Line with 8. b3.

Van Den Berg John (NED) - Larsen Bent (DEN), Beverwijk (Netherlands)
1959

8. b3
Let's examine a variation in which White immediately retreats his
knight to b3; taking control of the d5-square, he does not hurry to develop the
c1-bishop to e3. 8... c6 9. h1 [9. f4 b5! 10. f3 b4 11. d5 d5 12. ed
a5=] 9... e6 10. f4 a5!? In the following lines absence of the bishop at e3
turns out to White's benefit: [10... a5 11. f5 c4 12. a5 e2 13. e2 a5
14. g4! b4 (14... ac8 15. g5 c3? 16. gf ) 15. g5 d7 16. a3; 10...
c8 11. f5! d7 12. g4! e5 13. g5 c3? 14. gf ] 11. a4 b6!
Preventing the b3-d4-b5 maneuver, Black organizes counterplay on using
the dark squares. 12. f5 [12. d5 d5 13. ed b4 14. f3 a6! 15. e2
b6 16. f3 a6=] 12... b3 13. cb b4!? [13... d4!?] 14. e3 d7
[14... e4? 15. d5 ] 15. c4 b6!! [15... c3 16. bc c3 17. h6 de5
18. f8 f8 19. d5] 16. a2 c4 17. b4 e3 18. e2?! [18. c6 bc
19. e2 f1 20. f1 c5 ] 18... f1 19. c6 g3! 20. hg bc 21. b4! ab
22. a5 c5 23. a2 e5 24. c4 g3 25. b3 fb8 26. g1 g7 27. f1 a7
28. e2 e5 29. f3 d4 30. g4 g5 31. a6 e5 32. a4 f6 33. g2 h8
34. b5?! [34. e2] 34... h5! 35. gh g4! [35... h5? 36. b8] 36. h6 h6!
37. b8 h2 38. f1 g3 39. a7 g2 40. g1 d4 41. h2 g1 42. h3
e5 0:1,Van Den Berg - Larsen, Beverwijk 1959
[0:1]
Karpov Anatoly (RUS) - Miles Anthony J (ENG), Bad Lauterberg
(Germany) It 1977

9. g5 Developing his bishop to g5, White hampers the d6-d5 advance in

view of g5xf6. A drawback of this move is that the bishop's absence on the
g1-a7 diagonal sometimes may put White to trouble. 9... e6 10. h1! [10.
f4 b5!] 10... c8 11. f4 d8 With the white bishop on g5 this regrouping does
not make much sense because the d6-d5 advance is impossible. 12. f3 (
d5) c4 13. f2! e6 14. d2! A typical rook maneuver. 14... c7 15.
e1! ( e1-h4) h6 16. h4 d7 17. ad1 e5? 18. f6! f6 19.
g4! [19. e2 e2 20. d5 d8] 19... ef [19... dd8 20. e2! e2 21.
d5 ] 20. d7 d7 21. d6 e7 22. d7 1:0,Karpov - Miles, Bad
Lauterberg 1977 [1:0]
Karpov Anatoly (RUS) - Martin Gonzalez Angel (ESP), Las Palmas
(Spain) It (cat.9) 1977

10... a6 11. f4 b5 12. f3 c8 13. d5! It turns out that a combination of b7b5 and 8-6 is not good as Black is deprived of counterplay involving the
exchange on d5. 13... d7 14. c3 b6 15. e2 c4 16. ad1 d7 17.
fe1 a7 18. h4 fe8 19. c1! Thanks to his powerful d5-knight outpost
White may concentrate his forces for a kingside attack. 19... b8 20. d3 a5
21. f2 d7 22. g4! g4 23. g4 a4 24. a3 b7 25. f1 d8 26. f5! f6
27. f6! ef 28. gf6 f6 29. f6 f8 30. fg hg 31. g4 f7 [31... e5 32.
d7 g7 33. e5 e5 34. d6 ] 32. g6 ce5 33. h7! [...] 1:0,Karpov
- Martin, Las Palmas 1977
[33... e7 34. g5! g6 35. f7 d8 36.
d6 ] [1:0]

