[Event "ESP-ch"]
[Site "El Sauzal"]
[Date "2010.09.08"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Arizmendi Martinez, Julen Luis"]
[Black "Franco Alonso, Alejandro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2490"]
[Annotator "Arizmendi,J"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2010.09.04"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 138 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.10.29"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.10.29"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 {A popular move nowadays, but it was
Volkov, Yakovich and Moskalenko who brought it to the limelight} O-O 5. a3
Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne8 {Franco employs a thematic maneuver, first introduced by
Capablanca, although it was in a slightly different version. The knight is
brought over to put pressure on c4, via d6, and at the same time the pin Bg5
is stopped (once White plays e4, Bg5 is very nasty). The downside to this move
is that it doesn´t pay much attention to development and gives White a very
broad pawn-center.} ({The main alternatives are} 6... Nh5 {, gaining a tempo (.
..Qh4 is a threat) to introduce the f-pawn into the fight for the center.}) ({
and} 6... d5 {, which is a much more classical approach.}) 7. a4 {A very
ingenious idea of Mamedyarov which I don´t think will become too popular
though. After ...Ne8 Black has made clear that he wants to play ...b6, ...Ba6,
...Nc6 and ...Na5. With a4-a5 White tries to hinder such a setup, while
getting rid of the potential weak a-pawn in the process. The problem is that
two tempi are spent doing this, tempi which could prove more useful by simply
developing.} ({Actually,} 7. e4 {has been enjoying pretty good results lately:}
b6 8. Bd3 Ba6 9. Nh3 Nc6 10. O-O (10. e5 Na5 11. Ng5 f5 12. f4 h6 13. Qh5 {
is a very curious possibility, but I´m not sure this is objectively good for
White. And yet, results have been great:} hxg5 14. fxg5 g6 15. Qxg6+ Ng7 16.
Qh6 Qe7 17. g6 Ne8 18. O-O Qg7 19. Qg5 Nf6 20. Rf3 Bxc4 21. Bf4 Nd5 22. Bxc4
Nxc4 23. Rh3 Nxf4 24. Qxf4 d6 25. Qg5 dxe5 26. Rh7 Qf6 27. Qh5 Rae8 28. g7 Qxg7
29. Rxg7+ Kxg7 30. Qe2 b5 31. dxe5 Rd8 32. a4 a6 33. axb5 axb5 34. Ra7 Rf7 35.
Qh5 Rg8 36. Ra6 Re8 37. Qg5+ Kh7 38. Qh5+ Kg7 39. Qg5+ Kh7 40. Qf4 Rg7 41. Qh4+
Kg8 42. Qh5 Kf8 43. Rc6 Ree7 44. Qh6 Nxe5 45. Rxe6 Nf3+ 46. Kh1 Rxe6 47. Qxe6
Ng5 48. Qxf5+ Rf7 49. Qxb5 Ne6 50. g3 Rf2 51. Qd7 Re2 52. h4 Re5 53. Kg2 Kg8
54. h5 c5 55. Qe8+ {1-0 Ulibin,M (2548)-Palac,M (2563)/Zagreb 2010/CB09_2010})
10... Na5 11. Qe2 f6 12. e5 c5 13. Ra2 Rc8 14. Rc2 Qc7 15. Re1 cxd4 16. cxd4
Bxc4 17. Bd2 b5 18. Qe4 f5 19. Qh4 Nc6 20. Bxc4 bxc4 21. Rxc4 Qb7 22. Qh5 d5
23. Rc5 Nxd4 24. Rxc8 Qxc8 25. Bb4 h6 26. Bxf8 Kxf8 27. Qh4 Qc4 28. Nf4 Qc5 29.
Qf2 Nc7 30. Rd1 Nb3 31. Qxc5+ Nxc5 32. Nd3 Nd7 33. Rc1 Nb5 34. a4 Nd4 35. Rc7
Ke7 36. Nc5 {1-0 Khenkin,I (2632)-Urkedal,F (2414)/Tromsoe 2010/CB31_2010})
7... b6 8. a5 Ba6 9. e4 Nc6 10. axb6 axb6 11. Bd3 Na5 12. Nh3 {The last couple
of moves have been pretty standard. Now the c4-pawn cannot be taken due to
several tricks down the a-file: 12...Bxc4 fails to 13.Rxa5 Bxd3 14.Rxa8
followed by 15.Qxd3, while 12...Nxc4 is met by 13.Rxa6.} Rc8 $5 {A
funny-looking move, but one that causes trouble. Suddenly 13...Bxc4 turns out
to be a threat, since 14.Rxa5 Bxd3 no longer works because White´s rook would
be hanging and there is no black rook to take on a8! Also, the rook on c8
could prove useful whenever Black plays ...c5.} 13. Qe2 Qh4+ ({Franco had a
more principled possibility here:} 13... c5 14. dxc5 ({is an obvious
alternative:} 14. d5 exd5 ({Black can also try} 14... e5 {, keeping the
position closed in order to attack c4 in peace.} 15. f4 (15. Nf2 $6 Nd6 16. Ng4
$2 {and it seems that White, thanks to the threat on e5, will be in time to
protect c4 and enjoy a great plus.} {But} Bxc4 17. Nxe5 Qf6 $1 {is a killer:}
18. Nxc4 Qxc3+ 19. Qd2 Qxa1 20. Nxd6 Nb3 {The key move.} 21. Qb2 Qxc1+ 22. Qxc1
Nxc1 23. Nxc8 Nxd3+ 24. Kd2 Rxc8 25. Kxd3 Ra8 {and Black is better.}) 15... Nb3
({Interesting as well is} 15... Qh4+ {first:} 16. Nf2 Nb3 17. g3 {Not much of
a choice, since oter moves drop a pawn to ...Nxc1 and ...Qxf4.} Qd8 (17... Qh6
$2 18. O-O $1 Nxa1 19. fxe5 Qg6 20. Qb2 $44 {White, with two bishops, a huge
pawn center and many bad black pieces, is definitely better here.}) 18. Rb1
Nxc1 19. Rxc1 exf4 $1 20. gxf4 Qh4 {and Black has great piece play against
White´s pawns.}) 16. Rb1 Nxc1 17. Rxc1 Qh4+ 18. Qf2 Qxf2+ ({engines seem to
like} 18... Qe7 19. O-O Nd6 {, but after} 20. Qe2 {White has a much clearer
idea of what he should do from here.}) 19. Kxf2 f5 $1 20. exf5 e4 21. Ra1 exd3
22. Rxa6 Nd6 {and, once more, Black is fine.}) 15. cxd5 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Nb3 17.
Rb1 Nxc1 18. Rxc1 f5 $1 {In all this variations we constantly see Black
chipping away at White´s center with this move.} 19. O-O (19. e5 $2 Qh4+ 20.
Nf2 Qf4 {[%csl Rc1,Re5]}) 19... fxe4 20. fxe4 {Now there is a new target on e4.
} Rxf1+ 21. Rxf1 Qe7 22. Qa6 Nd6 23. Nf2 b5 {and Black doing quite well.})
14... Nb3 15. Bg5 f6 16. Rxa6 Nxc5 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Ra3 Nd6 {[%csl Rc3,Rc4]
Black has sufficient compensation for the pawn.}) 14. Nf2 Nb3 15. Rb1 {I
prefer leaving Black with a passive Ba6.} Nxc1 16. Rxc1 Nd6 17. O-O (17. Ra1
Ra8 18. O-O {is more accurate.}) 17... Nb7 {Not a bad decision. The knight is
going to a5, where it will attack c4 from a more comfortable post.} 18. Ra1 Na5
19. Rfb1 ({I didn´t believe the moment was ripe for} 19. c5 Bxd3 20. Nxd3 d6 {
just yet.}) 19... d6 20. Nd1 $1 {Objectively Black should be Ok, but this is
the beginning of a knight tour which will pose Black some problems.} Ra8 21.
Ne3 Nc6 22. Nc2 Bb7 {Alejandro has been looking forward to mass exchanges on
the a-file, but} 23. Na3 $1 {[%csl Rc7] Reminds him there is a soft spot in
his position after all. I´m not claiming White has anything here, but it does
manage to put some pressure on my opponent.} Rfb8 24. Nb5 Qd8 $6 (24... Qe7 {
The queen looks more active here, keeping an eye on the kingside.}) 25. f4 {
Once he is tied down to c7, I try to create some targets on the the other side.
} Rxa1 26. Rxa1 Ra8 27. Rxa8 Qxa8 28. h3 ({My engines propose} 28. d5 Na7 29.
Nxc7 Qc8 30. Qa2 $1 Qxc7 31. Qxa7 exd5 32. exd5 g6 {, but I don´t like it. His
bishop is kind of stuck for the time being, but my pawn is not playing much of
a role and his pawn structure is very solid.}) 28... Qb8 $2 {Alejandro wants
to get rid of the intruder on b5, but leaves his queen too far away from the
real action.} (28... Qd8 {is much better, with a tough postion.}) 29. f5 $2 ({
I knew I had to open the position in order to take advantage of my better
pieces, and yet here I missed a great possibility:} 29. d5 $1 Nd8 30. e5 $1 g6
(30... exd5 31. exd6 {[%cal Ge2e8]}) 31. f5 $1 {Now, that´s how you open a
position! The move I played, on the other hand, only works due to a bad
mistake from my opponent.}) 29... Na7 $2 ({After} 29... e5 {I had planned} 30.
f6 $1 gxf6 31. Qg4+ Kf8 32. Qf5 Kg7 33. Qd7 {, with good chances.}) ({But he
had chances to correct his previous mistake with} 29... Qd8 30. fxe6 fxe6 31.
Qg4 Qe7 {Here Rybka suggests} 32. Nxc7 $5 Qxc7 33. Qxe6+ Kf8 34. c5 dxc5 35.
Bc4 cxd4 36. Qg8+ Ke7 {and the crazy line ends in a draw.}) 30. fxe6 fxe6 31.
Qg4 {Now Black is in deep trouble.} Bc8 32. Qg5 $1 (32. Qh4 $142) 32... Ba6 (
32... Nc6 33. d5 h6 34. Qh4 $18) 33. Qe7 Nxb5 34. cxb5 Bb7 (34... Bc8 35. Qe8#)
35. Qxe6+ Kh8 36. Qe7 $1 {My position is totally winning, but in my opponents
time trouble I managed to make things a little difficult for myself.} h6 37.
Kh2 (37. d5 {would leave Black all tied up, but I didn´t want to block my
pawns yet.}) 37... c6 38. bxc6 Bxc6 39. d5 Ba4 40. c4 Kg8 {I can play e4-e5
the next couple of moves, but I was also down to my last minutes now and
decided to gain some time on the clock before opening things up.} 41. Kh1 Be8
42. Be2 Bf7 43. e5 $1 dxe5 44. d6 Qf8 45. Qxe5 $6 (45. Qc7 $1 {[%cal Gd6d7]
wins on the spot.}) 45... Qd8 46. Qd4 Be6 47. Bf3 Kf7 48. Bh5+ g6 49. Bf3 h5 (
49... Qf6 50. Qxb6 Qa1+ 51. Kh2 (51. Qg1 Qxg1+ 52. Kxg1 Bxc4 53. Bg4 $18 h5 54.
Bc8 Ke8 55. h4 {should be winning too.}) 51... Qe5+ 52. g3 $18) 50. Kg1 Qc8 51.
Qf4+ $2 (51. Bd5 $1 Bxd5 52. Qxd5+ Qe6 53. Qb7+ Kf6 54. Qf3+ Qf5 55. Qd1 Qd7
56. Qd4+ Ke6 57. Qd5+ $18) 51... Kg7 $2 ({After} 51... Ke8 {I would suddenly
need to show some real technique...} 52. Qf6 Qc5+ 53. Kh1 Qxd6 54. Qxg6+ Kd7
55. Qh7+ Qe7 56. Qxh5 Bxc4 57. Qg4+ Qe6 58. Qg7+ Ke8 59. Bh5+ Kd8 60. Bg4 Qf7
61. Qd4+ Kc7 62. h4 {One more pawn and a better king means White should win.})
52. Qe5+ Kh6 $2 53. Bd5 {Now it´s curtains.} Bf5 (53... Bxd5 54. Qxd5 Qd7 55.
Qe5 Qf7 56. Qd4 {[%cal Gd6d7,Gd4b6,Gd4h8]}) 54. Qe3+ Kg7 55. Qxb6 Bxh3 56. Qd4+
Kh7 57. gxh3 Qxh3 58. d7 1-0

[Event "Bled 30th Anniversary"]
[Site "Bled"]
[Date "1961.09.09"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Tal, Mihail"]
[Black "Matanovic, Aleksandar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E27"]
[Annotator "Bulletin"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1961.09.03"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 d6 (5... c5 $1 6. f3 d5 7.
cxd5 Nxd5 $13) 6. f3 e5 7. e4 O-O 8. Bg5 $6 (8. Bd3 $1 Nh5 9. Ne2) 8... Re8 9.
Ne2 (9. Bd3 $2 exd4 10. cxd4 Nxe4 $1 11. Bxd8 Nc3+) 9... h6 $6 {Weakening} (
9... Nc6 $1) 10. Be3 c5 $2 11. d5 {Now it's not easy to attack Whites weak
pawn at c4.} Nh5 12. g4 {With the closede center White is ready to attack on
the wing.} Nf4 (12... Qf6 $1 13. gxh5 (13. Ng3 Nf4) 13... Qxf3 14. Rg1 Qxe3 15.
Qc2 Qf3 16. O-O-O $13) 13. Qd2 (13. Nxf4 exf4 14. Bxf4 Qf6 15. Qd2 Bxg4 16. Bg2
$14 (16. fxg4 Rxe4+ 17. Be3 Qf3)) 13... g5 $2 (13... Qf6 $1) 14. Ng3 Qf6 15. h4
Na6 16. Ra2 Kf8 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. Qc1 Ke7 19. Nh5 Qg6 20. Rah2 Rg8 (20... Kd8
$2 21. Nxf4 $1 gxf4 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Qxf4 $18) 21. Ng3 Nc7 22. Rh7 Qf6 23. Qd2
$5 (23. R1h6 $6 Rg6 24. Nh5 Nxh5 25. gxh5 Rxh6 26. Rxh6 Qxf3 27. Bxg5+ Kd7 28.
