TWIC THEORY

Tuesday 29th March, 2005

A CRITICAL LINE IN THE

SLAV

By GM Eric Prie

Eric Prie is an International Grandmaster.

Eric was born on March 14th, 1962 and is a Grandmaster rated 2439. He is a former
member of the French Olympic team and Champion of France in 1995. He is happy to play
for Hilsmark-Kingfisher in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).

Former trainer of Bacrot, Fressinet and many others … currently part-time youth national
trainer and writer in the French Federation magazine “Echecs et Mat”. Eric is responsible
for the “d-pawn specials” section in www.chesspublishing.com and he prepared the
theoretical material for Glenn Flear’s excellent “the a6 Slav” published by Everyman in
2003.

Vallin,Guillaume (2401) - Prié,Eric (2441) [D11]

FRA-Ch Acc Val d'Isère (10.2), 27.08.2004

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3

Here we are. This order of moves is not destined to hinder the majority of the Semi-Slav players
who will calmly reply 4...e6 and probably immediately transpose into the main line after 5.Nf3
Nbd7, but rather the Slav (4.Nf3 dxc4) or the popular Chebanenko-Chameleon Slav (4.Nf3 a6)
adepts.

In the first case it is clear that Black will have to study another independent system, but after
4...a6 can Black continue to play in the spirit of their opening against this peculiar move order?

4...Bg4!?
An interesting possibility off the beaten track.

5.Nf3

This is the move the unprepared White player will almost certainly try. In fact, it transposes into a
fashionable D11 line of the Slav.

As this position belongs to another chapter of theory, very few games will appear here, given only
as examples for the understanding of our subject. Regular practitioners of the black side include
some top GMs like Bareev, Ivan Sokolov, Sergei Movsesian, Azmaiparashvili, Mihail Gurevich,
Chernin, Ftacnik, to mention only the most emblematic...

For that reason 5.f3 therefore or 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.f3 have to be considered as the only critical lines. I
will cover these in detail later.

5...e6 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.0–0 Bd6

7...Ne4!?

8.b3?!

8.Qc2 0–0 (8...Bf5 9.Bd3) 9.e4 is the only idea for White in these types of position. Black happily
'saves' the tempo a7-a6, usually necessary to bring the queen bishop outside the pawn chain.

8...Ne4!

Profiting from the opponent's timid play, Black already seizes the initiative.

9.Nxe4

9.Bb2 f5 10.h3 Bxf3! 11.Bxf3 0–0 When White's h pawn has moved in order to win a tempo on
the Bg4 (Bg5 in the same Stonewall configuration with reversed colours), it is much more
problematic to get rid of the strong Ne4 (Ne5).

9...dxe4 10.Nd2 Bf5!

10...Bxe2 11.Qxe2 f5 is equal because White will be able to free himself with f2-f3. Now, it is
possible to hope for more ...

11.c5

A possibility I had mentioned in my notes at the time.

In fact, I had kept a good memory of 11.Re1 Qh4 12.g3 (12.Nf1 Nf6 Intending h7-h5, Ng4.)
12...Qg5 13.Bf1 h5 With a slightly different order of moves (Bf5 instead of Bg4 and h7-h6 played),
the game transposes 14.Bg2 see Bezold,M-Prie,E

11...Bc7 12.f4

12...h5

12...g5!! 13.g4 gxf4 14.gxf5 fxe3! I missed that move in my calculations. 15.Nxe4 Bxh2+! 16.Kxh2
Qh4+ 17.Kg2 Rg8+ 18.Kf3 Qh3+ With a winning attack! 19.Ng3 Rxg3+ 20.Ke4 Nxc5+! 21.dxc5
Qh4+ 22.Rf4 exf5+ 23.Kxf5 Qg5+ 24.Ke4 Qg6+ 25.Rf5 Rg5 26.Qf1 Qe6+ 27.Kd3 Rxf5–+ So
White was already 'against the ropes'!

13.Nc4 Nf6 14.Bd2 g5?!

14...Nd5=/+

15.fxg5 Ng4

15...Bxh2+ 16.Kxh2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1 Qxg5 18.Nd6+ Kf8 19.Qe1

16.Nd6+!

16.h4 Bh2+ 17.Kh1 Bg3 18.Be1 Qc7 is excessively dangerous for White.;

16.h3? Fritz ... 16...Qxg5 17.hxg4 hxg4 18.Nd6+ Bxd6 19.cxd6 Rh1+!! 20.Kxh1 Qh4+ 21.Kg1 g3
22.Rf4 Qh2+ 23.Kf1 Qh1#

16...Bxd6 17.cxd6 Qxg5

17...Qxd6 18.Rf4 Intending h2-h3. 18...0–0–0! Vallin,G 19.h3 Ne5=/+ 20.Ba5 Ng6!
18.Qe1 Nf6!?

I rejected 18...h4 19.Bxg4 Bxg4 20.d7+ Kxd7 21.Rxf7+ Ke8 possibly wrongly since 22.Rxb7
(22.Rf2! Rg8 unclear) 22...Bf3 23.Qf2 Rg8 looks painful for White.

19.Qf2 Rg8 20.Kh1 Kd7

As it turns out, I incorrectly estimated this position when opting for 14...g5 (instead of 14...Nd5)
since White has a counterattack.

20...Rd8 21.b4 Rxd6 22.b5 c5 23.Bc3 cxd4 24.Bxd4 Rxd4 25.exd4 e3 26.Qg1 Ne4 27.Rf3
unclear;

20...0–0–0 21.b4 Rxd6 22.b5 Ng4 23.Bxg4 Qxg4 24.Bb4 Rd5 25.bxc6

21.b4 Ng4

21...Nd5! 22.b5 cxb5 23.Bxb5+ Kxd6 therefore was the best continuation.

22.Bxg4 Qxg4 23.Rac1 Rac8 24.Be1 h4?!

24...Kxd6 25.Qc2 Kd7 unclear

25.Qb2 a6?

A direct blunder.

25...h3 26.g3 (26.Bg3 hxg2+ 27.Qxg2 Qh5) 26...a6

26.Rf4 Qg6 27.Bxh4 Qh5 28.Kg1 Kxd6

Black has lost the extra pawn and still has the same problems with king safety, the position has of
course turned out favourably for White. Still, the presence of the opposite colour bishops offers
some drawing chances.

29.Bg3

29.b5! Fritz - making use of the location of the bishop on h4. 29...axb5 (29...cxb5? 30.Qb4+ Kd7
31.Qe7#) 30.a4 With a big white initiative.

29...Kd7 30.Rcf1 Rg5 31.a4 Qg6 32.Rh4

32.b5 cxb5 33.axb5 a5

32...Rg8 33.b5 cxb5 34.axb5 Rxg3!?

Seizing the opportunity

34...a5 35.Qf2 Rg4 36.Rxg4 Qxg4 37.Qd2 Ra8 38.Rc1 looks difficult.

35.hxg3 Qxg3 36.Qf2 Qxf2+ 37.Kxf2 axb5 38.Rb1 Kc6 39.Rhh1 Ra8 40.Rhc1+ Kb6 41.Rc5
Ra5 42.Kg3 Ka6 43.Kf4 b6 44.Rc7

During the game, I was very much afraid of continuations like 44.Rc3 Bg6 Intending b5-b4+ and
Rf5. 45.g4! Kb7 (45...Ra4 46.Rcb3 b4 47.Rxb4 Rxb4 48.Rxb4 b5 49.Ke5 Ka5 50.Rb2 b4 51.d5
exd5 52.Kxd5+- Right on time.) 46.Rcb3 Kc6 47.Ke5 b4+ 48.Kf6 Rd5 49.Rxb4 b5 50.R4b2
44...Bg6 45.g4 Ra4 46.Ke5 b4 47.Kf6 Kb5 48.g5 Ra3 49.Re1 Rc3?

Losing the sense of danger.

49...b3 50.Rxf7 Bxf7 51.Kxf7 b2 52.Rb1 Rxe3 53.Rxb2+ Kc4 draws.

50.Rxf7! Bxf7 51.Kxf7 b3 52.Kxe6!

52.g6 b2 53.g7 (53.Rb1 Rxe3 54.Rxb2+ Kc4 55.Rg2 Ra3 56.g7 Ra8 57.g8Q Rxg8 58.Rxg8 e3
59.Re8 Kxd4 60.Rxe6 Kd3=) 53...Rc1 54.g8Q? Rxe1 55.Qe8+ Ka5 56.Qa8+ Kb4 57.Qf8+ Kb3

52...b2 53.Rb1 Rxe3?

