The Latest Theory - May '04
|
TonyK |
Hi everyone, another not very exciting month for the Flank Openings, there were a lot of blitz games, of doubtful quality, although I did find one of them interesting, as you will see. Also, there were several games where Black took a hot pawn on c4 - just for those who sometimes ask me where White finds his compensation!To download the May '04 Flank Openings games directly in PGN form click here: 
English Opening
1...c5
[A30]: Filippov,V - Shipov,S features an interesting way to handle the fashionable 7 Re1 Hedgehog, by delaying ...Nbd7. White then gets the opportunity to capture on f6 twice with different rooks!
[A36]: I remember my surprise when in the standard diagram position:
            
|
Tony Miles played 5...Bxc3!? against me in the British Championships many years ago! Although Fridman,D - Psakhis,L is only a blitz game (albeit a very pretty one), I was pleased to see that White found a very clear plan of play against this line that gives Black real problems.
[A37]: Talking of Tony Miles, in this same ...e6 Symmetrical Variation with colours reversed (that is, I had Black this time) we once reached this next position in the 6 d4!? pawn sac line:
|
|
Tony played 9 Qd2 (this is analysed in an earlier update) but 9 Nd2 is more popular, see Markowski,T - Macieja,B.
1...Nf6 & others
[A16]: Black tries to play a King's Indian Defence, but in the following position:
|
|
instead of 5...Nbd7, or 5...cxd4 he tries the original 5...Qe7?! to defend e5, and is on the receiving end of a brilliancy. See the exciting Mestel,J - Hynes,A.
Réti
[A07]: Nikolic,P - Khenkin,I features a line that normally equalises very effectively for Black, but here he plays a slightly different move order, to cut down on some of White's possibilities, but allows another, more favourable, one.
[A09]: In Schaeffer,V - Bronznik,V it seems clear that Black was going all out to win the ChessPublishing.com Game of the Month competition!
[A11]: Miroshnichenko,E - Kuzmin,A is one of those games where Black captures on c4 and tries to hang-on to the pawn:
|
|
White then offers a second pawn for a powerful, and ultimately decisive, queenside initiative.
[A13]: Same White player, same c4-pawn, different story! For Miroshnichenko,E - Kruppa,Y shows Black going on to win in double-quick time!
Bird's
[A03]: Black tries an idea much used with colours reversed against the Leningrad Dutch, first he plays 3...c6:
|
|
then he plays 4...Qb6 to hinder White from castling, and this worked very well, have a look at Jakubiec,A - Gdanski,J.
e-mails
Please feel free to share any of your thoughts with me, whatever they are, suggestions, criticisms (just the polite ones, please), etc. Drop me a line at the Flank Openings Forum, or subscribers can write directly to tonykosten@chesspublishing.com
Till next month, Tony K