% BOOKTITLE = Slay the Sicilian
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "About this publication"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B27"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "4"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 {. Former US Open Champion Timothy Taylor presents a
repertoire for White against the most popular opening in chess - the Sicilian
Defence. Taylor's repertoire is based first and foremost on the Open Sicilian,
which is regarded as White's most ambitious and challenging response to the
Sicilian. He focuses on the classical Be2 lines, which were popularized by the
success of former World Champion and chess legend Anatoly Karpov. These lines
are easy to learn and generally lead to solid positional play, but with a drop
of poison. Taylor covers what to do against all the Sicilian variations. He
examines the most important games, studies in depth the main plans and tactics
for both sides, and highlights the key practical issues. Read this book and
you will be ready to slay the Sicilian!} -- {International Master Timothy
Taylor is an experienced tournament player who has enjoyed several notable
successes, including winning the US Open. He is also a skilled chess writer,
one of his previous books, 'How to Defeat the Smith-Morra Gambit', becoming a
US Chess Federation bestseller.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Introduction"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B54"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "8"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

{This book came about completely by accident. I had been commissioned by
Everyman Chess to write a book on the King's Gambit, which was right up my
alley: having written the book 'Pawn Sacrifice!', I loved the idea of starting
off with a strong gambit, and moreover a gambit renowned for the attacking
chances that could ensue. I had played the King's Gambit off and on throughout
my career, with excellent results - but I generally played 1 e4 only when I
expected the reply 1...e5. I had very rarely played 1 e4 against "the general
public", so to speak. --- In any case, I was eager to begin work and, as all
my readers know, I won't recommend what I don't play - so the next tournament
I went to I played} 1. e4 {
for the first time in many years - and got the answer,} c5 {What's this? Next
White I play 1 e4: answer, 1...c5! Third time... Sicilian again! --- "Help!" I
cried to my editor, the unflappable GM John Emms. "I must learn the Sicilian
before I can even begin to find someone who will answer 1 e4 with 1...e5." ---
My editor and publisher were happy to defer the King's Gambit and agreed to a
first book on the Sicilian - but what repertoire would I recommend? What would
I, myself, like to play? --- In those three games mentioned above I tried an
assortment of Anti-Sicilians - and got absolutely nothing out of the opening.
I used to play the Sicilian Defence myself and I tended to agree with GM
Rogozenko who wrote in his book, 'Anti-Sicilians: A Guide for Black', that
after 1 e4 c5 the "most ambitious" plan for White is} 2. Nf3 {followed, usually
on the next move, by d2-d4. --- Rogozenko implies, and I will come right out
and say it, that Black is by no means certain of equalizing after this bold
strategy. Consider the popular position} d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 {- White absolutely owns the centre, and while diverse counter plans are possible for Black,
it's clear that at least for the moment he is fighting for equality. ---
Rogozenko goes on with a corollary, that he puts in bold print:
"Anti-Sicilians do not bring an opening advantage for White." --- This one I
have a slight reservation about, for if Black is bent on the Sveshnikov, he
can bend himself right out of positional shape, and there (and only there) I
think White can go for the advantage with a specific Anti-Sicilian - see my
list of chapter themes below and Chapter Six for specifics. --- But if one
believes that an Open Sicilian repertoire is objectively strongest, one must
wrestle with the myriad possibilities after 3 d4.} -- {The basic questions
arise again: What can I recommend? What can I play? Many of my opponents have
probably played the Sicilian all their life, and I have to hit the ground
running! Certainly I'm not going to advocate memorizing 30 book moves of the
Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon, or 30 moves of the English Attack against
the Najdorf. That's a waste of brain cells, takes the fun out of chess, and
ultimately becomes a question of "Is my computer better than your computer?"
--- No, we're not going there! --- A glimmer of hope was provided by Tal, who
throughout his career remarked how he "very much enjoyed" playing against the
Sicilian. --- On the other hand, he also sometimes played lines like this (see
M.Tal-S.Gligoric, Alekhine Memorial, Moscow 1963).} *

[Event "Alekhine Memorial, Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal, M."]
[Black "Gligoric, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B99"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "1963.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3
Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. g4 b5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. g5 {I love you Misha, but this
razor sharp and incalculable position has over 2,000 games in the database -
on move 12!!} Nd7 13. a3 Bb7 14. Bh3 O-O-O 15. Bxe6 {
A wonderful Tal sac - but all this is "theory" now!} fxe6 16. Nxe6 Qc4 17. Nd5
Bxd5 18. exd5 Kb7 19. b3 Qc8 20. Rd3 Nb6 21. Rc3 Qd7 22. Rc7+ Qxc7 23. Nxc7
Kxc7 24. Qc3+ Kb8 25. Qxg7 Nc8 26. Re1 Rdg8 27. Qd4 Bd8 28. Re6 Rf8 29. h4 h6
30. g6 Rhg8 31. h5 Rf5 32. Qe4 Rxh5 33. Re8 Rxe8 34. Qxe8 Bf6 35. c4 bxc4 36.
bxc4 Rh3 37. Kd2 Bc3+ 38. Kc2 Bd4 39. f5 Rxa3 40. c5 dxc5 41. d6 Ra2+ 42. Kd3
Ra3+ 43. Kc4 {. --- While Tal also played some "human" lines (and some of his
games will be found in this book), much of his stuff requires either his
wizardry (and sometimes even more than that - see the introduction to Chapter
Two) or a multi-processor computer! I only wish I had the former, and I don't
have the latter, so I was still stuck.} -- (43... -- {And then I was rescued
by a very unexpected benefactor. --- I was idly looking at World Champion
Anatoly Karpov's book, 'My Best Games' - and I came across a line that
absolutely stunned me, that I quote in full below: --- "I have always felt it
completely unnecessary for White to rush headlong into a maelstrom of forced
variations with his first moves in the Sicilian. His superiority in the centre
gives him the possibility of resolving any problem by solid positional play."
--- While I have always admired Karpov's positional play and his relentless
technique, I've never been a fan in the way I am a fan of the wizard of Riga.
--- But after being rescued from a desperate situation, I not only became a
big fan, I have made Karpov (like Keres in 'Slay the Spanish') the hero of
this entire book!}) (43... -- {I found Karpov's repertoire to be amazingly
human and easy to learn - and absolutely deadly over the board. It seems that
no one really plays this way anymore - instead everyone is out there with
their laptops rushing headlong into that "maelstrom of forced variations".
Thus virtually none of the opponents I encountered were prepared for what I
would describe as solid positional play with a drop of poison. However (I
couldn't help myself!), against the Dragon I also offer an alternative,
non-Karpovian method, the Alekhine Attack, which so suited my style I barely
had to study it! --- In any case, each chapter starts with a Karpov game, and
then continues with relevant games from renowned GMs and World Champions, as
well as a number of my own efforts from the trenches.}) 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Chapter Outlines"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B27"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "4"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

{Let's take a look at this repertoire, which I stress is easy to learn and
very very effective. The Sicilian naturally divides into six types of opening,
according to pawn structure, represented by the first six chapters of this
book, with a seventh "catch all" chapter devoted to unusual odds and ends. ---
Here's a look at what's in store for White:} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 -- ({Chapter One:
-- I start with one of the oldest lines in the Sicilian, played by Paulsen in
the 19th century, the Classical Variation:} 2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5.
Nc3 Nc6 {. Here I recommend} 6. Be2 {, and the Boleslavsky Wall structure is
covered in this chapter, where Black answers} e5 {. Although it's
unfashionable to say so, I think White maintains a pull in this variation, as
it is not at all easy for Black to rid himself of the weakness at d5 without
making some concessions. Watch Karpov take down Jan Timman with only the most
minute edge - which he carries from opening through middlegame to ending and a
full point.}) ({Chapter Two: -- What World Champion doesn't love the Najdorf
Variation that arrives after the inexplicable series of non-developing moves} 
2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {? --- Think Fischer, Kasparov,
Anand! --- Karpov loved the Najdorf too - playing against it that is!
Naturally I recommend} 6. Be2 {again, and after the pure Najdorf move} e5 {
(continuing our exploration of the Boleslavsky Wall structure), one notices
that Karpov never lost this position. With 22 games in the database, the box
score is 14 wins for Karpov and 8 draws for his foes. And Karpov beat people
like Kasparov, Bronstein, Polugaevsky - Fish! --- White has many good follow-ups
after the natural} 7. Nb3 {, and my opinion is that once again the hole at d5
is more costly than most Sicilian books will admit.}) ({
Chapter Three: -- The Dragon,} 2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 {
, is so much fun to play... against! By moving his pawn to g6 early, Black
offers you a choice of f4-f5 or h4-h5 levers (and sometimes both - see
Taylor-Casella). I also offer the reader a choice: A Karpov specialty was} 6.
Be2 Bg7 7. O-O ({rather more ferocious is my second recommendation, the
Alekhine Attack, which continues like this:} 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Nb3 Be6 9. f4 O-O
10. g4 $1 {- OK, not too Karpovian, but very little explored in the computer
age, and suitable for quick wins (and one quick loss!)}) 7... O-O {
, followed by the key move of} 8. Bg5 {with positional pressure, and a mating
attack often coming into the picture around move 35. --- One good point about
both my recommendations is that they work against the regular Dragon as well
as the Accelerated (with a few slight modifications), as will be pointed out
in the text. Furthermore I took the opportunity to box the Dragodorf on its
ear a couple of times, when Black attempts to confuse his opponent by playing
two systems at once - but more often just confuses himself in the process!}) ({
Chapter Four: -- Black might set up a "little centre" of pawns on e6 and d6
and wait to see what White does - this is the Scheveningen system, most often
reached these days after the sequence} 2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
6. Be2 e6 {. --- I advocate the solid Karpovian (and Birdian, if that's a
word!) method of creating a big centre with pawns at e4 and f4, and then using
that centre as the basis of an eventual kingside attack, usually helped out by
the manoeuvre Qe1-g3. White's free hand in the centre makes this line easy to
play, though one must watch out for counter punchers!}) ({Chapter Five: -- If
Black plays an early ...e7-e6 but holds off on ...d7-d6, he is playing either
a Taimanov or a Kan (or possibly a couple of wacky sidelines!). I thought of
breaking up the chapter into various parts, but since all the lines can
transpose into each other, I have put all the variations usually reached after
} 2... e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 {in one umbrella chapter.} -- ({
. I will cover the pure Taimanov, which comes about after} 4... Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 {
, where I recommend, as usual,} 6. Be2 {- and make sure you check out Karpov's
stunning victory over Taimanov himself in this line, where our hero sacs two
pawns - for a positional advantage! --- As usual I don't think it's at all
easy for Black to equalize against White's solid but strong play.}) ({
. Against the pure Kan,} 4... a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 {, I also recommend our ubiquitous}
({though in the fashionable sideline} 5... b5 {I suggest the precise} 6. Bd3 {
- see the explanation in the main text}) 6. Be2 {. Once again White's central
control and solid positional play give him every chance of an edge.}) ({
. I also offer recipes against the peculiar Pin} 4... Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 {,} ({
the Four Knights:} 5... Nc6) ({, and the downright odd Gå På} 5... Qb6)) ({
, as well as the early} 4... Bc5 {
- none of which should trouble White... if he knows what to do!})) ({
Chapter Six: -- Black might go for the bizarre Sveshnikov,} 2... Nc6 3. -- ({
, which is reached after} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6
8. Na3 {, when I have to borrow a Larsen quote and say: "Both sides stand
badly!" Black has a gaping hole at d5, but White has spent four moves to
manoeuvre his king's knight to the worst possible square imaginable - a3! Ever
helpful, my friend Joe Cepiel said, "The game usually starts around move 17,
as all lines are heavily booked up to that point!" Joe also claimed all the
moves were logical, but friendship only goes so far - these moves look utterly
insane to me!}) ({. While Karpov did enter this morass at times, he once again
rescued me with a logical and strong positional alternative: after} 3. Nc3 $1 {
. Now the Sveshnikov adherent is thrown completely out of his game, as his
opening is no longer playable (and his thirty memorized moves are meaningless!)
. If he plays} e5 {, White gets an edge with the simple} ({
Black might also try to transpose to the Svesh by playing} 3... Nf6 {, but then
as Karpov - as well as Tal and Adams - has shown, White has excellent chances
for an advantage with} 4. Bb5 {, when the first player reaches a Rossolimo
Variation where Black, due to the provocative placement of his king's knight,
must constantly watch out for White's e4-e5 thrust}) ({
; in practice my opponents always played} 3... g6 {
, when the Open Sicilian appeared again after} 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 {
, with Dragon-slaying on the menu}) 4. Bc4 {, targeting the weak d5-square
(Rogozenko claims this is OK for Black, indeed even the "principled" answer -
but my feeling is that Black is giving up too much too soon here, as the three
games starting with Blackburne-Heral will show.})) ({Chapter Seven: -- The
first six chapters have offered a repertoire solution to all the main lines
that can be reached after the big three of second moves: 2...d6, 2...Nc6 or 2...e6. However, these are not the only continuations, just the most popular ones.
--- White must also be ready for 2...a6, 2...g6 (mostly this will transpose to
regular Dragon lines, but not always), 2...b6 and 2...Nf6. Of these, by far
the most important is the O'Kelly Variation,} 2... a6 {- not having outlined
the last chapter yet, I was surprised by this and lost! - which has been
touted in Everyman's 'Dangerous Weapons' books and is a great surprise weapon!
--- On the other hand, it's really nothing special if you are armed in advance.
While Karpov played the approved} 3. c3 {,} ({
I also offer the simple yet very strong} 3. Nc3 {, when if Black wants to stay
in a pure O'Kelly he must take probably unsustainable risks - or else he must
make the psychologically difficult decision to return to main lines. ---
Against the other unusual moves I offer simple and strong play where, in
general, Black faces the same dilemma as he does in the O'Kelly - return to
the main lines where our repertoire gives comfortable play for White, or take
extreme risks that can likely be punished right in the opening - see
especially Bobby Fischer's demolition of 2...Nf6 in the last game of this book.
})) *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "The author's results"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B27"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "4"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

{The reader might wonder, how did I do with this repertoire? It's true I had
to learn it fast (and in one case, the O'Kelly, had not learned it yet). I was
also playing (while researching and writing this book) in a series of strong
Metropolitan Club International events - round robins with an array of titled
players, many of whom were higher rated than myself. I also kept busy with a
number of Swiss system open events - and I faced a ton of Sicilians (well, 28
to be exact). Every one of these games was an Open Sicilian (as mentioned
above, when I offered an Anti-Sicilian - after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 - I
always ended up with the Dragon). --- The statistics are quite interesting:
first of all, I faced twelve titled players: one GM, ten IMs (I am counting in
this group two "IM-elect"s who have made all their norms for the title, and
probably will have it by the time this book comes out) and one WGM. I must
admit that all twelve of these titled players were higher rated than myself.
--- My score against this group with my Open Sicilian repertoire,} 1. e4 c5 2.
Nf3 {was six wins, five draws and only one loss, for a fairly awesome 81/2/12
or 71% against higher-rated opposition. --- Against non-titled players
(usually in the master class, ranging from 1950 to 2350), or in other words
against players roughly at my rating level or below, I scored 12 wins and 4
losses for an expected percentage increase to 75%. --- Karpov rules!} -- {
However, the statistics also have one very strange anomaly - or possibly it's
a result of the chosen repertoire. What was the most popular Sicilian variation 
chosen by my opponents? Go ahead, guess the Najdorf - and you'll be wrong! I
did score 41/2/5 out of my five games against the Najdorf - but that opening
line was dwarfed in popularity by the Dragon Variation! --- Out of these
twenty-eight recent games, more than half - seventeen - featured the Dragon. I
found I loved playing against this and scored 13/17 or 76% (and would have
scored higher had my technique been better!). In every game but one I got the
advantage right out of the opening, playing both Karpov's positional Bg5 and
Alekhine's wild attack with g2-g4.} ({How does one explain the huge popularity
of this variation? Could Los Angeles be a hotbed of Dragon fiends? Yes, some
opponents played directly for the Dragon - but the repertoire has something to
do with it. When I played} 2... Nc6 3. Nc3 {, I got} g6 {(always)}) ({
and after my recommended} 2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be2 {
, I also (usually) got} g6 {. Apparently there are some "recipes" floating
around the internet that advise Black to transpose into the Dragon in such
situations - but I say the fire has gone out, and the Dragon can slink back to
his cave like Puff after Jackie Paper took away the sealing wax! In any case,
if these stats mean anything, the reader would do well to study Chapter Three
intensively!}) (2... -- {
Now let's examine in detail how to 'Slay the Sicilian'.}) *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "1. Classical Variation"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B58"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "14"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

{There seems to be some sort of "faith-based" belief that the Boleslavsky
system is so strong that White must avoid it - but, as far as I can see, most
players have more faith than knowledge of this system. When put to the test
they will either avoid the Bole or (as in Taylor-Gutman) commit ancient errors
right in the opening. --- After our basic first moves:} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3.
d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be2 {, Black can play} e5 {, gaining space
at the cost of a hole on d5, which is known as the "Boleslavsky Wall"
structure. The exact same Wall also appears in the Najdorf after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3
d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be2 e5, although there are important
differences due to the substitution of ...a7-a6 for ...Nc6. --- Returning to
the original Classical Variation/Boleslavsky, after 6...e5 we'll see Karpov
stay in his comfort zone and go to b3 with his knight in Karpov-Timman; Louma
play his pet 7 Nxc6 in Louma-Foltys; and what I consider objectively best, the
restraint move} 7. Nf3 {(White holds up ...d6-d5 by putting pressure on
Black's e-pawn), will be seen in the meat of the chapter.} -- *

[Event "Bad Lauterberg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Timman, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B83"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "1977.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 ({
Black can of course opt out here (as previously mentioned) with} 6... g6 {
(the Dragon - see Chapter Three)}) ({or} 6... e6 {
(the Scheveningen - see Chapter Four).}) 7. Nb3 {Karpov, not worrying so much
about the opening, gets a familiar position (he had great success with such an
arrangement in the Najdorf) and banks on his middle and endgame mastery.} ({
Here I recommend} 7. Nf3 {to hold up ...d6-d5 and restrain Black.}) ({
I also think the rare} 7. Nxc6 {
is certainly worth a try for surprise value (see next game).}) 7... Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. Kh1 ({I was initially attracted to the white side of the Boleslavsky
years ago when I annotated the following game for my book 'New York 1985: The
Manhattan Chess Club International'. White is an IM playing a GM:} 9. Be3 -- (
9... a6 {(Black, evidently unfamiliar with the Boleslavsky, tries to shoehorn
the opening into a Najdorf - but loses too much time)} 10. f3 b6 11. Qd2 Bb7
12. Rfd1 Nb8 13. Bf1 Nbd7 14. Qf2 b5 15. a3 Qc7 16. Nc1 Nc5 17. N1a2 Na4 {
(this creates permanent weaknesses, but otherwise Nb4-d5 gives White a huge
plus - the GM is already on the ropes!)} 18. Nxa4 bxa4 19. c4 Bc6 20. Rac1 Rfb8
21. Nb4 a5 22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. cxd5 Qb7 24. Rd2 Nd7 25. Rc4 ({
as I pointed out in my book,} 25. Rc6 {should win for White}) 25... Rc8 26.
Rxc8+ Rxc8 27. Rc2 h6 28. Rxc8+ Qxc8 29. Bb5 Nc5 30. Qc2 Qb8 31. Qc4 Bd8 32.
Kf2 Bb6 33. Ke2 Nb3 34. Bxa4 Bxe3 35. Qxb3 $6 {½-½ Di.London-J.Fedorowicz,
New York 1985. I found it interesting that the higher-rated player had to
struggle so much to, just barely, make a draw!} ({Even now} 35. Kxe3 {
is better for White.})) ({. Unfortunately, there is a serious improvement for
Black: showing the dangers for White is the following high-level blitz:} 9...
a5 $1 {(Black must play actively as opposed to Fedorowicz's 9...a6; one reason
I prefer 7 Nf3 is that on b3 the knight is a target for this exact pawn
advance)} 10. a4 b6 11. Kh1 Bb7 {
(this bishop controls d5 and attacks the white e-pawn)} 12. f4 Nb4 13. Bf3 Rc8
14. Qd2 d5 {(Black has not only solved his problems, he already stands better)}
15. exd5 e4 16. Be2 Nfxd5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Bd4 e3 19. Qd1 Qc7 20. Bf3 Qxc2 21.
Qxc2 Rxc2 22. Rae1 Bb4 23. Rc1 e2 {
0-1 E.Atarov-V.Baklan, Internet (blitz) 2004.})) 9... Be6 {The bishop aims the
wrong way and is a target for White's advancing f-pawn - or in other words,
the incredibly strong Timman is out of his element by move 9!} ({Correct is} 
9... a5 {à la Baklan, which also scores best statistically for Black:} 10. a4 (
{the natural} 10. Bg5 {is weak due to} Nxe4 $1 {- Black equalizes and more
with this trick, but note it doesn't work after White's 7 Nf3 as the g5-bishop
will be protected -} 11. Nxe4 Bxg5 12. Nxd6 a4 13. Nc5 Be7 {and after} 14. Nce4
(14. Ndxb7 $2 Bxb7 15. Nxb7 Qc7 {traps the errant white knight}) 14... Be6 {
, Black was already clearly better in B.Abramovic-M.Tal, Yerevan 1982}) 10...
Nb4 {(Black already stands well with his good knight, which both holds the
weakness at d5 and pressures c2, as pointed out long ago by Geller and
seconded by Mr. Fritz)} ({
but note that Black can still go wrong by reverting to} 10... Be6 {here; e.g.}
11. f4 $1 exf4 12. Bxf4 d5 13. e5 Ne4 14. Bd3 f5 15. exf6 Nxf6 16. Nb5 Rc8 17.
Qe1 $1 Qd7 ({Black is already dead as even if he saves the pawn by} 17... Bd7 {
the infiltration} 18. Nd6 {is positionally decisive}) 18. Nxa5 Nb4 19. Nd4 Bg4
20. Bb5 Qd8 21. Nxb7 {1-0 V.Ivanchuk-Y.Vovk, Warsaw rapid 2009; one notices
how ill prepared modern players are in this line, and we'll see Ivanchuk score
stylishly against the Boleslavsky again in the notes to Smyslov-Hort}) 11. f4
Bd7 12. Bf3 Bc6 {(since the white e-pawn has been weakened by the f2-f4
advance - obviously f2-f3 will never be possible - Black's light-squared
bishop takes up its rightful place on the long diagonal)} 13. Qe2 Qc7 $1 14.
Rd1 b6 15. Bd2 {and now} Qb7 $1 {
, increasing the pressure on the long diagonal, when Black is at least equal,}
({rather than} 15... Nxc2 16. Rac1 {with play against Black's exposed queen.}))
10. f4 exf4 (10... d5 {is premature due to} 11. f5 Bc8 12. Nxd5 Nxe4 13. Be3 {
and White enjoys good positional pressure.}) 11. Bxf4 d5 12. e5 Ne4 13. Bd3 $1
Nxc3 {Timman wisely eschews greed.} ({
Black must not go for a pawn, since White will give a piece!} 13... g5 $6 14.
Qh5 $3 ({Black's idea is} 14. Bc1 Nxe5) 14... gxf4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Bxe4 f5
17. exf6 Rxf6 18. Qxh7+ Kf8 19. Rad1 {and the attack goes through; e.g.} Qb8 ({
or} 19... Qe8 20. Rxf4 Rxf4 21. Qh6+ Kg8 22. Bh7+ Kf7 23. Bg6+ Kf6 24. Bxe8+ {
and winning the queen is good enough}) 20. Bg6 Bd6 ({or} 20... a5 21. Qh8+ Bg8
22. Qh6#) 21. Qh8+ Ke7 22. Qg7+ Bf7 23. Rfe1+ Ne5 24. Bxf7 Rxf7 25. Qg5+ Kf8
26. Qh6+ Ke7 27. Nd4 Qh8 ({or} 27... a5 28. Nf3 {and White recovers his piece
with a winning attack - Black's king is simply too exposed}) 28. Nc6+ $1 bxc6
29. Qxd6+ Ke8 30. Rxe5+ {and mates soon.}) 14. bxc3 Re8 15. Nd4 Qd7 16. Rb1 {
Karpov is in the saddle with his trademark small but enduring edge: White has
a dominant knight in the centre, which Timman can't stand for long - but when
he exchanges it he straightens out White's pawns. Karpov also has more space,
due to the advanced central pawn at e5, and pressure down the b-file. Black
has a solid but rather passive position, and he has no effective way to attack
the doubletons. In short, Timman can only look forward to a long and painful
defence, and that's what he gets!} Nxd4 {This might be too obliging;} (16...
Rab8 {, simply waiting, is Mr. Fritz's recommendation, but it's difficult for
a human just to remain passive and worse like this.}) 17. cxd4 Rec8 18. Bd2 Rc7
19. Ba5 b6 20. Bb4 {Karpov ticks off another small accomplishment - he
exchanges off Black's better bishop.} Bxb4 21. Rxb4 Bg4 22. Qe1 Bh5 23. Rb3 Qg4
24. Rc3 $1 {This trade also favours White, who is left with the only active
rook. Imagine playing against this with nothing to hope for but "maybe I can
make a draw if I never ever make a mistake in the next 80 moves"!} Rxc3 25.
Qxc3 Rc8 26. Qb4 Bg6 27. Qe7 a5 28. h3 Qe6 29. Qa3 h6 30. Rf2 Rc7 31. Kh2 Qc6
32. Bxg6 Qxg6 33. Qf3 Qe6 34. Qg3 Kf8 ({Black must be extra careful, as
White's pawn wedge gives him kingside chances; e.g.} 34... a4 35. Rf6 $1 {.})
35. c3 {White has consolidated his space advantage - Timman continues his
sterling but tiring defence.} Rc6 36. Rf4 Rc4 37. Rg4 g5 38. Qd3 f5 39. exf6
Qxf6 40. Rg3 Kg7 41. Rf3 Qd6+ 42. Kg1 b5 43. h4 $1 gxh4 ({
The patient Karpov has finally launched his attack and the variation} 43... g4
$6 44. Re3 Qc6 45. Qf5 {
, winning, shows just how quickly things could go south.}) 44. Qf5 Qe7 45. Kh2
{White has the safe king.} Rc6 46. Qxd5 Qd6+ $2 {
Timman, only human, finally makes a mistake.} ({Correct is} 46... Qc7+ 47. Kh3
Rxc3 48. Rxc3 Qxc3+ 49. Kxh4 {and it's not clear that White wins the queen
ending, despite being first on the block with a passed pawn.}) 47. Qxd6 Rxd6
48. a3 Rc6 49. Kh3 Rc4 ({Both} 49... Rg6 $5 {...}) 50. Kxh4 Kg6 ({and} 50...
Ra4 51. Rf5 Rxa3 52. Rxb5 Rxc3 53. Rxa5 {give Black some drawing chances.}) 51.
Kh3 Kg5 52. d5 $1 Rc7 53. d6 $1 {
Passed pawns must be pushed! Any hope of a draw for Black is gone.} Rd7 54. Rd3
{Karpov wins in classic style.} Kf5 55. Kh4 Ke4 56. Rd1 Ke5 57. Kh5 ({
White is faster after} 57. Kh5 Rxd6 58. Rxd6 Kxd6 59. Kxh6 Kd5 60. g4 Kc4 61.
g5 Kxc3 62. g6 b4 63. axb4 axb4 64. g7 b3 65. g8=Q b2 66. Qh7 {and all my
students can win this one! --- Attacking chess doesn't have to start on move
1! Karpov's patient approach can be equally lethal - the game may be longer,
but one point is one point. --- As for the opening, 7 Nb3 can't be recommended
whole-heartedly in view of Geller's ...a7-a5 idea - but Black has to know
this! Even Ivanchuk scored easily with Nb3, though he later switched to the
more precise 7 Nf3. However, before we get to that critical line, let's take a
look at the sideline 7 Nxc6.}) 1-0

[Event "Czech Championship, Bratislava"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Louma, J."]
[Black "Foltys, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B58"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "1948.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nxc6 {
Generally considered bad in the Sicilian, as it brings a black pawn toward the
centre, but very interesting in this precise position: White has a clear
d-file for pressure on the somewhat loose d6-pawn and the possibility of
kingside play with a later f2-f4.} bxc6 8. Qd3 {The Czech master Josef Louma's
idea, which is best in my opinion. The queen pressures d6 and might slide
across to g3, while f2-f4 will come in later. Still, this is not the only
move.} ({
The independent IM, Bjarke Sahl, also featured in 'Slay the Spanish', has tried
} 8. O-O {and won both by positional play and speculative attack after} Be7 9.
Kh1 O-O 10. f4 Rb8 {and now:} 11. -- (11. Qe1 $5 {(the speculative attack)}
exf4 12. Bxf4 Rxb2 13. Bc4 Rb7 14. Rd1 {and White had pressure for the pawn
and eventually won in B.Sahl-I.V.Ivanov, Saint John 1988.}) (11. b3 {
(positional - White shuts off Black's b-file play)} Qc7 12. Be3 exf4 13. Bxf4
Nd7 14. Na4 Nb6 15. Nc5 Nd7 16. Nxd7 Bxd7 17. Qd2 Rbd8 18. Rad1 Be6 19. c4 {
(Black is tied down to the weakness at d6)} c5 20. Bg3 Rd7 21. Rf3 Qb7 22. Qe3
Re8 23. h3 Qc7 24. Be1 Bf8 25. Qf2 Rde7 26. Bc3 Bc8 27. Rg3 $1 {
(White switches to a kingside attack and wins stylishly)} Re6 28. Bg4 Rg6 29.
Bf5 Rxg3 30. Qxg3 h6 31. Rf1 Bxf5 32. exf5 Kh7 33. Qd3 Qc6 34. Rf4 Qd7 35. Rg4
f6 36. Kg1 Rd8 37. Qd5 Re8 38. Bxf6 $1 Re1+ 39. Kf2 Rc1 40. Bxg7 h5 41. Rg3 Qe7
42. Be5 {1-0 B.Sahl-E.Gausel, Skei 1993. Given a choice, in this particular
case I like 'b' - the positional line - rather than the riskier speculation.} (
42. --))) 8... Be7 ({Black is unable to free himself with} 8... d5 {, as after}
9. exd5 cxd5 10. Bg5 $1 {his centre collapses in all variations:} -- (10... Be7
11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Qxd5 {snaps off a pawn and no compensation can be found.}) (
10... Be6 11. O-O-O Rb8 (11... d4 12. Qb5+ Bd7 13. Qxe5+ {is no better}) 12.
Bxf6 gxf6 13. Nxd5 {again snags a button.}) (10... d4 11. Qb5+ {
and the e-pawn goes with check.}) (10... e4 11. Qb5+ Bd7 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Qxd5
{and a second pawn will drop as well. --- The white queen is ideally posted at
d3 in all these lines, setting up both Qb5+ and 0-0-0. --- In general, one of
the key factors in the Boleslavsky is whether ...d6-d5 is possible or not.
White's policy is restraint, which doesn't necessarily mean prevention: White
can often allow this advance in order to obtain some other advantage.})) 9. O-O
O-O (9... d5 {still doesn't work:} 10. exd5 cxd5 11. Qg3 {
with too many threats; e.g.} O-O 12. Qxe5 {with a pawn,} ({while} 12. Rd1 {
might be even stronger.})) ({If Black plays quietly, one must remember that
the f2-f4 break is key to Louma's system. Take a look at the following game as
a cautionary tale:} 9... Nd7 10. Qg3 ({I'd throw in} 10. f4 {right now!}) 10...
O-O 11. Bh6 Bf6 12. Rad1 Nc5 13. Bc4 Ne6 14. Bc1 Nd4 15. Qd3 Qb6 16. Kh1 Be6
17. Bxe6 fxe6 {(White's game is lifeless because he never broke with f2-f4,
which is necessary to create f-file play and often pressure on d6 after ...
e5xf4 and Bxf4)} 18. b3 Rad8 19. Be3 Qb7 20. Na4 Nb5 21. c4 Nd4 22. c5 d5 {
(Black gets this in safely and assumes the advantage)} 23. f4 {
(too late! Black no longer has a weakness at d6)} Nb5 24. fxe5 Bxe5 25. Bg5
Rde8 26. g3 Rf7 27. Bf4 Bd4 28. Be3 Bf6 29. Bf4 Ref8 30. Kg2 Bd4 31. exd5 exd5
32. Bd6 Rf2+ {and Black owned the f-file and soon won in E.Bogoljubow-S.Gligoric, Birmingham 1951.}) 10. Rd1 ({Louma experimented with} 10. Bg5 {
with good effect - the whole system is unexplored:} Rb8 11. b3 Be6 12. Rad1 Qa5
{and now White can get some advantage with} 13. Qg3 ({
instead of the decentralizing} 13. Na4 {of J.Louma-A.Gragger, Vienna 1949})
13... d5 14. Bh6 ({but not} 14. Qxe5 $2 Nd7 15. Qg3 Bxg5 16. Qxg5 Qxc3 {
and Black wins a piece}) 14... Ne8 15. Bd2 Qc5 16. b4 $1 Qd6 (16... Rxb4 $6 17.
exd5 cxd5 18. Nxd5 {produces winning discoveries}) 17. f4 $1 {(always key)}
dxe4 18. a3 $1 {with an excellent attack for White.}) 10... Nd7 ({If} 10... Qc7
{then best is} 11. Qg3 {
(preventing counterplay with ...Ng4 while smiling at the black king)} Kh8 12.
f4 $1 {and White gets his break in with an edge.}) 11. Be3 Nb6 12. a4 Be6 (
12... a5 13. -- (13. b3 {is given without comment in 'Starting Out: Classical
Sicilian', but what we're looking at here is a weak player unfamiliar with the
ideas of the position - against the great Smyslov! Here's that mismatch for a
second cautionary tale:} f5 14. f3 Kh8 15. Kh1 Be6 16. Qd2 Qc7 17. Qe1 Nd7 18.
Rab1 fxe4 19. Nxe4 d5 {(White is positionally crushed)} 20. Ng5 Bg8 21. Qg3
Rae8 22. c4 h6 23. Bd3 d4 24. Bd2 Nc5 25. Bg6 Bxg5 26. Bxg5 Re6 27. Bd2 Rff6
28. Bh5 Bh7 {(now things are worse)} 29. Rb2 Nd3 30. Ra2 Qb6 31. b4 axb4 32. a5
Qa6 33. Bg4 Re8 34. Raa1 b3 35. h4 b2 36. Rab1 Qxc4 37. Kh2 Qa2 38. h5 c5 39.
Qh4 c4 40. Bd7 Ref8 {0-1 R.Ortega-V.Smyslov, Havana 1964.}) ({. Of course if
you don't play actively against Gligoric or Smyslov, you will be destroyed -
again f2-f4 is required, so instead of 13 b3? (my comment!) White should play} 
13. f4 $1 Qc7 ({Smyslov's} 13... f5 {doesn't work here, as the simple} 14. fxe5
{gives White a big plus}) 14. Qd2 {with a typical slight edge.})) 13. b3 {
White shuts off Black's queenside play and...} a5 14. f4 {Breaks!} f6 ({
Black should probably try to free himself at the cost of one weakness, though
that may not cure everything:} 14... exf4 15. Bxf4 d5 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5
cxd5 18. Be3 {and White has a Carlsen position where he can play all night -
as I will note in a future book, Magnus often wins against a single weakness,
not two as old books claim is necessary.}) 15. f5 Bf7 16. Bf3 {
A typical anti-Boleslavsky idea: the black centre is under restraint.} Qc7 17.
Qe2 Rfd8 18. Qf2 Rab8 19. Rd2 d5 ({Black can wait with} 19... Qb7 {
but is then under pressure from} 20. Rad1 {.}) 20. Bxb6 Qxb6 $2 {
Missing the coming tactic!} ({Correct is} 20... Rxb6 21. exd5 Bb4 22. Rd3 Bxc3
23. Rxc3 Bxd5 24. Rd1 Be4 25. Rd2 {
, when Black's piece play should balance White's superior pawn structure.}) 21.
Qxb6 Rxb6 22. exd5 Bb4 ({If} 22... cxd5 {then} 23. Nxd5 {nets a pawn.}) 23.
dxc6 $3 {An astonishing Excelsior combination: nothing can be taken without
allowing the new passed c-pawn to go through - White is winning.} Rc8 24. Rad1
$1 Rbb8 ({The knight is still immune, since} 24... Bxc3 25. Rd8+ {
exploits the weak back rank.}) 25. Rd3 {Not bad;} ({but} 25. Nb5 $1 Bxd2 26.
Rxd2 {wins more quickly, as the c-pawn will cost Black big material.}) 25...
Be8 26. Nb5 Bxc6 27. Bxc6 Rxc6 28. Rd8+ Rxd8 29. Rxd8+ Kf7 30. c4 {. Black has
no compensation for the extra pawn. --- Louma's line is certainly worth a try
- though, as we saw, even against good play Black may be able to equalize
against White's initiative (see the note to move 20). Still, since White's
plan is easy - Qd3 and then some combination of Rd1 and f2-f4 - and Black is
under early pressure, I think this would be a terrific surprise weapon. ---
However, from a repertoire standpoint, given the rareness of the Boleslavsky
system, having two lines against it is a bit of an overkill: over 28 games I
faced this system exactly once - and when I finally got my one Boleslavsky I
just went straight for the objectively best 7 Nf3, and that's what we will
look at in the remaining six games of this chapter.} 1-0

[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov, V."]
[Black "Hort, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B58"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "1977.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 {
Best! White doesn't make this knight a target for ...a5-a4 (Nb3) and doesn't
improve Black's centre (Nxc6). White simply prevents ...d6-d5 for the moment
by pressuring e5, and threatens 8 Bg5 which takes over the d5-square.} Be7 $6 {
The top GM Hort overlooks or ignores White's threat!} (7... h6 {is necessary,
as all the books say, and is played about six times more often - but there are
about 300 games in the database with this mistake, and Black immediately
reaches a deplorable situation where he can only hope to draw. --- Against top
opposition Black really has to grovel: after White's follow-up 8 Bg5 we see
that the top twenty of the "Elo White" brigade scores 12 wins against 8 draws
in this line (not a win for Black can be found in this entire group). --- In
this game Hort undergoes awesome suffering, yet nonetheless defends like a
lion and makes his draw - against a less redoubtable foe in the next game, I
enjoy a brisk 29-move walk-over.}) 8. Bg5 {That's it for any ...d6-d5 breaks!
Note too that ...Nxe4 combinations (we saw Tal play one of these in a note to
Karpov-Timman) generally fail here as the g5-bishop is protected by the
f3-knight.} Be6 9. O-O O-O ({Black can try to avoid the following exchange by} 
9... Nd7 {
, but this loss of time gives White interesting tactical opportunities; e.g.}
10. Qd2 f6 11. Be3 Nc5 12. Nh4 g6 13. Bf3 f5 14. exf5 Bc4 ({
a drastic attack is seen after} 14... gxf5 15. Bh5+ Kf8 16. Bxc5 dxc5 17. Qh6+
Kg8 18. Qxe6+ Kg7 19. Nxf5+ Kf8 20. Qf7#) 15. Rfe1 Bxh4 16. Bxc5 dxc5 17. Bxc6+
bxc6 18. Qf4 $1 {with a surprising and decisive fork.}) 10. Bxf6 {This simple
move gives White an enduring edge and, against a lesser defender than Hort,
would have been good enough to win.} ({
Nonetheless, a modern GM has found an improvement:} 10. a3 $1 {- Ivanchuk
s with this: he waits and makes a useful move, with the plan of keeping the
queens on, no doubt well aware of the present game, where opposite-coloured
bishops ultimately saved Black. As we'll see, if the queens are on, the
opposite bishops may actually be a liability for Black, as White enjoys
excellent attacking chances:} h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. Qxd5 Qb6 14.
Qa2 {(the point of a2-a3!)} Ne7 15. c3 Qc6 16. Bd3 Rfd8 17. Rfe1 Rac8 18. Rad1
b5 19. Bc2 Rc7 20. Bb3 {(White has full control of the weakness at d5 and the
much better bishop: Ivanchuk can grind away until death - of his opponent that
is!)} Nc8 21. g3 g6 22. h4 Kg7 23. Nh2 Nb6 24. Ng4 Qd7 25. Ne3 Qh3 26. Rd3 Rf8
27. Qb1 Be7 28. Qd1 Qc8 29. Rd2 Rd8 30. Qf3 {
(with queens on, Black can hardly hold all his weaknesses)} Rf8 31. Red1 h5 32.
Qe2 a6 33. Ra1 Rc5 34. Kh2 Nd7 35. Nd5 Bd8 36. a4 Qb7 37. axb5 axb5 38. Rad1
Rc8 39. Bc2 Nf6 40. Nxf6 Bxf6 41. Rxd6 Be7 42. R6d5 b4 43. c4 Qb8 44. Ba4 Rfd8
45. Bd7 Rc5 46. Bb5 Rcc8 47. Qd2 Qb6 48. Kg2 Ra8 49. b3 Rxd5 50. exd5 Bd6 51.
Ba4 Ra7 52. Re1 Re7 53. Qb2 Bc5 54. Rxe5 $1 {
(ultimately mobilizing the passed pawns)} Bd4 55. Qxd4 Qxd4 56. Rxe7 Kf6 57.
Re3 Kg7 58. Bd7 Kf8 (58... f5 {is the last hope for a draw, but in a
one-session game Black is unlikely to be defending at full strength by this
point in the game!}) 59. Bh3 $1 Kg7 60. Kg1 f5 61. Bf1 Kf7 62. Rd3 $1 {
(with the rook behind the passed pawn, Black has no hope)} Qa7 63. d6 Ke8 64.
Rd5 Qa8 65. Re5+ Kd8 66. c5 Qa1 67. Re7 Qc1 68. Rc7 f4 69. gxf4 Qd1 70. c6 Qg4+
71. Bg2 Qxf4 72. Bh3 {1-0 V.Ivanchuk-N.Delgado Ramirez, Havana 2005.}) 10...
Bxf6 11. Nd5 Bxd5 {The best practical try;} ({after} 11... Rc8 12. c3 Bg5 13.
Nxg5 Qxg5 14. Qd3 {White has the usual annoying plus, but Black has no hope of
a saving opposite bishop ending.}) 12. Qxd5 Qb6 13. Qb3 {
White doesn't have the a2-square!} Nd4 $1 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. Qxb6 axb6 {
Black's pawn structure is a mess, but Hort got the queens off and opposite
bishops are a powerful drawing tool. I doubt this would be held in sudden
death today though.} 16. Bc4 Rfc8 17. Bb3 b5 18. f4 Rc7 19. Rae1 Re8 20. Re2 d3
$1 {Passive play would ultimately be hopeless against Smyslov, so Hort
sacrifices the almost worthless doubleton to activate his bishop.} 21. cxd3
Bd4+ 22. Kh1 Rec8 23. h4 Rc1 24. Rxc1 Rxc1+ {Hort chops wood at every
opportunity and tries to make it to move 40 - when he can analyze overnight
(what luxury!).} 25. Kh2 h5 26. e5 dxe5 27. fxe5 Rc5 28. e6 fxe6 29. Rxe6 Kf8
30. Rb6 Bxb2 31. Rxb7 Bf6 32. g3 Bc3 33. Kg2 b4 34. Rd7 Re5 35. d4 Re7 36. Rd8+
(36. Rxe7 Kxe7 {is most likely an objective draw, even though the black pawn
on h5 makes the second player's defence difficult.}) 36... Re8 37. Rd5 Re3 38.
Rf5+ Ke8 39. d5 Re5 40. Rf3 Re2+ {White has consolidated with a good extra
pawn, but Black has made move 40 and can now go to work with his second!} 41.
Kf1 Re5 42. a4 $1 {A nice trick that would blow your opponent's mind in a
one-session sudden-death game - but Hort was no doubt prepared and has his
defence ready.} Ke7 43. Bc4 Re4 44. Rf4 Rxf4+ 45. gxf4 Bf6 46. a5 Kd6 47. a6
Kc7 {. Black's king arrives just in time. --- I believe the main game would
win for White nine times out of ten in one-session play, and Ivanchuk's
improvement makes Black's task even more difficult! --- Yes, at the GM level
Black might make a draw, but what about a somewhat less exalted rating plain?
Let's see the next game.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "SCCF Championship, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Gutman, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B58"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 ({
I considered playing Louma's} 7. Nxc6 {, but I thought I might never get
another 6...e5, so I should play the objectively best move...}) 7... Be7 {
And was immediately rewarded! People don't know their Boleslavsky!} 8. Bg5 Be6
9. O-O a6 ({If} 9... O-O {, I was ready with} 10. a3 $1 {.}) 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11.
Nd5 {White has conquered d5 and one can't see anything Black got out of it:
the white knight looks better than both black bishops!} Ne7 {
So Black tries to get rid of it!} ({If instead} 11... O-O {, then} 12. Nxf6+ (
12. c3 {is possible with a typical plus-equals squeeze position}) 12... Qxf6 (
12... gxf6 {is ugly but necessary}) 13. Qxd6 Qf4 14. Rfe1 {
and no compensation for the pawn can be found, as} Qxe4 {fails to} 15. Bxa6 {.}
) ({Another try is} 11... Bxd5 12. Qxd5 Qc7 13. c3 O-O 14. Nd2 Rad8 15. Bf3 Bg5
16. Rfd1 {, but then White had the typical annoying pull with Black having no
compensation for the weaknesses at d5 and d6 - White converted in 36 moves in
W.Kobese-Cho.Stanley, African Championship, Cairo 1998.}) 12. Nxf6+ gxf6 13.
Qd2 {I spotlight the pawns at d6 and f6.} Qc7 ({Black can't free himself:} 
13... d5 14. Qh6 $1 dxe4 15. Rad1 Nd5 ({or} 15... Qc7 16. Qxf6 {
with destruction}) 16. c4 $1 exf3 17. Bxf3 {and White recovers his piece with
an overwhelming positional advantage, as Black is unlikely ever to castle in
this game.}) 14. Rfd1 Rd8 (14... O-O-O {is relatively best, but after} 15. c4 {
White has locked down d5 and retains the safer king.}) 15. c4 $1 {Since the c-p
awn is immune, Black will not be getting ...d6-d5 in any time soon!} Ng6 16.
Rac1 Rd7 17. g3 h5 18. h4 f5 19. Ng5 ({Perhaps} 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Re1 Rg8 21.
Ng5 f6 22. Qd5 {is simpler, when Black's position is full of holes.}) 19... f4
20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rc3 ({Another way is} 21. c5 dxc5 22. Qxd7+ Qxd7 23. Rxd7
Kxd7 24. Rxc5 Kd6 25. Rc3 {with a big endgame plus, but I wanted to "Fracture
him!" Fischer-style in the middlegame.}) 21... Qc5 22. Kg2 fxg3 (22... Ke7 {
is necessary, but White follows with something like Bf3 and a2-a3/b2-b4 -
ultimately Black is fighting a losing battle, in view of his weaknesses at d6
and h5 and unsafe king in the middle.}) 23. fxg3 Rg7 24. Qxd6 $1 Qxd6 ({
White refutes the demonstration} 24... Nxh4+ 25. Kh3 Qf2 {with} 26. Bxh5+ $1
Rxh5 27. Qxe6+ Re7 (27... Kf8 28. Rd8# {is drastic}) 28. Qg8+ Qf8 29. Rd8+ Kxd8
30. Qxf8+ {, winning the queen.}) 25. Rxd6 {So I got an ending after all - but
Black's pawns are so weak, there is no doubt White has a winning position.} Ke7
({The same counter also fails here:} 25... Nxh4+ 26. Kh3 Ng6 27. Rcd3 $1 {
, when White forces the exchange of rooks and wins cleanly; e.g.} Rh6 28. Rd8+
Ke7 29. R3d7+ Kf6 30. Rxg7 Kxg7 31. Rd7+ {etc.}) 26. Rb6 Nf4+ 27. Kf1 (27. Kf3
$2 Rxg3+ {was evidently Black's hope.}) 27... Nxe2 28. Kxe2 Kf6 ({
The simple variation} 28... Rb8 29. Rcb3 Kf6 30. c5 Rc7 31. c6 {
demonstrates that Black's position is indefensible.}) 29. Rf3+ {. Pawns start
dropping, the first with check. --- It's interesting how the same mistake (7...Be7) is still being played today at every level - despite the warnings against
same in every opening book, with this being one more! Bronstein called the
Boleslavsky a "well-rutted road" in his Zürich 1953 book, but it seems today
everyone is on the Najdorf superhighway and they don't remember that rutted
road at all!} 1-0

[Event "Bern"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1987.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Geller, E."]
[Black "Gast, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B58"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "1987.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 h6 $1 {
Correct!} 8. O-O Be7 {How should White proceed, now that Black has managed
eight correct moves? It's not an exaggeration to say that the entire game
revolves around the d5-square. This hole is both Black's problem and White's
jumping-off point. Black wants to play ...d6-d5 "for free". White wants to
restrain this break, either by physically preventing it, or by allowing it in
return for some other advantage. --- Now what about jumping into this square?
White can usually do this with his knight, but must weigh the benefits of the
exchange that can ensue. If White must take back with the pawn, Black's weak
square disappears - but White may get an alternate advantage of an advanced
d-pawn and a strong queenside majority. Geller scores here with this plan and
also uses a similar strategy to defeat Fischer in Chapter Two. --- While White
can play across the whole board (see Kamsky's 10 Nh2 below), he must always
keep the d5 battleground uppermost in his mind.} 9. Re1 {By far the most
popular move: by indirectly pressuring Black's e5-pawn, White makes the ...d6-d5 advance even harder to achieve. --- Of course this restraining move is
not the only one or only plan in the position;} ({
Kamsky shows a very interesting alternate idea:} 9. h3 O-O 10. Nh2 {
(aiming to exchange a defender of d5)} Nd4 11. Ng4 Nxe2+ 12. Qxe2 Nxg4 ({
I think Black should risk} 12... Bxg4 13. hxg4 d5 $5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Rd1 Nc3
16. bxc3 Qc7 {with some compensation for White's extra doubled pawn}) 13. hxg4
Be6 14. Rd1 {(now Black was condemned to a joyless defence where ...d6-d5 was
never possible)} Qd7 15. Nd5 Rfc8 16. Be3 Bg5 17. Bxg5 hxg5 18. Ne3 b5 19. a3
a5 20. Rd2 Rab8 21. Rad1 Rb6 22. Nf5 Bxf5 23. gxf5 Rc4 24. Rd5 Qe7 25. R1d3 g6
26. fxg6 fxg6 27. b3 Rcc6 28. Rg3 Kg7 29. c3 b4 30. axb4 axb4 31. c4 {
(lock the door and throw away the key: ...d6-d5 just isn't happening!)} Ra6 32.
Qd2 Rc8 33. Kf1 Rf8 34. Re3 g4 35. g3 Qf6 36. Kg2 Rb6 37. Red3 g5 38. Rxd6 Rxd6
39. Rxd6 Qf3+ 40. Kg1 Kh7 41. Rd3 Qxe4 42. Qxb4 Qxd3 43. Qxf8 Qxb3 44. Qf5+ Kh6
45. Qxg4 Qc2 46. Qe6+ Kh5 47. Qf7+ Kh6 48. Qd5 e4 49. c5 Kh5 50. Kg2 Kh6 51.
Qe6+ Kg7 52. Qf5 Kh6 53. Qf6+ Kh5 54. Qg7 g4 55. Qf7+ Kh6 56. Qf6+ {1-0 G.Kamsky-A.Zhigalko, European Cup, Plovdiv 2010. After you go through this appalling
grind, you will realize why I think Black should have broken out while he
could!}) 9... O-O ({Since we'll see White prevent the ...Bg4 pin on the next
move, one might wonder if that move is good here:} 9... Bg4 10. h3 {
and it turns out the answer is "No!", for if} Bh5 (10... Be6 {
is just a loss of tempo}) {, White wins a pawn as follows:} 11. Nxe5 $1 Bxe2 ({
or} 11... dxe5 12. Bxh5) 12. Nxc6 Bxd1 13. Nxd8 Bxc2 14. Nxb7 O-O (14... Rb8
15. Nxd6+ Bxd6 16. e5 {wins by fork}) 15. Bf4 Rfb8 16. Nxd6 Rxb2 17. Re2 {
and Black has no real compensation.}) 10. h3 Re8 11. Bf1 {This set-up is what
White is aiming for: ...d6-d5 is prevented, the e5-pawn is pressured
indirectly, the pin ...Bg4 is prevented and so the d4-square is held - all in
all a slight edge for those who enjoy Karpovian grinding!} Bf8 12. b3 {
Often in the Sicilian Black can play ...Na5-c4 with a good outpost on his half
open file, but not here!} a6 13. Bb2 b5 14. Qd2 Bb7 {In this and the following
game Black fianchettoes his queen's bishop, while in the next two games we'll
see ...Be6.} 15. Rad1 {White is better: our friend Mr. Fritz gives White a
solid plus-equals. In human terms the advantage is easy to explain: White can
improve his position (the break a2-a4, the advance Nd5, even Kamsky manoeuvres
like Nh2-g4 - whereas Black is bereft of active play. If this is the best
Black can do with the Boleslavsky, then no wonder so many switch to the Dragon
on move six!} Rc8 16. a4 bxa4 {
This slight weakening of the pawn structure increases White's edge.} ({
better is the more active} 16... b4 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. Qxd5 ({but not} 18. exd5
Ne7 19. Qxb4 Bxd5 {and Black stands well, as the tactic} 20. Nxe5 $6 dxe5 21.
c4 {fails to} Nc6) 18... Qb6 19. Bc4 Nd8 20. Qd3 {, when White still owns d5,
but the advanced b-pawn gives Black some hope of c-file counterplay.}) 17. Nxa4
Qc7 18. c4 $1 {As in my game against Gutman, and Kamsky's grind above, this
"lockdown" move, securing d5, is often very strong for White in the
Boleslavsky.} Nd8 19. Nc3 Qb6 20. Rb1 Ne6 ({Of course not} 20... Qxb3 21. Bc1 {
, winning at least a piece.}) 21. Nd5 $1 {Geller always liked this plan: his
knight is too strong and so will be exchanged, when a transition of advantages
occurs: the weak d5-square vanishes, but White obtains space and a dangerous
queenside majority.} Bxd5 ({If} 21... Nxd5 22. exd5 Nf4 {then} 23. Ra1 Be7 ({
not} 23... Qxb3 24. Reb1 {with a deadly discovery coming}) 24. Ra4 {
and White activates the queenside pawns.}) 22. exd5 Nc5 23. b4 $5 {
A little impetuous, as Black now has a tactical opportunity.} ({
I would prefer the more solid} 23. Re3 Rb8 24. Ba3 a5 (24... Nxb3 25. Qd1 {
wins by pin}) 25. Qc2 g6 26. Nd2 Bg7 27. Rbe1 Re7 28. Bd3 Nfd7 29. Rg3 {
, when White retains his queenside plus while also threatening a dangerous
kingside sac on g6.}) 23... Ncd7 $6 {This retreat is fatal. Given White's
alarming positional advantages - two bishops, queenside majority, Black
weaknesses at a6, d6, etc - Black's only hope is tactical counterplay.} ({
Therefore the bold} 23... Nce4 $1 {must be tried:} 24. -- (24. Qe3 Qxb4 ({not} 
24... Qxe3 $2 25. Rxe3 {
, when White retains his positional advantages at no cost}) 25. Bxe5 dxe5 $1 {
(Black's point)} 26. Rxb4 Bxb4 27. Ra1 Bc5 28. Qe2 Bxf2+ 29. Kh2 Bg3+ 30. Kh1
Bf4 31. Kg1 Ng3 {
and in this case Black's rook, knight and pawn are compensation for the queen.}
) (24. Qc2 Ng3 25. Qb3 Nxf1 26. Kxf1 a5 27. b5 Nd7 {and Black holds.})) 24. Ba3
{I'm sorry, my friend, but you do not get another chance.} Qb7 25. Red1 Nb6 26.
Qa2 Qa8 27. Bc1 Nbd7 28. Be3 a5 ({
If Black continues to play quietly, then something like this will occur:} 28...
g6 29. Nd2 Bg7 30. Nb3 Ne4 31. Qc2 f5 32. Na5 {and White's coming Nc6 gives
him a decisive positional advantage; Black will have to sac the ox on c6 and
still not get enough - but I doubt the game's pawn sac is any better: Black
simply had to go into the mêlée with the potential queen sac on move 23.}) 29.
bxa5 {Just take it!} Ne4 30. Qc2 Nec5 31. Rb5 Rb8 32. Ra1 Qa6 33. Nd2 Qc8 34.
Nb3 Na6 35. Rc1 Qc7 36. Qb1 g6 37. Bd3 Kh7 38. g4 $1 {
White takes over the entire board.} Ra8 39. Kg2 Reb8 40. h4 Kg8 41. g5 $1 {
This positionally binding move prevents ...Bf6 in the future: Geller sees that
his d-pawn will become passed.} hxg5 42. hxg5 Bg7 43. Be4 Qd8 44. Rc3 Nc7 45.
Rxb8 Qxb8 46. Rc1 Na6 47. c5 $1 dxc5 48. d6 Ra7 49. Nxc5 Qxb1 50. Bxb1 Naxc5
51. Rxc5 $1 {Geller is too cool for school!} Ra6 ({
A little demonstration of the crushing nature of White's game is} 51... Nxc5
52. Bxc5 Rxa5 53. d7 Ra8 54. Bb6 {
etc, as Black can't even defend the queening square with} Bf6 {.}) 52. Bd3 Rxd6
53. Rc8+ Bf8 54. Bc4 {. The a-pawn goes through. --- This is what happens when
Black does not fight back - quiet play just invites White to demonstrate, as
here, a positional walk-over.} 1-0

[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1987.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Geller, E."]
[Black "Benjamin, Joe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B58"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "1987.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 h6 8. O-O
Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. h3 Re8 11. Bf1 Bf8 12. b3 (12. Nh2 $5 {
, Kamsky-style, can also be played here.}) 12... a6 13. Bb2 b6 {Mindful of the
Geller's a2-a4 break seen in the previous game, Black plays with restraint -
but this also gives White a free hand.} 14. Qd2 Bb7 15. Rad1 Rc8 16. Nd5 $1 {
You can't get simpler than this: line up and play Nd5. And yet, despite the
simplicity, this plan is very hard to meet - let's watch Geller score again.}
Nxd5 17. exd5 ({Geller is not interested in the complications after} 17. Qxd5 {
, though this is also playable:} Nb4 18. Qxb7 Re7 19. Qxc8 Qxc8 20. c3 Nc6 21.
Rxd6 Re6 22. Rd5 {and White has good play for the queen.}) 17... Nb8 18. c4 {
This is what he wants! White gets a clear space advantage, shuts off Black's
queenside minor pieces, and obtains his favourite queenside majority.} Nd7 19.
Nh2 ({I think White should take e4 under control and play on the whole board
(I also offered the same type of advice in my note to move 23 in the previous
game, but Geller didn't listen to me then either!) - anyway, I'll give this a
try if I ever get this position:} 19. Bd3 $5 {
(aiming at the king while Black is locked down on the queenside)} g6 20. h4 f5
({not} 20... Nc5 21. h5 Nxd3 22. Qxd3 f5 ({or} 22... g5 23. Nd2 {
with a positional advantage due to the hole at f5}) 23. hxg6 e4 24. Qc3 {
and White wins on the long diagonal}) 21. h5 $1 e4 22. hxg6 exd3 23. Qc3 Ne5
24. Nxe5 Bg7 25. Qxd3 dxe5 26. Qxf5 {
and White has a terrific attack for the piece.}) 19... Rc7 20. Kh1 Bc8 21. f4
exf4 $2 {Now Black has no resource against White's pressure on the long
diagonal and e-file.} ({Better was} 21... e4 {with counterplay; e.g.} 22. Ng4
Nc5 {and Black has both ...Qh4 and a possible vacating sac with ...e4-e3 on
the agenda.}) 22. Rxe8 Qxe8 23. Re1 Ne5 24. Qxf4 f6 {Painful but necessary.}
25. a4 Qg6 26. Qf2 Nd3 27. Bxd3 Qxd3 28. Qf3 Qc2 29. Bd4 b5 $6 {
Black can't afford to give his opponent a passed pawn.} ({Instead} 29... Qd2
30. Rd1 Qb4 31. Qd3 {is of course good for White, but Black is still playing.})
30. axb5 axb5 31. cxb5 Qd2 32. Rd1 Qg5 33. b6 {This pawn will win the game -
Benjamin's desperate kingside counterplay falls short.} Re7 34. Nf1 f5 35. Ne3
f4 36. Nc4 h5 37. Rf1 Rf7 38. Be3 Qh4 39. Bf2 Qe7 40. Re1 Qg5 41. Re8 Bg4 42.
Qd3 $1 {Precise: White is only willing to take the bishop if the recapture
does not gain a tempo on the queen.} Bf5 43. Qe2 Qg6 ({Now} 43... Bg4 {fails to
} 44. hxg4 $1 hxg4 45. Qe6 g3 46. Nxd6 gxf2 ({or} 46... Qh4+ 47. Kg1 gxf2+ 48.
Kf1 Qh1+ 49. Kxf2 Qh4+ 50. Kg1 {and Black runs out of checks}) 47. Rxf8+ Kh7
48. Rh8+ $1 Kxh8 49. Nxf7+ Kh7 50. Nxg5+ Kh8 51. Qc8# {.}) 44. Kh2 Kh7 45. b7 {
The passed pawn wins by itself!} Rxb7 46. Rxf8 Rxb3 47. Nd2 Rd3 48. Nf3 Rxd5
49. Nh4 ({Black resigns in view of} 49. Nh4 Qg5 ({or} 49... Re5 50. Qb2 (50.
Rh8+ {also wins of course}) 50... Qe6 51. Qb8 Kh6 52. Rxf5 Rxf5 53. Qh8+ Kg5
54. Qxg7+ Qg6 55. Qxg6#) 50. Nxf5 Rxf5 51. Qd3 g6 (51... Kg6 52. Bh4 {
wins the queen}) 52. h4 Qg4 53. Rb8 Rf7 54. Qd5 Qf5 55. Bd4 $1 {
and there is no good answer to Rh8 mate.}) 1-0

[Event "Sarajevo"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Georgiev, Kir"]
[Black "Kozul, Z."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B58"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2001.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 h6 8. O-O
Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. h3 Be6 11. Bf1 Nb8 {This is the approved modern line, but
Black's game is still not easy. The idea seems to be to reposition the knight
to d7 (although that doesn't happen here);} ({while avoiding} 11... Rc8 12. Nd5
{, after which White, snaring one of the black bishops (} Nxd5 {
is clearly impossible due to the fork on d5), scores about 65%.}) 12. b3 a6 13.
a4 Qc7 ({The consistent} 13... Nbd7 {
will be seen in the next and final game of this chapter.}) 14. Bb2 Nc6 {
Changing his mind, but that's a couple of tempi just tossed away - no doubt
this encouraged White to sac material and go for a quick attack.} 15. Qd2 Rac8
16. a5 $5 {Presumably Black's idea was to prevent this advance! While this
sacrifice is evidently quite strong, and I like the psychological aspect of it
- prevent a4-a5 - ? Ha! Here it comes!} ({
White can also play more simply with the Geller-style} 16. Nd5 {. After} Bxd5
17. exd5 Nb8 18. c4 a5 {Black can try to blockade the majority, but in the
long run I think White will break through anyway with b3-b4, and the two
bishops can cause trouble; e.g.} 19. b4 Na6 20. Qe3 {and White can play across
the whole board, while Black has a difficult defensive task.}) 16... Nxa5 17.
Nd5 Bxd5 {Obviously forced.} 18. exd5 {
Black has the classic bad knight on the rim, which is simply unable to move.}
Bd8 {Black is forced into this passive defence, and it's obvious White has
good compensation for the "insignificant unit"!} ({
A quick calculation shows that} 18... Qxc2 {loses to} 19. Rxa5 Qxd2 20. Nxd2
Rc2 21. Nc4 b5 22. Bd3 {.}) 19. Bd3 b5 ({
Gofshtein on ChessBase recommends the counter-sacrifice} 19... e4 {
, but then I like the counter-counter-sacrifice} 20. Rxe4 $1 {
, which Gofshtein doesn't mention} (20. Bxe4 Nxe4 21. Rxe4 Qxc2 {
was Black's idea}) {. After} 20... Nxe4 21. Bxe4 {White's bishops are alarming
and the black knight is still a "witness for the prosecution" - White has more
than enough for the exchange.}) 20. Ra2 {
Indirectly defending c2 and preparing to double against the bad knight.} e4 {
Trying for activity;} ({if} 20... Re8 {then} 21. Bf5 Ra8 22. Rea1 g6 23. Bd3 e4
24. Rxa5 ({but not} 24. Qxh6 exd3 25. Ng5 dxc2 {and there is no mate!}) 24...
exd3 25. cxd3 {
and White stands better in view of Black's weak pawns at a6 and h6.}) 21. Bxf6
$1 {Simple and strong: White recovers his pawn with the better game.} Bxf6 ({If
} 21... exd3 {,} 22. Bxd8 {wins a piece as the bad knight loses its protector.}
) 22. Rxe4 {White has his pawn back with a strong opposite bishops attack - as
has been pointed out many times, in such positions the defender's bishop can
be completely useless, as the attack is coming on squares that bishop can't
cover.} Bc3 23. Qf4 Rfe8 24. b4 Nc4 25. Rxa6 Bxb4 {Black restores material
equality, but that won't do him much good, as the white pieces are beginning
to swarm around his king.} 26. Rc6 Qb7 27. Nd4 Ra8 28. Nf5 {
White has a winning attack.} Bc3 ({One pretty variation is} 28... Bd2 29. Rxe8+
Rxe8 30. Qd4 Re5 31. Bxc4 Rxf5 32. Bd3 Re5 33. Qa7 $3 {winning the queen,
which highlights the utter helplessness of Black's bishop against the light
square attack.}) 29. Bxc4 Rxe4 30. Qxe4 bxc4 31. Nxd6 {
Now it's the queen and knight attacking machine that finishes things.} Qb1+ 32.
Kh2 Qf1 33. Qf5 Rf8 34. Rc8 Rxc8 35. Qxc8+ Kh7 36. Qf5+ Kh8 37. Nxf7+ Kg8 38.
d6 $1 Qd1 39. d7 Bf6 40. Qxf6 $1 {. White wins a clean piece. --- Black's
stutter-step (...Nc6-b8-c6) certainly didn't help his cause in the previous
game, so now we go to the main line where Black is at least consistent with ...Nc6-b8-d7.} 1-0

[Event "Dos Hermanas"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2005.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Felgaer, R."]
[Black "Illescas Cordoba, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B58"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2005.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 h6 8. O-O
Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. h3 Be6 11. Bf1 Nb8 12. b3 a6 13. a4 Nbd7 {Black has used
three moves to bring this knight here - somehow I remain unterrified! White
has space and the d5-square to play against, while the best one can say for
Black is that he has a solid defensive position. The French GM Apicella has
reached this position six times as White, winning three and drawing three,
which seems about right to me. For example, Shirov drew against him - as for
what happened to some lesser lights, see the note to move 15.} 14. Bb2 Rc8 ({
Black got a painful position after} 14... Re8 15. Nd2 Nc5 16. a5 Rc8 17. g3 Rc7
18. Bg2 {(White puts more pressure on d5, while e5 is indirectly attacked by
the e1-rook and b2-bishop)} Qc8 19. Kh2 Ncd7 20. Qf3 Nb8 21. Red1 Nh7 22. Qd3
Nf6 23. Qf3 Nh7 24. Qd3 Nf6 25. Ra4 Nfd7 26. Qf3 Nc5 27. Raa1 Ncd7 28. Nf1 Nc6
29. Ne2 Nb4 30. c4 Nc5 {and now, instead of the extravagant} 31. g4 {which gave
Black chances and White won in messy fashion in P.Negi-S.Vidit, New Delhi 2009,
} ({the evident} 31. Qc3 {is correct, which gains an important tempo: after}
Nc6 32. Ne3 {White is much better with his d5 domination.})) 15. Nd2 {
White plans Nc4-e3. Yes, Black can break with ...d6-d5, but as so often in the
Boleslavsky, this is problematic in view of White's pressure against e5.} Re8 (
{The aforementioned Apicella has had this further position twice. In one his
opponent tried the critical break} 15... d5 {, but after} 16. exd5 Nxd5 17.
Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Nc4 {one sees that his "freeing move" has led to a weak e-pawn;
when Black shores this up he gets kingside weaknesses:} Be6 19. Qf3 Bb4 20.
Red1 Qc7 21. Qg3 f6 {(looks like Geller-Benjamin!)} 22. Bc1 b5 23. axb5 axb5
24. Ne3 (24. Bxh6 Rf7 25. Na3 {is also good for White}) 24... f5 25. Nd5 Bxd5
26. Rxd5 Nf6 27. Rxb5 Bc5 28. Rxc5 Qxc5 29. Ba3 Qd4 30. Bxf8 Rxf8 31. c3 Qc5
32. b4 {and White emerged with an extra pawn that he converted into a full
point in M.Apicella-J.L.Chabanon, Versailles 2006.}) ({
Apicella also faced continued queen's knight manoeuvres:} 15... Nc5 16. a5 Bd7
17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Bf5 19. b4 Nd7 20. c4 {and while Black has spent five
moves with his knight to reach a square he could have reached in one, White
has set up a classic Gelleresque queenside pawn majority and eventually won in
M.Apicella-Ch.Bernard, Bad Wildbad 1990.}) 16. Nc4 Nb6 17. Ne3 {White has d5
locked down and Black has a truly painful position. Generally speaking, White
will either win or draw with his permanent positional advantage.} Bf8 ({
In my opinion, though nothing is dropping off the board - yet - Black should
recognize how desperate his position really is and sac the exchange:} 17...
Rxc3 18. Bxc3 Nxe4 {, when he obtains an extra centre pawn. I don't for a
minute think this is objectively sound, as here (unlike in the Dragon where
White gets doubled pawns after similar ox sacs) White has a smooth pawn
structure. However, from a practical point of view, Black gets some play and
avoids the appalling grind to come! While Fritz puts White ahead about +0.6
after the sac, there is something to be said for having something to play for
- check out the rest of the game and see if you agree!}) 18. a5 Nbd7 19. Nc4
Rc6 20. Qd2 Nh5 21. Nd5 $1 {Just four moves after Black's one shot at
sacrificial freedom and it's clear he is in dire straits with the Sultans of
Swing nowhere to be found.} Qg5 22. Qxg5 hxg5 23. Rad1 {The torture continues.}
Nf4 24. Rd2 Rec8 25. Ba3 Nf6 {The knight on d5 was too strong, but now White
has two weaknesses to play against.} 26. Nxf6+ gxf6 27. Ne3 Be7 28. Red1 Bd8
29. Bb4 Bc7 30. Nd5 Bd8 31. Ne3 Bc7 32. g3 $1 Ng6 {
Black's one well-placed piece is driven back;} ({as} 32... Nxh3+ {fails to} 33.
Bxh3 Bxh3 34. g4 Kg7 35. Kh2 Rh8 36. Kg3 {and 37 Rh1 wins the bishop. Black is
the higher-rated player (2600+) and yet he has been unable to generate any
play at all with his Boleslavsky.}) 33. Nc4 Kg7 34. Ne3 Rd8 35. Bc4 $1 {
White's pressure is overwhelming, and material will soon fall.} b6 ({If} 35...
Bxh3 {then} 36. Bd5 {wins the exchange.}) 36. axb6 Bxb6 ({Black collapses after
} 36... Rxb6 37. Ba5 Rc6 38. Bxc7 Rxc7 39. Bxe6 fxe6 40. Rxd6 {
, attacking a6 and e6.}) 37. Rxd6 {A key pawn drops.} Rcxd6 38. Rxd6 Rb8 39.
Bxe6 Bxe3 40. fxe3 fxe6 41. Ba5 g4 42. hxg4 Ra8 43. Rxe6 Nf8 44. Re7+ Kg6 45.
c4 Nh7 46. c5 Rc8 47. b4 Ng5 48. Ra7 Nxe4 49. Rxa6 Kg5 50. c6 Kxg4 51. Kg2 Nxg3
52. c7 Ne4 53. Rc6 f5 54. Rc4 Kg5 55. Rxe4 $1 {
Pretty and clean: Black gets no counterplay and the pawns walk through.} fxe4
56. b5 Kh4 57. b6 Rg8+ 58. Kf2 {. --- Black got a miserable game with the
Boleslavsky's "approved main line" and it's not clear how he improves; in
general I agree with Dr. Reuben Fine that White has good positional pressure
against this system. --- I think the chess community is gradually realizing
this as well, as few Sicilian players like to reach the passive main line seen
in this game - therefore, in practice, after 6 Be2 one is far more likely to
get the Dragon (6...g6) rather than 6...e5. --- Summing up, if you do get the
Boleslavsky then it's clear that the objectively best move is the restraining
7 Nf3, when Black has yet to demonstrate equality. One can have fun with 7
Nxc6, but I think Black can hold with precise play. Finally, though it pains
me to say this, one should not try Karpov's 7 Nb3, as Black (if he knows the
idea) gets too much play with ...a7-a5.} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "2. Najdorf Variation"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {. How I miss the
Candidates matches and then the final 24-game battle for the World
Championship! The player who made it through the Candidates was always a
worthy foe for the Champion, and the games of those matches were often classic
battles. All that has sadly been lost when what wasn't broke was "fixed" and
classic chess was replaced by 8-move draws, blitz chess and "poker strategy"!
--- Anyway, going back to these classic battles, let's consider two where
White was renowned as a foe of the Sicilian and Black was renowned as a master
of his Sicilian Labyrinth. The first was Karpov-Polugaevsky from 1974, and the
second was Tal-Polugaevsky from 1980.} 6. -- ({
Let's take the second one first: Tal went headlong into the labyrinth with} 6.
Bg5 {and, in his crucial first White, attacked Polugaevsky's pet variation
with a long prepared sacrificial variation - but Polu's long-prepared defence
triumphed! Let's take a look (see M.Tal-L.Polugaevsky, Alma-Ata match 1980).})
({But what happened in Karpov-Polugaevsky? Karpov avoided the "maelstrom of
forced variations", where Tal and many others have run aground, and played
strong positional chess starting with} 6. Be2 {, instead of 6 Bg5. There were
no forced variations and thus preparation was not important. What mattered was
how the players understood (as opposed to memorized) the position and how they
played the middlegame. And the result? Polugaevsky played the Najdorf in all
of his four Blacks, and Karpov was true to his 6 Be2 in all four of his Whites
- and Karpov scored three wins and just one draw!! --- Certainly there is a
lesson here - and with computers, the lesson is still more pointed. Avoid your
opponent's preparation; play sound, strong chess; above all, just play.}) *

