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  • Alekhines Defence (Starting Out)

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    Alekhines Defence (Starting Out)

    Diunggah oleh

    rajveer404
    chess

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Unduh sebagai PDF atau baca online dari Scribd
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    starting out: tarting OUL alekhine’s defence alekhine’s defence BTolenaeyg De eed Se em ean eR oe the centre, Whi Se ee ey) een eee ae eee Ce ee es eee ene ees ee ae ete nT studying the essential principles of Alekhine’s Defence and its numerous Ce eee een See ene ee See ee ee Ge Coe ea Coe John Cox is a FIDE Master and experenced intemational player. ee eee rear ete ened EVERYMAN CHESS ~ Renter ey EVERYMAN CHESS Firs published in 2004 by Gloueester Publishers ple (fnmerly Everyman Publishers ple, Nowtbhurgh Hous, 10 Northbugh Steet, London, ECIV OAT Copyright © 2008 John Cox “The tight of Join Cox to be identified as the autoe ofthis work has been asserted in accotdance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988, All ghts reserved. No att ofthis publication may be reprsiaced, stored in etieva stem or teanemited it any form oe by any means, eleetzonic, electrostatic, magnetic "Spe, photocopying, eseding or otherwise, without prior permission ofthe publisher. Beitsh Library Cataloguing in-Publication Data 1 estalogue record for this book salle from de Bris Libr: ISBN: 978 1 85746370 Distributed in Noeth America by The Globe Pequot Press, P.O Box 480, 245 Goose Lats, Gulloed, CT 06437-0180, All cher sles cnguiies shouldbe directed to Gloucester Publishers ple, Norbury House, 10 Nomtburph Street, Pondon, ECIV OAT tel O20 7253 TBAT fin: 020 7490 3708 email info@everymanehess.com Wehsite: warmeverrmanchesscom Everyman ise eget trade mark of Random House Ine. and is use in his swork unde leense fom Rendom House Ine EVERYMAN CHESS SERIES Chief Advisor: Garey Kasparov CComminsioning Exitar Byron Jacabs “Typeset and edited by First Rank Poblishing, Brighton (Cover Design by Horatio Monteverde Peited end bound in the UR, starting out: alekhine’s defence JOHN COX Contents Bibliography and Acknowledgements {introduction Main Line with 4...dxe5 Main Line with 4...B9¢ Main Line with 4..96/4..NoB Exchange Variation with 5,.cxd6 Exchange Variation with 5.xd6 ‘The Four Pawns Attack The Chase Variation Other Tries for White Index of Variations Index of Complete Games 10 48 7 95 114 125 151 163 188 191 Bibliography Books Alekhine's Defence, Bales and Wiliams (Batsford 1973) [Acassic and very wseful for a positional understanding of the older systems, ‘The Complete Alekhine and New Idees in the Alekhine Defence both Graham Burgess (Gatsford 1992 and 1996) Extremely comprehensive; the fist in particular is indispensable, Aleihine'e Defence, Davies (Everyman Chess 2001) Inspiring rather than comprehensive but Very good on the fashionable lines, ‘The Alekhine for vee Tournament Player, Alburt and Schiller (Batsford 1985) Alburt gave little away but is interesting on his own games Alekhine's Defence, Hort (A © Black 1982) Comprehensive but languageless and alittle dll, However Hort is, ofcourse, a vory strong player and his perspective interesting Zashchita Alekhina, Bagirow (Fitzcalture Sport 1987) “Tertfc if you have Russian; Bagirov was the foremost Alekhine player of his ay, he held nothing back and his thoughts are invaluable. Magazines and Databases Megas 2009; wu chesspublishina.com; Chess Informant 1-87; TWIC Acknowledgements Richard Palliser and Natasha Regan were extremely helpful during the writing of| this book, while Jonathan Rogers. Peter Taylor, William Watson and David Coleman also made suggestions. My thanks to them, Introduction Introduction tagram + “Te Aektine Players see the light and take up the Alekhine for various reasons, Legend has it that Fischer's debut with the defence inthe 1965 Ha- vana tournament, in which he was playing by telephone, occurred ‘when Ciocaltea shocked Bobby after "da" NIB with 265, T thought you ssid da, snarled Bobby. ‘No, nl said the quivering monitor, "EEE four! The crowed must have expected al elf to break Toot, Dut Fischer, in one of those unpredictabie ashes of equanimity s0 typical of him, shrugged his shoaiders and calmly continued with 2..Nd5, the start ofa productive oxasional relationship with the defence. Miles also took up the opening for the Capablanca memorial in Havana, but his explanation was simpler: he thought it would be funny to win Ca ppablanes's tournament with Alekhine's Defence (he did, by the way) ‘The great Russian ‘Alekhinist’, Viadimir Bagirov, was more mystical: ‘Starting Out: Alekine's Defence ha liked to claim that Alekhine himself had appeared to him in a dream and told him to defend his opening’s Honour. Others havo dealt better than me with the question of why to play the Alekhine. Burgess says that it's more fun than other openings. {don't iknow about that, but it does soem to attract the devotee, Its very no: Hiceable in many variations which might have scored quite poorly ‘overall how those who persevere have achieved superb results ~ Ken: atisin is eponyrnaus system, and Bagirov in the 4.4 main line, for ‘example and the same is true ofthe opening asa whole. Is for some reason an opening which appesin« the rebellious and those of fn unconventional east of mind, Davies points out that 1... is the second best scorer inthe dats bases behind 1.5 (and no doubt it would score even higher if Kas- ‘arov had been playing it these last 20 years!) I might add that tis the only reply to et with a plus score at worl championship level (trivia buffs may ike to name the four occasions on whiek it has been played; answer below). Certainly it has considerable practical merit, nothing else many White players are scared of it and duck the main lines, {tals allows Black to choose the type of game toa considerable extent. There is something in the Alekhine to sit all tastes; there arv sharp and hnghly theoretical tactical lines, and its also possible in almost every line to be aut af theory by move 6 with a solid position. With this in sind T have provided below a non-theoretica, slid, and a tact callthooretial repertoire for Black, as well ag similae suggestions for White ‘You will find in the following pages that I have made no great effort to attribute suggestions or anal¥sis informality rather than passing the work of others off ax my own isthe object. I have, however, taken care W attribute my own theoretical offerings; my motive isnot vanity ‘50 much as warning the reader where he might be playing an un tested move based only on my own recommendation. Prom time to time I refer to games I don't have space to give~ this is intended to help those with nccess to databases, although 1 Feognize with regret that will iritate others ‘The Alekhine is wery fluid as regards pawn structure and I have not sven a general positional introduction for thot reason. I hope general positions considerations are covered in each chapter and in the vat ous Tips The four Alekhine world championehip games were Alekhine-Euwe, 29th game, 1985, Spassky-Fischer, 13th and 18th games, 1972 and Ponomarioy-Ivanchuk. 