Play the Alekhine plbealdellpsLten ialist explain mpro! sear figs ehPlay the Alekhine Valentin Bogdanov Translated by Serge MarudovFirst published in the UK by Gambit Publications Ltd 2009 Copyright © Valentin Bogdanov 2009 English-language translation © Serge Marudov 2009 Additional material © Graham Burgess 2009 The right of Valentin Bogdanov to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. ISBN-13: 978-1-906454-15-9 ISBN-10: 1-906454-15-9 DISTRIBUTION: Worldwide (except USA): Central Books Ltd, 99 Wallis Rd, London E9 SLN, England. 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E-mail: info@ gambitbooks.com Website (regularly updated): www.gambitbooks.com Edited by Graham Burgess Typeset by John Nunn Cover image by Wolff Morrow Printed in Great Britain by Cromwell Press Group, Trowbridge, Wilts. 10987654321 Gambit Publications Ltd Managing Director: Murray Chandler GM Chess Director: Dr John Nunn GM Editorial Director: Graham Burgess FM German Editor: Petra Nunn WFM Webmaster: Dr Helen Milligan WFMContents Symbols Introduction White Does Not Play 2 e5 The Chase Variation The Four Pawns Attack The Old Main Line: 4 Af3 &g4 The New Main Line and 4th Move Alternatives Exchange Variation 2.5 Ad5: 3 Ac3 and Other Moves AYADAUARWNS Index of VariationsSymbols x capture + check ++ double check # checkmate " brilliant move ! good move ” interesting move 1 dubious move ? bad move ” blunder Ch championship (”) nth match game (D) _seenext diagram Translator’s note I would like to thank Dr Jorge Chavez for his kind assistance. Serge Marudov Editor's note As author of the books The Complete Alekhine and New Ideas in the Alekhine Defence, and the Alekhine material in Nunn’s Chess Openings, I clearly have a close personal connection with the opening covered by Valentin Bogdanov in this book. It was therefore a pleasure to incorporate ad- ditional material and games that appeared after the manuscript was submitted for translation, to- gether with some extra references and corrections to standard theory from my own sources. Graham BurgessIntroduction This book is devoted to the opening that bears the name of the fourth world champion, Alex- ander Alekhine. During the period of the refor- mation of the classical laws of the opening by the ‘Hypermoderns’, he was the first to use this defence in professional competitions. The initial position of the Alekhine Defence occurs after 1 e4 Df6 (D). Y % GZ “a, The move looks blatantly provocative; how- ever, it is in full accordance with the innovations of that time when the role of the pawn-centre was being revised. Black invites his opponent to advance with the gain of a tempo, seizing space and building a pawn-centre to suit White’s taste —ranging in size from modest to maximal. Black figures that it will be insufficiently supported and that the larger the centre White erects, the more vulnerable it will be. During the almost century-long history of this provocative defence, numerous attempts have been made at direct refutation, which has suited the defence’s proponents just fine — strong action induces counteraction of the same strength. Another White strategy is less com- fortable for them psychologically — to be satis- fied with a small but lasting advantage, limiting Black’s counterplay to the minimum. Neverthe- less, the defence lives on, even though it retains the reputation of a difficult and strategically risky opening. It has been seen in world cham- pionship matches and continues to supplement the arsenal of many outstanding players, usually as areserve choice, or as a surprise weapon. Few high-level players employ it as their main reply to 1 e4. Of these we shall mention grandmasters Lev Alburt and Vladimir Bagirov, and of those active today, Alexander Baburin, while Alex- ander Shabalov has used it on many occasions. Of the world elite, its more notable ‘occasional’ users are Nigel Short, Michael Adams, Vasily Ivanchuk, Peter Svidler, Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen. This book is not an encyclopedia of the Ale- khine Defence. Instead, the aim is to explain the main ideas behind the opening, in particular in its currently most popular lines and any that have undergone extensive development in re- cent years. It is also a concise guide to the theory of the most important lines for the reader to know and will help orientate the reader in fur- ther study of this fascinating opening. Itis highly recommended that the book is used in conjunc- tion with an up-to-date database and a good an- alytical engine. Of course, the choice of games and variations to feature is a rather subjective matter, but the references used here are largely from the practice of recent years and should give a good feel for the modem Alekhine. The book is structured as follows: Chapter | examines systems where White tefrains from crossing the demarcation line im- mediately by playing 2 e5. These lines tend to lack a distinctive Alekhine flavour, and in many cases can transpose to other openings. On the other hand, they are not the most critical replies — this is immediately evident when we consider that the most important of them, 2 @c3, can be met by 2...e5, reaching a Vienna Game, which is not considered the most testing follow-up to 1e4es. The Chase Variation, 2 €5 Dd5 3 c4 Db6 4 5 45, is the subject of the second chapter.6 PLAY THE ALEKHINE Here the e- and c-pawns take full advantage of the opportunity to chase the enemy knight. This leads to positions of a unique and sharp type, where White is truly burning his boats. In Chapter 3 we investigate the most com- bative set-up, the Four Pawns Attack: 2.e5 Dd5 3 d4 d6 4 c4 Qb6 5 £4 (D). a a Abd - RF me BS a. O “a ae Am MwA DEMS B White erects a large pawn-centre in the hope that it will provide cover for an speedy attack, while Black strives to prove that this edifice is insufficiently secure. ‘The next two chapters are devoted to White’s most popular reply to the Alekhine, by which he combines a moderate seizure of space with piece development, normally starting with 2 e5 @d5 3 d4 d6 4 Df3 (D), which is sometimes called the Modern Variation. rasWew A G a Yh Se Y GG a ODG | ART, BAZ \gweiek Chapter 4 deals with the traditional main line 4...g4, while Chapter 5 examines Black’s Z yo Uh, Y 4th-move alternatives, most notably 4...dxe5 5 xe5 c6 (D), which can nowadays be regarded as the main line of the whole opening. It is very popular in current practice, and its theory is being elaborated at a rapid pace. In this chapter we also take a brief look at White’s other piece-developing options on move 4, the most important of which is 4 c4. The Exchange Variation is the subject of Chapter 6. Here White makes the exchange on d6 himself, considerably limiting both sides’ aggressive options and seeking a small but en- during advantage. This line has enjoyed a great deal of popularity in the last decade, particu- larly due to some sophisticated piece set-ups that seek to stifle Black’s counterplay. Finally, the short seventh chapter deals with all other replies to 2 e5 Dd5, except 3 d4 and 3 c4; the most important of these is 3 c3 (D).1 White Does Not Play 2 e5 It is not easy to explain the reasons that make White reject the obvious 2 e5. Normally when White adopts a sideline, it is based on a desire to reduce the need for opening preparation. However, in the case of 2 “\c3 (by far the main alternative to 2 e5), White is inviting transpo- sitions to a variety of other major openings, all requiring a certain amount of additional prep- aration, unless they happen to fit exactly with his existing repertoire. Meanwhile, in the main lines following 2 e5, the choice of variation lies primarily with White, and in many of them the volume of data is smaller than in the lines of this chapter. Nevertheless, in about a quar- ter of the games played in this opening, the e- pawn isn’t tempted into invading the enemy territory. Building an opening repertoire is a personal matter, and the inclusion of this or that system can be the result of similarity of its ideas to pre- ferred systems in other openings. Conversely, the motivation can be a desire to deny the oppo- nent the possibility of reaching his favourite positions. In the case of 2 4c3, one motivation may be that some Alekhine players tend to re- act over-aggressively to this quiet move, and get themselves into trouble without White hav- ing to take any great risks himself. One should bear this in mind when deciding how to meet this move! Game 1 (Renner-Konopka) is devoted to the rather dull 2 d3. The rest of the games feature 2 ©c3 d5, which some sources call the Scandina- vian Variation. In Game 2 (J.Fries Nielsen- Sandstrom) the likeness to the Scandinavian Defence is most apparent, as White exchanges pawns on d5. In Games 3 (Zezulkin-Seils), 4 (Predojevié-Mrkonjié) and 5 (Petr-M.Grinberg) White instead plays 3 e5, and Black's reaction (3...d4, 3...Ded and 3...2)fd7 respectively) de- fines three distinct main lines. Game 1 Christoph Renner — Michal Konopka Austrian Team Ch 2003/4 Le4 Af6 2 43 (D) If the pawn is not to advance, it has to be defended. Out of the multitude of possible defences, only two are more or less in accor- dance with the principles of opening play (the other being 2 c3, covered in Games 2-5). Such play does not aim at refuting Black’s ‘opening move. White voluntarily blocks the bishop’s diagonal and intends to steer the game into quiet systems of other openings. ‘We cannot recommend 2 £c4?!. This is not a pawn sacrifice as the pawn is promptly re- gained after 2...2xe4 3 S2xf7+ Sxf7 4 Whs+ 26 (4...d2g8 is good as well) 5 Wd5+, but Black’s pawn preponderance in the centre and advantage in development are more significant factors than his loss of castling rights. In the coming strug- gle, Black will be the more active side.8 PLAY THE ALEKHINE 25 Those who wish to transpose into acceptable lines of the Sicilian or Pirc Defence can do so with 2...c5, 2...g6 or 2...d6, but the main alter- native to the text-move is 2...d5. Then White can seek the same set-as in the main game by playing 3 @d2. Often Black agrees to that and chooses 3...e5 or 3...)c6, but there is also the option of carrying out ...c5 and ...2c6 first, and then choosing a set-up depend- ing on White’s actions: this can be a subsequent ..€6 with transposition into a closed form of the French Defence or else, should a knight appear on £3, posting the potentially ‘bad’ bishop to g4 while the diagonal is still open. French themes are also evident in the case of the pawn advancing: 3 ¢5 @fd7 (D). Now it has to be supported by one of its neighbours. 4 f4 initiates the more original play; then White has several options in setting up the queenside pawns - c4+d3, c3+d3 or nev- ertheless d4. We should mention the dark side of this decision: if the foot-soldier on f4 ends up blockaded or stuck in some other way, it will annoy the dark-squared bishop; moreover, in such ‘French’ set-ups this square is often useful for knight manoeuvres. If 4 d4 is chosen, Black can consider himself a tempo up because the pawn has spent two moves on this advance, but in closed positions that is not so important. Here too, the c8-bishop’s diagonal remains po- tentially open, although at the moment it is blocked by a knight that may have trouble find- ing gainful employment should it be transferred to b6. 3 Of3 Now White has a reversed Philidor Defence. This position can also arise from the Petroff, if White plays the insipid 3 d3 (after 1 e4 eS 2 BB D6). In similar positions Philidor himself, a great proponent of pawn play, recommended 3 f4 (D). ee o NEWS LHE This move is topical to this day. Itis based on aplausible idea - exchanging a flank pawn fora central one. However, pawn advances in the opening can often be detrimental to develop- ment; in this case the king’s cover is weakened as well. Black can go for the pawn sacrifice played by Alekhine: 3...2c6 4 £3 d5 (this might be dubious, with 4...exf4 followed by ..d5 deserving preference) 5 exd5 (better than 5 fxe5 dxe4, when Black is at least equal) 5...Dxd5 6 fxe5 2247 &e2. Now Black can re- gain the pawn immediately with 7...2xf3 8 Rxf3 Wh4+ 9 g3 Wd4 10 c3 Wxe5+ 11 We2, leaving White with the hope of some advantage due to the bishop-pair, or, in order to intensify the threat, play 7....2cS first. Also not bad is 3...exf4 4 &xf4 cb, leaving ...d5 in reserve for a little while. 3.6 The main difference between the positions of the two armies lies in the fact that White has played d3 (which postpones the light-squared bishop’s aggressive ambitions to a distant fu- ture) while Black has played ...c6, According to opening principles, this difference benefits Black, and even though it is White's tum to move, it is logical to suppose that his claim to an opening advantage has been sharply reduced. 403(D)WHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 9 The fianchetto of the king’s bishop is not an uncommon sight either. This universal method of development for White is popular, for exam- ple, in the Closed Sicilian, but the difference lies in the black army’s disposition. Here there is a black pawn on e5, and his development is extremely rapid; the rest of the black forces can be deployed in schemes including either ..d6 or .d5. As one example we shall give the opening of Lukin-Makarychev, Paviodar 1987: 4 g3 d5 5 exd5 Dxd5 6 Lg? Dde7 7 0-0 g6 8 Dbd2 &g7 9 Hel 0-0 10 Ded 6 11 b3 He8 12 &b2 DES 13 03 Dd6 14 dd Dxed 15 bxed Dad 16 Wad c5 17 dxeS £47 and Black seized the ini- tiative. This position is more commonly reached via a different move-order, and can be classified as belonging to the Ponziani Opening (1 e4 e5 2 £3 c6 3 c3). The classical set-up implies a series of moves consisting of c3, 2e2, 0-0 and @bd2 in some order. 4.45 White’s modest treatment of the opening leaves Black an ample choice of replies, but that does not mean that he can easily seize the initiative. White plans to carry out d4, when Black must constantly calculate a variety of scenarios that the events in the centre may fol- low. If Black is content with that, he can choose 4...e7 or 4...96. With the text-move, Black above all is the first to determine the pawn- structure, without waiting for White to prepare d4, The most likely subsequent scenario in- volves an exchange on e4. It would be naive to hope for White to take on d5 too soon, grant- ing Black the greater freedom in deploying his forces; meanwhile, as the pieces develop, Black will find it harder and harder to coordinate the simultaneous defence of both the d5- and the e5-pawns. 