(43) Adams,M - Anand,V [B47]

Wijk aan Zee, 2001

[John Emms]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 Qc7 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.00
[QUESTION: What does Black do if White prevents the ...Nxd4 and ...Bc5 plan, either by
playing 8 Be3 or by retreating the knight? --- ANSWER: Neither option should cause Black
any real worries.]

[Let's take a quick look at them in turn: --- 8.Be3 obviously makes an exchange on d4 much
less desirable, but Black can easily change plans. One good option is 8...Ne5 introducing
...Nc4 and ...Ng4 ideas: 9.00 Bc5 10.h3 (if 10.Bf4 then 10...d6) 10...b5 11.b3 Bb7 12.f4 was
N.De Firmian-M.Sjoberg, Stockholm 1998. Here Sjoberg's Here Sjoberg's 12...d6! is a nice
trick to remember. If White takes the knight Black regains the piece with advantage. Instead
the game went 13.Kh2 Rd8 14.Qe2 Nc6 (14...Ned7!?) 15.Nxc6 Qxc6 16.Nd5 Nxe4!? 17.Bxe4
exd5 18.Bxd5 Qxd5 19.Bxc5+ Qe4 20.Rfe1 00 21.Qxe4 Bxe4 22.Rxe4 dxc5 and was soon
drawn.; 8.Nb3 b5 9.00 Bb7 10.a3 Be7 11.f4 d6 12.Be3 . As we've seen before (in the note
on 9 Nb3 in Tolnai-Eingorn), an early Nb3 by White usually means that Black is obliged to
play a Scheveningen set-up with ...d6. The good news for Black is that an early Nb3 isn't
usually the most critical option in Scheveningen lines. Having said that, the resulting
positions from here are actually very sharp. Let's see what Taimanov himself did here:
12...00 (the immediate 12...Nd7 and ...Nb6 looks interesting) 13.g4 Nd7 14.g5 Nb6 (the
alternative is 14...Rfe8 intending the typical defensive regrouping with ...Bf8, ...g6 and
...Bg7) 15.Kh1 Nc4 16.Bc1 , Y.Habu-M.Taimanov, Paris 2002. Here Taimanov played
16...Rfd8 , (but I feel that 16...Rfe8 is a wiser choice, so that Black can meet 17.f5 with
17...Bf8! and his rook offers vital support to the e6pawn.) ]

8...Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bc5 10.Bf4 [QUESTION: Does White have to play this bishop move here?
Could he reserve it for later?]

[ANSWER: Yes he could, although if he does forgo Bf4 and retreat the queen, then 10.Qd3
obviously looks more natural than 10 Qd2. 10...--

a) . Black can answer 10 Qd3 with 10...d6 , and here it's likely that White's most challenging
response is 11.Bf4 , transposing directly to Kostin-Geller.;

b) . However, Black also has the option here of 10...Ng4 intending ...Ne5. Some examples:
11.--

b1) 11.Bf4 Ne5 12.Qe2 d6 is fine for Black. Here 13.Rad1 Bd7! transposes to Mueller-Ruzele
(see the note to White's 12th move in Kostin-Geller).;

b2) 11.Qe2 is the main choice: 11...--

b21) 11...Ne5 12.Kh1! (f2f4 is the only test for Black) 12...d6 13.f4 Nc6 14.Be3 (14.Qg4!?
00 15.f5 Ne5 16.Qh3 Qe7 17.f6!? gxf6 is unclear, S.Tiviakov-J.Emms, Mondariz 2000)
14...Bxe3 15.Qxe3 00 16.a4! (to prevent ...b5) 16...Bd7 17.Rad1 Rfd8 18.Qd2 Be8! 19.Rf3 ,
V.Baklan-D.Ruzele, Berlin 1997. Here I prefer 19...Rac8 (over Ruzele's choice of 19...Nb4 ,
because I feel it's important for Black to maintain the option of playing ...Ne5 in answer to
f4f5 for as long as possible.) ;

