king and knight breaks on the kingside,
winning material there. Black's defensive plan is to trade pawns on the
kingside and eventually give the knight for remaining White's pawns.} e4 42.
Ne1 Kd5 43. a5 Nc8 44. Nc2 f4 45. Kc3 Nd6 46. Nd4 Nc8 47. Nb5 Kc6 48. Kc4 g5
49. g4 (49. Nc3 Nd6+ 50. Kd4 e3 51. fxe3 Nf5+ (51... fxe3 52. Kxe3 Nc4+ 53. Ke4
Nxa5 54. Kf5 $16) 52. Kd3 Nxe3 $11) 49... fxg3 50. fxg3 (50. hxg3 $2 {would be
a mistake, of course. allowing Black to create a passed pawn on the h-file.} h5
) 50... h5 51. Nd4+ Kd6 52. Nb5+ Ke5 $2 (52... Kc6 {was a must. White has many
possibilities, but Black keeps drawing chances:} 53. Nc3 (53. Na3 e3 54. Kd3
Kc5 55. Kxe3 Kb4 56. Nc2+ Kxa5 57. Ke4 Nd6+ 58. Ke5 Nc4+ 59. Kf5 Nd2 60. Kxg5
Nf3+ 61. Kxh5 Nxh2 $11) (53. h3 $5) (53. a6 Nb6+ 54. Kd4 Kxb5 55. Kxe4 Kxa6 56.
Kf5 g4 57. Kg5 Nc4 58. Kxh5 Ne3 $11) 53... Nd6+ 54. Kd4 e3 $1 55. Kxe3 (55. a6
Kb6 56. Kxe3 Kxa6 57. Ne4 Nf5+ $11) 55... Nc4+ 56. Ke4 Nxa5 57. Kf5 g4 $1 58.
Kg5 Nc4 59. Kxh5 (59. Nd1 Ne5 60. Kxh5 Nf3 $11) 59... Ne3 {[%cal Ge3f1]}) 53.
a6 h4 54. Nd4 hxg3 55. hxg3 Na7 (55... e3 56. Kd3 $18) 56. Nc2 $18 Nc8 (56...
Kf5 57. Ne3+ Ke5 58. Kc5 $18) 57. Ne3 Na7 58. Kc5 Nc8 59. Nc4+ Ke6 60. g4 Kd7
61. Kd5 Kc7 62. Kxe4 Ne7 63. Ke5 Ng8 64. a7 Kb7 65. Nd6+ Kxa7 66. Nf5 1-0

[Event "Olympiad-35"]
[Site "Bled"]
[Date "2002.11.05"]
[Round "10.3"]
[White "Degraeve, Jean Marc"]
[Black "Sutovsky, Emil"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2657"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2002.10.26"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "SLO"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2003"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "France"]
[BlackTeam "Israel"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ISR"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 c4 7. Bc2 Qc7 8. Qe2
g5 9. h3 Bg7 10. O-O g4 11. hxg4 Nxe5 12. Re1 d6 13. Nxe5 dxe5 14. d4 exd4 15.
Bf4 d3 16. Bxc7 dxe2 17. f3 Nd5 18. Bh2 Be6 19. Rxe2 b5 20. a3 Bh6 21. Nd2 Be3+
22. Kh1 h5 23. gxh5 Rxh5 24. Nf1 Bf4 25. g3 Bc7 26. Rxe6 Rxh2+ 27. Kxh2 fxe6
28. Kg2 a5 29. f4 Rb8 30. Kf3 Kf7 31. Nd2 Rh8 32. Re1 Rh2 33. Re2 Rxe2 34. Kxe2
Bb6 35. a4 e5 36. fxe5 Ne3 37. axb5 Nxc2 38. Nxc4 Bd8 39. b6 a4 40. Kd3 Na1 41.
Kd4 Ke6 42. Kc5 Kd7 43. Kb5 Nb3 44. Kxa4 Nc5+ 45. Kb5 Ne4 46. g4 e6 47. Na5 Bg5
48. Nc6 Kc8 49. Ka6 Nc5+ 50. Ka7 Bf4 51. b4 Nd7 52. Nd4 Bxe5 53. b7+ Kc7 54.
Nxe6+ Kc6 55. Nc5 Nf6 56. g5 Nd5 57. b8=Q Bxb8+ 58. Kxb8 Nxc3 59. g6 Nd5 60. g7
Ne7 61. Ne4 Kb6 62. Nf6 Kc6 63. Ka7 1-0

[Event "FRA Cup final"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "2005.06.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Degraeve, Jean Marc"]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2557"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2005.06.26"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "1"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 108"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Qc7 6. h3 e6 7. Ne2 Bd6 8. Bg5
Nge7 9. Nd2 f6 10. Be3 Nf5 11. O-O e5 12. Bxf5 Bxf5 13. c4 Nb4 14. c5 Bc2 15.
