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Chess Evolution
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A Dangerous Side Line in the Ruy Lopez By Borki Predojevic F. Caruana (2712) – D. Jakovenko (2716) The early 6.d3 is an interesting way to start a fight in the Ruy Lopez. In the following game Black chose the line with 8...Bd7, which is a very solid answer. White decided to play a typical plan with the manoeuvre Nb1-d2-f1-e3 to fight for the d5-square. Black's novelty was 16...b4N but I don't like it. The simple 16...Be6 is the main line and should be okay for Black. Caruana found a very nice line for White and after 22.Bc4! he had the advantage. In mutual time-trouble both players made inaccuracies, but the final mistake was 44...Rb3?. Just two moves later, Black resigned. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7
6.d3!? This is a very dangerous side line in the Ruy Lopez. All the main analysts of Chess Evolution who play 1.e4, have successfully play this line with the white pieces. 6...b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bd7 After 8...Bg4 9.c3 0–0 10.h3 Bd7 11.Nbd2 Na5 12.Bc2 c5 13.Re1 Re8 14.Nf1 White would have a tempo more and the possibility of playing Nh2 faster than in the game, so this line should be good for White. 8...b4 is another possibility for Black which was recently played by Aronian.
9.c3 The main alternative is: 9.Bd2 This was a problem for Black a few years ago, but then a strong reply was found: 9...b4!
Still, the position is complicated and here we will see some fresh examples: 10.a5 In my opinion, this move is obligatory. If White tries to omit a4-a5 by playing 10.c3 0–0 11.Re1 Rb8 12.Bc4 Qc8, after 13.d4 Black has a strong answer: 13...Na5! 14.Bf1 c5! 15.cxb4 (15.dxe5 dxe5 16.Nxe5 Be6 compensation) 15...cxb4 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bh4 exd4 18.Nbd2 g5 19.e5 gxh4 20.exf6 Bxf6 21.Ne4 Bg7 22.Nxh4 Qd8-/+ Navara – Aronian, Khanty-Mansiysk (ol) 2010. 10...0–0 11.c3 Rb8 12.h3 12.Bc4 Qc8 13.Re1 Be6 14.Qa4 Bxc4 15.dxc4 Qb7= Saltaev – Michalczak, Dortmund 2011. 12...Qc8 13.Re1 In the following game White gained an advantage, but Black could have played better: 13...bxc3 14.bxc3 Be6 15.Bxe6 Qxe6 16.Qa4 d5 17.exd5
17...Qxd5 17...Nxd5 unclear 18.c4 Qd6 19.Nc3 Nb4 19...Rfe8!? counterplay 20.c5 Qxc5 21.Rxe5 Qd6 22.Rae1 Bd8 23.d4 Nd3 24.R1e3 Rb4 25.Qa1! Nxe5 26.dxe5 Qc6 27.exf6 Bxf6 28.Qe1+/- Naiditsch – Sanikidze, France 2011. 9...0–0
10.Nbd2 In the recent European Club Cup White tried an idea with 10.Ba2, but after 10...h6 11.h3 Re8 12.Re1 Bf8 13.Nbd2 Ne7 14.Nf1 Ng6 15.N3h2 Be6! 16.Bxe6 Rxe6 17.Ng4 d5 18.Nxf6+ Rxf6 19.exd5= Black was okay and a draw was agreed in Svidler – Adams, ECC 2011. 10...Na5 11.Bc2 c5 12.Re1 Re8 On 12...Qc7 White can continue with the normal 13.Nf1 initiative with the same plan as in the game. Usually Black plays ...Qc7 to support the e5-pawn if it is under attack, but this move would not make so much sense now. 13.Nf1 h6 13...Bf8 would give White the chance for 14.Bg5+/= which is a typical idea in the Ruy Lopez with d2-d3: the main idea is to fight for the d5-square. 14.Ne3 Bf8
