CVO_050.pdf

No. 50, December 16, 2009

OPENINGS

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT?

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Dynamic chess:

Kramnik 2.0

By IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris

Gelfand won the World Cup after a nerve-wracking

inal against Ponomariov that took twelve games.

Carlsen won in London ahead of Kramnik. Whereas

Carlsen was not always convincing in the opening,

Kramnik’s games were all theoretically relevant.

Frequency

WHAT’S HOT?

The Petroff was some sort of last man standing amongst openings, since

Ponomariov couldn ’ t beat it either using the absolute main line, after which

he switched to non-theoretical openings. Short-Howell and Howell-

Kramnik were interesting, but both drawn. Adams-Short saw the latter

continuing his experiments in the Open Ruy Lopez. Don ’ t forget to check

Adams-McShane, a spectacular Closed Ruy Lopez. Short-Carlsen in the

Dragon was still fine for Black (see PGN file).

Score

Kramnik keeps playing in his new dynamic style (compare CVO 27, 28,

45 and 46), while still being excellently prepared. Kramnik-Ni Hua was

a convincing victory for White against the Chebanenko Slav. Even more

spectacular was our Game of the Week Kramnik-Short. In the diagram

position Kramnik went for 5.£b3. Adams managed to keep Kramnik to a

draw with a positional pawn sac in the QGD.

McShane keeps having decent results with his King ’ s Indian. Gelfand-

Ponomariov (7.6) was a good Catalan win, but Gelfand-Ponomariov

(7.8) was an even more impressive comeback with a ¤e7 Benoni. In the

blitz tiebreak both players were absolutely dominating with White, but

Ponomariov ’ s 23.b6?? in the final game decided the match.

Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

If you play 1.e4, you should go for the big, principled lines. The Anti-Petroff 2.¥c4 was crushed once more (compare last week) in

McShane-Kramnik. Carlsen gave a lesson in dealing with the Anti-Sicilians. His positional pawn sacrifice 6...¥e7!? against the Alapin

was played in a 1982 game by Tal. Howell had to fight hard for the draw, something that Ni

Hua didn’t reach with his ¥b5+ Sicilian. The French Tarrasch scored a very modest 1 out

of 3 for White in London.

WHAT’S NOT?

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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not?

No. 50, December 16, 2009

Beating the Ragozin

The best example of the new Kramnik is the wild game he played against Short: a novelty on

move eight, castling queenside and going for a sharp tactical battle. He doesn’t mind taking

more risks than he did in the past and that handsomely paid off.

GAME OF THE WEEK

the balance.

19.¤b5 ¦b6 20.£c2+ ¦c6 21.¤ec3 ¥xc3

22.¦xd8+

Inaccurate is 22.¤xc3?! ¤c4 23.¦xd8+ £xd8

as 24.¦d1?! is met by 24...£g5+.

22...¢xd8

Now 22...£xd8? fails to 23.¤xa7+.

23.¤xc3 ¢c7 24.¦d1 a6

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25.£xh7

It seems very tempting to continue with 25.¦d5

£b4 26.£xh7 (26.¦xe5? £f4+) 26...¤c4

27.¦b5 but Black has some tricky resources

after 27...£f8! (27...axb5? 28.¤d5++-) 28.¦f5

¢b8 29.£xf7 (29.¦xf7? £b4 30.£c2 £c5!)

29...£h6+ 30.¦f4 ¢a7!.

25...¢b8?

Black doesn ’ t grab his last chance. It ’ s not clear

what Short had in mind and why he refrained

from snacking the pawn. 25...£xa2!? and

here Kramniks intention was to play 26.£h8?

(26.£e4 offers White still the better prospects.)

26...¦xc3+! 27.bxc3 £a1+ 28.¢d2 £b2+ 29.¢e1

£xc3+ 30.¢f1 £c4+ 31.¢g1 £c5+ believing he

could hide his ¢ with 32.¢h1? which is cruely

met by (32.¢f1 £c4+=) 32...¤d3!!.

26.¢b1

Simple and strong. Black ’ s threats are easily

paried now.

26...¤c4 27.£h8+ ¦c8 28.£d4 £b4 29.b3

a5 30.¢a1 ¤a3 31.£xb4 axb4 32.¤d5 ¦c2

33.¤xb4 ¦xg2 34.¦h1!

As a rule, ¦s should be placed behind passed

pawn. Black is helpless.