Qc1 Be7 16. a3 Bd3 17. axb4 Bxe2 18. Re1 Bh5 19. Nb1 O-O 20. Nc3 Bf7 21. Nb5
Qb8 22. dxe5 fxe5 23. Bf4 Bf6 24. Bg3 Rd8 25. Ra3 a6 26. Nd6 Rxd6 27. cxd6 Qxd6
28. Rc3 Qe6 29. Rc7 e4 30. Rxb7 d4 31. Qf4 Re8 32. Rb8 Bg6 33. Rc1 h6 34. Rxe8+
Qxe8 35. Qb8 Qxb8 36. Bxb8 Bg5 37. Rc6 Bf7 38. Ba7 d3 39. Be3 Bb3 40. Bxg5 hxg5
41. Rd6 Kf7 42. Kf1 Ke7 43. Rd4 Kf6 44. Ke1 Ke5 45. Rd8 g4 46. hxg4 Kf4 47. Kd2
1-0

[Event "FRA-ch"]
[Site "Chartres"]
[Date "2005.08.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Lautier, Joel"]
[Black "Degraeve, Jean Marc"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E88"]
[WhiteElo "2672"]
[BlackElo "2546"]
[Annotator "Hazai,L"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2005.08.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 109"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.11.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.11.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 {Knaak} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 c6 8.
Bd3 cxd5 9. cxd5 Nh5 10. Nge2 f5 11. exf5 gxf5 12. O-O Nd7 13. Rc1 Nc5 14. Bb1
(14. Bc4 $143 {This is the wrong /^.} a6 15. b4 (15. Bxc5 {gives up the
valuable B for material gains.} dxc5 16. d6+ Kh8 17. Qd5 Ra7 18. Qxc5 {White
has won a P, but the black pieces suddenly become very active!} (18. f4 {Knaak}
) 18... b6 19. Qa3 (19. Qd5 Rd7 20. Rcd1 b5 21. Bb3 Qb6+ 22. Kh1 Rfd8 $17)
19... Bh6 $1 $17 {Knaak} (19... Rf6 {The proud o^ will soon fall.} 20. Rcd1 b5
21. Qc5 Rd7 22. Bb3 Rfxd6 $15 {Mecking-Egger, Sao Paulo zt 1993 CBM 36})) 15...
Nd7 16. a4 Qh4 $1 (16... Qe8 17. Kh1 Ndf6 18. b5 Qg6 {Black ignores White's
threats on the << and concentrates all of his forces on the other flank.} 19.
Bd3 e4 20. Bc2 Bd7 21. bxa6 bxa6 22. Rb1 Rab8 $142 $5 (22... Rae8 {Black still
neglects White's << threats.} 23. Qd2 Kh8 24. Rb6 Rg8 25. Rg1 $14 {
Timman-Kasparov, Paris 1991 53/(599)})) 17. f4 $1 (17. Qb3 {Kasparov} Kh8 18.
Bf2 Qg5 $36) 17... Kh8 $1 18. Qd2 (18. Bf2 $2 Qg4 19. h3 Qg6 $17) 18... Rg8 19.
g3 Bh6 20. Rf2 {(Karpov-Kasparov, Reggio Emilia 1991 53/599)} Ndf6 $1 {Kasparov
} 21. Rg2 Qh3 (21... Qg4 22. Bd3 $13) 22. Kh1 (22. fxe5 Bxe3+ 23. Qxe3 Ng4 24.
Qb6 f4 $1 $17) 22... Bd7 {The attacking black pieces look really frightening!}
23. Ng1 Qg4 24. Be2 Qg6 25. fxe5 f4 $1 $17) (14. Bc2 $5 {controlling b3 and a4
White can prepare b2-b4 quickly.} a5 15. a3 Bd7 16. b4 axb4 17. axb4 Na6 18.
Rb1 b5 19. Bd3 Rb8 20. Qb3 Rb7 21. Ra1 $14 {Gastgofer-Pugachev, Podolsk chT
1993}) 14... a5 {otherwise b4 will come.} 15. f4 (15. a3 Bd7 16. b4 axb4 17.
axb4 Na6 {is not so effective as in case of 14.Bc2, because White cannot play
Rb1!} 18. Na4 Nxb4 19. Nb6 Ra3 20. Nxd7 Qxd7 21. Qd2 Kh8 $13 {D.Gurevich-Milov,
Minneapolis 2005}) 15... e4 $1 {At first sight this move gives up the tension
in the centre and the d4 square will be weak forever. On the other hand
White's B on b1 is rather passive, and if Black can play b7-b6 and Ba6 the d3
square will be a vulnerable weakness for White. It is not easy to prepare the
standard breakthrough g2-g4 as well.} (15... Qe8 $6 16. fxe5 (16. Qd2) 16...
