Download PGN of October ’24 Open Sicilian games
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Kan 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Qc7 [B41]
We start with Garcia Pantoja, R - Carlsen, M where White chose the very solid line with 5.c4, followed by 9.f3:
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Even so, Magnus managed to quickly unbalance the position with the creative 11...h5!?, followed by 13...Ng4! The critical moment came on move 19, when the impulsive 19.Ne4? let Black win a pawn and quickly convert it.
In my opinion, 9.Qd3!?, as in Kollars - Movsesian, should set Black more problems.
Kan 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qe2 [B42]
The next game, Ivanchuk, V - Smirin, I, saw the players enter a rare but important theoretical position after 10.f4:
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Ilia prematurely decided to fix the pawn structure with 10...d5?! and got into a difficult position. White didn't manage to handle the middlegame a-la French precisely and let his advantage disappear. The game was decided at the very end, when Ilya played 38...Qb2??, allowing the white king's further activation.
The Four Knights 8...Bb7 9.Be2 [B45]
In the game Sokolovsky, Y - Aizenberg, B the players entered the interesting endgame that emerges after 19.Bd3:
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Benny demonstrated his deep knowledge and correctly played 19...a5!, intending to exchange the bishops. Alas, on the next move he made a tactical mistake and let White advance his passers and this should have led to a quick loss. Surprisingly, Yahli soon returned the favor, and at some point it was White who risked more. Luckily for GM Skolovsky, his opponent was the last to err in this dramatic game.
Classical Richter-Rauzer 6.Bg5 g6 [B60]
In Karthikeyan, M - Caruana, F Fabiano managed to confuse his opponent by choosing the relatively rare line with 6...g6. Murali went for a harmless line with 8.Qd2, where White manages to grab the d6-pawn, but Black's compensation is undeniable. Fabiano decided to go for the somewhat risky 11...Be6 12.exf5 gxf5:
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and this was fully justified after 13.Bc4? Alas, the further play by Murali wasn't the most resistant, and Black quickly developed a crushing attack.
Najdorf 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.Qd2 [B90]
An interesting theoretical discussion in line with 6...Ng4 took place in Abdusattorov, N - Vachier Lagrave, M. In the rare theoretical position after 14.Nd1:
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Maxim played the somewhat inaccurate 14...Be6. It was fully justified as Nodirbek came up with the dubious novelty 15.c3?! In the further complex play both players missed decent opportunities, and eventually a draw was agreed on move 41.
In my opinion, 15.f3! could have set Black some problems, so MVL's play should be improved earlier.
Najdorf 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 Be6 9.f4 [B92]
In Hovhannisyan, R - Daneshvar, B Robert chose the rare 9.f4:
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It looks like Bardiya wasn't deeply prepared in this line, even though it already occurred in several of Robert's games before. The avoidance of ...d6-d5 let White quickly develop activity on the kingside with 13.Rhg1! The critical moment came on move 15, when Robert missed the strong 15.Qe1! and slowly let his opponent take over the initiative. A well-deserved win for Bardiya.
Najdorf 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Bc4 Qb6 8.Bb3 e6 9.Qd2 [B94]
The next game, Albornoz Cabrera, C - Rodshtein, M, saw the players enter a sharp theoretical position that was covered a long time ago in Van Kampen - Tseitlin. 15...b4! is a clear improvement of Black's play in that game:
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and the route of this game proves that both players were equipped with deep analysis of the consequences. The further play was interesting and high-quality, and logically ended in draw.
Najdorf 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bxf6 [B96]
Our last game, Mamedov, R - Nepomniachtchi, I, is a bit confusing from a theoretical point of view. In the position after 9...g5:
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Rauf went for the dubious 10.g3?!, letting his opponent liquidate into a better endgame. Instead, Ian carelessly played 10...Nc6? which puts Black's king in big danger. Rauf soon returned the favor with 14.e5? but the endgame that arose after 15...Qg5 was still comfortable for him. Another big mistake by Nepo was 22...Rbf8?, and then 23.Nd7! secured White a winning position. Rauf's technique was impressive at the end.
See you next month, Michael
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