Kotronias Vasilios (GRE) - Khalifman Alexander (RUS), Rogatska Slatina

(Yugoslavia) Memorial M.Vidmar 1991

10... a5
With the white bishop on g5, the 6-5-4 maneuver is also
possible. Nevertheless, here, unlike in the variation with e3, after c4 Black
does not win a tempo due to the bishop absence on e3. 11. f4 [11. d5
d5! 12. ed c8 13. c3 c4 ] 11... c4!? [11... c8 12. f5 c4 13. d3!
b5 14. e1! (14. d2 b4 15. e2 d5! 16. e5 e4 17. e4 de 18. fd1 c6
19. e3 b6 20. e4 e5 Larsen - Miles, Las Palmas 1978) 14... b4 15.
d1 d5 16. e5 e8 17. a5 d3 18. cd a5 19. d2 g4 20. d4
Makarichev - Taborov, USSR (ch 1/2) Daugavpils 1978] 12. f5!
Starting a
raging attack on the black king. 12... b2 13. e1! [13. c1 c4] 13... d7
14. h4 c8 15. f3 e8 16. af1 c3! 17. c3 e4 18. e4!? c3
19. d4! d5 [19... a5 20. b7 ; 19... b6!?] 20. f3! d4 21. fg f6
[21... fg 22. d5 e6 23. d4 g5 24. d7 ] 22. gf f7 23. c1! g7 [23...
a4 24. h5 g8 25. d3 ] 24. b2 f8! [24... b2 25. f7 h8 26.
d3 g7 27. h5 h6 28. g6 ] 25. c1 h8 26. d5 c6 27. h5 d5
28. d5 d5 29. c4 e6 : ,Kotronias - Khalifman, Rogatska Slatina 1991
[ : ]
Gofshtein Leonid D (ISR) - Gufeld Eduard (GEO), URS 1978

9... a6! Exploiting the knight retreat from d4, Black prepares a quick b7-b5
advance which is much more powerful when the white bishop is not present at
e3. 10. f4 [10. a4 e6= (xb4) 11. f4 b5!] 10... b5 11. f3 b4 [11... b7!? 12.

 h1 d7 Tal - Gufeld, USSR 1977] 12. a4 [12. d5 d5 13. ed a5!=]

12... d7! 13. a3 [13. e5 e8!] 13... b8 14. ab b4 15. h1 [15. e5 de 16.
ac5 e4!] 15... c7 16. c3 e6 17. a5 [17. d4 c4 18. e1 e5!] 17...
fd8! 18. e2 d5! 19. ed [19. e5 d4!] 19... fd5 20. d5 d5 21. c3 b5!
22. c6 c6 23. c4 b2 24. cd d5 25. e7 c8 26. e3 f3 27. f3 f3
28. f3 cc2 29. g1 0:1,Gofshtein - Gufeld, URS 1978
[0:1]
Geller Efim P (RUS) - Knoppert Erik G J (NED), Berlin (Germany) It
(open) "Berlin Summer" 1991

9. e1
This plan has become popular recently. White prepares 2-f1
followed by 3-d5, while the pawn is left on f2, which does not weaken the
g1-a7 diagonal and thus allows to develop the bishop to g5. 9... e6 10.
g5! [10. f1 d5! 11. c5 g4 12. f3 d4! 13. b5 c8 14. c3 dc 15. c3
b6 16. 3a4 c7 17. e3 d8 18. d3 e5 19. c1 b8= Zagrebelny Golubev, Moscow 1995] 10... a5 11. b5! Making use of the rook on e1: the
e4 pawn is protected, so there is no need for White to weaken his queenside
with 2-4. 11... e5 12. h3 c8 13. d5 d5 14. ed a4!? 15. a4 c4 16.
b1 b6 17. d2! b2 18. f3 (x b2) d4 19. b3 fe8 20. e4! e4
21. e4 c5 22. c1! f5 23. f4 a5 24. e3! [24. b2 b2 25. b2 e1
26. h2 c1] 24... d1 25. e2 c3 26. e6 h8 27. d2 e5 28. e1!
f4 29. f4 e4 30. e4! fe 31. e5! [...] 1:0,Geller - Knoppert, Berlin 1991
[31... de 32. e5 g8 33. d6 e6 34. a5 ] [1:0]
Geller Efim P (RUS) - Banas Jan (SVK), Cappelle la Grande (France) It
(open) 1992

