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Karpov Variation 5.h3 0-0 6.Be3 e5 7.d5 Na6 8 g4 [E71]
There were a number of games in this topical line, with various counters being tried by Black. In Zhou, Y - Stubbs, O Black played the standard 6...e5 and after 7.d5 Na6 8.g4 Nc5 9.f3 a5 10.Qd2 c6 11.Nge2 cxd5 12.cxd5 Bd7, White played the rare but logical 13.Nc1:
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I like this move because it recognizes the importance of snuffing out Black’s queenside counterplay, and although Black might have done better with 14...Na4 he never looked like equalizing.
Gordon, S - Boswell, J varied from this with the rare 11.0-0-0:
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and then the even rarer 11...cxd5 12.Nxd5. I suspect that Gordon’s choice was to get a new and unexplored position rather than revolutionize opening theory, Black would have had his fair share of the play with 13...Ne6, for example.
Karpov Variation 5.h3 0-0 6.Be3 a5 [E71]
In Ghasi, A - Hebden, M, Black played the rare 6...a5:
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which he had in fact used in last year’s British Championship vs Shreyes Royal. In that game Hebden obtained a terrific position, on this outing it looked like Ghasi might have come well prepared with 7.Qc2. White got a nice game after the subsequent 7...e5 8.dxe5, so I suggest 7...Nc6 to those who want to play this way.
Karpov Variation 5.h3 0-0 6.Be3 c5 7.d5 e6 [E71]
Stoica, S - Rudd, J was interesting in that after 6...c5 7.d5 e6 8.Bd3 exd5 9.exd5 Black played 9...a6!?:
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in order to encourage 10.a4. In the days when he played the Russian Benoni, with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 g6, Florin Gheorghiu did something similar with 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Nf3 0-0 7.h3 and now 7...a6, the idea being that after 8.a4 e6 9.Bd3 exd5 10.exd5 Re8+, the position was an improved version over the one with no a-pawns having moved. I vaguely recall some line in which Black could swing his queen’s rook over with a later ...Ra8-a7-e7, but in any case, such discussions were shelved when it was discovered that 10.cxd5 is also problematic for Black. The thing about Rudd’s timing of 9...a6!? is that White has already recaptured on d5 with the e-pawn. In the game, Stoica decided to allow 10...b5 and I think Black still has to prove the value of his pawn sacrifice after 13.a4.
Karpov Variation 5.Be2 0-0 6.Be3 Nc6 7.d5 Ne5 8.f4 Neg4 [E73]
There were a couple of interesting outings of this line, with Black playing 6...Nc6!?. In Willow, J - Shearsby, J, Black met 7.d5 Ne5 8.f4 Neg4 9.Bd2 Nh6 10.f4 with the rare 10...e6:
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Black would have found himself in trouble had Willow played 11.dxe6 fxe6 12.0-0 c6 and now 13.c5 instead of 13.Qb3. Having said that, just 12...Nf7 is better, as previously covered by Marian Petrov.
In Vijayakumar, R - Clarke, B, Black played the more usual 10...c6, but after 11.0-0 produced a new move with 11...Nfg4:
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rather than 11...cxd5. I’m quite sure this was prepared at home, one of the ideas being that Black will often play ...f7-f5. In the game I suspect that the problem was that ...f7-f5 is not good against White’s 12.Qb3, and that instead of 12...f5 Black should just take on d5.
Averbakh Variation 7.Bg5 e6 8.Qc1 [E75]
Saving the best till last, Glenn Flear played the rare 8.Qc1!?:
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in his game against Kamila Hryshchenko, quickly obtaining a huge advantage before it later evaporated and then reappeared later on (Flear, G - Hryshchenko, K). The point of 8.Qc1, rather than the traditional 8.Qd2, is that after 8...exd5 9.exd5 Qb6 10.Nf3, Black’s traditional 8.Qd2 response of 10...Bf5 11.Nh4 Ne4 will no longer hit a queen if it stands on c1.
Jude Shearsby must have been taken with 8.Qc1 to try it against Svyatoslav Bazakutsa, but for some reason he recaptured the wrong way with 9.cxd5:
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After Black’s 9...Re8 he should try 10.f3 as things went very wrong very quickly after his 10.Nf3 (Shearsby, J - Bazakutsa, S).
See you next month! Nigel
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