Wary EAT Nimzo-Indian DefencePERGAMON CHESS OPENINGS General Editor: Craig Pritchett Executive Editor: Martin J. Richardson Other Titles in the Series BASMAN, M. Play the St. George ESTRIN, Y.B. & GLASKOV, I.B. Play the King’s Gambit Volume 1 — King’s Gambit Accepted Volume 2 — King’s Gambit Declined MAROVIC, D. Play the King’s Indian Defence VARNUSZ, E. Play the Caro-Kann WATSON, T. L. Play the French PLAY THE NIMZO-INDIAN DEFENCE By S. GLIGORIC International Grandmaster PERGAMON PRESS OXFORD - NEW YORK - TORONTO « SYDNEY - PARIS - FRANKFURTUK. US.A. CANADA AUSTRALIA _ FRANCE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX3 OBW, England Pergamon Press Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, New York 10523, U.S.A. Pergamon Press Canada Ltd., Suite 104, 150 Consumers Road, Willowdale, Ontario M2J 1P9, Canada Pergamon Press (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 544, Potts Point, N.S.W. 2011, Australia Pergamon Press SARL, 24 rue des Ecoles, 75240 Paris, Cedex 05, France Pergamon Press GmbH, Hammerweg 6, 1.6242 Kronberg-Taunus, Federal Republic of Germany Copyright © 1985. S. Gligoric All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publishers. First edition 1985 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Gligorié, S. Play the Nimzo-Indian defence—(Pergamon chess openings) 1. Chess Openings L. Title 794.122 GV1450.2 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Gligorié, Svetozar. Play the Nimzo-Indian defence. (Pergamon chess openings) Includes indexes. 1. Chess Openings. I. Title. HI. Series GV1450.2.G55 1984 794.122 83-25073 ISBN 0-08-026928-1 (Hardcover) ISBN 0-08-026927-3 (Flexicover) Printed in Hungary Contents INTRODUCTION . vii PARTI Siimisch Variation .. 3 Gheorghiu Variatic 19 Botvinnik’s Variation ... 25 Capablanca’s Variation ...... 30 Flexible Variation ...... 41 ‘Spassky’s (Leningrad) Variation 51 Alekhine’s Variation 57 PART t Fischer’s Variation ... Dutch Variation . Keres Variation Tal’s Variation « Taimanov’s Variation . Hiibner’s Variation . Rubinstein’s Variation .ve Contents PART HL Reshevsky’s Variation 125 Main Variation « 132 Khasin’s Variation 159 Nimzowitsch Variation... 7 Reykjavik Variation . 169 Larsen’s Variation . 174 ‘Classical V: 182 Averbakh’s Variation 187 Parma’s Variation 194 Bronstein’s Variation, 206 Smysiov’s Variation _ 210 Delayed Fianchetto Variation 215 Karpov’s Variation 221 INDEX OF VARIATIONS AND GAMES INDEX OF PLAYERS Introduction The 19th-century player’s ideal of occupying the centre of the chess board with pawns in order to obtain freedom of action and a position with strong fighting potential was enriched at the beginning of the 20th century by a subtle conception that the centre can be controlled effectively by pieces from afar as well. Such a completed philosophy of the centre and its strategy made the birth of the Nimzo-Indian Defence possible.vill Introduction White starts the game with 1 d4 occupying space along the d-file for active development of his pieces and denying access to opponent’s forces along the neighbouring “c” and “e” files, too, by attacking central squares, cS and especially e5. If allowed, White’s next move would be 2 ¢4 completing his space control of the centre. In order to prevent this Black brings a piece into play with 1... Nf6, its activity being of specific importance in controlling central squares e4 and 45. If White insisted on preparing e4 by 2 Nc3 (which seems to bea short cut), Black’s reply 2 ... d5 would create a stronghold to which White can do no harm. In order to fight for the square e4 with some success, White has, con- sequently, to attack the square d5 first by 2 c4, usefully connecting two pawns and increasing the space at his disposal on the queenside. OO a eee a8 a a a at Pes Y @ Introduction ix It is obvious that in the case of 2 ... d5 3 ¢Xd5 Black’s outpost would be swiftly destroyed. So Black plays 2 ... ¢6 to give better support to the d5 square and to open the diagonal for the king’s bishop. Being faithful to his original plan, White continues 3 Nbl1—c3 developing the queenside and threatening 4 e4. White should be prevented from constructing a broad centre with pawns at c4, d4 and e4, One could expect the solid 3 ... d5, but this transposes into the Queen’s Gambit where Black has a meagre choice of plans in his struggle for equality, let alone counterplay. Another possibility is pinning White’s knight on 3, thus avoiding the Queen’s Gambit without permitting e4. So Black develops his kingside by quickly 3 .. . Bb4!—the Nimzo-Indian Defence.x Introduction Black’s rapid development is combined with the positional threat of spoiling White’s regular pawn formation by doubling his c-pawns, or just partially paralyzing the development of White’s queenside by inflicting pressure on c3. At the same time, Black keeps all kinds of strategic schemes at his disposal. He may strike back with c5 (even b5 sometimes), d5, e5 (after Nc6 or d6), or try to control the square e4 by b6, sometimes Ne4 and f5, not to mention a variety of ways of developing the minor pieces on the queenside. How attractive in comparison with Black’s rather passive attitude in Queen’s Gambit, and how little risk in comparison with other “sharp” systems! This is what has made this defence the most popular one amongst the world’s leading players and its reliability has never wavered through several generations—some seven decades up to today. Of course, White also has his strengths in his flexible pawn centre and his bishop pair, but that is what this book is all about. eae It is hard to say when the position on the above diagram was seen for the first time. One could mention, for instance,the game Englisch-Blackburne, London 1883, and the rather naive treatment of the opening by both players, but the basic idea could have been discovered much earlier in the creativity of England’s leading players in the middle of the 19th century. In a Staunton correspondence game around 1844 the sequence of moves was: 1 £4. d5 2 Nf3 c5 3 e3 No6 4 Bb5!