Winning With The Catalan 1997
Winning With The Catalan 1997
Catalan
Angus Dunnington
Contents
Symbols
Introduction
5
6
18
18
27
35
2
Open Catalan: S...bS
Game 4: Kengis-Meister, Togliatti 1985
42
42
3
Open Catalan: S a6
Game 5: Krasenkov -Kaidanov, Gaus dal 1991
Game 6: Vladimirov-Thorhallsson, Gausdal 1 99 1
48
48
58
4
Open Catalan: S...lt:Jc6
Game 7: Flear-Marciano, Toulouse 1996
63
63
5
Open Catalan: S .id7
Game 8: Petursson -Zso.Polgar, Arhus 1993
71
71
6
Open Catalan: S lbbd7
Game 9: Monin-Vul, Kecskemet 1992
78
78
...
..
..
..
7
S .ie7 6 0-0 0-0 7 'iic2 a6: Introduction and 8 a4
Game 10: Khalifman-Lautier, Biel Z 1993
Game 1 1 : Marin-Gome z Esteban, Seville 1 992
Game 12: Kr arnnik -Piket, Dortmund 1995
Game 13: H tibner -Siegel, Germany 1994
86
87
92
95
102
8
s .te7 6 0-0 0-0 7 'iic2 a6: 8 'ifxc4
Game 14: Ribli-Karpov, Amsterdam 1980
Game 1 5 : Permiakov-Berzin , Latvian Ch 1994
Game 16: Ribli-Speelman, Moscow OL 1994
107
107
1 10
1 12
...
4 Contents
Game 1 7: Heine Nielsen-J.Kristensen, Ars 1 995
Game 1 8: Ca.Hansen-S.Petersen, Denmark 1990
Game 1 9: Illescas-Epishin, Madrid 1 995
Game 20: Andersson-Petursson, Reggio Emilia 1989
1 17
119
122
127
131
131
137
141
141
146
146
b7-b5
1 50
150
155
Symbols
+
++
#
!!
?
??
!?
?!
1-0
0-1
1h-lf2
Ch
tt
OL
z
IZ
Ct
Wch
Cht
Echt
Wcht
jr
worn
rpd
corr.
(n)
(D)
Check
Double Check
Mate
Good move
Excellent move
Bad move
Blunder
Interesting move
Dubious move
White wins
Black wins
Draw
Championship
Team tournament
Olympiad
Zonal
Interzonal
Candidates event
World championship
Team championship
European team championship
World team championship
Junior event
Women's event
Rapid game
Postal game
nth match game
Diagram follows
I ntroduction
Introduction
light-squared bishop with holding
back the centre pawns, the Catalan
sees White staking a claim for the
centre with d2-d4 and c2-c4, thus
guaranteeing some kind of influence
in the most important part of the
board. Consequently White enjoys
enough space - and the harmony
which this brings - to develop effec
tively and fluidly, without having to
worry about achieving instant activ
ity for his bishop.
In the Open Catalan the scope of
this piece is increased by the opening
of the long h l -a8 diagonal after
...d5xc4. In the Closed Catalan, char
acterized by Black's refusal to cap
ture the c4-pawn and by the erection
of a defensive barrier in the centre,
White develops his forces in such a
way as to facilitate another challenge
on the fortified d5-pawn with an
eventual e2-e4 (e.g. 4 . . . ..te7 5 lbf3
0-0 6 0-0 lbbd7 7 1Wc2 c6 8 b3 b6 9
:d l followed by lbbl-d2, e2-e4,
etc.), when the Catalan bishop is
ready to come to life.
This book focuses on a selection
of variations and recommendations
for White which are designed to pro
vide the reader with a working un
derstanding of the Catalan. I have
concentrated on specific variations
rather than making an ultimately fu
tile attempt to cover every aspect of
the opening, but in advocating this
or that particular line I have tried to
cater for all styles. Hopefully those
of you who are attracted to the Cata
lan by the prospect of grinding out
masterful victories in long endings
will also be converted to the more
8 Introduction
space advantage being transformed
to something far more troublesome:
The position below arises from
the Closed Catalan, Black choosing
to post his light-squared bishop on b7
(instead of the more active a6) and
meet the eventual e2-e4 by ... d5xe4.
Despite being a somewhat predict
able, passive approach, it has been
seen in many games and is very popu
lar at club level. For more about this
line see Salov-Spassky, Game 23.
After the moves 1 d4 tbf6 2 c4 e6
3 tbf3 d5 4 g3 i.e7 5 i.g2 0-0 6 0-0
tbbd7 7 ifc2 c6 8 b3 b6 9 l:d1 i.b7
10 tbc3 l:c8 11 e4 dxe4 tbxe4, Por
h4 (D).
Introduction 9
pressure on the bl-h7 diagonal has
induced Black to put yet another
pawn on a light square (2l.. .h6 would
have given White free access to the
diagonal). Black must still keep an
eye on his c6-pawn as well as con
sider the implications of ..ie4xd5.
Moreover, g2 is now free for White's
king in preparation for a rook to
come to the h-file to begin a danger
ous kingside attack with h4-h5, etc.
In other words, after a patient build
up of forces from his opponent,
Black now faces the prospect of
coming under fire on both flanks hence the coming necessary but ulti
mately futile queenside counter:
22 a5 23 bxa5 lla8 24 a4! (White's
domination affords him the luxury of
aggression in any area of the board)
24 b4 25 ..ixd5! (being able to sur
render the wonderful bishop is in
dicative of White's control - the
black bishop is no match for the
knight) 25 Jlxd5 26 ltab1 f6 27
R
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Open lines
10
Introduction
Introduction
11
12
Introduction
White's d-pawn
The position in the diagram below
arose in the game Bogdanovski
Raicevic, Pula 1990, after the moves
1 d4 tLlf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 d5 4 i.g2
dxc4 5 ltlf3 cS 6 0-0 tLlbd7 (6 ... lbc6
is the main line - see Games 1 -3) 7
tLla3 tLlb6 (7 . . .cxd4 8 ltlxc4 i.c5 9
ltlxd4 tLlb6 { 9 ... 0-0 10 tLlb3 i.e7 1 1
i.e3 a5 1 2 a4 puts Black's queenside
under fire, Bogdanovski-Karaklajic,
Yugoslav Ch 199 1 } 10 ltlxb6 i.xb6
1 1 tLlb5 ! worked out well for White
in the game Tal-Danov, Moscow
1972: 1 1 ...i.xf2+ 12 xf2 ii'b6 + 13
lbd4 e5 14 e3 exd4 15 'ii'xd4 'ii'e6 16
i.d2 i.d7 17 i.b4 i.c6 1 8 l:tad 1 ,
and Black's king was stranded) 8
ltlxc4 tLlxc4 9 'ir'a4+ i.d7 10 'ir'xc4
l:tc8 l l lbeS bS 12 'ir'd3 c4 13 'ir'c2
'ir'b6 14 l:td1 i.e7 15 a4 a6 (D).
Introduction 13
lill!d7 (one final try -otherwise the
white rook will come to e8 -hoping
for 34 .txd7? 'ihe7 35 l:.xe7 'it>f8)
34 'ii'xd7! 1-0.
Typical ending
In Portisch-Radulov White's tor
ture treatment left him with a good
knight against a terrible bishop. In the
next example we see the great Kar
pov struggling on the wrong side of a
Catalan ending, and again White's
remaining minor piece is a knight
and Black is left with a bishop. But
this time the (dark-squared) bishop
controls a lot of squares and could
only be described as 'good'.
The diagram position was reached
after thirteen moves in the game
Ribli-Karpov, Amsterdam 1980 (D).
..... .
B.
i
......
[-
1;/,/,,.,
, ,
-
.
.
.
0 .
g
. g
. .
K
-""
-
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. : .
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14 Introduction
position. Moreover, Black's bishop
could hardly be better placed, and
one could be forgiven for assuming
that this leaves Black with a comfort
able game. In fact White has the edge
on account of the main weakness of
bishops - confined to either light or
dark squares, versus the versatility of
knights. Karpov played 20 f6 (in
Gavrikov-Azmaiparashvili, USSR
1981 Black tried to improve with
20 ... .Z:.c7, when 21 e3 { 2 1 lbd3 ! ? }
2 1 .. ..Z:.ac8 22 .Z:.d7 a5 2 3 b3 f6 24
.:.Xc7 .Z:.xc7 25 lDf3 <;tn 26 lbd4 b4
27 lbb5 .Z:.c6 28 <;tf3 <;te7 29 f5 ! gave
White excellent chances of exploit
ing the vulnerable light squares in the
enemy camp), and after 21 00 f8
22 e3 g6 23 b3 b4 (23 ...a3 24
.Z:.xc8 .Z:.xc8 25 .Z:.d7 .Z:.c2 26 lbd4 is
also good for White) 24 h3 f8 25
lbd4 <;tr7 26 a4! bxa4 27 bxa4 the
World Champion should have con
solidated the queenside with 27 .. .a5!
according to U grinovic, but 28 lbb5
.Z:.xc 1 29 .Z:.xc 1 l:te8 30 f3 is still
not so comfortable for Black.
