TWIC THEORY

Tuesday 19th April, 2005

8. Be2 IN THE MERAN

By GM Glenn Flear (Photo – John Henderson)

Glenn Flear is a Grandmaster.

Glenn is 46 years old, married with two children originally from Leicester, England.

Resident in the south of France for over 10 years.

English Grandmaster who has represented England in one Olympiad, One World Team's
championship and a European Champs. Highest ever ELO 2555.

Still plays a few tournaments but also writes books, articles, book reviews and on
occasion does some coaching.

Clubs: Guildford, Montpellier (France), Gros (Basque country in Spain).

IM title in 1983, GM title in 1987.

Flear,G - Lautier,J [D47]
French League: M v Nao (6), 02.04.2005

In the Meran the move 8 Be2 has fallen out of fashion overall but it still seems to crop up in my
games with both colours! Black has to play precisely in order to get out of the opening with
anything like equality. I can't always agree with some of the assessments given by ECO, which
are sometimes too hasty to give equality when White still has chances for an edge.

As I recently had this variation twice in two days (one with each colour) I thought you might like to
share my feelings that things are not so simple for Black.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2

Much less common than 8.Bd3 but containing its fair share of venom.

Black has three principle moves: 8...b4, 8...a6 and 8...Bb7. In my opinion the latter is the
strongest.

8...b4

After 8...a6 I suggest 9.0–0!? (rather than 9.e4 b4 10.e5 bxc3 11.exf6 cxb2!? 12.fxg7 Bxg7
13.Bxb2 Qa5+ 14.Nd2 Rb8 when Black obtains counterplay along the b-file. The position is
sharp but the experience of 60 years suggests that Black is fine.) 9...c5 (9...Bb7 transposes to
8...Bb7 which I examine in the third game.) 10.d5 exd5 11.Nxd5 Bb7 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6 (12...Nxf6
13.a4! b4 14.b3 Be7 15.Bb2 0–0 16.Ne5 is also worth an edge to White according to Belov) 13.a4
and White obtains a concession on the queenside. Black will normally reply with ...b4 in such
positions but this enables White to have access to the c4-square. 13...b4 14.e4 h6 (14...Bxe4? is
far too risky after the simple 15.Re1) 15.Bc4 Nb6 16.e5 Qg6 17.Bd3 Qe6 18.a5 Nd7 19.b3 Be7
with a pleasant edge to White, Piket-Kaidanov, Groningen 1993, and now 20.Bb2! is the best way
to keep the advantage.

9.Na4 Bb7 10.0–0 Be7 11.a3 a5 12.Qc2 0–0 13.Rd1

The text represents the best chance of keeping the advantage as after 13.axb4 axb4 14.Bd2 Qa5
15.b3 Rfc8 16.Qb2 in the game Illescas Cordoba-M.Gurevich, Spain 2002 Black improved with
16...Qf5! 17.Rfd1 Rab8 18.Be1 c5 and was able to equalize. So it's not such a great idea to free-
up the a5-square for Black's queen too early.
13...c5

Black makes the standard freeing move to open up his light-squared bishop, and compete
against White's centre. When I reached this position over the board I have to admit that I couldn't
recollect whether one should capture with the pawn or knight on c5, so now I had to improvise...

14.dxc5!?

14.Nxc5 has been played more often but after 14...Nxc5 15.dxc5 Qc7 Black doesn't really have
any particular problems to regain his pawn e.g. 16.axb4 axb4 17.Bd2 Qxc5 18.Qxc5 Bxc5 19.Ne5
Be7 with more or less equal chances in Timman-Lautier, Wijk aan Zee 1994.

14...Qc7 15.axb4 axb4 16.Bd2

16...Rab8?!