(in this example colours are reversed and White’s care for the square e5 is analogous to Black’s tendency to guard the square e4 in the Nimzo-Indian Defence) a6?! (a loss of time) 5 BXc6+ be6 Introduction xt 6 0-0 e6 7 cA! (in the spirit of blockade to be advocated by the yet-unborn Nimzowitch!) Nh6 8 Qe2 Bd6 9 Nc3 Qe7 10 b3 £6 11 d3 0-0 12.04 and Staunton won by combining pressure on the doubled pawns with a kingside attack. Another illustration, this time with “right” colours, is the game Léwenthal- Williams, London 1851, which went like this: 1 d4 e6 2 ¢3 £5 3 c4 Nf6 4Nf3 Bb4-+ 5 Nc3 BXc3-+ 6 bXc3 c5 7 Bd3 Qe7 8 0-00-0 9a4 d6 10.Qc2 Neb 11 Ba3? (a naive attempt to give some scope to the passive bishop, locked in behind the pawn structure) b6 12 Rfel Ba6. Black, as a “defending side”, could not wish anything better. Games in “Nimzowitsch style” sporadically appeared before and after Nimzowitsch himself was born. A similar position can be seen in the game Salwe-Tartakower, Carlsbad 1911, after 1 d4 e6 2 c4 £5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e3 Bb4 5 Bd3 BXc3+ (that Nimzowitsch did like!) 6 bXc3 c5! (immobilizing White’s weak pawns) 7 Ne2 d6 8 0-0 e5 9 Ba3? (the bishop is useless against the un- breakable wall of Black’s pawns) b6. Aron Nimzowitsch (born 1886 in Riga—died 1935 in Copenhagen), from his theory of prophylaxis in chess, logically developed his system of blockadeand that train of thought led to the formulation of his Indian Defence. It seems that regular order of moves (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4) appeared for the first time in round 6 of the St. Petersburg tournament in 1914, in the game Janowski- Nimzowitsch. The idea had been vaguely known long ago, and a round earlier of the same tournament, the identical position by transposition was seen in the game Rubinstein-Alekhine (see Game 1 in this book).xt Introduction Asone of the world’s top players in his time, Nimzowitsch understood well how to exploit pawn weaknesses and to emphasize the inefficiency of an opponent’s bishop pair in a closed position. The game Mattison-Nimzowitsch, Carlsbad 1929, could be a good example of an easy victory in “Nimzo-style”: 1 d4 N16 2.04 6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 BXc3+!? (consistent with his belief, but nowadays Black might profcr to Ict White waste a tempo by playing a3) 5 bXc3 dé 6 Qc2 Qe7 7 Ba3? c5! 8 33? (on g2 the bishop is unable to defend the weak pawn on c4) b6 9 Bg? Bb7 10 0-0 0-0 11 Nh4!? BXg2 12 KXg2 Qb7+ 13 Kgl Qa6 14 Qb3 Ne6 15 Rfd1 NaS 16 QbS QXb5 17 cX 5 Nc4 (a hole appears where the weak pawn was, and White is strategically lost) 18 Bcl a6! It is amazing how White is unable to show any resistance: 19 ba6 RXa6 20 de5 be5 21 Ng2 Nd5 22 Rd3 Rfa8 23 c4 Ne5 White resigns. But the Nimzo-Indian Defence has one more face of no lesser significance in which all Black's pawns partake directly in the conflict in the centre. As early as in 1910, in a consultation game Alekhine v. Bernstein in Moscow, such a situation occurred on the chess board after 1 d4 d5 2.c4.e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 NI6 5.NF30-0 6 Bd3c5 7 0-ONc6 8 a3BXc3 9 bX63. This very position forms the introduction to the Main Variation of this book! eee ‘The table of contents in this book has been divided in three parts in order to help the reader orientate himself easily amongst the richness of ideas and abundance of information, accumulated during seven decades of constant Introduction xiii tournament practice. Each chapter develops logically from the flow of chess thought in the preceding one. In this succession of variations the order of chapters is influenced both by starting positions and by transformation of creative ideas. All the material is accompanied by carefully selected games which contribute best to the proper understanding of the opening and its connection with the midd legame and the endgame. At the same time, the majority of those 96 games demonstrates best play in the lines concerned. In the notes to these games has been gathered the-most valuable part of the tournament complete practice of the Nimzo-Indian Defence so that the book is actually quoting hundreds of additional games worth knowing and may serve asa reliable reference both to the ordinary chess player and to the grandmaster with the “most contemporary taste”. Part I and Part I contain seven chapters each, and Part III thirteen. Each chapter is devoted to an important variation. In order to avoid an excess of material, some chapters are shorter in length, thereby excluding many irrelevant or outdated lines, and Spielman’s Variation (4 Qb3)—for conciseness—has been condensed to a brief paragraph within the text on Capablanca’s Variation (4.Qc2), Despite such reductions—there are still twenty-seven chapters in all. So, each variation has been given a name, sometimes arbitrarily, by the author in order to facilitate the use of this book. Certain names appear for the first time here—the Flexible Variation, Alekhine’s Variation, the Dutch Variation, Tal’s Variation, Nimzowitsch’s Variation, Reykjavik Variation, Averbakh’s Varia- tion, the Delayed Fianchetto Variation, etc.xiv Introduction Whether or not the author’s method is justified is perhaps of lesser impor- tance. The fact is that Nimzowitsch, Keres and Bronstein ... were responsible for several important continuations in this defence, but, for practical reasons, their names could be used only once each in this book. One variation, for in- stance, was introduced by Bronstein in his World Championship match against Botvinnik in 1951, and repeatedly adopted by Smyslov in his matches with Botvinnik, but it was the great Fischer, upon his arrival on the international scene, who revived interest in that line, and so in this book its name is—Fisch- er’s Variation. Part I consists of variations starting with all White’s 4th moves but 4 ¢3 (excepting Botvinnik’s Variation, characterized by 4 ¢3 d5 5 a3), thus encom- passing 4, a3, 413, 4 Qc2 (and 4 Qb3), 4 Nf3, 4 BgS and 43. ‘The rest of the book deals with the most frequent continuation—4 ¢3. Part IL is all Black’s 4th moves but 4 ... 