June '00 Update
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Welcome to this month's Daring Defences Update, presented by GM Neil McDonald. |
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Old Indian
First of all, I would like to persuade some non-Old Indian players to add this defence to their repertoire. OK, perhaps it's not a good idea to play it in every game, but used occasionally, it is a good way to sidestep a theoretical battle against a 'difficult' opponent.
The most popular sequence is 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 d6 3 Nc3 e5, but if you are just getting started I would recommend an 'accelerated' form of the defence with 1 d4 d6 2 c4 e5. The question is whether the omission of the moves Nc3 and Nf6 is favourable to White or Black. White has three main responses, all of which we'll consider here.
Firstly, he can head for the endgame with 3 dxe5 dxe5 4 Qxd8+ Kxd8. Now, if you recall last month's game, Epishin - Salov, 1 d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Nf3 Nfd7 7.b3 f6 8.g4! turned out rather well for White. But without the moves Nc3 and Nf6 included, Black doesn't have to spend time with Nd7 to bolster e5: he can simply defend e5, if it is attacked, with f7- f6. Have a look at Kludacz - Malaniuk to see how Black obstructs White's thematic plan of g4.
Therefore White's Qxd8+ plan doesn't seem as effective if Black hasn't committed himself to Nf6.
The second approach for White is 3 Nc3. Now the response 3...exd4 has proved pretty disastrous for Black. As an example, have a look at Tratar - Srebrnic. Instead of conceding the centre, Black should hold firm with 3...Nd7. Then play with either transpose to the Old Indian mainline after for example 4 Nf3 Ngf6 5 e4 Be7 or the King's Indian after 4 Nf3 Ngf6 5 e4 g6. For a good treatment of the Old Indian Mainline, have a look at Johansen - Kosasih given in last month's update.
The third approach is 3 Nf3 when Black has the option of 3...e4. White can respond with either 4 Ng5 or 4 Nfd2, both of which are analysed in Sultanov - Poluljahov. This game seems to indicate that White plan of undermining the black centre can be ineffective.
Benko
This month we look at a critical line in the 4 cxb5 a6 5 b6 variation. The crux of the matter is reached at move 12. In the game Lomineishvili - Vasilevich Black follows a path recommended in various books on the Benko. Although it turns out successfully, this is only because White misses some dangerous attacking chances. I think the whole variation in this game is suspect for Black.
It is surely noteworthy that high powered GMs like Vaisser and Khalifman prefer the approach illustrated in the game Sammalvou - Claesen. Here Black gets a firm grip on the centre and always seems to have the edge.
Next we examine a recent battle in the popular 4 cxb5 a6 5 e3 variation. It is curious that in the mainline here White can set Black serious problems simply by completing his development. Only then does he consider lashing out with the standard e3-e4 advance. Black has a great pawn centre, especially as he has disposed of White's d pawn, but the question is whether he can survive the onslaught by the white pieces: there are a lot of open lines! The game Babula - Stocek is a great attacking display by White. If you are a fan of Black, perhaps you should compare it with Shapiro - Annakov given last month which had a very different outcome. It seems to be a safer way for Black to handle it.
Finally, in the mainline after 4 cxb5 a6 5 bxa6 g6 6 Nc3 Bxa6 7 e4 Black is still enjoying success with the plan of attacking White's centre with ....e7-e6. In the game Stojanovic - Vuckovic he is helped by White's poor opening play, but it is still impressive to see how quickly his attack becomes overwhelming once his centre has broken free from restraint.
Blumenfeld
It's been all quiet on the Blumenfeld front for a couple of months, but now I can offer you the interesting game Nguyen - Kallio. However, I don't think it will make Daring Defenders particularly happy as White wins in convincing style! He plays an unusual idea in the opening which makes Black overeach, after which his centre is broken up. Still, it's a nice game and Black's correct line, which gives him fair counterchances, is indicated in the notes.
So are you a Daring Defender who wants to see more coverage of the Blumenfeld? If so, we need your help! You could get the ball rolling by sending in one of your games. Thanks.
English Defence
The theme this month is the variation 1 e4 b6 2 d4 Bb7 3 Bd3 e6 4 Nf3 c5. At the recent Ljubljana tournament the International Master B.Filipovic played this variation no less than four times with Black! As his adventures were very interesting, we give three of the games and mention the fourth in the analysis.
In Gomboc - Filipovic, Black scores a thematic win by gaining control of the light squares after White hesitates to launch an attack and allows himself to be outplayed. However, there is bad news for Black in Filipenko - Filipovic, as White plays a strong improvement on the Gomboc game to gain a clear positional advantage right from the opening.
In these two games Black had kept the centre situation fluid, but in the third example Grosar - Filipovic he blocked the centre with ...d5!? He then succeeded in outwitting his opponent in the French-like pawn structure that arose. Maybe I'm biased towards the French, but looking at the evidence this appears to be the best way for Black to handle the variation.
Budapest
There always seems to be a dearth of games between strong players of equal strength in this opening.
First we have a model win by Black against 3 d5. Such games are only possible when the opponent fails to offer much resistance, but it is nevertheless instructive to see how all the Black pieces go to their best squares one after another. Take a look at Tabin - Giessmann.
Our second game is also a mismatch- former World Candidate Kevin Spraggett against an unrated player. The Grandmaster is White and the result is a smooth victory against the Fajarowicz. In fact he makes it look really bad. I guess 3...Ne4 just isn't playable against international class players. But judge Spraggett-Milla De Marcos for yourself.
Emailbag
Thanks to Pedro Chiaramitara for your email. I'll answer your query on the Grunfeld in the July Update. Thanks also to Igor Lakovic for his analysis on 9 Be3 in the Dutch. I agree, the Dutch Rules! By the way, regarding your French query of a couple of months ago, have you found any mistakes?
See you next time!
Neil McDonald