34...¢a7 35.h4 ¢b6 36.h5 ¢a5 37.h6 ¢xb4

Kramnik, V (2772) - Short, N (2707)

London Chess Classic, 14.12.2009

D38, QGD, Ragozin

11.bxc3 ¥xc3+ 12.¢d1 Kramnik-Ponomariov,

Moscow 2009 - CVO 46.) 8...£a5 9.£c2 0–0

10.0–0 c4 11.¥f5 ¦e8 has been considered to

be the main line for a long time, but Black seems

to have everything under control.

5...c5

5...¤c6 is playable as well, although Short ’ s

move better fits the spirit of this opening.

6.cxd5 exd5 7.dxc5 ¤c6 8.¥g5!

A novelty and a logical improvement over 8.e3

0–0 9.¥e2 ¥e6 10.¤d4 ¥xc5 11.¤xe6 fxe6 12.

0–0 £e7 which was seen in Karpov-Kramnik,

Monte Carlo blindfold 1997. White has a passive

position, and hence in the present game

Kramnik decides to develop his bishop outside

the pawn chain.

8...¥e6 9.0–0–0

Kramnik increases the pressure on d5, but is

also more or less forced to do so, as White has

no time now to develop his kingside with 9.e3?

in view of 9...d4 winning a piece.

9...£a5

9...d4!? 10.£a4 £e7 deserves some attention.

10.¥xf6 gxf6 11.¤xd5 0–0–0

11...£xc5+?! 12.£c2 £xc2+ 13.¢xc2 0–0–0

14.e4 favors White.

12.e4 f5 13.¥c4 ¥xc5

13...fxe4 14.¤xb4 (14.¤g5!? ¥xc5 15.¤c3 is

possible as well.) 14...£xb4 15.¥xe6+ fxe6

16.£xb4 (16.£xe6+? ¢b8 17.¤d2 £xc5+=)

16...¤xb4 17.¤e5² with good winning chances

due to Black ’ s fragile pawn structure.

14.¤g5 fxe4 15.¤xe4 ¥d4 16.¤dc3!

It ’ s impossible to maintain the knight on d5 with

16.¤ec3?! in view of 16...£c5! (threatening

17...¤a5) 17.¤e4 ¦xd5! 18.¤xc5 ¦xc5.

16...¦he8 17.¥xe6+

17.¤b5!? is a sharp alternative.

17...¦xe6 18.f3 ¤e5

According to the engines, better would have

been 18...¦g6!? 19.¤g3 (19.g4 f5!) 19...¥xc3

20.bxc3 £g5+ 21.¢c2 ¦gd6 and Black holds

1.¤f3 d5 2.d4 ¤f6 3.c4 e6 4.¤c3 ¥b4

The Ragozin has become one of Black's most

trusted replies to 1.d4. Black counterattacks the

centre with active piece play.

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5.£b3!?

It seems to become a habit for Kramnik to

sidestep the main lines in the Ragozin. More

common are:

a) 5.e3 0–0 6.¥d3 c5 tranposes to a classical

Nimzo-Indian.

b) 5.cxd5 often transposes to lines arising from

5.¥g5.

c) 5.£a4+ ¤c6 6.e3 0–0 7.£c2 (7.¥d2 a6 8.£c2

¦e8 9.a3 ¥d6 Laznicka-Mamedyarov, Khanty-

Mansiysk 2009 - CVO 48.) 7...¦e8 8.¥d2 ¥f8

9.a3 e5 10.dxe5 ¤xe5 11.cxd5 ¤xd5 12.0–0–0

¤b6 13.¤e4 ¤xf3 14.gxf3 £h4 15.¥c3 ¥f5„

was seen one day later in Nakamura-Kramnik,

London 2009.

d) 5.¥g5 ¤bd7 (5...h6 6.¥xf6 £xf6 7.£b3!? c5

8.cxd5 exd5 9.e3 0–0 10.dxc5 ¥xc3+ 11.£xc3

£xc3+ 12.bxc3 ¤d7 13.¦d1 ¤xc5 14.¦xd5

b6 15.¦d4² Kramnik-Khalifman, Zurich rapid

2009.) 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e3 (White has several

alternatives. A fashionable one is 7.£a4!? c5

8.dxc5 ¥xc3+ 9.bxc3 0–0 10.£b4 h6 11.¥h4 ¦e8

12.e3 a5 13.£a3 £e7 14.¥b5 g5 15.¥g3 ¤xc5

16.0–0 (16.¥xe8? ¤d3+) 16...¤ce4 17.£b2 ¥d7

18.¥d3 ¦ac8 and White ’ s edge was neutralized

in Gelfand-Alekseev, Biel 2009.) 7...c5 8.¥d3

(8.dxc5!? £a5 9.¦c1 ¤e4 10.£xd5 ¤xc3

KRAMNIK - SHORT

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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not?

