EDITORIAL
Simple and clear rules, please!
It is the Champions League final – FC Barce-
lona are playing against Bayern München – it
is the 70th minute. The score is 1:0 for the
Spanish team. Bayern are attacking furiously.
Robben is just about to go to the left to shoot
at goal... the referee’s whistle. It’s all over! Over?
The Bavarian players besiege the referee, there
are still 20 minutes of play left, they say, stun-
ned. No, says the referee, did you not read the
announcement on the UEFA page, where the
rules for the Champions League final are listed?
Playing time was set at 70 minutes for this
particular game. Something like this would be
unthinkable in football, or in any other sport.
But apparently not in chess.
World Champion Magnus Carlsen has just lost
his first game in Stavanger to Veselin Topalov
though he was in a winning position, because
he did not know the – unusual – time control
rules. Something similar happened recently in
India. At the Commonwealth championships
first Tania Sachdev, then Humpy Koneru lost
their games due to not knowing the rules which
were in force there. Chess wants to be a sport,
but it does not have clear rules. Knights may
move the same way everywhere but every orga-
niser does what he wants as far as tournament
conditions are concerned.
Typical time controls are as follows: 40 moves
in 120 minutes, 20 moves in 60 minutes and
then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus 30
seconds increment per move from move 61 on
(e.g. Zurich Chess Challenge), or else 40 moves
in 120 minutes, 60 minutes for the rest of the
moves, 30 seconds increment per move from
move 41 (Stavanger). In the German Bundes-
liga it is 40 moves in 100 minutes, 50 minutes
for the rest of the game, 30 seconds increment
per move from move 1 (Bundesliga 1 & 2, cup,
German Championship). In Austria we have 40
moves in 90 minutes, 30 minutes for the rest of
the game, 30 seconds increment per move from
move 1. If you want to play tournament chess
nowadays, you need to spend a term studying
time control science!
Different time controls, however, are not the
only playground which is open to tournament
organisers. If there is a tie at the top of the
table, the question often crops up: who is the
winner, then? Is it the player with the most
victories, with the most wins as Black, the
winner of their direct encounter, the player
who has the highest Buchholz score, according
to improved Buchholz, or Sonneborn-Berger
or perhaps there will be a play-off with a)
rapid chess games (one, two or four?) b) blitz
game(s)? Sometimes the organisers themselves
do not know and just make it up after the final
round – to the indignation of the surprised
players.
But even that is not the end of the line. There
are even different ways of scoring the games
themselves. Instead of the classical way, some-
times the three point rule is used, which means:
three points for a win, one for a draw, no points
for a loss. In the Belgian league even this has a
variation: three points for a win, two (yes two!)
points for a draw, one point for a loss, no points
for a no-show. Team matches then sometimes
end with a score of 21:11. In the French league
it is more minimalist: there draws do not count.
Despite there being 8 boards, 3:1 is an absolu-
tely typical result.
So the best thing to do before your career as a
tournament chess player is to add to your study
of the science of time controls other subjects
such as “tiebreak research” and “result theory”.
Or, dear FIDE, you could simply unify the rules
for tournaments?
Your André Schulz
ChessBase Magazine #167 | 3
 Chessbase Magazine
Contents of the DVD
TOP TOURNAMENTS OPENINGS (see also booklet from p. 8)
GP Khanty-Mansiysk: The fourth and last stage Igor Stohl: Mikenas/Flohr Variation
of the FIDE Grand Prix ended with victory shared Robert Ris: English 5.e4 Bxc3 6.bxc3
between Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura
and Dmitry Jakovenko. This was also the order Marin: 1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+ 3.Nd2 b6
in the overall classification. Victor on tiebreak in Schipkov: 1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.c4 Bxf3 4.exf3
Khanty-Mansiysk was Jakovenko. The Russian has
analysed for us his game against Anish Giri. Mi- Illingworth: Sicilian 2.b3
hail Marin has prepared a detailed survey of the
openings used in the games. Further annotations
have been provided by Ftacnik, Gormally, Illing- Max Illingworth pro-
worth, Krasenkow, Marin, Mikhalchishin, Mokal, poses 2.b3 as a rapid
Pavlovic, Roiz, Stohl, Sumets, Szabo and Wagner. chess repertoire, but
In addition you can also find on the DVD seven Tamaz Gelashvili (pho-
daily summaries by Daniel King. to) proves that it can
be more
Norway Chess: This year’s Norway Chess was
even stronger, since it was played in the frame- Berg: Sicilian 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Nf6
work of the Grand Chess Tour. Magnus Carlsen Krasenkow: Sicilian Rossolimo 3...e6
had a disastrous start (half a point from four
rounds), and the world champion finished in 8th Gormally: Sicilian Paulsen 6.f4
place – and that in his home tournament! Ves- Postny: Sicilian Najdorf 6.h3
elin Topalov took his chance and pushed Vishy
Anand and Hikaru Nakamura into second place.
The American has commented for us on his game
with Levon Aronian. On the DVD you will also In Evgeny Postny’s
article on the Najdorf
find games annotated by Illingworth, Krasenkow,
with 6.h3 top games
Mokal, Pavlovic, Postny, Roiz, Sagar Shah, Stohl, like Caruana-Vachier
Szabo and Wagner. In addition you can also find Lagrave, Tata 2015,
on the DVD all nine daily summaries by Daniel play a major role
King.
Havasi: French 3.Nd2 h6
Other tournaments: In the Capablanca Memori-
al Tournament it was Yu Yangyi who set the pace. Souleidis: Philidor Defence 5...exd4
Not only was the young Chinese player confirmed Kuzmin: Queen’s Gambit Ragozin 5.Qb3
as the winner a round before the finish, but he
also shone with his original tactical ideas. The 21
year old has annotated for us his brilliancy against
Dominguez Perez. Second placed Pavel Eljanov Alexey Kuzmin pays
tribute to 5.Qb3 as a
has provided notes to his theoretically important
surprise weapon against
game against Dmitry Andreikin. In Dortmund the Ragozin. Erwin
Fabiano Caruana repeated his success of last year. l‘Ami (photo) is one of
Other players have annotated their games from the occasional users
various events: e.g. Adhiban, Edouard, Grover,
Schandorff: Semi-Slav Meran
Gupta, Havasi, CD Meyer, Postny, Sagar Shah and
Wagner. Szabo: King’s Indian Fianchetto