0-0; that is: 4... b6,4.... Ne6and 4... 5, and Part IIL is: 4e3 0-0. Part ISamisch Variation I d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc3+ 5 bXe3 A similar position could have been seen as early as in St. Petersburg 1914, in the game Rubinstein— Alekhine, where White failed in his 2 plan of constructing a strong pawn. centre, thus losing too much time and giving Black an opportunity for tactical counterattack, See Game 1. The actual protagonist of the above opening sequence — a de- cade later — was the German grand- master Friedrich Samisch (born 1896), who played on second board for Germany in the Chess Olympiad of 1930, and was especially remem- bered for his research into opening theory. He also advocated an open- ing sequence arising from the King’s Indian Defence (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 £3!) with a similar conception of obtaining a space advantage in order to launch a kingside pawn storm or gradually to suffocate Black,4 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence We start our review of ideas in the Nimzo-Indian Defence with this variation, for this is where White plays most optimistically trying the most radical method of “refuting” Black’s fight for the centre by means of piece control. White actually forces Black to carry out his strategy of doubling White’s pawns in the belief that they will reinforce the centre rather than weaken it. One can see from the above dia- gram that White has increased the number of his pawns in the central area of the chess board, and that he has obtained the advantage of the bishop pair. Black should not under- estimate the danger of White’s pow- er (even temporarily) in the centre, and of White’s possible onslaught on. the kingside, where Black deploys few pieces for the defence. At the same time, White has doubled pawns and the weakened squares c4, ¢3, b3 and a4 on the queenside, and has wasted a tempo with 4 a3, which contributes nothing to his develop- ment. Taking all these features into consideration, one may conclude that Black should have sufficient time to construct barriers against White’s advance on both wings and that prudence advises him to make it his first concern, for, if he con- centrates on capturing the weak pawn on c4 as early as possible, White will have a free hand for his now decisive action on the kingside. The games to follow illustrate well what has been said here. Black’s most sensible strategy is to look for his chances in the endgame, not in the middlegame. 1, RUBINSTEIN-ALEKHINE St. Petersburg 1914 1 d4 €6 2 c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4 3 b6 5 Bd3 Bb7 6 f3 c5 7 a3 BXc3+ 8 bXc3 d5 9 Ne2 0-0 10 0-0 Nbd7 II Ng3 Qc7 12 eXd5 eXd5 13 €4 ?t This is premature. White could have kept his advantage by activa- ting his QR first via a2 and e2. 3... oxXd4 14 eXd4 Qe3 15 Be3 aXe4 16 fxXed Bab! 17 BXab QXe3+ 18 Khl NXe4 19 NfS Nf2+ 20 RXf2 OX/2 21 Ogd 26 22 Rf1?! White did not like 22 Ne7+ Ki 23 QXd7 Rad8, but he is not obliged to play 24 QxXa7? QXd4 which loses straight away. 22... Qb2 23 NiG-+-12 Kg7 24 NXf7 Qb3! Black destroys his opponent’s hopes for an eventual draw after 24... RXf7 25 RXf7+ KX{7 26 QXd7+. 25 d5 Nf6! 26 Qd4 RX§7 27 Bed Qad 28 g4 Rac8 White resigns. 2. SAMISCH-GRUNFELD Karlovy Vary 1929 I d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 Ilere we mect the line in its original form. . BXc3+ 5 bXc3 db Played in the spirit of Nimzo- witsch. Yet, this is neither the most flexible, nor the most energetic method in Black’s logical plan to block the position. 6 f3 0-07 e4 e5 8 BA3 Nc6 More efficient blockade is ob- tained by 8 ... c5 (see Game 3), but the move in this game was played under the influence of Nimzowitsch, who, at the time, preferred to keep the square cS for the knight, and considered the mentioned alter- native as Black’s second best choice. 9 Ne2 Na7 10 0-0 b6 II Be3 Baé 12 Ng3 NaS 13 Qe? Qe8 Planning to increase the pressure on the 4 pawn, 14 fA f6 15 RZ Kh8 16 Rafl Qf7 17 fXe5 dXe5 18 d5 Nb7 Black has found good squares for his knights, yet he cannot relax for he has to meet his opponent’s threats on the kingside where White retains his initiative. 19 Nf5 Nd6 20 Rh3 g6 20 ... NXf5 21 RXf5 is un- pleasant. 21 Nh Qg7 22 g4 g51? Sharper was 22 ... NeS 23 BXcS 2 Samisch Variation 3 bXc5 and if 24 Qe3 BXc4 25 BXc4 NXc4 26 QXc5 Nd2! 27 Rel f5! with more counterplay. 23 RhS NeS 24 BXeS bXc5 25 Rf3!? 