No. 50, December 16, 2009

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

Open Ruy Lopez

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1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 a6 4.¥a4 ¤f6 5.0–0 ¤xe4 6.d4 b5 7.¥b3 d5

8.dxe5 ¥e6 9.¤bd2 ¤c5 10.c3 ¤xb3!? 11.¤xb3 ¥e7 12.h3 0–0 13.¦e1 a5

Just last week we talked about the Open Ruy Lopez and it ’ s complex positions. In CVO 39 we wrote: “ Efimenko-

Short will be remembered for Black ’ s provocative interpretation of the Open Lopez. ” It ’ s about time to have a closer

look at Short ’ s way of playing the Open Ruy Lopez, since he gained another solid result with it against Adams. After

9.¤bd2 ¤c5 10.c3 something that has always been taken for granted is that Black cannot get rid of the beautiful

Spanish bishop with 10...¤xb3 because White gets control over the key square c5. Efimenko played extremely well

considering the fact that he got surprised, but never had more than a small edge. Important was Short ’ s novelty

12.¤fd4 ¤xd4 13.cxd4 a5! (the old 13...0–0 14.¥f4! is good prophylaxis against f6 and preparing ¦c1 with play

down the c-file) keeping White at distance on the queenside. Adams didn ’ t seem to be well prepared and didn ’ t get

anywhere from the diagram position. That keeps chess alive: all established theory needs to be double-checked.

Chebanenko Slav

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤c3 ¤f6 4.e3 a6 5.¤f3 b5 6.b3 ¥g4 7.h3 ¥xf3 8.£xf3 e5 9.dxe5 ¥b4

10.¥d2 ¥xc3 11.¥xc3 ¤e4 12.¥b4 bxc4 13.£g4 c5 14.f3 cxb4 15.fxe4 0–0 16.exd5 cxb3 17.£d4

The Chebanenko Slav is tested weekly at top level, and interestingly enough the guys keep on producing new

ideas. Last September, Ni Hua restored the dubious reputation of 8...e5 by improving on earlier games with 13.¥xc4

£b6 14.a3 a5 15.¥d6 ¤xd6 16.exd5 0–0! leaving White with just a symbolic edge. Until that game 13.¥xc4 was

considered to be more or less the refutation of the line, but new attempts were required. Kramnik deviated from

the common path, but Ni Hua was the first to play a new move. However, after the exchange of queens, Kramnik

reached an endgame with a healthy extra pawn. After trading one pair of rooks, the Chinese resistance was broken

and Kramnik easily collected another victory. Where exactly did Black go wrong? Practically, Black should have

tried 17...bxa2, but from a theoretical point of view this move wouldn ’ t have solved all problems. Improvements

should be found earlier (e.g. 14...¤c6 or 16...£d5), but conclusions have to be drawn very carefully, as the engines

seem to be misleading in their evaluations.

Open Catalan

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.¥g2 c5 6.0–0 ¤c6 7.dxc5 £xd1 8.¦xd1 ¥xc5 9.¤bd2 c3 10.bxc3 0–0 11.¤e1

In CVO 48 we updated you on the latest developments in the 5...c5 Catalan. This week, German GM Buhmann

tried improve upon our analysis with the new 14.e4!?, threatening to win a piece and at the same time grabbing

space in the centre. Black ended up in a somewhat passive position, but was able to get rid of the pressure with

18...b6, which would have been possible two moves before as well. One day later it was Gelfand ’ s turn to reveal a

new recipe from his Catalan kitchen. 11.¤e1!? is a new move in this position, but the idea is known from various

Catalan endings. The diagonal a8-h1 will be dominated by the bishop, while the knight finds a stable post on d3,

as the e-pawn will stay on its initial square. Moreover, the asymmetrical pawn structure is in White ’ s favor, since

Black will suffer from the pressure along the b-file, whereas for Black it ’ s difficult to undermine the c-pawn. After

Black erred seriously on move 18 by allowing White to penetrate with his rooks, Gelfand convincingly converted his

Catalan edge in the ending.