b22) . Black's defensive set-up in the previous note might not be to everyone's liking, and
some might prefer the more ambitious (and more Taimanov-like) 11...h5!? . Black keeps the
knight on g4, at least for the time being, and creates the possibility of counterplay with ...h4.
For example: 12.-- 12.h3? can be answered by 12...Qxg3! 13.hxg4 hxg4 14.Rd1 Bxf2+
15.Qxf2 Rh1+! 16.Kxh1 Qxf2 which, although not completely clear, looks better for Black.;
12.Bf3 Ne5! 13.Bxh5 b5 is an interesting pawn sacrifice. Black will follow up with ...Bb7
and ...000, and try to make something happen down the h-file. 14.Bf4 Bb7 15.Rfe1 000
16.Bf3 Rdg8 17.Bg2 g5! 18.Bd2 g4 19.a4 b4 20.Nd1 Nf3+! 21.Bxf3 gxf3 22.Qxf3 f5! 23.Bf4
e5 24.Bd2 fxe4 25.Qe2 Rxg3+ (or 25...e3! 26.Bxe3 Rxh2!) 26.hxg3 e3 27.f3 exd2+ 28.Kg2
(01, T.Penson-J.Goormachtigh, Belgian League 2006) is the type of dream scenario Black is
hoping for. No doubt White can defend better, but in any case this feels like a promising
gambit for Black.; 12.Bf4 (this looks like the most logical response) 12...Ne5 13.Na4 Ba7
14.b3 (or 14.Be3 b5 15.Bxa7 Rxa7 (15...Qxa7!?) 16.Nc3 Qc5 17.Nd1 Rc7 18.Ne3 h4! with
good play for Black, J.Barle-M.Corvi, Italy 1998) 14...b5 15.Nb2 Bd4 (15...h4!?) 16.Rab1 Bb7
17.Nd3 f6 18.Rbc1 Bc3 19.Rfd1 h4 20.Bd2 hxg3 21.hxg3 Rc8 with roughly level chances,
C.Weiss-M.Schlosser, Austrian League 1994. The open h-file always gives Black counterplay.;
;;;

10...d6 11.Qd2 h6 12.Rad1 e5 13.Be3 Be6 14.Bxc5 dxc5 15.Nd5! [The main choice
for White.]

[15.f4 was covered in our previous game.]

15...Bxd5 16.exd5 [EXERCISE: Black really has one only good move here. What is it? ---
ANSWER:]

16...Qd6! [Black can't allow the passed d-pawn to move forward to d6, unleashing the g2
bishop, at least not yet.]

[16...00 17.d6! is simply good for White. The queen is not the happiest blocker of passed
pawns - a knight would be preferable! - but she is the only one able to do the job for the
moment. One of the reasons Black took on d5 with the bishop was to preserve the knight for
possible blockading purposes, although a more immediate concern was to make sure Black
got a tempo to play ...Qd6.]

17.f4! [QUESTION: Why the exclamation mark? Shouldn't White play more slowly?]

[ANSWER: 17.f4 is a crucial move. White is exploiting his slight lead in development in order
to force the black queen from the blockading square - Black can't really allow 17...exf4 (and
17...e4 18.Rfe1 wins a pawn) 18.Rde1+ .; If White plays it more slowly with 17.c4 00
18.Rfe1 Rfe8 , Black has a rock-solid position and may continue by doubling rooks on the e-
file in anticipation of f2f4. Instead Adams strikes while the iron is hot.]

17...00 18.fxe5 Qxe5 [EXERCISE: Suggest options for Black after the sequence 19 c4 Qd6
20 Qf4.]

19.d6! [Again critical. White is willing to give up a pawn in order to break the blockade on
d6.]

[ANSWER: After 19.c4 Qd6 20.Qf4 Black should be looking to maintain the blockade on d6.
20...--

a) . One good way to do so is by 20...Rfd8! , which has the added benefit of vacating f8 for
the king on its journey to the centre in an endgame. After 21.Qxd6 Rxd6 22.Rfe1 Kf8! 23.Bh3
Re8 24.a3 Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 a5 26.Re3 Rb6! (to prevent Rb3) 27.b3 Rd6 28.Bc8 Rb6 29.Kf1
Ne8! 30.Ke2 Nd6 the knight has finally reached its ideal square, blockading the d5pawn,
G.Guseinov-E.Hossain, Kolkata 2009.;
b) . Another option for Black, perhaps an even more logical one, is 20...Ne8! so that the
knight can get to d6 immediately after the queen exchange. 21.b3 Qxf4 22.gxf4! Nd6
23.Rfe1 Rfe8 24.Re5 Kf8 25.Rde1 a5 26.Bh3 Rad8 and the monster knight holds Black's
position together perfectly well, J.Sikora-P.Haba, Ostrava 2010. This position should probably
be drawn with best play, but here Black got a helping hand with (26...a4!?) 27.a3? a4! and
White's queenside pawns crumbled.;

19...Qxb2! [QUESTION: Should Black really be grabbing this pawn? Isn't it better to
defend?]