In ECO this is attributed to Mikael Gurevich, but they will have to review the assessment of 'with
counterplay, unclear' in the next edition. In fact after this move White has a clear advantage in
my opinion and any counterplay is illusory.
The alternative is 16...Be4 when I intended 17.Qc4! (rather than the tame 17.Bd3 e.g. 17...Bxd3
18.Qxd3 Nxc5 19.Qc4 Rfc8 20.Nxc5 Qxc5 21.Qxc5 Bxc5 22.Kf1 V.Georgiev-Chernin, European
tch 1999 and again although Black's b-pawn is slightly exposed, Black should be able to hold
easily enough.) 17...Bd5 (17...Nxc5 is met by 18.Bxb4 Bd5 19.Qc1 and the pin along the c-file
enables White to keep the advantage: 19...Bb3 20.Bxc5 Bxa4 21.Bxe7 Qxe7 22.Rd4 with a clear
extra pawn.) 18.Qxb4 when Black is two pawns light. Can he obtain enough compensation?
18...Rfb8 19.Qh4 (19.Nb6? drops a piece to 19...Rxa1 20.Rxa1 Bxf3! 21.Bxf3 Bxc5; 19.Qc3 is
plausible but I prefer the queen on h4.) 19...Bb3 (19...Nxc5 20.Nxc5 Rxa1 21.Rxa1 Qxc5 22.b4
leaves White with an extra pawn but Black has active pieces which gives him partial
compensation.) 20.Rdc1 I got this far in my analysis at the board and couldn't see any convincing
path for Black. Both after the game and at home with Fritz I haven't been able to reach a definite
conclusion, but I suspect that Black doesn't quite have enough play to equalize e.g. 20...Nd5
21.Qd4 e5! (21...Bf6 22.Qg4! White finds a safe enough square. Black can flick in ...h5 if he
wants to but this may just be self-weakening: 22...h5 (if 22...Bxa4 23.Rxa4 Bxb2 24.Rxa8 Rxa8
25.Rc2 Ra1+ 26.Bf1 White keeps the c-pawn.) 23.Qe4 Bxa4 (23...Rxa4!? 24.Rxa4 Nxc5 25.Rxc5
Qxc5 26.Ra5 is murky but White is still better.) 24.Rxa4 Nxc5 25.Rxa8 Nxe4 26.Rxc7 Rxa8
27.Rc2 Nxd2 28.Nxd2 Ra1+ and Black's activity in the ending gives him drawing chances but
he's still a pawn down.) 22.Qd3 Bxa4 23.Qxd5 Bc6 24.Qc4 Rxa1 (24...Bb5 25.Qxb5 Rxa1
26.Rxa1 Rxb5 27.Bxb5 Nxc5 28.Bc3 gives White good compensation for the queen.) 25.Rxa1
Rxb2 26.Bd3!? (or 26.Qc1 and although Black has some compensation for his pawn, I believe
that White has an edge.)

17.Rdc1!

Increasing the pressure down the c-file and creating a niche for the queen.

17...Rfc8 18.Nd4 Be4 19.Qd1

I preferred keeping the tension because after 19.Bd3 Bxd3 20.Qxd3 Nxc5 21.Nxc5 Bxc5 22.Nb3 I
considered 22...Ng4 to be annoying.

19...Nxc5

Finally regaining the pawn but not solving all Black's problems.

20.Nxc5 Bxc5 21.Nb3 Qe7

After 21...Qe5 White increases the pressure with 22.Ra5;

After 21...Qd6 22.Nxc5 (Best is 22.f3! as in the game.) 22...Rxc5 23.Bxb4!? looks flashy but as
my opponent pointed out leads to no advantage after 23...Rxc1 24.Bxd6 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Rxb2
26.Be5 Rb1

22.f3! Bd5 23.Nxc5 Rxc5 24.e4 Bc6 25.Be3

Simple chess. White has the bishop pair and now sets about dominating the dark-squares.
Material is equal for the moment but the black b-pawn will soon become weak.

25...Rxc1 26.Qxc1 Qe8 27.Qc5 Bb5 28.Bd1

Keeping the bishops on the board increases the problems for the defender. Instead I was
tempted by

28.Bf4 Bxe2 29.Bxb8 Qxb8 30.Qc6 until I saw that (30.Qc7!) 30...Bb5! defends. In this Fritz
notices immediately what the two players failed to see: 30 Qc7! which creates serious problems
for Black.

28...Bd7 29.Ra7 h6 30.Bb3 Qd8 31.Bf4

Black is running out of dark-squares.

31...Ra8 32.Bc7!

32.Rxa8 Qxa8 33.Qxb4 would be foolhardy in view of 33...Qa1+;

Lautier pointed out a strong alternative 32.Qc7 with the idea that 32...Qxc7 loses to 33.Rxa8+
Qc8 34.Rxc8+ Bxc8 35.Bd6 when the two bishops will enable the advance of the b-pawn to
decide the game.

32...Qc8 33.Rxa8 Qxa8 34.Ba5!

