x Complete Repertoire “A must for every chess player.” -Anatoly Karpov, 12th World Champion isM Lev PB M Roma 1M Eugen: cassie? ALBURT'S CHESS OPENINGS a Lae“Chess Openings, Explained is rich in ideas, practical and to the point. A must for every chess player.” —Anatoly Karpov 12" World Champion Chess Openings for Black, Explained A Complete Repertoire hy Lev Alburt, Roman Ozindzichashvili, and Eugene Perelshteyn with Al LawrencePublished by: Chess Information and Research Center PO. Box 534, Gracie Station, New York, New York 10028 Telephone: 212.794.8706 For ordering information, please see page 552. Distritution to the book trade by: W.W. Norton, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York Staff: Editing & Design OutExcel! Corporation Al Lawrence, President Email: [email protected] Creative Director Jami L. Anson, Jadesign Email: [email protected] Editorial Consultants Gary Colvin Peter Kurzdorfer Daphne Lawrence Technical Assistant Igor Yagolnitser Cover Design Jami L. Anson, Jadesign Illustrations Kathleen Merz, Jadesign Photo Credits Jami L. Anson Nigel Eddis Brian Killigrew US. Chess Federation © Copyright 2005 by Lev Alburt, Roman Dzindzichashvili, and Eugene Perelshteyn. All rights reserved. ISBN: 1 -889323-12-8 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2005902460 987654321 Printed in the United States of America.Note to the Reader ou should be able to read a chess book without squinting, without forever flipping pages back and forth to find the relevant diagram, and without trying to keep a 12-move variation in your head. With the publication of Just the Facts! in 2000, we began an award-win- ning book design that makes it fun for you to get the most out of the unique chess instruction we feel we offer. Chess Openings for Black, Explained continues to employ our well-received approach, First of all, there are a wealth of diagrams, the video-playbacks of chess. Indeed, there are more than 1,400 of them, to allow you to keep track of the posi- tions, even without a board and set. Second, we use color to emphasize important points and to give your eyes some variety. Third, whenever possible, we make sure that the diagrams on a page-spread relate to the moves on that spread, eliminating the need for back-and-forth page- turning. Additionally, we employ proven instructional techniques—such as fore- casting important ideas in a chapter and ending each chapter with brief “puzzles” to mark those ideas in your memory. In fact, in producing Chess Openings for Black, Explained, we used many techniques to make following along and learning easier and more fun. Look for blue diagrams and blue boxes that call your attention to the most important positions and most interesting ideas. This highlighted information will be especially worth revisiting and, sometimes, even committing to memory. The most important, or “main” lines are clearly set off in bold type. Diagrams related to main lines are larger than analysis and side-line dia- grams, which are clearly labeled “ANALYsIS.” Chess Openings for Black, Explained uses the now universal algebraic system of chess notation. For more on notation, see page 6. Our thanks to the U.S. Chess Federation for the use of the photos throughout this book. The US. Chess Federation is the membership organization for chess players of all levels, from beginner to grandmaster. For information on USCF membership, please go to www..uschess.org. Thanks also to the World Chess Hall of Fame. For information on Hall membership, please go to www. worldchesshalloffame.org.4 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Table of Contents Chess Openings for Black, Explained A Complete Repertoire Part I: Introduction 7 “* Chapter 1: The Authors and the Book 8 Chapter 2: How to Use This Book 14 % Chapter 3: How to Study Openings 16 Part IT: Defending against 1. e4 21 “© Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of 1. e4 22 The Accelerated (and Hyper-Accelerated) Dragon 56 ° Chapter 5 Introduction and Main Line 56 Chapter 6: Seventh-move Sidelines 86 * Chapter 7: Sixth-move Sidelines 96 Chapter 8; Defending Against 4. Qxd4 110 » Chapter 9: Third-move Sidelines 124 The Maroczy Bind 136 «- Chapter 10: Introduction and 7. Be3 136 ” Chapter 11: 7, Be2 with Be3 and Qd2 142 Chapter 12: 7. Be2 with BgS and Qd2 162 * Chapter 13: 7, Be2 with 0-0 and Qd3 (or Qe3) 170 *& Chapter 14:7. £3 178 Chapter 15: 7. Ne2 184 The Anti-Sicilians 192 Chapter 16: The Closed Sicilian 192 Chapter 17: Grand Prix Attack 204 * Chapter 18: The Alapin Variation and Smith-Morra Gambit 218 Chapter 19: Wing Gambit and 2. b3 230 Part IH: Defending against 1. d4 239 Chapter 20: The Development of the Closed Openings 240 Nimzo-Indian Defense 258 Chapter 21 Introduction and 4. a3 258 Chapter 22: 4. Qe2 270Table of Contents 5 @ Chapter 23: 4. e3 and 5. Bd3 282 @ Chapter 24: 4. e3 and 5. Ne2 298 @ Chapter 25:4. 3 306 @ Chapter 26: 4. g3 312 @ Chapter 27: 4. Bg5, the Leningrad System 320 @ Chapter 28: 4. Qb3 330 Chapter 29: 4. Bd2 334 Bogo-Indian 338 Chapter 30: Introduction and 4. Bd2 with 6. Bg2 338 @ Chapter 31: with 4. Bd2 and 6. Nc3 354 ® Chapter 32: with 4. Nbd2 364 1. d4 without an early c4 370 Chapter 33: Torre Attack, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. BgS 370 Chapter 34: — London System, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 380 Chapter 35: Fianchetto, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 386 @ Chapter 36: Colle System, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. €3 394 Chapter 37: Veresov Opening, 1. d4. Nf62.Nc3d53.Bg5 402 © Chapter 38: The Trompowsky, 1. d4 Nf6 2. BgS 410 ® Chapter 39: Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. 4 422 Part IV: Defending against 1. c4 and other first moves 429 Chapter 40: — English, Part I—Introduction and Symmetrical English 430 @ Chapter 41: English, Part II—White Plays e3 and d4 438 Chapter 42: English, Part 1]—White Refrains from d4 448 Chapter 43: Bird’s Opening, 1. f4 466 Chapter 44: Sokolsky, 1. b4 474 @ Chapter 45: © The Rest—Knights-First and the Fianchettoes 480 Part V: IMlustrative Games 489 Chapter 46: —_ Illustrative Games—Ideas into Action 490 Conclusion 538 Table of Main Lines 5396 Chess Openings for Black, Expiained Cc: players around the world use “notation,” a universal sys- tem for reading and writing chess. It’s easy to learn, and once you know it, you’ll be able to decipher quickly any book or newspaper article on chess. The vertical columns of squares that run up and down the board are called files and are lettered. The horizontal rows of squares that run sideways are called ranks and are numbered. The intersection of a file and rank gives a square its name. Let’s look at a board that gives the “address” of every square: a8 68 c8 dB e8 18 a? bh? cf: a7 e7 f7- ‘BG C6 46 06 16 yb 68 5 eS 15 ‘DA ch as ek a3 b3 ¢3 d3 03 13 | ‘b2 62 d2 e2 12 bi ct dtetn- To make writing and reading fast, each piece is assigned a sin- gle Jetter. In English, we use these: King = K Knight= N Queen= Q Rook = R Bishop= B Pawn = the file it’s on So, the move “Qe5” means that the queen moves to the e5- square. Captures are marked with an “x,” as in “axb5,” which means that a pawn on a4 captures a pawn or a piece on b5. Another special convention: Although the word “exchange” means to trade, “Exchange” (with a capital “E”) means the trade of knight or bishop for a rook. A player who manages this trade “wins the Exchange.”Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chapter 1 The Authors & the Book his book provides you with T: complete repertoire for Black, no matter what rea- sonable first move White makes. Two of your three authors are international grandmasters and Tepeat winners of the US. Championship. The third and youngest of the three of us, Eugene Perelshteyn, is already an IM and, as I write, is playing in the 2005 MonRoi International in Montreal. This volume con- tains every secret the authors have compiled over decades of research in the recommended openings. No theoretical novelty (TN) will be withheld from you. Such information is normally revealed only to world champi- onship contenders, who hire top theoreticians, like Roman Dzin- dzichashvili, for that purpose. But shared TNs are only one of this book’s unusual offerings. To derive the most benefit, Eugene Perelshteyn you should first understand what the book is designed to do. Part I of our five-part volume makes this point clear. It helps if you understand who the authors are and what they bring to you that’s unique. I’m a three-time US. Champion. turned chess instructor. My books, including the Compre- hensive Chess Course: fromChapter 1: The Authors & the Book g beginner to master, which I co- authored and published, are among the best received chess instruction in the US. GM = Roman ___ Dzindzi- chashvili (“Dzindzi” to his many fans) has been one of the prime movers and creators of modern opening theory for the past 40 years. His advice and help has been sought, with rewarding results, by such greats as Boris Spassky, Victor Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov and Gata Kamsky. In fact, Roman’s revolution- ary reassessment of the main line of the Scandinavian Opening allowed American Gata Kamsky to win a game (with Black) and then the match against world championship contender Vishy Anand. At that time, Gata was losing by two points with two games to go in a match played in Anand’s home turf, India, for the right to play the world champion. Roman is extremely gener- ous in sharing his ideas. Perhaps that’s because he knows he can always create new, equally important ones! In the 1984 U.S. Championship, Roman gave me a tool to handle the “Anti-Benko” move order: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3. He suggested 2. ... 6 3. c4 a6!?. This paradoxical move (later christened the “Dzindzi-Indian”) remains unrefuted, and can be very useful in the hands of devot- ed Benko/Benoni players. It took me less than an hour to grasp the ideas behind this amazing sys- tem—and 90% of the credit goes to Roman’s innate ability to sin- gle out and emphasize essentials, and to convey his knowledge of moves and ideas in a logical, easy-to-learn, easy-to-remember and practical way. Every chess player should know how good it feels to go into a game completely confident in his opening repertoire, and it’s even better when you have an important novelty or two up your sleeve. Not surprisingly, I played very well in this tournament. And. with 3. ... a6 (first looked upon as completely ridiculous), I scored 2'/ out of 3 versus Jim Tarjan, Larry Christiansen and Yasser Scirawan—all top GMs. Such a result (with Black!)10 Chess Openings for Black, Explained couldn’t help but catapult me into clear first place—my first U.S. Championship crown. Importantly, the Dzindzi- Indian wasn’t a surprise novelty for one game (or one tournament) only. A year later, in another U.S. Championship, Christiansen tried to smash my position with a homemade, aggressive line. But Dzindzi’s and my analyses held. I got an equal position (but one that was very sharp, and very familiar to me), eventually win- ning. Many opponents soon gave up trying to deal with Dzindzi’s innovation and switched to other openings! Roman’s teaching talents aren’t limited to GM chess—as the enormous popularity of his “Roman’s Forums” and “Labs” videos attests. Dzindzi’s TNs, ideas and, crucially, the convine- ing way he presents them, should help readers of this book feel as confident as I did during the 1984 U.S. Championship. As a result, you'll win many important games—whether you're playing a friend at home or competing in the U.S. Masters! ‘You'll find in this book many games played by Roman’s student and our co-author, Eugene Perelshteyn. He helped Roman with opening research, checked their co-discoveries with comput- er programs and tested some of them, with success, against top GM opponents. Putting It all together Just the Facts!, the seventh and final book in the Comprehen- sive Chess Course, is one of the fastest-selling endgame books of all time. It was selected by the Chess Journalists of America as the best book of 2000-2001. Comprehensive Chess Course Executive Editor Al Lawrence built special features into that series—and now into this book. These features make these books especially easy to learn from. Al is a former teacher with advanced degrees in curriculum and instruction. Additionally, Al is a former Executive Director of the US. Chess Federation and cur- rently the volunteer Executive Director of the World Chess Hall of Fame in Miami. (In his “real” job, he’s in charge of developing Al LawrenceChapter 1: The Authors & the Book i new products for Excalibur Electronics, Inc.). Al is the author of 12 books and scores of articles of his own on a variety of subjects. He writes on chess with great style and unique perspective. In fact, he was voted 2000-2001 Chess Journalist of the Year. The new serles: Alburts Chess Openings After Nikolay Krogius and I completed the endgame book Just the Facts!, only one part of the game, the opening, remained to be explained. (It wasn’t within the scope of the Course to tackle opening theory in detail.) Many of you are already familiar with Pirc Alert!: A Complete Defense against I. e4, which I co-authored with the Pirc’s number one practitioner, GM Alex Chernin. In Chess Openings for Black, Explained and its White companion volume, Roman, Eugene and I provide you with a solid, effective and interconnected repertoire for both White and Black—plus reviews of all other openings from both sides’ points of view. Following in the tradition of Pirc Alert!, our goal was: * To convey the overall understanding of openings in such a way that it makes its read- ers self-reliant; + To reveal all the theoretical secrets, often five to 10 years before they get into the opening reference books; * To do all this with respect for the other demands on the teader’s time. How we selected these openings The criteria we used to select an opening for the repertoire are: + It’s completely sound, even up to the super-GM level; * It rewards ideas rather than rote memorization—thus its the- ory can be reduced to a relatively small and completely understand- able portion; + We gave preference to openings rich in our TNs! Who should read this hook? Players of all strengths, from beginners to super-GMs, will profit from this book. Here are some who will benefit most: + Anyone who already plays some of the recommended open- ings—for you this book will be like having the personal opening notebook you always wanted; + Anyone who has to play against these lines; + Anyone who wants to devel- op a comprehensive, coherent12 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Lev Alburt and completely modern, compet- itive repertoire for Black, with- out gaps in his understanding; + Anyone who