The 4 ...a6 Slav : White plays 5 e3
1 d4 d 5 2 c4 c6 3 lL:lf3 lL:lf6 4 lL:lc3 a6
In the next two chapters we shall look at the move-order 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6
3 ctJf3 ctJf6 4 ctJc3 a6.
Question 1 : What is the point of
4 ... a6?
Answer: 4 .. . a6 allows the bishop to develop outside the pawn chain to g4
or f5, since after . . . iH5 , 'i"b3 attacking b7 can be met by ... b7-b5, advancing the b7-pawn to a safe square, or ... J.:!a7!, an ugly looking but brilliant thought of Julian Hodgson's.
Question 2: Sounds great. Any drawbacks?
A nswer: You had to ask. Black is placing a lot of pawns on light squares, so he can often suffer from weak dark squares.
Game 51 Oil-Anand
Biel Interzonal 1993
1 d4 d 5 2 c4 c6 3 lL:lf3 ttJf6 4 lL:lc3 a6 5 e3
White protects the c4-pawn and prepares to develop his kingside.
White's numerous alternatives here are discussed in the next chapter.
5 . . . b5
Black would like to develop his bishop outside the pawn chain by playing 5 . . . �g4, for example, but 6 'i"b3 is strong, as 6 .. . b5 7 cxd5 cxd5 8 a4! breaks up the black queenside.
Black must be able to meet a2-a4 with . ..b5-b4; after . . . b5xa4, his a-pawn be
comes very weak. In fact Black could play an interesting tactical idea here:
after 8 . . . �xf3 9 gxf3 he can try 9 .. . b4!?, so that after 10 'i"xb4, 10 .. . e5!
attacks the white queen. 1 1 'i"b3 exd4 1 2 exd4 ctJc6 13 �e3 �b4 gives com
pensation for the pawn due to White's weakened pawn structure, but 1 1 'i"b7! gains a tempo by attack
ing the rook on a8: 1 1 .. .ctJbd7 1 2 dxe5 ctJxe5 13 �xa6, when Black has
8 7
enormous problems on the light squares. I'm sure that Julian Hodgson would suggest 6 .. . Ma7(!) , but after 7 ctJe5 (threatening 8 ctJxg4 ctJxg4 9 cxd5, winning a pawn) 7 .. . e6 (as usual in the Slav Black does not mind swapping off his light-squared bishop for White's knight) 8 f3 ! 11Lh5 9 g4 light-squared bishop in greater com
fort.
6 b3
The exchange 6 cxd5 is considered in Game 55.
6 . . . :iL.g4 7 h3
A very natural reaction, putting the question to the bishop. 7 11Le2 is dealt with in Games 53 and 54. experimenting with the violent 8 ... eS, to exploit the absence of the queen
against Jon Levitt, sacrificing a pawn in order to gain the advantage of two bishops against two knights. In fact I
won a nice game after 13 .. . 0-0 14 0-0
�a3 15 �a1 ! �xa1 16 Mxa1 Ma7!? 17
cxb5 cxb5 (hoping for 18 11Lxb5 ctJe4, swapping off one of my bishops) 18
Mc2!, allowing my dark-squared bishop to activate itself via b4. With control of the c-file and Black's pas·
sive pieces, I quickly gained a decisive advantage. Black should have played . .. ctJe4 at some point before Mc2 in
order to force the exchange of one of White's bishops, but White has rea
sonable compensation for the pawn.
1 0 .. . 0-0 1 1 �e2 bxc4! 1 2 bxc4 c 5 !
This is a typical freeing manoeuvre for Black. The immediate 1 1 . . .c5 play for equality with 13 cxd5 cxd4 14 exd4 1i.xc3 15 1i.xc3 tLlxd5.
1 3 .. . d4! 1 4 exd4 �xd4
White has a worse pawn structure and real tactical problems, as Black's pieces quickly become amazingly ac
tive. Black recaptures on f3 with the pawn instead of the queen.
8 . . . liJbd7 !
Threatening . . . c7-eS .
9 f4 bxc4 1 0 bxc4 dxc4!
By taking the c-pawn, Black pre
vents c4-cS. Now White cannot stop Black from playing . . . c6-cS himself, and the game soon fizzles out.
