Schliemann Defence: Volume 2 - Tactics and Combinations

If you are looking to pick up a new opening for Black against 1.e4, you might be interested in the Schliemann Defence and in the collection of tactics in this opening that I just published. It is available both in Kindle and Paperback versions. It is also available on Kobo. The second volume covers combinations in the games played in the repertoire lines and illustrate typical tactical ideas for Black.

 

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. How to Learn Typical Tactics - Follow up Book
3. Typical Themes
4. Early Deviations for White
5. System with 4.d3
6. System with 4.Bxc6
7. System with 4.Nc3
8. Odd Move orders
9. Index of Players
10. About the Author
11. Symbols and Abbreviations Used in the Book
11.1. Position Evaluation
11.2. Move Evaluation

Tactics in the Spanish Opening – Part 2

Spanish Opening - Strategy and Tactics is now available as a paperback, here are some sample training exercises that illustrate the play in typical pawn structures of the Classical Spanish opening. Scroll down to see the solutions.

The book presents a straightforward repertoire for White after 1. e4 e5 and focuses on the Spanish Opening. Most major variations at Black's disposal are briefly explained and covered. The book is intended for chess players who want to learn the Spanish opening and are looking for a quick overview of the major variations. For each line, several sample games are followed by tactical positions typical for that line. Any player who plays the Spanish Opening either as White or Black - can benefit from learning the specific middlegame themes presented here. Most chapters have examples from practical games of chess champions of the past and present, such as Fischer, Karpov, Anand and Carlsen, followed by puzzles for the reader to solve. That should reinforce newly learned concepts and help get a better sense of the pawn structures discussed throughout the book. There are also questions for the reader to answer at the key moments of the games.

 

Safvat, Yousof - Calero, Ivan, 1962

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. h3 O-O 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. d5 Nb8 14. a4 b4 15. c4 Ne8 16. g4 g6 17. Nf1 Qd8 18. Ng3 Ra7 19. Bh6 Ng7 20. Kh1 Kh8 21. Rg1 Rg8 22. Rg2 Ne8 23. Qd2 Nd7 24. b3 Bf8 25. Rag1 Bxh6 26. Qxh6 Qf6 27. Ng5 Nf8 28. Nf5 gxf5 29. gxf5 Rg7 30. Qh5 Kg8 31. f4 h6 32. fxe5 dxe5 33. Nf3 Rxg2 34. Rxg2+ Ng7 35. Nh2 Kh7 36. Qf3 h5 37. Qg3 Re7 38. Bd1 Re8

White's turn

---

Tseshkovsky, Vitaly - Henry, Paul, 1969

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. d5 Nb8 14. a4 Bb7 15. c4 b4 16. Nf1 Nbd7 17. g4 Rfb8 18. Ng3 g6 19. b3 Bf8 20. Kh1 Bg7 21. Rg1 Kh8 22. Be3 Ng8 23. g5 f6 24. h4 Nf8 25. h5 fxg5 26. Nxg5 Bc8 27. hxg6 hxg6 28. Nf5 Bh6 29. Nxh6 Nxh6 30. Rg2 Kg7 31. Qf3 Nf7 32. Rag1 Nxg5 33. Rxg5 Qf7 34. Qh5 Ra7

White's turn

---

Arshaev, Ajush - Ismayilov, Nijat, 2012

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bb7 13. d5 Bc8 14. a4 Bd7 15. Nf1 Rab8 16. Ng3 bxa4 17. Bxa4 Qb6 18. Bg5 Bb5 19. Nf5 Bd8 20. Bxb5 axb5 21. N3h4 g6 22. Nh6+ Kg7 23. Qf3 Ng8 24. N4f5+ Kh8 25. Bxd8 Rbxd8

White's turn

---

 

Solutions

 

 

Safvat, Yousof - Calero, Ivan, 1962

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. h3 O-O 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. d5 Nb8 14. a4 b4 15. c4 Ne8 16. g4 g6 17. Nf1 Qd8 18. Ng3 Ra7 19. Bh6 Ng7 20. Kh1 Kh8 21. Rg1 Rg8 22. Rg2 Ne8 23. Qd2 Nd7 24. b3 Bf8 25. Rag1 Bxh6 26. Qxh6 Qf6 27. Ng5 Nf8 28. Nf5 gxf5 29. gxf5 Rg7 30. Qh5 Kg8 31. f4 h6 32. fxe5 dxe5 33. Nf3 Rxg2 34. Rxg2+ Ng7 35. Nh2 Kh7 36. Qf3 h5 37. Qg3 Re7 38. Bd1 Re8

39. Bxh5!

Black resigned, not without reason, but perhaps a bit prematurely.