5 Dbd2 aS The bishop's post on c5 has to be secured first; otherwise the white b-pawn’s sprint, with tempo, to b5 would have tragic consequences for its black counterpart on eS. 6 Re2 2c5 7 0-0 dxet This move is playable but far from forced, as it activates the e2-bishop and relinquishes con- trol of c4. To complete his development, White usually brings his queen’s bishop out to b2, and waiting until he does so before contemplating concrete action is an attractive idea; for exam- ple, 7...0-0 8 b3 He8 9 a3 b6 10. 2b2 2b7 11 b4 Qd6 12 Hel De7 13 LF1 Agé 14 We2 5 15 bxaS Hxa5S 16 exdS @xd5 17 Dc4 Hak 18 d4 Dafa with lively play, Jovanovié-Brenjo, Ser- bian Team Ch, Zlatibor 2007. It is possible that Black wanted to avoid the simplifications after 7...0-0 8 DxeS DxeS 9 d4 Kb6 10 dxeS Dred. 8B dxe4 0-0 (D) ga ae 903 White is not afraid of the blockading 9...a4 because he has 10 £b5, so he prepares to push the pawn to b4 in one move. White has comfortable development with 9 We2, when the knight will start eyeing, after Dc4-e3, the d5- and f5-squares. Black has no particular problems, and at first sight his pieces appear to be the more active, but it is not as easy for him as for his opponent to find an obvi- ous plan of concrete immediate action, while10 PLAY THE ALEKHINE excessive placidity and planless play have ru- ined many a game. 9...We7 10 Hb1 284 (D) Black has no shortage of good squares, and he is not cramped, so he has no reason to strive for simplifications. This raid by the bishop aims not for an exchange but to provoke h3, which, considering the planned transfer of a knight to 4, would be good for Black. 10...2d8 11 We2 a4 looks even more tempting, as now in reply to 12 &bS there is already 12...Dg4 threatening 13...Rxf2+. A ALR: Ak SwW 2 11 b4 axb4 12 axb4 227 After 12...Sb6, the bishop will in a move or two come under attack by “Ac4. 13h3 2d7 13...$h5 deserves attention, as 14 @h4 can be countered with 14...Axe4; however, Black leaves this square empty for a different ma- noeuvre. 14 2b2 As has already been mentioned, the standard regrouping in such positions is typically initi- ated by the queen’s move to 2, which relieves the knight from the defence of the e4-pawn and prepares its transfer along the c4-e3 route. The bishop’s development to b2 looks logical as well: the queenside pawns’ further advance can- not be prevented, while control of the d4-square is retained. 14,..Db5 (D) White takes aim at the eS-pawn. 14...2\e8?! in order to prepare ...f6 is too passive: after 15 b5 the other knight will have to retreat to the back rank as well, as 15...2a5? runs into the unpleas- ant 16 c4 f6 17 £c3. The indirect defence by 14.,.HfdB 15 bS DaS 16 c4 Me8 (or 16...,2e6), counterattacking e4, is possible, but Black pre- ferred to go for a tempting pawn sacrifice. 15bS The immediate capture is bad (15 Dxe5? Dxe5 16 Axh5 £24), but White might con- sider 15 Bal. 15..Da5 16 DxeS Dg3 Alternatively, 16... WxeS 17 S&xhS was worth considering, when Black can force a draw by 17...,2xh3 18 gxh3 We3+, or aim for more by 17.,.21f48, with complex play. 17 Dxd7 Wxd7 18 Bel (D) zg sen a4 Wa . a ae z MA Wo GAG @ Vi, Mee 4 pone gigwe Ss 18,..Had8?! This may be a case of ‘the wrong rook’, be- cause after 18..0fd8 19 £3 Axes 20 Ada Dxc3 21 &xc3 Rxd4, the a8-rook tums out to be performing the useful function of defending the otherwise loose knight on a5. The game would then be roughly balanced. 19 cl?!WHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 u White would have done better to return the extra pawn with 19 @f3 @xe4 20 Ad4. Now 20...@xc37! is dubious in view of 21 &xc3 Sixd4 22 Sxa5 Rxf2+ 23 oxf2 WES+ 24 Sl, when White gets too much material for the queen, whereas after 20...c5 21 bxc6 Axc6 22 Sg4 Was 23 WE3 White’s bishop-pair secures him a modest advantage. 19...Wd6 (D) 20 Eal?? A terrible move. Tempted by the prospect of winning a piece, White fails to see a textbook mate. There is approximate equality after 20 Rfl, clearing the road to f3 for the queen; in that case Black can force an immediate draw by 20...Sxf2+ 21 Bxf2 £5 22 exf5 (22 e5 Deds+) 22...HxfS+ 23 gl We5+ 24 Sh2 Wd6 25 gi. Playing 20 £g4?! with the same goal is not as good because of 20...h5. 20...Wb6 21 Gh2 Wxf2 22 ExaS It is clear that after 22 Bfl @xfl+ 23 Wxfl Wxfl 24 Dxfl &b6 Black should have no great Le ae tA ga A, G mB A th er 2GE & trouble bringing the a5-knight back into play, and his extra exchange will secure him the vic- tory. 22.866 23 Ha2 Wid There is no defence against the smothered mate. 24 OF3 Dfl++ 25 dehd Wh2+ 26 Dxh2 2g3# (0-1) Game 2 Jens Ove Fries Nielsen — Ludvig Sandstrém Stockholm 2002 This is the main and most natural way of re- fraining from the immediate advance of the e- pawn. White deprives the enemy knight of the d5-square, and so the threat of eS gains in strength. Black’s reply must take this into ac- count. 2.45 2...e5 (Vienna) and 2...d6 (Pirc) transpose to ‘openings that lie outside our scope, and the po- sition after 2...e6 3 e5 (3 d4 again leads to other openings, most likely a French) 3...2d5 will be briefly examined in Game 25, via the move- order 2 e5 Dd5 3 Ac3 e6. Let’s have a look at the continuation 2...c6 3 d4 d5 4 5 Dd7. Now 5 Dxd5 Ddb& 6 De3 Wxd4 7 Wxd4 Axd4 promises White a more pleasant middlegame, as the transfer of the knight from g8 to b8, in addition to the loss of time, has somewhat cramped Black's queen- side. White can also hope for an advantage after 5 @f3: the position is similar to a French De- fence line that doesn’t enjoy a particularly good reputation; moreover, the difference in the posi- tion of the queen’s knight (on c3 instead of d2) can only improve White’s mood. Black has some consolation in the fact that the c8-h3 di- agonal is still open and the light-squared bishop can be brought out after 5...b6, but the price is12 PLAY THE ALEKHINE a further loss of time and the knight’s ineffec- tive posting. 3exd5 This transposes to a line that can also be claimed by the Scandinavian Defence (1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Df6 3 4\c3), but according to the stan- dard opening classification it belongs to our opening. For 3 e5, see Games 3-5. 3...2xd5 (D) raiwee Gee @ wae we a ean” ie hag ABAR RAR WHEAe = GY j y 4 hed An obvious move, creating concrete threats. 4d4 and 4 @f3 leave Black with a wider choice of replies. 4..D06 Let’s consider the alternatives in increasing order of popularity: a) 4...e6 is a pretentious move that may cause White to search for an immediate refuta- tion, and this can result in him wasting time to little effect, It is more sensible to settle for a small but clear and stable edge after 5 WE3 c6 6 @ge2 Dc7 7 Lxe6 Dxe6. Then White has the better development, and in reply to an attempt to bring out the bishop to g7, queenside castling followed by a kingside pawn-storm looks good. b) 4...Axc3 is fully playable. The most ac- curate continuation for White is considered to be 5 WE3 e6 6 Wxc3: he has provoked ...e6, which blocks the c8-bishop, and kept his pawn- chain intact. However, the queen’s position on 3, in front of its own infantry, is not without its drawbacks. The pawn-structure after the more straightforward 5 bxc3 can be seen in many openings, and the doubled pawns are compen- sated by the appearance of a half-open b-file. In both cases, White enjoys a little more freedom, and Black must carefully watch that this free- dom doesn’t transform into a vigorous attack on the black king. ©) After 4...e6 the play will usually transpose to lines considered via 4..2)xc3 or 4....\6. White can try to grab a pawn by 5 .xd57! exd5 6 We2+, but this is a highly dubious venture; c.g., 6.06 7 WoS+ Ac6 8 Wxb7 Db4 9 W5+ (or 9 DbS He8 10 Dd4 c6 11 Wxa7 d7!) 9...06! 10 Wad d7!. d) 4...c6 (D). ee 4 ma '« Pu WaZ F 3 WSU, aaa @ ewe AE ‘Together with the text-move, this continua- tion is the one seen most often today. One rea- son for this decision is immediately obvious: it bolsters the knight without blocking the light- squared bishop’s diagonal. However, White can throw yet another unit into the attack on d5 by S ‘Wf3, when Black must either move the knight or acquiesce to moving the e-pawn after all. If, the knight beats the retreat by 5...Af6, the c8- bishop will be hobbled by 6 h3, leaving it to face the same problems. Usually Black is satis- fied with provoking the enemy queen’s sortie to £3, depriving its own knight of its best post, and strengthens the central position of his stallion by 5...e6. The position of the c6-pawn is not fi- nal, and it hopes to advance, freeing the passive bishop, and in some cases it can support a di- versionary operation on the queenside; for ex- ample, 6 Dge2 Dd7 7 d4 B76 8 Ld? 2e7 9 0-0-0 We7 10 g4 bS 11 £43 b7 12 p5 Dxc3 13 @xc3 c5 14 Sxb5+ 8 15 Wh3 Ads with sharp play, Nanu-Abdelnabbi, Tanta 2003. 5 2b3 Dc6 ‘The main rival to the text-move is the prelim- inary 5...c5 (D).WHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 13 This move stakes out control of d4, and there is also a blatant threat of ...c4, against which there are two defences. 6 Wh5 is a tactical one, with the same goal of forcing 6...e6, when White will subsequently strive to exchange the dark-squared bishops after 7 d3, and should Black allow it by 7..c6 8 &g5 e7, the weakness of the d6-square and the c5-pawn be- comes perceptible. However, Black can play 7...dte7 first, avoiding the exchange. Besides that, there is the tempting pawn sacrifice 6...c4 7 Sxcd Dxed 8 WhS+ and now 8..Dc6 9 Wred €5 or 8...2d7 9 Wed £6. The second defence is 6 d3. If Black plays ...Q)d4 and White exchanges it off, then the c- file will be open and the pawn-structure will fa- vour Black. In reply, White will seek chances in a kingside attack. 6 2f3 (D) Here too, White can restrict Black’s queen’s bishop by 6 Wf3, controlling f5, but after 6...e6 the white bishop on b3 cannot be called active either. ak MAW fan Ge a a a a ao y nea 6 f5S The g4-square is mined: 6...2247? is met with the standard blow on f7, but this more modest development is OK for Black. We should mention 6...g6 as deserving at- tention; for example, the knight thrust 7 ®g5 brings no dividends: 7...e6 8 d3 2g79h4 h6 10 )f3 €5, N.Rogers-Shabalov, US Open, Cherry Hill 2007. Black has harmonious development and the better control of the centre. 6...e57! is another attempt to secure control over d4, but it is risky, as it opens a diagonal for the b3-bishop. After 7 d3, 7...2247! 8h3 2h5? 9 @xe5!! gives White a successful version of Legall’s trap, while 7...Se7 can be met with the standard 8 gs, 744 White has to make a resolution on two points: what to do with the d-pawn and whether he should plan to advance the a-pawn in the imme- diate future. The purpose of this raid is not so much to chase the enemy knight about or to weaken his pawn-structure — Black cannot al- low the pawn to reach a6 — as to secure the bishop’s retreat in case of ...2a5. Whether White should safeguard this bishop against ex- change is a matter of taste, considering that this exchange costs Black time and opens the a-file for White. As development nears completion, the motivation to keep the bishop-pair will grow stronger, and all the same White will have to decide whether to prevent the exchange after all, and if so, when. 7 a4 can be played already, when 7...a5 is the most natural reaction. As for the d-pawn, the modest advance to d3 lays no claim to an advantage, while on d4 the pawn it- self will become the centrepiece of the conflict. 7.06 8 ad White decides to determine the position of the a-pawns at a moment when this change in the pawn-structure somewhat loosens the b4- and b5-squares. 8...a5 (D) Now the security of the d4-pawn has to be provided for. The events in the centre may de- velop as follows: for the assault on the pawn Black can bring out the bishop to f6 and try to liquidate one of its defenders, the f3-knight. Ideally, White would like to cement the centre with c3, but the c3-knight has no convenient square to move to at the moment: after De2, the14 PLAY THE ALEKHINE GY mia alain 4 Y xe @ Bev aA Gs jaya & tae a, meme Raw t Z a a move ...Sg4 would gain in strength, so any re- arrangement of the forces has to be combined with prophylaxis. Of course, the problem can be solved radically with the advance to dS, but the ensuing simplifications lead to equality; only if White succeeds in parrying Black’s threat while keeping an active pawn in the cen- tre can he hope for any advantage. 90-0 2e7 10 h3?! ‘Not mandatory at the moment. 10 £4 seems better, when 10...2f6 can be met by 11 Ab5, when after 111...2£c8, in order to expel the knight from bS Black will have to regain control over 6. That's why in the game Fedorov-Varga, Ro- manian Team Ch, Timisu de Sus 1998, Black abandoned the idea of pressurizing the d4-pawn and chose the same transfer as in this game of the knight to d5: 10...2\b4 11 Hel 0-0 12 Ded Dads 13 &g3. 10...0-0 11 24 Db4 12 Hel 6?! Black in his turn misses the opportunity to simplify the position and force White to deter- mine the position of his pieces with 12...24d5. 13 Ded h6 Now this move provokes a sacrifice that is unclear but dangerous. 14 Dg3 2h7 15 Wd2 D4d5 16 Lxh6 (D) Calculating all the variations at the board is hardly possible; while the black king has a lot of defenders, White already has two pawns for the piece, and attacking is usually more fun than defending. 16...gxh6 17 Wxh6 He8 White was threatening Mh5. Besides the text-move, there are two other continuations: 17.,..£67! can hardly be recommended since 18 Dh5 2g6 19 c4 gives White a dangerous attack after both 19...2xh5 20 cxd5 Sg6 (20...xf3 21 Bc2) 21 dxe6 Dd5 22 ext7+ Sxf7 23 DeS+ and 19...b4 20 Bxe6 fxe6 (or 20...2xh5 21 Exfé g6 22 Hes) 21 Wxg6+ dhs 22 Whe+ sg8 23 el. Perhaps the strongest move is 17...92h8, vacating the g8-square for the rook. 18 He5 28 Black could also try 18...26!2, meeting 19 Bxe6 by 19....266. 19 HgS+ Ph8 20 AeS He7 21 Wh4 Da7? This is a mistake. Control of f6 should have been secured by 21...28c7, which also relocates the rook to a safer post, when the line 22 4 Db4 23 DhS Ah6 24 Di6 Wes 25 Hes+ bxg8 26 Wxf6 2g7 would hardly scare Black. Given that Black is somewhat tied up, White can perhaps play more slowly, with moves like 22 c3 (threatening £2) 22....2.g7 23 Hel &g8 24 Wes. 22 Bhs? Itis hard to explain this move: White simply presents Black with the gift of two tempi and al- lows him to rearrange his forces. There were several enticing continuations: while 22 &xd5 Dxe5 (or 22...0xd5 23 WhS 16 24 Dgo+ ke8 25 Dxe7+ Wxe7 26 Wed+) 23 Bh5?! (White should prefer 23 dxeS exdS 24 HhS £6 25 exf6 £7, when Black is trying to hang on by his fin- gertips) 23...g6 (23...f6 and 23...f5 are both met by 24 Sxe6) 24 Hxh7+ dg8 25 Ded £97 26 Hxg7+ dexg7 27 Wf6+ leaves Black with some defensive chances, 22 Ae4! appears deci- sive. 22...506! It looks like White only considered the move by the other knight, i.e. 22...2)7f6?, when 23 S2xd5 wins. Now he has to beat a retreat, givingWHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 15 Black the task of finding a way of taking advan- tage of this gift. 23 Migs &g7 24 c3 White can try 24 &c4!? with similar ideas, though Black can then reply 24... Wi8 25 D\xd7 Xxd7, given that the loose d4-pawn is signifi- cant in the line 26 DhS Dxh5 (or 26...xd4!2) 27 WixhS Exd4. 