25 h4 was another idea for action. . Qe7 26 Rfh3 Be8 27 Of? Ne8& 28 Rf3 Ng7 29 Rdh3 Bd7 30 Rhg3 Be8& 31 h4 gXh4 32 Rg2 h3 33 RXh3 Bg6 34 Rf3 Rab8 35 Qh4 Rb3 36 Ref2 RXc3 37 g5 Ne8 38 2f6 Qd8 39 Ned RXd3 A desperate attempt to distract White from his overwhelming attack, 40 RXd3 BXed4 41 Re3 Nd6 42 NXe5 BS oe a 43 RXf3! NXf5 44 Ng6+ Kg8 45 Re7! R{7 46 RX{7 KXf7 47 NeS-+-1 Kf8 48 OXh7 Black resigns. If 48 ... QXf6 49 Nd7+.6 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence 3. PETRAN-STEIN Budapest 1968 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 06 3 Ne3 Bb4 4 f3 0-0 5 a3 BXc3+ 6 bXc3 d6 7 ed eS 8 Bd3 c5 9 d5 Black likes to provoke this move which restricts the mobility of White’s pawn centre. White decided on it instead of playing the more flexible 9 Ne2, because he did not want to give Black’s QN access to c6 from where it may go to e7 and g6, or to a5 (if his kingside is safe enough) playing an active role on the appropriate wing. 9... NhS! 10 Ne2 f5 11 ef5 BXfS 120-0 Too dangerous would be 12 BX f5 RXf5 13 g4 Qh4+ 14 Kd2 RXf3 15 gh5 QXcé4 with a strong attack. i2.... BXd3 13 QXd3 Qh4 14 g3!? White could not wait for 14 .., Nd7 and 15 ... Nb6 and weakens his kingside. True, the “solid” 14 Be3 Nd7 15 Bf2 does not promise much either. 14... Qh3 15 f4 Nd7 16 Bd2 Rae8 17 Ra2 An artificial manoeuvre to meet the threat ... Nd7-f6-24, 17... e4 18 Qbl Ndfo 19 Bel Ng4 20 Nel Ne3 21 Rff2 21... NXf4!22 Bd2 22 RX f4 QfI+ ! did not work for White, and in the remaining alter- native 22 gf4 Rf6 mate was threat- ened by 23 ... Rg6+ 24KhI Qed. 22... Qfl+! White resigns. The mate is forced in two moves: 23 RXd1 Ne2+ or 23... Nh3+ and 24 Khi RXfl mate. The beginning of the following game has some similarity toGame 3. 4. DIEZ del CORRAL-KORCHNOIL Buenos Aires Olympiad 1978 1 dd Nf 2 ch €6 3 Nc3 Bhd 4 a3 BXc3+ 5 bXc3 dé After having traded his KB, this “modest” pawn move cannot be strategically bad for Black, although it is very seldom played. 63 If 6 Qe2 Black can change his mind with 6 ... c5 7 e4 Nc6 8 Nf3 €5 having a solid position, 6... NAS! The point of Black’s plan is to disrupt the normal development of White’s kingside. The threat is 7... Qh4+. 7 Nh3 eS & Nf2 0-0 9 e4 Neéo 10 g4 Nf6 11 BgS?! It looks active, yet it contributes nothing, like the knight on £2, to the protection of White central pawns. 11... 66 12 Qd2 Or 12 Ra2 Ba6 13 c5 BXfl 14 KXf1 h6 15 Be3 exd4 16 cxd4 dxXc5 17 dXc5 Qe7 18 Qc2 Nes 19 Kg2 Rad8 20 Raal Ng6 with strong counterplay,Tisdall-Taulbut, London 1981. 2... NaS 13 RbI Bab 14 Ndi?! White could not like the endgame after 14 cS BXfl 15 KXfl dXc5 16 dXe5 QXd2 17 BXd2 Nd7 and decides to give his pawn away. 14... BXc4 15 BXc4 NXc4 16 Qd3 a5! The refutation of White’s tactical play, who probably counted on the passive 16... NaS 17 Ne3!, 170-0 6 18 Bhd Black has nothing to fear from 18 BXf6 QXf6 19 exd5 Qg6!. 8... 06 19 fA ef4 20 eS 0... g5 21 ef6 QXf5! 22 Bf2 Qe6 23 Nb2 White had no time for 23 h3 because of 23 ... Qed. 23... NXa324 Rbel Q Xg4+ 25 KhI Rae8 26 Re5 RXe5 27 dXe6 Sdmisch Variation 7 Qe6 28 Rel Re& 29h3 Ne4 30NXe4 dXc4 31 Qf3 Rd8 32 Kh2 White resigned without waiting for 32... Rd3. We turn now our attention to 5... b6 (instead of 5... d6 as shown above), where Black is more straightforward about his ambition of attacking and capturing the pawn. on c4, disregarding White’s initiative on the other side of the chess board. 5. GUTMAN-LEVCHENKOV USSR 1976 1 d4 Nib 2 cf €6 3 Ne3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc3-+ 5 bXc3 b61? 6 f3 Neb 7 4 Bab 8 e5 Ng8 9 Nh3 ‘Avoiding the continuation 9 Bd3 NaS 10 Qa4 f6! with the threat 1... fXe5 12 dXeS BXc4 13 BXc4 Qh4+. 9... NaS 10 Qad h6é Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence A precaution in order to prevent the unpleasant pin after 10 ... Ne7 11 Bg5 h6é 12 Bh4 0-0 13 Bd3, and if 13... d5?! (interesting is 13 ... Qe8) 14 Bb1 BXc4 (or 14... g5 15 Qc2 Ng6 16 Nf4 ghd 17 NXg6 Re8 18 Nh8! and White won in Kotov—Keres, Budapest 1950) 15 Qc2 g6 16 Nf2 c5 17 Ng4 Nb3 18 NXh6+ Kh7 19 Bf6! bS (if - NXal or 19... KXh6 then 20 Qf2 wins) 20 Ne4 Rh8 21 Ra2 exd4 22 Qf2 Kg8 23 BXh8 Qa5 24 Qh4 QXc3+ 25 Kf2 and White won, Niklasson-Iskoy, Bergen 1978, 11 Bd3 Ne7 12 Nft White has inadequate atiack in the case of 12 Nf2 0-0 13 0-0 d5, Gutman-Taimanov, USSR. 1975. - 0-0 13 hd ds Black should prefer the opening of a central file with 13 ... d6, although White keeps his attack after 14 Bbl dXe5 15 dXe5 BXc4 16 Qc2 NES 17 94 Bb3 18 Qh2 Ne7 19 g5. 14 Bbl BXc4 15 Qc2 NfS 16 gf Bb3 17 Of2 Ne7 18 NkS Kh8 19 BXK6! gXh6 20 Od? Ne8 21 Nf Kg7 22 £5 Ne7 23 NhS+ Ko8 24 96 fXg6 25 OX Kf7 26 Og7-+ Ke8 27 Nf6-+ RXf6 28 eXf6 Ka7 29 fXe7 OXe7 30 OXe7+ KXe7 31 BXg6 05 32 hS cXd4 33 cXd4 KY6 34 Kf2.No6 35 Rhd e5 36dXe5-+- NXe5 37 RAL Kg7 38 Rel Ks 39 BbI dd 40 Rfé Nf7 41 Bg6 RB 42 BX{7 RXf7 43 RX{7 BXf7 44 Rdl Kg8 45 h6 Kh7 46 RXa4 KX/I6 47 Rd7 Bed 48 RXa7 Black resigns. From the previous game we can see that Black may need more space on the kingside in order to be able to protect his king. But, an idea to secure space on the kingside by an early tactical assault 5... Ne4 (motivated by White’s loss of a tempo on 4.43) met the proper reply in the following game: 6. BOTVINNIK-FAL 20th game World Championship match 1960 1 d4 Nfb 2 cd 06 3 Ne3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc3+ 5 bXc3 Ned 6 e3! A quiet, flexible move which prepares conditions for efficient met eS ae development. 6 Nh3 (with the idea 7 £3) frees Black for action on the opposite queenside by 6 ... c5! 7 e3 (or 7 Qc2 Qa5 8 Bb2 f5 as in Samisch-Colle, Frankfurt 1930) Qa5 8 Bd2 cXd4 9 cXd4 NXd2 10 QXd2 QXd2+ 11 KXd2 b6 12 Bd3 Ba6 13 Rhcl Nc6 14 Rabi Ke7 15 5 (if 15 d5 NeS 16 d6+ Kf6!) BXd3 16 KXd3 Rab8 17 RbS bXc5 18 ReXc5 a6! 19 RXb8 RXb8 20 Ke2 Re8 21 Nf4 d6 22 Re3 g5 drawn, Botvinnik-Tal, 14th match game 1960. White obtains little also after 6 Qc2 £5 7 Nh3 d6 (or 7... 0-0 8 £3 Nf6 9 c5 b6 10 cXb6 cXbE 11 e3 Qc7 12 Bd2 Ne8! 13 c4 Ba6é 14 Rel Nd6 15 Qa4 Qc6 16 QXc6 NXc6 17 Bb4 NXb4 18 ab4 BXc4! 19 BXc4 Rfc8 20 BXe6+ dxe6 21 Kd2 Kf7 with even chances in the endgame, 18th match game Bot- vinnik-Tal 1960) 8 £3 Nf6 9 e4 (pre- mature is 9 Bg5 e5 10e3 h6 11 Bh4 Sdmisch Variation 9 Qe7 with a good game to Black, Tolusb-Lutikov, Moscow 1958) f£Xe4 10 fXe4e5 11 Nf2 0-0 12 Be2 c5 13dXe5dXe5 140-0 Nc6 15 BeS Qe8 16 Ndl Qe6 17 BXf6 RXf6 18 Ne3 RXfl+ 19 RXfl Be6 20 Qd3 Rd8 21 Nd5 Botvinnik-Tal, 16th match game 1960, and with . Rd7 (instead of 21... R£8? 