Daring defences for April 2003
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There's a new book on the market that should interest Dutch Fans: Play the Classical Dutch by Simon Williams (Gambit 2003). Now if you've just gone out and bought Pinski's Classical Dutch book you'll probably need some persuading to get yet another book on the same subject! GM Glenn Flear |
It's a coincidence that there's been nothing published in this area for donkey's years and now two books come out in the space of a few months. Simon is a fairly young author but has played the Dutch a fair bit. Maybe with him and Nick Pert playing these systems regularly it's high time something was put into print by one of the English 'brat-pack'.
I don't want to get into book-reviewing mode (I already do too much of that for New In Chess) but just let me give a few pointers which may help Daring Defence fans.
Simon's book is fairly easy going and easier for a weaker player to digest than Pinski's book, but a bit lightweight in some areas. It does however cover lines involving ...Bb4+ and Alekhine's 6...Ne4 which are absent from Pinski's. Some original ideas, own games and another meritworthy angle on the opening. Williams, Pinski, Kindermann and Beim don't always agree how to play the sidelines (see 2 Bg5 for a good example), so you'll have to keep following the Daring Defences column to observe how current practise bears out their ideas (although you'll have to be patient as this month's Dutch Games are both Leningrads!).
To download the April '03 games in PGN form click here: 
A selection of 11 games from various openings this time. In the Grünfeld I have concentrated on those lines where White plays an early Nf3 (the D90's).
Noteworthy is the inclusion of three games in the English Defence which is becoming fashionable and thus deserves a closer look.
Benko
Concerning the Benko, I received a reader's letter from Sebastien Marga who is not that happy with Black's position after the critical 10 Rb1 in the fianchetto variation. Let's see why, shall we!
            
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The bad news is that Kramnik has played it again, this time beating Van Wely! I have gone into some detail concerning recent theory in the notes of Game Five. Kramnik is not the only one who is using this line to great effect and despite the occasional successful defence, Black has yet to find anything fully convincing. I have suggested some ideas in the notes to Game Five but I'm not sure that Sebastien will be that impressed. Don't forget to go to the e-mail book where it's clear that this line also pre-occupied my predecessors! Frankly this line seems to be a problem for Black, so much so that it even casts something of a shadow over the whole opening. If I had to stick my neck out I'd suggest 13...Nb6 (see the notes to Game 5) as the best hope to equalise, but as White practically has a repetition I'm not going to make many friends amongst win-seeking dynamic defence practitioners!
While we are thinking about the Benko, in Game Four Dreev is able to win against Bellon by simply waiting for his opponent to lose patience. This could be annoying for defenders of 5 b6 e6, but Black can vary, for instance at move 14.
English Defence
Games 1-3 cover the English Defence. The first two represent successful models of how to defend: After 4 Bd3 (met by 4...Nc6)in Game 1 and 4 Qc2 (by 4...Nf6!?) in Game 2 Black obtained solid positions. In the main line (where White plays an early a2-a3, preparing Nb1-c3 and d4-d5) played by Kiril Georgiev against Mershad Sharif in Game Three things were less clear, but I still suspect that Black was holding his own. Check out my suggested improvement on move twenty.
All-in-all the English Defence seems to be going through a positional revival i.e. Black players deciding that well-placed minor pieces can indeed combat the big pawn front.
Dutch
For this month's Dutch games (Games Six and Seven) Black mistimes ...e5 in both cases. In the former he gets away with the imprecision, but not in the latter where Chabanon obtains an overwhelming bind against Koch. An example of what not to allow!
Owen's Defence
Owen's Defence time in Game Eight where 7...d5 is given a successful outing. A more satisfying way to obtain a French Defence middlegame than 1...e6 as it avoids loads of theory and the Exchange Variation! See the e-book for some extra detail as I've covered this line in a recent response to a Forum question. Not a bad line at all for Black in my opinion, it looks tempting!
Grünfeld
Game Nine is a shocking loss by a 2600+ player. It shows that they are mortal and do have holes in their opening repertoire!
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See the notes as to why I believe Gershon didn't repeat the line against Svidler in a later round.
Bareev and Van Wely have been having a theoretical battle this year in the Hungarian Variation, see Game Ten. So far full marks for Van Wely as Black. What will the Russian come up with next time?
In Game 11 we see why 10...e6 is so popular: White can't seem to find anything against it whereas the rival move 10...Nc6 is looking a mite shaky. Leading specialist Babula could have defended better against Navara but it's evident that Black had a comfortable time all along.
Until next time, have fun and be daring.
Write to the Forum, or to Glenn_Flear@chesspublishing.com.