15.h3 Less strong is 15.Bd2. After 15...Qb6 (15...Nc6 16.axb5 axb5 17.Rxa8 Qxa8 18.Nh4 Qd8 19.Qf3 Be6 20.Nd5 Nh7 21.Nf5 Ne7 22.Ra1 Nxd5 23.exd5 Bxf5 24.Qxf5+/= Arakhamia-Grant – Qin Kanying, New Delhi 2000) 16.b4 cxb4 17.cxb4 Nc6 18.Bb3= a draw was agreed in Nunn – Lein, Hastings 1979. White can play Bd2 at any point if required, and the move played in the game is more to the point; White prepares the typical manoeuvre Nf3-h2-g4. 15...Nc6 Black can immediately play 15...g6!? which is an important alternative. After the normal 16.Nh2 Be6 17.axb5 axb5 18.Nhg4 h5 19.Nxf6+ Qxf6 20.Bd2 Nc6 21.Rxa8 Rxa8= the position was equal in P. Jaracz – Ibragimov, Biel 1997. 15...Bc6?! is certainly dubious. After 16.b4 Nb7 17.Bb3 Rc8 18.Bd2 g6 19.axb5 axb5 20.Ra6+/- White was clearly better in Xu Tong – Shen Yang, Beijing 2008. 16.Nh2
16...b4N This is a novelty, but I prefer the old move as 16...b4 is premature. It would be very interesting to see what Caruana had prepared in the main line: 16...Be6
Now White has two main options: A) 17.Nhg4 and B) 17.Qf3. A) 17.Nhg4 Nxg4 On 17...Nd7 White can play: 18.Nd5!?N (18.axb5 axb5 19.Rxa8 Qxa8 20.Nd5 Qb7 [20...Bxd5? 21.exd5 Ne7 22.Nxh6+ gxh6 23.Qg4+ Ng6 24.Qxd7+– Dutreeuw – P. Nikolic, Belgium 2009] 21.Nge3 Ra8 counterplay) With the idea: 18...Nb6 19.Bxh6! Nxd5 (19...gxh6 20.Ngf6+ Kh8 21.Nxe8 Nxd5 22.exd5 Bxd5 23.axb5+–) 20.exd5 Bxd5 21.d4! initiative With the better prospects for White.) 18.hxg4
18...Be7! It is also very hard to claim any advantage after 18...b4. We shall see more of this position below in the note to Black's 18th move of the game. 19.Nd5 b4 20.a5 bxc3 21.bxc3 Nxa5 22.Ba4 Rf8 23.c4 Bg5 24.Bd2 Bxd2 25.Qxd2 Rc8 26.Reb1 Nc6 27.Bxc6 Rxc6 28.Rb7= Zhao Jun – Peng Xiaomin, HeiBei 2001. B) 17.Qf3 This looks more interesting than the 17.Nhg4 line above.
Now there are four moves to consider: B1) 17...Kh7, B2) 17...Qa5, B3) 17...b4 and B4) 17...Ne7. B1) 17...Kh7 is not a natural move. After 18.Nd5 Rc8 19.Nxf6+ Qxf6 20.Qxf6 gxf6 21.Ng4 Bg7 22.axb5 axb5 23.Ra6 f5 24.exf5 Bxf5 25.Ne3 Bg6 26.Rb6 Nd4 27.Bd1 Rc6 28.Rb7 Ne6 29.Bf3 Rcc8 30.Be4+/= White was dominating in Ryskin – Aleksandrov, Minsk 1987. B2) The computer moves 17...Qa5 18.Re2 b4 should lead to a slightly worse position for Black after 19.Bd2+/=. The benefits of 17...Qa5 compared to 17...b4 are invisible. B3) 17...b4
White can now play the typical move: 18.Nd5!?N 18.g4?! looks suspicious: 18...d5 19.Nf5 And now in Wang – Kashlinskaya, Moscow 2010, Black missed a strong idea: 19...c4! 20.dxc4 dxe4 21.Bxe4 Nxe4 22.Rxe4 bxc3 23.Qxc3 (23.bxc3 Qc7-/+) 23...Qd1+ 24.Re1 Qd7 initiative 18.Nhg4 Nxg4 19.hxg4 Be7= Of course Black plans ...Bg5. 18...Bxd5 19.exd5 Ne7
20.Bxh6 The computer suggests 20.c4!? which is also very interesting. White has two main threats: Bxh6 and a4-a5 with the idea Ba4. The best answer is 20...Nd7! and after 21.a5 g6 22.Ba4 Nf5 counterplay Black's position is acceptable. 20...bxc3 21.bxc3 Rb8 21...gxh6 22.Qxf6 Nxd5 23.Qf3 Nf4 24.d4 cxd4 25.cxd4 initiative must be worse for Black. 22.Bg5 Nexd5 23.Ng4 Be7 23...Rb2 24.Bb1 initiative 24.Nxf6+ Bxf6 25.Qxd5 Bxg5 26.Bb3 Re7 27.Re2 Reb7 28.Bc4+/= B4) 17...Ne7 In my opinion this is Black's most logical answer.