4 | ChessBase Magazine #167

August/September
Booklet
DVD COLUMNS Editorial 3
Williams: Move by Move Contents 4-5
This time Simon Williams has put on the training
plan the recent game Giri-Topalov (Norway Chess Top Tournaments 6-7
2015). It is in interactive video format , giving you GP Khanty-Mansiysk, Norway Chess
the chance to find the correct moves.
Rogozenco: The classic
In his Classic Video the German federal trainer
Dorian Rogozenco shows us the brilliancy prize
game Alekhine-Rubinstein, Karlsbad 1923. A
strong strategic performance by Alekhine, which
ends in a beautiful tactical finale.
Reeh: Tactics – “Pieces on the edge and retreats”
Oliver Reeh’s article contains 29 games studded
with numerous training questions and an intro-
ductory text with links to all the games. In ad- Caruana, Nakamura and Jakovenko shared victory in the
dition our tactics expert has recorded two of his last Grand Prix tournament
favourites in a video in interactive format.
Müller: Endspiele – “Recent pawn endings” Openings
Karsten Müller’s column contains two introduc- Presentation of the DVD articles 8-21
tory texts, 19 annotated endgames, numerous
training questions and five classic video clips. In Impressum 11
addition the endgames expert from Hamburg has Tactics 22
recorded two endgames in interactive format.
Nine combinations to solve
Pawn endings often appear simple because there
are after all only a few possible moves. When they Kasimdzhanov:
are looked at more closely, however, there are Trends in Modern Openings 2015 23
from time to time astonishing depths.
Knaak: The Opening Trap
Rainer Knaak’s Opening Trap (including its Fritz-
trainer video) contains five recent traps.
Openings videos (see also p. 25)
Tiviakov: Scandinavian 3...Qd6
Amruta Mokal: Sicilian Paulsen Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Ris: Slav 4.Qb3 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bg4 is one of the greatest
Service openings experts, and
moreover he knows how
New products with videos of the DVDs by
to make extensive know-
Collins, Martin, Pert, Kasimdzhanov, Davies, King. ledge understandable
Correspondence chess: 10 000 new games
Complet booklet in PDF format Endgames 24
Overview of previous openings articles Nine endgame exercises to solve
Overview of previous video openings articles Openings videos presented 25

ChessBase Magazine #167 | 5

 Top Tournaments
stavanger: Topalov on top
Things just will not work out for the world
champion in his home country. Looking back
over it, we can almost say that after the very
first round one could read the runes for the
“Norway Chess 2015”: in a clearly winning po-
sition against Topalov, but uncertain about the
time control Carlsen let his clock run down and
had to swallow perhaps the most bitter defeat
of his career. And it was a long time before the
world champion recovered from this shock.
On 0.5 out of 4 Carlsen was at first lying at the Dramatic start and high point: Carlsen realises
bottom of the field. After wins against Grischuk that he has overstepped the time limit
and Aronian the final round offered him the
chance to at least reach 50% in the game against against Aronian the Bulgarian too was lucky
his second Hammer. But Carlsen took too great when his opponent steered his own king into a
a risk and ended the tournament with only 3.5 mating net in time trouble.
out of 9.
Nevertheless things got close for Topalov again:
But what happened in the first round became after a loss to Giri in round 8 his lead over
symbolic for Topalov’s tournament. After the Anand was reduced to half a point. And in the
present from Carlsen the ex-world champion final round he was up against his WCh oppo-
also benefitted from a hair-raising mistake in nent of 2010. But the tension did not last for
his game against Hammer: the Norwegian gave long. Both players followed the game Ivanchuk-
away the point after making the simple liqui- Carlsen (Wijk 2015), which ended in a draw by
dation to a technically drawn endgame. And repetition after 18 moves.

6 | ChessBase Magazine #167


fide grand prix: Caruana and
nakamura ready for the hunt
Naturally the fourth and final Grand Prix of this
series was the one where the tension was the
greatest. As in Khanty-Mansiysk it would be de-
cided who would occupy one of the top two plac-
es in the overall classification and thus book his
ticket for the next candidates tournament. Before
the start of the tournament Evgeny Tomashevsky
was leading thanks to his triumph in Tiflis. He
also began strongly in Khanty-Mansiysk, first
defeating Jobava and then he had Grischuk with
his back to the wall. However, he missed a clear
win in time trouble. That was perhaps the turn-
ing point because Tomashevsky did not achieve
Top Tournaments
Flowers for all three winners, but the tickets for
candidates tournament go only to the US-Boys
much more after that. His 5 out of 11 only got
him 10th place which saw him slip down to
fourth place in the overall classification. Fabiano
Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura benefitted from
that. The Elo favourites worked their way up to
the top as the tournament progressed and with
their shared first place they secured qualification
for the candidates tournament. The winner of the
tournament was Jakovenko, who has annotated
his win against Giri for you on the DVD. In the
position in the diagram after 19...¤xc4 he dem-
onstrated how to obtain a clear strategic advan-
tage with the help of tactical motifs.
ChessBase Magazine #167 | 7
 Opening
good knowledge required
Igor Stohl examines new Mikenas/Flohr developments
English A18: 1.c4 ¤f6 2.¤c3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.cxd5
exd5 5.e5 ¤e4
Whereas the 4.e5 d4 variation is played much
more often and was last investigated by Igor
Stohl himself in CBM 162, nowadays the inter-
mediate exchange 4.cxd5 is to be judged as at
least of equal value. The position after 5.e5 was
examined in detail in CBM 130 (by Tibor Karo-
lyi), but today it is clear that only 5...¤e4 offers
chances of equality.
In the up-to-date database 5...Ne4 is the
recommended move
It is then known that 6.¤xe4? dxe4 7.£a4+ ¤c6
8.£xe4 £d4! is wrong and that White is already
fighting to survive. Two variations are clearly
preferable.
A) 6.d4 ¥b4 7.£a4+ ¤c6 8.¥b5 sets Black
problems. He should know exactly what he is
doing now, since after 8...¥d7 9.¤e2 White’s
8 | ChessBase Magazine #167
position is somewhat preferable. But instead,
he has at his disposal 8...0-0! 9.¤e2 (9.¥xc6 a5!
10.¤e2 bxc6=)
9...¤xd4! (Black did not equalise with 9...¥d7
10.0-0 ¥xc3 11.bxc3 a6 12.¥xc6 ¥xc6 in Svi-
dler-Hou Yifan, Gibraltar 2015, but neverthe-
less later managed a draw) 10.¤xd4 c5, and as
the author’s analyses show the chances are level.
B) However, 6.¤f3 is played more often, fol-
lowed most frequently by 6...¤c6 (but Stohl
shows that 6...¤xc3 and 6...¥f5 are also play-
able). Things continue 7.¥b5 ¥e7! (what arises
after 7...¥c5 8.d4 ¥b6 is an Italian variation
with an extra tempo for White!) 8.£a4 and
here Black once again has to know how to pro-
ceed: only 8...¥d7! (8...¤c5 and 8...¤xc3 lead
to an advantage for White) 9.¤xd5 ¤c5 10.£f4
¤e6 gives enough play.
Conclusion: Black should be able to equalise,
but simply playing this variation over the board
is dangerous; at several points a good knowl-
edge of the correct moves is required.

