openings 255 | November 20n 2013

what’s hot and what’s not?

XIIIIIIIIY
Carlsen takes 9rsnlwqkvlntr0
9zpp+-+pzpp0

the lead
9-+p+p+-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+PzP-+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzP-+PzPPzP0
IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris
9tR-vLQmKLsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy
After four rounds a very tense match was developing Frequency
between Anand and Carlsen, but in the second part of
the match Carlsen took a comfortable lead with two
resounding endgame victories. He currently leads by 5-3.
Azerbaijan won the European Team Championship.

what'shot?
Score
Kasparov put it as follows on Twitter: "A strange match but oddly
balanced. Carlsen plays without openings and Anand without endgames!
Statistically, that's in Magnus's favour." In chess it's the last mistake that
counts and it is Anand who gets tired towards the end of the games.
Carlsen is 20 years younger and has more energy. Additionally, Carlsen
is playing according to self-imposed Sofia rules, which may put
psychological pressure on Anand, since the fight may seem endless at
times.

In game 5, our Game of the Week, Carlsen impressively scored the first
win. He switched from his modest 1.¤f3 to a mainstream 1.d4 (through
a 1.c4 move order). Anand played more passively than he needed to,
by retreating the bishop to c7, giving Carlsen something to play for. Just
before the first time control the defending champion started to slip and
lost the endgame. Things got dramatically worse for Anand when he lost
game 6 as well. An Anti-Berlin with 4.d3 didn't give the desired edge and,
slowly but surely, the initiative passed on to Black (see below). Game 7
and 8 were uneventful draws.

At the European Team Championship the Berlin Defence also did well for Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only
Black – in the PGN file we've made a collection of these games. Aronian's
games with Black were also of interest. Below we have a look at his
encounters with Grischuk and Bacrot.

Colour hasn't mattered much in this match so far and playing White doesn't seem to be a particular advantage. Just like Kasparov back
in 2000, Anand had absolutely nothing to offer against the Berlin Defence. Did this opening come as a surprise? Carlsen used the white
pieces simply to get into the game (with 1.¤f3 twice and 1.c4 once) and turned to 1.e4 to keep things
simple once he had a comfortable lead (just like Anand in the final game against Kramnik back in 2008). what’snot?
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 openings what’s hot and what’s not? 255 | November 20n 2013

Carlsen strikes first

The following game is of significant historical importance as it saw Carlsen take the lead in
the World Championship. As he is famous for, he decided the battle in the endgame. After
eight of the twelve games have finished, things are starting to look grim for Anand.
gameoftheweek Carlsen - Anand

