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French Defence Analysis Center. Of my 8 games against GM-strength opposition in the 1991 US Open, 4 were French Defenses and 4 were Bogo-Indians! This
bizarre circumstance allows me to conveniently annotate these games in the form of theoreticals on these openings. This month's theoretical covers the French, with a small digression into the c3 Sicilian. The murkier
side of my play at the summer chess festival is featured, including my match against Wolff from the Championship, and my games against Zapata, Lputian, Akopian and Dzindzi from the Open. Next month's theoretical
discusses the Bogo as expressed in my games from the Open against I. Ivanov, Ftacnik, Alburt and Yermolinsky Rohde - Lputian, US Open 1991, Rd 7
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 [I don't play the Tarrasch that
often, but I was prepared for Lputian's specialty here, 3 ... Be7, because I played that myself against Wolff in the first round of the concurrent US Championship! I had also played it against Patrick in January '91 in
the Liberty Bell Open. The point of 3 ... Be7 is that on 4 Ngf3 Nf6 5 e5 Nd7, White's knights are stuck on f3 and d2, whereas he would prefer, after playing Bd3, to put his knights on e2 and f3. If in this line 5 Bd3
then 5 ... c5 6 dc de with equality. And on 4 Bd3 Black has 4 ... c5 5 dc Nd7, effectively regaining the pawn with no time loss. In the January game Wolff tried 4 c3 c5 5 dc Bc5 6 Nb3 (if he wanted to give me an
isolated pawn, why not 6 ed, as 6 ... Qb6 is refuted by 7 Ne4, and 6 ... Qd5 7 Ngf3 and 8 Bc4 is nice for White) Bb6 7 ed Nf6! and Black equalizes as he avoids the isolated pawn: 8 Bb5+ Bd7 9 Bd7+ Qd7 10 Nf3 (better
than 10 de Bf2+ 11 Ke2 Qd1+ 12 Kd1 fe) Qd5. I had not prepared any new defenses by the time the US Championship rolled around, and this time Wolff was ready, after 3 ... Be7, with 4 Bd3 c5 5 dc Nd7 6 b4! a5 7 Bb2 Bf6 8
Bf6 Qf6 9 Ngf3 ab 10 ed ed 11 0-0 with advantage after 11 ... Ne7 12 Nb3, or the game continuation, 11 ... Nc5 12 Bb5+ Kf8 (1/2 - 1/2 in 39). But Lputian smelled a rat. Or maybe he read the bulletins.] c5 4 Nf3 Nf6 [An
unsual line. After 4 ... Nc6 White can transpose back to normality with 5 ed or experiment with 5 Bb5 a6! 6 Bc6+ bc 7 c3!? as in Rohde - Gulko, US Champ. 1989.] 5 ed Nd5 6 Nb3 Nd7 7 Be2 Be7 [Black's position is passive
but resilient. He refuses to take on d4 which would activate the Nb3.] 8 c4 N5f6 9 dc [Not 9 d5? Nb6!] 0-0 10 0-0 Qc7 [10 ... Nc5 11 Qd8 Rd8 12 Be3 is comfortable for White.] 11 Nfd4 Nc5 [11 ... a6? 12 c6 bc 13 Nc6
wins.] 12 Nb5 Qb6 [Better was the active 12 ... Qe5! Then 13 f4 Qe4 or 13 Be3 Rd8 are OK. With the text Black hopes for 13 Be3 a6 14 Nc3 Qc7 with a fine position.] 13 Bf4 Bd7 14 Bc7 Qa6 15 Bd6 [15 Be5 Bb5 16 Nc5 Bc5 17
cb Qb6 18 Bf6 gf or 16 cb Qa4 are not convincing.] Bd6 16 Nd6 Nb3 17 ab Qb6 [A new phase has arrived. White would like to shore up the Nd6 and combine that with a kingside attack or a queenside pawn roller. But if 18
Qd2, which sets the trap 18 ... Qb3 19 Ra3 with Rg3 or b4 to follow, Black plays 18 ... a5! fixing the queenside pawns.] 18 Rc1 a5 19 Rc3 Rfd8? [19 ... a4 was necessary to maintain an active queen. I was planning 20 Rg3