10... h6 11. h4 g5!? 12. g3 d5 A risky attempt to liberate at once. 13.

c5! d4 14. b5 c8 15. c7 [15. e5!? d7 16. d7 d7 17. c4 b6 18.
e6 e6 19. e6! fe 20. c7 ac8 21. e6 h8 22. c8 c8 23. e6 b2
24. g7 g7 25. h4 Romero - Leko, Leon 1993] 15... b8 16. e5 h7 17.
b5 a6 18. a3 e5 19. e5 e5 20. b3 c6 21. f3 (x g8) e6 22.
c6 bc 23. d3 b3 24. ab f6 25. c4 a8 26. a5! g7 27. ae5! a7
28. g3 g8 29. h4! f8 30. hg hg 31. g5 d7 32. g8 g8 33. f4
f6 34. e5! c7 35. d3 d6 36. f5 c5 37. f4 c6 38. e6 1:0,Geller Banas, Cappelle la Grande 1992
[1:0]
Zagrebelny Sergey (UZB) - Van Der Wiel John T H (NED), Manila
(Philippines) Olympiad 1992

9... a6 10. f1 b5 The queenside pawn advance is Black's most logical plan.
11. d5 d5 12. ed e5 13. c3 b7 [13... d7!? 14. g5 e8 15. e2
b6 16. e3 b7 17. ad1 a5 Gipslis - Petursson, Valby 1994] 14. a4! A
typical thrust demonstrating that Black's queenside pawn activity has its seamy
side. 14... c4 15. ab ab 16. a8 a8 17. d4 d5 18. b5 b6 19. e3
c6 20. d4 d7 21. c4 b8 22. b4! (b4) c8 23. b3 e5 24. f3 h6
25. d2 e6 26. a1 c7 27. b5! c4 28. c4 c4 29. c4 c4 30. c4
c4 31. b1 c7 32. b6 b7 33. c1 b8 34. c7 f6 35. b7 d8 36.
d7 f8 37. a7 e8 38. f7! 1:0,Zagrebelny - Van Der Wiel, Manila 1992
[1:0]

Womacka Mathias (GER) - Kupreichik Viktor D (BLR), Germany

Bundesliga 1997/98 1997

11... d7! A typical maneuver; Black intends to oust the white knight from d5
by means of e7-e6.
12. c3 e6! 13. e3 b6 14. d4 b7
A slight
weakness of the d6-pawn is compensated by active positioning of all the black
pieces. 15. c6 c6 16. c2 a4 17. b1 c7 18. f4 fd8 19. e2 e5!
20. g3 a5 21. f3 f5! 22. ef gf 23. f4 f7 24. e3 c5 25. bd1 d7 26.
c4 b8 27. cb b5 28. b5!? b5 29. b5 e4! 30. c4 e6 31. d5 h8
32. f5 g6 33. a5 c7 34. d1 b2 35. d5 h5 36. b3 e3! 37.
e1 e2 38. b1 d4 39. h1 f5 40. c1 d5 41. d5 f4 42. c8 g7
43. g8 h6 44. f3 e5 45. g1 d4 0:1,Womacka - Kupreichik,
Germany 1997
[0:1]
Gelfand Boris (BLR) - Kramnik Vladimir (RUS), Novgorod (Russia) It
(cat.19) 1996

11. g5 h6 12. h4 b7 13. a4!

Again, this typical thrust turns Black's
advanced queenside pawns into a target for an attack. [13. d5?! g5! 14.
g3 d5 15. ed b4] 13... b4 14. d5 d7 15. b1 b6 16. d2! a4
[16... g5 17. g3 a4 18. b4 b2 19. c6 c6 20. d4 ] 17. b4 b4
18. b4 c6 19. e5! [19. d4 d7 20. f3 a5 21. d2=] 19... b8 20. a3
g5?! [20... e5! 21. e7 e8 22. h4 b5 23. g3=] 21. g3 de 22. d4!
d7 23. e7 e8 24. d6! e4 25. b4 a5 26. d2 f5 27. d6! f6 28. a3
h8 29. b3 [29. bd1! ] 29... b6 30. c4 e5?! [30... a4! 31. b4 d6 32.