[Event "Candidates match, Alma-Ata"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Tal, M."]
[Black "Polugaevsky, L."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B96"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[EventDate "1980.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5 8. e5
dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 10. Bxb5+ axb5 11. exf6 Qe5+ 12. Qe2 Qxg5 13. Ndxb5 Ra5 $3 {
Would you find this over the board?} 14. fxg7 Bxg7 15. Ne4 Qe5 16. Nbd6+ Ke7
17. O-O f5 18. Rad1 Rd5 19. Qc4 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 fxe4 21. Nxc8+ Kf7 {
What's hilarious to me is that we are still in "theory" here;} ({in this more
recent game Black had twenty moves memorized, but not twenty-one - and loses
in just four:} 21... Kf6 22. Nd6 e3 23. Rf1+ Kg6 24. Qg4+ Qg5 25. Qxe6+ {
1-0 I.Timmermans-P.Chomet, Paris 1999, as White mates in 11, according to the
machine.}) 22. Nd6+ Kg6 23. Nxe4 Na6 {Black makes a developing move!} 24. Nf2
Nc5 25. b4 Na4 26. Ng4 Qf5 27. Ne3 Nb2 28. Qh4 Qe5 29. Qg4+ Kh6 30. Re1 Bf6 31.
b5 Rf8 32. b6 Bg5 33. Qg3 Qxg3 34. hxg3 Kg7 35. Ng4 Nc4 36. Rxe6 Rb8 37. Rc6
Nxb6 38. Rc7+ Kg8 39. c4 Na4 40. Kf2 Rb2+ 41. Kf3 Rxa2 42. Ke4 Re2+ 43. Kf5 Be7
44. Nf6+ Bxf6 45. Kxf6 Nb6 46. g4 Rxg2 47. Kg5 Rd2 48. c5 Nd7 49. c6 Rd5+ 50.
Kh6 Rd6+ 51. Kg5 Ne5 52. Rc8+ Kg7 53. Rc7+ Nf7+ 54. Kf5 h6 55. Ke4 Kf6 56. Rc8
Rd1 57. Rf8 Rd6 58. Rc8 Ng5+ 59. Ke3 Ke7 60. Kf4 Nf7 61. Kg3 Rd3+ 62. Kg2 Rc3
63. Rc7+ Kf6 64. Rc8 Ne5 65. c7 Nf7 66. Rg8 Rxc7 67. Kg3 Rc1 68. Ra8 Ne5 69.
Rf8+ Kg7 70. Rf5 Rc3+ {. Tal falls! Yet the great Misha, undaunted, in his
next White played the following game in the same variation...} 0-1

[Event "Candidates match, Alma-Ata"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Tal, M."]
[Black "Polugaevsky, L."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B96"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "1980.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5 8. e5
dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 10. exf6 Qe5+ 11. Be2 Qxg5 12. Qd3 Qxf6 13. Rf1 Qe5 14. Rd1
Ra7 15. Nf3 Qc7 16. Ng5 f5 17. Qd4 h5 {Do you have any idea what's going on
here? I don't, but I'm sure someone's 64-apple-core processor is working on
it!} 18. Rxf5 exf5 19. Nd5 Qd7 {Still theory of course;} ({
in a slightly later game Black somehow wandered off the track:} 19... Qa5+ 20.
c3 Bd6 21. Nf6+ gxf6 22. Qxf6 Re7 23. Rxd6 Rg8 24. Kf1 Bd7 25. Bxh5+ Kd8 26.
Ne6+ Kc8 27. Qxe7 Qxa2 28. Rxd7 Nxd7 29. Qd6 {
1-0 J.Van der Wiel-H.Grooten, Dutch Championship, Leeuwarden 1981.}) 20. Qh4
Be7 21. Kf1 Bxg5 22. Bxh5+ Kf8 23. Qxg5 Rxh5 24. Qxh5 Qf7 25. Qh8+ Qg8 26. Qh4
Kf7 27. Qh5+ g6 28. Qh4 Qg7 29. Qd8 Be6 30. Qxb8 Rd7 31. c4 bxc4 32. Nc3 Rxd1+
33. Nxd1 Qd4 34. Nc3 Qd3+ 35. Kf2 Qd4+ 36. Kf1 Qd3+ {. --- So Tal made half a
point out of his first two Whites and eventually lost the match. I'm sad for
Tal, but the followers who imitated Polugaevsky amuse me - memories fail
around move twenty and down they go - fast!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates match, Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Polugaevsky, L."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1974.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Unlike 5...Nc6 of the
Classical Variation, this move was not played until the 20th century - in the
19th century they still believed in development!} 6. Be2 e5 {
This is Black's most common move;} ({and not far behind it is} 6... e6 {
with a Scheveningen position, for which see Chapter Four.}) ({
Far back in popularity is the Dragodorf with} 6... g6 {
, covered at the end of the next chapter.}) 7. Nb3 {Here this is correct, for
the situation has varied from the Boleslavsky. Black has lost a tempo (...
a7-a6) on the ...a7-a5 push which was good there;} ({while if White played} 7.
Nf3 {here, Black would not have to spend three moves manoeuvring his queen's
knight to d7, but could gain two tempi by moving it to d7 in one!}) 7... Be7 {
We have now reached our basic Najdorf tabiya. White has no less than five
basic positional plans from this position (as opposed to one forced variation!)
and I will cover all of them in this chapter. --- Here's the list: -- 1.
Karpov's early f2-f4 - this works best if Black has played an early ...Be6 (if
White plays f2-f4 too soon, when the black bishop is still on c8, that cleric
might fianchetto itself and pressure the white e-pawn which can no longer be
defended with f2-f3) and will be covered in this and the next two games. -- 2.
Geller's early Nd5 - just as in the Boleslavsky, Geller liked to get his
knight to d5 as soon as possible and win on the queenside. It's hard to argue
with him, as he beat Fischer with it and my friend Sergey Kayumov beat Magnus
Carlsen this way (see Geller-Fischer and Kayumov-Carlsen). -- 3. Kramnik's 8
Bg5 - White takes d5 under control and maintains the possibility of queenside
castling and a kingside attack (see Kramnik-Anand and Taylor-Pruess). -- 4.
Kasparov's 8 0-0 0-0 9 Kh1 - White makes a mysterious waiting move that
curtails Black's usual counterplay (see Kasparov-De Firmian and Taylor-Yankovsky
). -- 5. Carlsen's 8 Be3 - White waits to see if Black will castle (8...0-0?!
9 g4! - see Carlsen-Nakamura), and if Black waits to with 8...Be6, then White
can follow with a timely f2-f4, not fearing the weakness of the e-pawn as
Black's queen's bishop can't easily get to the long diagonal. --- I think
you'll be able to get a pretty good sense of White's positional goals in these
five variations just by reading through this chapter. --- But now, just for a
moment, consider the dilemma of those who play the Najdorf with Black! First
they have to memorize the reams of theory in the forcing lines after 6 Bg5, 6
Bc4 and 6 Be3. As we saw in the Tal-Polugaevsky games, people who made memory
mistakes around move 20 could lose almost instantly! So our opponent memorizes
all this craziness - because if he doesn't, he will lose to someone's home
computer! Then, finally, he turns to look at the "quiet" 6 Be2. What a relief
- no forcing lines, he sighs... But then, worn out by his struggle to remember
the 21st move in the Polugaevsky Variation, he falls asleep right after
reading that the Najdorf answer to 6 Be2 is 6...e5 and zzzzzzzz. --- And
that's where we come in, my friends, with our solid but varied positional play
- and our foes, just like Polugaevsky himself, are unable to compete with us
on our home ground. --- I was out-rated by four of my five Najdorf opponents
but, as I mentioned in the Introduction, I won four games and only gave up one
draw - Karpov's "positional push" style seems most unpleasant to the Najdorf
player who is dying to show off his new 21st move - but now, on move six, must
just play!} 8. O-O Be6 9. f4 {Just as in Karpov-Timman (see Chapter One),
White immediately answers ...Be6 with f2-f4. White is then ready to go further
and attack the bishop with f4-f5 - and also, as I said in the descriptions of
White's five ideas, f2-f4 works best when Black's queen's bishop can't go to
the long diagonal to pressure White's slightly weak e-pawn. --- For this
reason modern Najdorf players prefer a more flexible move order with 8...0-0,
which keeps the queen's bishop's options open.} Qc7 10. a4 Nbd7 11. Kh1 O-O 12.
Be3 {This typical Karpov move, building up while maintaining the pressure,
seems stronger than the one often played in Fischer's day;} ({i.e.} 12. f5 {
, when despite the forced exchange of Black's "good" bishop, Black also gains
space and his centre is solid. A modern game failed to revive the line for
White:} Bc4 13. a5 b5 14. axb6 Nxb6 15. Bxc4 Qxc4 16. Na5 Qc5 17. Bg5 Rfc8 {
and Black's queenside space and open files gave him adequate counterplay in B.Socko-Bu Xiangzhi, Gibraltar 2008.}) 12... exf4 ({Black can't wait too long:} 
12... Rac8 13. a5 {(now ...b7-b5, as in the Bu game above, is not possible and
White can secure d5)} Bc4 ({not} 13... b5 $2 14. axb6 Nxb6 15. Bxa6) 14. Bxc4
Qxc4 15. Ra4 Qc7 16. f5 {(White has a bind, as Black can't play either of his
natural breaks, ...b7-b6 or ...d6-d5)} h6 17. Qf3 Qb8 18. Nd2 Bd8 19. Nc4 Re8
20. Rd1 Rc6 21. b3 Be7 22. Bf2 Rec8 23. Bh4 $1 {(getting rid of a knight that
can control d5 - a common theme in these Boleslavsky-type positions)} Bd8 24.
Bxf6 Nxf6 25. h3 b5 26. axb6 Bxb6 27. Nd5 Bd8 28. Nxf6+ Bxf6 29. Rd5 Be7 30.
Qe2 {and White has an ideal position with complete light square domination -
and the most important light square is d5, from which he cannot be dislodged.
Add to that, the far superior minor piece, and it will come as no surprise
that White ground out the victory in another twenty moves in G.Cabrilo-J.Fedorowicz, New York Open 1988.}) 13. Rxf4 {This position essentially cost
Polugaevsky the match, as he voluntarily went in for it four times, and scored
a miserable half point. The most important thing about this position is the
nature of the play, rather than the computer evaluation. (By the way, after
sitting on this spot for quite a long time, my Fritz12 says equal but with
White holding a tiny +0.09 advantage!) --- Here's what I see: both sides have
an isolated pawn, which pretty much cancel each other out as far as advantage
goes, but White's pawn is slightly more advanced at e4 as opposed to d6. So
White might drop a knight in on d5 or f5, while Black has knight outposts at
c5 and e5. Much the same can be said about White's a-pawn, which is also on
the fourth (unlike any of Black's pawns) and so slightly cramps Black's
queenside. --- There are no forcing lines. White's position is comfortable,
with a slight advantage in space. --- The more creative player should win!} Ne5
({Some alternatives: --} 13... Ne8 14. Nd4 Bf6 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Bg4 {
is obviously much better for White}) ({while after} 13... Rfe8 14. Nd4 Ne5 15.
Nf5 Ng6 16. Rf1 Bf8 17. Qd4 {White has slightly extended his space advantage -
this was Karpov's first White game of the match and Polugaevsky's only success,
in that he hung on and made a draw!}) 14. a5 {
Most accurate, as the pretty black knight on e5 abandoned the b6-square.} ({
In the fourth game Karpov tried} 14. Nd4 Rad8 15. Qg1 Rd7 16. Rd1 Re8 17. Nf5
Bd8 18. Nd4 Ng6 19. Rff1 Ne5 20. Bf4 Qc5 21. Nxe6 Qxg1+ 22. Rxg1 Rxe6 23. Bf3 {
, when Black has reached an equal ending - though Karpov outplayed his foe and
won anyway in A.Karpov-L.Polugaevsky, Moscow (4th matchgame) 1974.}) 14... Rfe8
({In the sixth game Polugaevsky tried} 14... Nfd7 15. Rf1 Bf6 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17.
Qxd5 $1 {, but was evidently surprised by this blow - Karpov is not afraid to
sac two pawns to activate all his pieces and attack! (we'll see a similar two
pawn sac from Anatoly in Karpov-Taimanov in Chapter Five) - the game continued}
Qxc2 18. Nd4 Qxb2 19. Rab1 Qc3 20. Nf5 {(note the advanced outpost!)} Qc2 21.
Rbe1 Nc5 22. Nxd6 Ncd3 23. Bxd3 Nxd3 24. Rd1 Nb4 25. Qxb7 Rab8 26. Qa7 Qc6 27.
Bf4 Ra8 28. Qf2 Rad8 29. Qg3 Qc3 30. Rf3 Qc2 31. Rdf1 Bd4 32. Bh6 Nc6 33. Nf5
Qb2 34. Bc1 Qb5 35. Nh6+ Kh8 36. Nxf7+ Rxf7 37. Rxf7 Bf6 38. Qf2 Kg8 39. Rxf6
gxf6 40. Qxf6 {1-0 A.Karpov-L.Polugaevsky, Moscow (6th matchgame) 1974.}) (
14... Rac8 {is recommended by GM Michael Stean in his book 'Sicilian: Najdorf',
where he gives the variation} 15. Nd4 Nfd7 16. Rf1 Rfe8 17. Nf5 Bf8 {and claims
equality - but as far as I can see, the position is basically unchanged. White
still has his slight space advantage and it's certainly possible to outplay
your opponent here, as a check of the database reveals:} 18. Qd2 Nc4 19. Bxc4
Bxc4 20. Rfd1 Re6 21. Bd4 Rg6 22. b3 Be6 23. Ra2 Ne5 24. Ne2 Bxf5 $6 (24... Qc6
{was necessary}) 25. exf5 Rh6 26. Be3 Rf6 27. Ng3 h6 28. c4 {, when Black
suffers from a fixed weakness at d6 and a bad rook - White scored easily in Z.Janko-Z.Repasi, Hungarian Team Championship 2004.}) 15. Bb6 Qd7 16. Ra4 $5 (16.
Nd4 {is simpler; e.g.} Bc4 17. Bxc4 Nxc4 18. Nf5 {
and White can gradually increase his advantage.}) 16... Rac8 ({If} 16... Nc6 {
then} 17. Nd5 {with some advantage (Karpov).}) 17. Rd4 $5 {Karpov's creative
idea: the rooks exert great pressure despite being exposed to attack by
Black's minor pieces.} Qc6 ({The rook can't be attacked right away:} 17... Nc6
$2 18. Nc5 $1 {and the queen goes.}) 18. Rd2 Bxb3 19. cxb3 Nfd7 20. Bg1 Bg5 $2
{Polugaevsky misevaluates the coming position, where it turns out that
Karpov's queen and pawn are better than Black's two rooks.} (20... Qc7 21. Nd5
Qxa5 22. Nxe7+ Rxe7 23. Rxd6 {(Safarov-Vladimirov) is correct, when "Black had
a comfortable position", according to Karpov - though I'm not so sure, as the
white bishops are strong.}) 21. Rxd6 Bxf4 ({Or} 21... Qc7 22. Rf5 {
and White is just a pawn up.}) 22. Rxc6 Rxc6 23. b4 {Perhaps Polugaevsky
thought the extra doubled pawn didn't matter, but now it's clear that White's
queenside majority is coming fast, and Black has no time to consolidate.} Nf6
24. b5 Rce6 25. bxa6 bxa6 26. g3 Bg5 27. h4 Bh6 28. Bb6 {Black's Najdorf 5...a6 created a weakness at b6, which White now occupies with great effect!} Ned7
29. Bc4 Re5 ({If} 29... Rc6 30. Bxa6 Nxb6 {, then} 31. Bb5 {pins and wins.})
30. Qb3 Rb8 (30... Rf8 31. Bc7 Ree8 32. Bd6 {is no better.}) 31. Bxf7+ Kh8 32.
Qc4 Bd2 33. Bc7 Rc5 34. Qxc5 $1 {Karpov says the rest is "pure technique".}
Nxc5 35. Bxb8 Bxc3 ({Another way is} 35... Nfxe4 36. Nxe4 Nxe4 37. Bc7 Bb4 38.
Bc4 Nc5 39. Kg2 Nb7 40. Bxa6 Nxa5 41. Kf3 {with a winning ending.}) 36. bxc3
Nfxe4 37. c4 Nd7 38. Bc7 g6 39. Be6 Nec5 40. Bxd7 Nxd7 41. Bd6 ({After} 41. Bd6
Kg7 42. c5 Kf7 43. c6 {the pawn goes through. --- While White got very little
out of the opening, he did get something (after Black's slightly premature 8...Be6 which allowed the immediate 9 f4). The resulting position is very tough
for Black to play: he's slightly cramped and, despite a wide range of choices
on every move, has few active possibilities. Meanwhile White can enjoy his
space advantage and manoeuvre creatively.}) 1-0

[Event "Bugojno"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Bukic, E."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "1978.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. a4 {White waits for ...Be6 before playing f2-f4, but Black's actual
next move also encourages this advance, as the c6-knight blocks the long
diagonal. In a modern game Black develops the queen's bishop to d7 so as to go
either way, but the weakness at b6 and White's potential queenside majority
are strong again - see the following note.} Nc6 (9... Bd7 10. Be3 Bc6 11. f3 {
(Kasparov-style: since White waited on the f2-f4 advance, this move is strong)}
d5 {
(getting rid of the backward pawn, but now b6 and c5 beckon the white pieces)}
12. exd5 Bxd5 ({or} 12... Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. a5 {
with a typical slight positional plus}) 13. a5 Nc6 14. Bb6 Qd7 15. Nc5 Bxc5+
16. Bxc5 Rfd8 17. Bb6 Re8 18. Qd2 Ne7 19. Rfd1 Qc6 20. Bf2 Bc4 21. Bxc4 Qxc4
22. Ra4 Qc7 23. Bb6 Qc6 24. Qd6 Rac8 25. Qxc6 Nxc6 26. Nd5 Nxd5 27. Rxd5 f6 28.
c3 {(White obtained the superior minor piece and Geller's favourite queenside
pawn majority)} Kf7 29. Ra1 Re7 30. Rad1 h5 31. Kf2 Ke6 32. b4 Nb8 33. Rd6+ Kf7
34. R1d3 Re6 35. Rd8 Re8 36. R8d5 Re6 37. Bc5 Rec6 38. Rd8 Ke6 39. R3d6+ Kf7
40. Rxc6 Rxd8 41. Rc7+ Rd7 42. Rc8 Nc6 43. Ke3 f5 44. g3 g5 45. c4 Nd8 46. b5
Ne6 47. Bb6 f4+ 48. gxf4 gxf4+ 49. Ke2 Kf6 50. bxa6 bxa6 51. Ra8 e4 52. fxe4
Ke5 53. Rxa6 Kxe4 54. Ra8 f3+ 55. Ke1 Re7 56. a6 Nf4 57. a7 Nd3+ 58. Kd2 f2 59.
Rf8 Rd7 60. a8=Q+ {1-0 S.Karjakin-I.Nepomniachtchi, Moscow (blitz) 2011.}) 10.
Kh1 {Still waiting.} Be6 ({
If Black fianchettoes to avoid f2-f4, White can switch to Geller's plan:} 10...
b6 11. Be3 Bb7 12. Nd5 {with an edge, as in Geller-Benjamin (see Chapter One).}
) 11. f4 {Now!} Nb4 ({Instead: --} 11... Na5 12. f5 Bc4 13. Nxa5 Bxe2 14. Qxe2
Qxa5 15. Bg5 Rfc8 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nd5 {is a classic domination position
similar to the Cabrilo-Fedorowicz crush given in the notes to the previous
game.}) (11... exf4 12. Bxf4 d5 {(as in Karpov-Timman in Chapter One) is
evidently best, where Black might make a draw:} 13. e5 Ne4 14. Bd3 f5 15. exf6
Bxf6 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Bxe4 Qxd1 18. Raxd1 Bxb2 19. g3 Rae8 20. Nc5 Bc4 21.
Rfe1 Bc3 22. Bd2 Bd4 23. Be3 Bc3 24. Bd2 Bd4 25. Be3 Bc3 26. Bd2 {
½-½ A.Kovalev-M.Brodsky, Tiumen 2010.}) 12. f5 Bd7 13. Bg5 Bc6 ({White always has to watch out for ...Nxe4 in such positions, though it doesn't work here:
} 13... Nxe4 $2 14. Bxe7 Nxc3 15. bxc3 {
and White wins a piece as the black knight hangs.}) 14. Bf3 Rc8 15. Qe2 h6 $6 (
{Black has to be super alert to play this kind of position:} 15... d5 $1 {
is necessary, when after} 16. Bxf6 dxe4 $1 ({but not} 16... Bxf6 17. exd5 Nxd5
18. Bxd5 Bxd5 19. Rad1 {, winning a piece}) 17. Bxe5 ({
White has to be careful too:} 17. Bxe7 exf3 18. Bxd8 fxe2 19. Rfe1 Rfxd8 20.
Rxe2 f6 {favours Black with his stronger centre}) 17... exf3 18. gxf3 {
and Black has compensation for the pawn due to White's somewhat exposed king.})
16. Bh4 b6 17. Rfd1 {Too late! Now Black must suffer.} Qc7 18. Bg3 Bb7 ({
As in Chapter One, one way White restrains ...d6-d5 is by pressuring e5; e.g.} 
18... d5 $2 19. exd5 Bb7 20. Bxe5 {and wins.}) 19. Rd2 Rfd8 20. Rad1 Ne8 21. h4
{Karpov tightens his grip square by square - Black is not allowed to activate
his bishop on g5.} Nf6 22. Bf2 Nd7 23. g3 {
Restraint! g3-g4 will come at the right time.} Kf8 24. Nc1 Qc4 25. Qe1 Qc7 26.
Qg1 Nc5 27. N1e2 Bc6 28. b3 Qb7 29. Qg2 Qc7 30. Be3 Bf6 31. Kh2 Qe7 32. Qf2 Bb7
33. Bg2 Kg8 34. Qf3 Kh7 35. Qh5 Qf8 36. Rf1 Nd7 ({
White's last move was directed against} 36... g6 {which now fails to} 37. fxg6+
fxg6 38. Qxh6+ $1 {.}) 37. Rc1 (37. g4 $2 {is still premature due to} g6 38.
Qxh6+ Qxh6 39. Bxh6 Kxh6 40. g5+ Bxg5 {and Black comes out a pawn up.}) 37...
Rc6 $6 {Now White gains a tempo.} (37... Rc7 {is better, but it's been dreary
for a long time and perfect defence is difficult.}) 38. Nd5 $1 {
White finally occupies the weak square.} Nxd5 39. exd5 Rcc8 40. Be4 Nc5 41.
Bxc5 $1 Rxc5 42. g4 $3 ({The long-prepared attack (move 42!) is overwhelming
as Black can't prevent g4-g5, e.g.} 42. g4 Kg8 43. g5 Be7 ({or} 43... hxg5 44.
hxg5 Be7 45. f6 g6 46. Bxg6 fxg6 47. Qxg6+ Kh8 48. Rh1 {and mates}) 44. f6 gxf6
45. gxf6 Bxf6 46. Rg1+ Bg7 47. Qf5 f6 48. Nf4 exf4 ({or} 48... Bc8 49. Qh7+ Kf7
50. Nh5 {etc}) 49. Rdg2 Rc7 50. Qh7+ Kf7 51. Rxg7+ Ke8 52. Bg6+ {and mates.
I am struck again and again by how difficult Black's defence is in these
Karpovian grind positions: from Polugaevsky's destruction in 1974 to
Karjakin's squeeze against Nepomniachtchi in 2011 (in the note to move 9),
strong GMs are losing these positions due to nothing more than small
weaknesses at d6 and b6 - it's just not fun to play Black here!}) 1-0

[Event "Team GM vs. Young Pioneers, Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1975.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Kasparov, G."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "1975.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 {
Evidently due to this game, Kasparov never played this move again.} ({
As I noted in the Introduction, Karpov never lost this position. In the
Karpov-Kasparov world championship matches to come, Karpov also tried 6 Be2
often - but Kasparov invariably answered} 6... e6 {
(see their most famous encounter in Chapter Four).}) 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5 {
Instead of castling as in the last two games, Karpov tries a move that would
later be popularized by Kasparov's nemesis Kramnik - but whereas Kramnik used
this a prelude to queenside castling, Karpov just wants to trick his young
opponent into the ...Be6 met by f2-f4 positions, even with a tempo loss.} Be6
9. f4 ({Kramnik's idea is} 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Qd3 {(see Kramnik-Anand).}) 9...
exf4 ({Our typical Boleslavsky bind occurred after} 9... Qc7 10. f5 Bc4 11. O-O
Nbd7 12. Kh1 b5 13. a3 Rb8 14. Nd2 Nb6 15. Nxc4 Nxc4 16. Bxc4 Qxc4 17. Bxf6
gxf6 18. Qd5 {with positional domination and a White win in Alir.Sanchez-C.Hurtado, Pan American Junior Championship 1998. Note again the key elements of
this bind, which we might call the Anti Boleslavsky Delight or ABD: the
d5-square is owned by White and the only minor pieces left are a white knight
and a bad black bishop. White should always watch for ways to set up this
position since, if you can get it, this bind should virtually always win -
just not quickly! For the record, Sanchez took 50 moves to score the point,
which is about right, even though she was positionally winning after 18. The
ABD does demand patience!}) 10. Bxf4 {White has lost a tempo by this double
move of the bishop (recall that in Karpov-Polugaevsky, White was able to
capture efficiently on f4 with the rook - not possible here). On the other
hand, he has lured a certain young Pioneer into Karpovian territory!} Nc6 11.
O-O O-O 12. Kh1 b5 ({Black can come close to equalizing with} 12... d5 {
, again much as in Karpov-Timman in Chapter One (but we already know Karpov
likes this position, whether equal or not!). After} 13. e5 Ne4 14. Bd3 ({
Karpov played the challenging move against a future world champion, but took a
rest day against the namesake of the variation:} 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 Bg5 16.
Nxe4 {½-½ A.Karpov-M.Najdorf, Hastings 1971/72}) 14... f5 (14... Nc5 {
may be best, with approximate equality}) ({, whereas} 14... Nxc3 15. bxc3 {
is like Karpov-Timman}) 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Bxe4 Bc4 18. Bd6 Bxf1
19. Qd5+ Kh8 20. Qh5 g6 21. Bxg6 Bxg2+ 22. Kxg2 Qd7 23. Nc5 Qg7 24. Bxf8 Qxg6+
25. Qxg6 hxg6 26. Bd6 Re8 27. Rf1 Bxb2 28. Nxb7 Kg8 29. c4 {(after insane
complications, White has emerged with an extra pawn, but Anand shows his tiger
qualities and claws his way to a draw)} Bd4 30. Kg3 Bg7 31. Rb1 Re3+ 32. Kf2
Bd4 33. Kf1 Rf3+ 34. Ke2 Rc3 35. c5 Be3 36. Kf1 Nd4 37. Rb2 g5 38. Kg2 Kf7 39.
Bg3 Ne6 40. Nd6+ Kg6 41. Rb6 Bxc5 42. Rxa6 Bxd6 43. Rxd6 Kf6 44. a4 Ra3 45. Ra6
Kf5 46. a5 Nf4+ 47. Kf2 Ke4 48. Ke1 Ra2 49. Kd1 Ke3 {½-½ A.Karpov-V.Anand,
Sicilian thematic, Buenos Aires 1994. Not many would have drawn this against
Karpov!}) ({A worse alternative is} 12... Re8 13. Qe1 Nd7 14. Rd1 Nde5 15. Nd5
Bf8 16. Qf2 {, when the lost tempo is forgotten and we see Black's quiet play
has led to a Karpovian grind and, simultaneously, terrible suffering and a
loss for another GM:} Nd7 17. Bg3 Nce5 18. Bh4 Qc8 19. c3 b5 20. Bg5 {
(note that White has played Bg5-f4-g3-h4-g5 with positional pressure - now
that's Karpov!)} Qb7 21. Na5 Qc8 22. Qd4 Nc6 23. Nxc6 Qxc6 24. c4 Bxd5 25. cxb5
axb5 26. Qxd5 Qxd5 27. Rxd5 Rxe4 28. Bxb5 Ne5 29. a4 Rb4 30. Bc1 Be7 31. h3 Rb8
32. Rf4 Rb3 33. Rf2 Bh4 34. Rc2 Bg3 35. Bd2 h5 36. Rc3 {
(the rooks come off and White grinds his way home)} Rxc3 37. Bxc3 h4 38. Rxd6
Nc4 39. Rd5 Nd6 40. Bd3 Re8 41. a5 Ne4 42. Bxe4 Rxe4 43. Kg1 Ra4 44. Kf1 f6 45.
Ke2 Kf7 46. Rd7+ Kg6 47. b4 Be5 48. Bd2 Kf5 49. Rxg7 {
1-0 A.Karpov-L.Kavalek, Waddinxveen 1979.}) 13. Bf3 {As usual, after teasing
Black with a fleeting opportunity for ...d6-d5, Karpov shuts down the break.}
Ne5 14. Nd4 Bc4 15. Rf2 ({The safe} 15. Re1 {is equal.}) 15... b4 16. Nd5 Nxd5
17. exd5 Bf6 18. Rd2 Qb6 19. Be3 Qc7 20. Be4 Rfe8 21. Bg1 g6 ({The young but
already brilliant Kasparov has amazingly outplayed the world champion, and
could now take over the game with} 21... Bg5 $1 22. Qh5 h6 $1 (22... Bxd2 $2
23. Qxh7+ Kf8 24. Nf5 {
and mates is no doubt the reason Kasparov rejected this line}) 23. Rdd1 Nd7 24.
Bf3 Nf6 25. Qh3 Bxd5 {and Black wins a pawn.}) 22. a3 a5 ({Once again} 22...
Bg5 {is correct; e.g.} 23. Rf2 bxa3 24. Rxa3 Qb7 {, forking b2 and d5. Note
that in his smooth performance against Bukic that we just saw, Karpov made
sure to prevent ...Bg5.}) 23. axb4 axb4 24. Rxa8 Rxa8 25. b3 Ba6 26. Nc6 Nxc6 (
{Kasparov is out of his depth now; rather than give White a passed pawn, he
should try to eject the knight with} 26... Bb5 {.}) 27. dxc6 Re8 28. Bd5 Bc3
29. Rf2 Re1 30. Qf3 Bd4 {
Kasparov tries to attack when only defence might save him.} (30... Re7 {
is best, after which Black is worse but holding.}) 31. Bxf7+ Kg7 32. Bc4 Rxg1+
({As usual, opposite bishops help White's attack after} 32... Bxf2 33. Qxf2
Bxc4 34. Qxe1 Bd5 35. Qa1+ Kg8 36. Qf6 Qxc6 37. Bd4 {, when the long black
diagonal is decisive for White, and the long white diagonal is meaningless for
Black!}) 33. Kxg1 Bxf2+ 34. Kxf2 Bxc4 35. bxc4 Qa7+ 36. Ke2 Qd4 37. Qd5 {
Karpov's forte - the pawn-up ending in any form - has been reached, and
Kasparov's great talent can't help him here.} Qf6 38. Qe4 b3 39. cxb3 Qb2+ 40.
Kf1 Qc1+ 41. Qe1 Qf4+ 42. Kg1 Qd4+ 43. Kh1 Qb6 44. Qe7+ Kh6 45. Qf8+ ({After} 
45. Qf8+ Kh5 46. Qxd6 Qxb3 47. Qc5+ Kh6 48. h3 {White's safe king and passed
c-pawn add up to an easy win - as usual, Karpov's endgame technique is
impeccable. That said, the tempo loss with Bg5-f4 cannot be recommended,
except for psychological reasons. --- One sees that the early f2-f4 works best
when Black voluntarily plays an early ...Be6, but what if he doesn't? I would
say, try any of the following ideas - first let's take a look at Geller's
classic Nd5 plan.}) 1-0

[Event "Curacao Candidates"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Geller, E."]
[Black "Fischer, RJ."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. Be3 Qc7 ({Anand played} 9... Be6 {
in a recent game where White tried Geller's plan:} 10. Nd5 ({alternatively,} 
10. f4 {reaches Hammer-Hansen and Karpov-Martin Gonzalez, where White reverts
to a Karpovian early f2-f4 system, as there are two favourable omens: Black
has voluntarily played ...Be6, and White won't lose a tempo with his queen's
bishop as} exf4 {will be answered by} 11. Rxf4 {; both this and Geller's line
are good - in my opinion, White has an embarrassment of riches as far as good
lines against the Najdorf are concerned, even within the 6 Be2 umbrella}) 10...
Nbd7 11. Qd3 Bxd5 12. exd5 Nc5 13. -- ({, and at this point the former FIDE
World Champion decided to move his queen four times in a row to no purpose
that I can see, and eventually lost the game:} 13. Qd2 Nfe4 14. Qb4 a5 15. Qb5
Qc7 16. Qc4 {and 0-1 down the road in R.Ponomariov-V.Anand, Wijk aan Zee 2011.
I do not recommend this!}) (13. Nxc5 dxc5 14. Rfd1 {
is evidently correct, after which best play looks like} e4 15. Qb3 Bd6 16. g3
Qc7 17. a4 {, when White retains a small but lasting advantage due to his
bishop pair and passed pawn.} (17. --))) 10. a4 Be6 ({If} 10... b6 {, then} 11.
f3 Bb7 12. Qd2 Nbd7 13. Rfd1 {and White has restrained Black's play and keeps
a long-term plus - as, for example, in D.Barua-P.Lakshmi Sahithi, New Delhi
2007.}) 11. a5 Nbd7 {Correct! Up to a certain point, as we will see, Fischer's
play was very good. Here he takes advantage of the Najdorf move order (not
revealing much "information", which is the modern touchstone) as opposed to
the early ...Nc6 seen in the Classical Variation of the previous chapter. Now
when White plays Nd5, Black can take with the king's knight (usually Black has
to take with the bishop in the classical Boleslavsky system, as capturing with
the knight allows a fork on d5). This means White's advantage will be very
slight or maybe not even there - though of course Black has to play well after
the opening!} 12. Nd5 Nxd5 ({The unforced} 12... Bxd5 {is a clear mistake; e.g.
} 13. exd5 b5 14. axb6 Nxb6 15. c4 $1 a5 ({not} 15... Nxc4 16. Qc2 Rfc8 17.
Rfc1 Nxe3 18. Qxc7 Rxc7 19. Rxc7 Nexd5 20. Rb7 {and the ending favours White})
16. Rxa5 Rxa5 17. Nxa5 Nbxd5 18. Bd2 Nf4 19. b4 {
and the passed b-pawn gave White the edge in A.Bradvarevic-I.Nemet, Bled 1963.}
) 13. exd5 {According to the old notes on ChessBase, this position clearly
favours White, but I have my doubts.} Bf5 14. c4 Bg6 15. Rc1 Nc5 $2 {This is the problem, which must be described as a positional blunder. White doesn't want
his knight on b3 anyway, as his b-pawn needs to advance as part of a general
mobilization of the queenside pawn majority.} ({Not the impetuous} 15... f5 $6
16. c5 f4 ({or} 16... dxc5 17. Nxc5 Nxc5 18. b4 {
and White recovers the piece with advantage}) 17. cxd6 Qxd6 18. Bc5 Nxc5 19.
Nxc5 {and White is a little better.}) ({Correct is} 15... Rac8 $1 {
((to restrain White and then advance on the kingside)} 16. f3 ({
now the immediate} 16. c5 {is ineffective:} dxc5 17. Nxc5 Bxc5 18. b4 Qd6 19.
bxc5 Nxc5 {with equality}) 16... Qd8 17. Qd2 f5 18. Bd3 Rf7 {and the computer
can't decide if this unforcing position is equal or slightly better for White.
I'll describe it this way: both sides have pawn majorities that are hard to
advance - White because his knight is in the way, Black because either of the
logical pushes (...f5-f4 or ...e5-e4) actually weakens the pawns - so neither
side can undertake anything without preparation. In general there are chances
for both sides; the position is far from drawish or symmetrical, and one will
have a chance to outplay the opponent. --- It's because of this variation that
I wouldn't put Geller's plan - so strong against the straight Boleslavsky - at
the top of our five anti-Najdorf Be2 lines, but it is certainly solid and
playable. Young players seem to underestimate it too: the young Fischer falls
here and the young Carlsen falls in the next game. So check the age of your
opponent, and if he's under 20, drop your knight on d5 and make him play a
positional, unforced game!}) 16. Nxc5 dxc5 17. b4 $1 {The queenside majority
is unleashed and White is clearly better. Now it's obvious that Bobby made a
huge mistake by letting White exchange his self-blocking knight.} Rac8 ({
Also good for White are: --} 17... cxb4 18. Bb6 Qd7 19. Qb3 $1 ({not} 19. c5
Bg5 20. Rc4 b3 {, when Black has counterplay}) 19... Rfc8 20. c5 {
and the pawns are rolling.}) (17... f5 18. bxc5 Bxc5 (18... f4 $2 19. d6 $1)
19. Bxc5 Qxc5 20. Qb3 Rab8 21. Qe3 {and White breaks the dark square blockade.}
) 18. Qb3 {White enjoys the vacated b3-square!} Bd6 19. Rfd1 {White's positional advantage is close to decisive, but that doesn't mean the point is secured.}
Qe7 20. bxc5 Bxc5 21. Bxc5 Rxc5 22. Ra1 $1 {The start of a highly creative
manoeuvre - up to a point, Geller plays virtually perfectly.} Rd8 23. Ra4 Bf5
24. Rb4 Bc8 25. Rb6 Rd6 ({After} 25... Rxa5 26. d6 Qd7 27. Bf3 {
White's bind is too strong.}) 26. Qb4 Qc7 27. Rxd6 Qxd6 28. Rb1 Qc7 29. Qa4 Bd7
30. Qa3 Rxa5 31. Rxb7 Qxb7 ({White is better after} 31... Rxa3 32. Rxc7 Ra1+
33. Bf1 Bf5 34. f3 {, but Black still has some play left - whereas the game
continuation should lead to a clear win for White.}) 32. Qxa5 g6 33. h3 {
So natural, and yet - not best! Chess is amazingly difficult even here, where
White has a clearly decisive advantage.} (33. Bf1 $1 {should win, as the
bishop itself as well as f2 and g2 are protected, which means Black has no
random tactics as occur in the actual game. After this sound retreat, play
could continue} Kg7 34. d6 Qe4 35. c5 Bc6 36. Qxa6 {and White wins easily, a
pawn up with connected passers, while Black has nothing to play against.})
33... Qb1+ 34. Kh2 (34. Bf1 {is still good enough.}) 34... Bf5 $2 {
Missing his chance!} ({The astonishing} 34... Qc2 $3 {, attacking the
undefended white bishop and through this the undefended f-pawn (which is
crucial to the white king's defence), seems to draw; e.g.} 35. Qd8+ ({or} 35.
Qe1 a5 {with counterplay}) 35... Kg7 36. Qxd7 Qxe2 37. Qc7 Qb2 $1 38. d6 (38.
Kg3 Qd4 39. f3 Qf4+ {is a perpetual}) 38... Qxf2 {
and again Black should be able to find a perpetual check and draw.}) 35. Qc3 {
White consolidates and Geller's technique is now faultless.} Qe4 36. Bf3 Qd4
37. Qxd4 exd4 38. g4 Bc8 ({Nothing works against the connected passers:} 38...
a5 39. gxf5 a4 40. d6 Kf8 41. c5 a3 42. c6 a2 43. c7 {with an extra piece}) ({
or} 38... Bc2 39. c5 d3 40. c6 Ba4 41. d6 {and White wins the race.}) 39. c5 a5
40. c6 Kf8 41. d6 ({The variations are clear:} 41. d6 Ke8 ({or} 41... a4 42. c7
a3 43. Bc6 a2 44. d7 Bxd7 45. Bxd7 a1=Q 46. c8=Q+ {with an extra piece}) 42.
Bd1 Ba6 43. g5 Bb5 ({if} 43... Kd8 {then} 44. Bg4 {kills}) 44. c7 Bd7 45. Ba4 {
and the death blow comes on another diagonal. --- Unlike Geller's similar line
against the Boleslavsky, I'm not sure the early Nd5 here gives White an
objective advantage. However, one can certainly play for a win in the unbalanced
positional waters that occur - which might not suit sharp young Najdorf
players! --- In the next game we'll see another junior fall.}) 1-0

[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2003.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kayumov, S."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2003.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. Re1 {I was also competing in this tournament, and I noticed that Sergey
deliberately played in a slow, non-forcing way - forcing the young (13 at the
time), but already fearsome Carlsen to play positionally, like it or not. ---
I had unwisely entered the Dragon (as Black) against Magnus, where he first
exposed my lack of theoretical knowledge, and then played an accurately
calculated attack. --- In this game he was unable to use either his memory of
variations, or his excellent calculation: he had to assess competing
positional ideas - something at which he now excels of course, but back then,
he (like Fischer) had trouble with such amorphous positions.} Be6 10. Bf1 (10.
Bf3 {is also possible, holding back any future ...d6-d5.}) 10... Nbd7 11. Nd5 {
Geller's idea, in a slightly different position.} Rc8 ({
Kayumov nearly scored again in a later game:} 11... Nxd5 12. exd5 Bf5 13. a4
Rc8 14. c3 e4 15. a5 Re8 16. Ra4 Bg5 $2 (16... Ne5 {is better}) 17. f4 $1 {
and now another higher-rated foe was in big trouble. Black tried} Bf6 (17...
exf3 18. Rxe8+ Qxe8 19. Bxg5 {would win a piece}) {, when} 18. g4 $1 {
won material, though Black somehow escaped with a draw in S.Kayumov-E.Ghaem
Maghami, Esfahan 2004.}) 12. c4 Nb6 13. Nd2 Nbxd5 ({It's time to take, as on
quiet moves White builds up in Boleslavsky fashion; e.g.} 13... h6 14. b3 Re8
15. Bb2 {with a big edge.}) 14. exd5 ({Fritz's first pick is} 14. cxd5 {
, taking toward the centre, but Sergey is playing for a win by unbalancing the
position, Geller-style. Now White has a queenside pawn majority, and Black
must act quickly - for the moment Magnus is equal to the task.}) 14... Bg4 15.
Qb3 b5 $1 {A good sharp pawn sacrifice!} 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Nb1 ({After} 17.
Bxb5 Rb8 18. a4 Qa5 {Black has excellent Benko-style compensation.}) 17... Qa5
18. Bd2 b4 19. Bxb4 Qxd5 {Black has traded two wing pawns for two centre pawns,
generally a good deal. But only one of the black centre pawns is passed,
whereas White has two running passers.} 20. Nd2 Qd4 $6 {
A judgment call gone wrong.} ({As it turns out, the white queen is a great
help to the passed pawns and should be destroyed:} 20... Qxb3 21. Nxb3 Be6 {
, threatening ...Bxb3 devaluing the pawns, looks like the way to go, when I
think Black is at least equal.}) 21. Bc3 Qa7 22. Ne4 $1 {White exchanges the
pieces he wants to get rid of, and so limits Black's tactics, while preparing
to advance his passers.} Be6 23. Nxf6+ Bxf6 24. Qd1 Qb8 25. Qh5 g6 26. Qe2 {
White has cleverly repositioned and stands at least equal, restraining Black's
centre by pressure on e5 - which is, of course, an anti-Boleslavsky idea we
already know. Remember, positional themes in similar pawn structures always
repeat!} Bg7 27. a4 f6 28. a5 d5 29. a6 Qa7 30. Bb4 Rfd8 31. Rec1 d4 32. Ba5
Re8 33. b4 $1 {Now it's clear that the white pawns are the more dangerous -
there were no combinations in the last thirteen moves, but Carlsen, like
Fischer, was strategically outplayed, with the b2-b4 advance playing an
important role in both games!} f5 34. b5 e4 35. Qd1 d3 36. Rxc8 Rxc8 37. Rc1 $1
{White wants queens on (well known for shepherding passed pawns) rather than
rooks (which might be able to hold them up).} Rxc1 38. Qxc1 Bd4 39. Qc6 $1 {
The queen infiltrates and supports the passed pawns while threatening the
e6-bishop; that Black takes a pawn with check is of much less importance.}
Bxf2+ 40. Kh1 Qd7 41. Qb7 Kf7 (41... Qc8 {
is necessary to hold up the pawns, though after} 42. Bc7 d2 43. Be2 g5 44. Bd1
{it seems White is better anyway with Bb3 in the air; e.g.} e3 (44... Qxb7 45.
axb7 Ba7 46. b6 {wins}) 45. Be5 Bd7 46. Qb6 f4 47. Qf6 Qf8 48. Bb3+ {
and Black's advanced pawns have left his king without defence.}) 42. b6 $1 Ke7
43. Qxd7+ Kxd7 44. b7 Ba7 45. Bb6 $1 d2 ({Nothing is any better: --} 45... Bxb6
46. b8=Q) ({or} 45... Bb8 46. a7 {.}) 46. Bb5+ $1 {
To drive the black king away.} Ke7 ({If} 46... Kd6 47. Ba4 e3 48. Bxa7 e2 49.
b8=Q+ {and mates with all checks.}) 47. Bxa7 $3 {Not many players can say they
allowed Carlsen to queen with check - and won the game!! Bravo Sergey!} d1=Q+ {
Despite Black's extra queen, nothing can be done about White's deadly passed
pawns.} 48. Bg1 e3 ({Or} 48... Qd8 49. a7 {and the pawns go through.}) 49. b8=Q
e2 50. Bxe2 Qxe2 51. Qb7+ Kd6 52. a7 Bd5 53. Qxd5+ Kxd5 54. a8=Q+ Kd6 55. Qa3+
Ke6 56. Qe3+ Qxe3 57. Bxe3 Ke5 58. Bg5 f4 59. Kg1 Kf5 60. h4 ({
Black resigns, as after} 60. h4 Kg4 61. Kf2 {
White wins in elementary style as follows:} -- (61... Kf5 62. Kf3 {
, when one pawn goes and the rest will follow soon.}) (61... h5 62. Bh6 Kxh4 ({
the pawns drop after} 62... f3 63. g3 Kf5 64. Kxf3) 63. Kf3 $1 {
(Black is in zugzwang)} g5 64. Bg7 g4+ 65. Kxf4 g3 66. Bf6# {.}) (61... h6 62.
Bxh6 Kxh4 63. Kf3 g5 64. Bf8 Kh5 65. Bd6 Kg6 66. Bxf4 gxf4 (66... Kf5 67. Bxg5
Kxg5 68. Kg3 {is another winning pawn ending}) 67. Kxf4 Kf6 68. Kg4 Kg6 69. g3
{and it's all over. --- Yes, objectively Black may be able to equalize against
the early Nd5 lines, but White reaches a non-forcing, double-edged positional
struggle where he can play for a win. --- Now let's look at a more direct line:
Kramnik's 8 Bg5.})) 1-0

[Event "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2004.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2004.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5
{This idea of Karpov's was revived by Kramnik, with the additional points of
queenside castling and attack.} Be6 {According to Richard Palliser, in his
'Starting Out' book on the Najdorf, this is the best move as it prevents the
white bishop from reaching c4, and it's certainly a good move - but not the
only one. While c4 is indeed a nice spot for the king's bishop, one must also
recognize that moving it again loses time;} ({
so in my opinion Black can just ignore White's threat with} 8... O-O {
(for which see the next game).}) ({
On the other hand, passive play by Black can allow this strong repositioning:} 
8... Nbd7 $6 9. a4 b6 10. Bc4 Bb7 11. Qe2 O-O 12. O-O Qc7 13. Rfd1 {has been played many times, and the verdict is in - White is better as both his bishops
are strong, while d5 is even weaker than usual! White scores around 70% from
this position. --- Here are three examples:} -- ({. Ganguly grinds:} 13... Rfc8
14. Nd2 h6 15. Bxf6 {
(we've seen all this before: White eliminates the defenders of d5)} Nxf6 16.
Bb3 Bc6 17. Nf1 Qb7 18. Nd5 b5 19. axb5 Bxb5 20. Qf3 Bxf1 21. Kxf1 a5 22. Qe2
Ne8 23. Rd3 Bd8 24. Rf3 a4 25. Rxa4 Rxa4 26. Bxa4 Qxb2 27. Qd1 Nf6 28. Bb3 Qd4
29. Rd3 Qxe4 30. Nxf6+ {(there goes the other one!)} Bxf6 ({not} 30... gxf6 $2
31. Qh5 {with a decisive attack}) 31. Rxd6 {- the dust has cleared and what do
we see? Opposite bishops that favour the attacker, here White; a focus for
said attack, f7, that can never be defended by the black bishop; a passed
white c-pawn; White owns the d-file and the eternally weak d5-square is a good
jumping-off point for all of his pieces. All this means a lot of suffering for
Black! Indeed, it took 90 moves, but White finally won in S.Ganguly-H.Nakamura,
Khanty-Mansiysk 2005.}) ({. Kramnik scores twice:} 13... h6 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15.
Nd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 {(with just a few quick chops, Kramnik exchanges all the
defenders of the d5-square) and now:} -- (16... Bxd5 17. Rxd5 {(the then World
Champion has reached the "ABD - remember the contents of this: there is one
minor piece to each side, a knight for White and dark-squared bishop for Black,
and White holds the d5-square - the knight normally dominates the bad bishop
and White has every chance of winning, as Kramnik does here against the
current World Championship Challenger)} b5 18. c3 Qc4 19. Qc2 Rfb8 20. Nd2 Qc6
21. a5 Rc8 22. Qd3 Rab8 23. g3 Qb7 24. Nf1 Rc4 25. b3 Rc6 26. Ne3 {(the white
night is in range of d5, and any slight counterplay Black may have had is gone;
I would call Black positionally busted here, though Mr. Fritz, in the absence
of direct threats, sees only equality until...)} g6 27. h4 h5 28. Qd2 Bf8 29.
Nc2 Rc5 30. Nb4 Rbc8 31. Rd3 Kh7 32. Nd5 {(the knight actually gets there,
when the machine finally spits out clear advantage!)} Bh6 33. Qd1 Rf8 34. Nf6+
Kg7 35. Qf3 b4 $2 {(a blunder under pressure)} 36. cxb4 Qxb4 37. Nd7 f5 38.
Nxf8 Kxf8 39. Rxd6 {1-0 V.Kramnik-B.Gelfand, Cap d'Agde (rapid) 2003.}) (16...
Rac8 17. c3 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Qc4 19. Qxc4 Rxc4 20. Nd2 Rc6 {
(White can squeeze this ending like a ripe lemon)} 21. Kf1 g6 22. Ke2 Kg7 23.
Kd3 Rfc8 {(note that Black's c-file play, so typical of the Sicilian, means
absolutely nothing here, as the doubled rooks are stymied by the
well-protected c3-pawn)} 24. g3 Kf6 25. c4 Bd8 26. b3 Ke6 27. f4 f5 28. Re1 Bf6
29. Nf3 fxe4+ 30. Rxe4 Rc5 31. fxe5 dxe5 32. Nd4+ Ke7 33. Ne2 Rxd5+ 34. cxd5
Kd6 35. Nc3 h5 36. Rc4 Kd7 37. Ne4 Bd8 38. Rxc8 Kxc8 39. Nd6+ {(the knight
utterly dominates the bad bishop) 1-0 V.Kramnik-E.Pähtz, Bonn (simul) 2004.} ({
Black resigns in view of} 39. Nd6+ Kd7 40. Nf7 Bc7 41. Ke4 Ke7 42. Nxe5 {
and wins.})))) 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Qd3 Nc6 11. O-O-O {This is the essence of
Kramnik's variation: long castling, direct pressure on d6, complete control of
d5. All this sounds pretty tremendous, but there was a price: Black has the
two bishops, and unlike so many Boleslavsky-type positions, here the
dark-squared one can often be activated on g5, or as a support for a ...Nd4
manoeuvre.} Be7 {In this tough World Champion vs. World Champion battle, Anand
first defends solidly, and only later counter-attacks.} ({However, Topalov
later (after Anand switched sides in the position!) got a short draw with
Black with the immediate counter-attack} 11... Qb6 {which might be best:} 12.
Qxd6 ({the cautious} 12. Rhf1 O-O 13. Nd5 {doesn't seem to get anywhere after}
Bxd5 14. Qxd5 Rfd8 15. Kb1 Ne7 {, which transposes to Bu Xiangzhi's win as
Black given in the note to White's 10th move in the next game}) 12... Be7 13.
Nd5 Bxd5 14. Qxd5 O-O 15. Qd2 ({or} 15. Rhf1 Rac8 {
and Black has more than enough for the pawn in view of the open queenside files
}) 15... Qxf2 {(Black has recovered his pawn with equality)} 16. Bc4 Qh4 17.
Qe2 Rac8 18. a3 Bf6 19. Kb1 Nd4 20. Nxd4 exd4 21. g3 Qg5 22. Rhf1 Qe3 23. Rf3 {
½-½ V.Anand-V.Topalov, Morelia/Linares 2008.}) ({A weaker alternative is} 
11... Nd4 12. Nxd4 exd4 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 {as Carlsen demonstrates - with
the only minor pieces being opposite-coloured bishops, and only White
attacking (even in the endgame), the difference between White's strong bishop
and Black's self-blocked one turns out to be significant:} O-O 15. Qf3 Be5 16.
Bd3 Qf6 17. Qxf6 Bxf6 18. Rhe1 Rfe8 19. Rxe8+ Rxe8 20. f4 g6 21. b4 Kf8 22. Kb2
Ke7 23. Kb3 Rc8 24. g4 Bh4 25. Rf1 Kd7 26. Rf3 Rh8 27. Rh3 Bf6 28. g5 {
(Black's bishop is vulnerable and just can't find anything to do)} Bg7 29. Rf3
f5 30. h4 h5 31. Rf1 Re8 32. b5 Kc7 33. bxa6 bxa6 34. Ka4 Re3 35. Ka5 Rh3 36.
Kxa6 Rxh4 37. Re1 Kd8 38. Bb5 d3 39. Kb7 Be5 {(the poor bishop finally finds a
purpose in life - to sacrifice itself for its king! - but this only delays the
inevitable)} 40. fxe5 Re4 41. Rc1 d2 42. Rd1 Rxe5 43. Rxd2 f4 44. a4 {
1-0 M.Carlsen-S.Karjakin, Nice (blindfold rapid) 2008.}) 12. Kb1 O-O 13. Nd5
Bg5 14. h4 $5 {A bold pawn sacrifice to open lines - but while in principle I
love such things, here it seems Black has enough defensive resources.} ({
In my opinion, the slower} 14. g3 a5 15. h4 {of S.Ganguly-M.Paragua, Calvia
Olympiad 2004, is better, when White was finally able to build up an attack
and won in 52 moves. However, this variation doesn't mean too much if
Topalov's improvement 11...Qb6 stands up, which I think it does.}) 14... Bxh4
15. g3 Bf6 16. Qf3 Bg5 17. Qh5 h6 18. f4 Bf6 19. Nd2 {Black has made five of
his last six moves with his dark-squared bishop, but White still can't find a
way to break through - simply because that bishop exists!} ({
Even taking it doesn't help:} 19. Nxf6+ Qxf6 {
with a strong counter-attack against f4}) ({while after} 19. f5 Bxd5 20. Rxd5
Rc8 21. Rhd1 Qc7 22. c3 ({not} 22. Rxd6 $2 Nd4 {
, when Black interrupts the rooks and wins}) 22... Rfd8 {Black holds the pawn
with advantage, as White can't get g4-g5 in due to the infamous dark square
blockade. In general, the attack is not good enough to win as White has no
dark-squared bishop - though one must praise Anand's fine defence, and now...
counter-attack!}) 19... Nd4 20. Bc4 Rc8 21. c3 Nb5 22. f5 Bxd5 23. Bxd5 {
With the bishop on d5 White is threatening Qg6 and Rxh6 - but Anand has
something up his sleeve!} Rxc3 $3 {A rook!} 24. Qg6 ({
It's very dangerous to take the "free gift":} 24. bxc3 Nxc3+ 25. Kc2 ({
if the white king goes to a dark square, he must beware the unopposed and
suddenly lively dark-squared bishop:} 25. Kb2 Nxd5 26. exd5 e4+ {
with a winning attack}) 25... Nxd5 26. exd5 Qa5 {
and Black's attack is worth the rook.}) 24... Qb6 25. Rxh6 ({
By threatening mate Kramnik forces Anand to take the draw with} 25. Rxh6 Na3+
26. Ka1 Nc2+ 27. Kb1 Na3+ {etc. --- A great fighting game between the
champions, but I don't think the idea of an opposite side mating attack is
really there when Black has counterplay on the dark squares.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sean Reader Memorial, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Pruess, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5
O-O {Although Anand held a complicated game after 8...Be6, the simple text may
be best - and statistically Black scores very well with this (White can only
make 47% against it!).} ({A third alternative won't do:} 8... Nxe4 {fails to}
9. Nxe4 Bxg5 10. Nxd6+ Ke7 11. Nxc8+ Qxc8 12. Qd5 $1 {with a tremendous attack
against Black's uncastled king in A.Pomar Salamanca-A.Beni, Lugano 1959.}) 9.
Bxf6 ({If the idea of 8...Be6 is to prevent 9 Bc4, shouldn't I play it now?
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any way to make it work after} 9. Bc4 b5 10. Bd5
Nxd5 11. Qxd5 Ra7 {, when Black will drive the white queen back with ...Be6.})
9... Bxf6 10. O-O ({Alternatives here seem unpromising: --} 10. Nd5 Be6 11.
Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. Qxd6 Nc6 {and Black had good compensation for the pawn in Vo.Wolf-F.Middendorf, German League 1984.}) (10. Qd3 {is the most popular move,
trying to get back to Kramnik-Anand, but at the board I was put off by the
possibility} Be6 11. O-O-O Qb6 $1 ({instead of} 11... Be7 12. Kb1 Nc6 13. Nd5 {
, which does transpose back to the previous game}) {, when I couldn't find a
good answer for White. --- Looking this up later, I was glad I trusted my
intuition, as Ganguly - who, as we have seen, has had much success with this
variation - lost from this position! There are two main possibilities:} 12. --
(12. Rhf1 Nc6 13. Kb1 Rfd8 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. Qxd5 Ne7 {(note how Black keeps d5
under control, unlike in our ABD positions where Black has only one minor
piece left, the dark-squared bishop)} 16. Qa5 Qc6 17. Bf3 b5 18. Rd3 Rac8 19.
Rc3 Qb7 20. Rd1 $2 (20. Rxc8 {is better, but Black can play} Nxc8 {
with good prospects and the strong idea of ...Nb6-c4}) 20... Nc6 $1 {(winning material - the horrible crush that follows is worth looking at as an object
lesson!)} 21. Rxc6 Qxc6 22. Qd2 b4 23. Bg4 Rc7 24. Qd3 a5 25. Nxa5 Qc5 26. Nb3
Qxf2 27. Qe2 Qa7 28. Rd5 Rc6 29. Qd1 Ra6 30. Nc1 Ra8 31. a3 bxa3 32. b3 a2+ 33.
Ka1 Qe3 34. Rd3 Qxe4 35. Bf3 Qb4 36. c3 e4 $1 {(the revitalized and unopposed
dark-squared bishop supplies the coup de grâce) 0-1 S.Ganguly-Bu Xiangzhi,
Internet (blitz) 2006.}) (12. Qxd6 Qxf2 13. Nc5 Be7 $1 14. Qxe7 Nc6 15. Qd6 ({
or} 15. Qxb7 Qxc5 {and Black has compensation for the pawn, with typical
Sicilian attacking chances}) 15... Rfd8 16. Qc7 Qxc5 {and Black recovered his
piece with a slight advantage, due to his superiority on the dark squares, and
finally won in H.Mas-L.Pantsulaia, Dubai 2008. --- In short, I already didn't
like my position, and I could have been in real trouble if...})) 10... Be6 11.
Nd5 Nd7 ({...Black had played} 11... Bg5 $1 {here, preserving his two bishops.
Let's see Gligoric give us a lesson (from 1962!) on how to handle the Black
position:} 12. Qd3 Nc6 13. c3 Ne7 14. Nxe7+ Bxe7 15. Rfd1 Qb6 16. Qc2 Rad8 17.
Bf3 Kh8 18. c4 Rc8 19. Nd2 Qc5 20. b3 Bd8 $1 {
(Black has kept one defender of d5 and activates his unopposed bishop)} 21. Qd3
Bb6 22. Qe2 Qa5 23. Nf1 Bd4 {(that's really activated!)} 24. Rac1 b5 25. cxb5
axb5 26. Ne3 Rc5 27. Nd5 Bxd5 28. Rxc5 dxc5 29. exd5 f5 30. Qd2 Qxd2 31. Rxd2
e4 32. Be2 e3 33. Rc2 exf2+ 34. Kf1 b4 35. Bf3 g5 36. h3 Rf6 37. Re2 Ra6 38.
Bh5 c4 $1 {(decisive)} 39. d6 ({White can't play} 39. bxc4 b3 $1) 39... c3 40.
d7 Rd6 {0-1 E.Cobo Arteaga-S.Gligoric, Havana 1962.}) 12. a4 Rc8 13. c3 Nb6 ({
The alternative} 13... Bg5 {still favours Black - realizing that, I decided
not to tempt fate anymore and chopped it off!}) 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 15. Na5 Qe7 16.
Bg4 Bxg4 17. Qxg4 d5 $5 {
A risky "freeing" move that also opens the h1-a8 diagonal for White.} ({
Simpler is} 17... Rc5 18. Nb3 Rc7 {with solid equality, as Black should always
have counterplay with ...Nc4, while the white knight is a long way from d5.})
18. Rfd1 $1 Rcd8 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. Qc4 $6 (20. Qe4 $1 {with an X-ray attack is
best, when Black has a difficult game, though it seems he might equalize with
a number of Fritz moves:} Nf4 ({not} 20... Nf6 21. Qxb7 Qxb7 22. Nxb7 Rb8 23.
Nc5 {and White stays a pawn up in the endgame}) 21. Qxb7 Qg5 22. Qf3 {
and Black is struggling to show he has enough for the pawn - although he might
succeed with the computer's recommendation of} Rde8 {
, the burden of proof is still on Black.}) 20... Nf4 21. g3 (21. Qe4 $2 {
is too late due to} Qc7 22. Nxb7 f5 {, winning the knight.}) 21... Qg5 22. Nxb7
$6 ({White should run for the draw with} 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Nxb7 Qg4 24. Qxa6
Nh3+ 25. Kg2 Nf4+ {etc.}) 22... Qg4 23. Qf1 Rb8 {Now Black misses his chance!}
({The white king must be forced to g2 to make the X-ray attack on b2 effective:
} 23... Nh3+ 24. Kg2 ({obviously not} 24. Kh1 $4 Qf3+ 25. Qg2 Rxd1+ {etc})
24... Rb8 {and White is in big trouble; e.g.} 25. Nc5 ({or} 25. f3 Qc8 26. Nd6
Rxb2+ {with a strong attack}) 25... e4 $1 26. b4 (26. Re1 {isn't much better:}
Rxb2 27. Rxe4 Qf5 {and Black's attack is too strong}) 26... Qf3+ 27. Kxh3 Rb6 {
and White must give up his queen to avoid mate.}) 24. f3 $1 {
The only move, but good enough - the game now devolves to a draw.} Qg6 (24...
Nh3+ 25. Kh1 Qc8 26. Nd6 {
doesn't work for Black here, as b2 doesn't fall with check.}) 25. Rd6 Qc2 26.
gxf4 Rxb7 27. Qf2 Qxf2+ 28. Kxf2 Rxb2+ 29. Kg3 exf4+ 30. Kxf4 g6 31. Rxa6 Rc8
32. a5 Rxc3 33. Rb6 ({The draw is clear in view of the variation} 33. Rb6 Rf2
34. a6 Rfxf3+ 35. Ke4 ({not} 35. Kg4 $4 h5+ {
and Black mates in nine according to the oracle}) 35... Rfe3+ 36. Kd4 Red3+ 37.
Ke4 Re3+ {and neither side can play for a win. --- I would put this Kramnik
attack at the bottom of our five Be2 Najdorf lines, as Black can essentially
ignore it with 8...0-0, when I don't see an effective continuation for White -
giving up the dark-squared bishop so early can be traumatic for White if he
doesn't get a direct attack, as the old Gligoric game cited in the notes
demonstrates.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "New York (rapid)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov, G."]
[Black "De Firmian, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. Kh1 {Our fourth try! The main idea of this useful waiting move is to
prevent ...b7-b5, as the next note shows. However, it may be too early to lose
time with such "sophistication", as Black seems to do well with the quiet 9...
b6 (given in the notes) or 9...Nc6 (seen in the next game).} Nbd7 {
Self-blocking and too passive.} ({The seemingly natural} 9... b5 {is also poor:
} 10. a4 $1 b4 11. Nd5 Bb7 (11... Nxd5 12. Qxd5 {is obviously good for White})
({, while} 11... Nxe4 $2 {was drastically punished by} 12. Bf3 f5 13. Bxe4 fxe4
14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15. Qd5+ Qf7 16. Qxa8 {- White takes everything that's offered -
} Bb7 17. Qa7 e3 18. Qxe3 Qg6 19. Qg3 Qxc2 20. Bh6 {and Black had nothing for
the rook and soon resigned in J.Cuadras Avellana-V.Sara, L'Estartit 2007}) 12.
Nxe7+ Qxe7 13. f3 {(White has the two bishops, while Black has ragged pawns
and the weakness at d6 - but freeing himself also frees the white bishops, as
can be seen)} d5 14. exd5 Bxd5 15. Bg5 Rd8 16. Qe1 Nc6 17. Qf2 h6 18. Be3 Bxb3
19. cxb3 Nd4 20. Bc4 Nd5 21. Rae1 Nxe3 22. Rxe3 Rd6 23. Re4 Nc6 24. f4 {
, when White opened the game and went on to win in D.Jakovenko-E.Najer,
Russian Championship, Krasnoyarsk 2003.}) ({
Black does need to cover d5 - he can do this with the flexible and good} 9...
b6 {, as played by both Anand and his challenger Gelfand (against Anand!):} 10.
Be3 Bb7 11. f3 b5 {(Black did a two-step to get here, but perhaps Kh1 didn't
help White either - the main point is that the d5 weakness is neutralized)} 12.
a4 b4 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 {(White must take with the pawn, and because he
soon has no b-pawn, it's hard to enforce the c4-c5 break)} Nd7 15. c4 bxc3 16.
bxc3 Bg5 17. Bg1 f5 ({Gelfand drew easily with} 17... Qc7 18. c4 a5 19. Nd2 f5
20. Nb1 Nc5 21. Nc3 Rf6 22. Rb1 Ba6 23. Qc2 {½-½ V.Anand-B.Gelfand, Dos
Hermanas 1997 - as he got nothing with White, the Champion decided to give
Black a try!}) 18. c4 Nf6 19. Rb1 Nh5 20. g3 f4 {(Black uses his kingside pawn
majority to create play against the white king and...)} 21. g4 Nf6 22. Nd2 Bc8
23. Bd3 h5 24. h3 Bh4 25. Kg2 Bg3 26. Bf2 Bxf2 27. Rxf2 hxg4 28. hxg4 Nxg4 {
(sacrifices a piece!)} 29. fxg4 Qh4 30. Nf3 Qg3+ 31. Kf1 e4 32. Bxe4 Bxg4 33.
Qd3 Bh3+ 34. Ke2 Rae8 35. Rg1 Bf5 {(plus a queen!)} 36. Rxg3 fxg3 37. Nd2 gxf2
38. Kf1 Bxe4 39. Nxe4 Rf4 40. Nxf2 Ref8 41. Ke1 Rxf2 42. Qg6 R2f6 43. Qg4 Rf1+
44. Ke2 R1f2+ 45. Ke1 R8f6 46. Qc8+ Kh7 47. Qxa6 Ra2 48. c5 Rh6 49. Qd3+ Kg8
50. Qe4 Rh1+ {(and a rook to finish the game!)} 51. Qxh1 Ra1+ 52. Kd2 Rxh1 53.
c6 Kf7 {0-1 M.Adams-V.Anand, Bastia (rapid) 2005. A brilliant win against a
great player!}) 10. a4 b6 11. f3 Bb7 12. Be3 {Now White has a stable advantage,
where Black has got in neither ...b7-b5 nor ...d6-d5, and Kasparov commences
to grind like Karpov!} Qc7 13. Rf2 {A typical manoeuvre: White doubles on the
d-file with the rook in front, so d6 is fixed as a weakness.} Rad8 14. Bf1 Nc5
15. Rd2 h6 ({After} 15... Nxb3 16. cxb3 Rc8 ({or} 16... d5 17. exd5 Bb4 18. Rc1
{and Black doesn't have enough for the pawn}) 17. Rc1 Qd8 18. Bc4 {
White has activated his light-squared bishop while tightening his grip on d5.})
16. Nxc5 dxc5 17. Bc4 {White trades old advantages for new: now it looks like
a Rauzer Ruy, with what Fischer used to describe as a "gaping" hole at d5.} Nh5
18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Rxd5 Bg5 20. Bg1 Nf4 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Qe1 a5 23. Rd1 Kf8 24.
Bf2 Rd6 25. h4 Be7 26. Rxd6 Qxd6 27. g3 Ne6 28. c3 g5 29. h5 {Obviously White
has a clear plus, but I don't think the following pawn sac helps Black, as he
will always have to watch for a g4-g5 break.} g4 $6 ({
Trying to hold on grimly with} 29... Ng7 {is better.}) 30. fxg4 Bg5 31. Kg2 Ke7
32. Qe2 Qd2 33. Qxd2 Bxd2 34. Bxe6 Kxe6 35. Kf3 Kd6 36. Ke2 Bc1 37. Kd3 Kc6 ({
White wins after} 37... Bxb2 38. Be3 Kc6 39. Kc4 Kd6 40. Kb3 Ba1 41. Bxh6 {.})
38. Be1 Bg5 39. Kc4 Be3 40. b4 cxb4 41. cxb4 axb4 42. Bxb4 Bc1 43. Bf8 Bg5 44.
Bg7 f6 {Black's bishop can only defend pawns on the same colour squares - but
with all his pawns on the same colour squares as his bishop, the pawns are
indefensible! A lot of players have problems with this paradox!} 45. Bh8 Kd6
46. Kb5 Kc7 47. Bg7 Kb7 48. Bf8 Kc7 49. Be7 Kd7 50. Bb4 Be3 ({
Black can only delay the following break:} 50... Kc7 51. Be1 Be3 52. g5 $1 {
(there it is!)} fxg5 ({both} 52... hxg5 53. h6) ({, and} 52... Bxg5 53. Bf2 {
win easily for White}) 53. g4 Kd7 54. Bb4 Ke8 ({or} 54... Ke6 55. Bf8 Kf7 56.
Bxh6 Kg8 57. Kc4 Kf7 58. Kd5 Bf4 59. Kd6 Kg8 60. Ke6 Kh7 61. Bf8 {
and the bishop escapes with an easy win for White}) 55. Bc3 {
and the pawns begin to drop.}) 51. g5 $1 fxg5 ({
Again Black has no good choice, as} 51... hxg5 52. h6) ({and} 51... Bxg5 52.
Kxb6 {both lose quickly.}) 52. g4 Ke6 53. Kc6 Bd4 54. Bd6 {. A final demonstration that the bishop is unable to defend the pawns on its own colour! ---
Clearly the self-blocking 9...Nbd7 was a mistake, but 9...b6 (Gelfand/Anand)
looks quite reasonable for Black. --- In the next game my opponent tries an
even simpler move: 9...Nc6.} 1-0

