Basic Tactics in the opening

Here is a simple combination that I overlooked in one of my blitz games, but a computer was quick to point out when I ran the game through lichess blundercheck:

DDT-Michael-player, ICC 2015

 White to move (Black just weakened f7 square, so there should be a way to take advantage of that!)
Solution is here: http://en.lichess.org/CgQFr5pf#24

Searching for Patterns and Combinations using various Chess Software

I already wrote about search in a couple of posts, and these features of ChessBase and Chess Assistant are surprisingly still essentially unchanged and relevant:
Online tactics: Find Sacrifices feature in Chessbase Light
Chess Assistant feature - Search for current pawn structure and material

Since then I found two more interesting search features:

1) SCID has this pawn structure search that I was not aware of:

2) Also Chessbase has relatively recently added an ability to search for similar pawn structures. 

Still, you can’t directly search for IQP with Chessbase, and it seems that only Chessbase allows to search for sacrifices (if you are aware of other programs that can do that – please leave a comment!). That’s why we have more than one chess database software …

Improve Chess Openings Now - Studying Rauzer Sicilian with Chess Positio...

This chess software review will show you how to learn and practice chess openings without risking rating points! More about Chess Position Trainer on my blog: http://roman-chess.blogspot.ca/search/label/Software%20-%20Chess%20Position%20Trainer

Best Combinations of 2015 – Quarterly Chess Tactics Volume 3 - July, August, September

Best Combinations of 2015 - Quarterly Chess Tactics – Volume 3 is now out with over 500 puzzles for you to solve. It is available on Amazon and on Kobo. The Kindle free sample contains dozens of combinations, so you can first practice those positions and see if you like the selection. This publication is a collection of over 500 best combinations played by strong chess players in tournaments that took place the third quarter of 2015. I first filtered the correct combinations with various computer-assisted approaches, and then manually went through the entire collection to select only the puzzles useful to practical chess players.

As criteria for including the games into this book - I used Mikhail Botvinnik's definition of a combination, which defines it as "a forced maneuver or maneuvers combined with a sacrifice, as a result of which the active side gains an objective advantage." Finding such combinations is typically the most useful type of exercise for those who want to sharpen their tactical skills.

The book is the third in the "Quarterly Chess Tactics" series, which provides instructive tactical positions from the most recent top chess tournaments.

Best Chess Combinations of 2015 - Part 1 Screencast

This is a preview  (NO SOUND) of the ebook with 10 seconds per each chess puzzle -  Feel free to pause the video and take longer to figure out the solution if you need to. Feedback on the puzzles as well as on the format of either the video or the ebook would be much appreciated.

Training Tactics with Chess Position Trainer - Best Combinations of 2014

Here is another way to study tactics - via Chess Position Trainer. The Combinations are taken from my ebook "Best Combinations of August 2014".

Baku Chess World Cup 2015–Selected Fragments

The Chess World Cup is my favourite tournament to follow since 2011, and I dedicated an ebook to it back in 2013. I intend to cover all combinations from the 2015 Baku World Cup in the Quarterly Tactics series, but for now here are some selected fragments:

Sergei Zhigalko - Ivan Bukavshin
World Cup   2015.09.13 , B47

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 Nf6 7. Be3 a6 8. O-O Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Qe1 O-O 11. Qg3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. a3 Bb7 14. Kh1 Bc6 15. Rae1 Rad816. Bf3 Qb7 17. Nd1 Ne8 18. Nf2 Bf6 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. e5 Ne8 21. Ng4 Bxf3 22. Rxf3 dxe5 23. fxe5 Qe7

White to move

Solution:

24. Nf6+ Kh8 25. Qh4 h6

( 25. ... gxf6 26. Rh3 +- )

26. Qe4 Nxf6 27. exf6 Qd6 28. Rd3 Qb6 29. fxg7+ Kxg7 30. Rg3+ Kh8 31. Qf4 e5 32. Qxe5+ f6 33. Qh5 Qc7 34. Qxh6+ Qh7 35. Qf4 Qxc2 36. Rh3+ Kg8 37. Qg4+ Kf7 38. Qe6+ Kg7 39. Qe7+ 1-0