In reply the natural move is: 18.Nhg4N 18.h4 has been tested: 18...Qd7 19.Bd2 d5 20.exd5 Nexd5 21.Nef1 Bd6 22.axb5 axb5 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.c4 bxc4 25.dxc4 Nb6 26.b3 unclear Black was okay in Ye Jiangchuan – L.B. Hansen, Moscow (ol) 1994. 18.Bd2 Qd7 19.Ra3!? unclear looks interesting. 18...Nxg4 18...Nd7 19.Nf5 Ng6 20.Bd2+/= with possible ideas of g3 and h4. 19.hxg4 Qd7 20.Qg3 Ng6 unclear The position is unclear. My conclusion is that 16...Be6 at least gives Black an easier position to play than in the main game. 17.Nhg4 Nxg4 18.hxg4
18...Be7 Jakovenko is planning ...Bg5. More natural was: 18...Be6 This transposes to a sub-line of line A of the 16...Be6 variation.
We can study this position more: 19.Bb3 19.Qf3 Rb8 20.Bd2 Be7 The bishop comes to g5 with good counterplay for Black. For example: 21.g3 Bg5 22.Qe2 bxc3 23.bxc3 Na5 24.Reb1 Bb3 25.Qd1 Bxe3 26.Bxe3 Bxc2 27.Qxc2 Qd7 28.Rxb8 Rxb8 29.Rb1 Rxb1+ 30.Qxb1 Qb7 31.Qxb7 Nxb7= The endgame was equal in N. Kosintseva – Shen Yang, Nalchik 2008. 19...Na5 19...bxc3 20.bxc3 Na5 21.Bd5 Rb8 22.Bd2 Qd7 23.Qc2 Be7 24.Rab1 g6 25.c4 Qc7 26.g3 Nc6 27.Bxc6 Qxc6 28.Kg2 Qd7 29.f3 Bg5 counterplay Emms – L.B. Hansen, Copenhagen 1995. Another alternative for Black is 19...Rb8 20.Bd5 Qd7, when White has the interesting idea 21.Bxc6!? Qxc6 22.c4 unclear and next Nf5. The final position should not be better for White, but in practice Black will have more problems finding a good plan.
20.Bxe6!N fxe6 21.cxb4 cxb4 22.Nc4 Nc6 22...Nxc4 23.dxc4+/= 23.a5 Rb8 And now the best chance of fighting for an advantage is: 24.g5! 24.Be3 Rb5 25.Qa4 d5 26.Rec1 Bc5 27.Bxc5 dxc4 28.Rxc4 Rxa5 29.Qd1 Rxa1 30.Qxa1 Qxd3 31.Qxa6=
Now there is a forced line: 24...d5! 24...hxg5 25.Qg4 Nd4 26.Bxg5 Qc7 27.Rad1 Nb3 28.Re3 with attack 25.exd5 exd5 26.Nb6 Nxa5 27.Rxa5 Rxb6 28.gxh6 Rxh6 29.Bxh6 Qxa5 30.Bf4 Qb6 31.Bxe5+/= initiative White retains the better chances since he is dominating the centre, while Black has problems with his king. 19.Bb3 Be6 20.Bd5 Rc8 If 20...Bxd5 then White can play directly: 21.exd5! Na5 22.cxb4 cxb4 23.Nf5+/= initiative With very good chances of building a serious advantage. Possible plans include attacking the b4-pawn with Bd2 or breaking in the centre with d3-d4. 21.Nf5 Bg5
22.Bc4!+/= A very deep idea by Caruana. He doesn't want to exchange bishops on e6 or g5. Black is more or less obliged to take on c4, but then White has pressure on d6. Instead after 22.Bxg5 hxg5 counterplay Black could use the h-file for his heavy pieces. 22...Bxc4 23.dxc4 Re6 24.Bxg5 Qxg5 25.Re3! A useful move; by putting the rook on the third rank White prepares to increase the pressure with Rd3 or possibly create an attack with Rh3. 25...Rd8 26.Rd3 Kh7?! An imprecise move. 26...Rg6 was stronger, but of course Black is still struggling. White replies 27.Qd2! and the endgame after 27...Qxd2 28.Rxd2 bxc3 29.bxc3 Rxg4 (29...Na5 30.Ne7++/-) 30.Rxd6 Rxd6 31.Nxd6 Na5 32.Rb1 initiative is better for White.
