Download PGN of November ’24 Open Sicilian games
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Lowenthal Variation 5...a6?! 6.Nd6+ Bxd6 7.Qxd6 Qf6 [B32]
We start with Pavlidis, A - Kristensen, K, where Black chose a rare and very risky opening line. It looks like Antonios was well-prepared in this line, however, and he played the strongest 13.Be2!:
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This move seems to set Black serious problems, and only the unseccussful novelty 18.Bf3? allowed Black to achieve a draw in a completely lost position.
Kan 5.Nc3 b5 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.0-0 Nc6 [B43]
The game Firouzja, A - Carlsen, M saw Magnus play the rare 9...Bd6!?:
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This idea was previopusly tested in a few of Dubov's games, where Alireza's 11.a4 is already a novelty. It didn't get Black confused, and after 16...f5! Magnus managed to activate all of his pieces at the cost of slight material losses. It was a well-played game by both players, and a draw was agreed on move 43.
The Four Knights 6.Ndb5 Bc5 7.Bf4 0-0 8.Bc7 [B45]
The next game, Ivanchuk, V - Vallejo Pons, F, saw Vassily demonstrate the strategic danger of Black's ambitious setup with 12...Ne7:
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The natural plan with 13.Qg3, followed by 15.Ne4! seems to pose Black definite problems. In fact, such a strong player as Francisco quickly came under a crushing attack after the inaccurate 17...Nc6?
Undoubtedly, the ball iis now in Black's couurt in this line.
The Four Knights 6.a3 d6 [B45]
In Neimann, H - Oparin, G White chose a quiet way of handling the Four Knights, where Black shouldn't face any serious problems. In the rare position after 12.Qd3:
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Black played the new move 12...Na5 that seems to offer him comfortable play. However, Grigoriy soon went astray with 13...Bxd5?!, letting White occupy the d5-square.
The really criticial moment came on move 26, when Hans impulsively played 26.Nf3? letting his advantage slip. Instead, 26.Nb3! would have put GM Oparin in a difficult situation.
Taimanov 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.0-0-0 Ne5 9.Qg3 b5 [B48]
In Vokhidov, S - Suarez Garcia, C White decided to test his lower-rated opponent in a relatively rare line that was previously covered in Sokolovsky - Volokitin. It looks like Carlos was familiar with the consequences of the piece sacrifice, and in the critical position after 14.b4:
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Black correctly played 14...Qb6. Still, Shamsiddin's preparation did its job - after the 2 mistakes 22...Nd7?! and 23...Qxa2? Carlos soon found his pieces fully paralyzed.
Classical 5...e5 6.Bb5+ Nbd7 [B56]
In the next game, Pranav, V - Nitish, B, Black chose a relatively rare line that gained some popularity after Caruana - Nakamura. White played the new (for our site) 8.Be2!?:
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and it got Belurkar confused - after 9...Bxf5? Black was alreeady on the verge of a total collapse from a strategic point of view. Pranav's further play wasn't perfect, but his eventual win is still well-deserved.
Najdorf 6.h3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Qf3 [B90]
In Liang, A - Robson, R White quickly deviated from well-known paths with 9.Bd2:
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Although it doesn't seem to offer White anything special, Awonder's idea was effective - Ray quickly went astray with 10...b5?!, followed by 12...Bc8?! Luckily for GM Robson, his opponent quickly returned the favor with 13.Ba5?! that allowed Black to solve his issues. Moreover, the careless 17.Qa3?! let Black take over the initiative and score the eventul win.
Najdorf 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 ..12.0-0-0 Nb6 [B90]
In our last game, Firouzja, A - Vachier Lagrave, M, Alireza decided to test his experienced opponent in one of the most researched Najdorf lines. Well, it was probably a good idea - it looks like Maxime has messed something in his preparation as after 17.h4:
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Black came up with the dubious novelty 17...Nb6?! The next serious mistake 19...Rae8? should have led to defeat, but MVL's stubborn defense paid off in this game, which was decided by Alireza's blunder in a completely winning position.
See you next month, Michael
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