Krasenkov,Michal (2615) - Miles,Tony (2550) [D15] NY Open (3), 1997
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 a6
A move which has turned out theoretically to be surprisingly
effective. Black aims to play ... b7-b5 to either force White to break
the tension with his c-pawn, or defend it passively with b2-b3.
5.a4
Evidence of the respect given to 4 ... a6.
g6 6.Bg5 Bg7 7.e3 0-0 8.Qb3! Ne4
Miles is not satisfied with the passive alternatives 8 ... e6 and 8
... dxc4, and instead uses his center to foster a quick knight tour.
9.Bh4
Missing the point is 9 cxd5 Nxg5 10 Nxg5 e6 and Black
re-establishes his center with a nice game.
dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nd6 11.a5
Previously, White would have answered ... a6-a5 with c4xd5,
clearing the b5 square for himself. That option no longer exists, and
therefore, Krasenkov tries to make something of his potential
queenside bind.
Nd7 12.0-0 Nf5 13.Bg3 Nxg3 14.fxg3
White is serious about rustling up some threats along the f-file.
e6 15.Qa3 b5 16.axb6 Nxb6 17.Ba2 Nd5 18.Ne4!
White has had the more comfortable position for a while, but now a
concrete plan is taking shape: to build a home for this knight on d6.
Rb8 19.Ne5 Qb6 20.Bxd5 cxd5 21.Nd6 Bxe5 22.dxe5 Qxb2 23.Qxb2 Rxb2
24.Rfc1 Bd7 25.Rxa6
Black's highly constricted bishop and weak point on f7 spell
trouble in the endgame.
Rfb8 26.Ra7 Rb1 27.Rxb1 Rxb1+ 28.Kf2 Bb5
Getting in a threat of mate in one.
29.g4 Rf1+ 30.Kg3 Bc6 31.Rc7 Ba4
DIAGRAM
32.g5
Adding a new dimension to the pressure - the march of the h-pawn
will control even more dark squares. Meanwhile, Black is too tied down
to the defense of f7 to target any of White's pawns.
Kg7 33.h4 Kf8 34.Kh2 Kg7 35.g4 Rf3 36.h5 gxh5 37.gxh5 Kf8 38.h6 Bd1
39.Kg2 Be2 40.Rc8+ Ke7 41.Rc7+ Kf8
DIAGRAM
42.g6
Krasenkov made it all look very easy.
fxg6 43.Rxh7 Rxe3 44.Rh8+ Ke7 45.Re8+ Kd7 46.h7 1-0
Kaliksteyn - Yedidia
Eastern Open 1996
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Be2
The players have arrived in the popular 6 Qc2 variation of the
Meran. Kaliksteyn declines to essay the Shabalov Gambit, 7 g4!? A pet
line which I have used with some success here is 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 e5
9.cxd5 cxd5 10.e4.
7...0-0 8.0-0 dxc4
A radically different approach is 8...e5, leading to an isolated
queen pawn position for Black after 9 cxd5 cxd5 10 Nb5 Bb8.
9.Bxc4 e5 10.h3 Qc7 11.a3
Karpovian preparatory moves which have become the main line theory.
White is waiting for Black to play ... e5xd4, after which White can
take back with the pawn, with much the freer game.
b5 12.Ba2 a5?!
Correct was 12...Bb7. Black's ultimate objective is the push ...
c6-c5.
13.Bd2 Bb7 14.Rac1
Taking advantage of Black's twelfth to threaten 15 Nxb5.
Qb6
A more useful counter was 14...Rac8. The text is too
decentralizing.
15.dxe5
Often in this opening, the battle is over who will be forced to
liquidate the center. Kaliksteyn's idea is to enable pressure on the
c-file. Unclear is the exploratory 15.Nh4! (probing Black's kingside,
as 15 ... g6? is strongly met by 16 Nxg6 hxg6 17 Qxg6+); 15 ... exd4
16 exd4 Qxd4 17 Nf5 Qe5 18 f4 Bc5+ 19 Kh1 Qb8 20 Nxb5 is one
possibility.