with great complications.] 20 c5 Qc7 21 Qd4 Bc6 22 Rg3 Qe7 [Black still hopes to undermine the Nd6 with ... b6.] 23 Qe5 [Threatening 24 Nf5 or 24 Rg7+] Rd7 24 f4! g6 [24 ... b6 fails to 25 f5 bc 26 Nf7! Kf7 27 fe+ Kf8
28 Qf5 followed by 29 Qh7.] 25 Bc4! [25 f5 ef is now nothing.] b5 26 f5 ef [Not 26 ... bc 27 fg fg 28 Rf6, with the crushing at of 29 Rg6+.] 27 Bf7+ Kf8 28 Qc3 [Stronger than 28 Be6 Bd5. Now Black must deal with the
threat of 29 Re3.] b4 29 Qc1 Rd6 30 cd Qa7+ 31 Kh1 Bg2+ 32 Rg2 Qf7 33 Qh6+ Qg7 34 Qg7+ Kg7 35 Rf5 and 1 - 0 in 73. The next round Akopian also played the French against me. I switched gears totally and
played 2 d3 - the King's Indian Attack! Akopian played the modern antidote 2 ... d5 3 Nd2 Nf6 4 Ngf3 de 5 de Bc5 6 Bd3 e5. Black's last move was necessary to prevent White from playing 7 e5 with an eventual Ne4. But
after 7 Nc4! Nc6 8 c3 I was strongly threatening 9 b4. Akopian's reaction - 8 ... Ng4 9 0-0 b5 was too violent. After 10 Ne3 Be3 11 Be3 Ne3 12 fe I had a great position, later losing inexplicably. 0 - 1 in 64.] Rohde - Zapata, US Open 1991, Rd 5
The day before I flew out to the US Championship/Open, the talented young master Boaz Weinstein advised me to try the c3 Sicilian. Inasmuch as I had done virtually
no preparation and I was sick of playing d4 and losing to things like the Semi-Slav, I took his advice. 1 e4 c5 2 c3 e6 [The second game of my match against Wolff followed Weinstein's preparation exactly: 2 ... Nf6 3 e5
Nd5 4 d4 cd 5 Nf3 Nc6 6 Bc4 Nb6 6 Bb3 d6 7 ed Qd6 8 0-0 Be6 9 Na3 (the old line is 9 Be6) Bb3 10 ab!? a6 11 cd Rd8 12 Nc4! Smagin successfully bluffed Abramovic with this move in ___________. Their game continued 12 ...
Nc4 13 bc e6 14 Be3 with a White edge. But Wolff snatched the pawn: 12 ... Nc4 13 bc Nd4 14 Nd4 Qd4 and after 15 Qf3 Rd7 16 Bf4 Qd3 the position was equal.] 3 d4 d5 4 e5 Qb6 5 Nf3 Bd7 [In round 11 of the Open, Dzindzi
played 5 ... Nc6 against me. Suddenly I realized that I was not looking forward to the protracted positional battle against Roman that would ensue after 6 a3 c4, so I tried 6 Be2. After 6 ... cd 7 cd Nh6 Dzindzi offered
a draw, which I accepted since I had no idea what I was doing!] 6 a3 [Edelman - Gulko, World Open 1991 featured 6 Be2 Bb5 7 c4 Bc4 8 Bc4 Qb4+ 9 Nbd2 dc and White had attacking chances for the pawn.] Bb5 7 c4 Bc4 8 Bc4
dc 9 d5 Ne7! [Instead of accepting a disadvantage after 9 ... ed 10 Qd5 Black dares White to keep pressing and tries to prove that White's pawns are weak.] 10 d6 Nec6 11 0-0 Nd7 12 Re1 g6 13 a4?! [I wasn't impressed
with 13 Nbd2 Bg7 14 Nc4 Qa6.] Bg7 14 Na3 Qb3! 15 Bf4 Nb4? [Much better was 15 ... Nb6!] 16 Re4! and White has recovered, 1-0 in 70. One of Akiba Rubinstein's greatest legacies is the family of super-stodgy
defenses descending from the French 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4. And while, after 4 Nxe4, 4 ... Nd7, 4 ... Be7 and 4 ... Nf6 are equally annoying, the crown prince of this system is 4 ... Bd7, which envisions multiple
exchanges to dampen White's initiative. But in a recent tournament, Golubev borrowed an idea that has proved dangerous in the Caro-Kann, and used it to brilliant effect, hammering 2 peacefully-inclined opponents,
and deterring others from believing that a fortress can be created right out of the opening.