6th game, 2002. All were drawn except the fest Spassky-Fischer game. Possible Opening Repertoires Hore are some repertsivex worth investigating Introduction ‘Suggested Non-theoretical Repertoire for Black Main Line ude 5 Nees e6. Presently offering a rare treat to grandmaster and palooka alike. You can play six moves of theory and then be more or Jes confident that both of you will know no further, while Black is of fered a very sound postion, Exchange variation ‘5..ex06. Solid and dependable Four Pawns 6.105 7 dB g6. A torifc sorer for Black, with very itte theory Chase Variation 5..c6 and 6.06, Then just go .b7-06 and play Rare Fourth Moves Glance atthe main lines I give. Others ‘Mest 8 Ne} with 9..Nee8 and 4..d8 and meet 2 NeS with 2..05, This ja if you're happy with a Vienna: otherwise there is 2.453 eB NUT 4 26 fk06 5 d 5 followed by developing al! your pieces and aiming at aM and eb. Half an hour leoking through the lines and you're goed to go! Suggested Positional Repertoire for Black Main Line lay the Kengis or Miles systems, or the Old Main Line with 4.Bg4 and 5.6. Exchange Vari Play ether exd or..cxd6 0 taste, Four Pawas Learn the lines with 9,.Bet Chase Either as above or with 5.06 and 6.,b6, asin Game ST. Rare Fourth Moves! Nes/2 Ne8 As above Suggested Tactical Repertoire for Black Main Line Play 4..g8. Then play Alburt’s exchange sacrifice after 724, oF ..NaB lines ater 7 Qed, Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence Exchange Pray the lines with .cxd6 Four Pawns Choose either 9..Be7 or &.08 7a 68 Chase Play 5.06 and 6..6, a8 in Game 2. Rare fourth moves As above, Others “Moet 3 Ne8 with 3..Nxcd 4 dxed d5, or 4 bxeS a6. Meet 2 Ned with 2..d5 3¢5 Ned 4 Nee? £5, but this needs work Solid Repertoire for White Play the main line and then consider the following options Mies System 6 B3, as in Game 5, oF else Bed 0.0, Ret and soon, delaying e2-04 Kengis System 6 Bed and then follow Tzermiadianos’ plan in the notes to Game 2 Sdxe5/5 NOT Play 5 NxeS Na7 and now 6 NFS, 4.Bed 5 Bo? €6 Play the Main Line without ha as seen in Games 10 and 11 4.Bgd 5 Bo2 06 Play 6 0-0 BxfS 7 Baf3 and then continue asin Game 14, 486 Play the line 5 Bet Nb6 6 Bbs Be? 7 Qe2. Ne6 Play 5 ¢4 Nb6 Gexd6 exd6 7 3. Tactical/Theoretical Repertoire tor White Pay the mainline and then consider the following options Miles System 6 Be2 BIS ard now go fa it with 7 gt? Kengis System you can make it work give 6 QMS a go, otherwise 64, 5..Nd7 Get on with it with 6 NXI7 and shen choose the 8 g lines 4.Bgd 5 Bed 06 ‘See Bologan's idea in Game 12 Introduction 4. Bgd 5 Bed 06 See Ngb as in Game 16. sues ‘Tal and continue like Grischuk in Game 18 4..Nos Play the lines with 5 ef Nb6 6 6, Offbeat Tries for White 4f6, aa in Chaptor 8, is underrated, or 2 Ne8 with Hector's ideas is excellent if you don mind a Vienna, \Whatener you choose, god Iuck in your adventures with the Alekhine. Joh Cox, London, October 2004 Chapter One Main Line with 4...dxe5 Veen Introduction Black Plays 5...g6 (Kengis) Black Plays 5...c6 (Miles) Black Plays 5...Nd7 (Provocative) Illustrative Games Main Line with 4x08 Introduction Led NPB 2.65 NAS 8 d4 6 4.NEV Diagram 1) ae ROLE 1S Ries an 5 Diagram Diagram 2 Te cana cco Shock tas med aon ‘This is White's most solid systent and the most poplar choice of srandmasters. Wiken a variation has been dubbed both the Classical fand the Modern, as this one has, you can be pretty sure that i en tains some timeless merit. Rather than sommit himself either tp ‘maintaining the pawn on e5 (4 4 NbB5f4) or tats exchange (4 ot [NBS 5 exd6) White keeps his options open until he sees how Black plays. Black can now either exchange on e6, the modern method, or set about development with 4..Bg¢ (Chapter 2) 4..g6 ar 4..Ne6 (both Chapter 3) ef NIB 2 €5 Nab 9 dé d6 4 NES dxe5 (Diagram 2) ‘The revivel of Black's fortunes against the main line has been associ ated very mich with this move in recent years It looks ae though Black loses time by inviting the white knight to strong outpost in the contre ofthe board but, infact, the result can be e gain of time. Black’s idea is that when he challenges the knight with .Nd7 White will nt want to exchange and will have to retreat with NPQ, Ts in fect it wil be Black who has gained the move ..Na7. in addition, by making the exchange before fianchettoing the king's bishop, Black re- tains the option of changing course should White retake with the d- avn. Usually Black does not want to fianchetto the king's bishop hfe the pawn on v5 remains because ifthe pawn is solidly defended the iahop willbe shut out of play. 5x05 In the event of 5 dxes Black's best is 5.-Bgs, which leads tothe sys. tom described in Game 14 without Black having had to play either 7-6 or . Ext 3; this is considered very corofortable " Stating Out: Alki Defence Black plays 5...96 (Kengis 2 1 ef NOG 2 05 NAS 3 d4 dG -4 NE% dxeS 5 Nees 46 ‘The characteristic move ofthe system. Now that the diagonal is clear ‘Black develops his king's bishop to its best square. The price he has to pay for this that visually he will need to give up his queen's bishop since once the pawn comes to g6 there is no suitable outpast available for it. The system is rightly narmed after Latvian grandmaster Bains Kengis. He was not the first to play it but his ine results inthe pe od 1988-1996 brought the system general acceptance. White now has various choice. The mainline is 6 Bed (Games 1 end 2), while 6 is the other main ty (Game 3). White alao has a sharp ‘move in 6 QE3 (covered in the notes to Game 3) and quiet approaches Jn 6 Be2 and 6 g3 (ove the notes to Game 1). ‘Assuming that White plays one ofthe positional lines jn Games Land 2, the Kengis is really quite a aon-theoretical and simple system. The problom is learning to play the resulting positions well Kengis was @ master of this and playing through all his gaenes inthe system an a ‘database is time well spent. The typical position is that which arises after, say, move 17 in Game 2 (Diagram 15), There are variations in the placing ofthe a.pawns end ofcourse of the pieces but this type of position, with Black's queen's bishop exchanged for a knight, will fase more often than not, Black is rock solid and well placed to meet ‘any aggressive attempts, but what are his postive ideas? ‘his opening system as 2-whole reminds me of Michael Stean, Mi cael’ an accountant now, I elieve~ millionaire, no doubt ~ but ‘when I was a lad he was @ grandmaster whose lucid classic Simple Chess influenced a generation of English junioss. The Keng system didn't exist in those day’ but if it had Stesn would have instantly rev ‘ofnised it as a perfect exemplar of two theories he expounded in that hook. The fret is thatthe structure where Black has exchanged his i ‘ara.pavens for White's ‘and e-pavens is in some sense fundamen tally favourable for Black. Stoan’s point was that Black ean advance his pawns on the queen's wing ~ a minority attack, in fact and hope toexchange down to single weal white pawn there, and meanwhile Black has an extra central pawn which gives him a better chance of establishing a protected outpost in the centre, or alternatively he ¢3n ‘advance the central majority and use thee and Epawne to expose ‘White's king. This idea ~ the antithesis of the classical view that a 4queenside pawn majority was in itself» food thing ~ was something ‘fa revelation to a schoolboy player brought up in the 1970's on Euwe fand Pachiran. Asa hard and fast rule i's nonsense, of course (as Stean would be the fins to say), but ita useful insight aa.a way of thinking about the game, and in particular about this opening. Black wants to play «7-28: tha is is fundamertal break (..e7-e5 ma} ‘equalise completely but is not usvally playable) He will then have ? Main Line with 4x05 exactly the structure Stoan was talking about, and most often he will llrendy have advanced his s-pawn and thus have mace some progress ‘with « minority attack. He will also have the knight on d5. This is di ficult to drive away by c2-c4 without White creating weaknesses. For example if White has met the a-pawn's onslaught with a2-a4 then c2 cf will allow the knight into bé and simultaneously cripple White's majority, while if he has allowed Black's a-pawn toad before playing 422-23, then ed, while it wil evict the knight, will leave the e:pawn exposed without pawn protection, and the b;pawn backward ‘hese ideas may seem rather abstract, but they ean frequently be ob: served in endyames or late middlogamos arising from this opening, and socan the principle that Black must use his own paven majrity posi tively once White's d-pawn has been removed ..7-6 and ..07.