Qe3 $16) 23... Bd7 24. R1h6 Rg6 25. Nh5 $1 Rxh6 (25... Nxh5 $2 26. gxh5 Rxh6
27. Rxh6 Qxf3 28. Bxg5+ Kf8 29. Bf6 Qxe4+ 30. Kf2 Qf5+ 31. Kg1 $18) 26. Nxf6
Rxf6 27. Rg7 Rh8 28. Rxg5 Ne8 (28... Rh1 29. Bxf4 Rxf4 30. Rh5 $1) 29. Qf2 (29.
Bxc5 $2 {Tal} dxc5 30. Rxe5+ Kd6 31. Rxe8 (31. Rf5 Ng6) 31... Bxe8 32. g5 Ke5
33. gxf6 Rh1 $15) 29... Rh1 30. Bxf4 Rxf4 31. Rh5 Rxh5 (31... Rxf1+ 32. Qxf1
Bxg4 33. Rh8 Bxf3 34. Qh3 $18) 32. gxh5 Nf6 33. Qh2 (33. h6 $6 Nxe4 34. Qh2 Ng5
) 33... Rxf3 34. h6 Nh7 35. Qg2 Rf4 36. Qg7 Rxe4+ 37. Kd2 Bf5 38. Bd3 Nf6 $2 (
38... Rg4 $1 39. Bxf5 Rxg7 40. hxg7 Nf6 41. Bh7 Ng8 $1 42. Bxg8 Kf6 43. Bh7
Kxg7 44. Bf5 Kf6 45. Bc8 b6 {An interesting ending. Is there a winning way for
White?}) 39. Bxe4 Nxe4+ 40. Ke1 Nf6 41. Qh8 a5 {This move was sealed by
Matanovic, but he resigned without resuming.} 1-0

[Event "Linares 08th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Beliavsky, Alexander G"]
[Black "Ljubojevic, Ljubomir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2640"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "1990.02.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 017"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1990.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1990.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O 7. cxd5 exd5 8.
e3 b6 9. Bd3 Ba6 $5 (9... c5 10. Ne2 Ba6) 10. Ne2 (10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. Qd3 Qc8)
10... Qc8 11. e4 (11. O-O Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Qa6 13. Qc2 Re8) 11... Bxd3 12. Qxd3
Qa6 13. Qe3 (13. Qxa6 Nxa6 14. e5 Nd7 $13) 13... dxe4 14. fxe4 Nbd7 15. O-O
Rae8 16. e5 (16. Ng3 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 f5) 16... Nd5 17. Qf3 Qc4 $132 18. Ng3 f6
19. Bh6 (19. Qg4 $2 Nxe5) (19. Nf5 fxe5 (19... g6 20. Bh6 Rf7 $13) 20. Qg4 g6
21. Nh6+ Kh8 22. Nf7+ Kg8 23. Qxd7 Qxf1+ $1 24. Kxf1 Rxf7+) 19... gxh6 20. Qg4+
Kh8 21. Qxd7 Rd8 (21... fxe5 $2 22. Nh5 Rxf1+ 23. Rxf1 Rg8 24. Rf8 $1 $18) 22.
Qe6 Rde8 23. Qd7 Rd8 24. Qe6 Rde8 25. Qd7 {Ftacnik,L} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Interzonal-15"]
[Site "Manila"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Lin, Ta"]
[Black "Agdestein, Simen"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2435"]
[BlackElo "2600"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "1990.06.29"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 019"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1990.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1990.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
e4 $1 Nxc3 (8... Nb6 $14) 9. Qb3 Nxe4 {N} (9... Qxd4 10. Bb2 Qe3+ 11. Be2 Nd5
12. Qxe3 Nxe3 13. Kf2 Nd5 14. exd5 exd5 15. Rc1 $1 $16 {Moskalenko-Levin,F/
USSR/1989/}) 10. fxe4 Qxd4 11. Qb1 e5 (11... Nc6 $5) 12. Nf3 Qd6 13. Be3 b6 14.
Bc4 Be6 15. Qb3 Bxc4 16. Qxc4 Nc6 $1 17. O-O (17. Rd1 $2 Qxa3 18. Qxc6 Qxe3+)
17... Na5 18. Qc3 f6 19. Rad1 Qe7 20. Nh4 $1 $40 g6 21. Bh6 Rf7 22. Qg3 Kh8 23.
Rd3 Rg8 24. Rdf3 Nc6 25. Qf2 f5 $8 26. exf5 Nd4 27. Rf4 $2 (27. Rh3 $1 Nxf5 (
27... gxf5 28. Be3 $16) 28. Nxf5 gxf5 29. Bc1 {/\ Bb2+/-}) 27... Qd6 $1 (27...
exf4 28. Qxd4+ Qf6 29. Qxf6+ Rxf6 30. Bxf4 Re8 31. fxg6 hxg6 32. Be5 $18) 28.
Rxd4 $2 (28. Rg4 $13) 28... Qxd4 29. Be3 Qd5 30. Qc2 gxf5 31. Nxf5 c5 32. g3
Rd8 33. Bg5 Qd3 34. Qxd3 $2 (34. Qb2 $1 Re8 35. g4 $13) 34... Rxd3 35. g4 h5 $1
(35... Rxa3 36. Rd1 Rf8 $2 37. Bf6+ $1 $18) 36. Re1 hxg4 37. Rxe5 Rxa3 38. Nh6
Rd7 39. Nxg4 Ra2 40. Bf6+ Kg8 41. Re1 b5 42. Bg5 Rd4 43. Nf6+ Kf7 44. h4 Kg6
45. Ne4 Rc2 46. Ng3 b4 47. Re6+ Kf7 48. Re7+ Kf8 49. Re2 Rxe2 50. Nxe2 b3 $1 {
Ftacnik,L} 0-1

[Event "EU-ch 6th"]
[Site "Warsaw"]
[Date "2005.06.29"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Volkov, Sergey"]
[Black "Balogh, Csaba"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2634"]
[BlackElo "2531"]
[Annotator "Gavrikov,V"]
[PlyCount "156"]
[EventDate "2005.06.18"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 108"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O ({Usually Black
gives preference for the continuation} 6... c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5) 7. cxd5 (7. Bg5 $6
h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. e3 Qa5 10. Qd2 Nbd7 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 b6 13. Ne2 Ba6 $132 {
0-1 Kluger,G-Ozsvath,A/Hungary 1965/MCD (81)}) 7... exd5 8. e3 c5 ({For the
evaluation of the line} 8... Bf5 {critical is the position after} 9. Ne2 Nbd7 (
9... c5 10. g4 $1 Bg6 11. Nf4 Nc6 12. Bg2 Rc8 13. O-O $14 {1/2-1/2 Malaniuk,
V-Ivanchuk,V/Lvov 1988/CBM 007 (35)}) 10. g4 (10. Ng3 Bg6 11. Bd3 c5 12. O-O
Re8 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. Re1 Qc7 15. e4 cxd4 16. cxd4 Rac8 17. Bg5 Qc2 18. Bxf6
Qxd1 19. Rexd1 Nxf6 20. e5 Nh5 $5 (20... Nd7 21. Rdb1 Nb6 22. a4 $14) 21. Ne2
Rc2 22. Kf1 g5 23. Rdc1 Rec8 24. g3 f6 $13 {1/2-1/2 Botvinnik,M-Tal,M/Moscow
1960/MainBase (40)}) 10... Nxg4 $5 11. fxg4 Qh4+ 12. Kd2 Be4 13. Rg1 Nb6 14.
Rg3 Qxh2 $5 (14... Nc4+ $143 $6 15. Ke1 Rae8 16. Nf4 g5 (16... Qxh2 17. Rh3 Qg1
18. Qe2) 17. Nh3 f5 $2 18. gxf5 Bxf5 19. Bxc4 dxc4 20. Nxg5 Qxh2 21. Qf3 $18 {
1-0 Malaniuk,V-Dydyshko,V/Minsk 1988/EXT 98 (27)}) 15. Ke1 (15. Qe1 $6 Nc4+ 16.
Kd1 Qh6 17. Rh3 Qb6) 15... Qh4 {when it seems that Black has sufficient
compensation for the piece.}) 9. Ra2 $146 {This is already a novelty although
the idea to exploit rook on the second rank is typical.} ({According to theory
White can hope for the opening advantage after} 9. Bd3 b6 10. Ne2 Ba6 11. O-O
$1 ({In the event of} 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. O-O {Black can realize the manoeuvre
Nc7-b5-d6, e.g.} Re8 13. Ng3 Qd7 14. Ra2 Nc7 $5 (14... Rac8 $143 15. Re2 cxd4
16. cxd4 Rc4 17. Bb2 Qa4 18. Qd3 Nc7 19. Nf5 Rd8 20. e4 $36 {1-0 Kaidanov,
G-Szekely,P/Moscow 1985/MCL (29)}) 15. Re2 Rad8 16. Bb2 Nb5 $1 17. Qb1 Qc6 18.
Kh1 {1/2-1/2 Dumitrache,D-Kishnev,S/Cappelle la Grande 1993/TD (34)} Nd6 $132)
{for example:} 11... Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Re8 13. Ng3 Nc6 14. Bb2 $1 ({too slow is} 
14. Ra2 Qd7 15. Re2 Rad8 16. Bb2 h5 $1 17. Rd1 h4 18. Nf5 c4 19. Qc2 Ne7 $1 20.
Nxe7+ Rxe7 21. e4 dxe4 22. fxe4 Rde8 23. Rde1 h3 24. e5 Nd5 $15 {0-1 Milov,
V-Campora,D/Andorra 2001/CBM 083 ext (49)}) 14... Rc8 15. Rad1 (15. Rae1 Qc7
16. e4 Ne7 $5 17. Qe3 Nd7 (17... cxd4 $5 18. cxd4 Nd7) 18. Kh1 (18. exd5 c4 19.
Nh5 $13) 18... f6 $1 19. Nh5 Ng6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Aleksandrov,A-Lyrberg,P/Minsk
1994/CBM 042 (41)}) 15... Na5 16. e4 cxd4 17. cxd4 Qc7 18. Rc1 (18. e5 Qc2 $1
$13) 18... Nc4 19. Bc3 Qf4 ({dangerous is} 19... Nxa3 20. e5 Nd7 21. Nf5 Nc4
22. Bb4 Qd8 23. f4 a5 24. Qg3 g6 25. Nh6+ Kg7 26. f5 $1 axb4 $140 $2 27. Nxf7
$1 Qc7 28. fxg6 $18) 20. Rce1 b5 21. Re2 $14 {1-0 Gurevich,M-Le Roux,J/Belfort
2003/CBM 099/(41)}) 9... Qa5 $5 {Black tries to provoke Bc1-d2.} ({In case of} 
9... Nc6 {White can choose the standard way of development} 10. Bd3 Re8 11. Ne2
Bd7 12. O-O) 10. Kf2 ({After} 10. Bd2 {was possible} Qc7 11. Bd3 Re8 12. Ne2 b6
13. O-O Ba6 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 {and the bishop on d2 is misplaced.}) 10... Nc6 11.
Ne2 (11. g4 $2 {fails to} Bxg4 12. fxg4 Ne4+ 13. Kg2 Nxc3 14. Qd2 Nxa2 15. Qxa2
cxd4 $17) 11... h5 $1 {Preventing g2-g4.} 12. h3 h4 13. Kg1 $6 ({Deserved
attention the immediate} 13. g4 hxg3+ 14. Nxg3 {with unclear position.}) 13...
Re8 14. Bd2 Ne7 {Taking precautionary measure against Qe1.} 15. g4 hxg3 16.
Nxg3 Qc7 17. Qe1 Nf5 18. Nxf5 Bxf5 {In result of White´s inaccuracy Black
obtained an active game.} 19. Rh2 Re6 20. Qh4 ({More cautious was} 20. Rb2 Nd7
(20... Rb6 21. Rxb6 axb6 22. Bc1) 21. Rg2 Bxh3 22. Qg3 Qxg3 23. Rxg3 Bxf1 24.
Rxb7 Nb6 25. Kxf1 Nc4 26. Ke2 cxd4 27. cxd4 Rb6 28. Rxb6 axb6 29. Bb4 Nxa3 30.
Rg5 Nc2 31. Bd2 Rd8 32. Kd3 f6 33. Rf5 Na3 34. e4 dxe4+ 35. fxe4 {with
probable draw.}) 20... Nh7 ({Perhaps stronger was} 20... Qb6 $5) 21. Rg2 Qb6 $5
{[%cal Gb6b1]} 22. dxc5 $1 {The ingenious defence.} Qb1 (22... Qxc5 23. Rb2
$132) 23. Be1 g5 {Threatening Qxa2.} ({Of course not} 23... Rxe3 $4 24. Qd4) ({
but interesting is} 23... Bxh3 $5 {after which White has a saving resource} 24.
Rad2 $1 Bxg2 25. Bd3 Qc1 (25... Rh6 26. Bxb1 Rxh4 27. Bxh4 Bxf3 28. Rb2) 26.
Qxh7+ (26. Bxh7+ $2 Kf8 27. Kxg2 Rh6 $19) 26... Kf8 27. Qh8+ Ke7 28. Qh4+ g5
29. Qxg5+ Rf6 (29... Kf8 30. Kf2 $1 Bxf3 31. Bf5) 30. Qe5+ Re6 31. Qg5+ {
with perpetual check.}) 24. Rae2 Bd3 25. Qb4 ({This exchange sacrifice was not
forced and instead White could play} 25. Rd2 Bxf1 (25... Rxe3 26. Bxd3 Rxd3 $2
27. Rxg5+ $1 Nxg5 28. Qxg5+ Kf8 29. Qh6+ $18) 26. Kxf1 Qb5+ 27. Kg1 Qxc5 28.
Rd3 $11) 25... Qxb4 26. cxb4 Bxe2 27. Rxe2 b6 $5 (27... Rae8 28. Bf2 Nf6 29.