[ANSWER: If Black doesn't take the pawn then White gains something - the lifting of the d6
blockade - for nothing. It's important to note that there's no immediate danger of White's
passed pawn promoting, so Black doesn't need to play ...Rd8 just yet. By accepting the
gambit on b2 Black at least puts some pressure on White to utilize his positional advantage.
In contrast, after 19...Rab8 20.c4 Rfd8 21.Rfe1 White is under no pressure at all.]

20.c4 [QUESTION: Surely White has better chances to win if he keeps the queens on?]

[ANSWER: But also better chances to lose! In any case, there's still a lot of play left in the
position even after the queens come off. The alternative approach is 20.Rb1 Qxa2! 21.Rxb7
Rad8 , which is genuinely unclear because Black's pieces are well placed to deal with White's
strong d-pawn. For example, 22.Rd1 Rfe8 23.Qf2 (if 23.d7 Re5 24.Qd6 then 24...Qe6! is a
key resource - 25.Rb8 Re1+ will be perpetual check) 23...Re5! 24.Ra7?! (T.Horvath-
A.Fominyh, Budapest 1996) and here Black could have played 24...Qe6! intending to meet
25.Rxa6 with 25...Ng4! , with advantage.]

20...Qxd2 21.Rxd2 Rab8 22.a4! [EXERCISE: How does White intend to meet 22...b5?
White's best chance in this ending is to keep the queenside pawns on the board, and Adams'
22 a4 is designed to do just this.]

[22.Rb1 is met by 22...b5! . For example, 23.cxb5 (or 23.d7 Rfd8 24.Bc6 Rb6 25.cxb5 axb5
26.Bxb5 Rxd7! 27.Rxd7 Nxd7 with a likely draw) 23...Rxb5 24.Rc1 Rd8 25.d7? (White can
draw by 25.Bc6 Rb6 26.Rxc5 Rc8 27.Rdc2 (27.d7 Nxd7!) 27...Rd8 28.Rd2) 25...Rb6 26.Rxc5
Rxd7 and by this stage Black is simply a pawn up, R.Kotter-R.Frombach, German League
2009.]

22...Rfd8 [ANSWER: The reason 22 a4 prevents Black from liquidating the queenside pawns
is that 22...b5 can be answered by 23.cxb5 axb5 24.a5! . Black gets two passed pawns of his
own but White's second passed pawn, with the bishop controlling its coronation square, is
the decisive one.]

23.Rb1 Nd7 [Anand gives up the b-pawn so that he can activate his knight via e5.]

[The alternative is 23...b6 when White can continue to test Black with 24.Re1! . ---
QUESTION: Why does White play 23 Rb1 b6 and then 24 Re1, instead of 23 Re1
immediately? --- ANSWER: White's idea with 23 Rb1 was actually to induce ...b6, because
now in some lines it's important that White can play Bc6 to control d7 and e8. One possible
line which demonstrates the danger in Black's position is 24...Kf8 (Black does much better to
challenge immediately with 24...Re8! intending 25.Rxe8+ (or 25.Re7 Kf8; 25.Red1!?)
25...Rxe8 26.Rb2 Rb8 and ...Kf8, when all three results are still possible but most money
would be on the draw) 25.Bc6 Nd7 (25...Rbc8 26.Bb7) 26.Kg2!? f6 27.Kf3! Ne5+ 28.Rxe5!
fxe5 29.Ke4 and despite being the exchange down, White is still the one pushing to win.]
24.Rxb7 [White should avoid the self-pin 24.Bxb7? Ne5! .]

24...Rxb7 25.Bxb7 Ne5! [The point: the a6pawn can't be touched because of ...Nf3+.
Black gets both the c-pawn and the d-pawn, but it's still not the end of the story because
White's a-pawn remains!]

26.Rd5 Nxc4 27.Bxa6 [If 27.d7 Nb6! 28.Rd6 Nc4! draws.]