24...4H182! (D) Not the best decision. Redeployment with 24...€f8 25 &c2 Hc7 looks the most convine- ing, while 24...g8 also gives Black winning chances. The attempt to gain counterplay by 24...1Hib6 is unconvincing after the cold-blooded 25 a3. nae oo 8 2 25 @xd7 Bxd7? The second and final losing move. After the correct 25...\xd7 26 Hel Hee8 it is hard to see a plan to strengthen the position of either side. If White plays 2c2, this takes the pressure off the e6-pawn and allows ...f5, while playing ®Dbh5 denies the rook that square and makes --Sh6 possible. On the other hand, Black can place on f6 neither bishop, because of 2, nor the knight, which is met, as in the game, with ®DhS, while preparing ...c5 makes little sense, as it runs into d5, and Black cannot afford to give up the f5-square. 26 Dhs! Decisive. Now 26...2e8 is met with 27 Xxg7 Dxg7 28 Dfo. 26...2\xh5 27 BxhS We8 28 Hel White outlines the following plan of attack: the second rook goes to g3, immobilizing the enemy queen and bishops, Sc? forces the reply .uf5, the rook goes from g3 to g5 and no de- fence against the capture on h7 is apparent. White gets a queen and two pawns, and his op- ponent two rooks and a ‘bad’ king. There is lit- tle Black can do to prevent this. 28...2£8 29 eS 2g7 30 Be3 Was Not wishing to wait for White to demon- strate the winning plan, Black ends the game at once, rather than prolong his suffering during the technical stage. 31 Rc2 £5 32 Bxe6 26 33 Exf6 Wxf6 34 Hg8+ dxgs 35 Wrxi6 1-0 Game 3 Yuri Zezulkin — Joerg Seils 2nd Bundesliga 2003/4 1e4 D6 2 Ac3 dS 35 (D) A more ambitious continuation than the cap- ture on d5: White crosses no man’s land and lays claim to a space advantage. Several paths are available to Black: the first (3....e4 Game 4) leads forward, and the second (3...fd7 — Game 5) back. 3a And the third is based on a counterattack. Similar lines can be found in other openings as well, such as the Flohr-Mikenas Attack in the English Opening. 4 exf6 waka oni” men Anan BA gueane ya .16 PLAY THE ALEKHINE 4 ®ce2 (D) is another option. Gueine Taking advantage of the fact that the d5- square is not available to the knight due to the loss of a pawn and that 4...A\fd7 allows 5 e6, White allows Black just three options. We shall examine 4...De4 in the notes to the next game, which leaves us just one knight move, 4...2)g4, toconsider here. After the obligatory reply 5 £4, Black usually doesn’t mind spending a tempo on 5...h5 to secure a decent future for the knight, which would risk finding itself out on the rim should White have enough time to carry out h3 and g4. After 6 @f3 c5 we get a diagonally symmetrical pawn-formation. White will find it difficult to claim an advantage; for example, 7 h3 Dh6 8 Dg3 ALS 9 RbS+ Ac6 10 AxfS Axf5 11 &xc6+ bxc6 12 Db4 g6 13 d3 Was5, Krstié-Khaetsky, Croatian Team Ch, Sibenik 2007. The third option is the pawn sacrifice 4...d3, hampering White’s development. Its accep- tance suits Black just fine, while 5 exf6 dxe2 is less pleasant. Now 6 Wxe2 forces 6...gxf6, but even with other captures on e2, recapturing with the g-pawn leads to a more interesting game than the passive 6...exf6, as there is no reason why the resulting positions should be worse for Black than the similar lines in the French or the Caro-Kann. We should also men- tion the alternative 5 Df4 dxc2 6 WE3, depriv- ing the f6-knight of the d5-square. Black has to choose between 6...Afd7 7 e6 Ae (or 7...\f6) or the even sharper 6...g5. The resulting posi- tions have rarely been seen in practice, and haven't earned a final evaluation and deserve further testing. 4..dxe3 5 fxg7 Now 5 bxc3 exf6 promises little for White. The typical drawback to this type of pawn- formation with doubled f-/c-pawns is that the opponent has an extra pawn on the opposite flank, which can prove a potent asset in an end- game. There is such a pawn in this case too, but in a devalued form, as turning it into a passed pawn is beset with problems, while the slight superiority in the centre is offset by the in- creased solidity of Black’s kingside. Those who are after a greater asymmetry may prefer 5...gxf6. Quite insipid is 5 fxe7. 5...exd2+ (D) White’s minimal advantage is due to his better pawn-structure, since Black has more pawn-islands and may find it risky to castle kingside. In the case of the queen exchange 6 Wxd2 Wxd2+ 7 Bxd2 2xg7 8 0-0-0 White manages to defend b2 by natural means, but the vulnerability of Black’s kingside is less pro- nounced, there are no ‘bad’ pieces on the board, and Black’s defensive resources secure this line a high drawing probability. There is more than one sensible plan of development; we shall give the opening of the game Shabanov-Rozentalis, Ashdod 2003 as an example: 8...2c6 9 Df3 gd 10 Re2 0-0-0 11 Bhel 2f6 12 h3 Leo. This treatment of the opening is in accordance with the principle “less is more, as long as the opponent has no counterplay” and this ap- proach has an increasing number of followers in today’s chess. Those who prefer a sharper struggle will choose to keep the queens on the board. 6 &xd2 2xg7 7 WEIWHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 17 White must be willing to sacrifice a pawn, as 7 c3 is too sluggish and weakens important squares and diagonals. The natural developing moves 7 £d3, 7 &c4 and 7 Af3 have been tested, but it is two queen thrusts that are the most popular. 7 Wh is outwardly more aggressive than the text-move, but allows 7...Wd4 in reply. This is not as much a desire to exchange the queens at any cost as an attempt to hamper White’s smooth development. For instance, after 8 c3, Black does not intend 8...We5+?!, when White will earn an extra tempo attacking the bishop when it comes to e5, but rather 8...We4+. The sacrifice of the b2-pawn (and perhaps of its neighbour on ¢2) after 8 DF3 looks tempting but is double-edged. Refusing the gift is risky: 8...Wed+?! 9 Be? and 9....2g4? is bad because of 10 Wxf7+. ‘We now return to 7 Wf3 (D): Even if Black decides not to get too greedy, he still has to prepare for the coming opposition of the white rook and his queen. The latter has tocome out, if only to clear the way for castling queenside. The threat is still one move away, and Black sometimes uses this respite to play 7...@c6, hoping that he will gradually consoli- date his position in the line 8 0-0-0 Wd6 9 £3 ‘Wh6+. We should make a note of 8 &b5 Wd6 9 &c3 (if Black succeeds in keeping the bishop- pair, he is ready to enter the endgame even with his queenside pawn-structure spoiled as well, so it is desirable both to break up the pawns and to exchange the bishops off) 9...0-0 10 &xc6 Sxc3+ 11 Wxc3 bxc6 12 De2 Lab 13 Hdl Web 14 We3 Wxe3 15 fxe3 Rfd8 16 Bxd8+ 2xd8 17 Hf, planning a rook-lift to the fourth rank in order to probe the weaknesses, Hector- Kengis, Haninge 1992. We now retum to 7...Wd6 (D): 4 A ye aU = a fone a eT wu a@a ao a. G7 5 me awe SS AAR a i Y uy "ss This move looks more modest, but the queen enjoys greater freedom and is more effective If Black goes for the critical pawn capture 7...S0xb2, then after the obvious 8 Hdl he needs to take precautions against discovered at- tacks such as cl. Covering the queen by plac- ing a piece on d7 is too cramping, so the queen must come out. The sortie can be initiated with 8...Wd4, for the moment not allowing White’s light-squared bishop to develop to c4 and threatening the leap of Black’s own bishop to 4. Alternatively, Black can pick 8...Wd6, with a possible transfer to g6. In either case, White has ample compensation for the pawn. a waar Moving the queen immediately gives Black a greater freedom of action. 8 Rc3 In reply to 8 0-0-0, Black can pester the en- emy queen with offers to exchange, starting with 8...Wf6, which the text-move prevents. We should also mention 8 &c4, when Black usu- ally chooses 8...0-0 as the least of the evils. 8. Rxc3+ Even though it looks overly optimistic, 8...e5, deserves some testing. It seems that the knight can make it to d4 in time, which blocks the d- file and should give Black some counterplay. 9 Wxc3 Begs 10 243 Web This is the move Black, persistent in his de- sire to exchange the queens, was counting on.18 PLAY THE ALEKHINE 11 Wa2(D) Given White’s development advantage, he could now have sought to profit from an ex- change of queens by 11 @e2!? Wxc3+ 12 @xc3. Then Black's worries about meeting the threat to the c7-pawn may permit White to exchange his unit on g2 for the enemy’s coun- terpart on h7, and in the resulting situation the newly-passed h-pawn could prove dangerous. Rigs MMe a GW 11,..Wxg? Consistent but not mandatory. Black can in- stead complete his development harmoniously by 11...S6!9. If White goes in for the win of a pawn by 12 £3?! @d7 (or 12...\a6!?) 13 &xh7 Bh8 14 &e4 Wh6 15 0-0-0 0-0-0, then the de- velopment advantage now swings to Black, and threats like ...c5, ....Nf6 and ....&xa2 promise him full compensation. 12. 0-0-0 Ac6 13 De2 Wg5?! A fundamentally incorrect decision. In posi- tions where you cannot calculate all the varia- tions, pawns should be taken if you cannot see a definite refutation. After 13...Wxf2 14 hg! Bxgl 15 Bxgl e5 the black king doesn’t mind a walk all the way up to c5; it will be difficult for the two remaining white pieces to maintain si- multaneous control of both the d- and the g- files. 14 £4 We5? (D) This seems to be the decisive mistake. The queen should have stayed on the kingside by 14...WhS in order to make the black king’s life easier, as he has the prospect of taking part in the struggle for the g-file with ...@f8, or else choose the tempo-gaining 14...WaS, although in both cases the advantage is with White. 2 ha we ee ~ Wi J s EY 7: 15 Ehgl 18?! If Black had seen how little time he had left, he would have probably preferred to seek some chances after 15..Hxgl 16 Hxg! £5. 16 gs £5 No better is 16...Wid6 17 2c3 with the threats of 18 Hd5 and 18 Jb5; for example, 17...b4 18 DS Dxd3+ 19 Wxd3 Wxl4+ 20 Sb Le6 21 Wed and c7 cannot be defended. 17 Bed (D) “no _ i a al Wa mone a ae. wom a i oO “Y Za Bringing up the last reserves. The bishop not only attacks the defender on c6 but also gets ready to work the weakened diagonal from h5. 17...h6? Black now loses nice and quickly, but even 17....e6 18 23 fails to consolidate his posi- tion. The d8-square is inaccessible to the rook because of the check on c6, while after 18...226 19 2c3 White has a multitude of threats: 0bS, ed, We2, Hdgl and one of them will prove decisive. 18 xc6+ Wxe6WHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 19 18...bxc6 19 Hg6 loses as well, but not in such a forced manner. 19 Wa8+ ‘The subsequent operation is not difficult to calculate, as the variation does not branch out and every move is obvious. 19...8£7 20 Eg7+ xg? 21 Wxe7+ Hf7 22 els We6 23 WeS+ seh7 24 Exge txg6 25 8 The last moments of the nominal material parity. The following knight manoeuvre cannot be prevented. White wins the exchange and a couple of pawns, while preventing Black from developing his queenside and stifling any at- tempt at building even a semblance of a for- tress. 25...<0g7 26 Dg3 b6 27 DAhS+ bg6 28 We8+ cbxhS 29 Wat 7+ ceh4 30 Wi6+ 1-0 Game 4 Borki Predojevic - Nenad Mrkonji¢ Bizovac 2005 1e4 Df6 2 Ac3 d5 3 e5 Des (D) sled » \\> ee Ww \\ “~ \ » \ - WS \ \ se ¥ \ Gweene This ambitious move leads to play of a unique and difficult nature, and so is popular among die-hard Alekhine enthusiasts. However, it is also risky, and may objectively be a little dubi- ous. 4 Dee2 At first sight this is an odd move that is detri- mental to White’s development, but he has good reason to expect to earn a healthy dividend on the lost tempo by attacking the black knight, which has infiltrated his ranks and now may have difficulty finding a convenient retreat. Al- tematives: a) 4 2)xe4 dxe4 doesn’t promise White much at all. The e5-pawn is more vulnerable than its counterpart on e4, so 5 d4 is mandatory, when Black has to choose whether to exchange on d3 or hang on to the e4 ‘splinter’, denying the white pieces their best squares for a while. After 5...exd3 White can exchange queens with 6 Wxd3 Wxd3 7 £xd3 (in order to prevent the enemy queen from taking part in the attack on the e5-pawn), when Black has some problems with his light-squared bishop, but they are cer- tainly not insoluble, while the e5-pawn may make a nice target — indeed, Black has scored well from this position in practice. If Black de- cides to keep the e4-pawn, it is logical to bring out the bishop first by 5....25, as the immediate 5...€6 transposes to a line of the French Defence. that has the reputation of being difficult for Black. b) On the other hand, after 4 d4 @xc3 5 ‘bxc3 c5 the comparison of the resulting posi- tion with variations of the French is much more favourable for Black: the defects in White’s pawn-structure promise Black standard coun- terplay without having to pay for it with the light-squared bishop’s passivity. This position is discussed in further detail in the notes to Game 25, via the move-order 2 e5 AdS 3 Dc3 @xc3 4 bxc3 d5 5 d4 c5. c) 4 Wf3 is the best-founded alternative to the move in the game. After 4...@xc3 5 dxc3 (D) a formation that we shall see again later arises. The recapture with the d-pawn does not cre- ate organic defects in the white pawn-chain; moreover, it facilitates rapid and comfortable development. If the black pawn hadn’t made it to d5 already, Black could have hoped to ex- change it for its opponent on eS and in the fu- ture capitalize on the numerical advantage on the kingside. On the other hand, Black hasn't20 PLAY THE ALEKHINE done anything suspect and if White castles queenside, Black’s counterattack may prove dangerous, as in the following game: 5...6 6 Rf4 2F570-0-0e6 8 Wg3h69 h4 Was 10db1 bS 11 Df3 c5 12 hS Dab 13 Dh4 Lh7 (here 13...82€4 has been recommended, in order to provoke f3 and so prevent the king’s rook from operating along the third rank after Xh3) 14 Wed b4 15 2d2 c4 (with the terrible threat of .