¢5 i 2 ‘aummon theme (see Mukhametav-Bagirov, Bern 1995, for example) Stean's second theory was that some, spatially inferior, pawn str: tures have capacity fora certain numberof pieces, and thet ifthe de: Tender ean exchange down to that number the space advantage won't matter. Black's pawn structure inthe Kengis isa elassic exami of this — Black has space for three minor pieces tobe deployed eff ciently, but net four, hence the fate which invariably awaits the ‘qucen’s bishop in thie sytem. Indeed this i something of a theme of, the Alekbine esa whole: perhaps I might cal tthe ‘three pices rule.” ‘€may sound simple, but it was realising this which enabled players to see that 4..de5 8 NxeS gained time not for White but for Black, TIP: In this system Black must try to exchange a minor piece: if pos- sible @ knight for the one on e5, or the light-squared bishop for the ‘one on b3, but Bishop for knight wil da. Black Plays 5...c6 (Miles) 104 NOS 2.05 NaS 3 d4 dO 4 NES dxe5 6 NxeS 06 (Diagram 3) ‘This isthe hottest variation ofthe Alekhine right now. The late Tony “Miles was not the first to play i, but his sucesses with it from the ‘idnineties have made it the trendiest way to play, ahead even af the Kongis system Like the Kengis, the most obvious motive isto prepare ..Na7 without allowing NxI7 (see Game 8. Compared to the ‘Keng, the merit of 5.-c6is that Black prvserves the options of his king’ bishop, and hence alsa of his queen's bishop — in the Kens ‘this piece almoct always has tobe exchanged, since once it develops to ‘34 and is challenged with hd it cannot retreat to h6 in view of 824 5.6 also makes the knight on d5 more flexible: one day White will play e2-e4 and, when he does, the additional option of retreating to c7 will be available, a post from where its lees easy to shut the knight ‘ut of the game than isthe case with b6. The drawback is pechape that 27-06 loses atte time ~ in the Kengis.c7-c6 is played only ‘out of necessity in reply to Bet. 8 ‘Starting Out: Alekhine’ Defence Diagram 3 Diagram & “The atest rend lack nites Narr White has @ wide choice of moves after 6.6, He ean develop his king’ bishop to 2, d3,e4 of even g2, he ean drive the knight away immediately with e2.¢4, or he can play Na2, sntending to bolster the ‘Scknight with N2f3. Of these, 6 Be2 (Game 4) is Kasparov's choice land by some distance the main line. Black Plays 5...Nd7 (Provocative Led NOB 2.05 Nd5 $ dd d6 4 NE dxe5 5 Nxe5 NA7 (Diagram 4) 5..Nd7 is a move with an entertaining history. 1 Tret eppeared at @ high level in the 1085 Candidates Match between Tal and Larsen. 00, soving the knight arrive on d7 Tal was unable to believe his eyes at the opportunity he was being offered, thought for 45 minutes, and ‘entinued quietly instead of saerificing.. inthe end he barely man 1aged to draw, Sobsequent analysis purported to prove that 6 Nxfi KxI7 7 Qhi+ Kes ‘was winning for White gee Game 8), and the variation disappeared “until the early 1980's, when people started to play it as Black, and to twin. Today the theory on the sacrifice is extensive: to be up to date you need a good knowledge of Polish carrespondence chess, and no doubt somewhere there are websites devote to it. At the moment, however, theory favours Slack, and the line which is giving Black the most trouble is actually the patient 6 Nf, which we aee in Game 9 "The variation does have two significant practical drawbacks: est, White ean draw at once with 8 Qgd+ KFT (8..Kd6 is suicide) 9 Qh5+: secondly, you have to know a fair amount of theory which you will rarely et to play, since Whit isnot likely to venture the sacrifice off | ‘the cull.On the other hand, it is quite posable that Bleck’s fourth and fith moves are objestively the bet: itis hard to believe that Black should be much worse, ia all, after 8.NA7 6 NP Starting Out: Alekhine’s Defence Main Line with 4.05 iustrative Games Gare (DLChristionon Eels Mania 1082 1 of Nf® 268 NaS 8 dd d6 4 NEB dxe5 6 Nyod gO 6 Bod (Diagram 9 xe a @ RR Ra BOGE Diagram 6 Black prepares.No7 ‘ete development We should note that 6 g9 is perfectly sensible, after which Black should stoer for ..e7-e5 rather than push the e pawn, For example 6.57 7 Bg2 0-0 80:08 9 Ret Bib 10 ¢3 Na 11 NfS Re 12 Nod? (51 13 Ned Bd is level. Although 07-65 is rare in the Kengis White's bishop on 2 doesnot restrain st by pressure on [asthe b3 bishop does inthe main line, and iti alo tsefal to Keep the c6-b7 pawn bar: Far intact against White's bishop. {6 Be2 ie nota theoretical option but has been played by some good players, Then 6..15p7 7.00.0 8c Nb ie natural, and now Black hs reasonable play after both 9 h3 Ne6l and 9 Ned Be6 10 BES (10 bs {Sis the note to White's ninth in Game 3) 10c6 11 (6! 12 Nat Bxgé 13 Bxgd 15, winning the da-pewn, 6.06 Deduct points for 6,.BQ7?? 7 NxfT Kal? & QPS WARNING: In these .. Kxd8 11 Rd with something between equality and an edge for White, Diagram 30 ‘nto gains an cay space advantage Arunconventonal entry 7 Nbaz 17 Ng5 Bue2 (this seems nocessary as 7.5 @ 6 f4e6 9 g4 Bg6 10 Bas Budd 11 Qed3 ia considered strong for White with the black knight ‘exiled to D6) 8 Que? xed 9 xed e6 is similar to Game 14, although ‘White is supposed to have benefited by retaining a knight instead of his king's bishop, Looking st what Gallagher did with his King’s bishop, though, 'm not so sure about that. I is aleo possible to play 7 tr now, bt the 2-4 idea of this game is less strong while Black can still play ..NaGs4 £0 usually White will wait « move Toa NBAT ‘Thad 8 Nee BES (or .Bo6) can be played and has actually been ‘more popular, although Black has scored a miserable 28% ard theory hnas always considered White better. On the other hand 7.dxo5 8 [Nxe5 Bue2 9 Qee2 Quad isa litte brash: 10 NdfS QoS 11 0.0 leaves White with too many attacking chances, Sexas Black's pieces are not a all well plesed for an Exchanse-type positon land, furthermore, White hes a specific ides in mind. 80-0 or 8h3) B(S 9 Nxf3 dxeb 10 dxe5 6 produces play similar to Game 14 — ‘White has a knight rather than bishop on £3, whieh is nice for his e- avin, but equally Ae no longer has the option of sending the knight to 4 ‘8 NgS is another dangerous idea. 8.-BIS, aiming for play similar to Gate 16, seems tobe in trouble owing to 9 g4 Bge 10 08 fxeB 11 Nxes ‘Qe8 12 £4 withthe simple intention of £45 (the knight on 7 hampers n Stating Out: Alekhine's Defence ‘Black since it has to move before he can capture the pawn on e6 after, say, 12.20 19 15 Bxeb 14 fxe8, and it has no very convenient square’ T4..NIG 15 6). On the other hand 8..Bxe2 9 ef! (a pulse-quiekener ityou've not seen it before) 2..{6 10 Qxe2 fegS 11 Ned (11 exd7* is not ‘0 pressing as Black can caste long ard aim fora quick 7-8) 11..NfG 12 Nag Need! (trying to keep the piece is unwise because White plays NF7 and 4224 and develops a huge attack) 18 000 Qa5, (14NI threatened) 14 Qxed h6 is reputedly okay for Black, although litle tested 8..0xd6 9 0.0 Be7 10 Rel 0-0 11 a4 a5 Back does not care to ignore the threat of 24-25, gaining vast amounts of space although he might consider 11-8 instead. Ater, fur example, 1225 Ne8 13 bé BIG 14 Rad it remains tobe seen whether White's early excursion on the queenside has achieved any. thing. After the tex. the outpost on be is of litle use to Black with his knights where they are, and White's rook can be developed handily via a3, 12 Ra3 (Diagram 30) 12..Res 12..BhR5 and 12..Qe7 are alternatives, but 12.-BO is well met by 19 Nel. 13 Res A relatively popular position 13,806 ‘isc has also tried 13...NIS, The text is aimed at ruling out alto gether the possibilty of did, After 13.-NIB 14 Qbi the threat of 4 £25 is thought to force the passive 14.