15...Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 17.Ne2 Rac8 18.b4 Bd6
This is the move that really gets Yedidia into trouble. A better
way to contest the c5 square was 18...axb4 19.axb4 Nd7, with only a
small, if any, disadvantage after 20.Bc3.
19.Bc3 c5?
White is meancing kingside destruction, leaving Black the unhappy
choices of 19...Be7 20.Bd4 Qc7 21.Bc5, or 19 ... Nd5 20 Bxd5, in
either case with serious positional defects.
20.Bxf6 cxb4 21.Qf5 gxf6 22.Bb1
Black's king's position is toast.
Rfe8 23.Nd4 Kf8 24.Qxh7 f5 25.Ba2!
Collecting more material.
Rc4 26.Bxc4 bxc4 27.Qh6+ Ke7 28.Nxf5+ Kd7 29.Rfd1 Re6 30.Qxe6+
30 Qf8 would have obliterated everything.
Kxe6 31.Rxd6+ Qxd6 32.Nxd6 Kxd6 33.axb4 axb4 34.Rxc4 b3 35.Rb4?
Kaliksteyn was in time pressure here. 35 e4! keeps Black from
defending the b-pawn, and White follows up with Rc4-b4. Now Black gets
some very annoying counterplay! Even though White later gives up his
rook for the b-pawn, however, he is still winning.
Bd5 36.Kf1 Kc5 37.Rb8 Kc4 38.Rc8+ Kb4 39.Rb8+ Kc3 40.f4 b2 41.Rxb2
Kxb2 42.g4 Kc3 43.Ke2 Kc4 44.h4 f6 45.h5 Bf7 46.h6 Bg8 47.e4
The break e4-e5 will give 3 connected passers.
Kc5 48.Ke3 Kd6 49.Kd4 Bh7 50.f5 Bg8 51.e5+ fxe5+
The rest of the moves were illegible. However, White wins after 52
Ke4 Bd5+ 53 Ke3 Bg8 54 g5 Ke7 55 Ke4, and White takes on e5, and then
plays g5-g6.
1 - 0
Year-end tournaments alway have extra excitement as players struggle to
attain the highest number of Grand Prix points. The Thursday Night Action
tournament at the Marshall Chess Club on 12/26/96 lived up to this billing, as
Jay Bonin, Angelo Young and myself all scrambled to edge up our Grand Prix
rankings. Add Gennadi Sagalchik and Boris Kreiman, and a fascinating event was
under way.
After two round, players with a 2-0 score included myself, the talented
master Terzic, Sagalchik and Kreiman. While Sagalchik battled Kreiman to a draw,
I was engaged in an interesting positional contest:
Rohde - Terzic
Marshall CC Action 12/26/96, 1996
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6
A move which is often encountered in the line 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6
4 Nc3 a6. The idea is to play ... b7-b5 and force resolution of the central
tension. Since I have not yet played d2-d4, I delayed it, to see if any mileage
could be gained by leaving that square open for piece operations.
5.h3
Since Black's pawns are all going on light squares, I decided to deny
him the opportunity to liquidate his light-squared bishop.
b5 6.b3 g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 Nbd7
Finally, Black threatens the expansion ... e7-e5.
10.d4 Bb7 11.Rc1 Rc8 12.Re1 e6 13.c5
If I do not do this, then Terzic might play 13 ... bxc4 14 bxc4 c5,
justifying the placement of his queenside pieces.
Re8 14.Bd3
Now both sides are thinking ot pushing their e-pawns. But Black cannot,
as 14 ... e5 runs into 15 dxe5 Nxe5 16 Nxe5 Rxe5 17 Nxb5.
b4
More thematic is to only play this move after White plays a2-a4. By
committing with ... b5-b4 first, Black gives White the opportunity to create a
Black weakness on the queenside, in an area where Black will not have much room
to maneuver.
15.Na4 a5 16.Ra1 Ra8 17.a3 bxa3 18.Rxa3 Ba6 19.Bxa6 Rxa6 20.Qd3 Ra7 21.Nc3 Qc7
22.Rea1 Rb8
Black has been saddled with a weak a-pawn. Although the first wave has
been repulsed, White needs only to reorganize his minor pieces to surround that
pawn. This necessarily involves releasing a little bit of the hold on the
center.