Instead the inaccurate 27...c5?
put him in serious difficulties after
28 .Z:.c4!, as the planned 28 ... xd4
29 .Z:.cxd4 .Z:.e8 runs into trouble in
view of 30 l:.b4 followed by Ab4-b6
and .Z:.dl-d6, etc. Consequently Black
opted for 28 ... a3. when White's
advantage soon took shape: 29 .Z:.xc8
l:txc8 30 l:.bl .:lc4 31 llb7+ e7 32
l:ta7 e5 33 fxe5 fxe5 34 lbf3 l:txa4
35 lbxe5+ <;tr6 36 lbc6 cs 37
l:txh7 l:ta2 38 <;tr3 aS 39 h4! a4 40
<;te4! (D).
The white pieces continue to
work well together. The game ended:
.
Move-order:
Introduction 15
the latter tends to give Black interest
ing options involving ...d5xc4, e.g.
(5 lDd2) 5 . . .lDc6 (not 5 ... dxc4?? 6
'ifa4+) 6 lDf3 dxc4 7 0-0 J.xd2+ 8
'ltxd2 l:.b8 followed by ...b7-b5.
An examination of the position af
ter 4 . . .J. b4+ 5 J.d2 J.e7 (D) should
help us see why Black has 'wasted' a
tempo.
l. . ...
.
- .
w.t..t.i
. , . .
,J,
fjo
B .llJD
atLJ
.:=
16 Introduction
c4 e6 3 g3 dS 4 i.g2 i.b4+ S i.d2
i.e7 (5 ... i.xd2+ is not a good idea
once ...d7-d5 has been played, for
the absence of the dark-squared
bishops clearly helps White, who
can be happy to continue along nor
mal lines as though nothing has hap
pened), and now White played 6
i.c3!?, preparing for fluid develop
ment with extra support of the centre
and influence on the al -h8 diagonal.
Black's 6 b6 then met with the new
7 b3 !?, and after 7 i.b7 8 0-0
'IVeS (8 ... 0-0 9 f4 bd7 10 2 is
also good for White) 9 cxdS i.xdS
(9...exd5 10 f4 0-0 1 1 b4 and White
clamps down on the queenside) 10
f4 i.xg2 11 xg2 0-0 12 2
'iVb7+ 13 f3 4 14 4 'ti'c6 15 h3!
(15 b3? b5) 1S \Wxc4 16 hxg4 White
emerged on the more comfortable
side of a complicated position. The
changes to the pawn structure on the
kingside provide cover for White's
king (meanwhile the h-file is open
for the use of the rooks - if so de
sired) and White's pieces are more
harmoniously placed.
Of course this is by no means a
fool-proof recipe for White, but it is
a promising (and probably unex
pected) way to unsettle Black after
the bishop check and retreat.
Another fourth move for Black
which can have independent signifi
cance is 4 c6 (D).
Black can follow up with ...b8d7, . . .i.f8-e7 and ... 0-0, leading to
the Closed Catalan, but putting the
bishop on d6 in order to prepare
... e6-e5 is also possible. The simplest
reply to 4 ...c6 is 5 'ti'c2 (which fits in
Introduction 17
complicated and tends to give Black
good attacking chances (e.g. 7 lbf3
d4 8 0-0 lbc6 9 e3 d3 ! ?), I recom
mend 5 cxd5. Then 5 ... exd5 6 lbf3
transposes directly to the Tarr asch
Defence. This leaves 5 lbxd5 6
lbf3 lbc6 ( .....if8-e7 here or on the
next move should transpose to 'b' in
the note to Black's sixth move in Ci
fuentes-Sosonko, Game 21, while
6 . . .cxd4 7 0-0 ..ic5 8 lbxd4 0-0 9
lbb3 ..ib6 lO ..id2 lbc6 1 l lba3 ! is
good for White) 7 0-0 (D).
With 7 ... lbf6 Black prevents e2e4 and puts the d-pawn under pres
sure. Now White can head for a
favourable queenless middlegame
with 8 dxc5 'ii'xd 1 9 l:txd1 ..ixc5 1 0
lbc3 ..id7 1 1 lbg5 ! followed by
lbg5-e4, but 8 lbe5! gives us a posi
tion almost identical to that reached
..
1 Open Catalan : 5 . . . c5
1 d4 lbf6 2 c4 e6 3 lbf3 d5 4 g3
4
dxc4
5 .i.g2
c5
6 0-0
lbc6
7 lbe5 (D)
And now:
a) 8 ...'fkxd1 9 .l:.xd1:
a1) 9 lDd5 should not be met
with 10 .i.xd5? exd5 1 1 .l:.xd5 .i.e6
(White's Catalan bishop is a valuable
piece). Instead 10 lba3! is dangerous
for Black, e.g. 10 ....i.d7 ( 1 0 . . .c3 1 1
e4! cxb2 12 .txb2 lbc7 1 3 lbc4
gives White more than enough for
the pawn) 11 lbxc4 .tb5 12 b3 (Nei
shtadt gives 12 lbe3! lbxe3 13 .txe3
.l:.b8 14 l:.d2 . .i.e7 15 a4 ! as good
for White) 12 ....l:.d8 ( 1 2...0-0-0 1 3
.
...
...
...
...
...
...
8 lba3
White sends his other knight into
the game, not worrying about re
storing material equality. Variations
which involve the sacrifice of a pawn
or two need to be treated appropri
ately by the player making the in
vestment (which is exactly how one
should think of sacrific;es). Usually
...
..
...
..
..
...
...
.1 ?\Wr- .
-- -
w.l-.i.Nii
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f/4
...
..
..
...
20 ...
.i.f6
20...:Xb3 21 :xc8+ .i.f8 22 axb3
is terrible for Black since the queen
and bishop are no match for White's
pieces. Nor is 20 :Xc6 21 'ii'x b8+
to be recommended.
21 :1c5
h6
22 'ifc4
It is safe to say that White has
taken control of the c-flle!
Black's d-pawn is still exposed
and the knight could not be better
placed than it is on d3, defending the
f4-pawn and the b2-pawn as well as
covering b4, c5 and e5. Black's pas
sive bishop, on the other hand, is se
verely restricted.
22
:Xc6
23 :xc6
aS
24 b3!
Fixing another pawn on a dark
square (a5) and releasing the knight
from its queenside guard duty. With
the only useful file belonging to
White he simply improves his posi
tion in readiness for the ending
which will result from inevitable ex
changes (Black is under so much
pressure that trading off a couple of
pieces is the lesser evil).
24 . .
'ifb7
25 1'3!
More fine-tuning. White does not
want the enemy queen to come to e4
after :c6-c7.
25 ...
g6
26 n
This time White nudges his king
off the gl -a7 diagonal.
26 ..
gT
Black, too, is waiting, but in his
case there is little else to do, e.g.
...
..
..
30 1i'c5
Consistent with White's strategy
thus far. Black's weaknesses on a5
and d4, coupled with the relative
strengths of the pieces, indicate that
White will benefit from an exchange
of queens. Black's prospects are
rather cheerless, for he can only de
fend.
Interesting is 30 f5!? gxf5 31 g3
(threatening 32 f5+ with the point
32 ... exf5 33 'il'xf7 +), when 31 :f8
runs into 32 h5+ g6 33 lLJf4+
g5 34 'il'c 1 and 31...:d5? loses to
32 m+ g6 33 llJf4+. Black should
play 31...g6!, and after 32 xf5
xf5 33 'il'd3+ e5 ! 34 l:.xt7 i.h8 !
the onus is on White to justify his
...
...
..
7
J..d7
7 cxd4 is examined in the next
main game. Others:
a) 7 .te7 ignores the potential
pressure on the queen's knight. A
..
..
...
..
...
9
Inviting White to open lines. If
Black does not feel comfortable with
this, the main alternative is 9 c4,
practically surrendering the centre in
return for chances of counterplay on
the queenside. White then has two
sensible squares for the queen:
a) 10 'il'c2 leaves the d l-square
free for the rook, and on c2 the queen
supports the central thrust e2-e4.
