French February 2002 Update
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Welcome to February 's Update. |
French Website Update
Welcome to February's Update. There has been a lot of action in the chess world in the last month, but not as much as has occurred at ChessPublishing.com!
You will have noticed that the drop down menus have vanished and been replaced with e-books. That may sound forbidding, but when you look through the e-books you will see everything set out very clearly, variation by variation: there will be no more trawling through a cluttered subpage clicking on everything and trying to find games that belong together.
All the previous Updates remain as normal, but in this and future updates you can't just click on highlighted names to get the games. You have to go into ChessPub.exe and fetch them. This is easy if you follow the instructions. It is also straightforward to read the introduction to the first game of this Update and then play through the game on ChessPub and then move on to the introduction to the next game and so on.
As well as a nice print-out-able ebook for every variation, there is also a PGN version in ChessPub which you can play through on screen. The ebooks are in effect 'road maps' that point out what games are on ChessPub in each specific variation. Remember though that they only give the 'main streets': if you cannot see the move you want to study in the ebook, don't imagine that there is no analysis of it on the website! Simply look through the games mentioned in the nearest variation to it in the ebook and chances are you will find detailed coverage in the notes to one of the games.
You can also download the February '02 French games directly in PGN form here: 
Well let's look at some chess. I'll begin with something rather unusual.
The Tarrasch 3.Nd2 b6!?
This makes a lot of positional sense- White has blocked in one of his bishops with 3.Nd2, so why not aim to exchange off his other bishop with ...Ba6? This line has been used by Hertneck and Totsky to take points and half points from strong players such as GMs Adams, Smagin and Brunner. If White responds slowly with a normal looking move such as 4.e5 or 4.Bd3, Black's system is justified- therefore White must play aggressively in a way that probably wouldn't occur to most players. To see how you can cast doubt over the whole of Black's strategy have a look at the detailed analysis in Tischbierek-Hertneck in [C03].
The Tarrasch 3...Nf6/5.f4
Here I have the chance to show off one of my rare wins. I think that the solid system with a quick ...f7-f5 is one of the best ways for Black to respond to the 5.f4 Tarrasch. Perhaps in the hands of an ingenious attacker like Shirov White's pressure on the kingside would yield something concrete; but in most games White is gradually falling apart on the queenside whilst he looks in vain for a decisive blow along the g file. That at least is what happens in the game given here. I hope you enjoy it along with the games given in the notes. Have a look at Cobb-McDonald in [C05].
The Tarrasch Ngf3 line.
After 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 we have looked at sophisticated lines with 7...g6 or 7...Be7, but what if Black just goes after the d4 pawn with 7...Qb6 and then captures twice on d4? This is the old mainline of the Korchnoi Gambit. Nowadays Black doesn't seem to have the appetite for this pawn as he is put on the defensive for a long time. However, at a recent tournament someone dared to snatch the pawn against the French GM Degraeve [who is rated 2591]. It was instructive to see the terrible punishment meted out. Have a look at Degraeve-Lukov in [C05].
The Advance
Here we revisit the ...Nh6; Bxh6 variation. In the well tested position that arises after
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Be2 Nh6 7.Bxh6 gxh6 8.Qd2 Bg7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Na3 Bd7 11.Nc2 cxd4 12.cxd4 f6 13.exf6 Rxf6 14.b4
            
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the move 14...Raf8 doubling rooks is almost universal, but Gdanski comes up with an entirely new way for Black to handle the position. White is no slouch [Elo 2360] but he is completely outplayed. I think this game may be of high theoretical importance. Have a look at Fernado-Gdanski in [C02].
King's Indian Attack
When I see what I describe as 'Black's most solid set up' absolutely crushed in a recent tournament game it makes me rather worried. Fortunately Black made some easily identifiable opening mistakes so we can enjoy an instructive game without worrying too much about the theory. Have a look at a model game for White in this line- Bologan-Firman in [A04].
The Winawer
This month we take another look at the topical line
4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qa5 7.Bd2 Qa4
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In two games at the recent Aeroflot Open in Moscow an interesting time-saving approach was adopted by White. Fedorov, who always attacks the French with great vigour, scores a convincing victory. Meanwhile Chris Ward, better known as a Dragon connoisseur, had an interesting game in a more standard line recently at Copenhagen, where he won first prize. Chris has contributed some notes to his game. You can find analysis of both White's methods in Fedorov-Pogorelov in [C18].
Apologies to subscriber Arturo Ochoa for not yet including anything on the Winawer sidelines he requested. There were just too many other ideas to consider this month.
The Rubinstein
The variation 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Bd3! proved the scourge of Black at the Corus Wijk aan Zee tournament. Bareev and Van Wely-first and last finishers at Wijk- were beaten in 20 and 19 moves respectively. One good thing about 5.Bd3 is that it doesn't just allow a transposition to super solid Classical territory after 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 etc- instead the knight stays on g1 while White develops his queenside. Therefore Black can't with impunity switch his move order between the Rubinstein and Classical- if say for example he likes the 4.Bg5 dxe4 Classical Variation, but he doesn't want to face 4.e5, he might try the 3...dxe4 Rubinstein move order instead. Then however 5.Bd3! keeps him well and truly in the Rubinstein.
Have a look at analysis based on the Wijk games in Khailfman-Bareev in [C10].
