Download PGN of October ’19 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games
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Chigorin Defence 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.e4 Bg4 [D07]
In Radovanovic, M - Miladinovic, I White sacrificed his d-pawn in the opening:
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Should Black snatch the pawn or not? Miladinovic decided not to, but after 6...e6 7.Bb5 I think that White should be a shade better (see the note to move eleven). Instead, in the diagram position, 6...Bxf3 7.gxf3 Qxd4 is critical and (in my opinion) perfectly playable if you don't mind tricky complications.
As to the game, Black soon got the better of equality and had any chances going in the rook endgame, but Radovanovic held firm.
It was a fine display by the Hungarian GM in Yu Yangyi - Rapport, R as he was able to keep control and ultimately convert his superior rook endgame.
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In the opening, Yu Yangyi opted for 8.Qd3 after which I like Rapport's 8...Bh5 when the bishop heads for g6 to press down the b1-h7 diagonal. He soon followed up with a nice novelty on move eleven (11...Ng4!) and quickly obtained the better of equality with his bishops.
However, from the diagram position all is not so rosy for Black. The main move 8.Qc2 causes a few problems for the second player, as the tempting pawn sacrifice variation (see the notes) doesn't quite work (that is when there is an engine handy!). I would reckon that you'd get away with it against an unprepared player or in a rapid game, but don't try it in e-mail chess!
Ragozin System 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 0-0 8.Qc2 [D38]
The encounter Krysa, L - Tristan, L was decided by Black blundering the exchange, but he already had somewhat the worse of the struggle by then. In this version of the Ragozin, there have been quite a few recent games and the theory has moved on since Matthieu Cornette gave it a serious examination a couple of years ago in The Complete Ragozin (Chess Evolution 2017). In this case, I think that Black mixed his lines up. He could have considered the trustworthy 11...Nd7, which was played by Karjakin a decade or so ago. Even so, the game move of 11...Qa5 isn't bad, but I believe that then 12...Nxc3 (instead of 12...Nd7) would have been both the most logical and the superior follow-up.
Ragozin 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 0-0 7.Qc2 [D38]
These lines with Qa4+ and then Qc2, look slow, but the knight on c6 often gets in the way of Black's counterplay. So in Sevian, S - Tari, A and the notes, we see a number of carefully chosen prophylactic moves as both sides prepare for the moment when the opponent dares commit himself.
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Still, as Sevian's 12.Ne5 turns out so well, a case has to be made for a more vigorous approach from Black early on. I'm not sure what to suggest for him (there are of course alternatives on move eight that have been examined on ChessPublishing before), but it does look as if 9.Rd1 is the biggest challenge to Kramnik's 8...Bf8.
Ragozin 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.Bg5 [D38]
In the notes to Mamedyarov, S - Aronian, L you will see that Levon Aronian's name crops up frequently, and one could argue that he is the main specialist in this particular variation. A key moment occurred where he revealed a novelty.
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Here Aronian introduced 17...f6 (previously 17...c5 had been played) which covers e5, gives his bishop more scope and generally stays vigilant. Mamedyarov pushed in the centre, but his efforts were carefully met, leading to a middlegame with chances for both sides. Later on, the double-rook endgame was somewhat better for Black, but White could have saved himself if he had had more time to find a tactical resource at the death.
Vienna Variation 6...b5 7.a4 c5 [D39]
In the encounter Ding Liren - Carlsen, M the World Champion slipped up in the heart of the middlegame after having achieved equality (see 24...Qe7?). However, a close look at the opening shows that Ding Liren perhaps missed an opportunity even early on to gain an advantage.
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Here White played the rather docile 13.Qb3, but instead it turns out that 13.0-0! is strong.
Here, and at several points in the opening phase, I found Richard Pert's analysis in his 2016 Quality Chess work Playing the Ragozin to be particularly poignant. Indeed, another of his suggestions (11...Nd6!) should render the line playable for Black rather than Carlsen's 11...Bb7?!
Vienna Variation 6...c5 7.e5 cxd4 8.Nxd4 [D39]
I have already made the observation that Magnus Carlsen is playing more ambitiously in the opening phase these days. Another example being his choice in a recent encounter (Carlsen, M - Aronian, L Zagreb 2019) where he shocked quite a few kibbitzers in the following position:
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So far, all fairly well-known (in certain circles) where 15.0-0 is de rigeur, except that the World Champion came up with 15.0-0-0. Well, he would have looked at this with his team in advance, but the king still looks a little shaky over here. The game was quite exciting with pawn advances on both wings and both kings in some danger. A draw was a fair result as neither side was able to tip the balance in his favour, but Black had to be the more careful.
Vienna Variation 6...h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.Bxc4 c5 9.0-0 [D39]
The game Li Shilong - Parligras, M (and the notes) illustrate the provocative nature of 6...h6. Black obtains the bishop pair, damages White's centre, and (more often than not) gets away with a pawn grab. However, there is a price to pay: Time plus the more vulnerable king. So White is able to generate attacking chances, but it's often difficult to judge if these are enough to compensate Black's long-term pluses. With White burning bridges to get at Black's king then all three results are possible. It's a good line from Black's point of view if you fancy yourself as a gritty defender (and have steely nerves!), but please note how hard Parligras found it to handle the late opening. In this particular case, White was winning early on but lost his way quite badly.
Glenn Flear
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