wants to acquire back-up openings to understand on a very high level; + Any player who wants to know what it means to master openings like top professionals do. Structure and content In Chess Openings for Black, Explained, we provide you with a complete repertoire for Black. The companion volume does the same thing for White—based on led. Part Il of this book deals with defending against 1. e4, dis- cussing various replies to it, and then concentrating on our chosen line, the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon. Roman and Eugene have contributed greatly to the theory of this opening. Much of their analysis has never been pub- lished previously, nor even played. We also provide you with reliable, yet in some cases little- known, systems to counter more and more frequent Anti-Sicilians. Part III provides readers with a “five-star” defense against 1. d4. We offer the venerable Nimzo-Bogo complex, the most popular choice among the world’s elite for more than half a century. But even there you'll find numerous new and bold ideas! Part IV deals with 1. c4 and the rest of White’s first moves. Again, we review all of Black’s main options. Our recommenda- tion: 1. ... c5, followed by the king’s bishop fianchetto. This line shows how inter-connection works—positions we seek are the same Maroczy-Binds we’ve stud- ied in depth in Part I. Part V consists of carefully chosen and instructively annotat- ed sample games. Your repertoire will indeed be coherent—and complete!Chapter 1: The Authors & the Book 13 Some Chess Symbols ly expressed with one of a number of symbols. Here are the most ij n chess literature, the assessment of an entire position is frequent- common: +- White has a decisive advantage. White has a clear advantage. White has a slight advantage. The chances are equal. Black has a slight advantage. Black has a clear advantage. -+ Black has a decisive advantage. HoHi oh oe tt Individual moves of a game can also be assessed with symbols: !! A very good move ! A good move 2? A weak move 2? A blunder !? An interesting or provocative move, often involving some risk 2?! A dubious move For DVDs on playing better chess, go to chessondvd.com.14 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chapter 2 How to Use This Book Making the most of your time ou can count on this book as Yor primary source of chess opening knowledge for a very long time. It will guide you through the moves, ideas and sur- prises of a recommended network of related openings—defenses that have never been refuted and that offer you a rich source of cre- ative resources. Besides making the book rich in chess knowledge, including previously secret theoretical nov- elties, we wanted to make it easy to learn from—-and to help you remember and apply what you learned. You'll learn and understand the typical positions, the key ideas, and the relative value of the pieces in each line. You can read and study this book sequentially, as it is laid out. Or you can take the chapters out of order, studying first a variation that you have reason to be inter- ested in immediately. (Perhaps you are preparing for a tourna- ment or a special game.) Or if you're researching from White’s point of view, you may want to go to a chapter on a specific varia- tion. Taking the material out of order shouldn’t make any differ- ence in the benefits you derive, as long as you ultimately read the whole book, and as long as you do read each chapter itself in sequence, The reasons will become clear as you take a look at the special features we’ve built in to help you learn and remem- ber. Special features and how to use them + On the left-hand page before each chapter, you’ll find “Some Important Points to Look For.” The page contains a very short preview of the chapter to put the upcoming information in context. Then you'll see a series of briefly explained diagrams, touchstones for the most impor-Chapter 2: How to Use This Book 15 tant ideas you’re about to study. Previewing the most important ideas will prepare you to better understand them when you meet them in the context of the chap- ter—and will increase your abili- ty to remember them. Additionally, there will be an index of the chapter’s main lines. * Throughout the book, the most important positions are highlighted in blue. This format not only calls your special atten- tion to them, but makes the process of reviewing what you’ve learned much quicker and more effective. + The most important ideas and guiding principles are set in large type within boxes, what art directors refer to as “call-outs,” also highlighted in blue, with the same effect. + Importantly, moves and the diagram they relate to are nearly always placed on the same page- spread! Although a painstaking process for the page designer, this layout principle keeps you from having to flip back and forth from moves to diagrams. + There are many diagrams and they are in the right places, often making it possible to study without a board. * Main lines are given in bold and clearly separated from analysis. + It’s easy to identify main- line positions. Main-line dia- grams are large throughout. All other positions, whether pure analysis or side-games, are small- er and labeled “ANALYSIS.” + Every chapter offers a brief summary of its main ideas. Carefully reading the summary after studying a chapter will help you remember the key points. * Every chapter is followed by “Memory Markers,” centrally important positions that chal- lenge you to lock in the concepts you’ve learned and encourage you to use these ideas in new positions, as you’ll want to do in your own games. We want this book to be your complete reference for your entire playing career. We intend to update the book whenever nec- essary. ‘We want to help to make your opening studies as simple and as well organized as possible!16 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chapter 3 How to Study Openings Jou’ve decided to choose a Yew opening repertoire. Your idea is first to find a promising game-starting scheme, to learn it, and to stick with it. So you hit the reference books. Petrosian’s complaint After hours or even days, what's your finding? See if this sounds familiar: “When J study White, it’s always equal. When I study Black, it’s always worse!” Just so you understand that we all hit this wall, regardless of rating, the complaint is in this instance voiced by none other than world champion Tigran Petrosian. Opening romance It's a lucky player who finds an opening system he loves to rely on, loves to protect from those who would inflict harm on it with their new, villainous ideas, A player and his favorite opening are really a bit of a romance. Even a tyro in such a relationship can rise on occasion to the role of super-hero to rescue his maiden in distress. We all know club players who will take on all opponents and all debaters on the topic of their favorite starting moves. How do these lucky-in-love play- ers find their beloved begin- nings? Most often, it takes place as it did with Al. He happened to see an old game with the Center Counter Defense. For no com- pletely logical reason, the moon- light struck the board. Al was smitten. The fact that the first dates—early victories—were fun clinched the relationship. Even on a very top level of play, these same “romantic” fac- tors can play a part. I became known for my reliance on Ale- khine's Defense. Despite the pre- vailing opinion that after 1. e4, the move 1. ... Nf6 is not quiteChapter 3: How to Study Openings 17 correct, I played “my” Alekhine consistently at the highest levels, with rewarding results. It’s worth noting that both Al and I elected to take lesser ana- lyzed openings that offered a shortcut—sidestepping much of the normal preparation. Switching syndrome Many amateurs spend too much time trying to memorize various opening moves. (That said, none of us wants to reach move 12 with such a steeply up- hill battle that all the strategy and tactics in our head won't get us to the top.) Getting caught up in the switching syndrome—jumping from opening to opening, memo- rizing and getting discouraged, and never making much use of all the time you've invested—is as impractical as it gets. Let's take a look at the basic points to consider when choosing an opening repertoire. Set reasonable goals Barring blunders from our opponents, what should we ex- pect from a satisfactory opening? A. Regardless of its theoreti- cal assessment, we want a posi- tion we know how to play. B. With White, we want a position that is at least equal; we prefer to retain some advantage, although demanding a significant advantage is usually unrealistic. C. With Black, we want an equal position, or if it is slightly worse for us, we at least want a position we know how to hold. For example, a player who emu- lates attacking genius Mikhail Tal may be happy with a material deficit in exchange for an attack—even if, theoretically, it doesn't fully compensate him. Openings are schizophrenic Don't waste your time with the fantasy of the “tailor-made” repertoire we sometimes hear about that will bring out your inner, winning you with just the right openings. Certainly, an experienced chess teacher can help you to improve much faster and absorb important principles more thoroughly than you could on your own. However, in any major opening, you can't play ina way that will guide you only to tactical terrain while preventing positional games, or vice versa. Try staying in a “solid” Caro- Kann against someone who wants to pry the game open for an attack. Even Mikhail Botvinnik couldn't do it in 1960 against Tal. Or try playing the Sicilian for a sharp, attacking game against an expert in White's c3 system, and you'll likely find yourself in a positional struggle. Some varia-18 Chess Openings for Black, Explained tions of the French are passive, while some are downright coun- terattacks. Some forms of the Ruy Lopez are positional; some are wild and hoary. Some Giuoco Pianos are hardly pianissimo. Your opponent can play the Queen's Gambit like the draw- prone Carl Schlechter or like the checkmate-obsessed Frank Mar- shall. Openings are schizophrenic. Whatever opening you play, you tisk getting a position that doesn't match your own attitudes about aggression or passivity. Still, in some extreme cases, consider the plusses and minuses of your play, indeed of your style. If you are a pawn-loving Korchnoi fan, don’t play the Benko Gambit! Petrosian's Rule Sometimes winning is the only acceptable outcome. In such a situation, should you adopt a wild opening, swinging for the bleachers from the first move? The great Petrosian often counseled the young and talented Russian-Armenian master Karen Gregorian. Once Gregorian retumed from an important qual- ifying tournament and showed Petrosian a last-round game in which the young man had played some dubious opening moves as Black and lost. Petrosian cross- examined him: Petrosian. “Why did you play such terrible moves? Even you should understand these are bad.” Gregorian: “I had to win to qualify.” Petrosian: “Make a note. It's much easier to play for a win from an equal position than from a bad position!” Spend only 25% of your chess time studying the openings Opening study just doesn’t deserve to be so all-consuming, especially for nonprofessionals, for two basic reasons: 1. There are lots of other areas to study in chess that will make a more dramatic difference in your results—just one com- pelling example is the study of tactics. 2. There have been many grandmasters who became prominent, even world-class players, using an opening system roundly condemned as at least slightly inferior. As a rule of thumb, you should spend about 25% of your chess study time on the openings. Should you learna second opening? You don’t really have to learnChapter 3: How to Study Openings 19 a second opening to surprise your opponents. There are enough choices within most openings to allow opportunities io catch your opponent off guard. Nowadays, even most top players unabashed- ly specialize in a few openings— normally just enough to cover the opponent’s possibilities. A few, like Kasparov, seem encyclopedic in their opening choices, but after all, they have teams of re- searchers and theoreticians. Actually, the best thing about knowing a second opening is not that you can use it as a surprise weapon, but that you learn the ideas and themes of different types of positions. But once again, from the point of view of teal people with jobs to do and lawns to cut, a second opening covering the same ground may steal time from other important areas of your chess development. When the world champ gets an edge against vour favorite line We can hold our favorite openings to too high a standard, or even blame them for defeats that take place long after the opening phase. Ridiculous as it sounds, we often wind up reject- ing a possibility because it ends in a loss against a top GM or even a world champion. This is a corollary to the cynical outlook that an opening is evaluated by the results of a few key games, and these games were won by the stronger player. Long ago as a young expert, I took up a certain system in the Sicilian. I stuck with the variation as I rose through the ranks. As a master, I contributed to the sys- tem’s theory, drawing and even defeating famous grandmasters. So I kept playing it. Later, my own analysis unearthed one line that I worried about—a series of moves that left White with an edge from the opening. But no one played it against me, or against anyone else. Then in 1971, in the semifi- nals for the Soviet championship, I played Black against a 20-year- old grandmaster named Anatoly Karpov, then already coached by renowned opening-theoretician Semyon Furman. Karpov opened with 1. e4, and | was soon in the familiar territory of my trusty Sicilian. And then suddenly I was in the line I had hoped I would never see in a tournament game! Karpov had played the best moves for White and gotten a small edge, I defended well, but the game was adjourned with Karpov retaining this edge. Another six-hour session saw the game adjourned a second time, in a lost position for me. I was dis- gusted, feeling that everyone would now play the same line20 Chess Openings for Black, Explained against me! So I gave it up. I know now that my aban- doning the system altogether was a very premature reaction. After all, Karpov went on to dominate top-level chess until Kasparov arrived on the scene. The line Karpov played to get a small edge would not be to everyone’s taste, nor within most GMs’ abilities to maintain and convert to a win. True, I went on to a new, fruitful “relationship” with Alekhine’s Defense, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. The next time you are tempt- ed to switch your opening because the latest Informant game shows how the world champ beat a tournament tail- gater in 40 moves—think it over. There isn’t a line that wouldn't look bad in such a match-up. And when you lose in the city champi- onship to a smartly played mating attack by the ultimate winner, don’t rush to blame the opening. The reason for your loss may lie elsewhere. Home analysis Whatever your playing strength, nothing will improve your opening results more than home preparation—your own work in your own home over your own board. (For the serious who have the opportunity, personal chess trainers can be a tremen- dous advantage, of course.) Sometimes what you find may be a tactical trick. Perhaps with best play your find peters out to equality (or for Black, a slightly worse position) faster than the main line. But an oppo- nent seeing it for the first time will likely slip into a brutal trap, or he may panic in the face of the unknown. The chances are extremely high that this book will give you the best opening foundation you’ve ever had. You’ll under- stand the ideas we present so well that you're likely to be surprised at the innovations you come up with on your own. And in the process of trying to find better and more interesting moves, you will of course constantly increase your understanding of your open- ings and of chess. Let the book do the rest Under different circum- stances, I'd have much more to say about how to study openings, how to look for TNs and for shortcuts, those effective side- lines. I would explain the tech- niques for cutting your job down to size, how to gather and assess material, how to organize and what to memorize. But the fact is that Complete Openings for Black, Explained does all of this for you. And I’m sure you’re eager to get started!at22 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn Sole lnportaat Pots to Loo Ror In this chapter we review Black’s choices against White's most popular first move, 1. e4. © symmetry, but White is ® Scandinavian: cutting ‘on the move and attacking the Gordian knot. See Diagram 2 See Diagram 32. © French: preparing ... d5 © — Caro-Kann: preparing See Diagram 43. 