Capítulo III Marco Teórico
3.4. Marco legal
3.4.1. Ley de Contracciones del Estado (LCE)
White can start with 17. ♗h6 immediately, but I don't think that changes
much. 17... ♗g4 ( 17... ♗xh6 18. ♖xh6 ♘f4 19. g3 ♕f8 20. ♖h4♘h3 21. ♕c2 ♔g7 22. ♕d2 ♖xf3 23. ♕h6+ ♔f7 24. ♕xf8+♔xf8 25. ♗xh3 ♗xh3 26. ♖h8+ ♔g7 27. ♖xa8 ♘b4=/∞ ; 17...♗f6⁉ ) 18. ♗xg7 ( 18. ♗e2 ♘f4∓ ) 18... ♔xg7 19. ♕d2 ♘f4 20.♘g5 ♖f5∞
17... ♖b8 18. axb5 axb5 19. ♗h6 Black has a number of very attractive new ideas: the move I like most is another novelty,
19... ♗f6⁉N This creates the very unpleasant threat of Rh7, after which White's whole idea will be on the point of collapse. Black has a better situation in the centre and if he also takes control of the h-file it's not at all clear what White is doing.
19... ♗g4 is the move Ftacnik played against Babula, and after 20.♗xg7 he replied 20... ♗xf3 and entered an endgame he failed to hold. (Black could instead simply have played 20... ♖xg7 with a very unclear position.) 21. ♖h8+ ♔xg7 22. ♖xd8 ♗xd1 23. ♖xb8 Babula-Ftacnik, Moravia Team Ch 1997.
19... ♗f5⁉N is a novelty the machine comes up with after some thought, showing that 20. ♗xg7 ( 20. ♘g5 ♘db4 ) 20... ♖xg7
a) 21. ♗e2 ♘f4 ( 21... ♘db4 22. ♔f1 ♘c2 23. ♕d2 ) b) 21. ♕d2 ♘db4 22. ♕h6 ♘c2+ 23. ♔d1 ♘xa1
c) 21. ♘e5 21... ♘cb4 22. ♖c1 ♘f4 23. ♕d2 g5 24. f3 ♘fd3+25. ♗xd3 cxd3∓ 20. ♘e5 This is quite bad news for White.
20. ♗e2 ♖h7! 21. ♕d2 ♗f5 22. ♔f1 ♘db4 23. ♘xb5 ♗d3 20. ♘g5 ♗xg5 21. ♗xg5 ♘db4∓
20... ♗xe5 21. dxe5 ♘db4 If he has nothing better than this position the whole line is pretty much unplayable.
Black already has direct threats, so White should probably play 22. ♕xd8+ but after
22... ♘xd8 it's very clear where Black's pieces belong (the knight on e6, the bishop on f5), while White will still have to prove that the position of any of his pieces makes sense. I like Black here and in general I think 16... Nd5 is a very convincing solution to the 10.h4 problem.
23. O-O-O
23. ♖d1 ♗f5 24. ♖h4 ♘e6 , and Black has an edge.
23... ♘dc6 24. ♗e3 ♗f5 25. b3 ♗d3 26. e6 ♖f6=/+
8.e5 b5 9.Qb3 Nfd7 10.Ng5
1. d4 ♘f6 2. c4 g6 3. ♘c3 d5 4. ♘f3 ♗g7 5. ♕b3 dxc4 6.♕xc4 O-O 7. e4 a6 8. e5 b5 9. ♕b3 ♘fd7 Certainly the most unexplored move and the one resulting in the most exciting play is
10. ♘g5⁉ This was introduced into grandmaster practice a couple of years ago by Magnus Carlsen, which is always a sign that a move is very interesting.
10... ♘c6⁉ strikes me as the most interesting move here. Black aims to restrict White's options.
Black has generally played 10... ♘b6 11. ♗e3 ♘c6 12. ♖d1 ♘a5This position is very unclear and I don't see any reason for Black to go for this.