This is perfectly playable, but unless
White plays the committal a2-a3
(which weakens the b3-square) he
can expect to lose another tempo
with his queen sooner or later when
Black, after completing his devel
opment, is able to go on the offensive
with ...lLlc6-b4(-d3). The prospect of
an enemy knight planting itself on
d3 (after e2-e4) should be taken seri
ously. In the game Hausner-Klovans,
Pardubice 1994, White failed to do
this, overestimating his kingside at
tacking chances: 10 ...:c8 (depriving
White of a pin on the hl-a8 diagonal)
1 1 e4 i.e7 (the immediate l l . . . lLlb4
12 'i'e2 lLld3 13 lLle5 ! lLlxc 1 14 :xc 1
merely helps White) 12 :dt 0-0 1 3
lLlc3 ( 1 3 'ii'e2 lLlb4 14 lLle5 !, defend
ing d3, was seen in Vukic-Pfleger,
Ybbs 1 968, when White emerged
with a clear advantage after 14 ...'ii'a5
15 J.g5 i.e8 1 6 lLlc3 h6 17 i.e3
lLlc6 18 a4 !) 13 ...lLlb4 14 1We2 lLld3
15 J.g5 b4. Now Hausner continued
with his aggressive but faulty plan,
turning an unpleasant position into
disaster in only a few moves: 16 e5
bxc3 17 exf6 gxf6 18 i..h6 cxb2 1 9
lLle5 fxe5 20 1Wg4+ i.g5 21 :abl f5 !
22 1Wxg5+ 'ii'xg5 23 i.xg5 e4 0-1 .
...
..
..
..
...
...
...
...
..
'iVxd4
8 lLlxd4
Black has little choice but to go
along with White, because 8 .td7 9
lL!xc6 'ii'b6 (9 ....txc6 10 i.xc6+ bxc6
1 1 'ii'xc6+ lL!d7 1 2 'ii'xc4) runs into
1 0 .te3 ! , e.g. 1 0 ....txc6 (10 ... .tc5
1 1 .txc5 'ii'xc5 12 'ii'b4, or 10 ...'ii'xb2
l l 'ii'xc4 ! bxc6 { 1 l ...'ii'xa1 12 .i.d4 }
..
21 '1Vd3
22 .i.xeJ (D)
.i.xeJ
24 :Xc8
25 .i.d2!
:Xc8
25
26 'IVaJ
27 .i.eJ
22
lbcJ
..
23 :et
lbxa2
lbct
lLlbJ
27
aS
28 b:xa6
29 fJ!
bxa6
29
30 '1Va4
aS
e5?!
1-0
After 40 ...i.e6 the white king
simply marches forward to contrib
ute to the attack on its opposite
number, e.g. 4 1 gS a4 (4l ...h7 42
'ii'd 3+) 42 h6 f8 43 i.g5 (43
'ii'd 3) 43 ... e8 44 'ifc6+. Notice in
the final position that all of Black's
pieces except the a5-pawn are on
light squares, while White's occupy
dark squares - a fitting end to
White's thematic middlegame.
..
2 Open Catalan : 5 . . . b5
...
..
..
. .
..
. .
...
.. . .1.
B
. ... ... .
. ... . . .
. ... . 8 .
m D.t
ffj{
R
ff
u
u
:
m
%'
..
3 Open Catalan : 5
. . .
1 c4 e6 2 W dS 3 d4 llJf6 4 g3 dxc4
5 .tg2
5 ...
a6
6 0-0
b5
Introducing complications by in
sisting on keeping the pawn, thus
forcing/inviting White to generate an
initiative. Black has one very impor
tant alternative:
a6
...
50 Open Catalan: 5. . . a6
l:txd3 l:td5 !), for example 2 l . . ..i.c6
22 f4 !.
Instead in the game Black went
wrong, playing 17.. ll::lxb4?, when
White was able to exploit his oppo
nent's lack of development and weak
c-pawns: 1 8 cxb4 l:tb5 ( 1 8 ...:xb4?
1 9 .i.c6; 1 8 . . .'ti'e7 19 "ir'e5 ! 0-0 20
'ti'xc7 l:tfd8 21 :ac l) 19 1i'e2 'ii'b8? !
( 1 9 . . . 'ti'e7 20 a3 0-0 21 1i'xc4 is the
lesser evil) 20 a3 c5 21 Wxc4 ikc7
(2 l . . .cxb4 22 'ili'd4) 22 l:[ac l and
White won a pawn and, soon, the
game.
Note that ll::lf3-e5 did not only
open the long diagonal for White's
light-squared bishop, but the sub
sequent trade on e5 cleared the d-file
for White's rook, which proved
equally uncomfortable for Black.
Another important feature of this
game was Black's stranded king (af
ter .i.c 1-a3 ), illustrating the potential
problems associated with neglecting
the centre and development in the
struggle to provide support for the
c4-pawn.
a2) Continuing the theme, the ag
gressive li::lf3-e5 has also been tried
after White's other reply to 7 ....i.d7,
namely 8 'iVe2. After 8 b5 we have:
a2 1) In the game Polugaevsky
Panchenko, Sochi 198 1 , 9 l:[dl .i.e7
10 b3 !? cxb3 1 1 axb3 0-0 12 e4 re
sulted in White having typical Cata
lan compensation for the pawn in the
form of open lines and a fluid centre
(one idea is d4-d5 e6xd5, e4-e5, etc.).
a22) However, Toshkov-L.Spas
sov, Albena 1985 continued 9 ll::le5 !?
li::ld5 1 0 ll::lxd7 'ilxd7 1 1 l:td 1 l:td8,
and now came 12 b3 ! (D).
.
..
8 a4 (D)
.i.b7
9 axb5
axbS
.i.xa8
lL!f6
c6
1 3 dS! (D)
...
Open Catalan: 5 . . a6 55
.
14 dxe6!
14
15 1Ve2
16 .ib3
fxe6
0-0
"IVeS
56 Open Catalan: 5 .. a6
.
..
19 ..tr4
19
..
20 lL!xb5!
20
lL!xeS
21 fk7
1Wc6
lL!xe4
22 ..txe5
22 g6 23 i.e6 'ii'xe4 24 1i'xe4
23 ..txe4
24 ._,xe4
25 l:.el! (D)
._,xe4
.i.xe4
lL!c6?!
25
.i.d3
g7
26 ..txg7+
27 :Xe7+
Wg6
21 :n 28 lL!e6+ ! wf6 29 :xn+
.
Vladimirov Thorhallsson
Gausda/ 1 991
-
..
...
1 0 axbS
The game actually went 10 e4
lllf6 1 1 axb5 axb5 1 2 :xa8 J.xa8,
but the position after Black's 1 2th
move is usually reached by ftrst
making exchanges on the queenside.
I prefer the 10 e4 move-order to 10
axb5 because by hitting the knight
ftrst White does not l;lave to contend
with the possibility discussed in the
note to Black's 1 2th move in the
main game.
However, 10 e4 does invite Black
to cheekily ignore the attack on his
knight and immediately imprison the
bl-knight before the a-file has been
opened, locking the queenside with
10."b4. Then we have 11 exdS .i.xdS,
when White's best is 12 'ii'bS ! g6 13
'ii'h3! (D).
60
10
axbS
11 :Xa8
i.xa8
12 e4
lbr6
12 b4!? is a worthy alternative .
...
Open Catalan: 5. . . a6 61
20 f4 0-0 21 :c 1 li:Je7 22 i.c5 :e8
23 i.xe7 :xe7 24 'it'c5 and a draw
was soon agreed.
b) If G.Kuzmin-Novikov, Khar
kov 1985 is anything to go by, then a
draw is a fair result, for here White
was demolished: 14 i.xdS 'it'xd5 15
i.e3 i.d6 16 'it'g4 0-0 17 :c l ? ! (17
i.h6 i.xe5 1 8 dxe5 'it'xe5 19 'ir'xb4 !?
gxh6 20 li:Jxc3 li:Jc6 is only slightly
better for Black) 17 ... i.xe5 1 8 dxe5
li:Jc6! and Black had a clear advan
tage. Things went from bad to worse
for White after 1 9 i.h6 'W'xe5 20
i.e3 'W'd5 21 i.h6 'ii'd4 22 i.f4 'ii'e4 !
23 f3 'W'd4+ 24 h1 e5 25 i.g5 h6!,
when White resigned rather than
play 26 Wxd4 exd4 27 i.f4 li:Ja5 28
i.xc7 li:Jxb3, etc. Novikov himself
came to White's support and sug
gested 15 'ii'g4 as an active replace
ment for 15 i.e3, judging the position
after 1 5 ... li:Jc6 1 6 li:Jxc6 Wxc6 to be
unclear. However, even this is noth
ing special for White, suggesting
that 1 0 e4 is a better try.
b4
13 li:Jxc3
14 li:Jb5!? (D)
14 ...
c6
15 dS
15
cxb5
fxe6?
