June '00 Update
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Welcome to this month's French Update. Here you will find games by humans, computers and, in the case of the computer aided Advanced Chess Match between Shirov and Anand, I guess what you can only describe as cyborgs! It's great to see the boring Petroff being replaced by the French at top class tournaments. I hope this trend continues- I don't want to see six Petroffs in the Kasparov-Kramnik match! So here are the latest trends in the French. |
King's Indian Attack
This is still astonishingly popular at the highest levels of chess. And it is no surprise really with the results that White is getting.
Last month we suggested a sound system for Black which can be found on the Advance/KIA eBook, 'Black's solid system with e5'. The latest word on this is the game Leko-Fritz, in which it doesn't look very solid at all! It's worth comparing the subtle handling of Black's position in Ansell - Nunn with the computer incompetence displayed in Leko-Fritz. This was a fine game by Leko, in the heavy weight positional style of Botvinnik, but the computer never got to grips with the strategical demands of the position. Click on Leko - Fritz for the perfect example of anti-computer chess.
Next, Black's shock victory in Shirov - Hernandez is more evidence that if White hopes to beat the ...d5 system he has to delay the development of his queen's knight. Once he has committed it to d2 and lost the option of a later Na3! he is deprived of his best attacking chances. The plan conceived by Shirov to complicate the struggle falls flat and in no time he finds himself a queen down.
This brings us to the important game Adams - Gurevich, in which Michael Adams adopts the formidable Na3! line. The Russian Grandmaster tries to revitalise the ...d5 set up for Black by sacrificing a pawn, but it all ends up going horribly wrong. However, things aren't so simple, as Black's play can be strengthened. This may be the last hope for Black to make the ...d5 system work.
The Classical
In the 4 Bg5 dxe4 variation we see a new idea for White from Kasparov. Sometimes an opening novelty is strong because it improves on existing theory, but most of the time its value is that it forces the opponent to confront a whole new set of variations. Bareev isn't used to being surprised in a variation he has played throughout his career- and there is a delayed reaction when he defends the endgame poorly, no doubt because he had used up too much energy in the early stages. Click on Kasparov - Bareev.
A popular line recently is 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Nce2, in which White tries to upset his opponent by turning the Classical into the Tarrasch! We have already seen a response based on ....Qb6 in Lalic - Speelman; In Anand-Shirov, played with the aid of computers, Black prefers to mobilise his queenside pawns. He never quite manages to equalise, and soon finds himself under enormous positional pressure. This is a model game by Anand and his metallic friend. Have a look at Anand - Shirov.
Winawer
Some recent games have made 4 exd5 exd5 5 Bd3 seem almost like a forced win against the Winawer. For example, in the May update the game Dvorys - Bauer saw Black struggling right from the start. And now this month we give a game in which the French stalwart Istvan Farago is beaten with Black in only 24 moves!
And yet despite his drastic defeat I think that Farago had employed the best method of countering this system- it was the implementation, not the idea, that was wrong. Have a look at Mueller - Farago and see what you think.
In the mainline Winawer, some months ago we recommended an improvement for Black on the game Svidler - Psakhis. One of our subscribers, Dr Gordon Evans, has had the chance to try it out in one of his own games. Take a look at Simmelink-Evans.. Of course, we don't mean to imply that you will always play better than Psakhis if you subscribe to this website- only some of the time!
Tarrasch
Here the best action is still after 3...Be7. It is incredible how many games there have been in this line when little more than a year ago it was a theoretical backwater.
First up is Adams-Morozevich. This is yet another great fight between these two superstars in the 3...Be7 variation. After the present game honours are even at 1.5/3 each, but I suspect that this isn't the last word in their long running feud!
As in the game Almasi - Timman, White scores an impressive victory in the 4 Bd3 variation which is fast being established as the mainline. Black plays the double edged 7..Nb4 rather than the solid 7...Bxc5. Have a look at Adams - Morozevich for a beautifully controlled performance by Michael Adams.
As an example of the potential of the alternative 7...Bxc5, we offer a light weight game from a quick play tournament in which one of my chess pupils disposes of a strong IM in 22 moves. Although it isn't of great theoretical interest it shows how even very strong players can be unnerved when facing a new opening system. Take a look at Ledger - Rendle.
The Advance
Sergei Movesesian is the World's leading authority on the Advance as White. At the Sarajevo tournament he had mixed fortunes, as he was crushed by a piece sacrifice from Gurevich [see Movsesian - Gurevich from the May update] and then had a hard fought win over Morozevich in the last round. True to his style, Morozevich played very energetically and made an interesting exchange sacrifice, but then he overpressed and lost. The theoretical verdict seems to be that Black is OK, but he has to assess things carefully: if he plays too passively, he will end up in a bind, while if he is too aggressive he will find himself material down in an endgame! Have a look at Movsesian - Morozevich.
Alapin 3 Be3
Finally, subscriber Bill Conrad has sent in some interesting analysis in which he describes how he decided on the best practical/ psychological response to the Alapin 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Be3. Thanks Bill- it's real food for thought. As Bill points out, one of the key things when meeting a gambit is to deny the opponent the flowing attacking game he wants. In the King's Gambit, for example, if Black accepts the pawn with 2...exf4 3 Nf3 g5 it is possible for White to keep tension in the position and prepare an attack. On the other hand, 2...d5, though objectively not as strong as the acceptance of the pawn, can be a frustrating business for an ambitious player of White as it liquidates the centre. The same reasoning applies in the Alapin. Have a look at Bill's analysis to the game Kichinski - Conrad.