 b2 a3 ] 31. bd1 c8 32. b5! b5 33. b2! c7 34. cb ff8 35. c1

e7 36. c6! c6 37. bc b2 38. b2 h7 39. d4 b4 40. b4 ab 41.
d1 c8 42. d6 g7 43. g4 fg 44. c7 a8 45. d8 c7 46. a8 c3 47.
c4 1:0,Gelfand - Kramnik, Novgorod 1996 [1:0]
Hachian Melik (ARM) - Tukmakov Vladimir B (UKR), Yerevan (Armenia) It
(open) 1996

12... d7! A multi-purpose maneuver, stabilizing the situation. Black is going

to transfer his knight to c4 via b6, while the d5-square may be covered with
7-6. 13. b1 b6 14. d5 g5! 15. g3 c4 16. c3 e6! 17. e3 4e5
18. h5 f6 19. bd1 d8 20. f4?! gf 21. h4 g6 22. g6 fg 23. d8
d8 24. c2 b7 (xe5,e4) 25. cd4 d7 26. f3 f7 27. bd4 g5
28. h3 c5 29. e2 e7 30. e5 e5 31. f3 g7 32. d3 e5 33. c2
e6 34. d2 c8 35. ed1 c6 36. b1 f6 37. e1 b6 38. e2 c4
39. ed2 h5 () 40. b3 e6 41. e2 a5 42. d3 g4 43. c5 dc 44. hg g4
45. ed2 d1 46. d1 c4 47. c2 c6 0:1,Hachian - Tukmakov, Yerevan
1996 [0:1]
Pawn storm with g2-g4 before castling.
- , Nottingham (England) It 1936

10. g4 []

Alekhin Alexander (RUS) - Botvinnik Mikhail (RUS), Nottingham

(England) It 1936

7. e3 c6 8. b3!? Before White has castled, he can connect the knight

retreat to b3 with a plan of a raging kingside pawn storm. 8... O-O 9. f4 e6
10. g4! Starting the kingside attack and at the same time trying to hamper the
d6-d5 advance. In the future White may castle to either side.
10... d5!
According to a classical rule which says that one should meet a flank attack
with a counterblow in the center. [10... c8!?; 10... a5!?; 10... d7!?] 11.
f5! [11. e5 d4! 12. d4 (12. ef f6) 12... d4 13. d4 g4 Levenfish Botvinnik, Moscow 1936] 11... c8 12. ed b4 13. d6!? [13. fg hg 14. f3
g4 15. g4 g4 16. g4 c2 17. e2 a1 18. a1 c3 19. bc d5 ]
13... d6 [13... ed!? 14. g5 f5! (14... e8? 15. f6 x g7) 15. gf c2 16.
f2 f6 ] 14. c5! [14. d6 ed 15. g5 fd5!] 14... f4! [14... d1? 15.
d1 c6 16. g5 ] 15. f1! h2 16. b4 g4! 17. g4 g3 18. f2
[18. d2? h6] 18... g1 19. f1 g3 20. f2 g1 : ,Alekhin Botvinnik, Nottingham 1936
[ : ]
Fischer Robert J (USA) - Reshevsky Samuel H (USA), New York (USA)
Match 1961

13. f3! An important improvement. 13... gf 14. a3! fg [14... g4 15. g4

c3 16. bc d5 17. h6 e5 18. h4 Spassky - Listengarten, USSR 1953] 15.
g2! [15. ab gf 16. f3 g4 17. g2 h5! 18. g1 g6 ] 15... a6 16.
d3 e6 17. O-O-O! This is the point: White sacrifices two pawns for the sake

of the kingside attack, while his own king has found a safe haven on the
queenside. 17... d5 18. h3! g3! A typical method: Black is trying to
keep the kingside files closed. 19. hg1 d6 20. d5 ed 21. d5 h8 22.
f4 g6 23. d2 h3! 24. g3 g4 25. h1 fe8 26. e3 e4? [26...
f5! 27. g4 fg 28. h2 ac8 29. g4 e1!] 27. h2 e6 28. g7! g7
29. h6 g8 [29... h8 30. e5! ] 30. g1 g6 31. g6 fg 32. d4
1:0,Fischer - Reshevsky, New York 1961
[1:0]
Yakovich Yuri (RUS) - Sadler Matthew (ENG), Copenhagen (Denmark) It
(open) 1997

