What's New- August '04
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I trust this late August 2004 finds all my chess friends around the globe well. Fed |
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Hello everyone!Lets not waste anytime getting to the chess.
To download the August '04 Open Sicilian games directly in PGN form, just click here: 
Sveshnikov/Kalashnikov Variation [B32-B33]
We'll start off with the (B32) section where we take a look at something we haven't seen for awhile, 4...Qb6:
            
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This line resembles a B57 Benko/Sozin and I wonder why it's even in the B32 grouping.
At any rate Dervishi did a number on Sax in this particular battle. Black tried a very early ...d5 with no development giving White a nice spatial advantage after 9 c4, when it looked similar to some Tarrasch French Defense positions.
White's forces were very well placed when 19 Nd5! showed up, putting Black under heavy pressure from which Black never recovered. 5 Nb5!? from the note Shytaj-Sax was interesting, and 6...Qd8!? turned out ok for Black in Repkova-Grabics. Everyone knows how much I hate the move Nb3 - see Game 1!
Paulsen/Taimanov [B40 to B49]
Next, yet another English Attack, this time a Taimanov (B48), Lindberg-C Hansen. Black won this game in a rout, but White missed chances in a few places. 13 Bc5!? with positional play looks like a decent alternative. Leko won a game with an idea like this a few years ago. 13 Nc5!? is another try. After the 15...Nxe5 grab, Black was on his way to victory.
Richter-Rauzer [B60 to B69]
Our lone Richter Rauser (B67) saw White win a rather uneven game vs Leminski with 9 f3:
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We can tell from looking at previous updates that Korneev handles this variation very well. This time out though he made a speculative pawn sac and was clearly worse. Black's king was strolling around the center, but was safe until a couple of inaccuracies (30...Ke8?? was the last) brought the battle to a sudden halt.
Some of the notes are important and deserve a look. 9...h6 didn't turn out badly, but White had a better idea starting with 12 Nxc6 Bxc6 13 Ne2. It looks like 9 f4 is on it's way back because Black is finding stuff against 9 f3.
Scheveningen [B80 to B89]
Off to 2 games from the (B80) section.
M Nielsen-De Firmian saw White start off in a solid 6 g3:
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then get over ambitious and run into a brutal counterattack. When White plays for the attack the position becomes like a Keres Attack where White has over prepared. De Firmian's defensive setup 13...Nd7, ...g6, ...Re8, and ...Bf8 is typical for this type of position. I think White should try 10 a4 and stay safe.
The second example in this code is Fontaine-A Sokolov which saw Black try an early ...d5 break in a Nc6 English Attack.. Play resembled a Dragon variation, but White got the better of it. The 9...d5!? break seen in the note Tissir-Timofeev looked stronger than in the main game.
We end this update with the (B81) group and a Keres Attack where Lawson lost the thread and went down to the brilliant defender and counter attacker Korchnoi. White has several decent plans, but the Rh3, Re3 idea was a little transparent.
See everyone at my hopefully not too late September 2004 update. Till then I wish everyone the best!
Adios, GM John Fedorowicz
P.S. Feel free to contact me at the Forum (above) or send stuff to my email at feddy@mindspring.com (subscribers only). I'll try to answer your questions as soon as possible. I've had problems replying when contacted through Chess Publishing at thefed@chesspublishing.com. Thanks! Fed.