1 1 �xc4 e6
1 2 �d2 ..IiLb4 1 3 0-0 0-0 1 4 liJe4 a5
5 liJf3 b5 6 b3 �g4 7 �e2
Peter Wells and Glenn Flear are well known for their deep knowledge of Slav systems, so this game is espe·
cially interesting.
7 . . . e6 8 0-0 ..IiLd6? !
An inaccuracy that has unpleasant consequences. When White plays LiJeS, attacking c6, Black needs to be able to exchange it as quickly as pos·
sible for one of his own knights.
Therefore Black should either play 8 . .. LiJbd7 or 8 .. . �e7 (to meet 9 4Je5 with 9 .. . �xe2 10 ¥llixe2 and then 1O . . . LiJfd7!) . In the game, White gets a
grip on the dark squares and wins in model fashion.
9 h3 �h5 1 0 liJe5 �xe2 1 1 liJxe2!
0-0 1 2 liJf4 Wlic7 1 3 liJfd 3 ! liJbd7 1 4
�b2 Wlib7 1 5 '!:!c 1 �ac8 1 6 Re2 .!:!fd8 1 7 Wlif3 �f8 1 8 J:!fc 1 !
1 5 ..IiLxb4 axb4 1 6 liJxf6+ liJxf6 1 7 White's pieces are coordinating
Wlid3 liJd5 1 8 �fc l .!:!a5 1 9 J:!ab 1 beautifully.
�d6 Y:z - Y:z
Game 53 Wells-Flear
Oakham+1994
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 liJc3 liJf6 4 e3 a6
s e e follo wing diagram
1 8 .. . bxc4 1 9 bxc4 liJxe5 20 liJxe5
�d6 21 liJd3 liJe4 22 �e2 Wlib8 23 liJc5 �xc5 24 dxc5 Wlib7 25 cxd5
�xd5 26 ..IiLxg7 �xg7 27 Wlig4+ LtJg5 28 e4 J::!.e5 29 f4 J::!.xe4 30 Wlixg 5+
Wf8 3 1 gd2 �e7 32 �h6+ �g8 33 l:!:c3 �h8 34 gg3 gg8 35 gd7
�xe5+ 36 �h2 1 -0
Game 54 Krasenkov-Epishin
Bmo 1 994
Th e 4 . . . a 6 Sla v : Wh i t e p la ys 5 e 3
White back.
1 7 . . . �b7 1 8 �e2 ga7 ! !
I f White now defends the eS-pawn with 19 f4, then 19 . . .tDbS! 20 l:\,c3 b4!
21 l:\,d3 l:\,cs (Epishin) gains the c-file for Black.
1 9 z:!.e1 LZlxe5 ! 20 LZlxe6 �xe6 2 1 LZlxf8 �xe2 2 2 gxe2 LZle4! ! 2 3 bxe4 1 d4 LZlf6 2 e4 e6 3 LZlf3 d5 4 LZle3 dxe4
a6 5 e3 b5 6 b3 JiLg4 7 JiLe2 e6 8 h3 Jih5 9 0-0 LZlbd 7 ! 1 0 LZle5 JiLxe2 1 1 CLJxe2 LZlxe5 1 2 dxe5 LZld7
13 exd 5 exd 5 14 JiLb2 JiLe7 1 5 LZld4
�b6 1 6 l:i.e 1 0-0 1 7 ge6
17 CDc6 �cS is equal according to Epishin. Here White's control of the c-file looks impressive, but with some fine moves, Epishin gradually pushes
The white knight is trapped. Black regains his piece and his queenside pawns prove to be far too much for his opponent to cope with.
24 JiLd4 ge7 25 LZlxh 7 �xh7 26 JiLb6 ge6 27 JiLa5 JiLa3 ! 28 �f 1 b4 29
�e2 ge5 30 JiLb6 gb5 31 JiLd4 b3 32 gxe4 b2 33 JiLxb2 gxb2+ 34 �f3 JiLb4 0- 1
9 1
Instead of 6 b3, sometimes White �e2 e5 33 h3 e4 V2 -V2
plays 6 cxd5.
55 Karpov-Short
Dortmund 1995
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 tZJc3 tZJf6 4 e3 a6 5 tZJf3 b5 6 cxd 5 cxd 5 7 tZJe5
A different plan: White prevents the black bishop from developing outside the pawn chain and tries to prove that Black's queenside is weak.
