Download PGN of August '13 1 e4 e5 games
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Spanish - Steinitz Defence 6.c4 [C66]
In the game Steinberg, N - Mikhalevski, V, Jerusalem 2013, my young opponent surprised me with a very rare line in the well-known position of the following diagram:
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He played 6.c4, but I managed to outplay him in a long manoeuvring game anyway. White's opening idea may serve as a surprise weapon, but it hardly promises any advantage.
Berlin Wall with 9. Nc3 Ke8 [C67]
The game Adams, M - Andreikin, D Dortmund 2013, saw the players follow the game Leko, P - Jakovenko, D Nanjing 2009.
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The diagram position given above ensued after 18...Bf6. Here Adams introduced the logical novelty 19.exf7+, instead of Leko's 19.Bxc7, and obtained a slight edge. However Black's position was holdable and only a few inaccuracies from him allowed the Englishman to bring home the full point. The opening line requires further practical tests, while Black's position should be defendable with accurate play.
Berlin Wall with 9.h3 [C67]
On the very next day, in Caruana, F - Adams, M, Dortmund 2013, Adams played the Berlin himself with the black pieces.
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In the diagram position above Caruana introduced a novelty over his game with Kramnik. He played the preparatory 14.Kf2, instead of 14.f5, but Black was up to the task and took advantage of White's only mistake, 21.f6?, to win the game. A surprisingly easy win from Adams, White had to try 20.e6 or 21.Bg5, although the ball is certainly in White's court as the aforementioned options both lead to equal positions.
Archangel 4...Bc5 [C78]
The game Naiditsch, A - Andreikin, D, Dortmund 2013, saw an early novelty in the diagram position:
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Here Arkady deviated from previous games with 10.Qc1, a move which I had actually considered in one of my earlier annotations. The game developed very logically up to Black's 19...Bb6, which allowed White to seize an advantage and eventually win the game. A well-played game from the German number one player! The opening line chosen by Black is very sharp, but playable - his play might be improved by means of 13...hxg5 or 19...f4, while White may consider deviating with Sutovsky's 10.cxd4.
Open Variation with 9.Nbd2 [C83]
In the game Bruzon, L - Mikhalevski, V World Open Washington 2013, which I promised to analyse in the last update, we repeated the line from the previous game. This time I was better prepared and could remember most of my recommendations from the book on the Open Spanish.
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We achieved the diagram position quite quickly and I played 29...Bf6, an improvement over L'Ami's 29...Rad8 (from Caruana,F-L'Ami,E/Reykjavik ISL 2012). However my next move, 30...Rad8, turned out to be inaccurate and so I had to treat the position carefully, which I failed to do. Despite White's win in the game I consider the line to be equal and so I hope to see more practical tests.
Open with 9.Be3 [C83]
The game Dvoirys, S - Mikhalevski, V, Jerusalem 2013, saw another line from my book:
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After following one of my games for the first 20 moves we achieved the above diagram position. Here, instead of the 20...Rh7 which I had played earlier and recommended in the aforementioned book, I played 20...Bf6, which is not bad if followed by 21...Rh7, but I tried to be too clever and got into trouble very quickly. Despite White's crushing win I consider this line to be perfectly playable for Black. One just has to remember one's lines-:).
Spanish with 6.d3 [C84]
The game Leko, P - Caruana, F, Dortmund 2013, saw a topical line in the 6.d3 Spanish.
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In the diagram position Peter introduced a novelty, the immediate 14.Qg4, instead of 14.a4 which was tested in two of Svidler's games. Fabiano defended pretty well and equalized without visible problems. A well-played game by both players, but the ball remains in White's court, who doesn't seem to have said the last word in this line yet.
Scotch Four Knights with 10.h3 [C47]
This popular system occurred in the game Fridman, D - Adams, M, Dortmund 2013
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In the diagram position given above Adams introduced the strong novelty 15...Be6 (instead of 15...Rb7 from Andreikin, D - Safarli, E/Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2013). Michael started to outplay his opponent slowly and surely, but let his advantage slip away with 33...Nh5? I'm expecting to see Adams' novelty in the near future, while White has to improve his play on either his 17th or 18th move.
Enjoy!
See you next month, Victor.
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