[Event "Metropolitan Invitational, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Yankovsky, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "161"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. Kh1 Nc6 {In my view this is Black's simplest move: while White is
making profound manoeuvres, Black just develops a piece to a good square!
Meanwhile the queen's bishop may still come effectively to either of its
regulation spots, e6 or b7. Note that the latter is preferred if White
impetuously goes f2-f4, leaving the e-pawn unsupported. I've said this before,
but it's worth repeating: generally speaking, f2-f4 is best when the black
bishop is already committed to e6 and thus can't attack e4.} 10. Be3 ({
What not to play can be seen here, as Black gets good counterplay:} 10. f4 {
(premature, as the black bishop can still go to b7 - Carlsen doesn't have his
move order worked out yet, but just wait for Carlsen-Nakamura!)} b5 {(correct, 
of course, to aim the Laufer at e4, which can nevermore be protected by a pawn)
} 11. Be3 Bb7 12. a4 exf4 13. Rxf4 Ne5 14. Qd4 Nc6 15. Qd2 Ne5 16. Qd4 Nc6 17.
Qd2 Ne5 18. axb5 {(Carlsen avoids the short draw but his courage is not
rewarded as, objectively, White - if he plays on - is slightly worse in view
of the weakness of his e-pawn)} axb5 19. Re1 (19. Rxa8 Qxa8 {
adds more pressure to the weak e4-pawn}) 19... Ng6 20. Rff1 b4 21. Nd5 Nxe4 22.
Nxe7+ Qxe7 23. Qxb4 Nh4 24. Bf3 Nxf3 {(Black's central and kingside play is
worth more than White's unmoved, if passed, b-pawn)} 25. gxf3 Qd7 26. Bf4 ({not
} 26. fxe4 $2 Ra4 {and wins}) 26... Ra4 27. Qb6 Nf6 28. Qxd6 Qg4 $1 {
(Carlsen is on the wrong side of this mess!)} 29. Nd4 Rxd4 30. Qxd4 Bxf3+ 31.
Rxf3 Qxf3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Kh1 Qc8 34. Qf2 Qb7+ 35. Kg1 Ne4 36. Qd4 Re8 37.
Re2 h6 38. h3 Re6 39. Kh2 f5 40. b4 Kh7 41. Re3 Rg6 42. Re2 Qb5 43. Re1 Rc6 44.
Rxe4 fxe4 45. Qxe4+ Rg6 46. Bg3 Qd7 47. h4 h5 48. c4 Qd2+ 49. Kh3 Qc3 50. Qf4
Qxb4 51. Qf5 Qxc4 52. Qxh5+ Rh6 53. Qf3 Qe6+ 54. Kh2 Rf6 55. Qd3+ Rf5 56. Qc2
Qd5 57. Bf2 Kh6 58. Be3+ Kg6 59. Bf2 Kf6 60. Bg3 Rf1 61. Bf2 Rd1 62. Qc3+ Qe5+
63. Qxe5+ Kxe5 64. h5 Kf6 65. Bh4+ Kf5 66. Be7 Rd7 {
0-1 M.Carlsen-I.Nepomniachtchi, Wijk aan Zee 2011.}) 10... Be6 11. f3 (11. f4 {
is of course playable with the bishop on e6, but the women's world champion
uses Timman's method from Karpov-Timman to defuse this:} exf4 12. Bxf4 d5 13.
exd5 ({or} 13. e5 Ne4 14. Bd3 Nc5 {with equality - a theme we've seen before})
13... Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf3 Qc4 16. Be2 Qd5 17. Bf3 Qxd1 18. Rfxd1 Rac8
19. c3 Rfd8 20. Be3 b5 21. Rxd8+ Nxd8 22. Nd4 Bc5 23. Nxe6 Bxe3 24. Nxd8 Rxd8
25. Rd1 Rxd1+ 26. Bxd1 Kf8 27. a4 Bc1 28. axb5 axb5 29. b3 Bd2 30. Be2 {
(White wanted a draw and got it) ½-½ A.Entem-Hou Yifan, St Lorrain 2005.
The only problem with this line for either side is how drawish it is (see the
next note for more practical problems).}) 11... Na5 {My opponent needed a win
to have a chance for the IM norm, so he kept the pieces on - but now White
gets a Geller-style edge.} ({Correct is} 11... d5 {, when Kramnik could find
nothing for White. As we have seen, sometimes the ...d6-d5 break is good,
sometimes not... all depends on the precise position. Here Black is well
placed, while White's f2-f3 and Kh1 have not accomplished much:} 12. exd5 Nxd5
13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. c3 ({White should not try to win a pawn:} 14. c4 Be6 15. Nc5
Bf5 16. Nxb7 Qc7 17. Nc5 Qa7 {is much better for Black due to the pin}) 14...
Rc8 15. Qe1 Na5 16. Rd1 Nxb3 17. axb3 Qa5 18. Qg3 Be6 19. b4 Qa2 20. Bc1 Bf6 {
½-½ V.Kramnik-F.Vallejo Pons, Linares 2004.}) 12. Nd5 Bxd5 ({
Relatively better is} 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bd7 15. Qd2 f5 16. Bd3
{, when White has a slight plus with the plan c2-c4/b3-b4 and c4-c5, whereas
Black can't make much of his pawn majority. Nevertheless, the similar position
reached in the game should favour White more, due to the two bishops.}) 13.
exd5 Qc7 14. Nxa5 Qxa5 15. c4 {I have switched to Geller's plan: the bishop
pair and the sound majority give White a clear advantage.} Nd7 16. b4 $2 {
Impetuous! There was no need to rush; the advantage wasn't going to vanish!} ({
Correct is simply to prepare this advance with} 16. a3 {, when after} h6 17. b4
Qc7 18. Qd2 {White has the kind of position Geller used to win in his sleep!})
16... Qxb4 17. Rb1 Qa3 18. Rb3 Qxa2 19. Rxb7 Rfd8 20. Bd3 Bf6 21. Rf2 Qa3 22.
Rb3 Qa5 23. Qb1 Rdb8 ({After} 23... g6 24. Ra2 Qc7 25. Rb7 {White has good
compensation with Black's pieces tied up - but Yankovsky's actual move just
gives back the pawn and equalizes.}) 24. Bxh7+ Kf8 25. Ra2 Rxb3 26. Rxa5 Rxb1+
27. Bxb1 Bd8 28. Ra3 Bb6 29. Bf5 Bxe3 30. Bxd7 Bc5 31. Ra2 a5 32. g3 {
The tactics are over and a dead-equal ending has been reached. Now Black tried
to win this unpromising position!} Bb4 33. Kg2 Ke7 34. Bc6 Rh8 35. h4 f5 36. Re2
Kf6 37. Bd7 Ra8 38. Ba4 Rc8 39. Bc6 Rc7 40. g4 g6 41. Kh3 Rh7 42. Bb5 Bc5 43.
Ba4 Ba3 44. Ra2 Bb4 45. Re2 Rc7 46. Bc6 Re7 47. Kg3 Kg7 48. Ba4 Rc7 49. Bc6 Rc8
50. Bb5 Rf8 51. Bd7 fxg4 52. fxg4 Rf1 53. Kg2 Rf4 54. Rc2 Kf6 55. Rf2 Be1 56.
Rxf4+ exf4 57. Kf3 Ke5 (57... Bxh4 {is the deadest of draws; e.g.} 58. Kxf4 Bf2
59. Ke4 Ke7 60. Bb5 Kd8 61. Kd3 Kc7 62. Kc2 Kb6 63. Kb3 Kc5 64. Ka4 Be1 {
and absolutely nothing is happening for either side.}) 58. h5 g5 59. h6 Kf6 60.
Be8 Bb4 61. Ke4 Bc5 62. Kf3 Ke7 63. Ba4 Bd4 64. Ke4 Bh8 65. Bd1 Kf6 66. Bb3 Kg6
67. Bd1 Bf6 (67... Kxh6 68. Kf5 Bd4 69. Ke6 Bc5 70. Kf6 Ba3 71. Kf7 Bb4 72. Kf6
{is another draw.}) 68. h7 $1 {White sacrifices the outside pawn to infiltrate
with his king. Black must carefully play for a draw now - something he doesn't
want!} Kxh7 69. Kf5 Be7 ({Black has to go for} 69... Bd4 $1 {
(restraining the c4-c5 break), when after} 70. Kxg5 Kg7 71. Kxf4 Bc5 {
he reaches a pawn down but clearly drawn opposite bishop ending.}) 70. Ke6 Bf8
71. c5 $3 {Just like that, White is winning, as the d-pawn will cost Black a
piece, and the bishop on d1 splendidly copes with both opposing passed pawns.
Note that the anti-Najdorf white king's bishop won the ending from d1 in
Geller-Fischer and Kayumov-Carlsen as well - must be a magic square!} dxc5 72.
d6 Bxd6 73. Kxd6 c4 74. Kc5 c3 75. Kc4 Kg7 76. Kxc3 Kf6 77. Kd4 $1 Ke6 78. Ke4
Kd6 79. Kf5 Kd5 80. Kxg5 Ke4 81. Kh4 $1 ({My opponent took a long time
calculating all the variations, then resigned as there is no salvation:} 81.
Kh4 -- (81... Ke5 82. g5 f3 ({or} 82... Kf5 83. Kh5) 83. Bxf3 a4 84. Bd1 a3 85.
Bb3 {and Black's only hope is stopped.}) (81... Kd3 82. g5 Kd2 83. g6 $1 Kxd1
84. g7 f3 85. Kg3 a4 ({or} 85... Ke2 86. g8=Q f2 87. Qe6+ Kf1 88. Qe3 {
and mates}) 86. Kxf3 a3 87. g8=Q {and the a-pawn is stopped on the sixth rank.}
) (81... Ke3 82. g5 f3 83. Bxf3 $1 a4 ({or} 83... Kxf3 84. g6 a4 85. g7 a3 86.
g8=Q {and one sees again that White queens on the perfect square}) 84. Bd5 {
and the a-pawn is stopped again.}) (81... f3 82. Kg3 f2 83. Kxf2 Kf4 84. Ke1 $1
a4 85. Kd2 {and the white king is in the square of Black's pawn. --- What a
great bishop on d1! --- But I think that 9 Kh1 is just too fancy for practical
play: one can get carried away trying not to give your opponent information.
Sometimes it's better just to make good moves! --- Now let's proceed to the
fifth, final, freshest and finest of the Be2 anti-Najdorf lines.})) 1-0

[Event "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Nakamura, H."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 ({After the opening moves} 2... Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. f3 a6 11. g4 Rd8 12.
Be3 Qc7 13. h4 b5 14. g5 Nd7 {, the critical position is reached, and now:} 15.
g6 $3 {- Tal's patented blow! --- Let's take a look at all three defensive
tries, but note that, no matter what, Tal opens lines:} -- (15... hxg6 16. h5
$1 gxh5 17. Rxh5 Nf6 18. Rh1 d5 19. e5 Nxe5 20. Bf4 Bd6 21. Qh2 Kf8 22. Qh8+
Ng8 23. Rh7 f5 24. Bh6 Rd7 25. Bxb5 $3 {(what a picture! - Tal has sac'ed both
bishops, but the rule is, as he liked to point out, that his opponent could
take only one piece at a time!)} Rf7 26. Rg1 Ra7 27. Nd4 Ng4 28. fxg4 Be5 29.
Nc6 Bxc3 30. Be3 d4 31. Rgh1 {(the h-file is the attacking highway)} Rd7 ({if} 
31... axb5 $2 {then} 32. Qxg8+ {and mates}) 32. Bg5 axb5 33. R1h6 d3 34. bxc3
d2+ 35. Kd1 Qxc6 36. Rf6+ $1 Rf7 37. Qxg7+ {
(White has swept aside all defenders) 1-0 M.Tal-A.Koblencs, Riga 1957.}) (15...
fxg6 16. h5 gxh5 17. Rxh5 Nf6 18. Rg5 Ne5 19. Qg2 Bf8 20. Be2 Nc4 21. Bxc4 bxc4
22. Nd4 Rb8 23. Rh1 {(White has two open files to work with)} Rb7 24. Rh6 Kf7
25. Rh4 Qb6 26. Nd1 Qc7 27. f4 h6 28. Rg6 Re8 29. f5 e5 30. Nc3 $3 {(winning: White threatens Rxf6+ and Nd5, so Black avoids that - and is killed by a
different knight!)} Qd8 31. Nc6 {1-0 M.Tal-D.Mohrlok, Varna Olympiad 1962.}) (
15... Nc5 16. gxf7+ Kxf7 17. Bh3 {(aware that his weak king position will not
hold up in the long run, Black launches a wild attack and soon sacrifices
material)} Na4 18. f4 Nb4 19. f5 e5 20. Nxa4 Nxa2+ 21. Kb1 bxa4 22. Na5 Rb8 23.
Qd5+ Kf8 24. Kxa2 Qxc2 25. Rd2 Rxb2+ 26. Ka1 $1 {(but Tal, showing his mastery
of all phases of the game, calmly sidesteps the attack and, on his next move,
forces the exchange of queens when his material advantage will tell)} Qc3 27.
Qd3 {1-0 M.Tal-G.Stoltz, telegraph game 1959. --- Wonderful games! And it's
clear from the course of his present victory that Carlsen was well aware of
his Great Predecessor!})) 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7
8. Be3 $3 {I've tested the other moves, and I've analyzed the other moves, and
I've come to the conclusion that this move, 8 Be3, and this plan (deferring
castling so that 0-0-0 is still possible) is best in this position, and indeed
critical for the whole 6 Be2 line. Black either castles into an attack, or
puts his bishop on e6 where it won't be able to pressure e4 from b7 and so
allows a Karpovian f2-f4. Whatever Black does, White can play for an advantage.
--- First let's see two games where Black makes the natural move and castles
here... which is a mistake!} O-O ({Most likely} 8... Be6 {is best, which will
be covered in the last two games of this chapter. The advantage White can get
there is the typical Karpovian grind - Fritz +0.09! - which is fine if you're
patient and creative, as we already discussed in Karpov-Polugaevsky.}) ({
The weaker alternatives} 8... Nc6) ({and} 8... b5 {will be covered in the
notes to the following game, and they will also score badly on our Fritzometer
- but what of the game move? What could be more natural for a 2700 player than
just to castle into safety?}) 9. g4 $1 {Uh oh! Somehow I think Carlsen just
defenestrated "safety"! Since White can still go long, he takes the
opportunity to launch a savage attack!} Be6 ({If Black tries to hold up the
g4-g5 advance with ...h7-h6, he creates a potential lever so that White can, a
bit later, open lines even more forcefully! There are only five games in the
database with} 9... h6 {- and White won all five! Here's a drastic example:}
10. h4 Be6 11. g5 hxg5 12. hxg5 Nh7 13. Bxa6 $1 {(snapping off the Najdorf
a-pawn, sac'ing a piece, and clearing a diagonal for the white queen - one
can't ask more from one move!)} Nxg5 ({if} 13... Nxa6 {then} 14. Qh5 {crushes})
14. Bxb7 {and White was winning in the game E.Rodriguez Guerrero-D.Gomez
Anadon, Spanish Junior Championship 2002. --- Therefore Black has to allow the
following bayonet attack, which gains great space on the kingside, and simply
hope to survive.}) 10. g5 {Black only has two choices: here Nakamura tries to
activate the knight on b6 via d7, while we'll see the more defensive 10...Ne8
in the next game.} Nfd7 {White must formulate a plan of attack. Black,
following Steinitz, has not moved any of his three king-protecting pawns, so
there are no obvious levers. How can White break through? To borrow an old
quote: "Who can storm fortresses better than Philip of Macedon? Tal!" --- It's
important to know middlegame motifs as well as opening strategy. Tal figured
out a way, in his own battles against the Sicilian, to break down exactly this
kind of formation - by means of a pawn fork on g6! Black will then be forced
either to capture (thus creating a protrusion in the straight line of pawns -
at g6 - against which White can lever open a file), or do nothing and allow
White to take the f- or h-pawn, opening a file anyway! --- Here we should look
at the three Tal games (given in the note with 2...Nc6 above) where Black
tries all three defences, and is dismantled in three ways!} 11. h4 ({
Another kingside crush went} 11. Qd2 Nc6 12. Rg1 Re8 13. Nd5 Bf8 14. O-O-O b5
15. Kb1 Rb8 16. h4 a5 17. h5 a4 18. Nc1 Na5 19. a3 Nc4 20. Bxc4 bxc4 21. Na2 f5
22. exf5 Bxf5 23. Nab4 Qc8 24. g6 $1 {
(White crashes through with Tal's thematic blow)} Nf6 25. Nxf6+ gxf6 26. Bh6 c3
27. Qd5+ Be6 28. gxh7+ Kh8 29. Qf3 Bf5 30. Rg8+ Kxh7 31. Rxf8 Rxf8 32. Bxf8 Qe6
33. Qxc3 Rxf8 34. Qc7+ Rf7 35. Qxd6 Qxd6 36. Rxd6 Kh6 37. Nd5 Kg5 38. Kc1 Rh7
39. Rxf6 Rxh5 40. Rf8 Rh1+ 41. Kd2 Rh2 42. Rg8+ Kh6 43. Ke2 Bxc2 44. Rh8+ Bh7
45. Nf6 Kg7 46. Rxh7+ Rxh7 47. Nxh7 Kxh7 48. Ke3 {
1-0 A.Kosten-K.Zolnierowicz, Aix-les-Bains 1991.}) 11... Nb6 ({
My feeling is that Black absolutely must mix it up right now with} 11... a5 {
, before White castles and sets up to attack. White won the following confusing 
game, but Black certainly had his chances; in my opinion if Black wishes to
continue to "castle into it" on move 8, then this position will be the
critical battleground:} 12. f4 $5 ({
White might do well to switch to positional play with} 12. a4 {, exploiting
Black's weak b5-square - I think White has the edge here, and we'll see
Timoshenko win a similar position in the notes to the next game}) 12... exf4
13. Bxf4 {(it's clear that Black is in the game here, and then in a few moves
is outplayed in the complications)} Ne5 ({I recommend} 13... a4 $1 14. Nd4 Nc6
{with unclear mayhem: at least with the advanced a-pawn, castling queenside
for White will always be risky}) 14. Nd4 Nbc6 15. Ndb5 f5 16. Nd5 fxe4 17. Nbc7
Bxd5 18. Qxd5+ Kh8 19. Ne6 Qb6 20. Nxf8 Rxf8 21. Bxe5 Qf2+ 22. Kd1 dxe5 23. Rf1
Qb6 24. Rxf8+ Bxf8 25. Qf7 Qd8+ 26. Ke1 Nd4 27. Kf1 Qc8 28. Bg4 $1 {
(White now controls the tactics and wins)} Qc5 29. c3 Nf3 30. Bxf3 exf3 31. Rd1
Qc8 32. Qxf3 Bc5 33. Kg2 Be3 34. Rd7 h6 35. g6 h5 36. Rxg7 Qg4+ 37. Qxg4 hxg4
38. Rxb7 {1-0 A.Delchev-A.Colovic, Subotica 2003.}) 12. Qd2 N8d7 13. f4 $1 {
Carlsen opens every line in sight! Yes, Black gets a nice knight on e5, but
the open f-file will be seen to carry more weight in the ensuing battle.} exf4
14. Bxf4 Ne5 15. O-O-O Rc8 (15... Nec4 {gets nowhere after} 16. Qd4 {.}) 16.
Kb1 Qc7 17. h5 {White has a tremendous attacking position: both g5-g6 and
sometimes h5-h6 are threatened.} Rfe8 ({Or} 17... Nec4 18. Bxc4 Nxc4 19. Qd3
Na3+ 20. Kc1 Nb5 ({White doesn't mind the queen exchange here, as after} 20...
Qc4 21. Nd4 Qxd3 22. Rxd3 Nc4 23. Nf5 {he will get the two bishops and has a
target at d6 - note that White must be flexible: it's fun to win with attack,
but a positional grind can result in that same full point!}) 21. Nxb5 axb5 22.
h6 $1 {(less usual, but correct here)} ({not} 22. g6 $2 fxg6 {
and the f4-bishop is loose}) 22... g6 23. Kb1 {
and the weaknesses at b5 and d6 tell, not to mention g7!}) 18. Ka1 Bf8 19. Nd4
Qc5 20. g6 $1 {
Channelling Tal! White sacrifices a pawn, and three kingside files open.} Nec4
({If the pawn is accepted, then} 20... fxg6 21. hxg6 Nxg6 22. Nxe6 Rxe6 23. Be3
Nc4 24. Bg4 $3 {(this works because of 18 Ka1! - the white queen does not go
with check, but the black rook does)} Ree8 25. Qh2 $1 {, leaving the e3-bishop
en prise with a winning attack - you would swear this was a Tal game.}) 21.
Bxc4 Nxc4 22. Qd3 fxg6 23. hxg6 h6 ({If} 23... hxg6 {, then} 24. Nxe6 Rxe6 25.
Qh3 {and the black king will not survive.}) 24. Qg3 Qb6 25. Bc1 Qa5 26. Rdf1
Ne5 27. Nd5 $1 {Meeting the threat of ...Rxc3 and launching the final attack.}
Bxd5 28. exd5 Qxd5 29. Bxh6 $3 gxh6 (29... Qxd4 {
allows a Yandemirov-style h-file mating attack:} 30. Be3 Qc4 31. Rh8+ $1 Kxh8
32. Qh3+ Kg8 33. Qh7# {.}) 30. g7 $1 {The point of 9 g4! - Black could resign.}
Be7 ({There is no defence:} 30... Bxg7 31. Nf5 Rc7 32. Nxh6+ Kh7 33. Ng4+ Kg8 (
{or} 33... Kg6 34. Nxe5# {with a beautiful mate}) 34. Nf6+ {
wins the queen with check!}) 31. Rxh6 Nf7 32. Qg6 Nxh6 33. Qxh6 Bf6 34. Qh8+
Kf7 35. g8=Q+ Rxg8 36. Qxf6+ Ke8 37. Re1+ ({After the only move,} 37. Re1+ Qe5
{, White finishes by} 38. Rxe5+ dxe5 39. Qe6+ {and Black will wind up with a
single rook against White's queen and knight. --- A spectacular win by
Carlsen! The only serious improvement I can see for Black (after 9 g4!) is 11...a5, which makes some positional concessions in order to obtain very necessary
counterplay.}) 1-0

[Event "SCCF Championship, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Abrahamian, T."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3
O-O {Just what I hoped for, though I didn't expect to get it a few months
after Carlsen's celebrated victory - but my opponent usually plays the French!
I think this move is only playable if Black has worked out a serious
counter-attacking system - at home - against the Carlsen attack.} ({
Other moves are: --} 8... Nc6 {(doubtful)} 9. Nd5 {(Geller-style - and even
stronger here, as White targets the Najdorf hole at b6)} O-O ({of course} 9...
Nxe4 {loses at once to} 10. Bb6) 10. Bb6 Qd7 11. Qd3 Nxd5 12. exd5 Nb8 13. Na5
Qe8 14. Nc4 Bd7 {and now White gets a clear advantage after} 15. Be3 ({
instead of the absurd} 15. Na5 Bc8 16. Nc4 {
with a GM draw in E.Bacrot-I.Nepomniachtchi, Wijk aan Zee 2008}) 15... Bb5 16.
a4 Bxc4 17. Qxc4 {with Geller's thematic two bishops and queenside majority.})
(8... b5 {was played against me, and while this looks like a normal Najdorf
move, I sensed there was something wrong about it - and it didn't take me long
at the board to figure out why. I knew the Kasparov variation (recall
Kasparov-De Firmian) 8 0-0 0-0 9 Kh1, when the natural 9...b5 was bad due to
10 a4!. Now in the game position Black has not castled, and White has made the
useful Be3 - so obviously} 9. a4 $1 {. --- After my win, I checked this out in
the Mega and found White scores 90% (nine wins out of just ten games). This is
why I stress learning all lines of an opening, not just a narrow repertoire -
those sidelines might help you out! After this powerful positional blow Black
has only two serious replies, and neither solves his problems:} -- (9... bxa4 {
(my opponent's choice, but this weakens his pawn structure)} 10. Rxa4 Nbd7 11.
Nd5 Bb7 12. Nxe7 Qxe7 13. f3 Nc5 {
(this leaves Black with seriously weak pawns at a6 and c5)} ({
but if Black tries to break out with} 13... d5 {White has} 14. Na5 $1 d4 ({
while} 14... Nf8 {is met by} 15. c3 $1 Rd8 ({or} 15... dxe4 16. Bc5 $1 {
with a winning attack}) 16. Nxb7 Qxb7 17. Rb4 Qa8 18. Qa4+ N8d7 19. O-O {
, when White has a decisive positional advantage and will soon take material})
15. Nxb7 dxe3 16. Nd6+ Kf8 17. Nf5 Qc5 18. Qc1 g6 19. Nxe3 Kg7 20. O-O Qb6 21.
Kh1 Rhb8 22. Nc4 {and consolidates his extra pawn}) 14. Nxc5 dxc5 15. Qa1 Qd6 (
{if} 15... O-O {then} 16. O-O $1 ({but not the premature} 16. Bxa6 $6 {
which can lead to trouble:} Nxe4 $1 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. fxe4 Rxa4 19. Qxa4 Ra8 {
and it's Black who wins!}) 16... Nh5 17. g3 Rac8 18. b3 {
and one of Black's weak pawns will fall, similar to the game}) 16. O-O O-O 17.
Rd1 Qc6 18. b3 Nd7 19. Qc3 $1 {(emphasizing Black's helplessness - White has
the two bishops, targets at a6, c5, e6 and a hole at d5 - the finish was
simple and instructive...)} Rfc8 20. Qd2 Nb6 21. Ra5 c4 22. Rxe5 cxb3 23. cxb3
h6 24. Qd4 Qf6 25. Rf5 $1 {
(there are other ways, but this wins more material without complications)} Qxd4
26. Bxd4 Rc6 27. Bxb6 Rxb6 28. Bc4 Rf8 29. Rd7 Bc8 30. Rdxf7 $1 Bxf5 ({
the best Black can do is} 30... Rxf7 31. Bxf7+ Kh7 32. Re5 {
, but then White is up two good pawns}) 31. Rxf5+ {
1-0 T.Taylor-P.Holzer, La Palma 2011.}) (9... b4 {
(this has also been played without success)} 10. Nd5 Nc6 ({relatively better is
} 10... Nbd7 {just giving up a pawn, but after} 11. Nxb4 Bb7 ({or} 11... Nxe4
$2 12. Qd5) 12. f3 a5 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 Bg5 15. Bxg5 Qxg5 16. O-O Qe3+ 17.
Kh1 O-O 18. Bb5 Nf6 19. Re1 Qb6 20. c4 {Black has no compensation}) 11. Bb6 Qd7
12. Nc7+ {and White won quickly in G.Keschitz-J.Gruz, Budapest 2003.})) (8...
Be6 {seems not only best but necessary, and will be seen in the last two games
of this chapter.}) 9. g4 $1 Be6 10. g5 Ne8 ({As we recall, Naka tried} 10...
Nfd7 {without success. I also faced this move in a later game (yes, I was very
fortunate to get 8...0-0?! twice, when I didn't expect to get it once, and
certainly not from a WGM and an IM!), which continued} 11. Qd2 b5 12. Nd5 Bxd5
13. exd5 {(White already has a clear advantage: the two bishops, square c6,
Black can't develop normally - and White has the attack - I finally broke
through on the kingside and won with a nice rook sacrifice)} Nb6 14. Na5 Qc7
15. O-O-O Rc8 16. Bg4 Re8 17. Kb1 Nc4 18. Nxc4 bxc4 19. Qc3 a5 20. h4 Nd7 21.
Bxd7 Qxd7 22. Qxc4 Rec8 23. Qd3 Rab8 24. h5 f5 25. f4 e4 26. Qd2 Rb5 27. b3 Bd8
28. Bd4 a4 29. Bb2 Ba5 30. Qe3 Qb7 31. h6 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 Qxd5 33. hxg7 axb3 34.
axb3 Qf7 35. Rxh7 $1 {
(the white rook destroys the last cover of the black king)} Qc7 36. Rh8+ Kf7
37. g8=Q+ $1 {
and the black queen goes, so 1-0 T.Taylor-A.Matikozian, Los Angeles 2011.}) 11.
Qd2 Nd7 ({What if Black tries an early ...a6-a5 here? Black attempted this in
the following game:} 11... Nc7 12. O-O-O Nd7 13. h4 a5 14. a4 $1 {(White's position is so strong that he takes time out to snuff Black's counterplay...)} f5
15. exf5 Bxf5 16. f4 {(and now has the advantage across the board)} Kh8 17. Kb1
Na6 18. fxe5 dxe5 19. Rhf1 Bh3 20. Rxf8+ Bxf8 21. Bb5 Nab8 22. Qd5 Nc6 23. Bc4
{(the mate threat is a nice touch - White now takes material and finishes the
game professionally)} Ne7 24. Qxb7 Qc8 25. Qxc8 Rxc8 26. Bb5 Nb8 27. Nxa5 Nf5
28. Bf2 Bg2 29. Nc4 e4 30. Nb6 {1-0 G.Timoshenko-E.Valeanu, Galati 2006.}) 12.
O-O-O ({The "no waiting" option is also good:} 12. f4 g6 13. O-O-O Ng7 14. h4
Rc8 15. Kb1 f5 16. h5 gxh5 17. Bxh5 fxe4 18. Qh2 {(White is too fast and...)}
Rxc3 19. bxc3 Bf5 20. Bg4 $1 {(too sharp! - much as in Carlsen-Nakamura, White
can sac pieces with abandon as all kingside files open to his benefit)} Bxg4
21. Qxh7+ Kf7 22. Rdf1 Bf3 23. Rh6 Rg8 24. fxe5 Nxe5 25. Qxe4 Ke8 26. Rxf3 Nxf3
27. Qxf3 Bxg5 28. Qd5 {
(devastating!) 1-0 S.Dolmatov-A.Zakharov, Linares Open 2000.}) 12... b5 ({After
} 12... a5 13. a4 {only White has play, à la Timoshenko - the more I look at
these positions, the more I think Black's natural 8...0-0 must be considered a
serious mistake.}) 13. h4 ({Another stylish crush occurred after} 13. Kb1 Qc7
14. h4 Rc8 15. h5 b4 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. exd5 a5 18. Bb5 Rd8 19. g6 $1 {
(the thematic Tal break)} Ndf6 20. Rdg1 Rb8 21. Bc6 Bd8 22. Bh6 $3 {
(and here's the Carlsen sac again, this time on an empty square!)} Qe7 ({or} 
22... gxh6 23. Qxh6 fxg6 24. hxg6 Ng7 25. Nc5 $1 dxc5 26. d6 $1 {and wins}) 23.
Bxe8 Nxe8 24. Bxg7 Nxg7 25. Qh6 fxg6 26. hxg6 hxg6 27. Rxg6 Qf6 {
(the queen is lost in any case)} 28. Rxf6 Bxf6 29. Nxa5 Rb5 30. Nc4 Rxd5 31.
Ne3 Rd4 32. Nf5 {1-0 A.Glukhov-Ro.Ivanov, Tolyatti 2011.}) 13... Nb6 14. Na5 ({
White can also opt for the Carlsen-style} 14. f4 exf4 15. Bxf4 Nc4 16. Bxc4
bxc4 17. Nd4 Qd7 18. h5 {with a typical attack.}) 14... Rc8 15. Kb1 (15. a3 {
is simpler, when Black has no counterplay, but the more complicated pawn
sacrifice played here is equally good - if followed up correctly that is!})
15... b4 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Qxa5 18. dxe6 fxe6 19. h5 $6 {
The wrong move order!} (19. Bg4 {, forcing} Nc7 20. h5 {
which transposes to the game, is correct.}) 19... Nc7 $6 {Back-to-back errors!}
({I could have been punished for my faux pas by} 19... d5 $1 20. Bg4 ({
White doesn't really get through after} 20. g6 h6 21. Bxh6 Qc5) 20... Rc6 {
and Black has a more solid defence than in the game, though White still has
compensation.}) 20. Bg4 {Now all's right with the world!} Rfe8 ({Or} 20... d5
21. g6 h6 22. f3 d4 23. Bxh6 {, as we all know by now.}) 21. g6 $1 {
Let's give Tal credit one more time!} Bf8 ({Again,} 21... h6 22. Bxh6 {
with a winning attack is White's main idea.}) 22. gxh7+ Kh8 23. h6 Nb5 ({
Black can't keep lines closed:} 23... g6 24. Qd3 Kxh7 25. Qe4 $1 ({
this kills - whereas the impetuous} 25. Bh5 {allows a temporary defence with}
e4) 25... Nd5 26. Bh5 Ne7 27. Bxg6+ Nxg6 28. Rdg1 {and mates.}) 24. hxg7+ Bxg7
25. Bh6 Rc7 ({Black doesn't get a draw after} 25... Bf6 26. Bg5 Bg7 27. Be2 $1
({unwise is} 27. Rdg1 Nc3+ $1 {
with counterplay - this counter-sacrifice is Black's main hope}) 27... Nc3+ ({
White crashes through after} 27... Nd4 28. Bh6 Bf6 29. Qd3 Nxe2 30. Qg6 Qd8 31.
Rxd6 $1 {and wins by diverting the black queen}) 28. bxc3 bxc3 29. Qxd6 Rc6 30.
Bd8 $1 {and White keeps the extra piece.}) 26. Bxe6 $5 {
Sac'ing a piece to lure Black's rooks forward to weaken the back rank;} ({
but the cold-blooded} 26. Be2 Nc3+ 27. bxc3 bxc3 28. Bxg7+ Rxg7 29. Qc1 Rb7+
30. Ka1 Rb2 31. Bc4 {seems to win in silicon fashion.}) 26... Rxe6 27. Qg5 Rxh6
({Black gives some material back in view of} 27... Bxh6 28. Qg8# {.}) ({
I saw my opponent looking at her aforementioned resource:} 27... Nc3+ 28. bxc3
bxc3 {and then...} 29. Qxg7+ $3 {- this was the hidden point of my sacrifice:
my opponent's face was a picture when she noticed this! White wins after} Rxg7
30. Bxg7+ Kxg7 31. h8=Q+ {and mates in four.}) 28. Rxh6 Rf7 (28... Rc8 $1 {
, defending the back rank is necessary, but my opponent, in time trouble,
missed my next move. After that correct defence,} 29. Rg6 Qc7 {is close to
equal. Nonetheless (as so often) my bold human sacrifice, 26 Bxe6, led to a
quick win, despite mechanical disapproval!}) 29. Re6 $1 {The hits keep coming!}
Kxh7 ({Black has no real defence to Re8+; e.g.} 29... Nc7 30. Re7 Rxe7 31. Qxe7
Qb5 32. Rg1 Ne8 33. Qf7 {forces mate.}) 30. Qg6+ Kg8 31. Re8+ Rf8 32. Re7 {
. Mate is forced. --- The play after 8...0-0 9 g4 is great fun for White,
horrendously difficult for Black - but what happens if Black does not castle?}
1-0

[Event "German League"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1998.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lutz, C."]
[Black "Womacka, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "1998.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O
({The Carlsen move order that I recommend is} 8. Be3 {
. Black's best answer, as I said already, is} Be6 $1 {
waiting in turn, without prematurely showing White where his king lives} (8...
O-O 9. g4 $1 {is White's idea}) 9. -- ({. The question arises: can White play} 
9. g4 {here? Unfortunately, Black has an easy Steinitzian counter:} d5 $1 10.
g5 ({or} 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 {and Black equalizes easily}) 10... Nxe4
11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Qxd8+ Bxd8 13. O-O-O Nd7 14. Nd2 Bf5 {and White was
struggling to justify his pawn sacrifice in G.Andruet-V.Inkiov,
France-Bulgaria match 1985.}) ({. So here I recommend simply} 9. O-O {
, most likely transposing to the main game - though there is one sideline
worth mentioning:} d5 $6 {
, which can quickly be seen as (paging Nimzowitsch) a 'false freeing move':}
10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. c4 Be6 13. Qxd8+ Bxd8 14. Nc5 {, when White
had a big advantage and soon won in J.Mladenovic-A.Benderac, Yugoslav Women's
Championship, Budva 2002.})) 8... O-O 9. Be3 Be6 10. f4 {And this is the
Karpovian idea we have been tracking: although the move order 8 Be3 Be6 9 0-0
0-0 (which we've reached here) avoids the direct attack, Black does not get
off scot free. As we know, with the bishop on e6, Black has no serious counter
against e4, and so f2-f4 is strong. Furthermore White doesn't have to lose a
tempo moving his dark-squared bishop again (as in Karpov-Kasparov) but can
take back with the rook - shades of Karpov's great wins over Polugaevsky!} exf4
(10... b5 {is weak:} 11. f5 Bd7 12. Nd5 Nxd5 ({not} 12... Nxe4 13. Bb6 Qe8 14.
Bf3 Bxf5 15. Qe2 {wins at least a piece}) 13. exd5 {and White will establish a
knight on e4, after which he can attack on both sides of the board; e.g.} a5
14. Kh1 ({the immediate} 14. Nd2 {is more accurate, when} Qc8 {is met by} 15.
Bd3) 14... Na6 15. Nd2 Rc8 (15... Qc8 $1 {is better}) 16. Ne4 {and White had a
dominating position and went on to win in P.Almagro Llanas-I.Avendano Mateos,
Madrid 2007.}) 11. Rxf4 {The rook is active on the fourth rank.} (11. Bxf4 {
seems illogical to me, and will probably soon transpose to Karpov-Kasparov,
where White's opening advantage was purely psychological.}) 11... Nc6 (11... b5
{is no better here, as the white knights spring into action:} 12. Nd4 Qc7 13.
Nf5 Ne8 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. Qxd5 {
and White's advantage was already decisive in H.Cieslik-H.Biszof, Rowy 2004.})
12. Nd5 {White has our familiar, comfortable, if small Karpovian edge. There
are no forcing lines and many alternatives.} ({
The text is fine - as is Fritz's number one,} 12. Qd2 {.}) ({Even} 12. Kh1 {
is possible, when} Qc7 13. a4 Ne5 {would transpose directly to
Karpov-Polugaevsky. --- In general, one can play this all night and try to
win! While it's not quite as much fun as the Carlsen attack, this is still an
excellent way to both put long-term pressure on Black and also avoid all
memorized variations!}) 12... Ne5 (12... Bxd5 {will be seen in the next game.})
13. Nxe7+ ({I like} 13. c4 $5 {here, when after} Ng6 14. Rf1 Nxe4 15. Qd4 Nf6
16. Nxe7+ Nxe7 17. Bg5 {White has strong compensation for the pawn with his
two bishops and attacking chances.}) 13... Qxe7 14. Bd4 g5 {Going for a pawn.
One recalls Timman eschewed a similar temptation in Chapter One - here Black
"boldly" snatches the button, but must suffer due to his weak dark squares and
breezy king.} 15. Rf1 Nxe4 16. Nd2 Nxd2 ({After} 16... f5 $5 17. c4 $1 Nxd2 18.
Qxd2 Nxc4 19. Bxc4 Bxc4 20. Rfe1 {
White's opposite bishop attack outweighs Black's two pawn advantage.}) 17. Qxd2
f6 18. b3 $1 {White is in no hurry - the compensation won't go away.} Rad8 19.
Rae1 Bf7 20. a4 Bg6 ({Or} 20... d5 21. a5 {and the eternal Najdorf weakness at
b6 is part of White's dark square compensation.}) 21. c4 h6 22. Qc3 {
White methodically lines up and...} Be4 23. Bh5 Qh7 24. c5 $1 {Breaks!} d5 ({Or
} 24... Rc8 25. Qh3 {and White gets in anyway.}) 25. Bxe5 fxe5 26. Qxe5 Qg7 27.
Qe6+ Kh7 28. Bf7 ({White has recovered his pawn with advantage, and should
probably just consolidate with} 28. h3) ({or (perhaps best)} 28. b4 {
. His actual move may be asking too much of the position.}) 28... a5 (28... Rc8
{is best, with counter-chances against White's queen which right now is tied
to his bishop.}) 29. Rf2 Qd4 30. Qe7 Kh8 31. Ref1 Rc8 32. Kh1 Qxc5 $2 {
Greed kills - but we already saw that Black was overeager to snatch pawns!} (
32... Qg7 {is necessary, when it's not clear that White can win.}) 33. Qf6+ Kh7
34. Rf5 $1 {A beautiful interference move that seals the opponent's fate -
Black has no real defenders of his king and must lose the game, though he does
have an extra pawn!} Qc6 35. Bg6+ Kg8 36. Bf7+ Kh7 37. Bg6+ Kg8 38. Qe7 $1 Rxf5
39. Qh7+ Kf8 40. Rxf5+ {. Mate is forced. --- This type of game should be very
familiar by now: White has a slight edge in space in a non-forcing position,
and can outplay his opponent.} 1-0

[Event "Norwegian Team Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2008.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hammer, J."]
[Black "Hansen, TR."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O
(8. Be3 Be6 9. O-O O-O {is the game by the Carlsen move order.}) 8... O-O 9.
Be3 Be6 10. f4 exf4 11. Rxf4 Nc6 12. Nd5 Bxd5 ({We saw} 12... Ne5 {previously,
when White took the dark-squared bishop. Here also White gets the two bishops,
but Black shields his problem pawn at d6.}) 13. exd5 Ne5 14. Rb4 {A nice rook!}
Qc7 15. Bb6 {A fun move to make, but unfortunately inaccurate.} ({Correct is} 
15. a4 $1 {, trying to nail down the weakness at b6. We have now moved into
Geller territory, and White gets a typical edge after} Rfe8 ({or} 15... a5 16.
Rb5 {- the adventurous rook doesn't fear the light squares as Black has no
light-squared bishop!}) 16. a5 {with a plus-equals grind-all-night position!})
15... Qc8 16. Be3 {White rejects his own last move, but Black doesn't repeat!}
Re8 17. Rc1 a5 $1 {Black avoids a bind and obtains counterplay.} 18. Ra4 Qd7
19. Rxa5 Rxa5 20. Nxa5 Nfg4 21. Bf4 Bd8 22. Nc4 Nxc4 ({
An excellent alternative is} 22... b5 23. Bxe5 ({not} 23. Nxe5 $4 Qa7+ {
with the famous smothered mate to follow}) 23... Rxe5 24. Bxg4 Qa7+ 25. Kh1
bxc4 26. a3 c3 27. bxc3 Qxa3 {and White's extra pawn is meaningless.}) 23. Bxg4
f5 $6 {
Black misses his opponent's next move: the attacked piece doesn't have to move!
} ({Correct is} 23... Qe7 {
with active counterplay on the e-file and against b2, when Black is fine.}) 24.
Qd3 $1 {An unexpected double attack that gives White the advantage, and
completely confuses Black.} Ne5 ({Better is} 24... fxg4 25. Qxc4 {
, when Black is a pawn down, but not as badly off as in the game.}) 25. Qxf5
Nxg4 $2 {Having lost his bearings, Black now loses his queen - though even on
other moves Black has no compensation for the two missing pawns.} 26. Qxd7 Bb6+
27. Kf1 {. --- This ends our coverage of the Najdorf. As many have pointed out,
this variation, continually tested at the World Championship level, is
completely sound. White has no way to knock it out, and I certainly don't
claim as much. However, by playing a combination of Carlsen attack and
Karpovian cunning, White can get "his" (or our!) position, and Black must
really know his stuff to get an acceptable game - but even that acceptable
game is, in my view, very very slightly worse. In any case, White can play for
a win with 6 Be2, and you don't have to memorize 20 moves of theory! --- Now
let's slay the Dragon!} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "3. Dragon Variation"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B70"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 {. The Dragon Variation is
so booked up that entire books are written not just on the variation itself,
but on particular variations within the Dragon! have a book (from my Dragon
days as Black) that only covers the Yugoslav Attack with 9 Bc4; that is 1 e4
c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 g6 6 Be3 Bg7 7 f3 0-0 8 Qd2 Nc6 9 Bc4.
In other words, the book starts on move 9 (!) and not even all ninth moves at
that. If White plays the equally popular 9 0-0-0 you're out of luck (or you
have to buy another book!). --- Obviously we are not going into that
memorization morass, not to mention the absurdity of buying a separate book
for each variation within a variation! --- Instead, after} 6. Be2 Bg7 {
I offer two systems:} 7. -- ({one that Karpov played often and with great
success, based on kingside castling,} 7. O-O {, and developing the queen's
bishop to g5. White puts the black position under positional pressure and,
when he's ready, can attack the black king using the f4-f5 lever. Karpov's
system will be seen in the first five games below. I will also show that this
system is perfectly playable against the Accelerated Dragon move order with 2...Nc6 3 Nc3 g6 4 d4 cxd4 5 Nxd4 Bg7.}) ({The second system is the Alekhine
Attack - and here I have to give you a specific variation (but don't worry, I
won't start my analysis at the end of this!):} 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Nb3 O-O 9. f4 Be6
10. g4 $1 {- the idea is obvious: White plans to castle long, throw all his
kingside pawns forward and mate the black king! The Alekhine Attack will be
covered in eight games beginning with Alekhine-Botvinnik. Often Black tries to
avoid this deadly attack, so I've covered the "escape hatches" where he can
bail out before move 10, usually by throwing in an early ...a7-a5. White then
often has to castle kingside, as the direct attack is no longer advisable -
but positional play always works, while a Karpov-style f4-f5 can come in later.
}) ({Finally, I cover the Dragon/Najdorf hybrid, the Dragodorf,} 7. O-O a6 {
, in the last two games of the chapter. This very slow system shouldn't give
White any trouble, as we can continue with our basic repertoire with Be2.}) *

[Event "Las Palmas"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Martin Gonzalez, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B70"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "1977.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 {The fundamental position
of the Dragon Variation: Black fianchettoes and hopes to show off his
improvement in the Yugoslav Attack on move 30!} 6. Be2 {
No such luck, says Anatoly - you're going to have to think with your own head!}
Bg7 7. O-O ({If one wants the Alekhine Attack, then} 7. Be3 {
is correct, when White can still castle long.}) 7... O-O 8. Bg5 {Karpov's patent: White puts positional pressure on e7 and builds up his position. I have
found this kind of play is extremely unpleasant to Dragon players - first of
all, memorization doesn't help them; and second, the things Dragon players
love - the complications and opposite-wing attacks - have been taken off the
menu!} Nc6 9. Nb3 {Karpov keeps the pieces on the board, especially
considering that the knight lacks the normal support of the bishop on e3.} Be6
{This might already be a mistake: as we have seen in previous chapters, once
the bishop goes to e6, Black can't pressure e4 with this piece - and so White
can quickly play f2-f4, with f4-f5 on the agenda at some point.} ({
For the more flexible} 9... a6 {, keeping the option of ...b7-b5 and ...Bb7,
see the first two Taylor-Amanov games in this chapter.}) 10. Kh1 {This and White's next are a typical Karpov manoeuvre. It's always a question whether Kh1 is
a useful waiting move or a loss of time. Here Karpov judges that the black
forces, aimed at the queenside, can't threaten anything, so he has time to put
his house in order and build up slowly for the attack.} a6 ({
Black has a couple of alternatives, one much better than the other: --} 10...
d5 $2 11. Bxf6 {
(one sees the white queen's bishop also prevents this freeing break)} Bxf6 12.
exd5 Bxc3 13. dxc6 Bxb2 14. cxb7 {and White's passed pawn is decisive; e.g.}
Rb8 15. Rb1 Bg7 16. Qxd8 Rfxd8 17. Bf3 Bd5 18. Rfd1 {
and the b-pawn costs Black material.}) (10... Rc8 11. f4 Na5 12. f5 {
(this and the next move launch an attack and consolidate White's centre)} ({
weaker is} 12. e5 {which led to premature exchanges:} Nxb3 13. axb3 dxe5 14.
Qxd8 Rfxd8 15. fxe5 Nd5 16. Rxa7 h6 17. Bc1 Nxc3 18. bxc3 Rxc3 {and an eventual
draw in T.Taylor-J.C.Banawa, 7th Metropolitan IM, Los Angeles 2011}) 12... Bc4
13. Bd3 b5 14. Qd2 b4 15. Ne2 Bxd3 16. cxd3 Nc6 17. Nf4 a5 18. a4 Ne5 19. Qe2
Ned7 20. fxg6 hxg6 21. d4 {(White is better)} Nh7 22. Bh4 Ndf6 ({
no forks allowed:} 22... g5 $2 23. Nh5 gxh4 24. Qg4 {mates}) 23. Bxf6 Nxf6 24.
Rae1 Qd7 25. e5 dxe5 26. dxe5 Nd5 27. e6 $1 {(Black's king position is smashed)
} Qd6 28. exf7+ Rxf7 29. Ne6 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Qe5 31. Qa6 Rc2 32. Nbd4 {
(White has a winning attack, so Black tries desperation!)} Rxg2 $5 {, when White was bluffed and didn't take the rook in M.Brooks-R.Robson, Saint Louis 2011,
with an eventual draw - but it was correct just to take it! White wins after}
33. Kxg2 Ne3+ 34. Kh1 Nxf1 35. Qc8+ Kh7 36. Nf3 $1 {
with a decisive attack; e.g.} Qf5 37. Neg5+ Kh6 38. Qg8 Kh5 39. Qxg7 {etc.})
11. f4 {This is our typical repertoire reaction to a black bishop on e6.} b5
12. Bf3 Rc8 13. Nd5 Nd7 14. c3 Nb6 15. Qe2 Nc4 16. Rad1 {Karpov sets up a
completely harmonious position. There are no weaknesses in the white structure
(note that the "dreaded dragon" has been simply neutralized by the pawn at c3),
but Karpov's game is not passive - he's pressuring e7 quite a bit already, and
will soon launch his main attack.} Qd7 17. Rfe1 Qa7 18. Bh4 ({
White could already play} 18. f5 Bxd5 19. exd5 N6e5 20. Be4 {and White is
"better" - but Karpov is in no hurry: when he's ready, White's attack will
come with "decisive" attached to it, rather than just "better"!}) 18... Rfe8
19. Nc1 $1 {The knight is needed to attack the black king.} Qb8 20. Nd3 a5 21.
Nf2 Bd7 22. Bg4 $1 Bxg4 23. Nxg4 a4 (23... h5 {, despite the obvious weakening
of the kingside, is absolutely necessary, as we will soon see. Of course after}
24. Nge3 Nxe3 25. Qxe3 Qb7 26. Rf1 {White would retain an advantage.}) 24. a3
$1 {Karpovian - Black must not be allowed even to dream of counter-attack.} Qb7
25. Rf1 {
White has quietly brought every single piece into an attacking position.} Nd8
26. f5 $1 {Now I'm ready, says Anatoly.} f6 {Black tries a "solid" answer.} ({
It's clear that Black could lose this position almost instantly; e.g.} 26...
Qd7 27. Bxe7 $1 Rxe7 28. Ngf6+ {and the queen goes}) ({or} 26... h5 {
(too late!)} 27. fxg6 $1 fxg6 28. e5 hxg4 29. exd6 Nxd6 30. Nxe7+ Rxe7 31. Bxe7
{with a decisive attack.}) 27. Bxf6 $3 {When Karpov said he was ready, he was
ready. Black's kingside disintegrates after this fantastic blow.} exf6 28.
Ngxf6+ Bxf6 29. Nxf6+ Kf8 30. fxg6 $1 {Disdaining the rook.} hxg6 ({
Also losing is} 30... Re6 31. gxh7 Nf7 ({or} 31... Kg7 32. Qg4+ {and mates})
32. Qg4 Nce5 33. h8=Q+ Nxh8 34. Nd7+ Ke7 35. Nxe5 Rxe5 36. Qg7+ {
and White wins the queen, a thematic element throughout the coming tactics.})
31. Qg4 {
There is no defence, given Black's wide open king and disconnected rooks.} Nf7
({Or} 31... Ne5 32. Nd7+ Kg7 33. Nxe5 Rxe5 34. Rxd6 {with a decisive attack, as
} Nf7 35. Rxg6+ Kf8 36. Rg8+ Ke7 37. Rxf7+ Kxf7 38. Rg7+ {is our theme again.})
32. Qxg6 Nce5 33. Nh7+ Ke7 ({Evidently at this point Black noticed Karpov
eyeing the g5-square and resigned rather than suffer the beautiful variations
after} 33... Ke7 34. Ng5 $3 {
. Black can lose in various ways had he wished to continue:} -- (34... Rf8 35.
Qe6+ Kd8 36. Nxf7+ Rxf7 (36... Nxf7 37. Rxd6+ {mates or wins the queen}) 37.
Qxd6+ Ke8 38. Qxe5+ Qe7 39. Qxb5+ Kf8 40. Qxa4 {
and my feeling is that Karpov could win with five extra pawns.}) (34... Qc6 35.
Rxf7+ Nxf7 36. Qxf7+ Kd8 37. Ne6+ Rxe6 38. Qxe6 Kc7 39. Qe7+ Qd7 40. Qxd7+ Kxd7
41. e5 Re8 42. Rxd6+ Ke7 43. Kg1 {and four extra pawns will have to be enough.}
) (34... Kf8 35. Qh6+ Ke7 ({the same theme follows} 35... Kg8 36. Qh7+ Kf8 37.
Nxf7 Nxf7 38. Qh8+ Ke7 39. Rxf7+ {etc}) 36. Nxf7 Nxf7 37. Rxf7+ Kxf7 38. Qh7+ {
and the thematic queen win occurs.}) (34... Nxg5 35. Qxd6# {is short and sweet.
}) ({. And for the record, what happens if Black takes the queen?} 34... Nxg6
35. Rxf7+ Kd8 36. Rxd6+ Qd7 37. Rdxd7# {is convincing. --- I think this is one
of Karpov's best games, albeit little known. White's attack was awesomely well
prepared - and then completely unstoppable once Anatoly crossed the meridian
with 26 f5!. And note that before that break, Black could not generate any
middlegame play whatsoever!})) 1-0

[Event "Bad Lauterberg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Sosonko, G."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B70"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "1977.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O Nc6 8.
Nb3 O-O 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Kh1 a5 {In the previous game this pawn only travelled
to a6. The double advance, though well known in Accelerated Dragon lines, has
a dark side as well: both b5 and b6 are seriously weakened. Karpov, never one
to miss a weakness, occupies both of those squares in the course of the game.}
11. a4 Nd7 12. f4 Nb6 13. f5 {Inducing the following exchange which gives
White an important tempo, as b2 isn't really hanging.} Bc4 14. Bxc4 Nxc4 15.
Qe2 $1 Nb6 ({The b2-pawn is poisoned:} 15... Nxb2 16. Nd5 Re8 ({or} 16... h6
17. f6 hxg5 18. fxg7 Kxg7 19. c4 {and the divagating knight drops}) 17. c3 {
and once again the wayward steed is captured.}) ({Also if} 15... N4e5 {then}
16. Nd5 {with evident pressure on e7, which ties Black up.}) 16. Qb5 {
Occupying the first weak square! Note that, in Karpov's system, White has to
be as ready to play on the queenside (unusual in a Dragon) as on the kingside.}
Nd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 {No check (due to Karpov's careful 10 Kh1), so White just
gains another tempo and increases the pressure.} 18. Rad1 Bg7 ({On} 18... Bxc3
19. bxc3 Qc7 20. Rb1 Ra6 21. Qb3 {
Black can't satisfactorily meet the b- and f-file threats.}) 19. Be3 {
This well-motivated retreat gains control of d5. Karpov makes glacial but
inexorable progress, as he restricts his luckless opponent one square at a time.
} Nd7 20. Nd5 Re8 ({The knight is painful, but chasing it is worse: if} 20...
e6 {then} 21. f6 $1 {and Black has no good answer:} -- (21... Bxf6 22. Nxf6+
Nxf6 23. Bg5 {wins a piece.}) (21... Nxf6 22. Bb6 $1 {wins a piece in a
different way - note how White uses the second weakness at b6, but we already
took advantage of this hole in the Najdorf chapter!}) (21... exd5 22. fxg7 Kxg7
23. Qxb7 {with a decisive positional advantage.} (23. --))) 21. c3 {Once again
we see the Dragon player - here the Dragon-advocate Sosonko - reduced to
complete passivity with nothing to attack, while Karpov inexorably moves
forward at his own pace.} Be5 22. Bb6 $1 {The second weakness is occupied! One
sees in the coming play that the "fearsome" Dragon bishop is helpless against
the white knight.} Nxb6 23. Nxb6 Ra6 24. Nc4 Qb8 ({Or} 24... Bg7 25. fxg6 hxg6
26. e5 {and Black can't hold all his weaknesses.}) 25. Nxa5 {
White has won a pawn without losing a drop of his positional advantage.} Rc8
26. Nc4 Bxh2 {Starting tactics from an inferior position hardly ever works,
but otherwise Black is only a spectator to Karpov's technique.} 27. Nb6 $1 (27.
Kxh2 Rxc4 $1 28. Qxc4 d5+ {
is the trick, which Karpov brushes aside with the text move.}) 27... Rxb6 ({
Also losing is} 27... Rc6 28. Nd5 Be5 29. Nxe7+) ({or} 27... Rc5 28. Qb3 Be5
29. fxg6 {, breaking through to f7. Note how Karpov's full-board play combines
queenside pressure with the more standard f-file attack.}) 28. Qxb6 Be5 29. a5
Rc6 30. Qe3 Qc7 31. Rd5 Ra6 32. Qd3 Kg7 {
Now Black has exactly nothing for the exchange;} ({
but if he tries to take a pawn with} 32... Rxa5 {then after} 33. Rxa5 Qxa5 34.
fxg6 hxg6 35. Qd5 $1 {(note how the f-file threats help White's game - here
the exchange of queens is forced)} Qxd5 36. exd5 {
White wins the ending by going for the b-pawn with his rook.}) 33. Rb5 g5 34.
Qd5 Ra7 35. g4 Qc8 36. Kg2 Qd7 37. c4 Qe8 38. b3 Qd8 39. Qd2 f6 40. Rh1 Bf4 41.
Qc3 Qh8 42. Qh3 h5 ({Black can't wait: if} 42... Bd2 {then} 43. Qh6+ Kf7 44. a6
bxa6 45. Qh5+ Kg7 46. Rb8 $1 {forces mate.}) 43. Qxh5 Qxh5 44. Rxh5 Bd2 45. b4
{. --- What we just saw was Karpov walking right over a strong grandmaster!}
1-0

[Event "Sean Reader Memorial, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Amanov, Z."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B70"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 ({I knew my opponent had never played the Sveshnikov,
so I didn't stick exactly to our repertoire, which is} 3. Nc3 {
(see Chapter Six).}) 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 {Most of the time,
when I offered the Boleslavsky like this, my opponents preferred the Dragon -
which was fine by me!} g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Nb3 O-O 9. Bg5 a6 {This is the choice
of the 2600/2700 player these days (and well-prepared IMs like my opponent!),
as the conventional development 9...Be6, seen in the previous two games, does
not stop White from setting up a Karpovian machine. Nonetheless Black does not
have an easy game after this either!} 10. f4 ({My opponent had previously faced
} 10. a4 Be6 11. f4 Na5 12. Kh1 {
and fell under an attack after he lost a tempo with} Qb6 ({it's clear that,
having repeated the line, he was prepared with the evident improvement} 12...
Nxb3 13. cxb3 Qb6) 13. Nxa5 Qxa5 14. f5 Bd7 15. Bc4 Rae8 16. Bb3 Bc6 17. Qe1
Qe5 18. Bf4 Qc5 19. Rd1 Qb4 20. Bd2 Qb6 21. Be3 Qc7 22. Qh4 b5 23. axb5 axb5
24. Bg5 b4 25. Nd5 Bxd5 26. exd5 Rb8 27. Rf3 h5 28. h3 Rb5 29. Rg3 Kh7 30. Bc4
Rc5 31. Bd3 {1-0 G.Kuzmin-Z.Amanov, Elista 2008.}) ({
Another, more Karpovian alternative (actually played by Mickey Adams) is} 10.
Re1 {- for which see the next game.}) 10... b5 11. Bf3 Bb7 ({
Absolutely critical is} 11... b4 12. Nd5 ({Black had no trouble after} 12. Ne2
Ng4 13. e5 Qb6+ 14. Ned4 Ne3 15. Qd3 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 Rb8 17. Bxe7 Nxf1 18. Bxf8
Kxf8 19. Kxf1 dxe5 20. fxe5 Qxd4 21. Nxd4 Bxe5 22. Nc6 Rb5 23. Nxe5 Rxe5 24. a3
{½-½ N.Mamedov-A.Motylev, Moscow 2011}) 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 Na5 {and a difficult position is reached where White has space and attacking chances, but
Black can pick off at least the b-pawn and pressure c2 and possibly d5 as well.
--- Here are some examples:} 14. -- (14. Re1 Nc4 15. Re4 Qb6+ 16. Kh1 Nxb2 17.
Qe1 Bc3 18. Qe2 Bf5 19. Rxe7 Ra7 20. Rxa7 Qxa7 21. Bh6 Rc8 22. Na5 Qd7 23. Qxa6
Bxc2 24. h3 Bd3 25. Qb7 {and now Black mistakenly stayed in the middlegame with
} Rc7 $2 {
and eventually fell to White's attack in M.Leon Hoyos-G.Urosevic, Cento 2011;}
({but objectively Black is much better here if he goes for the ending with} 
25... Qxb7 26. Nxb7 Ra8 {.})) (14. Nxa5 Qxa5 15. Rb1 Bf5 16. Qe2 Qc5+ 17. Kh1
Qxc2 18. Qxc2 Bxc2 19. Rbc1 Rfc8 20. Rf2 Be4 21. Re1 Bxf3 22. Rxf3 Ra7 23. g4
Bxb2 24. Bxe7 Bc3 25. Re2 {and White has no real compensation for the pawn,
though she made the draw with gritty and opportunistic defence in Ruan
Lufei-Hou Yifan, Women's World Championship (1st rapid game), Antakya 2010.}) (
14. Qe2 {- Ljubojevic keeps the queens on and goes for attack, and brilliantly
defeats our friend Sosonko who falls again to this variation! First let's take
a look at this game, then at the Fritz solution:} -- (14... Nxb3 $6 {(this can 
only be regarded as a mistake after White's following "anti-positional" move,
taking away from the centre - one soon sees that the addition of the c-file is
a great help to his attack)} 15. cxb3 $1 Qb6+ 16. Kh1 Re8 17. Rfe1 h6 18. Bh4
Qd4 19. Rac1 {(the open lines give White a persistent initiative, which he
carries through with great mastery)} Qxf4 20. Bxe7 Bf5 21. Rc4 Qe5 22. Qd1 Qxb2
23. Re2 Qb1 24. Rc1 Qd3 25. Bxd6 Bc3 26. Be7 Ra7 27. d6 Qb5 28. Qg1 Qb8 29. Rd1
Bg7 30. Qc5 Rc8 31. Qe3 Rc3 32. Qf4 Qb5 33. Rd5 Qd7 34. h4 a5 35. h5 Kh7 36.
Be4 Bxe4 37. Rxe4 Qe8 38. Re1 Kg8 39. hxg6 fxg6 40. Qg4 Rd7 41. Qe6+ Kh7 42.
Rxa5 Rc2 43. Rf1 Rd2 44. Rf7 R2xd6 45. Rxg7+ $3 {(a fabulous combination, that
allows an almost equally stunning resource from Black - and then refutes it)}
Kxg7 46. Qe5+ Kf7 47. Bxd6 Rxd6 $1 {(this looks like a brilliant save - but
White refuses the rook and demonstrates a winning attack!)} 48. Ra7+ (48. Qxd6
Qe1+ {forces a perpetual}) 48... Rd7 49. Qd5+ Ke7 50. Qe4+ Kf7 51. Qc4+ Kf6 52.
Qf4+ {1-0 L.Ljubojevic-G.Sosonko, Tilburg 1984. Black resigns in view of} Ke7 (
{or} 52... Kg7 53. Qd4+ {winning a rook}) 53. Ra6 {and, due to his wide open
king, Black can't prevent major loss of material or mate.}) ({. This was certainly a beautiful game, but the Oracle likes Black after the cold-blooded...} 
14... Re8 $1 {(this has been tried in only two games according to the MegaBase,
both of which were won by Black)} 15. Rab1 Bf5 16. Be4 (16. g4 $6 {
is too weakening:} Nxb3 17. axb3 Qb6+ 18. Kh1 Bd7 19. Rfe1 Rac8 20. Qg2 Bf6 21.
Re4 Qc5 22. Rc4 Qa5 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Re1 Qa2 $1 {
- White's first and second ranks are weak -} 25. Bxf6 exf6 26. Re7 Qxb2 $1 27.
Rxd7 Rxc2 28. Qg1 Rc1 29. Rxd6 Rxg1+ 30. Kxg1 Qxb3 {
0-1 S.Frübing-K.Müller, German League 2009}) 16... Qb6+ 17. Kh1 e6 18. Qd3 Nxb3
19. axb3 Qd4 {(White has no attack and should just exchange queens and hope to
draw, like Miss Ruan above - in the game he is eventually forced to exchange
under much worse circumstances)} 20. Bxf5 exf5 21. Qc4 Rac8 22. Qxa6 h6 23.
Rfd1 Qf2 24. Rf1 Qe2 25. Qxe2 Rxe2 26. Bh4 Rcxc2 {(the blind pigs rule)} 27.
Rfc1 Rxb2 28. Rxb2 Rxb2 29. h3 Rxb3 30. Rc8+ Kh7 31. Rc7 Rb1+ 32. Kh2 b3 33.
Rxf7 Kg8 34. Re7 b2 35. Re8+ Kf7 36. Re7+ Kf8 37. Rb7 Rd1 38. Rb8+ Kf7 39. Rb7+
Kg8 {0-1 A.Bokros-Po.Carlsson, World Junior Championship, Oropesa del Mar 1999.
--- I think there are possible improvements for White in the complex position
after 11...b4, but I will leave them for the reader to discover. --- When I
found I was playing Amanov again with White a few weeks later, I didn't want
to engage in a "whose computer is better?" debate, so I simply changed lines
rather than test his preparation. Karpov's openings, being inherently sound,
often allow this - as opposed to "knife-edged theoretical battles" where a
single improvement can torpedo a whole variation.}))) 12. Kh1 (12. e5 {
is premature due to} Qb6+ 13. Kh1 dxe5 {with a clear plus to Black.}) 12... Nd7
({If} 12... Re8 {,} 13. e5 {
is now strong (no check on b6!) and Ljubojevic scores again:} b4 14. Na4 dxe5
15. fxe5 Nd7 16. Nbc5 Nxc5 17. Nxc5 Qc7 18. Nxb7 Qxb7 19. Qd5 $1 {(White gets
all the mileage he can out of the pin on the long diagonal and then,
Karpov-style, suddenly switches to an f-file attack)} Rac8 20. Qxf7+ $3 {
(surprise!)} Kh8 (20... Kxf7 21. Bd5# {seems to come out of nowhere!}) 21. Bf6
Rg8 22. Bxg7+ Rxg7 23. Qe6 h5 24. Be4 Qc7 25. Bxc6 {
1-0 L.Ljubojevic-M.Dougherty, Quebec 1984, as} Qxc6 26. Rf8+ {wins a rook.})
13. Qe2 b4 {Too late! Chess is all timing, and two moves ago, or even one,
this would have been good. Now it just encourages White to take over the
centre.} 14. Nd5 $1 {White has won the opening battle, as I have achieved a
Karpovian position with a safe king, pressure on e7, and a potential attack
with f4-f5. Black had to fight back earlier (with ...b5-b4) to prevent this
set-up.} ({My opponent said he was expecting} 14. Na4 {, but I did write a
book called 'Pawn Sacrifice!'. This one is a fairly direct sac for attack.})
14... f6 ({After} 14... Bxb2 15. Rad1 {
then e4-e5 will come with great effect and all lines open for White.}) 15. Bh4
e6 16. Ne3 g5 17. Bg3 gxf4 18. Bxf4 Nde5 {Black has driven back the attacking
white pieces, and gained the e5-square - but he has seriously weakened his
king position, which I think is ultimately more important.} 19. Rad1 Qc7 ({Or} 
19... Nxf3 20. gxf3 Ne5 21. Nc5 Bc8 22. Qd2 {and White wins a pawn, which
shows another problem with the pawn advances of moves 14-16 - Black's pawn
mass looks nice, but it's floating with no real support.}) 20. Bh5 {My idea was
to take the e8-square from the black rooks, and so weaken the e6-pawn.} ({
Another possibility is} 20. Bg4 Nd8 ({not} 20... Nxg4 $2 21. Bxd6) 21. Nd2 {
, planning to bring a knight to c4 with positional pressure.}) 20... a5 21. Rf2
a4 22. Nc1 Rad8 (22... a3 23. b3 Ra5 24. Qe1 Rc5 25. Rfd2 Rd8 26. Qg3 {
is also good for White.}) 23. Qe1 Qb6 24. Rfd2 {White clears the way for the
queen to reach the kingside, while stepping up the pressure on the "floating"
d6-pawn. This typical Karpovian strategy of pinning Black down to two
weaknesses makes things very difficult for the opponent.} Qc5 25. Qg3 Kh8 {
Natural, but not best.} ({The hard to see} 25... Ne7 {
is correct, as Black must prepare to block the g-file:} 26. Qh3 (26. Bh6 N7g6 {
is Black's idea}) 26... Bc8 {and White has great pressure on the floating
pawns and against the black king, but no knockout is apparent.}) 26. Qh3 Bc8
27. Nd3 $1 {
Now the weak king position tells, as White has a combination in mind...} Qb6 ({
Black must be wary:} 27... Nxd3 28. Bg6 $1 {(no recapture!)} h6 ({or} 28... h5
29. Rxd3 {and Black falls apart}) 29. Bxh6 $1 {and White forces mate. Note
there is no longer any pawn cover for the black king and no pieces can defend
now that the dragon will be slain.}) ({Black is also in a bad way after} 27...
Qb5 28. Nxe5 Nxe5 29. b3 ({even stronger than} 29. Rxd6) 29... axb3 30. axb3 {
and White has so many threats - on both sides of the board - that Black can
hardly hold the position; e.g.} Qb7 31. Rd4 Qb5 32. Bg3 Qb8 33. Be1 Nc6 34. Bg6
h6 35. Rc4 Qb5 36. Bd2 {and Black will have to pitch b4 before h6 falls!}) 28.
Nxe5 Nxe5 29. Nc4 $3 {The same idea in a more spectacular setting: Black's
king position is just too weak.} Qc7 ({
Black can't accept the sacrificed knight:} 29... Nxc4 30. Bg6 h6 ({or} 30...
Bh6 31. Qxh6 Qb7 32. Bxd6 Nxd2 33. Bxf8 Kg8 34. Bxb4 hxg6 35. Rxd2 Rxd2 36.
Qf8+ Kh7 37. Bxd2 {and the opposite-coloured bishop attack wins once again})
31. Bxh6 {and mates as before - not even} e5 {helps because of} 32. Bxg7+ {
(double check!)} Kxg7 33. Qh7# {.}) 30. Nxd6 Rxd6 {Necessary;} ({as} 30... a3
31. Nf7+ Rxf7 32. Rxd8+ Rf8 33. Bg6 {wins immediately.}) 31. Rxd6 {
But now White is up a pawn, an exchange, and still has a powerful attack!} Qxc2
32. Bxe5 {The manoeuvre initiated by this move guards my e-pawn with tempo and
allows my rooks to penetrate on the d-file - Black has no recourse.} fxe5 33.
Bg6 h6 34. Rd8 Qc7 ({The queen must scurry back, since} 34... Qxb2 35. Qf3 {
forces mate.}) 35. Qd3 Kg8 36. h3 Bb7 37. Rd7 Qc6 38. Qg3 Kh8 39. Rxg7 $1 ({
The queen falls after} 39. Rxg7 Kxg7 40. Be8+ {. --- Once I got the Karpovian
position with Nd5 and Bg5 (after move 14) my attack just rolled along - but
the sharp advance 11...b4 is critical for this variation, when White needs to
find an improvement in the ensuing complications.}) 1-0

