What's New - September 2003
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My September update is completely dedicated to the recently finished Russian Championship. Surprisingly, there were not so many games or big discoveries in 1. d4 d5 2. c4 - perhaps one reason was that one of the big fans of this opening during the last 15 years has suddenly shifted to 1. e4..., of course, I mean myself... :) Actually, if you only play chess once per year what difference does it make which move you start with?! Thus I still cannot really say that I have seriously begun to play 1. e4 - I just enjoyed this rare opportunity to play chess as much as possible. :) Ruslan Scherbakov |
Download PGN of September '03 1 d4 d5 games
The Slow Slav 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 [D12]
Yevseev,D - Ulybin,M: In a quite and solid variation White was creatively trying to develop a rather annoying initiative on the K-side. It seems that Black slightly underestimated White's plan otherwise he could have delayed castling for a while, getting a solid position. The game was very tense and full of mistakes - Black almost defended the lost endgame but eventually missed a mating idea in the center of the board.
Queen's Gambit Accepted [D20 to D29]
Sakaev,K - Vorobiov,E: Surprisingly enough, such a big opening expert as Konstantin Sakaev chooses a line which is known to be more than just comfortable for Black.
            
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(Position after 9...a6) At first sight the game has changed almost nothing - White was not able to co-ordinate his rather badly placed pieces despite having the extra one. However, more thorough analysis might prove that White can get real chances to use his extra piece with more precise play and it seems that the line, despite the highly disappointing results for White, deserves more attention since Sakaev has certainly found it more playable than the statistics show...
Najer,E - Bezgodov,A: A rare line led to a complicated endgame straight from the opening but, in my opinion, Black overestimated his counter chances during his home preparation. Later, thanks to White's inaccuracy, Black found a way to make things crazy though objectively he had only occasional chances to arrive in time in the passed pawns race.
Epishin,V - Scherbakov,R: A rather unusual order of moves led to a line which is similar to the game Sakaev - Rublevsky/RUS-ch St.Petersburg 1998. However, the small inclusion White played here is not usually considered seriously with the normal move order, so objectively Black should be fine here. Being full of enthusiasm to involve my solid opponent in crazy complications, I discovered a strange looking rook move on the 6th move:
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which turned out to be an interesting novelty...
Moscow Variation [D43]
Potkin,V - Grischuk,A: The early h-pawn advance is still the favourite way to pressurize Black in the Anti-Moscow Gambit. Alexander Grischuk preferred a popular approach, when Black does not keep his extra pawn, hoping to use the opened g-file with his rook. However, during this year Black's life was rather difficult in this line and his new idea does not seem to solve the problems despite the fact that he eventually outplayed his opponent.
Bocharov,D - Sveshnikov,E: In this game Black preferred to defend the g4-pawn but in the struggle failed to keep everything under control - all White pieces took part in the crushing attack.
Anti-Meran - Main lines [D46]
Vorobiov,E - Smirnov,P: In the principal line Black came up with a new idea and quickly obtained very good play but it seems that White had a more energetic approach, which requires further practical tests.
Meran Defence [D47-49]
Klimov,S - Filippov,V: Black introduced a small innovation in a deep main line:
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but, in my opinion, failed to completely solve the problems. The position was very complicated and the struggle was full of mutual mistakes but still it was an interesting and instructive game which gave us some ideas for a better understanding of this kind of position.
Lastin,A - Ivanov,S: The discussion in the deep line, which we considered in the game Kruppa - Dreev/ ECC, Halkidiki 2002, was continued. During a number of moves White was following the analysis of that game but soon chose the wrong moment to introduce his own idea when Black consequently converted his Q-side superiority.
If you have any questions, then please post a message at the 1 d4 d5 Forum, or email me at ruslan@chesspublishing.com.