Download PGN of August ’22 Open Sicilian games
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Sveshnikov 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.a4 [B33]
The game Albornoz Cabrera, C - Mamedov, R saw White employ the flexible 11.Bd2!?, that was introduced by Vishy Anand few years ago:
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In response, Rauf followed Tal's footsteps with 11...a6 12.Na3 a5 and he faced the same strategic issues as in Anand - Baron. On move 15 White deviated from Vishy's game with 15.Nc4 and obtained a clearly better position. The really critical moment of the game came on move 27, when the impulsive 27...b5? led Black to a quick collapse.
Classical, Richter-Rauzer 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd3 Bd7 [B62]
In the next game, Smirnov, A - Henriquez Villagra, C, the players entered a sharp theoretical position, that is very similar to a Sveshnikov:
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Anton deviated from the previously covered Delchev - Shevcheko with 15.a3 that led to an approximate equality. The further play was full of mutual mistakes, but the balance was more or less kept till move 30, when 30.Ne7?, followed by 34.Rf3? led to a quick collapse.
Najdorf 6.Rg1 h5 [B90]
In Abdusattorov, N - Giri, A the young Uzbek Grandmaster managed to confuse his strong opponent with the relatively rare 6.Rg1, even though Anish already faced it in the past. This worked perfectly, since after 8...Bg7 9.Qe2!:
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White quickly seized the initiative, and kept it till the end of the game. Only the inaccurate 32.Re1?!, followed by 33.Rc5? allowed Anish to achieve a draw.
Overall, I believe that Black should search for an early improvement, such as 8...b5!?
Najdorf 6.h3 e5 7.Nde2 e5 8.Bg5 [B90]
The next game, Duda, J - Paragua, M, saw Mark defeating his much higher-rated opponent in great style. On move 14 Black played 14...h4!? that didn't occur on our site before:
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White reacted with a standard knight regroup, and then Mark came up with the interesting innovation 16...0-0!? GM Duda bravely accepted the challenge and took the pawn, although Black's initiative on the q-side looked scary to the human eye. Even so, had White played 24.b5, keeping the a-file locked, the result of the game would be unpredictable. Instead, the timid 24.a3? led to a quick collapse.
Najdorf 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 [B90]
In the game Sadhwani, R - Dominguez, L White chose the relatively uncommon setup with 10.0-0-0 followed by 12.Bd3. After few natural moves by both sides Raunak came up with the original novelty 15.Rg1!?:
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In response, Leinier prematurely played 15....b4? although it was fully justified by the timid 16.Ne2? This allowed Leinier to temporarily seize the initiative, but the careless 20...a4? retuned the favor.
At the end, the younger player was luckier and scored a very important point for his team.
Najdorf 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Be7... 12.g5 Nh5 [B90]
The next game, Caruana, F - Yilmaz, M, saw Fabiano trying to confuse his lower-rated opponent with the rare 14.Qf2:
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Mustafa reacted well with 14...Nc4, followed 16...Rc8 and obtained a good position. Alas, the impulsive 18...Bg5? spoiled all Black's previous efforts, and Fabiano managed to convincingly convert his big positional advantage.
Despite such a defeat, I don't think 14.Qf2 poses Black any problems.
Najdorf 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Be7... 12.g5 b4 [B90]
In another of his games vs Maghsoodloo Fabiano faced the most common 12...b4, and then chose the forcing 13.gxf6. The further natural play by both sides led to the critical theoretical position after 20.Kb1:
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Here Parham played 20...Nh5, but the attack on the f3-pawn turned-out to be ineffective. Moreover, the dubious innovation 22...Qh4?! made it difficult for Black to cover his weaknesses. Even though Fabiano's further play wasn't the most precise, he still managed to win the game in nice style.
Regarding the opening, 20...d5!?, as played by Grischuk, looks the most challenging for White.
Najdorf 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Qe2 h6 8.Bh4 g6 [B94]
We end with Ter Sahakyan, S - Dominguez, L, where the players entered a very sharp theoretical position after 17...Nf6:
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At this point White played the new move 18.Rc1 with a clear intention to push ..c2-c4. In my opinion, Black should have ignored this with 18...f4, but even after 18...b4 it was White who has to struggle for equality. Samvel managed to withstand the pressure for a while, but the careless 31.Nd4? put White's king in big danger.
Overall, a well-deserved win by Leinier. Undoubtedly, 18.Rc1 isn't very impressive, but I hardly see any problems for Black in this line anyway.
See you next month, Michael
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