-b3) 16 Dg6 with great complications, Ad- ams-Agdestein, Oslo Challenge (2) 1994. ‘We now return to 4 Ace2 (D): eek al 2 ‘aca WY AW AB we With the possibility of an exchange on c3 tuled out, Black must constantly have at the ready an evacuation plan for the e4-knight. 4...De5 Addressing the problem of the knight's secu- rity at once. 4...d4 is more popular. The main merit of this move is that the d4-square is de- nied to the enemy pawn, and its main drawback is that the invasion of the hostile territory is not yet supported by any reserves. There are two ways to attack the bridgehead. The first, 5 Af3, is relatively little studied and sometimes gives Tise to lines of a rather sharp character. It is ob- vious that 5...c5??, taking away the knight’s last retreat-square, is out of the question, while the situation after 5...d3 6 cxd3 is clearly worse for Black in comparison to the similar idea from the previous game: instead of settling down in the cosy stable on d5, the knight has to keep looking for an acceptable post. There re- main 5...2\c6 and 5....¢4. Here are some pos- sible continuations: a) 5...g47! 6 c3 (D) (6 Dexd4 Wxd4 7 @xd4 &xd1 8 £3 is good for White) and now: al) 6...2c6 transposes to line ‘bl’ just be- low. a2) 6...dxe3 7 Wa4+!? Dd7 8 Wred? (8 2x3!) 8...Dc5, regaining the sacrificed piece after 9...\d3+ and ...cxb2. a3) 6...Rxf3 7 gxf3 Dgs 8 Be2 Deb 9 ‘Wa4+ (9 £41?) 9...c6 10 cxd4 and the white pawn cluster in the centre evokes associations with the battle formation of the Teutonic knights. b) 5...2c6 6 c3 and then: bl) 6...2.247! is strongly met by 7 Dexd4! Dxe5 8 We2 Was 9 DbS! (J.Graf) 9...0-0-0 10 c4 We6 11 d4 with a large advantage (c.g., 11...Dg6? 12 d5 WES 13 Dbd4 and White wins). b2) 6...dxc3 7 bxc3 Mp4 8 d4 e6 should, it seems, be acknowledged as the most playable continuation, and the one most in accordance with the spirit of our opening, although White’s chances appear to be preferable. ‘The second and the main way is to play 5 c3 (D) at once.WHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 eS 2 dee i tee 4 me (be * Us e & : & vi MS WY “ WW i \ the Dhak RWELHE eS DX SX SS A SS SS ha a Yo a a Aw Y a. " “@ a BM # & In reply to the apparently impossible capture 5...dxc3, 6 Wa4+ is met by 6...2d7, when it is once again imprudent to take on e4, but 7 Axc3, promises a healthy superiority in the centre. The natural 6 bxc3 “cS 7 d4 “ca6 seems to reduce Black’s play ad absurdum — what a concept, to drive the knight from 6 to a6! However, all is not that simple, as the white knight is spinning aimlessly, whereas Black has aclear plan of embarking on the occupation of the strong point on d5 after ...c5 with a subse- quent exchange of the pawns. The pawn sacrifice 5...@c6 is the main con- tinuation. The capture 6 cxd4 may lead to origi- nal play after 6...g5 7 £4 Deb 8 DF3 Dexd4 9 Dexd4 Dxd4 10 Wad+ Dc6 11 Lbs Rd7 12 67! Bxe6 13 DeS Wd6 (or 13...Wd5!? 14 @xc6 Ld7!, as indicated by Burgess) 14 Axc6 bxc6 15 &xc6+ £47, when Black is not worse in any way. White can hang on to the pawn with 7 Wa4, but his pieces are cramped and Black has opportunities for creating counterplay. The other way to accept the sacrifice, 6 Dxd4 @xd4 7 Wad+ c6 8 Wxd4 Wxd4 9 cxd4 (D), is more critical. Clearly Black enjoys at least some compen- sation due to the d5-square and the extra pawn’s reduced value, but in practice Black’s position has proved tricky to handle. His main problem is not so much the missing pawn as the lack of counterplay; passive defence is a cheerless oc- cupation, while attempts at taking active mea- sures more often than not lead to the creation of additional weaknesses, as in the following ex- ample: 9...g5 10 &c4 (10 $d3!7) 10...b57! (too incautious, as the lack of targets in Black's position is its main strength, and any loosening needs a specific justification; the normal plan is 10...2e6 intending ...!c7, ...S2e6-d5 and ...e6) 11 &b3 Be6 12 d3 &xb3 13 axb3, and despite the white pawn-formation being broken in two places, in the subsequent struggle Black’s weak- ness on the a-file decided the game, Jobava- Nalbandian, Batumi 2003. The other retreat path — via the kingside — is prepared with 4...f6. After 5 d3 gs White ei- ther plays 6 f4, driving the knight to f7 and hop- ing to capitalize on the space advantage, or seeks to utilize his superior pawn-structure af- ter 6 &xg5 fxg5 7 h4 g4. Both continuations lead to non-standard positions, but White ought to have the better chances. Afier the latter, play might continue 8 d4 c5 9 dxc5 Dc6 10 “4, when 10...g6 transposes to the 8 2)f4 line, while 10...44 has been used by Almeida; or 8 f4 g6 9 d4 c5 (9...$2h6 is an alternative) 10 dxc5, when NCO gives 10...2c6 11 Wxd5 Wa5+ 12 3 Bh6 13 Age? &E5 14 b4 Wa3 15 Wb3 Wxb3 16 axb3 “xe5 17 Hdl 0-0 as unclear. 5 d4 26 (D) Y yh - eae i e man © a ee aoe @ AWA MANA a RWS OAE ka22 PLAY THE ALEKHINE A closed pawn-formation has appeared, akin to French set-ups. The unusual position of the knight on e6 is not bad per se, although it ob- structs both bishops. The g7-square, where it is headed, outwardly looks like a poor place to post the knight and may well turn out to be so later, but in the fight to blockade White’s king- side pawn advance it may prove to be func- tional enough. For the moment, the c8-bishop hasn't lost the hope of active development out- side the pawn-chain. Counting the time lost by the contestants on the piece transfers is not so important here, as in a closed position the value of a tempo is decreased. 6f4 In classical French variations, this move is not made without thinking first. The f4-pawn cements the central wedge, of course, but usu- ally doesn’t force the weakening ...g6 and lim- its the scope of the white pieces. Here the real threat of a further advance obliges the g-pawn to step forward, so the case for the f-pawn’s ad- vance is stronger. However, there are other nat- ural continuations, such as 6 Df3, 6 g3 and the most common and possibly strongest move 6 &e3!7, which temporarily halts ...c5. 6..¢5 (D) The situation in the centre is usually clarified at a later stage, with the question of the c8- bishop’s future taking priority: 6...267 D£3 D\g7 8h3h5 9 g3 MES 10 Re3 Re4 11 Bg2 Aes 12 22 €6, Videki-M.Griinberg, Pecs 1997. a 73 exd4 Perhaps Black was tempting White into the line 8 £5 @c7 9 @xd4 g6 10 e6 with sharp play. 8 cxdd 269 Le3 gwesne ‘An attempt at deployment without letting Black's light-squared bishop out. D6 10 De3 Dg7 11 RF2 A useful prophylactic retreat, inviting Black to decide whether he should continue to pre- pare to bring out the c8-bishop, when Wb3 has to be taken into account. 11...e6 (D) Black does not persist and leaves the bishop in the trenches, guided by the standard plan for such set-ups: to give White a weakness on the queenside and determine the pattern of coun- terplay based on that. 12 Df3 Re7 13 2d3 0-0 14 0-0 2d7 Both sides have completed their develop- ment and must decide what to do next. White would like to exchange the dark-squared bish- ops, but that is not easy to combine with the de- fence of the d4-pawn; playing g4 is not enough to prepare the £5 advance. Besides, it creates weaknesses in the white camp as well, which Black can expose with a counter-advance of his f-pawn. 15 Sci WaS 16 a3 Bfc8 17 Wd2 Wd8 18 b4 a6 19 $h1 Da7 Black is ready for wholesale exchanges: first two pairs of minor pieces are to leave the battle- field via b5 (the possible doubling of pawns is nota concer); then it will be the turn of the ma- jor pieces along the c-file; avoiding the ex- change would mean ceding the file. Following that, White will himself offer the exchange of his potentially ‘bad’ dark-squared bishop via h4. However, the resulting queen and knight end- game promises him no advantage; a knight vs knight ending might offer some slight chances,WHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 23 but Black can agree to a queen exchange on ei- ther c6 or c4, thus improving his pawn-struc- ture. The other plan of counterplay involves 19...b5 with the subsequent exploitation of the c4 outpost. 2051? (D) The larger part of the black army is concen- trated on the queenside, so, taking advantage of the insufficient protection of d5, White sacri- fices a pawn and breaks open the enemy king’s cover. 20..2xf5 21 Sxf5 gxf5 Capturing with the other pawn, on both the previous move and now, is hopeless: White takes on d5, and Black’s misfortune lies not in the fact that he has given up the extra pawn, but that he will have to acquiesce to the exchange of the e7-bishop. Then an attack on the dark- square holes in the black camp will decide the game. 22 g4 fxg? ‘Too optimistic; now White’s attack takes on a textbook character. 22...f4 is more natural, as it keeps the position as closed as possible. This leads to unclear play, as after 23 Wxf4 Qb5 the white pieces are not ready to create real threats; the f7-pawn is easily defended, and it is a long way to h7. A rapid transfer of a knight to h5 could be dangerous, but 23 e2?! is well met with 23...25. 23 Bgl £5 Black has no time to set up even a makeshift defence after 23...n5 24 Wh6 Se8 with the idea of 25 Wxh5 £5 because of 25 Exg4+ hxgd 26 Bgl with mate. WA exf6 Axf6 25 Hxgd+ Lh8 26 Lhd ‘The simplest. The only defender is exchanged off, and Black has no time to bring up the re- serves. 26...WeT 27 2xf6+ Wxf6 28 De5 Le8 29 Hcg] 2h5 30 Bid Who 31 We3 gs 32 DL7+ Qxf7 33 WeS+ Hye7 34 Ext7 HagS 35 Dexg7 1-0 Game 5 Martin Petr — Mihai Grinberg Pizen 2004 1 e4 Df6 2 Dc3 d5 3 e5 Afa7 (D) al we Y a 2 "2 ‘The most solid continuation, although in most games it leads to a transposition into another ‘opening. It is easy to see that after 4 d4 e6 the initial position of a popular variation in the French Defence appears on the board, a varia- tion that has a decent reputation... but let’s leave it for the appropriate books to cover that system and examine the continuations that are unique to this particular move-order and give the posi- tion an original character, although it must be said that the choice of the pattern of the subse- quent struggle remains with White. After 4 £4 too, there is hardly any independ- ent play: the game is liable to transpose into the 4.d4c5 5 f4 line (see below), or some variation24 PLAY THE ALEKHINE of the French, or else lines without d4 that can also be reached from the f4 Sicilian; e.g., 4...c6 5 DE3 c5 6 g3 Dc6 7 Rp? Se7 8 0-00-0-a line that dates back to Nimzowitsch-Alekhine, Semmering 1926. After 9 d3, Black is advised to play 9...£6, giving himself some breathing room at the cost of a slight weakening. First let’s have a look at the exchange in the centre: 4 Axd5 Dxe5 (D). w £a a: Wu Wu GY YI "Y fe 7 Y A Oh ee 'Y White’s claim to an opening advantage is hard to justify — he has no development advan- tage, and Black has better prospects of estab- lishing control of the centre. White usually goes for a set-up in the spirit of the Réti Open- ing based on piece pressure in the centre, with the queen’s bishop typically developed to b2: 5 De3 c5 (both 5...ec6 aiming for ...e5 and the developing 5...bc6 are good as well) 6 Df3 Axf3+ 7 Wxf3 Dc6 8 Rcd 6 9 We3 Wd6 10 b3 &d7 11 &b2 £6 12 0-0-0 0-0-0, Pilgaard- Gausel, Gausdal 2003. There remains the cramping pawn sacrifice, which in fact occurred in our game via a differ- ent move-order. White can carry it out at once by 4 e6 fxe6 (D). The justification for this sacrifice is evident: Black has problems with development, and his king’s pawn-cover is weakened. On the other hand, classical wisdom teaches us that if the op- ponent sacrifices a centre pawn and you see no forced win for him, you should take the pawn. This type of offer occurs in other openings as well; there is also a thematically similar sacri- fice of the d-pawn, although it is not as com- mon. If White aims to play this way, it is most logical to do it on the fourth move. Although Ey after 5 d4 Black is not obliged to reply with 5...c5 (transposing to the main game), it is not clear that he has a better continuation at his dis- posal. 5...g6 looks risky due to 6 h4 (planning to wreck Black’s kingside) meeting 6...2f67! by 7 hS, when 7...2xh5? loses to 8 HxhS gxh5 9 WxhS+ Sd7 10 DF We7 11 Kh6 2F6 12 Dxd5 exdS 13 Wxd5+ Se8 14 Wh5+ Ld7 15 BDe5+ with a rout. However, 6...2g7 7 hS DFS is a much tougher defence (e.g., 8 2f4 c5 9 Db5 Dab (9...cxd4!? Davies} 10 DF3 &d7 11 DeS WaS+ 12 Wd2 Wxd2+ 13 dxd2 gxh5!?). It is hard for Black to rule out White's kingside threats, since playing 5...2f6 first means giv- ing White a head-start in the fight for the im- portant blockading square e5. 4d4 With this move-order, Black, as has already been mentioned, can switch to the French De- fence by playing 4...e6. 4.05 With this move, Black avoids an immediate transposition to main lines of the French, though that opening is always in the background. 506 This is the main continuation. Other moves: a) White can play 5 dxe5 e6 6 Af3 transpos- ing to another popular, though less complex, French line. b) White doesn’t have sufficient compensa- tion for the piece after 5 @xd5?! cxd4 6 Wxd4? (6 €6 Wa5+) 6..Db6 7 c4 €6 8 Bg5 Rb4+ 9 sbe2 Wa. ©) After 5 f4 Black can take advantage of the fact that the c8-bishop’s path is not yet blocked by playing 5...cxd4 6 bS (the capture by the queen has been played as well, although BlackWHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 25 can consider it as a concession on White’s part) 6...De6 7 DF3 Dabs (7...WaS+ 8 Wa2 WH6 is interesting, although rarely played) 8 Dbxd4 Regd. 5..fxe6 (D) , we 6 AE The struggle over the blockade of Black’s central pawn-formation will be at the centre stage of the upcoming conflict, and the move in the game appears to be the most logical choice. Let's consider two alternatives: a) 6 £3 creates a blunt threat that Black can meet in two ways. One way is 6...g6, but af- ter 7 dxc5 followed by h4-hS the d3-bishop can be considered to be placed relatively well. Nev- ertheless, it seems that in the coming blockade the bishop would prove to be more useful on bS. 6...2\f6 is preferable, even though it weak- ens Black’s control of the e5-square. Securing the bishop’s position with 7 dxc5 allows the im- mediate 7...5, while after the blockading 7 £3 White must be ready to move the bishop yet again, at once or a move later. b) 6 dxc5 is a consistent move, as the discov- ered attack on the d5-pawn is another means to keep its neighbour immobilized, and maintaining the pawn tension favours Black. After 6...2c6 7 $3 this merely comes down to a transposition of moves, while independent play with 7 £¢3 is hardly to be recommended, since after 7...f6 White cannot prevent the ...e5 advance. 