Carlsen,M (2870) - Anand,V (2775) 13.fxe3 ¥c7?! cxd3 he realised that White would suddenly
World Ch (Chennai, game 5), 12.11.2013 It's not clear why Anand voluntarily went find himself in a losing position.
D31, Triangle Slav into the endgame. Kasparov thought that 42...¢d6 43.¦h5 ¦d1 44.e5+ ¢d5 45.¥h7
13...¤xd4 14.exd4 0–0 would have been a XIIIIIIIIY
1.c4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 c6 more pragmatic approach against Carlsen. 9-+-+-+-+0
XIIIIIIIIY 14.¤xc6 bxc6 15.£xd8+ ¥xd8 16.¥e2 ¢e7 9+-+-+-+L0
9rsnlwqkvlntr0 A more active alternative is 16...¥b6!?. 9-+-+-+-+0
9zpp+-+pzpp0 17.¥f3 ¥d7 18.¤e4 ¥b6
9+-zpkzP-+R0
9-+p+p+-+0 If 18...f5 19.¤d6 ¥b6 20.e4 White increases
the pressure in the centre.
9p+-+-+-zp0
9+-+p+-+-0 9zPlmK-+-+-0
19.c5 f5 20.cxb6 fxe4 21.b7 ¦ab8 22.¥xe4
9-+PzP-+-+0 ¦xb7 23.¦hf1 9-+-+-+PzP0
9+-sN-+-+-0 XIIIIIIIIY 9+-+r+-+-0
9PzP-+PzPPzP0 9-+-+-+-tr0 xiiiiiiiiy
9tR-vLQmKLsNR0 9zpr+lmk-zpp0 45...¦c1+?
xiiiiiiiiy 9-+p+p+-+0 Anand has misjudged the ¦ ending in the belief
By opting for the Triangle Variation Anand that he ought to have been able to generate
9+-+-+-+-0
shows that he isn't afraid of a sharp theoretical more counterplay. A draw could have been
battle against Carlsen. The Norwegian, true to
9-+-+L+-+0 achieved by means of 45...¦a1! and now, for
his style, prefers a quieter approach.
9zP-+-zP-+-0 example, 46.¥g8+ ¢c6 47.¥xb3 ¦xa3 48.¢c4
4.e4 dxe4 5.¤xe4 ¥b4+ 6.¤c3 9-zP-+-+PzP0 axb3 (48...¦xb3 is possible too.) 49.¦h6+ ¢d7
A rare move. Previously White has mainly tried 9+-mKR+R+-0 50.¢c3 ¦a2=.
6.¥d2, inviting Black to accept the Marshall xiiiiiiiiy 46.¢b2 ¦g1
Gambit by taking the § on d4, a line we have White seems to be slightly better, thanks to his Perhaps 46...¦e1! was better. After 47.¥g8+
covered several times in CVO, most recently in better ¥ and pawn structure. However, Black ¢d4 48.¦xh4+ ¢xe5 49.¥xb3 axb3 50.a4 ¢d5
#247 with the game Nakamura-Tomashevsky. is very solid, with everything well-protected. 51.¢xb3 ¦e3+ 52.¢c2 ¦e2+ 53.¢c3 ¦xg2 the
6...c5 7.a3 ¥a5 8.¤f3 ¤f6 9.¥e3 Anand's next move shows that he does indeed ensuing ending with a- and h-pawn still offers
9.¥e2 ¤c6 10.dxc5 £xd1+ 11.¥xd1 ¤e4 have sufficient counterplay with his ¦s to Black reasonable drawing chances.
12.¥d2 ¥xc3 13.¥xc3 ¤xc3 14.bxc3 ¤a5 with compensate for the structural weaknesses. 47.¥g8+ ¢c6 48.¦h6+!
approximate equality in Gurevich-Khenkin, 23...¦b5! 24.¦f4 g5 25.¦f3 h5 26.¦df1 ¥e8 An excellent move, since after the immediate
Polanica Zdroj 1999. 27.¥c2 ¦c5 28.¦f6 h4 29.e4 a5 30.¢d2 ¦b5 48.¥xb3 axb3 49.¦xh4 ¦xg2+ 50.¢xb3 ¦e2
9...¤c6 31.b3 ¥h5 32.¢c3 ¦c5+ 33.¢b2 ¦d8 34.¦1f2 51.a4 ¦xe5 52.¢c4 ¦e6 Black should be able
9...cxd4?! 10.¤xd4 ¤e4 11.b4 ¤xc3 12.£c2 ¦d4 to draw the game.
¥c7 13.£xc3 , as seen in Gulko-Polgar, Aruba Strangely enough, Anand considered this 48...¢d7
1992, clearly favours White. 9...¤e4?! 10.£c2 move to be the decisive mistake and instead After 48...¢b5 49.¥xb3 axb3 50.¢xb3 c4+
¤xc3 11.bxc3 cxd4 12.¥xd4 0–0 13.¥d3 h6 thought he should have proceeded with 51.¢c3 White shouldn't have too many
14.0–0 ¤c6 and now in Yermolinsky-Shulman, 34...¦g8 and defended passively. problems converting his material plus.
Philadelphia 2008, White could have gained 35.¦h6 ¥d1 36.¥b1 ¦b5 37.¢c3 c5 49.¥xb3 axb3 50.¢xb3 ¦xg2 51.¦xh4 ¢e6
the initiative with 15.¥c5!. Another option is 37...e5!?. 52.a4! ¢xe5 53.a5 ¢d6 54.¦h7 ¢d5
10.£d3 38.¦b2 e5 39.¦g6 a4 54...¢c6 doesn't offer salvation either, since
A deviation from some earlier games which Play becomes pretty sharp now. Another more after 55.a6 ¦g8 56.a7 ¢b6 57.h4 the black ¢
went 10.dxc5 ¥xc3+ 11.bxc3 £a5 12.£c2 solid continuation is 39...g4. has been cut off as well.
¤g4 with comfortable play for Black in Polgar- 40.¦xg5 ¦xb3+ 41.¦xb3 ¥xb3 42.¦xe5+ 55.a6 c4+ 56.¢c3 ¦a2 57.a7 ¢c5 58.h4 and
Portisch, Budapest 1993. Initially Carlsen had intended to play 42.¥d3? Black resigned as either the a- or h-pawn
10...cxd4 11.¤xd4 ¤g4 12.0–0–0 ¤xe3 but then after 42...c4 43.¦xe5+ ¢d6 44.¢xd4 queens. 1–0