16. d3 [16. d2 f5 17. h3 g3! 18. O-O-O c8 19. hg1 g6! 20. f3 b5!
21. h6 h6 22. h6 d6 23. d4 c3! 24. bc a3 25. d2 c5
Hausner - Lutz, Germany (Bundesliga) 1992] 16... d6!?
One should not
think that the white king is in perfect security on the queenside as g7-bishop's
great attacking potential may be revealed at any moment. [16... d7 17. O-OO e5 18. e2 c7 19. d4 g6 20. g7 f4 21. b1 g7 22. h3!
Yakovich - Lerner, USSR (ch I) Kuibyshev 1986; 16... c7!? 17. O-O-O ce8
18. h3! g3! 19. e2 d6 20. g3 d7 21. d4 c8 22. b1 Oll - Pigusov,
Beijing 1997] 17. O-O-O h5 18. h3 f4! 19. e4 g2 20. hg! g6 21. g2
g4 22. dg1 h5 23. e2 ac8 24. f4 f6! 25. d4 e5! 26. d2 c2!!
27. c2 [27. c2 b2 28. h5 c8 29. e4 c3 30. d3 b5 ] 27...
e3 28. h5 f5! 29. f5 c8 30. b1 d3 31. a2 b4! 32. ab c4 33.
b1 d3 : ,Yakovich - Sadler, Copenhagen 1997
[ : ]
Variation with 6. g3.

 - ,

6. g3 Developing his bishop to g2, White takes control of the center, hampers
the d6-d5 advance and prepares 3- d5. The main drawback of the
fianchetto is lack of control over the 6-f1 diagonal in general and the 4square in particular. Furthermore, Black can exploit the pawn on g3 for the h7h5-h4 advance. Black has two main options: 6... g7and 6... c6.
[]
Tal Mikhail (LAT) - Hulak Krunoslav (CRO), Novi Sad (Yugoslavia) Ch
Yugoslavia 1974

6... g7 7. g2 O-O 8. O-O a6 A simple knight development to c6 is more

natural, and Black does not have to worry about the following line: [8... c6 9.
c6 bc 10. e5 de 11. c6 b8 12. d8 d8 ] 9. h3 c7 10. g5 bd7
11. d2 b6 12. b3! A typical for this variation method to cover the weak c4square. 12... d7 13. d5! bd5 14. ed c5 15. e3! c7 [15... d5 16.
e6!] 16. c4 (xe7) e6 17. de fe 18. ad1 (xd6,xe6) ad8 19. g5 e5 20.
e2 c6 21. c3 d7 22. f6! f6 23. d5 g7 24. e4 dd8 25. g2
d7 26. f4! ef 27. f6 f6 28. b2! df8 29. f4 c6 30. e1! [30. h4
d5 31. cd e7! 32. df1 e5] 30... f7? [30... d5 31. cd g5] 31. c6
bc 32. ef1 e6 33. b4! g5 34. f6 f6 35. a4! f7 36. f6 f6 37. f6
f6 38. a5! e6 39. b5! d7 40. b6 h6 41. f3 1:0,Tal - Hulak, Novi Sad
1974
[1:0]

Mieses Jacques - Schlechter Carl, Monte Carlo (Monaco) It 1903

8. h3 c6! Of course, c6 is the best square for the knight to put pressure on
the white center.
9. e3
Trying to keep his knight on d4, White lacks
development, which gives Black extra possibilities for counterplay. 9... d7
10. O-O [10. d5 d5 11. ed d4! 12. d4 a5! 13. c3 d4 14. d4
b5! ] 10... c8 11. h2 e5! A typical maneuver, emphasizing the c4square weakness. 12. d5 d5 13. ed c4 14. c1 c5 15. b3 b6 16.
b1 ac8 17. f4 a5! 18. c3 f5 19. a1 a4 20. g4 d7 21. d4 b2 22.
b2 b2 23. b1 c3 24. b7 d4 25. d7 d1 26. d1 c2! 27. a3
b8! 28. d3 g5! 29. g3 gf 30. f3 e5 31. f1 b1 32. e2 g1
33. d1 g3 34. e4 c4 0:1,Mieses - Schlechter, Monte Carlo 1903
[0:1]
Boleslavsky Isaak (BLR) - Polugaevsky Lev (RUS), Leningrad (Russia)
Ch URS 1956

