Download PGN of October ’24 Flank Openings games
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Réti Opening, Capablanca’s System, 5...e5 [A07]
Rodshtein, M - Atabayev, S opened with a Réti, and after 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 d5 3 Bg2 Bg4 4 0-0 Nbd7 5 d3, Black went directly for the most principled setup with 5...e5:
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Following 6 h3 Bxf3 7 Bxf3 c6 8 e4 dxe4 9 dxe4, we reach a typical setup, where White has the bishop pair, while Black has good control of the dark squares. Black then went ahead with an unconventional plan of long castling with 10...Qd7 and 13...0-0-0. As the game proceeded, however, Black's king was awkwardly placed, and White generated a sustained initiative.
Réti Opening, Reversed Benoni [A09]
Arjun Erigaisi was unstoppable at the Budapest Olympiad, and Daneshvar, B - Erigaisi, A is an instructive example of him outplaying a strong opponent. After 1 Nf3 d5 2 g3 Nf6 3 Bg2 c5 4 0-0 e6 5 c4 d4 6 d3 Nc6 7 e3, the move 7...Nd7 was a rare choice, involving some risk since Black can fall behind in development:
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After 8 Na3 e5, White was perhaps provoked into 9 Nh4 (9 exd4 is more on point), and 9...dxe3 10 fxe3 created a backward d3-pawn, which caused White problems later in the game. Black continued to play concretely, and eventually built up a strong kingside attack.
English Defence 1 c4 b6 2 Nc3 Bb7 3 e4 e6 4 g3 [A10]
The English Defence remains playable, but is a comparatively rare guest in recent high level games. It is interesting, therefore, to review Supi, L - Kozak, A, which opened 1 c4 b6 2 Nc3 Bb7 3 e4 e6. Now 4 g3 is White's second most popular line (after 4 Nf3), and led to the diagram position after 8 0-0:
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After 8...fxe4, instead of the routine 9 dxe4, 9 Bg5 Nc6 10 Nxe4 Be7 11 Bxf6 Bxf6 left White with a small space advantage. Black resolved the tension with 16...e5, but this gave White a favourable Old Indian style pawn structure.
Neo-Catalan, 4...dxc4 5 Qa4+ Nbd7 [A13]
Stremavicius, T - Haring, F revisited the Catalan-style line 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 e6 3 c4 d5 4 Bg2 dxc4 5 Qa4+ Nbd7 6 Qxc4 a6 7 Qc2. Here the mainline starts with 7...c5 8 Nc3 Qc7, while 7...Rb8 is a logical move, supporting Black's goal of developing the c8-bishop via the b7-square:
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After 8 0-0 b5 9 Nd4 Ne5?, however, White clamped down on the c5-square with 10 Nb3!. Now 10...Bb7 11 Bxb7 Rxb7 12 d4 Ned7 13 Bg5, led to a dream Catalan for White, who went on to win.
Réti Opening 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 g3 d5 4 Bg2 Be7 5 0-0 0-0 6 d3 [A14]
After 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 d5 4 Bg2 Be7 5 0-0 0-0, we looked at the unusual line 6 d3 c5 7 Ne5 in last month’s Update. This idea appears to be growing in popularity, and appeared in 6 high-level games at the Olympiad!
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Here 7...Nbd7 was played in last month’s Caruana-Giri, while Indjic, A - Sindarov, J instead saw 7...d4. After 8 e3 dxe3 9 Bxe3 Qc7 10 f4 Nfd7 11 Nf3 Nc6 12 Nc3, the game was finely poised. Now 12...b6 gave White a chance to strike in the centre, starting with 13 d4, although after a few moves the initiative petered out, resulting in balanced chances.
Mikenas Attack, 3...d5 4 cxd5 exd5 5 e5 d4 [A18]
In the Mikenas, the following position arises after 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 e6 3 e4 d5 4 cxd5 exd5 5 e5 d4 6 exf6 dxc3:
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It used to be thought that 7 Bb5+ gives White an edge, but recent games (and engines) have cast some doubt on this. Maghsoodloo, P - Rodrigue-Lemieux, S instead saw the rare 7 fxg7, which could open up a new direction for White in this opening. After 7...cxd2+ 8 Bxd2 Bxg7 9 Bc4 0-0 10 Ne2 Nc6 11 0-0, White has the safer king, which makes the position a bit easier to play for White.
King’s English, 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Bb4 3 Nd5 a5 [A21]
Flores, D - Piorun, K opened with 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Bb4 3 Nd5 a5 4 Nf3 d6 5 a3 Bc5 6 e3 c6 7 d4 Ba7 8 Nc3 Nd7 9 Be2 Ngf6, reaching an important crossroads. If White castles short, Black will try to generate kingside pressure starting with ...e5-e4, ...d6-d5 and ...Ba7-b8 etc. The desire to play more actively with White has led to the emergence of the sharp line 10 g4:
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Now Black uncorked the novelty 10...exd4, striking back in the centre with 11 exd4 d5. After 12 g5 Ne4 13 cxd5 Nxc3 14 bxc3 cxd5 15 Bd3 0-0 16 h4 Re8+ 17 Kf1, White has a space advantage, but also a compromised king's position. White over-pressed with 20 g6 and 24 Qf4, and eventually succumbed to the kingside pressure.
King’s English, Reversed Dragon 6 a3 [A22]
Following 1 c4 e5 2 g3 Nf6 3 Bg2 d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5 5 Nc3 Nb6, Duda, J - Kantor, G White delayed castling, aiming to initiate early queenside play with 6 a3:
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Now 11 h3 Bh5, White established a strong grip on the light squares with 12 Nh4, 13 Nf5, 15 g4 and 16 Be4, even keeping the king in the centre 21 Ke2. White eventually won a complex game after many ups and downs.
Until next month, David.
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