53...Rc2! 54.g6 Kc4 55.g7 (55.d5? Rg2) 55...Rg2 56.Kf7! (56.Rxb2 Rxg7 57.Rxb6? Rg6+)
56...Rf2+ 57.Ke7 Rg2 58.Kf8 Rf2+ 59.Kg8 Kc3 (59...b5 60.Rh1 Kd3 (60...Rc2 61.Kh7 Rc1
62.g8Q+) 61.Kh7) 60.d5! Rd2! 61.Kf7 Rf2+ 62.Ke7 Rg2 63.Kf8 Rf2+= Draw again! I never could
get interested in endings apart from in a practical way...by studying my numerous mishaps!

54.Rxb2+ Kc4 55.d5! Rd3?

Tiredness.

55...Rg3 56.d6 Rxg5 57.d7 Rg6+! (57...Rg8 58.Rc2+ Kd3 59.Rc8) 58.Ke5 Rg5+ 59.Kxe4 Rg4+
60.Ke3 Rg3+ 61.Ke2! (61.Kf2 Rd3=) 61...Rg2+ (61...Rg8 62.Rc2+ Kb3 63.Rc8 Rg2+ 64.Ke3
Rg3+ 65.Kd4 Rg4+ 66.Kd5 Rg5+ 67.Kc6 Rg6+ 68.Kb5 Rg5+ 69.Kxb6) 62.Kf3 Rxb2 63.d8Q was
possible, although theoretically wan for White.

56.d6 e3 57.d7 Rd4

I had overlooked the elementary 57...Rd2 58.Rxd2 exd2 59.d8Q

58.g6 Kc3 59.Rg2 1–0

Martyn,R (2266) - Shaw,J (2480) [D10]

ch-GBR Edinburgh SCO (4), 17.07.2003

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3

A kind of reflex move by analogy with many variations where b7 proves to be the Achilles heel of
the black set-up.

5...Qb6 6.Qxb6

If White had his queen bishop out on f4 or even the possibility of playing it there, things would be
different after 6.c5 - while here, Black simply replies 6...Qc7 pointing at the drawback of the early
e2-e3 (and of course not 6...Qxb3? 7.axb3 Nbd7 8.b4 a6 9.b5 making annoying use of the open a
file.)

6.cxd5 A double-edged move. White hopes to be able to make use of the a file in return for the
alteration of his pawn structure. 6...Qxb3 7.axb3 Nxd5 8.f3 (8.Nxd5 cxd5 9.Nf3 f6 10.Bd2 Nc6
11.Bb5 Bd7! 12.0–0 e6 13.Rfc1 Bd6 14.Ne1 Ke7= Izchenko,O-Kavalerov,A St Petersburg 1994
1/2(21)) 8...Be6 (8...Bd7!? 9.Bd2 Nb4 10.Kd1 Be6 11.Ra3 f6 12.Ne4 N8a6 13.Bc4 Bf7 14.Nh3 e6
15.Nf4 Nc7= Gerzhoy,L-Ronchetti,N/Heraklio GRE 2004/The Week in Chess 523 0–1(86))
9.Nxd5 (9.Bc4?! Nb4! 10.Bxe6? Nc2+ 11.Kd1 Nxa1 12.Bc4 (12.Bc8 a5) 12...e6 (12...b5? 13.Nxb5
cxb5 14.Bd5) 13.Nh3 b5–+) 9...Bxd5 10.Bc4 Nd7 (10...e5 11.dxe5 Nd7 12.Bxd5 cxd5 13.Ne2
(13.f4? Nc5) 13...Nxe5 14.Nf4+/=) 11.e4 Bxc4 12.bxc4 g6 (12...e5!? 13.d5 Bc5) 13.Be3 Bg7
14.Ra2 0–0 15.Ne2 c5 16.d5 (16.dxc5 was critical.) 16...Ne5 17.b3 b6 18.0–0 a5 19.f4 Nd3
20.Rd1 Nb4= Matthiesen,A-Soylu,S/Izmir TUR 2004/The Week in Chess 518 1/2(61);

6.h3 Bf5 7.cxd5 Qxb3 8.axb3 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 cxd5 10.Nf3 (10.Bd2 e6! 11.Nf3 Bd6 12.Ne5 Ke7
13.Bc3 Nd7= Malakhatko,V-Kovalev,D/Simferopol UKR 2003/The Week in Chess 476 0–1(63))
10...f6 (10...e6!? 11.Bb5+ Kd8 12.Ne5 (12.Bd2 Bd6 13.Ne5 Ke7=) 12...Bg6 (12...Bb4+ 13.Bd2
Bxd2+ 14.Kxd2 Rf8 15.Rhc1 f6 16.Nd3 Bxd3 17.Bxd3 h6 18.b4+/=) 13.Bd2 Bd6 14.0–0 Bxe5
15.dxe5 Nc6=) 11.Bd2 Nc6 12.b4 (12.Bb5 Bd7!) 12...e6 13.Bb5 Kd8 (13...Bd6! 14.Ke2 Kd7=)
14.Ke2 Bg6? That second lost tempo puts Black in trouble. 15.Bxc6! bxc6 16.Rhc1 with attack
Prakash,G-Payen,A/Calcutta 2000 1–0(68);

6.Nge2 e6 (6...Qxb3 7.axb3 Na6 8.Ra4 Bd7 9.c5 Nc7=) 7.Ng3 Nbd7 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nxh5 Nxh5
10.Bd3+/= Dydyshko,V-Meduna,E CZE 2002 1/2(42)

6...axb6 7.cxd5

7.h3 Bf5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 cxd5 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bd3 Nc6 12.Bd2 f6 13.Nf3 e6 14.Ke2 Bd6=
Schenk,A-Deseatnicov,I Athens 2001 1/2(25)

7...Nxd5 8.Nxd5 cxd5

The problem for White is that in order to 'materialize' the inferiority of the opposing pawn
structure, he has to completely release the central tension. Consequently, and by way of
conclusion about this subline, Black should be able to hold the ending without too much effort, as
testified by practice, but has to watch out for the Ng1 heading for the queenside which can prove
annoying in the long term.

9.Bd2

9.Ne2!? Nc6 (9...Na6 10.Nc3 Nc7 11.f3 Bd7 12.e4; 9...Bxe2!? This knight is too dangerous when
reaching the queenside. 10.Bxe2 e6) 10.Nc3 Nb4 11.Kd2 e6 12.b3 White wants to play Na4
hitting b6. 12...Nc6 13.Bb2 Bb4! 14.a3 Bxc3+ (14...Be7 15.Na4 Bd8 16.Bd3 Kd7 17.Rac1+/=)
15.Bxc3 Ke7 16.Kc2 Rhc8 17.Kb2 Rc7 18.Bb5 Rac8 19.Rac1 Bf5 20.Rhe1+/= Safin,S-Barua,D
Jodhpur 2003 0–1(47)

9...Nc6 10.Ne2

10.Bb5 Bd7 As usual the right thematic answer. 11.Ne2 Na5 12.Bxa5 Rxa5 13.Bxd7+ Kxd7
14.Kd2 e6 15.a3 Bd6 Georgiev,V-Kishnev,S Panormo 2001 1/2 (33)

10...e6

10...Bxe2 11.Bxe2 e6

11.Nc3 Be7 12.Bb5!

To control the a4 square.

12...0–0 13.f3 Bf5 14.Kf2 Nb4 15.Ke2 Rfc8 16.a3 Nc6 17.Rac1

17.Na4!? Bd8 (17...Na7 18.Bd7 Rc7 19.Nxb6 Rd8 20.Ba4 Rd6 21.Ba5) 18.Rhc1 Na5 19.Bd7 Rc7
20.Rxc7 Bxc7 21.Rc1

17...f6 18.Bd3 Bxd3+ 19.Kxd3 Na5 20.Nb5

20.e4! Black has not fully equalized.

20...Nc4 21.Rc2 Rc6=

But now it is the case.

22.Rhc1 Kf7 23.Nc3 Rac8 24.Na2 e5 25.Bc3 Bd6 26.dxe5 fxe5 27.Rd1 d4 28.Bd2 dxe3
29.Bxe3 e4+ 30.Ke2 exf3+ 31.gxf3 Nxe3 32.Rxc6 Rxc6 33.Kxe3 Bxh2 34.Rd7+ Kf6 35.Rxb7
Bg1+ 36.Kd3 h5 37.Nb4 h4 38.Nd5+ Ke5 39.Ne3 Bxe3 40.Kxe3 Rg6 41.Rb8 Rh6 42.f4+ Kd5
43.Rd8+ Kc4 44.Rd2 h3 45.Rh2 Kb3 46.Kf3 b5 47.Kg4 Rg6+ 48.Kf3 Rd6 49.Ke4 Rh6 50.Kf5
Kc4 51.Kg5 Kb3 52.f5 Kc4 53.Kg4 Kb3 54.Rxh3+ Rxh3 55.Kxh3 Kxb2 56.Kg4 Kxa3 57.Kg5
b4 58.Kg6 b3 59.Kxg7 b2 60.f6 b1Q 61.f7 Qg1+ ½–½

Garcia Palermo,Carlos (2550) - Kirov,Nino (2485) [D10]

La Habana, 1986

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6

5...Qd7?! Radjabov,T-Kobese,W Hyderabad 2002, looks poor by comparison.