The Classical 4.Bg5 dxe4; 6...Bxf6
In the future Ruslan Ponomariov could well take over Anand's mantle as arch enemy of the French Defence. After all, in the December Update he crushed Vaganian in the Armenian's favourite 5...Ba5 Winawer; in January he wiped out Morozevich in the Russian's pet 6...gxf6 Classical; and now it is the turn of his fellow countryman Ivanchuk to receive some rough treatment. Ivanchuk was by no means at his best in the FIDE World Championship Final, but the ease with which Ponomariov won is still remarkable. He reminds me of Karpov in the days when the former World Champion still studied opening theory and sought the initiative as White. Have a look at Ponomariov-Ivanchuk in [C11].
Classical 4.e5
The position reached after 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a6 11.h4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.Rh3 b4 14.Na4 Bxd4 15.Qxd4 remains critical.
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Subscriber Leo Martinez asks if 15...a5 is OK for Black here. The game previously given on the website between Fedorov and Korchnoi was a highly unpleasant experience for Black as he was soon forced into a bad endgame. However, at the Aeroflot Open in Moscow, Akopian dared to repeat the first 17 moves against Fedorov and emerged unscathed. This was a fairly quick draw, but as they say a lot remained behind the scenes. As you will see from the analysis, my main worry for Black is whether White can escape simplification by launching a wild attack with a piece sacrifice at some point around move 18 or 19. As Akopian allowed the possibility and the King's Gambiter Fedorov turned down the chance, I guess Black is OK! Have a look at Fedorov-Akopian in [C11].
From the diagram, my correspondence with subscriber Ron Langeveld indicates that Black doesn't have an easy life after the alternative 15...f6. Here is his latest email in italics; my response is in ordinary typeface. The game he refers to Further Analysis-Further Analysis, which was given in the November 2001 Update.
Dear Neil,
Thanks for putting some analysis from my mail on ChessPublishing. Currently I'm a bit pressed for time, so I'll take a closer look at your comments at a later stage. I hope I have time for that. Particularly for the note on move 23 with 28...Nxd3; where you say you believe in the long term compensation for black based on better minor piece (I don't think this is true) better king (yes, but only temporarily) and better rook. I admit the position needs some extra analysis, but I believe the final assessment will be that black cannot hold the draw. Black has weak pawns and white has two nice majorities to choose from. I believe that black is not active enough to inhibit white in gradually improving his position.
[diagram of position after: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a6 11.h4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.Rh3 b4 14.Na4 Bxd4 15.Qxd4 f6 16.Qxb4 fxe5 17.Qd6 Qf6 18.f5 Qh6+ 19.Kb1 Nf6! 20.Nb6 Ne4! 21.Qc7 Rf7! 22.Qc6 Bb7 23.Qxe6 Rd8!? 24.Qxh6 gxh6 25.Bd3 Nf2 26.Rg3+ Rg7 27.Rxg7+ Kxg7 28.Rf1 Nxd3 29.cxd3 Kf6]
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For example 30.g4 e4 31.d4! and white will win, although not immediately.
I disagree with this- no way should Black shut in his bishop with 30...e4? 31.d4. After say 30...Bc6 threatening 31...Rb8 besides the positional 31...Rg8, Black has the better chances- it is White who will have to play carefully to draw. In a position with such an imbalanced pawn structure the bishop is stronger than the knight.
I am happy though that we agree on the assessment of the 15...Qa5 variation, which bothered me from white's point of view. I have chosen to play the Kasparov variation with 10.g3 (from Kasparov-Shirov, Astana, 2001) My opponent immediately chose a better move (10...a6) than what Shirov played. I actually like to write about this complex more than about the previous stuff, since it is my current choice in the Classical 4.e5
From the start, the variation involved is [you can see this in the game Further Analysis-Further Analysis]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a6 11.h4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.Rh3 b4 14.Na4 Qa5 15.b3 Bxd4 16.Qxd4 Bb7 17.c3 Rfc8 18.Kb2 bxc3+ 19.Rxc3 Rxc3 20.Qxc3 Qd8!
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Here you [NM] say: 21.Rc1 looks critical: can White profit by seizing the c file?
I think there is no way for white to profit. After 21...Rc8 22.Qb4 Rxc1 23.Kxc1 Qxh4 24.Qxb7 Qxf4+ 25.Kb2 Qxf1 26.Qxd7 Qxg2+ 27.Ka3 g5! and since any white attempt is bound to be slower than black's march of the g-pawn white only has a perpetual check here.
In fact I think Black is playing with fire here, for example 28.Qd8+ Kg7 29.Qf6+ Kg8 30.Nc5 and the knight joins in the attack, e.g. 30...g4 31.Nd7 g3 32.Qg5+ Kh8 33.Nf6 and mates.
As black I would choose 23...Bc6 hoping for something like 24.Qd6 Bxa4 25.bxa4 Qc8 26.Kd1 Nc5 27.a5 g6 28.Qb6 Na4 29.Qxa6 Qc3 30.Bd3 Nc5 and black is winning.
I agree with this, as already given in the game Further Analysis-Further Analysis.
Kind regards and till the next time,
Ron Langeveld
My thanks to Ron- although I disagree with his assessments this time his analysis of both lines given in the November Update was much superior to my own. Now I'm waiting to see what he has to say about the Kasparov-Shirov line!
Well that's all until next time. Happy hunting with your chess- remember if an 18 year old is World Champion it can't be that difficult a game!
Best Wishes,
Neil.