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 openings what’s hot and what’s not? 255 | November 20n 2013

thisweek’sharvest
Ruy Lopez, Anti-Berlin 1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 ¤f6 4.d3 ¥c5 5.c3 0–0 6.0–0 ¦e8 7.¦e1 a6 8.¥a4 b5 9.¥b3 d6 10.¥g5 ¥e6 11.¤bd2 h6
XIIIIIIIIY 12.¥h4 ¥xb3 13.axb3 ¤b8 14.h3 ¤bd7 15.¤h2 £e7 16.¤df1 ¥b6 17.¤e3 £e6 18.b4 a5 19.bxa5 ¥xa5 20.¤hg4 ¥b6
9r+-+r+k+0 In the second phase of the World Championship match, it came as a surprise to see three Anti-Berlins in a row.
9+-zpn+pzp-0 Because Anand had problems with the white pieces in the Berlin endgame in game 4, he decided to keep all
9-vl-zpqsn-zp0 the pieces on the board with 4.d3 in game 6. He didn't get an opening edge, however, and with every exchange
9+p+-zp-+-0 Black's position became more comfortable. Anand failed to find the 'emergency brake' (a term coined by Carlsen
9-+-+P+NvL0 during the discussions of the first two games) and Carlsen kept on pushing. Just before the second time control
Anand finally cracked in a sharp rook endgame that was still capable of being drawn. After the colour switch
9+-zPPsN-+P0
at the halfway stage, Anand was White again in game 7. Another 4.d3 Anti-Berlin appeared on the board, but
9-zP-+-zPP+0 Carlsen calmly neutralised everything and drew. Surprisingly, Anand played the Berlin Defence himself in game
9tR-+QtR-mK-0 8, but Carlsen went for zero risk with 5.¦e1 and edged half a point closer to the title.
xiiiiiiiiy
Ruy Lopez, 6.d3
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 a6 4.¥a4 ¤f6 5.0–0 ¥e7 6.d3 b5 7.¥b3 0–0 8.¤c3 d6 9.a3 ¥e6 10.¥g5 ¢h8 XIIIIIIIIY
11.h3 ¤g8 12.¥e3 £d7 13.¥xe6 fxe6 14.¤e2 ¤f6 15.¤g3 a5 16.a4 b4 17.c3 d5 18.£c2 ¥d6 19.¦ac1 ¦ab8 9-tr-+-tr-mk0
At first sight the actual position in the diagram doesn't seem to be very spectacular. Personally, I (RR) felt rather 9+-zpq+-zpp0
attracted to the dynamic course Aronian had taken. On the other hand it's also quite risky for Black from a
9-+nvlpsn-+0
strategic point of view, if you take into account the pawn structure and bad ¥ on d6. All in all, it's hard to form an
objective opinion about the position. To me it seems to be dynamically balanced: a doubled-edged middlegame
9zp-+pzp-+-0
with chances for both sides. The earlier stage of the game is pretty interesting. In the Ruy Lopez with 6.d3 and
9Pzp-+P+-+0
9.a3 Grischuk was first to deviate from the usual path with the new move 10.¥g5!?. (10.¤d5 was examined 9+-zPPvLNsNP0
extensively in CVO 230.) Aronian's answer 10...¢h8, intending to free the f-file by bringing the ¤ back to g8, 9-zPQ+-zPP+0
is a normal plan in this type of position. This particular game once more shows the richness of ideas for both 9+-tR-+RmK-0
sides in the Ruy Lopez. xiiiiiiiiy

1.¤f3 d5 2.d4 ¤f6 3.c4 e6 4.¤c3 ¥e7 5.¥f4 0–0 6.e3 ¤bd7 7.c5 c6 8.h3 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3 h6
QGD, 5.¥f4 11.£c1 ¥b7 12.¥d3 £c8 13.0–0 ¥a6 14.¥xa6 ¦xa6 15.£c2 £b7 16.¦ab1 axb4 17.axb4 ¦a3 18.¦fc1
XIIIIIIIIY bxc5 19.bxc5 £a6 20.¤e1 ¦a8 21.£b2 £c8 22.£b7 £xb7 23.¦xb7 ¥d8 24.¥c7 ¥xc7 25.¦xc7 ¦8a6
9-+-+-+k+0 White has succeeded in penetrating Black's position with one of his ¦s and, as a result, Aronian has been forced
9+-tRn+pzp-0 to keep an eye on his weak § on c6. In the diagram White has the surprising resource 26.¤b1! after which the
9r+p+psn-zp0 engines give White an overwhelming advantage. Such a scenario should really be avoided by Black and his
9+-zPp+-+-0 move 18...bxc5 is a serious positional error. In general Black is not in a hurry in this type of position and should
9-+-zP-+-+0 slowly try to neutralise White's attempts on the queenside. The opening of the b-file only gives White additional
options to create a breakthrough on that part of the board, while with the b-pawns still on the board Black is
9tr-sN-zP-+P0
pretty much in control as his major pieces occupy the only open file. After the waiting move 10...h6 (vintage
9-+-+-zPP+0 Adams) Bacrot proceeded with 11.£c1!?, but objectively speaking Black is doing fine anyway had he played
9+-tR-sN-mK-0 18...¦fa8 instead. Another high-profile game in this variation is Moiseenko-Sargissian, but neither side was
xiiiiiiiiy really able to break the balance along the way.