Bxe5 17. Qd2 Bd7 18. Rf3 $1 {/\ Rcf1 maximizing the pressure against >< f4 and
f5.} (18. Nf4 {is only the "light" version.} Rc8 19. Rce1 b5 20. Nce2 Ne4 21.
Bxe4 fxe4 22. Nd4 $14 {Knaak-Uhlmann, Berlin 1982}) 18... b5 (18... Ne4 $6 {
Alterman} 19. Nxe4 fxe4 20. Rxf8+ Kxf8 (20... Qxf8 21. Bxe4 $16) 21. Bh6+ Kg8
22. Qg5+ Kh8 (22... Qg6 23. Qxg6+ hxg6 24. Bxe4 $16) (22... Ng7 23. Nf4 $16)
23. Rf1 $1 $16) (18... Qg6 {Alterman} 19. Rcf1 Kh8 20. Nd4 Ng7 21. Nce2 (21.
Rh3 $1) 21... Qf7 22. Nf4 Bxf4 $140 23. Bxf4 Qxd5 24. Nxf5 Qxd2 25. Bxd2 $16) (
18... Kh8 {Alterman} 19. Rcf1 Ng7 20. Nd4 $1 Qf7 21. g4 f4 $140 $2 22. Bxf4
Bxg4 23. Bxe5 Bxf3 24. Qh6 $18) 19. Rcf1 b4 {(Alterman-Milov, Struga 1995 63/
520)} 20. Ne4 $1 {Alterman} Nxe4 21. Bxe4 Qg6 (21... f4 22. Bxf4 $1 Bg4 23.
Bxe5 Qxe5 24. Qh6 $18) (21... fxe4 22. Rxf8+ Qxf8 23. Rxf8+ Rxf8 24. Bh6 $1 $18
) (21... Bxh2+ 22. Kxh2 Qxe4 23. Nf4 Nf6 (23... Nxf4 24. Bxf4 Rf6 25. Re1 Qc4
26. Re7 $18) 24. Bd4 Rae8 25. Kg1 Qe7 26. Ne6 Bxe6 (26... Ne4 27. Qh6) 27. dxe6
Qxe6 28. Qg5+ $18) 22. Bb1 Rae8 23. Nd4 {Black's position looks like the
Emmenthal cheese...} Ng7 (23... Bxd4 24. Bxd4 $16) 24. Nc6 $16) (15... Qe7 $6 {
runs into} 16. Bxc5 dxc5 17. d6 Qe6 18. Nb5 exf4 19. Rf3 $16) (15... b6 $6 {
is also met by a central blow:} 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. d6 $1 Kh8 (17... Be6 {Knaak}
18. Nd5) 18. Nd5 $16 {Knaak-Reyes, Novi Sad (ol) 1990 50/632}) 16. Nd4 (16. g4
{is too straightforward:} fxg4 17. Bxc5 dxc5 18. Nxe4 Bf5 19. Ng5 Bxb1 20. Ne6
(20. Rxb1 Nxf4 $1) 20... Qh4 21. Rxb1 g3 $13 {Kohlweyer-Cvitan, Geneve op 1994}
) (16. Bd4 Nf6 17. Qd2 b6 $1 {/\ Ba6 activating the B on the a6-f1 /^.} (17...
Bd7 18. Nd1 b6 19. Ne3 $14 {Alterman}) 18. Nd1 Ba6 $1 {>< d3} 19. Ne3 Qd7 20.
Rfd1 Rac8 21. Ng3 Ne8 22. Rc3 Bd3 23. Bxg7 {1/2:1/2 Alterman-Kotronias,
Karditsa 1996}) (16. Kh1 Bd7 (16... b6 {is less adequate now:} 17. Nd4 Nf6 18.
h3 Ba6 19. Ndb5 $14 {closing the /^.}) (16... Nf6 17. h3 b6 18. Nb5 Ba6 19. a4
$14) 17. Nd4 Nf6 18. Ndb5 (18. h3 $5) 18... Qe7 19. h3 {+/=} Rac8 20. a3 Kh8
21. g3 (21. b4 axb4 22. axb4 Na6 23. Qb3 Ng4 $5 24. hxg4 Qh4+ 25. Kg1 fxg4 $40)
21... Rg8 22. Rg1 {Now the battle focuses around the key square g4.} Bh6 23.