Rd2 $44) 28. Bc3 bxc5 29. bxc5 Rc6 (29... Rb8 $143 30. Bd4 Rb3 31. Rc2 Rc6 32.
a4 a6 33. Bg2 {/\ f4}) 30. Bd4 Nf8 31. Rg2 Ne6 32. Bb5 Rc7 33. h4 Rb8 34. a4 a6
35. Bxa6 Rb4 36. Bb5 Nxd4 37. Rxg5+ Kf8 38. exd4 Rxd4 39. c6 Ke7 (39... Rxh4 $6
40. Rxd5 Ke7 41. Kf2) 40. Kf2 Kd6 41. Rh5 ({White wants more than a repetition
of moves after} 41. h5 Rh4 42. Kg3 Rh1 43. Kg2 Rh4) 41... Re7 42. Kg3 f6 43.
Rh8 Rg7+ 44. Kf2 f5 $1 45. Ke3 $4 {The decisive mistake.} (45. h5 $2 {is
answered by} Re7 46. h6 Ke5 $1 {/\ Kf4} 47. Kg3 $8 f4+ 48. Kg4 Rd1 $17) ({
but the correct} 45. Rd8+ $1 Kc7 (45... Ke5 $2 46. Rd7) 46. Ra8 Kd6 47. Rd8+ $1
Kc7 48. Ra8 {would lead to a draw.}) 45... Kc5 46. h5 ({Also loses} 46. f4 Rb4
47. Rh5 Rb3+ 48. Kf2 Rb2+ 49. Kf1 (49. Kf3 $2 Rgg2 50. Rxf5 Kd4 $19) 49... Kd4
$1 50. Rg5 (50. Rxf5 Rgg2) 50... Rf7 51. h5 Rh2 52. Kg1 Rh4) 46... f4+ 47. Kf2
(47. Ke2 Re7+ 48. Kf1 Rd1+ 49. Kg2 Rd2+ 50. Kf1 Kd4 $19 {/\ Ke3}) 47... Rd2+
48. Kf1 Rdg2 $1 $19 {[%cal Gg2g1] The winning manoeuvre.} 49. Ke1 (49. h6 Rg1+
50. Ke2 R7g2+ 51. Kd3 Ra1 $19) 49... Rg1+ 50. Bf1 Kxc6 ({A nice alternative is
} 50... Rh1 $1 51. h6 $140 Rgg1 52. c7 Rxf1+ 53. Ke2 Kd4 $1 54. c8=Q (54. Rf8
Rc1) 54... Ra1 $1 $19) 51. h6 Re7+ 52. Kf2 Rh1 53. a5 Re6 54. h7 Rh2+ 55. Kg1
Reh6 56. Rc8+ Kd6 57. Rd8+ Kc5 58. Rf8 Rxh7 59. Rxf4 Ra2 60. a6 Re7 $1 {
[%cal Ge7e1] The rest is simple.} 61. Rg4 Re1 62. Rg2 Rxa6 63. Rc2+ Kd6 64. Kf2
Raa1 65. Be2 Rh1 66. Rd2 Ke5 67. Rb2 d4 68. Rb8 Ra2 69. Re8+ Kf6 70. Kg3 Re1
71. Kf2 Rc1 72. Kg3 Rc3 73. Bb5 d3 74. Rd8 d2 75. Be2 Re3 76. Bc4 Rb2 77. Rd6+
Ke7 78. Rd4 Re1 0-1

[Event "ISR-chT"]
[Site "Israel"]
[Date "2002.04.19"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Golod, Vitali"]
[Black "Gerzhoy, Leonid"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2535"]
[BlackElo "2355"]
[Annotator "Golod,V"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2002.01.10"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 089"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.08.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.08.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O ({The special
attention deserves:} 6... c6 $5 {See my comments to Golod,V-Rozentalis,E/Neum,
2000/CBM 79(0-1)(30)}) (6... c5 $5 {It's main line.}) 7. cxd5 $5 {From my
point of view this move is a little bit more preferable than} (7. e3) ({or} 7.
Bg5) 7... exd5 8. e3 Bf5 $5 {[%csl Yf1,Gf5] /^b1-h7 My contender played rather
quickly, this variant he has prepared up to this game.} ({Is a possible
continuation of the play:} 8... b6 $5) (8... c5 $5) (8... Re8) ({and} 8... Nh5)
9. Ne2 c5 10. dxc5 $146 {It is hardly possible to count this novelty
successful. I incorrectly thought, it was dangerously to play:} (10. g4 $1 Nxg4
$2 (10... Bg6 11. h4 (11. Nf4 $5) 11... h6 $140 12. Nf4 $36 {[%csl Rg8]}) 11.
fxg4 Qh4+ (11... Be4 $143 12. Rg1 Qh4+ 13. Rg3 Qxh2 14. Rh3 $16) 12. Kd2 (12.
Ng3 $2 Be4 $36 {[%csl Yh1,Rh2][%cal Yh1h2]}) 12... Be4 13. Rg1 cxd4 (13... Qxh2
$142) 14. exd4 Qg5+ 15. Ke1 Qh4+ 16. Rg3 Nc6 17. Qd2 Rae8 18. Qg5 Qxh2 19. Bf4
$16 {Tal,M-Padevsky,N/Leipzig,1960(1-0)(36)}) 10... Nc6 $5 ({After:} 10... Nbd7
$6 {I keep a superfluous pawn:} 11. Nd4 Bg6 12. c6 bxc6 13. Nxc6 Qc7 14. Ne7+ (
14. Nd4 $143 Qxc3+ 15. Bd2 Qc7 $11) 14... Kh8 15. Nxg6+ hxg6 16. Qd4 $14) 11.
Nd4 Bg6 {[%csl Yg6][%cal Yg6b1] It is necessary to keep the control above this
diagonal.} 12. Qb3 $6 ({It deserves attention:} 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Qd4 {[%csl
Yd4][%cal Yd4c5,Yd4c3,Yd4e3]}) 12... Qe7 $1 {Now it is impossible to save Pc5.}
13. Bd2 Rab8 {[%csl Yb8,Rc5][%cal Yb8b7]} 14. Be2 Qxc5 $11 15. O-O Rfe8 $6 {
[%mdl 16384] Faster all, it is a loss of a tempo.} (15... Rfc8 $142 {[%cal
Gc6a5]}) 16. Ra2 Nd7 $6 {[%mdl 16384] Black has begun an unsuccessful
translation of the knight. At this time I can improve my position.} (16... Qd6
$5) 17. a4 Nb6 18. a5 $6 ({It was a much better:} 18. Qb5 $1 Qd6 $140 (18...
Qxb5 $2 19. axb5 Nxd4 (19... Ne5 $4 20. f4 {[%csl Rg6][%cal Gf4f5]}) 20. cxd4
$16 {[%csl Ra7]}) 19. a5 $36) 18... Nc4 ({Home analysis after the game has
established - it was a little better} 18... Nxa5 19. Qb5 {[%csl Ra5,Rc5]} Qxb5
$8 20. Bxb5 {[%csl Ra5,Re8]} Nc6 21. Bxc6 (21. Rfa1 $5 Rec8 $140 22. Nxc6 bxc6
23. Be2 {[%csl Ra7]}) 21... bxc6 22. Nxc6 Rb7 $11 {[%cal Gb6c4]}) 19. Bxc4 dxc4
20. Qa3 ({Leads to loss of the pawn:} 20. Qb5 $2 Qxb5 21. Nxb5 Re5 {[%csl Ra5,
Rb5,Gc6,Ge5]}) 20... Qxa3 21. Rxa3 {[%csl Rg6][%cal Ge3e4][%mdl 4096]} Bd3 22.
Rfa1 f5 $6 (22... a6 23. g4 $5 $14 {[%csl Yg4][%cal Yg4f5]}) ({Can be
recommended:} 22... Nxd4 $5 {Postny,E} 23. cxd4 $140 f5 {[%csl Yf5] +/=/=}) 23.
Nxc6 $1 {[%mdl 32]} bxc6 $140 24. a6 {[%csl Ra7]} Rb2 (24... c5 $5) 25. R3a2
Reb8 $2 {[%mdl 16384] After the game, Leonid has admitted that he did not see
my next move.} (25... Rb3 $14) 26. e4 $1 $16 {[%csl Ra7][%cal Gd2e3]} Rxa2 27.
Rxa2 fxe4 28. Be3 {[%csl Ra7]} exf3 (28... Ra8 29. Rb2 {[%cal Gb2b7]}) 29. gxf3
$5 ({Also good enough:} 29. Bxa7 Rb1+ $140 30. Kf2 Rf1+ 31. Kg3 fxg2 (31... Be4
$2 32. Bc5 fxg2 33. a7 $18) 32. Kxg2 Rf8 (32... c5 $143 33. Bxc5 {[%csl Yc5]
[%cal Yc5f8,Ga6a7,Ga7a8]}) 33. Bd4 $16) 29... c5 ({Also loses a game:} 29...
Ra8 30. Rb2 Bf5 31. Rb7 Bc8 $140 32. Bxa7 $1 $18 {[%cal Gg1f2,Gf2e3,Ge3d4,
Gd4c5,Gc5b6,Yb6a6]}) 30. Bxc5 Bf5 ({Again nothing changes,after:} 30... Ra8 31.
Rb2 Bf5 32. Rb7 Bc8 33. Bxa7 $18 {[%cal Gg1f2,Gf2e3,Ge3d4,Gd4c5,Gc5b6,Yb6a6]})
31. Bxa7 Re8 32. Bd4 $18 Bd7 33. a7 Bc6 34. f4 $1 {/\Kf2,Rb2-b8.} (34. Kf2 $2
Rf8 {[%csl Rf3]}) 34... Kf7 35. Kf2 {[%csl Re1,Yf2][%cal Ga2b2,Gb2b8,Yf2e1]} ({
There is no sense to hasten with translation of a rook:} 35. Rb2 $6 Re1+ 36.
Kf2 Ra1 {[%csl Ya1]}) 35... Ke6 36. Re2+ $1 {[%csl Rg7] The most simple and
correct decision!} Kf7 37. Rxe8 Kxe8 38. Bxg7 Kf7 39. Be5 Ke6 40. Ke3 Kd5 41.
Bb8 {[%csl Ga7,Yd5,Gf4][%cal Gf4f5,Yd5d4,Ge3d4]} 1-0

[Event "Gashimov Memorial-A 1st"]
[Site "Shamkir"]
[Date "2014.04.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2014.04.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 160"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.05.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nh5 7. Nh3 f5 {
An aggressive continuation. Instead of trying to equalise, Black wants to
obtain a double-edged position.} 8. e3 (8. Bg5 {is the main alternative - see
Khairullin-Adams with annotations by GM A.Mikhalchishin in CBM 136.}) 8... d6 (
8... Nc6 9. Bd3 d6 {is hardly good as White pushes c4-c5 at an appropriate
moment:} 10. O-O (10. g3 $6 e5 11. Nf2 Qe8 12. O-O Na5 13. Qe2 b6 14. Rb1 Ba6
15. c5 Bxd3 16. Nxd3 Nf6 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. f4 exf4 19. Qa2+ Kh8 20. exf4 Rd8
$17 {1/2 (39) Abergel,T (2499)-Adams,M (2735) Liverpool 2008}) 10... Qe8 11. a4
e5 $6 (11... b6 $5) 12. c5 $1 dxc5 13. Ba3 b6 14. dxc5 Rf6 15. f4 e4 16. Be2 g6
17. c4 Ng7 18. Bb2 Rf7 19. cxb6 cxb6 20. c5 $16 {1-0 (30) Golizadeh,A (2472)
-Bacallao Alonso,Y (2583) Istanbul 2012}) (8... c5 $5 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. O-O Nf6
11. d5 $6 Ne5 12. e4 fxe4 13. fxe4 d6 14. Ng5 h6 15. Nf3 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Qe8 17.
Ra2 exd5 18. exd5 Qe4 $15 {1/2 (33) Abdalla,L (2322)-Leitao,R (2620) Sao Paulo
2011}) 9. Be2 (9. f4 Nf6 10. Bd3 e5 11. O-O e4 12. Be2 Kh8 13. Nf2 Nc6 14. h3
b6 15. g4 Na5 $132 {0-1 (27) Swapnil,S (2336)-Komarov,D (2540) Calicut 2007}) (
9. Nf2 {is too passive:} Nc6 $5 (9... e5 {(a bit too early)} 10. Bd3 $1 {
- 9.Bd3} (10. f4 Nf6 11. fxe5 dxe5 12. c5 Nc6 13. Bc4+ Kh8 14. O-O b6 15. Bb5
Bb7 16. Rb1 Ne7 17. Be2 Ne4 $15 {1/2 (54) Volkov,S (2622)-Izoria,Z (2606)
Saint Vincent 2005}) (10. Be2 Qe7 11. c5 Nc6 12. cxd6 cxd6 13. a4 {1/2 (13)
Mensch,E (2336)-Nikolaidis,I (2525) Nancy 2006})) 10. a4 (10. Bd3 e5 11. O-O
Qh4 12. Qe1 Bd7 13. g3 Qe7 14. Qd1 Rae8 15. Ra2 Nf6 16. f4 e4 17. Be2 Qf7 18.
a4 Na5 $15 {1/2 (31) Cebalo,M (2505)-Komarov,D (2530) Bratto 2006}) 10... b6
11. Bd3 Na5 12. O-O Ba6 13. Qe2 Qh4 14. Bd2 Rae8 15. e4 e5 16. c5 Bxd3 17. Qxd3
fxe4 18. fxe4 dxc5 19. dxc5 Rd8 20. Qe2 Nb3 21. Qc4+ Kh8 22. Qxb3 Rxd2 {
0-1 (57) Kozakov,M (2457)-Fedorchuk,S (2633) France 2009} 23. Ra2 $15) (9. Bd3
Qh4+ (9... e5 10. Nf2 (10. O-O Nc6 11. f4 Qe8 12. fxe5 dxe5 13. Ra2 e4 14. Be2
Nf6 15. a4 Kh8 16. a5 Rg8 17. Nf4 Ne7 18. Qb3 c6 19. Qb4 $14 {0-1 (40) Geller,
E-Pogats,J Szczawno Zdroj 1950}) 10... Qe8 11. O-O Nf6 12. Qc2 Qh5 13. c5 Nc6
14. Bb5 Nd8 15. cxd6 cxd6 16. a4 $36 {1-0 (73) Koberl,F-Pogats,J Budapest 1951}
) (9... c5 $5) 10. Nf2 Nc6 11. Qc2 (11. Ra2 e5 12. g3 Qe7 13. d5 Nd8 14. g4 e4
$132 {0-1 (42) Sagalchik,G-Dautov,R (2515) Minsk 1988}) 11... e5 12. g3 Qe7 13.