23.Qc2 h6 24.Nd2!
I want to get my bishop to c3, and therefore the knight on c3 must move,
but first I must prevent a Black knight incursion into e4. This is more
important than restraining the ... e6-e5 break.
e5 25.Ne2 exd4 26.exd4
I recaptured this way to make sure that my c5 pawn cannot become weak.
Re8 27.Ng3 h5 28.Bc3 h4 29.Ngf1 Ne4 30.Nxe4 Rxe4 31.Nd2
Black has fought back logically, but his counterattack is being repulsed
- if 31 ... Re8, White can snap off the a-pawn, and if 31 ... Rf4 then 32 Qd3
consolidates, and Black has no constructive follow-up.
Rxd4 32.Qb2
Terzic overlooked this move, which wins the Exchange on my terms.
Qe5 33.Bxd4 Qxd4 34.Qxd4 Bxd4 35.Rxa5 Rb7 36.Rc1
Holding the c-pawn, and denying all counterplay.
Ne5 37.Rc2 Re7 38.Ra4
This move spears the bishop.
Bxf2+ 39.Kxf2 Nd3+ 40.Kg1 Re2 41.Rd4 Ne1 42.Rc1 Nxg2 43.Kf1
1 - 0
Kaliksteyn - Yedidia
1997
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Be2
The players have arrived in the popular 6 Qc2 variation of the
Meran. Kaliksteyn declines to essay the Shabalov Gambit, 7 g4!? A pet
line which I have used with some success here is 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 e5
9.cxd5 cxd5 10.e4.
7...0-0 8.0-0 dxc4
A radically different approach is 8...e5, leading to an isolated
queen pawn position for Black after 9 cxd5 cxd5 10 Nb5 Bb8.
9.Bxc4 e5 10.h3 Qc7 11.a3
Karpovian preparatory moves which have become the main line theory.
White is waiting for Black to play ... e5xd4, after which White can
take back with the pawn, with much the freer game.
b5 12.Ba2 a5?!
Correct was 12...Bb7. Black's ultimate objective is the push ...
c6-c5.
13.Bd2 Bb7 14.Rac1
Taking advantage of Black's twelfth to threaten 15 Nxb5.
Qb6
A more useful counter was 14...Rac8. The text is too
decentralizing.
15.dxe5
Often in this opening, the battle is over who will be forced to
liquidate the center. Kaliksteyn's idea is to enable pressure on the
c-file. Unclear is the exploratory 15.Nh4 (probing Black's kingside,
as 15 ... g6? is strongly met by 16 Nxg6 hxg6 17 Qxg6+); 15 ... exd4
16 exd4 Qxd4 17 Nf5 Qe5 18 f4 Bc5+ 19 Kh1 Qb8 20 Nxb5 is one
possibility.
15...Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 17.Ne2 Rac8 18.b4 Bd6
18...axb4 19.axb4 Nd7 20.Bc3] 19.Bc3 c5? [19...Be7 20.Bd4 Qc7
21.Bc5] 20.Bxf6 cxb4 21.Qf5 gxf6 22.Bb1 Rfe8 23.Nd4 Kf8 24.Qxh7 f5
25.Ba2 Rc4 26.Bxc4 bxc4 27.Qh6+ Ke7 28.Nxf5+ Kd7 29.Rfd1 Re6 30.Qxe6+
Kxe6 31.Rxd6+ Qxd6 32.Nxd6 Kxd6 33.axb4 axb4 34.Rxc4 b3 35.Rb4 Bd5
36.Kf1 Kc5 37.Rb8 Kc4 38.Rc8+ Kb4 39.Rb8+ Kc3 40.f4 b2 41.Rxb2 Kxb2
42.g4 Kc3 43.Ke2 Kc4 44.h4 f6 45.h5 Bf7 46.h6 Bg8 47.e4 Kc5 48.Ke3 Kd6
49.Kd4 Bh7 50.f5 Bg8 51.e5+ fxe5+