27.Rh3?! Too positional. I do not understand why Caruana didn't take pawn with 27.Nxd6!. After 27...Rf6 28.f3 h5 29.gxh5 Qxh5 30.Nf5+/- White is clearly on top. 27...Rb8 28.Qe2 Rg6 29.Ne3 Ne7 30.Rd1+/= Even without taking the d6-pawn, White is still better. Black has to be very careful and patient in order to hold this position. 30...a5 31.Rh5 Qf6 32.Nf5! bxc3 33.bxc3 Rb6 34.g3 Kg8 34...Rg5 35.Rh1 initiative. 35.Kg2 Suddenly, Black has problems with his pieces on the kingside. His g6-rook is out of play, while White's rook on h5 can always go back to h1 and prepare to attack on the queenside. Positionally, this is an unpleasant situation for Black. 35...Qe6 Again 35...Rg5 is met by 36.Rhh1 initiative and Black's problems are similar to the game.
36.Rdh1? Better was 36.Rhh1! and then Rb1 will gain a big advantage. For example, 36...Qd7 37.Rb1 Rxb1 38.Rxb1 Kh7 39.Rb5 Nc6 40.f3+/- looks very nice for White. 36...Rb3 Now Black could try 36...Qd7 with the idea of bringing the g6-rook back into the game. Breaking with 37.g5? does not work, as Black has 37...Nxf5 38.exf5 Rxg5 39.Rxg5 hxg5 40.Qh5 Qc6+!-/+. 37.Qf3 Rg5 38.R5h2 38.Rxg5 hxg5 39.Qd3 Nxf5 40.gxf5 Qe7 41.Rb1 Rxb1 42.Qxb1 Kh7 43.Qb6 is not dangerous for Black. He can play 43...g4! when White cannot improve his position since 44.Qxa5 is met by 44...Qb7!=.
38...Nxf5?! This was certainly not forced and was not Black's best choice. After 38...Rb2 counterplay it would be very hard to improve White's position. 39.exf5 e4 39...Qc8 40.Rd1 Qb8 41.Rhh1 initiative would give White decent chances since the rook on g5 is still out of the game. 40.Qf4 Qe7 41.Re1 Rxc3 41...Kh7 42.Rxe4 Qb7 43.Kh3 Rxc3 44.Re3 Rc2 counterplay was another option for Black. 42.Rxe4 Qb7 43.Kh3 f6 44.Re3
44...Rb3?? The final mistake. After Black had survived all the unpleasant pressure, he made a huge blunder. The only move was 44...h5! when after 45.f3 Rxe3 46.Qxe3 hxg4+ 47.fxg4 g6! White cannot improve his position. After 48.Qe6+ Kg7 49.Rb2 Qxb2 50.Qe7+= the game would end in a draw. 45.Rxb3 Qxb3 46.Qe4! 1–0 Black resigned since he cannot avoid f2-f4. For example: 46...h5 47.Qe8+ Kh7 48.f4+–. A PDF file of this month's Chess Evolution column, along with all previous columns, is available in the ChessCafe.com Archives. Comment on this month's column via our Contact Page! Pertinent responses will be posted below daily. |
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