What's New - January 2002
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Welcome to the New Year! Ruslan Scherbakov |
Botvinnik
JAN02/01 An attempt to revive the suspicious 9...Nd5 variation from the famous Botvinnik expert Sergey Ivanov. Despite the fact that he quickly got into trouble it is not without interest as Black's play can obviously be improved.
The Slow Slav 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5
JAN02/02 Here White combined the advance of his K-side pawns with some tactical ideas on the Q-side, making use of the queen and rook opposition on the c-file. The pawn sacrifice allowed him to ruin Black's pawn structure and take the initiative which yielded the desired results.
JAN02/03 Typical action - an early break in the center allows White to open the position for his bishops, although he should not forget about his lack of development. Here the idea worked very well but it looks like Black could have reacted more adequately.
JAN02/04 Here White played very actively but it did not bring the desired effect. Moreover, Black found an excellent way to get both his knights active and took the initiative. Obviously White should treat the position more precisely, otherwise his ideas may turn against him, as we can see in this instructive game.
JAN02/05 The advance g4-g5, pushing the f6-knight back, followed by e3-e4, is the most energetic and typical approach. Here both Black knights were too passive and White confidently realised the advantages of his position.
JAN02/06 Here White played quietly and allowed Black to keep the center and queenside closed. The endgame was good for Black until he missed the moment to close the K-side - instead he allowed White to get too much space and was suffocated in his camp.
JAN02/07 The pawn sacrifice put Black under certain pressure in the ending - he was forced to play passively with two knights against two bishops and the first impatient decision allowed White to break with decisive effect. An important theoretical game.
Anti-Meran
JAN02/08 Our keen reader Mr. Doug Schwetke wrote:
I have found an interesting game from the Asian Championship... Burgess and Pedersen's 'The Queen's Gambit for the Attacking Player' (pg 120) gives 9.g5 as the repertoire response to 8...b6.
What do you think of this line?
Thank you very much for your contribution. Yes, it's a rather important game for theory of this tricky line with 7. g4!?. Black chose 7. ..dxc4 - a popular answer, which we haven't yet considered. Lately White has tried a new continuation but it looks like Black could have solved the problems by precise play. Generally Black's approach looks quite acceptable and the suggested 9. g5 cannot frighten him very much, in my opinion.