16 dxe6
62 Open Catalan: 5 . a6
..
17 'W'xd8+
18 &iJf7+
19 &iJxh8
rj;xd8
rj;e8
..
20 .i.e3!
.i.xe3
21 fxe3
.i.xe4
21 lbbd7 runs into 22 e5 ! .i.xg2
..
22 .:XC6!
22
gxf6
23 .i.xe4
..
f5
24 .i.xh7
24 rj;g7 25 .i.d3 is also winning
for White.
The game ended: 25 .i.g6 lbd7 26
G.Fiear - Marciano
Toulouse 1996
1 d4 lLlf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 d5 4 m dxc4
S g2
lLlc6
5 ...
6 'ifa4 (D)
..
..
o!L!xb4 (D)
. .... . .. .
lPW"i'i -
.
m%
"
'ii' .
. '", ' u
in
- - .w.r; "Z.... U
u
u
Rj_R
.
u
- -,
alD = .:
.,.
-
9 0-0
Perhaps justifiably, White rejects
the messy option, settling for the
more sober prospect of a slight edge
in the ending.
a) The risk-takers will find 9 a3
tempting, although Black tends to
...
.td7 13 -.xc4:
a21 ) 13 Jlb8 is the old move,
..
...
...
Open Catalan: 5. . c6 67
.
...
10 lDc3
a6
11 5
Consistent with the plan to under
mine Black's queenside, White gives
his bishop a better view of the h 1-a8
diagonal and brings to three the
number of his pieces which are fo
cused on c6. Others fail to deliver
any chances of an advantage:
a) 1 1 a3 did nothing to trouble
Black in Kaidanov-Bykhovsky, New
York 1990: 1 l ...b5 12 'ii'd l 5 1 3
e4 0-0 14 'ii'c2 f5 1 5 3 ..i.b7 1 6
.l:tfd1 1 7 .l:.e1 b3 18 .l:.ad1 'ii'f6
19 e3 xc3 20 bxc3 ..i.e4 and
Black's control of the light squares
proved significant.
b) In Romanishin-Sosonko, Po
lanica Zdroj 1993, there followed 11
l:.acl?! 0-0 12 'ii'a3, and now Black
refrained from pushing his b-pawn
two squares immediately in favour
of adding protection to the c5-square
11
0-0
11 '6'xd4 12 lDxc6 lDxc6 1 3
12 lDxc6
lDxc6
bxc6
13 ..txc6
14 '6'xc4!
After 14 'ifxc6 Black should re
ject 14 l%xb2 1 5 Wxc4 in favour of
14 '6'xd4, when practice has shown
14
15 l%ab1
.
l%xb2
l%b6
Correctly refusing to surrender
the b-file, and offering the helpless
pawns on a6 and c6 some much
needed protection.
16 'ifcS (D)
Black's extra pawn is not particu
larly relevant here. Apart from the
broken queenside pawns there is
the problem of the bishop, which is
yet to make a contribution to the
game and has little future at the mo
ment. Thanks to 16 '6'c5 the black
queen is also short of a reasonable
16
h6
17 l%fd1
After the immediate 17 a4 Black
can halt the a-pawn with 17 ... a5 as
the d4-pawn is defended only by the
queen. This was seen in Roman
ishin-Bonsch, Berlin 1 990. White
then played 1 8 l%fd 1 , but Black re
mained active: 18 . . . ..ta6 19 e3 ( 1 9
'it'xa5 l%xb1, and Black regains the
pawn, e.g. 20 l%xb1 'ii'xd4 21 1Wxa6
Wxc3) 1 9 ...Wg5 ! 20 l%xb6 Wxc5 2 1
dxc5 cxb6 22 cxb6 l%b8 23 l%b1 .i.d3
27
28
29
30
31
a4
aS
c4
c3
'ii'd3+
g6
c2
a6
hS?
31
32 hxg6+
33 a7
lfl. llz
'ii'd 1!
fxg6
cl'ii'
Game S
Petunson Zso.Polgar
A rhus 1993
-
lbxc4.
This move has grown i n popular
ity fairly recently after being cham
pioned by Korchnoi. The plan is
simple - Black intends to challenge
White's light-squared bishop by
. . ..id7-c6 instead of . . .b7-b6 and
. . . .icS-b7 (which can leave the c6square weak).
I like the forcing 6 lbe5, as 6 'ifc2
.ic6 transposes to 5 'ifa4+ .id7 6
'ifxc4, a variation which I think pre
.
sents Black with no problems, and 6
lbbd2 .ib4 (intending to meet 7 'ifc2
with 7 ... .ib5 ! ?) offers Black excel
lent chances of equality.
6 lbe5 requires White to forget
about the sacrificed pawn for a while
and to concentrate instead on chip
ping away at those light squares in
Black's camp which are weakened
by the exchange of the d7-bishop.
Combine this with a well-timed ad
vance of the centre pawns, and Black
may not be prepared for the opening
up of the position.
7 lLlxc6
8 0-0
Defending c6 in anticipation of
...b7-b5.
9 e3
l:lb8
10 li'e2
1 1 b3!
b5
cxb3
13 .:.d1
In the majority of games at inter
national level White has preferred to
ignore the pawn in favour of a lasting
13
a6
In Gleizerov-C.Horvath, Buda
pest 1 989, Black played 13 .i.b4
with the idea of depriving White of
extra influence in the centre by re
moving the knight should it come to
c3. However, by opening lines with a
timely d4-d5 it is White who strikes
first in the struggle for the centre, as
was demonstrated in the game: 14
i.b2 0-0 15 d5 !? exd5 (15 ... xd5 16
e4) 1 6 i.xf6 gxf6 17 :xd5 'ii'e6 18
'ii'h5 ! and White's domination of the
i.e7
14
15 .tb2
15 d5? ! is inaccurate here - after
...
...
...
16 e4
With every piece now in play the
next logical step for White is to ex
pand in the centre.
0-0 (D)
16
The middlegame phase has be
gun, so it is time to make some sort
...
18
19 i.c3
20 .l:.xa2
..
..
..
tbd7
tbxa2
cS?
..
22 exdS
23 .tas
24 .:tel ! ! (D)
tbr6
l:.d6
- . .
B
. illl1
-.-
:?
;,;
"(::-
- :.:\
-fd
;
.m
w
A : 8\WJW
o ,
g;
i'$-;w;.
/
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w u
0:<;;J
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8
Jff:
/.Y: .._
;:.;%D
; i.. 010
z
!I::
%J
31 .:d7!
.if6
32 1Wd6!
By maintaining the momentum of
the initiative White secures the win.
Black has two pawns for the ex
change but a weak back rank and a
poorly positioned queen leave her
king too vulnerable. The remaining
moves were: 32 e5 33 .:c7! 1Wa2 34
1We6+ 'ii;lb S 35 .:cs .id8 36 1Wf7!
1-0.
...
Game 9
Monin-Vul
Kecskemet 1992
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 g3 lLlf6 4 .i.g2
dxc4 5 lLlr3
lbbd7
5
6 1i'a4 (D)
a6
6 ...
The most appropriate reply, fight
ing for territory on the queenside and
testing the efficacy of White's game
plan in this area of the board.
a) The main alternative is 6....te7,
which is perfectly playable but does
..
12 W!?
A theoretical novelty aimed to im
prove upon 12 0-0, which tends to
lead to an ending in which White's
winning chances are minimal and
Black can look forward to no more
than a draw. Nevertheless, such a
continuation will appeal to fans of
those Catalan endings which feature
symmetrical pawn structures. More
over, Serper's spoiler (see the note to
1 2...lbb4) may well take the sting
out of 1 2 tLlc3 ! ?, so the tried and
tested 1 2 0-0 could eventually prove
to be the best move after all. After
12... .i.b7 13 W"c2 cS 14 dxcS (D) we
have:
..
..
22 e3?
Tantamount to a draw offer. There
is still considerable life in the game
if White exploits the fact that he can
choose the circumstances in which
the pawn - which cannot be de
fended - is returned. 22 e3 seems to
offer as little as the text after 22...e5,
but with 23 b3 ! exd4 24 e4 White re
tains the advantage. Then the d
pawn is a weakness rather than a
strength, isolated from Black's forces
and vulnerable to attack. White's
newly created kingside pawn ma
jority is free to advance and his
knight can return to the game via b2
(or f2). White's lead is by no means
decisive after 22 e3, but it is a defi
nite and promising lead neverthe
less. Indeed, Black's defensive task
is more arduous here than in the end
ings arising from the earlier queen
exchange prompted by 1 2... .i.b7.
