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Vienna Game, Steinitz Gambit 3.f4 exf4 4.d4 [C25]
WWe start with a crazy game from the annual Bangkok Open. Following 4...Qh4+ 5.Ke2 d5!?:
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Already a very complicated position was reached in the sixth round encounter Hafiz, A - Ganguly, S with both players having their fair share of chances before the higher-rated player eventually came out on top. 5...b6 looks like a good alternative, too.
Petroff: 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Bd3!? [C42]
Next from a round robin tournament I was playing in France - the player with Black only needed a draw in this final round for his GM norm, but it wasn’t to be. After the logical 5...Nf6 6.0-0 Be7 7.c3 Bg4 8.Bc2 0-0 9.d4:
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White hopes to claim some edge in this symmetrical structure with his well-placed bishop on c2. Perhaps 9...Re8 is the most accurate, whilst 9...d5 10.Re1 Bd6 11.Bg5 Nbd7 should have also left Black well-placed. White came out on top however in Moussard, J - Droin, A.
Two Knights, Ulvestad Variation 5...b5 6.Bf1 Nxd5 [C57]
A look now at this interesting variation, which Black should prefer to the 6...Nd4 considered in the March update. Play followed a critical line 7.Bxb5 Bb7 8.d4 exd4 9.0-0 Be7 10.Qh5 g6 11.Qh6 Qd7 12.Re1 a6 13.Ba4 Nf5 in Lu, S - Zanan, E:
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This is a key position where both 14.Nf3 intending Bxc6 and the 14.Qg7 of the game require Black to know a lot to survive. Zanan made a mistake on move 18 but recovered well, only to be ground down by his 2600+ opponent in a difficult ending.
Two Knights 8.Bd3 Nd5 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.0-0 Nf4 11.Nc3 [C58]
One of my own games now, from the aforementioned GM norm event. This is a much safer line for Black than the craziness of 10..0-0 11.Re1 f5, and play continued with the critical 11...Nxd3 12.cxd3 0-0 13.Ne4 in Grieve, H - Guichard, P:
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Here my opponent remembered the strongest 13...Bc7 14.Qc2 c5! 15.Qxc5 before 15...Bb7? (15...Ba6!) allowed me to take over. This is definitely a tough line to crack if Black is well-prepared, however.
Spanish, Berlin 4.0-0 Bc5!? [C65]
One of Ivanchuk’s many brilliant results of the month was a draw with English GM Danny Gormally. In this rare line, 5.Nxe5! is the most critical, whilst instead after 5.c3 0-0 6.d4 Bb6 7.dxe5 Nxe4 8.Qd5 Nc5:
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Black has a fine game with play tending to be pretty symmetrical, and he pressed for a while before an eventual draw was agreed in the endgame, see Gormally, D - Ivanchuk, V. I’m not sure this line will be repeated too much though, as it isn’t clear what Black is playing for here - there are better lines of the Berlin if you want to be solid!
Closed Spanish 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 [C84]
There was a funny Bundesliga clash with White’s bishop ending up spending most of the game switching between a2 and b1. This was set in motion by 8...Bd7 9.c3 Na5:
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White chose the rare 10.Ba2!? in Giri, A - Ragger, M, offering up a pawn which was correctly taken. Just a few moves later Black’s position looked pretty unpleasant though, so this could be an idea worth repeating. 9...0-0 is the move you can expect to face most of the time, however.
Spanish, Deferred Exchange Variation 7.d3 [C85]
Let’s continue with the analysis of this trendy line after last month, by considering two sidelines for Black on move 7. Firstly, 7...Bd6!? 8.Nbd2 Be6 9.d4 Nd7 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.f4 Bd4+ 13.Kh1 is a critical line seen in Willow, J - Moksh, D:
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This could be a good option for Black if he is well-prepared with 13...f5!, whilst his position is pretty dangerous after 13...f6 14.c3 Bb6 15.f5!. Eventually the players agreed a draw after an up-and-down game.
Next, the instructive moment comes straight away after 7...Bg4?! in Vitiugov, N - Besou, H:
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In the game, 8.Nbd2?! would have allowed Black to get a great game after 8..Nd7! 9.h3 Bh5 followed by an ideal setup with ...f6. Instead White should straight away ask the question with 8.h3!, since now keeping the bishop with 8...Bh5 forces a dubious piece sacrifice after 9.g4.
See you next month, Harry
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