( 12... h6 13. ♘ge4 b4 14. ♘a4 ; 12... ♗f5 13. ♗e2 ♘a5 14.♕b4 ♘ac4 15.
O-O f6 16. ♘f3 ♘xe3 17. fxe3 fxe5 18. dxe5♕e8 19. ♕c5+/= Carlsen-Dominguez Perez, Wijk aan Zee 2010; 12...♗g4 13. f3 ♗f5 14. ♘ge4 ♘a5 15. ♕c2 b4 16. ♘e2 ♘d5 17.♗f2 c5 18. g4 b3 19. axb3 ♘b4 20. ♕xc5 ♗xe4 21. fxe4 ♖b822. ♘c1+/= Moiseenko-Volokitin, Kiev 81st UKR-ch
2012) 13. ♕c2⁉ (13. ♕b4 ♘bc4 14. ♗c1 ♗b7 15. ♘ce4 h6 16. ♘c5 hxg5 17.♘xb7 ♘xb7 18. ♗xc4 bxc4 19. ♕xb7 c5= Korobov-Gupta, New Delhi AICF-AAI Cup 2012)
11. ♗e3 The only good move.
After 11. ♘xf7 ♖xf7 12. e6 Black sacrifices the exchange with 12...♘xd4 13. exf7+ ♔f8 14. ♕d1 and after the possible 14... ♘c5 15.♗e3 ♗b7 16. ♖c1 ♕d6 I think it's quite clear to anyone that Black is dominating the board and the exchange is a very small price to pay for compensation like this.
If 11. ♘e6⁈ Black has the very nice reply 11... ♘a5! and after 12.♘xd8 ♘xb3 13. axb3 ♖xd8 Black is ready to break in the centre. 14.♘xb5 ( White is just worse after 14. ♗xb5 ♗b7! as both the pawn on g2 and the bishop on b5 are hanging. White's centre will collapse after e.g. 15. ♗f1 c5 ) 14... c6 Driving the knight back. 15. ♘c3 c5 For a single pawn Black has a position with a huge lead in development and a very strong initiative against the white centre. 16. ♘d5 ( 16. ♗g5cxd4 17. ♘d5 ♗b7 ) 16... ♗b7∓
After 11. e6 ♘xd4 12. exf7+ ♔h8 Black hasn't even had to sacrifice anything to get a brilliant position.
11. ♕d5 looks interesting at first glance, but it runs into the very strong11... ♘db8!∓ Suddenly the pawn on d4 is in a lot of trouble and I think Black is already better.
11... ♘a5 12. ♕d1 The white queen being forced to this square is a big advantage over the 10...Nb6 lines.
In a recent game White failed to appreciate the difference between this and the lines starting with 10...Nb6 and went wrong with 12. ♕c2 when Black was able to play 12... c5! It's now impossible to play 13. e6 as after ( 13. dxc5 ♘xe5 14. ♖d1 ♗f5 15. ♖xd8 ♗xc2 16. ♖d2♗f5=/+ Bai-Negi, CHN-tch 2012
2012) 13... cxd4 14. exf7+ ♖xf7 it turns out that the fork is inescapable and White loses material. 15.♘xf7 ♔xf7∓
12... ♘b6 In this position Black's play is clear. He wants to play Nc4, and most importantly f6. If the centre is blown apart Black's lead in development may become a decisive factor so to justify the previous play I think White has to play his following move.