22 Ne7!) and 22 ... Rf7 Black has nothing to fear. . £57 QhS+! 96 8 Qh db Black has weak dark squares on the kingside and could not like the endgame after 8 ... Qg5 9 QXg5 NX 25 10 £3 threatening 11 e4. 9f 9 Qe7 QF6 10 QXc7 Naé is dangerous for White. . Nf6 10 e4! e5 11 BeS Qe? 12 Bd3 Rf8 13 Ne2!? Stronger and more active was 13 Qh4 Qf7 14 Bh6 Rh8 15 Nh3. Of7 14 Oh4 fxe4 15 fXe4 Ned 16 13 Of2+ After White's “natural” 13th move, Black now succeeds in simpli- fying the game. 17 Kd2 QXh4 18 BXh4 Nf2 19 Rhfl NXd3 20 RXf8+ KXf8 21 KXd3 Be6 22 Ng3 Nd7 23 Nfl a6! 24 Bf2 Black is ready to meet both 24 Ne3 and 24 a4 by 24 ... b5! and if 25 abS BXc4-+!. . Kg7 25 Nd2 Rf8 26 Be3 66 27 RbI Nf6 Draw.10 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence Tf Black insists on swift queenside action against the weak pawn on c4, he may be committing suicide, for White has an additional attacking motif in the march of his f-pawn up to £6. 7. GLIGORIC-LOKVENZ Match Yugoslavia—Austria, Zagreb 1949 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 0-0 5 a3 At this stage White wants to know where the black king is going before deciding on the Samisch line. » BXc3+ 6 bXe3 c5 7 Bd3 Nc6 8 Ne2 d6 9 0-0 b6 10 e4 Bab Li 4 NaS 12 f5 Black was surprised by this move, for it was a new idea at the time. Too late, he realizes that he cannot capture the pawn on c4 because of the annoying pin 13 BgS. . Nd7 13 f6! Now, 13... NXf6 14 Begs threatening 15 Ng3 and 16 NhS is just as bad for Black and he decides in favour of the lesser evil of giving up the exchange in order to prolong his resistance, 2f6 14 Bh6 Kh8 15 BXf8 QXf8 16 Nft Qe7 17 Ra2 BXcd 18 Raf2 Rg8 19 BXc4 NX c4 20 Qd3 Nas Not 20 ... NXa3? 2t Ra2 c4 22. Qe2 Nb5 23 QXe4. 21 R§3 Nc6 22 Rh3 Re5S 23 NdS Qds 23... eXd5 24 eXd5 would win quickly because of the double threats on h7 and c6. 24 Ne3 Qe7 25 Rhf3 Rg6 26 R3f2 Rg8 27 Odi NaS 28 d5! Rd8? Worrying about his pawn on d6, Black neglects the weak one on f6. 29 Ng¢ Ne4 30 NXf5 NXf6 There is no time for 30 ... Ne3 31 QhS NXf6 32 RXf6 NXf1 because of 33 RX£7. 31 RXf6 NeS 32 QhS eXd5 33 RAG! 34 f6 RhXf6 Reg8 35 eXd5 Qg7 36 g3 Qe7 37 Re6 Qd7 38 RXe5 Black resigns. 8. BRONSTEIN-NAJDORE Candidates Tournament Budapest 1950 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc¢3+ 5 be3 c5 6 e3 Ne6 7 Bd3 0-0 Playable is 7... e5 8 Ne2 d6 9 e4!? edd 10 cd4 cd4 11 0-0 Qas? (better was 11... 0-0 12 Bgs h6 13 Bh4 95 14 Bg3 NhS 15 NXd4 NXg3 16 NXc6 be6 17 hg3 Qf6 with chances to both sides) 12 Bf! Qe5 13 Nel NaS 14 BXd6! QXd6 15 ©5 Qu 16 ef6 0-0 17 Rb1! a6 18 fg7 Re8 19 Nb3 NXb3 20 RXb3 Rbé 21 Qo! 75 22 Rb6! with White's initiative, Kasparov-Beliavsky, USSR 1983. 8 Ne2 d6 9 e4 Ne8 10 0-0 b6 11 f# Bab? A typical mistake in this kind of position instead of securing the Kingside first by the blockading move 11... f5!. "means aoe awe 12 f5 €5 13 fo Black is lost already, for his king has no breathing space if 13 ... NX{6, 14 BgS is a crushing pin, and &X{f6 14 Bh6 Neg7 15 Ng3 is just as bad. 13... Kh8 14 d5 Stimisch Variation IL Using the fact, that the square e7 is not available to the knight, thus chasing it further away from the kingside where it is needed. . NaS 15 Ng3 gf6 16 NfS Bec8 17 QhS BXf5 18 eXf5S Rg& 19 Rf3 Re7 Realizing that 19... Nh7 fails to 20 QXh7+! KXh7 21 Rh3-+ NhS 22 RXhS+ Kg7 23 Bh6-+ Kh7 24 Bf8 mate. 20 Bh6 Rg8 21 Rh3 Black resigns. The threat is 22 Bf8, and if 21... Ng7 22 Qh4 followed by 23 Bg5 would leave Black help- Jess, too. In the following game Black stops the advance of White’s f-pawn “at the eleventh hour” and then succeeds by means of tactical counterplay. 9. GELLER-EUWE Candidates Tournament Switzerland 1953 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Ne3 Bb4 4 e3 05 5 a3 BXc3+ 6 bXe3 b6 7 Bd3 Bb7 8 f3 Nc6 9 Ne2 0-0 10 0-0 NaS 11 e4 Ne8 12 Ng3 cXd4 13 cXd4 Re8B 14 fA NXc4 15 f5 6 Done at the last moment. Black must not allow 16 f6, for the disappearance of pawn on g7 would create weaknesses on dark squares around the black king which cannot be covered in the absence of the12 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence ag ate o & Y, Za black KB (compare Games 7 and 8). 16 Rf4 b5 17 Rh4 Qb6 18 e5 NXeS 19 fXe6 NXd3 20 QXd3 OXe6 21 QXh7+- Kf7 22 Bh6? White is emboldened by the idea of being the “attacking side”. 22... RA8! A bolt from a blue, with which Black gains control of c2 for a rook invasion, followed by a devastating counterattack. 23 OXh8 Re2 24 Rel Or 24 d5 BXd5 25 Rel RXg2+ 26 KfI_ Qb6 wins, 24... RXg2+ 25 Kfl Qb3 26 Kel Of3 White resigns, The advantage of the bishop pair becomes effective when there are open diagonals in the position. In the Simisch Variation White's “extra” bishop is the dark squared one and the focus of Black’s strategy is to restrict the activity of that piece, especially. The following game is a model of how the defending side should play. Black is prepared to answer White’s f4 by ... f5, fixing White’s f-pawn and making it an obstacle to the bishop. The desired blockade and space control is completed by Black with a similar, even symmetrical pawn chain on the queenside, 10. BOTVINNIK-RESHEVSKY World Championship Tournament 1948 1 d4.Nf6 2 c4 06 3. Ne3 Bb4 4 €3 05 5 a3 BXc3+ 6 bXc3 Nc6 7 Bd3 0-0 8 Ne2 66 9 ed Ne8! Here, Black could have been inspired by Nimzowitsch and Capa- blanca, 10 Be3 Black's opening play is very flexible, and White provokes the occupation of the square d6 by a black pawn, in order to. prevent it being used eventually by the black KN. 10... d6 11 0-0 Nas 12 Nf3 Bab 13 Qe2 Qd7 14 fA?! An unclear alternative was 14 e5 (compare Game 12). 