---

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov - Yifan Hou
World Cup   2015.09.16 , E54

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4 cxd4 9. exd4 b6 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. Qe2 h6

12. d5 Bxc3 13. dxe6 fxe6 14. bxc3 Bd5 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Nd4 Rc8 17. Bxd5 exd5 18. Qb5 Qf7 19. Rfe1 Nd7 20. Nc6 a6 21. Qxd5 Qxd5 22. Ne7+ Kf8 23. Nxd5 Rc5 24. Rad1 Re8 25. Kf1 Rxe1+ 26. Kxe1 Kf7 27. Ke2 g5 28. Ne3 Ke6 29. c4 Ne5 30. Rb1 b5 31. cxb5 axb5 32. g3 h5 33. h3 Nf7 34. Rb4 Nd6 35. h4 g4 36. Kd2 Rc7 37. Nd1 Nc4+ 38. Ke2 Nd6 39. Kd3 Rf7 40. Kd4 Rf3 41. Rb3 Rf5 42. Re3+ Kf6 43. Ra3 Ke6 44. Re3+ Kf6 45. Re2 Rf3 46. Kc5 Nf5 47. Rd2 Nxg3 48. fxg3 Rxg3 49. Rd6+ Kg7 50. Rd7+ Kg6 51. Rd6+ Kg7 52. Rd5 Kg6 53. Rg5+ Kh6 54. Re5 Rg2 55. a3 Ra2 56. Kb4 Rh2 57. Ne3 Rb2+ 58. Kc3 Rf2 59. Rg5 Rf3 60. Kd4 Rh3 61. Nf5+ Kh7 62. Ke5 Rxa3 63. Rxh5+ Kg6 64. Rg5+ Kh7 65. Rg7+ Kh8 66. Rxg4 Ra5 67. Kf6 Ra6+ 68. Kg5 Ra4 69. Rg1 Rb4 70. Rd1 Rb2 71. Rd8+ Kh7 72. Rd7+ Kg8 73. Nh6+ Kh8 74. h5 Rg2+ 75. Ng4 1-0

---

Alexander Grischuk - Vladimir Fedoseev
World Cup   2015.09.16 , A15

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e5 3. Bg2 c6 4. d4 exd4 5. Qxd4 Na6 6. Nf3 Bc5 7. Qe5+ Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Re8 10. Rd1 Bc5 11. Qf4 Nc7 12. Qf5 d5 13. Qc2 Qe7 14. cxd5 Ncxd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Bf4 Bg4 17. h3 Rac8 18. Qd3 Ne4 19. Be3 Bf5 20. Bxc5 Rxc5 21. Qe3 Qd7 22. g4 Bg6 23. Rac1 b6 24. Qf4 Qa4 25. h4 f6 26. a3 Rc4 27. Qh2 Qb3 28. h5 Bf7 29. Rb1

29. ... Nxf2 30. Kxf2 Qe3+ 31. Kf1 Rxg4

( 31. ... Qxe2+ 32. Kg1 Rxg4 33. Kh1! ~ )

32. Bh3 Rf4 33. Qf2 Bxh5 34. Qxe3 Rxe3 35. Bg2 d4 36. Kf2 g5 37. Rxd4 Rxe2+ 38. Kxe2 Rxd4 39. Rc1 Rd7 40. Ke3 Bg6 41. Rc6 Rd3+ 42. Ke2 Rb3 43. Rxf6 Rxb2+ 44. Kf1 Bd3+ 45. Kg1 Be4 46. Re6 Bxf3 47. Bxf3 Rb3 48. Bd5 Rd3 49. Re5+ Kg7 50. Rxg5+ Kf6 51. Rh5 Rxa3 52. Rxh7 Ke5 53. Bc6 Kd6 54. Be8 Re3 55. Ba4 Re7 56. Rxe7 1/2-1/2