( 39. Bxh5 Kh8 ( 39. ... Nxh5? 40. Qg8+ Kh6 41. Ng4# ) 40. Ng4 Qg5 41. Bxf7 Re7 42. h4 Qf4 43. Nxe5 Qxg3 44. Rxg3 Rxe5 45. f6 +- )

1-0

---

Tseshkovsky, Vitaly - Henry, Paul, 1969

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. d5 Nb8 14. a4 Bb7 15. c4 b4 16. Nf1 Nbd7 17. g4 Rfb8 18. Ng3 g6 19. b3 Bf8 20. Kh1 Bg7 21. Rg1 Kh8 22. Be3 Ng8 23. g5 f6 24. h4 Nf8 25. h5 fxg5 26. Nxg5 Bc8 27. hxg6 hxg6 28. Nf5 Bh6 29. Nxh6 Nxh6 30. Rg2 Kg7 31. Qf3 Nf7 32. Rag1 Nxg5 33. Rxg5 Qf7 34. Qh5 Ra7

35. Qh6+!! Kg8 36. Rxg6+ Nxg6 37. Rxg6+ Qxg6 38. Qxg6+ Rg7 39. Qxd6 Rh7+ 40. Bh6 1-0

---

Arshaev, Ajush - Ismayilov, Nijat, 2012

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bb7 13. d5 Bc8 14. a4 Bd7 15. Nf1 Rab8 16. Ng3 bxa4 17. Bxa4 Qb6 18. Bg5 Bb5 19. Nf5 Bd8 20. Bxb5 axb5 21. N3h4 g6 22. Nh6+ Kg7 23. Qf3 Ng8 24. N4f5+ Kh8 25. Bxd8 Rbxd8

26. Ne7

Black resigned, because capturing either knight leads to Qf6 mate, and otherwise White will capture on 'g8' himself.

1-0

Tactics in the Spanish Opening

 

Spanish Opening - Strategy and Tactics is now available as a paperback, here are some sample training exercises that illustrate the play in typical pawn structures of the Classical Spanish opening. Scroll down to see the solutions.

The book presents a straightforward repertoire for White after 1. e4 e5 and focuses on the Spanish Opening. Most major variations at Black's disposal are briefly explained and covered. The book is intended for chess players who want to learn the Spanish opening and are looking for a quick overview of the major variations. For each line, several sample games are followed by tactical positions typical for that line. Any player who plays the Spanish Opening either as White or Black - can benefit from learning the specific middlegame themes presented here. Most chapters have examples from practical games of chess champions of the past and present, such as Fischer, Karpov, Anand and Carlsen, followed by puzzles for the reader to solve. That should reinforce newly learned concepts and help get a better sense of the pawn structures discussed throughout the book. There are also questions for the reader to answer at the key moments of the games.

Palosz, Andrzej - Jaracz, Barbara, 1999

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 14. Nf1 Nc6 15. Ng3 Rfe8 16. Re2 h6 17. Be3 Rac8 18. a4 Na5 19. d5 Nc4 20. Bc1 bxa4 21. Bxa4 Bb5 22. Bxb5 axb5 23. b3 Nb6 24. Be3 Nfd7 25. Nf5 Bf8 26. Rea2 Ra8 27. Qd3 Rxa2 28. Rxa2 b4 29. Bd2 Qc5 30. Rc2 Qa5 31. Rc6 Nc5 32. Qe3 Nc8 33. N3h4 Kh7 34. Qe1 Nd3 35. Qe2 Nc5 36. Qe1 Nd3 37. Qe2 Nc5 38. Bxh6 gxh6 39. Qh5 Qa7