8... c6 9. de2! Avoiding a knight exchange, White hampers opponent's

counterplay. Another knight retreat with the same intention, 9. b3, is less
precise because in that case White would not be able to protect the important
4-square by means of b2-b3. 9... d7 10. h3 [10. d5 d5 11. ed e5
12. d4 b6 13. c3 ac8 14. e2 fe8 15. d1 a5 Tal - Gufeld, USSR
1974] 10... c8 11. d5 A key move in the system with 6.g3. In the case of
f6xd5 White recaptures on d5 with his e-pawn, intending to squeeze Black
after b2-b3 and 2-4, exerting pressure in the center and on the queenside.

11... e5! 12. d4 [12. b3? d5 13. ed f3!] 12... c6! 13. e2 e5
Black manages to frustrate White's intentions. 14. ef4 [14. d4 c6=; 14.
a4!? 2,b2-b3] 14... d5 15. ed [15. d5 e6 16. e3 e7] 15... b6
16. c3 fe8 17. e1 a6! 18. a4?! [18. b3?! a4!] 18... a5! 19. e2 b5
20. b4 c7 21. a5 f5 22. e3 d3 23. f1 b2 24. b3 c4 25. f4
d7 26. h2 [26. g4 d3 27. fe1 e5 28. g3 e2 29. e2 f3 30. f3
c3 ] 26... d3 27. fe1 e5 28. d4 [ 28. e5] 28... c4 29. d1 [29.
b1 d3 30. e3 f4 31. gf e5 32. de fe ] 29... d3 30. e3 d4 31. cd
b4 32. d2 d5 33. d5 d5 0:1,Boleslavsky - Polugaevsky, Leningrad
1956 [0:1]
Geller Efim P (RUS) - Parma Bruno (SLO), Bled (Slovenia) It 1961

11. e3! Methodically preparing 3-d5. 11... a5 [11... e5 12. b3!] 12.
d5 fe8 [12... d5 13. ed e5 14. b3 ] 13. d2! [13. c4 b5 ] 13... a6
14. c3! d5 15. ed e5 16. a4! c7 17. e1 ec8 18. h1 b6 19. d4
b4 20. f4! c2 [20... c4 21. g7 g7 22. d4 g8 23. b3 ] 21. c3
8c3 22. bc b2 23. b1 a2 24. fe e5 25. b7 1:0,Geller - Parma,
Bled 1961 [1:0]
Matulovic Milan (YUG) - Parma Bruno (SLO), Novi Sad (Yugoslavia)
Tournament 1965

10... a5 This time the Slovenian grandmaster improved the previous game
with the help of a typical Sicilian exchange sacrifice. 11. d5 [11. e3 b5!]
11... d5 12. ed e5 13. d2 White misses his chance: with the standard

for this variation b2-b3 he could emphasize a shaky position of the black e5knight; the bishop on d7 deprives the knight the last square for an eventual
retreat. [13. b3! f3 14. f3 a1 15. d2 a2 16. a1 a1 17. a1
h3 18. g4! ] 13... a6 14. c3 ac8 15. e1 fe8 16. h2 c3!! 17. bc
[17. c3 b6 ] 17... c8 - (xc2,c3) 18. f4 c4 19. d4 f6 20. b1
b6 21. d2 a5 22. e2 c4 23. c1 c7 24. g4 h6 25. e4 c5 26.
d4 b6 27. e3 d5 28. d5 d5 29. h1 c5 30. b7 e5 31. c7
c7 32. fe de 33. e2 g5 34. e4 c5 35. a8 g7 36. f3 c6 37.
c8 d5 38. f2 e3 39. g3 f2 40. f2 g2 41. e3 f3 42. c1
h3 0:1,Matulovic - Parma, Novi Sad 1965
[0:1]
Sax - Farago Sandor (HUN), Hungary Ch Hungary (team) 1987