---

Mamedyarov, S. - Sethuraman, S.
FIDE World Cup 2015   2015.09.17 , B13

1. c4 c6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Qxd4 8. Qxd4 Nxd4 9. O-O-O e5 10. f4 Bg4 11. Nf3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Rc8 13. fxe5 Rxc4 14. exf6 Ne6 15. Rhe1 g6 16. Kb1 Bb4

17. Rxe6+ fxe6 18. f7+ Kxf7 19. Rd7+ Kf8 20. Rd8+ Kg7 21. Rd7+ Kf8 22. Ne4 h6 23. Rd8+ Kf7 24. Rxh8 hxg5 25. Rh7+ Kf8 26. Nxg5 Be7 27. Nxe6+ Ke8 28. a3 b5 29. Rg7 a5 30. f4 b4 31. axb4 Bf6 32. Rxg6 Kf7 33. f5 Rxb4 34. Rg2 Be5 35. Nd8+ Kf6 36. Nc6 Rf4 37. Re2 Bc7 38. Ne7 Rf1+ 39. Ka2 Bf4 40. Nd5+ Kxf5 41. Re8 1-0

---

Kramnik, V. - Andreikin, D.
FIDE World Cup 2015   2015.09.18 , D73

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. c4 c6 6. Qb3 O-O 7. Nc3 Qb6 8. O-O Be6 9. Na4 Qxb3 10. axb3 Nbd7 11. Nc3 h6 12. Ne5 Nb6 13. c5 Nbd7 14. f4 a6 15. b4 Bf5 16. h3 h5 17. Be3 Rab8 18. Rfd1 Ne8 19. Bf2 Ndf6 20. b5 axb5 21. Ra7 Bh6 22. Na2 Ng7 23. Nb4 Rfc8 24. Rda1 g5 25. e3 Be6

26. Nbxc6 Rxc6 27. Nxc6 bxc6 28. Rxe7 Nd7 29. Ra7 Rd8 30. Be1 gxf4 31. gxf4 Nf5 32. Ba5 Rc8 33. Rexd7 Bxd7 34. Rxd7 Nxe3 35. Bf3 Nf5 36. Bxh5 +=

36. ... Bxf4 37. Bxf7+ Kh8 38. Bd8 Be3+ 39. Kg2 Bxd4 40. b4 Ne3+ 41. Kf3 Nc2 42. Kg4 Nxb4 43. Kf5 Nd3 44. Be7 Ra8 45. Be6 Ra1 46. Bxd5 Rf1+ 47. Ke4 Bxc5 48. Kxd3 Bxe7 49. Bxc6 Rd1+ 50. Kc2 1/2-1/2

---

Karjakin, Sergey - Andreikin, D.
FIDE World Cup 2015   2015.09.22 , A11

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. d4 Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Ne5 Nc6 9. O-O Bf5 10. Be3 Rc8 11. Rc1 Be6 12. Nd3 Bf5 13. Ne5 e6 14. h3 h5 15. f3 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nd7 17. g4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Bxg4 19. fxg4 Nxe5 20. Bd4 Qh4 21. Qe1 Qxg4 22. Rd1 Nf3+ 23. Rxf3 Bxd4+ 24. Kf1 Be5 25. Qd2 Rc4 26. Qe3 Bg7 27. Qxa7 Rb4 28. b3 Rc8 29. Rdd3 Qg5 30. Nd1 Rg4 31. Qxb7 Rf8 32. Ne3 Bd4 33. Rxd4 Rxd4 34. Qc7 Rd2 35. a4 Rb2 36. Nd1 Rb1 37. Rd3 Rc1 38. Qh2 Rfc8 39. Kf2 Qf6+ 40. Bf3 e5 41. Ne3 d4 42. Ng4 Qg5 43. Nxe5 R8c3

44. Qh8+ Kxh8 45. Nxf7+ Kg7 46. Nxg5 Rxd3 47. exd3 Rc3 48. a5 Rxd3 49. a6 Rd2+ 50. Ke1 Ra2 51. Ne6+ Kf6 52. Nc5 Ra5 53. b4 Ra2 54. b5 1-0

Subscribe to New Blog - Daily Chess Tactics

To build practical strength and simply to have fun, a chessplayer needs constant practice in their tactical skills. If you want to practice your combination solving ability on a daily basis, you might want to know that I started maintaining a new blog at http://chesspublisher.blogspot.com. The puzzles appear daily and you can take you time to figure out the solution and then see the answer by clicking on the question mark. You can also have these puzzles appear in your RSS reader by subscribing to the Daily Chess Tactics feed. Please let me know if you have any feedback!