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 £xd5 3.¤f3 ¥g4 4.¥e2 ¤c6 5.0–0 0–0–0 6.h3 ¥xf3 7.¥xf3 £d7 8.c3 e5 9.¦e1 ¤f6 10.b4 ¥d6 11.d3 £f5 Scandinavian
12.£a4 £xd3 13.b5 ¤b8 14.¥e3 £f5 15.¤d2 ¥c5 16.¤e4 ¥xe3 17.¦xe3 h5 18.£xa7 ¤d5 19.¤c5 ¤xe3 20.£xb7# XIIIIIIIIY
The Scandinavian Defence hardly ever appears in a World Championship match (only the 14th game of the 9-snktr-+-tr0
Kasparov-Anand match back in 1995 comes to mind), but on all other levels it appears every now and then. 9+Qzp-+pzp-0
The main move 3.¤c3 offers White good chances for an edge, but choosing a sharp sideline against the 9-+-+-+-+0
Scandinavian may be just as effective. It's hard to guess from the diagram position that Black was rated over 9+PsN-zpq+p0
2600, but even very strong players can fall victim to a quick attack based on White's powerful unopposed
9-+-+-+-+0
light-squared bishop. With 5.0–0!? Vachier-Lagrave must have surprised his opponent Papaioannou. The main
line runs 5.d4 0–0–0 6.c4 £f5 7.¥e3 ¥xf3 8.¥xf3 ¤xd4 9.¥g4 ¤c2 10.£xc2 £xg4 11.0–0 when White has
9+-zP-snL+P0
compensation for the pawn but probably no more. Black's main mistake was in giving up his own light-squared
9P+-+-zPP+0
bishop with 6...¥xf3?. In the PGN file you'll find two more short decisive games between world-class players: 9tR-+-+-mK-0
Svidler-Brunello (1–0 in the Ruy Lopez) and Jobava-Mamedyarov (0–1 in the Vienna Game). xiiiiiiiiy

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 openings what’s hot and what’s not? 255 | November 20n 2013

it’syourmove
XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
O 9r+l+-trk+0 O9-+rwq-trk+0
9vlpzp-+pzpn0 9zpl+nvlp+p0
9p+-zp-wq-zp0 9-zp-+p+p+0
9+-+-+-+-0 9sn-+pzP-+N0
9-+-+P+-+0 9-+-zP-+-+0
9+LzPnvLN+P0 9zP-+L+N+-0
9PzP-sN-zPP+0 9-zP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QtR-mK-0 9tR-vLQtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy

lastweek’ssolutions
XIIIIIIIIY
Carlsen-Anand, Tata Steel (Wijk aan Zee), 2011 9rsn-+kvl-tr0
The Slow Slav with ¤bd2 looks less dangerous than the normal set-up where the ¤ goes to c3. However, by 9zpp+-zppzpp0
leaving the third rank free, White has a surprising resource which poses Black some unexpected problems: 9-wqp+-snl+0
7.£h3! Threatening to go to c8 with the £, while after 7...¤bd7 8.¤xg6 Black is forced to recapture with 8... 9+-+p+-+-0
fxg6 when his pawn structure has been chronically weakened. As a result, White has obtained an overwhelming
9-+PzP-+-sN0
positional advantage.
9+Q+-+-+-0
9PzP-sNPzPPzP0
9tR-vL-mKL+R0
XIIIIIIIIY xiiiiiiiiy
9r+-+k+-tr0 Heberla-Short, European Team Championship (Warsaw), 2013
9zplzpnwqpzpp0 With the elegant 10...¦g8! Black found a way to break the annoying pin and to fight for the initiative at the same
9-zp-zppsn-+0 time. Since he basically wants to castle queenside, losing the right to castle kingside is no big deal. 11.f3?!
9+-+-+-+-0 White should fight for the initiative on the queenside with 11.b4. 11...g5 12.¥f2 e5 13.d5 e4! The bishop on b7
may look unhappy, but the black knights find good squares. 14.¤xe4 ¤xe4 15.fxe4 0–0–0 16.¥d3 ¤c5 and
9-+PzP-+-vL0
Black has a comfortable position.
9zP-+-zP-+-0
9-zP-sN-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

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