White's turn

---

Rodriguez, Gonzales Jesus - Aguirre, Pedro, 1960

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. Nbd2 O-O 12. h3 Nc6 13. d5 Nb8 14. Nf1 Re8 15. g4 Bf8 16. Bg5 Nbd7 17. Qd2 c4 18. Ng3 g6 19. Bh6 Kh8 20. Kg2 Ng8 21. Be3 f6 22. h4 Nc5 23. g5 Qd7 24. Rh1 Nxe4 25. Nxe4 f5 26. Ng3 f4 27. h5 fxe3 28. Qxe3 Kg7 29. hxg6 hxg6 30. Qe4 Ne7 31. Rh6 Nf5? 32. Rah1 Kf7

White's turn

---

Ljubarskij, Juri - De Leeuw Johannes, 2004

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Be7 5. O-O Nf6 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Nc6 12. Nbd2 Qc7 13. d5 Nb8 14. Nf1 Re8 15. g4 Qd8 16. Ng3 g6 17. Bh6 Bf8 18. Qd2 Re7 19. Bg5 Re8 20. Rf1 Bg7 21. Nh2 Nbd7 22. Rae1 Qe7 23. Kh1 Qf8 24. Rg1 h6 25. Be3 Kh7 26. Rg2 Qe7 27. Reg1 Rg8 28. g5 hxg5 29. Bxg5 Qf8 30. f4 Bh6 31. Nf3 Rh8 32. f5 Bg7 33. Nh4 Qe8 34. Rf1 Kg8 35. Kg1 Nh7 36. fxg6 fxg6

White's turn

---

Solutions:

 

 

Palosz, Andrzej - Jaracz, Barbara, 1999

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 14. Nf1 Nc6 15. Ng3 Rfe8 16. Re2 h6 17. Be3 Rac8 18. a4 Na5 19. d5 Nc4 20. Bc1 bxa4 21. Bxa4 Bb5 22. Bxb5 axb5 23. b3 Nb6 24. Be3 Nfd7 25. Nf5 Bf8 26. Rea2 Ra8 27. Qd3 Rxa2 28. Rxa2 b4 29. Bd2 Qc5 30. Rc2 Qa5 31. Rc6 Nc5 32. Qe3 Nc8 33. N3h4 Kh7 34. Qe1 Nd3 35. Qe2 Nc5 36. Qe1 Nd3 37. Qe2 Nc5 38. Bxh6 gxh6 39. Qh5 Qa7

40. Nxh6! Bxh6 41. Nf5

There is now no good defence against White's attack.

41. ... f6 42. Qxe8 Nxe4 43. Rc2 Bf4 44. Qh5+ 1-0

---

Rodriguez, Gonzales Jesus - Aguirre, Pedro, 1960

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. Nbd2 O-O 12. h3 Nc6 13. d5 Nb8 14. Nf1 Re8 15. g4 Bf8 16. Bg5 Nbd7 17. Qd2 c4 18. Ng3 g6 19. Bh6 Kh8 20. Kg2 Ng8 21. Be3 f6 22. h4 Nc5 23. g5 Qd7 24. Rh1 Nxe4 25. Nxe4 f5 26. Ng3 f4 27. h5 fxe3 28. Qxe3 Kg7 29. hxg6 hxg6 30. Qe4 Ne7 31. Rh6 Nf5? 32. Rah1 Kf7

33. Rxg6!

White's pieces have concentrated on the kingside; this sacrifice breaks through Black's defences.

33. ... Kxg6 34. Nxf5! Re6

( 34. ... Qxf5 35. Nh4+ +- )

35. Nxd6+ 1-0

---

Ljubarskij, Juri - De Leeuw Johannes, 2004

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Be7 5. O-O Nf6 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Nc6 12. Nbd2 Qc7 13. d5 Nb8 14. Nf1 Re8 15. g4 Qd8 16. Ng3 g6 17. Bh6 Bf8 18. Qd2 Re7 19. Bg5 Re8 20. Rf1 Bg7 21. Nh2 Nbd7 22. Rae1 Qe7 23. Kh1 Qf8 24. Rg1 h6 25. Be3 Kh7 26. Rg2 Qe7 27. Reg1 Rg8 28. g5 hxg5 29. Bxg5 Qf8 30. f4 Bh6 31. Nf3 Rh8 32. f5 Bg7 33. Nh4 Qe8 34. Rf1 Kg8 35. Kg1 Nh7 36. fxg6 fxg6

37. Nxg6!

This opens up the 'g' file with decisive effect.