6.f3

It is the end of the fun for Black when the opponent starts to use this move.

6.Qxb6 axb6 7.f3 Bf5 (7...Be6 Looks better and has never been played but possibly the Brazilian
rejected it because of 8.b3!? (8.cxd5 Nxd5 is fine for Black. (8...cxd5 Transposes to the next
main game.) 9.Nxd5 Bxd5 10.e4? Rxa2) 8...Na6 (8...Bf5!? 9.g4 Bc2 10.g5 Nfd7 11.cxd5 Bxb3
12.e4 cxd5) 9.e4 Nb4 10.Kd1 dxe4 11.fxe4 g6 Unclear.) 8.g4 (8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.e4 Nb4! 10.exf5
Nc2+ 11.Kd1 Nxa1 12.b3 b5 13.Bb2 b4 14.Na4 b5 15.Nc5 e5! 16.Kc1 Bxc5 17.dxc5 Nd7 18.Kb1
Nxb3 19.axb3 f6=/+) 8...Be6 9.g5 Nfd7 (9...Nh5?! 10.cxd5 Bxd5 (10...cxd5 11.e4 dxe4 12.fxe4+/-)
11.Nxd5 cxd5 12.Bb5+ Nc6 13.Ne2 e6 14.Bd2+/=) 10.cxd5 Bxd5 (only move) (10...cxd5 From
that stage, all notes by Radjabov,T in INF 83/356 11.e4 dxe4 12.d5 Bf5 13.fxe4 Bg6 14.Bb5 e6
15.Nge2 Bb4 16.0–0+/-) 11.Bd3 a) 11.e4 Bb3! 12.Be3!? (12.Bf4 f6!?) 12...e5 13.dxe5 Nxe5
14.Bxb6 (14.f4 Ng4 15.Bxb6 Nd7 (compensation)) 14...Nbd7 (compensation); b) 11.Bd2!?;
11...Na6 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Bd2 e6 (13...e5?! 14.Ne2+/-) 14.Ne2 Nb4 15.Bxb4 (15.Bb1!?)
15...Bxb4+ 16.Kf2 h6!? 17.g6! Initiating an interesting phase of complications heavily analysed by
the eventual winner of this game in INF 83/356. Radjabov,T-Mecking,H Buenos Aires 2001 1–
0(77)(17.h4 hxg5 18.hxg5 Rxh1 19.Rxh1 Rxa2=/+; 17.gxh6 Rxh6=; 17.a3 Be7 18.g6 f5 unclear)

6...Be6

6...Bd7 7.c5 (7.e4!

This time when White maintains the tension in the centre the bishop stands stupidly on d7.)
7...Qc7 8.Bd3 b6 9.cxb6 axb6 10.Nge2 e6 11.e4+/= Kraal,J-Lakdawala,C San Francisco 2000
1/2(28);

6...Bf5? 7.cxd5 Qxb3 8.axb3 cxd5 (8...Nxd5 9.e4 Nb4 10.Ra4) 9.g4 Be6 (9...Bd7 10.g5 Nh5
11.Nxd5) 10.Nb5+/- Chatalbashev,B-Stavrev,N Pamporovo 2001 1–0(48)

7.c5!

7.e4 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bxc4 9.Qxc4 Qa6 10.Qb3 e6 11.Nge2 Nbd7 12.0–0 Be7 13.Be3 0–0=

7...Qc7 8.Nge2

8.Qc2 g6 9.Bd3 b6 10.b4 a5= Martyn,R-Sisask,J Ch-GBR Scarborough 2004/The Week in

Chess 509 0–1(55)
8...Bc8 Intending e7-e5

8...b6!

My suggestion to rehabilitate the line. 9.cxb6 axb6 10.Nf4 Bc8 In case of e3-e4, Black will hold
the centre with e7-e6, the square d7 being free for his king knight and exchange his 'bad bishop'
on a6. I think Black is OK.;

8...Bf5 Another attempt. 9.g4 (9.Ng3 Bg6 10.e4 e5 (10...dxe4 11.Bf4!) 11.dxe5 Nfd7 unclear)
9...Bc8 (9...Bg6 10.h4 h6 11.Nf4 Bh7 12.g5 Nfd7 13.g6 Bxg6 14.Nxg6 fxg6 15.f4+/- With the idea
Qc2, Bd3; 9...Bd3? 10.Nxd5) 10.g5 Nfd7 Looks awkward for Black but the liberating moves e7-e5
or b7-b6 are coming. 11.e4 dxe4 12.Ng3 exf3 13.Bc4 e6 14.0–0 is 'hot'.

9.e4! dxe4 10.Bf4!

10.fxe4 e5!

10...Qa5 11.0–0–0 exf3 12.Ng3 Na6 13.gxf3 b6?

13...Qb4 14.Qc2 Be6+/- van der Sterren,P

14.Bc4 e6 15.a3 bxc5 16.d5! exd5 17.Bxd5+/-

Unfortunately only a fragment of this game appeared in Inf 42-464.

Tukmakov,Vladimir B (2565) - Ninov,Kiril (2460) [D10]

EU-chT (Men) Haifa (9), 1989

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Be6

5...Bd7?! 6.Bd3 a) 6.Qb3!

Now this is quite unpleasant I think. See the Kraal-Lakdawala note in the previous main game.

This is why I reckon 5.f3 may be more precise, leaving Black with a chance to go wrong with his
queen bishop. Something that his highly rated opponent did not demonstrate. 6...Qb6 7.e4 Qxb3
8.axb3 Na6 9.cxd5 Nb4 10.Ra4 e6 11.dxc6 Bxc6 12.Bb5+/-; b) 6.c5 b6 7.b4 Bf5 (7...a5 8.Na4)
8.g4 Bc8 9.Bd2 g6 10.Nge2 Bg7 unclear Rustemov,A-Graf,A Katernberg GER 2003/The Week in
Chess 470 1–0(37); 6...e6 7.Nge2 (7.e4 c5! The whole idea of the strange bishop's retreat.
8.cxd5 cxd4 9.Nce2 e5 10.f4 Ng4 With complications Tkachiev,V-Chernin,A Bastia 2001 0–1(36))
7...c5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.0–0 Nc6 10.Kh1 Be7 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.Bc2 Be6 13.Nf4 Qd7 (13...0–0
14.Bb3) 14.a3 (14.Bb3 Rd8) 14...0–0 Possibly an a pawn move to keep the bishop on this
diagonal aiming at e3 while preparing d5-d4!? (14...a6 15.b4 Ba7 16.b5 axb5 17.Nxb5 Bb6;
14...a5) 15.b4 White looks sligltly better after this move. Kruppa,Y-Shaw,J Cappelle la Grande op
2005/The Week in Chess 538 1–0(78);

5...Bh5? 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.g4 Bg6 9.g5 Nh5 10.Qxd5 'Classically' wins a pawn.
Kalugin,S-Sretenskij,N Moscow 1999 1–0(65);

5...Bc8!?
Not as ridiculous as it looks. The Russian Grandmaster is a specialist of this line and presumably
knows what he is doing. Black has lost a tempo to deprive the opponents king knight of his best
square. 6.Bd3 (6.e4 dxe4 7.fxe4 e5) 6...g6 7.Nge2 Bg7 8.Nf4 0–0 9.0–0 If you compare this
position with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Qc2 g6 6.Bd3 Bg7 7.Nf3 0–0 8.0–0 Black to
move, (as played, on the black side, by Kasparov himself) Black misses here the move a7-a6
while White has has traded the developing move Qc2 for the pawn move f2-f3 and has a knight
on f4 instead of f3 which is not necessarily an advantage ... 9...Re8 10.Kh1 b6 Nevertheless, the
problem of what to do with the light squared bishop and therefore how to develop his queenside
is more acute than ever. 11.cxd5! g5 (11...cxd5? 12.Nfxd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 14.Be4) 12.Nfe2
Nxd5 13.e4 Nxc3 14.bxc3+/= Koch,T-Kishnev,S Germany 2003 1/2(28)

6.Nge2

6.Qb3 b6?! (6...Qb6) 7.Bd2 (7.cxd5! Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Bxd5 9.Qa4) 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bxc4 9.Qxc4+/=
Roos,JL-Zawadski,S FRA 2003 1–0(54);

6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Qb3 (7.e4!? Nc6 8.Nge2 (8.Be3 dxe4 9.fxe4 Ng4) ) 7...Qb6 (7...Qd7 8.Nge2 Nc6
9.Nf4; 7...Bc8!? Now this is more justified if you compare the position and the course of the game
with Shulman-Wojtkiewicz 8.e4 e6 9.Bb5+ Nc6 10.Nge2 Be7 11.Bg5 0–0 12.0–0+/=) 8.Qxb6
axb6 This is the best ending position White can get. Considering the amount of effort he made to
justify this assertion (it is true against another GM expert) it could have been a pre-arranged
draw. 9.Nge2 (9.Nb5) 9...Bd7 10.Nf4 e6 11.Bd2 Bd6 12.Nd3 0–0 13.Be2 Rc8 ½–½ Jacimovic,D-
Kirov,N Prilep 1992

6...dxc4 7.Nf4 Qc8!