Dashing any hopes Black had of invading with his queen. If Black now plays 'quietly' then the
inevitable loss of the mortally weak b-pawn will give him no real hope, so he decides to get some
counterplay or go down fighting...

34...Nxe4!? 35.fxe4 Qxe4

White has to be careful as the obvious 36 Bxb4? is embarrassed by 36...Bc6! However the next
move defends against Black's main threats.

36.Bc4! Qb1+ 37.Bf1 Qxb2 38.Bxb4 Kh7?

A time trouble error which loses immediately. In the post-mortem we decided that Black could
resist a little longer with 38...Qf6 but had little hope of saving the game.

39.Bc3 Qb7 40.Qf8! 1–0

Conclusion: After both 8...a6 and 8...b4 White has chances to keep an edge out of the opening.
Instead of 16...Rab8, critical is 16...Be4 17 Qc4.

Mensch,E - Flear,G [D47]

French league: Bischwiller v M (7), 03.04.2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.e4

9.0–0 is covered in the next game.

9...b4 10.e5 bxc3 11.exf6

Now Black has a choice of how far his b-pawn travels!

11...Nxf6

The most solid.

11...cxb2 12.fxg7 bxa1Q (Otherwise 12...Bxg7 13.Bxb2 Qa5+ 14.Nd2 Bh6 as in an old game
Chekhover-Spassky, Leningrad 1955(or 14...Ba6!? , seem fine for Black.) ) 13.gxh8Q

is a curious example of four queens on the board. Sadler investigated these lines a few years
ago but Black seems to be OK e.g. 13...Qa5+ 14.Nd2 Qf5 15.0–0 0–0–0 16.Qb3 Be7 17.Qxd8+
Bxd8 18.Bb2 Qxf1+ 19.Bxf1 with a more normal-looking position and equality according to
Vidoniak.

12.bxc3 Bd6 13.0–0 Qc7

The idea of this move is to avoid being pinned on the d8-h4 diagonal. A recent example with the
alternative 13...0–0 was the following:

13...0–0 14.Bg5 c5 15.Rb1 Be4 16.Bd3 Bg6 17.c4 cxd4 18.Bxg6 hxg6 19.Qxd4 Qc7 20.Bxf6 gxf6
21.Qxf6 Qxc4 22.Rfd1 Rab8 V.Georgiev-Y.Shulman, Foxwoods open 2005, although there Black
obtained full equality.

14.c4!?

Otherwise 14.Bd3 0–0 15.Bg5 Nd7 16.Re1 c5 17.Qe2 Bf4 led to equality in Potapov,A-Sultanov,A
Russia 1999.

14...c5! 15.dxc5 Bxc5 16.Ba3

Not very ambitious, but good enough for equality.

16...0–0 17.Bxc5 Qxc5 18.Qd4 Rac8 19.Qxc5 Rxc5 20.Nd4 Ne4 21.Nb3 Rc7 22.Rac1 Rd8
23.f3 Nf6!?
After 23...Nc5 the continuation 24.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Kf8 26.Nxc5 Rxc5 27.Rd7 Ba6 28.Rxa7
Bxc4 29.Bxc4 Rxc4 is very drawish.

24.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Kf8 26.Kf2 Ke7

The c-pawn is passed, but isolated. With the kings coming to the central arena neither side is
able to find a way through.

27.Nd4 a6 28.Nb3 Nd7 29.Rb1 Bc8 30.Na5 Nc5 31.Ke3 e5 32.g3 f6 33.Rb8 h6 34.Bd3

34...Nd7

34...Nxd3 35.Kxd3 Bf5+ 36.Kc3 isn't such a good idea for Black as White's king is able to support
the c-pawn.

35.Rb4 Nc5 36.Rb8 Nd7 37.Rb4 Nc5 ½–½

Conclusion: After 8...Bb7, the immediate 9 e4 isn't dangerous for Black.

Flear,G - Collas,D [D47]

St.Affrique open (9), 31.07.2004

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.0–0
9...Be7!

After 9...a6 preparing ...c5, White also expands in the centre: 10.e4 c5 11.e5 Nd5 12.a4! Now
Black has to make a decision: 12...b4 (12...Nxc3?! 13.bxc3 c4 is nowadays considered inferior
e.g. 14.Ng5 Be7 (14...Bd5 is an improvement but after 15.Bh5 g6 16.Bf3 White is still better.)
15.Bf3! Bxf3 16.Qxf3 0–0 17.Qg4 Christiansen-Flear, Szirak izt 1987 and I was crushed.) 13.Ne4

has been played over the years with success by Alexandrov. There have been no recent games
as 9...Be7 has taken over as the main line.

