Download PGN of April '06 1 d4 d5 games

Botvinnik Variation [D44]

Kempinski - Van Wely: The inclusion of the moves a2-a4 and ...Bf8-b4 is known to be risky for Black:

but White should not follow the usual Botvinnik plan as this gives Black a chance to begin play first, taking advantage of the active position of his bishop on b4. In this game Black missed a few options to prove a large advantage and eventually had to be satisfied with a repetition of moves.

Cheparinov - Vallejo Pons: The line White chose in this game was known to be dangerous for Black but it seems that things are not so clear - Black is doing well recently. White managed to achieve good compensation for a pawn here, but Black's position was always acceptable.

Izoria - Bartel: White recently prefers to develop his bishop by 11 g3 rather than get a passed pawn on the h-file by 11 h4:

Here Black immediately pushed his g-pawn forward but White did not mind giving up his central pawn and obtained a strong initiative for it. However, Black's play could have been improved so the line deserves more attention and analysis.

Ivanchuk - Vallejo Pons: Here one of the main lines was tested. Vallejo Pons came up with a novelty, which did not bother Ivanchuk much. Vassily ignored the threat to his centralised knight and, without wasting time, brought all his pieces into action and crushed his opponent in excellent style. However, Black could have played more cautiously on move 17, so the line still requires more analysis and practical tests.

Gormally - Trent: In the main line Daniel Gormally came up with a very interesting novelty, which strongly reminds me of Vassily Ivanchuk's idea, above. Black rejected the piece sacrifice but failed to extinguish White's initiative. It seems that White's approach can cause real headaches for Black but perhaps he can still defend better - let's wait to see future battles.

Kaidanov - Ippolito: Gregory Kaidanov played a very rare and suspicious looking continuation, accepting a pawn sacrifice which everyone usually rejects. He was certainly hoping to gain some benefit from the move which damaged his own pawn structure but his plans never looked realistic and Black's play wasn't too difficult to maintain a comfortable position.

Jobava - Cheparinov: White recently shifted to the development of his light-squared bishop, postponing Q-side action, in the Botvinnik (without the inclusion of the moves a2-a4 and ... Bf8-b4):

Such an approach looks more solid but Black still keeps reasonable counter chances. In this game a very sharp line has been tested - Black sacrificed his queen for two minor pieces and a couple of pawns, which helped him to calm White's initiative and achieve a very solid position. Later he played rather inaccurately and ruined his position almost entirely with his own hands, but objectively Black seemed to be doing well.

Williams - Ivanisevic: Ivan Ivanisevic introduced a very good novelty here but it was only a first step on the way to solving Black's problems. Then he had to foresee a series of energetic sacrifices which eventually led to an endgame with a rook down and ... sufficient counter chances! A beautiful game, which may give a boost to the line 13...Nxf6 14. Bg2 Bh6:

Shulman - Kaidanov: Here Gregory Kaidanov was on Black's side of the Botvinnik and in one of the deepest and most well-analysed lines he chose a continuation which was supposed to be insufficient for equality. However, the following play showed that White's chances were a bit overestimated although at one point he had a better option, which deserves more thorough analysis. As to the result of the game - Black just got overambitious...

Ruslan

If you have any questions, then please post a message at the 1 d4 d5 Forum, or subscribers can email me at ruslan@chesspublishing.com.