-Be8, leaving White with a con Irtable edge after 15 Bas, 14S BhS 15 b3 Qe7 Atypical postion in which White perhaps has pull, alshough ie this fzame he now conceives a grandiose plan to dominate the kingside ‘which ought not to have succeeded. Instead he should play quietly, beginning with 16 Bas or Qe2, for instance, 16 Nh2 Bg6 17 Nafi B05 18 BES Nbd7 19 g4 Rxed 20 Rxe3 Re8? Black has reorganized sensibly up to now, but this is too meek. In ‘stead 20.45 (Diagram 33) was called for. Q ‘TIP: The first reaction to flank attack should always be to look for «2 counterbiow inthe centre, [Now 21 5 Ned is no good, while after 21 ¢6 b6 White will soon regret over-committing his knights to the kingside, but otherwise .Bd6-14 is poing tobe annoying, 21 Rxe8 Nxe8 22 Gel (6 22.. Nef? 23 g5 NhS 24 Qa soos White win material, but now ..d6- 4 is ruled out and White is back on track n Starting Out: Alekhine’s Defence Malo Line with 4.894 Diagram 32 hte’ leigh hve the ast cance 28 Ba2 b6 24 Bed Classic light-square strategy. White wants to trade bishops and push the d-pawn. 24..BE7 25 Qe NDB. ‘A feoble move, 25.45 was essential. and works tactically as 26exd5 ‘exd5 27 Bxd6? Bud 28 Qxe8 Bubs is poor for White, For this reason ‘White's last move was possibly slightly inaccurate and needed to be replaced with something ike 25 Nes. 26 QE Qa727 45.65 [Now White has what he wants and stands considerably better. Black ‘cannot leave the dominating bishop on et where iis, ut if he trades it hie maining bishop is a sorry sight. 28 hd Bg6 29 Bug6 hxg6 20 Ng3 Q&T 31 Qed Ne7 $2 f4 ‘There was nothing wrong with an immediate 32 5, but Ferguson. prefers to rule out even the possibility of ..g65 in reply 82..NA7 $8 hS gxh5 84 gxhS NbS 35 Kg? Always the most unpleasant kind of move to face in such positions, lexpecialy in time trouble 35..Qe8 36 QdS Be7 87 NOS (Diagram 32) 87..Na7 38 Nh4 NEB 39 Naf Qd7 40 QxuS Bd8 41 h6 Nes 42 Ng7 1-0 42..Nag? 43 NOS is devastating. Not a terribly accurate or theoreti lly significant game (though I did promise Mark Ferguson to men: tion that it won a best game prize), but thia ant that kind of li However, what the game does illustrate wel isthe sort of passivity Black must evoid, and how to go abou it 1 B Statistics Not enormously; there is nothing which has tobe learned in the ex: chane-type li Theoretical Status ‘White seems tobe a litle better inthe main variation, although @ player who does not mind cramped positions and has an eye to ma. neetvring for the counter-attack might like Blsk's game. Gane 18 (CRegovski mMurashko gesia 201 1 e4 NOB 205 NdB 8 dd d6 4 NOB By 5 Be2 08 6 Ne5 C 33) Diagram 29, ite secaps the change Diagram 34 Black's unto atic, An unfashionable but quite dangerous move, White's pint is that i 6..Bxe2 7 Qxe2 he hes his queen on it deal square and has retained his knight rather than his bishop, which he hopes will be to is ad vantage with the fixed pawn structure that aries, and wil also pre vent any accidents occurring ta the e pawn, 6..BE5 For the reason just given Black normally prefers this move, which at Teast requiros White to hike his queen tod3 or g4 if he wants to force the exchange of ligt-squated bishops by 7 Bd3 or 7 Bgl. Instead White normally prefers to sacrifice Main Line with 4.894 766 After 7 Bd Bxd3 8 Qua Black's beat is probably 8.6 rather than the older 8.6, when 9 Nes is dangerous. Fofwe8 88 [SBhS+ g6 9 4 Buc? 10 Quod gah6 11 Nxe6 Qa is similar but not ‘quite eo good for White, 5..Bg6 9 Bd$ Bud3 10 Qxda NES ‘The h-pawn was attacked. 10..g6 11 QPS NIG is much the sameas the 11 Nxe6 Qa7 12 Qe2 KIT 14 Ngb+ Ky8 14 Ret White can draw with 14 Ned, when Black hardly has better than. 114..KET, White had surious less effective alternatives in the last few moves, but Black's pices will generally go tothe same squares, eave that -A7-AS may be possible if ot discouraged by Rg 14..NaG 15 Ne3 ReB 15..NeT is possible, but after 16 Ef¢ there isn't much diflerence, 16K White has two better moves. One is 16 Ne6, when 26,:KIT 17 Nets RhxfB 18 g5 NdB 19 Nu exd 20 Qh5+ is irobably a litle better for White. The other is 16 BE, when 18, Ne7 17 0:00 NedS 18 Nuds Nxd5 19 Bg3 e6 20 Réel is definitely «bit better for White. 16 BT 5, 7 dxe5 h6'18 Ngod Newt 19 Nxo4 Qf? 20 BgS dxe5 has boon pro- posed, although White still looks a litle better to me after 21 a3, 16..05!7 Diagram 34) ‘A bold breakthrough 17 des dxe5 1815 18 fx was the eritical move. Clearly Black has dangerous play after something like 18,,.e5, but only future tests will elf whether i's ‘enough; 65-06 might be an important resourw, 18.85! ‘Black must play with all is pieces, even though he is obviously tak ing a risk opening the gle, 19hs ‘More thematic was 19 gxh6, but one can see why Whito might not have liked 19..Be5 20 Rez. 10..hxgd 20 hg Bo5 21 Bed [Now Black is going to be better It was more challenging to move the rook but White i already struggling for equality 21..Bxe8 22 Qxe3 Nb 23. Qt 23 Qed was better. White must ha 23..Qa4 24 Ret White could not save the g:pawn in view ofthe fat that 24 Qxdt ‘underestimated Blacks next % 8 aring Out: Alkhine's Defence ‘exd4+ drops a pieve or so. 24..Nagd 25 Qu QoS 26 Qxed Nxe8 27 6 x15 28 Neots KIB 29 Naf Nexe2+ Simplest wos 29..Rh2 30 Nae8 Nbxc2* 81 Rc? Neo2+ $2 Kal Ne8+ 239 Kel Kxe8 34 Ret Net 35 Red Ry2 and Black stays two pawns ahead and wins 0 Ke2 Na&t¢ 31 Kea Rha+ 92 Kes Rhd+ Frits cool 92..Re7 38 Refi Nag may still win, but I imagine the players were in time trouble, and Black has already made the psycho logical error of driving the king wp the board to becom active inthe event of any simplification, 88 Ryd Regds 34 Nags Ke7 35 08 Na6 36 KxeS Ras 37 Rh Nest 88 KFS ROS 39 Ke5 Ng 40 RAG '='s Black could certainly have tortured his opponent a fttle longer, but he was no doubt happy to draw against a higher-rated player: Statistics White has scored 60% after 6 Nes. Theoretical? Alitle. Black is treading @ narrow path with the king on g8.and the rook on he, Theoretical Status Black's having alittle trouble at he moment. He needs to do better ‘ound about move 16, but below international leva the line should romain quite playoble. With 5..08 as a whole Black has scored 42%. Each ofthe three lines shown here is presently giving Black a headache, and the system is ‘out af fashion after a period in tho sun during the late eighties and ‘early nineties Stating Out: Alekine's Defence Black Plays 4...g6 Led NOG 2.65 NaS 3.d4 d64 NFB g6 (Diagram 1) Chapter Three Main Line with 4...96/4...Nc6 apa — Black Plays 4...96 ack ropes oh ed tress Black Plays 4...Nc6 Toor and'ma subeuen the prea ay ofthe eat Rus ‘NovAmercan Alte dete kev ture Blacker ta asl D] Illustrative Games 65 with his fianchettoed bishop. if White succeeds in maintaining this, point the bishop isin danger of being shut out of the game, so play ‘ean often become sharp as Black tries to break White's grip. In fact some ofthe crucial variations are more or less pure tactics. 5 Bet Almost universal now. 5 ¢4 Nb6 will merely transpose to a .cxd8 Ex change variation, while the older 5 NgS e6 is ineffective, for example 6 (QF 167 ef Qa5+ 8 Ba2 QbE, or 6 4 BT White's ff plan is less ef fective if he hasn't proveked 6-45 or 7-06 as he does in Game 17. 5 Ng5 By7?” 6 QI is, However, tobe avoided 5..NbG 5..c6 is also playable and was dealt with in Chapter 1, siace it is basi cally a possible introduction tothe Kengis System, 6 Bbs Bg? ye modern starting point. White has a chooeof three methods: fame 17), Which sims at establishing his conte with f2-4, 7 24 (Game 18) which aims, by foreing 07-25, to improve White's chancos in the other variations, and 7 Qe2 (Game 18), which sims to develop and maintain the e5-paven with piees rather than pawns. Ofcourse ‘Simply casting is also possible, but 7 000 0.0 8 Re Bg 9 3 Bxt3 10 {388 Nes, fr example, is already nice for Black - White's pay looks logical, but he nea 2 more specific plan to maintain his centre Maio Line with 4.g64..Nes Black Plays 4...Nc6 104 NOG 2.65 NaS 3 d4 d6-4 NES Nos (Diagram 2) 4..Ne6 is a specialist's move. Any theoretic! manual will tell you it's ‘dubious. But there are players, notably Jurgens leck and Haakert from Germany, who have played it» Jot and have achieved excellent rosulte with it~ in fact i either has ever lot in the main variation (after &fe6) over the board then neither the database nor their own extensive article reveals the fact. ‘The reason is thet this variation leads not just to sharp play but to very unusual positions In all probability, f White wants an advan- tage he has to goin for 5e4 Nbé 6 6 fee. White takes advantage of the knighton o6 (6.