White in distress
Robert Ris shows how to fight the Botvinnik setup – Part 2
English A22: 1.c4 e5 2.¤c3 ¤f6 3.g3 ¥b4
4.¥g2 0-0 5.e4 ¥xc3 6.bxc3
In the introduction to his article on the DVD
Robert Ris explains the advantages of 6.bxc3 –
the centre is strengthened, the b-file is opened.
White also does not commit to how he will
move the d-pawn: if necessary d2-d4 in one
move, but there also a scenario with d3 and a
later f4 is credible. In any case Black will not
stand still. The example game Mamedyarov-
Giri, Qatar 2014, shows impressively how
things happen. After the opening of the posi-
tion (...c6 and ...d5) White quickly came under
pressure and another mistake sealed his defeat
after only 21 moves.
Mamedyarov-Giri: defeat for White in only
21 moves
A) Anish Giri began with 6...¦e8, which looks
logical, but the reply 7.d3 was too inflexible.
White would be better playing 7.¤e2, a pos-
Opening
sible sequence might be 7...c6 8.0-0 d5 9.exd5
cxd5 10.d4! and Black is at a disadvantage. The
game mentioned continued 7...c6 8.¤e2 d5
9.cxd5 cxd5 10.exd5 ¤xd5 11.¦b1 ¤c6 12.0-0
¥g4!
and the world class Dutch player had already
seized the initiative.
B) So our author suggests the most frequently
played 6...c6. White has tried out several moves
(principally 7.¤e2), but it really comes down to
two replies which avoid the scenario of the Giri
game.
a) 7.d4!? can be followed by 7...exd4 8.£xd4,
when perhaps many people are afraid of the
strong white queen, but there is no reason
to be so. An even more popular line is 7...d6
8.¤e2 ¦e8 – in this type of position, similar
to the Hübner Variation of the Nimzo-Indian,
the doubled c-pawns constitute a problem for
White and his bishops will not be able to de-
velop the effectiveness he had hoped for.
b) 7.£b3 may prevent ...d5, but costs time.
After 7...¤a6 8.¥a3 ¦e8 9.¤e2 d6 10.0-0 ¤c5
once more the two bishops are not worth any
more in this closed position.
Conclusion: 6.bxc3 may be preferable to the
other captures, but White has no chance of an
opening advantage.
ChessBase Magazine #167 | 9
Opening
despite the statistics
Eröffnung
Mihail Marin again deals with the Kangaroo Defence
Accelerated Bogo-Indian A40: 1.d4 e6 2.c4
¥b4+ 3.¤d2 b6
It is not easy to give an appropriate description
of Mihail Marin’s latest article on the Kangaroo
Defence, also known as the Accelerated Bogo-
Indian, because once again the whole database
is of considerable proportions. With 3...b6 the
author links to his suggestion against 3.¤c3.
If Black does not play an early ...¤f6 (and
transpose to the original Bogo-Indian) then
the number of relevant games amongst the top
players remains relatively small. However, one
such game is Gelfand-Grischuk, FIDE Grand
Prix Paris 2013.
We shall limit ourselves here to 4.a3, which is
also the most popular and the most obvious
move. After 4...¥xd2+ White has the choice.
Gelfand and Grischuk discussing their game
10 | ChessBase Magazine #167
A) 5.£xd2 is much more frequent in practice;
after 5...¥b7 6.¤f3 f5 (6...¤f6 leads to the
Bogo-Indian) White has another choice: 7.g3
(as was played in the aforementioned game)
und 7.e3. In both cases Black should proceed
as follows: ...¤f6 and ...0-0, then ...a5, to render
more difficult the typical b4. On the other
hand ¤f6-e4 is almost never played; since after
£d2-c2 White has de facto gained a tempo –
in the comparable Nimzo-Indian with 4.£c2
the queen needs three moves (£c2xc3 ¤f6-e4
£c3-c2 f7-f5). In our position there is also no
need to play ...¤e4, since the f-pawn is already
on f5.
B) After 5.¥xd2 ¥b7 6.¤f3 f5 White again has
a choice, but the fianchetto is somewhat more
natural here, since the diagonal remains free for
the ¥d2. After 7.g3 ¤f6 8.¥g2 0-0 9.0-0
the author recommends a not totally obvious
move: 9...¥e4. The idea consists of the comple-
tion of his development with ...¤c6, which can
be followed, for example, with ...£e8.
Conclusion: If one looks at the statistics from
the games played, one could take fright: con-
siderable statistics favour White, e.g. 80 % for
4.a3. But in the specific lines things mostly
look quite different, Marin also suggests in
each case improvements for Black, should they
be required.
 Opening

Rapid attacks recommended

Boris Schipkov introduces you to an unusual opening

Wade Defence A41: 1.d4 d6 2.¤f3 ¥g4 3.c4 simplest way for White to continue his develop-
¥xf3 4.exf3 ment is 3.c4. The move 3...¥xf3 is the subject
of the present article by Boris Schipkov, 3...¤d7
will follow in the next issue of CBM. In the
position in the diagram, two moves are played
above all.
A) 4...g6 is usually followed by 5.¤c3 ¥g7
6.¥e3 e6 (6...c6 would transpose to Variation
B)). The most frequently played move is then
7.£b3, but after 7...¤e7

If you play 1.d4 with White you must look for

the correct transpositions after 1...d6. 2.c4 al-
lows 2...e5 and 2.e4 can only be afforded by
those few players who have in their repertoire
both 1.d4 and 1.e4. So 2.¤f3. But then many
players continue with the unusual 2...¥g4 (in
any case there are 7500 games in Mega). The