Golubev - Epishin, Geneva Open 1993, rd. 6
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Bd7 [Among American players,
IMs Jay Bonin and Walter Shipman are known to trot this out on occasion.] 5 Nf3 Bc6 6 Bd3 Nd7 [Necessary to cover the e5 square.] 7 O-O [Interesting is 7 c4 to plan a knight retreat to c3. Then 7
... Ngf6 8 Nc3 Be7 9 O-O Bxf3! (else 9 d5!) 10 Qxf3 c6 was reasonably solid for Black in Klovan - Noguieras, Jurmala 1978.] Ngf6 DIAGRAM 8 Neg5! [Reminiscent of the Caro variation 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4
4 Nxe4 Nd7 5 Bd3 Ngf6 6 Ng5 which has caused Black so many headaches recently. Sacs on e6 crop up because of the absence of the white-squared bishop. Previously 8 Ng3 was considered the main move to "preserve"
chances, as 8 Qe2 is too tame after 8 ... Nxe4 9 Bxe4 Bxe4 10 Qxe4 c6. A good example of 8 Ng3 is Cholmov - Dymerski, Poland 1992, which continued 8 ... Be7 9 c4 O-O (Some players would snap 9 ... Bxf3 at the first sign
of trouble.) 10 Ne5 Nxe5 11 dxe5 Nd7 12 Qh5!? g6 13 Qe2 and Black should have joined the battle with 13 ... Nxe5! (14 Qxe5 Qxd3 15 Bh6 f6 16 Qxe6+ Rf7) instead of accepting permanent passivity after 13 ... Nc5 14
Bc2.] Bd6 [The previous round, Epishin had watched his compatriot Scher go down in a blaze of glory: Scher, obviously on "show-me" mode, played 8 ... h6, and after 9 Nxe6 fxe6 10 Bg6+ Ke7 11 c4 was
facing destruction by 12 d5, and 11 ... Be4 12 Nh4 does not help. So Black tried 11 ... Bxf3 12 Qxf3 Nb6 13 Re1 (DIAGRAM) Now 13 ... Qxd4 is unappetizing due to 14 Qxb7 Rd8 15 Be3 and the solid-looking 13 ... c6 14 Bf5
Qd7 can be met simply by 15 Qh3. Scher played 13 ... Nxc4, trying to clear the d5 square for his queen, but he was rudely awakened by 14 Rxe6+! Kxe6 15 Qe2+. In the face of paralyzing bishop checks coming on f5 and f4,
Black essayed the confusing 15 ... Ne3, but Golubev finished him off artfully: 16 Qe3+ Kd6 17 Qg3+ Kc6 18 Qc3+ Kb6 19 Qb3+ Kc6 20 Bf4 b5 21 Rc1+ Kb6 22 a4 Qd5 23 Bxc7+ Kb7 (DIAGRAM) 24 Be4! 1 - 0 Instead of Epishin's
move, 8 ... Be7 would not be good because 9 Qe2 renews the possibility of 9 ... h6 10 Nxe6, and after 9 ... O-O 10 Ne5 Black just has a bad position.] 9 Re1 h6 10 Nh3 [It looks like Black is doing well because of
the awkward position of White's knights, but White still has the nucleus of a strong kingside attack - he will play Nf3-e5, and if the Black knight is driven off f6 WHite will have Qd1-g4. To prevent this Epishin
burrows a hole for his queen bishop, but it may have been better to ditch it with 10 ... Bxf3! 11 Qxf3 c6, and Black, after castling on either side, can play for the equalizing break ... e6-e5. Note that 10 ... g5?
works out badly after 11 Ne5 Bxe5 12 dxe5 Nd5 13 Qh5.] b6?! 11 Ne5 Bb7 12 Bb5! [Although the bishop does not want to leave its juicy post on d3, this move snuffs out the long diagonal and creates play against the
resulting weak white squares. Black cannot afford 12 ... Bxe5 13 dxe5 Nd5 14 Qg4.] O-O 13 Bc6 Rb8 [Taking on e5 loses material.] 14 Bxb7 Rxb7 15 Qf3 Qc8 16 Qg3 [Abandoning positional play, the Queen sidles over to
the kingside to start a direct attack.] Kh7 17 Qh4 c5 18 Bxh6!! [Time to cash in, before Black successfully unravels.] gxh6 19 Ng5+ Kg7 20 Re3 cxd4? [Also weak was 20 ... hxg5?? 21 Qxg5+ Kh8 22 Rh3+
Nh7 23 Qh6 and it's over. A better defense was 20 ... Bxe5! 21 dxe5 (There is no point to 21 Rh3 Ng8.) Ng8. After 22 Rg3? Kh8, both 23 Re1 and 23 Qf4 can be met by 23 ... Nxe5! followed by 24 ... f6. Or 23 Ne4 Nxe5 24
Rxg8+ Kxg8 25 Nf6+ Kg7 26 Nh5+ Kh7 27 Qf6 Rg8 28 Qxe5 Rg5. And on 23 f4 Black has 23 ... Qc6, stopping 24 Ne4 and preparing 24 ... f6. After 23 ... Qc6 24 Qh5 Nb8 hangs tough. But White has better on his 22nd. The
direction-switching 22 Ne4! menaces 23 Rg3+ Kh8 24 Qg4, and 22 ... Nxe5 is bested by 23 Nd6 Ng6 24 Qe4. Therefore, 22 ... Kh8 is forced. Then after 23 Nd6 Qc6 24 Qh5 White is doing well. Extremely tricky is 20 ... Ng8!!