6...2e6 7 RS (D) This move, too, often trades places with the next one. One advantage to bringing out the bishop first is that if White plays 7 dxc5 then he has to take into account the prophylactic 7...a6, preserving both knights for the struggle for the centre squares. Black could also try 7...g6 8 h4 &g7 9 h5 Axc5, for instance. ‘awe ‘aa 7.96 Bagirov's recommendation 7...e5?! has at- tracted few followers, as the following miniature proved convincing: 8 dxe5 e6 9 Dg5 Add?! (Black should probably try 9...2dxe5, but his position is far from easy) 10 We4 We7 11 Dxh7 @xc2+ 12 Hdl Axal 13 Axd5 exdS 14 Rg5 Wre5 15 WhS+ 1-0 Hector-Konopka, 2nd Bun- desliga 1996/7. Bdxc5 2g79 Le3 White already must take into account the ad- vance of the d-pawn, followed by the e-pawn, so it is too late for a raid with the h-pawn. Actually, by developing the bishop to b5, White announces his intention to play for the block- ade of d4 and eS. For the time being Black con- trols the latter, though he cannot occupy it as the d5-pawn would be en prise. Neither can White reconquer this point with the support of the bishop from f4 or d4, as that runs into ...e5 with tempo. A rook must be brought up to el as a reserve, and only then will £.d4 become pos- sible. Black has to search for a way to counter this. 9...Wa5 (D) In order to force the bishop to declare its in- tentions. White does not mind exchanging it on 6 in principle, but that strengthens d5, in which case White must be ready to blockade the cen- tre, so as not to allow ...e5. 10 2d27! This move fails to impress if only because with his next move White showed that he is26 PLAY THE ALEKHINE is Gal il nw 20 owes 2 willing to acquiesce to the repetition of moves, which is a concession on his part according to the opening canons. Dubious is 10 &xc67! bxc6 11 0-0, when the immediate 11...e5? is bad because of the sacrifice 12 Qxd5 with the following sample line: 12...cxd5 13 Wxd5 Hb8 14 @g5 Bf8 15 Deb &F6 16 d2. However, the preliminary 11...28b8! forces White to solve difficult prob- lems. 10 a4 is somewhat more acceptable. White does not begrudge giving up another pawn af- ter 10...xc3+ 11 bxc3 Wxc3+ 12 Sf1 since Black's kingside is weak, the blockade remains and the loss of castling rights is of no conse- quence, as the king’s rook is placed quite well on hl to support the raid by the h-pawn. In Becker- Rabiega, Berlin 2003, Black preferred 10...a6 11 Se2 Wd (with a double threat of capturing on b2 ord4) 12 £42 Wxc5 130-00-0 14 a5 Wa6 15 Had (indirectly defending against 15..e5 be- cause of 16 @xd5), when the position was com- plex but Black’s chances were preferable. The best reply seems to be 10 0-0, as played in Hector-V1.Sergeev, Berlin 1995. There fol- lowed 10...0-0 11 Zbl a6 12 &xc6 bxc6 13 Hel We7 14 Ags De5 15 Ld4 HFS 16 Dh3 D7 17 Sixg7 Sxg7 18 Dad e5 19 Db6 Bd 20 c4. Al- though Black has managed to advance in the centre, White also has his share of achieve- ments: he has exchanged off Black’s active mi- nor pieces, leaving the passive pieces on the board, and prepares a new blockading set-up to contain Black’s centre pawns, 10...We7 11 2e3 0-0 Black tums down the threefold repetition and takes up the challenge of fighting for more. 120-0 (D) White has pretty much completed his devel- ‘opment (which cannot be said about his oppo- nent) and for the moment restrains the enemy centre. Whether it can be set in motion is the main theme of the coming struggle. The half open f-file adds to the position’s complexity with the constant threat of eliminating an im- portant blockader — the f3-knight — with an ex- change sacrifice. 12...06 For now 12...28x£3?! promises little in view of 13 Wxf3 d4 14 Bf4 Dce5 15 We2 dxc3 16 Sxd7 &xd7 17 Bfel cxb2 18 Habl, so the choice lies between 12...2de5 and the text- move. 13 Rad Df6 (D) Here too, 13...de5 is good, but Black de- cided to get the knight to g4 without immobiliz- ing the e6-pawn. 14 2x6WHITE DOES NOT PLAY 2 e5 27 White at last decides to occupy the blockade squares. The prophylactic 14 h3!? looks good, when it is wrong to play 14...d4? because of 15 Dxd4 Dxdé (if 15...Hd8 at once, then White eliminates one of the attackers by 16 &xc6 bxc6 and unpins the queen with, for instance, 17 WE3) 16 &xd4 Bd8 17 Re5. 14...bxc6 An interesting alternative is the immediate 14... Ded 15 Rd4 Bxf3 16 g3 Sxdd 17 Wxd4 (17 Wxf3 DeS) and now 17...bxc6 18 Wxg4 Ef7 or 17...2e5 and the white queen is uncom- fortable. 15 2d4 Ded 16 Bxg7 bxg7?! After the stronger 16...2xf3 17 g3 Hf7 18 Wxgd dxg7, White cannot stop ...e5, and will have to try to prevent a further advance with f3, but Black has ways to strengthen his posi further. 17 Bel?! (D) White allows the exchange sacrifice, and that’s unjustified optimism. At first sight, Black does not have many dangerous pieces involved in the attack, but White failed to appreciate his ability to bring up the reserves. Also bad is 17 g37e5, but after 17 h3 Bxf3 18 hxg4 Hed 19 g3 Ef7 20 a4 the defensive resources are far from being exhausted, although the advantage is, of course, with Black. MM Ai A A Bi a af af tae pm SS 2 BS _ we S 17...2xf3 18 Wxf3 Wxh2+ 19 Sf1 a5 One move to activate both inactive pieces. The other obvious continuation, 19...e5, also looks enticing. “an 20 He2 La6+ 21 ddl After 21 2 Wh6+ 22 &d1, besides the op- portunity to transpose back into the game, there is the still more convincing 22...0f8 23 Wxe4 Bf. 21...Wh4 22 g3 WhS 23 Ze2 e5 (D) MO Og ae (fe, Mok DW . 4 2 7 Yok o aon With material approximately equal, the black pieces dominate the board. There remains one task — to pick out of the multitude of winning continuations one that is sufficiently accurate. 24 Dd4 exd4 25 Uxe7+ Sh8 26 bel Wh3 27 dd2 Wh6+ 28 del 268 29 Wxe4 Whi+ 30 dd2 Bxf2+ 31 He? Bxe2+ 32 Wxe2 Wh6+ 0-1 \ N @ ae x’ “am t Z \ Soaee ce a SS SS on NX Let’s sum up the results of the chapter. Side- lines are rarely critical in the evaluation of any ‘opening, and this is also the case here. While 2 d3 only requires Black to be familiar with a couple of the set-ups available to White, after 2 c3 not all roads lead to Rome. The exchange on dS does not give Black any particular reason for concern, but the lines from Games 3 and 4 contain a significant amount of strategic (as well as tactical) risk, and 3...2fd7 should be recognized as the most solid continuation. However, solidity is not the normal reason our opening is played. We should add that the Vi- enna Game and the French and the Scandina- vian lines that can be reached from 2 4c3 all enjoy the reputation of being quite correct for Black, with the Vienna option (2...e5) quite likely to take a lot of 1 e4 players outside their main repertoire preferences.2 The Chase Variation In all systems of our opening, except those of the previous chapter, the pawn advances by 2e5 and invites the knight on a journey along a strictly defined route after 2...2\d5 (we shall not waste time searching for the most rational way to obtain an advantage after 2...2e47!, as it is clear even in the most obvious line 3 d3 Ac5 4 dd Qe6 5 d5 cS, although 3 dé is perhaps a more clinical attempt at refutation). Now the hand all but stretches out to continue chasing. the mustang, and White often gives in to the im- pulse with 3 c4, when the obvious reply is 3... 2)b6. If the “attack while you can” strategy is to be followed further, then after 4 c5 @d5 (D) we have the system examined in this chapter. What is so attractive about this position for White? Significant space has been seized with- out sacrificing development; however, to seize does not mean to keep. The pawns have ad- vanced far ahead of the main forces and it is not feasible to keep them as a bridgehead, so they will have to be exchanged — one or both — or sacrificed while converting their value into other pluses, such as a kingside initiative. This sys- tem is not considered particularly dangerous, AR OS SAA DEWS BAL but its tactical content is attractive to attacking players. With his next move, White normally contin- ues harassing the knight, but now with a piece. Game 6 (Sveshnikov-Beletsky) examines the first method of the attack: 5 @c3. If the first step is made by the bishop, viz. 5 &c4, the sub- sequent play may take on a gambit-like charac- ter, as in Game 7 (Mirallés — Santo-Roman), or material parity may be maintained, as in Game 8 (Potkin-Mamedyarov). Game 6 Evgeny Sveshnikov — Alexei Beletsky Russian Team Ch, Togliatti 2003 1 e4 Df6 2.5 DAS 3 04 This move serves as an introduction to sev- eral major systems. White takes advantage of the enemy knight's kind offer and enthusiasti- cally grabs the space. 3.Db6 4 5 The main alternative is 4 44 d6, which leads to the Exchange Variation (Chapter 6) in the case of 5 exd6, and the Four Pawns Attack (Chapter 3) after 5 £4. In these cases it does not matter much whether White advances his c- pawn or d-pawn first. We should also mention a couple of rare con- tinuations unique to this move-order, whose main goal is to obtain original positions with novel content. Let’s start with 4 a4. Besides the threat to win the knight, White presents the al-rook with the opportunity to come into play first; e.g., af- ter 4...a5 5 Ha3 (White can also switch to the Exchange Variation, where the a-pawns’ moves can make quite a difference in some lines, espe- cially if White seeks to play a quick c5 ad- vance), such an early appearance of the rook onTHE CHASE VARIATION 29 the third rank provides for some non-standard play. The more natural 4...d6 5 a5 “6d7 also leaves White with a variety of options, includ- ing 6 6 fxe6 7 d4 Afe 8 o4. With 4 b3, White takes advantage of the fact that one of Black’s kingside defenders has gal- loped far away and aims his bishop there, eye- ing the g7-pawn. Opposing the bishop along the long diagonal with 4...g6 allows White to embark on unclear play by 5 W3 (with the threat of c5) 5...c5 6 &b2 2g7 7 a4 (in reply to 7 e6 Black can play either 7...0-0 or 7...{6) 7...a5 8 d4 (or even 8 b4). The main continua- tion is considered to be 4...d6 5 exd6 exd6 6 2b2 Dc6 7 DE3 dS, when the black king’s bishop is for the moment confined to £8, so Black will develop the queenside first and may follow up with castling queenside. 4.4.45 (D) xas Zo Za 4 a ei ye OG SLE 5Dc3 White forced the enemy knight to retum to the centre in order to develop while attacking it. We shall examine using the bishop for this pur- pose by 5 S2c4 in the following games. 5 d4 is not particularly popular; after 5...d6 6 cxd6 cxd6 the game transposes into a well-known c3 Sicil- ian variation, although Black also has 6...exd6, with good squares to develop his pieces to. 5.06 Black must either exchange the knight or de- fend it. First let’s consider 5...2xc3. Now 6 bxc3 doesn’t present Black with any difficul- ties, as after 6...d6 a favourable version of a well-known type of position appears. The main continuation is the non-traditional capture away from the centre by 6 dxc3 (D). a \ ‘a 3 te LAR yi && ewes This opens not only the bishop’s diagonal but also the queen’s file, which hinders ex- changes in the centre. Here 6...b6, based on the tempting idea of removing the ¢S-pawn without spending a centre pawn on it, is not practical, as White can saddle Black with development problems after 7 Wf3 or 7 gS. Instead, Black has three main continuations: a) 6...d6 seeks to exchange White’s overac- tive pawns. White fights for an advantage with 7 cxd6 exd6 8 &£4 aiming to create a weakness on d6, and after 8...d5 9 AF3 he hopes that his extra pawn on the Kingside will prove to be more valuable than Black’s on the queenside. Instead, 7 &c4 allows, among other replies, 7...d5 8 Wxd5 Wxd5 9 2xd5 €6 and 10...2xc5 with good prospects of equalizing. b) 6...e6 attacks the c5-pawn. However, White has a more than adequate counter-threat in the attack on the g7-pawn by 7 We4, when Black already has to take into account the bishop’s move to g5. Black can parry the threats, for instance with 7...h6, but the initia- tive and the freedom of choice is on White’s side. c) 6..c6 makes a preliminary attack on the e5-pawn, provoking 7 ®f3 in order to block the queen’s diagonal, and only now does Black target c5 by 7...c6. This version offers Black better chances than in the previous line. You can only marvel at the intricate manoeuvres of his pieces in the game Djurhuus-Gausel, Norwe- gian Ch, Alta 1996: 8 £e3 (8 b4 should proba- bly be met by 8...b6, as played by Almeida, rather than 8...d6 9 25!) 8...2e7 (8...b6 is possible here too, and was Bagirov’s prefer- ence) 9 $43 b6 10 cxb6 axb6 11 We2 2b7 12 ua i30 PLAY THE ALEKHINE S24 a4 13 £93 Wa8 14.03 D8 15 Bdl h5 16 hd Eig4 17 Hd? £a6 18 Wdl Bh6 (D). The centre pawns remain in their places while the pieces enter the fray via the flanks. If Black prefers to maintain the knight in the centre, it has to be defended with a pawn. In ad- dition to the text-move, let's consider 5...c6 (D). Then: a) The position after 6 Sc4 is more often reached via a different order of White’s last two moves, which we shall examine later. b) 6 Axd5 cxd5 7 d4 can obviously trans- pose to the equivalent 5...e6 variation, while ex- perience with 7...c6 8 43 b6 is limited. c) The other natural continuation is 6 d4. Black’s wish to take full advantage of the far- advanced enemy pawns suggests the plan of exchanging them for his flank pawns, in order to keep his own central pawns for the subse- quent struggle. This reason partly explains the choice of 5...c6. Strategically this is correct, but it leads Black to fall behind in development. For example, Lenderman-Shabalov, New York rapid 2005: 6...b6 7 Dxd5 cxd5 8 cxb6 Wxb6 9 De2 Ac6 10 Wb3 e6 11 Wxb6 axbé 12 £42 eT 13 &c3 b5 14 b3 £6; here White didn’t play actively enough and Black achieved a promising position. Clarifying the situation in the centre with 6...d6 is more solid, but on the other hand this offers fewer chances of unbal- ancing the game. 7 cxd6 exd6 8 Af3 may of- fer White the more pleasant position, though 8...dxe5 9 @xeS Se6 looks very solid. 644 Once again we shall defer the discussion of the bishop’s move to c4 to the next game, which eaves us only one alternative to consider here: the immediate exchange of the knights by 6 ®xd5 exd5, which precludes a later capture on 3. The main position arises after 7 d4-d6 (as al- ways, 7...b6 is an alternative, and here it trans- poses to our main game) 8 cxd6 cxd6 9 Af3 %c6 (D). 7 2hee » a Gama pean” ae We should note that the diagram position can also be reached from the 5...c6 line, and also the Alapin (1 4 c5 2.c3) and even the Rubinstein (1 e4 cS 2 @f3 4\f6) variations of the Sicilian. A fairly large body of practical experience of this position has been accumulated, most of it quite benign from Black’s viewpoint. White must first of all decide where to put the king's bishop. 