ChessBase Magazine Nr. 167, August / September

ISSN: 1432-8992
Published by: © ChessBase GmbH, Osterbekstr. 90a, 8.£xb7?! ¤bc6 would be satisfactory for Black.
22083 Hamburg Schipkov does look in his analyses at 8.0-0-0
Tel: (+49)40 - 639060-0, Fax: (+49)40 - 6301282
E-Mail: magazine@chessbase.com which is also advantageous for White, but in-
Editor in chief: Rainer Knaak stead of 7.£b3 either 7.£d2 or even immedi-
Editorial board: Dr. Steffen Giehring, André Schulz,
Pascal Simon, Thomas Stark, Rainer Woisin ately 7.h4 seems more logical.
Layout: Rainer Knaak
Translations: Ian Adams, Dean Hall, Oliver Reeh B) After 4...c6 Black is planning d6-d5, but that
Cover photo: Kirill Merkurev takes some time, at the moment there would be
More photos: internet press fotos (p. 6, 7, 9, 10, 12),
Georgios Souleidis (p. 13, 20), Pascal Simon (p. 14, 17, cxd5 followed by £b3. At the correct moment
19, 21), Fred Lucas (p. 15), Joachim Schulze (p. 16) White himself can also play d4-d5. After 5.¤c3
Printing: Druckhaus Leupelt GmbH, 24976 Handewitt
Exclusion of liability: The publishers of this magazine g6 6.¥e3 ¥g7 White must choose his plan.
cannot be held liable for the accuracy or complete-
ness of the information and especially not for the After 7.¥e2 he can aim for kingside castling,
chess analysis contained in it. but as the author points out in his article on the
Reproduction: No material contained in this issue of
ChessBase Magazine may be reproduced in whole or DVD, two moves are clearly more ambitious:
in part without written consent of the publisher. Re-
production, where allowed, must include the full name 7.h4 ¤f6 8.g4 and 7.£d2 preparing to castle
and location of the publisher as the source. Subscrip-
tions: ChessBase Magazine is published six times long so as to then also attack on the kingside.
per year on DVD. The price for an individual volume
is EUR 19.95, for the annual subscription EUR 99.70.
ChessBase Magazine Extra consists of six additional Conclusion: Boris Schipkov sees an advantage
CDs. Price: EUR 12.99 per issue. The annual subscrip-
tion costs EUR 51.50. All prices include 19% European for White in all the lines, his recommendation,
VAT, which may be deducted for foreign orders.
however, is for the rapid attack with h4 and g4.

ChessBase Magazine #167 | 11

Opening
Not better but comfortable
Max Illingworth presents the Gelashvili Variation
Sicilian B20: 1.e4 c5 2.b3
Our Australian author Max Illingworth extolls
2.b3 above all as a repertoire for rapid chess.
But it can also be more, as is shown by the
Georgian GM Tamaz Gelashvili, who is rep-
resented in Mega with 117 games. His score:
82 %.
Tamaz Gelashvili: gigantic score
But this does not mean that White gets an ad-
vantage with 2.b3, Black even has several lines
with which to obtain equality. But Illingworth
has also established, “that the typical middle-
game positions are easier for White to play at a
fast time control (reflected by White’s excellent
12 | ChessBase Magazine #167
score in recent quick games)”. In fact the refer-
ence function shows countless blitz and rapid
chess games from 2014, with the player most
represented being Alexander Morozevich,
and the Russian can also point to an excellent
score.
Of the many possible replies, all of which are
examined on the DVD, three can be singled out
here.
A) 2...g6 is a sort of secret variation. After
3.¥b2 ¤f6 4.e5 ¤d5 the position on the board
is the sort of one White does not want: the
¥b2 is restricted by its own §e5. So Illingworth
recommends 4.£f3!?, with which White exerts
influence on d5 and threatens e5. 4...d6 5.¥b5+
¤bd7 6.¥xf6 exf6 is then an option.
B) 2...b6 has been rather popular in recent
top level games. Black quickly attacks the
e4-pawn, but the fact that after 3.¥b2 ¥b7
4.¤c3 (naturally never d2-d3, which blocks
in the ¥f1) blocks the view of his ¥b2 is not
a problem, because unlike a pawn the knight
can easily move away. After 4...d6 and 4...e6
Morozevich has continued with 5.f4, in each
case later followed by queenside castling and a
strong attack.
C) 2...¤c6 is most frequently played; 3.¥b2 is
mostly followed by 3...d6 (whilst here as well
as in similar positions 3...e5 quite suits White
according to Illingworth, since not only can he
play on the light squares but is also preparing
for a future f4), then 4.¥b5 ¥d7 5.f4 a6 6.¥xc6
¥xc6 7.d3 e6 8.¤f3 ¤f6 9.¤bd2 ¥e7 10.0-0
0-0 and although we have a typical position
on the board, in which White is not better, it
is much easier for the first player to find good
moves.
Conclusion: At a high level and with a normal
time control 2.b3 can at best serve as a surprise
weapon. But in rapid chess and lower level play
it is important that after the opening moves you
also know how to continue thereafter.
 Opening

sometimes really sharp

Emanuel Berg offers a surprise weapon against the Alapin

Sicilian B22: 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 ¤f6

Emanuel Berg: looking for a sharp weapon against

the Alapin

C) 4.£a4+ is considered the most critical by

Sicilian players are hoping for a struggle with the author. His choice would then be 4...¤bd7
chances for both sides and are not happy to see (although play with 4...¥d7 5.£b3 £b6 also
2.c3, because the positions which arise are of brings Black close to equality) 5.c4 and then 5...
a positional character. The move 3...¤f6 in- e6 (or if you like things to be even madder, you
troduced by Emanuel Berg is unusual enough should take a look at Berg’s analysis of 5...b5)
– 400 games in the Mega database are not a lot 6.dxe6 fxe6,
for the Alapin Variation – and sometimes leads
to really sharp positions, above all if White
wants to hang on to his extra pawn.
In practice the preferred reply is 4.d4; prob-
ably most players are hoping for 4...£xd5 with
a transposition to the main lines of the Alapin.
But the Swedish grandmaster prefers 4...¤xd5!,
after which 5.dxc5 e6 already give Black a com-
fortable game. The alternative 5.¤f3 can lead
to the Caro-Kann: 5...cxd4 6.cxd4 ¤c6 7.¤c3 is
the Panov Attack, but in a not very ambitious
form for White. If one wants to refute 3...¤f6,
three attempts must be taken into considera-
tion.
A) After 4.c4 e6 5.dxe6 ¥xe6 White is on dan- “when Black prefers to play a pawn down hop-
gerous terrain. Berg gives several suggestions as ing that his activity and development advantage
to how Black can play this type of position. will bear fruit”.
B) After 4.¥b5+ Berg prefers 4...¤bd7, e.g. Conclusion: 3...¤f6 has proven to be playable
5.c4 a6 6.¥xd7 (6.¥a4 b5!) 6...£xd7 followed and is at least suitable as a surprise weapon. If
by ...e6 and Black will once again get nice com- White accepts the gambit, an exciting struggle
pensation for the pawn. can develop.