10.e4 b4 11.e5 bxc3

In ECO 11...Nd5 is given as leading to equality after 12.Ne4 (Instead White obtained a clear edge
after 12.Nxd5!? cxd5 13.Bd3 0–0 14.Qc2 h6 15.Bf4 Qb6 16.Qe2 Rfc8 17.h4 in Groszpeter-
Haugli, European tch 1989) 12...0–0 13.Qc2 c5 as in Selivjorstov-O.Ivanov, USSR 1991 but 12
Nxd5 looks better to me.

12.exf6
Black can now recapture with either piece.

12...Bxf6

12...Nxf6 13.bxc3 0–0 14.Rb1 Qc7 (Possible is 14...Qc8 but after 15.Qb3 Ba6 16.Bxa6 Qxa6
17.Bg5 c5 18.Qb7 White managed to keep some pressure in Piket-Flear, French tch 2002)
15.Bf4 Qxf4 16.Rxb7 Bd6 17.g3 Qf5 18.Nd2 c5 and Black seems to be more or less OK,
Harikrishna-Prakash, Penta Media 2000.

13.bxc3 0–0

13...c5 14.dxc5 0–0 15.Be3! Be7 16.Rb1 Qc8 Lputian-Ivanchuk, Bled ol 2002, and now White has
some pressure after 17.Ng5!

14.Rb1 Qc8 15.Qd3 c5 16.Ng5!

Taking the bishop pair is enough for White to keep a small pull.

16...Bxg5 17.Bxg5 cxd4 18.Qxd4!?

The IQP position after 18.cxd4 also seems reasonable, but I liked the idea of having a powerful
centralized queen.

18...f6

18...e5!? 19.Qb4 Rb8 20.Qg4 Nb6 21.Be7 Re8 22.Bd6 Ra8 left White with very little in J.Nilsson-
Brinck Clausen, Taastrup 2001. Then after the poor move 23.c4? Black could have snatched the
c-pawn with 23...Qxg4 24.Bxg4 Nxc4

19.Be3 Ne5 20.f4 Ng6 21.Rfd1

White completes development and hopes to be able to profit from his bishop pair in the open
position.

21...Nh4

Possible is 21...Rf7 to keep control of the seventh rank.

22.Bf2 Nf5 23.Qd7 Bd5?

Allowing a strong combination.

24.Rxd5! exd5 25.Qxd5+ Kh8 26.Bf3!

This is the star move. Black cannot avoid losing back the exchange and will find himself a clear
pawn down.

26...g6

26...Rb8?? fails to 27.Rxb8 Qxb8 28.Qxf5

27.Qxa8 Qxa8 28.Bxa8 Rxa8 29.Rb7

The immediate 29.g4 is more precise.

29...Rc8 30.Rb3 Rd8 31.g4 Ne7 32.Bd4 Kg8 33.Bxf6

Now 33.Rb7! was simpler.

33...Rd1+ 34.Kf2 Nd5 35.Be5 Rd2+ 36.Kg3 Rxa2 37.c4 Ne7 38.Rb7 Nc6 39.Rg7+ Kf8

40.Rc7?

The last move before the time control and a poor one as the pure rook ending gives Black
drawing chances.

Correct was 40.Rxh7! Rc2 41.c5 Rxc5 42.Bd6+ Kg8 43.Rc7 Rc3+ and after 44.Kh4 the White
king joins the attack with decisive consequences.

40...Nxe5 41.fxe5 h5 42.gxh5 gxh5 43.h4 Ke8

After the game we looked at 43...a5 44.Kf4 a4 without being totally sure if it draws. I can
remember that it was very close!

44.Kf4 Kd8 45.Rh7 Ra4 46.Rxh5 Rxc4+ 47.Kf5 a5 48.Rh7 a4 49.h5 a3 50.Ra7 Rh4

White can still win.

51.Kg5! Re4 52.Kf6!

Winning an important tempo.

52...Rh4 53.Rxa3 Rxh5 54.Ra8+ Kc7 55.e6 Rh6+ 56.Kf7 Rh7+ 57.Kg6 1–0

Conclusion: I consider 8...Bb7 9 0–0 Be7 to be the critical line. I recommend Black to play this
way and to later follow up with 12...Nxf6 rather than 12...Bxf6. Although 12...Bxf6 is playable I
suspect that White can keep a small pull, whereas 12...Nxf6 should equalize.