12... h6 13. ♘ge4 ♗b7 ( 13... b4 14. ♘a4+/= ) 14. b4 ( 14. e6fxe6 15. ♕g4 ♕e8 16. ♕xe6+ ♔h8 17. a3
♖d8 18. b4 ♘c6 19.♖d1 ♘f6 20. d5 ♘xe4 21. ♘xe4 ♘e5+/= ) 14... ♘c6 ( 14... ♘c415. ♗xc4 bxc4 16. ♕e2+/= ) 15. ♕b3 ( 15. a3 f5! ) 15... e6 ( 15...a5 16. ♗xb5 axb4 17. ♗xc6 ♗xc6 18. ♕xb4+/= )
a) 16. ♗e2 a5 17. ♗xb5 axb4 18. ♗xc6 ♗xc6 19. ♕xb4♕h4!∓
b) 16. a3 f5 ( 16... a5 17. ♖b1 axb4 18. axb4 ) 17. exf6 ♘xf618. OOO ( 18. ♘c5 ♘xd4 ) 18... ♘xe4 19. ♕xe6+ ♔h7 20.♕xe4 ♕d6⇆
c) 16. ♖b1⁉♘e7 ( 16... f5 17. exf6 ♘xf6 18. ♘c5 ) 17. ♗e2♘f5 18. O-O+/=
d) 16. ♖d1 16... ♕e7 17. a3 ♖fd8 ( 17... f5 18. exf6 ♘xf6 19.♘c5± ) 18. ♗e2 a5∞ 13. h4 Here I can offer you a choice.
13. b3 f6=/+
13... h6 This is my alternative.
For those who like material and don't mind defending positions that look scary for a while, there's 13... f6⁉ and now once again, to justify the preceding play, White almost has to go
for 14. ♘xh7 ♔xh7 15. ♗d3(if 15. h5 ♖h8 16. hxg6+ ♔xg6 17. ♗d3+ ♔f7−+ White runs out of checks and this really isn't very attractive for him.) 15... ♖h8 16. h5♔g8∞ The machine says this is perfectly fine for Black, and it may well be so, but for someone like me who is, generally speaking, much more content giving away material than accepting sacrifices, this isn't ideal.
14. ♘ge4 ♘ac4 Black is ready to play f5, and in general White has very little time to waste since he's somewhat behind in development and his centre is about to become vulnerable.
15. h5 Forced, after which Black again has a choice. For sane people there's 15. ♗c1 b4 16. ♘a4 ♕d5∓
15. b3 ♘xe3 16. fxe3 f6∓
15... g5 , and the huge threat of f5 forces White's next move.
15... ♘xe3 16. fxe3 f5 17. ♘c5+/=
For people who don't particularly like sanity and would like a little crazy in their lives
there's 15... f5 16. exf6 ( 16. ♘c5 ♘xb2 17. ♕c2 ♘2c418. ♖d1 f4 19. ♗c1 ♗f5 20. ♕b3 g5=/+ ) 16... exf6 White can choose between two positions. 17. ♗xc4+ is perhaps the stronger move, getting rid of the unproductive bishop on f1. (after 17. hxg6 ♘xe3 18.fxe3 ♕e7⇆ Black is planning to play f5-f4 against pretty much anything.) 17... ♘xc4 18. hxg6 ♘xe3 19. fxe3 f5 20. ♘c5 f4 This is the position Black is aiming for in this line. It looks truly weird and isn't a pawn structure you see every day. For now Black is a pawn down, but White's central pawn structure has come under direct attack and if Black manages to open up the diagonals and get his bishops into play I think he has very real chances of an advantage here. In general, this is a very fresh and interesting way of dealing with 10.Ng5. It should have excellent shock value, as your opponent won't be expecting you to be so free with your kingside pawns. I was very pleased when I came up with this idea. At the time it was almost a novelty, while now there have already been some games, which makes it somewhat less exciting, but I still think Ng5 Nc6 is a very decent way to play and I heartily recommend it to anyone. 21.♕b3+ ♔h8⇆
16. ♘xg5 After the pretty much forced
16... ♘xe3 17. fxe3 hxg5 18. h6 ♗xe5 19. dxe5 ♕xd1+ 20.♖xd1 and
20... ♗f5 , preventing the white bishop from getting to the ideal d3-square unchallenged, this endgame looks slightly scary but I checked it and think the most likely outcome is a draw.