ChessBase Magazine #167 | 13

Opening

the Rossolimo with 3...e6 – part 1

Michal Krasenkow reveals secrets from his repertoire

Sicilian B30: 1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 e6

Teimour Radjabov: at present one of the strongest

3...e6-players

B) After 5.d3 ¤e7 the most often played move

is 6.£e2 (the insertion of 6.h4 h5 favours Black;
In the introduction on the DVD Michal after e4-e5 he would have ...¤f5) and our au-
Krasenkow admits that he previously played 3... thor also considers this to be the most danger-
g6 against the Rossolimo Variation, but then ous move. White is intending 6...f6 7.¤h4 or
changed to 3...e6. In his two-part contribution 6...¤g6 7.h4 h5 8.e5 followed by £e2-e4!, Black
the Polish grandmaster now presents his own then has difficulties with the typical ...f6. So the
repertoire. Part 1 deals with all the variations correct reply is 6...£c7!, a sort of useful waiting
except 4.0-0, the focus being on 4.¥xc6 bxc6. move,
Then 5.e5 and 5.0-0 are also investigated, but
there are two other more popular continuations
which were used in the 2012 WCh between
Anand and Gelfand. But Gelfand actually plays
2...d6 more frequently thus it is better to follow
the games of Teimour Radjabov and Alexander
Moiseenko, who are at present the strongest
players of 3...e6.

5.d3 and 5.b3 are preferred for the moment

and then White has a wider choice: 7.h4 h5!

A) After 5.b3 ¤e7 6.¥a3 ¤g6 7.d4 there is an
8.e5 ¤f5, 7.¤h4 ¤g6, 7.e5 ¤g6, 7.0-0 ¤g6 and
important move: 7...¥a6!, only played once but
7.¤g5 ¤g6 8.f4 c4 are a few of the possibilities,
completely satisfactory. So nowadays one tends
but none of them can help him to an advan-
to see 6.¥b2 possibly followed by 6...¤g6 7.h4
tage.
h5 8.e5 f6 9.£e2 ¥e7 10.¤c3 0-0 and despite
his weakened king position Black can be satis- Conclusion: Krasenkow does not see serious
fied. problems for Black after 4.¥xc6.

14 | ChessBase Magazine #167

 Opening

options available
Daniel Gormally presents an alternative in the Paulsen/Taimanov

Sicilian B47: 1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 e6 3.d4 cxd4

4.¤xd4 ¤c6 5.¤c3 £c7 6.f4

Arkadij Naiditsch: welcomes sharp positions

a) After 7.¥e3 the usual move is 7...b5. Then

the database contains an annotated game each
for both 8.¤xc6 and 8.¤b3.
In the Paulsen/Taimanov complex Black has
b) A tabiya arises after 7.¤xc6 £xc6 8.¥d3 b5
various possibilities on move 4, but among the
9.£e2 ¥b7 10.¥d2.
elite there is a clear trend towards  4...¤c6. After
5.¤c3 the most often played move is 5...£c7, its
popularity remains uninterrupted. The reply 6.f4
is only in fourth position and is thus suitable for
avoiding mainstream theory. Daniel Gormally’s
article on the subject is not a complete investiga-
tion of all the variations but rather a collection
of material with model games from the point of
view of White. At present the most outstand-
ing representatives of 6.f4 are Michael Adams
and Arkadij Naiditsch; the positions which fre-
quently occur with castling on different wings
are meat and drink to the German player.
The first question is: should Black exchange on
d4? If he doesn’t, he has to take into account
Now there are above all 10...¥e7 (then 11.a3)
that White himself will take on c6.
and 10...¥c5 (11.0-0-0). Black may be able to
A) After 6...¤xd4 7.£xd4 a6 8.¥e3 b5 White equalise, but it is not easy.
has, as so often, two options: 9.0-0-0 or 9.¥e2
Conclusion: The move 6.f4 is an interesting
and preparation for castling short. In the article
attempt to avoid the deeply analysed varia-
on the DVD you will find an annotated model
tions after 6.¥e3. A particular attraction is that
game for each variation.
White can often choose whether to aim for
B) 6...a6 is played much more often, after success along positional paths (with kingside
which White can take on c6, but he does not castling) or whether he prefers a sharp attack-
have to do so. ing position.

ChessBase Magazine #167 | 15

Opening

no Problems for black

Evgeny Postny analyses the latest Najdorf trends

Sicilian B90: 1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4

4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.¤de2 h5

Caruana-Vachier Lagrave, Wijk 2015: one of several

heavyweight encounters in recent days

1500 games in the Najdorf Powerbook show a

statistical advantage for White.
b) The latest trend is towards a rapid ...b5 – be-
fore White can play a4. One example of that is
6.h3 is no longer used to surprise one’s op-
the recent game Jakovenko-Gelfand, Khanty-
ponent, it is now the starting point for other
Mansiysk 2015. There 8...b5 9.¤d5 ¤bd7
theory. The moves leading to the position in
10.¥g5 ¥b7 11.¤ec3 was played,
the diagram are the usual ones today, though
the number of available games sinks from ap-
prox. 5000 (after 6.h3) to 400 (not including
computer chess). In his article Evgeny Postny
mainly focuses on games from recent elite tour-
naments.
A) Although the weakness of the g5-square
catches the eye, the popularity of 8.¥g5 has
fallen off somewhat. The really independent
lines are those in which there is a quick ex-
change on f6. For example 8...¥e6 9.¥xf6 £xf6
10.¤d5 £d8 11.¤ec3 and Postny then analyses
11...¤d7 and 11...g6 using recent model games.
In the recently issued Najdorf Powerbook 2015
8...¥e7 is the larger branch, however. Playing
both players were following a previous game,
it avoids, after 8... ¥e6, the possible 9.f4 (which
Karjakin-Gelfand from 2014. Jakovenko’s im-
Postny also examines in his article).
provement on move 14 did not result in an
B) 8.g3 is clearly more popular. Here Postny advantage.
subdivides further, according to whether Black
Conclusion: Evgeny Postny does not see any
plays ...b5 quickly or not.
serious problems for Black. Compared to estab-
a) For example 8...¥e6 9.¥g2 ¤bd7 10.a4 ¥e7 lished variations such as the English Attack or
11.0-0 ¦c8. Here Caruana-Vachier Lagrave, 6.¥g5, there are still many empty spaces in the
Wijk 2015, continued with 12.¥e3. The over lines after 6.h3 and surprises are possible.