22
lC.c4+
23 d3
lbe.S+
24 cl
It is possible that when White
played 22 e3 he overlooked that
the aggressive 24 e4 runs into
24 ...ll:lc6 25 e3 ll:lxd4 ! 26 exd4
.i.b7+. As it is, White's error has re
sulted in his extra pawn being re
turned without Black having to make
...
8
i..d7
9 'iVxc4
i..c6
i..dS
10 i.. gS
Black finally brings his light
squared bishop into the heart of the
board, freeing the c-pawn in the
process.
1 1 'ii'd3!
..
z z
i r,
w j_41\
. ... c
... .
- ..
t
&
;
"':
c
/
q
"f
ff
f!i
.0
- D ;;"
/. .
'""""/)
c/
"
1
%t r:-- ift
:/_.-:/:< "'l..J :U
W illlt i%
fi>? t.-. <ft'
- - U .M. icl
J : a
With the 'shadow boxing' over
the game is back on track. White en
joys a space advantage and his pieces
could hardly be better placed. Con
sequently White is ready to step up
the pressure.
xe5
20
21 il..xe5
21 dxe5 d7 is unclear. White
does better to preserve the mobility
of his centre pawns.
7
21 ...
"fke7
22 iLf4
More accurate than the immediate
22 c5?! 23 d5 e5 24 il..e 3. After the
text Black's queen is ready to occupy
the d6-square.
23 l:.e2!?
Finally freeing the c3-knight in
preparation for a timely d4-d5 or
even 3-a2 to hit the bishop.
c5
23
23 ... e5 24 d5 ! illustrates an
other use of 23 lle2.
24 d5!?
An interesting attempt to improve
on 24 l:ted2? !, which was played in
Yusupov-Portisch, Linares 1989.
24...cxd4 25 l:r.xd4 6 26 il..d6 il.. xd6
27 l:.xd6 b5 produced instant equal
ity.
24
e5
An automatic reaction, but the al
ternative24 il.. xc3!? 25 d6 li'f6 26
bxc3 e5 - a suggestion of Kotronias
- deserves a mention. Until the idea
is given an outing in international
practice the Greek GM's assessment
of unclear seems perfectly reason
able. Kotronias offers 27 il.. h 3 ( ! Kotronias) 27 . . .l:tcd8 28 il..c 1 il..c6
with the conclusion that White's
bishop pair is hampered by the un
tidy pawn structure.
25 il..e3
25 d6?! 'i1Ve6 26 il..e3 is tempting,
but then 26 ... b8 ! swings the bal
ance in Black's favour.
'ifd6
25 ...
Normally the queen is not an ap
propriate piece with which to block
ade a pawn (on d7, alas, the knight is
far away from d6), but at least on d6
..
..
..
30 lllli4
g6
Black judges that keeping the
knight out of f5 is worth a pawn.
30 .lDcs 3 1 .t.xc8 :texc8 32 lDf5 is
uncomfortable for Black.
lDc5
31 .t.xh6
:texc8
32 .t.xc8
axbS
33 axbS
34 ffi
The knight is no longer required
on h4.
:as?
34 ...
After Khalifman's 34 lDb3 35
.t.e3 .t.c5 Black has some - but not
quite enough - compensation for the
pawn.
35 .t.d2?
In his eagerness to bring his minor
pieces over to the queenside White
returns the favour and misses the de
cisive 35 lDxe5! 'ifxe5 36 .t.f4 'ife7
37 d6. It is rather ironic that, after
praising professionals for appreciat
ing the problems associated with
blockading queens such as the one
in this particular game, this rela
tively simple, thematic 'combina
tion' should be overlooked by both
players ! Perhaps the top GMs were
distracted by events on the queen
side, or were short of time.
..
...
35
36
37
38
39
g2
i.xb4
:Xd3!?
'it'xd3 (D)
l:.a4
3
:Xb4
cxd3
42 'ti'f3
42 'ii'a6!? also looks good for
White.
.d6
42
43 b3!
Punishing Black for leaving his
rook on b4. The eager 43 g4?
backfires after 43 ...f5 ! 44 'ii'h3 g8 !
45 exf5 g5 ! .
43
a6
This time 43 f5 44 exf5 g5 is dif
ferent because White has 45 llJg6 g4
46 'iid3 with a clear advantage.
44 lld2
Now White is ready to turn his at
tention to his opponent's weaknesses
on the kingside, hence Black's at
tempt at distraction.
44
lld4
exd4 (D)
45 llxd4
..
46 'ii'f4!
The only effective method of
threatening to push the d-pawn. 46
1Wd3 '6'b6 47 llJf3 fails to 47 ... llc3
48 '6'xd4 'ifxd4 49 llJxd4 b4 50 d6
l:.d3 5 1 lbc6 llxd6 52 llJxb4 lld4 53
llJd5 f5 with equality.
From this point on the win is
merely a matter of technique. The
game continued: 46 1fb6 (46...lld7
1 d4 lbf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 dS 4 g2 e7
5 llJf3 0-0 6 0-0 dxc4 7 1Vc2 a6 8 a4
d7 9 'fi'xc4 .ic6 10 .igS .idS 1 1
'fi'd3
11
cS (D)
..
12 dxcS
I prefer the capture to the alterna
tive 12 llJc3, but as Karpov has had
experience with this move on both
Game 12
Kramnik - Piket
Dortmund 1995
1 f3 dS 2 d4 e6 3 g3 liJf6 4 .tg2
..te7 5 0-0 0-0 6 c4 dxc4 7 'ifc2 a6 8
a4
9 'ifxc4
Simple and best. There is little
reason to delay or avoid this capture.
Defending the d-pawn with 9 l:.dl
gives Black a comfortable game after either 9 ... or 9 ...b4.
'ifd5
9 ...
..
..
axbS
15 axbS!
This way Black keeps his queen
side pawns intact. Others:
a) Apart from leaving the a6pawn weak, 15...1i'xb5 also permits
White to take control of the c5square by exchanging the dark
squared bishops with 1 6 i..a 3.
b) 15...i..b 41? is interesting but
White is able to stay ahead after 1 6
1i'c2 'ilfxb5 (or 16 ...li:lxd4 1 7 li:lxd4
.l:.xd4 18 e5 !?, when 18 ...lbd5 meets
with 19 ltlf3 i.. c3 20 .l:.xa6) 17 e5.
:Xa8
16 :US
.l:.a2
17 .tb2
18 'ii'c l!
Better than settling for the slight
edge that results from 18 .l:.a1 .l:.xa1 +
19 i.. xal . White's remaining rook
has a future on any one of the c-, d
or e-files. Of course the potential
consequences of Black's aggressive
rook invasion should be considered,
and White concludes that the rook
may even be poorly placed on a2 it
may even help White.
'ffb6 !?
18 ...
-
. .
..
..
31 'iff3
31 '1Vd4 h5 32 h6+? h7 back
fires, while 32 f6+ transposes to
the game.
31
bS
32 6+
Not 32 6+? g7. Changing
direction with 32 S is worth a try,
since this is one of those positions in
which a simple, positional approach
may achieve the same result as all
out attack.
32
J..xf6
33 'iVxf6
exdS
34 'ii'd4
If White hits the b4-pawn with 34
1We7 Black needs to be very careful
with his reply:
a) 34 .l:r.a2? loses with the queen
on the e-file: 35 J..xc3 bxc3 36 exd5
.l:r.al (36 ...c2 37 1Wxe8+ 'ii'xe8 38
.l:r.xe8+ 1;g7 39 .l:r.e l .l:r.b2 40 J..e4 f5
4 1 J..d3) 37 d6! (D).
..
..
r''ir
w-f ?@i
' />/.<!
i' ... .
.. f'
id'
tE
q
.
t
b);;
, '#
f{ff@
i,i . ,
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.-:
-/\:
;&
:
:%
.
/'
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0
% '"' .i?!
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:-:,
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...
38 'iVe7!
lLld6
39 l:ld3!
Decisive. Not 39 l:lel? d3 40 :n
d2.
1Wa6
39
The alternatives 39 Wa5 40 i.xd4
(40 l:ld1 ! ?) 40 . . .'ife1 + 4 1 h2 and
39 l:lal + 40 h2 1i'a5 41 i.xd4 are
also winning for White.
40 l:ldl?!
40 i.g5! is possible: 40 ... 1i'xd3
(40 ... h7 41 'iff8) 4 1 i.h6 h7 42
'iff8 lLlf5 43 exf5, etc.
40
1We2
41 :n
d3
d2
42 i.d4!