7 . . . e6 8 .1i.d2 .1i.e 7 9 .1i.e2 0-0 1 0 0-0 .1i.b 7 1 1 tZJd3
A typical manoeuvre by White, bringing the knight in contact with the weak c5-square.
1 1 .. . tZJbd7 1 2 b4 tZJb6!
White has weak squares too!
1 3 a4 tZJe4!
see follo wing diagram
1 4 axb5 tZJxc3 1 5 .i,xc3 axb5 1 6 tZJc5 .i,c6 1 7 .1lxa8 �xa8 1 8 .1i.d3
�a2 1 9 �h5 g6 20 �e5 �a7 21 ga 1 �b8 22 �xb8 gxb8 23 ga5 .1i.d8 24 .1i.e1 ga8 25 !!xa8 tZJxa8 26 g4 tZJb6 27 f3 tZJc4 28 .i,f2 .i,g5 29 f4 .i,e7 30 �g2 f6 31 �f3 �f7 32
In the next game we see a tricky al
ternative move-order from White.
56 Sadler-Hodgson
Hastings 1 d4 d 5 2 c4 c6 3 tZJc3
Of course playing 3 ttJc3 first gives Black the extra possibility of playing 3 . . . dxc4 (see Chapter 10) .
3 . . . tZJf6 4 e 3 a 6 5 �c2 ! ?
5 ttJf3 would o f course simply transpose to the games we have al
ready seen in this chapter. On c2 the white queen prevents Black from developing his bishop to f5, which
suggests that it would be natural for Black to put his bishop on g4 instead.
However, after 5 . . . b5 6 b3 �g4, White's idea is to play 7 tiJge2, and if
7 . . . tiJbd7 then 8 h3 �h5 9 tiJf4, picking up the bishop pair.
Question 3: I thought you said that Black wanted to exchange off his light-squared bishop for White's knight! Aren't you contradicting yourself?
A nswer: It is a conflict of ideas - as Black you say, 'The bishop on c8 was my problem piece and I'm glad I've exchanged it,' whereas with White you say 'Yes, I've won the bishop pair!' Frankly I would be happy to play either colour! It is clear, how
ever, that in comparison with the line 5 tiJf3 b5 6 b3 �g4 7 h3 �xf3, White has gained the two bishops at a much lower cost: he has not had to either weaken his kingside pawn structure, or misplace his queen on the kingside.
So basically White has got a good ver
sion of this typical sort of position.
And that is the point of waiting with
5 'lic2.
A similar idea for White is 5 �d3, preventing . . . �f5 . Personally, I would grab this opportunity to transpose into a Queen's Gambit Accepted with 5 ... dxc4 6 �xc4 e6 7 tiJf3 c5, but I know that not everyone feels the same way! 5 . . . �g4!? 6 'lib3 Ma7 is possible, however, as neither 7 f3 dxc4
(7 . . . �h5 8 cxd5 cxd5 9 g4 �g6 10
low, is advantageous for White.
Right, back to the game!
5 . . . e6 6 iDf3 e 5 ! wasted a move, since he's played first . . . c7-c6 and now . . . c6-c5? square. Moreover, my queen could be very useful on c2 to attack a bishop on c5 after d4xc5 �xc5.
7 exd 5 exd 5 8 �e2 iDe6 9 0-0 �e6 !
93
The start of a superb tactical plan.
Normal development could have eas
ily ended in disaster. For example, if 9 .. . iLe7 10 Md1 0-0 then 1 1 dxcS iLxcs 12 ttJxds wins a pawn, since the bishop on cS hangs. Therefore Black begins a complicated tactical manoeu
vre that seeks to exploit the exposed position of the queen on c2.
1 0 gd 1 ctJb4 ! 1 1 �d2
1 1 'iVb 1 'iV cS, threatening . . . iLfS, could be embarrassing.
1 1 . . . ctJe4! 1 2 ctJxe4 dxe4
White's pieces are not coordinating well, and if White were to continue routinely with 13 ttJeS, then 13 . . . cxd4 14 exd4 MCS, threatening . . . ttJc2, would be extremely annoying. Instead
of this defensive course, White plays for the initiative.