21. ♗d3 ♗xd3 22. ♖xd3 ♖ad8
22... ♔h7 23. ♔e2 ♖ad8 24. ♖xd8 ♖xd8 25. ♘e4 ♔g6 26.♘c5+/=
22... ♘c4 23. ♖d7 ♘xe3 24. ♔e2 ♘xg2∞ 23. ♔e2
23. ♖xd8 ♖xd8 24. ♘e4 ♘c4 23... ♘c4=
8.e5 b5 9.Qb3 Nfd7 10.Be2
1. d4 ♘f6 2. c4 g6 3. ♘c3 d5 4. ♘f3 ♗g7 5. ♕b3 dxc4 6.♕xc4 OO 7. e4 a6 8. e5 b5 9. ♕b3 ♘fd7 10. ♗e2 A new-fangled way of handling this position, which was revived if not invented by Alexander Morozevich in his game against me in the last round of the 2011 Russian Championship Superfinal.
10... c5 11. e6 fxe6 This was my own reaction, and I think it's perfectly adequate.
It's possible to play 11... cxd4 12. exf7+ ( 12. exd7 ♘xd7 13. ♘e4♗b7 14. ♗d3 ♖c8 leads to a position where Black has a lot of compensation for the
piece: 15. OO ♗xe4! 16. ♗xe4 ♘c5 17. ♕d5e6 18. ♕xd8 ♖fxd8 19. ♗c2 d3 20. ♗b3 ♘e4=/∞ ) 12... ♔h8 13.♘e4 Black does run the risk of getting mated here, but on the other hand, if he doesn't get mated he has a potentially very nice central majority. 13... ♘c6 I think this is the best move, although the position is extremely unclear (and very interesting to analyse). (One pitfall
is 13...♘e5 14. ♘xe5 ♗xe5 15. h4 ♗b7 which Ray Robson played in the 2012 US Championship, thinking that the knight on e4 was hanging and Bd5 would follow next move. He was sadly mistaken on both counts. After 16. h5 ♗xe4 17. ♗f3!± Lenderman-Robson, St. Louis 2012, he realised
that 17... ♗xf3 18. hxg6 is mate and the only other choice is to lose material, so it was a bit of an opening
catastrophe.) 14. h4 h6 (14... ♘de5 15. h5 ♗f5 16. ♘eg5± ) 15. h5 g5 16. ♗xg5 ♘de5 17.♗f4 ♗f5 18.
♘xe5 ♗xe5∞ Shabalov-Gupta, Philadelphia 40th World op 2012 12. ♕xe6+ ♔h8 13. dxc5
Something like 13. ♕d5 cxd4 14. ♕xa8 dxc3 is clearly acceptable for Black.
13... ♘e5 was my choice and is still my recommendation. I want to base this series around my own games where possible.
13... ♘xc5⁉ 14. ♕e3 b4 is a line that gives Black very interesting counterplay and has already been pointed out in a number of sources. 15.♕xc5 bxc3 16. bxc3 ♘d7 17. ♕a3 ♘f6=/∞
14. ♕d5
14. ♕b3 ♘d3+ ( 14... ♗b7 15. ♘xe5 ♗xe5 16. OO+/= ; 14...♘xf3+ 15. ♗xf3 ♖xf3 16. gxf3 ♘c6 17. ♗e3 ♘e5 18. ♕d5♕xd5 19. ♘xd5 ♘xf3+ 20. ♔d1 ♗b7 21. ♘xe7 ♗e4 22. c6♗xb2 23. c7 ♗xa1 24.
♔e2 ♗e5 25. c8=Q+ ♖xc8 26. ♘xc8♘xh2= ) 15. ♗xd3 ♕xd3 16. ♗e3 ♘c6 17. ♖d1 ♕f5 Black has the huge threat of Be6, and in general in positions like this one, where Black gets free play and both of his bishops are very active, his compensation for the single pawn is clearly more than
sufficient. 18. ♕d5 ( 18. ♖d5♕f6 19. O-O ♗e6∞ ) 18... ♕xd5 19. ♘xd5 ♗xb2= 14... ♕xd5 15. ♘xd5 ♘xf3+! is what I should have played.