27...Nxd6 28.a5 Kf8 29.Bf1 [White's a-pawn, about to advance to a6, looks very
dangerous. This ending still appears to be tricky for Black, but he has a very important
resource which will become apparent in a few moves.]

[Since this stem game, a few players have repeated this endgame from 23...Nd7, but all
have ended in draws. Another example is 29.Rxc5 Ra8 30.Bf1 Nb7! 31.Bg2! Nxc5 32.Bxa8
Ke7 33.Bd5 f5 34.Bc4 Kf6 35.Kg2 g5 36.Be2 Ke5 37.Kf2 f4 38.a6 Nxa6! 39.Bxa6 g4! ,
P.Bobras-B.Macieja, Poznan 2005. Black draws in exactly the same way.]

29...Nb7! [Forcing an exchange of rooks.]

30.Rxd8+ Nxd8 31.Bg2! [Black is going to have to give up his knight for the a-pawn.]

31...Ne6 32.a6 Nc7 33.a7 Ke7 34.Kf2 Kd6 35.Ke3 c4 36.a8Q Nxa8 37.Bxa8 Ke5
38.Bf3 f5 39.Be2 g5! [This is it! To force a draw Black only needs to exchange off White's
g-pawn. This would leave White with the dreaded rook's pawn and wrong-coloured bishop,
and Black draws as his king can't be evicted from h8. So Anand just ignores the attack on his
c4pawn and focuses on forcing the exchange.]

40.Bxc4 f4+ 41.Kf2! [The best chance - White keeps a g-pawn.]

41...fxg3+ 42.hxg3 [EXERCISE: Black to play and draw. --- ANSWER:]

42...g4! [White can do nothing about the plan of bringing the king to g5 and then ...h6h5
h4.]

[42...h5?? , however, loses: 43.Bf7! h4 44.g4! and White keeps his final pawn on the g-file.
White wins here, e.g. 44...Ke4 45.Bg6+ Kf4 46.Bf5 Ke5 47.Ke3 Kd5 48.Bc8 Ke5 49.Bb7 Kd6
50.Kd4 etc.]

43.Bf7 Kf6 44.Be8 Kg5 45.Ke3 h5 46.Bxh5 Kxh5 47.Kf4 Kh6 48.Kxg4 Kg6

(2157353) Thorhallsson,Throstur (2489) - Milos,Gilberto (2620)

[B48]
Cappelle op 16th Cappelle la Grande (5), 22.02.2000

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.g3 Nf6 8.Bg2 Bb4 9.00 Bxc3
10.bxc3 Ne5 11.f4 Nc4 12.Bc1 d6 13.g4 e5 14.Nf5 Bxf5 15.exf5 000 16.g5 Nd7 17.Rb1
Ndb6 18.Kh1 Rhe8 19.fxe5 dxe5 20.Qe2 Nd5 21.Rb3 e4 22.g6 hxg6 23.fxg6 f6 24.Bd2 Rh8
25.Bxe4 Nxd2 26.Qxd2 Ne3 27.Qe2 Nxf1 28.Qg4+
01

(16) 2. Alternative 6 Be2 lines [B47]

[John Emms]

[Not every White player chooses the main line after 6 Be2, and in this chapter we'll take a
look at some other options. After]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 a6 7.00 Nf6 [, the most
important alternative to 8 Be3 is]

8.Kh1 [, but there's also 8 Bg5 and 8 Nxc6 to consider. In addition, White can play an early
a2a3, either before or after castling. Let's begin with the most popular alternative to 8 Be3 -
the 8 Kh1 variation.]