14... f5115 Rael g6 16 Rdl White’s advance has been stopped and he is in need of an effective plan, Y Ju ce 16... Qf7! Black’s first concern is the pro- tection of the vital kingside pawn chain. Dangerous would be prema- ture aggression with 16 ... Qa4 because of 17 d5. 17 e5 ReB 18 Rfel dXe5! If 18 ... eXd4 19 BXd4 BXc4 20 eXd6 NXd6 21 Qes. 19 dXe5 Ng7 20 Nfl Rfd8 21 Bf2 NhS! 22 Bg3 Oe8 It is clear that White has been strategically outplayed. 23 Ne3 Qa4 24 Qa? NXg3 25 AXg3 hS A good possibility was 25... Qb3, but 26 g4 would then follow. 26 Be2?! More active was 26 Bc2 and if 26... BXc4 27 BXxa4 Bxa2 28 Bd7 Rb 29 c4!, but Black may keep the advantage by retreating his Queen to c6. 26... K{7 27 Kf2Qb3! 28 OXb3 Sdmisch Variation 13 NXb3 29 Bd3 Ke7!? 30 Ke2 NaS 31 Rd2 White is doomed to passivity, yet .. 31... Re7 More cautious was 31... Kf7. 32 g4! Red7 If 32... hXg4 33 Rhl with counterplay. 33 gXf5 gXf5 34 Redl ?t A better plan was 34 Rddi and 35 Rhi. 34... h4 35 Kel 35 Rh1 docs not work now be- cause of 35... BXe4. 35... Nb3 36 NdS+ eXd5 37 BXf3 NXd2 38 RXd2 dXc# 39 BXd7 RXd7 40 Rf2 Ke6 41 Rf3 Rd3 42 Ke2 and White, naturally, resigned. White’s efforts are in vain when he tries—in order to open a path for his f-pawn—to obtain control over14 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence the square f5 by an early manoeuvre of his knight to 3, Black’s play is exemplary here, too. 11. GELLER-SMYSLOV Candidates Tournament, Amsterdam, 1956 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc3+ 5 bXc3 c5 This active continuation enjoys vast popularity, fixing white’s dou- bled pawns and kceping the option for Black of eventually opening the e-file at his will. In the long run, White can hardly resist Black’s pressure on the queenside. Yet, White’s attacking chances on the kingside are considerable and this game is instructive in how Black neutralizes his opponent's initiative on that wing. 6 €3 b6 7 Ne2!? A new attempt in comparison with the usual 7 Bd3, . Ne6 8 Ng3 0-0 9 Bd3 Bab 10 e4 Ne&! Only now does the dangerous Position of Black’s king transform itself into a defensible one. This Prophylactic concept was first in- troduced by Capablanca in 1929, Black rejects the win of a pawn and is consistent in trying to keep the position as closed as possible. The opening of diagonals after 10 .. cXd4 11 cXd4 NXd4 12 €5 Neg could increase White’s hopes for a successful attack. II Be3!? Spending a move on this “useful” defence of the d-pawn White delivers momentum to Black’s counterplay on the queenside, More energetic was 11 e5 when Black has to answer eventually 11 {5 12 exf6 NX f6 with chances to both sides, or + Qh4 12 Ne4 h6 with unclear consequences, and the same goes for 11 ... d6 because of 12 Qf3 and 13 Qed. I... NaS 12 Qe2 Re 13 d5 By pressing indirectly against c4 Black has achieved strategical suc- cess. Too passive would be 13 Rel, but after the move played White has unwillingly agreed to restrict the flexibility and mobility of his central pawns. 13... Qhdt Prophylaxis first, attack next! With this move Black avoids 13 ... Nd6 14 e5 NdXc4 15 QhS! 26 16 Qh6 NXe3 17 NhSNXg2+ 18 Kd1 and adds lateral pressure on White’s pawn on c4, 14 0-0 Nd6 Now this move is strong as White’s queen has no access to hS. 15 Radl White does his best to indirectly defend his weak pawn on 4, al- though 15... BXc4 16 BXc4 NaXxXc4 17 Bel would leave Black’s knight in a clumsy position on d6. a 28 a ae Exemplary consistency in the true blockading spirit of the Nimzo-In- dian Defence. 16 dXe6 ‘The lesser evil in comparison with 16 cXf5 eXf5 17 £4 Ree’. 1. AX 6 No need for dubious play: 16... £42! 17 ed7 Red8 18 e5 would only give chances to White. 17 eXf5 eXf5 18 Qf3 Bb7! There is no time for capturing material and active pieces are Black's first concern, Not 18 ... BXc4 19 BXc4 NaXc4 20 Bid. 19 Off Qf6 20 Bbl Ned Not 20... NaXc4? 21 Ba2!. Biack is willing to immobilize and exchange White’s good pieces and his isolated c-pawns could become an easy prey for Black. 21 Rd7 Sédmisch Variation 15 21 NXe4 fed 22 QXf6 RXf6 23 Rd7 Rf7 24 Rfdl Be6 would be in accordanee Black’s wishes in forcing simplifications, when White’s shattered queenside pawns would fall like ripe plums. . Qc6 22 RXbT The threat was 22... Nd2_ win- ning the Exchange, and 22 RXg7+ KXa7 23 QeS+ Nf6 or 23 NXf5+ Kh8 gives insufficient compensation for the sacrificed material. «. OXb7 23 NXf5 Rees Even so, White has not enough for the Exchange and remains at a disadvantage. 24 Og4 Kh8 25 Ng3 NXg3 26 hXg3 Of7 27 Ohd W6 28 Bd3 Of6 29 OhS Rd8 30 Be2 Ofs 31 Qhd Of6 32 QhS Ne6O The first inaccuracy. Correct was . QF7 33 Qh4 Nc6. 33 g4 Of7 34 Oh4 White fails to take advantage of Black’s 32nd move, so the black knight will reach g6 with a gain of a tempo. Better was 34 Qh2. 34... Ne7 35 Qh3 If 35 g5 Nf5 or 35 Qh2 Ng6 36 g5 Nf4. . Ng6 36 Qh2 NAA 37 Bf3 OXc4 38 g5 Rdb 39 Rel Suicidal would be 39 gXh6? RXh6 40 Qg3 QXfl+ 41 Kxfl Rhbi mate. 39... Rg6 40 gXh6 RXh6 41 Qg3 Qet!16 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence i a 4, j wv Z A beautiful winning move having its point in 42 BXe4 Ne2+ 43 Kf1 NXg3+ 44 Kel Rh1+ 45 Kd2 NxXe4-+ with the mating attack. 42 OXf4 OX 43 BX/4 RX fb 44 Rel Ra4 45 Re8+ Kh7 46 Bed+- 8647 ¢4 RXa3 48 Reb RXe3 49 Kg2 b5 50 f3 bd 5] g5 Rid 52 BXgo-- Kg? 53 Kg3 Rad 54 Be8 63 55 96 RdB8 56 Re7-+ White resigns. After 56 ... Kf6 57 7 RXe8 Black wins the rook ending easily. Failing to advance the f-pawn deep into enemy’s camp, White’s remaining choice is e4-e5, opening diagonals and creating conditions for the attack against Black’s king- side is also without a clear outcome. 