 

Click on the blue spot to see the answer.

There is already an archive for the last two months, and you can see the last 3 puzzles in this roman-chess blog in the top right corner:

 

5 Passed pawns - part 2 – ghosts of Karjakin–Eljanov game 6

History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme…  (Mark  Twain)

Interestingly the recent 5 passed pawns blog post came about from my internet game where the position was as follows:
DDT3000-hell, ICC 2015

I now realize this almost exactly mirrors the infamous Karjakin – Eljanov game 6 from round 6 of the Baku World Cup that was played only a couple of weeks before that:
Karjakin-Eljanov, 2015

If Black plays a6 and b5, the position is almost exactly the same, except that the queenside pawns are shifted 1 file to the right.

Karjakin-Eljanov, 2015 (analysis)

5 Passed Pawns

How often do you find a chess endgame with 5 passed pawns running up and down the board and most of them being on the verge of promotion? Both kings fight for stopping the pawns and also fall prey to random checks upon pawn promotion, as well as discovered checks of a lone black bishop that also tries to bring some method to this madness and support its own pawns while constraining the opponent’s passers …

An analysis of an ICC game led me down the odd path with this super sharp position being the culprit and Black’s defense relying on some study-like computer–style precision.

analsyis of DDT3000-hell, ICC 2015

8/8/2P3P1/8/P4p2/1kb2K1p/8/8 b - - 0 57

 Black to move and make a draw (the variations are not trivial for either side, so I suggest you analyse it for a few minutes to find the best moves)

Faulting Thinking - the Need to Consider All candidate Moves

Often a move that attacks a pawn, or encourages exchanges is the first one that comes to mind. In the following game - Black needed to consider all candidate moves and not go for the most straightforward one.

Tang, Edward    --    Jiganchine, Roman
Keres mem 39th   2014.05.19     1/2-1/2     D27

 Black to move.

30. ... Bd5

( 30. ... Bc6! -/+ left black with all advantages of his position )

31. Bxd5 Rxd5 32. Nb3 e5 33. dxe5 Nxe5 34. f4 Nc4 35. Ra1 Rd3 36. Nc5 Rxa3 37. Rxa3 Nxa3 38. Nxa6 Nc4 39. Nc7 Nxa5 1/2-1/2

Loss of a Chess Game - Classic Trojan Horse in the Endgame

A good example of why one should never ever play with a flag hanging; "trojan horse" (a knight is a 'horse' in russian chess terminology) occurs around 34:00 where I have two bishops, attempt to trap opponent's knight on 'b1', abandon my own pawns on the kingisde, lose them all, and the game. Computer analysis at   http://en.lichess.org/3kP5lrXd

Finding The Correct Positional plan - The Problem with Advancing Pawns

The downside of advancing pawns is that they cannot go back. If that means that an important rank is restricted for heavy pieces - an innocent pawn push can be a crucial mistake.
Jiganchine, Roman    --    Wu, Howard
BC ch 99th   2014.10.10     1/2-1/2     B67
 

 White to move

22. f4?!

This is a positional mistake after which White is struggling to come up with a helpful plan.

( 22. c3 would have kept better control over dark squares while keeping options open. )

22. ... g6 23. Qf2 Kd7 24. Rhf1 Kc7 25. g3 Kb8 26. Qd4 b4 27. Rd2 Rhc8 1/2-1/2

Missing the Obvious - Creating Passed Pawns in the Endgame

The following game illustrates how sometimes a player can fail to apply even the well known concepts if the situation on the board is obscuring them a little bit.