5. See Diagram 44. © irc: development first. ® The assymetrical center later. See Diagram 54. challenge in the center. See Diagram 60.Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 23 Chapter 4 Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn Black’s Choices Against 1. e4 aking connections makes M us smarter. In this chap- ter, you're about to con- nect with several centuries of chess opening development. It’s what we used to call “back- ground information.” It’s terribly underrated by too many people — those in a rush to learn only what they “need” to know, That’s an irony, because what some may see as unrelated knowledge is crucial to any creative process. The box below gives you five specific reasons for knowing something about everything in the openings. Moreover, there’s a more encompassing motive for a chess player to know a lot in gen- eral. The now gratingly unimagi- native phrase (it’s become a cog- nitive oxymoron) “thinking out of the box” means to convey that creative solutions are found by seeking breakthroughs not on the slide under our immediate, microscopic concentration. A Renaissance man of both mathe- matics and the liberal arts wrote: The creative mind is a mind that looks for unexpected likeness. —Jacob Bronowski Five Reasons to Know Something About Everything in the Chess Openings RYN You need to have some information in order to make meaningful choices. Transpositions (shifting from one opening to another) iake place frequently. Ideas from one opening can be applied to other openings. Sometimes you reach a position in an opening with “colors reversed"--for example, when White plays the English (1. c4) and Black responds with 1... e5, both players can find themselves in a “Reversed Sicilian.” 5. You can improve your overall play by practicing in different kinds of middlegame positions resulting from various openings.24 Chess Openings for Black, Explained To be creative, we need to be capable of making surprising connections through a whole uni- verse of ideas. But we've lived for some time in an age of the expert. In our jobs and even in our hobbies, we specialize. As chess players, we are “e4-play- ers” or “d4-players.” Or perhaps you're a Colle expert. Specializa- tion makes sense, of course. Done correctly, it can make the most of our time, and it can instill us with confidence. Is specialization Just for insects? So having a wide general knowledge makes you a better player, but specializing in chess is a survival skill. Our moves on the chessboard permit us to direct the struggle. The yin and the yang of needing to know a lot while learning to restrict the range of possibilities is not really a contradiction. Perhaps an engi- neer-turned-sci-fi-icon said it best: A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, designa building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. —Robert A. Heinlein, from The Notebooks of Lazarus Long Daunting expectations from Heinlein, who learned to play chess at four, even before he could read! But we agree with his general idea. A good chess play- er should be able to conduct any phase of the game competently, wherever it takes him. We're not going to argue against specializing in certain Three Reasons to Study Open Games First 1. They are the most immediately dangerous. You'll face them most often. 3. You'll get practice making combinations and defending against combinations, which abound in the open games.Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 25 chess openings. In fact, this book is all about recommending cer- tain lines that make it possible even for amateurs to become true opening experts. It offers brand- new ideas that will put your opponents at a disadvantage. But you should occasionally play over games from openings you yourself don’t use. And you should certainly know at least the basics of all of the major open- ings! Atime-efficient review We are conscious of your time constraints. You have other things to do and are reading this because you expect some time- efficient return. You want to play chess better, understand it bet- ter—and win more games as Black. So we’ve given this chap- ter very serious thought, present- ing you with the most potent connections to the basic ideas of the I. e4 openings, from Black’s perspective. Open Open files Open diagonals Fluid or absent center pawns Tactical Attacks Gambits Combinations Fast Let What time does your opening close? This book teaches you how to deal with any White opening scheme. But we put 1. e4 first for a reason. Usually, 1. e4 leads to “open” games. Many chess train- ers continue to recommend learn- ing the “open” games before studying “closed” positions— and for most of us, it makes sense. After all, 1. e4 is the most popular opening move among amateurs, and one of the most popular moves among masters and grandmasters. Some openings lead more often to open positions. Other openings usually bring on closed middlegames. It’s helpful to define the basics as we go along, so let’s draw the distinction between open and closed in chess: Open positions offer unblocked lines of contact between the opposing armies; closed don’t. Take a look at the two columns below. Closed Blocked files Blocked diagonals Blocked center Positional Strategy Bind Regrouping Slow 1, d4, 1. 04, LINES26 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Tn the column on the left we list words that generally apply to open games; the column on the right describes closed games. Prior to the end of the 19th century, the advent of Steinitz’ theory and positional play, open- ing a chess game with 1. e4 was de rigeur. But even now, nearly all top grandmasters at least occasionally play 1. e4. This move still dominates the lower rungs of the tourament circuit, a popularity which isn’t surprising, since 1. e4 best corresponds to the three rules of thumb about the opening phase. (See the box at the bottom of this page.) Now let’s start our review in earnest to gain some perspective on the challenge of playing against 1. e4, A Symmetry: Meeting the best with its shadow led eS Diagram 1 AMfier Lo eS 1. ... e5 is Black’s most natural reply (see “Three Rules of the Opening,” below). Still, being a tempo ahead in these open begin- nings is an advantage. In open positions, an extra move can be important. [Ae mmole meee otra Three Rules of the Opening 1. Control the center (preferably by occupving it with pawns); 2. Develop—bring your pieces from their starting position onto squares from which they exercise influence on the action (start with the kingside pieces because of the next rule); 3. Castle (usually short, since it can be accomplished most quickly and safely).Chapter 4; Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 27 White can try for an edge with Diagram 2 After 2. Nf3 For over 100 years, this move has been viewed as the only seri- ous try for an advantage. It not only develops and prepares castling, but it also attacks the e5-pawn. Championed by Paul Morphy, 2. Nf3 eventually tri- umphed over the romantic 2. f4 (the King’s pone Diagram 3 King’s Gambit Don’t worry about side lines now. From Black’s point of view, if you find you’re comfortable with 2. Nf3, you can always go back to learn the tight ways to equality against less challenging second moves, such as the King’s Gambit, 2, Nc3 (Vienna), 2. Bc4, 2, d4, or 2. 3. After 2. Nf3, theoretically best for Black is to develop with the pawn-protecting }. we Neb Diagram 4 After 2..... Neb Why not 2. ... Bd6, protecting a pawn while developing a king- side piece, a move many begin- ners make? more than 10 years, 2. Nf3 has been viewed as the only serious follow-up to 1. e4.28 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 5 Bad defense: Black blocks his development! Because Black’s pawn is stuck on d7, it doesn’t influence the center, at least not for the near future. The move also blocks the most natural diagonal (c8-h3) for the c8-bishop. (Fiazchettoing this bishop isn’t usually a good idea in the 1. e4 e5 openings, because the bishop will be blocked by the well-protected e4- pawn. Besides, getting the piece to b7 would take an extra move.) In the last fifteen years, as a result of the attention of world champions Anatoly Karpov and Vladimir Kramnik, and many followers, Petroff’s Defense, 2. .. Nf6 has moved up in the es- Petroff’s Defense has moved Lup in of 2. ... Nc6. Diagram 6 Petroff’s Defense teem of theory from a “short cut” to nearly the equal of 2. ... Nc6. In fact, because of its new-found popularity, you'll need to study more! The more masters play an opening, the more ingenious tricks, traps and strategies they find. In other words, the more an opening is played, especially at the top, the more “theory” piles up. Dubious, or as their proponents would say, “risky” and “enter- prising” are the gambits 2. ... d5 and 2. ... £5. We show how to handle them, as well as other sec- ond moves for Black, in this vol- ume’s counterpart, Chess Openings for White, Explained. “Almost correct” is 2. ... d6, used by Philidor (and called the Philidor Defense). If you'd like to study very little theory—or to have an offbeat system in reserve for a show- down with an old foe who thinks he knows your repertoire, consid- er 2. ... Qe7.Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 29 The top 10 reasons for having an offhieat, surnrise opening alternative to defend against 1. 64. 1. You can surprise a familiar foe who thinks he knows all about your repertoire. 2. Even though he has the White pieces and is supposed to have the initiative, you can immedi- ately put your opponent in a defensive frame of mind. 3. Many of your opponents will make mistakes under pressure to find the “right” theoretical moves. 4. Your opponent may even decide it’s his job to “refute” an opening that’s perfectly playable— leading to his making big mistakes in the first few moves! 5, He will likely burn up valuable clock-time cal- culating unfamiliar variations—imagine using your surprise in the last round of a fast-time-con- trol tournament, with a big prize at stake! 6. If news breaks during the middle of a tourna- ment that one of your favorite lines has been punc- tured by a new move from a Bulgarian grandmas- ter, you can fall back on your spare-tire opening. 7. You won’t have to use it long anyway; such opening “refutations” generally last until the “refuter” plays someone rated even higher! 8. You get to act blasé if someone plays your own. surprise against you, rattling off the best response and stifling a yawn—he’s yours for life! 9. You can tell everyone it’s the latest break- through idea from Kasparov and that the champion computer program Thresher confirms that it wins for Black against 1. e4. 10. Then you’ll get to find a good surprise against 1. d4.30 Chess Openings for Black, Explained 1 Diagram 7 Offbeat but sound This system was used occa- sionally by Russian grandmaster Victor Kupreichik, a great attack- ing player. Black intends to fianchetto his dark-square bish- op. There is no way to refute this opening. Of course, with normal, good play, White should get a small edge, but remember two things: this level of advantage is not significant except among international competitors, and, secondly, White will be in unfa- miliar territory. And if he presses. for more, he may end up invest- ing a lot of clock time, and being very disappointed by the result! Let’s return to 2. ... Ne6, Pe scr epic ee ee ‘before he has castled BUR W AC Cte Diagram 8 After 2... Neb Now the unpretentious “knights-first” 3. Ne3 Ne3 isn’t without poison, but only if Black plays the natural 3. .. Bc5, allowing the archetypal (in such positions) 4. Nxe5, with an edge. (After 4. ... Nxe5, White has the pawn fork 5. d4. Black could play 4. ... Bxf2+, but after 5. Kxf2 Nxe5 6. d4 Ng6 7. Bed, White has a strong center and will soon castle by hand.) But instead of 3. ... BeS, Black can go into a Four Knights Game by playing 3. ... Nf6, maintain- ing symmetry for one or two more moves, and this path leads to equality.Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 37 Fine moves For 50 years, the book The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings by the American champion Reuben Fine held sway and determined the way we played openings. (Reuben Fine was a world-championship contender and a winner of the 1938 AVRO super-tournament.) Here are his three tips on finding good moves in the opening. Whenever possible, make a good developing move that threatens something. * Two questions must be answered prior to making a move: 1. How it affects the center. 