1 3 a3! exf3 1 4 iLxf3 ctJc6 !
Julian did not like the look of
14 .. . ttJdS 15 dxcs ttJc7 16 iLxb7 with three pawns and an initiative for the
piece.
1 5 d5 ctJe5 1 6 dxe6 ctJxf3+ 1 7 gxf3 fxe6 1 8 b3 �xd2 1 9 iLxd2
Black's queenside pawn maJonty even gives him a slight pull, but after a few adventures the game was eventu
ally drawn.
1 9 .. . �d7 ! 20 iLc3+ �c6 2 1 ga2 iLe7 22 gad2 gad8 23 gxd8 gxd8 24 gxd8 iLxd8 25 iLxg7 c4!
Sacrificing a pawn to activate the king.
26 bxc4 �c5 27 f4 �xc4 28 e4 iLc7 29 f5 exf5 30 exf5 �d5 3 1 a4 b5 32 axb5 axb5 33 iLc3 iLe5 34 iLd2 �e4 35 �f 1 �xf5 36 h3 iLf4 37 iLc3 �e4 38 �e2 iLd6 39 iLd2
�d4 40 iLe3+ �c4 41 iLd2 iLb4 42 iLxb4!
I spent a while just checking that the pawn ending was drawn. Remem
ber that 4 1 . . .b4 just leads to a draw after 42 iLxb4 as Black has the wrong
coloured bishop for the rook's pawn!
42 . . . <;t>xb4 43 <;t>d3 <;t>a3 44 <;t>c2 b4 45 <;t>b 1 <;t>b3 46 h4 <;t>c3 47 h5 � - �
Since 47 . . . h6 48 f4 �d4 49 �b2
�e4 50 �b3 �xf4 51 �xb4 �g4 52 cj;c3 �xh5 53 �d2 �g4 54 �e1 �f3 55 �f1 draws Gust) for White.
Another tricky move for White is 5
a4.
Gam? 57
Atalik-Miles
Hastings 1995/96
1 d4 d 5 2 c4 c6 3 ttJc3 ttJf6 4 e3 a6 5 a4
An unusual move in this position when White has already committed himself to e2-e3, shutting in his dark
squared bishop.
5 . . . �f5 6 �b3 ga7 7 a 5 !
Suddenly, to his horror, Miles real
ised that after the natural 7 .. . e6, 8 '{!Vb6! is extremely strong, as after the forced 8 . . . 'i'xb6 9 axb6 �a8 10 c5, intending b2-b4 and b4-b5 breaking through, White has a magnificent end
ing. Tony, practical as ever, just played a few necessary defensive moves and got on with the game!
Th e 4 ...a 6 Sla v : Wh i t e p la ys 5 e 3
7 . . . �d 7 S ttJf3 e 6 9 ttJe5 �cS 1 0 f3 ttJfd7 1 1 ttJxd7 ttJxd7
Also possible was 1 1 . . .'i'xd7!?
1 2 cxd 5 cxd 5 1 3 e4 dxe4 1 4 fxe4
�g6 1 5 e 5 ! §Le7 1 6 §Le2 0-0 1 7 0-0 gaS 1 S §Le3 .l:!.bS 1 9 �a4 �dS 20 .l:!.ad 1 MCS 2 1 d5 �c5 22 §Lf2 �xf2+
23 gxf2 ttJc5 24 �b4 �g 5 25 dxe6 fxe6 26 gxfS+ <;t>xfS 27 �d4 <;t>gS 2S �c4 Wie7 29 b4 ttJd7 30 §Lb3 ttJfS 31 �d6 �eS 3 2 §La4 �f7 33 Mf 1 �f5 34 ttJe4 �g6 3 5 ttJc5 h6 36
�d 1 �e4 37 Bf2 §Ld 5 3S §Lc2 Wig 5 39 h3 �e3 40 �e7 <;t>hS 4 1 �f7 ttJh7 42 �f4 �e 1 + 43 <;t>h2 .l:!.gS 44
�g3 �xb4 45 ttJd3 �a3 46 ttJf4
�xg3+ 47 <;t>xg3 gdS 4S ttJg6+ <;t>gS 49 ttJe 7 + <;t>hS 50 ttJg6+ <;t>gS 5 1 95
ClJe7+ �h8 52 ClJg6+ % - %
After 5 a4 Black can simply play 5 . . . e6, aiming to put a bishop on the hole on b4, but this leads more to a Semi-Slav type of position, so for Slav devotees, I offer a few other ideas:
a) 5 . . . g6 is interesting, leading to a sort of Schlecter Slav (see Chapter 1 1) .