Bulgarian GM Kiril NINOV is the son of Nino KIROV!

7...Bc8 8.Bxc4 e6 9.0–0 Nd5 10.e4+/- Petrosian,A-Taimanov,M Yerevan 1986 1–0 (60)

8.e4 g6 9.Nxe6 Qxe6 10.d5 cxd5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxc4 Bg7 13.Qxd5

13.Bxd5 Qb6

13...Qxd5 14.Bxd5 Nc6

The super strong Grünfeld bishop (making the development of White's queenside difficult) is
compensation for the pair of bishops.

15.Bxc6+ bxc6 16.Kd1 0–0–0+ 17.Kc2

White is slightly better but with only one weakness Black will manage to hold the game without
suffering too much.

17...Rd7 18.Rd1 Rxd1 19.Kxd1 Rd8+ 20.Kc2 Kb7 21.Bg5 Rd7 22.Re1 Be5 23.h3 Bc7 24.Re3
Bb6 25.Rc3 e6 26.Bf6 Ba5 27.Rb3+ Ka6 28.Bg5 Bb6 29.Rc3 Kb7 30.Bf6 Ba5 31.b4 Bb6 32.g4
Bc7 33.Rd3 Rxd3 34.Kxd3 Bd6 35.Kc4 a6 36.Bd4 Kc7 37.Bf6 Bf4 38.Be7 Bg3 39.Bc5 Be5
40.Bd4 Bf4 41.Bf6 Bd6 42.e5 Bf8 43.Bg5 Kb7 44.a4 Bg7 45.f4 Bf8 46.Bd8 Bh6 47.Bg5 Bf8
48.Bd8 Bh6 49.g5 Bf8 50.a5 h6 51.h4 h5 52.Bb6 Be7 53.Be3 Bd8 54.Bc5 Bc7 55.Bf8 Bd8
56.Kc5 Bc7 57.Bd6 Bd8 58.Kc4 Kc8 59.Kd4 Kb7 60.Kc4 Kc8 61.Kd4 Kb7 62.Kc5 Bc7 63.Be7
Bb8 64.Bd8 Bc7 ½–½
Conclusion: Positions after 4...Bg4!? 5.f3! or 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.f3 can become tricky for the second
player whilst other ideas are rather comfortable I feel.

Indeed, there are very few games on the critical possibilities we brought out in this survey. So the
variation offers substantial room for home investigation making it an interesting alternative to the
probably more solid Meran complex after 4...e6 instead.

The fact is that lots of +2400 players could not find a way of getting a tangible opening edge.

Campos Moreno,Javier (2535) - Prie,Eric (2439) [D11]

Catalonia-ChT2 Mataro (3.1), 14.02.2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.h3

5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Ne5 Bf5;

or 5.cxd5 Bxf3! To divert the queen from b3 or eliminate the possibility Nf3-e5. 6.Qxf3 (6.gxf3
cxd5 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.Bb5 e6 10.Bd2 Bd6=) 6...cxd5 7.Nc3 Nc6 are no refutations.

5...Bh5

Here, you have two schools of thought.

The first, of whom I am part, consider that White will weaken his position rather then gain space
on the kingside by chasing the bishop, whereas the second is willing to part immediately with the
bishop in return for free development and a bad positioning of the opposing queen.

5...Bxf3 6.Qxf3 e6 7.Nc3 Bd6 8.Bd3 0–0 9.0–0 Nbd7 10.Bd2 (10.Re1 Re8 (10...Qe7?! 11.e4
(11.cxd5!? exd5 12.e4) 11...dxc4 12.Bxc4 e5 13.d5+/=) 11.e4?! e5) 10...Qe7 is given as equal by
the world's leading expert Ivan Sokolov who gives the key variation 11.b3?! (11.Qd1 Sokolov,I;
11.cxd5!? exd5 12.Rfe1 with the idea of e4 is my suggestion, as well as; 11.Rfe1 with the same
idea, but allowing 11...dxc4 12.Bxc4 e5 and then 13.Ne4) 11...Rfe8 12.e4 e5!

6.Nc3

6.cxd5 Bxf3!
6...e6 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nbd7 9.Nxg6

9.h4 dxc4 10.Nxg6 (10.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.h5 Bd3=) 10...hxg6 11.Bxc4 Bb4! (11...Nd5 12.g5! Bb4
13.Bd2 Qe7 14.Qf3+/= Dreev,A-Oms Pallise,J Olm Calvia 2004/The Week in Chess 520 1–0(30))
12.Bd2 (12.g5 Ne4 13.Bd2 Nxg5 That is the difference!) 12...Bxc3 13.bxc3 ½–½ Ribli,Z-
Kuczynski,R Bundesliga Erfurt 2005

9...hxg6 10.Bd2 Bb4!

The control of the e4 square is of major importance in this line.

11.Bd3

11.cxd5!? exd5 12.Bg2 Qe7 13.0–0 0–0? (13...Nb6=; 13...Bxc3!? 14.Bxc3 Ne4! 15.Be1 Ng5
16.Kh2 Qd6+ 17.f4 Nf6) 14.Qb3! Nb6 15.Rad1 Nc4? 16.g5!+- Kozul,Z-Perisic,R Metallis op
Bizovac 2005/The Week in Chess 539 1–0(23)

11...dxc4 12.Bxc4 Bxc3! 13.Bxc3 Ne4

With this manoeuvre Black easily equalizes.

14.Qf3 Ndf6 15.h4 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Nd5 17.Kd2 Qe7 18.Bxd5 cxd5 19.h5 gxh5 20.gxh5 0–0–0
21.a4 Rd7 22.Rhg1 Rh7 23.Rg4 Rc7 24.Qg3 f6 25.Qf3 Qe8 26.Rg6 a6

26...Qc6 27.Rc1 Qxa4 28.h6 Rxh6 29.Rxh6 gxh6 30.Qxf6 Qe8 31.Qxh6=

27.Qg4 Kb8 28.h6 Qc6 29.Rc1

29.hxg7 Qxc3+ 30.Ke2 Qb2+ 31.Kf3 Rhxg7 32.Rxg7 Qxa1 33.Qg3 (33.Rxc7? Qd1+ 34.Kg3
Qxg4+ 35.Kxg4 Kxc7) 33...Qh1+ 34.Ke2 Qc1

29...f5 30.Qg5 ½–½

30.Qg5 gxh6 31.Rxh6 Ka7 32.Rxh7 Rxh7 33.Qg8 Rh2 (33...Rc7 34.Qd8) 34.Qg3 Rh8 35.Qg7
Rc8 36.Qe7=

Bezold,M (2495) - Prie,E (2480) [D12]

Cannes Martinez Masters (3), 1995

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3

5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3 Qc7 7.Bd2 e6 8.Bb5+ Nc6 9.Bb4 Bd6 10.Qa3 Ke7!=

5...e6 6.Be2 h6 7.0–0 Nbd7 8.b3 Ne4 9.Nxe4?!

9.Bb2 Bd6 10.Rc1 0–0 11.Nxe4 Bxe4 12.Bd3 f5=

9...dxe4! 10.Nd2 Bd6 11.Re1

11.c5!? Bc7 12.Nc4

11...Qh4 12.g3?

12.Nf1 Nf6 Intending 0–0–0, h5 and Ng4.

12...Qg5 13.Bf1 h5 14.Bg2 Nf6

15.Qc2?

Incredible ...

