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White was completely dominant in the various openings of this update. Some games were played with a rapid time control but it only made Black's task more difficult. Many of White's ideas seem to be very important for theory and will require good home preparation from the opponents' side. Actually I had no intention of putting so much pressure on Black this month and discovered it only after a few days of work. Well, I'll try to improve Black's statistics next time... :)

Download PGN of May '09 1 d4 d5 games


Queen's Gambit Accepted [D27]

Sakaev - Stevic: A rare but very interesting idea in the QGA endgame brought Kostya Sakaev an easy victory. Close examination shows that Black's problems should not be underestimated and some good home prep has to be done.



QGD 5.Bf4 [D37]

Cheparinov - L'Ami: Ivan Cheparinov scored a full point in an unhurried manner, which is rather typical for this line of the QGD. Black's position was always solid but he should have not been so passive in defence.

Sokolov - Meier: Ivan Sokolov came up with a rare line in the QGD and proved that superiority in the center is still important in the ending even if the opponent gets an outside passed pawn.



Moscow Variation [D43]

Fier - Guerra Tulcan: Alexander Fier crushed Black's unusual set-up with some concrete and energetic manoeuvres. Yet perhaps this opening line deserves more attention.

Grischuk - Aronian: Levon Aronian came up with an interesting idea in a fashionable but recently problematic line for Black, 15...0-0!?, and achieved acceptable play:

However, his further play was far from perfect and Alexander Grischuk cleverly exploited his inaccuracies.

Kramnik - Leko: Vladimir Kramnik crushed his opponent using his very deep home preparation in a popular and very sharp line. Black's position looked solid enough when White suddenly came up with K-side play. Leko had some other defensive options, which he couldn't check properly due to a lack of time, but Peter and other Black followers will certainly do that at home - let's wait for the up-and-coming encounters.



Botvinnik Variation [D44]

Gozzoli - Brunner: Yannick Gozzoli scored a win without sweat thanks to a rare but very interesting idea, introduced by Eduard Porper in 2006, 19.Bf4:

It looks like a heavy blow to one of Black's main approaches!



Catalan Variation [D48]

Aronian - Morozevich: Here Aronian converted his pluses with energetic play but Morozevich's idea still deserves further investigation, as Black certainly had better options early in the opening.



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.