10 Se2 allows Black to occupy £5 (though 10...dxe5 followed by 11...2b4+ has been the most common reply in practice), while 10 £43, allowing the pin by ....2.24, looks more aggressive, although here too, Black’s position has great reserves of solidity.THE CHASE VARIATION 31 We now return to 6 d4 (D): 6..b6 As already mentioned, 6...d6 is the more tra- ditional way to undermine the centre. Then af- ter 7 cxd6 cxd6 8 23 we again find ourselves on a visit to our more affluent relatives — this position arises much more frequently in the c3 Sicilian. The most common line runs 8...Dxc3 9 bxc3 We7 10 £d2 Ad7, and it is considered very satisfactory for Black. Often ‘hanging pawns’ arise after a capture by White on d6. ‘There is another option as well: exchanging at once by 6...2xc3. White has only one recap- ture, 7 bxc3, and now it must be decided which side to undermine the c5-pawn from. If 7...b6, then 8 cxb6 is somewhat of a concession; more principled is 8 Wg4 bxc5 9 Rp5 Be7 10 Rxe7 ‘Wrxe7 11 Wxg7 HES 12 D3 cxd4 (D). mS ae L a & Ca Th Black is dismantling White's centre, but his king is not particularly secure. 13 &e2 f5 14 Wh6 led toa sharp and very unclear struggle in Sveshnikov-Solozhenkin, Russian Ch, St Pe- tersburg 1998. After 7...d6 8 cxd6 cxd6, we again have a po- sition that arises more often from a c3 Sicilian. 9 43 transposes to the line we mentioned at the start of the note, but White can also make use of the fact that he hasn’t yet deployed this knight, and support his e-pawn with 9 £4. 7 @xd5 The exchange on b6 now or on the next move promises little; e.g., 7 cxb6 axb6 8 Dxd5 exdS 9 Df3 Le7 10 Kd3 Ra6 11 0-0 c6 12 Del 0-0 13 £4 £5 14 DE3 Rxd3 15 Wxd3 Daé and the knight is headed for an excellent post on €6, while both sides’ pawn-structures have their pluses and minuses, Frolov-Abrashkin, Russia Cup, Samara 2002. 7..exd5 8 2e3 (D) VD Ue i “Oo? os aAAe a & a. a a a am - nag UWS SAE It is precisely on this move, which aims to preserve the c5-pawn that cramps the enemy, that White bases his hopes for an advantage. 8..bxe5, It is evident that ...b6 and ...d6 don’t blend well; it's not just a loss of a tempo but also a hole on c6. Black may choose not to hurry with the exchange on c5; then it is more logical to play at once 8...2a6 9 Sxa6 Axa6 10 Wad Wc8 11 b4 c6, when the remaining pieces can be put to good use. 9 dxc5 c6 10 Wad Black’s queenside pieces have only one path of deployment left, via the a6-square, but White is unable to block it. After 10 2d3 Black can choose between the forcing line 10...0a6 11 Hcl WaS+ 12 2d2 Wxa2 13 Bal Wxb2 14 Rxa6 Bxa6 15 Hxa6 WxeS+ 16 De2 RxcS32 PLAY THE ALEKHINE with unclear compensation for the piece, and seeking equality by exchanging with 10...Wa5+. The text-move is another attempt at ham- pering Black’s development. In a later game Sveshnikov preferred 10 Wd2 Se7 11 2f3 0-0 12 &d3 Ra6 13 0-0 Bxd3 14 Wxd3 a5 15 Hacl Da6 16 2d4 4c7, although here too, it seems that Black is OK, Sveshnikov-Shaba- lov, Liepaja rapid 2004. 10...a5 11 Df3 Ra6 12 Hel (D) ra Wel atenans eal et ae Na Zw WZ 7 a eae! ann Aan Y/, x aor A conflict is brewing over the c5-pawn, which Black can attack three times. Therefore a third defender will be required; this can be the queen on a3 with the subsequent regrouping dd and We3, Here White had to decide which concession would prove the less serious — help- ing Black to develop or losing the right to castle. Counting the tempi produces approximately the same result, but White’s actual choice re- quires a subsequent g3, which weakens the light squares and the knight’s position; this en- courages Black to consider the possibility of opening the f-file in the future. 12...Rxf1 13 &xfl Da6 14 g3 Perhaps the best plan against Black’s coun- terplay along the b-file was the b4 advance, which had to be begun now and prepared step by step: 14 a3!7 Eb8 15 b3 (if 15 b4 We8 16 ‘WrxaS at once then 16...@xb4 leads to compli- cations that are not unfavourable to Black) 15...2b5 16 b4; itis useful to lure the rook to bS where it will come under attack. 14...2b8 15 We2 If 15 Wa3 Se7 16 2g? 0-0 17 Rad then, as mentioned earlier, 17...f6 looks good. 15...b5 (D) 5 e oa Sac oa A Vege 16 2?! Now this is risky. 16 a4 creates mutual weak- nesses, but the game remains in the balance, whereas now Black gets the upper hand. 16...8xe5 17 a4 There was another version of the sacrifice: 17 &ixc5 BxcS 18 Wa3. In both cases White has partial compensation for the pawn, based on his chances on the kingside, where Black has few defenders. White's actual choice is based on the fact that a pawn on bS will add an extra sharp twist to the position. 17...xe3 18 axb5 b4 (D) Ww GY WY 2 a” la BNE OMT BS? i 7 is 19 Ws?! 19 Wad is objectively stronger, with good chances to restore the material parity, but sacri- fices are usually not made with the aim of start- ing to regain the material immediately. 19...S.xc1 20 Excl g6 21 Wh3 0-0 22 Wh6 £6 23 e67! By refusing to switch to playing for a draw with 23-bxc6 dxc6 24 We3, White continues to‘THE CHASE VARIATION 33 court complications, somewhat comforted by the fact that the f-file remains closed. 23...dxe6 24 Dd4 Wd6 25 bxc6 Ec8 26 h4 The last reserve, and one that unexpectedly tums out most effective. 26...e5 27 DbS Wb82? (D) The queen should remain in touch with the f-pawn; after 27...We7, for instance, Black has real winning chances, although it still would have demanded a certain care with regard to the enemy passed pawn. How easy it is to turn the evaluation of a po- sition upside down. Black thought he was gain- ing a tempo by attacking the white knight, but the grim reality was that he left his king with- out protection for a moment — and it’s game over. 28 hS! Hxc6 29 hxg6 Wb7 30 Dd6 We7 31 exh7+ Simpler is 31 Wxg7+ dxg7 32 Df5+, win- ning the rook. wie Hee Bm is wm waw Wana i am es 16 eo 8 fom “a6 8 8 31...Wxh7 32 Wxf6 White chooses to sacrifice his rook, with the final attack carried out by the joint efforts of the queen and the knight. 32...Hixcl 33 Wd8+ &g7 34 We7+ bg6 35 We6+ GhS 36 WxeS+ Gg6 37 WiS+ Lh6 38 Wf6+ Sh5 39 DLS Dd3 40 Dg7+ 1-0 we Game 7 Gilles Mirallés - Marc Santo-Roman Montpellier 2003 1 ed Df6 2 e5 Dds 3 c4 Db6 4 cS DdS 5 Sicd (D) We ey aVAyV a a a A ‘wh UY nee ae mae. ‘Oa This attack presents Black with fewer op- tions — one of the pawns has to protect the knight. 5.06 5...06 is covered in Game 8. 6 Dc3 If White is not tempted by the lines involv- ing a possible sacrifice of the c5-pawn, he has 64. The main set of tools for playing such po- sitions was presented in the previous games, but any small change may introduce signifi- cant differences. The two ways to undermine White’s pawn-centre are both viable options here: a) With 6...d6 7 cxd6 cxd6 we are once again on a visit to the same c3 Sicilian system. We should remark that this particular variety is considered quite acceptable for Black. b) 6...b6 (D) leads to play unique to the Alekhine. Here too it is possible for White to play to maintain the pawn outpost on c5. The differ- ence is that it is the bishop that is exchanged on dS, while its black counterpart, potentially “bad’ because of the resulting pawn-structure, is deprived of the rival for whom it could seek to be exchanged, and it has trouble finding ad- equate work: 7 &xd5 exd5 8 Df3 2a6 9 Ac3 6 10 b4 &c4 11 Ad2 Rd3 12 WE Bg6 1334 PLAY THE ALEKHINE 0-0, Yakovenko-Piven, Internet 2004. The other plan begins with the exchange of the pawns by 7 exb6 axb6; while acquiescing to Black hav- ing the better pawn-structure, White seeks compensation in the form of an initiative in the centre and on the kingside; e.g., 8 De2 d6 9 0-0 &b7 10 Wb3 dxe5 11 dxeS Dd7 12 We3 De7 13 Add c5 14 Axe6 with a double-edged struggle, Potkin-Neveroy, St Petersburg 2000. 6..DxC3 Other moves: a) The trappy 6...\f4?! (based on 7 Wed? Wh4!) only succeeds in transferring the knight to g6 (after 7 WE3 or 7 g3), where it doesn’t look particularly impressive. b) Bolstering the knight’s position with 6...c6 followed by ...b6 is also possible; the hole on d6 is of a temporary nature and gives Black no cause for alarm; we shall discuss this in the notes to the next game via the move-order 5...06 6 Dc3 €6. c) Those who love to defend can try the im- mediate 6...2.xc5. Regaining the pawn by tak- ing on dS promises no advantage, while 7 We4 can be met with 7...0-0 8 d4 £5, but the most principled continuation is the immediate 7 44, when Black has to conduct a defence after 7.4 8 Rxd5 exd5 9 Wed LF8, while ex- treme optimists may also play 7....xc3 8 bxc3 eT (or 8...28) 9 Wed g6 10 &h6. d) The thematic 6...46?! in this particular situation has disappeared from practice thanks toa line that involves a piece sacrifice: 7 2xd5 exd5 8 &xd5 c6 (in reply to 8...dxe5 White has 9 WE3 or 9 Wb3 with a double assault on b7 and £7; therefore Black tries to drive the bishop away first) 9 &xf7+ dxf7 10 cxd6, obtaining three pawns for the piece. For a while the line was considered problematic, but today few play- ers are willing to go in for this position as Black. 7 dxc3 (D) 7 bxc3 is also seen. Then 7...2xc5 8 d4 re- tums us to the position discussed in the previ- ous note via 6...8xc5 7 d4 @xc3 8 bxc3; the normal continuation, leading to standard play, is 7...d6 (or 7...d5) 8 cxd6 cxd6. With the text-move (7 dxc3), White sacri- fices a pawn, hoping for compensation in the form of an attack on g7. Ton D6 The immediate capture, 7...xc5, is very rarely played, After 8 Wg4 Black is faced with a depressing choice between 8...g6, 8...8f8 and 8...2g8. However, the principal argument against this move is a logical one: if Black wishes to play ...&xc5, there is not a single ob- vious reason why ...2c6 should not be played first. There is also the tempo-gaining 7...Wh4!?, taking control of the g4-square. Now 8 Wd4 de- fends everything, but with the queens off the board it is Black who will be fighting for the ad- vantage. Therefore White will have to give up the pawn after all by 8 We2 S.xc5 and try to take advantage of the enemy queen’s early sortie with 9 g3 We7 10 Wed or 9 Dh3. Black has scored well with 7...Wh4, but this is based on too few games to consider it a truly ringing endorsement. 8 Rf4 8 Df3 blocks the queen’s diagonal, while 8 £4? fails to protect the pawn as Black plays 8...@xe5 all the same.THE CHASE VARIATION 35 8...SxC5 If Black plans to counterattack with the g- pawn anyway, it seems to make sense to do so at ‘once, while he still controls the square: 8...g5. However, White can reply 9 £g3 and the ab- sence of his queen from g4 takes the sting out of -h5, while the holes in Black’s kingside re- main. Another form of diversion, 8...Wh4 (which also threatens ...2)xe5), appears to be better jus- tified. The idea is to provoke 9 g3, when after 9...Ale7 White has no time for 10 b4 because af- ter 10...g5 the more valuable pawn on eS is lost. Thus White sacrifices the pawn by 10 Jf3 ‘Wxc5, with quite sufficient compensation. 9 Wed g5(D) This counter-sacrifice keeps the variation alive. Other replies, such as 9...26, 9...S2f8 and 9...82f8, don’t lose by force (and have in fact scored quite well in the small sample of games with each), but those willing to choose them are hard to find. Lae 7) » AKA Hane. 10 fixgs The endgame arising after 10 Wxg57! Wxg5 11 &xg5 Axe5 12 2F6 Dxcd (Black may grab a third pawn as well by 12...S¢xf2+ 13 de2 Dxed 14 Mxh8 Sxgl, even though it helps White’s development) 13 xh8 xb? is clearly more pleasant for Black. 10.298 This is the point of the previous move. Black either forces the exchange of queens, when his broken kingside is less of a liability, or entices White into more substantial sacrifices. Natu- rally, 10...2)xe5? fails to 11 WhS. 11 &xa8 There is little point in inserting 11 h4 h6 or 11 £4 6 (11...2xeS is also good), and 11 Df3? loses to 11...2\xe5, so the only real alternative — and one that is most dangerous - is 11 @h3! (D). Now 11...2xe5? is again bad because of 12 ‘WhS. 11...h6?! is possible, but after 12 Sxd8 Exg4 13 2e2, if Black plays 13..2xg2 14 2xc7, then in comparison to the main game White has managed to get in a useful move for free, which gives him an advantage both ob- jectively and psychologically. Those who like playing with a non-standard material balance may try 13...dexd8 14 &xg4 @\xe5. A pawn for the exchange is a bit short of full compensation, but the balance is somewhat improved by the fact that the black pawns control the centre, and the centre remains important even with the queens off the board. The main continuation is 11...e7!. Again the exchange of queens promises little: after 12 Mxe7 Exg4 13 Bxd8 hxd8 14 £4 xg? 15 0-0-0 #e7 White is active enough to regain his pawn, but that’s all. 12 f4 is the most unpleasant reply for Black: a) After 12...h6 the capture on g4 will not attack ¢4 and White keeps his pluses without giving up a pawn. b) In the line 12...2xg5 13 fxg5 Dxe5 14 Wed Black’s weak squares and lagging devel- opment are more than ample compensation for the pawn. c) After the main continuation 12...Axe5 13 fxeS Axg5 14 Wh5 Bg7 15 0-0 We7, no com- pletely reliable path to equality has been dem- onstrated (for either side!) either. That fact,36 PLAY THE ALEKHINE together with the highly concrete nature of the play making sharp prepared surprises more likely, has led to this traditional main line of the Chase Variation falling from favour, and play- ers are tending to prefer one of the many earlier deviations, from move 5 onwards. After 16 243, Black has scored well with 16...b6 (though there is scope for further exploration here), while a critical line runs 16 Zf3 b6 17 Bg3 h6 18 @)f2 WcS 19 We2 d6 20 h4! 2f6! 21 He3! QT (21...dxe5 22 WE3 &xh4 is also possible, but 21...2.xe5? loses to 22 b4) 22 b4 Hxg2+ 23 bf] Wxe3 24 2b5+ SFB 25 Wxe3 Vxe5, when Rybka insists that Black’s attack is sufficient for a draw, but you will no doubt want to check this very carefully before giving up your queen in an actual game! 11...2ixg4 12 Se2 Bxg? 13 &xe7 (D) Y Y Despite the exchange of queens, Black still has some cause for concen: he is behind in de- velopment, his king is not secure and, given the dark-square weaknesses in the centre, is liable to be boxed in. 13..b5 It is risky to part with the dark-squared bishop to win a pawn after 13...xf2+ 14 &f1. The main continuation used to be the develop- ing 13...b6 and in the sample variation 14 @h3 Lb7 15 2£3 Bg8 16 0-0-0 Bc8 (16.5 may be even more comfortable) 17 246 &xd6 18 exd6 things are tolerable for Black. However, when White started to force the capture on £2 by means of 14 b4, Black found himself with much more tricky and concrete problems to solve, though after 14...2xf2+ 15 fl Exgl+ 16 bxf2 Bg6 17 Bhgl 267 18 2h5 Ae7 19 &xg6 hxg6 he may well have enough compen- sation for the exchange. The text-move keeps the option of retreating to b6 open, and after 14 &xbS Hxf2 the tempo spent on capturing the pawn imbues Black's counterplay with more strength. 