2. How it fits with the development of your other men. Deviate from “book” lines only for a reason.32 Chess Openings for Black, Explained We're still only at move 3, and for a while, White can control the options. Let’s look at 3. d4. Diagram 10 Scotch Opening This move was felt to be ana- lyzed and played to death (mean- ing to a draw) by the early twen- tieth century. Theoreticians thought that White played his important central thrust too early, dissipating his latent energy. But in the 1990s, Kasparov’s victo- ries with the Scotch put it back into play. (See Fine’s advice on the previous page.) Other than the Scotch, two most promising moves for White in the main line (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Ne6—see Diagram 8) are 3. Be4 and 3. BbS. The first choice attacks the f7 square, Black’s most vulnerable point before he has castled. ce e move 3. Bed was: brought him many exciting victories. Morphy’s favorite and Diagram 11 After 3. Bed The move 3. Be4 was Mor- phy’s favorite and brought him many exciting victories, as it then did numerous aficionados of the attack, On the Olympus of super- grandmaster play, 3. Be4 contin- ues to be regarded, as it has been for most of the twentieth century, as being “exhausted” and draw- ish. But not among the mortals, where it continues to be popular. Still, you can more or less rely on theory to provide you with the antidote to 3. Bed. It can be 3 BeS, Diagram 12 Giueco Piano questionably called Giuoco Piano (Italian for the “Quiet Game”—sometimes the opening is called the Italian Game),Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 33 unless White attacks with the Evans Gambit, 3. b4. Diagram B Evans Gambit Or Black can play 3. ... Nf6, appropriately called the Two Knights’ Defense. Diagram 14 Two Knights’ Defense The most popular choice for White is the positional 3. Bb5, initiating the famous Ruy Lopez opening. Diagram 15 Ruy Lopez White’s third move attacks the knight, which defends the e5- pawn. The real problem is that there is a terabyte of theory in this time-honored opening. Espec- ially over the long-term, when you are rising higher and higher in the ranks of chess players, you'd need to remember a lot to play against the Ruy. Even an historical review takes a bit of time. So settle back. It’s well- worth your knowing. Diagram 16 Ruy Lopez, Morphy’s Defense34 Chess Openings for Black, Explained the “main line” for almost a hun- dred years, you should be ready for Bobby Fischer’s favorite, 4. Bxcé. (No, it doesn’t win a pawn: after 4. ... dxc6!, 5. NxeS can’t be recommended because of 5 -. Qd4.) Afier 5.... Qd4 You need also to be ready for the more common 4. Bad. Diagram 18 Afier 4. Bad Other third moves for Black are viewed as somewhat inferior, but provide you a choice of short- cuts. Where are you, for exam- ple, on the “greed” continuum? (See the graph below.) RESPECT FOR MATERIAL, A CONTINUUM Bisguier Alburt 1 Marshall Denker [Larsen Geller Christiansen Tal Neshmetdinos Chigorin ‘Morphy Gulko Shiradt Healthy disrespect for material Alekhine Kasparov Browne { Botvianik 1 Smyslov Seiraman Fischer Spassky Karpov Petrosian Korehnoi L.Eyans — Steinitz Capablanca Healthy respect for material Take a look at the chart above. Since “conservatives” are most often talked about as being “on the right,” we’ll fol- low that tradition. Please keep in mind that most great play- ers can do all things well. Petrosian detonated some drop-dead combinations. Tal ground out some ingenious endgames. The table offers only generalizations, and informed opinions may differ. Where do you think you would fall? You'll undoubtedly profit from playing over theChapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 35 games of the great players near your spot on the spec- trum. Pay attention to the openings and sub-variations they choose. See how you like them. If you fall somewhere in the vicinity of Tal and Morphy, then consider _ Playing the Schliemann, 3. ... £5. Diagram 19 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Variation Even if Kasparov, Karpov and Korchnoi, from their places on our “Respect for Material Continuum,” think otherwise, clearly the initiative will matter for you more than the loss of a pawn in a position similar to the one after 4. Nc3 fxe4 5. Nxe4 Nf6 6. Nxf6+ Qxf6 7. Qe2 Be7 8. Bxc6 dxc6. Diagram 20 After 8, ... dxc6 Incidentally, only 9. Nxe5 is correct here. An attempt to both grab a pawn and exchange queens backfires: 9. Qxe5? Bed!, and now every super-K will pre- fer Black! After the exchange of queens, Black enjoys better development and threatens to ruin White’s kingside pawn struc- ture. Back to Black’s third move. If, like Savielly Tartakover, you pre- fer to sacrifice your opponent’s pawns, you still have short-cuts to choose from: 3. ... Nge7 (planning to fianchetto); the immediate fianchetto 3. ... g6; and the clas- sic (and somewhat passive) 3. ... d6, which commits Black to giv- ing up the center after 4. d4 exd4 5, Nxd4. Diagram 21 Ruy Lopez, after 5. Nxd4 Siegbert Tarrasch showed that White has some slight but per- sistent edge here, but he was, after all, Tarrasch! Black can even get away with moving the same piece twice with 3. ... Nd4, Bird’s Defense.Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 22 Ruy Lopez, Bird's Defense Perhaps you’ll put new life in the old system, as Kramnik did with the Berlin Variation, proving in his 2000 World Champion- ship match versus Kasparov that the endgame after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. Diagram 23 After 5. d4 5. ... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxe6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 is okay for Black. Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense If you’ve decided to play “the best” 3. ... a6 (see Diagram 16) then, as we've mentioned, besides studying 4. Bxc6, you should prepare a system against the classic 4. Ba4. There are some attractive short-cuts to the main lines of theory (but even the short-cuts on a significant jour- ney can be long!), such as the “Open Variation” (Fine called it the “Counter Attack Defense”). After normal moves, 4. Bad Nf6 5. 0-0, After 50-0 Black captures a pawn. 5. ... Nxe4 6, d4.b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6é Diagram 26 Ruy Lopez, Open Variation Or after already learning soChapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 37 much, maybe you want to study the “Champions’ Defense,” the Chigorin Variation, which grand- masters had in mind when they said, in the last part of the twenti- eth century, that nobody can become a great player without playing great Ruys. (And most world champions and challengers did play them, ofien from both sides.) Let’s follow from Diagram 25: 5. ... Be7 6. Rel b5 7. Bb3 Diagram 27 Afier 7. Bb3 7... d6 Or 7. ... 0-0, if you want to lure your opponent into the Marshall Gambit after 8. c3 d5. EZ Diagram 28 Ruy Lopez, Marshall's Gambit After the “classical” 7. ... d6, the play continues: 8. ¢3 0-0 9. h3 NaS We're skipping some twists, such as Breyer’s paradoxically good 9, ... Nb8. 10. Be2 c5 11. d4 Qe7 Diagram 2! Ruy Lopez, Chigorin Variation This is the blueprint beginning of many great Ruys! (Chess play- ers sometimes call these classic theoretical starting places “tabi- as.”) We've already connected to a lot of important history. Now let’s move to the non-symmetri- cal answers to 1. e4.38 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Summarizing 1... e5 Beginners may choose 1. ... e5 because it’s natural and easy to understand (therefore making it easy to find reason- able follow-up moves). The classical main line after 1. e4 e5 is the Ruy Lopez, and the stronger player you are, the more frequently you'll face the Ruy. Still, some knowl- edge against sharp systems, such as 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4, is required, in order to avoid panicking after 3. ... Nf6 4. Ng5. “Se hy 8S 83 Diagram 30 Afier 4, Ng5 And to avoid a waste of time like 3. ... h6?. Diagram 31 After 3... h6? B The light-square strategy: Immediately challenging Whites center 1.e4 d5 Ws w ae mane one meee 32 The Center Counter (Scandinavian) A basic tenet of fighting 1. e4 is that if Black can play ... dS without a drawback, he has equalized. So why not play 1.... d5 right away? This attempt to cut through the Gordian knot of main lines was traditionally viewed by theory as weak. But the move was always underrated. Moreover, recently it’s been given new life. After the best response, 2. exd5, Black somewhat surprisingly has two good moves: to recapture with the queen 2. ... Qxd5,Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 39 a GO G pentane’ ahaa” “se Diagram 33 Afier 2. ... OxdS or to play 2. . a a a ia i nn Diagram 34 Afier 2... Nf The legendary weakness of .. Qxd5, according to tradi- tional theory, was White’s win of a tempo with 3. Nc3. The verdict was that Black exposed his queen to early harassment, allowing White to develop while Black’s most powerful piece dodged bul- lets. But just how important is the loss of a tempo here? 3. Ne3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Diagram 35 After 5. NB And now Black brings out his light-square bishop before mov- ing his e-pawn. He can choose from 5. ... Bg4, 5. ... Bf, or even a preliminary 5. ... c6 (a useful move, securing a retreat line for the queen). For example: 5. ... ¢6 6. Bed Bg. Diagram 36 After 6.... Bed In all these lines, White’s only hope for an edge lies in driving Black's bishop back:40 Chess Openings for Black, Explained 7.h3 BhS 8. 24! Bg6 ay 4 Ws Y 4 YI wy Diagram 3° After 8... Bes Here theory continues with lines that in the end are razor- sharp journeys through a tactical wonderland. Most non-special- ists wouldn't dare enter, uneasy about the “weakening” g?-e4 And where. with proper play, do even these best tries end? “Plus-over-cqual”—the smailest advantage White can have. an edge truly important only on the highest levels of chess, where technique is near-perfect. But even there, such an edge is not definitive. And if your opponents do play both h3 and g4, and keep getting an edge, consider the simple 7. .. Bxf3. za Diagram 38 After 7... Bxf3 Yes, on the GM level this choice winds up, again, plus- over-equal because White has the bishop pair. But among ama- teurs, knights are often as good, if not better, than bishops. Black’s position is solid. He has no weaknesses and no bad pieces—and no jong lines to remember! Let’s look at Black’s other choice in the Center Counter after 2. exd5. Diagram 39 on MB Justification for 2. ... Nf6 lies in the line 3. c4 c6 4. dxc6 (bet-Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 47 ter is modest 4. d4, transferring into the Panov-Botvinnik line of the Caro-Kann) 4. Diagram 41 After 5. d4 Se Or White can play the normal Diagram 40 3. d4. Afier 4. ... Nxc6 And Black stands better de- spite a missing pawn. Still, in Diagram 39’s position, White can fight for an edge with 3. Bb5S+ Bd7 4. Be2! Nxd5 5. d4. Diagram 42 After 3. d4. © The light-square strategy: Preparing ... d7-d5 As we saw on previous pages, capturing on d5 with a piece gives White some advantage in the center, and the somewhat better game. Two major openings, the Caro-Kann and the French, solve this problem by preparing ... d7-d5 with a neighboring pawn move, in order to be able to recapture on d5 with a pawn. 1. e4 e6 1e4 c6 Diagram 43 Diagram 44 French Caro-Kann42 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Let’s look what will happen after the natural 2. d4 dS in each case. Caro-Kann Black’s ... e7-e6 opens a diagonal for his dark-square bishop and thus also facilitates early castling. The negative: the light-square bishop is restricted by the e6-pawn and often winds up a bad “French” bishop, hemmed in by its own pawns. In the Caro-Kann, the light-square bishop is free and will soon move to f5 or (after White’s Nf3) to 4. On the other hand, ... c7-c6 doesn’t forward Black’s development (except for open- ing the diagonal for his queen, which is less important than developing the minor pieces), doesn’t prepare for castling short, and in some cases—where ... c6-c5 will be called for—loses a tempo. Still, as prac- tice shows, the Caro-Kann is at least as good as the French. Already we've seen its single but strong plus, keeping the light-square bishop “good.” This benefit offsets the minuses. When playing the French, you must be ready to defend against White’s two main continuations, 3. Ne3 and 3. Nd2. e Center Counter, after ... Bxf3; Black’s position is solid. He has no weaknesses and no bad pieces— and no long lines to remembe!Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 43 Diagram 47 Diagram 48 French, White allows French, White avoids the pin 3... Bb4 A “busyman’s” solution to learning two lines above can be found in Pire Alert!—a complete defense against I. e4, co-authored by Lev Alburt and by the Pirc’s number one practitioner, GM Alex Chernin: 3, ... dxe4 (the Rubinstein French) 4. Nxe4 Bd7. Diagram 49 Diagram 50 After 4... Bd7 After 8. Ng The game usually continues 5, 8. ... Bxf3!, achieving a position Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. 0-0 Ngf6 quite similar to Diagram 38 8. Ng3 (from the 2. ... Qxd5 line of the Scandinavian). For a player with more time to study and more ambition, lines of the French generally offer sharp, unbalanced positions, an explo- sive mixture of strategies and tac- tics.44 Chess Openings for Black, Explained The Caro-Kann main line goes: 1. e4 6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 ded 4, Nxe4. Diagram 51 Afier 4. Nuet This is a very solid, mostly positional opening, perfectly fit- ted to those sharing Petrosian’s philosophy: with Black, seek safety first. Both 4, ...BfS and 4. ... Nd7 (preparing 5. ... Ngf6) serve this goal. But be aware of neglecting tactics even in such seemingly safe positions—for instance, by playing (after 4. . aaa 5. 5. Qe2) s ISATWNY Diagram 52 Watch Out! Black’s planned 5. ... Ngf6??, allowing 6. Nd6, “smothered” checkmate! D Countering from the cemers: The Pirc, Modern and Alekhine 1.e4 d6 “7a Diagram 53 Pirc Defense Usually the game continues 2. d4 Nf6 (inviting the white knight to occupy a square in front of his pawn, as 3. Nd2, while possible, has the drawback of blocking the bishop). 3. Ne3 g6Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 45 Black is ready to fianchetto his bishop and then to castle. He’ll fight for the center later, a mod- ernist trade off. For more on choosing the Pirc, see Pirc Alert!. The Modern Defense, 1. e4 g6, Rs ae a Diagram 55 The Modern Defense is a flexible, less formal cousin (in some cases even a twin) of the Pire. Alekhine’s Defense, 1. e4 Nf6, qaawen = G7 BywQOYEEe ZA ae ae W200, te Gj “a A o Hey, Diagram 56 After 1. ... Nf6 is a true triumph of hyper-mod- ernism—Black provokes White to push (with tempo!) his central pawns-—as in the line 2. e5 Nd5 Diagram 57 After 4. c5 Black will, however, recoup some of these tempos soon by attacking White’s extended (sometimes even over-extended) pawn center. Despite a life-long effort by Lev Alburt, the theory still (correctly) favors White, but only in the modern line: 2. eS Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3. Diagram 58 After 4. NB All three major replies, Lev’s 4. ... Bg and 4. ... 