Rc2 Rg6 {/\ Rcg8 with a pressure on >< g3 and g4.} 24. Rcg2 Rcg8 $13 {
Volzhin-Dolmatov, Elista 1996 CBM 056}) (16. Qd2 Kh8 17. Bd4 {is again met by}
b6 $1 18. Bxg7+ Nxg7 19. Nd1 Ba6 $1 {This is the main threat of Black here.}
20. Ne3 Rc8 21. Rfe1 Bd3 22. Bxd3 Nxd3 $17 {Kohlweyer-Cvitan, St Ingbert op
1995}) 16... Nf6 17. h3 {against the b6, Ba6 plan.} Bd7 {In this position the
light-squared B belongs to e2, but it is far from easy to manouvre there
because of >< d3.} (17... Kh8 18. a3 {/\ b4} a4 {Black's position looks OK.}
19. Ba2 Nd3 (19... Bd7) 20. Rc2 Ra5 21. Bc4 Rc5 22. Bxd3 exd3 23. Qxd3 Nxd5 24.
Nxd5 Rxd5 25. Qc4 Qe8 26. Bf2 Rc5 $13 {A.Kuzmin-Sakaev, Dubai 2000}) 18. Ndb5 (
{Knaak:} 18. g4 $1 {according to my old analysis.} fxg4 19. f5 gxh3 20. Ne6 Qe7
(20... Nxe6 $6 21. fxe6 Be8 22. Nxe4 $16) (20... Bxe6 21. fxe6 $5 (21. dxe6 b6
(21... h5 22. Kh1 Ng4 23. Bxc5 dxc5 24. Qxd8 Rfxd8 25. Nxe4 $18) 22. Rc2 {
/\ Rh2xh3+/-})) 21. Kh1 {This must be much better for White.}) 18... Qe7 19. b3
{against a5-a4} (19. a3 {was the last chance to activate the bad B, but this
can only be done by taking on c5 and d5-d6.} a4 20. Bxc5 dxc5 21. d6 Qd8 22.
Ba2+ Kh8 23. Nc7 Ra5 $13) 19... Rac8 (19... Kh8 $13 {looks more flexible.}) 20.
Qe2 $6 {/\ Rfd1, but the c5 N remains unattended.} (20. a4 {weakens the dark
squares, but emphasisizes the control over the light ones.} Kh8 $13) (20. a3 $5
{/\ b4 is the typical plan here.} Kh8 (20... a4 $6 21. bxa4 $1 {is the simple
answer.} (21. b4 Nb3 22. Rc2 Bxb5 23. Nxb5 Qd7 24. Nc3 Qf7 {>< d5} (24... Na1
25. Rc1 Nb3 {repetition of moves})) 21... Ra8 22. Nxd6 Qxd6 23. Nb5 Bxb5 24.
Bxc5 Qxd5 25. axb5 $16 {^^}) 21. b4 axb4 22. axb4 Na6 23. Qb3 Nc7 $13 {and the
N comes back again.}) 20... Ne8 {/\ Rf6-g6} (20... Kh8 {was again the standard
move.}) 21. Rfd1 Rf6 22. Na3 $6 {This manoeuvre leads nowhere, White simply
gives up his stronghold on the << for nothing.} (22. Na7 Ra8 23. Nab5 Rg6)
22... Rg6 23. Nc4 $2 {continuing the wrong plan.} (23. Nab5 Qh4 $36) 23... Qd8
{/\ b5 taking control over the <<.} 24. Qe1 b5 $1 $17 {Now White has lost the
<<, he is worse on both flanks.} 25. Nd2 Nc7 26. Nf1 b4 27. Ne2 {White is
pushed to the wall.} Nb5 28. Qf2 Nc3 29. Nxc3 Bxc3 30. Bd4 Bxd4 31. Qxd4 {
White has exchanged the intruders, but his useless b1 B remained and Black
gets an immediate -> on the >>.} Qh4 32. Qe3 Bb5 {The black pieces dominate
the whole board.} 33. Kh2 Kf7 {/\ Rcg8 <-> g} 34. g3 Qh5 35. Nd2 Rcg8 36. Rg1
Rh6 37. h4 Rg4 38. Nc4 Bxc4 39. Rxc4 Qxh4+ $1 {This is a stylish finish.} (
39... Qxh4+ 40. gxh4 Rhxh4+ 41. Qh3 Rxh3+ 42. Kxh3 Rxg1 $19) 0-1

[Event "FRA-chT Top 12"]
[Site "Haguenau"]
[Date "2013.06.01"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Meier, Georg"]
[Black "Degraeve, Jean Marc"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E91"]
[WhiteElo "2655"]
[BlackElo "2567"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2013.05.30"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 154 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.06.25"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.06.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Vandoeuvre"]
