Download PGN of November ’24 Flank Openings games
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Réti Opening, Capablanca’s System, 5 h3 Bh5 6 d4 [A07]
Wadsworth, M - Hristodoulou, P opened with a popular line of the Réti, 1 Nf3 d5 2 g3 c6 3 Bg2 Bg4 4 0-0 e6 5 h3 Bh5 6 d4 Nf6 7 c4 Nbd7 8 cxd5 exd5. Now 9 Ne5 is the trending move, but the alternative 9 Qb3 Qb6 10 Qe3+ also has its merits:
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Here White took the bishop pair with 12 Nxg6 hxg6 and started kingside expansion with 13 h4. Black had a solid position, but gradually came under pressure, and allowed White to get a favourable central break with 19 e4. White could have brought the kingside attacking plan to fruition with 25 h5!, but instead had to rely on an endgame grind, which eventually did pay off.
Réti Opening, 1 Nf3 d5 2 c4 d4 3 c4 c5 [A09]
Ghasi, A - Urekedal, F started with 1 Nf3 d5 2 c4 d4 3 b4 c5, essentially a Benko Gambit with reversed colours. White secured queenside space with 4 b5, and in fact was consistently pressing on the light squares throughout the game.
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In a complex middlegame, Black further weakened the light squares with 20...g5?. After that, White built up to, and executed, a decisive breakthrough.
King’s English 1 c4 e5 2 Nf3 e4 [A20]
Donchenko, A - Wojtaszek, R revisited the offbeat 1 c4 e5 2 Nf3, which has been popularized by GM Rakhmanov. Now 2...e4 is the critical test, with the diagram position being reached after 3 Nd4 Nc6 4 e3 Nf6 5 Nc3 Bb4 6 Qb3:
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Black has tried several moves here, but 6...Nxd4 7 exd4 Ba5 was rather unusual. Now 8 Qb5 chasing the bishop around may not be strictly correct, but it worked out for White after 8...Bxc3 (8...Bb6 leaves White's queen exposed) 9 Qe5+ Qe7 10 dxc3. The active bishop pair gave White the edge.
Adhiban Gambit, 5 Ngxe4 [A22]
The Adhiban Gambit, 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Nf3 e4 4 Ng5 c6, continues to be a good practical weapon for Black, with the game Hjartarson, J - Cumming, R being a case in point. Grabbing the gambit pawn with 5 Ngxe4 is White's most common choice, with the following position arising after Black’s 13th move:
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Black has decent compensation for the pawn, as it is not so clear how White should complete development and get the king to safety. In the game, both sides played accurately until the misstep 23 Bb4? allowed Black to break through with a crushing sacrificial attack.
King’s English, Four Knights 4 g3 Bb4 5 Bg2 0-0 6 Nd5 e4 [A29]
In Caruana, F - Keymer, V the players gravitated to a notoriously sharp line: 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 e5 3 Nf3 Nc6 4 g3 Bb4 5 Bg2 0-0 6 Nd5 e4 7 Nh4 d6 8 0-0 g5 9 d4 h6:
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White has tried various moves here, including 10 Ne3 from the game Caruana-Esipenko, featured in the February 2021 Update. Instead, White unleashed the surprise move 10 g4. This is not endorsed by the engine, but seems to have shocked Black, who went wrong immediately with 10...Re8?, allowing the knight jump 11 Nf5, after which White is clearly better.
Symmetrical English, 3 b3 Nc6 4 Bb2 d5 [A30]
The return fixture Keymer, V - Caruana, F opened with a quieter English, namely 1 Nf3 c5 2 c4 Nf6 3 b3 Nc6 4 Bb2. Now 4...d5 is the principled choice, which was met by 5 cxd5 Nxd5 6 Nc3:
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Black now set up a Maroczy bind structure with 6...Nxc3 7 Bxc3 f6 8 e3 e5. In response, White broke the centre open quickly with 9 Bc4 Qd6 10 0-0 Be6 11 d4. Black then got the king to relative safety with 15...0-0-0. White emerged a pawn up in an endgame, but Black was sufficiently active to comfortably hold a draw.
Symmetrical English, Four Knights 6 g3 Qb6 7 Nb3 [A33]
Sevian, S - Dominguez, L entered one of the mainlines of the Symmetrical, 1 c4 c5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nc3 Nc6 4 d4 cxd4 5 Nxd4 e6 6 g3 Qb6 7 Nb3 Ne5 8 e4 Bb4 9 Qe2 d6, reaching the following position after Black’s 12th move:
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After 13 Nd2 0-0 14 a3 Bxc3 15 bxc3 b6 16 Bg2 Qc7, we have a typical double-edged position. White has the bishop pair but a severely compromised queenside pawn structure, so decided to go for aggressive kingside expansion with 17 0-0 Ba6 18 g4 Nd7 19 Rf3. Initially, White generated a powerful kingside attack and was well on top, but the tables were turned and Black crashed through with a winning counterattack.
Symmetrical English, 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 c5 3 g3 Nc6 4 Bg2 e6 [A36]
Sadhwani, R - Bjerre, J started with 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 c5 3 g3 Nc6 4 Bg2 e6:
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Now the most common continuation here is 5 Nf3 d5 6 cxd5 exd5 7 d4 leading to a QGD Tarrasch. Instead, 5 Bxc6!? is a very rare try, creating an unbalanced pawn structure. After 5...dxc6 6 f4, Black responded aggressively with 6...h5 7 Nf3 h4 8 Nxh4 Rxh4. Black’s follow up to the exchange sac wasn’t the most accurate, however, and White took over the initiative.
Until next month, David.
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