14 Dh3 &b7 (D) Ve 15 2f3 A more principled continuation would be to question the extent of Black’s compensation for the pawn after 15 &xb5!?. White’s actual choice steers the game into a level field. 15...Hg8 16 e2 Bc8 17 2d6 2xd6 18 exd6 The d6-pawn has inherited some of the func- tions of the departed bishop, but is itself a target of attack. Hence White has to hurry. 18...a5 19 Zag £xf3+ 20 &xf3 (D) Heer > rer Y a io Bay 477 UU 20.296 ‘The idea is to lure the knight to f4. If at once 20...Exgl 21 Exgl $f8, Black has to take 22 ps5 into account.THE CHASE VARIATION 37 21 Ald Bxgl 22 Hxgl £8 23 Bes In order to prepare the invasion by the rook, the fifth rank has to be blocked. The immediate 23 ®h5 is met with 23...e5, and White cannot play 24 @f6 because of the check on £5. 23...06 24 a4 Here too, it is too early for 24 @hS, since Black has 24...h6. 2A..£5 25 axbS axb5 26 DhS Hc6 27 Bg7 Exd6 28 Exh7 Acd th-'h Game 8 Vladimir Potkin — Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Abu Dhabi 2005 1 ed Df6 2 e5 Dd5 3 04 Abo 4 c5 Dds 5 Sed 06 (D) Zs % YG Y \ m, ASWE Az Outwardly this looks less useful than sup- porting the knight with the e-pawn. It does not assist Black’s development (and even deprives the b8-knight of its best square), as it has only opened a diagonal for the queen, which Black will not normally seek to develop early in the game. However, there are pluses as well — the d5-knight is defended economically, without wasting the potential of the centre pawns or permanently obstructing the c8-bishop’s diago- nal. In essence, this is a more ambitious strat- egy for Black, as he retains many options for eliminating White’s pawns in ways that will grant Black a central majority, and also makes it hard for White to find concrete targets. 6 We2 The idea of this move is to restrict Black’s options in the centre. 6 d4 allows the traditional undermining by 6...06 or 6...d6, when the strug- gle takes on a familiar look. The main continuation, 6 Ac3, offers a choice of three plans: a) Black can exchange by 6...xc3 7 dxc3. The sole difference from the previous game is that the pawn is on c6 instead of e6, This gives Black the opportunity to go for 7...d5 8 cxd6 exd6 9 £3 d5 10 £43; this pawn-formation was mentioned in Game 6. This seems a better option than weakening the dark squares by 7.06 8 Df3 €6, which led to trouble in the fol- lowing example: 9 Sg5 2e7 10 Sxe7 Wxe7 11 Wa6 bxc5 12 0-0-0 Wxd6 13 exd6! (D). rc vUr Ts wala The b8-knight’s stable door has been locked, Donev-Bruns, Dombirn 1990. b) Black can defend the knight with the other pawn: 6...e6. Black plans to solve the problem of the c8-bishop by bringing it out to a6 after ..b6. The immediate attempt to latch onto the weakened dark squares by 7 Ded b6 8 Dd6+ (after 8 d4 bxeS 9 dxcS Black can also reply with 9...2xc5) 8...£2xd6 9 cxd6 can lead to the centre pawns becoming a burden as Black will attack them from the rear. White’s hopes for an advantage are based on his larger space, better development and, accordingly, greater free- dom of choice, as for example in the following38 PLAY THE ALEKHINE game: 7 d4 b6 8 cxb6 axb6 9 Zf3 Be7 100-0 Ba6 11 We2 0-0 12 2d? £5 13 Aixa6 Hxa6 14 ®xd5 cxd5 15 a4, Nurkié-Runié, Tuzla 2006. c) The main line is 6...d6 (D), immediately undermining the centre pawns. Then: Oe, Am Ame mi hare “gam mm A rena ey ts SK RS cl) There are no reasons to count on an ad- vantage after 7 Dxd5?! cxd5 8 Sxd5 e6 and, depending on where the bishop retreats, Black takes on c5 or eS. The sacrifice by analogy with the previous game (note ‘d’ to Black’s 6th move), where White’s chances associated with his three-pawn centre wedge were improved by Black’s loss of the right to castle, 9 Sxe6 xe6 10 cxd6, clearly loses here. Thus we see a ma- jor motivation for choosing 5...c6 over 5...e6, as White must instead choose something less di- rect. 2) 7 cxd6 exd6 leads to relatively quiet play: 8 Dxd5 (or 8 DE3, when 8...dxe5 9 DxeS 2.6 led to equality in Sveshnikov-Kengis, Lat- vian Ch, Riga 2006: 10 d4 0-0 11 0-0 &e6 12 W3 Lxe5 13 dxeS Dxc3 14 bxc3 Lxc4 15 Wred D7 16 €6 th-t) 8...cxd5 9 Sxd5 dre5 10 Wb3 We7 (a line that dates back to 1946!). c3) 7 W137! has the same idea as line ‘c4’, but is worse, as after 7...2\d7 the capture on eS will occur with gain of tempo. c4) 7 Wb3 is the ambitious move. Black then has two sharp lines: Al) 7...D47 8 ADxd5 Dxc5 (bad is 8...cxd5? 9 Bxd5 e6 10 Lxe6 fxe6 11 Wre6+ We7 12 Wxe7+ with four pawns for the piece) 9 @c7+ 47 10 We3 Sxc7. After 11 d4 White’s com- pensation isn’t wholly convincing after either 11...d5 12 dxc5 dxc4 13 £d2 Wa3 or 11.206 12 Re2 Dd7 13 D3 RAS 14 0-0 €6, so 11 &xf7 is probably a better idea, with complica- tions that are hard to assess after either 11...2£5 12 d4 d3+ 13 fl or 11...Wa7 12 d4 WES 13 cd Re6 14 Re2 Dd7. 42) 7...dxe5 8 Dxd5 cxd5 9 Rxd5 6 10 Sxb7 &xb7 11 Wxb7 Wa5. After the exchange of the queens the extra pawn cannot be kept, while in the case of 12 Wc8+ e7 13 We7+ S16 14 d4 Ac6 15 HE3 it is not clear whether White can take advantage of the black king’s ‘centralization’. 6...e6 With ...d6 forestalled, ...b6 is a natural alter- native. Why not 6...b6 at once? White doesn’t mind sacrificing the c5-pawn and if Black takes it with the b-pawn, White gets an advantage in development, while it is still hard for Black to advance in the centre. Therefore in reply to 7 ®c3 it is wise not to accept the sacrifice with 7..@xc3 8 dxc3 bxc5 but to play 7...e6 instead, which in the game Black does at once, prompt- ing d4. The other attempt to snatch the c5-pawn — 6...Wa5 — doesn’t spoil Black’s pawn-struc- ture, but the queen’s sortie is time-consuming and by showing disdain for material with 7 Of3 Wxc5 8 d4, White gets a noticeable lead in mo- bilization of his army. 7d4b6 Now the capture on c5 is a real threat, so White exchanges first. 8 cxb6 axb6 (D) We have a position typical of the whole sys- tem. Black has managed to fulfil a part of his program: he has disposed of the enemy pawn on 5 in an efficient way, without compromising the c8-bishop’s prospects, whose appearance onTHE CHASE VARIATION 39 a6 cannot be prevented. In return, Black has con- ceded space to White, but that often happens in our opening and is the norm rather than the ex- ception, 9 Dh3?! (D) 9 £3 looks more natural. Besides the ex- change of the light-squared bishops (though neither side will rush into actually making the exchange, as this eases the opponent's deploy- ment) Black also has plans involving ...f5, with a view to exchanging yet another white centre pawn for one of his flank pawns, or else obtain- ing more space and security on the kingside. For example, 9...2a6 10 b3 (10 2c3 Se7 11 0-0 0-0 and here 12 @e4 can be met by 12...f5, as in Scotto-Shabalov, St Martin 1993) 10...2e7 110-0 0-0 12 Abd2?! £57! (12...b5!? is already an idea) 13 exf6 @xf6 14 Hel &h8 15 DeS ‘We8 16 a4 Wh5 and here the careless 17 Wd3?? led to material losses after 17...b5! in Danne- vig-Burgess, Gausdal 1990. es 24 2W a ih ahh Y bah kb ah iB White’s motivation for the text-move is not generally so he can follow up by advancing the f-pawn, as in such positions this advance is more often than not anti-positional. The main virtue of 9 4h3 is leaving the queen’s path to g4 open, which is the main obstacle to the develop- ment of the f8-bishop. As for its drawbacks, we shall not list them, as they are self-evident. 9.46 A new plan. Earlier ...2a6 in combination .Sb4+ used to be played, in order to gain time for castling, or the diversionary sortie 9...Wih4. Black wants to see what kind of ad- vantage he can extract from his control of the c5-square; perhaps the c8-bishop deserves a better fate than an exchange and may become the master of the a6-f1 diagonal. 100-0 Naturally, White does not wish to make the exchange of pawns himself on d6. 10...dxe5 11 dxeS 47 (D) ri see i mA Bayay 7 Le 7 ee 77 in WU Wa ae BAR oN BOS 2S 12 Bel The overprotection of the e5-pawn is not re- dundant, as the h3-knight is out of the picture, while the queen would prefer that this task didn’t restrict her mobility. 12...b5 Not really a sacrifice, as after 13 &xd5 cxd5 14 WxbS £a6 Black can regain his material at ‘once, but it is even more interesting not to waste time on this but, for starters, to try to secure an advantage in development. 13 Bb3 Dc5 14 2g5 Black has created a concrete threat, and if White continues to retreat the bishop by 14 c2, it is likely to be further harassed with 14...b4, Defending the bishop by 14 @d2 shuts the cl-bishop in. Hence the text-move, seeking to gain a tempo. 14...Df4! (D) With this far from obvious tactical blow, Black effectively solves his main opening task — from striving to equalize he goes to full equal- ity at least. White’s reply is forced. 15 Dxf4 Wxg5 16 Dh3 This is not the only move to parry both threats; 16 Wf3 looks more natural than re- turning the knight to the edge of the board. 16...Wh4 17 Dd2 Le7 18 We Over the past few moves, Black has solved some of his problems, but the c8-bishop remains40 PLAY THE ALEKHINE ew DN) ee passive. White could have picked another plan, such as preserving his remaining bishop. How- ever, the attempt to set up a blockade on c$ is an obvious continuation and looks absolutely logi- cal. 18...0-0 19 Zecl Of course, White would have liked to move the other rook here, but the a2-pawn needs pro- tection. 19...2xb3 20 2ixb3 Hd8 Indirectly protecting c6 due to the threat of a counterblow on a2. 20...Ha4 was the alterna- tive, preventing the idea that now follows. 21 Ata (D) The other knight is bound for cS. 21...2.g57! Acommittal decision. Black goes into a sharp endgame with mutual weaknesses, but his c8- bishop is for the moment out of play. It would be interesting to leave the queens on the board, considering that White’s kingside pawns still have to move one way or another, creating weaknesses. For example, 21....2b7 is possible, when 22 443?! is dubious in view of 22....g5 23 £4 Bxd3 24 Wxd3 xf 25 g3 WeS with a strong initiative. 22 g3 Axf4 (D) Keeping the queens on with 22...Wg4?! is risky. In the line 23 £3 WES 24 Da4 S.xf4 25 gxfa Wg6+ 26 bhi 2b7 27 Hel Wh6 28 Db3 the activity of the white pieces more than makes up for the defects in his pawn-structure. Black could have tried to provoke the advance of the h-pawn to h4 first by 22...Wh6, and after 23 eS to begin to open the position with 23...£6. 23 Waxta Wxt4 And now 23...Wh5S deserved attention. The possible threat to the eS-pawn (after ...28d5) then demands that White spend some time on prophylactic measures, 24 exf4 Bad In the line 24.,.2d7!? 25 Hdl Re8 26 Hd6 the bishop is not much to look at, but for the moment it defends the flank, while securing the weaknesses on a2 and f4 along with a long- term blockade of the black pawns is harder. 25 Exc6 Exf4 26 Dc5 Another way to immobilize the bishop - 26 %c7!—looks much more attractive, and only af- ter 26...28c4 (acl was threatened) play 27 “c5, when it is hard to see how Black is to defend against the advance of the a-pawn. An impor- tant nuance is that Black cannot exchange the b-pawns — the other rook will invade down the newly opened file, which spells fewer chances to hold the endgame where the bishop will have to be given up for the a-pawn.THE CHASE VARIATION 4 26.15 This opens an escape hatch for the king as well as being a broad step forward by the po- tential passed pawn. However, 26...f6 is more promising, making a short step in order to clear the c8-h3 diagonal for the bishop and ob- taining counterchances along the f-file. After ...fxe5 the outpost on d4 will be handy. 27 Hel b4 28 b3? (D) After 28 a4 sooner or later the bishop will have to be given up for this pawn. Black will then need to seek counterplay on the kingside “ae el es Y va \ D> White’s actual move is hard to understand; was Eic4 the idea? 28...2g4+ 29 df The move in the opposite direction keeps the bishop in its place, but leaves the king further from the centre, while the cl-rook must stay on the back rank. 29.807 30 Dxd7 White has to exchange — any grounds for White’s advantage disappear along with the bishop. 30...2ixd7 31 2104?! However, White does not seem to want to reconcile himself to equality. An easier way to draw is to go into a single rook endgame after 31 H6cd4. In lines like 31...22d2 32 Exg4 hxg4 33 Hod Hxa2 34 Exped HaS or 31...Bgd4 32 Eixd4 Exd4 33 Bc4 Hd2 34 Hxb4 xa? a sym- bolic advantage remains on Black’s side. In the game, Black could have forced similar play with 31...2d2, but there are plenty of drawish tendencies in rook endgames. White’s actual choice gives Black the extra option of going into a double-rook endgame where the struggle flares up again. 31..d1+ 32 te? Repl 32...1d5!? is more interesting and promis- ing. 33 Exb4 Egel+ 34 &f3 Exe5 (D) i oo a The game has taken on a sharp character. White has a pair of passed pawns, while on the other hand, Black may profit from the white king getting in the way of his own pieces. 35 Hic? g5 36 Hed Hed5 37 a4 g4+ 38 de2? The wrong way. On g? the king risks finding himself in a mating-net, but 38 &g2 was never- theless correct, since after the text-move the black h-pawn proves to be faster than its rivals. 38...h1 39 Hd2 fs 40 ded3? The final loss of time. The only attempt at re- sistance consisted of trying to set up a race of the passed pawns, with 40 h4!? a reasonable way to delay Black’s kingside progress. 