Maverick Daring Defences #4 2002 - GM Jonathan Tisdall
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An interesting collection for this instalment of DD. This motley assortment seems to follow some obscure seasonal influences that I don't quite understand. At any rate, the result is a concentration of games in variations that have been somewhat neglected lately, while perennial favourites were correspondingly less popular. |
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All this month's new games are easily downloaded in PGN format using ChessPub.exe, but to download the July '02 games directly in PGN form, click here: 
Another common theme for this batch is brutal finishes. Intriguing ideas abound, some of them doubtless the proverbial big novelty - but hard scientific evidence is lacking due to the often horrible mess made by one of the players under pressure. Still, this is an openings site, so we can't complain - there is plenty to mull over and work with.
I couldn't help noticing that there were a lot of games from the risky sounding event, the Open Condom in France. It wouldn't surprise me if that had some bearing on a higher percentage of Daring openings, even if only sub-consciously.
The Budapest and Fajarowicz [A51-52]:
Palo - Mohr must be the theoretical highlight of the month, as well as an opportunity for Bogdan Lalic to give himself several congratulatory thumps on the back. White adopts a suggestion from Bogdan's book that has been begging to be played, and is rewarded with a ripping win over Budapest connoisseur Mohr.
The other Budapests have less theoretical impact, but are interesting examples of obscure lines. Shulman - Getz is unnecessarily horrific for Black, but I think White's handling of the position argues against Black's recent fashion of meeting this line with 5...Ng6:
                    
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Roeder - Vospernik is the lone Fajarowicz and really just illustrates how not to play this particular subvariation for Black, but I included it since Black seems to play this way most often!
The Benko [A57-59]:
A flurry of activity in what I still consider to be one of the key theoretical lines in the g3 accepted. Black scored tremendously for a change, and all of the games are well worth studying for both sides. The old Topalov plan of ...Ra7 + Qa8 got a real workout, with Norway's latest GM, young Leif Johannessen being punished inventively (twice) for a lack of patience. I can't help feeling that White is still doing fine in this particular position, but these games, plus Alexandrova - Schuurman, illustrate both subtle move-order considerations and tricky Black tactics.
Wunnink - Wiersma features a new idea in a heavily theoretical line in this system, with Black aiming for a kind of Leningrad(!) set-up. This is extremely hard to assess without some comparative study of the relevant lines in the Dutch - Black seems to have a very active version, but is his kingside pressure enough to outweigh White's potentially rampant a-pawn? A very sharp idea, and one which unfortunately did not receive much of a practical test here.
Radjabov - Halkias left normal theory very quickly. I include it because it is both a high-powered duel and odd and original in the early stages.
The Blumenfeld [E10]:
After a long holiday this gambit was back on the agenda. All of the games were interesting but two of the trio are probably especially weighty. Bukal jr - Sciortino featured a new and extremely patient plan for White in one of the main lines of the Blumenfeld Declined - in fact the game turns into a gambit for White, and one where Black needs to have a deep think about how he should meet it.
De Saegher - van Eijk was another walk on the shady side of the gambit declined. Black chose a very obscure line and quickly achieved an excellent position. There is not a lot of history on this sideline, but even the worst White has been able to do might not be so frightening - an interesting spot to do some further research.
The Albin [D08-09]:
Plenty of interesting games here as well. I found Farago - Chetverik to be fascinating - Black played the gambit with great restraint and argued that full control of d4 always spelled compensation. The game was eventful and a thought-provoking illustration of just how long Black's rather abstract compensation can linger.
The other game worth pointing out is Inkiov - Szitas. A very pleasing example of originality rewarded, I don't think the game will set fashion, but its ideas are worth watching.
English [A40 &A50] and Owen's Defence (1...b6) [B00]:
This tends to be the staple, meaty section of DD, but there was a shortage of new or attention-grabbing ideas here. Zhu Chen - Short was noteworthy, with Black equalizing very painlessly in a very rare line.
1...Nc6 [B00]
Not a particularly inspiring instalment for devotees of the Nc6 systems - not a lot of activity here, and most of it was unconvincing. FIDE world champion Ponomariov was held to a draw in one of the riskiest lines, but this was both a quick play game and one which Ponomariov did not appear to need to win. It did feature an improvement by Black, but not one which can convince me to recommend this line for slower time controls.
Mr. Mestrovic always has something to contribute to ...Nc6 theory, and he is involved in the most pertinent game this time. His opponent Bilobrk is the one who handles the position originally, and seems to demonstrate another way for White to pursue a lasting advantage.
1...a6 [B00]
There were actually quite a few examples of this in my raw files for this instalment, but none of the games made the cut - either they transposed into positions where a6 was normal and something else, or they involved daring and originality well above and beyond the call of duty.
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