37. ... Qxg6 38. Nf5 1-0

Attacking on Both sides in Closed Spanish

When White closes the center with d4-d5 in the Spanish Opening, his next goals are roughly as follows:

• advance f2-f4-f5 to gain space on the kingside
• Open up the ‘a’ file to have the option of invading on that file with the rook.
• build up piece pressure on the kingside

Here are a couple of examples of how to combine these ideas:

Dominguez Perez, Leinier - Hernandez Onna, Roman
Guillermo Garcia Memorial-B 08th   2000.06.03 , C98

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. d5 Nd8 14. a4 Rb8 15. axb5 axb5 16. b4 c4 17. Nf1 Ne8 18. Ng3 g6 19. Nh2 Ng7 20. Rf1 f6 21. f4 Nf7

22. f5 g5 23. h4 gxh4 24. Nh5 Nxh5 25. Qxh5 Bd8 26. Ng4 Kh8 27. Qxh4 Qe7 28. Be3 Rg8 29. Ra7 Bb7 30. Rfa1 Rg7 31. Kf1 Kg8

 White to move

Solution:

32. R1a5! Bxa5 33. Nxf6+ Kh8 34. bxa5 Ra8 35. Rxa8+ Bxa8 36. a6 Qd8 37. g4 Qa5 38. Nh5 Qa1+ 39. Kf2 1-0

---

Bucinskas, Valdas - Ould Ahmed, Samy
olm17 qual GP1 B4 email   2006.01.10 , C98

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. d5 Nd8 14. a4 Rb8 15. axb5 axb5 16. b4 c4 17. Nf1 Ne8 18. N3h2 f6 19. Ng3 g6 20. Rf1 Ng7 21. f4 Nf7 22. f5 Qb6+ 23. Kh1 gxf5 24. exf5 Bb7 25. Qg4 Kh8 26. Nf3 Rfe8 27. Nh4 Bd8 28. Be4 Qc7

 White to move

Solution:

29. Ng6+! Kg8

( 29. ... hxg6 30. Qh4+ Kg8 31. fxg6 +- )

30. Rf3 1-0

Learn the Spanish Opening from Anand's Classic game

Video Guide to the Spanish Opening – Repertoire for White

I have made quite a few videos about the Spanish Opening, and wrote an eBook “Spanish Opening - Strategy and Tactics” about it that will give you a brief introduction to the Spanish from the White perspective. To give an overall map/overview to the various variations and to show how my videos fit together, I created this guide with diagrams and links to my videos. Now you can quickly find the video for the variation that you are interested in!

Spanish Opening - Overview
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5

This move characterizes the Spanish Opening.

3. ... a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O

Black's first big decision is on move 5, he can choose between the classical lines, and the two sharp alternatives - the Moeller Variation, and the Open Variation.

5. ... Be7

( 5. ... Nxe4 This is the Open variation where Black accepts the challenge and takes the unprotected pawn. 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6

In the Open Variation Black also obtains active piece placement, but here he pays for it with pawn weaknesses. Regardless of whether the game opens up, or the pawn structure becomes fixed - Black will have some difficulties equalizing, as both sample games illustrate: 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 d4

( It is a common mistake to exchange the white bishop too soon, as the following game illustrates: 10. ... Nxb3?! 11. Nxb3 Be7 12. Nfd4! Nxd4 13. cxd4 O-O 14. Be3 Rc8 15. Rc1 c6 16. Nc5 Bxc5 17. Rxc5 a5 18. Qc2 Bd7 19. f4 f5 20. Rf3 Qe7 21. Bd2 a4 22. Bb4 and White exerted strong pressure in Jiganchine,R-Trotchanovich,P/ Keres 2007, 1-0 )

11. Bxe6 Nxe6 12. cxd4 Ncxd4 13. a4! Be7 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Ne4 Ne6 16. Be3 O-O 17. f4 and White won in Karpov,A-Korchnoi,V/Merano 1981 )

( 5. ... b5 6. Bb3 Bc5

 