Lai, Peter    --    Jiganchine, Roman
Langley Open   2012.09.03     1/2-1/2     D27
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. a4 Nc6 8. Nc3 Be7 9. Qe2 cxd4 10. Rd1 O-O 11. exd4 Nd5 12. Bd3 Re8 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Qa5 15. Ne4 Bd7 16. Bg5 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 h6 18. Bh7+ Kf8 19. Nf3 Bc6 20. Be4 Rad8 21. Qe1 Qxe1+ 22. Nxe1 Nb4 23. Bxc6 Nxc6 24. f4 Rd4 25. Rxd4 Nxd4 26. Kf2 Rc8 27. Ra3 Ke7 28. Rc3 Rxc3 29. bxc3 Nb3 30. Nd3 Kd7 31. Ke3 Kc6 32. Ke4 g6 33. Nb2

 Black to move

33. ... Kc5

 33. ... b5 34. axb5+ Kxb5  was an obvious way of trying to obtain a distant passed pawn in the knight endgame.

 Black has a nearly decisive advantage here because the 'a' pawn is hard for White to deal with.

34. Kd3 Na5 35. g3 h5 36. h3 Nc6 37. Nc4 b5 38. axb5 axb5 39. Nd6 Nd8 40. Ne4+ Kd5 41. Ng5 Kc5 42. g4 hxg4 43. hxg4 Kd5 44. Ne4 1/2-1/2

Blast From the Past – Tactics from Chess World Cup

This Friday, September 11, 2015, the Chess World Cup begins in Baku, perhaps main chess event of the year. Two years ago, the World Cup in Tromso produced a lot of great games, to review some of them I invite you to checkout the combinations from that tournament that I covered in my ebook "Play Like a Grandmaster - Tactics from Chess World Cup 2013” – it is available on Amazon and on Kobo.

  

Missed Stalemate against Grandmaster

In this ICC game against a grandmaster Leonid Gofshtein I overlooked stalemate opportunity not once, but twice:

Black to move – find the drawing idea ...

Solution and full game: http://en.lichess.org/L6iS8rD7#65

Best Combinations of 2015 - Quarterly Chess Tactics – Volume 2

Best Combinations of 2015 - Quarterly Chess Tactics – Volume 2 is now out with over 200 puzzles for you to solve. It is available on Amazon and on Kobo. The Kindle free sample contains dozens of combinations, so you can first practice those positions and see if you like the selection. Volume One was out back in July.

This publication is a collection of over 200 best combinations played by strong chess players in tournaments that took place the second quarter of 2015. To see the solution for the combination - go to the next page in your e-reader. The book is the second in the "Quarterly Chess Tactics" series, which provides instructive tactical positions from the most recent top chess tournaments.

Quarterly Chess Tactics will allow you to
* Follow the recent games of top grandmasters
* Improve your game
* Study combinations any time and anywhere
* Enjoy a collection of annotated puzzles that you have not seen in any other tactics books
* Maintain regular practice by solving several puzzles every day

In this new series, all the puzzles have been carefully checked to ensure the correctness and uniqueness of solutions, so you can be certain that there is only one winning continuation in each position. This series is a continuation of the Monthly Chess Tactics series from 2014 that included 12 collection of puzzles:

• Best Combinations - January 2014
• Best Combinations - February 2014
• Best Combinations - March 2014
• Best Combinations - April 2014
• Best Combinations - May 2014
• Best Combinations - June 2014
• Best Combinations – July 2014
• Best Combinations – August 2014
• Best Combinations – September 2014
• Best Combinations – October 2014
• Best Combinations – November 2014
• Best Combinations – December 2014

Simple Chess Tactics – Loose Pieces Drop off

DDT3000 – sargonlives, ICC, 2015
 White to Move Solution

Chess Puzzle - Kheit, Wahbi - Webb, L.

Black Counterattacks in the Reti Lasker System – Pressure against f2.

