Download PGN of July '05 1 d4 d5 games

Ragozin Variation [D38]

This month we consider 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Nf3 Bb4 5 cxd5 exd5 6 Bg5 Nbd7 7 e3 c5 8 Bd3 Qa5:

Tarjan - Lein: White usually begins with Qd1-c2, protecting the knight on c3. Castling is also possible but it gives Black a chance to deviate from the main line. This does not seem to fully equalise but at the same time it may be not as promising for White as he hopes for. In this game he maintained a small advantage but then became too ambitious...

Sakaev - Aleksandrov: The bishop retreat one of the main Ragozin experts Alexei Aleksandrov tried in this game should not completely solve Black's problems:

However, White's decision to punish his opponent at any cost provoked very creative play which was favourable for Black, who eventually got a whole extra rook but... failed to convert it.

Huzman - Dreev: The advance ..g7-g6 weakens Black's K-side and after the typical ...Bb4xc3 he must be very careful about his king. In this game he tried to use it as a defender but White's energetic play proved such an approach to be too risky for Black.

Schmidt - Rogers: As a rule, Black is trying to justify his opening strategy by capturing on c3 followed by ...Nf6-e4. Apart from closing the center Black's queen attacks the bishop on g5 and this gives him a tempo for development. Obviously he must be very careful about his K-side weaknesses but tournament practice shows that it is very difficult for White to bring more resources over there and launch an attack. Instead, White is often trying to pressurize in the endgame on the open b-file while Black's K-side weaknesses may also tell without queens on the board. In this game White achieved a promising endgame but it seems that Black obtained an acceptable position from the opening.

Dokhoian - Arencibia: Here Black moved his knight to the K-side and quickly got comfortable play:

It seems that to play such positions with a dark-squared bishop against the knight is not too promising for White - Black can establish good control over the center while White's pressure on the b-file can easily be extinguished by ...b7-b6.

Ubilava - Campos Moreno: The middlegame with opposite-coloured bishops does not look so promising for White since he cannot organize any attack - Black's pieces are well placed and keep his territory under proper control. In such a position, if White's play is over, Black often begins K-side action himself, exploiting a space advantage which he has thanks to the advanced e4-pawn. White could have probably achieved half a point here with more accurate defence but he would not be satisfied with the result of the opening anyway.

Karpov - Milov: All the games we has just seen show that the middlegame is fine for Black - then why not to go into the endgame with a pair of bishops!?

In this game Anatoly Karpov slowly but confidently achieved a decisive advantage against one of the main Ragozin experts and it seems that Black is always worse in the ending although a slight minus is probably quite acceptable for him after the opening...

Kunte - Aleksandrov: Another rare idea from one of the main Ragozin System experts. However, the rather unexpected knight retreat did not completely solve his problems since White simply exchanged queens and achieved a typical small advantage in the endgame. Perhaps Alexei could have combined both his ideas and move his bishop back, keeping it on the board!?

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.