This is the Moeller - Black develops the bishop to an active position, where it can become a target. The bishop will also be missing on the d8-h4 diagonal, so White's tries for advantage involve Bg5, as the sample game shows: 7. a4 Rb8 8. axb5 axb5 9. c3 d6 10. d4 Bb6 11. h3 O-O 12. Re1 Bb7 13. Na3 exd4 14. cxd4 Na5 15. Bc2 b4 16. Nb1 c5 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4 b3 19. Bxb3 g5 20. Nxg5 hxg5 21. Bxg5 and White had a strong attack in Hracek,Z-Shirov,A/Germany 1997, 1-0 )

6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5

( 9. ... Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 This is the Zaitsev variation where Black puts a lot of pressure on the 'e4' pawn; against this I recommend shutting down the center on move 12 with d4-d5. When Black undermines it by c7-c6 - White plays for occupying the d5 square, or tries to use the power of his bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal. 12. d5 Nb8 13. Nf1 Nbd7 14. N3h2 Nc5 (Allowing the white bishop to remain on b3 is rather dangerous: 14. ... c6 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Bg5 Qc7 17. Qf3 Qb7 18. Ng3 d5 19. Ng4 dxe4 20. Qf5 with attack in Kovacevic, A-Gligoric,S/Niksic 1997, 1-0 )

15. Bc2 c6 16. b4 Ncd7 17. dxc6 Bxc6 and White started to fight for the 'd5' square in Anand,V-Kasimdzhanov,R/Mainz 2007, 1-0 )

10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2

Black is at the crossroads.

12. ... Nc6

( 12. ... cxd4 is the main line, immediately initiating play along the 'c' file. 12...Bd7 is the most popular alternative. 13. cxd4 Bb7 14. d5 Rac8 15. Bd3 Nd7 16. Nf1 Nc5 17. Ng3 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 Qc2? 19. Qxc2 Rxc2 20. Nf5 Re8 21. b3 Bc8 22. Nxe7+ Rxe7 23. Be3 Nb7 24. Bb6 Re8 25. Rec1 Re2 26. Rc7 and White won due to his domination on the 'c' file in Aseev,K-Sturua,Z/Lvov 1985, 1-0)

( 12. ... Bd7 Temporarily maintains tension in the center. 13. Nf1 Rfe8

( 13. ... cxd4 14. cxd4 Rac8 15. Ne3 Nc6 16. d5 Nb4 17. Bb1 a5 18. a3 Na6 19. b4 g6 20. Bd2 axb4 21. axb4 Qb7 22. Bd3 Nc7 23. Nc2 Nh5 24. Be3 Ra8 25. Qd2 1-0 Tal,M-Hjartarson,J/ Reykjavik 1987, 1-0 )

14. Ne3 g6 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Nh2 Rad8 17. Qf3 Be6 18. Nhg4 Nxg4 19. hxg4 Qc6 20. g5 Nc4 21. Ng4 Bxg4 22. Qxg4 f6?! 23. gxf6 Bxf6 24. a4 +/- Fischer - Unzicker, 1959, 1-0 )

13. d5 Nd8 14. a4 Rb8

15. axb5

( 15. b4 is Geller's interpretation of this line: previously White would first exchange on b5, but that would give Black a better chance of fighting for the 'a' file. 15. ... c4 16. Nf1 Ne8 17. axb5 axb5 18. N3h2 +=

( 18. Ng3 g6 19. Nh2 Ng7 20. Rf1 Bd7?! 21. f4 Bh4 22. Qf3 f5 23. fxe5 dxe5 24. exf5 Bxg3 25. Qxg3 Nxf5 26. Qf2 Nb7 27. Ng4 h5 28. Ra6! hxg4 29. Rxg6+ Ng7 30. Rxg7+ and Black was mated in Nunn,J-Short,N/Brussels 1986, 1-0 )

18. ... f5? 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 21. Be3 Rf8 22. Nf3 +/- Geller,E-Smyslov,V/Palma de Mallorca, 1970, 1-0 )