Serov, Maksim - Yevseev, Denis
   2008 , A07
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. b3 Bf5 5. Bb2 e6 6. d3 h6 7. Nbd2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. c4 a5 10. a3 Bh7 11. Rc1 Nbd7 12. Rc2 Bd6 13. Qa1 Qe7 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Nd4 Rfc8 16. Rfc1 Rxc2 17. Rxc2 Bc5 18. Nb5

18. ... e5

The central push is possible due to weakness of f2.

19. Rc1

( 19. Nc7 Rc8 20. Nxd5 Nxd5 21. Bxd5 Bxf2+ 22. Kxf2 Rxc2 )

19. ... Rd8 20. Nf3 e4 21. Ne1

21. ... Bxf2+! 22. Kh1

( Accepting the sacrifice is also losing because the white pieces are all stuck in the corner on the queenside. 22. Kxf2 exd3 23. Nxd3 Ng4+ 24. Kf1 Bxd3 25. exd3 Qe3 26. Bd4 Nxh2# )

22. ... Ng4 23. h3 Bxg3 24. hxg4 Qh4+ 25. Kg1 Bh2+ 26. Kf1 e3 0-1

---

Rapport, Richard - Svetushkin, Dmitry
   2013 , A01
1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 Bf5 5. Nf3 h6 6. d3 e6 7. Nbd2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. c4 Nbd7 10. a3 a5 11. Rc1 Bh7 12. Rc2

White committed to the queenside piece regrouping so e2-e4 is not in the cards yet. Therefore Black can safely put the bishop on d6 and prepare e5.

12. ... Bd6 13. Qa1 Qe7 14. Nh4

14. ... e5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Rfc1 e4 17. dxe4 dxe4 18. Nc4

18. ... g5 -+ 19. Nxd6 Qxd6 20. Rd1 Qe6 21. Rcd2 Ra6 22. e3 gxh4 23. Bf1 Rb6 24. Bd4 Rc6 25. Bb5 Rd6 26. Kh1 Bg6 27. gxh4 Kh7 28. Rg1 Bh5 29. Rg3 Rg8 30. Bc4 Qf5 31. Qf1 Bf3+ 32. Kg1 Nh5 33. Rc2 Rdg6 34. Bb5 Nxg3 35. fxg3 Ne5 36. Rc5 Rxg3+ 37. hxg3 Rxg3+ 38. Kf2 Bg2+ 39. Kxg3 Bxf1 40. Bxf1 Qf3+ 41. Kh2 Ng4+ 42. Kg1 Qf2+ 0-1

---

Siegel, Georg - Short, Nigel D
   1981 , A07
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bf5 5. d3 e6 6. b3 h6 7. Bb2 Be7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. c4 Nbd7 10. a3 a5 11. Rc1 Bh7 12. Rc2 Bd6 13. Qa1 Qe7 14. Rfc1 e5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Nf1 Rfe8 17. Ne3

17. ... Bc5

giving up e5 but going for f2.

18. Nxe5 Bxe3 19. Nxd7 Ng4 20. Rc7

( 20. fxe3 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 Nf2+ 22. Kg1 Nh3+ 23. Kh1 Qg1+ 24. Rxg1 Nf2# )

20. ... Bxf2+ 21. Kh1 Qxe2

Each side just goes with their own attack without caring about defence.

22. Bxg7 Bxd3 23. Bh8 d4 24. Nc5 Kxh8 25. Rxf7 Rac8 26. Bf3

26. ... Rxc5 27. Bxe2 Rxe2 28. Rxf2

( 28. Rxc5 Be4+ 29. Rf3 Bxf3# )

28. ... Nxf2+ 29. Kg2 Ng4+ 30. Kg1

30. ... Ne5

Checkmate is inevitable so White resigned. Quite a bloodbath that seemed unlikely to come out of a calm opening.