15.h4 was the only chance to avoid a complete rout. 15...Qh6 16.Qc2 g5! 17.Nxe4 (17.hxg5 Qxg5
18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Bxe4 h4 20.Bg2 hxg3 21.e4 Qh4‚ 22.e5? Qxd4) 17...Bxe4 18.Bxe4 gxh4
19.gxh4 Nxe4 (19...0–0–0!?) 20.Qxe4 Rg8+ 21.Kf1 Rg4 22.Qf3 0–0–0 23.Qxf7?? Rf8 24.e4 Bf4
25.Qe7 Bxc1 26.Rexc1 (26.Raxc1 Rxf2+ 27.Kxf2 Qd2+ 28.Re2 Qf4+ 29.Ke1 Rg1#) 26...Rxf2+!
27.Kxf2 Qd2+ 28.Kf1 (28.Kf3 Rf4+ 29.Kg3 Qf2+ 30.Kh3 Rf3#) 28...Qg2+ 29.Ke1 Rxe4+ 30.Kd1
Qe2#

15...h4 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 hxg3 18.hxg3

18.f4 Qh4 19.Re2 (19.Bb2 Bxe4 20.Qxe4 Qxh2+ 21.Kf1 Qf2#) 19...Qg4! Threatening Bxe4, Qxe2
and gxh2++, Qg1. 20.Re1 (20.Rg2 gxh2+ 21.Kh1 Bxe4 22.Qxe4 Qd1+ 23.Rg1 Qxg1#) 20...Rxh2
21.Bxf5 (21.Qd3 Qh3 Mates in a few moves with the idea Rh1+!, Qh2+ and Qf2#.) 21...Qf3
22.Qxh2 gxh2+ 23.Kxh2 Ke7 24.Bh3 Rh8;

18.Bxf5 gxf2+ 19.Kxf2 Rxh2+ 20.Kf1 Rh1+ 21.Ke2 Qh5+ 22.Kd3 Transposes further without the
f2 pawn.(22.Kf2 Qh2+ 23.Kf3 Qg3+)

18...Bxg3! 19.Kf1
19.fxg3 Qxg3+ 20.Kf1 Rh1+ 21.Bxh1 Bxc2–+;

19.Bxf5 Bd6+ 20.Kf1 Rh1+ 21.Ke2 Qh5+ 22.Kd3 a) 22.Kd2 Bb4+–+; b) 22.f3 Rh2+ 23.Kd1
(23.Kd3 Qxf5+ 24.e4 Qxf3+ 25.Re3 Qf1+–+) 23...Qxf3+ 24.Re2 Bb4 25.Qd3 Qf1+ 26.Kc2
Rxe2+–+; 22...Rxe1 23.Be4 Rd1+ 24.Kc3 Qa5+ 25.Kb2 Ba3+ 26.Kb1 Rxc1+ 27.Qxc1 Bxc1–+

19...Qg4!

The killer move but 'everything' was winning already.

20.Bxf5

20.f3 Rh1+ 21.Ke2 Rh2+ 22.Kd1 (22.Kf1 Qh3+; 22.Kd3 Bxe4+ 23.fxe4 Rxc2 24.Kxc2 Bxe1)
22...Qxf3+! 23.Qe2 (23.Bxf3 Bxc2#) 23...Bxe4–+;

20.fxg3 Bxe4

20...Qf3 0–1

20...Qf3 21.Bh7 Rxh7 22.Qxh7 Qxf2#

Supplementary Games

Dreev,A (2698) - Oms Pallise,J (2508) [D11]

36th Olympiad Calvia ESP (1), 15.10.2004

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Nc3 e6 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nbd7 9.h4 dxc4 10.Nxg6
hxg6 11.Bxc4 Nd5 12.g5 Bb4 13.Bd2 Qe7 14.Qf3 0–0–0 15.a3 Ba5 16.b4 Bc7 17.e4 Nxc3
18.Bxc3 Rhf8 19.0–0–0 a5 20.Kc2 Nb6 21.Bb3 axb4 22.Bxb4 Bd6 23.Qc3 Bxb4 24.axb4 Kb8
25.Qg3+ Rd6 26.h5 gxh5 27.Rxh5 f5 28.gxf6 gxf6 29.Rh7 Qd8 30.Bxe6 1–0
Kozul,Z (2595) - Perisic,Ro (2138) [D11]
12th Metalis Open Bizovac CRO (1), 24.02.2005

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 c6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Nc3 e6 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nbd7 9.Nxg6 hxg6
10.Bd2 Bb4 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Bg2 Qe7 13.0–0 0–0 14.Qb3 Nb6 15.Rad1 Nc4 16.g5 Nd7 17.Nxd5
cxd5 18.Bxb4 Qxg5 19.Bxf8 Rxf8 20.Qxb7 Ndb6 21.b3 Nd6 22.Qxa7 Nf5 23.Qc7 Rc8 24.Qf4 1–0

Eingorn,Vereslav S (2575) - Kirov,Nino (2455) [D10]

Metz op Metz, 1991

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qc2 e6 6.Bd3 Bh5 7.Nge2 Bg6 8.b3 Nbd7 9.0–0 e5
10.cxd5 cxd5 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Bb5+ Nc6 13.Qd1 Bd6 14.Nf4 a6 15.Bxc6+ bxc6 16.Bb2 0–0
17.Na4 Rc8 18.Rc1 Re8 19.Nc5 Qc7 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qg4 Kh8 22.Qh4 Qe7 23.Nxg6+ fxg6
24.Qd4 a5 25.Rc2 Qe5 26.Qxe5 fxe5 27.e4 Bxc5 28.Rxc5 a4 29.bxa4 dxe4 30.h3 Rcd8 31.Rxc6
Rd2 32.a3 Rb8 33.a5 e3 34.fxe3 Rbb2 35.Rf7 Kg8 36.Re7 Rxg2+ 37.Kf1 Rgf2+ 38.Ke1 Rbe2+
39.Kd1 Rxe3 40.a6 Rxa3 41.Rc8+ ½–½

Izchenko,Olga (2180) - Kavalerov,Aleksandr (2360) [D10]

St Petersburg op2 St Petersburg (7), 1994

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.cxd5 Qxb3 7.axb3 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 cxd5 9.Nf3 f6
10.Bd2 Nc6 11.Bb5 Bd7 12.0–0 e6 13.Rfc1 Bd6 14.Ne1 Ke7 15.Bf1 a5 16.Nd3 b6 17.Bc3 Rhc8
18.Re1 Kf7 19.f3 Na7 20.Rac1 Nb5 21.Bd2 h6 ½–½

Gerzhoy,L (2372) - Ronchetti,N (2304) [D10]

WYb18 Heraklio GRE (8), 10.11.2004

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.cxd5 Qxb3 7.axb3 Nxd5 8.f3 Bd7 9.Bd2 Nb4
10.Kd1 Be6 11.Ra3 f6 12.Ne4 N8a6 13.Bc4 Bf7 14.Nh3 e6 15.Nf4 Nc7 16.Nc5 Bxc5 17.dxc5
Nbd5 18.Nd3 e5 19.Ke2 0–0 20.Nf2 f5 21.e4 fxe4 22.Nxe4 Ne6 23.b4 Nd4+ 24.Kf2 Bg6 25.Nd6
e4 26.Nxb7 Nc2 27.Rb3 Nd4 28.Rc3 Rab8 29.Nd6 exf3 30.gxf3 Bh5 31.f4 Rxb4 32.b3 Rxc4
33.Rxc4 Nxb3 34.Be3 a5 35.Rb1 Rb8 36.Rb2 h6 37.Ra4 Nc3 38.Ra1 Nd1+ 39.Rxd1 Bxd1
40.Nc4 Rb5 41.Ke1 Bf3 42.Na3 Rb4 43.Nc2 Rb7 44.Nd4 Bd5 45.Nxb3 Bxb3 46.Kd2 a4 47.Kc3
Ra7 48.Kb4 Re7 49.Bd2 Kf7 50.Ka3 Re4 51.Bc1 Re1 52.Bd2 Rf1 53.Be3 Rf3 54.Re2 Ke6
55.Kb4 Kf5 56.Bc1 Kf6 57.Bb2+ Kf7 58.Be5 g6 59.Rd2 Re3 60.Rd7+ Ke8 61.Rd6 g5 62.Rxc6
gxf4 63.Bd4 Re4 64.Kc3 Re6 65.Rc8+ Kd7 66.Rf8 Re2 67.h4 Be6 68.Rxf4 a3 69.Kd3 Re1
70.Kd2 Rh1 71.Rf3 Rxh4 72.Bf6 Rh2+ 73.Kc3 a2 74.Kb4 Rh1 75.Rd3+ Kc8 76.Ra3 Rb1+ 77.Ka5
Kc7 78.Be5+ Kc6 79.Bd4 h5 80.Ka6 h4 81.Ka7 Bd5 82.Ra6+ Kc7 83.Be5+ Kc8 84.Ra3 Rb3
85.Ra5 Rb7+ 86.Ka6 Bc4+ 0–1

Matthiesen,A (2344) - Soylu,S (2416) [D10]