10... b8 A logical idea: Black prepares the b7-b5 advance which will prevent
the unpleasant white pawn move 2-c4. 11. a4 a6 12. d5 e5 [12... a5
13. a2! d5 14. ed c7 15. b3 b5 16. ab ab 17. e3 a8 18. d4 Geller Parma, Malta (ol) 1980] 13. a2! With this ugly looking rook maneuver White
prepares the key b2-b3 move. 13... b5 14. ab ab 15. b3! c6?! 16. d4!
a8 17. f4 ed7 18. a8! a8 19. c6 d5 20. d8 c3 21. e1 ad8
22. e5! b4 23. e6 c5 24. ef f7 25. e3 c8 26. h4 h8 27. h2 d5 28.
c5 c5 29. e6 f8 30. e7 cc8 31. b4 d4 32. e1 h6 33. d6 a2
34. g6 1:0,Sax - Farago, Hungary 1987
[1:0]
Ivanchuk Vassily (UKR) - Kramnik Vladimir (RUS), Horgen (Switzerland)
It (cat.17) 1995

9... b8! The previous examples have shown that the bishop at d7 hampers
Black's other pieces, therefore the idea to prepare b7-b5 without d7 is a
considerable improvement. 10. a4 a6 11. d5 b5 12. ab ab 13. e3 [13.
g5 d7! 14. c1 e8! 15. d1 c5 16. h6 h8 A.Ivanov - Ernst,
Gausdal 1991] 13... b4 14. a2 g4! 15. g5 h6 16. c1 e6! 17. e3 b3!
18. cb ge5 19. d2 b6 20. c3 a6 21. d2 e2 22. e2 d4 23. d4
d4 24. d1 c5 25. a6 b3 26. ad6 b2 27. 6d2= : ,Ivanchuk Kramnik, Horgen 1995 [ : ]
Stojanov Stanislav (BUL) - Georgiev Vladimir (BUL), Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
Ch Bulgaria 1999

White should be careful and not fall into a tricky trap. 13. e3 b4 14. d5
d7! The d7-square is not occupied by the bishop, which makes possible the
f6-d7-c5 maneuver. 15. d4? d4!! [15... b7? 16. c6 c6 17. d4
d4 18. d4 e5! 19. d2 d5 20. d5 f6 21. d3 c7 22. a6 b6 23.
fa1 Slobodjan - Sadler, Germany (Bundesliga) 1999] 16. d4 e6! 17. e3
e5 18. a7 b7 0:1,Stojanov - Georgiev, Plovdiv 1999
[0:1]
Horvath Tamas I (HUN) - Khalifman Alexander (RUS), Germany
Bundesliga 1995/96 1995

6... c6 Attacking the d4-bishop as soon as possible. 7. g2 d4! The

white queen stance in the center will give Black time for creating counterplay
on the queenside. [7... g7 8. de2!] 8. d4 g7 9. O-O [9. e3 O-O 10.

 d2 g4! 11. f4 e5 Ivanchuk - Kasparov, Moscow (ol) 1994] 9... O-O

10. b4 [10. d3 e6 11. d2 c8 12. b3 a6 13. ac1 b5 14. d5 d5 15.
ed f5 16. e4 e4 17. e4 c3!=] 10... c7 [10... a5!? 11. b3 e6 12.
d5 a4! 13. b7 d5 14. ed f5 Adams - Kramnik, Wijk aan Zee 1998] 11.
g5 e6 12. a4 a5! 13. a3 h6 14. d2 g4! With the idea of g4-e5-c4.
15. ac1 b6 16. b3 ( d5) c3! 17. c3 e3! 18. fe1 g2 19. g2
f5! (x a3) 20. b2 fe 21. d4 c6 22. e3 d5 23. h3 f5 24. h1
f3 25. g1 f5 26. d4 d5 27. b6 c8 28. c4 d3 29. e1 f8 30.
h6 e3 31. e3 [...] 0:1,Horvath - Khalifman, Germany 1995
[31... d7
c6 ] [0:1]
Shchekachev Andrei (RUS) - Smirin Ilia (ISR), Kramatorsk (Russia) Ch
URS (team) (juniors) 1989