8...-- [8...-- Key Notes: -- 1. In the 8 Kh1 variation (Szelag-Beshukov), a key idea to
remember is 12...h5!. This crucial move allows Black's knight to jump into g4 after e4e5. In
some favourable situations, Black might also be able to play ...h4 and ...Nh5. This sets up a
potentially devastating knight check on g3. -- 2. In the same variation (Szelag-Beshukov), g4
is a good square for the knight but f5 is often an even better one! Look out for opportunities
to carry out the manoeuvre ...N(g4) -h6f5. However, also be wary of White meeting ...Nh6
with the tactic Qf3, threatening both Qxh5 and a discovered attack on the queen with Nf6+.
-- 3. Again in the same variation (Szelag-Beshukov), Black is usually very happy to swap his
dark-squared bishop for White's knight after Nd6+, since his remaining knight is normally
superior to White's dark-squared bishop. White might instead try to force the exchange of
bishops, which could allow his knight to jump into d6 unopposed. This is something Black
should be trying to avoid. -- 4.8 Bg5 is not as good as it looks, because it leaves White
vulnerable to ...Nxe4 tactics after ...Be7 (see Vukovic-Poluljahov). -- 5. In general, lines with
an early a2a3, to prevent ...Bb4, are fairly harmless because a tempo is of considerable
significance in Open Sicilian positions. There is, however, a notable exception. If White
chooses the move order 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 Be2 a6 7 Be3 Nf6 8 a3!?, it suddenly becomes a
dangerous line and a challenging one to face (see Alexandridis-Miladinovic and Polivanov-
Geller).]

(2617913) Tulay Berkay,Kamber - Esen,Baris (2178) [B47]

EU-chT U18 Balatonlelle (3), 15.06.2002

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.00 b5 9.Nb3 Bb7
10.Be3 Ne5 11.Bd4 d6 12.f4 Nc4 13.Qe2 e5 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Be7 16.Bc3 00 17.a4
Rac8 18.axb5 axb5 19.Kh1 Rfe8 20.Nd2 Bf6 21.Rfe1 Kf8 22.Nxc4 bxc4 23.Qh5 Kg8 24.Qf5
Qe7 25.fxe5 Bxe5 26.Qf2 Qg5 27.Ra7 Bxc3 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Rxb7 Bf6 30.Qf4 Re1+ 31.Bf1

01
(2617913) Tulay Berkay,Kamber - Esen,Baris (2178) [B47]
EU-chT U18 Balatonlelle (3), 15.06.2002

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.00 b5 9.Nb3 Bb7
10.Be3 Ne5 11.Bd4 d6 12.f4 Nc4 13.Qe2 e5 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Be7 16.Bc3 00 17.a4
Rac8 18.axb5 axb5 19.Kh1 Rfe8 20.Nd2 Bf6 21.Rfe1 Kf8 22.Nxc4 bxc4 23.Qh5 Kg8 24.Qf5
Qe7 25.fxe5 Bxe5 26.Qf2 Qg5 27.Ra7 Bxc3 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Rxb7 Bf6 30.Qf4 Re1+ 31.Bf1

01

(1119530) Hoefer,Hans Otto - Schewe,Hans [B43]

Wuerttemberg-ch Seniors 6th Ellwangen, 1994

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 a6 5.Nge2 b5 6.00 Bb7 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qc7 9.Nb3 Nf6
10.Bf4 d6 11.Qe2 Be7 12.Rad1 00 13.Rd2 Ne5 14.Bxe5 dxe5 15.Rfd1 b4 16.Nb1 a5 17.g4
Ba6 18.Qf3 Rfd8 19.g5 Rxd2 20.Rxd2 Ne8 21.h4 Nd6 22.Qd1 Bb5 23.c3 a4 24.Nc1 Nc4
25.Rc2 Rd8 26.Qg4 b3 27.axb3 axb3 28.Nxb3 Ba4 29.N1d2 Nxd2 30.Rxd2 Bxb3 31.Qe2
Rxd2 32.Qxd2 Qd6 33.Qxd6 Bxd6 34.Kf1 f6 35.gxf6 gxf6 36.Ke2 Kf7 37.Kd3 Bc5 38.f3 Kg6
39.Bh3 f5 40.Kd2 Kf6 41.Bg2 h5 42.Ke2 Bc4+

01

(2454884) Alexandridis,V - Miladinovic,Igor (2496) [B47]

Kavala op 10th Kavala (1), 21.08.2001

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nc3 e6 6.Be2 a6 7.00 Nf6 8.a3 Nxd4 9.Qxd4
Bd6 10.g3 b5 11.Bf3 Bb7 12.Qd3 Rc8 13.Re1 Be5 14.Bd2 h5 15.Bg2 h4 16.f4 Bd6 17.b4
hxg3 18.hxg3 Ng4 19.Kf1 Rh2 20.Qe2 f5 21.Nd5 Qc4 22.Ne3 Nxe3+
0-1