20th ECC Izmir TUR (6), 08.10.2004

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.cxd5 Qxb3 7.axb3 Nxd5 8.f3 Be6 9.Nxd5 Bxd5
10.Bc4 Nd7 11.e4 Bxc4 12.bxc4 g6 13.Be3 Bg7 14.Ra2 0–0 15.Ne2 c5 16.d5 Ne5 17.b3 b6
18.0–0 a5 19.f4 Nd3 20.Rd1 Nb4 21.Ra4 Rfd8 22.g4 Rd7 23.g5 e6 24.Rd2 exd5 25.exd5 Re8
26.Bf2 f6 27.gxf6 Bxf6 28.Kg2 Bg7 29.Ng3 Bh6 30.Re2 Rxe2 31.Nxe2 Nd3 32.Bg3 Bg7 33.Kf3
Nb2 34.Ra2 a4 35.bxa4 Nxc4 36.Rc2 Na5 37.Ke4 Re7+ 38.Kf3 Nb3 39.Bf2 Ra7 40.Nc3 Rd7
41.Ke4 Na5 42.Nb5 Re7+ 43.Kf3 Rd7 44.d6 Kf7 45.f5 gxf5 46.Kf4 Ke6 47.Re2+ Kd5 48.Re7 Kc6
49.Kxf5 Nb7 50.Bg3 Rxe7 51.dxe7 Kd7 52.Nc7 Kxe7 53.Nd5+ Kd7 54.Nxb6+ Kc6 55.Nc4 Kd5
56.a5 Nxa5 57.Nxa5 c4 58.Be1 c3 59.Nb3 Kc4 60.Nc1 Bh6 61.Bxc3 ½–½
Malakhatko,V (2529) - Kovalev,De (2330) [D10]
ch-UKR Simferopol UKR (1), 04.11.2003

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.h3 Bf5 7.cxd5 Qxb3 8.axb3 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 cxd5
10.Bd2 e6 11.Nf3 Bd6 12.Ne5 Ke7 13.Bc3 Nd7 14.Nd3 a5 15.Be2 Rhc8 16.0–0 b6 17.Rfc1 b5
18.Rxa5 Rxc3 19.Rxa8 Rxd3 20.Bxd3 Bxd3 21.Rc3 Be2 22.Rcc8 b4 23.Re8+ Kf6 24.Ra7 Nf8
25.Rd8 Be7 26.Rb8 g5 27.Rbb7 Ng6 28.Ra4 h5 29.Raxb4 Bxb4 30.Rxb4 Ne7 31.f3 h4 32.Kf2
Bd3 33.Rb6 Nf5 34.Rc6 Ke7 35.Rc7+ Kf6 36.Rc3 Bb5 37.Ke1 Ke7 38.Rc7+ Kd6 39.Rc5 Bd7
40.Kd2 e5 41.Kd3 exd4 42.exd4 Ng7 43.Ra5 Ne6 44.Ra6+ Ke7 45.Ke3 Nf4 46.Kf2 Nd3+ 47.Kg1
Nc1 48.Ra1 Nxb3 49.Rd1 Bf5 50.Kf2 Bc2 51.Re1+ Kd6 52.Ke3 f5 53.f4 gxf4+ 54.Kxf4 Nxd4
55.Re8 Ne6+ 56.Kf3 Be4+ 57.Kf2 Nf4 58.Rd8+ Ke5 59.b4 Nd3+ 60.Kf1 Nxb4 61.Rh8 Kf4 62.Kg1
d4 63.Rxh4+ Ke3 0–1

Prakash,G B (2435) - Payen,Arnaud (2376) [D10]

Goodricke 11th op Calcutta (2), 07.02.2000

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.h3 Bf5 7.cxd5 Qxb3 8.axb3 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 cxd5
10.Nf3 f6 11.Bd2 Nc6 12.b4 e6 13.Bb5 Kd8 14.Ke2 Bg6 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Rhc1 Be7 17.Ra6 Be8
18.Rca1 c5 19.Rxa7 Rxa7 20.Rxa7 cxb4 21.Ne1 Bb5+ 22.Nd3 Re8 23.Rb7 Bc4 24.Bxb4 Bxb4
25.Rxb4 Kc7 26.b3 Bxd3+ 27.Kxd3 g5 28.e4 h5 29.exd5 exd5 30.Rb5 Rd8 31.b4 h4 32.Rc5+
Kb6 33.Ke3 Rd6 34.Kf3 f5 35.g3 hxg3 36.Kxg3 Rd8 37.h4 gxh4+ 38.Kxh4 Re8 39.Kg5 Rg8+
40.Kxf5 Rf8+ 41.Ke5 Rxf2 42.Kxd5 Rb2 43.Rc6+ Kb7 44.Rc4 Kb6 45.Kd6 Rh2 46.Rc5 Rh6+
47.Kd5 Rg6 48.b5 Rg1 49.Rc8 Rg5+ 50.Kc4 Rg6 51.Rc5 Rh6 52.Re5 Rg6 53.Re4 Rg1 54.Re6+
Kc7 55.Rc6+ Kb7 56.d5 Rc1+ 57.Kd4 Rd1+ 58.Kc5 Rc1+ 59.Kd6 Rh1 60.Rc7+ Kb6 61.Re7
Rh6+ 62.Re6 Rh7 63.Re7 Rh6+ 64.Kd7 Kc5 65.Kc7 Kxd5 66.b6 Rc6+ 67.Kb7 Rh6 68.Ka7 1–0

Dydyshko,Viacheslav (2536) - Meduna,Eduard (2462) [D10]

CZE-chY 0203 CZE (3), 30.11.2002

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Nge2 e6 7.Ng3 Nbd7 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nxh5 Nxh5
10.Bd3 Qxb3 11.axb3 Nhf6 12.g4 g6 13.Bd2 Bg7 14.g5 Ng8 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Ne2 a6 17.h4 Ne7
18.h5 h6 19.hxg6 hxg5 20.gxf7+ Kxf7 21.Rg1 Bf6 22.Bb4 c5 23.Bc3 cxd4 24.Nxd4 Nc5 25.Bc2
Ne4 26.Bxe4 dxe4 27.Ne2 Nf5 28.Bxf6 Kxf6 29.Nc3 Rae8 30.Ra4 Rh4 31.Rc4 Re5 32.Ke2 Nd6
33.Rb4 Nb5 34.Rd1 Nxc3+ 35.bxc3 b5 36.Rbd4 Rh7 37.Rd6+ Re6 38.R1d5 Rhe7 39.Rd8 Re8
40.Rxe8 Rxe8 41.Kd2 Re5 42.Rd6+ ½–½

Schenk,Andreas (2455) - Deseatnicov,Ivan (2309) [D10]

Wch U20 Athens (7), 23.08.2001

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Qxb6 axb6 7.h3 Bf5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 cxd5
10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bd3 Nc6 12.Bd2 f6 13.Nf3 e6 14.Ke2 Bd6 15.Bc3 Na5 16.Nd2 b5 17.Nb3 b4
18.Bd2 Nc4 19.Nc5 Bxc5 20.Bxc4 Bd6 21.Bd3 Kf7 22.Rhb1 Ra5 23.b3 Rha8 24.a4 b5 25.Rb2
bxa4 ½–½
Safin,Shukhrat (2523) - Barua,Dibyendu (2545) [D10]
Asia-chT Jodhpur (6), 12.04.2003

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Qxb6 axb6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 cxd5 9.Ne2
Nc6 10.Nc3 Nb4 11.Kd2 e6 12.b3 Nc6 13.Bb2 Bb4 14.a3 Bxc3+ 15.Bxc3 Ke7 16.Kc2 Rhc8
17.Kb2 Rc7 18.Bb5 Rac8 19.Rac1 Bf5 20.Rhe1 Bg6 21.f3 f6 22.a4 Kd8 23.e4 Na7 24.Bf1 Nc6
25.Bb5 Na7 26.Bf1 Nc6 27.g3 Be8 28.h4 Re7 29.Bh3 Rcc7 30.Rcd1 Bh5 31.Rd3 Bg6 32.Rde3 f5
33.e5 Rf7 34.R3e2 Bh5 35.Rf2 h6 36.Bf1 g5 37.Bd3 Rh7 38.Rh1 Bg6 39.Rfh2 Ne7 40.Bb4 f4
41.Bxg6 fxg3 42.Bd2 g2 43.Be3 Nxg6 44.Bxg5+ Ke8 45.Be3 Nxh4 46.f4 Nf3 47.Bg1 Nxg1 0–1

Georgiev,Vladimir (2584) - Kishnev,Sergey (2498) [D10]

EUCup 17th Panormo (7), 29.09.2001

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Qxb6 axb6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 cxd5 9.Bd2
Nc6 10.Bb5 Bd7 11.Ne2 Na5 12.Bxa5 Rxa5 13.Bxd7+ Kxd7 14.Kd2 e6 15.a3 Bd6 16.b4 Ra6
17.Kc3 Rc8+ 18.Kb3 Rc4 19.Rac1 b5 20.h3 Rac6 21.Rhd1 f6 22.Rc3 Rc8 23.Rcd3 f5 24.f3 Rf8
25.Nc3 Kc6 26.Nb1 Kd7 27.Re1 Bg3 28.Re2 Rf6 29.Rd1 h5 30.Nc3 Kc6 31.Nb1 Kd7 32.Nc3 Kc6
33.Nb1 ½–½

Radjabov,Teimour (2628) - Kobese,Watu (2399) [D10]

