What's New- October '01
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Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 Welcome to October's French Update. The games in each update aren't selected solely for theoretical importance- an interesting, creative struggle, especially between strong players, will always be chosen. This is because the French player has to learn how strong players handle the typical pawn structures. |
I would recommend you play through every game in each update, whether or not you play the particular variation. As Emanuel Lasker-World Champion for 27 years- once remarked, it is impossible for a player to study a game of chess between strong players without learning something from it. There may be a tactical device or strategical idea concealed in one of these games which will be a bulls eye when you apply it in one of your own games!
The Advance Variation
The battle continues in the 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nh6 variation. Normally if White responds 6 Bd3 it means he has given up on the idea of Bxh6, but the young star Grischuk has found a new way to interpret the position.
The result is that Bareev- one of the most solid GMs in the world- loses in a mere 17 moves. One of the commonest traps in the Advance variation runs something like this: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Bb5? Nxe5! and Black wins a pawn. Bareev is much too impressed by this idea, and fails to see the danger. A remarkable game- if this is good for White then the whole line with 5...Nh6 may be in danger.
Have a look at Grischuk-Bareev, OCT01/07.
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
The Tarrasch 3...c5 4 exd5 Qxd5
The long mainline still seems watertight for Black. This is good news for fans of the system as it means the onus is on White to diverge and find an improvement. In the game given this month Sax makes a half-hearted attempt to break through Black's defences, but is crushed by a brilliant counterattack. I once read that Vladimir Tukmakov is one of the greatest players of all time at refuting an unsound attack. He certainly proves it here. Have a look at Sax- Tukmakov, OCT01/09.
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
The Tarrasch 3...c5 4.exd5 exd5
Compared to the sharp lines after 4...Qxd5, it is much quieter here. In the game I've selected Black plays the sequence of opening moves I regard as best, namely 5.Ngf3 Nf6! rather than 5...Nc6 so that 6.Bb5+ can be answered by 6...Bd7 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7.
            
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In this game Black, a competitor in the World Junior Championships rated 2530, outplays his opponent in very instructive style. However, he is too eager to grasp at a material advantage and 'only' emerges with an extra pawn in the endgame. Not only does he fail to win the endgame, he even loses it! It is as if he had a twin brother rated 1200 who took over for the endgame. This is a useful reminder that there is more to chess than opening knowledge. I remember an old saying that 'if you want to win, begin with the ending'. Enjoy Carlsson-Potkin, OCT01/02.
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
The Tarrasch 3.Nd2 Nf6/5.Bd3
Perhaps you are White and want to play into the mainline with 4.e5 Nfd7 5.c3 c5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 f6 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.0-0 Bd6 11.Nf3. You are happy with lines involving 11...Qc7 and 11...Qb6, but after 11...0-0 you don't want to get involved in a heavy theoretical debate with 12.Bf4. The move to choose is therefore 12.Bg5. In the game selected White defends coolly to beat off an unsound attack. Have a look at the curiosity on the 13th move in Gavrilov-Zdrazil, OCT01/03.
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
The Tarrasch 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Ngf3 Nc6
Here we continue our survey of lines in which White avoids c2-c3. Last month we looked at 7.Bd3; now we will examine 7.Nb3. This looks like a waste of time after 7...c4 8.Nbd2. However, if he could Black would like to nudge his pawn back to c5 so that he has pressure on d4 again! With the centre blocked, White can prepare a slow and methodical kingside attack. It turned out brilliantly for him in a game at the recent European Team Championships. Check out Malakhov- Volkov, OCT01/01.
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
Tarrasch 3...Be7
Looking at the statistics I see that I have given ten of my own games so far on the website- eight wins and two draws! So a bit of modesty in the form of a loss is well overdue. At the recent MindSports Olympiad in London I had a game with IM Danny Gormally in which he played the critical variation in the 3...Be7 4 e5 system. In fact it began via the alternative move order 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 Be7.
I have often criticised this line for White in the past but Danny showed that it does have some fangs. Unfortunately I ruined a theoretical important game with my old weakness- an unsound sacrifice. You can see the suggested improvements for Black in Gormally-McDonald, OCT01/08.
Minasian, the Armenian GM, is well known to be a highly tactical player- indeed some of his games give the appearance of being one long trap. Here he comes up with a very original approach for Black in the 'other' key 3...Be7 position. This begins 3.Nd2 Be7 4.Bd3 c5 5.dxc5 Nf6 6.Qe2 and by now we all expect 6...Nc6. However Minasian has other ideas.
There are two variations that could reasonably be christened the Armenian Variation- 3...Be7 in the Tarrasch or 5...Ba5 in the mainline Winawer. Have a look at Hachatrian- Minasian, OCT01/04.
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
Classical Variation: 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Next up is the 'solid' handling of the Classical- as opposed to Morozevich's 'dynamic' 6...gxf6. Zoltan Almasi makes an attempt as White to improve on the game Van den Doel-Gurevich given on Chesspub. If you have read the comments above you will see that I have called Tukmakov one of the greatest players of all time at refuting an unsound attack. I guess the reason he never quite scaled the heights was that he didn't have the same flair when it came to seizing the initiative. In the game given here his opponent snatches a rather risky pawn. This compels Tukmakov to launch an attack with sacrifices at all costs. But he holds back and contents himself with slow moves, after which his opponent consolidates and wins easily with his extra pawn.
The theoretical verdict of this line is up in the air- if Black had been Radjabov or Gurevich I suspect the result might have been different, though Almasi's improvement might be strong. Have a look at Almasi-Tukmakov, OCT01/06.
Classical 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
The 'Anti-Anand' line 6.Nf3 h6 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Bb5+ c6 10.Bd3 has again been countered with 10...Bd7 in a high profile game. A couple of months ago Korchnoi defended successfully against Svidler when White castled queenside; that made me wonder what would happen if White castled kingside. In my notes to the Korchnoi game in Chesspub I mentioned that Black's natural response was ...c6-c5, but now that I've seen this played in the game Van den Doel- Van Wely I'm not sure: Van Wely seemed to be taking a big risk. According to Bobby Fischer a chess player has to know when to duck and when to punch- Van Wely punched very impressively at the end, but I think he should have ducked more at the start! See for yourself in Van den Doel-Van Wely, OCT01/05.
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
Fort Knox
What may be regarded as the mainline is reached after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.0-0 Ngf6
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Now White has the sharp 8.Neg5 or the calmer 8.Ng3, but perhaps his most interesting plan is 8.Ned2!? aiming to put the knight on c4 where it can either occupy or control the key e5 square.
I first played the Fort Knox as Black at the [now sadly defunct] Lloyds Bank Masters in London in 1993. I was preparing for my game with Ian Rogers when Andrew Ledger [who now has two GM norms], suggested I give it a go. He spent about an hour showing me some lines and then sent me into battle. I won using his recommendation of answering 8.Ned2 with 8...Nd5 in the above line.
Well eight years have gone by and at the recent 4NCL- the British Chess League- I was Black against Andrew Ledger and dared to play the Fort Knox. He had a nasty surprise waiting for me after the move he had shown me- 8...Nd5. I guess the rule is never to teach someone anything unless you now how to beat it!
I now think another option should be preferred by Black. Have a look at Ledger-McDonald, OCT01/10, for the details.
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6
Classical: 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7
Well it's time to go again. Good luck in your games!
Neil.
Correspondence with subscribers will now be dealt with in the main body of the Update. Next month I'm hoping to answer some more questions- so send them in!