36, and GM Bagirov’s 4. ... c6, seem to pro- mise White a small edge. The good news is that White needs to know all three systems,46 Chess Openings for Black, Explained and Black only one. And “nor- mal,” or simply “good” moves often aren’t enough in sharp, unbalanced Alekhine positions to take White to safety, let alone to an advantage. 1. e4 Nc6 This Nimzovich Defense is a poor cousin of the Alekhine Defense. After 2. Nf3, Black’s best move is definitely 2. ... ¢5. So, if you don’t mind transposing into the classic 1. e4 e5 lines, or if you on occasion want to con- fuse an opponent who is a King’s Gambit aficionado, 1. ... Nc6 is a good choice. But you'll have to study the line 2. d4 e5 or 2. d4 d5, where White should play first accurately, then inventively, to assure just a very small edge in some unclear, “atypical” posi- tions. The graphic on page 48 plots, on the unsound-to-solid continu- um, Black’s first-move responses to 1. e4. You can see that Black’s faux-pas openers result in a plus- over-minus (a clear advantage for White). Black’s opening goal is equality. The minor openings: 1. ... a6, 1. ... b6, 1. ... gS are minor because they aren’t good, and thus can’t be recommended except in an occasional blitz game for surprise effect. (But we must admit that Tony Miles played 1. ... a6 in a tournament game against then world champi- on Anatoly Karpov—and won!) E The Sicilian: Our recommendation Now we come to the defense we recommend against 1. e4, the Sicilian Defense, 1. ... ¢5. The Sicilian is currently Black’s most popular defense against 1. e4. In fact, it’s played more often on all levels, from the club players to super-grandmas- ters, than all other replies to 1. ¢4Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 47 combined! Not surprisingly, its popularity corresponds with very good results for Black. A search of more than 100,000 games reveals that the Sicilian yields Black the following statistics versus the classic 1. ... e5 and 1. o C6: 105 1.06 1... 05 Black won: 28.8% 25.4% 30.3% Black drew: 31.7% 35.9% 34.9% Black lost: 39.6% 38.6% 34.9% So the Sicilian won the most games and lost the least! How can 1. ... cS compete with 1. ... e6 and I. ... e5, the logical, clas- sical choices? After all, 1. ... cS doesn’t put a pawn in the center; doesn’t develop or help to devel- op a piece (except for the queen, which normally isn’t supposed to be brought out early in the open- ing); and doesn’t make casiling easier. The explanation is that to try for an advantage, White has to play d2-d4. Otherwise Black will maintain at least an equal footing in the center. 2. Nf3 dé Or 2. ... Ne6 or 2. ...06. 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Diagram 61 After 4. Nxd4 4, ... NGG This induces White’s next move, as other moves allow Black to equalize easily—for example, 5. Bd3 Nc6. Moves like 4. ... e6 will allow 5. c4, the Maroczy Bind, not to be overly feared, as we will show, but a dif- ferent game than Black idealizes. 5. Ne3 Diagram 62 After 5. Ne3 White is better developed and has more space. Black, however, has exchanged his bishop’s pawn48 Chess Openings for Black, Explained The Unsound-to-Solid Continuum— Be Cre 1.4.95 1...06 1...b6 Alekhine Pire Center French Counter Modern 1... e5 Caro-KannChapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 49 for the White queen’s pawn, and center pawns are usually worth more. Besides, Black has poten- tially good play along the semi- open c-file. Therefore White’s most prom- ising plan in the Sicilian is an attack, while “Sicilian end- games” are known to favor Black. Black has numerous choices in the Sicilian after 5. Nc3. One popular choice is 5. ... a6, the Najdorf. Diagram 64 Sicilian Scheveningen ‘Yet another choice for Black after 5. Nc3 is 5.... Ne6. Diagram 63 Sicilian Najdorf The idea of this move is to take control of bS—useful if Black decides to play ...e7-e5. Another move that Black often chooses is 5. e6, the Scheveningen ... Diagram 65 After 3. ... Nob But these three popular lines require a defender to absorb a /ot of detailed information, and to master a great number of tactical and strategic ideas. Simpler to learn is the Sicilian “SICILIAN ENDGAMES” ARE KNOWN TO FAVOR BLACK.50 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Four Knights: 1. e4 c5 2. NIB 06 3. dé exd4 4 a AKG Diagram 66 Afier 5... Ne6 This can lead to a small advan- tage for White (+) after 6. NdbS Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxe3 d5 9. exdS exd5 10. Bd3 d4 11. Ne2 0-0 12. 0-0 Qd5 13. Nf4! slightly better for White. Those who like it would most likely lack Karpov’s nearly unerring touch. Back to Black’s fourth move. After 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 Diagram 68 After 4. Nxdd Black can delay 4. ... Nf6 and play 4. ... a6, the flexible Kan, or 4. ... Ne6, the Taimanov. In the Sveshnikov, Black first develops his queen’s knight: 1. e4 cS 2. Nf3 Ne6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4. Diagram 67 After 13, Nf#! 13... Qd6 [4. Nh5! Co-author Alburt once tried to defend Black’s side versus then 20-year-old Anatoly Karpov. Failing, Lev abandoned the Sicilian. That was a mistake, Very few players like to play emerging endgames, this time Diagram 69 After 4. Nxd4 4. ... Nf6 (although Grand-Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 51 master Sveshnikov himself nowadays prefers the immediate 4. ... €5) 5. Ne3 e5!? a faa a m, Sicilian Sveshnikov Viewed as anti-positional at its creation 35 years ago, today it’s very much the rage. And of course, some players love the supersharp Dragon: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4, Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 26 Diagram 71, After 5... g6 The variation is called the Dragon because Black’s pawn formation reminded some of the mysterious beast. Now White can choose some- what subdued lines, in which he'll castle short. We'll have a look at those in Chapter 7. More dangerous for Black are lines in which White castles long and then launches an attack with h2-h4-h5, sacrificing that pawn for an open path to the enemy king. One such opening tabia arises after 6. Be3 Bg7 7. £3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6,52 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 72 After 8... Ne6 And now White follows up with either 9. 0-0-0 (where one of the main replies is 9. ... d5, now judged +) or 9. Bc4. Black has counter play, but there is no doubt that Black’s castled posi- tion is coming under fire first. But imagine that, in the posi- tion in Diagram 72, Black’s d- pawn is still on d7—and it is Black’s turn to move (since he saved that tempo). In that case, Black would have an excellent game after 8. ... d5. This—an option to play ... d5 in one move—is the very reason for choosing the Accelerated Dra- gon, our recommendation. Summary: Black’s 1. ... e5 is the most logical response to I. e4, and the easiest to grasp. The move I. ... d5 can provide a time-saving “short-cut.” Other assymetrical openings usually lead to com- plex, challenging play. Among those, our choice is Black's most successful reply: I. ... c5, the Sicilian.Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King's Pawn 53 Some Practical Advice If one of your lines has been refuted, or you're simply not too happy with it, don't despair. Search for a substitute. And if you're quite happy with your “old” opening-say, the Pirc or Alekhine— don't abandon it. Go straight to Part III, and study the Nimzo. Don’t worry too much about matters such as a “complete, inter-connected reper- toire.” Yes, skipping parts of this book may create some problems later, but you will be well equipped to deal with those problems. For instance, playing the Symmetrical English requires in this book knowledge of the Maroczy Bind, described in several Part II chapters. If you don't like the Bind, look for another line within the Symmetrical English. Or choose another first move, another system-say, 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 and if 3. Nf3, then 3. ... Bb4, Nimzo-style. There are plenty of choices, and oppor- tunities, in the opening. We hope this book will help you make choices right for you.54 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn Wain ry wie corsd Diagram 73 Afier 3. NveS Diagram 74 After 4. Bed Diagram 75 After 5. Bxc6 Diagram 76 Afier 2. &5 Wee) Diagram 77 After 6... Bed Diagram 78 After 7. Qa2Chapter 4: Connecting to the Whole History of Pushing the King’s Pawn 55 No.1 No.2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No.6 Connecting to the Wh istory of et Pushing the King’s Pawn Solitons 1D wei vry a hia td 3. ... d6 4. Nf3 Nxed (not 3. ... Nxe4? 4. Qe2). See Diagram 6. 4... Nxe4, and Black is at least equal. See note after Diagram 9. The right answer here and in similar positions is to take away from the center: 5. ... dxc6! 6. NeS Qd4!, and Black is better. See Diagram 19. Black achieves a better game with 2. ... c5. Also good is 2. ... BfS, taking the bishop out before playing ... e6, but 2. ... c5, planning to pin the white knight with ... Bg4 (after Nf3), is even stronger. See page 38 and compare with the French. 7. b3. Why not 7. Bxf7+? Because after 7. ... Kxf7 8. NeS+ Qxe5+, Black has a piece for a pawn. See Diagram 36. 7. .. Ng4! Thus it is better for White to secure the e3-bishop with 7. 3. See page 52.56 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line Suvi Lwpore Polis tv Loo for The Sicilian is Black’s most successful defense. Our recommended move order makes White’s most aggressive line against it risky after ... d5!. & ‘J X : j % 8... a5!—one key to Black's Black now plays 13. ... Nd7. successful play in this chapter. He isn’t afraid to exchange dark- See Diagram 87. square bishops. See Diagram 104. a “Ee + % 4 d5—a typical break- . Bh6, Black preserves through. See Diagram 120. the bishop pair, See Diagram 154. 1.04.05 2. Nfa 06 3.04 oxd4 4. Nxd4 NcG 5. Nc3 B97 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bcd 0-0 8. Bb3 a5 (56) [B35} AA 9. a4 Nz4 10. Qxed Nudd 11. Qhd d6 12, Nd5 Re8 13. Rd Nxb3 (63) B 9. 0-0 d6 (65) B1 10. £3 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bd7 12. a4 Bo6 (65) B2 10. h3 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bd7 12. a4 Beb (67) 69.545 (71) © 10. exd5 Nb4 11, Nde2 a4! (71) ©2 10. Bxds Nxds (76) G3 10. Nxd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 (82)Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—Iintro and Main Line $7 Chapter 5 The Accelerated Dragon Introduction and Main Line Every chess player must have a confident answer to White’s most popular and pressing open- er, 1. e4, White’s aggressive first move stakes out the center and opens diagonals for both his king’s bishop and queen. As we’ve seen in Chapter 4, Black has a number of adequate answers, but the Sicilian Defense is the fighting choice that yields Black the most victories. A search of more than 100,000 games from internation- al play shows that the Sicilian yields Black a 30.3% chance of THE SICILIAN GIVES BLACK IMPRESSIVE RESULTS— EVEN AGAINST HIGH-LEVEL COMPETITORS WHO KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR INITIATIVE!58 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Let's quickly review four punches packed into 1... ¢5. 1. From the very first move, Black creates an unbalanced game. Classical symmetry is out the window, The Sicilian makes mistakes both more likely and more telling! 2. To try for an advantage, most White players feel forced to play d4 to break open the d-file. Black plays ... exd4, exchanging a flank pawn for a center pawn. The prolific chess writer Fred Reinfeld made the point that, except for some late endgames, pawns diminish in value as they approach the edges of the board. He assigned center pawns a value of one dollar and bishop pawns a value of 90 cents. So in most Sicilians, Black invests a bishop pawn for a center pawn and “keeps the change.” On a larger scale of metaphor, we compare it to swapping a Mustang for a Maserati, “trading up.” 3. After ... cxd4, Black gets an important semi-open file on which to place a rook and put pressure on White's position. 4. Black’s superior pawn structure will favor him in the endgame. Look at it this way: White is under pressure. Every move brings him closer to an ending that favors his challeng- ing opponent! winning a full point and, in addi- tion, a 34.9% of drawing. Impressive results for the sec- ond-to-move—especially against high-level competitors who know how to make the most of their opening initiative! 1.e4 c5 As we’ve seen, although Black doesn’t occupy the center with this first move, he chal- lenges a key square, d4, exerting control over it. So, although he temporarily keeps his center- pawns at home, he does heed Steinitz’ theory. 2. Nf3 We'll look at White’s alterna- tives, 2, Ne3 and 2. c3, in later chapters. For now, we'll follow the main line—the most often played sequence. 2... 86 Diagram 79 After 2. ... g6Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—Intro and Main Line 59 We recommend this move order (called the Hyper-Acceler- ated Dragon) over the usual 2. . Nc6 to gel us to the variation we want, while avoiding the Rossolimo (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Ne6 3. BbS), a complex system all its own. Ti’s true that the Rossolimo is hardly a refutation of the Sicilian, but why take time to learn a serious distraction when you can sidestep it to get a posi- tion you're prepared for? And how likely is it that you'll have to face the Rossolimo if you play the “other” second move? About 23%! As usual. choices on the sboard are a trade-off. We avoid the tricky Rossolimo. but must be ready for 3. c3, 3. Bed, and even 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4. They’re Jess played than the Rossolimo. however. and we'll save these sidclines for later. 3.d4 che The standard move—the cen- ter break in which White money” in the pawn trade “loses play it to seek an advania the move is hardly a guarantee, Indeed, it’s a testament to the Sicilian that world championship candidate GM Bent Larsen, the Great Dane of chess, termed the ubiquitous choice “a positional mistake.” After 3. c4 Neo 4. d4 exd4 4, Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6. we trans- pose to the Maroezy Bind. anoth- er main branch of ou covered in Chapters 10-15. ends 4, Nxd4+ ‘stem. We show vou how to mec! White’s much less frequent choice. 