What's New- July'00
Paulsen/ Taimanov
Greetings fellow Sicilian players! I hope this update finds everyone well.
Some fresh stuff in the Kan Paulsen. First check out Fedorowicz - Ehlvest and Galliamova- Kobalija. Yours truly chickened out, but the final position and the ideas are worth looking at. Galliamova won a nice positional effort.
We have 2 ...Qb6 games. I like the way Kuzmin played vs Rogovski in FED542 and Karklin's treatment vs Goldin in FED543 is worth a look as well.
Ulibin - Meister sees a real crush. Black's opening is in bad shape!
Sveshnikov/ Kalashnikov
Welcome to the B32-B33 Lasker/ Pelikan/ Sveshnikov/ and Kalashnikov update. Nothing interesting on the Kalashnikov front, but the Svesh saw some serious action from the big boys!
Leko - Kramnik is the only game where white proved something in the opening... certainly worth a look.
Anand - Kramnik and Galkin - Krasenkow were solid draws.
Kasparov - Kramnik was solid then got out of control.
Over all a good month. Good to see the world's best discussing the sharp stuff!
Scheveningen/ English Attack
The Najdorf/Scheveningen B80to B89 July update features some newish ideas.
I like Frolov - Dvoirys as a way of getten off the beaten track. I think it's worth a shot.
In Zubarev - Schneider black achieved a nice setup, only to ruin it with an untimely ...d5. I don't think black even needs ...d5. It looks like good piece play.
In Sax-H Odeev blacks plays the reliable 6...Qb6 vs 6 f3, and we finish with a strange tranposition in H Odeev-Lutz. It became a normal Scheveningen with ...h6 inserted. Who that helps if anyone is unclear!
Good Luck. PS Remember B80 to 89 is closely tied to B90 to 99.
Najdorf
Hello everyone! The B90 to B99 July updates sees no earth shattering news, but some games of interest.
Bologan - Xu Jun and Bakre - Krush see persistent Najdorf players sticking with 6...Ng4 vs 6 Be3. Bologan wins a prolonged battle (at least according to the result I have!) while Irina Krush looks to be suffering out of the opening, but she defended well and drew.
Vescovi - Leitao looks good for white, but he overplays it and loses! In Kovalev - Bologan we see why 6 Bg5 side variations hardly work. This one sees black win easily. Both Qd3 and Qf3 tries seem to have hit the wall.
Classical Sozin/ Two Knights
The B54 to B59 July Sozin update sees the Benko system continue its great run.
We see three of them... In Petrov - Arbakov white's insipid play allows black to get a comfortable game effortlessly.
My game with Doss was a real tactical slugfest which I think was ok for me. It might be important for theory, but I'm not sure!
S Polgar handed Hort his head after he plays the opening in an odd fashion. Still he missed some decent chances.
We finish with Livshits - Epishin where black continues to rake in points with his pet line.
Richter Rauser
Hello Richter Rauser fans! Another month passes with the question. Where is Zdenko Kozul!?
Perunovic - Damljanovic is his variation but black misplayed it which seems to be the theme for July! 14...h5 looks dubious. 14...b4!? looks OK, 15 Ne2 0-0-0 perhaps.
The last 3 of this month, Shabalov - Burnett, Gusienov - Smirov, and Breznik-K Grosar feature weird move order tricks. In all 3 black didn't react well at all. It's always better to learn from other players` mistakes than our own!
See everyone in August. Good Luck and happy chess hunting!