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This update is about recent developments in the Various Slav Systems. As can be seen from the results, White was recently able to keep Black under pressure - a crushing victory from Etienne Bacrot in the Marshall Gambit, convincing play by Vlastimil Babula in the Main line of the Slav Defence, a new idea by Vladimir Akopian in the Vienna which may give Black real problems, an excellent attack by Alexei Dreev in the Latvian Bayonet...

In the April update I'll answer some subscriber questions as well as trying to find some fruitful ideas from Black's side - in most cases it depends on a player's strength and some recent games played by Kasparov in Linares will certainly find their way to the next issue...


Download PGN of March '05 1 d4 d5 games


Chigorin Defence [D07]

Van Wely - Brynell: Loek Van Wely tried the most principled attempt to refute the Chigorin Defence and won quickly but it remains unclear how he would have obtained anything if Stellan Brynell had chosen the right way at a critical moment. It seems that White should pay more attention to the alternative on move 11 or maybe Black is not doing as badly as is supposed in this line after all?!



Chebanenko System [D10 & D15]

Georgiev - Erenburg: Kiril Georgiev decided that Alexei Dreev's favourite approach to give Black problems by playing c4-c5 and closing the Q-side is worth trying:

His opponent improved upon the game Dreev - Korotylev/RUS-ch Superfinal Moscow 2004 and achieved acceptable play. However, Black still faced some problems to find a good plan since his pieces were restricted by White's pawn chain c5-d4 and it seems that he failed to solve this task. By the way, Dreev himself already played two blitz games in this particular line and got the better chances so the discussion will certainly be continued.

Aronian - Bu Xiangzhi: A rather surprising development of Dreev's approach. Black has recently found the way to prevent the opening of the a-file by playing ...a6-a5 but Levon Aronian tried to prove it weakens the pawn on b5 and simply sacrificed his knight for two pawns! At the Aeroflot Open he scored 1,5 points in two games but such play is not for the faint-hearted - Black is probably very happy with his extra piece...



Main line Slav [D16-D19]

Sasikiran - Cramling: You may remember Alexander Morozevich tried to revive the rare approach 7...Nd5 in some games:

However, it still seems to be better for White, who can get a superior position in the center, after which Black's attempts to get real counter chances are rather limited.

Babula - Haba: One of the critical positions of the whole Slav Defence has been tested here. Black is trying to use his better development while White is counting on his bishops but it usually takes a lot of effort to make them really powerful since Black initially gains a lead in development. In this game Vlastimil Babula successfully employed a straightforward approach but Black can still find many playable options.



Marshall Gambit [D31]

Bacrot - Filippov: Surprisingly enough, Etienne Bacrot gained a decisive advantage here after only 13 moves. His opponent has probably mixed lines but I think we should pay more attention to White's choice in the opening - instead of the recently popular 9. Ba5 Bacrot played 9. Bd6:

- he has certainly prepared something in the main line, which is supposed to be better for White but drawish.



Vienna Variation [D39]

Akopian - Izoria: The line 10...Bd7 seems to be drawish at the moment:

Nevertheless, Vladimir Akopian has found a way which may promise a real advantage for White - he simply exchanged on d7 and then moved his queen to h6. Black has to think about precise defence in this line.



Moscow Gambit [D43]

Van Wely - Kobalia: In this important battle Black improved upon the game Avrukh - I.Novikov/ Calvia (ol) 2004 and it seems that despite all the dangers he is okay in this particular line. Loek Van Wely played too riskily and Mikhail Kobalia eventually got real winning chances but in time trouble preferred to force a beautiful draw.



Anti-Meran [D45]

Aronian - Gormally: The idea which White introduced in the game Bluvshtein - I.Novikov/Montreal 2004, would still probably give him a slight edge:

In this game Black's defence did not look precise - he's got two pawn weaknesses but White's inaccuracy allowed him to escape comfortably.

Dreev - Dominguez: Here Alexei Dreev crushes Lenier Dominguez in the Latvian Bayonet by giving up both his g- and f-pawns but it seems that Black's defence could have been improved. More analysis and practical tests are required for more precise conclusions but one thing is clear - Black's defence should be very well thought-out since the first mistake can easily become the last one.



Till next time!

Ruslan

 

If you have any questions, then please post a message at the 1 d4 d5 Forum, or subscribers can email me at ruslan@chesspublishing.com.