-Bx0622 7 45) to damage Black's kingside struc: ture and entomb the bishop on 8. Ths line stems from the earliest days of Alekhine’ Defence. It has always been supposed tobe good for ‘White, but it remains today a minefield where even strong White players fear to tread. [Before we get on to that, however, let us consider what other a proach White could take. Really there are tw, Te fir is to trans pose into some kind of Exchange variation, For example, White could play 8 of NOG 6exd6 exd6 (..ced6 7 dB Neb 8 Nad isnot such «good dea, bu 6..Bg4!? an amusing gambit), White can then simply’ Dro coed as in Chapter 5 with 7 Be2 BeT 8 0.00.0. Alternatively, he ean (min for 745 NoS § Ndd, Perhaps Black should not lt this go wnchal- Tenged, but instead reply 8. 9 dxo8 Nae6, when his slightly better development will allow him to get in ..d6-db and equalie, til on the same theme, White can be a bit more cunning and try 504 NOG 6 Ned, delaying the exchange for a moment. Black should simply proceed with 6...Bgd, If White now maintains the tension with 7 Be2 he ie boginning to be at risk of either 7..xf3 8 Bxf3 dxed, or 7..dxe5 Bg Bxf2 9 Bxfd Nds, which forces unexplored gambit play on White, ‘probably he will usually prefer 7 exd6 exd6, and now the game is almost certain to transpose to Chapter 5.8 Be2 Be7 9 45 Bxi3 10 Bx [eS 11 Be2 is lao possible and is supposed to give White vantage, although Black’ plan of BID, «07-28, Ned 509m givea him a very sold position. Is not every day you see a 2500+ rated Russiaréecnagor fall for Legals Legacy, albeit with a ‘movlern twist, 0 1 can't resist quickly showing the game Zhenkin- Dyachkov, Orel 1996, which also lustrates why 7..cxd8 may be doubtful, After that move this continued 8 Bo3 e6 9 h3 BS 10 45 ‘exd5 11 okd5 Neb 12 Bbs+ Nbd7? (12..Ned7 was presumably forced) 18 Nxesl! Budi 14 Bud? Ke7 15 No6! (the twist) 15..bxe6 16 dxc8 (reatening NaB mate) 16..Qa6 17 Rxdi Ras (Zhenkin does not comment on this; obviously Black has other ways of staggering an, ‘but is in die straits in any ease) 18 ba Qubs 18 0.0 Qxe3 20 Bad ‘Qe4 21 Rlet+ Qo6 22 Bxe6 fxe6 28 Rb] and White won, ” ‘Staring Out: Alekhine's Defence Alternatively, White sometimes tries 5 BbS. The simplest approach then is 5..a6 6 Bxe6* bxe6, 5 BbS is quite Gequently chosen by srandmasters who don't fancy a theoretical debite on the territory of| lesser opponents, but even so it's hard to believe White can claim any stdvantage alter giving up his better bishop and strengthening Black's Centre like this: Black usually develops with ..Bg,..e7-6, .Bo7, (0.0, ..Nb6 Gn reply to e2-c).Ifeireumstances then allow Bim to force exd exd6, uncrampling his pawns (perhaps with ..NaT if White has foolishly developed his bishop on e3), all well and good. Otherwise he can consider ..a5-e4 (be careful, though, of -t7-a5 being met with a2-ad and the a-paven dropping off later, Black must bein a position {to mest 22-24 with some concrete operation), of ».d6-d8 followed by ‘ch andlor £76 to dismantle White's centre. There's not much ‘theory on these variations and Black ean develop all his pieces with ‘ut any immediate prablems, s9 I haven't given an illustrative game. 5 Bed NU6 6 BBS a6 (6...BA7 looks like a plausible kind of move to me, though it hasn't heen tried) leads toa similar game ~ White claims to hhave gained by driving the knight from the centre firs, while Black says he's gained a tempo because White will play eo anyway and he knight won't be en prise. Black should, however, give 5..dre3 6 Nxe5 Nae5 7 dyes NH6?? 8 Bxi7* a miss, although 7..06 followed by Be6 and ..NeT is reasonable "The reason why White is under pressure immediately after 4,.Ne6 is that a move like 5 Bod is met by d..dxe5 6 Nees Nxeb 7 dxes BE. ‘Once pair of minor pieces has been exchanged and he has activated hii queen's bishop this structure is comfortable for Black (he should play 07-06 and not ..g7-g6), especially iPhe can also exchange ‘quoens (White's e-pawn can easily prove difficult to defend). On the other hand 5 Be2 dxes 6 dxc® BIS is even less desirable since Black tan already consider ..Ndb with anroving threats against c2 In short, 4..Ne6 would be what they were al paving iit were not for the reputation of the pawn sacrifice proposed by Rubinstein in 1925, Illustrative Games Gone? Gdansk Marnkowic Be 1968 ‘Led N06 2 05 Nd $ dd d6-4 NO g6 5 Bod Nb6 6 BbS Be? 7 Nes (Diagrare 3) Toe6 The older 7..d5 840-0 9 0.0 6 is under a cloud, White is always go- ing to bea little better if maintains the pawn wedge on d4 and 5 faguinst the g7-bishop, and Black has no way to challenge i effec tively. The game Karpov-K.Grigorian, Leningrad 1971 was a particu larly impressive demonstration of White’ play in this line. White can instead play 80-0 0.09 Rel, intending to meet «7-0 by exchanging ‘and playing Ne6, which also secures him an edge ‘Starting Out: Alakhine's Defence Main Line with 4.g64..Net Het ek o Diagram 3 Diagram 4 Here we go How would you exo 16? sas ‘This sharp move more often than not leads to a tedious ending, but Black has to know his onions against more violent wes. 8 4 leads to positions very similar to those discussed in the next game. 8..Qe7 Neither 8..0-0 9 Qha he 10 Nes (se the classi positional crush Daindathashvili-Alburt, New York 1984) nor 8..Qu7 9 Ned dxe5 10 ddxe5 Bed 11 Nib+ is palatable for Black. 9 Ned White hee other moves of course, but if he doesnt go in forthe text then 8 QIS was just a stupid move, obstructing the pawn, 8..dxe5 10 Bes Q4+ Exiling the queen like this looks rash, but experience has shown that Black must keep her in touch with e5 11.63 Qas (Dingram 4) 12 NG+ ‘The tedious ending I mentioned ares after 12 B46 Bxfb 13 QxlP (13 [Nxl6+ Ke? achieves nothing and loses a pawn) 13.,0-0 14 Qee5 Queb 15 dxe5 Ba7. Alburt claims this is equal, but in practice White has of ten ground Black down from here with his space advantage (Khali rman-Fedorowicz, Wijk aan Zee 1991 and ‘Timman-Alburt, Taxco 1985 being two example), Instead Black might try 14.. No6. The subee ‘quent ending after 15 Qa is distinctly preferable to that alter 14,-Qxe5. 15 NI6+ Kh8 16 Qf Ky? gives ah interesting postion which is okay for Black. The problem is supposed to be 15 QxeT Nxd 160.0 abs 17 axb3 Qeal 18 NfG+ as ina 1985 Ljubojevie Alburt irae, This s meant to give White a winning attack after 18,.Kh8 19 Qos Qub2 20 4 Qe2 21 04 (threatening ct-c5) 21,.Qxb3 22 Nd2 Qa? 28 Ndes, but presumably doesnt since a good many grandmasters ‘who were certainly not ignorant ofthis pie of theory have elected to oa a play 14..Ne6 in the last twenty year2, some of them no doubt after {ood chats with their computers, Unfortunately they haven been ‘kind enough to publish thei idea, so well ave to guess, and I'm afraid after a bit oftrying I don't have a guess. Black ean decline the ook with 17..Q15, ofcourse, but he must be abit worse then.) 12.4508 Evidently the only move. The position now is viciously tactical as ‘The only sensible way to meet Bhuck's threat of .exd for example 13, 0.07 exda 14 Qf4 Nad7 15 exd4 QM5. The text sidelines Black's queen, 18..e4! (Diagram 5) Diagrams Diagram 6 ach avs aon ‘The smoke hes eared ‘Again this is protty much forced as 13.0345 14 Nxdb Nx 16 Baal, for example, = crushing. The point ofthe txt is tha \4 Qxe4? drops ‘piece after 14.-h6 15 dxe6 Bre6, as Joe Gallagher found out the hard way ip GallagherBleos 1988, alshough with typical resilience he didn't let that stop him drawing the game 14 Nxed ‘Understandably avoiding the complications which ari after either 14 Qg3 or 14 Qi, but the text enables Black to consolidate, Alter 14 Qf4 Black can obtain good play with 14.Nxd5! 15 Bad hs! 5..exd5" 16 bd is dire) 16 Qxes (he point of Black's clever inter ‘mezzo was that 16 Bh exd5 17 D4 g5 is now puasible; 16 Bxed hg 17 QF8 Qos 18 Nes Qf is also good for Black) 16...xg5! 