FIDE World Cup Gp B Hyderabad (2), 11.10.2002

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qd7 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Nf3 e6 9.Ne5 Qc7 10.cxd5
exd5 11.f4 Be4 12.Rg1 h6 13.g5 hxg5 14.fxg5 Nfd7 15.Nxf7 Qh2 16.Nxe4 Qxg1 17.Nxh8 dxe4
18.Qf7+ Kd8 19.Qf4 Na6 20.Bd2 Nb4 21.0–0–0 1–0

Radjabov,Teimour (2558) - Mecking,Henrique (2552) [D10]

Najdorf mem Buenos Aires (6), 09.09.2001

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Qxb6 axb6 7.f3 Bf5 8.g4 Be6 9.g5 Nfd7
10.cxd5 Bxd5 11.Bd3 Na6 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Bd2 e6 14.Ne2 Nb4 15.Bxb4 Bxb4+ 16.Kf2 h6 17.g6
f5 18.Nf4 Nf8 19.e4 dxe4 20.fxe4 fxe4 21.Bxe4 Rd8 22.Ke3 Be7 23.h4 Bf6 24.Rad1 Ke7 25.Bxb7
Nd7 26.Bc6 Nb8 27.Be4 Na6 28.Nh5 Rhf8 29.Nxf6 Rxf6 30.Rhf1 Rxf1 31.Rxf1 Rd7 32.Rf7+ Kd6
33.Rxd7+ Kxd7 34.a3 Kd6 35.b4 b5 36.Bc2 Nc7 37.Bb3 Ne8 38.a4 bxa4 39.Bxa4 Nc7 40.Bb3 e5
41.Bc4 exd4+ 42.Kxd4 Na8 43.Bb3 Nb6 44.Bf7 Nd7 45.Bd5 Nb6 46.Be4 Nd7 47.Kc4 Nf6 48.Bf3
Nd7 49.Kb5 Ne5 50.Be4 Nd7 51.Bb1 Nf6 52.Ba2 Nd7 53.Bf7 Ne5 54.Kb6 Nf3 55.h5 Nd4 56.Kb7
Kd7 57.Bd5 Kd6 58.Be4 Kd7 59.Bd3 Kd8 60.Kb6 Kd7 61.Bb5+ Kd6 62.Ba4 Ne6 63.Kb7 Nd4
64.Kc8 Ke7 65.Kc7 Ne6+ 66.Kc6 Nd4+ 67.Kd5 Ne6 68.Ke5 Nc7 69.Bc6 Ne6 70.b5 Nd8 71.Bd5
Kd7 72.b6 Ke7 73.Be4 Kd7 74.Bg2 Ke7 75.Bh3 Nb7 76.Kd5 Nd8 77.Bc8 1–0

Kraai,Jesse (2430) - Lakdawala,Cyrus (2434) [D10]

Koltanowski mem op San Francisco (5), 18.12.2000

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Bd7 6.Qb3 Qb6 7.c5 Qc7 8.Bd3 b6 9.cxb6 axb6
10.Nge2 e6 11.e4 Be7 12.Bf4 Qa7 13.e5 Ng8 14.Qc2 h5 15.0–0 Na6 16.a3 Nh6 17.Qd2 Nf5
18.Bg5 Bc8 19.b4 Bxg5 20.Qxg5 Qe7 21.Qd2 Nc7 22.Rfc1 0–0 23.Nd1 Bd7 24.Ne3 g6 25.Rc3
Ra7 26.Rac1 Rfa8 27.Nc2 Kg7 28.Nf4 Rh8 ½–½
Chatalbashev,Boris (2496) - Stavrev,Nikolai (2314) [D10]
BUL-chT Pamporovo (1), 03.10.2001

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.f3 Bf5 7.cxd5 Qxb3 8.axb3 cxd5 9.g4 Be6
10.Nb5 Kd7 11.Rxa7 Rxa7 12.Nxa7 h5 13.g5 Ne8 14.Ne2 Bf5 15.Nc3 e6 16.e4 dxe4 17.fxe4 Bg6
18.Bb5+ Kd8 19.Bf4 Bd6 20.0–0 Bxf4 21.Rxf4 Nc7 22.Kf2 Ke7 23.Ke3 Nd7 24.Bxd7 Kxd7
25.Na4 Ke7 26.Nb6 Rd8 27.Rf1 f6 28.gxf6+ gxf6 29.Nac8+ Kf7 30.Rc1 Na6 31.Nc4 Rd7 32.e5
Nb4 33.N4d6+ Kg7 34.Nb6 Re7 35.Rc4 Nd5+ 36.Nxd5 exd5 37.Rb4 fxe5 38.Rxb7 Rxb7 39.Nxb7
Kf6 40.h4 Ke6 41.Nc5+ Kd6 42.dxe5+ Kxe5 43.Nd3+ Kd6 44.b4 Be8 45.Kd4 Kc6 46.Nf4 Bd7
47.Ke5 Kb5 48.Kd6 1–0

Martyn,R (2322) - Sisask,J (2057) [D10]

ch-GBR Scarborough ENG (1), 02.08.2004

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.f3 Be6 7.c5 Qc7 8.Qc2 g6 9.Bd3 b6 10.b4 a5
11.cxb6 Qxb6 12.b5 cxb5 13.Nxb5 Na6 14.Bd2 Bh6 15.Ne2 0–0 16.a3 Bf5 17.Nec3 Qe6 18.Kf2
Rfc8 19.Rab1 Kh8 20.Rhe1 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 Nb8 22.Na4 Nbd7 23.Rec1 Qa6 24.Ke2 Ne8 25.h3 e6
26.Rxc8 Rxc8 27.Rc1 Rxc1 28.Bxc1 Bf8 29.Bd2 h5 30.Bc3 Be7 31.Bb2 Kg8 32.Nac3 Nb6 33.g4
hxg4 34.hxg4 Nc4 35.Bc1 Ned6 36.a4 Qc8 37.Nxd6 Bxd6 38.Nb5 Bb4 39.Qc2 Qd8 40.Kd3 Qh4
41.Qe2 Nb6 42.Bd2 Bxd2 43.Qxd2 Nc4 44.Qe2 Qh1 45.Nc3 Qc1 46.Nd1 Qa3+ 47.Nc3 Nb2+
48.Kd2 Nxa4 49.Nxa4 Qxa4 50.Qa6 Qb4+ 51.Ke2 a4 52.Kf2 a3 53.Kg3 Qb2 54.Qa5 a2 55.Qd8+
Kg7 0–1

Rustemov,A (2604) - Graf,A (2646) [D10]

Bundesliga 2003-4 Katernberg GER (1), 01.11.2003

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Bd7 6.c5 b6 7.b4 Bf5 8.g4 Bc8 9.Bd2 g6 10.Nge2 Bg7
11.h4 0–0 12.g5 Nh5 13.f4 a5 14.a3 axb4 15.axb4 Rxa1 16.Qxa1 Na6 17.Qa3 bxc5 18.bxc5 h6
19.Rg1 hxg5 20.hxg5 Nc7 21.Qa4 Bd7 22.Nc1 Qe8 23.Bd3 Ne6 24.N1e2 Qb8 25.Nxd5 cxd5
26.Qxd7 Nhxf4 27.Nxf4 Nxf4 28.exf4 Bxd4 29.Rh1 Qd8 30.Qh3 Qc7 31.Ke2 Ra8 32.c6 Qxc6
33.f5 Ra2 34.f6 Qe6+ 35.Qxe6 fxe6 36.fxe7 Kf7 37.Rh7+ Bg7 1–0

Tkachiev,Vladislav (2632) - Chernin,Alexander (2592) [D10]