O-O Bd7 14. Bd2 Kh8 15. Kg2 Rae8 16. Rae1 Qd8 $11 {0-1 (56) Wiersma,E (2419)
-Swinkels,R (2459) Netherlands 2009}) 9... c5 $1 $146 {[%mdl 40] A good plan.
Black fixes the c4-pawn, therefore eliminating the c4-c5 idea altogether.} (
9... Nc6 {deserves more attention here than with Bd3:} 10. O-O Qe8 $5 (10... e5
11. c5 $5) 11. Nf2 b6 12. g4 $6 fxg4 13. fxg4 Nf6 14. Qc2 Bb7 15. g5 Nd7 16. e4
e5 $132 {1-0 (34) Posedaru,B (2318)-Soltanici,R (2373) Bucharest 2011}) 10. O-O
Nc6 11. g4 $2 {Here, too, this advance is bad.} (11. f4 Nf6 12. Bf3 Na5 {
[%csl Rc4]}) (11. d5 Na5 {[%cal Ye6e5]}) (11. e4 fxe4 12. fxe4 Rxf1+ 13. Bxf1
Nf6 14. Nf2 e5 $11) (11. Nf2 $5 {[%cal Ye3e4] was probably the most flexible
keeping both ideas: e3-e4 and f3-f4.}) 11... fxg4 (11... Qh4 $1 {, recommended
by GM E.Gleizerov, was very strong:} 12. Nf4 (12. gxh5 Qxh3 13. f4 b6 14. Bf3
Bb7 $17 {[%csl Rc1,Rc4,Rh5]} 15. dxc5 dxc5 16. Qd7 Rf7 $1 17. Qxe6 Nd8 18. Qe8+
Rf8 $19) (12. Kg2 fxg4 13. fxg4 Rxf1 14. Qxf1 Nf6 15. Qf2 Qh6 $17) 12... Nxf4
13. exf4 Na5 $17 {[%cal Yb7b6]} (13... cxd4 $143 14. cxd4 e5 15. Be3 $1 exd4
16. Bxd4 Nxd4 17. Qxd4 fxg4 18. fxg4 Bxg4 19. f5 h5 20. Rf4 {, and White
should survive})) {However, after the simple text move Black keeps an
advantage, too.} 12. fxg4 Nf6 13. Nf2 h6 14. e4 {This move weakens White's
position but it is very difficult for him to find a good plan anyway.} e5 15.
d5 Ne7 (15... Na5 $5 {pressurising the c4 pawn.}) 16. g5 hxg5 17. Bxg5 Qe8 18.
Qd3 Qg6 19. Qg3 Bd7 20. Kh1 Rf7 (20... Nxe4 $2 21. Nxe4 Qxe4+ 22. Bf3 {[%cal
Rg5e7]} Rxf3 $8) 21. Qh4 Raf8 22. Rae1 Qh7 23. Qxh7+ Nxh7 $17 {In this ending
Black's knights are stronger than White's bishops.} 24. Be3 Ng6 25. Nd3 Rxf1+
26. Rxf1 Rxf1+ (26... Nf6 $5 27. Nf2 Nf4 {is quite good but the minor piece
ending is also difficult for White.}) 27. Bxf1 {[%mdl 4096]} Nf6 28. Nf2 Nf4
29. h4 (29. Bxf4 exf4 30. e5 dxe5 31. Nd3 Ng4 $1 32. h3 (32. Nxc5 Bf5) 32... e4
$1 33. Nxf4 (33. Nxc5 Nf6 {[%csl Ge4,Gf4]}) 33... Ne3 {[%cal Re3d1]} 34. Be2 g5
$17) 29... Ng6 (29... Ng4 30. Nxg4 Bxg4 {[%cal Rg4f3,Yg4d1] was very strong,
probably enough for a win.}) 30. Bg5 Nh7 31. Bd8 Kf7 32. Kh2 Nf6 (32... Ke8 33.
Bg5) 33. Kg3 Nf4 34. Kf3 Ba4 35. Nh3 Bd1+ 36. Ke3 Ng6 (36... Ng4+ 37. Kd2 Nh2 {
is probably insufficient for a victory due to} 38. Nxf4 Nxf1+ 39. Kxd1 exf4 40.
Ke2 Ne3 41. Bg5 Nxc4 42. Bxf4 b5 (42... g6 43. Kd3 b5 44. a4) 43. h5 {[%csl
Rg7]}) 37. Ng5+ Ke8 38. Ne6 Nxh4 39. Bc7 Kd7 40. Bb8 {White has created some
counterplay.} Bg4 (40... a6 $5 41. Nxg7 Bc2 $5 42. Bh3+ Ke7 43. Nf5+ (43. Bc8
b5 44. Bxa6 bxc4 45. Bxc4 Bxe4 46. Kf2 $1 Ng4+ 47. Kg3 Ne3 $17) 43... Nxf5+ 44.
Bxf5 Bb3 {keeping winning chances}) 41. Nxg7 a6 42. Bd3 (42. a4 a5 43. Ne6 Ne8
{[%csl Ra4]}) 42... Ng2+ 43. Kd2 Ke7 (43... b5 $5 44. cxb5 axb5 45. Bc2 (45.
Bxb5+ $2 Kc8 46. Bxd6 Nxe4+) (45. Ne6 $5 c4 46. Bc2) 45... c4 46. Ne6 Bxe6 47.
dxe6+ Kxe6 48. Ba7 Nf4 $17) 44. a4 Kf7 45. Bxd6 (45. Nf5 Bxf5 46. exf5 Ke7 {
is very unpleasant for White but the piece sacrifice is hardly sufficient
either.}) 45... Kxg7 46. Bxe5 Nh4 $2 ({Black could have stopped White's pawns
by means of} 46... Bf3 $1 {[%cal Rg7f7]} 47. d6 Bg4 $1 {(recommended by E.
Gleizerov)} (47... Kf7 $2 48. Bxf6 Kxf6 49. e5+ Ke6 50. Bf5+ Kf7 51. Bg6+ $1
$11) {e.g.} 48. Bg3 Nh5 49. Bf2 Nhf4 50. Bxc5 Nxd3 51. Kxd3 Kf6 {, and he
should win in a long term.}) 47. Bg3 Ng6 (47... Nf3+ 48. Ke3 Nd7 49. Be2 Nfe5
50. Bxe5+ Nxe5 51. Kf4 $1 Bxe2 52. Kxe5 Bxc4 53. a5 {(E.Gleizerov), and White
is not worse.}) 48. e5 {White's connected passed pawns guarantee him a draw.}
Nd7 (48... Nh5 49. Bh2 Nh4 50. Ke3 Nf3 51. Bf4) 49. e6 Nde5 50. Bxg6 Nxg6 51.
Bd6 Kf6 52. Bxc5 Ke5 53. Ke3 Bd1 54. Bb6 Bxa4 55. Bc7+ Kf6 56. Kd4 Ke7 57. c5
Nh4 58. c4 Nf3+ 59. Kc3 Ng5 60. Kb4 Bd1 61. Bg3 Nxe6 62. dxe6 Bf3 63. Bh4+
1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-ch 11th"]
[Site "Rijeka"]
[Date "2010.03.11"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Volkov, Sergey"]
[Black "Tomashevsky, Evgeny"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2612"]
[BlackElo "2701"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "136"]
[EventDate "2010.03.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 136"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.05.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.05.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O 7. cxd5 exd5 8.
e3 Nh5 {A relatively rare move, compared to} (8... Bf5 {and}) (8... c5) 9. Qc2
{The most common continuation parrying the 9...Qh4+ threat. The other options
are rather harmless:} (9. Ne2 f5 (9... b6 $5 10. g3 Ba6 11. Bg2 Nc6 12. O-O f5
$13 {1-0 Rubtsova,O-Bykova,E/Moscow 1958/EXT 1997 (41)}) 10. c4 (10. g3 b6 11.
Bg2 Ba6 12. O-O Nf6 13. Re1 Nc6 14. Nf4 Qe8 15. h3 Rd8 16. g4 g5 17. Ne2 fxg4
18. hxg4 Qg6 $13 {1-0 Taimanov,M-Averbakh,Y/Tbilisi 1959/URS-ch (54)}) 10... c6
11. Qb3 Kh8 12. Kf2 dxc4 13. Qxc4 Nd7 14. Nc3 Nb6 15. Qc5 Be6 $13 {1-0
Taimanov,M-Averbakh,Y/Moscow 1958/EXT 2008 (30)}) (9. g3 Re8 (9... b6 10. Bd3 (
10. Nh3 f5 11. Bd2 c5 12. Bd3 Ba6 13. Bxa6 Nxa6 14. O-O Qc8 15. a4 Nf6 16. Qb1
Qc6 17. Ra2 g6 $11 {0-1 Khasin,A-Averbakh,Y/Moscow 1961/URS-ch (75)}) 10... f5
11. Ne2 Ba6 12. Bxa6 Nxa6 13. Qd3 (13. Qa4 $1 Nb8 14. c4 $14) 13... Qc8 14. c4
c6 (14... dxc4 15. Qxc4+ Kh8 16. O-O Qb7 17. Nc3 Nf6 18. Qd3 Rad8 19. Qxf5 c5
20. Ne2 $14 {1/2 Vladimirov,B-Antoshin,V/Ulaanbaatar 1965/EXT 1999 (26)}) 15.
O-O Nc7 16. cxd5 Nxd5 17. Bd2 $14 {1/2 Gheorghiu,F-Averbakh,Y/Mar del Plata
1965/MCD (52)}) 10. Bd3 (10. Bg2 $5) 10... c5 11. Kf2 Nc6 12. Ne2 Bh3 13. Re1
Qf6 14. Ng1 Be6 15. Rb1 cxd4 16. cxd4 Re7 $11 {1-0 Bykhovsky,A (2490)-Volkov,N/
Pavlodar 1991/EXT 1997 (41)}) 9... Re8 (9... f5 10. Nh3 (10. Bd3 c5 11. Nh3 c4
12. Be2 Nc6 13. O-O Na5 14. Rb1 f4 $1 15. e4 Bxh3 16. gxh3 Qd7 $17 {0-1 Lin Ta
(2463)-Tong Yuanming (2499)/Tianjing 2003/EXT 2004 (38)}) 10... c5 11. Rb1 cxd4
12. cxd4 Nc6 13. Rb5 Be6 {1-0 Royset,J (2249)-Royset,P (2235)/Norway 1999/EXT
2000 (51)} 14. Rxb7 $5) (9... Qh4+ 10. Qf2 Qe7 11. Bd3 Nf4 $6 12. Bc2 Nc6 13.
e4 Nh5 14. Ne2 $14 {1-0 Sadowski,M (1912)-Booth,G (848)/IECG 2004/Telechess
CBM 107 (45)}) 10. Bd3 $6 (10. Qf2 $6 Nc6 11. g4 Nf4 12. Qg3 Qf6 13. g5 $2 Qf5
$19 {0-1 Miton,K (2383)-Goldin,A (2585)/Geneve 1999/CBM 068 ext (23)}) (10. g4
$5 Nf4 11. h4 {was probably the only way to fight for an opening advantage:} c5
12. Kf2 Ng6 $6 (12... Ne6 $142) 13. Bd3 (13. h5 $5 Nf8 14. Ne2 (14. h6 $5 $14)
14... Nc6 15. Nf4 Ne6 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. Bd3 h6 18. Bd2 Rc8 $11 {0-1 Gligoric,
S-Averbakh,Y/Saltsjobaden 1952/IZT (63)}) 13... Nf8 (13... Nc6 14. Ne2 Be6 15.
g5 Rc8 16. h5 Nf8 17. g6 fxg6 18. hxg6 h6 19. Qb1 $16 {1-0 Gheorghiu,F-Fischer,
R/Havana 1966/MCD/[Bulletin] (50)}) 14. Ne2 c4 15. Bf5 Nc6 (15... Bxf5 16. gxf5
Nc6 17. e4 dxe4 18. fxe4 Nd7 19. Bg5 Qa5 20. Rhg1 Kh8 21. h5 h6 22. Bh4 Qc7 23.
Rg2 {1-0 Zubac,M-Van Nies,P/LSS 2006/Telechess CBM 127}) 16. Qb1 Bxf5 17. Qxf5
b5 18. g5 g6 19. Qg4 a6 20. h5 Na5 $132 {0-1 Jardi Talarn,J (2195)-Keuter,K 
(2400)/ICCF 2000/ICCF Telechess CBM 107 (24)}) 10... Qh4+ 11. Qf2 Nf4 $1 12.
Bf1 $6 {Of course, yielding Black a pawn by means of} (12. Qxh4 Nxg2+ 13. Kf2
Nxh4 14. e4 {was hardly attractive but after the text move he obtains a huge
development advantage.}) 12... Qf6 13. g3 Ne6 14. Ne2 c5 15. Bb2 b6 16. Bg2 Ba6
17. O-O Nc6 18. Rad1 Rad8 19. Rfe1 Na5 $15 {Black has comfortable development
and total control of the light squares.} 20. e4 $6 (20. Nf4 $142 Nxf4 21. exf4
$1 $15) 20... dxe4 $1 {It looks illogical to open up the position but the
black rook now invades along the c-file.} 21. fxe4 Qxf2+ 22. Kxf2 cxd4 23. cxd4
Rc8 $1 24. e5 (24. Rc1 Nb3 {[%csl Rd4]}) (24. d5 Rc2 $1 25. dxe6 Rxb2 $17)
24... Rc2 25. Bc1 Rd8 26. Be3 $6 (26. Be4 $142 Rxe2+ (26... Ra2 27. d5 $1 Nc5
28. Bb1) 27. Rxe2 Bxe2 28. Kxe2 Nxd4+ 29. Kf2 $17 {, and White's bishop pair
gives him some chances to survive.}) 26... Nc4 27. d5 (27. Be4 Ra2 28. d5 Nxe5
$1) 27... Nxe5 $1 28. dxe6 Rxd1 29. Rxd1 Rxe2+ 30. Kg1 fxe6 $19 {Two extra
pawns are more than one - now the bishops should not help White.} 31. Bf4 Bc4 (
31... Bb5 $5 {[%cal Rb5c6]}) 32. h3 (32. Bxe5 Rxe5 33. Rd8+ Kf7 34. Rd7+ Kf6
35. Rxa7 $19) (32. Rd8+ Kf7 33. Ra8 $2 Re1+ 34. Kf2 Nd3+ 35. Kf3 Bd5+ $19)
32... b5 $6 {The first inaccuracy.} (32... Kf7) (32... Bb5) 33. Rd8+ Kf7 34.
