What's New - August 2001
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The August update returns to its normal format, although the 5 Bf4 variation is further examined. Bye for now! Ruslan Scherbakov |
Main line Slav
Evgeny Postny came up with a rare idea in AUG01/01 which probably deserves more attention. Black was enticed into a line which is currently not thought to be his best option and didn't cope with the problems.
A new approach to counter the unusual 7...Nd5!? which served Alexander Morozevich very well in his games against Kramnik and Kasparov is examined in AUG01/02. Although at first glance not very ambitious, White simply completes the development of the kingside, surprisingly enough, he quickly achieved a superior position.
Botvinnik Variation
The bishop's sortie ...Bf8-h6 is quite typical for Botvinnik's variation and Black adherents always keep it in mind. However, it is not always playable, as AUG01/03 shows.
Chebanenko
Every time Alexander Morozevich is in action we look forward to seeing something special. In AUG01/04 he wasn't given a chance to play in his typical tricky style. He tried to make things complicated but... just ran into a brick wall.
5 Bf4 QGD
In AUG01/05 a natural continuation on move 20 turned out to be an interesting novelty which allowed White to reach an ending with an extra pawn and convert it to the full point with outstanding technique. A small detail makes this game even more impressive - the game was rapid and blindfold!
AUG01/06 Before long-castling appeared on the scene at the end of 1980's, the main White attempt was 10. Ra1-d1. In the critical position, which arises some moves later, Black faces problems with the advanced d4-pawn but Efim Geller's push 14. ..a5! gives him reasonable counter chances.
A fairly surprising appearance of a line which was popular in the 1980s. It wasn't given any precise conclusion then, since White's attention was distracted by the plan with long castling. In AUG01/07 Boris Alterman resumed the discussion but failed to achieve positive results because Garry Kasparov proved to be well-prepared for the argument.
QGA
This summer we were lucky to watch an interesting theoretical duel between both World Champions - Vladimir Kramnik was trying to stress Vishy Anand in certain variations of the Queen's Gambit Accepted. Here is the first attempt, AUG01/08 - White achieved a superior-looking position but then slackened the pressure...
AUG01/09 Trying to prove an advantage White sacrificed a piece for some pawns in the rival king's shield. It looked quite logical but Black consolidated his army without visible problems so maybe it just doesn't work.
AUG01/10 The final, and successful, attempt - Vladimir Kramnik won the battle in excellent style. This variation is one of the most annoying for Black in the QGA so it seems to be the time to do some homework!