15. ... axb5 16. b4 Nb7 17. Nf1 Bd7 18. Be3 Ra8 19. Qd2 Rfc8 20. Bd3 g6 21. Ng3 Bf8 22. Ra2 c4 23. Bb1 Qd8 24. Ba7 Ne8 25. Bc2 Nc7 26. Rea1 Qe7 27. Bb1 Be8 28. Ne2 Nd8 29. Nh2 Bg7 30. f4 f6 31. f5 g5 32. Bc2 Bf7 33. Ng3 Nb7 34. Bd1 h6 35. Bh5

with a dominating position for White in Karpov,A-Unzicker,W, Nice 1974

1-0

Book Review – Khalifman’s Opening For White Series

If you are are looking into buying a chess opening book these days, many books lack depth. This is clearly not the case with Alexander Khalifman’s “Opening for White according to Anand”! I have a copy of volume two – about the mainline Spanish Opening, and I must say the book provides the necessary combination of depth and detail. A few more good points on the book:

• Specific moves are in most cases presented in the context of strategic plans
• Most of the theory is up to date – at the time of the writing
• The book is a solid foundation for a full repertoire
• Transpositions are generally explained
• Final positions are given evaluations
• If necessary to illustrate the ideas of the middlegame – entire games are provided
• The author is a reliable authority on opening theory
• The entire mainline Spanish is covered – which must have been a ton of work for the author(s)

If you play the mainline Spanish as White (or even as Black), and have no coach to walk you through it, this book is a “must have” in your chess library!

My YouTube Chess Channel

A few days ago my YouTube channel hit a bit of a milestone – I got a 100th subscriber. Big Thank You to Everyone who subscribed!

This is a good time to make some observations about the blog/channel duo:

Effort:

The blog is more of an outlet for quick notes, thoughts, book reviews, and tactical ideas that caught my attention. On the other hand - making the 65 YouTube videos took a lot more of serious game analysis, some new hardware (microphone) and experimentation with recording software. I would go over the game a few times and try to understand its key points before I could talk for 10 minutes about it. So those videos probably took even more effort than the nearly 300 blog entries. The upsetting part is that at some point is that some of that effort was used while my microphone setup was far from ideal, so the sound quality of some earlier videos is very disappointing.

Feedback:

I also found that I received more comments on the videos, than on the blog entries – viewers who made it through the video probably got engaged in it to the point of actually feeling like making a comment. While the videos are harder to make, and involve wearing headphones to “consume” – the rewards are hopefully higher for both the maker and the viewer.

Learning:

I used the videos to structure my chess study, so the videos follow several themes, with playlists accordingly:

• Endgames
• Grandmaster games
• My games
• Sicilian Defence
• Spanish Opening

Sacrificing a Pawn for Having ‘No Bad Pieces’ – Marshall Gambit

My only tournament game against a grandmaster was played in 2004, during Canadian Closed Championship in Toronto. In the first round I got this position as Black against Kevin Spraggett, after the slightly unusual opening moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Na5 6. O-O Bb7 7. Nxe5 Nxb3 8.axb3 Nf6 9. Re1 Be7 10. d3 d5 11. exd5 Nxd5

White to move. Is Black’s compensation sufficient?
In my preparation, I had analysed forcing moves like 12. Qf3 and 12. Qh5. The grandmaster thought for a little bit, and played the simple 12. d3-d4. He won fairly easily after I made a judgement/tactical error at some point and my compensation went astray (I ended up down a pawn, with a bad bishop to boot). After the game he made a comment that made an impression on me; it was along the lines of “This gambit looks reasonable, Black has no bad pieces and it will be very hard for White to win. It can be a 100 moves game”. He also mentioned that similar gambits were appearing in other lines of the Spanish around the same time. I was, of course, thrilled not only to have played a game against a famous player, but also to be a given a free lecture afterwards.

  Kevin Spraggett, photo by Federació d'Escacs Valls d'Andorra

There was a lot of truth to the Grandmaster’s observations. Not surprisingly, one of the recently popular lines of the Marshall Gambit carries strong resemblance with my home grown gambit (it was really invented by my coach back in Russia who strongly believed in Black’s solid compensation in the form of two bishops and sound structure).