Ra8 Rxg2+ $6 {Poorly judged! Black thought that with extra pawns on both sides
the endgame with opposite-coloured bishops should be winning; the problem is,
however, that he can't easily create a queenside passed pawn.} (34... Kf6 $142
35. Rxa7 g5 36. Bxe5+ Kxe5 37. Rxh7 Re3 {gaining the pawn once again, after
which Black should win.}) 35. Kxg2 Bd5+ 36. Kf1 Bxa8 37. Bxe5 {[%mdl 4096]
This difficult endgame needs a separate exploration. In the game Black failed
to find a convincing way to the victory but, fortunately for him, White
finally went astray.} g5 38. Bc3 Kg6 39. g4 Bd5 40. Kf2 h5 41. Bd4 a6 42. Bc3
Bc4 43. Bd4 a5 (43... h4 44. Bc3 $1) 44. Bc3 b4 45. axb4 a4 46. Bb2 $2 ({
I don't see a win for Black after} 46. gxh5+ Kxh5 47. Bb2 {, e.g.} Kg6 (47...
Kh4 48. Bc1 e5 49. Kf3 Bf1 50. Kf2 Bxh3 51. Bb2 e4 52. Ke3 $11) 48. Kg3 Kf5 49.
Kf3 (49. h4 $143 gxh4+ 50. Kxh4 Kf4 51. Bc1+ Ke4 {To organise his defence,
White must attack Black's e-pawn with his king and then deflect Black's bishop
with the b-pawn. However, the black king always controls the white pawn.} 52.
Kg5 e5 (52... Kd3 $2 53. Kf6 Kc2 54. Bf4 {[%cal Yb4b5]}) 53. Bb2 Kd5 54. Kg4 e4
55. Kf4 Bd3 $19) (49. Kf2 $5) 49... Bf1 $1 50. Kg3 e5 (50... Ke4 51. Kg4 Kd5
52. Bc1 Kc4 53. Bxg5) 51. Bc1 $22 e4 52. Kf2 Bxh3 53. b5 Kf6 54. Bb2+ $1 (54.
Ke3 Ke5 $1) 54... Ke6 (54... Ke7 55. Bc1) 55. b6 Kd7 56. Bc1 g4 57. Ba3 {
with a curious position, in which the white king paralyses the black bishop
and two pawns!} Kc6 58. Bc5 {is now a reciprocal zugzwang!}) 46... h4 $1 {
[%csl Rg4,Rh3] With two white pawns fixed on the squares of the black bishop 
(which is what the stronger side usually aims for), White can hardly hold his
ground.} 47. Ke1 Kf7 48. Kf2 Bb5 49. Ke1 e5 $1 50. Bc1 (50. Bxe5 a3 51. Bh8 (
51. Kd2 Ke6 52. Bd4 Bf1 53. Kc2 Bxh3 54. Be3 Kf6 $19) 51... a2 52. Bd4 Ke6 53.
Bh8 Kd5 54. Kd2 Bf1 55. Kc1 Bxh3 56. Kb2 Bxg4 $19) 50... Kg6 51. Kf2 Kf6 52.
Bb2 Ke6 53. Bc1 Kd5 54. Ke1 (54. Bxg5 a3 55. Bc1 a2 56. Bb2 e4 $1 57. g5 (57.
Ke3 Bf1) 57... Bd7 58. g6 (58. Kg2 Bf5) 58... Bxh3 59. g7 Be6 $19) 54... Ke4 $1
55. Bxg5 (55. Kd1 Kf3 56. Bxg5 Kg3 57. Bf6 e4 $1 (57... Kxh3 58. Bxe5 Kxg4 59.
Kc2 $11) 58. g5 Kxh3 59. g6 Kg4 60. g7 Bc4 61. b5 h3 62. Be5 a3 $19) 55... a3
56. Bc1 a2 57. Bb2 Kf4 58. g5 Be8 $3 (58... Kxg5 59. Bxe5 Bd7 60. b5 $1 (60.
Kd2 $2 Bxh3 61. Kc2 Kf5 $1 $19) 60... Bxh3 61. b6 Bg2 62. Kf2 Bb7 63. Kg1 $11)
59. Kf2 (59. b5 Bxb5 60. g6 e4 61. g7 Bc4 $1 {[%cal Gc4a2,Gc4g8] "The
principle of one diagonal": when the bishop protects its own pawn and holds an
enemy pawn along the same diagonal, the latter cannot deflect it.}) 59... e4
60. Bf6 e3+ 61. Ke2 (61. Ke1 Bd7 $1 62. g6 Bxh3 63. g7 Be6 $19 {[%cal Yh4h3,
Yh3h2,Yh2h1]}) 61... Bb5+ 62. Ke1 Bd3 63. Bd4 Kg3 64. g6 Bxg6 65. Ke2 Kxh3 66.
b5 Be8 67. Kxe3 Kg2 68. b6 Bc6 0-1

[Event "EU-ch 12th"]
[Site "Aix les Bains"]
[Date "2011.03.24"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Stanciu, Alexandru Ovidiu"]
[Black "Vocaturo, Daniele"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2308"]
[BlackElo "2564"]
[Annotator "Marchand,A/Primel,D"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2011.03.22"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 142 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.06.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.06.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 O-O 6. f3 Ne8 $5 {[%csl Rc4]
[%cal Gf7f5,Gd8h4,Ge8d6] Un ordre de coups assez rare pour éviter Bg5 tout en
permettant de jouer la poussée f5 et Qh4. Les Noirs gardent l'option de faire
pression sur la faiblesse "c4" par Nd6} (6... d5 {La grande ligne}) (6... c5 {
[%cal Gb8c6]}) (6... Nh5 {[%cal Gd8h4]}) (6... Nc6) 7. Nh3 (7. e4 b6 (7... f5
$5) 8. Bd3 Ba6 9. Nh3 Nc6 10. O-O Na5 11. Qe2 Nb3 (11... Nd6 $6 12. e5 Ndxc4
13. Qe4 $44) 12. Rb1 Nxc1) 7... b6 8. e4 Ba6 9. Bd3 Nc6 $1 (9... c5 {[%cal
Gb8c6,Gc6a5] Plus lent}) 10. O-O Na5 11. Qe2 c5 (11... Nb3 12. Rb1 Nxc1 {
Réduit le potentiel d'attaque des Blancs} 13. Rbxc1 c5) 12. e5 f6 13. Bf4 cxd4
{[%csl Rc4][%cal Ga8c8]} 14. cxd4 Rc8 15. Rac1 Qe7 16. c5 $6 (16. Rc3 $142 d5
17. exd6 Nxd6 18. c5 $14 {[%cal Gc5d6]} Bxd3 19. Qxd3 bxc5 20. dxc5 Nf7 (20...
Nf5) 21. Qa6 $14 {Volkov,S (2623)-Pashikian,A (2556) Moscow Aeroflot op-A1
2008 (4) 1-0}) 16... Bxd3 17. Qxd3 bxc5 18. exf6 Nxf6 19. dxc5 Nb7 $1 $146 {
[%csl Rc5][%cal Gc8c5]} ({RR} 19... e5 20. Be3 Nc6 21. Ng5 h6 22. Ne4 Nxe4 23.
Qxe4 Qe6 24. Rfd1 Rf7 25. Rd6 Qb3 26. Rd3 Qa2 27. Rcd1 Rb8 28. h4 Rb2 29. R1d2
Rxd2 30. Bxd2 Nd4 31. Kh2 Qc4 32. Be3 Qxc5 33. Bxd4 exd4 34. Qxd4 {Volkov,S 
(2648)-Lysyj,I (2591)/Serpukhov 2007/EXT 2008/1/2-1/2 (78)}) (19... Rxc5 $2 20.
Bd6) 20. Qa6 (20. Rfd1 $5 Nxc5 21. Qd6) 20... Nxc5 $15 21. Qxa7 Nd5 {[%csl Gd5,
Rf4,Rh3]} 22. Bg3 Nd3 (22... Rc6 $5 {[%cal Gf8c8,Gc5d3]}) 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 $32 {
[%csl Rg3,Rh3]} 24. Nf2 N3f4 25. Re1 Ne2+ $1 26. Rxe2 Rc1+ 27. Nd1 Rxd1+ 28.
Kf2 Rd3 29. a4 Qb4 30. Be5 Rd2 31. Qxd7 $4 (31. a5) 31... Qh4+ 0-1

[Event "EU-ch 11th"]
[Site "Rijeka"]
[Date "2010.03.16"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Khairullin, Ildar"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2617"]
[BlackElo "2704"]
[Annotator "Mikhalchishin,A"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2010.03.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 136"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.05.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.05.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 {This variation of the Saemisch system was
introduced in 1985 into modern practice and has been popular since then.} O-O
5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nh5 {This risky system is based on some old similar ideas
of Mikhail Tal, adapted against Botvinnik. It is a risky line and was
propagated by Oleg Romanishin.} 7. Nh3 ({The great specialist of this
variation tried another interesting possibility:} 7. g3 f5 8. e4 b6 9. Nh3 d6
10. Bd3 Nf6 11. exf5 exf5 12. O-O Nc6 13. Qc2 Na5 14. Re1 d5 15. c5 $5 ({
If you have the bishop pair, the correct idea is to open the position:} 15.
cxd5 $1 Qxd5 16. Re5 Qxf3 17. Ng5 Qh5 18. Be2 Qg6 19. Qa2+ Kh8 20. Re7 Bd7 21.
Nf7+ Rxf7 22. Qxf7 {with a clear advantage.}) 15... bxc5 16. dxc5 d4 17. Nf4
Nc6 18. Bb2 Rb8 19. cxd4 Kh8 20. Qf2 Nd5 21. Bc4 Nxf4 22. gxf4 Ne7 23. d5 Nxd5
24. Be5 {with a powerful positioning of the white pieces.} Be6 {1/2 Volkov,S 
(2614)-Jakovenko,D (2644)/Moscow 2005}) 7... f5 8. Bg5 ({The mixture of two
plans promises nothing:} 8. g3 d6 9. e4 fxe4 10. fxe4 Nf6 11. Bg2 e5 12. O-O
Nc6 13. d5 $2 ({correct was} 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxf6 Rxf6 15. Qd3 {trying to use
the only advantage - fast development.}) 13... Na5 14. Ng5 Qe7 15. Qd3 Nb3 16.
Rb1 Nc5 17. Qc2 h6 18. Nf3 Nfxe4 19. Nh4 Rxf1+ 20. Kxf1 Ng5 {0-1 Gyimesi,Z 
(2594)-Hracek,Z (2606)/Sibenik CRO 2009 (48). with a big black advantage.}) ({
It does note pose any problems to Black, if White tries to get rid of his weak
c4-pawn:} 8. c5 b6 9. cxb6 axb6 10. e3 d6 11. Nf2 Ba6 12. Bxa6 Rxa6 13. c4 Qe8
14. O-O Qc6 15. Qb3 Ra4 16. c5 dxc5 17. dxc5 bxc5 18. Bb2 Nd7 19. Rac1 Nhf6 20.
Qc3 Rb8 {with a clear black advantage.}) ({The primitive approach does not
promise a rosy future either:} 8. e3 d6 9. Nf2 Nc6 10. a4 b6 11. Bd3 Na5 12.
O-O Ba6 13. Qe2 Qh4 14. Bd2 Rae8 15. e4 e5 16. c5 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 fxe4 18. fxe4
dxc5 19. dxc5 Rd8 20. Qe2 Nb3 21. Qc4+ Kh8 22. Qxb3 Rxd2 23. Nh3 Nf6 24. Qc4 h6
25. cxb6 cxb6 26. a5 Rfd8 {0-1 Kozakov,M (2457)-Fedorchuk,S (2633)/Mulhouse
2009. The black pieces are much more actively placed.}) ({If we can say that
anything is logical, the next move is:} 8. Nf2 Nc6 9. e4 d6 10. Bd3 fxe4 11.
Bxe4 Nf6 12. Bc2 e5 13. O-O b6 14. Bg5 h6 15. Bh4 Qe8 16. Qd3 {with an
unpleasant attack.} Qf7 17. Ng4 (17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Ng4 $16) 17... Ne7 18. Bxf6
Bf5 19. Qd2 {1-0 Mamedyarov,S (2742)-Fedorchuk,S (2624)/Villarrobledo 2008})
8... Qe8 9. g4 ({Here the central approach is more logical than before:} 9. e4
fxe4 10. fxe4 h6 (10... d6 {is better.}) 11. Be2 $1 Nf6 12. Bxf6 Rxf6 13. e5
Rf8 14. Bh5 Qe7 15. Qg4 d6 16. Nf4 Qg5 17. O-O Qxg4 18. Bxg4 Nc6 19. Nxe6 Bxe6
20. Bxe6+ Kh7 21. exd6 cxd6 22. Bd5 Na5 23. Rab1 {Montero Melendrez,R (2248)
-Thingstad,E (2141)/Caleta 2010/CBM 134 Extra/1-0 (40). with a big advantage
in the endgame.}) ({A timid approach is less promising:} 9. e3 d6 10. Bd3 e5
11. O-O Nc6 12. Bh4 Bd7 13. Kh1 Kh8 14. f4 b6 ({better is} 14... e4 15. Be2 Nf6
16. Nf2 Na5 17. Bxf6 Rxf6 18. Rg1 $13) 15. d5 Na5 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. Ng5 h6 18.
Ne6 Bxe6 19. dxe6 e4 $2 ({correct was the counterstrike} 19... g5 20. e7 Rf6
21. Bxf5 gxh4 22. Qd5 Rb8 23. Bg4 Qxe7 24. Bxh5 Rd8 $17) 20. Bxe4 fxe4 21.
Rxf8+ Qxf8 22. Qxh5 Nxc4 23. e7 Qg8 24. Rf1 Nd6 25. Bg3 Qe8 26. Rf8+ {1-0
Mamedyarov,S (2742)-Eljanov,P (2716)/Moscow 2008}) 9... fxg4 10. fxg4 Nf6 11.