[Event "7th Metropolitan IM, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Amanov, Z."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B70"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8.
Bg5 Nc6 9. Nb3 a6 {As mentioned previously, I was again paired with the same
opponent, with the same colour, not long after the previous victory. Amanov
made these first nine moves with lightning speed, clearly having an
improvement in mind (most likely 11...b4), but I didn't feel like seeing it!}
10. Re1 {As played by Adams, and reminiscent of Kayumov's positional line
against Carlsen. As in that game, White plans an early Nd5.} b5 {
Black's play slowed down to a crawl!} 11. Bf1 {White doesn't commit his f-pawn,
but defends e4 and prepares Nd5, thus neutralizing (quite in Karpov's style)
Black's ...b7-b5 thrust.} Bb7 ({Adams faced} 11... h6 12. Bh4 e6 13. Qd2 Qc7
14. Rad1 Rd8 15. f4 Bb7 16. a3 Rac8 {and now played the premature} 17. f5 {
with an eventual draw in M.Adams-A.Miles, Tilburg 1993.} ({The patient} 17. h3
{is better, which improves White's position (Re3-d3 is in the air) and so
maintains a small plus.})) (11... b4 {is a weaker alternative: unlike the
previous game, Black has no threat against White's solid play, and the b-pawn
itself is exposed to lever action. After} 12. Nd5 Nd7 13. Qc1 Re8 14. a3 $1
bxa3 15. Rxa3 {White had the advantage across the board in V.Orlov-E.Krassilnikov, St Petersburg 2000.}) 12. Nd5 Nd7 ({If} 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 Ne5 {
, then} 14. a4 $1 {(White plays on the queenside, where the black queen's
bishop is at least temporarily inactive)} ({weaker is} 14. f4 Qb6+ 15. Kh1 Nc4
16. Bxe7 Nxb2 17. Qf3 Rfc8 18. f5 Rxc2 19. f6 Rf2 20. Qg3 Bxf6 {
which turns in Black's favour}) 14... h6 15. Bc1 Nc4 16. c3 {
(the typical Karpov block)} Re8 17. Nd4 Qb6 ({after} 17... Bxd5 18. axb5 axb5
19. Rxa8 Qxa8 20. Nxb5 {Black has freed his bishop but faces other problems:
in view of the threatened fork on c7, he has nothing better than} Qc6 21. Nc7
Qxc7 22. Qxd5 {, when White has an edge with the two bishops and a passed pawn}
) 18. axb5 axb5 19. Rxa8 Rxa8 ({or} 19... Bxa8 20. b3 {
and Black has problems with the b5-pawn}) 20. Rxe7 Bxd4 21. cxd4 Bxd5 22. Bxh6
Ra7 23. Re8+ Kh7 24. Qg4 Ra8 25. Qh4 Rxe8 26. Bg5+ {(Black, with no dragon
bishop, is unable to defend against White's mating attack) 1-0 Mi.Sandu-A.R.Uta, Rumanian Women's Championship, Sarata Monteoru 2011.}) 13. c3 {Once again,
typical Karpov: I shut off Black's dark-squared bishop, then carry on with the
kingside attack. Having their vital piece neutralized like this seems to be
most unpleasant for Dragon players!} h6 14. Bh4 g5 15. Bg3 e6 16. Ne3 Nde5 17.
Qh5 {Black did not drive off the opposing dark-squared bishop for free: now
the h5-square is available for the white queen - which is rather menacing for
the black king!} Ne7 $6 (17... Qe7 {is better, but after} 18. Rad1 {
White has a long-term pull.}) 18. Bxe5 $1 {An unprejudiced exchange that
leaves Black with a dead dragon and lamed pawns - White's advantage is close
to decisive and it's only move 18! Most Yugoslav Dragon lines are booked far
past that! --- Unfortunately, winning the "won game" turned out not to be so
easy!} dxe5 ({Not} 18... Bxe5 $2 19. Ng4 {and White wins a pawn with attack.})
19. Nc5 Bc8 20. Rad1 Qc7 21. b4 {White dominates across the board - I knew
then, and Fritz concurs now, that White has a decisive advantage. From an
opening point of view, White has won the battle big time - so I will just give
light notes on the rest of this long game to show where the cleanest wins can
be found, before the most unwelcome draw.} Kh7 22. Rd2 Ng6 23. Red1 Ra7 24. g3
Rh8 25. Ng4 Qe7 26. Rd6 Nf8 27. c4 $1 bxc4 28. Bxc4 a5 29. a3 axb4 30. axb4 {
The unopposed passed pawn adds to White's advantage; also note how his
powerful knights dominate both of Black's bishops.} Rc7 31. Bb3 Bb7 32. Ne3 ({
Win One:} 32. Ba4 {is a nice clean win, since Black must allow the decisive
advance of the passed pawn or face a mating attack:} Rg8 (32... Bc8 33. Bc6 Ra7
34. b5 {is easy}) 33. Bb5 Rh8 34. Nd7 Nxd7 35. Rxd7 Rxd7 36. Rxd7 Qxb4 37. Nf6+
{and mates.}) 32... Bc6 33. Qe2 Be8 34. Qd2 Bc6 35. Qd3 Be8 36. Bc2 Bf6 37. Qa6
Ra7 38. Qb6 Ra3 39. Nd5 exd5 40. Rxf6 Kg7 41. Rd6 d4 42. Bd3 Ng6 43. Rc1 h5 44.
Bf1 Kh7 45. Nd3 Ra7 46. Nc5 g4 47. b5 Ra2 48. Ne6 $1 {White is back on the
right track, simultaneously working to advance the pawn and attack the king.}
Ra7 ({Here taking the knight fails, as} 48... fxe6 49. Rc7 {wins the queen.})
49. Rc7 Rxc7 50. Nxc7 Qg5 51. Qa7 Qe7 52. Qc5 h4 53. b6 $1 {White's pawn is
only two squares from queening and Black's kingside demonstration shouldn't
come to much. Fritz is up to +4 now, if that means anything - but I'll tell
you it didn't mean much to me at the board, with about five minutes left in
sudden death, surviving on the increment!} hxg3 54. hxg3 Ba4 55. Nd5 Qg5 56. b7
({Win Two:} 56. Qc7 {is a very clear win, the point being to tie Black down to
f7 (or break through there with a mating attack) and then queen the b-pawn.
Even in time pressure this should have been seen. All Black defences fail
miserably:} -- (56... Bd1 57. Qxf7+ Kh6 58. Ne7 {and mates.}) (56... Be8 57. b7
Kg7 58. b8=Q Qh6 59. Rxg6+ Qxg6 (59... Kxg6 60. Qd6+ {
removes Black's queen, while White has one in reserve}) 60. Qxe5+ f6 61. Qxf6+
Qxf6 62. Nxf6 Kxf6 63. Qf4+ {and the rest would be absurdly simple.}) (56...
Rf8 {(in general, whenever the rook is forced off the h-file White wins easily
with the passed pawn, as Black has no counterplay)} 57. b7 {and queens.}) (
56... Kg7 57. Rf6 Rf8 ({or} 57... Qh5 58. Qxf7+ Kh6 59. Ne7 {and mates}) 58. b7
{and once again the passed pawn decides.})) 56... Kg7 57. Nc7 ({Win Three:} 57.
Qc7 Qh6 58. Rxg6+ Kxg6 59. Ne7+ Kh7 60. Qxe5 Re8 61. Qf5+ Kg7 62. Qxg4+ Kh8 63.
Nc8 {, which is pretty but hard to see.}) 57... Qh6 58. Bg2 $2 ({Win Four:} 58.
Ne6+ fxe6 ({after} 58... Kf6 {White has a mating attack with all checks:} 59.
Nxd4+ Kg5 60. f4+ gxf3 61. Nxf3+ Kg4 62. Nxe5+ Kxg3 63. Qf2#) 59. Qc7+ Kf6 60.
Rxe6+ Kxe6 ({or} 60... Kg5 61. f4+ gxf3 62. Qc1+ Kh5 63. g4+ Kxg4 64. Qxh6 Rxh6
65. b8=Q {and Black ends up with a single piece for the queen}) 61. Bc4+ Kf6
62. Qf7+ Kg5 63. Qf5# {. This win is clean and completely forced, and
furthermore the main lines are all checks! This should absolutely have been
seen - and worse yet, this was the last win. One must always analyze the
checks, especially in an attacking position like this.}) 58... Qd2 {
Now Black has sufficient counterplay and the game devolves to a draw.} 59.
Rxg6+ Kxg6 60. Qd6+ f6 61. Nd5 Qe1+ 62. Bf1 Rh1+ 63. Kxh1 Qxf1+ 64. Kh2 Qxf2+
65. Kh1 Qf1+ 66. Kh2 Qh3+ 67. Kg1 Qxg3+ 68. Kh1 Qe1+ 69. Kh2 Qf2+ ({
Black can still lose if he plays for a win; e.g.} 69... Qd2+ 70. Kg1 Qc1+ 71.
Kg2 Qb2+ 72. Kg1 Qxb7 73. Qxf6+ Kh7 74. Qh4+ Kg8 $2 75. Nf6+ {
nets the queen - my opponent wisely forces the draw.}) 70. Kh1 Qf1+ {. --- An extremely painful result, but one must praise my opponent for staying focused
in such a difficult position. I may be lacking self-criticism (as Botvinnik
would say) but I only reproach myself for missing wins one, two and four, but
not three! In any case, from an opening standpoint, Adams' modest Re1/Bf1
system has more than a drop of Karpovian poison in it, and Black's defence is
quite difficult.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Las Palmas"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1977.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Hernandez Onna, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B70"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1977.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 {
Black indicates that he wants to play the Accelerated Dragon.} 3. d4 cxd4 4.
Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Nb3 {Karpov is certainly not afraid that Black will give
up his vital dark-squared bishop!} Nf6 {This is the normal move (which
transposes back into main lines) and White scores a normal 55% against it.} ({
Strangely enough,} 6... Bxc3+ {is often recommended in Accelerated Dragon
books but rarely played - in fact, it's played less than 10% as often as 6...
Nf6. When Black does venture this exchange, White scores an overwhelming 67%
against it, which is easy to understand: Black gives up his fundamental piece,
the Dragon bishop, and must suffer due to weak dark squares for the rest of
the game! Yes, if he ever reaches an endgame, White's doubled pawns might be
weak, but that's a rather unlikely hope. Two following games show two typical
White wins:} 7. bxc3 Nf6 8. Bd3 (8. Bc4 $5 {, with the idea} Nxe4 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7
10. Qd5+ Kg7 11. Qxe4 {, is certainly possible}) 8... d5 {- Black opens lines
for White's two bishops; I remember David Levy recommending this years ago in
his Accelerated Dragon book, but I didn't believe in it then, and when I saw
Andrew Greet recommend it in 'Starting Out: Accelerated Dragon', I still don't
believe in it now! What must the average player think of such moves? Mostly,
they say, "I'm not going to play that!" -} 9. exd5 Qxd5 10. O-O {and then:} --
(10... Bf5 11. c4 Qd7 12. Nc5 Qc7 13. Bxf5 gxf5 14. Bb2 {(here Greet has
played his own recommendation, but turns out to be another statistic in
White's big score: while Fritz says White is only slightly better, in practice
the long diagonal is very difficult to overcome)} Ng4 15. g3 Rg8 16. Re1 Rd8
17. Qf3 Nce5 18. Bxe5 Nxe5 19. Qxf5 Rg5 20. Qxh7 {
(Black eliminated the white bishop, but at the cost of two pawns)} Nf3+ 21. Kh1
Qxc5 22. Qh8+ Kd7 23. Red1+ Ke6 24. Qxd8 Qxf2 25. Qc8+ Kf6 26. Qh8+ Ke6 27. Rf1
Qe2 28. Qh6+ f6 29. Qh3+ Kf7 30. Qg2 {
(White consolidates the extra material and scores the full point)} Qxg2+ 31.
Kxg2 Nd2 32. Rf4 Rc5 33. Rd1 Nxc4 34. Rd7 Ne5 35. Rf2 Rb5 36. Rd4 b6 37. h4 Ra5
38. Re4 Kg6 39. a4 Rc5 40. g4 Rc3 41. g5 Nc6 42. gxf6 exf6 43. Rg4+ Kf7 44.
Rgf4 Kg7 45. Rxf6 Ne5 46. R6f5 Ng4 47. Rg5+ Kh6 48. Rxg4 {
1-0 M.Leon Hoyos-A.Greet, World Mindsports Games, Beijing (blitz) 2008.}) (
10... O-O 11. c4 Qd6 12. c5 Qc7 13. Re1 Rd8 14. Qe2 Be6 15. Bb2 {(White has
powerful unopposed bishop on the long dark diagonal the black dragon abdicated
- I would never voluntarily go in for this with Black!)} Rd5 16. h3 Rh5 17. Qf3
Bd5 18. Qe3 Rc8 19. Be2 Rh4 20. Qg5 Rf4 21. Bd3 Rd8 22. Rad1 Be4 23. Qg3 Nh5
24. Qh2 Bxd3 25. cxd3 f5 ({if} 25... Qb8 {
, to put the queen on a protected square, then White wins nonetheless by} 26.
g4 Nf6 27. Be5 $1 {- a typical "dark square" combination -} Nxe5 28. Qxf4 {
with a decisive material advantage}) 26. Bc1 {
(Black, helpless on the dark squares, loses material)} e5 27. Bxf4 Nxf4 28. Qg3
a5 29. a4 Nd4 30. Nxd4 Rxd4 31. Qe3 Rd5 32. d4 e4 33. f3 exf3 {1-0 A.Rodriguez
Vila-R.Quintiliano Pinto, Santos 2010. Black resigned without waiting for} 34.
Qe8+ Kg7 35. Re7+ {which wins the queen - on a dark square!})) 7. Be2 O-O 8.
O-O a5 (8... d6 9. Bg5 {transposes to the previous four games. The text is the
"Accelerated Dragon" move, but really doesn't change the game much. Karpov
faced down a similar, if later thrust vs. Sosonko and doesn't run into any
more trouble here.}) 9. a4 d6 ({Black could try} 9... Nb4 {
intending ...d7-d5. White continues} 10. Bg5 ({even} 10. Bf3 {, as we'll see
in a similar position in Bronstein-Petrosian, can be played to prevent the
break directly}) 10... d5 {(here Black gets it in, but once again this is a
"false freeing move" - lines open for White's pieces, and the b-file
weaknesses that come with ...a7-a5 hurt Black)} 11. exd5 Nfxd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5
13. Bf3 Nf6 14. Re1 Qc7 15. Qe2 Re8 16. Qb5 $1 {, when White dominated the
position and went on to win in V.Kupreichik-W.Pohl, Schwäbisch Gmünd 1995.})
10. Bg5 Be6 ({One of my Dragon encounters continued with the rare move} 10...
h6 {, which slightly weakens Black's kingside - but it took more than that to
lead to a White victory in 20 moves:} 11. Bh4 Be6 12. f4 Bxb3 ({
as usual the "freeing"} 12... d5 {is indirectly prevented: White has} 13. f5
gxf5 14. exf5 Bc8 15. Bb5 {with great pressure on Black's compromised position
- note that the black king is even more exposed now}) 13. cxb3 {(although White
's pawn structure is compromised, the two bishops and c-file provide more than
enough compensation; for a further discussion of this structure, and a nice
Tiviakov win, see the note to move 12 in Taylor-Amanov, Brownell Memorial)}
Qb6+ $6 14. Bf2 Qb4 $2 ({this is the move that transforms "some advantage to
White" into decisive! - Black doesn't realize the danger; necessary is} 14...
Qd8 15. Be3 {with an obvious plus but nothing immediate}) 15. Bc4 $1 {
(the black queen is trapped!)} d5 {(the only way out, but giving up a centre
pawn for nothing hardly changes the evaluation)} 16. exd5 ({weaker is} 16. Na2
Qd6 17. e5 Nxe5 {
, when Black at least gets some centre pawns for the piece, although} 18. fxe5
Qxe5 19. Bd4 Qd6 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Qxd5 {should nevertheless win for White})
16... Rad8 17. Qe2 Nb8 18. Rad1 Nbd7 (18... Qd6 19. Nb5 Qxf4 20. Bc5 {
also wins quickly}) 19. d6 $1 exd6 20. Na2 {and as the queen can't be saved (}
Rfe8 21. Qc2 {), so Black resigned, 1-0 T.Taylor-B.Lazarus, La Palma 2011.})
11. Kh1 Rc8 (11... Nd7 12. f4 {transposes back to Karpov-Sosonko,} ({while the 
Ladies World Champion (as she was known in those days) also scored from this
position with a different plan:} 12. Rb1 Bxb3 13. cxb3 Nc5 14. f3 Ne6 15. Bh4
Ned4 16. Bc4 Kh8 17. Nd5 Rc8 18. Qd2 f5 19. Rbe1 Re8 20. Bg5 Ne5 21. exf5 Nxf5
22. Bb5 {and White's bishop pair gave her a crushing advantage in N.Gaprindashvili-W.Schinzel, Sandomierz 1976.})) 12. f4 Nb4 (12... d5 {fails:}
13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. exd5 {.}) 13. Nd4 Bc4 (13... d5 {is still faulty:} 14. f5 Bd7
15. e5 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. c3 Na6 {, as} 18. f6 {buries the Dragon.}) 14.
Ndb5 Qb6 (14... d5 {is still false:} 15. Bxc4 Rxc4 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. exd5 Rc5
18. Qe2 Bxc3 19. Nxc3 Nxd5 20. Ne4 Rc6 21. Rad1 {
with a huge positional advantage.}) 15. Bh4 Qc5 16. Bd3 Rfd8 17. Bf2 Qh5 18.
Bb6 {The early ...a7-a5, beloved of the Accelerated Dragon, once again shows
up as a weakness.} Qxd1 19. Rfxd1 Rf8 20. Na7 $1 {Just 20 moves and the game
is decided - without doing anything, or seeming to do anything, Karpov has won
material: the pawn at a5, the rook at c8, and the bishop at c4 are all under
attack and something's gotta give!} Bxd3 21. Nxc8 Bxc2 ({Or} 21... Rxc8 22.
cxd3 {and Karpov will win technically with his extra exchange. Hernandez
instead invites complications...}) 22. Nxe7+ Kh8 23. Bxa5 Bxd1 24. Rxd1 Ng4 25.
Bxb4 Nf2+ 26. Kg1 Nxd1 27. Nxd1 Re8 28. Bxd6 Bf6 29. Nd5 Bd4+ 30. Kf1 Rxe4 31.
a5 Kg7 32. Bb4 f6 33. Bc3 Bxc3 34. N1xc3 {Winding up with a rook vs. two
knights and pawn, an advantage which Karpov mercilessly translates to victory.}
Re8 35. Nc7 Re7 36. N3d5 Re4 37. b4 {The two knights shepherd the queenside
pawn majority through, and there's nothing Black can do about it.} Kf7 38. b5
Ra4 39. a6 bxa6 40. bxa6 Ra2 41. Nc3 ({After} 41. Nc3 Ra1+ 42. Ke2 Ra3 43. N3b5
{the rook will be lost in a few more moves. --- The great thing about Karpov's
line is that it can equally be played against the regular and Accelerated
Dragon - Black is struggling to equalize either way. --- Now let's move on to
something different: if you're facing the Dragon and are not in the mood for
Karpovian grinding, I offer something more savage: the Alekhine Attack!}) 1-0

[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine, A."]
[Black "Botvinnik, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B72"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 ({Once upon a time,
back in my high school days, my school was matched against another whose
reputation as Dragon fiends had preceded them. It was said that no one dared
to play 1 e4 against them, for they had the Dragon memorized out 20 moves!
(This was considered very far along in those days - it's nothing now of course.
) Anyway, even then I didn't think much of memorization, and even though I
normally was a queen's pawn or Bird player, I nonetheless decided to open with
1 e4. At this point I played the Levenfish Attack,} 6. f4 {
, and my opponent continued mechanically with} Bg7 (6... Nc6 {is correct - if
you know your Dragon as opposed to only memorizing one line - and after this
error the game concluded as follows...}) 7. e5 dxe5 8. fxe5 Ng4 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10.
Qxg4 {1-0 T.Taylor-Dragon Fiend, school match 1970. My opponent ruefully
admitted afterwards that he had not memorized that line - and what was the
name of it anyway? --- I've had much the same experience with the Alekhine
Attack - people don't even know the name of it, let alone what to play against
it!}) 6... Bg7 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Nb3 {White keeps pieces on and restrains ...d6-d5.
} Be6 (8... O-O 9. f4 a5 {is the correct move order according to modern theory,
but Black is not out of the woods yet, as Taylor-Amanov (again! - Brownell
Memorial) will show. However, the game will most likely take more than 30
moves in this variation!}) 9. f4 O-O 10. g4 $1 {The Alekhine Attack! I have
scored six tournament wins in 31 moves or less with this (two of them in only
21 moves!) - two of these wins are seen in Taylor-Bodek and Taylor-Casella,
with the other four featuring in the notes.} ({White can also play} 10. O-O {
- but it's not part of my recommended repertoire. In general, White doesn't
want to castle short in the Alekhine Attack unless one can get the ...a7-a5
concession, after which b5 and b6 are permanently weakened.}) 10... d5 {
This Steinitzian counter in the centre seems the natural response to White's
kingside attack - but Fischer convincingly demonstrated that it's a serious
mistake, as we'll see in the next game.} ({
The one after that features the also frequently played} 10... Na5 {
, which also fails to equalize.}) ({In my opinion, the only way Black can hope
to obtain a playable game from here is} 10... a5 $1 {, which leads to a wild
slugfest where both sides have chances (see Taylor-Carreto Nieto).}) 11. f5 Bc8
12. exd5 Nb4 13. d6 {Brilliant but flawed.} (13. Bf3 {is Fischer's improvement,
when White is clearly better. Fischer's game will come up next - but first,
Botvinnik has to solve Alekhine's wildly imaginative pawn thrust! He did hold
a draw with a sparkling resource, but he could have played for more.}) 13...
Qxd6 (13... exd6 $1 {is stronger. Alekhine thought this was impossible because
of "g4-g5 followed by f5-f6 etc", as he wrote in his notes in the famous
'Nottingham 1936' tournament book. Superficially this looks correct but, as
Vukovic pointed out in his 'Art of Attack', the note is incorrect as Black can
clearly sac a piece;} 14. -- ({; e.g.} 14. g5 Bxf5 $1 15. gxf6 Nxc2+ 16. Kd2
Qxf6 {and Black has a winning attack.}) ({. Instead,} 14. a3 Re8 15. Bg5 {
is relatively best} (15. Bf4 Nc6 16. g5 Ne4 {
again gives Black a decisive attack}) {
, but now there is no g4-g5/f5-f6 advance, so after} 15... Nc6 {
Black is better in view of White's overextended position.})) 14. Bc5 Qf4 $1 (
14... Qxd1+ 15. Rxd1 Nc6 (15... Nxc2+ 16. Kd2 {traps the knight}) 16. g5 Nd7
17. f6 $1 {
was Alekhine's great idea, when Black's position cracks at the e7-square.}) 15.
Rf1 Qxh2 $3 16. Bxb4 Nxg4 {The second piece sacrifice forces the draw.} 17.
Bxg4 (17. Bc5 Qh4+ 18. Bf2 Nxf2 19. Rxf2 Bxf5 {is way too dangerous for White
- Black has three pawns for the piece and a raging attack.}) 17... Qg3+ 18. Rf2
({Alekhine points out that} 18. Kd2 $2 Bh6+ {wins for Black.}) 18... Qg1+ 19.
Rf1 {Necessary;} ({as after} 19. Ke2 Qxg4+ 20. Ke1 Qxb4 {
both loose bishops drop, with a win for Black.}) 19... Qg3+ 20. Rf2 Qg1+ {
. --- Short, sharp, brilliant but flawed - now that's a human World Champion
vs. World Champion game! --- Alekhine's terrific idea lay dormant for many
years, until Bobby Fischer saw the possibilities - and blasted his old rival
Reshevsky right off the board!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Los Angeles (match)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fischer, RJ."]
[Black "Reshevsky, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B72"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "1961.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 O-O 8.
f4 d6 9. Nb3 Be6 {"The old and second rate move" - Fischer. However, I don't
think it's that bad if Black follows 10 g4 with 10...a5, as I've already
mentioned.} ({The very passive set-up which I faced in one game is much weaker:
} 9... Bd7 10. g4 Ne8 11. h4 a5 12. a4 Be6 13. f5 Bxb3 14. cxb3 gxf5 $6 {
(from bad to worse)} 15. gxf5 Kh8 16. Qd2 Nf6 17. O-O-O Rc8 18. Kb1 Rg8 19. h5
Nd7 20. h6 {and White had a decisive advantage in T.Taylor-A.Kretchetov, 3rd
Metropolitan Invitational, Los Angeles 2011.}) 10. g4 d5 {
This move is definitely "old and second rate"!} ({We'll see the better} 10...
Na5 {in Taylor-Bodek}) ({and the probably best} 10... a5 {
in Taylor-Carreto Nieto.}) 11. f5 Bc8 12. exd5 Nb4 13. Bf3 $3 {As far as I can
see, this refutes the entire variation with 10...d5. "White maintains his
centre pawn and sacs two pawns on the kingside where Black must expose his
king to get them" - Fischer.} gxf5 14. a3 $1 {
The black knight is driven to a bad square.} fxg4 15. Bg2 Na6 16. Qd3 $1 {
The final link in the chain begun with 13 Bf3 - the c8-bishop is deprived of
the f5-square, and so can't defend the kingside.} e6 {
Fischer calls this "the best choice in a difficult position".} ({
Black has two main alternatives: --} 16... Nd7 17. O-O-O Ne5 18. Qe2 {
"and Black's game is lifeless: White has h2-h3 and Bd4 in the offing," says
Fischer. I agree - in general, Black's problem is that, due to the target
g-pawn, he can't keep lines closed on the kingside.}) (16... Nc7 {, repositioning the knight, was tried by my eternal Dragon opponent, Amanov - but this is
too slow and White soon had a won game:} 17. O-O-O Nce8 18. h3 g3 ({
lines opened to devastating effect after} 18... Nd6 19. hxg4 Bxg4 20. Rdf1 Re8
21. Bh3 Bh5 22. Rfg1 Bg6 23. Rxg6 $1 {
- the first of three powerful sacrifices that leave the black king helpless -}
hxg6 24. Nd4 Nd7 25. Be6 $1 Ne5 26. Qf1 Ndc4 27. Bxf7+ $3 {- third and totally
decisive: Black may be up material but White has a mating attack -} Nxf7 28.
Ne6 Nxe3 29. Qg1 Qb6 30. Qxg6 Nf5 31. Qh7# {, C.D'Amore-P.Passerotti, Rome 1986
}) {, and now there is a further split - what I actually played, and what I
should have played!} 19. -- (19. Ne2 {(this is too slow, and Black now gets
some chances to hold, though of course White is still better)} Nd6 20. Nxg3 Qc7
21. Rhg1 Bd7 22. Nd4 Rac8 23. Be4 Kh8 24. Bf4 Qb6 25. Bf3 Nc4 26. b3 Nxa3 27.
Ngf5 Bxf5 28. Qxf5 Nxc2 29. Nxc2 Qxb3 30. Rxg7 Kxg7 31. Rg1+ Kh8 32. Bh6 Rg8
33. Bg7+ {(White wins a piece but is running out of pawns)} Rxg7 34. Qxc8+ Ng8
35. Rxg7 Kxg7 36. Qg4+ Kf8 37. Qf4 Qc3 38. d6 exd6 39. Qxd6+ Kg7 40. Bxb7 Qxh3
41. Qd4+ Nf6 42. Ne3 Qd7 43. Qxa7 Qc7+ 44. Kb1 Qe5 45. Qb6 {(now I accepted a
draw offer as I have no pawns left to win with!) ½-½ T.Taylor-Z.Amanov,
1st Metropolitan IM, Los Angeles 2010.}) (19. Bd2 {is evidently correct, as
White will win the g-pawn and open the g-file against Black's king; ultimately
Black can't stop this plan, so basically White wins his pawn back with a huge
attack - for the record, Mr. Fritz also goes to "decisive advantage" after
this move: e.g.} Qd6 ({Black fails to hold the vital g-pawn after} 19... Nh5
20. Bf3 Nef6 21. Bxh5 Nxh5 22. Qf3 Nf6 23. Rdg1 {and it's all over}) 20. Qf3
Bd7 21. Bf4 Qb6 22. Bxg3 Nd6 23. Bf2 Qc7 24. Rhg1 {and White's advantage is
overwhelming. --- I can still hardly believe that Amanov escaped from those
two lost positions (above and at Metro 7) - if I had succeeded in "winning the
won game" in those two cases our "Dragon match" would not have been 2-2 (two
wins for me, two draws for him) but rather 4-0!})) 17. O-O-O Nxd5 ({After} 
17... exd5 {Fischer gives} 18. h3 g3 19. Bd4 {with a big White advantage for
all the typical reasons - the g-file is opening and the black king is
decidedly unsafe; e.g.} Nh5 20. Bxg7 Qg5+ 21. Kb1 Qxg7 22. Nxd5 Kh8 23. Bf3 {
and ultimately the g3-pawn will fall (as in the note to Taylor-Amanov above).})
18. h3 g3 19. Rhg1 Qd6 20. Bxd5 exd5 21. Nxd5 {Good but not best.} ({
"Nowadays I would have played} 21. Bd4 {without giving it a second thought,"
writes Fischer - and he's right! Black can hardly hold after this; e.g.} Bxd4 (
{a check doesn't help:} 21... Qf4+ 22. Kb1 Bxd4 23. Nxd4 Nc5 24. Qb5 b6 25.
Nde2 {and Black can't hold his numerous weaknesses - one sees that both g3 and
d5 are falling to begin with, while the black king is on the endangered list})
22. Qxd4 f5 ({if} 22... Be6 {then} 23. Qf6 Rfd8 24. Ne4 {wins quickly}) 23.
Rxg3+ Qxg3 24. Rg1 Qxg1+ 25. Qxg1+ Kf7 26. Nxd5 {
and the queen will beat the disconnected rooks without difficulty.}) 21... Kh8
22. Bf4 Qg6 23. Qd2 ({Vukovic likes} 23. Qf3 {
here - but, as Fischer says, Black at least temporarily holds with} Bf5 24.
Rxg3 Qc6 {.}) 23... Bxh3 24. Rxg3 Bg4 25. Rh1 Rfe8 26. Ne3 Qe4 $2 {Losing!} ({
After the correct} 26... f5 {Black, as Fischer says again, holds for now -
though I think White still stands better after} 27. Qg2 {
due to Black's exposed king.}) 27. Qh2 $1 Be6 {The f4-bishop is immune;} ({
while} 27... f5 {fails to} 28. Qxh7# {.}) 28. Rxg7 ({Of course} 28. Nd2 {
wins the queen - but Fischer's move, destroying the g7-bishop, is also
decisive, as Black (as so often in Dragon positions) can't defend his king
without this vital piece.}) 28... Kxg7 29. Qh6+ Kg8 {
Losing the queen but nonetheless forced;} ({as} 29... Kh8 {allows} 30. Be5+ $1
{and mates.}) 30. Rg1+ Qg6 31. Rxg6+ fxg6 32. Nd4 Rad8 33. Be5 Rd7 34. Nxe6
Rxe6 35. Ng4 Rf7 36. Qg5 Rf1+ 37. Kd2 h5 38. Qd8+ ({After} 38. Qd8+ {
Black can either get mated, or "fight on" with} Rf8 (38... Kf7 39. Nh6#) (38...
Kh7 39. Qh8#) 39. Nh6+ Kh7 40. Qxf8 Rxe5 41. Qg8+ Kxh6 42. Qh8+ Kg5 43. Qxe5+ {
, when White is practically a whole queen up. --- The Alekhine Attack is not a
forced win even after the faulty 10...d5 - note that Amanov held out for a
half point and even Fischer faltered and gave Reshevsky chances to hold with
26...f5, but all in all, Black is pretty much desperately fighting for a draw
in the position after 16 Qd3, and I don't see any serious improvements. --- If
you face a knowledgeable opponent, he will avoid Fischer's line - but the
alternatives you face might not be any better! Therefore, in the next two
games we will look at various "not quite best" alternatives that I have
personally encountered, before covering Black's strongest defences in the
final two games of the chapter.}) 1-0

[Event "Metropolitan International, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Bodek, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B72"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8.
Nb3 Nc6 9. f4 Be6 10. g4 Na5 {I have faced this decentralizing move twice, and
it's been played about 200 times in the database - but White scores about 70%
against it providing he knows the following two moves. White should take
advantage of the knight relinquishing control of the d4-square to play g4-g5
and then Bd4 to try to remove the dragon. Black doesn't seem to have any
satisfactory counter to this.} 11. g5 Nd7 12. Bd4 {The fundamental idea: White
simply threatens to slay the dragon and then follow with some combination of
moves similar to the main game: h4-h5, 0-0-0, and transferring the queen to
the h-file.} Bxb3 ({I faced} 12... Bxd4 {in my other game in this line:} 13.
Nxd4 ({I tried to keep it in the middlegame, but perhaps the GM preference} 13.
Qxd4 {is better, when White successfully played against Black's pawn
weaknesses in the endgame:} Qb6 14. Qxb6 axb6 15. Nd4 Bc4 16. Bg4 e5 17. Ndb5
f5 18. Bh3 Bxb5 19. Nxb5 Nc4 20. O-O Nc5 21. exf5 gxf5 22. Nc7 Ne3 23. Nxa8
Nxf1 24. Rxf1 Rxa8 25. fxe5 dxe5 26. Bxf5 Ra4 27. Re1 e4 28. a3 Rd4 29. b4 Na4
30. Rxe4 Rd2 31. Re7 {1-0 K.Asrian-A.Nikanorov, St Petersburg 1999}) 13... Bc4
14. h4 Rc8 15. h5 {(very straightforward but hard to stop!)} e5 16. Nf3 Bxe2 ({
going for the queen exchange doesn't necessarily help Black, nor should White
necessarily avoid it - this seems to be the lesson of these notes; e.g.} 16...
Qb6 17. hxg6 hxg6 18. Bxc4 Rxc4 19. Rb1 Qe3+ 20. Qe2 exf4 21. Qxe3 fxe3 22. Ke2
{with advantage to White as the h-file is still a factor in the ending}) 17.
Qxe2 Rxc3 $6 {(Dragon players like this, but it's not necessarily good against
the Alekhine Attack - see also Taylor-Casella and Taylor-Amanov, Brownell
Memorial)} ({instead} 17... Qb6 {is better, when it seems Black has adequate
counterplay - this variation is an argument for 13 Qxd4}) 18. bxc3 ({
White can't rush, as} 18. Qh2 $2 Re3+ 19. Kf2 Qb6 20. hxg6 Rc3+ 21. Kg3 exf4+
22. Kg4 Ne5+ 23. Nxe5 Rg3+ {wins for Black}) 18... Qc7 19. Qd3 Rc8 20. hxg6
hxg6 21. Rd1 Nc4 22. Nxe5 $1 Ncxe5 23. fxe5 Nxe5 24. Qh3 {
(the standard manoeuvre: White gets to the h-file)} Kf8 $2 ({
Black has nothing better here than to exchange queens with} 24... Qxc3+ 25.
Qxc3 Rxc3 26. Rxd6 {and hope to hold this worse ending - but my opponent stays
in the middlegame and loses quickly, as Dragon positions just don't hold
without the actual dragon!}) 25. Qh8+ Ke7 26. Qf6+ Ke8 27. Rh8+ Kd7 28. Qxe5 $1
{(everything is defended and White is a rook up)} Rxh8 29. Qxh8 {
1-0 T.Taylor-W.Kim, Los Angeles (rapid) 2010.}) (12... f6 {has also been
played, which is ugly but does avoid the bishop exchange for the moment:} 13.
h4 Nxb3 14. axb3 fxg5 {(this seems illogical, but on other moves White
continues the attack with h4-h5)} 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Qd4+ Kg8 17. fxg5 Qb6 18.
Qxb6 Nxb6 19. h5 {(once again there is no safety for Black even after the
queen exchange, as the h-file is still a dangerous attacking line)} gxh5 20.
Rxh5 a6 21. Rh6 Bf7 22. e5 $1 Bg6 23. exd6 Rf5 24. O-O-O Rxg5 25. Bf3 Rd8 26.
dxe7 Rxd1+ 27. Kxd1 Kf7 28. Bxb7 a5 29. Be4 Kxe7 30. Bxg6 hxg6 31. Rh7+ {
(the rook breaks through on the file and delivers the decisive blow)} Ke6 32.
Ra7 Re5 33. Ra6 {1-0 D.Kononenko-A.Sysoenko, Simferopol 2004.}) 13. Bxg7 $1 {
I was stunned to discover that this natural pawn sacrifice for attack (I
eliminate my opponent's dragon bishop for Tal's "insignificant unit"), which I
came up with at the board, was actually a novelty! It seems to be quite sound,
as White's attacking chances are at least equal to the missing material.} ({
However, if one is still under the influence of Karpov (rather than Alekhine
or Fischer!), it's perfectly possible to simply take toward the centre:} 13.
axb3 {was played in all six games in the database; e.g.} e5 {(this was clearly
Black's idea, which I was willing to sac a pawn to avoid - he saves his dragon
here, albeit at the cost of weakening the d5-square)} 14. Be3 exf4 15. Bxf4 Ne5
16. Qd2 Nac6 17. Nd5 {(White has a solid Karpovian edge, but there won't be
any Fischeresque "fracturing" in the middlegame!)} Rc8 18. Be3 Re8 19. Rf1 Nd7
20. O-O-O Qa5 21. Qxa5 Nxa5 22. Bg4 Rcd8 23. Bxd7 Rxd7 24. Bd4 Rc8 25. Bf6 Kh8
26. Rd3 {, when White exploited Black's weaknesses on both sides of the board
and won in a Karpovian 64 moves in J.Ramon Perez-D.Moreno Gracia, Aragon 2008.}
) 13... Bxc2 {Black must go for the pawn - but now White is ready to go long.}
({Clearly} 13... Kxg7 14. axb3 {gives White an enormous positional advantage.})
14. Qxc2 Kxg7 15. h4 $1 {Signalling the attack;} ({and preparing to meet} 15.
h4 e5 {with} 16. f5 {.}) 15... Nc6 {Bringing the knight back to the centre,
but White's next not only stops ...Nd4, it furthers the attack.} ({
A better try is} 15... Rc8 16. O-O-O Qb6 17. Kb1 Qe3 18. f5 {
, even though this also gives White a big attack.}) 16. O-O-O Qa5 17. Kb1 {
White has time for this, as Black's king position can't be shored up in one
move.} Nc5 18. h5 $1 {Now! It's hard to see how Black can defend with no
kingside pieces - and especially no dragon - a theme that repeats over and
over in this variation. Of course the extra pawn is meaningless here.} e5 $6 (
18... Nb4 19. Qd2 Nxe4 {
may have been what Black was hoping for, but this fails to} 20. Qd4+ {
. I believe my opponent noticed this and tried to make it work by playing the
text move, but this is a fatal mistake.}) ({
Instead, the computer tries to hold with} 18... Ne6 {
, but White's attack is still too strong after} 19. Rd5 Qb6 20. f5 $1 Nb4 21.
Qd1 {.}) 19. hxg6 fxg6 (19... hxg6 20. f5 {is decisive.}) 20. Bc4 $3 {
The winning blow.} h5 ({
Black has no significant defence to the threat of a sac on h7; e.g.} 20... b5
21. Rxh7+ $1 Kxh7 22. Qh2+ Kg7 23. Qh6# {.}) 21. gxh6+ Kh7 22. f5 {
It looks like Frank is on the job: "clearing small obstacles off the track"!}
Ne7 23. Nd5 $1 {Winning by force, as the defender of g6 is eliminated.} Rae8
24. Nxe7 Rxe7 25. fxg6+ {White finishes with all checks.} Kxg6 26. Rdg1+ Kh7
27. Rg7+ Rxg7 28. hxg7+ Kxg7 29. Qg2+ ({Black resigns in view of} 29. Qg2+ Kf6
30. Rf1+ Ke7 31. Qg7+ Kd8 32. Rxf8# {. --- Black doesn't equalize in this line
(10...Na5) but he has some chances (better than in Fischer-Reshevsky) of
staying slightly worse after the immediate 12...Bxd4, when he can try to draw
an inferior endgame.}) 1-0

[Event "SCCF Championship, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Casella, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B72"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. f4 {I have often reached the Alekhine Attack by way of Bird's Opening, with
devastating results. The effects go more or less like this: 1. The opponent is
surprised by the Bird; 2. He seeks safety in the Sicilian; 3. He is stunned by
the appearance of Alekhine's ghost; 4. He is lost in twenty moves. I have
incorporated some of these short wins in the notes.} c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. e4 {
In my book on Bird's Opening, I said that I didn't think White had a real
chance of getting an opening advantage with any other move - and I still agree
with that statement, but I've changed how I play after that. In the book I
recommend a version of the Grand Prix Attack - if I ever do an update, I will
now recommend the coming transposition to the Open Sicilian and specifically,
the Alekhine Attack!} g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Nb3 d6 7. Nc3 Nf6 8. Be2 O-O
({A pair of short Bird/Sicilian/Alekhine wins occurred after} 8... Bd7 9. Be3
a6 10. g4 O-O 11. g5 Ne8 12. h4 {and then we have:} -- (12... b5 13. h5 b4 14.
Nd5 a5 15. hxg6 fxg6 16. Nb6 Bxb2 17. Nxd7 Qxd7 18. Nc5 Bc3+ 19. Kf2 Qc8 20.
Bc4+ e6 ({or} 20... Kg7 21. Rxh7+ $3 {- this combination occurs again and
again in the Alekhine Attack, so always keep an eye out for it! Black is mated
after} Kxh7 22. Qh1+ Kg7 23. Qh6#) 21. Bxe6+ {
1-0 T.Taylor-R.Akopian, Los Angeles (rapid) 2010 - the extra queen is enough.})
(12... Rc8 13. h5 e6 14. Qd2 b5 15. Bd3 Nb4 16. Qh2 {(with simple direct moves
White gets to the h-file, and the game is virtually decided)} Nxd3+ 17. cxd3 b4
18. Nd1 Bb5 19. hxg6 fxg6 20. Qxh7+ Kf7 21. Rh6 Bxd3 22. Qxg6+ Kg8 23. Qxe6+
Rf7 24. g6 {1-0 T.Taylor-T.Kukavica, Los Angeles (rapid) 2010. Here White
emerges only one rook up!})) 9. Be3 Be6 ({Another 21-move win came about after
} 9... a6 10. g4 b5 11. g5 Nd7 12. h4 Nb6 13. h5 Na4 14. hxg6 hxg6 15. Nxa4
bxa4 16. Nd4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 e5 18. Bc3 Qc7 19. Qd3 d5 20. f5 $1 {
(the second lever also shields the white queen - the game is already decided)}
dxe4 21. Qh3 {1-0 T.Taylor-M.Miralaie, La Palma 2010.}) 10. g4 {We have now
reached Alekhine-Botvinnik by transposition, when I think 10...a5 (see the
next game) is best. But here, although my opponent is a strong master, he was
clearly surprised in many ways and succeeded only in dragging the game out
just past move 30!} Rc8 {This move has no immediate threat and so is much too
quiet for such a sharp position.} 11. f5 Bd7 12. g5 Ne8 13. fxg6 hxg6 14. h4 {
There are a couple of interesting things about this position: first of all,
Black is on the ropes after only 14 moves in one of the most popular lines of
the Sicilian. Try getting that in your booked-up Yugoslav Attack! And the
second thing is, speaking of booked up, the game you are looking at is the one
and only game in the database with this position! That's almost unbelievable -
yet true - and shows both how unpopular, and how strong the Alekhine Attack is.
And to think all this came from Bird's Opening!} Na5 ({
Mr. Fritz is so desperate he throws out the radical} 14... Bxc3+ {as the number
one defence, then finds a sparkling refutation of same - which is not at all
surprising, for as we have seen over and over again, Black can hardly hold his
king position without his pet dragon. The main line runs as follows:} 15. bxc3
Ng7 16. h5 gxh5 17. Bxh5 Qc7 18. Qe2 {(preparing to Yandemirov to the h-file)}
Ne5 19. Bd4 Ne6 20. Bxf7+ $3 Rxf7 21. Qh5 Rg7 22. Qh8+ Kf7 23. Rf1+ Kg6 24.
Qh6# {.}) 15. h5 $1 {The second lever opens the key file against the king.} e6
16. hxg6 fxg6 17. Qd2 {The black king is wide open, and the white queen is
getting ready to slide to the h-file, while 0-0-0 is on the agenda to add a
second rook to the attack. Fritz is at clear +1 - no advice can be given to
Black, except study the opening! Move 17 is already too late.} Rxc3 {A typical 
dragon sac for counterplay, but as I've mentioned before, this rarely has any
effect against the Alekhine Attack.} ({Even worse is} 17... Nc4 18. Bxc4 Rxc4
19. Qh2 {, when White reaches the h-file by express, and the black king will
soon perish due to the open h- and f-files.}) 18. bxc3 Qc7 19. Bd4 {I threaten
to destroy the dragon, after which White has a positional and material
advantage. Black's answering block creates new problems on the a2-g8 diagonal,
much as in the previous game - one sees how many Alekhine Attack ideas repeat,
which makes it an easy opening for an attacking player to play.} e5 20. Nxa5 d5
{Necessary;} ({since} 20... Qxa5 21. Bc4+ {wins another exchange at least}) ({
or similarly} 20... exd4 21. Bc4+ {.}) 21. Be3 {A safe and clear win;} ({
the computer prefers the complicated} 21. Bxa7 {, which I think is completely
unnecessary. After the simple text, Black has to go in for an extremely
unfavourable queen exchange.}) 21... Qxa5 22. Qxd5+ Qxd5 23. exd5 b6 24. d6 $1
{White attacks on both the d- and h-files. The latter file is often still a
big factor even after the queens are exchanged in this variation.} Nxd6 25. Rd1
Bc6 {Forced, but now...} 26. Rh6 $1 {
And Black has no defence to the multitude of threats.} Nf7 ({Or} 26... Bxh6 27.
Rxd6 {and White comes out a piece up.}) 27. Rxg6 Be4 28. Re6 Bxc2 29. Rd2 ({
With a winning position in hand, there was no reason to risk the complications
after} 29. Rd7 Bf5 30. Bc4 {, which the Oracle claims is an alternate win.})
29... Bf5 30. Rc6 Be4 31. Rc7 {. White's material plus is decisive. --- Coming
at the Alekhine Attack by way of Bird's Opening is startling to say the least,
and is an excellent way to confuse your opponents and score some quick wins!
Note that even when the main line was reached, Black reacted too slowly and
was in trouble by move 14 (in a virgin database position!) and dead lost by
move 20.} 1-0

[Event "Metropolitan Invitational, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Carreto Nieto, G."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B72"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 ({No one played the "principled"} 3... e5 {
against me - analysis of this move will be found in Chapter Six.}) 4. d4 cxd4
5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 ({Remember} 6. Nb3 {(not fearing} Bxc3+ {
) is necessary if you want to play Karpov's line with a later Bg5.}) 6... Nf6
7. Be2 O-O 8. Nb3 d6 9. f4 Be6 ({Fischer's recommendation for Black,} 9... a5 {
, will be discussed in the next game.}) 10. g4 a5 $1 {I run up against a
well-prepared opponent! This razor sharp and critical move is, in my opinion,
Black's best choice at this stage.} 11. f5 $1 {I was surprised by my
opponent's quickly played move, but I did find the best answer over the board
- it's my next move that started my downfall! White is facing a difficult
strategic problem: Black is threatening ...a5-a4-a3, softening the long
diagonal, and making queenside castling very dangerous. However, stopping the
pawn in its tracks with a2-a4 allows the black knight a good square at b4, and
castling long is still really risky as the a4-pawn is a target. One must also
watch out for Black's ...d6-d5 counterstroke - and furthermore (during the
game I overlooked this possibility until my opponent made his 13th move) if
the white king stays in the centre, there are piece sacrifice possibilities
for Black to take advantage of White's extended pawns and unsafe king. --- So
is White just worse? Absolutely not! White has trumps as well, starting with
the move I played, which drives the black bishop off its support for ...d6-d5,
while White has a big space advantage on the kingside. One has to let go of
the 0-0-0 dream, though, and play realistically, as we will see, with a
somewhat Birdish position.} ({
First, let's see what happens if White does not play my 11 f5: --} 11. a4 {
is not correct as, unlike in Fischer-Reshevsky, the black knight that will
come to b4 cannot be kicked by a2-a3 - yes, pawns can't move backwards!} d5 12.
f5 Bc8 13. exd5 Nb4 {and Black has a good game, as there is no easy way (no
a2-a3) to get rid of the interloper. --- White can try:} 14. -- (14. d6 $6 {
(this just opens lines for Black)} exd6 15. Nd4 Re8 16. Bg5 Qb6 17. Ncb5 Nxg4
18. c3 Nc6 19. fxg6 hxg6 20. Nxd6 Nxd4 21. Nxe8 Nf3+ {
0-1 G.Popilsky-I.Porat, Givataim 2007.}) (14. Bf3 gxf5 15. gxf5 Bxf5 {
with good counterplay against c2 - note again the strong knight on b4.}) (14.
Qd2 Nfxd5 15. Nxd5 Qxd5 16. O-O-O Qc6 $1 {(gaining time by attacking the weak
a4-pawn, which sticks out from White's long castling position like the
proverbial sore thumb)} 17. Bb5 Qe4 {
and White's king appears less safe than Black's; e.g.} 18. h3 ({or} 18. Rde1
Qxg4 {and it's hard to see any compensation for the pawn}) 18... Nxc2 $1 {
and a king-protecting pawn goes. So that's it for 11 a4.})) (11. g5 {
doesn't do much better:} Nd7 12. h4 a4 13. Nd4 a3 14. Kf2 ({or} 14. b3 Qb6 {
and White is under great pressure}) 14... axb2 15. Rb1 Qa5 {(having faced
Ovsejevitsch's technical mastery myself, I knew this game wouldn't last long
when I saw who was Black!)} 16. Ncb5 Bxa2 17. Rxb2 Nc5 18. Bf3 e5 19. Nxc6 bxc6
20. Qxd6 Nb7 21. Qxc6 exf4 {(splendid: the rook and bishop are under attack)}
22. Bc1 Rac8 23. Qxb7 Bxb2 24. Bxf4 Rxc2+ 25. Kg3 Bc4 26. Bd1 Bxb5 27. Bxc2
Qc3+ 28. Kg4 Be2# {
, A.Fadin-S.Ovsejevitsch, Ukrainian Championship, Donetsk 1993.}) (11. a3 {
doesn't help either:} a4 12. Nd2 ({after} 12. Nd4 Bxg4 13. Bxg4 Nxg4 {
Black wins a pawn}) 12... d5 {and Black is much better with this central break.
--- So almost by elimination, one sees the played and active 11 f5 is not only
best but practically the only move.}) 11... Bd7 12. a4 {Had I known there was
a piece sac hidden in the position, I wouldn't have played either this or my
next move.} ({In fact, even if I play} 12. g5 {
right now, Black can still sac the piece with} Nxe4 $3 (12... Ne8 {
is possible too}) 13. Nxe4 gxf5 {
(now White has to dodge a thicket of pitfalls just to... draw!)} 14. Ng3 ({
after} 14. Nc3 a4 15. Nd4 a3 16. b3 f4 17. Bf2 Qa5 18. Qd2 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 e5 20.
Bf2 e4 21. Bd4 e3 22. Qd1 Qxg5 {Black has a winning attack}) ({, while} 14. Nf2
a4 15. Nd4 f4 {also wins for Black}) 14... a4 15. Nd2 ({not} 15. Nd4 $2 f4)
15... a3 16. b3 {, when my analysis runs} Bxa1 17. Qxa1 e5 18. Nh5 Nb4 19. Nf6+
Qxf6 20. gxf6 Nxc2+ 21. Kf2 Nxa1 22. Rg1+ Kh8 23. Bh6 Nc2 24. Bg7+ Kg8 25. Bh6+
Kh8 {with a draw! Not exactly what we wanted - and what a struggle that was
just to get to the half point! No, there must be something better, and there
is!}) (12. Nd2 $1 {is best. This modest move draws the sting from ...a4-a3,
protects the centre, and in general leaves White with a good Bird-type
position:} a4 ({the central break doesn't work here:} 12... d5 13. exd5 Nb4 14.
Nc4 gxf5 15. a3 $1 Na6 16. gxf5 Bxf5 17. Bb6 Qd7 18. Rg1 {
with a powerful attack - note the importance of 15 a3 in this line}) 13. a3 {
(vital)} Ne5 14. g5 Ne8 15. O-O {and let's take a look: White seems to have
castled on the wrong side of the board but, on second thought, the king's rook
supports the f5-pawn in a simple way and White has a potential Bird attack
coming with Qe1 and Qg3 or Qh4. I'd call it a slight edge for White, with a
concurrent vote from Mr. Fritz. --- But needless to say, one must be
thoroughly prepared when playing such sharp lines - I was not at the time of
this game, and paid the price!}) 12... Nb4 13. g5 {
Walking into the main line of my opponent's preparation;} ({but} 13. Qd2 {
is not much better:} Bc6 14. Bf3 d5 15. exd5 ({or} 15. e5 Ne4 {
and the white pawns are overextended}) 15... Nfxd5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. O-O-O Nxe3
18. Qxe3 Qc7 19. Bxc6 Qxc6 20. fxg6 hxg6 {, and once again White's a2-a4 is
completely out of place and, worse yet, Black's dragon is breathing fire down
the long diagonal.}) 13... Nxe4 $3 {Instantly! --- Now I understood my
opponent's play - too late! This square should have been overprotected with 12
Nd2, but now e4 falls and both black bishops come to life. --- White can only
hope for a draw after this powerful blow.} 14. Nxe4 Bxf5 {Black has only two
pawns for the piece, but the raging bishops plus White's unsafe king tip the
scales in Black's favour. This is my kind of position - except I was on the
wrong side of it!} 15. Bd3 Rc8 16. O-O d5 17. Nf6+ ({Or} 17. Ng3 Bxd3 18. cxd3
Nc2 19. Qd2 Nxa1 20. Rxa1 b6 {
and Black's rook and two pawns are better than White's two inactive knights.})
17... exf6 18. Bxf5 gxf5 19. c3 Re8 20. gxf6 ({Better is} 20. Bd4 Nc6 21. gxf6
Bxf6 22. Rxf5 {which keeps the damage to a minimum, but White is still a pawn
down for nothing.}) 20... Rxe3 21. fxg7 Qg5+ 22. Kh1 Nd3 {
Black's attack is too strong - my opponent didn't let me suffer long.} 23. Nd4
Rce8 24. Qb3 Nf4 25. Rg1 Re1 26. Qc2 ({Or} 26. Raxe1 Rxe1 27. Rxe1 Qg2# {.})
26... Qxg1# {. --- The sharp move 10...a5 is definitely a game changer, if not
a game winner. After this there are no more smooth kingside attacks as in
Taylor-Casella. White must adapt to circumstances: overprotect his centre
after the sequence 11 f5 Bd7 12 Nd2! and then castle short with a slight edge
in a Bird-type position. --- One must recognize that it's not always possible
just to knock your opponent out - especially when he's well prepared!} 0-1

[Event "Landon Brownell Memorial, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Amanov, Z."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B74"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. Be3 Nc6 8.
Nb3 Be6 {This changed move order doesn't seem to have any independent value;} (
8... O-O 9. f4 a5 10. a4 Be6 {
transposes to the game using Fischer's recommended route.}) 9. f4 a5 {
Generally approved by opening books: Black discourages White from castling long.
} 10. a4 O-O 11. O-O {As we saw in the notes to the previous game, White can
hardly castle long with the a-pawn sticking out on a4. However, since White
has not committed himself to g2-g4 (as Black rushed forward with ...a7-a5), he
can simply castle short as here and play in Karpovian style against the dark
side of Black's pawn thrust: that is, the weaknesses at b5 and b6.} Rc8 12. Kh1
Nb4 {By far the most popular move, but two alternatives should be mentioned.} (
{The early} 12... d5 {is, as so often, a false freeing move:} 13. f5 gxf5 ({not
} 13... Bd7 14. fxg6 {, as} dxe4 ({while after} 14... hxg6 15. exd5 Nb4 16. Bf3
{White is a big pawn up}) 15. gxf7+ Rxf7 16. Nxe4 $1 {wins}) 14. exf5 Bd7 15.
Qd2 {and Black's kingside and d-pawn are weak.}) (12... Bxb3 {seemingly devalues White's pawns, but it also weakens Black's light squares (particularly the
already weak b5) and leaves White with the two bishops. Tiviakov gives a
Grandmaster class in exploiting these advantages (though he does make one
early bobble):} 13. cxb3 Nd7 14. Bc4 ({
actually White should simply occupy the file Black gave him with} 14. Rc1 {
- we'll see Shirov use a similar strategy in Shirov-Reinderman - when he has
the better game with no problems; as played, Black gets one chance for good
counterplay by chopping off White's prematurely exposed bishop; that said, the
rest of the game is too instructive to omit}) 14... Nb4 15. Qe2 Nb6 16. Nd5
N4xd5 17. exd5 Nd7 $2 {(Black misses his chance!)} (17... Nxc4 18. bxc4 Qd7 {
both eliminates the bishop pair and gives Black good counterplay - he will
suffer dearly for this mistake!}) 18. Rae1 Nc5 19. f5 $1 {(White now has a
permanent bind on the kingside, and potential attacking chances - Tiviakov
takes his time and makes the most of his position)} Nd7 20. Bb5 Nf6 21. Bc4 Nd7
22. h3 Nc5 23. Rf3 Rc7 24. Bd2 Qa8 25. Bg5 Bf6 26. Bh6 Rfc8 27. Qf2 Nd7 ({
Black would trap himself if he tries the trick} 27... Nxa4 {
, as White breaks through on the kingside with} 28. fxg6 fxg6 ({while} 28...
hxg6 $2 29. Rxf6 exf6 30. Qxf6 {mates even more quickly}) 29. Rxf6 exf6 30.
bxa4 Rxc4 31. Qxf6 R4c7 32. Re7 {and mates}) 28. fxg6 hxg6 29. Re4 Rf8 ({
since every white piece is attacking, Black decides to eliminate one at the
cost of the exchange - there's nothing better anyway; e.g.} 29... Nc5 {fails to
} 30. Re2 Nd7 31. Bb5 Kh7 32. Rxe7 $1 Bxe7 33. Rxf7+ Kxh6 34. Rxe7 {and mates})
30. Bb5 Qd8 31. Bxd7 Rxd7 32. Bxf8 Qxf8 33. Qe1 Bxb2 34. Qxa5 Be5 {(the dragon
bishop is not good enough to save the exchange down ending against Tiviakov's
excellent technique)} 35. Qb5 Rc7 36. Rc4 Rxc4 37. Qxc4 Qh6 38. Qe2 f6 39. Qe1
Qf8 40. a5 Qc8 41. b4 g5 42. b5 Qc4 43. Qf1 Qxd5 44. a6 bxa6 45. bxa6 Qa5 46.
Rb3 Kg7 47. Rb7 {
(White combines the advance of the passed pawn with threats to the black king)}
g4 48. Rxe7+ Kf8 49. Rh7 gxh3 50. Rxh3 Qa4 51. Rh7 Kg8 52. Qb1 f5 53. Rh5 Qxa6
54. Rxf5 Qa1 55. Qxa1 Bxa1 56. Kh2 Kg7 57. Kh3 Kg6 58. Kg4 Be5 59. Rf8 Kg7 60.
Re8 Kf6 61. Ra8 Kf7 62. Kh5 d5 63. g4 d4 64. Ra3 Ke7 65. g5 Ke6 66. Kg4 Kd5 67.
Kf5 Bd6 68. Ra5+ Kc4 69. g6 Bf8 70. Ke4 Bg7 71. Rd5 Kc3 72. Rd7 {(the black
n is stopped, while White's goes through) 1-0 S.Tiviakov-A.Colovic, Benidorm
2009. White's kingside play starting with 19 f5! could not be more instructive.
}) 13. Nd4 Bc4 ({If} 13... d5 $6 {, then} 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. e5 {
slams the door on the "dreaded dragon" which is now caged.}) 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15.
Qe2 {White has harmonious development with a space advantage and latent
kingside attacking chances: not a huge advantage, but a solid plus-equals,
whereas Black has little counterplay. One important thing is that White can
easily improve his position (Rad1 followed by some kind of central pawn
advance), while Black has little to do.} Qc8 16. Rad1 {One of the great things
about analyzing with a human being, as opposed to a soulless silicon monster,
is that your analytical partner is apt to suggest a (gasp!) human move! My
friend Joe and I were looking at this position, preparing for Amanov (and we
got exactly the position we wanted, which either indicates our perspicacity or
perhaps my opponent's stubbornness), when Joe said, "What if Black sacs the
exchange here?" This was not a top pick of the computer, but I realized it was
a very human attempt at "getting back to the old Dragon", so we looked at the
move for a while, and concluded that Black had no serious compensation for the
exchange. --- Lo and behold, I'm playing the game, and Amanov... sacs the
exchange! Instead of being beset by "sacrificial shock" I simply remembered
our joint analysis, which I had then checked with the computer, and easily
obtained the advantage!} Rxc3 (16... Rd8 {
is probably better, but then White moves forward with} 17. f5 {, when Black
has a grey and difficult position - take a look at some continuations:} -- (
17... Nd7 {is passive, and} 18. Ndb5 Ne5 19. Bd4 {gives White has a clear
advantage in the centre and incidentally threatens to trap Black's rook with
b3.}) (17... d5 {tries for activity, but after} 18. e5 {
Black just loses more space and soon comes under attack:} Ne4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20.
fxg6 hxg6 ({if} 20... fxg6 {then} 21. Nf5 Rc7 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. Nh6+ Bxh6 24.
Bxh6 {creates decisive threats}) 21. e6 $1 {and White is much better; e.g.} f6
({after} 21... f5 22. Nxf5) ({, or} 21... Bxd4 22. exf7+ Kg7 23. Bxd4+ $1 {
, White wins immediately}) 22. Qg4 {with a powerful attack.}) (17... Re8 {
, waiting, might be best, though obviously White has all the play. The funny
thing is how "natural" moves in the "main line" give Black such a difficult
game. --- From Black's point of view, I prefer Carreto's ...a7-a5 after White
has played g3-g4, when the committal nature of both sides' play means that
Black has chances as well as White.})) 17. bxc3 Qxc3 ({Joe's first thought was
} 17... Na2 {, but we killed that off with} 18. Bd2 {, when White keeps his
centre pawn and the one pawn black gets for the ox is not enough, given his
queenside weaknesses. Note how ...a7-a5, whatever its immediate benefits,
often hurts Black down the road (them durn pawns don't got no back-up lights!).
}) 18. Bg1 Rc8 {Best, according to Fritz, though it seems neither this nor
anything else can save Black;} ({let's take a look at the alternatives: --} 
18... e5 {(during the game I thought this was absolutely necessary to prevent
White playing e5-e5 on the next move, opening lines for the rooks - but this
move has its own problems)} 19. Nb5 {(White gets a lot of mileage out of this
square which was weakened back on move nine)} Qxc2 20. Qxc2 Nxc2 21. Nxd6 {
and Black is struggling to draw an inferior endgame.}) (18... Nc6 19. e5 Ne8
20. Nb5 Qb4 21. Rb1 Qxa4 22. Nc3 Qa3 23. Rb3 {
traps the queen, which could escape if only the a-pawn was still on a7!}) (
18... Nd7 19. Qb5 {(there's that weak square!)} Nc5 ({or} 19... Qc7 20. c3 $1
Nc6 21. Rb1 {and the b-file tells}) 20. Rf3 Qb2 21. c3 {wins material.}) 19. e5
$1 {Without a second's hesitation: White pries open files for the rooks and
launches an attack - Black has no compensation for the exchange.} dxe5 20. fxe5
Nfd5 21. e6 $1 f5 {Black has to try to keep the position closed.} ({After} 
21... fxe6 22. Qxe6+ Kh8 23. Qf7 {
, then Ne6 is coming, while Black can't evict the queen:} Rf8 24. Qxf8+ Bxf8
25. Rxf8+ Kg7 26. Ne6+ Kh6 27. Rf3 {and White emerges with an extra rook.}) 22.
Qb5 {Once more with feeling!} Qc7 ({Or} 22... b6 23. Qd7 Rf8 24. Nc6 $1 {
and wins.}) 23. Qd7 $1 Nf6 ({If} 23... Qxd7 24. exd7 Rd8 25. c4 Nf6 ({or} 25...
Bxd4 26. Bxd4 {and the bishop dominates}) {, then} 26. g4 $1 {
opens Black up like a can of sardines; e.g.} Kf7 ({Black loses after either} 
26... Nxg4 27. Ne6) ({, or} 26... fxg4 27. Rxf6 $1 Bxf6 28. Ne6 Nc6 29. Nxd8
Nxd8 30. Bb6 e5 31. Bxd8 Bxd8 32. Re1 Bc7 33. Rxe5 $1) 27. gxf5 Rxd7 28. fxg6+
hxg6 29. Nb3 {and the rest is just simple technique.}) 24. Qxc7 {I thought for
a moment about sac'ing my queen here, but dismissed it without any real
analysis, as I saw a simple clear way to advantage. Meanwhile, Joe, spectating,
was furiously analyzing the queen sac! After the game, he said he thought it
was sound - though I still dismissed it, saying that Fritz would surely find a
hole, and my way was simple and clear. So we fired up the evil one, and lo and
behold - the queen sac is approved! Great excitement! But then one sees that
Black can take the knight instead of the queen, and the queen sac just turns
out to be a fancy way of reaching the game continuation!} ({But for those who
love beauty for its own sake, here's the sac in all its glory:} 24. Nxf5 $3
Nxd7 (24... gxf5 {is relatively best, when} 25. Qxc7 Rxc7 26. Rd8+ {
transposes to the game}) 25. Nxe7+ Kh8 26. Nxc8 {(although Black has a queen
and knight vs. two rooks, White's passed pawn is too strong)} Nf6 ({or} 26...
Qxc8 27. exd7 Qd8 28. Bb6 {
and the queen proves once again to be a bad blockader}) 27. e7 Nc6 28. Bb6 Qxc8
29. Rd8+ Nxd8 30. exd8=Q+ Qxd8 31. Bxd8 {
with no technical problems in the ox-up ending.}) 24... Rxc7 25. Nxf5 $1 {
Black can't hold now that both white rooks have open files.} gxf5 26. Rd8+ Bf8
27. Rxf5 {
White has two big threats: the obvious one is 28 Rg5+ followed by mate;} ({
the slightly hidden one shows up if Black prevents the check:} 27. Rxf5 h6 28.
Bb6 $1 {(to move the black rook off the seventh rank)} Rc6 29. Rxf6 $1 exf6 30.
e7 {and queens.}) 27... Kg7 {Relatively best, though still losing.} 28. Rg5+
Kh6 29. Rg3 (29. Rxa5 $1 {is quicker:} Nbd5 ({no forks allowed! -} 29... Nc6
30. Be3+ Kg6 31. Rg5+ Kh6 32. Rxf8 {and wins}) ({, while} 29... Bg7 30. Be3+
Kg6 31. Rg5+ Kh6 32. Rd4 {mates}) 30. Rxf8 b6 ({not} 30... Rxc2 31. Rd8 Nb4 32.
Be3+ {and wins}) 31. Rb5 {
and White's technical task is much easier than in the game.}) 29... Nbd5 ({Not
} 29... Bg7 30. Be3+ Kh5 31. Rg5+ Kh6 ({or} 31... Kh4 32. Rd4+) 32. Rd4 {
with the now familiar mating net.}) 30. Rxf8 Rxc2 31. h3 {The position has
clarified: White is a clean exchange up, even if there are still some
technical difficulties - which I manage to surmount in mutual time pressure.
Note that the pawns are even here; in the above note to move 29, White ended
up two pawns ahead, as well as enjoying his extra exchange! --- Nevertheless
the position is won either way - I just had to work a bit harder!} Re2 32. Bd4
Rxe6 33. Bb2 Nf4 34. Rf3 Ng6 35. Ra8 Re1+ 36. Kh2 Nh4 37. Rf4 Ng6 38. Rc4 b6
39. Rc6 Nd5 40. Rg8 Re2 41. Bc1+ $1 ({Black resigns in view of} 41. Bc1+ Kh5 (
41... Ne3 42. Re6 {is no better}) 42. Rcxg6 $1 hxg6 43. Rh8# {. --- Again,
let's point out that this (+)approved main line[+] with an early ...a7-a5 is
not easy for Black if White knows to castle kingside and build up,
Karpov-style, while exploiting the queenside weaknesses. Black doesn't have
enough active play to justify something like an exchange sac, as he usually
can in a "normal" Dragon. --- All in all, the Alekhine Attack lives - Black's
best chance is to allow the attack with g2-g4, and then strike back with ...
a7-a5 (Taylor-Carreto Nieto), when White must really know his stuff (Nd2!) to
try to prove an advantage. Meanwhile, less exact play, as in the "Bird" games
shown in Taylor-Casella, usually leads to quick disaster for Black. --- This
concludes our coverage of the main line Alekhine Attack. However, it's
important to devote two more games to examining how Black can completely avoid
it by using an Accelerated Dragon move order - of course, as one might expect,
while one problem is solved, others are not!}) 1-0

[Event "USSR Championship, Riga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bronstein, D."]
[Black "Petrosian, TV."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B34"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "1958.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 O-O 8.
Nb3 ({What every Accelerated Dragon player hopes for since time immemorial (or
at least since 1898!) is for White to carelessly play} 8. O-O {here, when
gets in a real freeing move for, well, free - and equalizes easily; e.g.} d5 $1
9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 Qxd5 11. Bf3 Qc4 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. c3 Be6 {and Black had
no problems, despite his famous opponent, and went on to draw in S.Tarrasch-P.Lipke, Vienna 1898.}) ({With} 8. Nb3 {White prevents ...d7-d5, while after} d6
9. f4 Be6 10. g4 {we are right back in the main line of the Alekhine Attack.
However, Black can prevent this.}) 8... a5 {This is the typical Accelerated
Dragon move which, as we have seen, basically rules out long castling for
White - and so the Alekhine Attack must be put aside, in favour of positional
exploitation of Black's new weaknesses.} ({Strangely enough,} 8... d5 {
is played surprisingly often - even though, from a chess point of view,
White's last move prevented this break! Perhaps the Black players were on
automatic pilot, expecting the weak 8 0-0 ? In any case, White should just
take the free pawn:} 9. exd5 Nb4 10. Bf3 Bg4 ({
Black failed to get through after} 10... Bf5 11. Rc1 Nfxd5 12. Nxd5 Bxb2 13.
Nxb4 Bxc1 14. Qxc1 Rc8 15. O-O a5 16. Rd1 Qc7 17. Nd5 Qd6 18. Nd4 Rc4 19. Nxf5
gxf5 20. Nb6 Qb4 21. Nxc4 {- White wins by taking everything! -} Qxc4 22. Bh6
Qe6 23. Bxf8 Kxf8 24. Qg5 {1-0 T.Upton-F.Gibson, Dubai Olympiad 1986}) 11. Bxg4
Nxg4 12. Qxg4 Nxc2+ 13. Ke2 Nxa1 14. Rxa1 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qxd5 16. Rd1 Qb5+ 17.
c4 Qa4 {(material is roughly equal, but the two pieces are stronger than the
rook in the middlegame, and Black is missing a dragon! - needless to say, as
we have seen so many times before, this invites a White attack)} 18. Nc5 $1
Qxa2+ 19. Rd2 Qb1 20. Qd4 Qb6 21. Rb2 Rfd8 22. Qe5 Qc6 23. Rxb7 Qxg2 24. Rxe7
Qg4+ 25. f3 Qxc4+ 26. Kf2 Qh4+ 27. Kg2 Qe1 28. Ne4 $1 {(White's king is safe
from all but a few spite checks, whereas Black's dragonless kingside is ripe
for destruction!)} Qe2+ 29. Kg3 Qe1+ 30. Bf2 Qd1 31. Nf6+ Kf8 {(and the great
theorist Suba shows he can do tactics too, as he finds an all checks mating
finish)} 32. Re8+ $1 Rxe8 33. Bc5+ Kg7 34. Nh5+ {
1-0 M.Suba-F.Ruiz Jimenez, Dos Hermanas 2000, in view of mate in two.}) 9. a4
Nb4 {In 'Starting Out: Accelerated Dragon', Andrew Greet optimistically writes
that "he [Black] will be able to play ...d7-d5 after all!" Of course this is
not the case, as Bronstein could have told him.} 10. Bf3 ({
The text is not mentioned by Greet, who gives} 10. O-O $6 {(which indeed allows
} d5 {) as the main line. Bronstein's obvious move prevents ...d7-d5.}) 10...
d6 ({One stubborn player tried} 10... d5 {anyway:} 11. exd5 Bf5 12. Rc1 Rc8 13.
O-O Rxc3 {(as Black has nothing for the pawn, he pitches an exchange as well)}
14. bxc3 Na2 15. c4 {(simplest)} Nxc1 16. Qxc1 Qd7 17. Qa3 Rc8 18. Nxa5 Be4 {
- White is two pawns up for absolutely nothing and after} 19. Bxe4 ({
instead, in X.Montheard-C.Adrian, Clichy 1998, White played the second-best} 
19. Bb6 {and gradually squandered his huge advantage and finally drew!
Nonetheless, this is not an advertisement for 10...d5.}) 19... Nxe4 20. Rb1 {
Black could already resign.}) 11. O-O Be6 12. Nd4 Bd7 ({For} 12... Bc4 {
see the next game.}) 13. Nd5 $1 {White solidifies his advantage with this
knight attack; against anyone but Petrosian I would be confident of victory!}
Nfxd5 14. exd5 Rc8 15. c3 {The dragon is blunted and the black knight sent
back into the wilderness - we've seen both these themes before.} Na6 16. Ra3 {
Bronstein's sinister plan runs into Petrosian's deep and solid defence.} ({
I would prefer the Karpovian} 16. Bg5) ({or else} 16. Re1 {
, targeting e7, with a clear advantage to White.}) 16... Nc5 17. b4 Na6 18. Qd2
Qc7 19. Be2 Rfe8 20. Nb5 Qd8 21. Na7 Rb8 22. Rd1 Qc7 23. h3 Ra8 24. Nb5 Qd8 25.
Bg5 ({I agree with the computer assessment of clear advantage to White after} 
25. Re1 {. Let's put this advantage in human terms: the black knight's only
safe square is b8; Black can't break out with ...e7-e6 due to the concomitant
weakness of the d6-pawn; Black can't get rid of the white knight which has
embedded itself on the weak b5-square - that eternal souvenir of the
Accelerated Dragon - without giving White a Tiviakov two-bishop edge; White
can put more pressure on e7 with a Karpovian Bg5; and finally, White can
consider a kingside attack with h4-h5 while Black is stuck in passivity. ---
Again, anyone but Petrosian...}) 25... Qb8 26. Be3 {. --- So Bronstein took a
rest day against the great defender. Nevertheless, the opening battle was won
by White, and the ...d7-d5 advance remained a mere chimera.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Imperia"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vujovic, Milo"]
[Black "Beeckmans, F."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B34"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1996.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bg7 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 O-O 8.
Nb3 a5 9. a4 Nb4 10. Bf3 {
It's forty years later, but no - you still can't play ...d7-d5!} d6 11. O-O Be6
12. Nd4 Bc4 {One recalls that Petrosian retreated the bishop to d7 and grimly
defended; here Black plays more actively, determined to get the pawn to d5 as
promised!} 13. Re1 Rc8 ({If} 13... d5 {, then} 14. e5 Nd7 15. Bf4 {and Black suffers due to the weakness of d5 and b5, while his light-squared bishop is
misplaced and can be driven into the desert with b2-b3 soon.}) 14. Qd2 d5 {
Still too soon!} ({
Black's best chance is to throw both centre pawns forward; i.e.} 14... e5 15.
Ndb5 d5 16. exd5 Nfxd5 17. Bxd5 Nxd5 18. Rad1 {and now:} -- (18... Nxc3 19.
Qxc3 Qh4 20. Nd6 Rc6 21. Nxb7 {and White wins a pawn.}) (18... Bxb5 19. Nxd5
Bxa4 20. b3 Bc6 21. Bc5 {and Black still can't equalize; e.g.} Re8 (21... Qxd5
{, reaching an exchange down ending, is relatively best}) 22. Ne7+ Kh8 23. Qc3
Qc7 24. Bd6 {wins for White.}) (18... Nxe3 {(the best chance)} 19. Qxe3 Qe7 20.
Nd6 Rc6 21. Nxc4 Rxc4 22. b3 Rc6 23. Nd5 {and with the dominant knight on d5
(where no black pawn can annoy it) White maintains a positional advantage, but
probably only of plus-equals dimensions.})) 15. e5 Ne4 {
Black consistently throws his pieces forward.} (15... Nd7 16. Bf4 {
gives White the typical positional advantage we have already noted.}) 16. Nxe4
dxe4 17. Bxe4 Bxe5 18. Bxb7 {White wants the pawn;} ({
also strong is the attacking option} 18. c3 Nc6 ({worse is} 18... Nd5 19. Bh6
Re8 20. Bf5 $1 {and White's attack is virtually winning}) 19. Bxc6 bxc6 20. Bh6
Bg7 21. Rad1 {with attacking chances against Black's weakened kingside - and
after the dragon is exchanged, one can see the knight is stronger than Black's
remaining bishop. As a side benefit, White has the superior pawn structure as
well. --- But an extra pawn is nice too!}) 18... Rc7 19. Be4 Rd7 20. c3 Bxd4
21. cxb4 $1 {This seems anti-positional, but Black doesn't have a good
discovery, and White is making a passed a-pawn - a speedy pawn whose queening
square is controlled by the light-squared bishop.} Bxe3 (21... Be5 {is met by}
22. Qc2 {and this tempo gain ensures that Black gets nothing for the pawn.})
22. Qxe3 axb4 23. Qc5 Rd4 24. Qxb4 {White has an extra pawn (and connected
passers!); Black's compensation is his control of the central file - but it's
not enough.} e5 25. Qb7 f5 26. Bc6 Rd2 27. b3 Be2 28. a5 $1 {
Nothing else matters: this pawn will decide the game.} e4 29. Qb6 Qg5 ({After} 
29... Qxb6 30. axb6 {White will win with b6-b7 and Ra8.}) 30. Qe3 $1 {
Forcing the queens off, after which Black has no recourse against the queenside 
pawns - the game reminds me of Kayumov-Carlsen.} Qxe3 31. fxe3 Rb8 ({
The pawns can't be blockaded by} 31... Ba6 {because of} 32. b4 Rb2 (32... Rb8
33. b5 $1 Bxb5 34. Reb1 {also wins}) 33. Rab1 {and White enforces b4-b5.}) 32.
Rxe2 $1 {10 Bf3 shut off the Accelerated Dragon's dream of ...d7-d5, and now
this same painful bishop - much stronger than a rook in this position -
decides the game.} Rxe2 33. a6 Rb2 34. a7 R2xb3 35. Bd5+ {. Now that's a good
bishop: it checks the king, forks backward to the black rook on b3, and still
holds the queening square! --- Black is clearly under positional pressure in
this line; defending à la Petrosian is possible but not inviting! This
concludes my recommendations against the "regular" Dragons - but the chapter
isn't finished yet! There is one more breed of dragon seen sometimes: the
infamous Dragodorf, where Black tries to graft a Dragon onto a Najdorf! This
will be the subject of the last two games of this chapter.} 1-0

[Event "Minsk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kholmov, R."]
[Black "Bannik, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B93"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 {So far a regular
Najdorf, where one might expect 6...e5 as in Chapter Two, but no - a new
animal enters the scene!} g6 $5 {This shouldn't be particularly terrifying for
White, who can pursue his usual development, while it's not clear that ...a7-a6 really fits in a Dragon system; sometimes it might transpose, which is
no problem for our repertoire - other times ...a7-a6 might be a waste of a
tempo.} 7. O-O Bg7 {Since Black's mixture of systems is slow and
non-threatening, White can choose between various set-ups. In the main game
and the Fischer crush given in the next note, White opts for f2-f4 and Be3. In
the next game White plays a more Karpovian Bg5. Either way White should get at
least a small edge.} 8. f4 {
Direct! The young Fischer waited a bit on this move;} ({Fischer chose to build
up solidly, in no hurry to crush his opponent - but crush him he did...
eventually:} 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nb3 Be6 10. f4 Qc8 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 Bf5 13. c3
Nd7 14. Bd4 {(let's get rid of the dragon!)} Bxd4+ ({
Fritz recommends that Black just admit his error and play} 14... Nf6 {
, but it's hard for a human being to swallow his pride like that!}) 15. Qxd4
Bc2 16. Kh1 Bxb3 17. axb3 Qc5 18. Qd2 a5 19. Ra4 b5 20. Rd4 Nf6 21. f5 $1 {
(the typical signal for the attack - recall the Tiviakov game given in the
notes to Taylor-Amanov, Brownell Memorial: White goes for the poorly defended
black king)} b4 22. Bc4 Kh8 23. Qe2 Qc7 24. cxb4 axb4 25. h3 g5 26. Rd3 Ra7 27.
Re3 Rb8 28. Re1 Rbb7 29. Qd2 Qc8 30. Rg3 Qxf5 (30... h6 {
was the last hope; now White uses the open lines to finish off the enemy king})
31. Rxg5 Qd7 32. Qd4 Ra8 33. Rg3 Qf5 34. Rge3 Raa7 35. Rf1 Qg5 36. Rfe1 Qg7 37.
Qh4 Ng8 38. Rg3 Qf6 39. Qg4 Rb8 40. Rf1 Qxb2 41. Rxf7 Qa1+ 42. Kh2 e6 {
1-0 R.J.Fischer-S.Schweber, Stockholm Interzonal 1962. Black resigned without
waiting for the crushing} 43. dxe6 Nh6 44. Qh5 $1 Nxf7 45. exf7 Raa8 46. Qg4 Qe5
47. Bd5 $1 {, which forces mate.}) 8... Nbd7 9. Kh1 O-O (9... Qb6 {
is relatively best, to push White's knight back, but after} 10. Nf3 Qc5 {
(to prevent e4-e5)} 11. Qd3 O-O 12. Be3 Qc7 13. Bd4 {
, it's replaced by a bishop and White's centralized pieces give him the edge.})
10. Be3 Qc7 11. a4 b6 12. Nd5 $1 {Geller-style! One sees that the common ideas
of our repertoire are often effective against different defences.} Nxd5 13.
exd5 Bb7 14. c4 {Black has no play at all.} a5 15. Nb5 Qc8 16. Qd2 Nc5 17. Ra3
Ba6 18. Nd4 Re8 19. f5 $1 {Without any special fuss, White has denied Black
counterplay and then set his own attack in motion.} Ne4 20. Qc2 Nf6 21. Rc3 Nd7
22. fxg6 hxg6 23. Bg4 Bf6 24. Be6 $3 {Suddenly it's all over: the dragon
bishop may be a good defender, but here there are too many attackers!} Kg7 ({If
} 24... fxe6 {, then} 25. Qxg6+ Kh8 26. Bg5 Bxg5 27. Rh3+ {and mates.}) 25.
Bh6+ $3 {White crashes through with an orgy of sacrifices.} Kxh6 26. Nf5+ $1
gxf5 ({After} 26... Kh7 {
White will force mate by giving up practically all his pieces:} 27. Rh3+ Kg8
28. Nxe7+ $3 Rxe7 29. Qxg6+ Kf8 30. Rh8+ $1 Bxh8 31. Rxf7+ Ke8 32. Rf8+ $1 Kxf8
33. Qg8# {.}) 27. Qd2+ {There is no defence.} Bg5 28. Rh3+ Kg6 29. Bxf5+ ({
Black resigns in view of the following mates:} 29. Bxf5+ Kf6 30. Be4+ Ke5 ({or
} 30... Kg7 31. Qxg5+ Kf8 32. Rh8#) 31. Rf5+ Kxe4 32. Qd3# {. --- The main
game above and the Fischer grind given in the notes show the Dragodorf
faltering against a sound, solid build-up. While that's good enough, the
following error-filled sharp encounter is quite amusing!}) 1-0

