What's New (January 2003 update)
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Hi Everyone! This month we take a look at the most important and entertaining Nimzo, Queen's Indian, Modern Benoni and Bogo-Indian games from January. |
Remember, if you have any opinions, ideas or questions, please either make yourself heard at the Forum (the new link above on the right) or email me at JohnEmms@ChessPublishing.com.
To download the January '03 Nimzo and Benoni games directly in PGN form, click here: 
Nimzo-Indian: Classical Variation (4 Qc2)
We begin this month with a look at the line 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 c5 5 dxc5 Na6 6 a3 Bxc3+ 7 Qxc3 Nxc5 8 b4 Nce4
            
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This line is extremely sharp, especially after the normal move 9 Qd4. However, in the game Serper - Ippolito, Seattle 2003, White chose 9 Qb2 instead, and wins a very pretty miniature.
In the game Golod - Kacheishvili, Las Vegas 2002 we come across the line 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 Qxc3 b6 7 Bg5 c5
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This is the first time we've met this move on this site, but it's a perfectly playable alternative to the more popular options of 7...Bb7 and 7...Ba6. Black immediately strikes at the centre and postpones the decision about where to place the light-squared bishop. It may even remain on c8 for quite a while.
Modern Benoni: White Plays an early Bf4
Next up is the game Khenkin - Ward, French League 2003, in which the strong Israeli GM employs the line 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 c4 c5 4 d5 d6 5 Nc3 exd5 6 cxd5 g6 7 Bf4
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White's move immediately targets Black's most sensitive point in the Modern Benoni - the weak d6-pawn. Black must play very carefully to avoid drifting into an inferior position. As well as some interesting opening ideas, this game includes a very precisely played endgame from Black's point of view.
Modern Benoni: A Different Way to Play the Flick-Knife
Huebner - Mandon, Aubervilliers 2003 once again sees us travelling down one of the most crucial lines of the whole Modern Benoni - the 8...Nbd7 variation of the aptly named Flick-Knife Attack. The game begins 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 f4 Bg7 8 Bb5+ Nbd7 9 e5 dxe5 10 fxe5 Nh5 11 e6 Qh4+ 12 g3 Nxg3
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Now 13 hxg3 is the main attempt at the refutation of Black's play and we have looked at this move several times. In this game, however, the German legend is successful with 13 exd7+.
Queen's Indian 4 a3: A Forgotten Sacrifice?
The game Dmitrenko - Andreev, Donetsk 2003 is interesting in that White unleashes a gambit which was popular around twenty years ago: 1 d4 e6 2 c4 Nf6 3 Nf3 b6 4 a3 Ba6 5 Qc2 Bb7 6 Nc3 c5 7 d5!?
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An antidote was found for Black, but this twenty years is a long time! It's always possible that an opponent is either unaware of it or has forgotten it (one of these is certainly the case in this game). Anyway, even with best play White still has some compensation for the pawn (according to some old analysis by Grigory Serper).
Queen's Indian 4 a3: The Queen of the Queen's Indian
Judit Polgar, who recently broke through the 2700-rating barrier, has been using the Queen's Indian with some success over the past few years. Some might say that this is a strange choice for such an attacking player, but it just goes to show that the Queen's Indian has universal appeal amongst the top players. In the game Karpov - Polgar, Wijk aan Zee 2003, the Hungarian GM began solidly enough with the line 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 c4 b6 4 a3 Bb7 5 Nc3 d5 6 cxd5 Nxd5 7 Qc2 Nxc3 8 Qxc3 h6
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This little move is quite popular, as both 8...Bd6 and 8...Nd7 are met by the slightly awkward 9 Bg5, so Black expends a tempo to prevent this move. Karpov misses a trick a bit later in the game and from that moment onwards there was only going to be one winner.
Bogo-Indian 4 Bd2 a5
Talking of tricks, the game Chernin - Ivanchuk, Warsaw 2002, which begins 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Bb4+ 4 Bd2 a5 5 g3 d5 6 Qc2 c5!?, sees White falling hook, line and sinker into a cleverly concealed trap. This wins a pawn for Ivanchuk, which at this level is decisive.
All the best,
John Emms