40...Exh2 41 Hee2 h4 42 b4 h3 43 bs Bhi 44 Hed Bg5 45 Hde2 h2 0-1 In the system examined in this chapter, White’s board-wide play provides for a high level of tension from the very first moves. How- ever, the committal nature of his set-up gives Black targets for counterplay, and it is mostly Black who picks the outlines of the subsequent struggle — from the classical approach, where his primary task is reaching equality (and in the main lines he has every reason to expect to do so), to sharp play with winning chances for both sides. True fans of our opening usually don’t find the prospect of playing against this system at all depressing.3 The Four Pawns Attack In this system, White again accepts the knight’s kind offer and builds an imposing central for- mation: 1 e4 Df6 25 Ad5 3 d4 d6 4.4 Db6 5 f4(D). By 4 * Anew a a ee, a ES AB a A LD OWS SAR White adopts a maximalist approach: he throws into combat as many pawns as possible while maintaining their mobility. In order to re- main strong, any pawn-centre needs to be flexi- ble and capable of fulfilling several functions, including the ability to advance and preferably in anumber of different ways. Generally speak- ing, White is seeking to use his pawns as cover for an attack that will be launched as soon as Black has determined the location of his king, but the pawns’ mobility comes into play in many lines in an intricate battle resulting from Black's attempts to dismantle the phalanx. We should note that White has not had to pay for this imposing pawn-mass with a delay in development (as he does, for instance, in the ww N\ wy King’s Indian line of the same name), as Black’s only achievement while White has been moving his pawns has been to reposition his knight from £6 to b6. More pertinent is the fact that the centre is somewhat loose, and in order to destroy it (af- tera preliminary exchange ...dxe5 and fxe5) itis enough to play ...c5 while keeping d5 under con- trol. This is not easy to carry out, of course, but the goal has been defined. There is also the sec- ondary plan of undermining the centre with ...f6, when after exf6 and ...&xf6 the weakness on e6 is balanced by the pressure on d4. The immediate thrust ...c5, allowing the ad- vance of the d4-pawn in hopes of demonstrating the weakness of the resulting centre, is examined in Game 9 (Movsesian-Luther). In the rest of our games in this chapter, Black seeks to restrain the pawn-centre, at least for a few moves, before at- tacking it. Then the main decision is whether to play an early ...2\c6. While its advantages are unquestionable, this posting also has one flaw - itblocks ...c5, so the d5 advance will be harder to force - on Black's terms, at any rate. Lines where Black decides to develop other pieces first are the subject of Game 10 (Olivier-Yanev). Variations where Black develops the knight to 6 but does not allow the d-pawn to advance (either by increasing his guard on the d5-square or by undermining the piece support for the pawn’s advance) are examined in Game 11 (Nakamura-Benjamin). And finally, the most combative and chaotic line, where White seizes the initiative by advancing with d5, is presented in Game 12 (L.Dominguez-Almeida). Game 9 Sergei Movsesian — Thomas Luther European Ch, Istanbul 2003 Led Df6 2 e5 DdS 3 d4 d6 4 cd Db6 5 £4 dxeS ‘This exchange exposes the d4-pawn to attack and weakens the e5-pawn’s protection. BlackTHE FOUR PAWNS ATTACK 43 intends, either immediately or later, to knock away its other support by ...c5. Sometimes Black refrains from exchanging and plays 5...S2£5 (D) at once. Xm Wee | y ee maha aoe Aw “ae oa This may come down to a mere transposi- tion of moves (compared to S...dxe5 6 fxeS RES or 5...dxe5 6 fxeS Ac6 7 Re3 KFS), but there are independent ideas in which the d6- pawn is used in other operations, primarily as preparation for ...c5 in the line 6 2c3 e6 7 @f3 Dab. Black threatens to destroy White’s cen- tre as well as ...Ab4, and White must deter- mine how to transform the position’s current set of pluses into another. A reliable continua- tion is 8 a3 c5 9 dxcS dxcS 10 £e3, but it in- volves the exchange of queens, and thus any advantage for White will be minimal. The ex- change of bishops by 8 £43 sharpens the play; e.g., 8...82xd3 9 Wxd3 c5 10 dxc5?! (10 d5 is interesting; e.g., 10...exd5 11 cxdS dxeS 12 0-012) 10...Axe5 11 We2 dxeS 12 DxeS f6 13 Wh5+ g6 14 Axg6 hxg6 15 Wxh8 Wad with strong counterplay, Djurhuus-Agdestein, Nor- wegian Ch playoff (2), Asker 2000. Sometimes the d6-pawn is given a different mission — 7...27 (instead of 7...2a6) 8 &e3 0-0 9 &d3 dS (the preliminary exchange of the bishops is also played). This method of coun- terattacking the centre is in itself typical of this opening, but Black’s light-squared bishop is usually exchanged for the £3-knight; here it leaves the board together with its opposing num- ber while the knight remains, which in a closed position favours White. The joint offspring of the Pire Defence — 5...g6 — has a birth defect, as the knight has galloped too far from the defence of the king- side. White can try to profit from this at once by 6 2\c3 &g7 7 £3, when 7...2e6 is met by 8 d5!, and 7...0-0 8 c5 D6d7 9 Af3 (the brutal advance 9 h4 looks good too) 9...b6 10 cxd6 cxd6 11 Sc4! gives White excellent play. Ex- changing queens also promises Black no joy: 7...dxe5 8 dxeS Wxd1+ 9 Hxd1 £6 10 b3 £6 11 5! A6d7 12 Abs a6 13 c6! bxc6 14 @d4, Cheparinov-M.Griinberg, European Ch, Antalya 2004. 5.052! 6 dxc5 Q6d7 7 cxd6 exd6 8 exd6 DFG 9 We2+ e6 10 Dc3 g6 11 Re3 &g7 12 0-0-00-0 13 Af3 Ac6 14 Wd2 Was 15 Ad4 left Black a pawn down for very little in Smeets- Wohl, Zwolle 2001. 5...g57! is a notorious move that has never become respected, but has never been com- pletely refuted either. After 6 exd6 Wxd6 7 Dc3! Lg7 8 Le2c5 9 ADbS Wd8 10 dxcS A6d7 11 fxg5 Dc6 12 D3 a6 13 Ac3 WaS 14 0-0 White has a significant advantage, although in Gerigk-Teske, Bundesliga 2009/10 he failed to follow up vigorously enough and ended up los- ing. 6 fxe5 5 White's centre invites exactly this type of undermining thrust, but normally it is carried out only after some preparation, generally with the aim of preventing the advance to d5 and so forcing an exchange of pawns. The immediate attack forces White to advance, and has gener- ally enjoyed no more than a semi-correct repu- tation. It gained some popularity in the last quarter of the 20th century and leads to very sharp play. 7d5(D) awa aa @ man m naam a @ a ee AR i Ags Va .44 PLAY THE ALEKHINE Tone An interesting altemative is to fianchetto the king’s bishop before continuing the assault on White’s pawn-centre. This idea has scored well in practice for Black, but theoretically there are some unanswered questions, which is not too surprising given that White is also granted time to support his centre, and has sev- eral possible ways to do so. After 7...g6!? 8 Dc3 &g7 9 Bf4 (both 9 DF3?! Red and 9 &e3?! 0-0 10 &xc5 D8d7 show Black’s plans working nicely) 9...0-0 10 Wd2 (10 DF3 &g4 11 We2 e6 12 0-0-0 exd5 13 Dxd5 Dxd5 14 ‘xd5 Wa5 was OK for Black in Y.Vovk-Khvor- ostinin, Ukrainian Team Ch, Alushta 2007) 10...¢6 (D), White has two main options: a) 110-0-0 exd5 (11...f6 12 Af3 has scored well for White in practice) 12 cxd5 and here: al) 12...g4 13 Hel c4 14 h3 Sf5 15 g4 2d3 16 Rxd3 cxd3 17 Wxd3 Da6 18 d6 Bc8 19 debI Ac5 (19...2b4 20 Wal Dcd 21 Bh2 led to a win for White in Movsesian-Z. Varga, Czech League 2004/5, but the position isn’t exactly clear at this point; 19...Ac4!? is per- haps also best met by 20 21h2!?, since 20 dS Wa5 21 @f3 xb2! 22 Wh3 Bc5 23 2d? Wad 24 De1+ Bh8 25 He3 Mbs 26 Wrad Dxad+ 27 Bb3 is an unclear ending) 20 We2 Ae6 21 &g3 Des 22 DE3 Was 23 Hel ho 24 gs Rxg5 25 Dxgs Dxgs 26 Hhdl is messy but should probably favour White, Ilin&ié-Marin- kovié, Vinjatka Banja 1989. a2) 12...21e8 13 Hel (this leads to an enter- taining example, but 13 £25 looks like the most testing move: 13...f6 (13...Wc7!?} 14 exf6 &xf6 15 @f3 and now Black should probably try 15...f5 since 15...0247 loses to 16 Wf4, B.Cox-St Jean, corr. 2002) 13...@a6 14 Af3 Db4 15 Vg5 £6 16 Kh4 VES 17 RbS? a6! 18 exf6 (18 Rxe8 loses to 18...0d3+ 19 ddl Bcd) 18...xel+ (missing 18...axb5!! 19 £7+ bxf7 20 &xd8 Mexd8 with an overwhelming attack) 19 Hxel Rxf6 20 He8+ Wre8 21 &xe8 De4 22 BF7+ Sxf7 23 Wh6 Dd3+ 24 Sd1 g7 25 Dgs+ Lf8 26 Axh7+2! (26 Wxh7) 26...g8 27 Of6+ F7 28 Wes Bhs 29 Dfed Be8 30 d6 Ddxb2+ 31 c2?(31 Hel) 31...Axd6 32 Wxf5+ and 0-1 B.Smith-Shabalov, King of Prussia 2007. b) 11 d6 Dc6 12 DF3 Dd7 13 We3 £6 (13...d4 is another idea) and then: bl) 14 0-0-0 fxe5 (14...Ddxe5!2) 15 &h6 (1S &g5!?) 15...Dd4 16 &xg7 Sxg7 17 Axes DES 18 Wel Wg5+ 19 Rd2 Ad4 (19...We3 20 Wxe3 @xe3 21 Df3 favoured White in Klinger- Bischoff, Zug 1985) 20 2d3 followed by h4-h5 leaves White with the initiative. b2) 14 exf6 Dxf6 (14... Wxf67! 15 Bes WET 16 0-0-0 Dd4 17 2d3 DFS 18 Axf5 exf5 19 Dd5 led to a White win in Jansen-Marcinkie- wicz, corr. 2002) 15 WxcS Ded 16 Axed Hxf4 might be OK for Black; e.g., 17 We3 (17 2d3 Wh6) 17...WaS+ 18 Bc3 2d7 19 0-0-0 Hafs. We now retur to 7...06 (D): ¥ Dae Abe . © ag Ake C> 8 Dc3 Ttis clear that 8 d6? is bad due to 8...Wh4+, as the attempt to trap the queen may succeed af- ter 9 g3 Wed+ 10 We2 Wxh1 11 DF3 Dcé6 but will cost White dearly. 8...exd5 Black can try 8...Wh4+ here too, but after 9 23 Wd4 White can choose 10 Wxd4 cxd4 11THE FOUR PAWNS ATTACK 45 Dbs Dab 12 d6 £6 13 DL3 Rd7 14 Dbxd4 fxeS 15 BxeS &xd6, when he can count on a small advantage, or he can seek larger rewards by gambit play with 10 2d2! WxeS+ 11 £e2, aiming to exploit White’s development advan- tage resulting from Black’s queen moves. The exchange in the game sets the enemy e5-pawn free again, but Black’s c5-pawn can also advance and, most significantly of all, an important diagonal is opened. 9 cxd5 c4 (D) Another version of the queen sortie, 9.,.Wh4+ 10 g3 Wd4, is sometimes seen here, but it is re- garded as very dubious, as White gets a strong initiative with a pawn sacrifice: 11 2b5+ (less generous players may prefer 11 S2f4 g5 12 Sixgs Wxe5+ 13 We2) 11...2d7 12 We2 DxdS 13 e6 fxe6 14 Wxe6+ De7 15 A3 Wh4 (or 15... WE6 16 We2!) 16 De5!. pus j A ne ‘a sa ae a. This has traditionally been considered the main position of this variation. The powerful centre pawn pair on the fifth rank looks menac- ing; one of them is passed to boot and both are mobile. However, they lack neighbours to sup- port them and can only count on support from pieces. Black’s last move opens a diagonal for the other bishop as well, preparing to attack a defender of the d5-pawn. 10 d6 ‘Today this is considered the most critical continuation. Clearly, 10 &xc4?? Wh4+ is no good and 10 a3 looks torpid. Let's consider the alternatives: a) The immediate centralization of the queen by 10 Wd is rarely seen. After 10...Ac6 11 Wed Db4, 12 a3 D4xdS 13 DxdS Wxd5 14 Wxd5 Dxd5 15 Rxc4 leaves White no better; on the other hand, the line 12 d6 g6 13 &xc4 Dxcd 14 Wes Dc2+ 15 Lf Dxal 16 Dds 297 17 DcT+ SFB 18 Dxa8 leads to a fighting, unclear position. b) Developing the dark-squared bishop first doesn’t enjoy much popularity either. After 10 Bf4 &b4 White cannot play 11 &xc4 Dxc4 12 Wa4+ Ao6 13 dxo6 Axb2 and has to settle for 11 d6, but why let the enemy bishop out? Nei- ther it is clear what the point of 10 e3 might be. c) The main continuation used to be 10 £3, when Black replies by bringing out one of the bishops: cl) 10...2g47! (D). a gweace ra) a Black indirectly protects c4 but fails to pose a concrete threat to either centre pawn, which provides White with a certain respite. During the period when this system was fighting for recognition, Ljubojevié played several games (as both colours!) that were important for its theory. Then the main debate was centred on the Tine 11 Wd4 Qxf3 12 gxf3 Qb4 13 S&xc4 0-0 14 Bgl g6 15 2g5 We7 16 2b3 cS 17 We Sixgl 18 d6 Wc5 19 Ded Wad 20 Hdl Wxb2, and it seems that after 21 @f6+ #h8 22 Hd2 Walt! neither side has anything clearly better than a repetition of the moves, which is not a big achievement on White's part (if White wishes to play on, then 23 &d1 £3! 24 Wxe3 Do4 25 De4 £6 26 Wa leads to an unclear ending). Such play, highly rich in content, has mo- nopolized this sector of the theory, and the out- wardly modest 11 22! has remained largely out of the spotlight. However, this move ap- pears to cast grave doubt on Black’s play in46 PLAY THE ALEKHINE rather simple fashion. White has good chances to hold the centre until completing his develop- ment, although sharp lines like 11...Sc5 12 Dg5 are also possible (and indeed considered very difficult for Black), Simple and interesting, though insufficiently tested in practice, is 11 Skxcd Dxc4 12 Wad+ Ad7 13 Wred Bxf3 14 gxf3 Dxe5 15 We? (weaker is 15 Wes Wh4+) 15...We7 (Barlov’s piece sacrifice 15...2d6 is interesting, but maybe not fully adequate) 160-0 0-0-0 (or 16...f6), when the white king feels clearly more secure than his opposing number. 2) 10...2b4 11 &xc4 for a long time wan- dered from one publication to another in the company of a line authored by Boleslavsky: 11...Dxc4(?) 12 Wadt De6 13 dxeb Sxc3+ 14 bxc3 bS 15 Wb4 a5 16 WeS Wa3 17 295 with an advantage for White. Then in 1986 Shabalov offered a pawn sacrifice by 11....8xc3+ 12 bxc3 Dxed 13 Wad+ Dd7 14 Wxcd D6 15 Ws+ Wa7 16 Wxd7+ &xd7, and Black’s idea found a following (actually, it turns out that this had been played in a Finnish correspondence game as far back as 1976, but no one had noticed). In order to keep the pawn, White has to play 17 d6 (D). Y Black certainly has at least some compensa- tion: the pawns are blockaded, the d7-bishop is the undisputed master of the light squares, whereas his dark-squared opponent is restricted and is potentially “bad”. The subsequent play is likely to involve manoeuvring around the weaknesses on a2, c3 and e5; Black is not just playing for a draw, since if the e5-pawn falls, then its neighbour on d6 is doomed too. Never- theless, there is no completely clear plan of regaining the pawn, while White can also seek targets to attack, or at least to disrupt Black’s activation of his forces. After 17...c8 18 &d2 (White can also seek safety by giving up the c3-pawn in retum for activity; e.g., 18 &e3 Bxc3 19 &xb6 axb6 20 sed2 a3, leading to equality, and transposing to Shirov-Shabalov, Riga 1986), Black has a choice between the natural 18...2\a4, Bagirov’s 18...2\c4 and Babu- rin’s 18...2b5 (or indeed 18...0-0 intending ..f6, as in Palmo-Nurmesniemi, Finnish corr. Ch 1976). ‘We now return to 10 d6 (D): The text-move (10 d6) is the obvious choice, although it took a while for it to come into the spotlight. Its virtues are evident — the enemy bishop is locked in, which hinders castling, and the white queen’s knight stares at the c7-square. Its defects are no mystery either: the pawn- centre's value is higher when the pawns stand side by side while remaining mobile; Black’s task is to force one of them to step forward, which usually allows a blockade to be set up. Here White advances of his own accord and at the expense of his development to boot. 10...2e6 The attempt to fianchetto the imprisoned bishop by 10...g6? creates chronically vulnera- ble holes on the dark squares. The other main continuation is 10...2c6?! (with ideas such as the controversial queen sac- Tifice line 11 £f4 g5 12 Ded gxf4), but this leaves the c7-square without protection and White can set off for it immediately by 11 ®b5!. Black’s obvious recourse is an attempt to take advantage of the unguarded state of the