[Event "Krasnodar"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tseshkovsky, V."]
[Black "Savon, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "1996.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Bg5
{Karpov-style!} Nc6 9. Nb3 b5 10. Re1 b4 ({Now} 10... O-O 11. Bf1 Bb7 12. Nd5 {
would transpose to Taylor-Amanov (Metro 7). Instead of this, Black uses his
quickly advanced b-pawn to snatch a button - but this is extremely risky.}) 11.
Nd5 Nxe4 12. Bh4 g5 ({If} 12... O-O {, then} 13. Bf3 {and e7 is cracking.}) 13.
Bf3 gxh4 14. Bxe4 {
Black is up an insignificant unit, but has a discombobulated position.} Ra7 ({
The greedy} 14... Bxb2 {is more than the position can stand; e.g.} 15. Rb1 Be5
16. Nf6+ Bxf6 17. Bxc6+ Bd7 18. Qxd6 $1 Bxc6 19. Qxf6 $1 {wins a piece}) ({
while} 14... O-O {is also poor due to} 15. Qh5 {
with dual threats of mate and Nxe7+.}) 15. Qh5 e6 16. Ne3 Ne7 17. Rad1 Rc7 {
Black is putting up a great defence, but is unable to solve all the problems
of his position with his king stuck in the centre.} 18. f4 Rf8 19. Qxh7 Bxb2
20. f5 $4 {Wait a minute! These players are both Grandmasters!} ({Correct is} 
20. Qxh4 {, when White has recovered his pawn with some advantage, but there
is no evident knockout.}) 20... exf5 $4 {
Sometimes GMs err just like the rest of us - sometimes even two of them!} ({
Of course} 20... Rh8 {wins the queen and the game.}) 21. Bxf5 Rg8 $2 (21... Rh8
{still wins, but obviously Black does not see the effect of the distant bishop
on b2, defending backwards.}) 22. Nd4 $1 {
That's enough of that nonsense! White cuts off the bishop and wins quickly.}
Rc3 23. Bxc8 Qxc8 24. Qh6 Qc5 ({Black resigns in view of} 24... Qc5 25. Nef5 {
with a decisive attack. --- Providing one doesn't overlook one's queen (!) the
Dragodorf is rather innocuous: White can choose between various recommended
systems, where Black's best is to transpose to previously covered lines, as
early aggression on Black's part should backfire due to a lack of development.
--- Thus we end coverage of the whole Dragon complex: as mentioned in the
introduction, I faced the old fire-breather more often than any other Sicilian
variation, and scored extremely well. From my experience, I would say the
"fearsome" Dragon is not very fearsome at all against either Karpov or
Alekhine. The only real danger is that you could be out-computered in the
Yugoslav Attack - but we're not going near that morass!}) 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "4. Scheveningen Variation"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B84"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "12"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

{In the first two chapters, we fought Black's Boleslavsky Wall, where the
opponent put his centre pawns on d6 and e5. In the previous chapter we slew
the Dragon, where Black only advanced the d-pawn one square and fianchettoed
his king's bishop. Now we face our fourth Sicilian pawn structure: in the
Scheveningen Black creates a "little centre" (as Nimzowitsch called it) with
pawns at e6 and d6. Obviously this limits both of Black's bishops, which must
take a defensive role for a while. However, the hedgehog-like central pawns
make it difficult for White to advance in the middle - while also keeping him
guessing, as either of Black's centre pawns might move forward at a later
moment. --- The most common move order (but by no means the only one) to reach
the Scheveningen today is} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
6. Be2 e6 {, when Black avoids the Boleslavsky hole at d5 and prevents, for
the moment, any white pawn or piece advance to e5 or d5. --- The problem for
Black is that the small centre threatens nothing, so White can use his freedom
to build up an attack. Black must find the right moment to counter-punch, but
does he give up too much ground in the opening? --- The Scheveningen is
extremely popular at the highest levels and was regularly tested in the world
championship matches between Karpov and Kasparov (one such crucial matchgame
will be seen in this book). For my part, I recommend that White follow Karpov
by setting up a big centre with pawns on e4 and f4, and be ever watchful for
chances to use this extra space to attack the black king.} *

[Event "Candidates match, Leningrad"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Spassky, B."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B83"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1974.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 {Black's second move might
have indicated a Taimanov Sicilian (the subject of the next chapter), but by a
simple transposition Spassky creates his small centre and transposes to the
Scheveningen.} 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. f4 {This is White's basic set-up,
which should be played against any Scheveningen move order. Karpov used this
variation 24 times against the Scheveningen, fighting world champions like
Spassky and Kasparov, and top GMs like Ljubojevic and Hübner - and he scored
10 wins, 12 draws and only two losses, for a powerful 67% against very tough
opposition. --- The excellent score is no surprise, for in this line White has
space and good central control, which might at any moment translate to a
kingside attack.} Nc6 {This is the most popular move at this juncture;} ({
but I believe that} 8... a6 {- transposing to the Najdorf Scheveningen - is
objectively stronger, as one can see by comparing the present game to the
up-to-the-minute ...a7-a6 lines in Koch-Relange. The modern ...a7-a6
variations will be studied in the remaining games in this chapter, though one
must know the old lines as well, of course.}) 9. Be3 Bd7 ({
Another possible move is} 9... e5 {, but after} 10. Nb3 exf4 11. Rxf4 {
we see the Karpovian grind position of Karpov-Polugaevsky, Lutz-Womacka and
Hammer-Hansen (except that here the White grinder is Tal!):} Be6 12. Qe1 Nd7
13. Rf1 Nde5 14. Nd5 Bg5 15. Qd2 Bxe3+ 16. Nxe3 Qh4 17. Nf5 Bxf5 18. exf5 Qf6
19. Rad1 Rad8 20. c4 Rfe8 21. Rf2 h6 22. Qf4 Qg5 23. g3 f6 24. h4 {
(Tal goes into the ending where he soon wins a pawn)} Qxf4 25. gxf4 Nf7 26. Bf3
Re3 27. Kg2 Kf8 28. Rfd2 Rde8 29. Kf2 h5 30. c5 d5 31. Rxd5 {
(the pawn falls: as Borat might say, "I'm so excite!")} Ne7 32. Kxe3 Nxd5+ 33.
Kf2 Nxf4 34. Rd4 Nh3+ 35. Kg2 Re3 36. Bxb7 Nh6 37. c6 {
1-0 M.Tal-L.Vogt, Tallinn 1981.}) 10. Nb3 {Karpov keeps pieces on, which is
fine. On the other hand I don't believe the exchange of knights really
benefits Black.} ({From a repertoire point of view} 10. a3 {(which transposes
to a recent high-level White victory - Ivanchuk defeating Radjabov - and is a
useful little move, directed against an eventual ...b7-b5-b4) might be best; e.g.} Nxd4 (10... a6 11. Qe1 Rc8 12. Rd1 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Bc6 14. Qg3 {is V.Ivanchuk-T.Radjabov, Bilbao 2008; this is very similar to the main Scheveningen lines
we'll see later in this chapter, and will be discussed in the notes to
Karpov-Ljubojevic}) 11. Qxd4 {(this looks stronger than the bishop recapture,
as the queen defends e4 in advance, so Black's counterplay is limited)} Bc6 12.
Bf3 Qc7 {and White has won both games in the database from this Karpovian
position. White doesn't worry about memorizing main lines but simply puts his
pieces in the centre and plays. --- Here's a quick look at those games:} 13. --
(13. Kh1 e5 14. Qc4 exf4 15. Bxf4 Rac8 16. Rad1 Nd7 17. Qd4 Ne5 18. Bxe5 dxe5
19. Qxa7 {, when White pirated a pawn and went on to win in Zhang Zhong-Li
Ruofan, Manila 2007.}) (13. Qc4 Rfd8 14. Nd5 $1 exd5 15. exd5 Rac8 16. dxc6
bxc6 17. Qa4 c5 18. c4 {and White's two bishops and superior pawns gave him
the edge in L.Tapaszto-J.Aldrete, Tel Aviv Olympiad 1964.} (18. --))) 10... a5
(10... a6 {is still main line. After the text, as we saw in the Dragon chapter,
White can stop Black's a-pawn and then, while b5 and b6 are permanently weak,
White's b4 (see move 26) is only temporarily weak!}) 11. a4 Nb4 {
That knight on b4 sure looks pretty - until it gets kicked back!} 12. Bf3 Bc6 {
This was Spassky's improvement on a famous game of the time where 12...e5 was
played. As mentioned above, White has to be ready for either of Black's
central pawns to advance.} ({Here Geller is able to use that advance to open
the f- and d-files in his favour:} 12... e5 13. Kh1 Bc6 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. Qe2
Qc7 16. Qf2 Nd7 {(since b6 is weak, Black can't occupy the d-file)} 17. Rad1
Kh8 18. Bg4 Nf6 19. Bf3 Nd7 20. Bg4 Nf6 21. Bf5 $1 g6 22. Bb6 $1 {(always look
to see if you can use this hole in Black's position - here Geller drives the
opposing queen out of play)} Qb8 23. Bh3 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 Bxe4 25. Rd7 {
(White has given up a pawn to get a rook to the seventh)} Qe8 26. Bc5 Bxc5 27.
Qf6+ Kg8 28. Nxc5 Nd5 ({not} 28... Bc6 $2 {as} 29. Ne6 $1 {wins}) 29. Qd6 {
(Black has to give up material to save his tangled minor pieces)} Ra6 30. Nxa6
bxa6 31. Rfxf7 Rxf7 32. Be6 Bxg2+ 33. Kg1 {1-0 E.Geller-L.Polugaevsky,
Portoroz 1973 - a typically powerful Geller victory.}) 13. Nd4 g6 {
Black doesn't want to give the white knight the f5-square after ...e6-e5.} 14.
Rf2 {But the advance itself is not dangerous for White - who simply accepts it
and occupies the soon to be opened f-file.} e5 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. fxe5 dxe5 17.
Qf1 Qc8 18. h3 {Timman, in his book 'The Art of Chess Analysis', calls this a
"typical Karpov move" and goes on to say there was no threat of ...Ng4
(because White takes it off and plays Qc4 with positional advantage), yet
Karpov takes away the possibility anyway, just to restrict Black's pieces!
Note that later on the white king gets the important h2 sanctuary square as
well, so the move was far from purposeless.} Nd7 (18... Kg7 {is recommended by
Timman as Black's best chance, with the long-winded idea of ...h7-h5/...Nh7/...Bg5, although White can simply play} 19. Rd1 {
, seizing the d-file with advantage.}) 19. Bg4 $1 {White prevents a favourable
exchange (...Bc5) and gets his queen to c4 on his own terms.} h5 20. Bxd7 Qxd7
21. Qc4 Bh4 22. Rd2 Qe7 23. Rf1 Rfd8 24. Nb1 $3 {Perhaps a hard move to find,
but completely logical: as we have already seen, in such positions the
b4-knight is strong only up to a point - now it will be driven back to a
terrible square, while the white knight will head to the kingside to attack.
In typical Karpov fashion, White has a obtained a big advantage (against a
World Champion!) and it's hard to see where Black made his mistake - do we
have to go all the way back to 10...a5 ?} Qb7 25. Kh2 {Karpov, typically in no
hurry, evades future checks; Black can't stop c2-c3 anyway.} Kg7 26. c3 {
So much for the pretty knight!} Na6 27. Re2 $1 {Black has another piece on the
fifth rank - now Karpov makes room for the knight to drive that one back too!}
Rf8 28. Nd2 Bd8 ({Or} 28... Be7 29. Ref2 f6 30. Nb3 {
and Black has weaknesses on both sides of the board.}) 29. Nf3 f6 {Black's game
looks like someone ran the film in reverse: everything has been driven back,
and White has a d-file highway for attack - while the f-file is not completely
blocked either.} 30. Rd2 Be7 31. Qe6 Rad8 32. Rxd8 Bxd8 ({Not} 32... Rxd8 33.
Nxe5 $1 {as the f-file is still a big factor.}) 33. Rd1 $1 {
Now the d-file again!} Nb8 {Is the film still running backwards? Black's once
proud knight has succeeded in returning to its original square!} 34. Bc5 Rh8
35. Rxd8 $1 {. This shattering blow abruptly terminates the game.} ({
There is no defence, as can be seen:} 35. Rxd8 Rxd8 36. Be7 {
and now Black must surrender material with} Rf8 (36... Rd1 {
is not check, so White can force mate:} 37. Qxf6+ Kg8 38. Qf8+ Kh7 39. Ng5#)
37. Bxf8+ Kxf8 38. Qxf6+ {and the house falls. --- Evidently the Accelerated
Dragon idea of ...a7-a5 does not work well in the Scheveningen (it often
doesn't work that well in the Dragon either!), so now let's take on the
critical ...a7-a6 lines.}) 1-0

[Event "Groningen"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Smyslov, V."]
[Black "Kottnauer, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "1946.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 {
Popular for over 50 years: Black reaches a Scheveningen by way of the Najdorf.}
7. O-O b5 (7... Be7 {, preparing castling before embarking on queenside
operations, is the normal move.}) ({About} 7... b5 {, Smyslov writes: "This
move - a typical one in the Sicilian Defence - is premature at this stage.
Black is starting an attack on the queenside before completing his development.
Such tactics can only bring success if White plays passively." --- Exactly so!
And yet, I used to have a friend who played 7...b5 regularly, and with success
(at the 2000 rating level). One day I asked him why, given that Smyslov had
basically refuted the line. His answer was simple: he said he didn't like to
waste time, so by playing this move he would find out right away if he was
going to win or lose the game. If White played Smyslov's} 8. Bf3 {(which very
rarely happened) he would save energy by playing quickly and usually lose in
time for a long rest before the next game (we are talking American tournaments
of two or three games a day!).} ({
On the other hand, if White played "passively" as Smyslov said, with} 8. a3) ({
, or} 8. f3 {, then he would be invigorated, expect to win, and usually would!
--- Working on this book, I remembered this conversation from about forty
years ago, and I wondered what the statistics could tell us - and my friend
was absolutely right! If White plays the good 8 Bf3, he scores a handsome
Clintish 57%; but if he plays the bad 8 a3, he gets dropped in the graveyard
with a measly 28%, and with the ugly 8 f3 he barely improves to 33%! So those
of you who want an early decision are free to take your chances!})) 8. Bf3 $1 {
Good! White defends the e4-pawn with a slightly veiled attack on the a8-rook.}
({But don't play passively! --} 8. a3 Bb7 9. Bd3 Be7 10. Be3 Nbd7 11. f4 O-O
12. Qf3 Rc8 13. Kh1 Rxc3 $1 14. bxc3 Nc5 {, when the e-pawn falls, so Black
has more than enough for the exchange and went on to win in M.Adamowicz-R.Wojtaszek, Warsaw (rapid) 2008.}) (8. f3 Be7 9. a4 b4 10. Na2 O-O 11. Be3 ({not
} 11. Nxb4 $2 e5 12. Nb3 Qb6+ {, winning a piece}) 11... e5 12. Nf5 Bxf5 13.
exf5 d5 {and Black was clearly better in D.Rovner-M.Yudovich, Kiev 1938.}) 8...
Ra7 {The usual move.} ({One of my opponents played} 8... e5 {
here, which is obviously bad after} 9. Nf5 {. Indeed, the lovely Maria
Manakova created a picture almost as pretty as herself in just six more moves:}
Be6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. a4 b4 13. Nd5 a5 14. Be2 Nd7 15. Bb5 {
and this beautiful bind, with three white pieces already on the fifth rank,
soon led to a win in M.Manakova-O.Alexandrova, Antalya (blitz) 2002.}) 9. Qe2
$1 {Most accurate, reserving d1 for the rook, and preventing ...Rd7.} ({
The obvious} 9. Be3 {is not bad - and White won quickly in the following game
- but as Smyslov pointed out in his notes, Black has an improvement:} Rc7 ({
Smyslov recommends} 9... Rd7 {
, when Black can follow with ...Bb7 and keep defensive chances}) 10. Re1 Nbd7
11. a4 bxa4 12. Rxa4 Bb7 13. Nb3 Be7 14. Na5 Ba8 15. Nc4 Nc5 16. Bxc5 Rxc5 17.
e5 Bxf3 ({not} 17... dxe5 $2 18. Qxd8+ Bxd8 19. Bxa8) 18. Qxf3 dxe5 19. Nxe5
O-O 20. Nc6 Qc7 21. Nxe7+ Qxe7 22. Rxa6 {and my First Saturday comrade, Sergey
Kayumov, won a pawn for nothing, and soon took the full point in S.Kayumov-V.Arbakov, Alushta 2002.}) 9... Rc7 {
Smyslov's last move was intended to force this.} (9... Rd7 {
doesn't work here in view of} 10. e5 $1 dxe5 11. Nc6 Qc7 12. Nxb8 Qxb8 13. Bc6
{, winning the exchange.}) 10. Rd1 {White's quick and harmonious development
has put great pressure on Black, who can't find time to castle.} Nbd7 11. a4 $1
{"Black's opening idea has suffered a reversal" - Smyslov.} bxa4 (11... b4 12.
Na2 a5 13. Nb5 {wins for White - one now appreciates (Smyslov saw it much
earlier!) the unfortunate position of the rook on c7.}) 12. Nxa4 Bb7 13. e5
Nxe5 $6 ({Relatively best is} 13... dxe5 14. Bxb7 Rxb7 ({after} 14... exd4 15.
Bxa6 {White has a clear advantage as Black has no good way to hold d4}) 15. Nc6
Qc8 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Qxe5 Be7 ({not} 17... Qxc2 18. Bg5 {
with a decisive attack}) 18. Nc3 O-O 19. Qe2 {, when Black survives for the
moment but is stuck with a chronic weakness at a6.}) 14. Bxb7 Rxb7 15. Qxa6 Qb8
16. Nc6 Nxc6 17. Qxc6+ Nd7 {Material is even and Black is still hoping to make
those two necessary moves: ...Be7 and ...0-0 - but he won't be able to
accomplish either one!} 18. Nc5 $3 dxc5 ({Black can't decline:} 18... Rc7 19.
Nxd7 Rxd7 20. Ra8 {wins the queen.}) 19. Bf4 $1 {Smyslov finishes precisely;} (
{whereas} 19. Rxd7 $2 {would be overhasty:} Rxd7 20. Ra8 Qxa8 21. Qxa8+ Ke7 22.
Qf3 f6 {with equality.}) 19... Bd6 ({On} 19... Qxf4 {Smyslov gives} 20. Qc8+
Ke7 21. Qxb7 Kf6 22. Rxd7 Kg6 23. g3 Qf5 24. Ra7 {and the heavy pieces invade.}
) 20. Bxd6 Rb6 21. Qxd7+ $1 {. White emerges with an extra piece. --- For the
White repertoire player, 8 Bf3 is a move you just have to know. I have faced 7...b5 only once in my career - and it is a rare guest - but at club level it
can be powerful indeed if you are not prepared. In general, by playing the
open Sicilian, you are committed to a rather aggressive outlook - so don't go
passive on move 8!} 1-0

[Event "Metropolitan Invitational, Los Angeles"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Taylor, T."]
[Black "Matikozian, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 ({
In Carlsen-Nakamura and Taylor-Abrahamian, we saw that} 6... e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8.
Be3 {was a strong move order for White, in order to meet} O-O {with} 9. g4 {.})
7. O-O ({But here, the fact that White has not "wasted" a tempo on Nb3 makes
the same plan less effective. After} 7. Be3 Be7 {
Black still hasn't castled, and White doesn't have a useful waiting move. On}
8. g4 {immediately Black can keep his options open with} Nc6 (8... d5 {
, counter-attacking immediately in the centre, is also possible}) 9. g5 Nd7 {
, when he has a good retreat square for his knight and is not committed to
kingside castling.}) 7... Nbd7 ({Again,} 7... Be7 {is most popular and was
always chosen by Kasparov, notably in his World Championship matches (against
both Karpov and Anand). 7...Qc7 is often played as well, and usually
transposes to the Kasparov line. Here's a typical game where both those moves
come in:} 8. a4 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bd3 Nb4 13. a5 Bd7
14. Nf3 Rac8 15. Bb6 Qb8 16. e5 dxe5 17. fxe5 Nfd5 18. Nxd5 exd5 19. Re1 h6 20.
c3 Nxd3 21. Qxd3 Bc5 22. Qxd5 Be6 23. Qd2 Bxb6 24. axb6 Rc6 25. Ra4 Rxb6 {
½-½ V.Anand-G.Kasparov, World Championship (7th matchgame), New York 1995.
I will cover this popular development in four games starting with Karpov-Kasparov (Moscow 1985).}) ({On the other hand, the text,} 7... Nbd7 {, is both significantly less popular and seems objectively weaker too. There are three main
objections to this knight move: -- 1. If White restrains Black's queenside
play with a2-a4, Black can't profit with ...Nb4. -- 2. On d7 the knight fails
to pressure White's strong knight on d4. -- 3. If White embarks on a caveman
attack with g2-g4 (as we'll see in this game), the f6-knight wants to retreat
to d7 following g4-g5 - but here does not have that square!}) 8. a4 {As mentioned above, with the black knight committed to d7 White does not fear the slight
weakness of b4.} b6 {Black prevents a4-a5;} ({for} 8... Nc5 {see the next game.
}) 9. f4 Bb7 10. Bf3 Qc7 11. Qe2 Rc8 {Natural, but is it best? My chess guru
Joe Cepiel thinks not - unless ...Qc4 works, which it doesn't seem to (see the
note to move 12) - which means that the rook move can be seen as a loss of
tempo.} ({Smyslov caught another black king in the centre after} 11... e5 12.
Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 g6 14. Nc6 Bg7 15. fxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. Bh6 $1 {
(preventing ...0-0, and one doubts Black wants to go long here)} f6 18. c4 Kf7
19. Bg4 Bc8 20. Bxc8 Raxc8 21. Rxf6+ $3 {
(the late opera singer hits a high note!)} Kxf6 22. Qg4 Qc5+ ({or} 22... Rhe8
23. Rf1+ Ke7 24. Bg5+ {and mates}) 23. Kh1 Ke7 24. Bg5+ {
1-0 V.Smyslov-K.Grigorian, USSR Championship, Moscow 1976 - Bravo!}) ({
Another try is to get back to Kasparov territory with} 11... Be7 {
, but since Black remains uncastled, White can hit hard with} 12. e5 {
when the complications seems to be in his favour:} dxe5 13. fxe5 Bc5 ({or} 
13... Nd5 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. e6 $1 {and Black won't get out of the opening alive
}) 14. Rd1 Nxe5 15. Bxb7 Rd8 16. Be3 Nfg4 17. Bxa6 Nxe3 18. Ncb5 Qb8 19. Qxe3
Ng4 20. Qg3 Qxg3 21. hxg3 e5 22. c3 exd4 23. cxd4 {
(White emerges from the mêlée with an extra pawn)} Bb4 24. Na7 Bd6 (24... Ra8
25. Bb5+ {is no better}) 25. Nc6 Rd7 26. Bc8 Rc7 27. Re1+ Kf8 28. Bxg4 Rxc6 29.
Bd7 $1 {1-0 R.Teschner-Ra.Hess, Lugano 1984. --- What all these variations
show is that Black is running grave risks by developing his queenside first
when White has quick development and a strong centre, which can combine for a
speedy attack on Black's uncastled king.}) 12. Be3 Be7 {My opponent's
improvement on an earlier game of his, which seems to indicate that the ...Qc4
idea is dubious - but if so, why 11...Rc8 ?} ({Matikozian had previously played
} 12... Qc4 13. Qe1 h5 ({this early attack will be rebuffed, but if} 13... Nc5
{then} 14. Nd5 $1 exd5 15. Be2 Nd3 {- forced -} 16. Bxd3 Qc7 17. exd5 Nxd5 18.
Nf5 {and White has a huge attack}) 14. h3 e5 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Rd1 g6 17. Qf2 Qc7
18. Nc1 exf4 19. Bxf4 Ne5 20. Nd3 Nfd7 21. Be2 O-O 22. Nb4 {(there is no
attack for Black left, whereas we can see White is ready to go into the weak
d5-square)} Qc5 ({or} 22... Nc5 23. Nbd5 {with a big plus for White}) 23. Ncd5
Qxf2+ 24. Rxf2 Bh4 25. g3 Bd8 26. Bxa6 {
(White snaps off a pawn and wins with GM technique)} Bxa6 27. Nxa6 Ra8 28. Nac7
Rxa4 29. Bh6 Rxe4 30. Bxf8 Kxf8 31. Ne6+ Ke8 32. Nxd8 Kxd8 33. Nc3 Re3 34. Kg2
g5 35. Rd4 g4 36. hxg4 hxg4 37. Nb5 Nc5 38. Nxd6 Kc7 39. Nc4 Nxc4 40. Rxc4 {
1-0 K.Asrian-A.Matikozian, Armenian Championship, Yerevan 1999.}) 13. g4 $1 {
Caveman! I threaten with g4-g5 to push the knight back to g8, since d7 is not
available.} Nc5 {Black makes a retreat square for the f6-knight - but neither
horse is very secure.} ({If instead} 13... O-O {, then} 14. g5 Ne8 15. f5 {
and White's attack is well under way, while Black still has no counterplay.})
14. Bd2 $1 ({My opponent had previously lost to the following wild attack:} 14.
Qg2 O-O 15. g5 Nfd7 16. Nde2 Nb8 17. f5 Rfe8 18. f6 Bf8 19. Bh5 g6 20. Bxg6 $5
fxg6 ({however, Mr. Fritz favours Black after} 20... hxg6) 21. f7+ Qxf7 22.
Rxf7 Kxf7 23. Rf1+ Kg8 24. Qf3 Re7 25. Bxc5 bxc5 26. Nf4 Rf7 27. Qd3 Re8 28.
Qc4 Bc8 29. Nfe2 Rxf1+ 30. Kxf1 Nc6 31. Nd5 Kh8 32. Nf6 Re7 33. Qd3 Rf7 34. Nf4
Ne5 35. Qb3 Ng4 36. Nxg6+ hxg6 37. Qh3+ Nh6 38. Ke2 Bg7 39. Ne8 Bf8 40. Nf6 Bg7
41. e5 {1-0 J.Peters-A.Matikozian, Burbank 2007. --- I looked at this in my
preparation, and saw no reason to test the silicon evaluation of the piece sac
- and so I planned to play the text: a simple and strong move that
overprotects the e4-square and in many variations threatens b2-b4, when again
the black knights are tangled.}) 14... g6 {
Black's position is already extremely difficult.} ({After} 14... O-O 15. g5 Ne8
16. b4 Nd7 17. Bg4 {
White has a tremendous attack, and Black can't even counter with} Qc4 {due to}
18. Qxc4 Rxc4 19. Nxe6 $1 {and wins.}) (14... e5 {has been tried, but after}
15. Nf5 O-O 16. g5 Ne8 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 g6 19. Nh6+ Kg7 {White has} 20.
fxe5 $1 ({in K.Gorbatenko-D.Shmeliov, Kharkov 2004, White started down the
wrong path with the less forceful} 20. Ng4 {and even managed to lose}) 20...
dxe5 21. Bg4 Rd8 22. b4 Nd7 23. Rae1 {
with an overwhelming board-wide advantage.}) 15. g5 Nfd7 16. b4 {The black position is so cramped and tangled that this thrust almost wins a piece; Black
manages to hold material, but at the high cost of opening the e-file for White
to attack his uncastled king.} e5 17. Nd5 $1 {This powerful knight must
evidently be taken, but now the white queen smiles on the black king.} Bxd5 18.
exd5 exd4 19. Rae1 $1 Qd8 ({Or} 19... O-O 20. bxc5 Rfe8 21. c6 Nc5 22. Qc4 {
and White's protected passed pawn on the sixth is too strong.}) 20. bxc5 Nxc5
21. f5 $1 {My typical Bird attack: Black's problems are already insurmountable.
} gxf5 22. Bh5 Rg8 ({Black manages to castle after} 22... Rc7 23. Rxf5 O-O {
, but then} 24. Ref1 {wins easily; e.g.} f6 25. g6 $1 {
and Black's king position collapses.}) 23. Rxf5 Rg7 24. Rxf7 $1 {
Finishing off the uncastled king.} Rxf7 25. Rf1 ({Black resigns in view of} 25.
Rf1 Qd7 ({or} 25... Kd7 26. Rxf7 Qe8 27. Rxh7 Qf8 28. g6 Rc7 ({while} 28... Rd8
29. Bg5 {is simple enough}) 29. g7 Qg8 30. Rh8 Qxg7+ 31. Bg4+ Qxg4+ 32. Qxg4+
Ne6 33. Qxe6#) 26. Rxf7 Kd8 27. Rxh7 Nxa4 28. g6 {
(the Excelsior theme seems to be the fastest way to win)} Nc3 29. Bxc3 dxc3 30.
g7 Kc7 31. Rh8 Bf6 32. Rxc8+ Qxc8 33. Qc4+ Kb7 34. Qxc8+ Kxc8 35. g8=Q+ {
and the extra queen is enough. --- Kasparov was right to prefer 7...Be7 with
quick castling! By developing the queenside first - with 7...b5 of the
previous game, or 7...Nbd7 here - it's clear that Black runs grave risks, as
will be seen once again in the next game.}) 1-0

[Event "Brussels (rapid)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Sokolov, I."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "1992.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 d6 {
An ever more popular transposition from the Kan to the Scheveningen.} 6. a4 {
Not to knock the World Champion, but I would prefer to wait on this move until
I saw where Black's queen's knight was going - after ...Nbd7 this is a good
move; whereas it is not so good, in my opinion, if Black develops to the
knight to c6, observing b4.} ({Therefore} 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. a4 {
would be my preferred move order.}) 6... Nf6 7. Be2 Nbd7 {Black should play ...Be7/...0-0/...Qc7/...Nc6 with a reasonable game, à la Kasparov.} 8. O-O Nc5 {
Instead of Matikozian's 8...b6, Black buys time to castle with this attack on
the e4-pawn - but this problem knight is still not well placed, and Sokolov
succeeds only in lengthening the game by one move!} 9. Bf3 Be7 10. g3 {
Other GMs have exploited the b6-square and won slowly, but the World Champion
doesn't want to wait that long!} ({K.Asrian-H.Odeev, Dubai 2001, saw} 10. Be3
O-O 11. a5 {(the b6-square is weak and White goes to work: Asrian's positional
style is well suited to this kind of grind - recall the note to move 12 in the
previous game, when he ground down Matikozian - and once again he makes slow
but steady progress)} Qc7 12. Re1 Rb8 13. Nb3 e5 14. Nc1 b5 15. axb6 Rxb6 16.
Nd3 {(White's pressure through to b6 leads to the creation of two isolated
black pawns)} Rb8 17. Nxc5 dxc5 18. Qc1 Rb4 19. Be2 c4 20. Ra2 h6 21. f3 Bc5
22. Nd1 Rd8 23. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 24. Qe3 Qc7 25. Nc3 Qb8 26. Rd1 Be6 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8
28. Kf2 Qb6 29. Nd1 Qb7 30. Qc3 Nd7 31. Ne3 a5 32. Bxc4 {
(one of which now falls, which is the end of the game when playing Asrian)}
Bxc4 33. Nxc4 a4 34. Ne3 Nf6 35. Qxe5 Qb6 36. Ke2 Qa6+ 37. Kd2 Qb6 38. Ra3 Rxb2
39. Rxa4 Kh7 40. Qd4 Qb8 41. e5 {1-0.}) ({Also possible is} 10. a5 {
with an immediate queenside bind, and after} O-O 11. b4 Ncd7 12. Na4 Ne5 13.
Nb6 {White just took over the square and ground to victory in M.Panchanathan-V.Belov, Mumbai 2009.}) 10... O-O 11. Bg2 Qc7 12. Be3 Rb8 13. f4 $1 {Anand zeroes
in on Black's central weak point: the e5-square that the early ...Nc5
neglected; while if Black retreats with 13...Ncd7, he gets another cramped
undeveloped position that invites g3-g4-g5.} Re8 $6 {
Underestimating the following attack.} ({As noted above,} 13... Ncd7 {
is weak due to} 14. g4) ({which means that} 13... e5 {is relatively best. This
pawn block stops the immediate attack and will so prolong the game, though
Black's positional problems remain after the evident} 14. Nf5 {.}) 14. e5 $1 {
The e-pawn will be indirectly protected by a potential skewer, so Black's last
move can now be seen as a mistake: the f-file opens and f7 is weak.} dxe5 {
Virtually forced;} ({as after} 14... Nfd7 15. exd6 Qxd6 (15... Bxd6 16. Ndb5
axb5 17. Nxb5 Qb6 18. Qxd6 {is another easy winner}) 16. b4 {a tangled knight
drops - as we see, this is a common theme in the ...Nbd7 variation.}) 15. fxe5
Nfd7 ({Not} 15... Qxe5 $2 16. Bf4 {skewering.}) 16. Rxf7 $3 (16. b4 {
can be answered by} Nb3 {
and Black survives for the moment - but I bet he didn't see this blow coming!})
16... Kxf7 17. Qh5+ {Black's king has no defenders, the miserable rook on e8
prevents the safe retreat to g8, and the white reserves are coming up - in
short, the World Champion shows us how it's done: White has a winning attack
against a GM after only 17 moves.} Kf8 18. Rf1+ Nf6 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. Ndb5 $3 {
An exchange down at this point, Anand sacs a piece just to gain one tempo!}
axb5 21. Nxb5 Qd7 ({Not} 21... Qe7 $2 22. Bxc5 {, winning the queen.}) 22. Qxh7
$1 {Now a full rook down, Anand ignores the black knight that is hanging with
check - and snaps off a pawn!} Qe7 (22... Re7 23. Bxc5 b6 24. Rxf6+ gxf6 25.
Bf3 bxc5 26. Qh8+ Kf7 27. Bh5# {
is one of many pretty mates hiding in the position.}) 23. Rxf6+ $1 {
When you're one rook down already, it's easy to give another.} Qxf6 ({
The suicidal line is} 23... gxf6 24. Bh6+ Qg7 25. Qxg7# {.}) 24. Bxc5+ Re7 ({If
} 24... Kf7 {then} 25. Nd6+ Ke7 26. Ne4+ {picks off the queen.}) 25. Qh8+ Kf7
26. Nd6+ ({Black resigns in view of one more pretty mate:} 26. Nd6+ Kg6 27.
Be4+ Kg5 28. Qh4# {. --- While one would hardly say that the early ...Nd7
loses for Black, it's obvious White gets a positional advantage by combining
an a2-a4 clamp with an f2-f4 attack! As White, always watch to see if the
black knights (which on f6 and d7 occupy each other's flight squares) may
become tangled - you might be able to pick one of them off! Finally, just take
a moment to appreciate the World Champion's fabulous attack and multiple
sacrifices! --- But now things are not going to be so easy: Mr. Kasparov is in
the house!}) 1-0

[Event "World Championship, Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "24"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Kasparov, G."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B85"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "1985.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 {This move order
is the most popular way to reach the Scheveningen now - there are over 10,000
games in the database!} ({After Leningrad 1975, Kasparov was not about to play
} 6... e5 {again and enter Karpov's positional realm.}) 7. O-O Be7 $1 {
Kasparov's regular move: Black prepares to castle on the next move, for
otherwise, as we have seen, he might not get another chance.} 8. f4 {
Karpov in turn plays his patented attack.} O-O 9. Kh1 {We've seen throughout
this book that Karpov likes to put his king here whenever he plays f2-f4, so
avoiding annoying checks that might come at the wrong time.} ({On the other
hand, I have seen many strong players just get on with it by playing} 9. Be3
Nc6 10. Qe1 {, heading to g3 (we do know where Black's king lives!) with
attack. We'll see that basic idea in the final two games of this chapter.})
9... Qc7 10. a4 {In my opinion this is not best here (though it's very strong
vs. ...Nd7), when the black knight can still go to c6. Essentially, this means
...Nb4 is possible, while Black has not had to pay (as in Karpov-Spassky) with
the weakening ...a7-(a6)-a5.} ({Karpov himself evidently came to this
conclusion, and in the next game he played} 10. Qe1 {; subsequently he allowed
...b7-b5 and then stopped the pawn with the modest but effective a2-a3, so
keeping the black knight out of his position.}) 10... Nc6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Bf3
Rb8 13. Qd2 Bd7 14. Nb3 b6 15. g4 $5 {Do or die! The match situation was also
critical: this was the final game of the match and Karpov was a point behind,
so he absolutely had to win to retain his title. --- However, I believe Black
has sufficient defensive resources, one of which is ...Nb4!. In my opinion, in
the present position, White has at least two pieces misplaced: the queen
should be on g3, and the king's bishop should be on d3, aiming for the king.
So it's hard to believe White has an objective advantage - or that he can win
by direct attack here. --- But Karpov does go for it! And after a couple of
slight errors by Kasparov, he reaches a near-winning position.} ({Karpov was undoubtedly influenced by a previous game in this match where he tried his
typical manoeuvring and got absolutely nothing:} 15. Bf2 Bc8 16. Bg3 Nd7 17.
Rae1 Bb7 18. e5 Rbd8 19. Qf2 Rf8 20. Be4 dxe5 21. fxe5 Nc5 22. Nxc5 bxc5 23.
Bf4 {½-½ A.Karpov-G.Kasparov, World Championship (18th matchgame), Moscow 1985.}
) 15... Bc8 16. g5 Nd7 {It's crucial that Black's knight has this safe retreat
square; note that the black knights do not trip over each other.} 17. Qf2 Bf8
18. Bg2 Bb7 19. Rad1 g6 20. Bc1 $1 {A good move, clearing the third rank for
the rook. Kasparov doesn't notice the danger until it's almost too late!} Rbc8
$6 (20... Nc5 $1 {
(Kasparov) is correct, which forestalls the rook manoeuvre, and if} 21. Nxc5
bxc5 {then Black gets the b-file and d4-square for counterplay. Mr. Fritz has
it as dead even after this knight move, which shows that White's attack has
(until now, anyway) made no impression on Black's solid game.}) 21. Rd3 Nb4 {
Black does get this knight tempo in, without weakening the b5-square with ...a6-a5.} 22. Rh3 Bg7 $6 {Careless;} ({
as Kasparov himself says. It's time to hit back with} 22... f5 23. gxf6 Nxf6
24. -- ({, which appears to lose a piece to} 24. Qd4 {
, forking, but doesn't, due to the following fantastic resource:} e5 $1 25.
Qxb4 d5 $1 {, when both small centre pawns move forward with tempo and White
has nothing better than to return the piece with} 26. Nb5 axb5 {
, after which Black is slightly better.}) ({
. Instead, White should not go for the piece, but rather play for attack with} 
24. f5 exf5 25. exf5 Bg7 {
, reaching "a complicated and unclear" position - Kasparov.} (25... --))) 23.
Be3 $2 ({
White could have taken advantage of Black's two inaccuracies with the resolute
} 23. f5 $1 {, when things are bad for Black: f5-f6 is threatened, the
counter-attack ...f7-f5 is prevented and, in general, White has every chance
of winning the game - note that Mr. Fritz sits at a big +1.2 after the f-pawn
advance. --- Had Karpov won this game and retained his title, who knows what
would have happened to the Kasparov express? --- But all this is "analysis" -
this was Kasparov's year, and while Karpov missed his big chance, Kasparov did
not miss his!}) 23... Re7 24. Kg1 ({White should probably still play} 24. f5 {
now, though it is nowhere near as strong as before. When he hesitates again,
Black prevents the advance.}) 24... Rce8 $1 {An original conception: by
doubling rooks on the closed e-file, Black prevents f4-f5, which would now be
met decisively by ...e6xf5, opening the e-file for the rooks to attack the
e3-bishop.} 25. Rd1 f5 $1 {Given his chance, Black is the one to play the
critical f5; at this moment one can see the World Championship shifting owners.
--- As an aside, when I think of all the colossal drama of the 24-game World
Championship matches such as this one, Spassky-Fischer, Petrosian-Spassky,
Tal-Botvinnik - and the phenomenal Candidates matches that led up to these (I
already mentioned this in the book, but once again: can anyone who lived
through those times forget Fischer's 6-0 crush of Mark Taimanov?), I have to
say, the system wasn't broke - why has it been fixed? --- Bringing back the
system as it existed in 1972: interzonal, candidate matches, 24-game world
championship match would do so much to restore excitement and credibility to
chess - every change since has made things worse! --- Now back to the game, as
Kasparov, with the initiative in hand and favoured this day by fortune, romps
home like Zenyatta at Santa Anita.} 26. gxf6 Nxf6 $1 {"Black, of course,
sacrifices the pawn" - Kasparov. That kind of note is rarely seen today!} 27.
Rg3 Rf7 28. Bxb6 Qb8 29. Be3 (29. Rd4 Nc6 30. Rc4 Nh5 {
shows White's weaknesses across the board.}) 29... Nh5 30. Rg4 Nf6 31. Rh4 ({
Given the match situation,} 31. Rg3 Nh5 {with a draw was no good for Karpov.})
31... g5 $1 {
Kasparov isn't counting pawns, but rather counting on the initiative!} 32. fxg5
Ng4 33. Qd2 Nxe3 34. Qxe3 Nxc2 {The black knight, that long ago got the
b4-square, suddenly strikes a fierce blow deep in White's territory.} 35. Qb6
Ba8 36. Rxd6 $2 {Blundering under pressure.} ({Correct is} 36. Qxb8 Rxb8 37.
Bh3 $1 {with the idea of obtaining rook and pawn vs. two pieces in the endgame
and good chances of drawing - but a draw still lost the match.}) 36... Rb7 {
A simple skewer; but in the final moves of the final game of a world championship match, anything is possible. The champion and challenger are human after all.
} 37. Qxa6 Rxb3 38. Rxe6 Rxb2 39. Qc4 Kh8 40. e5 Qa7+ 41. Kh1 Bxg2+ 42. Kxg2
Nd4+ {. Black comes out a full rook and bishop up, and Kasparov became the new
World Chess Champion! --- Two things must be noted: White got nothing out of
the opening (I mainly blame 10 a4) - but even so, White got a close to winning
attack after only two slight inaccuracies by Black, which shows how precise
the Scheveningen player must be, given that he concedes the first four ranks.
Both White and Black must be resolute without blinking. Kasparov's nerves held
up better, and he was willing to give up two pawns to get his play going! ---
We will now look at White's best opening lines against Kasparov's development
system.} 0-1

[Event "Sicilian thematic, Buenos Aires"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1994.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Ljubojevic, L."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "1994.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 ({If White plays} 2. Nc3 {here, one might think he is heading
for the Closed Sicilian - instead, in the following game, a real modern
transposition-fest occurs as it careens across openings finally to reach a
Scheveningen! This is the great Ivanchuk win I referenced in Karpov-Spassky,
and well worth studying:} e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 {
(maybe this is a Taimanov?)} Nf6 6. a3 d6 {(no, Scheveningen!)} 7. Be2 Be7 8.
Be3 Bd7 9. f4 O-O 10. O-O a6 11. Qe1 Rc8 12. Rd1 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Bc6 14. Qg3 Qc7
15. Kh1 Rfd8 16. Bd3 b5 17. Rde1 Qb7 18. b4 Rc7 19. Re3 g6 20. Qh3 Rdc8 21. Nd1
Nh5 22. c3 {
(I will reference this position in the note to move 21 in the main game)} Bd7
23. e5 Bc6 24. f5 {(the same break Karpov uses to win!)} dxe5 25. Bxe5 exf5 26.
Bxf5 Bg5 27. Bxc8 Rxc8 28. Ree1 Rd8 29. Qg4 Bh6 30. Bd4 Bg7 31. Ne3 Bd7 32. Qh4
Rc8 33. Bxg7 Nxg7 34. Qe7 f5 35. Ng4 Bc6 36. Nh6+ Kh8 37. Nf7+ Kg8 38. Qxb7
Bxb7 39. Nd6 Rc7 40. Nxb7 Rxb7 41. Rf3 Kf7 42. Rd1 Ne6 43. Re3 Ng5 44. Rd6 Ra7
45. Red3 Ke7 46. Kg1 Ne4 47. Rc6 a5 48. h3 axb4 49. cxb4 {
1-0 V.Ivanchuk-T.Radjabov, Bilbao 2008.}) 2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3
a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. f4 Qc7 9. Kh1 {
Karpov sticks to his guns here, but...} O-O 10. Qe1 {Varies now! One recalls
that he played 10 a4 against Kasparov, whereas here he allows ...b7-b5 - but
does not weaken the b4-square which so often invites a black knight.} Nc6 ({If
} 10... b5 {, then we stick with our basic repertoire and play} 11. a3 {
, after which the play becomes similar to Rosen-Jugow in the next chapter
(ideas repeat!) where the opening was a Kan system! Here's an example from
this particular move order:} Bb7 12. Bf3 Nc6 13. Be3 Rad8 14. Rd1 Nxd4 15. Bxd4
Bc6 16. Qg3 Qb7 17. Rfe1 g6 18. f5 {gave White had a nice attack, who went on
to win in J.Reyes Larena-A.Villavicencio Martinez, Las Palmas 1993.}) 11. Be3
Bd7 ({A recent great attacking game from this position went as follows:} 11...
Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. a3 {
(White's typical set-up: restraint on the queenside, attack on the kingside)}
Bb7 14. Qg3 {(the veiled threat of mate on g7 indirectly defends e4)} Rad8 15.
Rae1 Rd7 16. Bd3 Re8 17. Rf3 Qd8 18. Qh3 g6 19. Ref1 d5 20. f5 $3 {. The young
Italian American GM senses his moment and crashes through on the f-file. As
White must always watch out for ...e6-e5 or ...d6-d5 from Black, so Black must
always reckon with e4-e5 or f4-f5 from White - both of which are all the more
disturbing for invading Black's territory. Here we see GM Sasikiran got his ...d6-d5 break in - but is demolished by the more significant attack against his
king:} dxe4 21. fxg6 fxg6 (21... exf3 22. Qxh7+ $3 Nxh7 23. gxh7+ Kf8 24. h8=Q#
{is White's incredible point!}) 22. Rxf6 Rxd4 23. Rf7 Bh4 24. Be2 Bc6 25. g3
e3+ 26. Kg1 a5 27. gxh4 {
(White takes a piece, accurately defends for a while...)} b4 28. axb4 axb4 29.
Nd1 Qd5 30. Nxe3 Qc5 31. Bd3 b3 32. Qg3 bxc2 33. Bxc2 Rd2 34. R7f2 Red8 35.
Rxd2 Rxd2 36. Rf2 Rd4 37. Bxg6 {(and then suddenly goes back on the attack! -
by sacrificing back his extra piece, he destroys Black's king position)} hxg6
38. Qxg6+ Kh8 39. Qh6+ Kg8 40. Qxe6+ Kh8 41. Qh6+ Kg8 42. Qe6+ Kh8 43. Qc8+ Kg7
44. Rg2+ {1-0 F.Caruana-K.Sasikiran, Wijk aan Zee 2009. Black resigns, as after
} Kf6 45. Qh8+ Ke6 46. Qg8+ Kd7 47. Rg7+ {White mates or wins the queen.}) 12.
Qg3 {The ideal place for the white queen in this variation, as played by
Caruana, Ivanchuk, Karpov, etc. Her Majesty directs her laser stare directly
at the black king, while also monitoring e5 and d6.} Kh8 ({Note that} 12... Nb4
{is possible but meaningless here, as White (with the a-pawn still at home)
can just kick it back with} 13. a3 {.}) ({Ljubojevic's actual move,} 12... Kh8
{, is an echo of Karpov's Kh1, avoiding checks as could occur in the following
variation: let's say White carelessly played the "combination"} 13. e5 dxe5 14.
fxe5 Qxe5 15. Nxc6 Qxg3 {, thinking he had a winning} 16. Nxe7 {
- but would then notice to his horror that the last move is not check!} ({
and so would have to back out with} 16. hxg3 {, losing a big pawn.})) 13. Bf3
Rac8 14. Rad1 b5 15. a3 {This is White's typical set-up, and if you understand
this position, you can play against the Scheveningen with confidence. One
recalls (from the note to move two) that Ivanchuk reached the same kind of
position. White prepares a rook lift to attack the king and is also ready to
advance either the e- or f-pawn, while restraining Black on the queenside. In
particular, unlike the previous game where Kasparov had the easy ...Nb4
manoeuvre into White's territory (and even deeper into c2!), here Black has a
hard time finding something useful for that knight, as b4 is not available,
and spending two moves to get to c4 might not be advisable in such a sharp
position. Therefore, Ljubo just exchanges it, but this brings the white bishop
to a better square, bearing down on the black king.} Nxd4 ({The aforementioned
} 15... Na5 {has been tried without success:} 16. e5 {(White takes advantage
of the knight on the rim, which no longer monitors the centre: note the
strength of the white queen here)} Ng8 17. Be2 Nc4 18. Bxc4 Qxc4 19. Rf2 dxe5
20. fxe5 {, when White is better with space and kingside attacking chances.
Black tries to break out with} Bxa3 $2 {, but after} 21. Nde2 $1 {
he suddenly lost a piece and the game, E.Pupo-B.Pineda, Cuba 1997.}) 16. Bxd4
Bc6 17. Rd3 {The rook to the third rank manoeuvre is also typical of the Schev;
Black's defence is very difficult.} Qb7 18. b4 $1 {Karpov shuts off Black's
queenside play before turning his attention to the king.} Rg8 19. e5 Ne4 20.
Nxe4 Bxe4 21. c3 $1 {Take another look at Ivanchuk-Radjabov after White's 22nd
move, which was also c2-c3! - White secures his dark-squared bishop and so
limits the opponent's queenside counterplay, while he enjoys permanent
pressure against the king. Note how Karpov's ideas are completely relevant
many years after his games were played.} Bxf3 22. Rdxf3 Qe4 {Relatively best,
especially as one looks at the alternatives below. Note that White's
superficially "bad" bishop actually makes his position invulnerable, while any
shift in pawn structure might make this a very good bishop, aiming at Black's
king position.} ({Some other tries for Black are: --} 22... f6 23. Qg6 $3 {
with a decisive attack as the queen is immune.}) (22... dxe5 23. fxe5 {
and f7 is weak.}) (22... d5 23. f5 {and Black has a bad French.}) 23. Re3 Qd5
24. Qh3 {Karpov-style: he continues to probe the weaknesses, while Black has
no counterplay available.} Rc4 ({Black's only break weakens his structure; e.g.
} 24... f6 25. exf6 Bxf6 26. Qxe6 {and a pawn drops.}) 25. f5 $1 {Both White's
attack in general and his bishop in particular are now threatening to increase
their powers. Amusingly enough, Ivanchuk played c2-c3 one move later, on move
22, but hit Radjabov with the f4-f5 break one move earlier!} Bg5 26. Rg3 Bh6
27. fxe6 fxe6 28. exd6 Qxd6 29. Qh5 (29. Qxh6 {is met by} Qxd4 {, but Karpov
is patient: he prevents ...e6-e5 and ties Black down to his weaknesses.}) 29...
Rxd4 ({If} 29... Qd5 {, White infiltrates with} 30. Qf7 {
, when Black can hardly plug all the holes; e.g.} Qd6 31. Rh3 e5 32. Bc5 Qg6
33. Qxg8+ $1 Kxg8 34. Rf8# {.}) 30. cxd4 Qxd4 {Black's desperation sacrifice
has eliminated the attacking bishop and given him an extra pawn - but his own
inactive bishop and the open files all over the board make it clear that White
is winning regardless.} 31. Rgf3 Qd6 32. Rf7 Be3 33. Qf3 Bd4 34. Rf8 Bf6 35.
Rxg8+ Kxg8 36. Rd1 $1 Qb6 37. Qa8+ Kf7 38. Rd7+ Kg6 (38... Be7 39. Qa7 {
is clean and clear.}) 39. Qe4+ Kh6 40. Rd3 Qf2 41. Rh3+ Kg5 42. Rg3+ Kh6 43.
Rh3+ Kg5 44. Rf3 Qd2 45. h4+ Kh6 46. Qxe6 $1 {. Karpov simply takes a pawn and
the queen exchange cannot be long avoided, after which there will be no
technical problems - and so Black resigns.} ({Even stronger than} 46. Qf4+ {
which should also win. --- The above game, along with the Caruana and Ivanchuk
wins in the notes, constitute model play for White in this variation. The
basic idea is simple: White restrains Black on the queenside with minimal
force (a2-a3), then manoeuvres his queen to g3 and sets up an attack. Memorizing
moves is less important than understanding the ideas of this set-up, after
which creative play is paramount. However, it must be said there are forcing
lines known to theory, some of them inaccurately analyzed - two of these will
be examined in the final two games of this chapter.}) 1-0

[Event "Dortmund"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1975.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kupreichik, V."]
[Black "Langeweg, K."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "1975.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 ({Let's take a moment to
enjoy a famous Tal brilliancy - from a Candidates match of course!} 5... d6 6.
Be3 Nf6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 O-O 9. O-O-O Qc7 10. Ndb5 Qb8 11. g4 a6 12. Nd4 Nxd4
13. Bxd4 b5 14. g5 Nd7 15. Bd3 b4 16. Nd5 $3 {(Tal said that if Larsen didn't
take it now, he was going to give it up even closer, on f6!)} exd5 17. exd5 {
(for the piece, Tal has opened a terrific attacking diagonal for his light-squared bishop - Larsen is only able to plug it at the cost of other problems;
remember this sac when we get to move 17 in the main game)} f5 18. Rde1 Rf7 19.
h4 Bb7 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 21. Rxe7 Ne5 22. Qe4 Qf8 23. fxe5 Rf4 24. Qe3 Rf3 25. Qe2
Qxe7 26. Qxf3 dxe5 27. Re1 Rd8 28. Rxe5 Qd6 29. Qf4 Rf8 30. Qe4 b3 31. axb3
Rf1+ 32. Kd2 Qb4+ 33. c3 Qd6 34. Bc5 $1 {
(Tal sacs another piece, and this time there is no possible defence)} Qxc5 35.
Re8+ Rf8 36. Qe6+ Kh8 37. Qf7 $1 {
1-0 M.Tal-B.Larsen, Bled (10th matchgame) 1965.}) 6. Be2 d6 7. O-O Nf6 {
The typical Taimanov to Scheveningen route that we have seen a few times now.}
8. Be3 Be7 9. f4 O-O 10. Qe1 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 {Note that White waits for ...b7-b5,
then plays the least committal defensive move possible, namely the text a2-a3.}
b5 12. a3 Bb7 13. Qg3 {Here we see an accelerated attack. Unlike Karpov,
Kupreichik plays neither Kh1 nor Bf3, but gets his queen in attacking position
as quickly as possible. Of course the e-pawn is indirectly defended by the
mate at g7.} ({A more Karpovian treatment is} 13. Bf3 Qc7 14. Kh1 e5 15. Be3
exf4 16. Bxf4 Nd7 17. Rd1 Ne5 18. Be2 Rfe8 19. Qg3 Bf8 {and indeed White is
slightly better here. Karpov would no doubt have won this, whereas in the
cited game M.Apicella-H.Olafsson, France-Iceland match 1993, Black struggled
and finally made a draw.}) 13... Bc6 ({For the safer} 13... g6 {, which prevent
s future sacs on h7, see the next and final game of this chapter.}) 14. Rae1
Qd7 {Black's last two moves prepared ...a6-a5, but while this queenside
counterplay has its place, White is meanwhile lining up on the black king! I
don't trust Black's set-up - even if it seems, by the current state of
analysis, that White might only reach "the better of a draw" once the
fireworks start - in such razor-sharp positions improvements can always be
found. In any case, this human's assessment is that Black is courting danger
by failing to take precautions against the mob of white pieces outside his
king's castle. This is why I view 13...g6 as the best line for Black at this
moment in time, and also the hardest nut for White to crack. --- Here White
can channel Tal and throw in a Bird assist!} 15. Bd3 a5 16. Rf3 b4 17. Nd5 $3 {
Tal! Yes, ideas repeat!} exd5 18. exd5 {White's main point, just as in
Tal-Larsen, is to open the diagonal for the d3-bishop.} Bxd5 19. Bxh7+ $1 {
I've made this type of sacrifice on h7 many times myself, and it still
surprises people!} Kxh7 $1 {Best!} ({
John Emms, in 'Play the Najdorf, Scheveningen Style', says that} 19... Kh8 {
leads to a forced draw, but with my Bird lens on I see it as a forced win for
White! After} 20. Be4 $1 {
(Emms mentions this move but misses the Bird f-pawn advance two moves later)}
Bxe4 21. Rxe4 Kg8 {(John gives this an exclam but it doesn't hold)} ({
similar is} 21... bxa3 22. f5 $3 {- Bird! -} axb2 23. Rh4+ Kg8 24. Qxg7+ Kxg7
25. Rg3#) 22. f5 $3 {(Taylor) seems to win for White} ({John only gives} 22.
Qg5 {, which is not correct as now the rook on e4 can't play on the kingside})
{. As in many Bird attacks, White has a double rook lift here plus a bishop on
the long diagonal; I don't see how Black can hold, and my fearless Fritz12
agrees, stating "clear advantage to White" in all variations. After 22 f5,
neither my computer nor I can find any defence:} 22... -- (22... bxa3 23. Qxg7+
$3 Kxg7 24. Rg4+ {showcases White's basic idea of swinging both rooks over
against the king, while the vital dark-squared bishop pins the only defender,
and mate follows:} Kh6 25. Rh3+ Nh5 26. Bg7+ Kh7 27. Rxh5+ Kg8 28. Rh8# {.}) (
22... Rfe8 23. Rh4 Bd8 24. Qh3 Re1+ 25. Rf1 Rxf1+ 26. Kxf1 Qb5+ 27. Ke1 {
(Black is out of checks, and must now perish)} Kf8 28. Bxf6 gxf6 ({or} 28...
Bxf6 29. Rh8+ Ke7 30. Rxa8 {with a decisive material advantage}) 29. Re4 Kg7 ({
or} 29... Qe5 30. Rxe5 {and White wins technically}) 30. Qg3+ Kf8 31. Qxd6+ Kg7
32. Rg4+ Kh7 ({or} 32... Kh6 33. Qf4+ Kh7 34. Rh4+ Kg8 35. Qh6 {and mates}) 33.
Qf8 Qe5+ 34. Kd1 Qd5+ 35. Kc1 {and White mates.}) (22... Rfc8 23. Qg5 Rc4 ({or
} 23... bxa3 24. Rh3 a2 25. Qxg7+ Kxg7 26. Rg4+ Kf8 27. Rh8+ Ng8 28. Rhxg8#)
24. Rg3 Kf8 (24... Ne8 25. Rxe7 {wins easily}) 25. Qxg7+ Ke8 26. Qg8+ Nxg8 27.
Rxg8# {. --- In any case it's clear that 22 f5! gives White a tremendous
attack that even a computer can't defend against, let alone a human being! So
we conclude that taking the bishop on h7 is forced.})) 20. Qh4+ Kg8 21. Rxe7 {
White now recovers his material with - maybe - a very slight edge.} (21. Rh3 $2
{is weaker, as after} Qxh3 22. Qxh3 Rfe8 {Black has too much for the queen.}) (
{Otherwise White can settle for a draw with} 21. Rg3 Be6 22. Rxg7+ Kxg7 23.
Qg5+ {and perpetual check, ½-½ Z.Lanka-L.Sandler, Latvian Championship,
Riga 1980.}) 21... Qg4 ({Not} 21... Qxe7 $2 {as then} 22. Rh3 {wins.}) 22. Qxg4
Nxg4 23. Rg3 {White recovers the second piece and keeps the initiative into
the ending, though best play may result in a draw after all.} Be6 ({Not} 23...
Nh6 $2 24. Rxg7+ Kh8 25. Rgxf7+ Kg8 26. Rg7+ Kh8 27. Rh7+ Kg8 28. Rh8# {.}) 24.
h3 Rfc8 25. hxg4 Rxc2 26. f5 Bd5 27. g5 Rc1+ 28. Kh2 Rf1 (28... Rc2 {
may improve, with a likely draw.}) 29. f6 ({Another possibility is} 29. g6 Rxf5
30. gxf7+ Rxf7 31. Rxg7+ Rxg7 32. Rxg7+ Kf8 33. axb4 axb4 34. Rd7 Ra6 {
½-½ J.Bielczyk-Wl.Schmidt, Polish Championship, Krakow 1978 - though
White's passed pawn is superior and he could try} 35. g4 {
and play out this slightly better position.}) 29... Rf4 30. Bb6 ({Stronger is} 
30. Rd3 $1 Rg4 31. Rd2 gxf6 32. Bxf6 Bc6 33. Rxd6 Bxg2 34. a4 $1 {
, when White still attacks in the endgame; e.g.} Be4 35. g6 $1 Bxg6 ({both} 
35... fxg6 $2 36. Rdd7) ({, and} 35... Rxg6 $2 36. Rxe4 {lose for Black}) 36.
Ra7 $1 Re8 ({not} 36... Rxa7 $2 37. Rd8+ Kh7 38. Rh8#) 37. Rxa5 {
, again with a slight advantage in the ending due to the superior passed pawn.}
) 30... gxf6 31. Bc7 bxa3 32. gxf6+ Kh7 33. Rxa3 Rxf6 34. Bxa5 $5 {
White takes a chance.} (34. Rd3 {would secure a draw. I imagine both sides
were in time pressure after all these complications!}) 34... Rf2 35. Rh3+ Kg6
36. Rg3+ Kf6 37. Be1 Rxg2+ 38. Rxg2 Bxg2 $4 ({The simple} 38... Kxe7 {
would be slightly better for Black.}) 39. Bh4+ $1 {. Clearly completely
unexpected: White wins a piece. --- A hair-raising struggle - it seems this
wildly risky line is playable for Black, but in a practical game all my money
is on White, whose torrent of sacrifices demand incredibly exact defence by
Black all the way into the endgame!} 1-0

[Event "French Team Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Koch, JR."]
[Black "Relange, E."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be2 e6 7. Be3 Be7 8.
O-O O-O 9. f4 a6 10. Qe1 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b5 12. a3 Bb7 13. Qg3 g6 {This is the
"latest word" in theory - see the very high-level game (in the next note)
between US Champion Kamsky and Azeri strongman Mamedyarov, which was won by
the latter. Black does not allow any classic bishop sacs on h7! All the same,
White still has attacking chances, and the position is not well explored; a
possible novelty is available on move 14 as I point out, and even in the
game's main line White is able (with a slight assist from Black) to set up an
attacking position.} 14. Bd3 ({Alternatively: --} 14. Qe3 {has never been
played according to the database, but I'd like to give it a try: the queen
defends e4, while keeping an attacking eye on the h6-square that Black just
weakened with his "safe" ...g7-g6.}) (14. Bf3 {(although played by the mighty
Kamsky, this looks inaccurate to me: I would prefer to aim the bishop at the
king, as in the main game)} a5 $1 15. b4 (15. Nxb5 Nxe4 {
is obviously Black's point}) 15... Rc8 {(Black has immediate queenside
counterplay, whereas I can't see any attacking chances for White)} 16. Rad1
axb4 17. axb4 Rc4 18. Kh1 Nd7 19. Be2 Rxb4 20. Nxb5 Bxe4 21. Bg7 Bxc2 $1 ({
cleverly finding a better way to sac the exchange; White was evidently playing
for} 21... Kxg7 22. Qc3+) 22. Bxf8 Qxf8 {
(Black has two central pawns for the exchange and goes on to win stylishly)}
23. Rd4 d5 24. Rxb4 Bxb4 25. Rc1 Be4 26. Rc7 Qd8 27. Qe3 Qh4 28. Qg3 Qf6 29.
Qe3 Qa1+ 30. Qc1 Qa2 31. Rc8+ Kg7 32. Qd1 Nf6 33. h3 Bd2 34. Qf1 Bxf4 $1 {
(decisive - Black's bishop pair is stronger than White's rook and minor piece)}
35. Nc7 Qd2 36. Ne8+ Nxe8 37. Rxe8 Qe3 38. Bf3 Bxf3 39. gxf3 Qd2 40. Qg1 Qe2 {
0-1 G.Kamsky-S.Mamedyarov, Moscow 2008.}) 14... a5 15. Rae1 b4 16. axb4 axb4
17. Nd1 d5 $6 {This may be the ultimate cause of Black's downfall, as White
can lock in his space advantage.} ({I think} 17... Ra5 {is Black's best, when
the rook is active in both directions - White will have a hard time getting
across the fifth rank.}) 18. e5 {
Now this wedge gives White eternal kingside attacking chances.} Ne4 19. Qe3 Qc7
20. Nf2 $1 {White removes Black's best piece.} Nxf2 21. Rxf2 Ba6 22. Ref1 Bxd3
23. cxd3 {As in Karpov-Ljubojevic, White's "bad" bishop is actually good,
since the pawn structure is more fluid than it looks and f4-f5 will come,
after which the bishop will turn out to be a strong attacking piece.} h5 $2 {
A fatal weakening;} ({but even after} 23... Rfc8 24. f5 $1 gxf5 25. g4 $1 {
, White's attack is worth more than a pawn.}) 24. f5 $1 {
Black's weakened kingside can hardly be defended after this blow.} exf5 ({Or} 
24... gxf5 25. Qh6 {with a powerful attack.}) 25. Qh6 {
Intending e5-e6 which activates the vital dark-squared bishop;} ({e.g.} 25. Qh6
Ra6 26. e6 {and mates.}) 25... g5 26. Rxf5 Qd8 27. e6 {
Once the bishop enters the attack, there is no hope for Black.} f6 28. Rxg5+ $1
{. Crunch! --- This game concludes our coverage of the Scheveningen. The
specific position after 13...g6 is one of those critical main line variations
where no one really knows what's going on. My advice is to think with your own
head - for example, try the never played 14 Qe3 - and always watch for your
chance to attack Black's king! In general I like White's position, with his
space advantage arising from the e4/f4 duo. --- Overall, the Scheveningen
can't be refuted of course - as we've seen, it can be played at the World
Championship level! However, I think that White's game is much the easier:
just set up as in Karpov-Ljubojevic, etc, and play - and remember, fortune
favours the attacker!} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "5. Taimanov/Kan Complex"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B40"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "8"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 {. The Taimanov/Kan Complex, as opposed
to the Baader-Meinhof Complex, is less violent but more ideologically flexible.
The common thread throughout this chapter is that Black plays ...e7-e6 early,
usually on the second move, though sometimes on the third or fourth.} -- ({
The pure Taimanov occurs after} 4... Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 {and this will be covered
in the four games beginning with Karpov-Taimanov. As usual I will recommend a
solid Karpovian system based on} 6. Be2 {.}) ({
Sharper variations occur if Black insists on playing ...Bb4 early: the lines} 
4... Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 {
(the Pin Variation, where White gets the advantage with the forcing 6 e5),} ({
and the somewhat more respectable pawn snatching line} 5... Nc6 6. Be2 Bb4 {
, when I say sacrifice with} 7. O-O $1 {
, will be covered in three games starting with Kovacevic-Shirazi.})) ({
The pure Kan comes about after} 4... a6 {
and presents quite a strange appearance. After} 5. Nc3 {(our repertoire move)
White has two minor pieces out and Black has only two pawns on his third rank!
And in the true Kan (here} Nc6 {transposes back into the Taimanov) Black will
play either 5...b5 or 5...Qc7 - in neither case will he develop a single minor
piece!} ({Against such original play I recommend} 5... b5 6. Bd3 {
- a necessary repertoire exception, as will be explained}) ({, while against} 
5... Qc7 {we can stick happily to} 6. Be2 {
. The Kan will be covered in five games beginning with Felgaer-Hellsten.})) ({
Even then we're not done with this complex! In Milos-Bellon Lopez we'll deal
with the zany Gå På(} 4... Nf6 5. Nc3 Qb6 $6 {
), when I propose that we punish Black immediately with} 6. e5 {.}) ({
Finally, there is a line Morphy seemed to knock out in 1857, though some are
still trying to revive it:} 4... Bc5 {
, and now I follow the first American World Champion with} 5. Nb3 {
, after which Black has problems with his dark squares, notably d6.}) (4... --
{That's lots of variations to bash! Let's get to it.}) *

[Event "USSR Spartakiad, Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1983.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Taimanov, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B46"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "1983.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 (3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 {
reaches the game by our repertoire move order.}) 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 a6
{The basic position of the Taimanov: a typical modern "information" system
where Black waits to see what White does, without committing himself very much.
I am not a great supporter of such systems, however - White can just set up a
nice position with attacking chances without any hindrance from Black.} 6. Be2
{This is the sensible development I advocate against the Taimanov System, and
against some Kan lines as well. In general, as in the Boleslavsky, Najdorf,
Dragon and Scheveningen, White puts his bishop on e2 and follows quite often
with f2-f4. This means that transpositions are easy to deal with as the ideas
overlap and the repertoire positions, even from different variations, often
give quite similar play.} Nge7 {Black plans the exchange ...Nxd4 followed by
bringing the other knight to c6, but it's not clear that removing the last
knight from kingside defence helps Black.} 7. O-O ({Shirov's sharper} 7. f4 {
will be seen in the next game.}) 7... Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Nc6 9. Qd3 Nb4 10. Qd2 (10.
Qd1 Qc7 11. a3 Nc6 12. Be3 {is good enough for a solid opening plus, but
Karpov has an interesting idea in mind.}) 10... Be7 11. b3 {The point of Qd2:
White fianchettoes the queen's bishop, aiming at the black king if he castles
kingside, while the c4-square - a typical Sicilian outpost - is taken away
from Black.} O-O 12. Bb2 Qc7 13. Rad1 Rd8 14. a3 Nc6 15. f4 {Our usual pawn
structure for White has arisen. Without doing anything special, Karpov has
obtained a solid plus-equals (space/centre/better development) with latent
attacking chances.} b5 16. Kh1 {No points for guessing this move! By this time
we know that, as soon as he plays f2-f4, Karpov puts his king in the corner to
dodge a future check.} Bb7 17. Qe3 b4 18. Nb1 (18. axb4 Nxb4 19. Qg3 f6 ({not} 
19... Nxc2 $2 {, since} 20. Nd5 {wins the queen}) 20. Rd2 {
is a simpler way to a solid plus; e.g.} d5 21. Bg4 {with an attack.}) 18...
bxa3 19. Nxa3 d5 20. Qg3 Bf8 21. e5 {
As usual, this wedge guarantees long-term attacking possibilities.} (21. exd5
exd5 {is weaker, as in the open position that has arisen, the white knight is
out of play.}) 21... Ne7 22. Bd3 Rac8 23. Qh3 Nf5 24. Nb1 {
But here White has time to reposition as the centre is mostly closed.} g6 25.
Nd2 Qb6 26. Bxf5 $3 {An extraordinary conception, even for Karpov: White
begins a manoeuvre that requires the sacrifice of two pawns - for a positional
advantage!} ({Anyone could play} 26. Nf3 {
just bringing the knight over, as White gets a slight edge after} d4 (26... Ne3
$2 {is illusory:} 27. Bd4 Bc5 28. Bxe3 $1 Bxe3 29. Qh6 {
and there is no real defence to Ng5; e.g.} Rc7 30. Ng5 f5 31. exf6 {and wins})
27. Bxf5 Bxf3 ({not} 27... exf5 28. Bxd4) 28. Qxf3 exf5 29. Qf2 Bc5 30. Rd3 {
etc. --- But much as in his game against Martin Gonzalez (see Chapter Three),
Karpov is not interested in the "slight edge in hand" - when the complete
destruction of his opponent's king position is possible!}) 26... exf5 27. Nf3 $1
{The positional basis of Karpov's combination is that he prevents ...d5-d4,
activating Black's pieces, especially his b7-bishop. Of course this requires
the first pawn sacrifice.} Rxc2 28. Bd4 {White stifles Black's play with tempo.
} Qc6 ({Not} 28... Qxb3 29. Rb1 Qc4 30. Qh4 $1 (30. Rxb7 $4 {
is impatient and "slightly" flawed, due to} Qxf1+ {and Black wins}) 30... Rd7 (
{after} 30... Re8 31. e6 Rxe6 ({or} 31... fxe6 32. Qf6) 32. Ng5 h6 33. Nxe6
fxe6 34. Qf6 {, it's all over}) 31. e6 fxe6 32. Qf6 {with a decisive attack -
the common theme is the battery that White wants to set up on the long black
diagonal.}) 29. Qh4 {
A Kotovian creep which gains a further tempo on the rook at d8.} Re8 30. e6 $1
fxe6 ({I think Black would have done better to give up the exchange with} 30...
Rxe6 31. Ng5 h6 32. Nxe6 Qxe6 33. Rfe1 Re2 {
, when he still has some drawing chances.}) 31. Ne5 {
Two pawns down! I'd love to have this position!} Qc7 32. Nxg6 $1 {
There's one back right away.} Bg7 ({If} 32... hxg6 33. Qh8+ Kf7 34. Qh7+ {
and Guéridon's mate comes next.}) 33. Ne5 Qe7 (33... Bxe5 34. Bxe5 Qf7 35. Rf3
{is decisive - the attack with pure opposite-coloured bishops is obviously
winning, as the b7-bishop is not playing at all.}) 34. Qg3 Rec8 35. Rfe1 R8c7
36. Nf3 Kh8 37. Bxg7+ Qxg7 38. Nd4 {In true Karpov fashion, our hero recovers
his second pawn to reach a... superior ending! Note the enormous difference
between White's good knight and Black's bad bishop; and now one can appreciate
why Karpov was ready to sac (at least temporarily) two pawns to keep that
bishop blocked by its own pawn at d5.} Qxg3 39. hxg3 R2c3 40. Nxe6 Rc8 41. Kh2
Rxb3 42. Nd4 Rb6 43. Nxf5 {
Black's badly-placed king will soon face mating threats.} Rf8 44. Nd4 Rg8 45.
Re7 Rg7 46. Rde1 Rh6+ 47. Kg1 Rhg6 48. f5 $1 {Passed pawns must be pushed. Not
only is there a simple queening threat in a few moves, the aforementioned
mating threats become more real once this pawn reaches f6, taking the black
king's flight square.} Rb6 ({Or} 48... Rxg3 49. f6 Rxg2+ 50. Kh1 Rg8 (50...
R7g6 51. Re8+ Rg8 52. f7 {is too strong}) 51. f7 {
and White wins at least a rook.}) 49. R7e6 Rxe6 (49... Rb4 50. f6 Rg8 51. f7
Rf8 52. Re8 Kg7 53. Ne6+ {is another way to lose a rook.}) 50. fxe6 Rg8 (50...
Re7 {allows the knight to run rings around Black's unstable pieces:} 51. Nf5
Re8 52. Nd6 Re7 53. Nxb7 Rxb7 54. e7 {etc.}) 51. e7 Re8 52. Nf5 Bc6 53. Nd6 Rg8
54. e8=Q Bxe8 {The hapless bishop finally perishes.} 55. Nxe8 Rxg3 56. Nf6 ({
Black resigns in view of} 56. Nf6 Rg6 (56... d4 57. Re7 Rg7 58. Re8+ Rg8 59.
Rxg8# {is even faster}) 57. Nxd5 {, when one wouldn't insult Karpov by
checking his technique in this simple position. --- Karpov played a truly
fabulous game here, and not everyone can play on that level. Nevertheless, the
positional ideas can be clearly seen: there is the e4/f4 centre, the e5-wedge,
and the attacking chances on the kingside. --- A nice brew: just add your own
double pawn sacrifice!}) 1-0