Supplementary Games

Piket,Jeroen (2590) - Kaidanov,Gregory S (2640) [D47]

Groningen PCA Groningen (7), 1993

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 a6 9.0–0 c5 10.d5
exd5 11.Nxd5 Bb7 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6 13.a4 b4 14.e4 h6 15.Bc4 Nb6 16.e5 Qg6 17.Bd3 Qe6 18.a5
Nd7 19.b3 Be7 20.Bc4 Qc6 21.Bb2 Nf8 22.Ne1 Ne6 23.f4 Qe4 24.Qd3 Qxd3 25.Nxd3 g6
26.Rac1 Rd8 27.Bxe6 fxe6 28.Nxc5 Bxc5+ 29.Rxc5 Rd2 30.Rf2 Rd1+ 31.Rf1 Rd2 32.Rf2 ½–½

Illescas Cordoba,Miguel (2585) - Gurevich,Mikhail (2634) [D47]

ESP-chT Div. Honor Mondariz (8.1), 07.12.2002

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.0–0 b4 10.Na4
Be7 11.a3 a5 12.Qc2 0–0 13.axb4 axb4 14.Bd2 Qa5 15.b3 Rfc8 16.Qb2 Qf5 17.Rfd1 Rab8
18.Be1 c5 19.dxc5 Nxc5 20.Nxc5 Bxc5 21.Ne5 Bd5 22.Nd3 Bd6 23.f3 Qh5 24.h3 Nd7 25.e4 Bc6
26.Bf2 ½–½

Flear,Glenn C (2505) - Hector,Jonny (2530) [D47]

Antwerp op Antwerp (5), 1994

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 b4 9.Na4 Bb7 10.0–0
Be7 11.a3 a5 12.Qc2 0–0 13.axb4 axb4 14.Bd2 Qa5 15.Rfc1 Rfc8 16.Qd1 Qf5 17.Qe1 Rab8
18.Bxb4 Bxb4 19.Qxb4 c5 20.Qe1 Bxf3 21.Bxf3 cxd4 22.exd4 e5 23.Rxc8+ Rxc8 24.dxe5 Nxe5
25.Be2 Nd5 26.g3 h5 27.Rc1 Re8 28.Qf1 Nb4 29.Nc5 g6 30.Qg2 Rc8 31.Qb7 Na2 32.Rf1 Rxc5
33.Qa8+ Kg7 34.Qxa2 Qe4 35.Bd1 Rc1 36.Qa6 Rxd1 37.Rxd1 Nf3+ 38.Kf1 Nxh2+ 39.Kg1 Nf3+
40.Kf1 Nh2+ ½–½

Georgiev,Vladimir (2519) - Chernin,Alexander (2619) [D47]

