Download PGN of December '07 1 d4 d5 games
Queen's Gambit Declined - Ragozin System [D38]
Beliavsky - Mamedyarov: Alexander Beliavsky chose the 'other way' for his bishop here, 16. Bh4:
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but White's approach in the game Grischuk - Morozevich/WCh Mexico City 2007 still seems more promising for White.
Cheparinov - Mamedyarov: Ivan Cheparinov preferred an alternative main line with 13. Bxd7, instead of moving the bishop back to h3. Black achieved a good position here but in the complex middlegame White's play looked easier while Mamedyarov was not quite successful with his manoeuvres. However, Black's position was still full of resources until one careless defensive move spoiled everything.
Moscow Variation [D43]
Eljanov - Anand: Vishy Anand came up with an improvement over his game against Vladimir Kramnik (Kramnik - Anand/WCh Mexico City 2007) and easily solved all of Black's problems.
Gustafsson - Rodshtein: Jan Gustafsson introduced a strong novelty over the game Izoria - Erenburg/ World Cup Khanty Mansyisk 2005, which quickly ended by a repetition of moves. Here Black failed to cope with the problems and his life does not appear to be that easy in this line.
Alekseev - Bareev: The Anti-Moscow Gambit has become very popular these days and even such positional players as Evgeny Bareev do not hesitate to play it. Here he repeated a good idea of Levon Aronian's, which had been introduced some days before. Alekseev came up with a small innovation but anyway Black solved his problems with ease. It seems that White has to find something more convincing in the 14. a4 line or maybe shift to other options.
Inarkiev - Aronian: Ernesto Inarkiev came up with an interesting idea on the same 14th move, 14. Re1:
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and very energetic play soon allowed him to win a queen for two minor pieces. As usual, though, Levon was cool in defence, and he managed to get good control of the position, although objectively White's chances were always preferable. However, it is not always easy to play with an extra queen and White eventually went astray, which can be partly explained by the rapid time control of the game. As to White's opening idea - Black seems to be able to parry it with precise play but more analysis is still required.
Aronian - Gustafsson: Levon Aronian came up with an interesting novelty in a well-known position and comfortably outplayed his opponent. Black's defence could be improved but White's initiative still looks promising - let's await future battles for more precise conclusions.
Avrukh - Sargissian: This line had been tested twice in Mexico and Black scored 1, 5 points. However, this game shows that his life might not be so easy in fact - Boris Avrukh came up with an interesting combination of typical ideas, which has never been played before, and just smashed Aronian's second Gabriel Sargissian in brilliant style.
Catalan [E01-09]
Kramnik - Carlsen: Magnus Carlsen displayed excellent preparation in Kramnik's pet Catalan - his way to equalise, as well as the speed of his play in the opening were quite impressive!
Shirov - Jakovenko: Another idea which served Vladimir Kramnik well in Mexico, 11. a3, seems to have been parried by Dmitry Jakovenko:
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A very energetic series of moves gave him good play, although Alexey Shirov still found a way to fight for some advantage. However, the general conclusion is: Black should be fine.
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.