[Event "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1999.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shirov, A."]
[Black "Reinderman, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B46"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "1999.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Be2 Nge7 7. f4 ({
One recalls that Karpov played} 7. O-O {here, and didn't throw out f2-f4 until
move 15. Both methods are strong; it's a stylistic difference. While I admire
Karpov's play to the max, I might in this position follow Shirov, as Black
must already face problems or go down to a quick attack.}) 7... Nxd4 8. Qxd4 b5
(8... Nc6 {will probably transpose to the game: White answers} 9. Qf2 {
and demonstrates one reason for the early f-pawn move - freeing a kingside
launching post for his queen.}) 9. O-O Qc7 10. Qf2 Nc6 11. Be3 Be7 12. a4 $1 {
White plays across the board: first he softens Black's queenside, then he
mates the king!} b4 13. Nb1 Rb8 14. Nd2 {
White has obtained the c4-square and deadened Black's play.} O-O 15. Bd3 {
Smiling at the black king. Just like Karpov, Shirov has obtained a solid plus
with non-spectacular moves. However, again like Karpov, the spectacular moves
are coming! And here White will not just be sac'ing pawns...} d6 16. Rad1 b3 $5
({Black tries to open lines for counterplay as} 16... Bf6 17. b3 {is the kind
of passive position that he was evidently trying to avoid - but that might
have been the better choice, as the "active" text leads to c-file problems
(see move 35!).}) 17. cxb3 Bf6 18. Rc1 $1 {Shirov is not interested in keeping
the pawn; he gives it back to activate all his pieces, while Black loses time
recovering the small unit.} Bxb2 19. Rc2 Ba3 {
An awkward square for the bishop, but this holds c1.} ({On the natural} 19...
Bf6 {,} 20. Rfc1 Bb7 21. Bxa6 $1 {wins a pawn.}) 20. e5 d5 ({After} 20... dxe5
21. Nc4 {White wins with combinative play:} Bd6 22. Nxd6 Qxd6 23. Bxh7+ Kxh7
24. Bc5 Qd8 25. Bxf8 Nd4 26. fxe5 Nxc2 27. Qxc2+ Kg8 28. Bd6 Qb6+ 29. Rf2 {
and White is a good pawn up with a strong attacking position.}) 21. Nf3 {
Note how ideas and structures repeat: though he used a different move order
and piece set-up, Shirov has nonetheless created the same kingside pawn
structure with that attacking wedge on e5 as used by Karpov in the previous
game. White is much better already, despite facing a strong GM.} Qd7 22. Bxh7+
{According to GM Jon Tisdall, spectating, "Shirov bashed this out without a
second's hesitation!". --- This is the typical "Greek gift" sacrifice. Black's
undeveloped queenside (even at move 22 Black hasn't found time to move his
c8-bishop!) and divagating dark-squared bishop show that White's sac must
prevail.} Kxh7 23. Qh4+ Kg8 24. Ng5 Re8 25. Rf3 {
White calmly brings up the reserves: the fire won't go out!} Ne7 26. Qh7+ Kf8
27. Qh8+ Ng8 28. f5 $3 {
Shirovian! White clears the seventh rank of pawns, anticipating his 35th move.}
exf5 29. e6 fxe6 30. Rg3 g6 ({Black has no time for counterplay, since} 30...
d4 31. Nh7+ Ke7 32. Rxg7+ {wins the queen.}) 31. Nh7+ Kf7 32. Bh6 $1 Ke7 ({Not
} 32... Nxh6 33. Qf6+ Kg8 34. Rxg6+ {and mates.}) 33. Bg5+ Kf7 ({
He can't run either! If} 33... Kd6 {, then} 34. Bf4+ e5 35. Rxg6+ Re6 36. Qxe5+
Ke7 37. Qg7+ Kd8 38. Bc7+ $1 {mates.}) 34. Bf6 {The threat of mate in one
always gets the opponent's attention. Black parries this, but it's a trick or
treat situation - this move is the trick, and the next is the treat - and only
a treat for White, I'm afraid.} Rf8 35. Rc7 $3 {The stunning point of Shirov's
pawn-clearance breaks: White wins the queen, as he now owns the seventh rank.}
Nxf6 ({Or} 35... Qxc7 36. Qg7+ Ke8 37. Qxc7 {and both black rooks are hanging.}
) 36. Qxf6+ Ke8 37. Qxg6+ Kd8 38. Rxd7+ Bxd7 39. Nxf8 Bxf8 40. Qf6+ Be7 41.
Rg8+ Kc7 42. Qc3+ Kb7 43. Rxb8+ Kxb8 44. h4 $1 {. Stylish!} ({
The passed pawn goes through, as} 44. h4 Bxh4 {loses at once to} 45. Qh8+ {
. --- Shirov scores with another beautiful "fire on board" game. Again we see
Black unable to solve the problems of defending his kingside after weakening
it himself by transferring the king's knight to c6. --- The next two games
will show the more sensible development of the knight to f6.}) 1-0

[Event "USSR Championship, Yerevan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal, M."]
[Black "Taimanov, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B48"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 (3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Be2 Qc7 7. Be3 {
, transposing to the game, would be my recommended move order.}) 3... cxd4 4.
Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Qc7 7. Be2 Nf6 (7... Bb4 $6 {
is a rather common move order mistake for Black:} 8. Nxc6 {
(White scores 75% after this)} dxc6 9. Qd4 {and White seizes the advantage by
forking b4 and g7 - Black can't get out without some serious concessions; e.g.
after} Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Nf6 11. O-O-O {, the 2200 player with the white pieces
stood so much better that he was able to defeat the 2500+ GM playing Black as
follows:} O-O 12. f3 Re8 13. Bc5 b5 14. h4 Nd7 15. Bd6 {
(Black is never able to compensate for his weak dark squares)} Qb6 16. h5 h6
17. e5 a5 18. g4 f6 19. exf6 Nxf6 20. Bc5 Qc7 21. Kb1 Nd5 22. Qe1 Qf4 23. Qf2
e5 24. Bd3 Be6 25. Be4 Rad8 26. Qe1 b4 27. Ka1 Rd7 28. Bf2 a4 29. Bg3 Qf8 30.
Bxe5 {(White wins a pawn and shows "GM technique" to his foe!)} b3 31. a3 Nf6
32. Bxf6 Qxf6 33. Rxd7 Bxd7 34. cxb3 axb3 35. Qb4 Be6 36. Rc1 Bf7 37. Rxc6 Qg5
38. Qc3 Qd8 39. Qc1 Bd5 40. Bxd5+ Qxd5 41. Rc8 Rf8 42. Rxf8+ Kxf8 43. f4 Qf3
44. g5 hxg5 45. fxg5 Qxh5 46. Qf4+ Ke7 47. Qe3+ Kd6 48. Qxb3 Qxg5 49. Qb6+ Kd7
50. a4 Qc1+ 51. Ka2 g5 52. Qd4+ Ke6 53. Kb3 Qe1 54. Qc4+ Kf5 55. Qb5+ Kf4 56.
a5 g4 57. a6 g3 58. Qa4+ Kf3 59. a7 {
1-0 L.Butkiewicz-J.Gdanski, Polish Team Championship 2008.}) 8. a3 $1 {
This is my repertoire suggestion, which I found in 'Dangerous Weapons: The
Sicilian' - only to discover that Tal knew of this fifty years ago! I think
it's the perfect move:} ({it stops the main line of the Taimanov, which is} 8.
O-O Bb4 {(and so avoids reams of theory), and dovetails perfectly with my
Scheveningen recommendation, where White will answer ...b7-b5 with a2-a3. ---
Essentially White is happy with his position, having his usual space advantage
and attacking chances - and so simply limits Black's activity, while avoiding
the "maelstrom of forced variations".}) 8... Nxd4 ({
Black might switch variations here, but} 8... d6 9. O-O Be7 10. Kh1 O-O 11. f4
{just leads to our Karpovian Scheveningen repertoire. Here's another nice win
from the white side:} Re8 ({for} 11... Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Qe1 {
see the notes to Karpov-Ljubojevic}) 12. Bf3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 e5 14. Be3 b5 {
(one sees this is inoffensive with a2-a3 in place)} 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. Nd5 Nxd5
17. exd5 Bd6 18. Be4 {(White methodically sets up against the black kingside)}
g6 19. Rf6 Qd8 20. Qf3 Re7 21. Rf1 {
(every move brings another piece to the attack)} Qc7 22. Bh6 Bb7 23. Rxg6+ $3 {
(the explosion!) 1-0 Ch.Andersson-A.Kopinits, European Team Championship,
Heraklio 2007. Black resigns in view of the mate, whether the rook is captured
or not.}) ({Another way to reach the Scheveningen is} 8... Be7 9. O-O O-O 10.
f4 d6 {, when Tal again demolished Black as follows:} 11. Qe1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 e5
13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Qg3 Bc5 15. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 16. Kh1 Qe7 17. Rf2 {(Black's kingside
is already under pressure as White will simply double rooks next - but the
pawn sacrifice offered does not propitiate Tal!)} Be6 18. Qxe5 Rfe8 19. Qg3
Rad8 20. e5 Nd7 21. Ne4 Rf8 22. Bd3 {(we've seen the bishop shift to this
square many times: Karpov! Shirov! Tal! - it's no secret the attack is coming)}
Kh8 23. Nf6 $1 h6 ({not} 23... gxf6 {as} 24. Qh4 {wins the queen or mates}) 24.
Re1 Nc5 25. Rf4 Nxd3 26. cxd3 Qc5 27. Rh4 Rd4 28. Rh5 Rc8 29. Qe3 Re4 30. Rxh6+
$1 {(mate is coming) 1-0 M.Tal-F.Perez Perez, Havana 1963.}) ({The natural} 
8... b5 {, which is perhaps best, will be seen in the next game.}) 9. Qxd4 Bd6
{An extremely artificial manoeuvre that leads to serious weaknesses on the
dark squares - but clearly Taimanov was not ready to leave his variation for a
Scheveningen system with ...d7-d6.} 10. Qd2 Be5 11. Bd4 Bxd4 ({
Recent games with the "improvement"} 11... Bf4 {
have not improved Black's chances. Joyless endgames arose quickly after} 12.
Qd3 {in the following games:} -- (12... d6 13. g3 Be5 14. O-O-O Bd7 15. f4 {
(the exchange of dark-squared bishops is forced, which means d6 is weak)} Bxd4
16. Qxd4 Bc6 17. Qxd6 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 Bxe4 19. Nxe4 Nxe4 20. Rd4 Nf6 21. Bf3 {
(Black faces a long, painful, and probably futile defence, as White has the
Fischeresque "anti-Taimanov" ending of light-squared bishop vs. knight)} Rb8
22. Rhd1 Ke7 23. Rc4 Ne8 24. Rcd4 Nf6 25. g4 h6 26. h4 b5 27. g5 hxg5 28. hxg5
Ne8 29. Rd7+ Kf8 30. f5 Rh2 31. g6 fxg6 32. fxe6 Rb6 33. e7+ Kf7 34. Bd5+ Kf6
35. Rf1+ Kg5 36. Bf7 {(the Fischer bishop triumphs)} Rc6 37. c3 {
1-0 D.Popovic-I.Miladinovic, Serbian Team Championship 2006.}) (12... b5 13. g3
Bd6 14. O-O-O b4 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Qxd6 Qxd6 17. Rxd6 bxc3 18. b3 {(Black hasn't solved the problem of the weak d6-square that White is enjoying, while
various weak black pawns are scattered about the board - White picks them off,
one by one)} Bb7 19. f3 Ke7 20. Rb6 Rhb8 21. Rd1 a5 22. Bb5 Bc8 23. Rxb8 Rxb8
24. Bc4 Bb7 25. Rd3 f5 26. exf5 Rc8 27. fxe6 fxe6 28. f4 Rc5 29. Re3 a4 30. Be2
axb3 31. cxb3 d5 32. Re5 Kd6 33. Bd3 Rc7 34. Rh5 Rc6 35. b4 Rb6 36. b5 Kc5 37.
Kc2 Kd4 38. a4 Bc6 39. Rxh7 Rb8 40. Rc7 Rh8 41. h4 Be8 42. Rxc3 {
(three pawns up and a better position should be enough!)} Rg8 43. Be2 Bg6+ 44.
Kd2 Ra8 45. Bd1 {(and now the magic d1-bishop convinced Black of the futility
of continuing) 1-0 B.Socko-F.Handke, Bermuda 2002.} (45. --))) 12. Qxd4 e5 13.
Qb4 b6 14. O-O-O {White's lock on d6 gives Tal a huge advantage - another way
to put it is that Taimanov, playing his own variation, has practically a lost
position after only 14 moves!} Bb7 15. Rd6 {Positionally the game is over, but
watch Tal's spectacular tactical realization of his advantage!} Bc6 16. Rhd1
O-O 17. g4 $1 {Let's get to it!} Rfc8 18. g5 Ne8 19. R6d2 b5 20. Bg4 a5 21. Qe7
{The dark squares must be pretty weak when the enemy queen can come to e7 on
move 21!} b4 ({The computer suggests that Black might want to "enjoy" a slow
death by entering the following bad ending, much like the two above:} 21... d6
22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. Qxc7 Rxc7 24. Rxd5 {etc.}) 22. Rxd7 $1 {Tal! With one piece
hanging, Tal offers another, trusting in his famous aphorism that his opponent
can "only take one at a time"!} Bxd7 23. Rxd7 Qc4 24. b3 $1 {With perfect
coordination, Tal offers a taboo piece and allows a harmless check - in the
end Black's kingside will be indefensible.} Qf1+ 25. Nd1 {Holding f2, which
means Black must give up a knight, as his queen has no way to defend f7.} Nd6
26. Qxd6 Qg2 27. Qd5 $1 {
Tal repositions to continue the attack, while leaving more pieces en prise!}
Kh8 (27... Rf8 28. Rxf7 Qxg4 29. Rf4+ {is an amusing win.}) 28. Qxf7 Rg8 29.
Qh5 Qxe4 (29... bxa3 30. g6 h6 31. Qxh6+ $1 gxh6 32. Rh7# {
is another fantastic conception from the wizard of Riga!}) 30. Bf3 Qf4+ 31. Ne3
Ra6 ({Now} 31... bxa3 32. g6 h6 33. Rf7 a2 34. Kb2 Qg5 35. Qxg5 hxg5 36. Bxa8
Rxa8 37. Kxa2 {turns out to be technical, not spectacular.}) 32. Bd5 Rb8 33.
Rf7 Qd4 34. Qf3 Qa1+ 35. Kd2 Qd4+ 36. Ke2 Qc5 ({Not} 36... bxa3 $2 37. Rf8+ {
and mates.}) 37. a4 {After tactically preventing ...b4xa3 for many moves, Tal
finally takes time to prevent it completely, leaving Taimanov without play or
hope.} Ra7 38. g6 Ra6 39. Rxg7 $1 {It's only a rook!} Rxg6 ({If} 39... Kxg7 {
then} 40. Qf7+ Kh6 41. Qxh7+ Kg5 42. h4+ Kf6 ({or} 42... Kf4 43. Qh6#) 43. Qf7#
{.}) 40. Rxg6 hxg6 41. Qf6+ Kh7 ({The game was most likely adjourned here,
with Taimanov resigning once he had taken a look at the following clear and
winning attacking lines:} 41... Kh7 42. Qf7+ Kh6 ({or} 42... Kh8 43. Qxg6 {
and mates}) 43. Ng4+ Kg5 44. Qf6+ $1 Kh5 ({or} 44... Kxg4 45. Qxg6+ Kf4 ({or} 
45... Kh4 46. Qh6+ Kg4 47. Be6#) 46. Qf6+ Kg4 47. Bf3+ Kh3 48. Qh6#) 45. Be4 $1
{(quiet but deadly)} Rg8 ({again Black can't take the knight:} 45... Kxg4 46.
Qxg6+ Kh4 ({or} 46... Kf4 47. Qf5#) 47. Qh6+ Kg4 48. h3#) 46. h4 $1 {and this second quiet move forces mate. --- Tal was a force of nature! And yet his
opening play (8 a3) was quite calm, though still very difficult for his
opponent - even if said opponent had his name on the variation!}) 1-0

[Event "Presov"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Csiba, D."]
[Black "Cvek, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B49"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 a6 8. a3
b5 {Black succeeds in maintaining a Taimanov system and avoiding an immediate
severe disadvantage. Nonetheless I prefer White, who appears to get a slight
edge after the following exchange.} 9. Nxc6 dxc6 ({
Black must block his potential queenside fianchetto, for if} 9... Qxc6 $2 {then
} 10. e5 Nd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. Qxd5 exd5 13. O-O-O Bb7 14. Bf3 {
was already miserable for Black. After} d6 15. Bxd5 Bxd5 16. Rxd5 dxe5 17.
Rxe5+ {Socko was a pawn up for nothing (recall his pawn-devouring victory
given in the notes to the previous game) and scored another easy ending win in
B.Socko-F.Berend, Beijing 2008.}) 10. f4 {Our standard set-up appears once
again! In Bird's Opening White must struggle to achieve this ideal centre - I
must admit it's much easier when facing the Sicilian!} Bb7 11. O-O c5 (11...
Rd8 {does not solve Black's opening problems, as the white queen is just
driven where it wants to go - on e1 it's ready to attack the black king or
even support queenside play from f2:} 12. Qe1 Be7 13. e5 Nd5 (13... Nd7 {
might be better}) 14. Nxd5 Rxd5 15. Qg3 g6 16. c4 $1 bxc4 17. Bxc4 Rd7 18. b4
c5 {and here White should have used the c-file à la Shirov with} 19. Rac1 {
with great pressure on Black's game.} ({
Instead, he allowed a passed c-pawn which led to his downfall as follows:} 19.
b5 $2 axb5 20. Bxb5 Bc6 21. a4 Bxb5 22. axb5 O-O 23. Qf2 Rb8 24. Rfb1 Rd3 25.
h3 c4 26. b6 Qc6 27. Kh2 Bh4 28. Qxh4 Rxe3 29. Ra7 Re2 30. Rg1 Rf8 31. b7 Rb2
32. Qe7 c3 33. Qa3 Rb8 34. Ra8 R2xb7 35. Rxb8+ Rxb8 36. Rc1 Rb2 {
0-1 B.Green-J.Emms, London League 2006.})) 12. e5 Nd7 13. Bf3 Be7 ({If} 13...
Rd8 14. Qe1 c4 {(Black gains space on the queenside, but it's too slow as
White is developed and ready)} 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. f5 $1 {
(a typical Bird attack - made even stronger by White's advanced e-pawn)} Nxe5
17. Bf4 Nc6 18. fxe6 {
(White regains his pawn while exposing Black's uncastled king)} f6 19. Kh1 Bd6
20. Bxd6 Rxd6 21. Ne4 Rd4 22. c3 Rd8 23. Nc5 Qe7 24. Nd7 Nb8 25. Nxb8 Rxb8 26.
Rd1 Rb7 27. Qe4 O-O 28. Qc6 Qc7 ({or} 28... a5 29. Rd6 {
with an overwhelming positional advantage}) 29. Qxa6 {and White converted the
pawn-up heavy piece ending in J.Dworakowska-A.Lutz, Istanbul Olympiad 2000.})
14. f5 $1 {The Bird blast bludgeons Black before he can castle.} exf5 15. Nd5
Bxd5 (15... Qxe5 16. Bf4 {wins for White}) ({and} 15... Qd8 16. Nxe7 Bxf3 17.
Qxf3 Kxe7 18. Qxf5 {is also terrible for Black.}) 16. Qxd5 Ra7 17. Bf4 $6 {
A bobble;} ({White should keep coming with} 17. e6 fxe6 18. Qxe6 {with much more than enough for the pawn, given his dominating bishops and safe king.}) 17...
g5 ({Black could even get away with} 17... O-O {
as the f4-bishop is unprotected.}) 18. Bg3 (18. e6 {looks like an improvement.}
) 18... f4 19. e6 {This should come too late, but...} fxe6 $6 ({Correct is} 
19... fxg3 20. exd7+ Qxd7 {
and White doesn't have a clear continuation of the attack.}) 20. Qxe6 Qd6 ({Not
} 20... fxg3 21. Rad1 gxh2+ 22. Kh1 {
with a decisive attack against Black's "centralized" king.}) 21. Qe2 Qe5 ({
After} 21... fxg3 22. Rad1 {White still has a great attack.}) 22. Bh5+ Kd8 23.
Be1 Qxe2 24. Bxe2 Bf6 25. Ba5+ Kc8 26. c3 {White has long-term compensation
for his pawn despite the queen exchange: Black's structure is ragged on both
flanks, and middlegame factors such as Black's weak king position are still in
play.} Ne5 27. Rfd1 Bd8 28. Rd5 Bxa5 {Black errs under pressure.} ({Correct was
} 28... Re7 29. Re1 $1 {, when I think the most likely result is a draw.}) 29.
Rxe5 h6 30. Rxc5+ Rc7 31. Re5 Bb6+ 32. Kf1 Kb7 33. a4 bxa4 34. Rxa4 a5 35. Bf3+
Ka7 36. c4 Rd8 37. Bd5 {
White takes over the centre and gradually grinds to victory.} Rg7 38. b4 Bc7
39. Re6 h5 40. b5 Bb6 41. Rxa5+ $1 {A nice trick that wins a pawn.} Bxa5 42.
Ra6+ Kb8 43. Ra8+ Kc7 44. Ra7+ Kd6 45. Rxg7 g4 46. Rg6+ Kc5 47. b6 Re8 48. b7
Kd4 49. Re6 Rb8 50. Re4+ Kc5 51. Rxf4 Bc7 52. Rf5 h4 53. Be6+ Kd4 54. Rd5+ Kc3
55. Bc8 Bxh2 56. c5 Kc4 57. Rg5 Kb5 58. Rxg4 Bg3 59. Rg5 ({
Black resigns, as after} 59. Rg5 Kc6 60. Rxg3 hxg3 61. Ke2 {White wins as in a
king and pawn ending. --- Despite the bobbles from both sides in the early
middlegame, the opening play was quite instructive: White's e4/f4 pawn roller
was extremely strong - the fact that both these pawns advanced to the fifth
rank by move 14 showed that objectively White had a solid advantage out of the
opening. --- If as may be true, Black's best against the a2-a3 line is to
transpose to the Scheveningen, then White will, if nothing else, have
discouraged Taimanov players and made them do a lot of extra work to learn
another line - but the Scheveningen so reached is no picnic for Black either,
while being quite comfortable for White! --- We now leave the pure Taimanov -
next up is the Pin, which is not, as we will see, mightier than the Svidler!})
1-0

[Event "European Championship, Aix-les-Bains"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kovacevic, A."]
[Black "Shirazi, K."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B40"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 {In the previous four games, we saw Black's f8-bishop
developed at e7 or d6. Indeed, White prevented it from pinning his queen's
knight by an opportune a2-a3. However, Black can enforce this pin against our
repertoire by accelerating his kingside development - the drawback is that,
while Black is doing this, his kingside, particularly some dark squares close
to home such as d6 and g7, can become quite weak.} e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5.
Nc3 Bb4 {A sharp but doubtful line. Svidler had a great comment when surprised
with this Pin Variation: "This did not exactly cheer me up, since I looked at
this line when I was a kid and decided that it was pretty bad for Black (and
it's probably true) and never had a look at it again." But he remembered
enough to demolish his opponent in 25 moves (see the note to move 7).} ({
A slightly delayed pin,} 5... Nc6 6. Be2 Bb4 {
, will be the subject of the next two games.}) 6. e5 $1 {Best: the black
knight is attacked, d6 is weakened, and after the knight moves White will have
Qg4 to attack g7. --- White has tremendous results with this advance - 64% on
the database as a whole - and much, much higher than that at the top rating
levels. If you check this position against "Elo White" and look at the top
twenty games, you'll see that White won 18, and gave up one draw and one loss,
for a winning percentage of 92%! Basically Black wants to see if White knows
the strong move, 6 e5, and if so, he will try to defend either a dubious
position (in this game) or an exchange down technical position of the "maybe I
have a remote chance of drawing this" variety.} ({
However, if White is buffaloed and wimps out with the defensive} 6. Bd3 {
, Black suddenly scores over 50%! Even Euwe made this passive move:} d5 (6...
Nc6 {is the modern reply, and in a large rating difference game - White was
the lower - the first player was so terrified he succeeded in losing a centre
pawn in three more moves:} 7. Nb3 d5 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 dxe4 {and Black was
just a pawn up and went on to win in V.Kozlov-H.Olbrikh, Moscow 1990}) 7. exd5
Nxd5 8. Nde2 {(the only way to describe what follows is that White plays very
quietly and succeeds in drawing the game; Euwe was not yet playing like a
world champion!)} Nc6 9. O-O e5 10. Nxd5 Qxd5 11. a3 Ba5 12. b4 Bc7 13. Re1 Be6
14. Nc3 Qd7 15. Ne4 Bg4 16. Nc5 Qc8 17. Qd2 O-O 18. Be4 Bb6 19. Qc3 Bxc5 20.
Qxc5 Bf5 21. Bxc6 Qxc6 22. Qxc6 bxc6 {
½-½ M.Euwe-A.Alekhine, Bad Pistyan 1922.}) 6... Nd5 {Things are already a
Svidlerian "pretty bad", and the other two tries are no better.} (6... Ne4 7.
Qg4 {(White trampolines off the knight and gets to g7 with tempo)} Nxc3 (7...
Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 f5 9. Qxg7 {is even more fun:} Rf8 10. Ba3 {
- catastrophe on the dark squares -} Nc6 ({while} 10... d6 11. Bb5+ Bd7 12.
Nxe6 {doesn't prolong the game too much}) 11. Qxf8# {
, M.Vachier Lagrave-X.Loutre, Pontoise rapid 2006: a most rapid "rapid" game!})
8. Qxg7 {and now:} -- (8... Ne4+ 9. c3 {
is decisive as Black has too many pieces hanging.}) (8... Rf8 9. a3 Qa5 10. Bh6
Nc6 ({or} 10... Be7 11. Bd2 f6 12. Nb5 fxe5 13. Qxe5 Nc6 14. Qg3 Rb8 15. Bxc3
Qa4 16. Be2 {and White has both a material and positional advantage}) 11. Nxc6
bxc6 12. Bd3 Be7 13. Bd2 Ba6 14. Bxc3 Qb6 15. Bxa6 Qxa6 16. Qxh7 O-O-O 17. Qd3
{, when White was two pawns up for nothing and won clinically in S.Nikolenko-R.Zargarian, Volodarskij 2007.}) (8... d5 9. Qxh8+ Kd7 10. Qxd8+ Kxd8 11. Bd2 Nc6
12. bxc3 {
and White managed to win with his extra rook in Wang Hao-Mai Dongqi, Wuxi 2005.
})) (6... Qa5 {(this loses to a forced sequence - as long as White knows it)}
7. exf6 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Qxc3+ 9. Qd2 Qxa1 10. c3 $1 {(all forced to here)} Qb1 ({
trying to escape, but now White gets a monster passed pawn; even now Black has
no choice as} 10... gxf6 11. Nb3 Qb1 12. Bd3 {wins the queen}) 11. Bd3 Qb6 12.
fxg7 Rg8 13. Qg5 {(White is winning due to the g-pawn on the seventh)} h6 14.
Qf6 Qd8 15. Qxd8+ Kxd8 16. Bxh6 f5 17. Nxf5 $1 exf5 ({or} 17... Nc6 18. Ne3 Ne7
19. Bh7 {and wins}) 18. Bc4 Re8+ 19. Kd2 Nc6 20. Bf7 d6 21. Re1 $1 Ne5 22. f4
$1 Ke7 23. g8=Q Rxg8 24. Bxg8 Bd7 25. Bd5 Kf6 26. fxe5+ dxe5 27. h4 {and White 
emerged with a good extra piece and won in a few more moves in M.Kozakov-T.Todorov, Valjevo 2000.}) 7. Bd2 Bxc3 {Relatively best.} ({
World Cup Champion Svidler faced} 7... Nxc3 8. bxc3 Be7 9. Qg4 O-O ({both} 9...
g6) ({, and} 9... Kf8 {leave Black with a permanently compromised kingside, so
Black usually makes the following dubious exchange sac; many of the top GMs
[certainly including Svidler] have an almost computer like-technique these
days, so this "unprovoked" sacrifice just doesn't succeed at all - even if you
haven't looked at it since you were a kid!}) 10. Bh6 g6 11. Bxf8 Bxf8 {
(a technical position where Black's only compensation for the exchange is
White's doubled pawns; Almasi and Svidler don't break much of a sweat demonstrating White's advantage)} 12. Qg3 Qa5 {and now:} 13. -- (13. f4 d6 14. exd6 Bxd6
15. Rd1 e5 16. Nb5 exf4 17. Qg5 Bf8 18. Bc4 {(Svidler has all his pieces in
play and begins an attack against f7 which should - but doesn't! - have a rook
protecting it)} Qb6 ({or} 18... Nc6 19. Qf6 {intending Bxf7 mate}) 19. Qxf4 Be6
20. Nc7 Bxc4 21. Qxc4 Qe3+ 22. Kf1 Bc5 23. Rd8+ {
(with no rook defending the back rank, Black falls into a mating attack)} Kg7
24. Ne8+ Kf8 25. Nd6+ {1-0 P.Svidler-A.Rodriguez Cespedes, World Team
Championship, Lucerne 1997. For the record, White either mates or wins the
queen: e.g.} Kg7 ({while} 25... Ke7 26. Re8+ {gets the queen}) 26. Rg8+ $1 {
mates with all checks in at most five more moves. Note that the GM playing
Black has yet to develop his queen's knight and rook, and now never will!}) (13.
Bc4 {(another way)} Nc6 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. O-O Bg7 16. Rae1 f6 17. exf6 Bxf6 18.
Re3 Qg5 19. Rb1 Qxg3 20. Rxg3 Be5 21. Rf3 Bc7 22. Be2 Kg7 23. Kf1 Bb6 24. c4
Bc5 25. Rfb3 Bd6 26. c5 $1 {(a typical blow to break in with the rooks; I
really don't understand Black's opening sacrifice - usually when you give up
material you have good development to compensate for your material loss, but
here on move 26 Black has still not even moved his queen's rook or bishop!)}
Be5 ({not} 26... Bxc5 27. Rb8 {, winning a piece}) 27. Rd3 a5 28. a4 Kf6 29.
Rf3+ Ke7 30. Bd3 Bd4 31. Rh3 Bxc5 32. Rxh7+ Kf6 33. h4 Bf8 34. g4 g5 35. f4
gxf4 36. g5+ Ke5 37. g6 d5 38. g7 {(and there goes a piece, which means White
is now a rook up - the 2600 Federov could make absolutely nothing of Black's
position) 1-0 Z.Almasi-A.Fedorov, Polanica Zdroj 2000.})) 8. bxc3 d6 9. Qg4 O-O
{Shirazi insists on another exchange sac;} ({but} 9... dxe5 10. Qxg7 Qf6 11.
Qxf6 Nxf6 12. Nb5 Na6 {as in P.Simacek-Y.Meister, Pardubice 1998, is better -
where Black actually made a draw after} 13. c4 {.} ({
Then again, had White played the stronger} 13. Bc1 {, Black would really have
had to suffer due to his weak dark squares - even if it must be admitted that,
after} O-O 14. Ba3 Re8 15. Rd1 {
, despite White's evident advantage, Black is not yet material down!})) 10. Bh6
g6 11. Bxf8 Qxf8 12. Qg3 $2 {Even though Black's opening is suspect - is
indeed "pretty bad" - accuracy is still required.} ({
Here the correct continuation is} 12. exd6 Qxd6 13. Qg3 Qa3 14. Bc4 $1 Qxc3+
15. Qxc3 Nxc3 16. Kd2 Ne4+ 17. Ke3 {, giving back a pawn to reach an exchange
up ending that should win for White - whereas now, after a single mistake,
Black gets right back into the game and conjures up serious counterplay.})
12... dxe5 13. Qxe5 Qa3 {White has lost two tempi, as his queen belongs on g3
but takes three moves to settle there (12 Qg3/13 Qxe5/15 Qg3 - whereas in the
previous note the white queen got there in one) and in such sharp positions
that's quite a serious loss of time. White must now go through contortions to
avoid Black's threats.} 14. Nb3 Nc6 15. Qg3 Qb2 16. Bc4 Qxc2 $2 {
The wrong pawn.} ({Correct is} 16... Nxc3 17. O-O e5 $1 {which gives Black a
pawn and good play for the exchange; for instance, if White tries the Svidler
attack against f7, Black not only defends but counter-attacks:} 18. Qf3 Bf5 19.
g4 e4 $1 {and Black is at least equal, and his queen's rook is even in play! -
what a turnaround that would have been. Instead, Shirazi's actual move allows
White to chop the active knight and so reach the same type of technical
position he could have had by force earlier.}) 17. Bxd5 exd5 18. O-O Bf5 19.
Rfd1 {White has consolidated and the one pawn for the exchange is insufficient.
} Rd8 20. h3 Qb2 21. Rd2 Qa3 22. Re1 h5 23. Qc7 Rd7 24. Re8+ Kg7 25. Qf4 Rd6
26. Rde2 Bd3 27. R2e3 Be4 28. f3 Bf5 29. Rh8 $1 {Nicely played: now the GM
shows his stuff, attacking on the weak dark squares, no matter how distant.
With material in hand plus the initiative, White has a decisive advantage.} Re6
30. Qh6+ Kf6 31. g4 $1 {White accurately calculates and forces the win.} Qxa2
32. g5+ Ke7 33. Qf8+ Kd7 34. Qxf7+ Kd6 35. Rxe6+ Bxe6 36. Qf4+ Ne5 37. Qf8+ Kc7
38. Qb8+ Kb6 39. Qxe5 Bxh3 40. Qd6+ Kb5 {. After making this move Black
evidently saw the mate in five and didn't wait to be shown;} ({i.e.} 40... Kb5
41. Qb4+ Kc6 42. Qc5+ Kd7 43. Rh7+ Ke6 44. Nd4+ Ke5 45. Qc7# {. --- The Pin is
close to being a "refuted" variation, and yet... a 2600 GM, after one
inaccuracy, lets an IM out of the bag and would have had to fight for equality
after a single mistake (12 Qg3?). I think that's the reason this "pretty bad"
line is still seen. White is forced to play tactically (6 e5 is the only way
to get an advantage) and Black hopes his opponent (perhaps unfamiliar with the
variation) will make a mistake in the ensuing sharp position. And that's just
what happened here - giving hope to many Pin advocates! --- So study the ideas
as shown in the main game and notes above - particularly the various attacks
on the dark squares - as I'm sure you will get this variation... ten years
from now! --- Now we go to a "not so bad" pin variation, where White must
again play resolutely to get the advantage.}) 1-0

[Event "Cappelle la Grande"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2006.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gashimov, V."]
[Black "Belikov, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B45"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2006.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be2 {Of course there
are other moves for White here, but I like to stick within our general
repertoire with Be2 if possible, and in any case I don't believe the ...Bb4
pin is to be feared, but rather welcomed - does Black really want to give up
his dark-squared bishop when his dark squares (such as d6) are already weak,
and when his other bishop doesn't even have any legal moves?} Bb4 {Black takes
up the challenge. This is the most popular move - though I'm not convinced
it's best.} ({The second most popular move here for Black is} 6... d6 7. O-O {
, transposing back to our Scheveningen repertoire - or one can delay ...d7-d6
but still head in a Scheve direction.}) (6... Qc7 7. O-O Be7 8. Be3 a6 9. f4 d6
10. Qe1 O-O 11. Qg3 Bd7 12. Kh1 b5 13. a3 {(our friend Mr. Svidler has got
back into our repertoire and went on to win as follows)} Rac8 14. e5 Ne8 15.
Nf3 f6 16. exf6 Nxf6 17. Bd3 Na5 18. Rae1 Nc4 19. Bc1 Nxa3 {(I mentioned in
the Scheveningen chapter that White played a2-a3 to create a minimal target;
here Black has managed to win this pawn anyway - at the cost of his king of
course!)} 20. Ng5 {
(Svidler has a tremendous attack and soon mates on the back rank)} Nc4 21. Qh3
h6 22. Nxe6 Qb7 23. Qg3 Bxe6 24. Rxe6 Bd8 25. Qg6 d5 26. Rfe1 Kh8 27. Nxd5 Qf7
28. Qxf7 Rxf7 29. Re8+ Ng8 30. Bg6 {
1-0 P.Svidler-S.Mamedyarov, World Blitz Championship, Moscow 2010.}) (6... a6 {
is weak (though it has been played by some strong players) as White nails down
the d6 weakness with tempo after taking on c6. After} 7. Nxc6 {
either recapture has serious drawbacks as can be seen:} -- (7... dxc6 {
(if you enjoy slow torture, you can try to draw the coming ending - but
preferably not against Geller, even if your name is on the complex!)} 8. Qxd8+
Kxd8 9. e5 Nd7 10. f4 Kc7 11. Be3 {(clear advantage to White: the hole at d6
is painful, and middlegame factors such as Black's unsafe king are still
important, despite the exchange of queens)} b5 12. Ne4 Nb6 13. Bc5 Bxc5 14.
Nxc5 Nd5 15. O-O Rd8 16. Rf3 {(the c8-bishop has no useful moves, whereas
White is poised to attack on either flank)} f5 17. exf6 gxf6 18. a4 Kb6 19. Ne4
a5 20. Rd1 Ba6 21. axb5 cxb5 22. f5 $1 {(Black's only good piece is undermined)
} Ne7 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. fxe6 Bb7 25. Rd3 Rxd3 26. Bxd3 Bxe4 27. Bxe4 f5 28. Bd3
{(a pawn up, the superior minor piece, Geller - enough said)} Kc5 29. Kf2 b4
30. b3 Kd5 31. Ke3 Kxe6 32. Kd4 Kd6 33. g3 h6 34. h3 Ke6 35. Kc5 Ke5 36. Kb5
Kd4 37. Kxa5 Kc5 38. Ka4 f4 39. gxf4 Nd5 40. f5 Nf6 41. Ka5 Nd5 42. Ka6 Nf6 43.
Kb7 Nd5 44. Bc4 {1-0 E.Geller-I.Kan, USSR Championship, Moscow 1955.}) (7...
bxc6 8. e5 Nd5 9. Ne4 {(it hurts to even look at Black's d6-square - how did
the world-class Ljubojevic wind up in this position after only nine moves?)}
Qc7 10. Nd6+ $1 Bxd6 11. exd6 Qb6 ({
Black must allow this white pawn on the sixth, as} 11... Qxd6 $2 12. c4 {
wins a piece}) 12. c4 Nf6 13. O-O O-O 14. Be3 Qxb2 ({
when your position is this bad, you may as well take anything on offer; while} 
14... Qd8 15. Bd4 Re8 16. f4 {might take longer to win, Black is just as dead,
given White's total bind on the position}) 15. Bd4 Qa3 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Qd4
Rb8 18. Rac1 e5 19. Qg4+ Kh8 20. Qf5 Kg7 21. Rcd1 {(you don't need to consult
your Fritz to put down a decisive advantage sign here)} e4 22. Qg4+ Kh8 23.
Qxe4 {(White threatens Rd3 or Bd3 or Qe7, all of which win - Ljubo has had
enough punishment!) 1-0 A.Shirov-L.Ljubojevic, Monte Carlo (rapid) 2000.})) 7.
O-O {Of course - now the pin is gone and the only remaining function of the
b4-bishop is to give itself to snatch a pawn. Just what I'd want from White's
point of view!} Bxc3 ({Other moves give Black a difficult position without
even a pawn for consolation: --} 7... d6 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Qd3 {
(White keeps his pawns intact and goes for the bishop pair)} O-O 10. a3 Bc5 ({
or} 10... Bxc3 11. Qxc3 {and White has a stable two bishops advantage}) 11. b4
Bb6 12. Rd1 {with great pressure on Black, whose three bishop moves have not
helped his cause, and now he may have to grovel with ...Bc7.}) (7... O-O 8.
Nxc6 dxc6 9. e5 {and then:} -- (9... Nd5 10. Ne4 {
(Black's king's bishop is adrift and the queen's bishop blocked)} Qc7 11. f4 f5
12. exf6 Nxf6 {
(Black has freed his position at the cost of a sick e-pawn which...)} 13. Bd3
Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Bc5+ 15. Kh1 g6 16. Qe2 Qf7 17. Bd3 Qg7 18. Bc4 Kh8 19. Be3 Be7
20. c3 Bf6 21. Rad1 b6 22. Bd4 Bd7 23. Bxf6 Rxf6 24. Qe5 Raf8 25. Kg1 c5 26.
Rd6 Bc8 27. g3 h6 28. Rc6 R6f7 29. Qxg7+ Kxg7 30. Rxc8 $1 Rxc8 31. Bxe6 {
(finally falls and...)} Rd8 32. Bxf7 Kxf7 {(White reaches a winning ending -
which, alas, he does not win against his GM foe!)} 33. Kg2 Rd3 34. Rf2 b5 35.
Kh3 a5 36. a3 a4 37. Re2 b4 38. cxb4 cxb4 39. axb4 Rb3 40. Kg4 Rxb4 41. Rc2 Kf6
42. h3 Kf7 43. Rc7+ Kf6 44. Rc6+ Kf7 45. Ra6 Kg7 46. Ra5 Kf6 {
½-½ C.Silva Sanchez-J.Granda Zuniga, Santiago 1987.} (46... --)) (9... Bxc3
10. bxc3 Nd5 11. Qd3 {(Black has a terrible dark square problem, much as in
the main game, but no extra pawn - Adams scores easily)} Qc7 12. c4 Nb4 13. Qe4
c5 14. Bg5 b6 15. a3 Nc6 16. Bd3 f5 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bh6 {
(an unopposed dark-squared bishop and gaping holes on the kingside lead to...)}
Rf7 19. Rae1 Kh8 20. Qh4 e5 21. f4 Bb7 22. fxe5 Nxe5 23. Bxh7 $3 {
(this crushing sacrifice! - Black's open king is indefensible)} Kxh7 24. Re3
Ng6 25. Qh5 Rh8 26. Re8 $3 {
(splendid! - Black has no reasonable way to save the queen)} Rxe8 27. Bf4+ Kg7
28. Qh6+ Kg8 29. Bxc7 Re2 30. Rf2 Re1+ 31. Rf1 Re2 32. Rd1 Rxg2+ 33. Kf1 Rg7
34. Rd8+ Nf8 35. Bd6 Rg1+ 36. Ke2 R7g2+ 37. Kd3 Rd1+ 38. Kc3 {
1-0 M.Adams-S.Halkias, Gibraltar 2010.})) 8. bxc3 {Now, having made an
unprotected hole at d6 (inviting Nb5 or Ba3), Black can only justify his
previous two moves by taking the e-pawn.} Nxe4 {Obviously White has
compensation for the pawn with his lead in development, two bishops, and
Black's weak dark squares. The question is, should White sac another pawn for
a further tempo, or stop at just one foot soldier? Let's look at the "one pawn
line" first, then go all in with the double pawn sac in the next game.} 9. Qd3
{Statistically White scores 62% with this;} ({and "only" 60% with the two-fer} 
9. Bd3 {- both excellent scores of course.}) 9... d5 {Black has tried other
moves, but none of them allow a smooth path to castling and king safety. The
problem is that Black has no dark-squared bishop, while the a3/f8 diagonal is
wide open for White.} ({Sample variations are: --} 9... f5 10. Ba3 {
(the problem manifests itself - castling is not legal!)} Kf7 11. Rad1 Qf6 12.
Nb5 a6 13. Nd6+ Nxd6 14. Bxd6 Re8 15. Qh3 Kg8 16. Rd3 Qd8 17. Rg3 Qf6 18. Bf4
Kh8 19. Bh5 Rg8 20. Bg6 h6 21. Bxh6 {(Black's queen's bishop has yet to make a
move - indeed, has no legal moves - but White's fourth move with his own
bishop forces mate!) 1-0 M.Paragua-N.Guglielmi, Nichelino 2004.}) (9... Nc5 10.
Qe3 d6 ({not} 10... O-O $2 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Qxc5) 11. Rd1 Nxd4 ({or} 11... O-O
12. Nb5 {and White recovers his pawn with advantage}) 12. cxd4 Nd7 13. Qg3 O-O
14. Qxd6 {(Black still had to pay with a big pawn in order to get castled)} Nf6
15. Qg3 Bd7 16. Bh6 Ne8 17. c4 Rc8 18. d5 exd5 19. cxd5 Kh8 20. Bg5 Nf6 21. Qh4
Qb6 22. Bd3 h6 23. Bxh6 $1 {
(slightly more complicated than the same sac above, but just as effective)}
gxh6 24. Qxh6+ Kg8 25. Qg5+ Kh8 26. d6 $1 {
(interference - of course the pawn cannot be taken)} Ng8 27. Qe5+ f6 28. Qh5+
Kg7 29. Qh7# {, J.Arizmendi Martinez-F.Sawatzki, Internet (blitz) 2000.}) (9...
Nf6 {(this led to yet another dark square débâcle)} 10. Ba3 a6 11. Qg3 g6 12.
Nxc6 bxc6 13. Rfd1 d5 14. c4 Ne4 15. Qe3 f6 16. f3 Ng5 17. Rab1 Nf7 18. cxd5
cxd5 19. c4 {(sometimes doubled pawns can be useful! - this second bash at
Black's centre leaves him defenceless)} e5 20. Rxd5 Qc7 21. Rc5 Qd7 22. Rd5 Qc7
23. Rb6 f5 24. Rc5 Qd7 25. Rxe5+ $1 {(the uncastled black king and rook are
forked, the breakthrough occurring of course on the dark squares)} Nxe5 26.
Qxe5+ Kf7 27. Qxh8 {1-0 A.Ahmed Harjour-J.Rodriguez Garcia, Asturias 1996.})
10. Ba3 {One can categorize this as a "preventive" sacrifice: White has
prevented Black from castling at the cheap price of one pawn.} Qa5 ({
It's possible to rule out White's next move, but this loses time as well:} 
10... a6 11. c4 {(White plays this move twice - we've seen this theme before -
and so opens the game decisively for his bishops)} Ne7 12. cxd5 exd5 13. c4 Nf6
14. cxd5 Nfxd5 15. Bf3 {
(the bishops dominate: Black gives up material but can't find relief)} O-O 16.
Bxd5 Nxd5 17. Bxf8 Qxf8 18. Rfe1 Nf4 19. Qe4 Ne6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rac1 Bd7 22.
Qxb7 Qe8 23. Rc7 Rb8 24. Qa7 Rd8 25. Rd1 {
1-0 L.Aroshidze-D.Fernandez Lago, Seville 2008.}) ({
Black can also counter in the centre:} 10... e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. c4 Ba6 13.
Qe3 f5 14. cxd5 Bxe2 15. Qxe2 Qxd5 (15... cxd5 16. f3 {
wins, as Black's centre collapses}) 16. Rfd1 Qe6 {and now, instead of} 17. Qa6
{(when Black managed to draw in G.Gopal-Y.Vovk, Martuni 2007),} ({the incisive
} 17. Qh5+ {should lead to a winning attack; e.g.} Qg6 ({or} 17... g6 18. Qh6
Kf7 19. Rab1 {and White infiltrates decisively}) 18. Qh3 {and I don't see how
Black can organize his position: his king is vulnerable in the centre and he
can't castle either way.})) 11. Nb5 a6 12. Nd6+ Nxd6 ({Worse is} 12... Kf8 $2
13. Nc4+ {, winning the queen}) ({or} 12... Kd7 13. Nc4 Qc7 14. Qe3 {
with a winning attack.}) 13. Bxd6 {White scores 70% from this position: it's
obvious the first player has excellent compensation due to the strength of the
dark-squared bishop, while Black is a long way from king safety. Fritz claims
only plus-equals, but I think the defensive task is far too difficult for mere
humans, thus explaining the poor statistics.} Qd8 14. Qg3 Ne7 ({If} 14... Qf6 {
then} 15. Rfd1 {and Black hasn't improved his position, while White threatens
to blow things open with our thematic c3-c4.}) 15. Qxg7 ({Also strong is} 15.
Bd3 Ng6 ({or} 15... O-O 16. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 17. Qh4+ {, winning}) 16. Rfe1 Bd7
17. c4 dxc4 18. Be4 Bc6 19. Bxc6+ bxc6 20. Rad1 Ra7 21. Bc5 Rd7 22. Rb1 Qh4 23.
Rb8+ Rd8 24. Rd1 {
(bada bump!) 1-0 L.D.Nisipeanu-Il.Schneider, German League 2010.}) 15... Rg8
16. Qe5 Nf5 17. Ba3 Qh4 18. f4 $6 {It's because of this move, exposing the
white king to a check (now Karpov would never have allowed such a thing!),
that Black has an equalizing chance later.} ({Instead,} 18. Bf3 {
is correct, when Black can hardly hold; e.g.} Qc4 ({after} 18... Ne7 19. Rfe1
Qg5 20. Qc7 {White infiltrates on those helpless dark squares}) ({, while} 
18... Bd7 19. Bxd5 O-O-O 20. Bf3 {
sees White recover his pawn with the much safer king}) 19. Rfe1 {
and the black king will perish in the centre.}) 18... Bd7 19. Bf3 O-O-O 20.
Rab1 f6 21. Qe2 Qxf4 22. Rxb7 (22. Rxb7 {has the simple point} Kxb7 23. Bxd5+
exd5 24. Rxf4 {and the queen goes - but Black has a counter-chance!}) 22...
Qe3+ $2 {Which he misses!} (22... Nd4 $1 {
is correct, which is only possible because 18 f4 opened up a checking diagonal:
} 23. Qxa6 ({not} 23. cxd4 Qxd4+ 24. Kh1 Kxb7 {
and Black is better, as his queen escaped the f-file with tempo}) 23... Nxf3+
24. Rxf3 Rxg2+ $1 {and Black draws; e.g.} 25. Kxg2 Qd2+ 26. Kf1 Qd1+ 27. Kg2
Qd2+ 28. Kh3 ({White can't avoid the draw, for if} 28. Rf2 {then} Rg8+ 29. Kf3
Qxc3+ 30. Qd3 Qxd3+ 31. cxd3 Kxb7 {and Black is a good pawn up}) 28... Qh6+ {
with a perpetual.}) 23. Qxe3 Nxe3 24. Rfb1 {White recoordinates his pieces and
wins with his dominating rooks and bishops - in both cases these are better
than their opposite numbers.} Bb5 25. Ra7 Nc4 26. Be7 Nd2 ({Not} 26... Rde8 27.
Bh5 {, which shows the power of White's bishops.}) 27. Bxd8 Nxf3+ 28. Kh1 Nd2
29. Rxb5 axb5 30. Bxf6 Rg6 31. Bd4 {The complications are over and White has
emerged with his big bishop intact and an extra pawn.} h5 32. Rh7 Nc4 33. Rxh5
Kd7 34. h3 Kd6 35. g4 e5 36. Bf2 e4 37. Kg2 Rg7 38. Rh6+ Kd7 39. Bd4 Rf7 40. g5
e3 41. g6 Rf2+ 42. Kg3 Rf1 43. g7 Ke7 44. Kg2 Rf2+ 45. Kg1 Nd2 (45... Kf7 {
also loses immediately to} 46. Rh8 {.}) 46. Bxe3 {. The dark-squared bishop
strikes the final blow. --- It's true that Gashimov let Black out at one point
(18 f4?!), but with 18 Bf3 there he would have had a clear advantage - and
earlier still, the 15 Bd3 line looks great for White. --- White gets all this
for just one pawn? This is a line I would never play for Black - Steinitz
aside, I don't think a pawn is worth that much trouble. --- Now let's see what
happens when White accelerates his attack by pitching two pawns!} 1-0

[Event "Stare Mesto"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2005.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vesselovsky, S."]
[Black "Kuncar, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B45"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2005.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be2 Bb4 7. O-O Bxc3 8.
bxc3 Nxe4 9. Bd3 $5 {One can argue that the c3-pawn was only in the way of the
dark-squared bishop - on the other hand, risk has increased.} Nxc3 10. Qg4 {
White launches the typical attack against the undefended (dark square) g7-pawn.
} Qf6 ({Black can trap himself with} 10... Nxd4 {
, but White crosses him up with} 11. Qxg7 $1 ({rather than} 11. Qxd4 Qf6) 11...
Nce2+ 12. Kh1 Rf8 13. Bxe2 Nxe2 14. Ba3 d6 15. Rad1 {
and the dark squares collapse, along with Black's position.}) ({I think Black's
best is to castle while he can (it's interesting that there is no castling
prevention when White sacs two pawns, but there is if he just gives up one)
and then defend, unloading pawns as necessary. This is in accordance with
modern principles of defence, as opposed to clinging on to material. After} 
10... O-O 11. Nxc6 dxc6 $1 ({but not} 11... bxc6 12. Bb2 Qf6 13. Rab1 $1 {
, which wins for White, as John Emms has pointed out}) 12. Bb2 e5 $1 {
(this dynamic defence is only possible because the black d-pawn moved out of
the way of his queen's bishop)} 13. Qg3 Nd5 14. Bxe5 f6 15. Bd6 Re8 {, White's 
two bishops are equal to the missing pawn, but probably no more than that: the
main feature is that Black is castled and still has a pawn to give back if
necessary. As one sees in the following play, Black, using GM defence, finally
reaches an endgame with an extra pawn and actually wins it! So there is risk:}
16. c4 Nb6 17. Rab1 Qd7 18. c5 Nd5 19. Qh4 g6 20. f4 Re3 21. Bc4 Qf7 22. Rfe1
Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Be6 24. Bxd5 cxd5 25. f5 gxf5 26. Re3 Re8 27. Bf4 Bd7 28. Rxe8+
Bxe8 29. Be3 Qe6 30. Qg3+ Bg6 31. h4 Qe5 32. Bf4 Qe2 33. Kh2 Qg4 34. Qf2 Be8
35. Bg3 d4 36. Qe1 Qe4 37. Qf2 Bc6 38. Bf4 d3 39. Qg3+ Kf7 40. Bh6 Qg4 41. Qf2
Qe2 42. Qg3 Qg4 43. Qf2 Kg6 44. Bf4 Kh5 45. Bg3 f4 46. Qxf4 Qxf4 47. Bxf4 Kxh4
48. Kg1 Kg4 49. Bd2 f5 50. Kf2 f4 51. a3 h5 52. Bc3 h4 53. Ba5 f3 54. gxf3+
Bxf3 55. Ke3 h3 56. Bc7 Be4 57. Bd6 d2 58. Kxd2 Kf3 59. Kc3 Kg2 60. Kb4 h2 61.
Bxh2 Kxh2 62. a4 Kg3 63. a5 a6 {
0-1 A.Delchev-G.Mastrokoukos, World Student Team Championship, Sofia 1994.})
11. Nxc6 bxc6 (11... h5 {is an interesting counter-attack:} 12. Qg3 bxc6 13.
Bd2 h4 14. Qg4 c5 15. Qc4 Nd5 16. Qxc5 h3 {
and Black had good counterplay in Y.Rantanen-B.Ivanovic, Tallinn 1979.}) 12.
Bg5 Qe5 13. Bf4 Qd4 14. Qg3 Ne4 ({No better is} 14... Rg8 15. Rae1 g6 16. Be5
Qc5 17. Qf4 Nd5 18. Qh4 h5 {(the Swiss cheese defence?)} 19. Qg3 Ke7 20. Re4 d6
21. Bd4 Qa5 22. Qg5+ Ke8 23. c4 c5 $2 24. Qxd5 Rb8 25. Qxd6 {
1-0 I.Cheparinov-K.Rusev, Bulgarian Team Championship 2003.}) 15. Bxe4 Qxe4 16.
Qxg7 {The dark squares cracking, plus no castling, equals one point for White.}
Qxf4 17. Qxh8+ Ke7 18. Qxh7 Ba6 19. Rfe1 Qf6 20. Qe4 Rg8 21. Rab1 Qg5 22. Re3
Qh5 23. Ra3 Be2 24. h3 a6 25. Re3 Bb5 26. a4 {. --- After studying the single
and double pawn sacrifices, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind: the
single pawn sacrifice is objectively stronger. The main point is that, when
White sacs only one insignificant unit, he gains a tempo with 9 Qd3 to enforce
Ba3 and so prevent castling. When he plays 9 Bd3 as in this game, Black takes
on c3 which also attacks the queen, which gains time for him to castle! ---
Yes, White still has a terrific attack for the two pawns, but the risk factors
are also high, as not only castling, but the ...h7-h5 counterthrust was
possible. --- Meanwhile in the Gashimov game and others given in the notes,
White was down a single pawn that was often quickly recovered, and Black could
not castle. Now that's a risk-free pawn sacrifice, and gives White excellent
chances for advantage. So I say, Bash with Gash, and sac only one pawn, but
keep that black king in the middle where we like him! --- We now wander into
another part of this complex, the Kan Variation.} 1-0

[Event "Santiago"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2005.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Felgaer, R."]
[Black "Hellsten, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B43"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2005.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 b5 {Even Johan Hellsten, who
wrote a book on the Kan, considers this further non-development to be too
extravagant. He came by this wisdom the hard way - by playing and, as we see
in this game, losing.} ({Instead, he recommends} 5... Qc7 {, the "normal" Kan
move, which still looks pretty extravagant to me: Black makes two little
waiting pawn moves, then develops his queen!? I recommend sticking to our
basic repertoire against this with} 6. Be2 {
- see Kryakvin-Bocharov, Tal-Vranesic and Rosen-Jugow.}) ({
However, we first have to deal with the provocative} 5... b5 {as seen here and
in the following game. There is some method behind Black's madness, much as in
the Smyslov-Kottnauer sideline of the Scheveningen, which also featured an
early ...b7-b5. If White plays passively, and defends with a2-a3 or f2-f3
against the evident threat of ...Bb7 and ...b5-b4, targeting the e4-pawn, then
Black gets a good game. So just like Smyslov, one must defend the e-pawn
immediately with the king's bishop, in this case with} 6. Bd3 {instead of Smyslov's Bf3. In both cases the bishop looks a bit like a tall pawn, but the
greater good is that, as Smyslov showed then and Felgaer shows now, Black's
counterplay is immediately snuffed out, and his prematurely advanced b-pawn
becomes a target for an a2-a4 lever - yes, ideas repeat throughout the
repertoire!}) 6. Bd3 $1 {Best. I will never tell you that one system is a
panacea against all variations. There are always exceptions in chess!} ({
Here our usual development,} 6. Be2 {, is weaker in view of} Bb7 {, threatening
7...b4. This is quite annoying for White and, worst of all, the first player
will be unable (as he will in the 5...Qc7 6 Be2 variations) to set up his e4/f4 pawn duo.}) ({But now, after playing the accurate} 6. Bd3 {, White has
every chance of an opening advantage. --- Hellsten in his book, 'Play the
Sicilian Kan', gives a good explanation of Black's problems in this variation,
which I will now summarize and relate to our repertoire: Black has a hole at
d6, so he would like to play ...d7-d6 to occupy this square and prevent
White's e4-e5 advance (Hellsten plays that way in this game). However, White
then breaks like Smyslov with a2-a4. If Black takes, his pawn structure is
broken, but if he advances to b4, that pawn will be weak, as the f8-bishop's
diagonal has been blocked by the d6-pawn. On the other hand, if Black decides
to live with the weakness at d6, so as to keep the f8-bishop's diagonal
unobstructed, then White (as we will see in the next game) plays e4-e5, taking
the d6- and f6-squares under control, with strong central pressure on Black's
game. --- In short, Hellsten doesn't believe Black's problems can be solved if
White plays accurately after 5...b5 - and I don't either!}) 6... Qb6 ({
We'll look at the alternative} 6... Bb7 {in the next game.}) 7. Nf3 {
Best, as explained above: White must be ready to play e4-e5.} Nc6 8. O-O d6 {
This leads to the aforementioned problems on the queenside, but White was
ready to play e4-e5.} ({Even worse is} 8... Nge7 $2 {, even if played by the
US Champion, as d6 is utterly without defence now. (I was just thinking that
after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 Black already has a permanent hole at d6 - what other
opening creates such a central weakness so early?) Anyway, returning to the
dubious 8...Nge7, White answers} 9. Be3 Qc7 $6 (9... Qb8 10. a4 {
is good for White, but not as horrible as the game}) 10. Bxb5 $1 {
and there are two lines:} -- (10... axb5 11. Nxb5 Qb8 (11... Qd8 12. Nd6# {
is an amusing smothered mate right in the opening!}) 12. Nd6+ Kd8 13. Nxf7+ Ke8
14. Nxh8 {and wins as the knight can't be caught; e.g.} g6 15. Ng5 h6 16. Ngf7
{and the second knight finds its way to the eternal d6 weakness.}) ({
. In the game Kamsky simply accepted the loss of the pawn with} 10... Rb8 {
, but was unable to hold:} 11. Bxc6 Nxc6 12. b3 Bb7 13. Nd5 $1 {
(White plays sharply, even when material ahead - a sign of a strong player)}
exd5 14. exd5 Nd8 15. Re1 Ne6 16. Qd2 Bb4 17. Qxb4 Bxd5 18. Qd2 Bxf3 19. Bf4 d6
20. gxf3 Rd8 21. Rad1 O-O 22. Bxd6 Qc8 23. f4 Nc5 24. Qc3 Rfe8 25. Rxe8+ Rxe8
26. f3 Rd8 27. Rd5 Qe6 28. Qxc5 Rc8 29. Qxc8+ $1 Qxc8 30. Be7 {
1-0 E.Sutovsky-G.Kamsky, Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad 2010.})) 9. a4 {In general (referring to Hellsten's and my comments above) when Black plays ...d7-d6, White
should bash him with a2-a4 - when the black pawn goes to b4 it will be weak
with no bishop to guard it, and may eventually be lost as happens here. ---
However, one should keep in mind that a2-a4 does not have to be played
immediately - see the note to Black's seventh move in the next game, where
it's important to delay the break one move.} b4 (9... bxa4 {
splits Black's pawns and is tactically weak as well:} 10. Be3 $1 Qc7 ({not} 
10... Qxb2 $2 11. Nxa4 Qb7 12. Nb6 Rb8 13. Bxa6 {, winning}) 11. Rxa4 {
and White is better across the board, with especially great pressure on a6.})
10. a5 $1 {I remember scoring with this nice "blow for blow" against GM Arthur
Bisguier in a similar position: White takes advantage of the vulnerable black
queen position to gain a tempo to activate his knight, and furthermore,
artificially isolate the exposed black b-pawn. That White is a pawn down has
no significance - Black's queenside is so weak White will inevitably recover
material.} Nxa5 11. Na4 Qc7 12. Be3 {Remember how often Karpov exploited the
weak b6-square? Here White threatens to win a piece with 13 Bb6.} Rb8 {
Stopping one invader but not the other!} 13. Nb6 $1 Rxb6 14. Rxa5 Rb8 15. Qa1 {
Already the a-pawn can't be held, while Black has yet to develop a kingside
piece.} Ne7 ({Or} 15... Nf6 16. Bxa6 Bxa6 17. Rxa6 Nxe4 18. Re1 Nf6 19. Nd4 Be7
20. Nc6 {(White has a big advantage on the queenside - in this particular
variation, White's play is on the queenside, which is rare in the Sicilian)}
Rc8 {(Black can barely hold the eighth rank and has to give up the seventh)}
21. Nxe7 Qxe7 22. Ra7 Qd8 23. Qa4+ Kf8 24. Qxb4 Kg8 ({if} 24... Rxc2 $2 {then}
25. Qb7 {wins immediately}) 25. c4 {and White has an undisputable advantage
with the superior minor piece and passed pawn, while Black is hampered in
defending against all this as his king's rook is still out of play.}) 16. Bxa6
Nc6 ({Black can snatch pawns into an early grave:} 16... Qxc2 17. Rc1 Qxe4 18.
Bxc8 Nxc8 19. Qa4+ Ke7 20. Bg5+ {and mates.}) 17. Bb5 Bd7 18. Bxc6 Bxc6 19. Ra7
Rb7 20. Ra8+ Rb8 21. Ra7 Rb7 22. Ra8+ Rb8 23. Rxb8+ {No draw!} Qxb8 24. Nd4 Bd7
({If} 24... Bxe4 {, then} 25. Qa4+ Ke7 26. Nc6+ Bxc6 27. Qxc6 {
(the threat is 28 Ra1 etc)} Qe8 28. Qb7+ Qd7 29. Qxb4 {
and Black can't get developed without making concessions; e.g.} g6 30. Rd1 Bg7
31. Rxd6 $1 {and White should win.}) 25. Qa6 Be7 26. Nc6 Qc8 27. Qxc8+ Bxc8 28.
Ra1 {Even in the endgame the open a-file is an important attacking avenue.} Bf6
29. Ra7 O-O ({After} 29... Bxb2 30. Re7+ Kf8 31. Rc7 Ba6 32. Ra7 Bc8 33. Ra8 {
White wins a piece.}) 30. b3 e5 ({And also after} 30... Bc3 31. Ne7+ Kh8 32.
Ra8 {.}) 31. Nxb4 {The weak b-pawn, a legacy of Black's extravagant opening
(recall that his first five moves were all pawn moves, culminating in 5...b5),
finally falls, and the game is decided. Note again that in the ...b7-b5 Kan,
White's main play is on the queenside.} Be6 32. Nd5 h5 33. Bb6 $1 {A nice manoeuvre to target the weak d6-square, which thoughtfully has a pawn on it!} Bg5
34. Bc7 f5 35. Bxd6 Rd8 36. Bxe5 Bxd5 37. exd5 Rxd5 38. f4 Bd8 39. Kf1 ({After
} 39. Kf1 {, Black resigns in view of the following simple variations:} -- (
39... Bb6 40. Rxg7+ Kf8 41. Rb7 {with three extra pawns.}) (39... Rd2 40. Ke1
$1 Rxc2 41. Ra8 {winning a piece.}) (39... Bf6 40. Bxf6 gxf6 41. Ke2 {
and the connected passers win easily in the rook ending. --- Black certainly
faces difficult problems in this line, but White players need to know the
crucial moment comes when Black plays ...d7-d6, after which White should hit
hard on the queenside with a2-a4.} (41. --))) 1-0

[Event "British League"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Emms, J."]
[Black "Crouch, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B43"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "1996.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 b5 6. Bd3 Bb7 (6... Qb6 7. Nf3
{was the previous game.}) ({Tal faced} 6... Qc7 7. O-O Bb7 8. Re1 Bd6 {
(Black is trying to prevent e4-e5, but of course the bishop is very awkward on
this square)} 9. h3 Nc6 10. Nxc6 dxc6 11. Qg4 {
(Tal is pressing, while Black has the usual dark square problems)} Ne7 ({since
} 11... Be5 12. f4 {
evidently favours White, Black gamely sacrifices against Tal, but...}) 12. Qxg7
Be5 13. Bf4 $1 {(...is stunned almost immediately by this counterblow)} Bxg7
14. Bxc7 Rc8 15. Bd6 c5 16. e5 {and let's see: hole at d6; destroyed dark
squares; pawn up; Tal! - the only miracle that occurred in this game is that
Black made it to move 50 before resigning in M.Tal-M.J.Franklin, Hastings 1963/
64. --- In another Hastings tournament, the unlucky Mr. Franklin had Black
again against Karpov! Alas, his result did not improve, as we will see in
Chapter Seven.}) 7. O-O Nc6 ({If instead} 7... d6 {, to prevent e4-e5, then
White hits on the other side, as we saw in the previous game:} 8. Re1 {
(smiling at the black king - see line 'b' for the explanation)} Nf6 9. a4 $1 {
and now:} -- (9... bxa4 {
(already a success for White, as Black is left with a weak a-pawn)} 10. Nxa4
Nbd7 {- I reached this position in a tournament game, and remembered Keres got
the advantage by getting his knight to a5, but couldn't remember how he did
it! I played the over-committal} 11. c3 ({
however, Keres played the more precise, efficient and stronger} 11. Bd2 Be7 12.
Nb3 O-O 13. Na5 {with a big advantage in P.Keres-M.Najdorf, Los Angeles 1963})
11... Be7 12. b4 O-O 13. Nb3 Qc7 14. Na5 {which is actually not too bad, with
White having a slight edge in T.Taylor-A.Inants, 7th Metropolitan IM, Los
Angeles 2011.}) (9... b4 10. Nd5 $1 {(the reason why White inserted Re1 before
a2-a4 was to prepare this blow) and then:} -- (10... exd5 {
(taking the piece allows a savage attack)} 11. exd5+ Kd7 12. c4 $1 g6 13. a5 $1
{(Black's centralized king can't find a safe square, while White builds up)}
Bg7 14. Bf4 Kc8 15. Rc1 Nh5 16. c5 $3 {(offering a second piece, but if
accepted the black king will perish in the ensuing crossfire)} Qf6 (16... Nxf4
17. cxd6+ Kd7 18. Qg4+ {and wins}) 17. cxd6+ Kd8 18. Qc2 {
and the king perished anyway, 1-0 Al.David-E.Lobron, Amsterdam 1996.}) (10...
Nbd7 11. Nxb4 {(notice how the self-blocking pawn on d6 allows this capture)}
Nc5 12. Bg5 Qb6 13. Nd5 $1 {(once more with feeling!)} Nxd5 ({or} 13... exd5
14. exd5+ Kd8 15. Bxf6+ gxf6 16. Qh5 {with a winning attack}) 14. exd5 Bxd5 15.
c4 Bb7 16. b4 {(White wins with a most entertaining attack after this, though
Black had one defensive resource)} ({so, objectively, the simple} 16. a5 {
is probably more accurate, with the idea Bc2-a4, when Black has few, if any,
defensive chances}) 16... Qxb4 17. Rb1 Qa5 18. Qh5 g6 19. Qg4 e5 20. Bf6 Nxd3
21. Bxh8 Be7 22. Re3 Nc5 (22... Qd2 $1) 23. Bxe5 dxe5 24. Rxe5 f6 25. Rxb7 $1 {
1-0 A.Zhigalko-V.Meijers, Turin Olympiad 2006 - Black resigns, since if either
white rook is taken, the other sacrifices itself on e7, with a winning fork in
mind.}))) 8. Nxc6 dxc6 (8... Bxc6 {can also be met by} 9. e5 {.}) 9. e5 {
Simple and strong - can Black get out of the opening alive?} Ne7 {
Black is plagued by the hole at d6 and White's strong e5-pawn.} 10. Qh5 Qc7 11.
Re1 {It's obvious that Black has no pain-free way to complete his development,
or even castle. Going long will allow the line opening a2-a4, but Black can't
go kingside without incurring serious weaknesses, as the game shows.} Ng6 ({
The alternative} 11... g6 {looks even worse with the dark square holes:} 12.
Qg5 Bg7 13. Ne4 Bxe5 ({not} 13... Qxe5 $2 14. Qxe5 Bxe5 15. Nc5 {
, winning a piece}) 14. Nf6+ Bxf6 15. Qxf6 {
with a tremendous attack on the dark squares.}) 12. Bxg6 fxg6 {Black has to
take back this way, but now his split pawns add another weakness to the
eternal hole at d6.} 13. Qg4 Qf7 14. Ne4 Qf5 15. Qh4 c5 (15... Qxe5 16. Bg5 {
is too much to bear.}) 16. Nd6+ Bxd6 17. exd6 {I've always felt that
threatening mate in one gets the opponent's attention - besides this minor
threat, the opposite-coloured bishops favour White's attacking chances.} O-O
18. Bg5 Rf7 19. Rad1 Bd5 20. Rd2 h6 21. Be7 {Now the passed pawn on the sixth
(on d6 of course, weakened by Black's second move!) becomes the crucial factor:
one could say White has a decisive advantage already, and John carries it
through professionally.} Ra7 22. f3 Rd7 23. Qf2 c4 24. Rde2 g5 25. Qc5 Bb7 26.
Qxf5 exf5 27. Re5 g4 28. f4 g6 29. Rc5 Be4 30. a4 $1 {Any way you slice it,
Black's queenside disintegrates or the passed pawn goes through.} Rh7 ({
Nothing works:} 30... bxa4 31. Rxc4) ({or} 30... Rb7 31. Rc7 Rxc7 32. dxc7 Bb7
33. Bd6) ({or finally} 30... Bxc2 31. Rc7 {
is an easy win for White in all cases.}) 31. axb5 axb5 32. Rxb5 Kf7 33. Rc5
Bxc2 34. Rc7 Ba4 35. Rxc4 {By playing the best defence (giving up a pawn)
Black ensures that he will get to look at his terrible position and White's
monster d-pawn for another ten moves.} Bb5 36. Rc8 Rb7 37. Rf8+ Kg7 38. Rc1 Rh8
39. Rc7 Rxc7 40. dxc7 Ba6 41. Rd8 Rg8 42. b4 Kf7 43. b5 $1 Bc8 44. b6 Ba6 45.
Bd6 Re8 46. Be5 Ke7 47. Rb8 {. White will win a piece with the coming b6-b7.
--- Much more than an editor, this was a sharp and convincing win by GM Emms.
--- The extra extravagant 5...b5 seems to be under a cloud now - given that
Kan-advocate Hellsten can't find anything, Kamsky self-destructed, and Keres
demonstrated how to play against this 50 years ago! --- If you know the ideas
(e4-e5 if Black sits as here, a2-a4 with a queenside attack if he plays ...d7-d6), White should get the edge against this non-developing system. --- Now
we take on the main line Kan, where at least Black develops something on his
fifth move!} 1-0