16 | ChessBase Magazine #167


another rook pawn move
Gergö Havasi has a tip against the Tarrasch Variation
French C03: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.¤d2 h6
We have already investigated various rook
pawn moves in the French: 3.¤c3 h6
(CBM 118), 3.¤d2 a6 (CBM 156), so now
we have 3.¤d2 h6. The principle is the same:
one is hoping to reach a variation in which h6
turns out to be useful and in which White has
adopted an unfavourable setup. For example,
perhaps he has played ¤gf3, whilst specifically
in the Tarrasch Variation this knight is often
better placed on e2. As so often, the move is
employed by top players in rapid chess, but Ni-
gel Short also likes playing it with normal time
controls.
Nigel Short: 3...h6 also with normal time controls
Gergö Havasi takes only a brief look at 4.e5 and
4.c3; two other moves are more ambitious and
more frequently played.
Opening
A) The top moves for both sides (i.e. the most
played) lead us after 4.¤gf3 ¤f6 5.e5 ¤fd7
6.¥d3 c5 7.c3 ¤c6 8.0-0 g5
to a position which frequently arises after
3.¤d2 ¤f6 4.e5 ¤fd7 5.¥d3 c5 6.c3 ¤c6
7.¤gf3 (that is the Korchnoi Gambit) and
only then 7...h6 8.0-0 g5. Clearly alternatives
such as 7...¥e7, 7...g6 or 7...f6 are preferred,
but that need not mean that they are better.
Things continue 9.dxc5 and Havasi’s analyses
prove that both 9...¥xc5 and 9...¤xc5 are very
playable, and moreover it might also be that
White does not have this line in his repertoire
at all.
B) But White can also consistently play with-
out e4-e5: 4.¤gf3 ¤f6 5.¥d3 c5 6.exd5 (this
capture is only played after ...c5) 6...exd5
(6...£xd5 7.dxc5 ²) 7.dxc5 ¥xc5 8.¤b3. Now
it is not quite clear what Black has to play:
exchange queens or not? Bishop to b6, d6 or
e7? In each case White gets a tiny plus, but
this does not have to worry Black, similar
positions occur frequently in the Tarrasch
Variation.
Conclusion: Black does not take a great risk
with 3...h6, but he can easily throw players
with White off course. On the other hand, not
much can happen to the latter if he plays sound
moves.
ChessBase Magazine #167 | 17
Opening

counter-attempt by Black
Georgios Souleidis dissects another tricky variation

Philidor Defence C41: 1.e4 d6 2.d4 ¤f6 3.¤c3
e5 4.¤f3 ¤bd7 5.¥c4 exd4
In the previous issue we saw that White can
avoid the subtle 5...¥e7 6.0-0 ¤b6!? by immedi-
ately playing 6.a4!. This time Georgios Souleidis
examines a “counter-attempt” for Black to reach
the positions he is aiming for anyway. In fact
this works well if White replies 6.¤xd4; after
6...¤b6 7.¥e2 ¥e7 8.0-0 0-0 the transposition
has been achieved.
A better way is 6.£xd4 with two possibilities.
A) 6...¤b6 is actually logical and if you are lucky
White automatically moves his ¥c4 away. But af-
ter 7.e5! £e7 (7...dxe5 8.¥xf7+!) 8.¥f4! Soulei-
dis thinks: “White’s lead in development is sim-
ply too great”. However only a few people have
found 7.e5 and so far no one has found 8.¥f4.
B) 6...¥e7 hopes for 7.0-0 ¤b6 with transposi-
tion to the positions being aimed for. However,
White has alternatives.
a) After 7.¥xf7+!? ¢xf7 8.¤g5+ you have to
find 8...¢e8!, when after 9.¤e6 c5 White has
compensation for the piece but no more than
that.
b) 7.¥f4 0-0 8.0-0-0 ¤b6

Solutions to the combinations

 1.  27...Rxc4+! 28.dxc4 Rc3+! 29.bxc3 Ba3+! 0-1
2.  26.Ne6! Bxe6 (26...Bxe4 27.Qxf7+) 27.Rxc4 +-
3.  19...Rxh5! 20.Qxh5 Be8! 21.Qh3 Qxd6 -+
4.  25...Nc3! 26.Bxc3 Qxe2 27.Rxe2 Rxd1+  -+
5.  11...Bxd3! 12.Rd1 b5! -+
6.  30.Be2!! +-
7.   38...Kf8! 0-1
8.  46.Qf2! g5 47.hxg5 hxg5 48.Qh2+ Kg7 49.Qb2+ =
9.  29...h6!! (29...h5 30.h3!) 30.h4 h5!! 31.Kg5
Qe7+? (31...Kh7!; 31...Re4!) 32.Qf6+ =

Endgame solutions
 1.  43...f4! 44.gxf4+ gxf4 45.exf4+ Kd6!! 0-1
2.  44...g5! 45.Kd3 (45.hxg5 f4! 46.Kd3 fxg3 -+)
45...f4! 46.gxf4 gxh4 47.Ke3 h3 48.Kf2 exf4 -+
3.   60...Rxb7? (60...f4!! 61.Rc5+ Kg4 62.Rb5 Rxb5
63.Kxb5 f3 64.b8Q f2 =) 61.Kxb7 +-
4.   89.Kg5? (89.Kh5! Re5 90.Qg5+! +-) 89...Re5! =
5.  64..g5!! 65.fxg5 Bd4 66.Bd1 Be5! -+
6.  70...Rh1! 71.Ne8! Ke7!! (71...b2? 72.Ke6! =)
72.g7  b2 73.g8Q b1Q+ -+
7.   66.Kf6!! =
8.  45...Qe4+! 46.Kh5 Qe5+! -+
9.  58...Kg8! 59.Nf6+ Kh8! 60.Nf7+ Kg7 -+
deserves the preference and we have on the
board probably the critical position for the
evaluation of 5...exd4. “White has an advantage
in space, but the black position turns out to be
surprisingly solid”. (Souleidis).
Conclusion: White players seldom know what
to do, so 5...exd4 is well suited to being a sur-
prise weapon. But the critical variation is prob-
ably more pleasant for White.