I was one move from safety but started to go completely crazy - five moves later I could pretty much resign. 15... ♗b7 16. ♘c7 ♘xf3+ 17.gxf3!± Taking with the pawn makes a huge difference.
16. ♗xf3
16. gxf3 can simply be met by 16... ♘c6=/∞ and the knight is about to land on d4, the c1-bishop is stuck defending the b2-pawn, the other black bishop might come to f5 or even h3 in some lines, and in general it's obvious this position is fine for Black.
16... ♗b7 Only now, and in this position there's really nothing better for White than
17. ♘c7 ♗xf3 18. gxf3 and it makes a huge difference that there are no light-squared bishops on the board, because after
18... ♖a7 19. ♘e6 Black can just play
19... ♖xf3= and a number of grandmaster games in which this position occurred were all drawn. Black is perfectly safe here. The knight will come to c6, cementing the black queenside, the entrance points along the d-file are completely covered and in general I don't see any reason why Black should be worse.
8.e5 b5 9.Qb3 Nfd7 10.e6
1. d4 ♘f6 2. c4 g6 3. ♘c3 d5 4. ♘f3 ♗g7 5. ♕b3 dxc4 6.♕xc4 OO 7. e4 a6 8. e5 b5 9. ♕b3 ♘fd7 10. e6 The classical move in this position.
10... fxe6 This line was considered completely void until 1999 when people started playing 11. ♗e3 against me. First Kasparov played it in Wijk aan Zee, then Karpov in Dos Hermanas.
Official theory pre-1999 used to be 11. ♕xe6+ ♔h8 12. ♘g5 ( 12.♕e4 ♘b6 13. ♕h4 ♘c6 It's been known for a number of years that Black is fine here. For instance, Kamsky demonstrated a very nice double exchange sacrifice against Karpov: 14. ♗d3 ♖xf3 15. gxf3 ♘xd4 16.♗e4 ♗f5 with wonderful compensation in the World Championship match in Elista. 17. ♗e3 c5 Karpov-Kamsky, Elista
1996) 12... ♘f613. ♘f7+ ♖xf7 14. ♕xf7 ♘c6 The queen is stuck on f7 and Black has wonderful compensation for the exchange.
11... ♘f6
It's curious that I chose 11... ♘b6 against Kasparov, when White replies12. h4 with a kingside attack.
Kasparov is reasonably well-respected as an attacking player...
12. a4 My 11...Nf6 against Karpov encouraged him to respond with this move, playing for small advantages on the queenside. Karpov is a reasonably well-known positional player... I lost both games, but I don't want to go into too much detail. As I said, I'm planning to make a small video out of the three games I lost to World Champions in quick succession (the other loss was against Anand).
12... b4⁉ This is my recommendation in this line
rather than the 12... bxa4 I played against Karpov.
13. ♕xb4 Forced.
13... ♘c6 When I first started looking at this position I was under the misguided impression that Black might even be better here. I think that's a huge overstatement, as Black isn't really fighting for an advantage against precise play, but I still believe Black is perfectly fine. The best move here is
14. ♕a3
14. ♕c5 ♕d6 15. ♗c4 ♖b8 In this position White has to negotiate some pitfalls. 16. O-O (Onischuk played 16. ♘g5? against me, and after16... ♕xc5 17. dxc5 ♘g4!=/+ it turned out the hanging pawn on e6 isn't an issue and Black is already much better. I was very disappointed not to win that
game.) 16... ♖xb2 Black is a pawn up here, and although he's not yet better I still managed to win in a Bundesliga game against Zoltan Gyimesi some years
back. 17. ♖ab1 ♕xc5 18. dxc5♖c2 19. ♖fc1 ♖xc1+ 20. ♗xc1 ♖d8 21. ♘g5 ♘d5=/+ Gyimesi-Svidler, BL 2002
14... ♕d6 15. ♗c4 ♘b4! is much better.