11 Bxb7 Rhs, when either 18 Qa Bxf6 19 Bua8 Ba6 20 Qe3 Na7 or 18g Bxb7 18, Qub? Bulb 20 Qea8 Qes~ and 21..6 gives Black interesting play for his exchange. Nigel Short's 14 Qa is critical, when 14..Na6 isthe best move, and after 15 dxo6 either 15..h6!? 16 e7+ Kxe? 17 NdB++ Ke8 18 NecT= [NxeT 19 Que? Ques 20 Quit Kas 21 Qxe7 Ref, when Black has su: ‘Starling Out: Alekhine's Defence Main Line with 4.96!4.NeB prisingly good compensation, oF 15..Qf5 16 e7 Kxe? 17 NgBt+ Kes YSNN6 Bh 19 Bxh6 Be6 20 0.0 Bxb3 21 axbs (5, when White has unsurprisingly good compensation ere unresolved. Macexd5 15 0-0 In. later game another epponent of Marinkovie trod 16 Bo N47 16 Bxb6? axb6 17 NaS Neb 18 QS h6 and lost considerably more aqickly 15..Be6 ‘And not, course, 15..dxe4?? 16 QuiT mate. 16 Nes ‘An admission of defeat, Black now has an extra pawn and merely reeds to develop and consolidate, but 16 NIB NBA? just promotes ex changes. 16..NSd7 17 Nd2 Ro8 18 Be2 Ne5 19 Qf4 Nbd7 20 Bhs Qb6 21, Rael Bxh6+ 22 QxhG+ Ky8 23 hi {5 24 NbS NET (Diagram 6) Expelling the queen. Black has consolidated and is now wining al: ‘though the process takes along time, 25 Qd2 N06 26 Ndd Ba7 27 Rxed+ BxeS 28 Re) BAT 29 hd Kg7 30 hs Res White always seems tobe a move behind — he got Nd in just when Black had arranged to retreat the ef-bishop, and now he is one move tao late to confine the back king and rook in the corner with HB 31 RxeB+ Nxe8 32 16+ ‘This morely creates a weakness, I suspect White would have done Detter to try 82 hxg6, although he must be lost. 32,.KOS 78 Bb Qa6 34 NOS NOG 35 Ne2 06 26 g3 Ned 37 Ke? QoS 138 NA b5 39 Qe2 Qe7 40 Qaz Nixhé {don't soe why 40..Nexh6 41 Qd4 Be8, preserving the a-pawn, wasn't possible, but maybe Black was in time trouble 41 Qdd NIT 42 Qua7 Be8 43 Qad Qos 44 a4 Quad 45 Nad bad 46 Bxad Nas 47 Nd3 Ke7 Black has made things di finds it out. 48 £8 NIB 49 KP2 Ka6 50 bd Bd7 51 NeS Be8 52 Be? Nob 58 Nexes Bxe6 54 Bb1 Be8 55 BS Ba7 56 Be2 Nh5 57 f4 Nf6 58 Nb3 Bes 59 ltd3 Nes 60 Bxed dxed 61 c4 Be6 62 Na2 5 63 65 KeT Black is winning now. There is no defence tothe plan of h7-NB 6: s5e/4 and then using the h-pawn to divert White's king. 64 Ke3 Kb6 65 Ke2 h6 65 Ke3 Kas 67 Kt2 Kbd 68 Ke3 Be8 69 KR Bb7 70 Ke3 Ke3 71 gé h5 72 gxh5 gxh5 White has done Black's work of ereating @ passed pawn for him, bat it made no difference 118 Ke2 ha 74 be hi 75 NF1 Kxe$ 76 NeB+ Kb5 77 NafS h2 78 Neo cult for himself, but he knuckles down and o 83 Kxb6 79 £5 Ke7 80 KP2 €3+ 0-1 Statistics White has scared 60% after 7 Ng but only 54% after the subsequent Tab. Theoretical? Brutally so, 1 fear. The position at move 12 involves virtually nothing. but tactic, andl if you don't know them you'll have to work them out — ood luck! Theoretical Status Not clear. There hasn't ben a lot of practice inthis line in the last ten years, and what there has been has mainly been in the ending. IF Black's happy t0 grind that out then theoretically he i fine. It he ‘wants to sharpen the play then everything turns on 14.,Ne6~ if Black can void getting mated in the style of ubojevi-ATburt then Ihe can look forward to reasonable play there, andthe sharp varia tions inthe notes to the game give Black full Mooded chances ‘Gare 18 [iGrischuk m Ponomarioy osha 2000 Ved NOB 265 Na5 8 d4 d6 4 NES g6 5 Bet Nb6 6 BbS Bg7 7 a4 White aims to provoke ..a7-85, This has various benefits fr im — if he inter to play the line in tho game then Black's knight on b6 is unprotected, which makes life that little bit harder for Black inthe sharp postions sehich aris, while some other points ane explained in the next game. 188 A very critical moment. What if Back doesnt cooperate? The obvious non-cooperative move is7.dxe5, and naw 8 Nxed Bxeb! 9 dxe5 Qua 10 Kx Ne6 11 25 Na? 12 06 fe6 13 Bxe6 Ndes is comfortable for Black. White, however, has a cunning plan, whith i 8a N6d7 9 Buf7+ (already there is no way back: 9 Qe2 0-0 10 dxe5 NeS and 9 dco5 Nxod 10 Qud+ Kad 11 Ng6 Ke8 are both fine for Back) 9..Kef 10 Ng Kg 11 Ne6 Qe8 12 Nee7 Qa (this is the best Square, preventing the knight getting out from a8, although 12..Qft? thas also been played) 13 NxaS (13 Ne? draws by repetition, which was good enough for Peter Svidier in Svidier Khalifman 1995, unless Black fancies ..QI7! next time around) 13,.exd4 (Diagram 7) ‘This position is crtial for 4..g6 and is very complicated and interest: ing to analyse. White's first try was 14 e3 NeS (14..NIB 15 exd4/0-0 ‘6 is another nation, just allowing White to recapture on dt, but us ing the extra time to develop and win the a8night) 18 exdd (15 ba Starting Out: Alek ain Line with 4.96.6 Net) 15,,Brd 16 0:0, but after 26..06 17 BoS Nbs6 (Gurther corral ling the knigh®) 18 Ned 4 19 Rel Ke7 20 Bxdé Qua Alburt picked tap the knight and won in Caristinsen-Alburt, USA 1960. In this line 16 Bed has also been tied and got nowhere: 16..e5 17 Bxd xd en ables White to force the e-pavin tod, where he can at least win that in return for his a& knight, but no more, for example 18 0.0 Nba6 19 1Nd2 Bo6 20 Rel BIT 21 Nea d3 22 bt Nxed 23 Rxes KT 24 Ra 42 25 Re2 Ros 26 Reo Bred 27 Ra2 Qxa8 28 Red? (Oralde Fitmian Reyh- javik 2000) Diagram 7 Diagram 3 Ate postion "icky Recently, therefore, returning to diagram 7, White has tried 140.0, Ne6 (14.-Nf6 16 e NaG i the same as after 14 c3 NIB) 15.63 Neb 16 ‘ba dxeS 17 Quis NxdB 18 Duc} (18 Rad has been suggested, when [ think Black ought to play 18..c2) 18..c2 19 Nea (the only move to prevent greater material losces)19,._Bxe3 20 Ra3 (or 20 Ra? BIS 22 Net when I suggest 21...No6 in place of 2L..KF7, Blohm-Nawarro, Av ies 2000) 20... 21 Ne7 KT 22 Nd5 NeB 23 Naf ext 24 £3 hS, ‘when Black fad reasonable compensation in Almasi-de la Villa Gar- Gia, Pamplona 1969, ‘At the moment these games, which have been annotated in various places, represent the last word in theory, but cleanly there are many’ fother moves both sides eould try, If Black can’t make this work then ‘his whole opening scheme isin trouble, since the present game is ds. couraging indeed. Nes ‘Apart from this 8 exd6 is also quite annoying. Black might be radacod 1W8..Qed6, since 8..exd8 does noe go with 27-26 and 940 0-0 10 Bg is good for White, while 8.cxd6 9 0-00.0 10d is alo nice for ‘White, whose bishop is sas from ..NaS end who has the splendid b5. ‘outpost 8.06 94 Defence 9.10 js not so popular with 7 ad a8 in, since now 8..Qe7 10 Ned dxes 11 Bg6 Qh4- 12.63? drops the bishop on b8. Instead White has to try 52 Nba2 when Black should not play 12..Qxd4? 19 0.0-0 with a strong initiative, but 12...5 13 Nf6+ KI? with entertaining and virtu- ally untried complications, ixe5 10 fxe5 eS 11 ¢3 Less good is 11 0-0 Qa 12 Quid exd 18 Naf7 09. Mavexds Black needs to make this exchange since after 11.0.0 12 0.DNe6 ‘White ean ignore the threat to the d:pawn with 13 Nea! and slaughter Black asin the famous game Kasparov-Palatnik, Daugavpils 1878 — one ofthe games whose exuberant tactical genius first announced to ‘ha chess world that 15-year-old Garry Kasparov was a champion in waiting 1200 Diagram 8) White uses the tactic 12.032? 18 Qud8e and Nxf7+ to foree 12..0:0, although I don't see that 12 exd4 NoB 13 NIS% 14 Ned would actually hhave any concrete drawback. 12..000 13 exd4 NeG 14 NOS 16 15 Nes! A very strong pawn sacrifice. 18 exf6 Qxf6 16 Be Na 17 BIZ Nf4 18 [Ne Nha isthe old line. If White wanted to play this he shouldn't hhave included 7 24, since now after 19 gxh3 Qsf8 20 Quf Rxf3 he has tospend time defending the bishop on b8. bu in either event Black Aes alt better there than he does after the text. 15.05 Black could play 25..NdS bot if he does he i just conceding that he's sing to be worse at no material cost Diagram 9 Diagram 10 ‘The paint A fiting ich 16..Qa7 16..Qe8 17 dae Nxe6 18 Ne Refl+ 19 Qat Bred 20 Ret is pretty ‘much the same, when White has tremendous compensstion with the threat of Ned 17 dgeS Nxod 18 Nxe5 Rxfl+ After 18,,Qxdi 19 Raxa BxeS White still has an extremely strong. initiative for the pawn and Black is struggling to develop his queen- side pictus, for exemple 20 Rfel Bg? 21 BeT RY 22 g REA 23 Bes was already winning in one game, 19 Qxfl Qat+ 19..Bue5 20 Ral, with the dea of Ra8s, wins at once for White. 