18 | ChessBase Magazine #167


play and hope
Alexey Kuzmin develops an antidote to the Ragozin
Queen’s Gambit D38: 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3
d5 4.¤c3 ¥b4 5.£b3
The Ragozin Defence is an ever-present in
modern tournament chess. Be it 5.¥g5 or
5.cxd5 – theory goes really deep and can hardly
be mastered by amateur players. Alexey Kuz-
min wants to solve this problem with 5.£b3.
Of course you cannot hope for an opening ad-
vantage with this. No top player uses the move
regularly; ChessBase author Erwin l’Ami is one
of the most frequent users with his three games.
An alternative would be 5.£a4+ (though
after 5...¤c6 there is a different type of posi-
tion), on which there was an article by Michal
Krasenkow in CBM 153.
Black should reply 5...c5, when after 6.dxc5 then
6...¤c6 is considered best (after 6...£a5 7.¥d2
Erwin l‘Ami: most frequent user of 5.Qb3
Opening
it is harder to equalise, according to Kuzmin
6...¤a6 tends to be more worth considering).
After 7.¥g5 in the past 7...h6 was frequently
played, but 8.¥xf6 gives White an advantage.
Statistically it looks fine for White
Preference should go to 7...£a5 (7...dxc4 first is
a transposition of moves) 8.¥xf6 dxc4 9.£xc4
gxf6 10.¦c1 £xc5.
From White’s point of view, the fact that up to
here it is not easy for Black to deviate is pleas-
ant. Now White has a choice. 11.£f4 ¢e7 12.g3
e5 13.£h6 was played in the game Bruzon
Batista-Lenderman, Tsaghkadzor 2015. It is not
easy to evaluate the position, Black can prob-
ably even afford to play e6-e5.
However, usually 11.£h4 has been seen. The
game Radjabov-Leko, Zug 2013, can serve as
our measuring stick: 11...¢e7 12.g3 ¥xc3+
13.bxc3 b6 14.¥g2 ¥b7 15.0-0 h5 and although
the black king is in the middle, Black is keeping
things in balance.
Conclusion: If Black knows what he is doing,
he can easily equalise. There is no risk in the
variation for White but he can hope that his op-
ponent will be surprised by it.
ChessBase Magazine #167 | 19
Opening
white’s hopes destroyed
Lars Schandorff defuses a new variation
Semi-Slav D48: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤f3 ¤f6
4.¤c3 e6 5.e3 ¤bd7 6.¥d3 dxc4 7.¥xc4 b5
8.¥d3 ¥b7 9.0-0 a6 10.e4 c5 11.d5 c4 12.¥c2
£c7 13.dxe6 fxe6
In recent years the old main variation of the
Meran System has somewhat gone out of fash-
ion. This is above all because White could not
feel satisfied with the results and because the
search for improvements was turning out to be
difficult. But for some time there has been hope:
14.¤e2!? is according to the statistics clearly
more successful than the alternatives, though
the number of games this is based on is small.
According to Lars Schandorff there are two
ideas behind the knight move: ¤ed4 or ¤f4, in
addition b3 (without ...b4 then challenging the
Matthias Blübaum: successful with 14.Ne2
20 | ChessBase Magazine #167
¤c3). In the event of 14...¤c5 then 15.¥f4 turns
out to be a useful consequence of the knight
move. The Danish opening theoretician investi-
gates five replies for Black (including 14...¤xe4
too), two of which are to be regarded as critical
according to the present state of affairs.
A) 14...¥d6 has replaced 14...e5 as the main
counter. After 15.¤ed4 ¤c5 16.b4 ¤cxe4!
17.¤xe6 £d7
there was a difficult position on the board in
the game Bluebaum-Mamedyarov, Moscow
2015. The young German player, who has
played 14.¤e2 successfully several times,
went wrong here (18.¤fd4) and gradually suc-
cumbed. Schandorff gives a line beginning with
18.¥xe4 as an improvement, but Black should
also hold his own there.
B) Schandorff prefers the rarely played (up to
now) 14...0-0-0. But this time 15.¤ed4 should
not be followed by 15...¤c5 (on account of
16.e5!), but by 15...£b6 or 15...¤e5.
Conclusion: Schandorff ’s analyses for Black are
convincing. Even with 14.¤e2 the whole varia-
tion remains very committal from White’s point
of view. If White cannot get anything from his
lead in development, then things look bad for
him. More games at the top level should bring
more clarity.

active on the queenside
Krisztian Szabo — insights into the Gallagher Variation — Part 1
King’s Indian E68: 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 ¥g7
4.¥g2 0-0 5.¤c3 d6 6.¤f3 ¤bd7 7.0-0 e5 8.e4
exd4 9.¤xd4 ¦e8 10.h3 a6 11.¦e1
If you play ....¤bd7 against the fianchetto, you
usually have to wait for a long time before
becoming active. But with 10...a6 (the Gal-
lagher Variation) things are different: ...c5 (with
tempo!) and then ...b5 give Black rapid play on
the queenside.
Joseph Gallagher: his variation lives
The two part article by Krisztian Szabo first
deals with 11.¦e1 – the most played and at
present most popular move. The Hungar-
ian grandmaster starts his investigations with
11...¤e5 12.b3 c5 13.¤c2. This is playable,
but not quite in the spirit of the idea described
above, because the plan is to be ready to play
Opening
...b5. So the main move is 11...¦b8, when
White has two principled continuations.
A) 12.a4 prevents any ...b5, but on the other
hand White weakens himself. According to Sz-
abo Black has several very playable moves, the
most logical probably being 12...¤e5 13.b3 c5
14.¤c2 and then 14...¥e6 followed by ...h5 can
be played or else 14...¤c6.
B) 12.¦b1 is clearly preferable. Then the play-
ability of 12...¤c5 (demonstrated by means of an
annotated game), underlines the fact that Black’s
position is vigorous, but there is the more logical
and more popular 12...¤e5 13.b3 c5 14.¤c2.
Now 14...b5? is premature, 15.f4 must be fol-
lowed by 15...¤ed7 (15...¤c6 16.e5) and either
with or without an intermediate exchange on
b5 – White takes on d6 and Black gets no com-
pensation.
14...¤c6 is better, intending ...b5. Now the
timorous 15.a4 is often played – transposing to
variation A).
15.f4 prevents the advance of the b-pawn once
more. In the game Marin-Vajda, Bucharest
1999, Black continued with 15...¤d4, but Szabo
proposes 15...¤b4 as an improvement.
Conclusion: Although 11.¦e1 is a completely
natural move, Black has few problems with it.
ChessBase Magazine #167 | 21
 Tactics

1. Motylev - Najer 2. Kramnik - Svidler 3. Barbot - Basso

How can Black win by force? What is White’s strongest How must Black continue?
continuation?