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxe5 Nd4 12. Nc3 Nxb3 13. axb3

Black to move. Two bishops and better pawn structure provide Black with compensation that grandmasters have been willing to bet on. Below is a sample game where Black’s initiative got out of hand. The two diagrams have only slight differences (the Marshall Gambit version is better for Black since he already castled and White committed to a relatively useless h2-h3 – maybe this tempo makes all the difference?). John Watson’s Mastering Chess Openings is full of such examples, where a healthy opening strategy appears in similar variations, benefiting a player with a rich opening repertoire.

Reading about Karpov – Kasparov duels – book review

Reading through Garry Kasparov’s record of his chess games , I get a bit of a better idea of why Kasparov and others claim that Karpov-Kasparov matches triggered the explosion of analysis and in depth study of various openings. Here is an example that struck me in particular: in game 16 of their 1986 match Kasparov got to the position on the diagram in his analysis and concluded that after 20… b4! the best chance for White is to play is 21. Rb3!

Kasparov – Karpov, 1986 match, analysis position from game 16

  White plays Ra3-b3! Rook and bishop are both attacked, but White moves the rook to another attacked square!

r3rbk1/1b1n1pp1/p2p1q1p/3P4/PppNP3/1R1B1N1P/1P3PP1/2BQR1K1 b - - 0 21

Amusingly, this whole line of the Zaitzev variation of the Spanish opening was then re-played 20 years later – in K.Lahno-E.L'Ami, Wijk aan Zee 2006, and probably in some other games. To me that seems to indicate that it takes 10-20 years for the chess world to catch up with Kasparov’s opening preparation from the pre-computer era.

Game 16 of the 1986 match is definitely one of the main highlights of Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part Three: Kasparov v Karpov 1986-1987

Replay through the entire line with brief notes from Kasparov

Pawn Structure in the Closed Spanish – Geller vs. Smyslov

Following up on my previous post, here is another example from the collection of Efim Geller games “Application of Chess Theory”

Geller – Smyslov, 1970
position after 22.Nf3

The 7th world Champion Vassily Smyslov “agreed” on this pawn structure (by playing f7-f5), despite its several long term flaws:
1) light squares are weak, and in particular - White’s knights can occupy e4 and f5 squares
2) d6 pawn is weak
3) White controls the ‘a’ file
5) the b4 and d5 pawns restrict Black’s knights, and especially - the d8 knight has no good future prospects

However, commenting on static features of a position is much easier than exploiting them to your advantage against a strong opponent. Watch this video to see how Geller converted his positional trumps into a full point:

While Geller’s game serves as an argument against playing an early f7-f5 in Closed Spanish, delaying it may lead to White himself playing f2-f4-f5. The final position of Karpov – Unzicker, 1974, illustrates that idea:
White just played Ng3-h5 and Black resigned!

A game Nunn-Short, 1986 illustrates how Black can try to implement f7-f5, without giving up the e4 squares:

Black just played f7-f5, but White’s pieces are well prepared for complications;
watch the video to see who comes out on top:

Seeing the Entire Board – Attack by John Nunn

An indicator of a strong chess player is his or her ability to see the whole board and combine play on both flanks. The game Nunn – Short, 1986 impressed me in particular – the future world championship contender Nigel Short was caught off guard and had to resign already on move 30. As a side note, if you would like to see more of sharp tactical play by John Nunn, I strongly recommend the collection of his games “Secrets of Grandmaster Chess” or its earlier edition, “Secrets of Grandmaster Play”. Every move in the book is made with a particular goal in mind, tactics and strategy always tied together! As an appetizer, try to solve this position:

Nunn – Short, 1986

White to move, how to respond to 27… h5 ?

For the solution, watch this video that goes over the entire game:

Chess - tactics serving strategy

Jiganchine – Jack Cheng, Keres Memorial 2008

Black to move. How to best deal with the attack against the b5 pawn?
In this position, typical for Archangel-Moller variations of the Spanish opening, my opponent took an "easy" way out and just pushed the pawn forward with 15 … b5-b4 That left him with a severely weakened pawn structure on the queenside, and soon White won a pawn, and later – the game:
16. Nc4 Na5 17. Nxb6 cxb6 18. Bxb7 Nxb7 19. Qb3 a5 20. Qd5 Re7 21. Qc6  +-

The weakness of light squares leads to the loss of the pawn on b6. To paraphrase what David Bronstein said – the weakness of the light squares, manifests itself in opponent coming on those light squares and attacking your pawns and pieces that are placed on dark squares.