EU-chT (Men) Batumi (8.4), 06.12.1999

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 b4 9.Na4 Bb7 10.0–0
Be7 11.a3 a5 12.Qc2 0–0 13.Rd1 c5 14.dxc5 Qc7 15.axb4 axb4 16.Bd2 Be4 17.Bd3 Bxd3
18.Qxd3 Nxc5 19.Qc4 Rfc8 20.Nxc5 Qxc5 21.Qxc5 Bxc5 22.Kf1 Be7 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Ne5 Ne4
25.Be1 Bf6 26.Nd3 b3 27.Bb4 Ra6 28.Ke2 Rc6 29.f3 Nd6 30.Bxd6 Rxd6 31.Rc1 Rd8 32.Rc4 h5
33.e4 g6 34.e5 Bg7 35.h4 Bf8 36.Rc7 Rb8 37.Ke3 Ra8 38.Rb7 Rc8 39.f4 Rc2 40.Kf3 Rd2
41.Rxb3 Be7 42.g3 Kf8 43.Rc3 Ke8 44.b3 Bd8 45.Nf2 Ba5 46.Rd3 Rb2 47.Ne4 Ke7 48.g4 hxg4+
49.Kxg4 Rg2+ 50.Kf3 Rb2 51.Nf6 Kf8 52.Ke4 Re2+ 53.Re3 Rg2 54.h5 gxh5 55.Rh3 Bd8 56.Rxh5
Kg7 57.Ne8+ Kg8 58.Rh3 Be7 59.Nf6+ Kg7 60.Rg3+ Rxg3 61.Nh5+ Kg6 62.Nxg3 f6 63.Ne2 Ba3
64.Nd4 Kf7 65.Nc6 Bc5 66.b4 Bb6 67.b5 fxe5 68.fxe5 Bc5 69.Na5 Ke7 70.Nc4 Bf2 71.Kf4 Bd4
72.Kg5 Bc5 73.Kg6 Bd4 74.b6 Kd7 75.Kf6 Bf2 76.b7 Ba7 77.Nd6 Bb8 78.Nb5 Kc6 79.Nd6 Kd7
80.Kf7 Bc7 81.Kg7 Bb8 82.Kf6 Bc7 83.Ne4 Kc6 84.Nd6 Kd7 85.Nc4 Kc6 86.Kxe6 Kxb7 87.Nd6+
Kc6 88.Ke7 Bb8 ½–½
Georgiev,Vl (2517) - Shulman,Y (2551) [D47]
7th Foxwoods Open Connecticut USA (9), 27.03.2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.e4 b4 10.e5
bxc3 11.exf6 Nxf6 12.bxc3 Bd6 13.0–0 0–0 14.Bg5 c5 15.Rb1 Be4 16.Bd3 Bg6 17.c4 cxd4
18.Bxg6 hxg6 19.Qxd4 Qc7 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qxf6 Qxc4 22.Rfd1 Rab8 23.Rxb8 Rxb8 24.h4 Qc2
25.Qa1 Qe2 26.Nd4 Qb2 27.Qxb2 Rxb2 28.Nxe6 Be7 29.Ng5 Rxa2 30.Rd7 Kf8 31.g3 a5 32.Ra7
a4 33.Ra8+ Kg7 34.Ra7 ½–½

Christiansen,Larry Mark (2575) - Flear,Glenn C (2480) [D47]

Szirak Interzonal Szirak (16), 1987

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.0–0 a6 10.e4
c5 11.e5 Nd5 12.a4 Nxc3 13.bxc3 c4 14.Ng5 Be7 15.Bf3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 0–0 17.Qg4 Nb6 18.axb5
axb5 19.Rxa8 Nxa8 20.Ne4 Kh8 21.Re1 b4 22.Re3 bxc3 23.Rh3 g6 24.Qf4 g5 25.Nf6 1–0

Vyzmanavin,Alexey (2590) - Sorokin,Maxim (2510) [D47]

URS-ch58 Moscow (6), 1991

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.0–0 a6 10.e4
c5 11.e5 Nd5 12.a4 b4 13.Ne4 cxd4 14.Bg5 Qa5 15.Qxd4 h6 16.Bh4 Qb6 17.Qd2 Nc5 18.Nxc5
Bxc5 19.a5 Qa7 20.Rfc1 0–0 21.Bd3 Rfc8 22.Rc4 Bc6 23.Rg4 Kf8 24.Re1 Qc7 25.Bh7 g5
26.Nxg5 hxg5 27.Qxg5 Ke8 28.Qg8+ Kd7 29.Qxf7+ Ne7 30.Bxe7 Bxe7 31.Rd4+ Bd5 32.Rxd5+
1–0

Groszpeter,Attila (2515) - Haugli,Petter (2365) [D47]

EU-chT (Men) Haifa (1), 1989

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.0–0 Be7 10.e4
b4 11.e5 Nd5 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Bd3 0–0 14.Qc2 h6 15.Bf4 Qb6 16.Qe2 Rfc8 17.h4 a5 18.Rac1
Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Rc8 20.Rd1 Nb8 21.Ng5 g6 22.Nxf7 Kxf7 23.Bxh6 Ke8 24.Bxg6+ Kd7 25.h5 Ba6
26.Qg4 Rg8 27.Be3 Nc6 28.h6 Rh8 29.h7 Qd8 30.Rc1 Bb5 31.Bf7 Rxh7 32.Bg8 Rh4 33.Qxe6+
Kc7 34.Qxd5 Qxd5 35.Bxd5 Kd7 36.g3 Rh8 37.Be4 Nd8 38.d5 Nb7 39.Bf5+ Ke8 40.Rc8+ Nd8
41.Bg6+ Kd7 42.Ra8 1–0

Piket,Jeroen (2659) - Flear,Glenn C (2511) [D47]