It's important not to play 15... ♖b8 on autopilot, as 16. O-O leads to positions that are better for White, as can be seen, for instance, from a game of mine against Kramnik at one of the Tal Memorial blitz tournaments. 16... ♕xa3 17. bxa3 ♖d8 ( 17... ♔h8 18. h3 ♘a5 19.♗a2 c5 20. dxc5 ♘d5 21. ♘xd5 exd5 22. ♖ab1 ♖xb1 23. ♖xb1♘c4 24. ♗d4 ♗f5 Miton-Swiercz, Warsaw 9th Amplico Life EU-ch Rapid 2009 25. ♖b7± ) 18. ♖ac1 ♘a5 19. ♗a2 c6 20. ♗f4 ♖b721. ♖fe1 ♘d5 22. ♗d2+/= Kramnik-Svidler, Moscow Tal 5' 2009
16. ♕b3 Compared to White's other option of Rc1 this at least wins the e6-pawn.
16. ♖c1 ♗b7→
16. O-O White could ignore Nc2 and play 16... ♘c2 White could ignore Nc2 and play 17. ♕xd6 exd6 after which Black's structure is actually better than White's - the pawn on a4 is ugly. Black has no problems whatsoever here.
16... ♗b7! 17. ♗xe6+
17. ♘g5 can lead to a very beautiful variation that I want to show you for purely aesthetic
reasons: 17... ♗xg2 18. ♘xe6 ♗xh1 19. ♗f4 It seems as though there's no good square for the queen and White's about to start collecting material with checks, but here Black has a sequence of beautiful intermediate moves. 19... ♘d3+! 20. ♗xd3 ♗d5 Suddenly all of Black's problems along the a2-g8 diagonal have been solved and he may even be
better. 21. ♕xd5 ♕xd5 22. ♘xd5 ♘xd5 23. ♗g3 ♖fc8 24.♗c4 c6=/+
17... ♔h8 18. O-O ♗xf3 19. gxf3 ♖ab8 Black is perfectly comfortable in this position as he's eliminated his bad pieces. The pawn on e6 was unimportant and he's rid himself of the potentially bad bishop on c8. White's structure on the kingside has been spoiled and Black is ready for some forcing compensation. Play might continue
19... ♘c6
20. ♗c4 Otherwise the bishop might get stuck on e6.
20... ♕c6 21. d5
21. ♗e2 ♘fd5 22. ♘xd5 ♘xd5 23. ♕c4 ♕d7 24. ♖fc1 ♖b4=/+
21... ♕a8 Black will win back the pawn on d5 in a matter of moves, by which time White will have been able to regroup somewhat and the position will be very close to complete equality.
22. ♕d1 ♖fd8 23. ♕e2 ♘fxd5 24. ♖ac1 ♘xe3 25. fxe3 c6=
As I mentioned when recording my videos about the 5.Qb3 Grünfeld I thought it might be interesting to make a kind of "infotainment" video. What follows is somewhat less chess-heavy than the other material in this eBook, but I'd like to tell you about the three games I played in 1999 in pretty much the same line of the Grünfeld against three World Champions - the reigning World Champion, the ex-World Champion and the future World Champion - and in general to tell you a little bit about how my 1999 went. I know it was a long time ago and has no particular relevance but, as they say, it's my series and why not! I think the chess content is quite interesting as all three games are remarkable in their own way.
1998 went quite well for me - I did ok. I finished fine in my first ever Linares, tied for first in the Russian
Championship (as was my norm in those years, if not now - I was very consistent in the Russian Championships) and I got quite a lot of top-level invitations because I was the new kid on the scene and people were interested in seeing me play in the top events.