b) 5 . . . 'iic7 is not as stupid as it
seems: Black defends b7 in advance. If
6 ct'Jf3 then 6 .. . �g4 7 'iib3 �xf3 8
gxf3 e6!
c) 5 . . . Ma7!? with the same idea. If 6
as then maybe 6 .. . �e6!? 7 ct'Jf3 (7 'iib3
dxc4!) 7 .. . dxc4 8 ct'Jg5 �g4 9 f3 �h5 with a completely unclear position.
Th e 4 . . . a 6 Sla v : Wh i t e p la ys 5 e 3
Summary
In general Black is doing fine in these lines, but since the 4 .. . a6 Slav is such a recent development, there is still scope for improvements for both colours. 4 Qjf3 a6 5 e3 bS 6 b3 oltg4 7 h3 �xf3 8 'i'xf3 e6 9 �d3 �b4 10 �d2, as in Sadler-Levitt, is worth further tests, and the game Sadler-Hodgson is certainly crazy enough to be worth analysing!
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 tUf3 tUf6 4 tUc3
4 e3 a6 (D)
5 'i'c2 -game 56 5 a4 -game 57
4 . . . a6 5 e3 b5 6 b3
6 cxdS -game 55
6 . . . iLg4 (D) 7 h3
7 �e2 e6
8 0-0 -game 53 8 h3 -game 54
7 . . . iLxf3 (D)
8 'i'xf3 -game 5 1 8 gxf3 -game 52
4 . . . a 6 6 . . . iLg4 7 . . . iLxf3
9 7
Aggressive o ptions for White
1 d4 d 5 2 c4 c6 3 lLlf3 lLlf6 4 lLlc3 a6
In this chapter we deal with the more attacking systems against the 4 .. . a6 Slav, in which White delays e2-e3 in order to develop the bishop on c 1 to an active square outside the pawn chain. We shall first examine S cS, which has virtually become the main line.
Question 1 : S cS looks like a begin
ner's move. Isn't it bad to release the tension in the centre so early?
A nswer: White is aiming for a 'big clamp' on the centre: S cS stops Black from breaking with . . . c6-cS, and �f4 will prevent Black from achieving . . . e7-eS. White will then either launch a queenside offensive with b2-b4, a2-a4 and b4-bS, or he will organise a central break with e2-e4. Overall, this is a very ambitious plan.
The queenside break . . . b7-b6 is not great for Black, since cSxb6, . . . ik'xb6 leaves him with weak dark squares on cS, b6 and as, and a backward c-pawn.
Question 2: Black can't play on the queenside, and he can't get in any of his breaks. What can he do?
A nswer: . . . c6-cS is not on the agenda, but . . . e7-eS should not be
im-possible to achieve if Black can organ
ise his pieces properly. White has closed the centre, so Black has more time to achieve his plan, as he never has to worry about a sudden central breakthrough. Moreover, Black can spare a lot more pieces than usual to prepare . . . e7-eS, since he doesn't need any to defend his own centre.
58 Kramnik-Shirov
Vienna 1996
1 lLlf3 d 5 2 d4 c6 3 c4 lLlf6 4 lLlc3 a6 5 c5 .iLf5 6 �b3 .l:!.a7 !
I couldn't help laughing when Jul
ian Hodgson told me that he played . . . a7-a6 in order to facilitate . . . .l::!.a7,
Th e 4 . . . a 6 Sla v : A gg r e s s i v e o p tio n s fo r Wh i t e
but the idea is a good one. It really is not clear whether the queen on b3 is any better placed than the rook on a7:
on b3 the queen attacks very little and gets in the way of one of White's main plans, the queenside pawn storm with b4, a4 and bs. If the queen moves away from b3, then the rook can simply return to as !
The more conventional 6 .. :�cS 1S discussed in the following game.
7 .ltf4 lLlbd7 8 h 3 h6 9 e3 g 5 !