which could transpose into a previous line after 21 Rg3 Bxe5! 22 dxe5 Kh8. After 20 ... Ng8 21 Nxe6+? fxe6 22 Rg3+ Kh8! (not 22 ... Kh7? 23 Qe4+) holds. And on 21 Ngxf7 Bxe5! is again sufficient! White's best would be
21 Ne4! Then 21 ... Bxe5 22 dxe5 is good for White, as noted above. But Black has 21 ... Nxe5!! 22 Nxd6 Ng6, with continuing complications and an unclear position after 23 Qe4 Qc7 24 Nxb7 Rb8.] 21 Rg3! [Now there
is no time to set up a coherent defence.] Bxe5 22 Nxe6+ Kh8 [Of course not 22 ... Kh7 23 Rg7+.] 23 Qxh6+ Nh7 24 Rh3 [Black's pieces interfere with each other uniquely. 24 ... Nf6 allows 25 Qg7 mate.]
Qxc2 25 Nxf8 Kg8 26 Nxh7 [Black has no compensation for the lost material.]
1-0 Benjamin - Psakhis, rd 5, NY INt 1992 C11 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 dxe4 [Benjamin has been playing the
Alekhine-Chatard (4 ... Be7 5 e5 Nfd7 6 h4) lately. Unfortunately, Psakhis opts for a boring continuation.] 5 Nxe4 Nbd7 6 Nxf6+ [If White delays this exchange by playing 6 Nf3, then after 6 ... Be7 7 Nxf6+ Black
would have 7 ... Bxf6 offering more exchanges. Note that if Black had played 5 ... Be7 instead of 5 ... Nbd7, White's most agressive continuation would be 6 Bxf6.] Nxf6 7 Nf3 h6 8 Bh4 c5 9 Bb5+ [To make room for
the queen on e2.] Bd7 10 Bxd7+ Qxd7 11 Qe2 Be7 12 O-O-O O-O 13 dxc5 Qa4 14 Kb1 Rfd8 15 a3 Bxc5 DIAGRAM 16 Bxf6 [The threat of a kingside attack is not too serious because of Black's active pieces. Benjamin
is playing for an endgame with the more mobile pawn majority.] gxf6 17 Nd2 Be7 18 Nb3 f5 19 f3 Rxd1+ 20 Rxd1 Rd8 21 Rxd8+ Bxd8 22 Qd2 Bg5 23 Qd4 Qxd4 24 Nxd4 Bf4 25 h3 Be3 26 Nb5 Kg7 27 nd6 b6 28 c3 Kf6 29 Kc2 Bf4 30
Nb5 a6 31 Nd4 Bd6 32 Kd3 e5 33 Ne2 Ke6 34 c4 [Even though there are pawns on both sides of the board, the Black bishop is unable to accomplish anything, and WHite's pawns are finally starting to move.] f4 35 Nc3
Bc5 36 b4 Bg1 37 Nd5 a5 38 Ke4 f5+ 39 Kd3 axb4 40 axb4 Kd6 41 Kc3 Bf2 42 Kb3 b5? [Facilitating White' plan. Better was 42 ... Be3! and if 43 Ka4 e4 44 Kb5 Bd2.] 43 Nc3 Bxc4+ 44 Kxc4 Bh4 45 b5 Bd8 46 Nd5 Bg5 47 b6 Kc6 48
Nb4+ [Now the WHite king will chew up the remaining Black pawns.] Kxb6 49 Kd5 e4 50 fxe4 fxe4 51 Kxe4 Kc7 52 Kf5 Kd7 53 Nd3 Ke8 54 Kg6 Ke7 55 Ne5 Ke6 56 Nf7 Be7 57 Nxh6 f3 58 gxf3 Ke5 59 Nf5 Bf8 60 h4 Kf4 61 h5 Kxf3 62
Ng7 1 - 0 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ngf3 Played in the rd. 6 encounter between Benjamin and Shaked, a little-understood sideline of the Tarrasch. Usually White
