Dec '99 Update
Grünfeld-with Guest GM Nigel DaviesThe main theoretical battleground in the Gruenfeld is still 5.Qb3 with the Hungarian System (7…a6) vying with 7…Na6 for top honours. The European Team Championship in Batumi witnessed a mysterious game, Georgadze - Bagirov, in which the latter went straight into a line which had supposedly been discredited by Kasparov himself in his game against Svidler in Wijk aan Zee last year. Georgadze blinked first with 15.Bxd4 which gave Black excellent play. What was he worried about? Presumably some Latvian preparation. Georgadze subsequently switched to the quiet 8.Be2 against Ivan Sokolov, no doubt influenced by the pressure White had in Piket - Sokolov, see DD227. Of course all of this is a very strong indication that Kasparov - Svidler was far from being the last word on this line on 8.e5 and 11…Nb6
|
The quiet 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2 is still causing Black some headaches though Ftacnik tried to cure these against Mchedlishvili (see DD229) with a move of his fellow Czech Gruenfeld specialist, Vlastimil Jansa. 12…Qd6 is certainly doing better than the other Black tries in this position and proved successful on this occasion too; but there are several unanswered questions. Ftacnik's 14…Qf6 looks odd and may not withstand an acid test such as 15.f4!?. Black can't afford to sleep easy in this line.
White's alternative eighth move, 8.Be2, can transpose into the Ftacnik game after 8…Nc6 though 8…e5 has been thought of as a simpler route to equality. In the notes to his game against Korchnoi from Dos Hermanas last year, Svidler just gave the position after 9.dxe5 Bxe5 10.Nf3 Bg7 as equal but this may be too simplistic an assessment. White's e4 pawn gives him more central space, certainly a factor which proved significant in Cebalo - Mikhalevsky. Doubtless Black can improve on Mikhalevsky's venturesome play in this game but White could have an edge in any case.
Dutch (JT)
Which brings us to the Dutch Defence proper, and first of all to the "improper" Dutches.
Offbeat Lines
The system seen in Clarke,T - McCarthy,J, Kilkenny Masters and Herzog,A - Moser,G, ch-Austrian team looks to be reasonably popular with Leningrad types who can't be bothered to take white's build-up with Bg5 and Nc3 seriously. My first impression of this line was that Black was being a bit frivolous here, but there is quite a bit of energy in Moser's position, though he eventually frittered it away. The Clarke-McCarthy game is included more for the teeth-splintering finish, though black's position from the opening is probably quite OK here too.
I have re-examined the opening ideas in the game Polgar-Beliavsky as a special request. The original treatment did gloss over some of Black's possibilities, and I hope that it now gives a deeper and clearer picture of what was going on in this key game.
Finally, Quatrini-Palermo takes a look at Black's plan of returning the Staunton Gambit pawn and then single-mindedly trying to exploit his dark-squared bishop, a very promising sub-variation.
Leningrad
The Leningrad got some rough handling. Genov-Lutz shows a rather interesting non-theoretical idea for white, but I think that black simply reacted badly. Lutz did better against a more traditional, though limp, handling of the variation against Plachetka, see DD222. I have not spent much energy on this game, but included it as a thematic example of this kind of queenless Leningrad middlegame, which offer Black nice long-range chances.
Beliavsky-Agrest is interesting for several reasons. Both are rather stubborn players who are happy to repeat their previous games, and "Big Al" finally unveils a finesse rather late in the game which puts Black under unpleasant, nagging pressure for the rest of his existence.
Another game in a similar vein is Ricardi -Campora, which also features the ram-the-b-pawn-into-Black's-teeth philosophy, and I have to admit I find this a very sensible approach, and can recommend it, at least for the time being. This month's games make the Leningrad look a little ropy against this idea.
DD223 is another appearance by the ugly variation …Nc6-e5 in the Leningrad, for those who still might be interested in this sideline. White plays the most direct, sharpest line and wins very easily when black's attack stalls. The references to this game are more interesting- they show that …g4 was rather hasty, and an old game of Lalic's is very interesting, where white invests a piece to swing the kingside initiative his way.
Of the rest, DD219 shows another White player getting done over with the none too dangerous doouble-fianchetto variation. DD225 is of no particular theoretical interest but shows a beautifully thematic combination by White which takes his opponent completely unawares.
Classical
When I said that there was something for everyone, I suppose I was exaggerating a bit. I could find no Stonewalls of note this time, but instead there are two examples of the Classical Dutch, which is a rather rare customer.
The game Parker-Pert shows some indescribably ugly play by white from a position that must have been good for him. His refusal to ever take on a5 is completely mystifying, and White virtually kicked in his own front door and waved the barbarians in. The game shows that the rarer Qxd2 is probably White's best choice in the position, and if there is a reason for the course of the game that escapes me, it does show that black can eventually amass some force on the kingside.
DD221 shows Van Wely getting done in one of the vintage lines of the Classical Dutch. Black was defending grimly when White went on a typically bold and risky adventure. It should have worked, but as this is yet another odd Euroteam game, I would prefer just to note that these lines don't seem to promise black full equality, but do have a bit of sting as a surprise weapon.