Did Black have a better continuation? There was a tactical solution! Black just had to ignore the threat to b5, and protect the bishop with 15 … Ra8-b8! The point reveals itself after:  17. Nxb5 Nxd4!!

White to move, he no longer has any advantage.

This quite a computer trick; my opponent must have missed it and was forced to play the weakening b5-b4; this would have allowed him to equalize, since White does not have anything better than 18. Nbxd4 Bxd5 19. exd5 Rxe1+ 20. Qxe1 Bxd4 =

This is a great example to illustrate the idea that tactics should be used to help your strategy. In this case – Black’s strategy should have been to give up the b5 pawn but actively counter attack White’s center by putting pressure on e4 and d4 with all of Black’s pieces.

Chess Assistant feature - Search for current pawn structure and material

Chess Assistant and Chessbase are both very powerful products, and it feels that the majority of chess players in the recent years have almost completely switched to Chessbase. I also have long ago decided that the convenience of the user interface even in various versions of Chessbase Light is more important than anything else in a chess package because it allows me to focus better on the 3 primary functions that I care most about:

1. Game entry
2. Viewing games
3. Engine analysis (and adding engine’s line to my analysis)

Yes, inability to easily resize the board has just turned me off from my good old copy of Chess Assistant 6, but every once in a while I still load it up, and I must say there are a few things that the Russian-based software company nailed back 10 years ago. For example:

1. Position Tree (integrated into the database)
2. Search

What is so fancy about “Search” in Chess Assistant? It is just more powerful! It

1. Remembers your previous search criteria (up to 10 or so)
2. Allows you to search multiple databases at once
3. Stores search results into datasets, and they are still around when you re-start the application
4. Is fast (again, goes back to positional tree integrated with the database, not stored in a separate lonely .ctg file Chessbase-style)

And here is the kicker, a very neat feature that allows you to better understand and study typical middlegames: “Search for Current pawn structure and material”:

That brings up a scary looking but otherwise very functional window like this:

It is very convenient to choose a database to search in, or multiple databases (something that is a traditional pain in Chessbase):

Searching hugebase then give a set of useful games with Black pawns on a5 and b5, and all 4 minor pieces still on the board:

It then remembers the dataset for future sessions

 

Sometimes it just feels that software makers don’t want to look at each other’s products! So 10 years later, some features are still better in one package, and resizing the board window is still problematic in its competitor. Or is it just that some things don’t fit into your original design, leaving you permanently screwed?

Petite Combination in the Spanish opening

While studying opening theory, I came across what Capablanca called “Petite Combination”:

 White to move.
What's wrong with Black's last move Ra8-c8?
2rq1rk1/3nbppp/b2p4/pp1Pp3/1n2P3/1N3N1P/PP3PP1/R1BQRBK1 w - - 0 18

Solution: White plays 18.Nxa5! Qxa5 19. Bd2

the bishop established a pin that after a2-a3 will leave White with an extra pawn.

Looking at the Chigorin Variation of the Spanish Opening over the years, I noticed that the weakness of the dark squares on the queenside after Black's a6 and b5, highlighted by White placing his knight on b3 and bishop on d2, is a common theme. Here it is exploited in its purest form!

Opening disaster video

If you ever studied Riga variation of the Open variation of the Spanish opening (quite a mouthful!), you’d have known this position and know the right move immediately. My brain, however malfunctioned, and I played the wrong king move.

White to move. Black just played Bxh2+, and White has to respond correctly to fight for the advantage.

Watch the video if you want to see the gory details:

Unexpected queen sacrifice

I overlooked the following neat idea while playing a blitz game today:

White to move
In this typical Spanish structure, I erred with 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Qf7 which brought me nothing after Qd8. Disappointed, I lost the game. Instead I had the brilliant queen sac:
27. Qf7!!

  White threatens Qg8 with mate, and otherwise Black has to give up two rooks for the queen:
27… Rxf7 28. Nxf7+ Kg8 29. Nh6+ (the point) Kf8 30. Rxa8+ Ne8 31. Rea1 White is much better:
Bishop will be transferred to g4, White controls the only open file and Black’s kingside pawn structure is damaged. It won’t be easy…