FRA-chT1 Sautron (5.2), 2002

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.0–0 Be7 10.e4
b4 11.e5 bxc3 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.bxc3 0–0 14.Rb1 Qc8 15.Qb3 Ba6 16.Bxa6 Qxa6 17.Bg5 c5
18.Qb7 Qxb7 19.Rxb7 Bd6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Rd1 cxd4 22.Nxd4 Rfb8 23.Rxb8+ Rxb8 24.Nb3 Be5
25.c4 a5 26.Nxa5 Rb2 27.g3 Rxa2 28.Nb7 Rc2 29.c5 Kf8 30.f4 Bb2 31.Rd7 e5 32.Kf1 Bd4
33.Nd6 Bxc5 34.Rxf7+ Kg8 35.Rc7 exf4 36.Ne4 Rxh2 37.Nxf6+ Kh8 38.Rxc5 fxg3 39.Kg1 Rf2
40.Nh5 Kg8 41.Nxg3 Ra2 42.Rc7 h6 43.Ne4 Kf8 44.Rh7 Kg8 45.Nf6+ Kf8 46.Ng4 Kg8 47.Rc7 h5
48.Nf6+ Kf8 49.Nxh5 Ke8 50.Nf4 Rd2 51.Kf1 Kd8 52.Ra7 Kc8 53.Ke1 Rb2 54.Ne2 Kb8 55.Re7
Kc8 56.Kf2 Rb3 57.Nd4 Rd3 58.Nf5 Rb3 59.Rf7 Rd3 60.Ne3 Ra3 61.Kf3 Ra4 62.Nf5 Kb8 63.Nd6
Rb4 64.Ke3 Rb6 65.Nc4 Rb7 66.Rf8+ Kc7 67.Kd4 Rb5 68.Rf7+ Kc6 69.Rf6+ Kd7 70.Rd6+ Ke7
71.Ra6 Rh5 72.Ne3 Kd7 73.Nd5 Rh1 ½–½
Harikrishna,Penteala (2500) - Prakash,G B (2429) [D47]
Penta Media GM Kelamabakkam (12), 26.08.2000

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.0–0 Be7 10.e4
b4 11.e5 bxc3 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.bxc3 0–0 14.Rb1 Qc7 15.Bf4 Qxf4 16.Rxb7 Bd6 17.g3 Qf5
18.Nd2 c5 19.Nc4 Qd5 20.Rb5 Be7 21.Ne5 Qxa2 22.Nc6 Rfe8 23.Bf3 Bf8 24.dxc5 Qc4 25.Nd4
Rac8 26.c6 e5 27.Qb3 Qxb3 28.Nxb3 e4 29.Be2 Rxc6 30.c4 Rc7 31.Ra1 g6 32.c5 Rec8 33.c6
Rxc6 34.Rxa7 Rc2 35.Kf1 R8c7 36.Rxc7 Rxc7 37.Na5 Rc1+ 38.Kg2 Rc2 39.Kf1 Rc1+ 40.Kg2
Rc2 41.Kf1 h5 42.Nc4 Nd7 43.Ne5 Nxe5 44.Rxe5 Rc8 45.Kg2 f5 46.Rd5 Rc2 47.Kf1 Kf7 48.Rd4
Be7 49.Rc4 Rd2 50.h3 h4 51.g4 Kf6 52.gxf5 gxf5 53.f3 Ke5 54.fxe4 fxe4 55.Bh5 Rd6 56.Ke2 Rb6
57.Be8 Rb2+ 58.Kf1 Kd5 59.Bf7+ Ke5 60.Bg6 Rb1+ 61.Kg2 Rb2+ 62.Kf1 Rh2 63.Rxe4+ Kf6
64.Bf5 ½–½

Lputian,Smbat G (2627) - Ivanchuk,Vassily (2709) [D47]

Olympiad-35 Bled (12), 07.11.2002

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.0–0 Be7 10.e4
b4 11.e5 bxc3 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.bxc3 c5 14.dxc5 0–0 15.Be3 Be7 16.Rb1 Qc8 17.Qd3 Rd8
18.Qb5 Rb8 19.Qa5 Bxc5 20.Bxc5 Nxc5 21.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 22.Rxd1 Ne4 23.c4 Qc5 24.Rd8+ Rxd8
25.Qxd8+ Qf8 26.Qa5 Qc5 27.Qd8+ Qf8 ½–½
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