4. Qxd4. in Chapter 8. de. NCO. As we'll see ina later chapter on the Maroezy, this is more accurate than 4. . The Accelerated Dragon—shown. in Diagram 80— oa Fs Arde a Le aM ees tae peer So te) ee ME CREAM ee kod Per eed (called‘the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon) RA oe Bab CC aTChess Openings for Black, Explained We've reached the basic position of the Accelerated Dragon. The main structural dif- ference between it and the regu- lar Dragon, where Black plays 2. ... d6 (discussed in Chapter 4), is that Black keeps his pawn on d7, giving him the option of playing ... dS! in one thrust. This significant tempo gain sidesteps all the dangerous lines in which White castles queenside and begins a _ powerful “Yugoslav” attack by launching a pawn storm with h4—an approach by White that has claimed many victims over the years. (In his My 60 Memorable Games, Fischer sums up his own success with the system by writ- ing, “[I] had it down to a science ... Sac, Sac, matel!”’) In the spirit of the usual give and take, however, our recom- mended move order allows White to play 5. c4 (or 3. c4) and get the Maroczy Bind. (By playing c2- ¢4, White blocks Black’s themat- ic Sicilian play along the c-file and takes firm control of d5; hence the “bind.”) The Maroczy is not as immi- nently dangerous as the Yugoslav, because the game usually devel- ops along slow, positional routes, where both sides castle kingside. Moreover, although in for- mer times entering the Maroczy was off-putting for players of Black who wanted the counterac- tion offered by normal Sicilian lines, we'll see in Chapters 10-15 that we have the antidotes to White’s plans in the Maroczy Bind—along with lots of new tactical ideas for Black. The “Bind” has lost its dreaded grip! 5.Ne3 Or 5. Be3 Nf6 6. Ne3—a simple transposition. Not danger- ous for Black is 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Qd4 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. 6 f6, as White falls behind in develop- ment. 5... Bg7 Black fianchettoes his dark- square bishop. This placement, and the pressure it brings to bear on the long diagonal from h8 to al is a key to his game plan. 6. Be3 This logical develop-and- defend approach is by far most popular. Chapter 7 recommendsChapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—-Intro and Main Line 6i approaches for Black after the less-played, _ knight-retreating alternatives for White: 6, Nde2 and 6. Nb3. 6. ... Nf6 Naturally, Black develops his knight to this time-tested square, preparing to castle, swinging his king into a safer spot and bring- ing his rook into play. Diagram 82 Afier 8. Bb3 Retreating his bishop from the center is White's strongest move. The natural 8. 0-0 allows Black a “petite” equalizing com- bination 4 la Capablanca: 8. ... Nxe4! 9. Nxe4 (or 9. Bxf7+ Rxf7 10. Nxe4 Qa5, when, with strong central pawns and the bishop pair, Black is better) Diagram 81 Afier 6... Nf6 7. Bea This is the main line. White has three other, less popular and less promising sev- enth-move choices, examined in Chapter 6. Diagram 83 7. ... 0-0 8. Bb3 After 10... Qas 9. ... d5 10. Nxc6 bxe6 11. Bd3 dxe4 12. Bxe4 Ba6!, cue amr aati cee occurs in many openings.62 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 84 After 12..... Bab! After 10... Brad with an equal position. Back to 8. Bb3. Another eighth move for 8...a5 White, 8. £37, is simply bad. Black plays 8. ... Qb6!. Diagram 85 Afier 8... Qb6! Diagram 87 After 8... a5 Black threatens ... Nxe4 and ... Qxb2. White doesn't have an adequate defense—for example: 9. Bb3 Nxe4! 10. Nxe4 Bxd4, and Black wins a pawn. Black's idea is to play ... d5 in one move, and ... a5 helps him to achieve this by undermining the White guardians of the d5- square. BLACK THREATENS ... NXE4 AND ... QxB2, ~ WHITE DOESN’T HAVE AN ADEQUATE DEFENSE,Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—Intro and Main Line 63 Here White has three main moves: 9, a4, 9. 0-0, and 9. £3. AS. a4 Diagram 88 Afier 9. a4 This move invites ... Ng4, which gives Black a comfortable game, Diagram 89 After 10. Oxg4 After 10. Nxc6 Nxe3 11. Nxd8 Nxdi 12, Rxdi Bxc3+ 13. bxe3 Rxd8, Black is better. 10. ... Nxd4 Now Black is ready to take on b3 at the most comfortable moment for him-—and, thanks to 9. a4, White will have to recap- ture away from the center! 11. Qh4 White keeps his queen on the kingside, hoping to create an attack. 11. ... d6 12. Nd5 Re8 13. Rdl Nxb3 Diagram 90 After 13... Nxb3 Black devalues White's queenside pawns. 14, Bb6 Qd7 15. cxb3 Ra6 Black defends against the threat of Ne7. 16. Bd4 Qd864 Chess Openings for Black, Explained ji, Ma A After 18. Bxg7 18. ... Kxg7 19. Nf Black gets out of the way of his light-square bishop. He’s doing fine. 17.0-0 Or 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Qg3 (White prevents ... e6) 18. ... Be6é 19. 0-0 Rc6 20. Qe3 Bxd5 21. exdS Re5. Diagram 94 After 19. Nfé 19, ... Qc8 20. Rd3 Rce6 21. Qg3 £6 Diagram 92 After 21... Re5 This position is about equal (Svidler-Topalov, 1999). 17. ... Be6 18. Bxg7 Diagram 95 After 21. ... 6Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—Intro and Main Line 65 With the idea of ... Bf7. (See Almazi—Kramnik, in Part V.) B 9.0-0 Diagram 96 After 9. ... d6 Black is threatening ... Ng4. (lf 9. ... a4, then 10. Nxa4 Nxe4 11. NbS, with the initiative.) After 9. ... d6, White has two main choices: 10. f3 and 10. h3. If 10. Ndb5!?, avoiding the exchange of knights and occup- ing the weak 5-square, Black achieves a good game: 10. ...b6, After 10, .... b6 11. ... Ba6, and then ... Nd7-c5. Diagram 98 After 10.3 This is a safe but passive approach. Black’s plan is the same as in the 10. h3 line (B2) below. 10. ... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bd7 Threatening 12. ... a4. 12. a4 Be6 Here White has tried the immediate Nd5 as well as the prophylactic Khi. Diagram 99 Afier 12. ... Bc6 Bla 13. Nd5 Nd7 14. c3 Nc5 15. Be2 Bxd4+66 Chess Openings for Black, Explained LE RS Diagram 100 After 15. ... Bxd4+ Now if 16. exd4 Bxd5 17, exd5 (17. dxe5? Be4) Nd7. iagram 101 After 17. ... Nd7 With a good game for Black. And if 16. Qxd4, 16. ... e5!. Hs Diagram 102 After 16..... e5! Black gets a favorable pawn structure after 17. Qd2 Bxd5 18. exd5 (18. Qxd5 Qb6!) 18. ... £5, Diagram 103 After 18. ... 3 with equal chances (Zulfugari ~Wojtkiewiez, 2002). Bib 13. Kh Diagram 104 After 13, Khi 13. ... Nd7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 Diagram 105 After 15... Kg8Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line & Black is doing fine. He fol- Jows up with ... Qb6 and ... Nc5. B2 10.h3 aS TRY, Diagram 106 After 10. h3 10. ... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bd7 a4 and Black intends ... .-. Boo. ie J, e"'" Diagram 107 After 11. ... BAT 12.a4 After 12, Nd5, Black should not play 12. ... Nxe4?, as after 13. Bb6 Qe8 (13. ... Qb8 14. Nxe7+ and White is much better), 14. Nc7 wins the Exchange. Instead, Black should respond to 12. Nd5 with 12. ... Nxd5 13. exd5 Bxd4 14. Qxd4 Qc7 15. Rfel Rfe8, when his bishop is better than White's pas- sive counterpart. 12. ... Be6. Diagram 108 After 12. ... Bb This is the key position of the variation. White's plan is to play in the center using the outpost on d5, and to play on the kingside with f4 and possibly f5 or e5. Black's plan is to exchange dark-square bishops by playing ... Nd7, then to put his knight on the strong c5-outpost and to play on the dark squares. As usual in the Sicilian, Black's structure is better in the endgame. So he welcomes the exchange of queens. White can attack with 13. £4 or 13. Qd3.68 Chess Openings for Black, Explained B2a 13. {4 fan V2 8 hill Y, Diagram 109 After 13. f4 White gains space on the kingside and prepares e5 or £5. 13. ... Nd7 Black can’t play 13. ... Nxe4? because of 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Qd4+ and Qxe4. 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 Black has exchanged dark- square bishops and is ready to play ... Ne5. 15. Qd4+ f6 TH Diagram 110 Afier 15... 6 Also okay is 15. ... Kg8, as played in the game Anand-Malakhov, 2002. After 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. Bxd5 Qc7 (with the idea of ... Qc5), the supet-GMs got to this position. EE Diagram 111 After 17... Qe? Play continued 18. Kh1 Rab8 19. Be4 Qb6 20. Rad] Qxd4 21. Rxd4 Nc5 22. b3 Rfc8, when Black had achieved a solid posi- tion. Our main line, 15. ... £6, is an important novelty found by our youngest co-author in the game Friedel—Perelshteyn, 2003. Here Black is not afraid of the weakness on e6 because White’s knight can't get to it. Black wants to exchange queens with ... Qb6. 16. Nd5 Nc5 17. £5Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line 69 » Diagram 112 After 17. f5 7. ... Nxb3 18. exb3 Bxd5 Black prevents Nf4. 19. exd5 Re8 Diagram 113 Afier 19... Re8& An interesting position! If Black manages to exchange queens, he will be much better in the endgame (again, the Sicilian endgame theme), because White has too many weaknesses. (Sometimes in pressing to win before the queens come off, White leaves himself with an even worse endgame!) So White tries to create an attack. 20. Rael Rf7 Black defends the pawn and prepares a strong defensive setup on the kingside. 21. Re3 gxf5! 22. Rxf5 Kh8 u Ae Y Diagram 114 After 22. ... Kh8 Now Black's king is quite safe and Black can himself take control of the g-file, 23, Re3 White is correct to exchange a pair of rooks—Black’s threat of «+ Qd7, followed by doubling rooks on the g-file, is too danger- ous. 23. .. Rg7 24. Kf2 The position is about even. Ir BLACK MANAGES‘TO-EXCHANGE QUEENS, HE WILL BE MUCH BETTER INTHE ENDGAME.Chess Openings for Black, Explained 19. Qd2 Qc5 20. KhI Nf6 13. ... Nd7 14, Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Rad1 NeS Diagram 116 After 15... Ne5 Black has reached the posi- tion he wanted and has a solid game. The game Movsesian- Fedorov, 2003, continued: 16. Qd4+ Kg8 Also possible is 16. ... £6!?. 17. Bd5 Qb6 18. b3 Nd7 Black, as usual, encourages the exchange of queens, looking forward to an endgame. 21. Rfel Rad8! 22. Be4 e6t Now Black controls d5. 23. Qd4 Qxd4 24, Rxds Rd7 25. Red Rfd8 26. £3 KB Here the players agreed to a draw. After 27. ... Ke7, Black's position is very solid.Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—Intro and Main Line 7 Diagram 119 After 9. {3 White intends to castle long after Qd2 and 0-0-0. His ninth move bolsters his e4-pawn, pre- vents ... Ng4, and leverages the pawn-charge g4. These plusses explain why it’s a popular move! 9 dS Diagram 120 After 9... dS Black sacrifices his pawn to get dynamic piece play. The move is a good example of the dictum to counter an attack on the wing with a counterpunch in the center. Black’s ... d5 is a common response to White’s “Yugoslav Attack” intentions. Indeed, one of the great advan- tages of the Accelerated Dragon is that Black refrains from play- ing ... d6 for precisely this con- tingency. Now White has to play very accurately in order to avoid get- ting a worse position! White has three ways to capture the pawn: 10. exdS, 10. Bxd5, and 10. Nxd5?!. €1 10. exdS Nb4 11. Nde2 a4! om A ay Zi; GRE Diagram 121 Afier I... ad! This follow-up is the whole idea of 8. ... a5. Now Black wins the d-pawn and develops a strong initiative, whether White recap- tures with 12. Bxa4 or 12. Nxa4. Cla 12. Bxa4 Nfxd5 13. Bf2 13. Bd4? loses after 13. ... Bxd4 14. Nxd4 (14. Qxd4 Rxa4 1S, Nxa4 Nxe2+) 14. ... Ne3! 15. Qd2 Qxd4! 16. Qxd4 Nexc2+.72 Chess Openings for Black, Explained 13. ... Nxe3 14. Nxc3 Qud1+ Diagram 122 Afier 14,... Oxadl+ 15. Kxd1 Rd8+ 16. Ke2 Black can simply win his pawn back with 16. ... Bxc3 17. bxc3 Rxa4 18. cxb4 Rxb4, with an equal position, or he can even play to win with 16. ... BfS!?. After 16. ... BPS!? Black can simply STU Gm aT ee ae CNA er Re CD 12. Nxa4 Nfxd5 Diagram 124 After 12... NfxaS 13. Bf2 White’s other thirteenth- move options are not formidable. After 13. Bd4 Bxd4 14. Qxd4 (14, Nxd4? Ne3 15. Qd2 Qxd4! 16. Qxd4 Nexe2+) 14. ... BES Diagram 125 After 14... BPS White is pressed to defend ¢2, 15, Nac3 Here if White tries 15. Qd2?, Black plays ... Bxc2!. There could follow 16. Bxc2 (relatively better is 16. Bxd5 Rxa4¥) 16. ... Ne3!.Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line 73 Diagram 126 Afier 16... Ne3! The Black horsemen mark the apocalypse. White’s Judgment Day is just and harsh: he’s lost. Back to 15. Nac3: 15. ... Nxc2+ 16. Bxc2 Nxc3 17. Qxd8 Rfxd8 18. Bxf5 Nxe2 19. Kxe2 gxf5 Diagram 127 After 19... gxf3 The game is drawish (Petrushin—Khasin, 1976). If 13. BeS Rxa4! 14. Bxa4 QaS 15. Bxb4 Nxb4 16. c3 Rd8 Diagram 128 After 16... Rd8 17. exb4!. Relatively best—even worse is 17. Qb3 Nd3+ 18. Kfl Qa7 19. Nd4 Bxd4 20. cxd4 Qxd4 21. Qc2 Nxb2 22. Bb3 Diagram 129 After 22. Bb3 22. ... Ne4!, winning. Finally, 13. Bd2 Diagram 130 After 13. Bd? 13. ... bS! (The classical 13. ... BfS is also good.) 14. Nac3 Be6.74 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Black prepares to exchange White’s bishop on b3. 15. NxbS After 15. a3 Nxe3 16. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 17. bxc3 Bxb3, Black has full compensation for a pawn. 15. ... Qb6 16. a3 Even worse is 16. Nbc3 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Bxb3. 16. ... Nxc2+ 17. Qxo2 Qxb5=. Back to our main line after White’s best, 13. Bf2. 13... BS Diagram 132 After 13... BAS Now White has played 14, 23 and 14. 0-0. Clb 1 14. a3 Nxc2+ Diagram 133 Afier 14... Nxc2+ Black trades down to an equal endgame. 15, Bxc2 QaS+ 16. b4 16. Nac3? Nxc3 17. Nxe3 Bxc3+, winning. Diagram 13: After 17. ... Buc3+ 16... Nxb4 17. axb4 Qxb4+ 18. Qd2 Qxd2+ 19. Kxd2 Bxal 20. RxalChapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—Intro and Main Line 75 Diagram 135 After 20. Real 20. ... Bxe2 Or 20. ... REG8+!?. 21. Kxe2 b5 22. Nec3 bxa4 23. Rxa4 Rxad4 24. Nxad =. Diagram 136 After 24, Nxad C12 14. 0-0 White abandons his c-pawn to complete his development. 14, ... D5! BLACK ATTACKS WITH HIS ONE SURVIVING : QUEENSIDE FOOT SOLDIER. After 14... B5! Black attacks with his one surviving queenside foot soldier. 15. Nac3 Nxe3 16. Nxe3 Qxdi 17. Rfxd1 Bxe2 18. Bxc2 Nxe2 19. Racl Bxc3 20, Rxc2 Diagram 138 After 20. ... Bb Black has equality (Shirov— Lautier, 1997).76 Chess Openings for Black, Explained €2 10. Bxd5 Diagram 139 After 10. Bxd5 10.... Nxd5 Now White can choose between 11. Nxd5 and 11. exd5. ©2a 11. Nxd5 5 Diagram 140 After 11... 8 Black has a temporary advantage in development (he has castled, while White’s king is still in the center), so he decides to open up the position. (In closed positions, one side can often afford a lag in develop- ment, but in open positions, being caught with your troops still in boot camp can be termi- nal.) ©2al 12. c3 fxe4 13. fxe4 Or 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Nb6 Rb8 15. Qxd8 Rxd8 16. fxe4 Ba6, with the idea of ... Bd3. Black is better. 13. ... 06 14. Nf4 14, Nxc6 Qh4+ 15. g3 Qxe4 14. ... Nxd4 15, exd4 Bxd4 16. Qxd4 Qxd4 17. Bxd4 Rxf4 18. 