This move shows a good under
standing of the position. Black leaves his weakened queenside alone and grabs space on the kingside, where White has little going for him. The move . . . g7-gS also allows the bishop to come to g7, supporting the . . . e7-eS break.
1 0 .lth2 .ltg7 1 1 lLle5 0-0 1 2 f3
Unwilling to let Black have things his own way, White prepares the
e2-e4 break. This raises the stakes, as ... e7-eS will become doubly effective against an expanded white centre.
1 2 . . . lLlxe5 1 3 .ltxe5 lLld7 1 4 .ltxg7
�xg7 1 5 e4 dxe4 1 6 fxe4 .ltg6 1 7 O-O-O?
A careless move that condemns
White positionally. White had to an
ticipate . . . e7-eS and either prevent it with 17 eS or play 17 iYc4, intending
17 .. . eS 1S dS.
1 7 .. . e 5 ! 1 8 �c4 �f6 1 9 dxe5 lLlxe5
The pos1tlOn is now horrible for White: Black can just gang up on his weak pawns.
20 �d4 gaa8 !
Having done its job, the rook comes back into play.
2 1 �e3 J::!.ad8 22 .lte2 �e7 23 J:Ihe 1 lLld7 24 �d4+ lLlf6 25 �e3 �e5 26 .ltf3 h 5 !
Preparing . . . gS-g4, driving away a defender of e4.
27 a3 gfe8 28 nxd8 nxd8 29 .ltd 1 J::!.d4 30 .ltc2 J::!.c4 3 1 Wb 1
99
3 1 . . . 1:!.xc5
The first pawn falls .. .
32 �d2 1:!.c4 33 �dS ctJxe4 3 4 3Lxe4 3Lxe4+ 35 ctJxe4 .!:!xe4
. . . and now the second.
0-1
A really good exposition of the ideas behind the 4 .. . a6 Slav.
Game 59 I . Sokolov-Shirov
Erevan Olympiad 1996 1 d4 d 5 2 c4 c6 3 ctJf3 ctJf6 4 ctJc3 a6 5 c5 3Lf5 6 �b3 �cS ! ?
I'm not sure why Shirov did not want to repeat his previous game.
Perhaps it was nothing objective, just the desire not to be too predictable.
The idea behind this move is ex
tremely neat: Black will develop nor-mally with . . . e7-e6, . . . CDbd7, . . . :ie7 and ... 0-0, and will then prepare . . . e6-e5 by means of . . . MeS and . . . :idS-c7, making use of the fact that the queen has vacated dS !
7 3Lf4 ctJbd7 S h 3 ! ?
Black i s going t o castle kingside, so White wants to have his pawn storm ready on that side of the board.
S . . . e6 9 ctJe5 3Le7 1 0 g4 3Lg6 1 1 e3 3LdS 1 2 3Le2 ctJxe5 1 3 3Lxe5 3Lc7
14 ctJa4
This is a normal plan, trying to gain the two bishops by exchanging the knight for the dark-squared bishop on ds . However, there is a tactical problem on this occasion.
1 4 .. . 3La5+! 1 5 ctJc3
Or 15 Wfl CDe4 16 Wg2 f6, intend-ing . . . e6-e5.
1 5 ... 0-0 1 6 h4 h6 1 7 0-0-0 ctJd7 1 8 3Ld6 geS 1 9 ghg 1 3L c 7 2 0 h 5 3Lh7 21 g 5 .1Lxd6 22 cxd6 <t>hS
I think that Black IS Just better here: White is having to make all sort of positional concessions and his at
tack just isn't getting anywhere.
Th e 4 . . . a 6 Sla v : A gg r e s s i v e op tio n s fo r Wh i t e
23 gxh6 gxh6 24 e4 dxe4 25 tLia4
�d8 26 tLic5 tLixc5 27 dxc5 �f6 28
�c3 �xc3+ 29 bxc3 Uab8 30 gd4 a5 31 �d 1 b6 32 cxb6 gxb6 33 jLc2 .!:!.d8 34 d7 .!:!.b5 35 .!:!.gd 1 '!:!'xh 5
Black wins yet another pawn.
Though Sokolov fights hard, the re
sult is never in doubt.