Bxf6 $146 {A very interesting and radical decision - the black knight is an
important factor in the fight for the centre, so it has to be exchanged!} ({
Another attempt to fight for the centre was played just one round before:} 11.
Qd3 d6 (11... d5 12. Bg2 Ne4 $6 {A risky sacrifice} ({A normal central
developing strategy was possible:} 12... c6 13. O-O Nbd7 14. e4 Qg6 15. Rae1
Nxe4 16. Rxf8+ Nxf8 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18. Qxe4 e5 $1) 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Qxe4 Bd7
15. Rg1 $2 ({artificial castling was more logical} 15. Rf1 Rxf1+ 16. Kxf1 Nc6
17. Kg1) 15... Bc6 16. Qd3 Nd7 17. O-O-O e5 18. Bh4 e4 19. Qg3 Nb6 {Cebalo,M 
(2500)-Brkic,A (2544)/Sibenik 2009/CBM 132 Extra/0-1 (33). with serious
counterplay for Black.}) 12. Nf2 e5 ({Possible is another strategy is possible
- an attack on c4} 12... Nc6 $146 13. h3 b6 14. Bg2 Ba6 15. Bxf6 Rxf6 16. Ne4
Rg6 17. Nd2 d5 (17... Rf6 18. Ne4 {was a repetition.}) 18. Qg3 Qf7 19. e4 Na5
20. cxd5 exd5 21. e5 Rd8 22. Bf1 Bxf1 23. Rxf1 Qd7 24. Kf2 h5 25. Kg1 hxg4 26.
Rf4 Rf8 27. Rxf8+ Kxf8 28. Nf3 Kg8 {1-0 Volkov,S (2612)-Durarbeyli,V (2476)/
Rijeka 2010 (29). with an unclear position.}) 13. Bg2 Nc6 14. Bxf6 Rxf6 15. O-O
Kh8 16. Ne4 Rg6 17. h3 Bd7 18. Rf2 Nd8 19. d5 b6 20. Raf1 Nb7 21. Qe3 Kg8 22.
Ng5 Nc5 23. Ne6 Bxe6 24. dxe6 c6 25. e7 Ne6 {Carlsen,M (2801)-Morozevich,A 
(2750)/Moscow 2009/EXT 2010/1-0} 26. Rf8+) 11... Rxf6 12. Bg2 Nc6 13. Qd3 Ne7 (
{A very dangerous and typical, but slow plan is} 13... b6 14. Be4 g6 15. g5 Rf8
16. Nf2 {and the white pieces start to look intensively in the direction of
the black king.}) 14. Be4 {A logical continuation of the white attacking plan,
but few other options were interesting:} (14. Rf1) ({or even sharper} 14. Kd2)
14... g6 ({More risky, but more promising was} 14... Ng6 15. Rf1 c6 16. Rxf6
gxf6 17. c5 b6 18. Nf2 bxc5 19. dxc5 Ne5 20. Qg3 {with a very NETTY position.})
15. g5 {A simple idea was to create a hole on f6 and then to try to exploit it.
Other options were logical too, but less direct:} (15. Qg3) (15. c5) 15... Rf7
16. Nf2 d5 17. Bf3 e5 {It is clear, that Adams disliked the developments and
tried to change the course of the game.} ({The direct counterattack} 17... b6
18. Ng4 Ba6 19. Nh6+ Kf8 20. Nxf7 Bxc4 21. Qd2 Qxf7 22. O-O Nf5 {was not
promising too much for an exchange.}) 18. cxd5 exd4 19. cxd4 ({Here was
possible a very risky continuation of the attack was possible:} 19. h4 dxc3 20.
Qxc3 Bf5 21. h5 Rd8 22. O-O-O) ({or simple development} 19. O-O {they both
promised good prospects for White, but the young generation is much more
materialistic.}) 19... Bf5 ({If you decided to counterattack in the centre,
then it was logical to continue this policy:} 19... Qd8 20. e4 c6) 20. Qb3 c6
21. dxc6 ({Much sharper was} 21. d6 Nd5 22. e4 Be6 23. O-O Nf4 24. Qb4 {
and White still keeps some advantage, but who likes to see his opponent's
knight on f4?}) 21... bxc6 22. O-O ({Once more White does not need to play in
too risky a fashion - a pawn is a pawn!} 22. e4 Nd5 23. O-O Rb8 24. Qa2 Nc3 25.
Qc2 Be6 26. Bg4 $16) 22... Rb8 23. Qe3 Qd7 ({Maybe better was} 23... Rf8) 24.
Qd2 {It is necessary to move the e2-pawn - one or to two squares? It all
depends!} Rb3 25. Bg2 Qd6 {Black's only chance is to start a permanent attack
on the white pawns.} 26. Rfc1 (26. e4 {was possible, but Khairullin had not
yet decided what to do with this pawn.}) 26... Qb8 ({After capturing the pawn,
life does not become any easier:} 26... Rxa3 27. Rxa3 Qxa3 28. e4 Bd7 29. Nd3)
27. e4 Bc8 ({It was useless to exchange rooks:} 27... Rb2 28. Rc2 Rxc2 29. Qxc2
) 28. Nd3 {White has a huge advantage - now only the problem of the correct
realisation exists.} Qb6 29. Nc5 Rb2 30. Rc2 Rxc2 31. Qxc2 h5 32. Rf1 {The
correct way - exchanging pieces. Black is helpless - no counterplay is
possible.} Rxf1+ 33. Bxf1 Kg7 34. Qc3 Kf8 35. Qf3+ Ke8 36. Qf6 Qb1 37. e5 Qc1
38. Qh8+ Kf7 39. e6+ {A final cheap trick.} Bxe6 40. Qf6+ Ke8 41. Nxe6 Qe3+ 42.
Kg2 Qe4+ 43. Kf2 Qh4+ 44. Kg1 1-0

[Event "Candidates final"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2002.07.21"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Leko, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2745"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[Annotator "Milov,V"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2002.07.18"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 090"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.09.20"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.09.20"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 2]} 1. d4 {Ftacnik} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 O-O 5. a3 (5. e4 d5 6.
e5 Nfd7 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 dxc4 9. Nh3 $44 (9. Bxc4 $2 Nxe5) 9... c5 10. Ng5
cxd4 11. cxd4 Qa5+ 12. Kf2 (12. Bd2 $5 c3 13. Be3 $44) 12... Rd8 13. Qc2 Nf8
14. Be3 b5 15. Qe4 (15. Ne4 Nc6 16. Nd6 $44) 15... Bd7 16. Qf4 Be8 17. Ne4 Nc6
18. h4 $13 {1/2-1/2 Sakaev,K-Timoshenko,G/Kherson 1991/CBM 21 ext/[Milov,V] 
(32)}) 5... Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 {now the game is transposed into the Saemisch
variation.} Ne8 {Black avoids an unpleasant pin which could arise after Bc1-g5
and is preparing for a possible Ne8-d6 attacking the c4-pawn in the future.} (
6... d6 7. e4 e5 8. Bd3 c5 (8... Nc6 9. Be3 (9. Ne2 Ne8 10. O-O (10. g4 $6 Qh4+
) (10. Be3 f5 $13) (10. d5 Na5 11. g4 b6 12. Ng3 Ba6 $15) 10... f5 11. exf5
Bxf5 12. Bxf5 Rxf5 13. Rb1 Rb8 $11) 9... Re8 (9... Ne8 10. g4 $14) (9... b6 10.
Ne2) 10. Ne2 b6 11. g4 Na5 12. Ng3 Ba6 13. Qe2 Nd7 14. h4 Nf8 15. Nf5 (15. f4
exf4 16. Bxf4 Qd7 17. O-O (17. a4 Qc6 18. d5 Qd7) 17... Qa4 18. Nf5 Bxc4 $13 {
1-0 Mikenas,V-Zinner,E/Brno 1931/EXT 99 (32)}) 15... Qd7 16. a4 $36 {/\17.h5})
9. Ne2 Nc6 10. O-O {White is not in a hurry with d4-d5 and keeps the tension
in the centre} (10. d5 $5 Ne7 (10... Na5 11. Ng3 b6 12. Bg5 h6 13. Be3 {
and the knight on a5 is out of play}) 11. g4 $36) 10... b6 (10... Ne8 11. Be3
b6 12. f4 {here, in comparison with the position with white pawn on d5 where
White mostly plays g2-g4, White can play f3-f4} Qe7 13. d5 Na5 14. Ng3 Kh8 15.
Ra2 g6 16. Raf2 f6 17. h4 Rg8 18. Qe2 Nb7 19. f5 Nd8 20. fxg6 Rxg6 21. Nf5 Bxf5
22. Rxf5 Nf7 23. Qf3 Nh6 24. Bxh6 Rxh6 25. h5 $16 {1-0 Geller,E-Arlamowski,E/
Szcawno Zdroj 1950/MCD (33)}) (10... cxd4 11. cxd4 Nxd4 (11... exd4 12. Bg5 $36
) 12. Nxd4 Qb6 13. Be3 exd4 14. Bf2 $14 {/\ 15.Be2 and 16.Bd4}) 11. Bg5 $1 Ba6
$2 (11... h6 {was obligatory} 12. Bh4 (12. Be3 Ba6) 12... g5 $5 13. Bf2 Nh5 14.
Re1 $14) 12. f4 $1 $16 {now white initiative becomes very dangerous} cxd4 13.
cxd4 exd4 (13... Nxd4 {Milov,V;ChessBase} 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. e5 $18) 14. Ng3 {
[%cal Rg3h5] 1-0 Gligoric,S-Plater,K/Warsaw 1947/MCL/[Milov,V;ChessBase] (30)})
7. e4 b6 8. Bd3 (8. Nh3 $5 Ba6 9. Bg5 (9. e5 Nc6 10. Bg5 f6 11. exf6 Nxf6 12.
Bd3 e5 13. O-O h6 14. Bh4 exd4 15. cxd4 Nxd4 16. Be4 Ne6 (16... Nc6 17. Bd5+
Kh8 18. Nf4 $18) 17. Bxa8 Qxa8 18. Bxf6 Rxf6 19. Qxd7 Bxc4 20. Rfe1 Rf7 21. Qd2
c5 $14) 9... f6 10. Be3 (10. Bh4 Nc6 11. e5 Na5 12. Qa4 d6 13. Nf2 d5 14. cxd5
Bxf1 15. Rxf1 Qxd5 $15 {0-1 Kantsler,B-Tiviakov,S/Frunze 1989/TD (32)}) 10...
Nc6 11. Bd3 Na5 12. c5 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 d5 14. cxd6 (14. O-O c6 15. Rfe1 Qd7 16.
Re2 Nc7 17. a4 Rfe8 18. Rae1 b5 19. axb5 Nxb5 20. Bf2 Nc4 $11 {0-1 Byrne,R-De
Firmian,N/Philadelphia 1989/EXT 97 (44)}) 14... Nxd6 15. Nf4 Qd7 16. d5 exd5
17. Qxd5+ Qf7 18. Kf2 Qxd5 19. exd5 c6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Volkov,S-Timoshenko,G/
Tusnad 2000/EXT 2001 (33)}) 8... Ba6 9. Nh3 (9. f4 $5 Nc6 10. a4 f5 11. e5 d5
12. Ba3 dxc4 13. Bc2 Rf7 14. Nf3 Qd5 15. O-O Bb7 16. Qe1 Na5 17. Qh4 $36 {
1-0 Vladimirov,B-Ruban,E/USSR 1968/Inf 06 (31)}) 9... Nc6 (9... c5 10. O-O Nc6
11. e5 $5 $14 (11. Be3 Na5 12. Qe2 Rc8 13. e5 cxd4 14. Bg5 f6 15. Qe4 g6 16.
exf6 Nxf6 $17 {1-0 Toth,B-Flesch,J/Budapest 1971/MCD (29)})) 10. e5 Na5 {
The plans for both sides are becoming clear: White has to try to develop an
initiative on the kingside, even if it`s going to cost the c4-pawn, Black
wants to try to win a pawn on c4 and to block white`s play on the kingside.}
11. Qe2 f6 12. O-O $146 {This position isn`t research at all and this simple
move appears to be a novelty.} (12. Rb1 {was played in the earlier game and
certainly deserves attention:} d5 (12... c5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. exf6 Nxf6 15. O-O
$14) 13. Nf4 Qd7 14. cxd5 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 exd5 16. O-O $14 {1/2-1/2 Najdorf,
M-Beni,A/Dubrovnik 1950/MCD/[Milov,V] (52)}) 12... c5 13. Be3 Rc8 14. Rac1 {
the c4-pawn needs protection} d5 $1 (14... d6 15. f4 {would favour White.}) (
14... cxd4 {Ftacnik} 15. cxd4 d5 16. exd6 Nxd6 17. Nf4 Qd7 18. c5 $14) 15. Nf4
(15. cxd5 {would allow Black to take control over the light squares:} Bxd3 16.
Qxd3 Qxd5 17. Nf4 Qc4 $15) 15... Nc7 (15... dxc4 {Ftacnik} 16. Bxh7+ $5 (16.
Be4 {Ftacnik} Qe7 17. d5 exd5 18. Nxd5 Qe6 19. exf6 Nxf6 20. Nxf6+ Qxf6 21. Qc2
h6 $15) 16... Kxh7 17. Nxe6 Qe7 18. Nxf8+ Qxf8 19. Rfe1 $13) 16. exf6 (16. cxd5
Bxd3 17. Qxd3 exd5 $11) 16... Qxf6 (16... dxc4 {Ftacnik} 17. fxg7 $5 (17. Be4 {
Ftacnik} Qxf6 18. Qc2 g6 19. dxc5 Nb3 20. Rcd1 Nxc5 21. Bxc5 bxc5 22. Ne2 $11)
17... Rxf4 18. Bxh7+ Kxh7 19. Bxf4 cxd4 20. Qe4+ Kxg7 21. Be5+ Kf8 22. Bxd4 $13
) 17. cxd5 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 cxd4 19. cxd4 Nxd5 20. Nxd5 exd5 $11 {After more or
less forced simplifications we reach about equal position. Ftacnik: 'The
position is quite equal as black can organize his defence along the white
squares.'} 21. Bf2 Nc4 22. Rfe1 Rfe8 23. Bg3 Qg6 24. Qb3 {White has to avoid
the queen swap as the black pawns on the queenside with a knight support would
become very dangerous.} h6 (24... a6 $5) 25. Qb5 Qf7 26. a4 Kh7 27. h3 Ra8 28.