0-1-0 Ba7! After 18... Bd7! White has no advantage. €2a2 12. Nxc6 This move leads to the endgame. Will Black’s initiative carry over to the final phase? 12. ... bxe6Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line 7 ON GEG &S Diagram 142 After 12, ... bxc6 13. Nb6 Rb& 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Rd1 Rxd1+ 16. Kxd1 Diagram 143 After 16. Kxdl This is the critical position. Black has tried 16. ... Bxb2 and 16. ... fxe4. We recommend cap- turing with the f-pawn. 16. ... fxe4 17. Nxc8 17. fxe4 Bxb2 18. Nxc8 Rxc8 19. Ke2 BeS SISATVUNY Diagram 144 After 19. .. BeS Black threatens ... Rb& and «». Rb2. 20. Rb1 Bxh2 21. a4 Bc7 Black is fine (Ivanchuk-S. Polgar, 1994). 17. ... Rxc8 18. b3 exf3 19. gxf3 a4 Diagram 145 After 19. ....a4 Black wants to exchange his weak pawn, and thus achieve equality. However, even simpler and stronger is the centralization of the king. 19. ... Kf7 20. Ke2 BeS 21. a4 Ke6 22. Bb6 Ra8 23. Kd3 Bd678 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 146 After 23. ... Bd6 Black prepares to play ... Rf8. He has a comfortable game. We have been following Zhan Pengxiang-Ni Hua, 2001, which ended in a draw. €2b 11. exdS Nb4 12. Nde2 After 12. Nde2 12, ... e6! Black opens the e-file and gives his bishop on 8 a pathway into the game. Another option is 12. ... BES 13. Rel b5. After 13... b5 After 12. ... e6!, White has three moves: 13. dxe6, 13. a3, and 13. Qd2. C2n1 13. dxe6 WO aAD Lm ms j a B a Diagram 149 After 13. dxe6 White can instead play 13. a3 or 13. Qd2 (discussed below), aiming at giving Black an isolat- ed pawn. Bad is 13. d6, as this pawn will be very vulnerable, for example after 13. ... Ra6. 13. ... Bxe6 14. a3Chapter 5; The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line 79 Diagram 150 After 14. a3 White is being greedy! But after 14. 0-0 Qxdl 15. Raxdl Nxc2, Diagram 151 After 15... Nxc2 Black has regained his pawn and. stands better due to his active bishop pair. 14, .. Nd5 15. Nxd5 Bxd5S 16. Bd4 Re8! 17. Bxg7 Bc4! Diagram 152 Afier 17. ... Bed! Now White has to give up his queen for the rook and bishop or sacrifice an Exchange. 18. Be3 18. 0-0? Kxg7 18. ... Rxe2+ 19, Qxe2 Bxe2 20. Kxe2 With good winning chances for Black; White's king has no shelter. C22 13. a3 Diagram 153 After 13. a3 13. ... Nxd5 14, Nxd5 exd5 15. Bd4 Bh6!80 Chess Openings for Black, Explained C23 13. Qd2 exd5 oer a8 mae Ua a Y WY Diagram 154 After 15. ... Bho! Black avoids the exchange of bishops because it would weaken his dark squares and allow White’s knight to occupy the d4- square. (When you have an iso- lated center pawn, your opponent is well served to blockade it with his knight.) 16. 0-0 (Too risky is 16. h4—for example, 16. ... Re8 17. hS Ra6!. Black is ready to meet hxg6 with .. Rxg6.) The position is balanced: Black's isolated d-pawn is offset by his pair of bishops. (See sam- ple game Bauer—Malakhov, 2003.) IE ae KaE | ore Rie a Oe lie of bishops. Diagram 155 After 13... exdS Now if 14. a3?, Black has ... d4, with a better game. White has three reasonable moves—he can play 14. Bd4, 14.0-0 or 14.0-0-0. G2n3(N 14. Bad Bxd4 15. Nxd4 Qh4+ Diagram 156 Afier 15.... Ohd+ .. Re8+ is also interest- ing and worthy of study. 16. Kfl Ne6 17. NebSChapter 5; The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line ar Uh ao oa Diagram 157 After 17. NebS After 17... Nxe2 17. ... BAT Black is equal. Bie hs od eal aoe O23 14.0.0-0 BS C2H3UD 14. 0-0 44! Me wT After 14... BPS 15. Nd4 Bxd4 16. Bxd4 Aj 14... d4! lil Nxe2 17. Be5 d4t 15. Rad1 BfS 16. Nxd4 Bxd4 17. Bxd4 Nxc282 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 161 After 17... d4! 18. Bxf8 Qxf8 19. Ned Bxe4d 20. fxed Ne3 Diagram 162 After 20. .. Ne3 Black is fully compensated for the Exchange. G3 10. Nxd5 The weakest recapture. Diagram 163 After 10, Nxd5 10. ... Nxd5 11. exd5 11. Bxd5? Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bxd4 13. Qxd4 e6, winning. Diagram 164 After 13... e6 11. ... Nb4 12. e4 a4Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—Intro and Main Line 83 Diagram 165 Diagram 166 Afier 12, .. a4 After 15. ... Oxcd 13. Be2 (13. Bxa4? Qa5) 13, ... e5! 14, Ne2 Qh4+ 15. BI2 Qxc4 Black is much better. Summary: In our main line, White’s overaggressiveness often leaves Black with a superior endgame. But even in the middlegame, Black's sound and flexible position is resilient to attack. White has many chances to go wrong. The moves 8. ... a5 and, in case of 9. f3, 9. ... dS, are the keys to Black's counterplay.84 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line & MSW WIA ZS Ma Maw © uaMuVH igra After 16, Rad! After 16. g3Chapter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—intro and Main Line 85 Chanter 5: The Accelerated Dragon—Intro and Main Line Svs to wary WA Pua Psd Nol 11....Nxb3, forcing White to capture with the c-pawn. See page 63. No.2 19. Qc3+ followed by 20. Ne7, winning the Exchange. See page 64. No.3 16... Qb6, going into a favorable endgame. See page 68. No.4 16... Qxd4, winning a piece. See page 80.86 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chanter 6: The Accelerated Dragon—Seventh-move Sidelines Suns Maori Polats to Loowikor Of the three sidelines, the aggressive 7. Nxc6 leads to a sharp game, 7. Be2 is safe but harmless, and 7. f3 leaves White behind in development. s 2H # After 8. ... Ng8, Black attacks the e5-pawn. See Diagram 174. * After 11... Bxd4, the ® Black is ready to play ... d7-d5. endgame favors Black. See Diagram 188. See Diagram | 86. Outline of Variations L.b45 2. NS 96 3.04 cxd4 4 Nxd4 NC6 5. Nc3 By7 6. Bed NIG (36) AA7_ Nxc6 bxc6 8. ¢5 Ng8! (87) [B34] A19. Bd4 f6 10. £4 QaS 11. Qe2 fre5 12. BxeS Nf6 13. 0-0-0 0-0 (88) JAZ 9. f4 Nh6 10. Qd2 0-0 11. 0-0-0 d6! 12. exd6 exd6 13. h3 NFS (89) B 7, Be2 0-0 8. 0-0 d6 9. £4 Qb6 10. Qd3 Ned! 11. Bxgd Bxdd (90) (B73] © 7, £3 0-01 8. Qd2 d5 (92) [B34) C19. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxc6 bxo6 11. Bd4 Budd 12. Qxdd e5! 13. QoS Qh6 (93) ©2 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. eS Nd7 11. £4 66 12. Nad? NxeS! 13. fxe5 Qh4+ (93)Chapter 6: The Accelerated Dragon-Seventh-move Sidelines 87 Chapter 6 The Accelerated Dragon Seventh-move Sidelines In our main line, after Black’s Let’s start with the most ambi- 6. ... Nf6, we reach this position: tious move. Diagram 171 After 6... Nfb To avoid the main continuation on move seven (7. Bc4, Chapter 5), White has three options: 7. Nxc6, 7. Be2, and 7. f3. Black White wants to play 8. eS to can deal very effectively with all challenge Black’s whole scheme. three. After 7, Nxc688 Chess Openings for Black, Explained pod mal Diagram 173 After 8. 05 White’s idea is to give Black the apparent Hobson’s choice of wasting a tempo by retreating the attacked knight to g8 or sacrific- ing a pawn with 8. ... Nd5!?. We recommend playing 8. ... Ng8!, and like Brer Rabbit enjoy- ing the intended punishment of the “Briar Patch,” Black will maneuver confidently. His important knight can head to h6 and f5. Black then follows up with ... d6, undermining White's center. Diagram 174 After 8... Ng8! Here White has two moves: 9, Bd4 and 9. f4. AT 9. Bad f6 Black provokes White into playing f4 and then further pres- sures e5, as exf6 yields Black a strong center, 10. £4 Qa5 11. Qe2 fxe5 We recommend playing 8. ... Ng8!. Black’s important knight can head to h6 and f5. Black then follows up with ... d6, DRUG ee koeChapter 6: The Accelerated Dragon—Seventh-move Sidelines 89 x Z a Y ~\ S \ > res Diagram 175 Afier 11... feeS 12. BxeS If White tries 12. fxe5?, Black has the star move 12. ... Rb8!, and then if 13. b3?, Black plays 13... 5. 12. ... Nf6 13. 0-0-0 0-0 Diagram 176 After 13... 0-0 Black has good play—and owns the position that’s more fun! White will need time to uncork his normally dominant light-square bishop, Later, Black can make threats down the semi- open b-file. Diagram 177 Afier 9. ... Nh6 10. Qd2 0-0 11. 0-0-0 d6! Diagram 178 After 11... d6! Black undermines White's cen- ter. 12. exd6 exd6 13. h3 The pawn on d6 is untouch- able: 13. Qxd6 Qxd6 14. Rxd6 Nf5 15. Rd3 Ba6, while 13. Bc5?! Bg4 gives Black danger- ous counterplay. 13. ... Nf&S 14. BIZ90 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 181 : After 20. ... Qa5! Diagram 179 White is hopelessly pin-plag- After 14, Bf2 ued. He has no defense against .. Rxa2 and ... Ra3. Here, Black's control over the long diagonal, together with the half-open b-file, allows him to unleash a tremendous attack! B 7. Be2 Quietly developing with 7. Be2 transposes to the Classical Variation, a line that holds no ter- -» Qa5! 15. g4 Rb8! 16. tor for Black. gxfS Rxb2! wa’ aad GY aE , J BT), : Diagram 182 After 7. Be2 Diagram 180 After 16..... Rxb2! White loses, for example: 17. £6 (17. Kxb2 Qb4+ 18. Kel Bxc3-+). 17. ... Qa3 (with the threat of mate in one) 18. Qe3 Bxf6 19. Kd2 Bf5 20. Rel Qas!.Chapter 6: The Accelerated Dragon-Seventh-move Sidelines ot Diagram 183 After 8.... d6 Black transposes into the nor- mal Dragon, where White's clas- sical setup with Be2 and 0-0 is rather harmless. 9. 4 For 9. Nb3, see 6. Nb3 in Chapter 7; if 9. h3, then 9. ... Bd7 followed by ... Nxd4 and ... Bc6. 9. ... QE Black takes advantage of the fact that White's bishop is unpro- tected and sets up a powerful pin. 10. Qd3 10. Qd2? loses to 10. 11. Nxe4 Bxd4; after 10. Black can simply play 10. ... Qa5, after which White has no better move than to retreat with 11. Nc3. 10. ... Ng4! 11. Bxg4 Or li. Nd5 Bxd4! (Black trades his queen for three minor pieces, usually a good swap, especially when both his bishops remain on the board) 12. Nxb6 Bxe3+ 13. Khi Bxb6 14. Bxg4 Bxg4. ee Diagram 184 Afier 14, .. Brgd Black enjoys an advantage— for example, if 15, £5 (with the threat of trapping Black’s bishop with h3 and g4), then 15. ... BhS! 16. h3 gxf5 17. exf5 £6 18. Rael NeS 19. Qd2 Be8!. Diagram 185 After 19... Bes! Black will play ... Bc6, fol- lowed by ... Kh8 and ... Rg8.92 Chess Openings for Black, Explained 11.... Bxd4 C7.8 Taking time to bolster e4 with 7. £3 leaves White behind in development. Te os. 0-0! “yy Vo. YY GZ UES Diagram 186 Afier 1. ... Budd 12. Bxd4 Qxd4+ 13. Qxd4 Nxd4 14. Bxc8 Rfxc8 E737) Diagram 188 After 7... 0-0! White’s seventh move was too passive. Now Black threatens ... Qb6 or... d5, and White lacks an adequate response. 8. Qd2 If 8. Bc4 Qb6!, winning a pawn. (See Chapter 5, Main line: Diagram 187 After 14... Rfxc8 7. BoA, page 62.) 8....d5 The Sicilian endgame! Black is at least equal. ‘Now White has two choices: he can capture on d5 or exchange knights and play e5. ‘WHITE’S SEVENTH MOVE WAS TOO PASSIVE. Now BLACK THREATENS ... QB6 OR ... D5, AND WHITE LACKS AN ADEQUATE DEFENSE.Chapter 6: The Accelerated Dragon—Seventh-move Sidelines 92 19. exd5 Nxd5 Diagram 189 Afier 9. ... Nxd5 10. Nxe6 Or 10. NxdS Qxd5 11. Nxc6 Qxcé6 12. 0-0-0 BFS, and Black's attack is overpowering. 10. ... bxe6 11. Bd4 Bxd4 12. Qxd4 e5! 13. Qc Qh6 Diagram 190 Afier 13. ... Ob6 Black is once again better in the upcoming endgame. €2 9. Nxe6 bxe6 10. e5 Nd7 11. f4 e6 Diagram 191 After 1]... &6 Black’s idea is to play ... cS. His central pawns are very strong. White’s attempt to blockade them fails. 12, Na4? Nxe5! 13. fxe5 Qh4+ Black follows up with ... Qxa4. White's three seventh-move tries to avoid our main line (7. Nxc6, 7. Be2, and 7. 3) all lead to nice games for Black. Against 7. Nxc6, Black gets positions that are promising and fun to play. The classical 7. Be2 is harmless, while the slow 7. {3 allows Black to play ... d7-d5 in one move, and thus get a dangerous lead in development.94 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chanter 6: The Accelerated Dragon— Seventh-Move Sidelines Wemrory Warircersd Diagram 193 After 9, Bt Diagram 194 Afier 8... d5 Afier 11, NadChapter 6: The Accelerated Dragon—Seventh-move Sidelines 95 Chapter 6: The Accelerated Dragon— Seventh-move Sidelines Sulutions tp ileory Jao rsd No.1 8... 051. See page 92. No.2 9... £6 is fine here, but the preliminary 9. ... Qb6, attacking the b2-pawn, is even stronger. See page 88. No.3 9. exd5 Nxd5 10, Nxd5 Qxd5 11. Bf3, with an advantage. Thus in Diagram 183, Black played the “modest” 8. ... d6. See page OL. No.4 11... Nxe5!. See page 93.96 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon-Sixth-move Sidelines ‘Sole Wp briait paws ity Loo For White’s sixth-move sidelines, 6. Nde2 and 6. Nb3, are easy for a prepared Black to handle. Black may even have more than one good plan at his disposal. + Black expands on the queenside. 10. ... Qe8 serves three purposes. See Diagram 197. See Diagram 205. ® After 13. ... e5! Black starts central actions. See Diagram 208. +. Centralization. See Diagram 227. Outline of Variations ‘Le4c5 2 Wi3 963. d4 cxdd 4. Nxd4 NeG 5. NC3 Bg7 (90) [B34] AAG. Nde2 NfG 7. 23 bS 8. 03 RbE 9. Bg? a5 (97) B 6. Nb3 Nf6 7. Be2 0-0 8. 0-0 d6 (98) B19. Be3 Be6 10. £4 Qc8 (99) B2 9. Bgs Beé (102) B2a 10. £4 b5 (102) B20 10. Khi Ro8 11. £4 NaS 12. £5 Bo4 (703) B3 9. Rel Be6 10. Bfl a5 11. a4 Bxb3 12. cxb3 e6 13. Bg5 h6 (104) Ba 14. Bh4 Qb6 (105) B3b 14, Be3 Nb4 (106) B49. £4 Beé (107)Chapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon-Sixth-move Sidelines 97 Chapter 7 The Accelerated Dragon Sixth-move Sidelines This chapter shows you how to play the Accelerated Dragon against less-chosen sixth moves. After 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 26 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Ne6 5. Nc3, iet’s jook back to Chapter 5, after: 5. ... Bg7 After 5... Bg? Now, rather than the main-line 6. Be3, examined in Chapters 5 and 6, White can choose 6. Nde2 or 6. Nb3. AA 6. Nde2 Not surprisingly, given the passivity of this retreat, Black gets a good game: 6. ... Nf6 7. g3 b5 8. a3 Rb8& 9. Bg2 aS Diagram 197 After 9... a5 10. 0-0 0-0 11. h3 White makes this move in order to be able to play Be3. Hi. ... b4 12. axb4 axb4 13, Nd598 Chess Openings tor Black, Explained Diagram 198 After 13. NaS 13. ... Nxd5 14. exd5 Ne5 The knight has his eye on c4, 15. Nd4 Qb6 Diagram 199 After 15. ... Qb6 The game is approximately even. Note that, as Black, you should not touch your d-pawn yet because it does you yeoman serv- ice standing on its home square. It controls c6 and enables you, in some lines after dxe6, to respond with ... dxe6!—for example: 16. Rel Ne4 17. 3 bxc3 18. bxe3 e5! 19. dxe6 (e.p.), dxe6. Diagram 200 After 19... dxe6 Also not dangerous for Black is the subtler 16. Bf4—for exam- ple: 16. ... Bb7 17. Rel d6. Diagram 201 After 17... db And now if 18. Bg5, then 18. ... Rfe8, preparing ... e6. B 6. Nb3 Diagram 202 Afier 6. Nb3Chapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon~Sixth-move Sidelines 99 After this move, we may trans- pose to the Classical Dragon, a variation Black can enter with confidence. 6. ... Nf6 7. Be2 0-0 8. 