7. de2! White can fight for an advantage avoiding the knight exchange. 7...
h5!? 8. h3 [8. g2 h4!] 8... d7 9. g2 c8! This is the point of the early
6: Black managed to hamper White's kingside castling. 10. b3 [10. e3
g7 11. d5 d5 12. ed e5 13. d4 c4 14. c1 b6! 15. c3 c4
Lipnitsky - Korchnoi, USSR (ch) Lugansk 1955] 10... g7 11. b2 O-O 12.
d2 a5!? 13. d5 [13. O-O-O?! a4! 14. d5 ab 15. ab a2 Matulovic Velimirovic, Yugoslavia (ch) 1988] 13... e4! 14. c1 f6 15. b6 c7 16.
a8 a8 17. c4 b4 18. d2 c6 19. f3?! e4! 20. fe b2 21. d1
e5 22. O-O b5 23. f4 bc 24. bc e6 25. h4 e7 26. b1 a6 27. h1
c5 28. e3 a7 29. e1 c8 30. f2 c7 31. c2 a8 32. be1 b7
33. b1 b1 34. b1 e4 35. e4 e4 36. h2 f6 37. d3 g4 38.
h3 e4 39. b4 e3 0:1,Shchekachev - Smirin, Kramatorsk 1989 [0:1]

Jansa Vlastimil (CZE) - Nevednichy Vladislav (ROM), Odorheiu Secuiesc

(Romania) Zt 1995

12... a5 [12... b5!? 13. b1 (13. b5 e4) 13... b8 14. d5 e5! 15. f6
f6 16. h4 g4 17. c3 e6 18. O-O d4 19. bc1 d8 V.Georgiev Krakops, Ubeda 1997] 13. b1! An important move. The b2-bishop was a
tactically weak point in White's position. Now, when it is protected, the 3-d5
lunge cannot be prevented. It is interesting to note that White can keep his king
in the center because the position is not opened. 13... b8 14. d5! d5
15. ed b4 16. g7 g7 17. c3 a6 18. f4! c5 19. O-O! e5?! 20. de
e6 21. d5 c5 22. c4 c6 23. bd1 be8 24. c3 f6 25. h4 d8 26.
d2 b6 27. fd1 e5 28. f4 g2 29. g2 f7 30. d3 f5 31. f3 c8
32. d5 c6 33. c3 h6 34. d4 b5 35. cb b5 36. h2 c8 37. e3
ce8 38. c4 e4 39. f6 e5 40. e5 e5 41. g5 g7 42. d6 e6
43. d7 e7 44. 1d6 1:0,Jansa - Nevednichy, Odorheiu Secuiesc 1995
[1:0]
Hansen Sune Berg - Petursson Margeir, Reykjavik zt 1995

10. a4! /I 10... b4 11. d5 /2 11... b7 12. g5 e6 13. f6 f6 14. f6 f6

15. d2 a5 16. b5 c6 17. d6 ad8 18. ad1 [ : ]

Romanovsky Petr (RUS) - Rabinovich Ilia (RUS), Moscow (Russia) It

1935

20. b5! /3 20... h6 21. d7 g5 22. ed [1:0]

Fischer Robert J (USA) - Reshevsky Samuel H (USA), New York (USA)
1958

10. f7!! /I 10... f7 [10... f7 11. e6! /I] 11. e6! /5 [1:0]
Stein Leonid (UKR) - Pelikan Jiri (CZE), Mar del Plata (Argentina) It 1966

15. e7! /2 [or 15. b5 /B] 15... e6 [15... e7 16. b3 /2 16... a4 17.
b5 /1 17... a2 18. d4 /2] 16. d5 a5 [ 16... d5 17. d5 d5
18. ed e5 19. d4 f6 20. f4 g4 21. h3 h6 22. f5! ] 17. d4! /2 17...
c4 18. g5 e5 19. f6 h6 20. f4 he8 21. g5 [1:0]