12, LILIENTHAL~NAJDORF Interzonal, Saltsjébaden 1948 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc3+ 5 bXc3 c5 6 e3 Neb 7 Bd3 56 8 Ne2 0-0 9 e4 Ne& 10 0-0 d6 More flexible and active is 10... Ba6 starting the action against White’s weak queenside. Le5!? dXe5 12 dXe5 Bb7 12... NXe5?? 13 BXh7+ was too obvious but now White has to protect his e5 pawn. 13 Bt 13 £4 would slam the door shut on White QB. Now, while protecting the e-pawn, the bishop keeps the possibility of playing an active role on the kingside. White is not afraid of 13 ... Qc7 14Rel NXe5 15 Ng3. 13... f5 14 eXf6 eS? Black should have recaptured on f6 by 14... NXf6 having a solid position. The move in the game is the result of a misjudgement. Ss nvl 15 {Xe7 RXft 16 NX/A eXfé IT BXATL The point which Black had missed. Black’s king stands in the open and White’s rooks will develop with crushing activity, for Black is a move short to activate his minor pieces for the defence. 17... KXh7 18 Qh5+- KXg7 19 Radl Of6 Or 19 Qe7 20 RAS Ng6 71 RgS-+ Kf8 22 Qh8+ Kf7 23 Re7-+ Ke6 24 Qh3+ wins. 20 Rd7+ Kf8 21 RXb7 NAB 22 Rd7 Nf7 23 QdS Rb8 24 Rel f3 25 Re3 Black resigns. Besides the recognized schemes of play, Black has other different plans, 100, like castling long or advancing his e-pawn in the early stage of the game, with chances to both sides. 13. GELLER-SPASSKY Moscow 1955 I d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc3+ 5 be3 c5 6 e3 Ne6 7 Bd3 d6 8 Ne2 b6 9 0-0 Qd7 10 e4 Bab 11 Bgs 0-0-0 12 Ng3 h6 13 BXf6 fb 14 NhS cd4 15 cd4 NXd4 16 NXJ6 Qe7 17 Qad? It will mean a loss of two tempi. Correct was 17 Nh5. 17... Bb7 18 Nh5S Rhg8! 19 QdI £5.20 Rel Qh4 21 fa e5 Black has winning position by now. 22 Rel eff 23 Bfl QXel 24 QXel NA+ 25 Kf2 NXel 26 RXel f3 27 gf fed 28 fed Rdf8+ 29 Ke3 Séimisch Variation I7 BxXe4 30 Bh3+ BfS 31 BXf5+- RXfS White resigns. 14. SOKOLSKY-MEYER World Correspondence Championship, 1960 I d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc3+ 5 bXce c5 6 e3 Ne6 7 Bd3 e5 8 Ne2 e4 9 BbI b6 10 Ng3 Ba6é 11 f3 BXc4 12 fxe4 0-0 13 Bd3 BXd3 14 QXd3 d6 15 0-0 Re8 16 c4 Qe7 17 Bb2 Rad& If 17... NXe4 18 Nf5 and 19 d5 aiming at g7. 18 Qc2 NaS 19 dXc5 Ned 20 NfS Qg5 21 Rf3 g6 22 NXd6 Re7 23 Rafl NXe3 24 NXf7! RXf7 2! 25 RXF7! Oh6 25 ... NXe2 loses to 26 Re7-+ Kh8 27 RXg6+ Nd4 28 Bxd4+ RXd4 29 Rf8 mate. 26 Oc3 Black resigns. Another chapter discusses what happens when White tries an early expansion in the centre by f3 and e4, Black has to use different means to meet that plan of gaining a space advantage. 15. BRONSTEIN-SZABO Candidates Tournament, 1950 1 d4 Nf 2 c4 e6 3 Ne3 Bb4 4 a3 BXc3+ 5 bXc3 0-0 6 f3 NAS18 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence With the threat 7... Qh4+ Black gains time for the desirable f5 which makes the position of his king less vulnerable. The most natural reaction is to counter in the centre by 6... d5. 7 Nh3 [5 8 ef Sharper than 8 Qc2 Ne6 9 ¢4 d6 10 BeS Qe8 11 Bd3 h6 12 Bel e5 13 dS Ne7 14 eXf5 BXf5 15 BXf5 NX<5 16 0-0 (premature is 16 24°! Nf4) Ne7 17 g4 Qd7 18 Kg2 Nf4+ 19 BXf4 eXf4 20 a4 g5 21 Rfel R£6 with chances to both sides, Gutman-Whitehead, Lone Pine 1981 8... 057! Black would logically have more counterplay after 8... d6 or 8... £Xc4 9 Be5 Qe8 10FXe4 eS (if 10... Qe6 11 e5!). 9 e51.Nc6 10 f4 g6 LI Be2 b6 120-0 Not 12 BXh5 Qh4+., 12... Ng7 13 Be3 cXd4!? 14 cXd4 Bab 15 Qad Qc8 16 Rfcl RbS 17 Rabl NaS 18 NeS Qc6? 19 Qb4 Qc7 20 5 Nb7 21 Qet The picture changes quickly and White is ready to attack on the opposite wing. 21... NeS 22 Qh4 h5 23 Bf? Rbe8 24 d6 Now, Black’s pieces are divided into two parts and cannot co-oper- ate . Qd8 25 Og3 There is little that Black can do. - Nd3 26 Rc3 BXc4 27 Bb7 55 28 BXc8 QXc8 29 Nf3 Kh7 30 Nh4 Qe8 31 Bd4 Black resigns. The knight is lost, too. Gheorghiu Variation This line has much in common with the Simisch variation, for identical positions may often arise by transposition of moves. By play- ing 4 £3 (first played by Portisch and Forintos, then by Gheorghiu) White —threatening to establish a strong pawn centre—wants to first provoke . d5, and only then to continue 5 a3 avoiding unfavourable blocked types of position from the Saémisch variation, The drawback of this scheme is that White’s 4th move deprives White’s KN of its best square, slows down the development of White’s kingside and creates weaknesses in that area, so that Black should have no difficulties in finding good counterplay. One may note that after 1 d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 f3 if both sides continue logically with 4... d5 5a3 ne a ? ms BXc3+ 6 bXc3 c5, the same posi- tion arises as if the “usual” sequence of moves from the Sémisch variation had been used with 4 a3 BXc3+20 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence 5 bc3 c5 6 £3 (instead of 6 €3, dis- cussed before) d5. Naturally, if Black retreats his KB or does something else in the centre, then, quite differ- ent positions from the Samisch line will be reached by the specific order of moves, mentioned above. Both possibilities are illustrated by the games which follow. 16. FORINTOS-SMYSLOV Monte Carlo 1967 1 d4 Nf6 2 cd &6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 f3 d5 5 a3 BXc3+ Simpler than 5 ... Be7 [if 5... Bd6 6 Bg5! (6 e4 could be met by 6...c5!7 cd5 ed5 8 e5 cd49 QXd4 Qe7 10 Bf4 Nc6 11 BbS 0-0 12 BXc6 BeS! 13 NXd5 Nxd5 14 QXd5 Rd8 15 Qe4 be6 16 Ne2 Bao and Black has strong attack, Gheor- ghiu-Stein, Mar del Plata 1965) Be7! 7 €3 0-0 White keeps an advantage] 6 e4 de4 7 fed eS 8 dS BeS (the idea favoured by Keres) 9 BgS h6 (more precise than 9 ... a5 10 Nf3 Qe7 11 Bd3 Nbd7 12 Qe2 h6 and White stands better after 13 Bd2, Tal— Keres, Candidates Tournament, Bled, 1959) 10 Bh4 a5 11 Bd3 Qd6 12 Nf3 Nbd7 13 Qd2 c6 14 0-0-0 0-0 15 Bf2 with some advantage to White, Portisch-Szab6, match 1960. 6 be3 c5! More energetic than 6 ... 