0-1

Ilya Smirin's games Vs The French – Delayed Castling, attacking Pawn Chain and so on …

Smirin, Ilia - Bauer, Christian
   2000 , C05
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O a5 9. Re1 cxd4 10. cxd4 Nb6 11. Nb1 Bd7 12. Nc3 a4

13. h4 Nb4 14. Bb1 h6 15. h5 Bc6 16. a3 Na6 17. Nh2 Qd7 18. Qg4 Bf8

19. f4 Nc4 20. f5

White has to push through on the king side to extend the diagonal for the b1 bishop and free up the a1 rook.

20. ... Nc7 21. Ne2 Na5 22. fxe6 Nxe6 23. Bf5 Nb3 24. Rb1 Bb5 25. Be3 O-O-O 26. Rf1 Kb8 27. Rf2 Qc6 28. Nf3 Be7 29. Rd1 Rhg8 30. Nf4 Ng5

31. e6 f6

Now the structure remains very unbalanced with White dominating the kingside and Black - eventually getting through on the queenside.

( 31. ... fxe6 32. Nxe6 Nxe6 33. Bxe6 Rgf8 34. Ne5 would activate White's pieces. )

32. Ng6 Rge8 33. Bf4+ Ka7 34. Nfh4 Bd6 35. Re1 Bxf4 36. Rxf4 Nd2 37. e7 Rb8 38. Qd1 Nc4 39. Bd3 Nxb2 40. Bxb5 Qxb5 41. Qb1 Qb3 42. Rff1 Ne4 43. Rxe4 dxe4 44. Qxe4 Nc4 45. Nf5 Rbc8 46. Rb1 Nd2 47. Rxb3 axb3 48. Qd3 b2 49. d5 Rc1+ 50. Kf2 b1=Q 51. Qxb1 Rxb1 52. d6 Ne4+ 53. Ke2 Rb2+ 54. Ke3 Nc5 55. Nxg7 Rc8 56. e8=Q Rxe8+ 57. Nxe8 Nd7 58. g4 Rb3+ 59. Ke4 Rxa3 60. Ne7 Kb6 61. Kf5 Rf3+ 62. Ke6 Nc5+ 63. Kf7 Kb5 64. Nxf6 Rd3 65. Nf5 Kc6 66. Nxh6 Kxd6 67. g5 Ne6 68. g6 Rh3 69. Nhg4 Ng5+ 70. Kf8 Ne6+ 71. Kg8 Nf4 72. Kh7 Rxh5+ 73. Nxh5 Nxg6 1/2-1/2

---

Smirin, Ilia - Abbasov, Farid
   2011 , C05
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ngf3 g6 8. h4 h6 9. Bb1 b5 10. a3 a5

11. Nf1

With the rook supporting the h pawn Smirin delays castling and uses the f1 square to rerout the knight.

11. ... b4 12. axb4 cxb4 13. h5 g5 14. Ne3 Ba6

15. Ng1

There goes the second knight.

15. ... Qb6 16. Ne2 Qb5 17. f4 gxf4 18. Nxf4 Rg8 19. Bd3 Qb7

20. O-O

With the Black pieces pushed back, White finally castles. The rook now is useful again on the f file.

20. ... Bxd3 21. Nxd3 Qb5 22. Qf3 Rg7 23. Ng4 O-O-O 24. Nxh6 Be7 25. Qh3 Rf8 26. Bd2 b3 27. Rf3 a4 28. Ng4 Rh7 29. Raf1 Nb6 30. Bh6 Rfh8 31. Rxf7 Rxf7 32. Rxf7 a3 33. bxa3 b2 34. Nxb2 Qxb2 35. Bg7 Rh7 36. h6 Qb1+ 37. Rf1 Qe4 38. Nf6 Bxf6 39. exf6 1-0

---

Smirin, Ilia - Iotov, Valentin
   2008 , C05
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. c3 c5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Ngf3 g6 8. h4 Qb6 9. h5 g5

10. Nxg5 cxd4 11. cxd4 Qxd4 12. Ndf3 Qb4+ 13. Bd2 Qe7 14. Nxh7 Ncxe5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. Bb5+ Bd7 17. Bxd7+ Kxd7 18. Qa4+ Nc6 19. Qb5 Kc7 20. Rc1 Rc8