[Event "Irkutsk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kryakvin, D."]
[Black "Bocharov, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B43"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 {The main line of the Kan,
with only about 17,000 games in the database! What should we do against such a
popular system? Simple: stick to our basic repertoire and just play chess.} 6.
Be2 {Since Black's last move threatened nothing, typical development is fine.}
b5 7. a3 ({Not} 7. O-O Bb7 {, when White has no active defence of e4 -
remember, we want to set up the e4/f4 pawn duo for attacking purposes, and the
text move slows Black up just long enough to achieve it.}) 7... Bb7 8. f4 d6 {
Black transposes into a Scheveningen-type system, which may be psychologically
painful for him. But it's hard to find something better, as clearly e4-e5 may
otherwise come soon.} ({Three main alternatives have been tried: --} 8... Nc6
9. Be3 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 {(Black has glaring weaknesses at d6 and b6)} Ne7 11. Rd1
Rd8 12. O-O Nc6 {was M.Tal-R.Hübner, Leningrad Interzonal 1973.} 13. -- ({
. Here White could continue technically} 13. Qb6 Qxb6 14. Bxb6 Rb8 15. Bf2 {
with a solid plus: Black has not solved his opening problems, and the hole at
d6 beckons White's knight, which might arrive there after Bf3/e4-e5/Ne4 etc.})
({. However, Tal understandably wants more, and with justification. The game
continued} 13. Qd2 Be7 14. Qe1 (14. Nd5 exd5 15. exd5 {is another good attack})
14... d6 15. f5 O-O {, and now} 16. Qf2 {was correct, gaining a tempo off that
b6-square - threat Bb6, winning the exchange - and prepares a strong attack
against the poorly defended black king (just as in Karpov-Taimanov and
Shirov-Reinderman, the black knight's manoeuvre to c6 leaves his monarch in
danger).} ({Instead of this sound course, Tal sac'ed even more, rushing with
the overly impetuous} 16. f6 Bxf6 17. Rxf6 gxf6 18. Qh4 Qe7 19. Rd3 f5 {
, when Hübner defended and eventually scored the win. Nevertheless, I'd love
to have Tal's position after move15!}))) (8... b4 {
is another risky attempt to grab material:} 9. axb4 Bxb4 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3
Bxe4 {, when} 12. f5 {is recommended by Wade, Blackstock and Kotov in 'World
Championship Interzonals' as giving a strong attack - I agree, though this has
never been tried.} ({In practice we see} 12. c4 Nf6 13. Ba3 d6 14. f5 Ke7 $2 (
14... e5 {is better, though after} 15. Nf3 {White has good compensation}) 15.
fxe6 fxe6 16. Bf3 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 Qxc4 18. Qb7+ $1 Nbd7 19. Nc6+ Kf7 20. Qxd7+ {
(Black is busted, but the GM declines to resign against his lower-rated
opponent)} Kg6 21. Ne7+ Kh6 22. Qxd6 Ne4 23. Qe5 Rad8 24. Bc1+ g5 25. Bxg5+ $1
Nxg5 26. Rf6+ Kh5 27. Rf4 $1 {(it's either mate or White wins the queen, but
Black had to play one more move!)} Rd5 28. g4+ {1-0 M.Dambacher-G.Forintos,
Haarlem 1994 - Black finally resigned as it's mate in two.})) (8... Nf6 9. Bf3
d6 {returns to the main game.} ({Trying to avoid this with} 9... d5 {
is not good, since the game opens and White gets to the e-file first; e.g.} 10.
exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Bxd5 exd5 13. O-O Be7 14. a4 b4 15. Nf5 {
and Black must shed material in view of the threatened Re1.})) 9. Bf3 ({
Castling is natural here and in our next game Tal plays} 9. O-O {, probably without much thought. It's a good move and White has chances for a reasonable
pull. However, Kryakvin wants to charge like a madman (my kind of guy!) and
so makes a non-committal move, waiting for the knight to appear on f6 and give
him an enemy to justify a bayonet attack!}) 9... Nf6 10. g4 $5 {Possibly not a
Karpov move, and not a Tal move either - but an Alekhine-type attack, and one
shouldn't limit oneself to positional play!} (10. O-O {
would transpose to the next game again.}) 10... e5 $6 {Black hits back in the
centre in the "approved" way - and immediately gets a difficult position.} ({
Instead, the cool} 10... Nc6 11. Be3 Be7 {
is correct, when the following games show the risky side of White's endeavour:}
12. -- (12. g5 {(too impetuous)} Nd7 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Qe2 O-O 15. O-O Rfe8 16.
Bg2 Qb7 17. b4 Nb6 18. Rad1 Nc4 19. Bc1 Rac8 20. Rd3 Bd8 21. Kh1 g6 22. Nd1 Bb6
23. Nf2 Bxf2 24. Rxf2 d5 25. e5 d4 $1 26. Qg4 Bxg2+ 27. Qxg2 Qa7 28. Re2 Red8
29. Qe4 a5 30. bxa5 Qxa5 31. h4 Qa4 32. h5 Nb6 33. hxg6 fxg6 {(Black defends
and breaks through on the queenside before White has real kingside threats -
recognizing this, White tries something on the queenside, but falls into a
cul-de-sac)} 34. Qb7 $2 Nd5 35. Rb3 Rc7 {
0-1 S.Brenjo-Z.Mijailovic, Serbian Championship, Kragujevac 2000.}) (12. Qe2
Na5 13. O-O-O Rc8 14. g5 Nd7 15. Bg4 Nc5 16. f5 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 $6 ({correct is} 
17. fxe6 {, with incalculable complications}) 17... Bxe4 18. fxe6 Nb3+ 19. Kb1
Nxd4 20. exf7+ Kf8 21. Bxd4 Bxc2+ $2 ({Black has to get the queens off:} 21...
Qxc2+ 22. Qxc2 Bxc2+ 23. Ka2 Rc4 24. Be6 Bxd1 25. Rxd1 Bxg5 26. Bxc4 bxc4 27.
Bc3 Be7 28. Rd4 Kxf7 29. Rf4+ Bf6 30. Rxc4 {and White can only hope to draw})
22. Ka1 Bxd1 23. Rxd1 Rb8 24. Be6 {(despite being technically material down,
White is winning in view of Black's imprisoned rook and defenceless king)} Bxg5
25. Qg4 Qd8 26. Qg3 Qe7 27. Ba2 Bf6 28. Re1 Be5 29. Rxe5 dxe5 30. Bxe5 {
1-0 F.Bindrich-Ax.Heinz, Pulvermühle 2002. --- If you like wild and crazy and
who knows who is winning, 10 g4 is for you! Otherwise, in the next game we'll
see Tal win just like Karpov - nothing wrong with that either.})) 11. Nf5 Nfd7
({Surely} 11... g6 {, driving off the knight, is correct, but Black is reeling
and retreats unnecessarily.}) 12. O-O Nb6 13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Kh1 ({The immediate
} 14. Nd5 {may be even stronger.}) 14... N8d7 15. Nd5 {Facing two knights on
the fifth already, it's amazing Black holds out as long as he does.} Nxd5 16.
exd5 Rc8 17. c3 g6 18. Nh6 f6 19. Bg2 Be7 20. a4 $1 {A typical blow in these
Kan positions. The lever is there, so use it! Meanwhile Black can't legally
castle in either direction.} b4 21. cxb4 Bxb4 22. Bd2 Qd6 23. Rc1 $6 {
This gives Black a chance.} (23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Ra3 $1 {is correct, which
indirectly defends b2 and attacks across the board - advantage to White.})
23... Ke7 ({Black misses his opportunity in turn:} 23... Rxc1 24. Bxc1 Nb6 {
gives him good counterplay as White's pawn at d5 is weak - but White is going
to solve that problem.}) 24. Bxb4 Qxb4 25. Rc6 $3 {A typical sacrifice against
an uncastled king: White extends the range of his attacking pieces (notably
bishop and queen) and hits Black hard before he can consolidate. And a further
benefit is that the weak d-pawn becomes a strong c-pawn, a passer just two
moves from queening!} Bxc6 26. dxc6 Nb8 27. g5 $1 {"A hit, a palpable hit!"}
Rhf8 ({If} 27... Rhd8 {then} 28. Qf3 {with a powerful attack.}) 28. Ng4 f5 (
28... fxg5 {looks ugly but may be Black's best chance of survival.}) 29. Nxe5
Rfd8 30. Qf3 Kf8 31. Qg3 {Black's problem is that he is playing without a
knight, due to the strong pawn on c6.} Qd6 $6 {
Even for 2600 GMs, it's hard to defend a difficult position for a long time.} (
{Here} 31... Kg8 {is correct, defending h8 (an important square, though that's
hard to see right now), when White obviously has excellent compensation for
the exchange, but both sides are still playing.}) 32. Qc3 $1 Re8 (32... Kg8 {
is too late in view of} 33. Qb3+ {and the queen infiltrates via f7.}) 33. Nc4
$1 {A decisive retreat, clearing the long diagonal for the queen with tempo.}
Qe6 34. Qh8+ Kf7 ({Or} 34... Qg8 35. Qxg8+ Kxg8 36. Nd6 {and White wins the
exchange back, after which his extra, passed pawn should be quickly decisive.})
35. Qxh7+ Kf8 36. Nb6 $1 {Tactically alert - yes, we have a 2600 GM on the
white side too, and it's much more fun to play from his side - as now the rook
must move off the c-file and so allow the coming fork.} Rcd8 ({Not} 36... Rxc6
37. Bd5 {, winning the queen.}) 37. c7 Qxb6 38. cxd8=Q Rxd8 39. Qh8+ Kf7 40.
Qh7+ Kf8 41. Bf3 Qe6 42. Qh8+ Ke7 43. Qg7+ Ke8 44. b4 {Now that the dust has
cleared, one sees that White has regained the exchange he invested, is up a
good pawn, has the superior minor piece - and is still attacking Black's
wandering king which, after a long journey, has returned to its original
square.} Nc6 45. Qc3 Ne7 46. Re1 Qd6 47. Qg7 Rb8 48. Qf6 $1 {. White wins more
material without slowing the attack. --- Certainly 10 g4 is equally bold and
risky: as the games given in the note to Black's 10th move above show, the
result could go either way, but a draw is most unlikely! --- I think this
would be a terrific surprise weapon - now let's look at Tal's quieter play.}
1-0

[Event "Amsterdam Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal, M."]
[Black "Vranesic, Z."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "1964.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 b5 7. a3 Bb7 8. f4
d6 9. O-O ({Not thinking of} 9. Bf3 Nf6 10. g4 {.}) 9... Nf6 10. Bf3 Nbd7 11.
Qe2 ({The Karpovian} 11. Kh1 {
, followed by the well-known Qe1-g3 attack, will be seen in the next game.})
11... h6 (11... e5 12. Nf5 g6 13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Nh6 {
gives White an annoying knight, similar to the previous game.}) 12. Kh1 e5 {
This looks like a good place to find an improvement for Black, as Tal will
soon get his knights to f5 and d5, again just as in the previous game.} (12...
Qc4 13. Qf2 Nc5 14. Re1 O-O-O {would certainly make it interesting, but I am
convinced Tal would have found the backward attacking move} 15. Qg1 $1 {
(threatening 16 Be2, winning the queen, as Black does not have 16...Ncxe4 as a
saving resource)} Ncd7 16. Bd2 {and White's attack (with the Kan lever a2-a4
coming in soon) looks much more substantial than anything Black can dream up.})
13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Nd5 $1 ({If} 14. Nf5 {then} g6 {
is possible, so Tal finds another way in.}) 14... Qc4 ({After} 14... Nxd5 15.
exd5 Bc5 16. Nf5 {White threatens g7, while the advance d5-d6 is in the air.})
15. Qxc4 {Tal is not averse to a queen exchange, since Black's new c-pawn will
be isolated and weak, while the white knights wreak havoc.} bxc4 16. Nf5 {
Again this matched pair!} Nxd5 17. exd5 g6 $6 {
This chases the knight where it wants to go, attacking the c-pawn.} ({
Black's only hope is the counter-attack} 17... Nf6 {
, though White still keeps an edge with} 18. Re1 {.}) 18. Ne3 Nb6 19. Bd2 {
Tal's first goal is to pick up the black c-pawn, but he also keeps his
kingside options open.} Rc8 (19... Bc5 20. Ng4 Bd6 21. Bb4 {
highlights Black's weaknesses on both sides of the board.}) 20. Rae1 Bg7 21.
Ba5 {Black is lost after only 21 moves - Tal had quiet wizardry too!} Nd7 22.
Be2 O-O 23. Bxc4 e4 24. d6 Ne5 25. Bb3 Kh7 26. Bc7 {
And it's all over: Black drags it out to move 30 for form's sake.} f5 27. Bd5
Bxd5 28. Nxd5 Nd7 29. b4 Be5 30. c4 {. --- GMs swear by the Sicilian, but when
White gets the centre plus a strong knight on d4, Black has to be very careful
- whereas White (even without playing g2-g4 in the opening!) can still win in
30 moves!} 1-0

[Event "European Seniors Ch., Bad Homburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2005.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rosen, W."]
[Black "Jugow, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2005.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 b5 7. a3 Bb7 8. f4
Nf6 9. Bf3 d6 10. O-O Nbd7 {As we've learned, once this knight takes away the
retreat square for its fellow, then g2-g4 comes even more strongly into
question - even Tal lost to this attack!} 11. Kh1 {White follows Karpov;} ({
but it's possible to go wild too, and the wildest of wild men was Tal's
nemesis, Nezhmetdinov!} 11. g4 $5 Nc5 12. Qe2 e5 13. Nf5 g6 14. fxe5 dxe5 15.
Nh6 {(there's our annoying knight on h6, evidently a staple of the g2-g4
anti-Kan lines)} Ne6 16. Bg2 Bg7 17. Rxf6 $1 {
(now there's a Tal sac - no, wait, a Tal-slaying sac!)} Bxf6 18. Nd5 Qd8 19.
Qf2 Nf4 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. e5 Bxe5 22. Re1 f6 23. Nxf6+ $3 {
(and there's another: White catches the king in the centre and wins)} Qxf6 24.
Qd4 Kf8 25. Rxe5 Qd8 26. Rf5+ gxf5 27. Qxh8+ Ke7 28. Qg7+ Ke6 29. gxf5+ {
1-0 R.Nezhmetdinov-M.Tal, USSR Championship, Baku 1961.}) 11... Be7 12. Qe1 Rd8
13. Qg3 {Instead of Nezhmetdinov's violent pawn storm, here White uses
Karpov's classic anti-Scheveningen piece attack, of which we saw various
examples in Chapter Four - and it's still strong in this current
transpositional environment.} g6 $6 ({
I think Black has to castle while he can, even if after} 13... O-O 14. f5 e5
15. Bh6 Ne8 16. Nb3 {White is better with an excellent Be2 Najdorf as in
Chapter Two - note again that ideas from various variations are starting to
repeat and transpose, reinforcing the strong points of our repertoire.}) 14. e5
$1 {White strikes before Black can connect his rooks, and takes advantage of
the fact that the black queen is now kind of overloaded: it wants to defend
against the just played break but must also defend the bishop on b7.} Ng8 {
This can't be good, but it's hard to find any playable move.} ({
After the obvious} 14... dxe5 15. fxe5 Nxe5 ({or} 15... Qxe5 16. Bxb7 Qxd4 17.
Bxa6 b4 18. axb4 Qxb4 19. Ra4 Qb6 20. Bh6 {
and Black won't get out of the opening alive}) 16. Bf4 {
wins material against Black's disorganized game as can be seen:} -- (16... Nxf3
{is not check! Karpov's Kh1 scores again, as here White can just take a queen.}
) (16... Nh5 17. Bxh5 Rxd4 18. Bxe5 Bd6 19. Bxd6 Rxd6 (19... Qxd6 {loses to}
20. Qf2) 20. Bf3 {and White is a piece up.}) (16... Rxd4 17. Bxe5 Bd6 18. Bxd6
Rxd6 19. Bxb7 {and White again nabs a piece.})) ({
All that's left is the computer answer} 14... Nh5 {, but I doubt a human would
play it - in any case, White maintains his advantage with} 15. Bxh5 gxh5 16. f5
{with good attacking chances.}) 15. exd6 Bxd6 16. Ndxb5 $1 {
Smackdown! White gets a winning position right out of the opening.} axb5 17.
Nxb5 Qb6 {Note again how important it is that this move is not check -
evidently Karpov was on to something when he always tucked his king away like
that, and now many others are profiting.} 18. Nxd6+ {White's final point is
revealed: due to the overloaded queen, White recovers his piece and emerges
with an extra pawn - but even more important are White's two bishops and
attacking chances.} Qxd6 19. Bxb7 Qc7 20. Ba6 Qxc2 21. f5 $1 {Rather than
cling to material, White sacrifices his extra pawn with my favourite attacking
blow - and Black can't find a way to take it.} Ngf6 ({
Black gets no joy by restoring the material balance:} 21... gxf5 22. Bd3 $1 ({
a false trail that could lead to Little Bighorn:} 22. Qg7 Ngf6 23. Qxh8+ Ke7
24. Qg7 Rg8 25. Qh6 Qxg2# {!}) 22... Qb3 23. Qg7 Qxd3 ({
the previous variation no longer works:} 23... Ngf6 24. Qxh8+ Ke7 25. Qg7 Rg8
26. Qh6 {and White wins easily, as the black queen has been diverted from its
mating posture}) 24. Bg5 {and White gains a decisive material advantage.}) ({
Even worse is} 21... exf5 22. Qd6 {
with a winning attack against Black's wide open king.}) 22. fxe6 fxe6 {
White is still a pawn ahead, and Black has a permanent weakness at e6. Add the
bishop pair, and one sees Black is not long for this world.} 23. Bd3 Qc5 24.
Bd2 Qd5 25. Bxg6+ $1 {White finishes stylishly.} Ke7 (25... hxg6 26. Qxg6+ Ke7
27. Bb4+ Nc5 28. Bxc5+ Qxc5 29. Qxf6+ {wins.}) 26. Bb4+ Nc5 27. Qc7+ ({
White mates prettily after} 27. Qc7+ Nfd7 ({or} 27... Rd7 28. Bxc5+) 28. Rf7+
Ke8 29. Rxh7+ Kf8 30. Qxd8# {. --- "No one ever said the Sicilian is an easy
defence to play," said Larsen, and these last three games certainly show that.
Black is playing a main line - and yet still has to walk a tightrope just to
get out of the opening alive. --- Meanwhile White can bash with an early g2-g4
like Kryavkin or Nezhmetdinov, or play a nice Karpovian crush as above. --- My
point is that even though these are "main lines", if you look at the positions
objectively (as opposed to saying these lines must be good because currently
trendy GMs A, B and C play them) you can see that Black gives up all presence
in the centre - recall again Black's first five moves: ...c7-c5/...e7-e6/...c5xd4/...a7-a6/...Qc7 - and falls behind in development. So it stands to
reason that White, with a strong central control and good development -
White's first five are e2-e4/Nf3/d2-d4/Nxd4/Nc3 - can use his advantages to
launch any number of attacks. --- Now let's take a quick look at some non-main
lines.}) 1-0

[Event "Oviedo (rapid)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Milos, G."]
[Black "Bellon Lopez, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B40"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "1993.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Qb6 {This the Gå På, a
Swedish specialty according to the Sicilian 'Dangerous Weapons' books, but I
think it's just bad! Nevertheless, since the admired Almira Skripchenko lost
to it, and the young Filipino star Wesley So held off a fellow GM with it, I
thought I should put in one game.} 6. e5 {White should go for it, and so put
the finger on the Gå's weak paw: no control of e5!} ({
This is stronger than the unnecessarily defensive retreat of a surprised GM:} 
6. Nb3 {(the knight wasn't even threatened!)} Bb4 7. Bd3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 d6 9.
Ba3 Nbd7 10. O-O O-O 11. e5 dxe5 12. Bxf8 Kxf8 13. Re1 Qc7 14. Qd2 b6 15. Rad1
Bb7 16. Bb5 Nc5 17. Nxc5 Qxc5 18. Qd6+ Qxd6 19. Rxd6 Rc8 {and Black, with
positional compensation for the exchange, held the ending in R.Felgaer-W.So,
Dresden Olympiad 2008.}) 6... Bc5 {Evidently this was Black's idea.} 7. Be3 {
So much for that! Now Black has no good move with his king's knight.} Nd5 {
Relatively best, but now Black has long-term pawn structure problems.} ({
Obviously not} 7... Qxb2 $2 8. Na4 Bb4+ ({White also comes out a piece up after
} 8... Qa3 9. Nxc5 Qc3+ 10. Ke2 Qxc5 11. exf6) 9. Ke2 Qa3 10. c4 $1 Ne4 ({
necessary to save the queen:} 10... Ng4 11. Bc1 {wins the Dame}) 11. Nb5 Nc3+ {
(forced)} 12. Naxc3 Qa5 13. Ne4 {and White wins easily with the extra piece -
note the ever present hole at d6, where a white knight will soon be ensconced,
which is so characteristic of the Taimanov/Kan complex once things start to go
wrong.}) 8. Nxd5 exd5 9. Be2 {This is our good repertoire developing move, and
scores the best against the Gå På (a mighty 75%). White develops fast and
prepares to castle, and so avoids the tactical tricks that are the raison
d'être of this subvariation.} ({Instead of this sound move, Miss Skripchenko
thought she could bash the Gå immediately - and fell for the following trick:} 
9. Nf5 {(looks great, doesn't it? White threatens to invade at the traditional
weak d6-point)} Qxb2 $1 {(suddenly White's position is loose and Black's
c5-bishop is indirectly defended)} 10. Bxc5 (10. Bd4 {might give White some
hope... of a draw! - what a shock to get such a position when facing such a
doubtful opening; don't let this happen to you!}) 10... Qc3+ 11. Ke2 Qxc5 12.
Nd6+ Kf8 13. f4 Nc6 14. Kf3 f6 15. Nxc8 fxe5 $1 {(the white knight can't be
saved, while Black's attack gains momentum with every move)} 16. fxe5 Nxe5+ 17.
Kf4 Rxc8 {(a complete débâcle: all White has developed is her king!)} 18. Kxe5
Re8+ 19. Kf5 Re4 20. Qf3 Qe7 {and White resigns in view of imminent mate, 0-1
A.Skripchenko-P.Cramling, Belgrade 1996.}) 9... Nc6 ({Instead of fighting back,
Black can just accept that he is worse and hope to draw:} 9... O-O 10. O-O Nc6
11. c3 d6 12. exd6 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Qxd6 14. Bf3 {and White has a clear
positional advantage against Black's weak and blockaded isolani. After} Be6 15.
Re1 Rad8 16. Qd2 {Black somehow held the draw in A.Kaplivatski-M.Ravia,
Israeli Team Championship 2002,} ({but had White played the more accurate} 16.
Qd3 b6 17. Re2 {, it's difficult to believe that Black could have held out
against the positional pressure.})) 10. c3 {White holds firm in the centre,
and offers the e- or b-pawns - but Black's position is already too compromised
for a pawn more or less to help.} Bxd4 ({If Black accepts one of the pawns (he
can't take two at once!) White gets excellent play, as can be seen: --} 10...
Nxe5 11. b4 Bxd4 ({or} 11... Be7 12. Nf5 Qf6 13. Nxe7 Kxe7 ({or} 13... Qxe7 14.
Qxd5) 14. O-O {with a great attack against the "centralized" black king}) 12.
Bxd4 Qe6 (12... Qc7 {
is a little better, though White still has a solid plus after} 13. O-O O-O 14.
f4 {, since Black's extra pawn is meaningless, whereas White's two bishops and
attacking chances are not!}) 13. O-O f6 14. f4 Nc6 15. Bf3 Kd8 {
(this is hopeless)} ({the desperate} 15... Nxd4 16. Re1 Nxf3+ 17. Qxf3 O-O 18.
Rxe6 dxe6 {was relatively best, but even then White should win as the rook and
bishop won't be doing anything for a while and the queen is strong}) 16. Bf2
Qd6 17. Bxd5 Qc7 18. Qf3 Ne7 19. Rad1 Nxd5 20. Rxd5 Re8 21. Rfd1 Qc6 22. Qd3 h6
23. Rd6 Qc7 24. Qd5 Rf8 25. b5 Ke8 26. Re1+ Kd8 27. c4 {(Black doesn't wait
for the bulldozer to flatten him) 1-0 E.Szalanczy-F.Wiedermann, Vienna 1991.})
(10... Qxb2 11. O-O {(this is possible due to the timely Be2 - and so the
black queen is left offside, and White has excellent attacking chances)} Nxe5
12. Nb5 Bxe3 13. Nd6+ Ke7 14. Nf5+ Kd8 15. fxe3 g6 16. Nd6 f6 17. Bb5 Rf8 18.
Qxd5 {and White's attack is worth far more than the pawn.}) 11. cxd4 Qxb2 {
A deflecting sacrifice: the black queen is out of play, and White dominates in
the centre.} 12. O-O d6 ({Here's a very short story:} 12... O-O {
(Black has castled, but then...)} 13. Bd3 Qa3 14. Bg5 d6 15. Bf6 $1 {
(was mangled, and then was...)} gxf6 16. exf6 Rd8 17. Qd2 Kf8 18. Rae1 Be6 19.
Rxe6 fxe6 20. Qh6+ Ke8 21. Qg7 {
(mated!) 1-0 F.Holzke-B.Svensson, Gothenburg 1993.}) 13. Rb1 {
White offers another pawn.} Qa3 14. Rb3 $1 {I insist!} Qxa2 15. exd6 O-O 16.
Bd3 {Black does not have a single kingside defender, and must also defend
against White's passed pawn on the sixth.} Bg4 {Against quiet moves White will
employ Bb1 and Bf4 to clear the third rank, so the rook can come across for a
fully fledged kingside attack.} 17. f3 Be6 18. Rxb7 {
Material equality has not lessened White's attacking chances.} Rab8 19. Rc7 Rb6
20. Qc1 Nb8 21. Bf4 Qa4 22. Bc2 Qb4 23. Qe3 Nc6 24. Rd1 Qc4 25. Rd2 Qa6 26. Bh6
$1 {The same type of blow that we saw in the Holzke game above: the sacs come
easily when there are no defenders!} g6 ({Or} 26... gxh6 27. Qxh6 Qa1+ 28. Kf2
{and mate follows soon.}) 27. Rxc6 $1 {
Why take the exchange when you can sac it?} Re8 ({But it's not much of a sac:} 
27... Rxc6 28. Qe5 {and mates.}) 28. Qe5 f6 29. Qxf6 {. --- An absolutely
crushing victory! Yes, instead of riskily taking a pawn, Black can play the
positional disadvantage line with the isolated d-pawn (as after 9...0-0), but
joyless defence was probably not on Black's mind when he launched the Gå På.
--- In my opinion the Gå På is strictly a surprise weapon, dangerous only to
the Black player - if White is prepared of course! Remember that, once again,
our repertoire Be2 (here on move nine) is the key to the position. --- Now
we'll check one final rare line: the "anti-Lasker" 4...Bc5, by which Black
exposes his dark-squared bishop when his dark squares are already weak.} 1-0

[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy, P."]
[Black "Paulsen, L."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B40"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "1857.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 e6 ({Morphy liked this move order, as he always
enjoyed it when players tried to hold the pawn:} 3... e5 4. Bc4 (4. Nxe5 $4
Qa5+ {is Black's cheap trap}) 4... Bb4+ ({or} 4... Be7 5. c3 d6 6. Qb3 {
- the f7-square is already indefensible! -} dxc3 7. Bxf7+ Kf8 8. Nxc3 Nc6 9.
Bxg8 Rxg8 10. O-O Qe8 11. Ng5 Bxg5 12. Bxg5 Be6 13. Nd5 h6 14. f4 $1 {
- no retreat! Black is lost -} Qd7 15. fxe5+ Ke8 16. Nc7+ Qxc7 17. Qxe6+ {
1-0 P.Morphy-P.Journoud, Paris 1858}) 5. c3 dxc3 6. bxc3 Bc5 7. Nxe5 {
(the f7-square is already indefensible, or am I repeating myself?)} Qf6 8.
Bxf7+ Kf8 9. Nd3 Bb6 10. Bb3 Nc6 11. Ba3+ d6 12. O-O Nh6 13. e5 $1 {(a crushing
blow that ends the game for evaluation purposes, but Morphy's attacking
technique is always worth seeing)} Qg6 14. Nf4 Qg4 15. Ne6+ $3 {(a beautiful
interference move that allows the white queen to join the attack with tempo)}
Bxe6 16. Qxd6+ Kf7 17. Qd7+ Kg6 18. Bxe6 Qg5 19. Bd5 Nxe5 20. Be4+ Nf5 21. Qe6+
Qf6 22. Bxf5+ Kh5 23. g4+ Nxg4 24. Bxg4+ {
1-0 P.Morphy-J.Preti, Paris (simul) 1858.}) 4. Nxd4 {
Reaching the basic position of the Taimanov/Kan complex.} Bc5 {This "anti-Lasker" move (bishop before knight!) at least develops a minor piece, though after
Morphy's simple answer, it's not clear what is to be done about the d6-square.
It's not surprising that this is Black's fifth most popular move at this stage,
and the last I will cover.} ({We've already covered the three very popular
alternatives at this stage: 4...Nc6, 4...a6 and 4...Nf6. --- The fourth most
popular move,} 4... Qb6 {, has been tried by GMs, but it seems to me that
White can get the advantage by straightforward play; e.g.} 5. Nc3 Bc5 (5... Nf6
6. e5 {goes back to the Gå På}) 6. Na4 Qa5+ 7. c3 Bxd4 ({after} 7... Be7 8. b4
Qd8 9. Bd3 d6 10. O-O Nf6 11. c4 {White obtained a good Maróczy Bind position
in B.Kantsler-D.Kudischewitsch, Givataim 2007:} O-O 12. Bb2 Re8 13. Nc3 Nfd7
14. Be2 Nc6 15. a3 a6 16. Nb3 b6 17. f4 Bb7 18. Qd3 Qc7 19. Rac1 Bf8 20. Nd5 $1
{, and now an attacking position as well, which led to a White victory}) 8.
Qxd4 {(as much as I admire Nigel Short's creative play, I don't know what he
was aiming for here: as far as I can see, White has just been given the two
bishops, and the unopposed dark-squared bishop has weaknesses in the enemy
camp to exploit - Ivanchuk did just that)} Nf6 9. Nc5 b6 10. Nb3 Qh5 11. f3 O-O
12. Bf4 {(note the weakness at d6, the black hole of the Taimanov/Kan,
exacerbated here by the early exchange of Black's dark-squared bishop)} Nc6 13.
Qe3 e5 14. Bg5 Ne8 15. g4 Qg6 16. O-O-O Qe6 17. Kb1 Bb7 18. Qd3 d6 19. h4 Kh8
20. Rh2 f6 21. Be3 Ne7 22. c4 Qf7 23. h5 h6 24. Na1 Nc6 25. Rhd2 Rd8 26. Nc2 {
(Black has no compensation for his weakness at d6: Ivanchuk has no problems
converting)} Qe6 27. Bf2 Rf7 28. Ne3 Qc8 29. Qa3 Nd4 30. Nd5 Nc6 31. Nc3 Qb8
32. Nb5 Rfd7 33. c5 $1 {(the pawn at d6 falls - White wins)} bxc5 34. Bxc5 Bc8
35. Nxd6 Nxd6 36. Rxd6 Rxd6 37. Rxd6 Be6 38. Rxe6 Rd1+ 39. Kc2 Rxf1 40. Rxc6
Qb5 41. Qa6 {1-0 V.Ivanchuk-N.Short, Dortmund 1997.}) 5. Nb3 Bb6 (5... Be7 {
at least keeps d6 under control, but allows White to set up an easy attacking
position reminiscent of Carlsen-Nakamura (in Chapter Two):} 6. Nc3 d6 7. Bd3
Nc6 8. f4 a6 9. Be3 Nf6 10. Qf3 Qc7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 Nd7 13. O-O-O O-O {
(when I first looked at this game I thought this had to be a mistake -
castling into the attack)} ({
but it seems going long is no picnic either, given Black's very breezy king:} 
13... Bb7 14. h4 O-O-O 15. Kb1 Na5 $6 {- a natural-looking move that fails to
the following long-winded combination, which is based both on Black's advanced
queenside pawns and exposed king -} 16. Bxb5 $1 axb5 17. Nxb5 Qc4 18. Na7+ Kb8
19. Nxa5 Bxe4 20. N7c6+ Kc7 21. Nxc4 Bxf3 22. Nxd8 Kxd8 23. Rhe1 Bxd1 24. Rxd1
{and after all that work, White won a pawn (!) which he eventually converted
in C.Lamoureux-S.Nemirovski, Paris 1992}) 14. Kb1 Re8 15. h4 b4 16. Ne2 a5 17.
h5 Bf8 18. g6 $1 {(there's the Tal/Carlsen break)} fxg6 19. hxg6 h6 20. Nbd4
Nxd4 21. Bxd4 e5 22. fxe5 Nxe5 23. Bxe5 dxe5 24. Bb5 Be6 25. Rd7 ({here} 25.
Bxe8 {is a simple and easy win, though the more complicated text also works})
25... Qb6 26. Ba4 Re7 27. Rdd1 Rc7 28. Ng3 Rc3 29. bxc3 bxc3+ 30. Bb3 a4 31.
Qxc3 axb3 32. cxb3 Rc8 33. Qf3 Ba3 34. Nf5 Qc6 35. Qd3 Kh8 36. Ne3 Bg8 37. Nc4
Bb4 38. Nxe5 Qf6 39. Qd4 Bc3 40. Nf7+ Bxf7 41. Qxf6 Bxf6 42. gxf7 Kh7 43. Rhf1
Rf8 44. Rd5 {1-0 S.Tiviakov-S.Drazic, Bratto 2008.}) 6. Nc3 Ne7 {
Black must try this unnatural development;} ({since} 6... Nf6 7. e5 {
gives White an obvious plus by nailing down the d6 weakness with tempo.}) 7.
Bf4 {This simple move, targeting the weak d6-square, gives White a 61% score
in the database: apparently no one has found a serious improvement for Black's
already doubtful position in the last 150 years!} O-O ({
Just as in the Gå På, Black can bail out here by playing} 7... d5 {with a long-
term positional inferiority, as White gets a favourable anti-isolani position:}
8. exd5 -- (8... Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 Qf6 11. Qe2+ Be6 12. Be5 {, when White has a large positional advantage and went on to win in M.Himdan-S.Sale,
Dubai 2006.} (12. --)) ({. A shorter story was} 8... exd5 9. Bd3 Nbc6 10. O-O
a6 11. Qh5 {(White is much better already)} Nb4 12. Bg5 $1 Nxd3 13. Bxe7 $1
Qxe7 14. Nxd5 {
(the weak pawn drops off, and White wins after a brief tactical flurry)} g6 15.
Qh6 Bxf2+ 16. Rxf2 Qe5 17. Nf6+ Ke7 18. cxd3 Bf5 {
1-0 M.Ulibin-V.Doncea, Predeal 2006.})) 8. Bd6 {Morphy clamps down on Black's
eternal weakness, and makes sure the c8-bishop won't move for a long time. 
Black's position looks terrible to this human's eyes, and our friend Mr. Fritz
has White up about one point, which is pretty substantial for move eight. 
Nonetheless, a modern GM (undeterred by both Morphy and Fritz) will try this
line again - see the next game.} f5 9. e5 a6 ({
I don't think anything can help Black here, but for the record} 9... Nbc6 {
is the modern "improvement" that will be seen in Shchekachev-Bauer.}) 10. Be2
Nbc6 11. O-O Rf7 {Black unpins his knight, but White prepares for this...} 12.
Kh1 f4 ({After} 12... Ng6 13. f4 {White maintains the bind. Therefore Black
tries to get some space on the kingside himself, but allows the c3-knight to
come into the centre.}) 13. Ne4 Nf5 14. Bh5 g6 15. Bg4 Ng7 16. Qf3 h5 17. Bh3
Qh4 ({Evidently if} 17... g5 {then} 18. Rae1 $1 g4 19. Bxg4 hxg4 20. Qxg4 {
and White's piece "sac" is hardly risky, as Black's kingside is demolished and
his "extra" piece is that worthless chunk of wood on c8 with no legal moves!})
18. Nf6+ Kh8 19. Qe4 {Just like that the game is decided - notice White uses
the e4-square again. Black's kingside is coming apart no matter what he plays.}
Qg5 20. g3 f3 {A desperate attempt to keep lines closed;} ({as after} 20...
fxg3 21. fxg3 {White's rooks can attack down the f-file, while Black is still
light years away from even connecting his own rooks, let alone doing something
with them!}) 21. Nd2 {White picks up a pawn, and the only way Black can get it
back is to exchange his king's bishop, his last defender of the dark squares.}
Bd8 {Otherwise White will have both an enormous positional advantage and an
extra pawn.} 22. Nxf3 Qh6 23. Rg1 Bxf6 24. exf6 Ne8 (24... Rxf6 25. Bf4 Qh7 26.
Rad1 {maintains material equality, but with all Black's pawns on light squares,
no dark-squared bishop and still no queenside development, it's clear that
White has a decisive positional advantage.}) 25. Bf4 Nxf6 {
While Black is strategically busted in the note above, now he loses tactically.
} 26. Qxc6 $1 Qxf4 27. Qxc8+ Rxc8 28. gxf4 Rxc2 29. Rac1 Rxf2 30. Rc8+ Ng8 31.
Ne5 Rg7 32. Nxg6+ Kh7 33. Nf8+ Kh6 34. Nxd7 Rxd7 35. Rcxg8 Rxf4 36. Bxe6 Re7
37. R8g6+ Kh7 38. Bg8+ Kh8 39. Rh6+ Rh7 40. Rxh7# {
. --- Decisive, crushing, all that... Has anything changed? Let's see.} 1-0

[Event "Metz"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2006.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shchekachev, A."]
[Black "Bauer, Ch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B40"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2006.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. Bf4 O-O 8.
Bd6 {Following Morphy, and why not? White scores 77% with this move!} f5 9. e5
Nbc6 {Does this improvement rehabilitate Black's game?} (9... a6 {
was played against Morphy.}) 10. Bb5 {I don't think so, nor does Mr. Fritz,
and soon GM Bauer has to agree that his situation is desperate!} Rf7 11. Qd2 f4
({Just as in the previous game, Black concedes the e4-square, as} 11... Ng6 12.
f4 {is just too painfully cramped.}) 12. O-O-O Nf5 13. Ne4 {
Just like Morphy - and Shchekachev soon reaches a position where...} Qh4 14.
Kb1 {Black's c8-bishop has no legal moves, and White is ready to open lines on
the kingside - sound familiar?} f3 {
And just like Paulsen, Bauer tries this desperate lunge.} 15. gxf3 Ncd4 16.
Nxd4 Nxd4 17. Qb4 Nxf3 18. Be2 {Black got his pawn back, but the systemic
problems relating to the lock on d6 and failed queenside development remain.}
Bd8 19. Rd3 a5 20. Qc3 Qxe4 21. Bxf3 Qh4 22. a3 Be7 ({Or} 22... Qxf2 23. Be4 {
and the attack begins. Black then has an extra pawn, while White (given
Black's still unmoved queen's bishop and rook) has two extra pieces!}) 23. Bxe7
Qxe7 24. Be4 Rxf2 25. Rh3 g6 26. Rg1 Qf7 27. Qd3 Rf5 ({
Black gives up the exchange in view of} 27... Rb8 28. Bxg6 hxg6 29. Rxg6+ Kf8
30. Rh8+ Ke7 31. Qd6# {.}) 28. Bxf5 exf5 29. e6 $1 {
But now the white rooks blast through.} Qe7 ({Both} 29... dxe6 30. Qd8+ Qf8 31.
Rd1) ({and} 29... Qxe6 30. Re3 {
lead to easy White wins - who still has that two piece lead!}) 30. Qxf5 dxe6
31. Rxg6+ $1 ({After this blow White mates with all checks:} 31. Rxg6+ hxg6 ({
or} 31... Kh8 32. Qe5+ Qg7 33. Qxg7#) 32. Qxg6+ Qg7 33. Qe8+ Qf8 34. Rg3+ Kh7
35. Qg6+ Kh8 36. Rh3+ Qh6 37. Rxh6# {. --- White can follow Morphy with
confidence! --- This concludes our coverage of the Taimanov/Kan Complex. The
hole at d6 is surprisingly critical, and costs Black dearly in many games. In
general, despite the large number of variations, I find the Taimanov/Kan much
easier to get an advantage against than the Najdorf or the Scheveningen. With
that in mind, Black's best chance may be the transposition into the
Scheveningen (by playing ...d7-d6 early Black covers the hole that Morphy, for
example, occupied with such devastating effect), which we saw was possible in
Tal-Taimanov and Csiba-Cvek - and indeed that transposition is often played
today. So go back and reread Chapter Four!}) 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "6. No Sveshnikov Allowed"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B30"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

{We now move on to deal with those fanatics who want to play the insane
Sveshnikov, booked up with thirty illogical moves on both sides! As I
mentioned in the Introduction, I have no interest in memorized illogic -
instead, let's play chess with my recommended} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 $1 {.
} *

[Event "Bilbao"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1987.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Chiburdanidze, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B30"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "1987.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

{Of the seven Karpov games that head the seven chapters in this book, this is
the only draw! While he showed no mercy against one fellow World Champion (see
Karpov-Spassky in Chapter Four) in this one, despite obtaining an edge in the
opening, he not only fails to convert - but, for a second, offers serious
winning chances to his rival, the female world champion!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Nc3 (3. Nc3 {is the only "Anti-Sicilian" in the book - although in practice,
every time I played this, Black answered} g6 {
, and I was delighted to reach another Dragon with} 4. d4 {. Thus I both
stayed in the Open Sicilian and increased my already huge plus score against
the Dragon.}) ({
An interesting transposition is worth noting here: if White plays} 3. Bb5 {
, the Rossolimo Variation, Black has many defences, of which} g6 {
is generally considered the most solid.} ({Instead,} 3... Nf6 {
has always been thought to be much more risky, for after} 4. Nc3 {the black knight on f6 is in danger from White's potential and threatened e4-e5.})) ({
By using my move order,} 3. Nc3 {, if Black plays} Nf6 {
as here, then White answers} 4. Bb5 ({rather than} 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e5 {
and a return to the Sveshnikov}) {, which reaches a Rossolimo where} 4... g6 {
(as seen in the main game) allows White to advance (5 e5) with tempo and some
advantage. Of course, in the Rossolimo move order, after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3
Bb5 g6 it would make no sense for White to play 4 e5.---} ({A further point is
that the insertion of the knight moves for both sides favours White for
another reason: the bishop on b5 is protected, which is important the
variation} 4... Nd4 5. e5 $1 {- see the next game.})) 3... Nf6 ({After} 3... g6
{(which I always faced) or 3...d6 or 3...e6, White just answers} 4. d4 cxd4 5.
Nxd4 {and returns to our open Sicilian repertoire.}) (3... e5 {is the other
possible "anti-Sicilian" (recommended by Rogozenko), but I think White gets a
positional edge with} 4. Bc4 {, taking over the weak d5-square - this line
will be covered in three games starting with Blackburne-Heral.}) 4. Bb5 {
Not so much an "Anti-Sicilian" as an Anti-Sveshnikov: White throws Black out
of his opening and into a risky line of the Rossolimo.} g6 ({For a long time
the position after Karpov's fourth move, 4 Bb5, was just considered bad for
Black - due to the above-mentioned threat of 5 e5 - but it has been
rehabilitated to some extent by the recent improvement} 4... Qc7 {
, which will be discussed in Adams-Zhigalko.}) ({Besides 4...g6, seen here, I
will also look at the above-mentioned counter-attack} 4... Nd4 {
in the next game.}) ({Two other moves merit attention, both of which try to
deal directly with the e4-e5 threat: --} 4... d6 {
tries to control e5 but fails to prevent the attack:} 5. e5 {(compare this to
the Rossolimo line 3 Bb5 d6 which, along with 3...g6, has a good reputation -
in this variation if White plays 4 e5 [the natural 4 0-0 would be much better]
he threatens nothing and Black equalizes easily with 4...Bd7 - but here White
threatens a knight!)} Ng4 ({obviously} 5... dxe5 6. Nxe5 {
leads to split pawns for Black}) 6. exd6 Qxd6 ({Black has problems with the
pin and his misplaced knight on g4 no matter how he takes; e.g.} 6... exd6 7.
O-O Be7 8. d4 Bd7 9. Nd5 O-O 10. Bf4 {and White has a clear advantage with
great pressure on Black's game, particularly the weak d6-square - I love those
eternal and repeating advantages! - and went on to win in G.Guseinov-N.Umudova,
Baku 2006}) 7. Ne4 Qd5 8. d3 e6 9. c4 Qd8 10. h3 Nf6 11. Ne5 {
(White exploits the pin to the max)} Bd7 12. Nxf6+ {and now White should play}
gxf6 13. Bxc6 $1 ({instead of} 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Ba4 {, when Black had some
counter-chances due to White's offside bishop in S.Fedorchuk-C.Debray, Avoine
2007}) 13... bxc6 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Qf3 {
, attacking every weak pawn in sight with a big advantage.}) (4... e5 {
has been played by former World Champion Kramnik, but it seems incredibly
risky to lesser mortals like myself. Yes, if White doesn't take up the
challenge (see Morozevich-Kramnik below) then Black equalizes easily. But if
White takes the offered pawn, Black faces innumerable difficulties in getting
out of the opening alive. I like Glek's line with the early f-pawn advance,
where White was clearly better by move 10, even if I suppose Kramnik and his
computer have something against this! Over the board, though, this would be a
terrifying attack unless you had everything worked out to the nth degree, as
can easily be seen:} 5. Bxc6 ({not the passive} 5. O-O d6 6. d3 Be7 7. h3 O-O
8. Bc4 h6 9. a3 Re8 10. Nh2 Be6 11. Nd5 Bf8 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. Ng4 Qg6 14. Bxe6
fxe6 {, when Black was fully equal with his central pawn mass and even went on
to win in A.Morozevich-V.Kramnik, Frankfurt rapid 2000}) 5... dxc6 6. Nxe5 {
(White is up a centre pawn - Black must lose a great deal of time with his
queen to get it back)} Nxe4 7. Nxe4 Qd4 {and now:} 8. -- (8. Qe2 Qxe5 9. f4
Qxf4 10. d4 Qh4+ 11. g3 Qe7 12. O-O f5 13. Nd6+ Kd7 {(how Black survived this,
in a battle of world champions, I cannot explain, but Kramnik did survive! - I
can only suspect a ton of computer hours went into making this difficult draw)}
14. Qxe7+ Bxe7 15. dxc5 Bxd6 16. Rd1 Ke8 17. cxd6 Be6 18. Bg5 Kd7 19. Re1 h6
20. Be7 {(I would expect to win this with White, with the big passed pawn, but
I have never played Kramnik)} g5 21. Re5 Rhg8 22. a4 b6 23. b4 ({
instead of creating a target for his opponent, Anand should build up with} 23.
Rae1 Rg6 24. Kf2 {, when it's hard to see how Black holds the game in the long
run - instead, after the text, one sees Kramnik find counterplay and finally
end on a high note with the better half of a draw}) 23... a6 24. Rc1 f4 25. c4
fxg3 26. hxg3 a5 $1 27. c5 axb4 28. cxb6 Rxa4 29. Rce1 Bd5 30. Bf6 b3 31. b7
Rb4 32. Re7+ Kxd6 33. Rh7 c5 34. Rxh6 Rxb7 35. Be5+ Ke7 36. Rd1 b2 37. Rb1 Ra8
38. Rxb2 Rxb2 39. Bxb2 Ra2 40. Bf6+ {½-½ V.Anand-V.Kramnik, Monte Carlo
(rapid) 2003. Black can go up a pawn in the final position but has no serious
winning chances, this being the last pawn on the board.}) (8. O-O Qxe5 9. d4 {
(another way is this fierce Carlsen attack - a pawn sac for development)} cxd4
(9... Qxd4 10. Qe2 Be6 {looks like a chance to survive}) 10. Re1 Be6 11. Bg5
Be7 12. f4 $1 {(White has a tremendous attack and Black won't be able to
castle after this move - Carlsen won quickly)} Qd5 13. Bxe7 Kxe7 14. f5 Qxf5
15. Qxd4 Qd5 16. Qb4+ c5 17. Nxc5 a5 18. Qa3 Qd4+ 19. Kh1 Qb4 20. Qe3 {
1-0 M.Carlsen-J.Deepan Chakkravarthy, Dubai 2004.}) (8. d3 Qxe5 9. f4 {
(I like this line the best: White gets a tremendous attack and doesn't have to
sacrifice anything)} Qc7 10. O-O Bf5 ({or} 10... Be7 11. f5 {
and there is no good way to stop the further advance of this pawn; e.g.} f6 12.
Qh5+ {with a decisive attack}) 11. Ng3 Bd7 12. Re1+ Kd8 13. Qh5 {, when White
was much better and eventually won in I.Glek-V.Kachar, Saratov 2006.})) 5. e5
Ng4 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. h3 Nh6 8. g4 {Good knight, Miss Chiburdanidze!} Bg7 9. Qe2
{A good move;} ({but the current Women's World Champion, Hou Yifan, takes down
a 2700 with the perhaps more accurate} 9. d3 {(with the white queen not yet
committed to e2, Black must watch for Be3 and Qd2)} f5 {
(Black rushes for counterplay)} ({as} 9... O-O 10. Be3 b6 $2 (10... f6 {
, giving up the c-pawn, is necessary}) 11. Qd2 {wins a whole piece!}) 10. exf6
exf6 11. Qe2+ Kf7 (11... Qe7 {is relatively best, though after} 12. Qxe7+ Kxe7
13. Be3 {White is somewhat better in the queenless middlegame with active
development and weaknesses on both sides to attack}) 12. Be3 Re8 13. O-O-O Kg8
14. d4 {(White opens the game to target the still unsettled black king)} cxd4
15. Nxd4 Qc7 16. Rhe1 Nf7 17. Qc4 Qh2 18. Nce2 $1 Qxh3 19. Nf4 Qxg4 20. Rg1 Qd7
21. Nde6 {(White's attack is too strong - the powerful knights coordinate with
the rook on the open g-file)} Qe7 22. Nxg7 Kxg7 23. Nh5+ Kh8 24. Bc5 Qe6 25.
Rge1 Qxe1 26. Qxf7 Qxd1+ 27. Kxd1 Bg4+ 28. Kd2 Rad8+ 29. Kc3 Bxh5 30. Bd4 Rxd4
31. Qxe8+ {1-0 Hou Yifan-F.Vallejo Pons, Wijk aan Zee 2009.}) 9... O-O 10. d3
f6 11. Bf4 $2 {A surprising tactical oversight from Karpov, which allows the
"dim" knight on the rim to strike a powerful blow: 11...Nxg4! (see the next
note for the gory details).} ({Correct is} 11. Be3 $1 {
, when Black has four responses, of which only the last is critical.} -- (11...
Nxg4 $6 {(the combination Karpov allows in the game doesn't work here with the
white bishop protected)} 12. hxg4 Bxg4 13. Rh4 Qc8 (13... h5 {also loses:} 14.
Rxg4 hxg4 15. Nh4 {
, as the two white knights are much more active than either black rook}) 14. e6
$1 {and it transpires that Black has no sufficient compensation for the piece,
since} Qxe6 {fails to} 15. Ng5 {.}) (11... f5 12. g5 Nf7 13. Bxc5 {
snaps off a pawn.}) (11... b6 12. O-O-O {is good for White.}) ({. It's easy to
see that White is better in all three of the above variations - but what
happens if Black just takes a centre pawn? Then White needs to show some real
mastery! ---} 11... fxe5 {(best)} 12. Ng5 $1 {(White has not lost a pawn, but
rather given a "pawn-cracker" sacrifice: the black pawns are discombobulated,
and White has a wonderful permanent square on e4; thus he risks nothing and
may achieve much - the following game is one of the best manoeuvring wins I've
seen since the heyday of Petrosian!)} Nf7 13. Nxf7 Rxf7 14. Ne4 b6 15. c4 Be6
16. O-O-O Qd7 17. f3 Raf8 18. Rhf1 h6 19. Qg2 Qc8 20. Kb1 a5 21. Qg3 a4 22. Qg2
Qd7 23. Qe2 {(Black has no play and must wait to see where White might break -
certainly h4-h5 with an eventual piece sac on g5 is possible, but Guseinov
keeps his opponent guessing for a very long time...)} Qc8 24. Rf2 Rd8 25. Rff1
Rdf8 26. Kc1 Rd8 27. Rd2 Rdf8 28. Kd1 Qa8 29. Kc1 Qc8 30. Qg2 Qa6 31. Rc2 Qc8
32. Qe2 Rd8 33. Kd1 Rdf8 34. Ke1 Qa6 35. Rf2 Qc8 36. Kf1 Kh7 37. Kg2 Bf6 38.
Rc1 Bh4 39. Rff1 Bf6 40. Qc2 Qa6 41. Qd2 Bg7 42. Qe1 Bf6 43. Qg3 Qc8 44. Qf2
Qd7 45. Qd2 Bg7 46. Qc2 Qa7 47. Rf2 Qa6 48. Rcf1 Qa7 49. Qd1 Rd8 50. Rd2 Qa6
51. Qe1 Bf6 52. Rh1 Rdf8 53. Qg3 Qc8 54. Rf1 Qd7 55. a3 Qc8 56. Qe1 Qd7 57. Qc1
Bg7 58. Rdd1 Qc8 59. Rf2 Qd7 60. Qc2 Qa7 61. Rb1 Ra8 62. b3 $3 {
(until this! - White breaks on the queenside!)} axb3 63. Rxb3 Rff8 64. Qb1 b5 (
64... Rfb8 65. Rfb2 {doesn't save anything}) 65. Nxc5 Bg8 66. a4 {1-0 G.Guseinov-A.Secer, Istanbul 2008. White breaks through however Black plays; e.g.} bxa4
({or} 66... bxc4 67. dxc4 Bxc4 68. Rb7 Qa5 69. Nd7 Rf7 70. Nb6 {
and White picks up an exchange}) 67. Rb7 Rab8 68. Rxa7 Rxb1 69. Ra2 Rfb8 70.
R2xa4 {and White has not only recovered his long ago sacrificed pawn, but will
soon pick up one of the weakies (c6/e7/e5).})) 11... Nf7 $6 ({
What Karpov - and Chiburdanidze - missed is} 11... Nxg4 $1 12. hxg4 fxe5 {
, which works because of the cluttered white pieces on the f-file. Guseinov
fell into this too, but after the blow was struck, somehow found a way to
confuse his opponent:} 13. Rxh7 ({no time to manoeuvre here; if} 13. Bxe5 Bxg4
14. Bxg7 Bxf3 15. Qe5 {then} Rf5 {
and Black wins - so Guseinov boldly goes for a confusing but unsound sacrifice}
) 13... exf4 ({Black should just take it:} 13... Kxh7 14. Ng5+ Kg8 {
and it's hard to see what White has for the exchange; e.g.} 15. Be3 ({or} 15.
Qe4 Rxf4 16. Qxg6 Qd6 {and wins}) 15... e4 16. Ngxe4 Qa5 {
and Black has activated his position while retaining a material advantage}) 14.
Rh4 {
(somehow Guseinov came out smelling like a rose again, and won as follows...)}
Bf6 15. Qe4 Kg7 16. Ne5 Qe8 17. Rh2 Be6 18. O-O-O Bd5 19. Qxf4 Rh8 20. Rxh8
Qxh8 21. Nxd5 cxd5 22. g5 Qb8 23. gxf6+ exf6 24. Nxg6 Kxg6 25. Qg4+ Kf7 26.
Qd7+ Kf8 27. Rh1 Qf4+ {1-0 G.Guseinov-G.Gopal, Dubai 2009. --- I like a good
swindle as much as the next man, but I certainly don't recommend such play -
either go with Hou Yifan's 9 d3 or Guseinov's positional sac 11 Be3.}) 12.
O-O-O fxe5 13. Bg3 Be6 14. Nxe5 {No doubt Karpov saw his mistake right after
he made his eleventh move, and so decides not to tempt fate and heads for a
draw.} ({On another day he might have played on à la Guseinov with} 14. Nd2 {
, having pawn-cracker compensation.}) 14... Bd5 15. Nxf7 Rxf7 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17.
Be5 Bxe5 18. Qxe5 ({Equality results after} 18. Qxe5 Qd6 {. --- The eleventh
move oversight is interesting - even a knight on the rim may be bloodthirsty -
but the real revelation is Guseinov's pawn sac (11 Be3) which gives White
long-term chances. --- Also note Hou Yifan's interesting move order, which
poses quicker and perhaps more difficult problems for Black. --- One could go
so far as to say that Karpov was dissed by two Women's World Champions in this
game: one almost beat him and made him head for the draw, and another improved
on his play! All of us macho men have to realize: the women are serious. ---
Going back to the opening, 4...g6, allowing that quick e4-e5 for White,
clearly does not solve Black's problems: the king's knight wanders about and,
except for fortune, rarely has a good chance to get back into the game - and
is even a static target on h6, as Hou Yifan showed.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Yerevan"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal, M."]
[Black "Mnatsakanian, E."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "1986.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. e5 {Black allows this early
attack, to White's advantage - which is possible, as previously noted, due to
the fact that the b5-bishop is protected.} ({While I'm sure Tal didn't
hesitate a second to cross the meridian with attack - and I hope the reader
will follow him - it is possible for an out-of-form genius in a blitz game to
lose a piece after a couple of passive moves:} 5. d3 $6 {(Shirov?)} Nxb5 6.
Nxb5 d5 7. Qe2 $4 ({of course} 7. Nc3 {is equal}) 7... Qa5+ 8. Nc3 d4 9. e5 Nd5
10. Bd2 dxc3 {- and yes, that's a whole piece that Shirov dropped, with a
quick win for Black in A.Shirov-B.Savchenko, World Blitz Championship, Moscow
2007.}) 5... Nxb5 {Necessary, as otherwise Black has no good place to put his
problematic king's knight.} 6. Nxb5 Nd5 7. Ng5 $1 {Tal must love to get two
knights to the fifth rank (recall Tal-Vranesic). But there it took him to move
16 to advance the cavalry so far - here both steeds are attacking almost ten
moves earlier!} ({
There is a not-so-hidden immediate threat: let's say Black plays} 7. Ng5 b6 {
(or some other innocuous move) then White wins at once with} 8. Qf3 $1 {
, which threatens mate and the loose knight at d5. Furthermore, as we will see
in the following note, if the g5-knight is "driven back" with 7...h6 - it
won't go back, but rather forward to sac itself onf7!}) 7... f6 {The most common defence, at least avoiding the Qf3 double attack and the sac on f7, but not
an equalizer. Instead, a number of players have provoked the sac, so let's
take a look at that, and then at the seemingly "safe" defence 7...e6.} (7... h6
8. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 9. Qf3+ {and now there is} Ke6 {, trying to hold on to the
piece. Black has essayed this monarchial centralization six times in the
database - and White has won all six!} ({The sane option is} 9... Nf6 {
to give back the material at once, although after} 10. exf6 exf6 11. Qd5+ {
White was much better as the black king had to run to g6, so eventually 1-0 in
V.Jansa-G.Souleidis, Spanish Team Championship2006}) {. After} 10. c4 {
Black has tried various defences to no avail:} -- (10... Nb6 11. d4 d5 12. dxc5
dxc4 ({after} 12... Nxc4 13. Nd4+ Kd7 14. Qxd5+ Ke8 15. Qxc4 {White recovered
his piece while retaining the attack and won quickly in D.Skorchenko-A.Netrebko, Dombai 2010}) 13. Be3 Nd5 14. O-O-O {1-0 I.Nataf-T.Roussel Roozmon,
Kapuskasing 2004 - Black resigned as there is no defence to 15 Rxd5.}) (10...
Nb4 11. a3 Nc2+ 12. Kd1 Nxa1 {(now Black can enjoy his extra rook and knight
for two more moves - one move for each sacrificed piece!)} 13. g4 g6 14. Qd5# {
!}) (10... Nc7 11. g4 g6 12. Nxc7+ Kxe5 ({or just} 12... Qxc7 13. Qd5# {
, getting it over with}) 13. d4+ Kd6 14. Bf4+ e5 15. Bxe5+ Ke7 16. Qf6# {
, N.Jactel-J.Masset, Ermont 2009.})) (7... e6 {, defending the knight on d5,
looks plausible and has been played many times - with terrible results! White
answers} 8. Ne4 {and it's immediately apparent that our old friend, the hole
at d6, is fatal for Black; e.g.} a6 9. Nbd6+ Bxd6 10. Nxd6+ Kf8 11. O-O Qe7 12.
d4 cxd4 13. Qxd4 Kg8 14. Bd2 h6 15. Ba5 Qg5 16. f4 Qg4 17. h3 Qh4 18. Rad1 g5
19. Be1 Qh5 20. Rd3 Nxf4 21. Rxf4 $1 {(with every black piece on the back rank
except for the queen, such attacking sacrifices are easy peasy)} gxf4 22. Qxf4
Kh7 23. Ne4 Qf5 24. Nf6+ Kg7 25. Rg3+ {
and Black resigned just before mate: 1-0 F.Vallejo Pons-J.Planas, Calvia 2005.}
) 8. Ne4 {Simple and strong - Tal keeps both attacking knights.} (8. Qf3 {
is also good but more complicated:} fxg5 9. Qxd5 a6 10. Nc3 Qc7 11. e6 $1 {
(a strong obstructive sac)} ({as opposed to the too quiet} 11. O-O e6 12. Qe4
d5 {, when Black freed himself and even won in A.Gonzalez Verges-M.Munoz
Pantoja, Barcelona 2011}) 11... h6 12. h4 dxe6 13. Qe4 Qf4 14. hxg5 Qxe4+ 15.
Nxe4 {(White's advantage persists into the endgame, as Black's pawns obstruct
both his bishops)} b6 16. d3 Bb7 17. Bf4 Kf7 18. Bc7 b5 19. Nxc5 Bxg2 20. g6+
Ke8 21. Rh5 Bf3 22. Re5 Rc8 23. Ba5 Rc6 24. a4 $1 bxa4 25. Rxa4 h5 26. Rd4 {
(both rooks come into the centre via the edge files - a very rare sight)} Rc8
27. Nxe6 {(White takes back the obstructive pawn with a mating attack) 1-0 P.Simacek-P.Bazant, Slovakian Team Championship 2001.}) 8... f5 {
A tempo loss with the f-pawn;} ({but} 8... fxe5 9. Qh5+ {is too strong}) ({
while after} 8... a6 9. Nbc3 Nxc3 10. dxc3 d6 11. exd6 exd6 12. Bf4 Bf5 (12...
d5 13. Qh5+ $1 g6 14. Qxd5 $1 {is a crusher}) 13. Nxd6+ Bxd6 14. Bxd6 Qd7 15.
Qe2+ Kf7 16. Bxc5 Qd5 17. Be3 Qxg2 18. Qc4+ Be6 19. Qc7+ Kg6 20. O-O-O {
White, with an extra pawn and attack, won quickly in S.Bromberger-P.Bensch,
Austrian League 2004.}) 9. c4 {Blow for blow! The knight is given no peace.} ({
Of course Tal would not fall for} 9. Nxc5 Qb6 {, forking.}) 9... Nc7 ({Since} 
9... fxe4 10. cxd5 {, with central domination, is obviously bad for Black,
Mnatsakanian must move his knight again.}) 10. Nxc5 Nxb5 11. cxb5 Qb6 12. d4
Qxb5 13. Nd3 {Simple chess: White prepares castling and counts on his central
pawn wedge to assure the advantage.} e6 ({Black fared no better after} 13... g6
14. O-O Bg7 {
(this bishop may be developed, but it's certainly not contributing!)} 15. a4
Qc4 16. Be3 b6 17. Rc1 Qf7 18. Qf3 Rb8 19. Rc7 {and as in the main game, the
c-file is an important avenue of attack: Mr. Fritz is already at "decisive
advantage", and indeed White scored the full point in Z.Hracek-Ji.Nun,
Pardubice 1999.}) 14. O-O Be7 15. a4 Qc4 {The queen is just a target here.} 16.
Be3 O-O 17. Rc1 Qa6 18. d5 $1 b6 (18... exd5 19. Nf4 {recovers the pawn with a
substantial advantage; note that Black's light-squared bishop is still not
playing.}) 19. dxe6 dxe6 20. Qb3 b5 {
This looks like justified desperation, when we consider the alternatives.} (
20... Bb7 21. Qxe6+) ({or} 20... Bd7 21. Rc7 Rad8 22. Rxd7) ({or} 20... Rf7 21.
Nf4 {. Obviously White wins easily after all three variations, which means
Black can't develop his queen's bishop and can't wait either - thus
desperation doesn't look too bad!}) 21. axb5 Rb8 {
Black hopes to exchange queens, but then...} 22. Rc7 Rxb5 23. Qc2 $1 {
Tal just knocks him out with this move, which wins in all lines;} ({e.g.} 23.
Qc2 Rd5 (23... Rb7 24. Rxc8) (23... Re8 24. Rxa7) ({, or} 23... Bd8 24. Rxc8)
24. Nf4 {. --- Those are pretty short variations for a Tal game! --- Evidently
4...Nd4 can't be recommended - in general Black must prevent e4-e5, at least
for one move!}) 1-0

[Event "European Championship, Rijeka"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Adams, M."]
[Black "Zhigalko, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 ({
Note the Rossolimo move order, instead of our repertoire} 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 {
. Clearly Black went into this line willingly to try out the} Qc7 {
improvement - unfortunately the rest of the game didn't go as planned!}) 3...
Nf6 4. Nc3 Qc7 {Considered best - Black prevents e4-e5 for the moment - but
Adams shows that Black's problems are not completely solved.} 5. d3 {White surprisingly scores 68% with this modest move: the idea is that White stabilizes
his position, and opens a line for his queen's bishop, while keeping the e4-e5
advance in reserve. This constant threat makes it hard for Black to fully
equalize.} ({I think} 5. Bxc6 {is premature when one doesn't know Black's
central pawn arrangement (in the main game Adams waits until Black commits
himself to ...e7-e6 before taking the knight) and now:} -- (5... Qxc6 $5 {
(Black plays for a win and refuses to make any concessions)} 6. Qe2 d5 {
(very risky, but this does open lines for the black bishops)} 7. Ne5 Qe6 8. f4
(8. exd5 {looks better for White}) 8... dxe4 9. O-O a6 10. b3 g6 11. Ba3 Bg7
12. Bxc5 O-O 13. Rae1 b6 14. Ba3 Bb7 {and Black succeeded in activating both
his bishops and went on to win in V.Gashimov-I.Smirin, Calvia Olympiad 2004.})
(5... dxc6 {(the solid move)} 6. h3 ({here} 6. e5 {has no effect, as with} Nd5
{the knight just goes to a good square}) 6... e5 {(Black blockades the centre)}
7. d3 h6 8. b3 Be6 9. Bb2 Rd8 10. Nd2 Bd6 {and Black was ultra-solid and made
his draw in V.Gashimov-Wang Yue, Elista 2008 - though perhaps White could have
kept a small edge here with} 11. Nc4 {
(see the Caruana game given in the note to Black's fifth move).})) ({
Another option is} 5. O-O {, but this can lead to the "maelstrom of forced
variations" that we have been trying to avoid; e.g.} Nd4 6. Nxd4 cxd4 7. Nd5
Nxd5 8. exd5 Qc5 9. c4 a6 10. b4 {and we now enter the realm of computer
opening analysis, or let's see some crazy moves that only a computer could
choose - and not only that, there are 43 games in the MegaBase with this
insanity, many of them featuring high-rated players and higher-powered
computers! Here's one example:} Qxb4 11. Ba4 g6 12. d3 Bg7 13. Bd2 Qa3 14. Rb1
Qxd3 15. d6 e6 16. c5 b5 17. Bc2 Qc4 18. Be4 Ra7 19. Ba5 f5 20. Bf3 e5 21. Bb6
Rb7 {reaching the kind of position only a silicon monster could love, Black
went on to win in B.Savchenko-S.Zhigalko, European Championship, Aix-les-Bains
2011.}) 5... d6 {White has pressure, and Black players have tried various
lines without finding a clear path to equality.} (5... g6 {(this and the next
few moves are instructive, as we see White's plan very clearly - if Black does
not directly oppose it of course)} 6. O-O Bg7 7. Re1 O-O 8. e5 {- that's it!
White simply castled, put the rook behind the e-pawn, and advanced to hit that
target knight. White was much better after} Ng4 9. Nd5 Qd8 10. Bg5 f6 11. exf6
exf6 12. Bh4 d6 {- but now, instead of} 13. h3 {, when White only made a draw
in Y.Dembo-M.Voiska, European Team Championship, Heraklio 2007,} ({
White should break with} 13. d4 $1 {, when she would have every chance of
victory. This variation shows that Black cannot remain passive in the face of
White's central play.})) (5... a6 {
(now that Black has lost a tempo, of course White takes)} 6. Bxc6 Qxc6 7. O-O
b5 8. e5 Nd5 9. Ne4 {- this is the basic manoeuvre: the f6-knight is moved out,
and White occupies the square said knight was controlling. The d3-pawn secures
the knight. All very harmonious, indeed, Karpovian! White is better, and after}
Bb7 10. Re1 e6 11. c4 Nb6 12. b3 h6 13. a4 Be7 14. a5 Nc8 15. h4 O-O 16. Bf4
Rd8 17. Qc1 Bf8 18. Nf6+ $1 {, White broke through on the kingside and won
stylishly in N.Guliyev-A.Moiseenko, Mainz (rapid) 2009.}) ({
Fabulous Fabiano faced} 5... e6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Ba4 a6 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. a4 a5 10.
h3 e5 11. Nd2 Be6 12. b3 Nd7 13. Nc4 Bxc4 14. bxc4 {(after a bit of dancing
Fabiano has reached this "perfect grind" position, which he duly converted
after many tormenting moves)} Nf8 15. Ne2 Ne6 16. Ng3 g6 17. Bh6 Bf8 18. Qd2
Bxh6 19. Qxh6 Nd4 20. Ra2 f6 21. Rb2 Rb8 22. c3 Ne6 23. Ne2 Rf8 24. f4 $1 {
(the plus-equals of the last ten moves has stepped up to clear plus by virtue
of this delayed - really delayed! - King's Gambit-style f-file attack)} exf4
25. Nxf4 Nxf4 26. Rxf4 Rd8 27. e5 $1 {(decisive)} Rxd3 28. exf6 Rf7 29. Re4+
Kd7 30. Rb1 Kc8 31. Re7 Rxe7 32. Qf8+ Re8 33. Qxe8+ Rd8 34. f7 $1 {
(now that's a lusty f-pawn!)} Qd6 35. Re1 {
1-0 F.Caruana-L.Lenic, Italian Team Championship 2010.}) (5... Nd4 6. Bc4 {
(since e4-e5 is not playable, the strong attacking GM Kulaots switches to
piece play)} e6 7. Be3 Nxf3+ 8. Qxf3 a6 9. a4 b6 10. O-O Bb7 11. Bg5 Be7 12.
Qh3 O-O 13. Rae1 d6 14. f4 {(White has set up a perfect attacking position)}
Rae8 15. f5 d5 16. e5 dxc4 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Re3 {
(decisive, in view of Black's broken king position)} Kh8 20. Qh6 Rg8 21. Qxf6+
Rg7 22. Rg3 Reg8 23. dxc4 Qc6 24. Rd1 exf5 25. Qxg7+ $1 Rxg7 26. Rd8+ Rg8 27.
Rdxg8# {, K.Kulaots-K.Stokke, Gjovik 2009. --- It's not easy for Black! I
think Zhigalko's fourth and fifth moves were the best - but I'm not sure I can
say that about his next move.}) 6. O-O e6 (6... e5 {looks necessary,
transposing to a pawn structure we already saw in Morozevich-Kramnik (note to
Black's 4th move in Karpov-Chiburdanidze) where Black equalized - except that
here the piece situation favours White as (unlike in the Kramnik game) Black's
queen and king's knight are at a forking distance. White plays} 7. Bg5 Be7 8.
Bxf6 Bxf6 9. Nd5 Qd8 {and now, instead of} 10. Nd2 {
as in A.Samak-E.Chasovnikova, Schwäbisch Gmünd 2009,} ({
White should play more actively:} 10. c3 a6 11. Bc4 b5 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. Bd5 {
(taking over the d5-square)} Bd7 14. a4 O-O 15. d4 {and the weakness of d5,
plus this central break, gives White a small but enduring advantage.})) 7.
Bxc6+ $1 {Well timed! Neither recapture is fully satisfactory.} Qxc6 (7... bxc6
8. Qe2 (8. e5 {is an interesting pawn-cracker sac that is coming up all the
time in these positions - Guseinov! - when White would have excellent
compensation after} dxe5 9. Qe2 Bd6 10. Bg5) 8... e5 9. Nh4 {
(but this simple line is very strong without any necessity to sacrifice)} g6
10. f4 Bg4 11. Qf2 exf4 12. Bxf4 Be6 13. Qxc5 $1 {and White won a pawn
(Black's doubletons were weaker than they looked!) and soon the game in E.Inarkiev-J.Markos, European Championship, Aix-les-Bains 2011.}) 8. e5 {
As always, the key break in this variation.} Nd7 ({After} 8... dxe5 9. Nxe5 {
this centralized knight is worth more than either of Black's bishops.}) 9. d4
d5 ({Or} 9... cxd4 10. Nxd4 Qb6 11. exd6 Bxd6 12. Ndb5 Bc5 13. Qg4 {and we see
the picture of many recent games: Black's light-squared bishop has no legal
moves, and the dark squares are cracking.}) 10. a4 b6 11. Re1 h6 12. Ne2 a6 13.
h4 Bb7 {After this move, White locks up the centre and Black is stuck in a bad
French with an even worse French bishop - presumably not what Black wanted
when he played 1...c5!} ({I think Black has to try to open the position at
least a little bit, and defend the plus-equals position that arises after} 
13... cxd4 14. Nexd4 Qc7 15. Bf4 {.}) 14. c3 c4 15. a5 bxa5 ({
Black has to weaken his pawns, as after} 15... b5 16. b4 Be7 (16... cxb3 17.
Ba3 Bxa3 18. Rxa3 {is a favourable exchange for White: compare either white
knight to Black's bad "French" bishop}) 17. Ng3 {, with the position locked on
the queenside, White can gradually prepare an offensive on the kingside, the
strong side of his pawn chain.}) 16. Rxa5 Qb6 17. Ra1 {White has won the
opening battle: Black has little or no play on the queenside, as the pawn
chain is locked and White's sole weakness at b2 is very economically defended.
Meanwhile, White stands much better on the kingside with space and good
knights. Now watch Adams go to work!} a5 18. Nf4 Bc6 ({
Black can hardly castle kingside into White's attack:} 18... Be7 19. g3 O-O 20.
Nh2 a4 21. Qh5 Bc6 22. Ng4 Rfe8 23. Nxh6+ $1 {
(White sacs both knights to destroy the black king's pawn cover)} gxh6 24. Nxe6
$1 fxe6 25. Qg6+ Kh8 26. Qxh6+ Kg8 27. Qxe6+ Kh7 28. Qh6+ Kg8 29. e6 $1 {
(there is no defence, despite the two extra pieces)} Nf8 ({or} 29... Nf6 30.
Re5 {and the rook lift finishes matters}) 30. Bf4 Qb7 31. Be5 Bf6 32. Bxf6 Qh7
33. Qg5+ Qg6 34. e7 {and wins.}) 19. Nh2 Nb8 20. Qh5 Bd7 21. Re3 Ra7 22. Rg3
Qb3 23. Qe2 Ba4 24. Nh5 Qc2 25. Qe1 Rh7 {Very awkward;} ({
but other defences allow the knight into f6:} 25... f6 26. Nxf6+) ({or} 25...
g6 26. Nf6+ {, with a crushing advantage for White in both variations.}) 26.
Ng4 Nd7 27. Ne3 Qb3 28. Bd2 g6 29. Nf4 Be7 30. Qb1 Bxh4 {
One hopes Zhigalko enjoyed his "last meal"!} 31. Rh3 Be7 32. Nxg6 $1 {
That's all folks!} fxg6 33. Qxg6+ Rf7 34. Rf3 Bf6 35. Rxf6 Nxf6 36. exf6 Kd8
37. Ra3 Qb5 38. Ng4 Rad7 39. Ne5 Qxb2 ({No better is} 39... Rf8 40. Bxh6 Rh8
41. f7) (39... Rh7 {or} 40. Nxd7 Qxd7 41. Rxa4 {.}) 40. Nxf7+ ({After} 40.
Nxf7+ Rxf7 41. Qxf7 Qxa3 42. Qg8+ Kd7 43. f7 {the pawn goes through. --- After
the delayed Rossolimo sequence of 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bb5, this line
(4...Qc7, monitoring e5) is as good as it gets for the second player, and can
be used at a high level. With accurate opening play - 6...e5 - White can be
restricted to a small edge. Nonetheless, White can still play the resulting
position for a win, while if Black takes the slightest step off the correct
path, he could face an extremely dangerous long-term attack, as Adams
demonstrated. --- The reader should note that e4-e5 is always White's big
break in these lines. So that brings us to the other version of the
Anti-Sicilian that can come about after 3 Nc3. Black can immediately block the
white e-pawn advance by putting his own pawn there - at the cost of the
d5-square of course. In my opinion White can easily get some positional
advantage against this line, which is the subject of the final three games of
this chapter.}) 1-0

