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Download PGN of April '06 Nimzo and Benoni games
Nimzo Indian Classical: 4 Qc2 0-0
We kick off this month's action with the game Vera - Quezada, Santa Clara 2006: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 Qxc3 b6 7 Nf3 Bb7 8 e3:
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I've noticed that quite a few top GMs have been opting for this restrained Nf3/e3 approach recently over the traditional Bg5. What's more, this line, which has generally been considered fine for Black for a couple of decades, now seems to be causing some annoying problems. It will be interesting to see how long this trend continues. I for one find it difficult to believe it's as good as the Bg5 lines, but I guess it has the advantage that it hasn't (yet) been virtually analysed out to infinity.
Nimzo Indian Classical: 4 Qc2 c5
You can always rely on the Lithuanian Grandmaster Sarunas Sulskis for providing something a bit different in the opening, and the game Sakaev - Sulskis, Kusadasi 2006, certainly caught my attention: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 c5 5 dxc5 0-0 6 a3 Bxc5 7 Nf3 b6 8 Bf4 Bb7 9 Rd1 and now 9...d5!?:
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A typical Sulskis idea - playing a provocative move that balances on the edge of soundness. More typically Black plays 9...Nc6 here, as in Bareev-Ivanchuk, Rethymnon 2003, previously discussed on this site.
Nimzo Indian/Queen's Indian Hybrid
Ward-H.Hunt, Jack Speigel Memorial, Southend 2006 is another example of the trendy 6 Nd2 line: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 Nc3 Bb4 5 Bg5 Bb7 6 Nd2 h6 7 Bh4 Be7!? 8 e4! Nxe4! 9 Bxe7 Nxc3:
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I was playing in the same tournament as Chris and Harriet, and was sitting on the next board as this game was going on. When I saw this position it suddenly provoked some memories, because while annotating that aforementioned Ibragimov-Bischoff game for ChessPublishing, I had discovered the crazy Fritz-inspired idea 10 Qf3!?, and then a few months later I had noticed that someone had been brave enough to play the move (see the annotated game Wells-Rowson, York 2000).
During the game Chris was wondering whether to punt 10 Qf3 - would it still have any shock value? In the end he opted for the safer 10 Bxd8, and I think this also poses Black one or two problems.
Modern Benoni: Modern Classical Variation
By Richard Palliser
It's time to revisit perhaps one of the most critical positions in the entire Modern Benoni: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 Bd3 Bg7 8 h3 0-0 9 Nf3 b5:
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Firstly we have the game Horvath - Dobosz, Austrian League 2006, where White decides to test both Black's knowledge of theory and the ability to defend a worse position with 10 Bxb5.
White doesn't have to head into this theoretical line; the alternative is seen in Wells - Gormally, Portsmouth 2006 where White opts for 10 Nxb5. Should White not fancy grinding away in an plus-equals ending after 10 Bxb5 (and not appreciate the dangerous 18 Re1 instead of the standard 18 Rb1 after that), this is his main alternative.
Knight's Tour
Jankovic - Gashimov, Kusadasi 2006 begins unusually: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 4 d5 d6 5 Nc3 exd5 6 cxd5 a6!?:
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A very interesting move-order which aims to cut down White's options, and is especially awkward for those aiming for a Modern Main Line (MML). Instead Jankovic opts to take play into a Knight's Tour variation with 7 a4 g6 8 Nd2.
Classical Variation
Finally, a look at a line that has been out of fashion for quite a long time. Mahia - Altamirano, Buenos Aires 2006 begins 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 d6 4 Nc3 g6 5 e4 Bg7 6 Nf3 0-0 7 Be2 e6 (Black avoids the Taimanov with this move-order, although White can always now prefer the more positional recapture, exd5) 8 0-0 exd5 9 cxd5 Re8 10 Nd2 Nbd7!:
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The old manner of handling the Classical, as opposed to the popular alternative of 10...Na6, intending ...Nc7 and ...b6 to remove the white knight once it reaches c4.
Queen's Indian 4 a3 Bb7
1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 c4 b6 4 a3 Bb7 5 Nc3 d5 6 cxd5 Nxd5 7 e3 Be7:
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I've noticed that 7 e3 Be7, which was the main line when the Petrosian (4 a3) Queen's Indian first became fashionable in the 1980s, has recently made a mini-revival. In Kozul - Naiditsch, Kusadasi 2006 the soon-to-be European Champion manages to vary at move 18 from a continuation he played 17 years earlier!
That's all for now, see you in May!
John