King ’ s Indian, 7...¤a6

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤c3 ¥g7 4.e4 d6 5.¥e2 0–0 6.¤f3 e5 7.0–0 ¤a6 8.¥e3 ¤g4

9.¥g5 £e8 10.c5 exd4 11.¤d5 ¥e6 12.¥e7 ¥xd5 13.¥xf8 £xf8 14.exd5 dxc5 15.£b3 ¦b8

McShane has changed his hyper-modern King ’ s Indian with ¤bd7/¦e8/¤h5/¥f8/¤g7 (compare CVO 22, 33 and

43) for a modern King ’ s Indian with ¤a6. Whereas we felt that Black has been under pressure there lately, the

strong British semi-pro got away with it, losing to Carlsen, but beating Nakamura. Carlsen went for 8.¦e1 and

after 8...£e8 9.¥f1 c6 10.¦b1 ¥g4 11.d5 c5 a typically stubborn pawn structure arose that has been seen more

often lately (e.g. Meier vs Vachier-Lagrave) and which seems to give Black his fair share of chances. Nakamura

preferred 8.¥e3 followed by the active 10.c5. We think the alternative 10.¦e1 from the recent game Wojtaszek-

Saric gives White good chances for an edge. With 11...¥e6!? McShane deviated from two of his earlier games and

after Nakamura ’ s 12.¥e7?! he could eventually decide the game with a pawn steamroller. Already quite a while

ago we noticed that 12.cxd6! from the game Teterev-Tihonov, Minsk 2007 allows White to play for two results only.

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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not?

No. 50, December 16, 2009

OPENING EXPERT

Who: Vladimir Kramnik

Born: June 25, 1975

Nationality: Russia

Rating: 2772

Expertise: White: Catalan, Black: Petroff

Why: His style has been marked by many people as boring, although this view

seems rather simplistic. Almost all top players seem to be satisfied making

a draw with Black under normal circumstances, and in our view Kramnik

is simply the one who has worked out his Black repertoire better than the

others. Kramnik was one of the very few players who wasn’t afraid of

Kasparov and the only one who managed to beat him in a match. In

recent tournaments the Russian GM, who lives in Paris, has changed

his style a bit and is taking more risks, also with Black. In the Tal Memorial

he remained unbeaten with +3 and in London a real masterpiece by

Carlsen inflicted his only loss. In the past Kramnik faced some difficulties

when playing against creative, unorthodox players like Morozevich. In their

last encounter in Moscow, Moro’s original approach was cold-bloodedly

refuted, while in London, Kramnik dealt in a similar way with McShane.

Key game: McShane - Kramnik , London Chess Classic, 10.12.2009

1.e4 e5 2.¥c4

McShane is known for his original approach in

the opening and understandably avoids masses

of theory in the Petroff.

2...¤f6 3.d3 ¥c5 4.¤f3 0–0 5.¤c3

5.¤xe5?! is too risky, in view of 5...d5! as 6.exd5

¦e8 7.d4 can be met by 7...¥xd4! 8.£xd4 ¤c6.

5...d6 6.¤a4 ¥b6 7.c3 ¥e6 8.¥b3 ¥xb3 9.axb3

¤bd7 10.b4?

Judging from what is coming 10.¤xb6 is a safer

continuation.

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10...¥xf2+! 11.¢xf2 b5 12.¥d2 bxa4 13.£xa4

Material-wise the game is balanced, but

White's king is a bit weakened. Hence, Kramnik

correctly decides to open the centre.

13...c5! 14.b5

After 14.bxc5 ¤xc5 15.£c2 £b6 Black seizes

the initiative.

14...d5! 15.exd5 ¤b6 16.£c2 c4! 17.¤xe5

17.¦he1 might have been tried here.

17...£xd5 18.d4 ¤e4+ 19.¢g1 ¦fe8

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White's pieces are inefficiently coordinated and

against a technical player like Kramnik, White is

doomed to be punished for it. With the text the

Russian GM, threatens to take on e5, followed

by £c5.

20.¤f3 £xb5 21.h4?!

What else to do with such a rook on h1?

21...£b3 22.£b1

22.£xb3 cxb3 wouldn ’ t help either, as Black

easily advances his pawn to a4, while the ¤s are

dominating the centre.

22...¤d5 23.¦h3 h6 24.£c1 £b6 25.¦a4 ¦ab8

26.¦a2

26.¦xc4 £xb2 remains very bad.

26...£b3 27.£a1 ¦b6 28.¢h2 ¤df6 29.¥e1

¤g4+ 30.¢g1 ¤ef6 31.d5 ¤xd5 32.¦g3 ¤df6

33.¥d2 ¦d6 34.¦a3 £b6+ 35.¢h1 ¤f2+ 36.¢h2

¤6g4+ 0–1

www.chessvibes.com/openings

ChessVibes Openings is a weekly PDF magazine that covers the latest news on chess openings. Which openings are hot in top level chess?

Which are not? Editors IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris keep you updated once a week! Singles issues cost € 1. You can subscribe too:

€ 25 a year (that’s less than € 0.50 per issue!). More info can be found at www.chessvibes.com/openings .

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