( 20. ... Rxh7 21. Ba5+ Kc8 22. Rxc6+ bxc6 23. Qxc6+ Kb824. Rh3 +- It turns out the rook is well developed without ever requiring to castle. )

21. Nxf8 Rhxf8

22. Rh3 Kb8 23. h6 f6 24. Rg3 Nd4 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8 26. Qd3 Nf5 27. Rh3 Qf7 28. g4 Nd6 29. h7 Rh8 30. Qg3 e5 31. g5 Nf5 32. g6 Qg7 33. Qg4 Ne7 34. Bh6 Qxg6 35. Qxg6 Nxg6 36. Bg7 Rg8 1-0

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Smirin, Ilia - Gleizerov, Evgeny
   2008 , C05
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ngf3 g6 8. h4 h6 9. Nf1 Qa5

10. Ke2

Extravagant but probably possible.

10. ... b5 11. a3 b4 12. cxb4 cxb4 13. Be3 Ba6 14. Bxa6 Qxa6+ 15. Qd3 Qxd3+ 16. Kxd3 bxa3 17. bxa3 Nb6 18. N1d2 1/2-1/2

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Smirin, Ilia - Akobian, Varuzhan
   2005 , C05
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. c3 Nc6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O g5 9. dxc5 g4 10. Nd4 Ndxe5 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. N2b3 Rg8 13. Re1 Nc4 14. Bf4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Rc8 16. b3 Na3 17. Bd3 Rxc5 18. Bxh7 Rg7 19. Bd3 Rxc3 20. Be5 Bf6 21. Qd2 Bxe5 22. Rxe5 Qc7 23. Rh5 Rg8 24. Rh7 e5 25. Nf5 e4

White to move

 
 
 
Solution:
26. Qg5

Black king gets punished for staying in the center.

1-0

Instructive wins by Andrei Kharlov in the Alapin Sicilian

Kharlov, Andrei - Zilberman, Yaacov
   1994 , B22
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 e6 5. Na3 Nf6 6. Nb5 Na6 7. Be3 cxd4

8. Qxd4

Offering exchange of queens since Black knight is badly placed on a6.

8. ... Qxd4 9. Bxd4 b6 10. Be2 Bb7 11. Bf3 Bxf3 12. Nxf3 Nd7 13. O-O-O f6 14. Rhe1 e5 15. Be3 Be7 16. Rd5 Nf8 17. Nh4 Ne6 18. Nf5 g6 19. Nxe7 Kxe7

20. f4

White maintains initiative despite many exchanges.

20. ... e4 21. Bf2 f5 22. Bh4+ Kf8 23. g3 Kg7 24. Rd7+ Kh6

25. b4!

The knight on a6 continues to be shut out of play

25. ... Rhc8 26. Kb2 Nac7 27. Bg5+ Kh5 28. Rxh7+ Kg4 29. Re3 1-0
Kharlov, Andrei - Csom Istvan
   1992 , B22
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 e6 5. Na3 Nf6 6. Nb5 Na6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Qxd4 Bc5

White to move

Solution:

9. Qxc5 Qxc5 10. Bxc5 Nxc5 11. Nc7+ +- Kd8 12. Nxa8 Bd7 13. Nf3 Kc8 14. b4 Na4 15. Ne5 Be8 16. c4 Ne4 17. Bd3 Nec3 18. Kd2 f6 19. Nf3 e5 20. Bf5+ Kb8 21. Rhc1 g6 22. Be6 Ne4+ 23. Ke3 Bc6 24. b5 Nec5 25. bxc6 Nxe6 26. Rab1 b6 27. Nxb6 axb6 28. Rd1 Nc3 29. Rxb6+ Kc7 30. Rb7+ Kxc6 31. Rdd7 Rc8 32. Ra7 Rb8 33. Rd3 Rb2 34. Rxc3 Nf4 35. Nd2 Nxg2+ 36. Ke2 Nf4+ 37. Kd1 1-0