43 1i'e5
..
g8
44 i.eJ
44 f6 45 'ilfxf6+ i.t7 46 i.f3.
'ii'xf2+!!?
45 i.h6
Resourceful to the end, Black tries
one final trick. 45 llli5 46 'ii'xe8+
h7 47 'iVxf7+ 6 48 exf5 gxf5 49
'tl'f6+ h7 50 'ilfxf5+ h8 51 'ii'f 3!
is another way to end the struggle.
d1'ii'+
46 l:.xf2
47 lUl!
Not 47 b2? Wal ! .
47
lbg2+
1We2+
48 g2
1-0
49 g1
...
..
9 dxc5
Undoubtedly the best. 9 :d1 lLXI5
10 'ii'xc4 ( 1 0 dxc5? lDb4) 10 . . . lDc6
1 1 dxc5, for instance, presents Black
with a pleasant choice of l l . lbas
1 2 'ilfd3 lDb4 or ll .. lDeJ. Nor is 9
1Wxc4 b5 10 1i'c2 i.b7 1 1 dxc5 i.e4
12 'ilfc3 lDbd7 desirable for White.
lllc6
9 ...
Usually Black plays 9 ... i.xc5 first
and then l O ...lDc6, which does not
allow the possibility mentioned in
the note to White's lOth move. How
ever, in reply to 9 . . . i.xc5 White is
not obliged to transpose with 10
lDaJ lDc6. Instead he can choose to
capture on c4 with the other knight:
10 lDe5 lDbd7 1 1 lDxc4 'ii'e7 12 lDc3
h6 ( 1 2 ... e5 1 3 i.g5 !) 1 3 a5 ! e5 1 4
lDa4 i.b4 1 5 b 3 an d White stands
better, Smyslov-Medina, S kopje
OL 1972.
Taking on c5 with the queen has
also been tried: 9 'ii'a5 10 lDbd2
'ilfxc5 (after 10 ...c3 1 1 lDb3 cxb2 1 2
i.xb2 Black has lost valuable time)
1 1 lDxc4 lDbd7 1 2 b4 ! 'ii'h5 13 i.d2
lDd5 14 'ill b 1 i.f6 15 :a3 lD7b6 1 6
lDa5 and White was better i n Shpil
ker-Matsukevich, USSR 1978.
10 lDa3
. .
...
14
ll'lh5
14 g5? must be investigated.
Then 15 ll'lr3? J.xf2+! (15 ...gxf4 1 6
ll'lxd4 fxg3 1 7 hxg3 e5 1 8 ll'lf5) 1 6
l:r.xf2 gxf4 17 ll'lg5 ( 1 7 gxf4 ll'lg4 1 8
ll'lg5 f6) 17 . . .h6 works out well for
Black. This leaves 15 e3! gxf4 (alter
natively 1 5 ... J.xb2 16 1i'xb2 gxf4 1 7
exf4 i s excellent for White) 16 exd4
fxg3 17 fxg3, when White domi
nates.
15 l:r.fd1
ll'lxf4
16 gxf4
J.a7
Now that he has spent a couple
of moves removing White's dark
squared bishop Black is not willing
to part with his own. 16 J.xe5 1 7
fxe5 l:r.b8 (17 ...l:r.d8 1 8 l:r.xd8+ 'ii'xd8
19 l:r.d1 ) 1 8 l:r.d6! b5 19 a5 is a good
example of how Black can find him
self being overpowered.
17 l:r.a3! (D)
..
..
..
...
..
..
. .
25 l:.b7 (D)
1-0
i.f4
...
..
..
Ill
..
Game 16
Ribli - Speelman
Moscow OL 1994
...
...
..
...
.I B'ii' B
B .... .
...
...
$1
.
.
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21 o!DxcS
White can try 21 i..xb7!? (Speel
man), with an unclear postion after
2 l . ...!Dxf2 22 xf2 (22 o!Dxc5 'ii'xc5)
22 ...llh5 (22 ...llf5+ 23 i.. f3 e5 24 e4
llf6 25 .!Db4) 23 i..f3 llxh2+ 24 g1
lth6 25 ltc 1. White has two active
pieces for a rook and two pawns but
his kingside pawn structure has been
damaged, although the rook on h6
does seem out of play.
21
'iVxc5
i..xg2
22 ltxd1
h6
23 xg2
Black invests a tempo on provid
ing his king with an escape square.
White's edge is too small to mean
anything.
"ile7
24 ltcl
25 "ilf4
117
...
..
..
Game 1 8
Ca.Hansen - S.Petersen
Denmark 1990
1 c4 lLlf6 2 d4 e6 3 g3 dS 4 .ig2
dxc4 S ltlf3 .ie7 6 0-0 0-0 7 1i'c2 a6
8 1i'xc4 bS 9 1i'c2 .ib7 10 .tr4
10
.id6 (D)
..
..
19 dxeS
20 00
'ifxeS
21 'ifxe4
ltlxe4 (D)
cS?!
22
c4?
23 lLJfs
Whoops. 23 .J.e5 24 ltle7+ just
.
1-0
24 lLld2!
24 ltlxd2 25 ltlxd6, etc.
.
1 0 .i.g5
In posting the bishop on g5 in
stead of f4 White is aiming to hinder
the ...c7 -c5 advance by exchanging
on f6, forcing Black to recapture
with a piece which would otherwise
be covering the crucial c5-square.
Whereas 10 J.f4 puts Black under
pressure by attacking the c7-pawn,
creating a certain amount of tension
in the process, 10 J.g5 more or less
forces Black to make his queenside
break under circumstances which al
low White to carry out wholesale ex
changes into what he hopes is an
ending with good winning chances.
Unfortunately for Black there is no
avoiding these exchanges and the
slightly inferior endings which fol
low.
Game 19
22 ltlfd4
White's moves continue to be
straightforward. He threatens to put
a rook or a knight on c6 and combine
play on the queenside (perhaps in
volving a timely a2-a4) with the ad
vance of his kingside pawn majority.
Black's next denies White use of the
Dlescas Epishin
Madrid 1995
-
11 ixf6!
This guarantees White direct pas
sage to the desired endgame stage,
virtually missing out the middle
game altogether. 11 lL!bd2 usually
transposes to the main line if 11 .Jlc8
is met by 12 ..txf6, though if White is
happy to play the unclear position
which arises after 11 c5! 12 ..txf6
gxf6 ! there is an alternative in
( 1 1 .. .l:.c8) 12 lL!b3!?. Larsen-Ribli,
Amsterdam 1980 went 12 .....te4 1 3
'ii'c 1 c 5 14 lL!xc5 ! (avoiding 14 dxc5
a5 !) 14 ...lL!xc5 15 dxc5 l:.xc5 1 6
'ii'e 3 'ii'a8 1 7 ..txf6 gxf6 and now 1 8
l:.ad 1 ! seems to favour White, who
has a ready-made target in the shape
of Black's weakened kingside pawn
structure.
lL!xr6
11
l:.c8
12 lL!bd2
13 lL!b3 (D)
As usual the fight revolves around
the c5-square. Black must do some
thing to undermine White's grip, and
here he chooses to chase the enemy
queen.
..te4
13 .
The next game deals with the tem
porary pawn sacrifice 13 c5.
14 'ii'c3!
.
...
...
..
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..
..
21 'ifcS
White doubles on the c-file. 21
l:c7 is natural and was seen in an
other of Konopka's games, this time
against Cladouras in the Bundesliga,
1 992. Once again Black offered an
..
45 l:a7
lbc2
46 e5?
Throwing away the win according
to Kotronias, who found 46 e5!
l:d4+ 47 g5 lDxb4 48 .tf3 ! (48
e6? lDc6).
46
l:b6!
46 ..l:b6? 47 .te6! leaves the rook
cut off on the wrong side of the
board.
47 .te6
lbxb4
48 l:f7+
g8!
Again Black finds the only move
(48 ... e8? 49 d6 does not look too
..
16 'ifc3
b4
17 11i'e3
i.d5! (D)
An improvement on 17 'ii'd5,
which serves only to misplace the
black queen after 1 8 l:.fdl 'ifh5. In
Hulak-Lalic, Yugoslavia 1 989, White
played the new 1 9 l:tdc l !, leaving the
other rook on a1 to defend the a4pawn just in case. Play continued
19 ...i.d5 20 h3 i.xb3 21 'ii'xb3 i.xc5
(2L.:.xc5 22 lDd4 ltfc8 23 llx6
i.f8 24 'ii'e3 ! with a clear advantage
to White), and now 22 l:tc4 'ifd5 23
:.ac 1 would have put Black under
considerable pressure.