Corsica Masters rap Bastia (2.1), 30.10.2001

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Bd7 6.Bd3 e6 7.e4 c5 8.cxd5 cxd4 9.Nce2 e5 10.f4 Ng4
11.Nf3 Bb4+ 12.Kf1 exf4 13.Nexd4 Bc5 14.h3 Ne3+ 15.Bxe3 fxe3 16.Qc1 Qb6 17.Nb3 Na6
18.Ke2 Rc8 19.Qc3 0–0 20.Ne5 Ba4 21.Nc4 Qg6 22.g4 Bxb3 23.axb3 Nb4 24.Raf1 Qa6 25.Ra1
Qg6 26.Raf1 Qa6 27.Ra1 Qh6 28.Raf1 b5 29.Ne5 Be7 30.Qd4 Bc5 31.Qc3 Be7 32.Qd4 Nc2
33.Qxa7 Bc5 34.Qd7 Nd4+ 35.Kd1 e2+ 36.Bxe2 Bb4 0–1
Kruppa,Y (2553) - Shaw,J (2445) [D10]
21st Open Cappelle la Grande FRA (8), 18.02.2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Bd7 6.Bd3 e6 7.Nge2 c5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.0–0 Nc6 10.Kh1
Be7 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.Bc2 Be6 13.Nf4 Qd7 14.a3 0–0 15.b4 Bd6 16.Nce2 Be5 17.Rb1 Bf5
18.Bxf5 Qxf5 19.Qd3 Qxd3 20.Nxd3 Bd6 21.Rd1 Rad8 22.Kg1 Rfe8 23.Kf2 h5 24.Bb2 Ne5
25.Nxe5 Bxe5 26.Bxe5 Rxe5 27.Rbc1 Rde8 28.Rd3 R8e7 29.Rc8+ Kh7 30.Nc3 h4 31.Nb5 a6
32.Nd4 Ne8 33.Rc5 Nf6 34.Ne2 g5 35.h3 Rf5 36.Ke1 Rfe5 37.Kd2 Kg6 38.a4 Kg7 39.a5 Kg6
40.Nd4 Nh5 41.Ne2 Nf4 42.Nxf4+ gxf4 43.Rcxd5 fxe3+ 44.Ke2 Rxd5 45.Rxd5 f5 46.f4 Re4
47.Rd6+ Kh5 48.Rb6 Rxf4 49.Kxe3 Re4+ 50.Kf3 Kg5 51.Rxb7 Re1 52.Rg7+ Kf6 53.Ra7 Re6
54.Rb7 Re4 55.Rb6+ Kg5 56.Rxa6 Rxb4 57.Ra8 Rb3+ 58.Kf2 Kf4 59.a6 Rb2+ 60.Kg1 Rb1+
61.Kh2 Ra1 62.a7 Ra2 63.Kg1 Ra1+ 64.Kf2 Ra2+ 65.Ke1 Ra1+ 66.Kd2 Ra2+ 67.Kc3 Ra3+
68.Kc4 Ra1 69.Kd5 Ra5+ 70.Kc6 Ra1 71.Kd7 Ra2 72.Ke6 Ra6+ 73.Kf7 Ra2 74.Kf6 Ra6+ 75.Ke7
Ra2 76.Ke6 Ra6+ 77.Kd5 Ra5+ 78.Kd4 Ra4+ 1–0

Kalugin,Sergei (2355) - Sretenskij,Nikolai V (2435) [D10]

RUS-Cup03 (Geller mem) Moscow (7), 08.02.1999

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Bh5 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.g4 Bg6 9.g5 Nh5
10.Qxd5 Nc6 11.Qxd7+ Kxd7 12.Bd2 h6 13.gxh6 Rxh6 14.Kf2 e6 15.e4 Rh8 16.Be3 Bd6 17.e5
Bc7 18.f4 Nb4 19.Rd1 Bb6 20.Nf3 Rac8 21.Bb5+ Kc7 22.a3 Nc2 23.Na4 Be4 24.Rhg1 Bxf3
25.Kxf3 Nxe3 26.Kxe3 g6 27.Rc1+ Kb8 28.Rxc8+ Rxc8 29.Nxb6 axb6 30.Bd3 Ng7 31.h4 Rh8
32.Rh1 Rh5 33.Be4 Nf5+ 34.Bxf5 Rxf5 35.Ke4 Kc7 36.Rh3 Kc6 37.Rd3 Rh5 38.d5+ exd5+
39.Rxd5 f5+ 40.Kd4 Rxh4 41.Rd6+ Kc7 42.Rxg6 Rxf4+ 43.Kd5 Rf1 44.Rg7+ Kc8 45.e6 Rd1+
46.Ke5 f4 47.Kxf4 Re1 48.Kf5 Re2 49.b4 Re3 50.a4 Re1 51.Kf6 Re2 52.Ke7 Re4 53.Kd6 Rd4+
54.Ke5 Rd1 55.Rg4 Rh1 56.Kf6 Kc7 57.Rc4+ Kd6 58.Rd4+ Kc7 59.e7 Rf1+ 60.Kg7 Rg1+ 61.Kf8
Rf1+ 62.Ke8 Re1 63.Rd2 Re3 64.Rf2 Rh3 65.Kf8 1–0

Koch,Thomas (2387) - Kishnev,Sergey (2497) [D10]

NRW-Liga II Germany (7.2), 23.03.2003

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Bc8 6.Bd3 g6 7.Nge2 Bg7 8.Nf4 0–0 9.0–0 Re8 10.Kh1
b6 11.cxd5 g5 12.Nfe2 Nxd5 13.e4 Nxc3 14.bxc3 e5 15.Be3 Nd7 16.Qd2 h6 17.Ng3 Nf8 18.Rad1
Ng6 19.Bc4 Nf4 20.Rfe1 Qc7 21.Bb3 Rd8 22.h4 exd4 23.cxd4 c5 24.d5 Be5 25.Ne2 Ba6 26.Bxf4
gxf4 27.g3 fxg3 28.Qxh6 ½–½

Roos,Jean Luc (2313) - Zawadski,Stephane (2170) [D10]

FRA-chT N2 Est FRA (11.5), 06.04.2003

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.f3 Be6 6.Qb3 b6 7.Bd2 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bxc4 9.Qxc4 e6
10.Nge2 Be7 11.0–0 c5 12.Rad1 0–0 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.Qxe4 Nd7 16.Bc3 Qc7
17.b4 Be7 18.Rc1 Qb8 19.Rfd1 Nf6 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Rd7 Rd8 22.Rdc7 Bb2 23.R1c2 Bf6 24.Nf4
Rd1+ 25.Kf2 Qd8 26.Ke2 Rd6 27.Qb7 Qe8 28.a4 Rdd8 29.b5 Be5 30.R7c4 Bxf4 31.Rxf4 Qd7
32.Qxd7 Rxd7 33.Rd4 Rb7 34.Rdc4 Kf8 35.h4 Rd8 36.h5 h6 37.e4 e5 38.Rc7 Rd7 39.Rc8+ Ke7
40.Rg8 Rd4 41.Rxg7 Rxa4 42.g4 Kf6 43.Rg8 Ra1 44.Kf2 Rd7 45.g5+ hxg5 46.h6 Rh1 47.Rc6+
Ke7 48.Rxg5 f6 49.Rg7+ Kd8 50.Rxf6 Re7 51.Rf8+ Kd7 52.Ra8 Kd6 53.Rxe7 Kxe7 54.h7 1–0
Jacimovic,Dragoljub (2415) - Kirov,Nino (2470) [D10]
Prilep Prilep (2), 1992

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.f3 Be6 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Qb3 Qb6 8.Qxb6 axb6 9.Nge2 Bd7
10.Nf4 e6 11.Bd2 Bd6 12.Nd3 0–0 13.Be2 Rc8 ½–½

Petrosian,Arshak B (2495) - Taimanov,Mark E (2500) [D10]

Yerevan Yerevan, 1986

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.e3 d5 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.f3 Be6 6.Nge2 dxc4 7.Nf4 Bc8 8.Bxc4 e6 9.0–0 Nd5 10.e4
Nxf4 11.Bxf4 Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.e5 Qb4 14.Ne4 0–0 15.Qd3 b5 16.Bb3 Rd8 17.Rad1 Nd7
18.f4 Nf8 19.g4 a5 20.a3 Qe7 21.f5 Qh4 22.Qf3 Ra7 23.f6 g6 24.Rf2 a4 25.Bc2 Rad7 26.Rfd2 h6
27.Nc5 Rc7 28.Kg2 Nh7 29.Qg3 Qxg3+ 30.hxg3 Nf8 31.Kf3 Nd7 32.Nxd7 Rcxd7 33.Ke3 Bb7
34.Be4 Kf8 35.Rc2 Rc8 36.Rc5 Ke8 37.Rh1 Kd8 38.Rhc1 Rdc7 39.Rh1 Rd7 40.Bd3 Ba6
41.Rxh6 Kc7 42.Rh7 Rcd8 43.d5 exd5 44.Kd4 Re8 45.g5 Red8 46.e6 fxe6 47.Rxd7+ Kxd7
48.Ke5 d4 49.Bxg6 b4 50.Kxd4 bxa3 51.bxa3 Kd6 52.Ra5 Be2 53.Be4 Rf8 54.Rxa4 c5+ 55.Ke3
Bh5 56.Ra7 Ke5 57.Rc7 Rg8 58.Rxc5+ Kd6 59.Ra5 e5 60.Ra6+ 1–0

Complete coverage of the 4…a6 Slav complex

The ...a6 Slav is a relatively new phenomenon in a very popular opening,
and over the last few years it has attracted the attention of some top class
players: Alexei Shirov, Sergei Movsesian, England's Julian Hodgson and,
more recently, world number one Garry Kasparov. In this first ever book
solely devoted to the ...a6 Slav, Grandmaster and openings expert Glenn
Flear delves into the secrets of this complex line. He explains the tactics
and positional ideas for both White and Black and presents a
comprehensive coverage of the theory, concentrating on all the new
wrinkles and discoveries.
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