0-0 d6 Diagram 203 Afier 8... d6 Black can also play 8. ... b6 if he wants to avoid the usual lines. GM Skembris gives: 9. Bg5 Bb7 Diagram 204 After 9... Bb? 10. Qd2 Re8 11. f4 bS, when the position is unclear and worthy of home analysis. Normally, the player more familiar with a diffi- cult position gets the point! After 8. ... d6, White has four main moves: 9. Be3, 9. Bg5, 9. Rel, and 9. f4. BI 9. Be3 Bebé 10. f4 Qc8 = Diagram 205 After 10... Ocs This move has several ideas: 1. It prevents f5: 2, It threatens ... Ng4; 3. It prepares play in the center with ... Rd& and... d5. 11. Kh1 White prepares a retreat square for his bishop after ... Ng4. Or 11. h3 Rd8, with play simi- lar to 11. KhI 11. ... Rd8 Black can transpose to the CS EE (et | ery De Munna Cs (a com100 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 206 After 11. ... RdB Black prepares ... d5. 12. BS. This stops ... d5, but allows «. Bed and ... e5. White can try 12. Bgl, when Black makes the advance he planned: 12. ... d5 13. e5 Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Qel f6!. By now a very familiar maneu- ver. Black opens up his bishop and at that same time rids the center of White’s linchpin e5- pawn. After 16. exf6 exf6, fol- lowed by ... £5, White’s pawn on f4 looks out of place, his center has collapsed, and Black stands better. 12. .... Bed 13. Rf2 eS! After 13... e5! Unexpectedly, Black starts operations in the center with a very unusual move for the Dragon setup! With ... e5, Black is threatening ... dS and prepar- ing ... exf4 and ... Ne5, gaining a dominant outpost for his knight on eS, 14. Rd2 exf4 15. Bxf4 NeS Here, after only 15 logical moves, Black completely domi- nates the game with his powerful knight on e5 and other active pieces. White is virtually forced to accept the pawn sacrifice. After 16. Bxe5 dxe5, Black has a pronounced advantage, thanks to his dashing bishop pair and White's bad bishop, blocked in by his own pawn.Chapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon-Sixth-move Sidelines 101 16. Rxd6 Rxd6 17. Qxd6 Nxf3 18. gxf3 Qh3 Black has a strong attack. Diagram 209 After 18... Oh3 19. Bg3 After the more cautious 19. Nd2 NbS 20. BeS, SISATUNY Diagram 210 After 20. BeS there follows 20. ... Bh6 21. Rg! (21. Nxc4? Bf4!, winning) 21. ... Bxd2 22. Qxd2 Qxf3+ 23. Qg2 Qxg2t 24. Rxg2 SISATUNY Diagram 211 After 24. Rxg2 24. ... Re8 25, Bd4 a6, and Black is doing fine. 19... Nh5 20. Nd2? Not much better is 20. Rgl Bh6 21. Nd2 Nxg3+ 22. Rxg3 Qh4. SISATUNY Diagram 212 After 22... Oh4 Black can now meet 23. Nxc4? with ... Bf. 20. ... Bf8!102 Chess Openings for Black, Explained YJ Diagram 213 After 20... BAS! 21. Qe5 £6 22. Qc7 Rc8 Final deflection. White is lost. B2 9. Bg5 yj, Yu GY oy AW) Hi Diagram 214 Afier 9. Bg5 White develops his dark- square bishop on a square that establishes a once-removed pin of the key Black defensive knight, At the same time, White prepares the pawn-push f4-f5. 9. ... Be6é White has two main choices: 10. £4 and 10. Kh. B2a 10. £4 b5! Diagram 215 After 10... b5! 11. BE Or 11. Nxb5? Qb6+ 12. Khl Nxe4, and Black is better. Tf 11. BxbS, then 11. ... Qb6+ 12. Kh1 Nxe4 13. Bxc6 Qxc6 Diagram 216 After 13. .. Oxc6 14. NaS (14. Nxe4 Qxe4 15. Bxe7 Rfc8) 14, ... Nxc3. The simplest. Black is at least equal.Chapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon-Sixth-move Sidelines 103 11. ... b4 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 NaS Diagram 217 After 13... NaS 14. Nxa5 Qxa5 15. Rel Qc7 16. Kh1 Rfc8 17. Re2 Qb7 Diagram 218 After 17. ... Ob7 Black is in good shape. He will follow up by doubling his rooks on the c-file (Zubarev—Kachei- shvili, 2000). B2b 10. Kh1 Rc8 Black’s idea is to play ... Na5, preparing counter-play on the queenside. 11. £4 Na5 12, f5 Bed Diagram 219 Afier 12... Bes With equal chances—the game Khalifman—Leko, 2000, contin- ued: 13. Bd3 b5!? 14. Qf (14. Nxb5 Bxb5S 15. BxbS Nxe4 is good for Black) 14. ... b4 15. Nd5 Bxd5 16. exd5 Nc4 (with the idea of ... NeS) 17, Bxe4 Rxc4 18 Qd3 Qe7 19. Na5!? D play ... Na eae deti ty Pea104 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 220 After 19. NaS?! 19, ... Rxe2, and Black plans to sacrifice an Exchange for two pawns after 20. Nc6 Rc5! 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Rael Rxc6 23. dxc6 Qxc6 24, Rel Qa4, with a good game for Black. Diagram 221 After 24... Qa4 BS 9. Rel Diagram 222 After 9. Rel White's idea is to play Bfl and create pressure on Black’s e7- pawn after Bg5 and NdS. 9. ... Be6 10. Bfl a5 With the threat of ... a4, so that after the knight on b3 retreats, Black again pushes his kamikaze foot soldier to a3, creating weak- nesses in White's queenside camp. 11. a4 White stops Black’s pawn- push; but allows Black to capture on b3 and foul White's pawn structure. 11. ... Bxb3 12. cxb3 e6 Diagram 223 Afier 12... e6 Black now has an extra pawn in the center and he plans for a timely ... d5 13. BgS After 13. Nb5?! d5!, Black successfully takes over the cen- ter—for example, 14. exd5 Nxd5, when White's queenside pawn structure is ruined, andChapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon-Sixth-move Sidelines 105 Black's bishop and knights dom- inate the game. 13.... h6 Here White has two retreats: 14, Bh4 and 14. Be3. B3a 14. Bh4 Qb6 Diagram 224 After 14, ... Ob6 15. Be4 Or 15, Qxd6 Qxb3 16. Qa3 Qxa3 17. Rxa3 NbS, Diagram 225 After 17... NAS with the idea of playing ... g5, Black is better. After 15. Nb5, there follows 15. ... Rfd8 16. Qf3 NeS 17. Qe2 Rd7 (17. ... d5!) 18, Khl d5! 19. exdS Nxd5. Diagram 226 After 19, .. Ned Black’s knights dominate the center (Zagrebelny—Yakovich, 1997). 15. ... Rfd8 16. Rel Nd4 Diagram 227 Afier 16... Nad Black takes over key squares, leaving White no other option than to exchange the now-cen- tralized knight. 17. Ne2 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 Now Black initiates a small combination to exchange his d- pawn for White’s e-pawn. 18. ... g5 19. Bg3 Nxe4! 20. Qxe4 d5 21. Qf3 dxc4 22. Rxcd Rac8106 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 228 After 22... Rac8 Black is better (Varavin—Zav- gorodniy, 2002). B3B 14. Be3 Nb4 Diagram 229 After 14. ... Nb4 With the idea of ... d5. 15. Rel Re8 16. Qd2 Kh7 17. Red! d5! 18, exd5 Nfxd5S Diagram 230 After 18. ... NfcdS Black is fine. Arutunian~Ma- lakhov, 2000, continued: 19. Nxd5 Qxd5 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. Bc4. Now after the correct 21. ... Qxd2 (21. ...Qe5?! was played in the game) 22. Rxd2 Nd5}, Diagram 231 After 22. ... NaS! Black stands at least equal. White can't take on d5 because ... Rel delivers a back-rank mate.Chapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon-Sixth-move Sidelines 107 B4 9. f4 Be6 Black’s pieces are active and well-coordinated, while White’s the endgame. Diagram 232 Afier 9... Be6 Now on 10. £5, Black can play either the more complicated 10. ... Bd7, or the simpler 10. ... Bxb3 11. axb3 Qb6+ 12. Khi Qd4. Diagram 233 After 12... Odd Summary: White's sixth-move sidelines, 6. Nde2 and 6. Nb3, are easy for a prepared Black to handle. Against the passive 6. Nde2, Black gets a great game by castling kingside and advancing his queenside pawns. If White tries 6. Nb3, Black can confidently enter the Classical Dragon. Or he can instead play a double-fianchetto system that leads to unclear complications. attacking formation of e- and f- pawns is no longer dangerous and can become a weakness in108 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon—Sixth-move Sidelines Wether Warkersy b BS Oa ee AE Diagram 235 After 13. NbS = SS Maw IAL i? SSE ae se Ey a 2} Diagram 236 After 18. Qxe2 After 21. BedChapter 7: The Accelerated Dragon-Sixth-move Sidelines 109 Chapter 7: The Accelerated Bragoa—Sixth-move Sidelines No. 1 No.2 No. 3 Solutions to Memon Wlarkers’ 18. ... e5; (if 19. dxe6, dxe6!). See page 98. 13. ... d5, taking over the center. See page 104. 18. ... g5! 19. Bg3 Nxe4!, with a better game. See page 105. 21 ... Qxd2 22. Rxd2 NdS, with a better ending. See page 106.10 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Chanter 8: Defending against 4. Qxd4 SDIoe ovo polits to lov For White’s 4. Qxd4—meant to punish Black for his early 2. ... g6, leads to a variety of sharp, “un-Sicilian-like” positions. This chapter shows how Black starts queenside counter-play. % White has a choice of three moves. See Diagram 242. See Diagram 251. © Black now plays 8 ... b4. Why? And here comes an improvement ... See Diagram 258. See Diagram 276. Outline of Variations ‘e405 2. NI3 96 3, dd oxdd 4, Qxd4 NIG (7/0) [B27] AAS. &5 Nc6 6. Qad NdS 7. Qed Ne7 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. Bed b5 (11) AAT 10. Nxb5 NxbS 11. QdS 0-0 12. BxbS Bb? (112) BZ 10, Bb3 Bb7 11. Qe2 a5 12. a4 b4 (113) B 5. BbS a6 6. e5 axb5 7. ext Nc6 (114) B1 8. Qh4 Rad 9. fxe7 Bxe7 10. Qh6 Red+ 11. Kf) bd (115) BZ 8. Qe3 b4 9. 0-0 €6 10. c4 Quf6 11. Nbd2 Bg7 12. Ned Qe7 13. Rdl d5 (116) BB &. fxe7 Que7+ 9. Qe3 b4 10. 0-0 Que3 11. Bxe3 Bg7 12. Rel 0-0 (17) © 5. Nc3 Ne6 6. Qa4 d6 (118)Chapter 8: Defending against 4. Qxd4 int Chapter 8 Defending against 4. Qxd4 When White chooses to recap- ture on d4 with his queen, rather than his knight, he attempts to get an advantage in the center and to disrupt Black’s normal development. Black, however, can be completely confident. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 exdd 4, Qxd4 Diagram 238 After 4. Oxd4 4... Nf6 White has three main moves: 5. 5, 5. BbS, and 5. Nc3. A 5. e5 Nc6 6. Qa4 Nd5 7. Qed Diagram 239 After 7. Qed Here we recommend 7. ... Ne7, because the commonly piayed 7. .. Ndb4, with its idea of follow- ing up with ... dS and ... BfS. tuns into problems: 8. Bb5 Qa5 9. Nc3 d5. And although it may seem as if Black is much better due to the threat of ... BfS and ... Nxc2, there follows 10. exd6! Bf5 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 (11. ... Nxc6 is better) 12. d7+ Kd8 13. Qed}.112 Chess Openings for Black, Explained 19. Nb8!+—, with the idea Qa4 mate. 7. «. Ne7 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. Be4 bS!? Diagram 240 After 13. Ocd! And White gets a strong attack—for example: 13. ... Nxc2+ 14, Ke2 Nxal 15. Nd4! Qe5+ 16. Be3 Qf6 17. Nxc6+ Kxd7 18, Rdl+ Ke8 Diagram 242 After 9... b5!? Black starts his queenside counter-play forcefully. Now White can play 10. Nxb5 or 10. Bb3. Diagram 241 Hore. Kes AT 10. Nxb5 Nxb5 11. Qd5 11. Bxb5? Qa5+ 11. .... 0-0 12, Bxb5 Bb7 a Wy 2 Diagram 243 After 12, ... Bb7Chapter 8: Defending against 4. Qxd4 113 Black has compensation for the pawn. AZ 10. Bb3 Bb7 Diagram 246 After 12. ... b4 Diagram 244 13. Nb5 0-0 14. Nxc7 Qxc7 After 10. ... Bb7 11. Qe2 a5 12. a4 After 12. NxbS a4 13. Bc4 NxbS 14. BxbS Qc7 15. Bf4 a3!, Di 245 der 15.03 Black is slightly better. The game Brynell—Ward, 1998, con- Black gets strong play for the tinued: 15, BEd Nd8 (in order to pawn. play ... Ne6) 16. 0-0-0 Ne6 17. Bg3 BLACK GETS STRONG PLAY FOR THE PAWN.114 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 248 Afier 17, Bg3 17. ... Bxf3 (or 17... Ne5!? 18. Bxf7+ Rxf7 19. e6 Rf4, and the complications favor Black; 17. ... Rac8 also gives Black good play) 18. Qxf3 BxeS 19. BxeS Qxe5 20. Rxd7 Rad8 21. Bxe6 Qxe6 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 5a Diagram 249 After 22. ... Rea 23. Rdl, with an endgame that’s about equal. ‘Black develops” comfortably, | PVPS She BS. Bos Diagram 250 After 5. BbS 5. ... 26 6.5 After 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bb3 Ncé6, Black develops comfortably, winning a tempo. 6... axb5 7. exf6 Nc6 Diagram 251 After 7... Neb In this interesting position, White has three moves: 8. Qh4, 8. Qe3, and 8. fxe7.Chapter 8: Defending against 4. Qxd4. 15 B18. Qh4 Rad! Diagram 252 Afier 8... Rad! Black finds a way to activate his rook with a tempo! 9. fxe7 Bxe7 10. Qh6 Re4+ Diagram 253 After 10, ... Rede 11, Kfl 11. Be3 Nd4 12. Nxd4 Rh4 13. 0-0 Rxh6 14. Bxh6 Qb6 aa & Diagram 254 After 14... Ob6 This leads to a sharp and unbal- anced position, where Black’s chances aren’t worse. 11... b4 with complex play—for exam- Diagram 255 After 12. BgS 12. ...Qa5 13. Bxe7 Qb5+ 14. Kgl Nd4! BLACK FINDS A WAY TO ACTIVATE HIS ROOK WITH A TEMPO!116 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Diagram 256 Afier 14... Nad! 15. Ne3! If 15. Nxd4?, then 15. ... Rel is checkmate. 15. ... bxe3 16. Nxd4 cxb2 17. Rb1 Diagram 257 After 17. RbI 17. ... Qe4 Now White has to be careful to hold—for example: 18. h3 (18. Qg7? 19. Qxa2) 18. ... Qxd4 19. Ba3 Re2 20. Kh2 Qe5+ 21. f4 Rxg2+, with perpetual check. If Black wants to try for more, he can play 17. ... Qe5 18. Nf Qc3 (with the threat of ... Qxc2) 19. Qd2 Qxd2 20. Nxd2 Rxe7. The endgame somewhat favors Black because his bishop is stronger than White’s knight. B2 8. Qc3 Black prevents Nc3. 9. 0-0 6 10. c4 Diagram 259 After 10. 04 White sacrifices his f6-pawn to get a lead in development. 10. ... Qxf6 11. Nbd2 Bg7 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Rd1 .Chapter 8: Defending-against 4. Qxd4 117 B3 8. fxe7 Diagram 260 After 13. Ral i oe agra 13.0. d5! ‘fer 8. fe? After 13. ... 0-0 14. Nd6, the 8. .. Qxe7+ 9. Qe3 bd! knight on d6 is very unpleasant. Black stops Nc3 and gains 14, cxd5 exd5 15. Nd6+ KfS more space on the queenside. 16. Nxc8 Qxe3 17. fxe3 Rxc8 18. Rxd5 10. 0-0 Qxe3 W = Diagram 261 Diagram 263 Afier 18. Rxd5 After 10. ... Qxe3 Play is about equal. 11. Bxe3 Bg7 12. Rel 0-0 13. 3 d5 BLACK’S 9, 1p BAL stops Nc3 AND:(GAINS MORE SPACE ON THE QUEENSIDE.Chess Openings for Black, Explained 8 Ba a & ge. mun cE Se sy 2268 Nz SS 232 : + 5 #3e Ea gS BB8 Be 9 Ss 2d £2 3 2S Bea ar AS 234 2 oss * o “S8a 3 Zz oo z : ee 6 : 2 “6 8 38 Bs 32 By 3a se .o ss ce = a4 zZ 238 2 we st $2 se ge : 2s n a Ba 2A gy ES xs Bo aH =| —s Be Ba8 eS >a eee Pete S$ 2¢ ais god a 6 jst emer ae avid ag Ss Ate = me Bi S WHILE WHITE IS HAVING TROUBLE BLACK EASILY FINISHES HIS DEVELOPMENT, ACTEVATING HIS QUEENSIDE PIECES. trouble activating his queenside pieces. Black is slightly better.Chapter 8: Defending against 4. Qxd4 119 6. ... d6 7, e5 Ng4!? Black is not interested in com- plications after 8. ... Qb6 9. Nd5! Qxf2+ 10. Kdl. Diagram 270 After 10, Kd? Diagram 268 After 7... Ned!? Black begins active piece play in the center and on the kingside while White's queen is no longer protecting his majesty. The sim- pler 7. ... dxe5 8. NxeS Bd7 is also good, 8. exd6 Or 8. Bf4 Bg7 9. exd6 0-0 10. BbS ¢5, Diagram 271 Afier 9.h3 After 9. dxe7 Qxe7+ 10. Be2 0-0. ate Black begins Diagram 269 A A A After 10...-€5 active piece play in followed by ... Qxd6 with a good FH ILeme TK) ame TIT) MEY 1] game for Black (Gershon—Perel- 7 A shteyn, 1998). Patani tay CC 8... Bg7120 Chess Openings for Black, Explained Black puts strong pressure on the c-file to compensate for his missing pawn, Skripchenko- Calzetta, 2002. After 11. Bh6?!, Black's best plan is to take on c3, doubling 4 White's pawns. Diagram 272 11. ... Bxe3+! 12. bxe3 Qxd6 After 10, ... 0-0 White has problems castling. g 9. a» NgeS 10. Nxe5 BxeS q ge! ixe5 Bxe f 7s Ui, be 2 \ \r>\

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