Be5 a6 29. Qb3 Qg6 30. f4 {behind his well-positioned bishop White will now
try to coordinate his pieces and create some pressure on the kingside. Black
has enough defensive resources, of course.} Rf8 31. Rc3 Ra7 32. Rg3 Qf5 33. Kh2
(33. Qf3 {Ftacnik} Rd7 34. Rc1 $11) 33... Raf7 34. Rg4 Rd7 35. Rc1 Rff7 36. Rc3
Rb7 37. Qd1 (37. Rcg3 {Ftacnik} Qe4 38. Rg6 Rfe7 $11) 37... Qe4 38. Rgg3 Qf5
39. Rb3 b5 {'!' Ftacnik. reminding White that the "b" pawn is also not without
importance. Ftacnik: 'Even the defender can show some teeth and start his
counterplay with passed b pawn.'} (39... Rfe7 $11 {Ftacnik}) 40. axb5 Rxb5 41.
Rxb5 axb5 42. Rb3 Rb7 43. Qe1 Qe4 $15 44. Qxe4+ $2 {The endgame unexpectedly
is going to be very difficult for White. It was better to avoid the exchange.}
(44. Qf2 b4 $17) (44. Qc3 $142) (44. Qb4 {Ftacnik} Ne3 45. Rb2 Rb6 $1 $15)
44... dxe4 45. d5 g5 (45... b4 46. d6 (46. g4 $2 Nd2 47. Rb2 e3 $17) 46... e3 (
46... Nd2 $4 47. Rxb4) 47. Kg1 Kg6 48. Bd4 Nxd6 49. Bxe3 $11) (45... e3 $5 {
Ftacnik} 46. Kg1 g5 47. d6 Kg6 $15) 46. g4 (46. Kg3 Kg6 $17) 46... e3 (46...
Rf7 47. Rxb5 gxf4 48. Bd4 e3 49. Rb8 Re7 50. Kg2 Nd2 51. d6 Rd7 52. Rf8 f3+ (
52... e2 53. Bf2 f3+ 54. Rxf3 $11) 53. Rxf3 $11) 47. Kg3 e2 $2 {missing the
win.} (47... Re7 $1 48. Rb1 e2 49. Re1 (49. Kf2 gxf4 50. Bxf4 Nb2 $1 51. Bd2
Nd3+ 52. Kg3 e1=Q+ 53. Bxe1 Re3+ $19) 49... Nxe5 50. fxe5 Rxe5 51. d6 Kg7 52.
d7 Rd5 53. Rxe2 Rxd7 $19) 48. Kf2 Re7 49. Ke1 {'!' Ftacnik. Ftacnik: 'An
elegant way to neutralize black's e2 pawn, Topalov still keeps a pull in the
endgame.'} (49. Rxb5 $2 {Ftacnik} e1=Q+ 50. Kxe1 gxf4 $19) 49... Nxe5 50. d6
Re6 51. fxe5 Rxe5 52. Rb2 Re8 53. Rxb5 Kg7 54. Rb6 Re3 55. d7 Rd3 56. Rb7 Kf8
57. Kxe2 Rd6 58. Ke3 Ke7 59. Ke4 Re6+ 60. Kf3 Rd6 61. Ke4 Re6+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "World Women-ch k.o."]
[Site "Teheran"]
[Date "2017.02.13"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Zhu, Chen"]
[Black "Ju, Wenjun"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2419"]
[BlackElo "2583"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi,E"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2017.02.11"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "IRI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 177"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.03.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O 7. cxd5 exd5 8.
e3 Nh5 9. g4 $4 {An unbelievable blunder by Zhu Chen!} (9. Qc2 Re8 10. g4 {
and only now g4 because the queen on c2 would parry the attack along the e1-h4
diagonal.} Nf4 11. h4 c5 12. Kf2 {with a complex fight!}) 9... Qh4+ 10. Kd2 Ng3
11. Qe1 Nxf1+ {I think this is the move she missed. Now White's king is stuck
in the center with a lot of "holes" in the light squares around it.} 12. Qxf1
f5 $1 13. gxf5 {Sad necessity.} Bxf5 14. c4 c5 $1 {This obviously tears apart
White's meager shelter for her king.} 15. Bb2 cxd4 16. Bxd4 Nc6 {The game is
over.} 17. Ne2 dxc4 18. Qg2 Bg6 19. Rac1 b5 20. f4 Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Rad8 22. Rhf1
Qf6 23. Qg1 Qa6 24. Rc3 b4 25. axb4 Qa2+ 26. Kd1 Qb1+ 0-1

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.04.01"]
[Round "1"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E27"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2633"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2015.04.01"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 166"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.05.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.05.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 O-O {This reaction is becoming
increasingly popular nowadays. Even Carlsen gave it a try after facing some
problems in the main lines with} (4... d5 {and}) (4... c5 {against both Anand
and Nakamura (twice). Although he eventually won all 3 games, he couldn't have
been satisfied with the outcome of the opening:} 5. d5 O-O 6. e4 d6 7. Bd2 Nbd7
8. Nge2 Ne5 9. Ng3 exd5 10. cxd5 Bd7 11. a3 Ba5 12. Be2 b5 13. O-O c4 14. Be3
Bb6 15. Qd2 Rb8 16. Nd1 Bc8 17. Kh1 Nfd7 18. f4 Ng6 19. Bxb6 Rxb6 20. Ne3 Nc5
21. Bd1 Nd3 22. f5 Ngf4 23. a4 a6 24. Ng4 $36 {Nakamura,H (2772)-Carlsen,M 
(2881) Shamkir 2014 See the notes to this game in CBM 160.}) 5. a3 ({The main
alternative is the ambitious} 5. e4 {, with the critical position arising after
} d5 6. e5 Nfd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. a3 (8. f4 c5 $1 $32 {and White has to tread
with care due to his lag in development}) 8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 f6 10. exf6 (10.
f4 $2 fxe5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 $1 12. fxe5 Qh4+ 13. Kd2 Qf4+ $19) {Now the most
solid, but probably not the only good move is} 10... Qxf6 (10... Qe8+ 11. Qe2
Qf7 $5 12. fxg7 Re8 13. Be3 Nc6 14. Qd2 Na5 15. Rb1 $1 Nb6 16. Rb4 Nac4 17.
Bxc4 {Mamedyarov,S (2757)-Aronian,L (2830) Khanty-Mansiysk Candidates 2014}
Nxc4 $142 18. Rxc4 dxc4 19. Ne2 Bf5 20. Kf2 $13) 11. Ne2 $5 (11. Bd3 Nb6 12.
Ne2 {allows Black to exchange the light-squared bishops with} Bf5 13. Bf4 Rf7
14. Be5 Qg5 15. Bxf5 Qxf5 16. Ng3 Qd7 17. O-O Nc6 18. f4 Nc4 19. Qe2 Re8 20. h3
b5 21. Rf3 a5 22. Nf1 b4 $132 {Motwani,P (2543)-Lutz,C (2614) Port Barcares
2005}) 11... Nb6 12. Nf4 {is less tested, but deserves closer attention,
according to Peralta. After} c5 (12... Nc6 $5 $132 {[%cal Yc6a5]}) 13. a4 Nc6
$6 14. a5 Nc4 15. Nxd5 Qe6+ 16. Qe2 N4xa5 17. Qxe6+ Bxe6 18. Nc7 cxd4 19. cxd4
(19. Kf2 $5 $14) 19... Rad8 {Aleksandrov,A (2604)-Kravtsiv,M (2546)
Bhubaneswar 2010.} {White retains an advantage with} 20. Bd2 b6 21. Nxe6 Rfe8
22. Bxa5 Rxe6+ 23. Kf2 Nxa5 24. Rxa5 bxa5 25. Bc4 $16) 5... Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nh5 (
6... c5 7. e4 d6 8. Bd3 Nc6 9. Ne2 Ne8 10. O-O b6 11. f4 {is a position
arising mostly from the Sämisch with 4.a3; White plays e3-e4 and f4 in one
move, here it's the other way around. A recent example went} Ba6 (11... f5 $1
12. d5 $13 {is standard and more circumspect}) 12. f5 exf5 $146 (12... e5 13.
f6 $1 Nxf6 14. Bg5 $40) 13. exf5 (13. Ng3 $44) 13... h6 14. f6 $1 Nxf6 15. Ng3
cxd4 16. Nf5 {[%cal Rf5g7,Rf5h6]} Ne5 17. cxd4 Ng6 {Khairullin,I (2629)
-Kravtsiv,M (2565) EU-ch Jerusalem 2015} 18. Nxh6+ $1 gxh6 19. Bxh6 $16 {
[%cal Rd1f3,Rh6f8]}) (6... d5 {leads to positions, similar to the 4...d5 line
- Black prefers to avoid this.}) 7. Nh3 (7. g3 $143 f5 8. e4 d6 $132 9. f4 $6
Nf6 {[%csl Re4]} 10. e5 Ne4 11. Ne2 b6 12. Bg2 Ba6 $40 13. Qb3 Nc6 14. c5 d5
15. cxb6 cxb6 16. Qc2 Rc8 17. Bb2 Na5 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. O-O Qd5 20. Bc1 e3 21.
Bxe3 Bb7 22. Kf2 Qf3+ {0-1, Bluvshtein,M (2557)-Rowson,J (2596) Dresden olm
2008}) 7... f5 8. Nf2 {[%cal Ye2e4] White must play energetically to
compensate for his disrupted pawn-structure and make his bishop pair tell.} ({
Too soft is} 8. e3 d6 9. Be2 c5 $1 10. O-O Nc6 11. g4 $6 (11. Nf2 Qe7 $11 {/~~}
) 11... fxg4 (11... Qh4 $1 $36 {Gleizerov}) 12. fxg4 Nf6 13. Nf2 h6 14. e4 e5
15. d5 Ne7 16. g5 hxg5 17. Bxg5 Qe8 18. Qd3 Qg6 19. Qg3 Bd7 20. Kh1 Rf7 21. Qh4
Raf8 22. Rae1 Qh7 23. Qxh7+ Nxh7 $15 {/-/+, Karjakin,S (2772)-Carlsen,M (2881)
Shamkir 2014 This game sparked off the interest in 6...Nh5, see the notes in
CBM 160 by Krasenkow.}) ({Another attempt to fight for an edge is the bishop
sortie} 8. Bg5 {The immediate} Nf6 $5 {might be a better choice, although it's
still not played too often:} (8... Qe8 9. g4 (9. Nf2 Nc6 10. e4 d6 11. Be2 fxe4
12. Nxe4 e5 13. O-O Bf5 14. Bd3 Bg6 15. d5 Na5 16. c5 Nf4 17. cxd6 Nxd3 18. d7
Qxd7 19. Qxd3 b5 20. a4 bxa4 21. Qa6 Nb3 22. Qxa4 Qxd5 23. Rfd1 Qe6 24. Rab1
Rab8 25. Qxa7 Bxe4 26. fxe4 h6 $11 {Khismatullin,D (2671)-Fedoseev,V (2662)
Vladivostok 2014}) (9. e4 d6 10. Bd3 e5 11. exf5 exd4+ 12. Kf2 Bxf5 13. Bxf5
Rxf5 14. cxd4 Rf7 (14... Qg6 $5 15. Re1 Nc6 16. g4 Rxg5 17. Nxg5 Qxg5 18. gxh5
Rf8 $44) 15. Re1 Qd7 {Guilleux,F (2381)-Fedorchuk,S (2655) Paris 2009} 16. d5
$14) {It's safer to keep the position more closed with} 9... Nf6 $142 $5 (9...
fxg4 10. fxg4 Nf6 11. Qd3 (11. Bxf6 $5 Rxf6 12. Bg2 Nc6 13. Qd3 Ne7 14. Be4 g6
15. g5 Rf7 16. Nf2 d5 17. Bf3 e5 18. cxd5 exd4 19. cxd4 Bf5 20. Qb3 c6 21. dxc6
bxc6 22. O-O Rb8 23. Qe3 $14 {Khairullin,I (2617)-Adams,M (2704) Rijeka 2010
See the notes to this game by Mikhalchishin in CBM 136.}) 11... d6 (11... d5
12. Bxf6 $1 Rxf6 13. Bg2 $14 Qc6 $6 14. Ng5 Rg6 15. Nxh7 $1 Rh6 16. O-O $1 Nd7
(16... Rxh7 17. Rf8+ Kxf8 18. Qxh7 $18) 17. g5 Rxh7 18. Qg6 Ne5 19. dxe5 Qc5+
20. Rf2 $18 {1-0 (26) Schwarz,D (2339)-Smolen,J (2453) Slovakia 2015}) 12. Nf2
(12. Bxf6 Rxf6 13. Bg2 Nc6 14. Be4 g6 15. g5 Rf8 16. Nf2 e5 17. h4 Kg7 18. h5
Qf7 $132 {Ivanchuk,V (2726)-Zubarev,A (2588) Lvov 2014}) 12... Nc6 (12... e5
13. Bg2 Nc6 14. Bxf6 Rxf6 15. O-O Kh8 16. Ne4 Rg6 $2 (16... Rxf1+ 17. Rxf1 Bxg4
$1 18. Ng5 Qh5 19. Nf7+ Kg8 20. Bd5 Ne7 21. dxe5 c6 {and White doesn't seem to
have more than a perpetual}) 17. h3 {[%csl Rg6]} Bd7 18. Rf2 Nd8 19. d5 b6 20.
Raf1 $16 {Carlsen,M (2801)-Morozevich,A (2750) Moscow blitz 2009}) 13. h3 (13.
Bg2 Nxg4 $5 14. Nxg4 Qh5 15. Bxc6 Qxg4 16. Be7 Rf7 $13) 13... b6 14. Bg2 Ba6
15. Bxf6 Rxf6 16. Ne4 Rg6 17. Nd2 d5 18. Qg3 Qf7 {Volkov,S (2612)-Durarbayli,V
(2476) EU-ch Rijeka 2010} 19. g5 $5 $36 {[%cal Rh3h5]}) 10. gxf5 exf5 11. Nf4 (
11. c5 b6 12. Nf4 bxc5 13. dxc5 Kh8 14. h4 Bb7 15. Bg2 Nc6 16. h5 Ne5 17. h6
Nxf3+ 18. Bxf3 Bxf3 19. hxg7+ Kxg7 20. Bh6+ Kg8 21. Rg1+ Bg4 22. Bxf8 Qxf8 23.