36 c4 �g7 37 �b2 �f8 38 .ita4 nc5 39 \t>c3 �e7 40 .!:!.d6 e3 4 1 fxe3 �e4 42 .!:!.6d4 .!:!. e 5 4 3 gf 1 �g2 44 gg 1 gxe3+ 45 gd3 .!:!.xd3+ 46
\iixd3 '!:!'xd7+ 47 �e3 �h3 48 �xc6 nc7 49 �b5 e5 50 Uh 1 .ite6 5 1
\iid3
51 . . . �f6 52 .!:!.xh6+ �g 5 53 gh8
\iif4 54 .!:!.h4+ �g4 55 gh8 f5 56 ne8 gc5 57 a4 �f3 58 �a6 �f2 59
�b5 �e2+ 60 �c3 f4 61 gd8 �f3 62 .l:!.d2+ �e 1 0 - 1
Obviously Black is rather happier than White in this line at the mo
ment!
Another very popular idea for White is to play 5 a4.
Question 4: What is the point of this move?
A nswer: 5 a4 merely aims to pre
vent Black's idea of . . . b7-b5, and force him to find another plan. Though it severely weakens the b4-square, this move does give White the possibility of a4-a5, cramping the black queen
side.
Game 60 Pushkov-Epishin
Russian Championship 1995 1 tLif3 tLif6 2 c4 c6 3 tLic3 d 5 4 d4 a6 5 a4 e6
The most natural and overwhelm
ingly the most popular choice. The game loses a little of its Slav character I'm afraid, but Black does get to oc
cupy that weak b4-square.
6 �g5
1 0 1
The fianchetto 6 g3 is dealt with in the following game.
6 . . . tiJbd7 7 e3 iLe7 8 iLd3 0-0 9 0-0 dxc4 1 0 iLxc4 c5 1 1 a5 cxd4 1 2 exd4 b 5 1 3 axb6 tiJxb6
Black has already equalised.
1 4 iLe2 iLb 7 1 5 tiJe5 h6 1 6 iLh4 tiJfd7 1 7 iLxe7 �xe7 1 8 tiJxd7 �xd7 1 9 tiJa4 tiJxa4 20 l::lxa4 l::lfd8 2 1
�a 1 �c6 2 2 iLf3 �b6 2 3 iLxb7
�xb7 24 �c 1 �d6 25 h3 gad8 26 gcc4 e 5 !
Black wins a pawn, but can't quite convert it into a win.
27 gab4 �e4 28 d5 �xd 5 29 �a3 gg6 30 .i:tg4 l:Idd6 3 1 gb8+ �h7 32
�b3 �xb3 33 gxb3 gd 1 + 34 �h2 gf6 3 5 f3 gd2 36 h4 g6 37 ga4
�g7 38 �ba3 .i:txb2 39 �xa6 .i:tf4 40
�6a4 �xa4 4 1 nxa4 nd2 42 �g3 .i:td3 43 na5 Wf6 44 na6+ �f5 45 ga7 �e6 46 .l:!a6+ .i:td6 47 ga5 f5 48 �a8 Wd5 49 �f2 nb6 50 l:IdS+
�e6 51 �g3 nb1 52 h 5 gxh 5 53 l:Ih8 h4+ 54 �xh4 �d5 55 XlfS f4 56 .i:td8+ �e6 57 ne8+ �f6 58 .l:!fS+
�e7 59 �h8 gg 1 60 nh7+ �f6 61 l:Ixh6+ �g7 62 ne6 .l::i.xg2 63 gxe5
�f6 64 J::!.a5 .l::!.g 1 % - %
Let us see what happens if White opts to fianchetto.
Cifuentes-Dreev
aan Zee 1995
1 c4 c6 2 d4 d 5 3 tiJc3 tiJf6 4 CUf3 a6 5 a4 e6 6 g3 tiJbd7 7 iLg2 iLb4 8 0-0 0-0 9 �b3 a5 1 0 gd 1 b6
White will find it hard to achieve e2-e4, since Black has his bishop en
trenched on b4 and can always play . . . �xc3, removing a defender of e4.
Without this idea, however, White may struggle to find a plan.