20 Kh1 Quo 21 Bas! Drawing Black's attention to the merits of interpolating 7 ad a5 inthe most brutal way. Without these moves the pesition would be no better than unclear for White, 2.Qes ‘This had all happened before in a couple of games, and Black was supposed tobe okay after 21..Ra®. In fact he is anything but okay’ as Volehin demonstrated that 29 Ral is winning for White, He is threat: ning 23 Bxbé Rxb6 24 RéS+ and nothing much helps Black, for ex- ‘ample 22,,Na8 28 NaB!,22.-QU5 23 Qxf® gxf5 24 Bxbt Rxb6 25 RES+ ‘and NOS winning a piece, or 22,6 29 Bed, Volehin suggests that if Black wants to keep playing 21..QU5 22 Ral Nd® i the only way, but his 23 Bhat is stil very strong. Fritz’ 28..Bxc8 24 bxe3 BAT isnot as simple to refute as it looks ~ Black can a least develop all his pieces ~ but am sure White is much better, while 23...Q8 24 Nad5 Qufl+ 25 Rll exd5 26 Bud Kh8 27 b3 is also horrid 22 Ned Qhd 25 Ngb Kh8 24 QF7 Ba7 25 Bre6 Reds 25, Bxe6 26 Neb also mates. 26 QuB+ RxgS 27 NET mate (Diagram 10) ‘Black didn't look like someone who would be world champion two ‘years Inter inthis game, but presumably he relied upon teary until iteame time to play 21..Ra6, noticed 22 Ral, and after that things are grim, Statistics Black has managod 20% ater 15 Ne3, though he dow kay if White Fetains from tis exe! ne ‘Theoretical? Fairly —one could punt 7x05 andthe exchange sacrifice and hope to-work it out, but the main thing to remember isto avoid the postion after 8 Nes, or Stating Out: Naki Defence Theoretical Status ‘The last word has yet to be sad on the exchange sacrifice. If that doesnt work Black needs a fandamental new daa quite eatly inthis 1 to koop 4g alive a8 an independent Gane 19 DV.Dimtroy m@ Marikovie Tit 1095 1 od NOB 2 65 NaS # dd d6 4 NDB g6.5 Bod Nb6 6 Bb3 Bg? 7 Qez White's other moves are not particularly effective. 7 Nbd2 was ‘Spasshy’s choice, but Fischer's 7.-0-08 hi ab 9 a4 dxeS 10 dxe5 Nab (remember this manoouvro) is already nice for Black. 7 o6 Bot 8 Bob fxeb & Ng5 Qa7 10 QF3 BIG is poor. 70:0 Ne6 8 Qe? isthe note to Whites seh Nes Thies not Black's only idea. He can alto play 7.040 883 (again White should prevent 8...) &..a5 9 ad dxeS 10 dxed NaB 11 0.0(21 Be3 NaS 12 0.0 Nue3 13 Qxes gives Whive nothing much) 1...Ne8 12 aI Qe8 18 Ne8 Nxb3 14 exb3. Tt looks a though this position ought to be quite nice for Black, but in fact i is very difficult to find much to o, 14..Beb 15 Nas Ba5 16 Nxdb Nxd5 17 NOS (Nunn-Howell, Pore Erin 1994) doesn't necessarily have to be bed for Black, but neither 17-08 18 Nag? Key nor 17..gxf 18 Ra is exactly comfortable for vi, shat White avoids the line 80.0 dies 8 dxe5 Na 10 Nx Qxds, which i= fine for Black since 11 Rel Bga s disruptive, and 11 6 Bxe6 12 Bxes {06 misses the mark after either 13 eS odor 13 N42 (to control A) 13..e5. IF Black now tries .-dxe5 9 dxe5 Nas 10 Nudd Qua then the point is that 11 fs legal, followed by Ne8, Bed and san. Bua Black can also try 8.0.0 90.0 NaS when he obtains the two bishops, although White has decidedly more space in a messy position and haa ‘usually managed to retain an edge, After 10 Ne Nxbi 11 axb3 Speelman's 11.6, preventing BgS and preparing ..7-6 and .fxeS, ‘may be best. If White is worried about this line then he ean try to prevent it by 7 a4 a5, since ..Na5 is now impossible, 9 a4 0-0 100-0 axes Ofcourse this simplifying idea isnot forced, but 10...B05 and espe: cially 10.45 have never done very wall, 11 dxe5 Na4 12 Nxdé Qxd 13 Rel 6 Black ean also ry 18..BA7 when M4 Nd2 6 isthe game and 14 Ned 6 15 BgS h6 equalises since 16 Be7? Rfes 17 Rad Qxe5 wins Black a ‘pawn. 14.3 Qhé is also reckoned to equalize, but I would have Main Line with 4. thought that 15 e6 Bxe6 16 Bxe8+ fxe6 17 Que6 will always leave White with a nagging edge. 18..Be6, braving the doubled pawns, or 13.0 followed by ..Qd7 and ..Bes, are also possible. 14 Nd2 (Diagram 11) Diagram 11 Diagram 12 ‘Te second ight head foe Black hes fm 14..Ba7 In the earlier game Short-Timman, Tilburg 1991, Black had played 14..Nd5 at this point, which White had! met with 16 NPB Qes 16 Qed Qbi 17 Bed! (a brilisnt ides, mutilating his queenside pewns and giv ‘ng up the bishop just to get the quoen to hs; meanwhile accepting Black's paven sacrifice with 17 Bxd8 exd6 18 Quad is beneath the con- tempt of any commentator I've seen ~ Black’ bishops and light square control evidently give him compensation, but whether they five him full equality is perhaps anether matter) 17..ND6 18 b3 Nxct 18 bxe4. Stop me if you've soon it before, but I can't resist showing the rest: 18...Re8 20 Ral Qos 21 Qh b6 22 Be3 Qe6? 22..Q18 was essen. tial according to Rogers; whether White is actually then much better inthis much-quoted game is open to debate) 23 BhG Bh8 24 Rds Bb? 25 Radl Bg? (26 Qe7 was threatened) 26 R8d7 RIB che move Timman hhad overlooked until too late was 26..Qod 27 Ref!) 27 Bag Kxg? 28 Rida (preventing ..Qet) 28..RoeS 29 QIS Ky 30 ha hS, and now the entertaining 31 Kh Re8 82 ¥g3 Ree8 88 KFA Bo8 34 Kg5 1-0 in view of Kh6 and mate. 15 NEB QeS 16 Hed Qe7 17 Bxs Qe5 18 Qet White could draw, ofcourse, but how he is to make progress is not clear, The text tries to got to hd as in Short-Timman, but doesn't ally work, Meanwhile Black was ready to start uncurling with roves like h7-N6,..Be6 and Rad, 18..Be6 19 Qh4 Rfes (Diagram 12) Write was threatening 20 Be rr Stating Out: Alekine's Defence 20.Nh2 Nothing was much better than this. My computer loves 20 BeS Qe7 21 Qxe7 Rxe7 22 Bxbs both inthis positon and it many in this varia tion, but this leads nowhere as Black ean restoup by doubling rooks ‘on the die, taking his bishop toc5 to remove the knight on dé and playing his king ta the centre, He should be careful about ..Bd5: ex: ‘hanging these bishops may just give White's knight the eternal bS ‘outpest, and White's king is already eyeing the e4-b6 pathway long: ingly. 20..Qb4 21 Qxbt 21 Nt h5 22 NIG+ Bef0 23 Buf Qriit 24 Bxhd BAB 25 Buds xd (and not 25,, Nad when White's domination of the die wil give him the advantage) is also about equa! ~ Black can continue with ..c7-c5, <5-d4 and ..Nd5 when his play on the queenside is just as good as anything White can generate on the kingsie 21..axbd 22 a5 Nd7 23 Nd WS 24 NOG+ NxfB 25 oxf6 BES 26 BE [Bd6 27 Brd6 exd6 26 Redi d5 20 Rd4 Ra7 30 Rxbs ' After Black regains his pawn with 90,.Rea8, there is litle left to play for. Statistics White has sored 66% ater 7 Qed. Theoretical? Not desperately so, White plays for a quit edge Theoretical Status Black is abit passive in the system in the game, although solid ‘enough, I would be inclined to investigate the. Na idea abit more, 4..6 in general nets alot of work if Black is going tobe able to play it'with confidence. In my epinion Black simply can't allow the system in Game 17 and he has to make Alburt’s exchange sacrifice work. As theory stands Black also has to accept fairly dull, albeit solid, pos tion in Games 16 and 18 ‘Game 20 1 ldema Haakon Den Haag 1985 1.04 NOB 2 05 NA5 8 dd d6 4 NIG No6 5 64 Nb6 6 06 fxe6 (Diagzam 18) 6..Bxe6? 