4. Kreisl - Moroni 5. Deur - Schnegg 6. Ovod - Gunina

Black to play and win. Can Black take the pawn on d3? White to play and win.

7. Dominguez Perez - Yu Yangyi 8. Jobava - Jakovenko 9. Bluebaum - Bailet

Black to play and win. What is the only move for White Which move by Black now wins?
to save the game?

You will find the solutions on page 18 or in detail in the tactics column on the DVD

22 | ChessBase Magazine #167

New Release
Kasimdzhanov: Trends in
Modern openings 2015
Many openings develop with great speed. At
every top tournament – and nowadays these
come rapidly one after the other – there are
significant new discoveries and new trends. It
is difficult even for an ambitious amateur to
keep up with regard to his or her own open-
ing repertoire. But the second DVD by Rustam
Kasimdzhanov on new trends in grandmaster
openings can contribute to that. The former
FIDE world champion is considered one of the
leading experts in the field of opening prepara-
tion. In three matches for the world champion-
ship he helped as a second Viswanathan Anand A test position from the DVD: In this Paulsen Sici-
lian it is White’s move. He has to prepare against
in the latter’s successful defences of his title. ...Nf6, but 18.f6+ is not the solution

Example: Leningrad
Kasimdzhanov establishes that the Dutch De-
fence is experiencing a revival at the very highest
level. Actually, in view of the ever stronger influ-
ence of engines, one might have expected the
The second clip deals with 7...£e8 8.¦e1 £f7
9.e4 –Martin Breutigam had popularised the
gambit variation with his article in CBM 129.
After 9...fxe4 10.¤g5 £xc4 11.¤gxe4 ¤xe4
12.¦xe4 £f7 13.¦f4 ¥f6 we have the position
in the diagram on the left. Kasimdzhanov of-
fers an interesting innovation here. That is typi-
cal, because he often goes far beyond existing
theory.
Other subjects: Taimanov Variation 7.£f3 ¤e5
8.£g3 (“Giri’s Variation”), Russian Defence
within the Grünfeld Defence (“Anand’s £b3”),
Najdorf Variation 6.h3, Bogo-Indian 3…¥b4+
4.¤bd2 and King’s Indian with 6.h3.

opposite. Apparently the opening is better than
its reputation. The Uzbek GM offers three videos
on this subject.
Rustam Kasimdzhanov:
Trends in Modern Openings 2015
Price 29,90 €, ISBN 978-3-86681-480-6
Total running time: 3 hours 53 min.
with interactive training
database with annotated GM games

ChessBase Magazine #167 | 23

 Endgame

1. Suba - Laiz Ibanez 2. Righi - Poulsen 3. Ladopoulos - Malikentzos

How should Black react to the What should Black do? What action should be taken
invasion of the white king? against the white passed pawn?

4. Sukandar - Ali 5. Kovalenko - Gabuzyan 6. Sandipan - Short

Where should the white king go? Stronghold or shack. Is there a Black to play and win.
way into White’s fortress?

7. Ciornei - Meng 8. Bobras - Ragger 9. Petrov - Hammer

Where should the white king go? How did Black convert his How did Black escape the rain of
advantage? checks?

You will find the solutions on page 18 or in detail in the endgame column on the DVD

24 | ChessBase Magazine #167

Opening Videos
This time the column “Opening Videos” con-
tains four videos by three authors.
Amruta Mokal: Sicilian Paulsen
1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 a6 5.¤c3
£c7 6.¥d3 ¤f6 7.0-0 ¥c5 8.¤b3 ¥a7
Amruta Mokal shows you the subtleties of
8...¥a7 in the Paulsen System, a move which
so far has been seen surprisingly little in prac-
tice. The Indian player deals above all with the
reputed best move 9.£f3; in doing so she goes
surprisingly deep into the early middlegame
and gives amazing insights into manoeuvres
and evaluations of these types of position.
Sergey Tiviakov: Scandinavian
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 £xd5 3.¤c3 £d6 4.d4 ¤f6
5.¤f3
Sergei Tiviakov is the world’s greatest expert in
the 3...£d6 Scandinavian. His qualifications in-
clude countless successes in this variation, and
also the excellent ChessBase DVD (Scandinavi-
an with 3...£d6). Now he delivers in this video
a sort of refutation of his own system. After 4.d4
¤f6 5.¤c3 the Dutch player has, over the years,
successfully employed four different moves
– until on each occasion the correct counter-
measures could be found for White. In his video
he systematically examines 5...a6, 5...¥g4, 5...
g6 and 5...c6 and shows in each case how White
comes to a clear advantage. His conclusion: it
isn‘t playable any longer on a high level.
Robert Ris: Slav
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.£b3 dxc4 5.£xc4
¥g4
Robert Ris deals from Black‘s point of view
with 4.£b3 against the Slav. After the obvious
4...dxc4 5.£xc4 the Dutch player’s opinion is
that today 5...¥g4 is to be considered the main
variation (whereas the bishop move to f5 is
still the most frequently played). In the first
video 6.¤c3 ¤bd7 7.e4 is investigated. Ris then
suggests 7...e5!? – a temporary pawn sacrifice,
granted its letters of patent by Magnus Carlsen,
who brought it into use against Tomy Nyback.
In the closing clip the other knight move is
examined: 6.¤bd2. Here our author is guided
above all by a game Mamedyarov-Anand,
Candidates Tournament 2014. The future chal-
lenger equalised in the opening and later was
even able to win the game.
ChessBase Magazine #167 | 25