1 1 tiJe5 tiJxe5 1 2 dxe5 tiJd7 1 3 cxd5 exd 5 1 4 iLf4 �e7 1 5 e4 d4! 1 6
Th e 4 . . . a 6 Sla v : A g g r e s s i v e op tio n s fo r Wh i t e gxd4 lZJxe5 1 7 J£.xe5 \'ixe5
Black's two bishops and queenside pawn majority give him a clear advan
tage.
out developing your bishop outside the pawn chain, then S . . . �fs 6 iVb3 Ma7 seems interesting. After 7 as, threatening 8 iVb6, 7 .. . dxc4 8 iVxc4 CLlbd7 is not so stupid. For example, 9
�gS h6 10 i..xf6 (10 i..h4 gS!? 1 1 i..g3 since the omission of a2-a4 and h7-h6 must help Black a little. After S .. . dxc4 6 a4 another idea is to play 6 .. . �fS (a more natural Slav move), aiming for a little trap: 7 e3 Lbe4!? 8 Lbxe4 i..xe4 9 i..xc4 i..xf3! 10 iVxf3 �aS+! 1 1 �e2
�xgS 12 �xf7+ �d8, when White does not have sufficient compensation for the piece.
1 0 lZJe5 \'ie7 1 1 J£.g3 \'ib7 1 2 g b 1 1 03
Wiia7 1 3 Wiif3 e6 1 4 3l.e2 g6 1 5 Wiif6
The opening has not been a success for Black, but somehow he hangs on and almost turns the tables com
pletely.
1 5 .. . gh7 1 6 �f3 3l.b7 1 7 0-0 tiJd7 1 8 tiJxd7 �xd7 1 9 �f4 �e8 20 axb5 axb5 21 ga 1 ! Wiib6 22 :!::i.xa8+
3l.xa8 23 ga 1 Wiib7 24 d5 cxd 5 25 exd 5 3l.e7 26 �e3 3l.g5 27 f4 3l.e7 28 3l.f3 Wiic8 29 d6 3l.xf3 30 Wiixf3
�c5+ 31 3l.f2 Wiixd6 32 .!:!.a8+ 3l.d8 33 ga7 Wiid 5 34 Wiixd5 exd 5 35 gb7 h 5 36 �xb5 f5 3 7 M.xd 5 .!:!.d7 38 ge5+ �f7 39 g3 3l. f6 40 M.c5 V2 - V2
Next, the adventurous 5 CLJeS. I don't like this move at all for White and in the next game Shirov neutral
ises it very easily with simple devel
opment.
63 Beliavsky-Shirov
Erevan Olympiad 1996 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 tiJf3 tiJf6 4 tiJc3 a6 5 tiJe5 tiJbd7 6 3l.f4 dxc4! 7 tiJxc4 b5 8 tiJe5 3l.b 7 9 e4 e6 1 0 f3 c 5 !
After this freeing break, Black has no problems.
1 1 tiJxd 7 tiJxd7 1 2 3l.e3 3l.e 7 1 3 dxc5 tiJxc5 1 4 Wiixd8+ gxd8 1 5 gd 1 0-0 1 6 a3 gxd 1 + 1 7 �xd 1 M.c8 1 8 3l.e2 �f8 1 9 �c2 tiJa4 20 3l.d2 3l.d6 21 h3 �e7 22 Bd 1 tiJxc3 23 3l.xc3 b4 24 axb4 3l.xb4 25 gd3 a5 26
�b3 3l.xc3 27 Bxc3 .l:i.xc3+ 28 �xc3
�d6
You might have expected the play
ers to have called it a day here, espe
cially when you consider that this was the last round of a gruelling Olym
piad for both players: Beliavsky was playing his 14th game on board 1 and
Shirov his 13th!
29 �d4 e5+ 30 �c3 �c5 31 3l.c4 f6
Th e 4 ...a 6 Sla v : A g g r e s s i v e op tio n s fo r Wh i t e impressive display of fighting spirit from both players.
The final idea to be considered is 5 'i'b3, preventing the development of the light-squared bishop by attacking b7. The advantage of this move is that Black cannot counter in normal Slav fashion, but the Semi-Slav approach is easy to understand, and nice for
The most popular move for Black.
5 . . . dxc4 6 �xc4 iLf5 7 g3 is the 4 �b3 Aruba 1995, and now Shirov suggests
5 . . . dxc4 6 �xc4 iLf5 7 g3 is the 4 �b3 Aruba 1995, and now Shirov suggests