18 l:tfd1
Although White can't adequately
defend his extra pawn, he is able to
use the time Black must expend in
regaining the pawn to choose the
character of the inevitable ending.
18
'ii'c7
19 lbfd4
Petursson's suggestion 19 l:tacl
..ixb3 20 'ikxb3 .i.xc5 2 1 lbd4 'ii'b 6
22 'ifc4 !? is worth further study.
19
..ixg2
20 g2
i.xcS
.i.xd4
21 :act
'ii'b7+
22 'ifxd4
.
. ..
f#i
'
'ft
&
?
&
J;:
i'f:fif!
.. . ... . .
. -- .
1\ .
S!jt.'. (
0
:{{if_fi
.lt.J.
,_., -,
N
u
"' YIW:
t.: u
R 'lllf /W%
M ol!:i6. .
id!
25 li:)cS?
Surprisingly this positive move
which plans to double rooks on the
c-file - hands the initiative over to
Black. It is better to strike while the
iron is hot with 25 e4!, which was
given an outing in L.Hansen-Berg
Hansen, Danish Ch 1996. 25 . . .li:)b6
is forced (25 ...'ife2? loses to 26 lbd4,
and 26 'ifxa5 1!t'xa5 27 li:)xa5 l:.a8 28
li:)c6 l:.xa4 29 f3 is bad for Black in
view of the sorry b4-pawn), and after
26 l:.xc8 'ifxc8 (26 . . .l:.xc8 27 l:.d6
ties Black up) 27 l:.cl 1!t'd7 28 'iha5
'ifxa4 29 'ifxb6 'ifxb3 30 'ifd4 White
had succeeded in preserving the in
itiative. The game continued 30 . . .h6
3 1 g2 'ifa4 32 l:.c7 1Wb5 33 b3 l:.a8
34 l:.c4 l:.a2 (Black's problem is that
even after the more stubborn move
34 ...l:.b8 there is still no easy way to
'ifxb2
33 g2
g6
34 'ifxaS
llc8?!
35 'ifb6!
Correct is 3S 'ifxe2 36 l:td4 with
a long ending ahead.
'ifc2
36 'ifb7!
lU8
37 lU3
38 'ifbS?
Missing 38 lte3!, which draws
comfortably.
'ife4!
38
Now Black has time to reassert his
authority. The remaining moves
were:
...
39 h4 l:td8 40 h2 eS 41 lte3
'ifd4 42 'ifxeS 'ifxeS 43 ltxeS ltb8
44 ltdS fS 45 lld2?? (short of time
White - not surprisingly - misses the
impressive try 45 g2 f7 46 f3
e6 47 l:td l ! b3 48 e3 e5 49
ltb1 b2 50 d3 f4 51 g4 { 5 1 gxf4+?!
xf4 52 c2 h5 ! } 5 1 ...f3 ! 52 e3
ltb4! 53 h5 ! g5 54 h6! f6, when the
winning process will be more prob
lematic) 45 ... 7 46 g2 e6 47
f3 b3 48 l:tb2 dS 49 e3 c4 SO
d2 .l:.d8+ 0-1 (5 1 ...c3 is the be
ginning of the end).
.. . ??!<?/"".
...
...
; -
... . ... . ... . .
illit
"
.
.
u
"
U
.
U .M.
U
a .: =
Black played 1 3 ...5? ! ( 1 3 ... g5
meets with 14 b4, but a lesser evil
is 13 ...J.b7 14 .:.ac l b5 15 a4 b4 1 6
e4), allowing 1 4 xd5 !, when
14 ... cxd5 ( 14 ... 'W'xc2?? 1 5 xe7+
'it>h8 16 xf7+ .:.xn 1 7 .:.d8+) 1 5
'ii'd2 'ii'b4 ( 1 5 . . . f6 1 6 d3 J.xd3 1 7
'W'xd3 d7 1 8 .:.acl 'ifa5 19 'ife3
5 20 a3) 1 6 'ifxb4 J.xb4 17 e4 !
gave White a promising position as
the ending approached.
c2) 7 bd2 b6 8 1Vc2 J.b7 9 e4
a6 10 a3:
c21) lO ...:.c8?! 1 1 b4! c5 1 2 dxc5 !
bxc5 (White is clearly better after
both 12 ...dxe4 1 3 g5 bxc5 1 4 b5
c7 15 dxe4 and 12 ... xe4 1 3
xe4 dxe4 1 4 .:.d1 'ife8 1 5 5 ! ) 1 3
b5 c7 1 4 exd5 exd5 1 5 5 was
good for White (pressure on the h i
aS diagonal) i n the game Flear-Gar
cia Palermo, Zenica 1 987.
c22) Kaidanov-Nenashev, Lu
cerne Wcht 1993 continued 10 dxc4
..
..
24 lbe4?!
The position after 24 e6 f5 is as
sessed by Ftatnik as unclear. I find it
difficult to believe that, with so many
weaknesses on the kingside, Black is
not in trouble. After, for example, 25
lbf3, White threatens lbf3-e5, hit
ting the g6-pawn and introducing the
possibility of relocating the knight
on f4 (via the d3-square), from
where g6 is still under pressure (as is
h5), and the d5-square is available
(note that White's queen is also ready
to come to d5). White can bring his
bishop back into the game with
.i.b2-c l , when .i.c l -f4 is coming
and the weakness of the squares g5
and h6 is accentuated.
It certainly does seem that White
has a choice of targets and continu
ations after 24 e6! f5 25 lbf3, with
excellent chances. Moreover, one
would think that the appropriate cul
mination of White's entire middle
game strategy should be based upon
exploiting the very concessions in
duced by Cifuentes's queen sally.
With the risk-free text White is
concentrating on generating a passed
pawn of his own by planting his
knight on d6 and subsequently
obliging Black to capture. This plan
appears to be good enough for no
more than a draw with best play.
'lt'c8
24
h7
25 .i.cl
26 .i.f4
26 .i.xb6 xh6 27 g4 hxg4 28
hxg4 g7 achieves less than nothing.
'lt'rs
26
27 lbd6
..
..
gxh5
33 l:txh5+
34 .txd6
g6!
35 'iti'g2
35 g4 hxg4 36 "it'xg4+ (36 hxg4
lDf6) 36...'iPh7 37 "i1Vh5+ lDh6.
lDf6
35
hxg4
36 g4
1Ve4
37 hxg4
38 .tr4
38 ..xe4+ lDxe4 39 .tb8 favours
White after 39 ... d3 40 'iPf3 d2 41
'iii>e2 lDxf2 42 'iPxd2 lDxg4 43 .txa7,
but 39 a6 40 .tc7 b5 4 1 f3 lDc3 is
far less appealing.
e6
38
1Ve4+
39 "i1Vd3+
40 1Vxe4+
..
Game 22
Umanskaya - llinsky
Russia 1995
1 d4 lDf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 d5 4 lDf3 .te7
5 .tg2 0-0 6 0-0 c6 7 .-c2 lDbd7 8
b3 b6 9 .:.dl .ta6 10 lDbd2 .:.cs 1 1
e4 c5 12 exdS exd5
13 .tb2 (D)
More natural than the teasing 1 3
..f5 of Cifuentes-Sosonko, this sim
ple developing move is also seen
more frequently. Thus far White's
pieces have been sensibly placed, so
there is nothing to suggest that White
should worry about the threatened
attack down the c-file.
b5!?
13
..
17 lDe4!
Simple chess. White relies on
well-positioned pieces rather than
falling into Black's game-plan with
the messy 17 lDxf7 or the passive 17
i.xdS?! lDxe5 1 8 i.e4 lbd3.
17 ...
lDb4
Again 17 ... c3 must be investi
gated. After 1 8 lDxc3 lDxc3 1 9 i.xc3
lDxe5 20 dxe5 fie? White escapes
the pin on the e-file with 21 Wa4, hit
ting the a6-bishop. Then 21 ...i.e2 22
lldc1 i.g5 23 i.d2 gives White a clear
advantage, so 21 ...1fxc3 22 Wxa6 is
a lesser evil, though Black still has
an uphill struggle.
lDd3?!
18 1i'c3
It is understandable that Black
wants to use the c4-pawn aggres
sively, and the knight does appear to
be quite menacing in the heart of en
emy territory but, as we will see,
25 ...
.ia4
26 l:f1
:Xb1
After 26...l:bd8 27 f4 White's
ominously mobile kingside pawns
and the vulnerability of the f7-pawn
guarantee a dangerous lead. Even af
ter the text White has control of the
b-file and the centre, as well as the
prospect of turning to the kingside
with .tg2-d5. The future looks bleak
for the c-pawn, too, so Black has in
mind a final attempt to confuse the
issue.