Nd5 Re8 $44 {Baron,T (2510)-Khairullin,I (2629) EU-ch Jerusalem 2015}) 11... d6
12. Qd3 (12. Kf2 Nc6 13. e3 Nd8 14. d5 Ng4+ $5 15. fxg4 Nf7 16. Bh4 fxg4 17.
Be2 Ne5 18. h3 gxh3 19. Rg1 Rf7 20. Qd4 h5 21. Kg3 Bg4 $44 {Tinture,L (2401)
-Bresadola,G (2359) email 2011}) 12... Nc6 13. Bh3 (13. Rg1 $5 Kh8 $13) 13...
Nh5 14. Nd5 Qf7 15. O-O-O $6 {[%csl Rc1]} h6 16. Bd2 Na5 17. Rhg1 Kh8 18. Rg2
b5 $40 {Volkov,S (2599)-Rodshtein,M (2678) St Petersburg 2014}) 9. e4 fxe4 10.
fxe4 d6 11. Nf2 e5 12. c5 (12. Bd3 Nc6 13. Be3 b6 14. O-O Qe8 15. c5 dxc5 16.
dxc5 Na5 17. c4 Be6 18. cxb6 axb6 19. c5 Nc4 20. Bxc4 Bxc4 21. Re1 b5 $36 {
[%csl Ra3,Re4] Volkov,S (2607)-Nikolaidis,I (2545) Vrachati 2011}) 12... Nc6
13. Bb5 Qe7 14. O-O dxc5 15. Qb3+ (15. Nd3 $5 cxd4 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. cxd4 Ba6
$1 $11) 15... Kh8 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. dxe5 Qxe5 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Nd3 Qxe4 20.
Nf4 Ba6 21. Rae1 Qc4 $15 {Volkov,S (2593)-Turov,M (2599) Fagernes 2013}) (8. e4
{is an aggressive experiment by Bronstein, the natural reaction is} fxe4 $1 9.
Bg5 (9. fxe4 $2 Qh4+ $19) 9... Nf6 10. fxe4 d6 $11 {transposing to 8.Bg5 Nf6!?}
(10... h6 11. Bh4 (11. Bxf6 Qxf6 $15) 11... d6 (11... g5 $6 12. Bg3 {[%csl Rg8]
/\} Nxe4 13. Qc2 d5 14. Nf2 $16) 12. Be2 e5 $132)) 8... b6 $146 ({The text is
a novelty, but less flexible than the previously tested} 8... d6 $5 {So almost
surely intended to play} 9. e4 $142 $1 (9. e3 e5 10. f4 (10. Bd3 Nc6 11. Qc2
Bd7 12. Bd2 Kh8 13. d5 Ne7 14. g4 fxg4 15. fxg4 Nf6 16. Rg1 Qe8 17. Rg3 Ng6 18.
Bf5 e4 $1 $17 {[%cal Yg6e5] Hammer,J (2610)-Papaioannou,I (2592) Eretria 2011})
10... Nf6 11. fxe5 dxe5 12. c5 Nc6 13. Bc4+ Kh8 14. O-O b6 15. Bb5 Bb7 16. Rb1
Ne7 17. Be2 Ne4 18. Rb3 Nxf2 19. Rxf2 Bc6 20. Qf1 bxc5 21. dxe5 Qd5 22. c4 Qxe5
23. Bb2 Qe6 24. Bf3 Kg8 25. Bxc6 Nxc6 $15 {Volkov,S (2622)-Izoria,Z (2606)
Saint Vincent 2005}) 9... f4 (9... Qe8 10. Bd3 e5 11. O-O (11. exf5 exd4+ 12.
Kf1 {1/2, Sakaev,K (2649)-Tomashevsky,E (2658) RUS-chT Dagomys 2008} dxc3 13.
g4 Nc6 $5 14. gxh5 Bxf5 $44) 11... f4 12. c5 $1 dxc5 13. Qb3+ Kh8 14. a4 b6 15.
dxc5 Be6 16. Bc4 Bxc4 17. Qxc4 Qf7 (17... Nc6 $142 $132) 18. Qd5 $1 Qxd5 19.
exd5 Nf6 20. Ba3 Re8 21. c4 bxc5 22. Rab1 Na6 23. Nd3 Nd7 24. Rfe1 Kg8 25. Rb5
$36 {Jones,G (2554)-Trent,L (2471) Torquay 2009}) (9... fxe4 10. Nxe4 Nc6 11.
Bd3 $5 (11. Bg5 Qe8 12. Bd3 h6 13. Be3 Nf4 14. O-O e5 15. d5 Ne7 16. Bxf4 exf4
17. Qd2 b6 18. Rae1 Qf7 19. Nf2 Bd7 20. Be4 Rae8 21. Nd3 g5 22. g3 fxg3 23.
hxg3 Nf5 {Moranda,W (2533)-Drozdovskij,Y (2567) Warsaw rpd 2007}) (11. g3 h6
12. f4 Nf6 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. Be3 b6 15. Bd3 Na5 16. O-O Ba6 17. Qe2 d5 18. c5
Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Qf5 20. Qe2 Nc4 $15 {[%csl Re3] Indjic,A (2536)-Jankovic,A (2559)
Sarajevo 2013}) 11... e5 12. Bg5 Qe8 13. O-O exd4 14. Re1 $44) 10. c5 $5 (10.
Rb1 Nc6 11. Rb5 Qe8 12. Rg1 e5 13. g4 Nf6 14. d5 Nd8 15. Nd3 b6 16. Rb2 Nb7 17.
Qb3 Nd7 18. Rgg2 Ndc5 $17 {Ma,Q (2613)-Wen,Y (2581) China 2014}) 10... dxc5 11.
Bc4 Nc6 12. Bb2 Na5 13. Ba2 c4 $6 (13... b6 14. O-O Qe8 $13) 14. a4 Qg5 15. O-O
e5 16. Ba3 (16. Nd3 $5) 16... Rd8 17. Qe2 Kh8 18. Bxc4 exd4 19. cxd4 Nc6 20. d5
Ne5 21. Rfc1 Ng6 22. Nd3 $16 {Krush,I (2464)-Rozentalis,E (2578) Gausdal 2007})
9. e4 fxe4 $2 {[%mdl 128] We have already seen in the above examples that
opening the position can be extremely risky for Black, as it invites a
dangerous attack.} (9... Ba6 $5 10. Bd3 Nc6 {[%csl Rc4][%cal Yc6a5] targets
the Pc4 and seems more consistent with the previous move.}) 10. fxe4 (10. Nxe4
d5 $5 11. Nf2 Ba6 $13) 10... Qf6 (10... Nf4 11. e5 $1 (11. g3 Ng6 {[%cal Ye6e5]
}) 11... Bb7 (11... Nc6 12. Qg4 Ng6 13. h4 $36) 12. Qg4 Ng6 13. Bg5 Qe8 14. Bd3
$16 {()}) 11. Ra2 {[%csl Gc4,Gd4,Ge4]} Qf7 (11... Nf4 {again loses too much
time with the N and is unattractive after} 12. e5 ({White can also start with} 
12. g3) 12... Qf7 13. g3 (13. Nd3 $5) 13... Ng6 14. Ne4 $36) 12. Nh3 $1 {
[%csl Rh5][%cal Ya2f2,Yf1e2] So is unbiassed and returns to h3.} (12. Nd3 Nf6
13. Rf2 Qe7 {is less convincing, the d3-square is reserved for the Bf1.}) 12...
Qg6 ({Black tries to confuse his opponent, as returning with the knight is
practically hopeless:} 12... Nf6 13. Rf2 Qe7 (13... Qh5 14. Qxh5 $1 (14. Be2
Qa5 15. O-O {[%cal Re4e5]}) 14... Nxh5 15. Rxf8+ Kxf8 16. Be2 Nf6 17. O-O Kg8
18. e5 Ne8 19. Bd3 $18) 14. e5 Ne8 15. Rxf8+ Qxf8 16. Bd3 $40 {[%cal Rh3g5,
Rd1h5,Rh1f1]}) 13. e5 (13. Rf2 Rxf2 (13... Qxe4+ 14. Be2 Nf6 15. Ng5 Qg6 16.
O-O $40 {[%cal Re2d3] White has a huge lead in development and a devastating
attack}) 14. Nxf2 Bb7 (14... e5 15. dxe5 {[%csl Ra8,Rh5][%cal Rd1d5,Rf1e2]})
15. e5 $1 $16 (15. Bd3 e5 $5 {is less convincing})) 13... Bb7 14. Bd3 {The
bishop swap helps Black somewhat.} ({After} 14. Rf2 $1 {and Black hardly has
anything better than} Rxf2 15. Nxf2 {, transposing into the above note.}) 14...
Be4 15. Bxe4 Qxe4+ 16. Qe2 $6 {This is definitely inaccurate and allows Black
back into the game.} (16. Re2 $1 Qg6 (16... Qc6 17. Qd3 {[%cal Rh3g5]}) (16...
Qh4+ 17. Rf2 Rxf2 18. Nxf2 {[%csl Rh5][%cal Rg2g3]}) 17. Rf2 Nc6 18. O-O {
[%csl Rh5][%cal Rg2g4] , followed by g4 traps the hapless Nh5}) 16... Qb1 $1
17. Qc2 (17. Qd2 $2 Nc6 {[%cal Yc6a5] makes no sense, as White can't trap
neither the Qb1, nor the Nh5.}) 17... Qxc2 18. Rxc2 g6 {Black has rescued his
knight and can fight on in a simplified position.} 19. Ng5 (19. g4 Ng7 20. Ng5
d6 $132) (19. Bh6 Ng7 20. Ng5 $14 {[%cal Yg5e4]}) 19... Nc6 20. Ne4 Kg7 (20...
Na5 21. g4 Ng7 22. c5 $36) 21. g4 $6 (21. Rf1 $1 Rxf1+ 22. Kxf1 Rf8+ 23. Rf2 $1
(23. Kg1 Na5 24. Rf2 $5 $36) 23... Rxf2+ 24. Kxf2 $14 {/+/-}) 21... Nf4 22. Be3
(22. O-O Nh3+ 23. Kg2 Rxf1 24. Kxf1 Rf8+ 25. Kg2 (25. Nf6 d6 {[%csl Re5]})
25... Nf4+ 26. Kg3 Nd3 $13) 22... Nh3 (22... Nd3+ 23. Kd2 Nf4 24. Nf6 Nh3 25.
g5 d6 26. exd6 cxd6 $132 {[%cal Yh7h6,Yc6a5]}) 23. Rg2 Nf4 24. Rg3 d6 $5 {
[%mdl 256] Black is still under pressure and active defence is the best chance.
} (24... Nd3+ 25. Ke2 (25. Kd2 Nb2) 25... Nf4+ 26. Kd1 $1 Rad8 (26... Na5 27.
Nf6 g5 28. h4 Nxc4 29. hxg5 Nxe3+ 30. Rxe3 $16) 27. Nf6 d6 28. Bxf4 dxe5 29.
Bg5 Rxf6 30. Bxf6+ Kxf6 31. g5+ Kf7 32. Rh3 $1 Kg8 33. Re1 $36) 25. exd6 cxd6
26. Nxd6 Rad8 27. Ne4 (27. c5 $142 $1 bxc5 28. Bxf4 $1 (28. dxc5 Rb8 $132)
28... Rxf4 29. Nb7 Rb8 (29... Re8 30. Nxc5 e5 31. d5 $16) 30. Nxc5 e5 31. Ke2
$5 Rb2+ 32. Ke3 Rff2 33. Ke4 $14) 27... e5 $1 $13 28. dxe5 (28. Rf1 exd4 $1 29.
Bxf4 Rfe8) 28... Nd3+ 29. Ke2 Ndxe5 30. Nd2 (30. c5 Nc4 $44 {[%csl Re2][%cal
Rf8e8]}) 30... Rfe8 31. Rf1 Na5 (31... Rd3 32. Ne4 Na5 (32... Rxe3+ 33. Kxe3
Nxc4+ 34. Kf3 Re7 (34... Rxe4 35. Kxe4 Nd2+ 36. Kd5 $18) 35. g5) 33. c5 bxc5
34. Nxc5 $14) ({However, Black doesn't have to play so directly. Moves like} 
31... h6 {, or}) (31... Rd6 $5 {/\} 32. c5 Rde6 {[%cal Re5g4] give him
reasonable compensation.}) 32. Rf4 Nexc4 $2 {Unfortunately for Naroditsky, the
tactics don't work.} (32... Kg8 $5 $44 {[%cal Yd8c8] keeps the outcome very
much open.}) 33. Nxc4 g5 34. Rd4 $8 (34. Nxa5 $2 gxf4) 34... Rxd4 35. Nxa5 Ra4
(35... Rd6 36. Nb3 $18) 36. Nc6 Rxa3 37. Kd3 $16 {White's pieces coordinate
well to give him attacking chances long before the passed Pa7 can generate
counterplay.} Ra2 (37... h6 38. Bd4+ Kg8 39. Kc4 $16) 38. Rh3 Rg2 ({The more
resilient} 38... h6 39. Bd4+ Kh7 40. Rf3 Kg8 41. Rf6 Rxh2 42. Nxa7 $16 {
/+- should also lose in the long run.}) 39. Bd4+ Kg8 40. Ne5 $18 Re6 (40... Re7
41. Rh5 Kf8 42. Kc4 $1 $18) 41. Nd7 Rd6 (41... h6 42. Rf3 Re7 43. Rf8+ Kh7 44.
Rh8+ Kg6 45. Ne5+ $18) 42. Nf6+ Kf7 43. Ne4 Rd5 44. Rxh7+ Kg6 (44... Ke6 45. c4
Ra5 46. Bc3 {[%cal Re4g5]}) 45. Rg7+ Kh6 46. Rxa7 b5 (46... Rxg4 47. Nf6) (
46... Ra5 {only prolongs the suffering after} 47. Rxa5 (47. Rb7 $18) 47... bxa5
48. c4 Rxg4 49. c5 $18) 47. Ra6+ 1-0

