What's New - July 2003
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This time I decided to concentrate on reader's questions. I will also write short messages on all of the Forum topics that I commented on. Ruslan Scherbakov |
Download PGN of July '03 1 d4 d5 games
Baltic Defence [D06]
Shulman,Y - Vouldis,A: Mike Thomas from Louisville, KY gently reminded me on the Forum that the site is missing such tricky opening lines as the Baltic Defence.
            
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This system is not very popular but it deserves attention since it was played, for example, by Alexei Shirov so I added a new chapter to the site. :)
Scherbakov,R - Sychev,S: The opening line Black chose in this game came as a surprise for me. The only thing I knew was that, before trying to occupy the center with the e-pawn's advance, it is very useful for White to advance his b-pawn. As you can see, it worked very well - once again Black was late in getting his king out of trouble.
Ivanov,I - Mezentsev,V: This game is not important for theory of the Baltic Defence but I could not resist presenting this fantastic battle for you. Enjoy some 22nd century chess!!!
Tarrasch Defence [D32]
Craig Evans from Swansea opened an interesting discussion in the Forum about one line in the Marshall Gambit:
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Nadanian,A - Godena,M: From this game it seems that his tricky idea can be refuted in a simple fashion - Black can just ignore White's threats and continue his development.
Knaak,R - Baumbach,F: This game was played many years ago, when some enthusiasts, such as GM Rainer Knaak, tried to find the truth in Marshall's pawn sacrifice. In this game he eventually managed to get an advantage in the opening but Black could certainly play better. Recently the Marshall Gambit is out of fashion and it is quite understandable - instead of sacrificing a pawn White can follow Rubinstein's set-up to pressurize Black in the Tarrasch Defence.
Botvinnik Variation [D44]
In the Forum Fernando Semprun from Madrid drew my attention to the immediate 17 Re1 here:
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and this is examined in the notes to the following game.
Pitkaenen,J - Iaselli,M: In the game Veingold - Fridmans/Tallinn zt 1998 White came up with a very surprising novelty in a well analysed and popular line and won the game in brilliant style. Yet, thorough analysis show that the idea is probably not as strong as it appeared to be and Black can get acceptable play. In this interesting game he refused to repeat moves and White proved that Black is not the only side in the Botvinnik who can successfully sacrifice a rook to obtain passed pawns!
Meran Defence [D47-49]
Chessforfun raised some interesting questions in the Forum concerning the 9 a3 variation in the Meran so it was time to review the lines and make some updates and corrections.
Moskalenko,V - Lastin,A: The line 10...c5!? 11 Nxf6 gf6
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looks dubious but in fact Black not only damages his pawn structure - he also gets additional control over the important e5-square and the open g-file for the rook. Yet, White can probably get the better chances...
Pogorelov,R - Korneev,O: The early advance of the Black a-pawn looks suspicious to me. It does not help to prepare the programmed ...c6-c5 while sometimes it would be useful for Black to have the pawn on a7. Black's main idea is still ...c6-c5 but he is wasting important time for preparations and it seems that White can prove that he has the better chances in this line.
Karpov,A - Anand,V: In this game Vishy Anand demonstrated maybe the most convincing way to solve the problems in the 9 a3 line.
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This is the position after 12...Bd6 here.
Beliavsky,A - Galkin,A: In this game Alexander Beliavsky tried a rare idea and eventually outplayed his opponent but Black's play can be easily improved.
Krasenkow,M - Shirov,A: In this game Michal Krasenkow tried to save one tempo for castling and so quickly put problems before Black on the Q-side. He almost succeeded but very energetic play by Alexei Shirov distracted his attention from the main area, forcing him to defend his king...
If you have any questions, then please post a message at the 1 d4 d5 Forum, or email me at ruslan@chesspublishing.com.