plays his d2 knight to f3 and the g1 knight to e2, to ensure adequate defence of d4. With this move, Benjamin in effect announces his willingness to sacrifice the d4 pawn. g6 As this does not generate any pressure
against d4, it will leave Black with no choice but to attack the head of the pawn chain on e5. On the other hand, extra protection will be given to the Black kingside. The critical line is 7 ... Qb6 8 O-O and then
Black can try 8 ... cxd4 9 cxd4 Nxd4 10 Nxd4 Qxd4 11 Nf3 Qb6, or he can try the devilish 8 ... Be7, which prepares 9 Re1 g5!? 8. O-O Bg7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nf1 cxd4 11. cxd4 Qb6 12. Bc2 f6 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Ba4 Ne4 White
has the sounder position; 1/2-1/2 in 40. I have discovered a near-universal fear among strong amateur players of the King's Indian Attack. In the following rd. 10 game against Kaidanov, Gulko discloses an
effective neutralizing treatment: 1. e4 e6 2. d3 c5 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 7. c3 d5 8. Qe2 b69. Na3 Ba6 10. exd5 exd5 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Rfe1 h6 13. h4 Qd7 14. Ne5 1/2-1/2 in 32. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5
3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.Qg4 c5 6.a3 This seems to be the weak move, because Black's response deals with White's threat and sets up another of his own. Better was 6 Bb5+ Nc6 7 Nf3, looking for quick development.
6...Qa5 7.Bb5+ Bd7 As suggested, 7 ... Kf8 was also strong, leaving the b5 bishop hanging and protecting the g-pawn. Then White sould be in serious trouble, as 8 Ne2 fails to 8 ... a6! A possible line then is 9
axb4 Qxa1 10 Ba4 cxb4 11 O-O bxc3 12 Bh6 Qxf1+ and Black is doing very well. But 7 ... Bd7 is very good also, as it brings the Black queen knight powerfully into play. 8.Bxd7+ Nxd7 9.Nge2 White has very
serious difficulties here. The problem with 9 Bd2 is 9 ... cxd4 10 Qxd4 Nc6 11 Qf4 d4! [9.Bd2 cxd4 10.Qxd4 Nc6 11.Qf4; 9.Rb1] 9...cxd4 10.axb4 Reasonable under the circumstances. 10...Qxa1 11.Nb5 0-0
12.0-0 White should have tried holding the center with 12 f4. 12...Nxe5 13.Qxd4 N7c6 14.Qh4 Qa4 15.Nbd4 Qxb4 16.c3 Qe7 It should be over here. 17.Qg3 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Ng6 19.Re1 Rac8 20.Bg5 Qc7
21.Qg4 Qc4 22.Qh5 b5 23.Re3 Qa2 24.g4 Give credit to White for not giving up and creating the idea Re3-h3 24...Qb1+ 25.Kg2 b4 As suggested, 25 ... Re8 26 Rh3 Nf8 was safe, solid and winning.
26.Rh3 Ne5 As suggested, 26 ... h6 was possible, because after 27 Bxh6 gxh6 28 Qxh6 Rfe8, White cannot create additional threats. 27.Be7 On 27.Nf5, 27...Qe4+ 28.Kf1 28...Qc4+ 29.Ke1 Nd3+ wins.