[Event "Vienna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1873.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Blackburne, JH."]
[Black "Heral, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "1873.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 e5 {This game reaches the Sicilian through a surprising transposition
from the Vienna Game;} ({but first let's take a look at the Sicilian order:} 
1... c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 {is our basic repertoire, with the aim of avoiding
the anti-positional (for both sides) Sveshnikov!} -- ({. Black side Sveshnikov
devotee, Dorian Rogozenko, writes as follows in his book: 'Anti-Sicilians: A
Guide for Black', referring to this opening position: "White's point is that} 
3... Nf6 4. Bb5 {leads to a line that is generally considered to favour White"
(I agree, as we have seen in the last few games)} (4. --)) ({
, and goes on to recommend "the most principled answer,} 3... e5 {." He admits
this leaves a permanent weakness at d5, but underestimates, in my opinion, the
simple Ng5 and f2-f4 attack as played by Anand which will be featured in the
next game. --- I think it's asking a bit much of the black position to take on
the weakness at d5 when the white bishop can go directly to c4 - it seems that
Black will have to suffer for his principles! But first, let's take a look at
a very modern game from 1873!})) 2. Nc3 c5 ({
It's worth mentioning a line of the Four Knights Game here:} 2... Nf6 3. Nf3
Nc6 4. Bb5 Bd6 {is a weird-looking move that has been played about 500 times
in the Database, even the mighty Magnus faced it! We'll see something similar
in the main game. After} 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Re8 7. Re1 a6 8. Bc4 Na5 9. a3 Nxc4
10. dxc4 {(White locks down d5 and enjoys a small advantage, which he converts
in a lengthy endgame)} h6 11. h3 Bc5 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Rxe3 d6 14. Qd2 Be6 15.
b3 Nd7 16. Rd1 Rf8 17. Qe2 b6 18. Ne1 Nc5 19. Nd3 Nxd3 20. cxd3 b5 21. d4 exd4
22. Rxd4 bxc4 23. bxc4 Qf6 24. Rd1 Rab8 25. Nd5 Bxd5 26. cxd5 Rb2 27. Qf3 Qxf3
28. Rxf3 Re2 29. Rd4 Rc2 30. Ra4 {, it's now clear that Black's pawns are
weaker than White's - Magnus converted in another thirty moves or so in M.Carlsen-L.Aronian, Nice (rapid) 2010.}) 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 {The bishop gets to
this perfect square in one - White owns the weak d5-square. Once again, 1 e4
c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 e5 4 Bc4 is our Sicilian repertoire route to this key
position.} Bd6 {Maybe this 19th century game inspired Aronian!} (4... d6 5. d3
{is the modern way, and now} Be7 {
is correct and will be seen in the next two following.} ({Instead, in a blitz
encounter my opponent followed Lasker and developed his king's knight first:} 
5... Nf6 $2 {- but after my reply} 6. Ng5 $1 {, he discovered that he had no
reasonable way to defend f7, and so resigned: 1-0 T.Taylor-Alexbawtry,
Internet (blitz) 2011.})) 5. d3 h6 6. O-O b6 7. Ne2 ({I would prefer} 7. a3 {
, maintaining my strong light-squared bishop, but Blackburne (often known as
the Black Death!) also gets the edge this way.}) 7... Bb7 8. c3 Na5 9. Bb3 ({
Another possibility is} 9. Ng3 $5 {(Magnus-style!)} Nxc4 10. dxc4 {
with a slight edge.}) 9... g5 $6 ({Correct is} 9... Nxb3 10. Qxb3 Ne7 {
with only a slight edge for White, mostly due to the eternally awkward bishop
at d6 - that square, as we have seen, is a real problem for Black in many
variations of the Sicilian.}) 10. Ng3 Qc7 11. Bc2 $1 {A very modern way of
preserving the bishop, which will return to the a2-g8 diagonal later.} Ne7 12.
Be3 Rc8 13. Rc1 Ng6 14. Nf5 Ne7 15. Ng7+ $1 {Black won't castle in this game!}
Kf8 16. Nh5 Ng6 17. Bb1 Qd8 18. Ng3 Bb8 {While I think White could have been
more accurate with the early 7 a3 (and Black should have taken the bishop on
b3 when he had the chance), after that slight error one could hardly improve
on Blackburne's play which, as I said, has a very modern appearance. It's not
too soon to say that White has a winning position - but he must strike at this
moment! After all, Black's last move finally solved the problem of his
dark-squared bishop, and he is ready for a central counter - so hit now and
hit hard!} 19. h3 $2 {Chess is timing, and this is too slow.} (19. b4 $1 {
is a knockout. The black knight on the rim can't retreat normally without
losing a pawn, so the c-file must be opened, and then White can use a crowbar
on the centre:} cxb4 (19... Nc6 20. bxc5 bxc5 21. Bxc5+ {
is just a good extra pawn for White}) 20. cxb4 Rxc1 21. Bxc1 Nc6 22. b5 Na5 ({
or} 22... Nd4 23. Nxd4 exd4 24. Bb2 Be5 25. Qa4 {and White wins a pawn}) 23.
Nf5 $1 Kg8 ({Black can't free himself, as} 23... d5 {fails to} 24. Nxh6 $1 {
, picking up a good pawn in view of the latent fork on g5}) ({
; Black's last move meets this threat, intending} 23... Kg8 24. Nxh6+ Rxh6 25.
Bxg5 Qf8 {- but there is a lot more to the White position than a tactical trick
}) 24. d4 $1 {and White has a decisive positional advantage: Black's scattered
forces, especially his completely out of play king's rook, can do nothing
against White's central assault.}) 19... d5 $1 {Rogozenko writes: "Often Black
can advance his pawn to d5, solving all his problems at a stroke." Indeed! But
this did not have to happen.} 20. b4 {
As so often, you see the right move - one move too late!} cxb4 21. cxb4 Rxc1
22. Qxc1 Nc6 23. Nf5 Nce7 24. Ng3 d4 25. Bd2 Qd7 26. a3 g4 27. hxg4 Qxg4 {
Black has energetically obtained counterplay.} 28. Ba2 Nf4 29. Qc4 Rh7 30. Nh2
Qg6 31. Nf3 Rg7 {Now even the rook is employed. After White's big mistake on
move 19, Black has gradually outplayed his redoubtable foe, and even if Fritz
still rates the position as plus-equals, I think Black's activity has taken
him to equalizing territory. Evidently Blackburne thought so too - so rather
than adapt to the changed circumstance, he tries a bluff.} 32. Bxf4 $5 exf4 33.
Qxd4 {This trick is based on the mate at d8, but Black has a countershot...}
Nc6 34. Qd5 Bc7 $2 {After his heroic resistance, with the chance to take the
advantage, Black's courage deserts him!} ({
Here he could simply have taken with advantage:} 34... fxg3 {
and White has nothing better than} 35. b5 gxf2+ 36. Rxf2 Bg3 37. Re2 ({
relatively best, as} 37. bxc6 $2 Bxf2+ 38. Kxf2 Bxc6 39. Qd8+ Be8 {
wins for Black}) ({, and} 37. Rc2 $2 Qf6 {
likewise, due to White's weak back rank}) 37... Qd6 38. bxc6 Bxc6 39. Qxd6+
Bxd6 {and Black's bishops give him the edge in the ending.}) 35. Nh4 {
Now it's just Black Death!} Qg4 36. Ngf5 f3 37. g3 Qh3 38. Nxg7 {
The only real mate that is threatened is that of the black king.} Nd8 39. Qf5 {
. Cruelly logical: White emerges with an extra rook. --- Black's 4...Bd6 could
not be strategically justified - until Blackburne waited too long! --- White
players should know their Rogozenko and watch out for Black breaking out of
his cramp, as here, with ...d7-d5!} 1-0

[Event "Monte Carlo (blindfold rapid)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2003.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Van Wely, L."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2003.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Bc4 Be7 {
Black correctly prevents the immediate Ng5.} 5. d3 d6 ({
Against the alternate move order,} 5... Nf6 {, White plays} 6. O-O ({but not} 
6. Ng5 O-O 7. f4 {which allows} d5 {- the Dangerous Weapons "Sveshnikov
Gambit" - which may or may not be sound, but it doesn't matter: we are not
interested in that "maelstrom of forced variations" and we are especially
uninterested in learning long forcing lines in obscure variations that you
will face rarely or never!}) 6... O-O 7. Ng5 {. White's fundamental positional
idea is to coordinate his splendidly placed light-squared bishop with other
attackers. The simplest way to do this is the text followed by f2-f4, which
brings two more pieces - the knight and king's rook - directly or indirectly
to bear on f7. --- Black has three main answers:} -- (7... d6 8. f4 {
transposes back to the main game.}) (7... d5 {tries to be the "Sveshnikov
Gambit" as mentioned above, but doesn't work here as White is safely castled
and has no weaknesses:} 8. Nxd5 ({even simpler is} 8. exd5 Nd4 ({or} 8... Nb4
9. Re1) 9. a4 {and I can't see any real compensation for the pawn}) 8... Nxd5
9. exd5 Nd4 10. Qh5 h6 11. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 12. d6 $1 {, when White recovered his
piece with advantage and went on to win in A.Hellstroffer-H.Rückert, German
League 2005.}) (7... h6 8. f4 $1 {(always remember that White is doing the
attacking! - not even a direct threat to the knight prevents White from
carrying out his positional goal - can you guess Guseinov is in the house?)}
exf4 ({or} 8... hxg5 9. fxg5 Ng4 10. g6 {with a tremendous attack}) 9. Nf3 {
and now Black must decide whether he wants to and to keep his ill-gotten gain
or not - essentially we have reached a King's Gambit-type position. --- First
a give back, then two keepers:} -- (9... d6 10. Bxf4 {
transposes to the next game, where White has some positional advantage.}) (9...
Bd6 {looks like the Blackburne game: after} 10. Nh4 Kh8 11. Nf5 Be5 12. Bxf4 {
White recovered his pawn with advantage in E.Tomilova-L.Figura, Kazan 2003.}) (
9... g5 {(most committal and critical)} 10. h4 $1 {(as in many variations of
the King's Gambit, White must shake Black's rickety pawn structure before he
consolidates)} Ng4 ({
the well-known GM Lautier quickly reached a lost position with Black after} 
10... Nh7 11. hxg5 hxg5 12. g3 fxg3 13. Qe1 Kh8 14. Qxg3 f5 15. exf5 d5 16.
Nxd5 Bd6 17. Qg2 Rxf5 18. Bd2 Bf8 {, and now the simple} 19. Ne3 $1 ({
instead of} 19. Nxg5 Rxg5 {, when heroic defence gave Black a draw in N.Mitkov-J.Lautier, Turin Olympiad 2006}) 19... Rf4 20. Nxg5 $1 {
would have won: White is a pawn up and Black's kingside is busted}) 11. hxg5
hxg5 12. g3 fxg3 13. Nd5 Nf2 14. Rxf2 gxf2+ 15. Kxf2 g4 16. Qh1 {
(White has a winning attack)} Nd4 ({or} 16... gxf3 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Bh6 d5
19. Rg1+ Kh7 20. Bxf8+ {and mates}) 17. Qh5 Nxf3 18. Nxe7+ Qxe7 19. Qxg4+ Kh7
20. Qh5+ Kg8 21. Kxf3 {
1-0 G.Guseinov-Mi.Richter, Istanbul 2007 - Guseinov scores again!}))) 6. O-O ({
Since you will probably get this line only once in a blue moon, I see no
reason to study Kasparov's slower and more complicated alternative here - his
plan is to bring another knight to d5 as soon as possible - as the simple main
line is good enough for an edge. Nonetheless, I certainly don't want Garry to
feel offended by all the Karpov games in this book, so please enjoy the
following positional masterpiece:} 6. Nd2 Nf6 7. Nf1 Bg4 8. f3 Be6 9. Ne3 O-O
10. O-O Nd7 11. Ned5 {(there you have it! - White owns d5)} Nb6 12. Nxb6 Qxb6
13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. Bxd5 Nb4 15. Bc4 Rad8 16. f4 exf4 17. Rxf4 d5 18. exd5 Nxd5
19. Rf5 Nc7 20. Qf3 Qg6 21. a4 Ne8 22. Be3 b6 23. Bb3 Nd6 24. Rd5 Qf6 25. Rf1
Qxf3 26. Rxf3 Bf6 27. c3 Nc8 28. g4 Rxd5 29. Bxd5 Rd8 30. Bc4 Nd6 31. Ba2 h6
32. Bf4 g5 33. Bg3 Kg7 34. Kf1 a6 35. Bf2 Rc8 36. Bg3 Rd8 37. Ke2 b5 38. a5 b4
39. Bxd6 $3 {(Kasparov will win the rook and opposite bishops ending with
superlative technique)} Rxd6 40. Kd2 Rd7 41. Rf5 Rb7 42. Kc2 bxc3 43. bxc3 Rb5
44. Bc4 Rxa5 45. d4 Kg6 46. dxc5 Be7 47. c6 Bd8 48. Bxf7+ Kg7 49. Bd5 Rc5 50.
c4 $1 {(Black's rook is locked up - White's advantage is decisive)} Bf6 51. Kd3
Bb2 52. Rf2 Ba1 53. Ke4 Kg6 54. Ra2 {
1-0 G.Kasparov-V.Babula, Prague (team simul) 2001.}) 6... Nf6 7. Ng5 O-O 8. f4
{White's fundamental strategic idea: he plays a delayed King's Gambit (without
the pawn sacrifice) to get a central pawn majority and kingside play. White
scores 62% with this simple plan.} Bg4 ({Rogozenko recommends the line} 8...
exf4 9. Bxf4 h6 10. Nf3 Be6 {
, but I don't think Black is equal here - see the next game.}) 9. Nf3 ({
The World Champion that Anand dethroned played in even simpler fashion:} 9. Qe1
exf4 ({or} 9... Nd4 10. fxe5 dxe5 11. Qh4 h5 ({and not} 11... Nxc2 $2 12. Rxf6
$1 {, when White wins at once}) 12. h3 {with a strong attack}) 10. Bxf4 Nd4 11.
Qd2 Qd7 12. Be3 h6 13. Nf3 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Be6 15. Kh1 Kh7 16. Bxe6 Qxe6 17.
Rae1 Qh3 18. Qg2 {(grind style: White takes his plus-equals into the ending,
for even without queens White's central pawn mass gives him the edge)} Qxg2+
19. Kxg2 a6 20. f4 Rac8 21. Bf2 Rfd8 22. Bh4 b5 23. b3 Ng8 24. Bg3 Rd7 25. a4
b4 26. Nd5 Rc6 27. Ne3 Bf6 28. e5 dxe5 29. fxe5 Bd8 30. Nc4 Bc7 {
1-0 V.Kramnik-J.M.Degraeve, Senat 2003.}) 9... exf4 10. Bxf4 Nd4 11. Kh1 {
Anand "sees" (remember this game is blindfold) that the exchange on f3 does
not weaken his king position, but rather opens the g-file so he can attack
Black!} a6 12. Qd2 {Harmonious! Now the pin is gone and Black is left with
positional problems: the d5 hole is still with us, and if he takes on f3, the
g-file opens for White as mentioned - but if he doesn't, White has the f-file!}
b5 13. Bb3 Nxb3 (13... Bxf3 {is a better try: after} 14. gxf3 a5 15. Qg2 g6 16.
Be3 a4 17. Bd5 Rb8 18. a3 {, White has only a slight edge due to the d5-square.
}) 14. axb3 d5 {Black regains d5, but loses control of e5 - a good
illustration of the well-known transition of advantages.} 15. Ne5 dxe4 16. Nc6
Qd7 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Bg5 $1 e3 ({Black can't take the pawn:} 18... exd3 19.
Bxf6 gxf6 20. Nd5 Qe6 21. Nxf6+ {gives White a winning attack.}) 19. Qxe3 Qxe3
20. Bxe3 Nd7 21. Nd5 {And Anand gets d5 back after all! Fritz is at "decisive
advantage for White", and this human can't find anything for Black either. The
weak pawns on c5 (attacked by the bishop), a6 (attacked by one white rook) and
f7 (attacked by the other rook) overstress Black's defence.} f6 22. h3 Bh5 23.
Bf4 Ra7 24. Rfe1 Bf7 25. Ne7+ Kh8 26. Nf5 c4 {Desperation;} ({
but if Black waits with} 26... Kg8 {then} 27. Re7 {is paralysing.}) 27. dxc4
bxc4 28. b4 Bg6 29. Nd6 Raa8 (29... Bxc2 30. Re7 Rfa8 31. Be3 Rc7 32. b5 a5 33.
Rxa5 $1 {, winning, is a pretty variation.}) 30. c3 Nb6 31. Ra5 h6 32. Rea1 Bd3
33. Rxa6 {We will see more bad bishops unable to defend the queenside in the
next main game and notes.} Rxa6 34. Rxa6 Nd5 35. Bg3 Kh7 36. b5 Rb8 37. Ra7 Ne3
38. Nxc4 $1 Re8 39. Nd6 {. Evidently Anand will overlook nothing! Two pawns
down against the future World Champion, Black wisely resigns.} 1-0

[Event "World Mindsports Games (rapid), Beijing"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2008.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wang Hao"]
[Black "Kryvoruchko, Y."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Bc4 Be7 5. d3 d6 6. O-O Nf6 7. Ng5 O-O 8. f4
exf4 9. Bxf4 h6 10. Nf3 Be6 {Rogozenko's recipe for Black - but does it
equalize? I think not, as White maintains a small but persistent space
advantage by occupying d5.} 11. Nd5 {Best.} (11. Bxe6 fxe6 {is weaker as Black
has covered d5. White tried a Guseinov-style pawn-cracker, but Black got
counterplay on the f-file:} 12. e5 dxe5 13. Bg3 Nd7 14. Qe2 Qc7 15. Rfe1 Rf5
16. Qe4 Raf8 17. Qc4 Qd6 18. Nb5 Qd5 19. Nc7 Qxc4 20. dxc4 {
, and now Black could have obtained the advantage with} Nd4 $1 {,} ({instead of
} 20... Bd6 21. Nb5 {, when White went on to win in M.Tappyrov-M.Barakat,
Russian Junior Championship 2004.})) ({Also inferior is} 11. Qe1 d5 $1 {
, when Black "solved his problems at a stroke" in A.Chibukhchian-A.Anastasian,
Armenian Championship, Yerevan 2009.}) 11... Bxd5 12. Bxd5 (12. exd5 {
is another option:} Na5 13. Nh4 Nxc4 14. dxc4 Nxd5 15. Qxd5 Bxh4 16. Rad1 b6
17. Bxd6 Be7 18. Be5 Bg5 19. Bd6 Be7 20. Bf4 Bf6 21. c3 Qxd5 22. cxd5 Rad8 23.
Bxh6 Bxc3 24. bxc3 gxh6 {, when one sees that the then World Champion has
obtained a plus-equals endgame... but his opponent is Peter Leko! Therefore,
after some sterling defence by the Hungarian, it becomes apparent that Black's
pawn weaknesses are not fatal:} 25. Rfe1 Rd7 26. c4 a6 27. a4 b5 28. axb5 axb5
29. cxb5 Rb8 30. d6 Rxb5 31. Re7 Rbb7 32. Rxd7 Rxd7 33. Kf2 Kg7 34. Kf3 Kf6 35.
Rd5 {and a draw was agreed in V.Kramnik-P.Leko, Linares 2003.}) 12... Nxd5 13.
exd5 Nd4 ({Rogozenko claims that the alternative} 13... Ne5 {
is equal, but after the obvious} 14. Bxe5 dxe5 15. c4 {one sees the legacy of
the weak d5-square: White has a protected passed pawn that will plague Black
forever. Add in the superior minor piece, and it's no wonder that White scores
84% (!!) from this position in 36 games in the database. --- Following are a
selection of these wins, including a nice one from our friend Guseinov, who
scores in his usual stylish fashion. All the games start with} Bd6 16. g4 {
(to secure the white knight on e4) and then:} -- (16... Qb6 17. Qe2 Rae8 18.
Kh1 Bc7 19. Rae1 Qd6 20. Nd2 Bd8 21. Ne4 Qc7 22. Qe3 {
(White has a nice bind with the unassailable knight on e4)} b6 23. Rf5 Bh4 24.
Re2 f6 25. Qh3 Bg5 26. Qh5 Rd8 27. h4 Bf4 28. Qg6 Kh8 29. Kg2 Qd7 30. b3 a5 31.
Nc3 Qe8 32. h5 Qd7 33. Kf3 Rb8 34. Rxf4 $1 {
(a typical Guseinov positional sacrifice)} exf4 35. Qf5 Qd8 ({here} 35... Qxf5
36. gxf5 Rfe8 37. Re6 Rxe6 38. fxe6 Re8 39. Na4 {
, winning, shows White's main idea}) 36. Re6 Re8 37. Ne2 b5 38. Nxf4 bxc4 39.
dxc4 a4 40. Ng6+ Kg8 41. bxa4 Qa5 42. Qd3 Rxe6 43. dxe6 Rd8 44. Ne7+ Kf8 45.
Nd5 Qe1 46. Qe3 Qh1+ 47. Kg3 Rxd5 48. cxd5 Qxd5 49. a5 Ke7 50. Qa3 Qe5+ 51. Kh3
f5 52. Qf3 fxg4+ 53. Qxg4 Qe3+ 54. Kg2 Qd2+ 55. Kg3 Qe1+ 56. Kf4 Qd2+ 57. Kf5
Qd5+ 58. Kg6 {1-0 G.Guseinov-K.Haznedaroglu, European Team Championship,
Heraklio 2007 - there's no point in continuing since} Qxa2 59. Qf5 Qxa5 ({or} 
59... Qxe6+ 60. Qxe6+ Kxe6 61. a6 {and Black is out of the square}) 60. Qf7+
Kd6 61. e7 {is just a clean win for White. Guseinov must salivate when he gets
these positional grind positions!}) (16... b5 17. Nd2 bxc4 18. dxc4 e4 19. Nxe4
{(Black immediately gives up a pawn to activate his bishop, though it's hard
to believe in the soundness of such a desperate measure)} Be5 20. Qe2 {
(I think this is unnecessarily defensive and gives Black chances)} ({
it would be better to return the pawn at once with} 20. Qf3 Bxb2 21. Rab1 {
with pressure across the board - and don't forget the protected passed pawn at
d5}) 20... Rb8 21. Rab1 Re8 22. Qf3 Qh4 23. Ng3 f5 24. d6 Kh8 (24... Qxg4 {
puts Black back in the game}) 25. gxf5 Qxc4 26. Kh1 Rf8 27. Qe4 Qxe4+ 28. Nxe4
Rb4 29. Rfe1 Bd4 30. d7 $1 {(but now the passed pawn has its say, and Black
loses material without any counterplay)} Rb7 31. Rbd1 Rxd7 32. Nxc5 Bxc5 33.
Rxd7 Rxf5 34. a3 Bb6 35. b4 Rf4 36. Rde7 Rg4 37. R7e4 Rg6 38. a4 Bf2 39. Rf1
Bb6 40. a5 Bc7 41. Rg1 {1-0 E.Sutovsky-J.Shaw, Gibraltar 2006.}) (16... g6 {
Black wants to gain control of e4 to keep White's knight off that square - but
it's not so easy} 17. Kh1 Kh7 ({now} 17... f5 {is met by} 18. gxf5 gxf5 19. Rg1+
Kh8 20. Ng5 $1 {with a winning attack}) 18. Rg1 Qe7 19. Qe2 Rae8 20. Rae1 f6
21. Nd2 Rg8 22. Ref1 Ref8 23. Ne4 Rg7 ({
White has complete positional domination, as 23...f5 fails to a similar attack:
} 23... f5 24. gxf5 gxf5 25. Rxg8 Kxg8 26. Rg1+ Kh7 27. Qh5 $1 {and wins}) 24.
Rg3 Rgf7 25. Rfg1 Rg8 26. Qe3 Kg7 27. Rf1 b6 28. a3 Qd7 29. Qd2 Be7 30. b4 Rh8
31. Qc3 Qc7 32. Qb2 Kh7 33. bxc5 bxc5 34. g5 $1 {(a well-prepared breakthrough)
} f5 35. gxh6 Bh4 36. Rgf3 Rhf8 37. Nc3 e4 38. dxe4 fxe4 39. Nb5 Qd7 40. Rxf7+
Rxf7 41. Rxf7+ Qxf7 42. Qg7+ $3 {(White now wins an accurately calculated
ending - as in many of these positions, the black bishop is inferior to the
white knight)} Qxg7 43. hxg7 Kxg7 44. Kg2 Kf6 45. Nxa7 Ke5 46. Nc6+ Kf4 47. a4
e3 48. Kf1 Kf3 49. Ne5+ Ke4 50. a5 $1 {
1-0 I.Smirin-M.Parligras, Athens 2007 - Black resigned here in view of} Bd8 ({
or} 50... Kxe5 51. a6) 51. a6 Bb6 52. d6 Kxe5 53. d7 Ke6 54. d8=Q Bxd8 55. a7 {
etc. --- Principled, perhaps - equal? Nyet!})) 14. Nd2 {Now we're down to two
games in the database, and White won both of them, the other victim being GM
Sveshnikov! One advantage of White's move order (my recommended 3 Nc3) against
a die-hard Svesh player, or even the great Svesh himself, is that he simply
cannot get his opening!} Nb5 ({Sveshnikov tried} 14... Bg5 {, but after} 15. c3
Nf5 16. Bxg5 Qxg5 17. Ne4 Qg6 18. Rf3 Rae8 19. Qa4 b5 20. Qa6 ({even} 20. Qxa7
{is possible}) 20... Re5 21. Qxb5 Rxd5 22. Raf1 {, White won the opening duel
and eventually the game in A.Areshchenko-E.Sveshnikov, Moscow 2009.}) 15. Qh5 {
White's advantages include more space, the better bishop, and a target at d6 -
just plus-equals when you come down to it, but very difficult for Black to
defend, especially when he was hoping for strange Svesh counterplay!} f5 16.
Rae1 Qe8 17. Qxe8 Raxe8 18. Nc4 {White's advantages become more pronounced in
the ending - it's hard to see any counterplay for Black.} Rf6 19. Na5 g5 20.
Bd2 Nc7 21. c4 Rf7 22. b4 $1 ({Black was no doubt hoping for} 22. Nxb7 Rb8 {
with counterplay, but after this typical break (we also saw this in the Smirin
game above) White attacks across the board. Black must either break up his
pawns or, as played, let the white knight into his position.}) 22... b6 (22...
cxb4 {allows} 23. Nxb7 {and now that Black has blocked the b-file himself, he
has no compensation for the weak queenside pawns. Note how the pawn at d6
often blocks Black's dark-squared bishop from having a meaningful role in the
game.}) 23. Nc6 Bf6 ({After} 23... f4 24. Nxa7 Ra8 25. Nc6 Bf6 26. bxc5 bxc5
27. Ba5 {White also emerges a pawn ahead.}) 24. Rxf5 {The first pawn drops.}
Ref8 25. g4 $1 {This light square bind is, as we have seen, typical of the
variation. Black's bishop has nothing to say, while the Chinese GM wins with
excellent technique.} Kg7 26. Kg2 Kg6 27. bxc5 bxc5 28. Rf3 Re8 29. a4 Rxe1 30.
Bxe1 Ne8 31. Re3 Ng7 32. Bg3 Rb7 {Desperation;} ({since the passive} 32... Rd7
{would only prolong the game without saving it.}) 33. Bxd6 Rb2+ 34. Kf3 h5 35.
h3 Ra2 36. a5 Bc3 37. Re2 Ra1 38. Bxc5 Rd1 39. Bxa7 {. Four pawns up is
persuasive - Black resigns. --- This was a nice win by Wang Hao, though not
that difficult. In my opinion Black gives up too much ground in the opening
with 3...e5, and White should always get a pleasant edge. --- However, in 28
games with this Sicilian repertoire I have never faced 3 Nc3 e5. I don't think
it's much trusted at the IM level or below - though I do note, with all due
respect, that 3...e5 is played regularly by super-solid GM Peter Leko (see the
note to White's 12th move) and, of 19 games in the database, he has scored, of
course, 91/2-91/2. --- I promise that if I play him and he makes a draw with
this line, I will not cry.} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "7. Unusual Second Moves"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B27"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

{By this point we have covered all the main and most popular variations of the
Sicilian Defence, and your repertoire is almost complete. But what if, after} 
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 {, Black plays something besides the normal 2...d6, 2...Nc6 or
2...e6 - ? The most important of these sidelines are 2...a6 (the O'Kelly), 2...g6 (the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon), 2...b6, and Nimzowitsch's 2...Nf6 - and I
will cover all of these in this chapter. --- As I now know from experience
(see the note to move three in the first game below) one must be prepared for
these offbeat lines, particularly the harmless-appearing O'Kelly. A loss in
that variation was my only defeat in the "titled opponents" category! --- In
general, my recommendation against these subvariations is simply to play
commonsense moves that allow Black to transpose back into main lines - but if
he insists on his offbeatedness, then just fracture him!} *

[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1971.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Franklin, MJ."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "1971.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 {The O'Kelly variation, often referred to as a "one-trick
pony" - although in the new 'Dangerous Weapons' book it is described as "Not
Just a One-Trick Pony". --- Unfortunately I have to disagree with the latter,
as I checked out the pony and he only knew one trick!} 3. c3 ({Karpov, of
e, knows the trick: if White carelessly plays the usual Open Sicilian move} 3.
d4 {, Black's seemingly inoffensive pawn move comes into its own:} cxd4 4. Nxd4
Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 $1 6. Nf3 (6. Nb3 Bb4 {is similar}) 6... Bb4 $1 {and Black has a
souped-up Boleslavsky Wall structure with his dark-squared bishop outside the
pawn chain. I spent a lot of fruitless hours trying to make 3 d4 work as I
prepared this chapter - and came up empty. It doesn't work: Black is already
at least equal - don't play 3 d4. --- So much for the trick.}) ({
What should one play? Karpov's move,} 3. c3 {, is the approved anti-O'Kelly -
White enters an Alapin Sicilian where he claims that Black's ...a7-a6 is
useless. However, ...a7-a6 is a standard Sicilian move, often useful at some
point in c2-c3 variations - and besides, the Alapin is nothing like our main
repertoire.}) ({
Therefore I am giving both Karpov's line here, and my own personal preference,
} 3. Nc3 {, in the next game.}) ({I came by this preference the hard way, by
losing to IM-elect Joel Banawa before I had studied the line. In that game I
randomly threw out} 3. b4 $6 {, knowing only that it had been recommended by
GM Gawain Jones in his 'How to Beat the Sicilian' book - but my experience and
subsequent analysis convinced me that this is a doubtful gambit after} cxb4 4.
a3 e6 {and then:} 5. -- (5. axb4 Bxb4 6. c3 Be7 7. d4 d6 8. Bd3 Nf6 9. O-O Nc6
$1 ({correct! -} 9... Nbd7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Ba3 {
with compensation is given by Jones}) 10. Re1 O-O 11. h3 b5 12. Nbd2 Bb7 13.
Nb3 Rc8 {and White had nothing for the pawn in M.Eliezer-F.Badana, Internet
(blitz) 2004.}) (5. d4 b5 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. O-O Nf6 {, and one sees that Black is
completing his development without hindrance, so White does not have full
compensation for the pawn - Black went on to win in T.Taylor-J.C.Banawa, 4th
Metropolitan Invitational, Los Angeles 2011.})) 3... d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 ({
As pointed out in 'Dangerous Weapons', Black can even play} 4... Nf6 5. c4 e6 {
with a bizarro Icelandic Gambit! --- When I saw this I became convinced that,
Karpov aside, 3 Nc3 is the best and most player-friendly move!}) 5. d4 e6 6. Be3
cxd4 7. cxd4 Nf6 8. Nc3 Qa5 {This doesn't look accurate to me, as Black will
always have problems with his exposed queen.} ({Stronger is} 8... Qd8 {
, when Black has a solid position, as experience shows:} 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. O-O Bd6
11. a3 O-O 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Bc2 b5 14. Qd3 g6 15. Rad1 Bb7 16. Rfe1 ({
White could attack immediately, but after} 16. Bh6 Re8 17. d5 exd5 18. Nxd5
Nxd5 19. Qxd5 Qxd5 20. Rxd5 Na5 21. Rd3 Nc4 22. Re1 Bf6 23. Bb3 Bxf3 24. Rxe8+
Rxe8 25. gxf3 Bxb2 {
Black had not only defended well, he pirated a pawn too and, after} 26. a4 Bg7
27. Bxg7 Kxg7 28. axb5 axb5 29. Rd5 Rb8 {, soon converted in A.Demin-V.Romanko,
Kimry 2003; interestingly enough, this game came from a Caro-Kann Panov
Attack!}) 16... Re8 17. Bb1 {and now - instead of the too slow} Qb6 {, when Black was outplayed and finally lost in D.Sadvakasov-I.Krush, Miami 2007 -} ({
the correct} 17... b4 $1 {cracks open a queenside line with counterplay. ---
In short, I believe that Black has reasonable chances (with 8...Qd8) in this
O'Kelly variation, so in this one case, my personal recommendation is not to
follow Karpov. --- That said, we can now enjoy Karpov's positional mastery one
last time, as he takes advantage of Black's inaccuracy.})) 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. a3
Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Qc2 Bd7 13. b4 {Karpov is in his element: a plus-equals
position where he can manoeuvre - the IQP is not weak, while the black queen
is uncertain.} Qh5 14. Ne2 Nd5 15. Bd2 Bd6 16. Ng3 Bxg3 17. fxg3 $1 {An unprejudiced capture away from the centre, that adds a rook to the attack and
increases White's edge.} Rac8 18. Qb2 f6 19. h3 g5 $6 ({Patient defence with} 
19... Nce7 {is better, but Black is getting worn down!}) 20. g4 Qh6 21. a4 $1 {
White has the initiative across the board.} b5 22. axb5 axb5 23. Rfc1 Rb8 24.
Rc5 $1 {Attacking the b-pawn - and also concealing a typically Karpovian "drop
of poison".} Nd8 25. h4 $1 Qg7 ({The natural} 25... Nf4 26. Bxf4 gxf4 {
is just a poison pill: White wins with} 27. Rh5 $1 {
, breaking through to h7, which reveals the second point of 24 Rc5.}) 26. hxg5
fxg5 27. Nxg5 {Thus White has won a pawn with attack.} Nb7 28. Rcc1 $6 ({
Simpler is} 28. Bxh7+ Kh8 29. Rc2 Nf4 30. g3 Qxg5 31. Bxf4 Qxg4 32. Rh2 {
and wins. As played, Karpov gives the pawn back and actually helps Black for
a moment.}) 28... Nf4 29. Bxf4 Rxf4 30. Nf3 Qxg4 31. Be2 Nd8 $2 ({Here} 31...
Qg3 $1 {is stronger, giving Black some counter-chances with the queen possibly
checking on e1 if White gets carried away, while also clearing the fourth rank
for the rook. --- After Black's actual retrograde move, Karpov regains the
initiative, and gives no second chance.}) 32. Rc5 Nf7 33. Ra3 Qg7 34. Ra7 Be8 {
No doubt Black was in time trouble.} ({Clearly} 34... Rd8 {
was necessary, though White is evidently better after something like} 35. Qa1 {
.}) 35. Rg5 $1 {Bang!} Qxg5 36. Nxg5 Nxg5 37. d5 {
. You're dead. --- All very Karpovian, but Taylor has another idea!} 1-0

[Event "Bosnian Team Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Brenjo, S."]
[Black "Kurajica, B."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B28"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. Nc3 $1 {Tossing the ball back into Black's court: now he
can easily transpose back into our repertoire lines - but if he tries to stay
in O'Kelly, he has trouble.} b5 ({Instead,} 3... d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6.
Be2 {is our line vs. the Najdorf:} e5 {;} ({or Dragodorf:} 6... g6) ({
; or Scheveningen:} 6... e6)) ({while} 3... e6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qc7 6. Be2 {
is the similar line vs. the Kan.}) 4. d4 e6 {The text looks extravagant to me:
this allows White to create a strong wedge in the centre that shuts off the
coming fianchetto. However, the O'Kelly in general is about catching White
unprepared (I should know, I was caught unprepared!), but it's not necessarily
good, except as a transpositional method.} ({Now} 4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. Bd3 {
reaches the Kan line with an early ...b7-b5 we have already covered (see
Felgaer-Hellsten and Emms-Crouch in Chapter Five).}) 5. d5 {White has a lead
in development, more space and the better centre - the only advantage Black
has is that his opponent may not be familiar with the position.} Bb7 ({
No better is} 5... b4 6. Ne2 exd5 7. exd5 d6 8. Ng3 Nf6 ({or} 8... g6 9. Bc4
Bg7 10. O-O Ne7 11. Bf4 {
, when White has an advantage in space and a bind on the position}) 9. c4 bxc3
10. bxc3 g6 11. Be2 Bg7 12. O-O O-O 13. Bf4 Qc7 14. h3 Nbd7 15. c4 Nb6 16. Qd2
Re8 17. Bd3 Bd7 18. Bh6 Bh8 19. Qf4 Ba4 20. Rab1 {
(White has a space advantage on both wings and builds up his attack)} Nfd7 21.
Nh5 $1 Re7 22. Rbe1 Rae8 23. Ng5 $1 Nc8 24. Re3 Qd8 25. Rfe1 f6 26. Ne6 {
and GM Tarjan (who would later give up chess to become a librarian) scored
with a trademark "all pieces are attacking" assault in J.Tarjan-D.Fritzinger,
Aspen 1968.}) 6. Bg5 {Not mentioned in 'Dangerous Weapons', this developing/attacking move looks strongest, with a clear edge for White.} ({The same opponent, Joel Banawa, who surprised me with the O'Kelly also got the advantage
again against another IM, my perpetual opponent Amanov. The surprised Amanov
was only prepared this far and played} 6. dxe6 {, which released the tension
and opened the diagonal for the b7-bishop. Chaotic play ensued:} fxe6 7. e5 b4
8. Nb1 Qc7 9. Nbd2 Nh6 10. Nc4 Nf7 11. Bf4 Bd5 12. Bd3 Be7 13. h4 Nc6 14. Qe2
a5 15. Rh3 Nd4 16. Nxd4 cxd4 17. Rg3 g6 18. Rg4 Qc6 19. f3 a4 20. Bg3 Bc5 21.
Bf2 Nh6 22. Rf4 Rf8 23. Qd2 Nf5 24. Bxf5 {and at this point a draw was agreed
in Z.Amanov-J.C.Banawa, 4th Metropolitan Invitational, Los Angeles 2011.
However, after} Rxf5 {Black has an evident advantage: the white knight is
hanging, and e5 almost is, so White will have to make serious concessions to
get through the next few moves. One possible continuation is} 25. Nd6+ Bxd6 26.
exd6 Qxd6 27. Rxf5 ({not} 27. Rxd4 {as} Qh2 {
is a decisive infiltration, and if White runs, he is hit on the other side:}
28. O-O-O b3 $1 {with a winning attack}) 27... gxf5 28. Bxd4 Rc8 {
and Black has all the play. So good preparation is necessary!}) 6... f6 {
A rather ugly self-block, but the alternatives don't look much better.} (6...
Qa5 7. Be2 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. O-O {(Black's violent play, with
knight's pawn advances on each side, has come to nothing against White's
centralized development and e4/d5 pawn block - with the idea of getting
"something" for his mess of a position, Black takes material and is shortly
cut down)} b4 11. Nb1 $1 Bxb2 12. dxe6 dxe6 13. Nbd2 Bxa1 14. Qxa1 f6 15. Nc4 {
(Black could resign now, as White gets two pieces for the rook plus attack,
but instead continues until the near spectre of mate convinces him to give up)}
Qa4 16. Nd6+ Ke7 17. Nxb7 Nd7 18. Bd6+ Kf7 19. e5 f5 20. Ne1 Rc8 21. Bc4 Qc6
22. Na5 Qb6 23. Nb3 Ne7 24. Qd1 g4 25. f3 Rhd8 26. Nd3 Nd5 27. Qe1 Rg8 28. Kh1
gxf3 29. Rxf3 Qc6 30. Qh4 Rg5 31. Rg3 Ne3 32. Bxe6+ Kxe6 33. Nf4+ Kf7 34. Rxg5
Nf6 35. Rg7+ {1-0 G.Gras-L.Jiang, Montreal 2010.}) (6... Be7 7. Bf4 $1 b4 8.
Nb1 exd5 9. exd5 d6 (9... Nf6 10. d6 {
, winning, is the point of "losing" a tempo with Bg5-f4}) 10. c4 Bf6 ({after} 
10... bxc3 11. Nxc3 {White gets a good Shirov-style Benko}) 11. Qc2 Ne7 12.
Nbd2 Ng6 13. Bg3 O-O 14. O-O-O {and it's clear White is better with more space
and attacking chances - whereas Black's b7-bishop is not playing, and the one
on f6 is going to be hit on the next move by Ne4. Needless to say, White took
the full point in C.K.Pedersen-M.Muse, German League 2006.}) 7. Be3 Qc7 8. a4
b4 9. Nb1 f5 10. dxe6 fxe4 ({If} 10... dxe6 {, then} 11. Ng5 {
with a strong attack.}) 11. exd7+ {Not bad;} ({but} 11. Ng5 Nf6 {is even stronger - when GM Kurajica, a specialist in the O'Kelly, is pretty much crushed
already in his favourite opening! After} 12. Nd2 h6 13. Ngxe4 $1 {
White sacrifices a piece and Black has no good answer:} -- (13... Nxe4 14. Qh5+
Kd8 ({after} 14... Ke7 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Qh4+ {Black loses in the same way})
15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Qh4+ {and White recovers his piece with a winning position.})
(13... Bxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. exd7+ Kd8 ({loses to} 15... Qxd7 16. Qh5+ Kd8 17.
Rd1 Bd6 18. Qf3 Re8 19. Bd3) ({, while} 15... Nxd7 {loses to} 16. Qd5 {
- in both cases White recovers material with a huge positional advantage}) 16.
Qf3 Qc6 17. O-O-O Be7 ({not} 17... Nxd7 $2 18. Bd3 {and wins}) 18. Bc4 {
and White has a tremendous attack against Black's permanently uncastled king.})
) 11... Nxd7 12. Ng5 Ngf6 13. Nd2 Ne5 14. Nc4 Bd5 ({Better is} 14... Rd8 15.
Qe2 Qe7 {, when Black has chances to hold.}) 15. Bf4 {
White's advantage is once again clear.} Nf3+ ({After} 15... Bxc4 16. Bxc4 {
White's bishops are too strong.}) 16. Qxf3 exf3 17. Bxc7 fxg2 {
Black wins back the piece - clever, but insufficient.} 18. Bxg2 Bxg2 19. Rg1
Bd5 20. Nb6 Ra7 21. O-O-O h6 22. Rge1+ Be7 23. Nxd5 Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Rxc7 25. Ne6
Rc6 26. Nxg7+ Kf7 {. The game has proceeded logically: White is a pawn up with
the better position.} 27. -- ({
Now the MegaBase goes haywire and gives the following moves:} 27. Rxe7+ $4 Kxe7
{. Black is now winning, but the database suddenly gives: 1-0 (!) Obviously
this makes no sense, as to believe it requires us also to believe that the IM
with White blundered the exchange for nothing, and the GM as Black then
resigned in a winning position! Most likely the moves were simply entered
wrong.}) ({White should of course have played (and possibly did play, though
it never made the database)} 27. Nf5 {with a winning position. --- Going back
to the opening, it's clear that Kurajica was fighting for his life after 6 Bg5.
--- This concludes my coverage of the one-trick pony. I think it's best not to
"refute" it with 3 c3, which may not be possible, but simply to play normal
moves (3 Nc3, 4 d4) and let Black transpose into regular repertoire lines. If
Black is stubborn and ignores the centre (allows 5 d5!), then White should get
a solid advantage, if he knows his stuff. We saw two IMs (Amanov and me) get a
loss and a lucky draw against this line because we were not prepared - so
don't put yourself in that spot!}) 1-0

[Event "Aarhus"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2003.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dworakowska, J."]
[Black "Rasmussen, Kar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B27"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2003.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 ({Whenever I have faced this Hyper-Accelerated
Dragon, my opponents have always played} 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 {, reaching the
main lines we have covered by transposition. However, it's also possible to
play more riskily with the immediate fianchetto, temporarily sac'ing the
c-pawn.}) 4. dxc5 {Just take it!} Qa5+ ({After} 4... Na6 {
White gets the advantage with} 5. Bxa6 Qa5+ (5... bxa6 6. Qd5 Rb8 7. Ne5 e6 8.
Qd6 {is painful}) 6. Bd2 (6. Nc3 {is also good, but the forcing text keeps the
pawn and offers to exchange the dragon}) 6... Qxa6 7. Bc3 Nf6 8. Qd4 O-O 9. e5
Ne8 10. Na3 Nc7 11. O-O-O Ne6 12. Qh4 Re8 13. Ng5 Nxg5 14. Qxg5 {
(Black is struggling, a pawn down and cramped)} Qe6 {
and White eventually won after the cautious} 15. Kb1 {
in F.Urkedal-P.A.Hansen, Oslo 2010 -} ({but I don't believe the "threat" to a2
amounts to anything, and White could take advantage of his opponent's complete
lack of development with} 15. h4 $1 Qxa2 16. h5 {
, which looks like a winning attack to me.})) 5. Nc3 $1 {The problem for the
Dragon player is that he is compelled to give up his favourite piece here.}
Bxc3+ {Evidently forced, as the alternatives are even worse.} (5... Na6 {
again fails to solve Black's problems:} 6. e5 Nxc5 7. Bc4 d6 8. O-O dxe5 9. a3
Nd7 10. b4 Qc7 11. Bxf7+ $1 {(beautiful! - eleven moves and Black is crushed)}
Kxf7 12. Ng5+ Ke8 13. Qd5 Nh6 14. Nb5 Qb8 15. Ne6 Nb6 16. Nbc7+ Kf7 17. Ng5+
Kf6 18. Ne4+ Kf5 19. Nd6+ ({it's true that} 19. g4+ {mates in three, but...})
19... Kf6 20. Nce8+ Rxe8 21. Nxe8+ Kf5 22. Nxg7+ Kf6 23. Ne8+ Kf5 24. Qf3+ Ke6
25. Bxh6 {(taking all of your opponent's pieces and ending up a rook ahead is
fine too!) 1-0 C.Rivero Ojeda-I.Aguilar Garrido, Catalonian Team Championship
2004.}) (5... Qxc5 {
shows the danger of bringing the queen out too early: White attacks with} 6.
Nd5 {and scores 80% in the database - let's take a look at a couple of
crushing White victories:} -- (6... Na6 7. Bxa6 bxa6 8. O-O e6 9. Be3 Qc6 10.
Bd4 $1 f6 11. Re1 $1 {(White won't retreat and Black can't move!)} Qb7 12. c4
$1 d6 13. Qa4+ Bd7 14. Qa3 exd5 15. exd5+ Kf7 16. Qxd6 Bf5 17. Re6 $1 {
(White keeps coming like a charging rhino!)} g5 18. Rae1 Rc8 19. c5 Qc7 20.
Qxa6 Bxe6 21. Qxe6+ Kf8 (21... Kg6 22. Ne5+ {wins the queen or mates}) 22. c6
Ne7 23. Bc5 {1-0 I.Rogers-S.Kümin, Baden 1998. You don't often see +30 on the
Fritz, but that's how the machine evaluates this one - White's plus is worth
about three extra queens!}) (6... Qa5+ 7. Bd2 Qd8 8. Bc3 {
(the typical manoeuvre to exchange the dragon)} Bxc3+ 9. Nxc3 d6 10. e5 $1 {
(Black's dark squares, in the absence of his king's bishop, are collapsing
already!)} Nc6 11. Bb5 a6 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Qd4 d5 14. O-O-O Qa5 15. e6 f6 16.
Rhe1 Rb8 17. a3 Qc7 18. Na4 Nh6 19. g4 O-O 20. Nc5 {
(utter domination on the dark squares)} a5 21. h3 Rb5 22. c3 Qa7 23. Nd7 Qb7
24. c4 Bxd7 25. cxb5 Bc8 26. b6 c5 27. Qxc5 Bxe6 28. Kb1 Rc8 29. Qe3 {
(Black's loose pieces have dropped off the board) 1-0 E.Miroshnichenko-E.Andreev, Alushta 2000.})) (5... Nf6 6. e5 {- if you think the previous line
was bad, consider this, where White actually scores 90% in the Mega. Even a
super-GM like Epishin is simply destroyed here - White is a pawn up and
dominates the centre, regardless of Black's reply:} -- (6... Ng4 7. Qd4 d6 8.
Bb5+ Nc6 9. cxd6 Qxb5 10. Nxb5 Nxd4 11. Nfxd4 Bxe5 12. h3 Bxd4 (12... Nf6 13.
Nc7+ Kd8 14. Nf3 {wins material}) 13. Nxd4 Nf6 14. O-O exd6 15. Re1+ Kd7 16.
Bg5 {with a decisive queenless attack.}) (6... Ne4 7. Qd4 Nxc3 8. Bd2 $1 {
(White's point; he refuses to compromise his pawn structure)} Nb5 ({or} 8...
Nc6 9. Qxc3 Qxc3 10. Bxc3 b6 11. cxb6 axb6 12. a4 {
and Black has nothing for the pawn}) 9. Qh4 Qc7 (9... Qa6 10. a4 {doesn't help}
) 10. Bxb5 {(White has a great attacking development and is at least
temporarily up a pawn; even a 2600 GM can't do much with Black)} Nc6 ({
to Epishin's credit, he avoids losing to a mating attack in 16 moves, as in
the other game given in this note, which finished as follows:} 10... Bxe5 11.
O-O-O Bg7 12. Rhe1 e6 13. Bf4 Qxc5 14. Bd6 g5 15. Rxe6+ $3 {
- wins the queen or mates -} Kd8 16. Nxg5 {
1-0 N.Fercec-A.Shahtahtinsky, Nikea 2001}) 11. O-O-O h6 12. Rhe1 Nd8 13. Nd4 e6
14. Ba4 Qxc5 15. Nb5 O-O 16. Bxh6 f6 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. exf6+ Rxf6 19. Nd6 Rf8
20. Qe7+ Kg8 21. Nxc8 Rxc8 22. Qxc5 Rxc5 23. Rxd7 {(Epishin gets the queens
off - at the cost of two good pawns - and continues to play on hoping for a
miracle)} b5 24. Bb3 a5 25. a3 a4 26. Ba2 Re8 27. Re3 Kf8 28. Rg3 Rf5 29. Rxg6
Rxf2 30. h4 Rf1+ 31. Rd1 Rf2 32. h5 Ke7 33. Re1 Ref8 34. Bxe6 Rf1 35. Rg7+ Kd6
36. Rd7+ Kc6 37. Rdd1 Rxe1 38. Rxe1 Kd6 39. Bg4 {(and the bishop will come to
f3, absolutely squelching counterplay) 1-0 J.Shaw-V.Epishin, Groningen 1999.
It's certainly rare to see a top GM busted in the opening like that! --- In
short, by elimination, Black's best chance is to sell his Dragon to come out a
dubious pawn up.})) 6. bxc3 Qxc3+ 7. Bd2 Qxc5 8. Bd3 d6 9. O-O Nf6 10. Bh6 {
With excellent compensation: White has the two bishops, unopposed dark squares,
holes in the enemy kingside and, of course, Black can't castle, at least for
the moment. In short, more than enough for the pawn.} Nbd7 11. Rb1 Ng4 12. Bg7
Rg8 {Black won't castle kingside in this game - and does he want to castle
into White's open b-file on the queenside?} 13. Bd4 Qh5 14. Be2 Qh6 15. Bb5 f6
16. h3 Nge5 17. Bxe5 fxe5 18. Qd5 Rf8 19. Nxe5 $1 {
The Polish WGM destroys Black's undeveloped position.} dxe5 ({After} 19... Qh5
20. Nxd7 Qxd5 ({or} 20... Bxd7 21. Qxb7 {, winning}) 21. Nf6+ $1 {
is a deadly double check that leaves White a piece up.}) 20. Rfd1 {
White regains the piece and mops up.} Rf6 21. Bxd7+ Bxd7 22. Qxd7+ Kf8 23. Qxb7
Re8 24. Qxa7 Qf4 25. f3 Rc6 26. Rb8 Qf7 ({Not} 26... Rxc2 $2 27. Rxe8+ Kxe8 28.
Qa4+ {and White picks off a rook.}) 27. Qa8 Rxb8 28. Qxb8+ Kg7 29. Qxe5+ {
. Three extra pawns should be enough. --- After 3...Bg7 4 dxc5 Black has to
suffer to get his pawn back (and is often forced to give up his Dragon), while
White gets an easy attacking game.} 1-0

[Event "Vienna"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1986.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Beliavsky, A."]
[Black "Quinteros, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B27"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "1986.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 ({Fischer-Tukmakov began} 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6 4. e3 Be7 5. a3
O-O 6. d3 d5 7. cxd5 {, when the missing tempo can clearly be seen:} -- ({
; after the natural} 7... Nxd5 8. Nf3 {, Black would like to play ...f7-f5 and
...Bf6 - as in various lines of our repertoire - but doesn't have time to make
both of those moves as the e-pawn is hanging, and so must defend with
something like ...f7-f6.} ({
But just imagine if Black had that extra tempo - say White played} 8. h3 f5 9.
Nf3 Bf6 {- then Black would have a terrific game. In short, while Larsen's
Opening is sound for White, I think 1...b6, and this allied Sicilian line, to
be dubious for Black.})) ({. Going back to the Fischer game, Black made the
awkward recapture with the queen,} 7... Qxd5 {, and after} 8. Nc3 Qd6 9. Nf3
Bf5 10. Qc2 Rfd8 11. Rd1 h6 12. h3 Qe6 13. Nd2 Nd7 14. Be2 Kh8 15. O-O Bg6 16.
b4 $1 {, White made good use of his extra tempo and won stylishly:} a6 17. Rc1
Rac8 18. Rfd1 f5 19. Na4 Na7 20. Nb3 b6 21. d4 $1 f4 22. e4 Nb5 23. Bg4 Qf6 24.
dxe5 Nxe5 25. Bxc8 Rxc8 26. Rd5 {1-0 R.J.Fischer-V.Tukmakov, Buenos Aires 1970.
})) 1... c5 2. Nf3 b6 {This is much less common than the kingside fianchetto
we just examined; the problem is that in most variations of the Sicilian,
Black plays a long fianchetto with ...a7-a6 and ...b7-b5, therefore in most
variations committing the pawn to b6 is a loss of tempo. White, of course, can
get away with this, as in Fischer's famous win over Tukmakov given above - but
it's asking a lot of Black's position to go down this road, especially when
you add in a slowed kingside development.} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bb7 5. Nc3 Nc6 (
5... a6 {appears to be relatively best, when Black enters a slow Kan without
the ...b7-b5 advance. White should get the advantage with our general
repertoire lines, as Black is playing almost a tempo down:} 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O
Qc7 8. f4 {(unlike Tukmakov, White has time here to set up his ideal big
centre with attacking chances)} Bb4 (8... d6 9. Bh5 g6 10. f5 $1 gxh5 11. fxe6
{with a decisive attack shows the dangers for Black, who has no kingside
development, while White is ready to go!}) 9. Bf3 Bxc3 10. bxc3 {
(offering a pawn)} Nf6 ({but if Black takes it with} 10... Qxc3 {then} 11. Rb1
{offers White great dark-square compensation}) {
, and now White should hold e4 with} 11. Qd3 ({instead of the premature} 11. e5
{, when Black countered in the centre with} Bxf3 12. Rxf3 Ne4 {
and even won eventually in D.Maghalashvili-B.Savchenko, Baku 2009}) {, when}
11... O-O 12. e5 {gives him a big advantage, as after} Nd5 ({while} 12... Bxf3
{fails to} 13. exf6 Bd5 14. fxg7) 13. Ba3 Rc8 ({not} 13... Nxf4 $2 14. Qd1 {
, winning material}) 14. Ne2 {White retains both bishops and the attack.}) 6.
Bf4 Rc8 7. Nxc6 dxc6 (7... Rxc6 8. Bb5 Rxc3 9. bxc3 Bxe4 {is Fritz's
to save this mess, though White should of course win after} 10. O-O {
, as Black has no sufficient compensation for the exchange.}) (7... Bxc6 8. Ba6
Ra8 9. Nd5 {is also painful.}) 8. Qf3 {White naturally keeps the queens on for
attacking purposes against Black's undeveloped position.} Qd4 9. Rd1 Qc5 10. e5
$1 {White already has a decisive positional advantage: Black still has nothing
off the back rank on the kingside, and now those pieces will be even harder to
get out.} Rd8 11. Rxd8+ Kxd8 12. Be2 Ke8 13. O-O f5 {
Black tries to prevent Ne4, but is then cramped even more.} (13... e6 14. Rd1 {
wins easily.}) 14. e6 $1 Nf6 15. Rd1 Nd5 ({
An amusing mating attack occurs after} 15... g6 16. Bc7 Nd5 17. Qxf5 $1 {.})
16. Be5 ({After} 16. Be5 Nxc3 17. Bxc3 {Black can't even move. --- It's rare
to see a GM defeated so quickly, though Quinteros did not help his own cause.
Black should go for the "slow Kan" with 5...a6, but as we saw, even then White
gets a clear advantage. Nonetheless, one must take note that, in the cited
game with that line, Black actually won after White misplayed - remember,
winning the opening battle does not automatically win the game! Given that
note of caution, one can still hardly recommend (or fear) 2...b6.}) 1-0

[Event "US Championship, New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer, RJ."]
[Black "Sherwin, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B29"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {The Nimzowitsch Sicilian: Black tries to provoke White
into playing 3 e5, which is an Alekhine's Defence with Nf3 and ...c7-c5
inserted.} 3. Nc3 $1 ({White could rise to the bait:} 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nc3 e6 5.
Nxd5 exd5 6. d4 Nc6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qxd5 Qb6 (8... d6 $5 {
is another sharp option}) 9. Bc4 Bxf2+ 10. Ke2 {and so reach this amazingly
complicated main line, with over 200 games in the database! Talk about a
maelstrom! Let's watch Spassky wend his way through:} O-O 11. Rf1 Bc5 12. Ng5
Nxe5 13. Qxe5 {(incredibly complicated, as both sides sac madly)} d5 14. Qxd5
Re8+ 15. Kf3 Qf6+ 16. Kg3 Bd6+ 17. Rf4 $1 ({after the natural} 17. Bf4 {
Black wins with} Re3+ {which shows just what a crazy mess this is - my feeling
is one should never enter such mad complications unless you are thoroughly
prepared; but practically, from a human point of view, one can't prepare for
every sharp line like this, which you might never face! - in my twenty-eight
Sicilian games, I did not face a single Nimzowitsch Variation}) 17... Be6 18.
Nxe6 Rxe6 19. Qxd6 $1 {(Boris sacs his queen, which is of course completely
logical in this insane position, and...)} Qg6+ 20. Rg4 Re3+ 21. Bxe3 Qxd6+ 22.
Kf2 Re8 23. Rf4 Re7 24. Bb3 Qe5 25. Re1 g5 26. Rf3 Kg7 27. Rd1 f6 28. Kg1 g4
29. Bd4 {(comes out smelling like a rose!) 1-0 B.Spassky-D.Ciric, World
Student Team Championship, Marianske Lazne 1962. --- Now if you want to study
the fifty years of improvements and-counter improvements to this line - to
research and prepare thoroughly for an opening you will probably never face -
then be my guest. --- But in my opinion we should play just as we did against
the O'Kelly: make a natural developing move, stick to our repertoire, and give
Black the chance to return to main lines. And if he doesn't - if he insists on
staying in the Nimzowitsch - then, just as in the O'Kelly, he runs grave risks.
}) 3... d5 {Black chooses "grave risks"! His position can't support such an
early counter-attack in the centre.} ({But he has no choice if he wants to
stay in the Nimzowitsch, since other moves return to the main lines we know:
--} 3... Nc6 4. Bb5) ({or} 3... d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4) ({or} 3... e6 4. d4 cxd4
5. Nxd4 {.}) 4. Bb5+ {
White develops with gain of time: simple and strong in Fischer's style.} ({
Alternatively, you could also follow "current theory" and enter another long
forcing line:} 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Ne5 Bxb5 7. Qf3 f6 8. Nxb5 Na6 9.
Qh5+ g6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Qxh8 Qd7 12. Nc3 Qe6+ 13. Kf1 Nab4 14. Qh3 Qxh3 15.
gxh3 {(and after all this theory - yes, there are still eight games in the
database! - the grandmaster doesn't even win against his lower-rated opponent:
now that's a waste of study time!)} Nc7 16. Rb1 Nxc2 {
(Black has compensation for the exchange)} 17. Rg1 Kf7 18. d3 Rd8 19. Be3 e5
20. Rd1 Ne6 21. Rd2 Nb4 22. Ke2 f5 23. a3 Nc6 24. Rdd1 Ncd4+ 25. Kf1 Nf3 26.
Rg3 Nfd4 27. Bg5 Rd6 28. h4 Rb6 29. Rd2 Nb3 30. Rd1 Nbd4 31. Rd2 Nb3 32. Rd1
Nbd4 {½-½ Z.Efimenko-E.Pähtz, Isle of Man 2006. I had to hit the snooze
button to get through that one! Now back to real chess.}) 4... Bd7 (4... Nc6 {
is doubtful, as it leads to doubled isolated pawns for Black:} 5. exd5 Nxd5 6.
Ne5 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qxd1+ 8. Kxd1 Bd7 9. Bxc6 Bxc6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 {and Black's
pawns were weaker than White's pawns - in L.Kotan-T.Jandecka, Tatranske Zruby
2003, White converted 60 or so moves later.}) 5. e5 {With Fischer's line, you
basically just have to know these first five moves: develop rapidly then
attack. One sees Mr. Fritz is on board with a plus-equals: White has the
initiative, but the continuations are non-forcing and one can just play. I am
sure that even ten years from now, when I face the Nimzowitsch Sicilian for
the first time - I'll still remember these first five logical moves.} d4 (5...
Bxb5 6. Nxb5 {is worse, as White gets a terrific attack with the coming e5-e6
obstructive sac - check out Bronstein's classic destruction below, as well as
a miniature from Jakovenko:} -- (6... Nfd7 7. e6 $1 {
(this sac is the key to the position)} fxe6 8. O-O e5 9. Ng5 Qb6 10. c4 Na6 11.
d3 g6 12. Nc3 d4 13. Nd5 Qc6 14. Qf3 Nf6 15. Re1 {
(Black is already lost, unable to defend his numerous weaknesses)} O-O-O 16.
Nf7 {1-0 D.Jakovenko-E.Llobel Cortell, Spanish Team Championship 2006.}) (6...
Ne4 {can be met strongly by} 7. c4 a6 ({the natural} 7... e6 {
actually loses a piece to} 8. Qa4 Nd7 9. d3 $1) 8. Na3 dxc4 9. Qe2 f5 10. Nxc4
b5 11. d3 {with great positional advantage.}) (6... a6 7. Nc3 d4 8. Na4 Nfd7 9.
e6 $1 {(the obstructive sac again, plus Bronstein's tactical genius...)} fxe6
10. Ng5 Qc7 11. O-O Qc6 12. b3 e5 13. d3 Nf6 14. f4 h6 15. Nf3 e4 16. Ne5 Qc7
17. dxe4 {
(the pawn is immune due to the check at h5 - the game is practically over)}
Nbd7 18. Ng6 Rg8 19. e5 Nd5 20. c4 Nb4 21. e6 Nf6 22. f5 b5 23. Bf4 Qc6 24. a3
bxa4 25. axb4 Ne4 26. Qf3 {(even if Black manages to save his knight, he is
still left with two non-playing pieces on the kingside) 1-0 D.Bronstein-J.Saadi, Mar del Plata 1960.})) ({Black can also try} 5... Ne4 {
, but then he gets hit immediately with} 6. e6 $1 Bxb5 ({or} 6... fxe6 7. Qe2
Nxc3 8. bxc3 {with a powerful bind for the pawn}) 7. exf7+ Kxf7 8. Nxb5 Nc6 9.
O-O h6 10. d3 Nf6 11. Bf4 a6 12. Nc3 e6 13. Ne5+ Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Bd6 15. f4 {
and White's domination of e5 led to victory in A.Berelowitsch-Y.Afek, Haarlem
2007.}) 6. exf6 dxc3 7. fxg7 ({White can choose to sacrifice a pawn here,
though I don't choose to recommend it!} 7. Qe2 cxd2+ 8. Bxd2 gxf6 9. O-O-O Qb6
10. Bc4 Nc6 11. Rhe1 O-O-O 12. Bxf7 {
(White has recovered his pawn but lost all his positional advantage)} e5 13. c3
Kb8 14. Nh4 Bc8 15. Qh5 c4 16. Be3 Bc5 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Qxh7 Bxe3+ 19. fxe3
Qc7 20. Bg6 $2 (20. Qh5 {
is better, though now it's Black who has good play for the pawn}) 20... Qxh7 {
0-1 A.Motylev-L.D.Nisipeanu, Rumanian Team Championship 2007 - White resigned
in view of the coming skewer on the h-file.}) 7... cxd2+ 8. Qxd2 {
Fischer keeps b2 guarded; the queen will move later with tempo.} Bxg7 9. Bd3 {
This is strong, though White has various other moves (we've avoided the forced
variations!).} ({For instance,} 9. Bc4 {
looks good, pressuring f7, when it's not clear where the black king goes.}) ({
Fischer also tried} 9. Qg5 {
which is not as accurate, though Bobby got the advantage anyway:} Bf6 10. Bxd7+
Nxd7 11. Qh5 Qa5+ 12. Nd2 Qa6 13. Ne4 O-O-O 14. Qe2 Qe6 15. Nxf6 Qxe2+ (15...
Qxf6 16. O-O Rhg8 {
is equal, as Black's attacking chances balance White's superior minor piece})
16. Kxe2 Nxf6 17. Be3 {
(now it's just a classic bishop on open board vs. knight set-up)} b6 18. Rad1
Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Kf3 {(the mature Fischer of 1971 would
certainly have won this ending, as he did a very similar one vs. Taimanov in
their match; here he allows too many pawn exchanges, and this, combined with
Pomar's heroic defence, allows Black to salvage a draw - but desperately
defending for hours was presumably not the aim of Black's counter-attacking
second move!)} Kd7 22. Kf4 Ng8 23. c4 f6 24. Ke4 e6 25. Bd2 Ne7 26. Bc3 Ng8 27.
g4 Ke7 28. f4 h6 29. f5 exf5+ 30. gxf5 h5 31. Bd2 Kd7 32. a4 Ne7 33. Bc3 Ng8
34. Kf4 Ke7 35. b4 cxb4 36. Bxb4+ Kd7 37. Bf8 Ke8 38. Bd6 Kd7 39. c5 bxc5 40.
Bxc5 a6 41. Ke4 Kc6 42. Bf8 Kd7 43. h3 Ke8 44. Bc5 Kd7 45. Bd4 Kd6 46. Bb2 Kc6
47. Bc3 Kd6 48. Bb4+ Kd7 49. a5 Nh6 50. Bc3 Ng8 51. Bb4 Nh6 52. Bc3 Ng8 53. Kd5
Ne7+ 54. Kc5 Nxf5 55. Bxf6 Ke6 56. Bg5 Nd6 57. Kb6 Kd5 58. Kxa6 Kc6 59. Bd2 Ne4
60. Bb4 Nf6 61. Ka7 Nd7 62. a6 Kc7 63. Ba5+ Kc6 64. Be1 Nc5 65. Bf2 Nd7 66. Bh4
Nc5 67. Be7 Nd7 68. Ba3 Kc7 69. Bb2 Kc6 70. Bd4 Kc7 71. Bg7 Kc6 72. Ba1 Nc5 73.
Bd4 Nd7 74. Be3 Kc7 75. Bf4+ Kc6 76. Ka8 Kb6 77. a7 Kc6 {
½-½ R.J.Fischer-A.Pomar Salamanca, Stockholm Interzonal 1962.}) 9... Qc7 ({
Pomar, undeterred by his narrow escape above, tried the opening again - was
worse again - but this time won!} 9... Qb6 10. O-O Nc6 11. Qg5 Bf6 12. Qh5 Rg8
13. Qxh7 $6 ({
central play, as opposed to pawn grabbing, would have kept the advantage:} 13.
Re1 Nd4 14. Nxd4 cxd4 15. a3 {with an edge}) 13... O-O-O 14. Bf5 e6 15. Bh3 Rh8
16. Qe4 Rxh3 17. gxh3 Rg8+ 18. Kh1 Nd4 19. Nxd4 Bxd4 20. f3 Bc6 21. Qe2 Qb5 {
0-1 B.Zuckerman-A.Pomar Salamanca, Malaga 1968.}) 10. O-O c4 ({If} 10... Nc6 {
then} 11. Qg5 {with a powerful double attack.}) 11. Be4 Nc6 12. Qe2 {
The queen moves with attack, and Black is compromised on both flanks.} c3 {
Nothing else is any better.} (12... b5 13. a4 {
and the black queenside collapses}) ({while after} 12... O-O 13. Qxc4 {
White is a good pawn up.}) 13. bxc3 Bxc3 14. Rb1 O-O-O 15. Qc4 {
White has gained a clear advantage with sound and simple play - no maelstrom!}
f5 ({After} 15... Bf6 16. Qxf7 {Black has nothing for the pawn.}) 16. Qxc3 fxe4
17. Ng5 Rhg8 18. Nxe4 {White has won a pawn for basically nothing.} Nd4 19.
Qxc7+ Kxc7 20. Ng3 Bc6 ({Black can't take:} 20... Nxc2 $2 21. Bf4+ Kc8 22. Rfc1
Ba4 23. Rb2 {wins.}) 21. Re1 Nxc2 ({Black has to try to hold in the centre with
} 21... e5 {, but White simply answers} 22. Bb2 (22. Rxe5 Ne2+ $1 {is the trick
}) 22... Rge8 23. f3 {and stays a good pawn up.}) 22. Rxe7+ Rd7 23. Bf4+ Kc8
24. Rxd7 Kxd7 25. Rd1+ {Every piece comes in with attack!} Kc8 26. Nf5 $1 {
The threat of Ne7+ (mating as well as forking!) ends matters, if one doesn't
count the following spite check!} Rxg2+ 27. Kf1 b6 28. Ne7+ Kb7 29. Nxc6 Rg4 ({
After} 29... Rg4 30. Nd8+ Kc8 31. Ne6 Rg6 32. Nd4 {White is just a piece up.
--- Fischer's two games, plus Bronstein's magnificent crush, show what Black
must contend with if he insists on his Nimzowitsch Sicilian: basically just a
worse position, no matter how you slice it, after White's first five simple
moves. --- Most likely, should you face this, Black will transpose to regular
lines after 3 Nc3, but if he sticks to his guns, be ready to know two more
moves and then just play your better position! --- Starting with Karpov and
ending with Fischer is not so bad - you now have a complete repertoire against
the Sicilian!}) 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "A Final Word"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B27"]
[Annotator "Timothy Taylor"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2012.06.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 {. The main thing I learned from writing this book is that the
Sicilian's reputation is far greater than its actual danger. You hear all this
nonsense about how you have to be booked up thirty moves, and all the top
players have everything memorized, so it's far too risky to play the Open
Sicilian; you should play it safe with the Closed and hope for an equal
position - and yet that image of the Sicilian as some monstrous Hydra is
simply not true. --- For one thing, if the monster existed in reality as
opposed to reputation, I certainly would never have scored 71% against
higher-rated opposition! Moving up the scale, Karpov would never have scored
like he did - recall that he never, ever lost in the 6 Be2 e5 Najdorf, while
playing the best in the world and using the same line over and over. According
to "Sicilian reputation" he would have lost to some "forced variation"
somewhere along the road - but that never happened, because the Be2 line does
not lead to forced variations! --- Yes, there are "memory variations" in many
lines of the Sicilian, but it's easy to avoid them, as my recommended
repertoire does. And when I played this way, I found that my opponents (who
wore out their brains learning lines I did not play) were disoriented by the
fact that they had to think with their own head, and could not rely on forced
computer-generated variations. At that point, usually half the battle was won,
and I could (most of the time at least!) take care of the other half. --- I
wish you all good luck with this Sicilian repertoire.} *