27 l:xb1
..tc2
Forcing White to surrender the
b-file or neglect the back rank.
27 ..tc6 28 'ffxc4 is very difficult
for Black.
28 l:b7!
White increases the pressure.
'ffa5
28
29 .tdS
Now all of White's pieces are per
fectly placed.
29 ..
'ffe l+
30 g2
ltJxeS?
Hastening the end. A better defen
sive try is 30.....xe5 3 1 'it'xe5 ltJxe5
32 f4 ltJg4, when 33 h3 ! is still ex
cellent for White (a7, c4 and f7 are
all easy targets) but at least there is a
certain amount of work left.
Now White was able to decide the
game in just a few moves: 31 lLlxf7!
..te4+ (3 l . . .ltJxf7 is answered by 32
..txf7+: 32 ...l:xf7 33 l:b8+ l:f8 34
1i'd5+ or 32 ... h8 33 ..tg6) 32 ..txe4
ltJxf7 33 .idS 1-0.
.
25 'ffd4!
Note how White has had few
problems playing around the invad
ing c-pawn (which has become more
of a weakness than a strength).
Moreover the d3-knight has made
virtually no impact on the game
since arriving on d3. Black never had
the opportunity to attack the f2-pawn
and White had adequate control over
the e5-square.
Apart from planting the queen
firmly in the centre of the board
White could also consider 25 .id5!?
with play against both the c-pawn
and the f-pawn. Not to be recom
mended, on the other hand, is 25
:Xb5? l:xb5 26 tlfxc4 lLlb2 with a
decisive advantage to Black.
Game 23
Salov - Spassky
France 1994
lbxe4
12
Hoping to relieve some pressure
and later gain time with an attack on
the queen. Another thematic move
which is also seen very often is
12 c5. Then after 13 t:bxf6+ i.xf6
..
...
..
..
39 'ii'xb6!
'ii'f6
The tactical justification of
White's previous move lies in the
variation 39 gxb5 40 te!e4 f5 4 1
Wg6+ 'ili'f8 42 te!g5 Wb7 (42. . .1i'd7
43 te!h7+ 'ili'e7 44 1i'f6+ 'ili'e8 45
1i'f8#) 43 te!xe6+ 'ili'e7 44 te!g7,
when White eats up the kingside.
'ii'xd4
40 i.f3
41 'ii'g5!
Winning. The remaining moves
of the game were:
4l te!xc5 (4 1 ...Wxc5 42 Wd8+
and then 42 . . .'ili'g7 43 te!e8+ and 44
Wxa8, or 42...'ili'h7 43 ltle4) 42 'ii'e7!
te!d3 (42...1i'g7 43 'iba7) 43 'ii'xf7+
'ili'b8 44 'ii'fB+ 'ili'b7 45 tC.e4 l-0.
..
Game 24
Orlov - Tal
New York 1990
1 d4 e6 2 c4 f6 3 f3 d5 4 g3 J..e7
5 iL.g2 0-0 6 0-0 bd7 7 W'c2 c6
8 bd2
b6
9 e4 (D)
...
23 l'Lldl?
The losing move. Correct is 23
l'LlxeS! fxe5 24 .i.xe4 l'L!f6 25 .i.f5
when the removal of the f6-pawn and
the bishop pair keep the game bal
anced. After the text White's queen
and bishop bite on granite, so Black
is able to put his material lead to
good use.
l'Llxd2
23
h8
24 .i.xdS+
25 :tdl
Unfortunately for White the obvi
ous alternative 25 :Xc8 'ii'xc8 26
'ii'd 1 does not work due to 26 ...'ii'c5
27 'ii'xd2 'ii'xd6, after which White
cannot escape the pin on the d-file.
:tc2
25 ...
Black is winning. The remaining
moves were: 26 :tct 'iVg6 27 .i.b7
:td8 28 .i.a3 :txcl+ 29 'iVxcl 'iVbl!
30 'iVxbl l'Llxbl 31 .i.b4 aS 32 .i.el
:Xd6 0-1.
Game 25
Rajkovic - Colovic
Cetinje 1993
1 d4 dS 2 c4 e6 3 tDf3 c6 4 tDbd2
tD1'6 5 g3 tDbd7 6 .i.g2 .i.e7 7 0-0 0..0
8 'ifc2
bS?! (D)
8 ..
.
...
b7-b5
151
...
..
.ia6
15 :rei
16 lDeS
White's knight is at least as strong
as Black's.
'iic7
16 ...
17 .ie4!
With the centre closed White is
justified in turning to the kingside to
exert pressure and generate an attack
against the king. As for striking on
the other wing with 17 a3, White is
clearly better after 17 .bxa3 1 8
:xa3 .i.b5 1 9 b3 (a5 and c 6 are
weak), but 17 ... .ibS! is much better.
g6?!
17 ...
White still has an initiative after
17 ... h6, but with the text Black pre
sents his opponent with a ready
made target. White's knight, bishop
and queen are within striking dis
tance of the g6-pawn, and his next
move threatens to heighten the pres
sure still further.
18 h4! (D)
.i.f6
18 ...
Black is unable to drum up any
counterplay on the queenside be
cause he has no pawn breaks and
there is insufficient room to manoeu
vre his pieces into active positions,
so his best policy is simply to try to
..
24
'ii'c8
l:ta7
25 l:tad1
26 l:th1
The beginning of the end. Black is
powerless. All of White's pieces are
on - or have access to - the kingside,
Black is effectively playing without
his light-squared bishop and White
dominates.
26
rt:.rs
27 g4
rt:':.e7
28 .th6!
lbd5
28 .th8 29 .tg5 ! doesn't change
the ultimate outcome.
'fibs
29 gS
Or 29 .th8 30 1i'h4 rt:':.e7 3 1
.tf8 ! xf8 (or 3 l . . ..txe5 32 .txe7
l:txe7 33 dxe5) 32 'ii'x h8+ rt:':.g8 33
l:th7.
hg1 (D)
.
...
b7-b5
..
Index of Variations
1
2
3
4
d4
c4
g3
.!Df6
e6
d5
..tg2 (D)
6 ...
6 ... lDa.6 131
6 ... c5 131
6 ... c6 132
6 ... b6 133
6 ... l0e4 133
7 ..c2
Closed Catalan
4
..te7
4 ...tb4+ 14
4 ...c6 16
4 ...c5 16
0-0
5 o!Df3
6 0-0 131 (D)
.
..
and now:
A: 8 .!Dbd2
B : 8 b3
A)
8 o!Dbd2 (D)
o!Dbd7
c6 (D)
b6
13 ..f5 134
13 .tb2 I 37
.tb7
Open Catalan
1
2
3
4
5
B)
8 b3
9 lltd1 (D)
b6
d4
c4
g3
.tg2
m (D)
liJf6
e6
d5
dxc4
and now:
C: 5 ... c5
D: 5 ... a6
E: 5 ... .te7
a)
b)
c)
d)
Alternatives:
5 ... ltJc6 6 _.a4 63
5 ... .td7 6 ltJe5 7I
5 ...liJbd7 6 _.a4 78
5 ... b5 42
C)
5
6 0-0
7 l2Je5 18
7 _.a4 27
7
7 ....td7 27
7 ....te7 27
..
...
c5 I8
liJc6 (D)
cxd4 35
0-0
a6 (D)
...
7 . ..liJd7 27
7 . 'ii'a5 27
.
D)
5 ...
6 0-0
6 ...c5 48
6... 6 48
7 e5
7 . .'4a7 51
8 a4 (D)
a6 48
b5
and now:
E l : 8 "ili'xc4
E2: 8 a4
El)
8 'fi'xc4
9 'fi'c2
b5
i.b7 (D)
8 ...
8 ..c6 52
9 b3 58
9 axb5 54
9 e4 54
i.b7
and now:
E l l : 10 i.g5
E12: 10 i.f4
Ell)
E)
5
i.e7
10 i.g5 122
bd7
tb:xf6
:cs
1 2...tbc6 J10
1 2:..1i'c8 108
1 2...l%a7 108
12...g6 108
1 2 ..tbd7 107
11 l%d1
.
1 1 tbc3 iJj,
\
.
1 1 tbbd2 'J.:}J
11
12 1i'c1 (D)
...
c!()b
12...tbbd5 117
12...l%c8 JJ4
12... 1i'c8 J J4
E2)
8 a4
8 ... tbc6 9 'ifxc4 95
8 ...c5 102
9 1i'xc4
10 i.gS
11 1i'd3 (D)
l l ...i.e4 87
l l . ..cS 92
i.d7
i.c6
i.dS