27...Nd7 Correct was 27 ... Rfe8 and if 28 Nf5, then 28 ... Qe4+ 29 Kf1 Qc4+ 30 Ke1 Nd3+ still wins. 28.Nf5 Qe4+ 29.Kg1 Qb1+ 30 Kg2 Qe4+ 31 Kg1 Qb1+ Now it is correct to take the draw. 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5
3 exd5 I have never played this before. However, I know that the solid Todd Lunna is partial to such stodgy variations as 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7, and I figured that this was an offbeat way to throw him off. 3
... exd5 4 c4 Kind of a nothing variation, but one that Ashley and Waitzkin swear by. 4 ... Bb4+ 5 Nc3 Qe7+ Played quickly by Lunna, but I was not impressed. Later, Todd told me that Steve Stoyko had
recommended this as an easy antidote to the Ashley/Waitzkin recipe. 6 Be2! A pawn sacrifice, but quick development is key. On 6 Be3 Nf6, Black's potential to get in ... Nf6-g4 or ... Nf6-e4 is very distracting. 6
... dxc4 7 Nf3 Nf6 8 O-O Nbd7? After this Black is practically lost! Also unappetizing were 8 ... Be6 9 d5! or 8 ... O-O 9 Bxc4. And 8 ... Bxc3 9 bxc3 Be6 holds the pawn for now, but leads to a lot of trouble. I
think the whole line with 5 ... Qe7+ is not very good. 9 Bxc4 O-O 10 Re1 Qd8 11 Qb3 The same move would have answered 10 ... Qd6. Black has insoluble problems. 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7
5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ngf3 Played in the rd. 6 encounter between Benjamin and Shaked, a little-understood sideline of the Tarrasch. Usually White plays his d2 knight to f3 and the g1 knight to e2, to ensure
adequate defence of d4. With this move, Benjamin in effect announces his willingness to sacrifice the d4 pawn. g6 As this does not generate any pressure against d4, it will leave Black with no choice but to
attack the head of the pawn chain on e5. On the other hand, extra protection will be given to the Black kingside. The critical line is 7 ... Qb6 8 O-O and then Black can try 8 ... cxd4 9 cxd4 Nxd4 10 Nxd4 Qxd4 11 Nf3
Qb6, or he can try the devilish 8 ... Be7, which prepares 9 Re1 g5!? 8. O-O Bg7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nf1 cxd4 11. cxd4 Qb6 12. Bc2 f6 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Ba4 Ne4 White has the sounder position; 1/2-1/2 in 40. I have discovered
a near-universal fear among strong amateur players of the King's Indian Attack. In the following rd. 10 game against Kaidanov, Gulko discloses an effective neutralizing treatment: 1. e4 e6 2. d3 c5 3. g3 Nc6 4.
Bg2 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 7. c3 d5 8. Qe2 b69. Na3 Ba6 10. exd5 exd5 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Rfe1 h6 13. h4 Qd7 14. Ne5 1/2-1/2 in 32. Kudrin - Kaidanov Chicago, 1996 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 [Kudrin
has been a great exponent of the White side of the Tarrasch French for many years.] Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 [The other main line, 5 f4, is a radically different treatment in which White delays development
to hold the big pawn center intact.] c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nb6 [A line once favored by Nigel Short. Kaidanov simply completes his queenside development, allowing White to retain the kingside space
advantage conferred by the e5 pawn. A much more popular idea is ... f7-f6, forcing White to exchange on f6, after which Black hopes that his normal development plus play on the half-open f-file will fully compensate for
the weakness of the backward e-pawn. Most usual is 8 ... f6 9 exf6 Nxf6, but if Black is afraid of 9 Nf4 fxe5 10 Qh5+, then he can employ the line 8 ... Qb6 9 Nf3 f6, eliminating that possibility.] 9.Nf3 h6 10.Nf4
Bd7 DIAGRAM 11.a3 [Kudrin wants to avoid the possibility 11 ... Nb4 12 Bb1 (or 12 Be2 Rc8) Bb5, especially because his heart is set on lifting his king's rook into the attack with h2-h4 and Rh1-h3, so his
king will have to survive in the center. Most cleancut was to avoid trying to repair the queenside, and sticking to piece development with 11 O-O! - even without the rook coming to the third rank, it will be dangerous
for Black to castle kingside.] a5 [Now Black wants to secure squares with ... a5-a4 and ... Nc6-a5.] 12.b3 a4 13.b4 Rc8 14.Nh5 Nc4 15.h4 Qb6 16.Bc2 Qa6 17.Rh3 DIAGRAM [White has dutifully defended himself,
and now it is his turn, as 18 Rg3 is coming.] Ne7!! [A brilliant two-pawn sacrifice which diverts the White bishops from their defensive posts.] 18.Rg3 Nf5 19.Bxf5 exf5 20.Nxg7+ [Else Black is just
better after 20 ... Rh7.] Bxg7 21.Rxg7 Kf8! 22.Rg3 f4! 23.Bxf4 Nb2 [The point of 17 ... Ne7!!] 24.Qd2 Nd3+ 25.Kd1 Qc4 DIAGRAM [Menacing both 26 ... Qb3+ and 26 ... Nxf4 followed by 27 ... Qc2+. 26.Bxh6+ Ke8
27.Ne1 [On 27 Rb1, I think 27 ... Bf5 is most effective.] Qxd4 28.Nxd3 Qxa1+ 29.Nc1 Bb5 30.Qf4 Qb2 31.Qe3 0 - 1 
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