7 d5 wins 8 piece, of course Ws only far to say that White has six moves in the diagram positon, all of which are dangerous (785, 7 NeB, 7 NaS, 7 BAS, 7 hd and 7 Be3, Since you ask) and many of which can transpose, confusingly, to each ain Line with 4..g814..Ne6 ‘other, and that a book like this can't possibly give mare than ¢ very general view, especially since this is not a main line. Fortunately, though, Herren Fleck and Haakert were kind enough to share their secrets in an extensive theoretical article in ‘Kaiasiber 19'~a whole 20 pages packed with games 2nd original analysis. (Kaissiber isa fine German fanzine specgising in chess history and rare yet playable ‘opening variations). I anyone is seriously interested in this line, then recommend sending 7.10 Euros tothe editor Stefan Bucker without further ado. Having said that, this is @ variation where experience ‘and a general idea of Blac’s aims do help, soit is posible to play it ‘ata lower level without detailed theoretical knowledge. Diagram 19 Diagram 14 Let tna games commence no's beter? ‘The variation which bes illustrates Black's ideas is 7 Ny5 g6 (7.06 is also possible) 8 Bd3 (8 QE3 Nxdé 9 QI7+ Ka7 10 Be Nez+ 11 Kaz [Nwal or 1...Nxed is fine for Black, a8 is BCO's § dB exd5 9 exis Nba 10 Qf Néxds, although in both eases great complications remain and inthe later case White can draw at once with 11 Qf7+ Ka7 12 Qes+ Ko8) &..Nxld 9 Nxh7 Bg? 10 Brg6+ K&7 (Diagram 14). ‘This position was given as clearly better for White without analysis by Hort and Schwara, yet practice favours Black. Black ean continuc with e725, ..KeT, « BAT, ~.Be6 and ..Qgs all his pieces have pros pects, and White has weak pawns to defend. Inthe long term White’ king may be the less safe. Obviously the kingside has its dangers, and fn the qucenside he can never enjoy the cosy carapace of pawns that Black's monarch has. Inthe short term Black ean meet 1] Ng eithor by giving up the oxchange with 11..Nxcd or with 12.QI8—after the latter move V.Gurevich-Tlemuk, Koazalin 1998 continued 12 Nea Neca 18 Qadt b5 14 Nxb5 Nb6 15 Qa5, when White was able to save him: self only by pulling out his Grandmaster card and offering a draw. 1 Bd can also be met with 7.6: 8h Bg 985 Nxd6 10 Nxdd (or 10 Ihxg® NKf3*) 10.-Bxd4 11 hg hxgs 12 RshS+ Bxh 13 Bxgs+ KAT is a Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence similar tothe above and is not dangerous; 9 BeS ¢5 10 d5 Nbs 11 Bes (White mists preserve this piece) 1.06 is also fine for Black, 75 exd 8 exd5 Nb 9 Ned o6 10 dxe8 Bxo6 leaves White staging to demonstrate compensation. 7 ha directed rather obviously against Black's .g7 6. The traditional recipe ie7..e5 8 d5 N44 9 [Nudd exd4 10 Qaeld 6 11 Ql, when Flock suggests 11.6 12 Nes 1h5 18 Ba g6 withthe intention of Bh, This is possible, of course, bbutI must say White looks a litle better to me. Another possibility is ‘NAT, with the intention of taking this knight to £6 and continuing. with ..c6-e5, thus hopefully making hd look stupid. Finally, the det ant 7..g6 might be worth tying, for example 8 hS BT 9 hi hxg® 10 Rch8# Brh8. Now White con collet the g-pawn with either 11 a3 or ‘BAB, but either af thase moves can be answered nonchalantly with 11..KAT, when play is similar to variations given above, although White does retain his &yawn, 7 Bed can lead tothe positon considered in the note to White's ninth in the game, Otherwise 7.26 8 hé Bg? 9h5 (9 Ned's the transposi tion I mentioned) 9,.c5 10 45 e! 11 NgS Neb leads to aplendit om. plications after either 12 hxg6 or 12 Nxed ~theae are analysed in de tail in Kaissiber with the conclusion that Black i okay, 7 Ned 6 8 hd By7 (Diusram 15) Diagram 15 Diagram 16 ‘Sra White push the how? Sale casing? ons, After considering the above these moves should seed no explanation, but this was an important moment. Black is now ready for 6-05, d5 Nd and the best move is probably 9 Be3. Fleck says so. and the then soon-to-be FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomaviov thought so too ‘when Ivanchuk played this variation against him in their title mateh, ‘The idea is simply to moet ».06-e5 with d5 Nd4, Nxdd exd4, Bx, [Nonetheless Black should continue 9.05 10-45 Ndd 11 Nxdd exat 12 Bxdd Budd 13 Qxd 65 14 dxo6 (or 14 Qe8 0.0 1 h5 g5 16 he REA with Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence Main Line with 4.9614. .Nes sharp play) 14..0.0 15 0.0.0 (15 hi Qf6 has soon several draws) 1 Bxe6 16 Net Qo7 17 h5. Fleck gives Whito the advantage here, although I'm not sure this is so significant after 17..Qg7. But there is no denying that this variation spoils Black's fun; probably White can retain at least alittle edge this way. Another order is 9..0-0 10 5 «5, but the trouble then is that White can flick in 11 hxg6, when T..exd4 12 guhT+ ia probably just abit too dangerous, and if 11. .hxg@ 12 dB Nd@ 13 Nudd exdd 14 Budd Bud 15 Qua 5 16 Qo8 White has sue ‘ceeded in opening the file already and stands alittle better than af ter 14 Qed above, although it's not necessarily anything fatal; Black continues ..QP6 and Qf 9.105 19 dB Nad 11 hg White ean also play 11 Ned exd 12 Nb6 06 19 hxg6 BIS! transposing tothe game, save that 14 dxe8 is impossible 11.865 11..Bgd (the most popular) and simply 11..xg6 a7 also possible, withthe usual eomplications. 12 Nxas oxaé 13 NDS Both 18 gxih7 Qa7 and 19 Reh7 Rxh? {4 gxh7 Ka7! produce perplex ing complications, but Black seems tobe fine 18.05 14 deeb, 14 Reh RuhT 15 gxh7 KAT is atleast okay for Black, 14..Qo7 15 Neda Bxg6 16 Qes ‘Haakert had previously had a postal game which had gone 16 BeS 0 0.0 17 Qes Rhi8 with a very charp position in which he felt Black stood well although in that game he had outcombined himself and. lost: The text prevents long eastling on account of 17 BgS. 16..0.0 (Diagram 16) CCheoky, but White cannot get at the king now that he cannot trade bishops with Bd3, and in fact Black's rooks come to the ideale and f files sooner this way, 17 BgS BIG 18 Bxt6 Hoaakert had intended to meet 18 BhG with 18.051? 19 Bxf8 Rxfs 20 [NDS Bxb2 with great complications, for example 21 Ral (21 RbI? QY6 is strong) 21..a6 22 Ned Bed 25 Ke2. tis understandable that his ‘opponent waa not up for this, Quite possibly the postion is objectively good for Black, and certainly one alip could spll the end for White. Instead White sends his king to safety and navigates the game to wards a draw 18,.Qxf6 19 0-0-0 QxP2 20 Bag Q4+ 21 Qel4 Raft 22 Bxg6 bags 28 bS a6 24 Rhf1 Raf 25 Rxfd Rf 26 Ret Ne8 27 e7 IE White were to allow this pawn tobe blockaded he might easily stand worse 27..Nxo7 28 Rxe7 Rudd 29 Rxe b§ 30 Re6 KIT 93 Statistics [Not as bad as you would think from the press, actually, Black scores 445% alter 4..Ne6, but that iarludes transpositions tothe Exchange variation. On the other hand, wher, White goes in forthe ‘refutation’ 5 1 ND6 6 66 fxe8, Black's percentage rises to 43%, Theoretical? [As theoretical as you make i, realy. I¢' not likely White is going to know the sharp lines unless he knows you are coming, and if you know roughly what the ideas are, you'l stand a chanee, On the ather had there is no doubt that preparation is going to help let; there are plenty of games in Kaissiber where one move turned a food posi tion for Black into a quick defeat Theoretical Status Very risky ~ ask anyone! On the other hand, i's hatd to immagine a bigger nightmare for an unauspesting opponent. Black is aking his life in his hands, but no-one has yet identified a line which gives White a clear advantage, Chapter Four Exchange Variation with 5...cxd6 ¥, \ntroduction 77, Mlustrative Games Starting Out: Alekrne's Defence Introduction 1 e4 NOG 205 Na 3 d4 d6 4 c4 NDB 5 exd6 Obviously White isnot trying to knock Black over with this line. He is content to aim for a smalt edge and keep a space advantage of four ranks to three without the onus of defending the 5-pawa. Mean: while, Black ean point at the slight weakness of the 4-pawn. This ‘more theoretical than real at this stage, but in fat Black's plans inthis line revolve around counterplay against this pawn two popular moves. 5..exd6 is examined here, while is soot in Chapter 5. The choice betwoon the tw is entirely a of taste. Bach has scored the average 45 or 46% over many tgames and many years. 5..Qxd6 does not lose at once (5 e5? Qe6+) bout is just a slightly inferior move ~ sooner or later the aueen will hhave to wave stain to prevent this problem (efter 6 Be, ler example) Before we mave on tothe analysis of 5..cxd6, it is worth making two Oand &..Ne6 andlor Bg, just as if exd6 cxd8 had been inserted. White will eventually find that he has to play exd6, and meanwhile he will have deprived himself of the most dangerous options Illustrative Games ‘Gane (Gomes ml Soppe au Cup 2008 1 ed NIB 265 Nd5 8 d4 d6 4 c4 NDB 5 exd6 exd6 (Diagram 1) Diagram + Diagram 2 5.008 ‘eyes on dt Exchange Variation with 5..

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