[BlackTeam "Mulhouse Philidor"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 c5 7. O-O Re8 8. Be3
Ng4 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bxd4 12. Qxd4 e5 13. Bxd8 exd4 14. Nd5 Rxd8
15. Nc7 Na6 16. Nxa8 d3 17. Bxd3 Be6 18. Be2 Rxa8 19. Rfd1 Nf6 20. Rxd6 Nxe4
21. Rd4 Nec5 22. Rad1 Nb4 23. Rd8+ Rxd8 24. Rxd8+ Kg7 25. a3 Nc6 26. Rd6 Kf8
27. f3 Ke7 28. Rd1 a5 29. Kf2 a4 30. Ke3 Nb3 31. Kd3 Kd6 32. Kc3+ Kc5 33. f4
Nbd4 34. Bd3 Na5 35. g3 Nf3 36. h4 Nxc4 37. Be4 Nh2 38. Bxb7 Nd6 39. Bg2 Ng4
40. Bf3 h5 41. Rc1 Bc4 42. Kd2 Kd4 43. Bd1 Ne4+ 44. Ke1 Ngf2 0-1

[Event "Helsingor Xtracon op"]
[Site "Helsingor"]
[Date "2016.07.30"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Dreev, Alexey"]
[Black "Degraeve, Jean Marc"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A49"]
[WhiteElo "2664"]
[BlackElo "2579"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2016.07.23"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "DEN"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 173 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.08.29"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.08.29"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 c5 4. d5 b5 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. c4 d6 7. Nfd2 Nbd7 8. O-O
Bg7 9. cxb5 a6 10. bxa6 Bxd5 11. e4 Bc6 12. Nc3 Rxa6 13. Qc2 O-O 14. b3 Qa8 15.
Bb2 Rb8 16. Rfe1 Ne8 17. Nc4 Ne5 18. Ne3 Bb7 19. Nb5 Rxa2 20. Nc3 Ra6 21. Ncd5
e6 22. Nb6 Qa7 23. Nbc4 Nd3 24. Qxd3 Bxb2 25. Rab1 Bg7 26. Red1 Bc6 27. h4 h5
28. g4 hxg4 29. Nxg4 Bb5 30. Qh3 Bxc4 31. bxc4 Rxb1 32. Rxb1 Ra1 33. Rf1 Rxf1+
34. Bxf1 f5 35. Ne3 Nf6 36. h5 Nxe4 37. hxg6 Qe7 38. Bd3 Qg5+ 39. Kf1 Nf6 40.
Nxf5 exf5 41. Bxf5 Kf8 42. Qf3 Qc1+ 43. Kg2 Qg5+ 44. Kf1 Qc1+ 45. Kg2 Qxc4 46.
Qa8+ Ne8 47. Bd7 Qe2 48. Bxe8 Qxe8 49. Qf3+ Ke7 50. Qe4+ Be5 51. f4 Kf6 52. Kf3
Kg7 53. fxe5 Qxe5 54. Qg4 d5 55. Qc8 c4 56. Kf2 c3 57. Qh3 Kxg6 58. Qg4+ Qg5
59. Qa4 Qf5+ 60. Kg3 c2 61. Qc6+ Kg5 62. Qc3 Qf4+ 63. Kh3 c1=Q 64. Qg7+ Kf5 65.
Qf7+ Ke4 0-1

[Event "FRA-chT Top 12"]
[Site "Chartres"]
[Date "2017.05.19"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Piorun, Kacper"]
[Black "Degraeve, Jean Marc"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2638"]
[BlackElo "2592"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2017.05.18"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 178 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.06.22"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.06.22"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Tremblay en France"]
[BlackTeam "Saint Quentin"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. d4 e4 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Bg5 Bb4 8. Nh3
Nbd7 9. Rc1 h6 10. Bxf6 Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 Nxf6 12. Qb3 O-O 13. O-O Bf5 14. Rfc1
Qd7 15. Nf4 g5 16. Rc7 Rac8 17. Qxb7 gxf4 18. Qxa7 Rxc7 19. Rxc7 Qb5 20. Bf1
fxg3 21. hxg3 Qxb2 22. Rc6 Kg7 23. Qc5 Qa1 24. Qa3 Qxd4 0-1