0-0 7 cd5 ed5. See Game 17. 7 ed5 NXd5 This flexible recapture keeps the pressure of Black’s pieces against White’s pawn centre while White is still not well developed. 8de5 Spoiling his pawn formation to some degree White gets rid from his obligation to protect his central pawns and opens diagonals for his bishop pair. After 8 Qd2 (or 8 Qd3 cd4 9 cd4 Nc6 10 e4 Nb6 11 Be3 0-0) Nc6 9 e4 Nb6 10 Bb5 Bd7 11 Ne2 NaS! 12 RbI Rc8 Black has active counterplay on the light squares, Botvinnik-Donner, Munich Olym- piad, 1958, 8... Qas! A classically simple treatment of the position in comparison with the sophisticated 8 ... £5 9 e4 (after 9 Qc? Black has an opportunity for the unclear 9 ... £412 10 BXf4 NX f4 11 Qa4+ Ne6 12 QXf4 Qas 13 Qc4 0-0 Khodos-Zeshkovsky, Leningrad 1967, or 10 Nh3 e5 11 g3 Nc6 12 Nf2 0-0 13 Ne4 Kh8 14 Qd3 Bf5 with active play, Bron- stein-Gipslis USSR 1967 or 9 ... Qh4-+ 10 23 Qe7 11 ed fed 12 fed Nf6 Donner-van der Wiel, Hol- Jand 1981) fe4 10 Qc2! 3 11 Bd3 Nd7 12 c4 Nf4 13 BXe3 QaS+ 14 Kf2 NXd3+ 15 QxXd3 0-0 16 Qd2 Qa6 17 Ne2 Nf6 18 Ng3 QxXc4 19 Rhel Qa4 with chances for both sides, Furman—Polugaev- sky, USSR 1963. 9 ed Ne7 Inferior is 9... Ni6 10 Be3 QXc3+?! IL Kf2 0-0 12 Ne2 Qas 13 Qd2 QXd2 i4 BXd2 Nc6 15 Be3 Rd8 16 Nc3 Bd7 17 Be2 NeS 18 Rhdl Bc6 19 Nb5 BXb5 20 BXb5 with a superior endgame to White, Gligorié-Martin, Mar dei Plata 1950, 10 Ne2!? 0-0 i1 Qd6!? Nbe6 12 Be3 Ra8 13 Qg3 e5 14 BeS Rd3 15h Kf8 16 h5 6 17 BXe7-+ NXe7 18 QXe5 Neb 19 Qh2 OXe5 White has serious difficulties in completing his development and in finding safety for his exposed King. His opening has been failure. 20 Qel QaS 21 Kf2 Be6 22 Qh2 Qc5-+ 23 Kg3 Og5-+- 24 Kf2 Qe3+ 25 Kg3 NeS 26 Qh4 Ned 27 Nd4 RXd4 28 cd4 Qf2+ 29 Kft Qd2+- 30 Kg3 Of2+ 31 KA OXd4 32 fed QXal 33 Ba6?! Qc3 34 Be? QXa3 35 Rdl Qe7 36 QXe74+- KXe7 3 Gheorghiu Variation 21 37 Rbl b6 38 g5 hgS+ 39 KXg5 a5 40 RXb6 a4 41 e5 a3 42 Rb74+- KS 43 Rbl a2 44 Ral Rad 45 h6 gh6+ 46 KXh6 Re4 47 Bf 3 Rb4 White resigns. 17. GHEORGHIU-FISCHER Olympiad in Havana 1966 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 €6 3 Ne3 Bot 4 f3 a5 5 a3 BXc3+ 6 be3 0-0 More enterprising is 6... ¢5 as in'Game 16. 7 ed5 ed5 8 3 NhS 9 Qc? ReB 10 g4 Nf 11 hd! 05 12 Kf2 Ne6 13 Bd3! Stronger than 13hS Nf and Black can defend more easily, Gligorié- Averbakh, Interzonal, Stockholm, 1952, 13... Ne6 14 Ne2 Beé White’s position is much. more flexible and Black has no openings into it.22 Play the Nimzo-Indian Defence 15 g5 Rc8 16 h5! Nf8 17 g6! fe6 18 hg6 h6 19 Qb1 NaS 20 Nf4 c4 21 Bc2 Rc6 22 Ra2 Meeting the threat 22 ... Rb6, White maintains the advantage in his strategically superior position. 2... Nd7 23 a4 Nf6 24 Ba3 Qd7 25 Rb2 b6 26 Rb5 Nb7 27 e4! de4 28 BXed! “a Bf ae Black cannot answer 28 Nxe4 29 QXe4 because of the ensuing pin along the e-file by 30 Re5 and 31 Rel. 28... Rec8 29 ReS Bet Black admits that his position is lost. 30 NdS RXe5 31 NXf6+ 2f6 32 de5 Ne5 33 BXc5 Qd2+ 34 Kg3 BX {3 35 BXf3 RXc5 36 Ocl OXcl 37 RXcl RXe5 38 Kft Kg7 39 Bed 15 40 Rdl Re7 41 Rd5 Kh6 42 Rd6 Kg? 43 Re6 hd 44 RXc4 h3 45 Kg3 Kh6 46 Bbl Re3+ 47 Kh2 Rel 48 Bd3 Re3 49 Rh4d+ Kg5S 50 g7 Black resigns. Also playable for Black is 4 ... 5, leading to different positions from the orthodox Samisch line, but the continuation in Game 16 has more general significance, for it offers a central scheme to Black on any order of moves, chosen by White, be it “Sdmisch” or “Gheor- ghiu” variation. 18. PORTISCH-FORINTOS Hungarian Championship 1968/69 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Ne3 Bb4 4 f3 cS Sd3 White may try to transpose into Samisch line with 5 a3 BXc3+- 6 be3 Qa5 7 Bd2 dé 8 e4 Bd7 9 a4 Nc6 10 d5 Ne5 11 f4 Ng6 12 Bd3 eS 13 £5 Nf4 with complicated play in Forintos-Osnos, Debreczin 1969, but playabie is 5 a3 cd4 6 ab4 de3 7 be3 d5 8 cd4 ed5 9 Bf4 0-0 10 ¢3 Re8 11 Qd2 Nc6 12 Ne2 Qe7 13 Kf2 Bd7 14 Nd4 NhS 15 NXc6 BXc6 16 Qd4 NXf4 17 QXxf4 a6 18 Bd3 Rac8 19 Rhd1 Bd7 drawn in Ghitescu-Matanovi¢é, Hamburg 1965, or 5 a3 BaS 6 d5 0-07 e4 dé 8 Bd2 Re& 9 Nge2 a6 10 Ng3 bS 11 b3 ed5 12 cdS Nbd7 13 Be2 NeS 14 0-0 Bd7 15 h3 c4 16 f4 Bb6+ 17 Khi Neg4 18 Qel Ne3 19 BXe3 BXe3 20 be4 Bd4 21 Rdl BXc3 22 QXc3 NXe4 23 NXe4 RXe4 with a better game for Black, Gheorghiu-Spassky, Hastings 1965— 1966. 5... NAS Playable is 5 ... BXc3+ 6bc3 dé 7 e4 e5 8 Bd3 Nbd7 9 Ne2 h6 10 Ng3 Nf8 11 Rb1 Qo7 120-07 g5! 13 h4? gh4 14 NfS BXf5 15 ef5 N&8d7 16 Qel h3 17 gh3 0-0-0 with very strong attack on the kingside, Seirawan-Andersson, Indonesia 1983. Positionally unclear is 5 ... bS 6 e4 bed 7 BXc4 edS 8 BXd5 NXd5 9 QXd5 Nc6 10 Nge2 Ba6 11 Be3 Rb8 12 0-0-0 0-0 13 QXd7 Qb6 14 Nd5 Qb5S 15 QXc6 Qxe2 16 Bd2 Bd3 17 Qa4 drawn in Gheor- ghiu-Rossolimo, Beverwijk 1968, and playable is 5... BXc3+ 6 be3 QaS 7 Bd2 dé 8 e4 0-0 9 Bd3!? (flexible is 9 Ne2, 10 Ng3, 11 Be2, 12 0-0 and eventually 4) Nbd7 10 Ne2 NeS! 11 BgS Nfd7 12 Be7 NXd3+ 13 QXd3 NeS 14 Qdl Re8 15 Bxd6é NXc4 16 Bf4 ed5 17 QXd5 Nb6 18 Qd3 Be6 with Black having the initiative, Korchnoi-Lisitzin, Kiev 1954, 623 While White meets the threat 6 ... Qh4+, Black obtains an important tempo to secure space on the kingside. 6... f5 In the game Sinesh-Dizdar, Yu- Gheorghiu Variation 23 goslav championship, Vrbas 1982, Black tried 6 ... BXc3-+ 7 be3 £5 8 Nh3 e5 9 e4 £41? 10 d6 Neo 11 Qd5 b6 12 gf4 Qh4+ 13 Kd with very unclear complications. 7 Bd2 0-0 8 03 a6 9 de6 BXeb 10 NaS BXa5 II BXb4? White oversteps due to his ambi- tion to keep the d-file open and retain. pressure, for he will not be able to complete his development now. Nor- mal was 11 cdS BXd2+ 12 Qxd2 Nd7 with rather more equal chances. . Be6! 12 Bd2 Nd7 13 Nh3 QJ 14 RbI Rae8 15 Kf2 White has noticed the danger of 15 Bg2 f4!. 15... Ne5 16 Be2 Ng4+! (See diagram next page)