3. PATRIMONIO
3.1 PATRIMONIO PUBLICO NOTA N° 24
Meran Variation : Systems with an Early
. . .b5-b4
1 d4 d 5 2 c4 c6 3 tiJf3 tiJf6 4 tiJc3 e6 5 e3 tiJbd7 6 �d3 dxc4 7 �xc4 b5 8 �d3
In this chapter we focus on lines with an early . . . b5-b4 for Black.
Question 1: How does this system arise?
Answer: There are two move or
ders. 8 ... b4 leads directly into the ... b5-b4 complex. By delaying the devel
opment of the bishop on c8, Black gains a variety of extra possibilities, though it is not clear how good these are! The most common move order, however, is 8 ... �b7 9 0-0 b4. We shall discuss the significance of this move order later, but suffice it to say that this does give White a couple of extra possibilities: he can play 9 e4 (when 9 ... b4 was seen in Games 84-90) or 9 a3 (when 9 ... b4 was the subject of Games 9 1-95).
Question 2: What is the point of ... b5-b4?
A nswer: With this advance Black moves the b-pawn from its attacked square on b5 to the safe b4-square. It
also gains a tempo on the knight on c3, disturbing White's piece set-up and allowing Black to play . . . c6-c5 with the greatest possible speed. However, by playing ... b5-b4, Black loses some control over the queenside light
squares: he gives away the c4-square (which is a particularly nice square for a white knight) and the a4-square.
Moreover, unlike in the 8 ... �b7 9 e4 b4 10 lLJa4 line, Black does not force White's queen's knight offside, as it can come to the centre with lLJe4.
First, let us see what happens if Black plays the straightforward but rather inflexible 8 .. . �b7 9 0-0 b4 10 lLJe4 lLJxe4.
Game 102 Sadler-Bisby
Isle
of
Man 19951 d4 d 5 2 c4 c6 3 tiJc3 tiJf6 4 e3 e6 5 tiJf3 tiJbd7 6 �d3 dxc4 7 �xc4 b5 8 JiLd3 JiLb 7 9 0-0 b4 1 0 tiJe4 tiJxe4!?
1 1 �xe4
The exchange on e4 has blocked
White from pushing e3-e4. Moreover, by forestalling tLlxf6+, Black keeps his queen's knight on d7, where it sup
ports the ... c6-cS break. The drawback of the exchange is that it brings the white bishop to the hI-aS diagonal, making it less easy for Black to achieve ... c6-cS quickly.
1 1 .. . .ie7 1 2 �a4 ! ? �b6 1 3 �d2? ! After this, White has no advantage.
During the postmortem, I was rather confused as I had seemed to get noth
ing whilst playing the only moves!
Then Peter Wells showed me 13 tLld2!
The knight is headed for c4, and as a bonus, it will arrive with tempo by attacking the queen on b6. Moreover, after ... tLlf6, the bishop on e4 can re
treat to f3 and maintain White's pres
sure along the h I-aS diagonal. White will then develop his dark-squared bishop on b2-b3 and .i.b2, making sure of course that his queen does not get trapped on a4! In fact, tLld2 would also not be bad on the 12th move as well.
In the game, I was struggling.
1 3 .. . 0-0 1 4 l:tfc 1 l:tfc8 1 5 l:tc4 lLlf6?!
A slightly nervous move. lS ... aS 16
�ac1 'iVa7!, threatening ... tLlb6, would
have forced 17 'iVdl cS! with a slight edge for Black.
1 6 .ixb4 lLlxe4 1 7 !iLxe7 �xb2 1 8 l:tf 1 a5? 1 9 l:tc2 �b5 20 �a3 �d5 2 1 l:tfc 1 l:tc7 22 !iLe5 !iLe8 23 lLle5 f6 24 lLlc4 lLlxe5 25 lLlb6 �e4 26 lLlxa8 l:ta7 27 lLlb6 1 -0
More often than not Black plays this line with the immediate S ... b4.
Yakovich-Sveshnikov
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 lLlc3 lLlf6 4 e3 e6 5 lLlf3 lLlbd7 6 !iLd3 dxc4 7 !iLxc4 b5 8 !1J..d3 b4 9 lLle4 lLlxe4
9 ... .i.b7 10 tLlxf6+ gxf6!? 1 1 e4 cS 12 i.e3 'iVb6 13 �c1 O-O-O!? 14 0-0 �bS was the rather outrageous attempt in Yakovich-Filippov, Perm 1997. After 15 'iVe2 �gS 16 �fdl fS!? 17 il.f4+ i.d6 lS i.xd6+ 'iVxd6 19 dxcS tLlxcs 20 il.b l Black's position was very loose.
Black's other alternatives, 9 ... cS and 9 ... it..e7, are considered in Games
104-105 and 106-109 respectively.
1 0 !1J..xe4 �b6 ! ?
10 ... .i.b7 11 0-0 would have trans
posed to the game above, but by using
Meran Va ria tio n : S ys tems with a n Ea rly . . . b 5 - b 4
the flexible (8 ... b4) move order, Black hopes to improve on that line. By pro
tecting the attacked c6-pawn with the queen, he frees his light-squared bishop to come to the a6-fl diagonal to cover the c4-square. His aim is then to move his rook from a8 and break
This novelty seems to equalise quite comfortably, so White definitely needs something earlier. has already safeguarded his b-pawn, so why not play ... c6-cS immediately?
Game 104 best. By putting pressure on d4, Black stops White from setting up his attack
ing structure after e3-e4 ... cSxd4, liJxd4 as the queen on b6 defends the pawn equalised in Bareev-Piket, Dortmund 1995.
1 0 .. . gxf6
10 ... liJxf6 1 1 liJeS!, with ideas of .ibS+ and 'i'f3, is difficult for Black.
1 1 .i.e4 ! ?
11 0-0 ifb6! transposes to the note to White's 10th move and 1 1 e4!? is considered in the next game.
1 1 . . J:tb8 1 2 0-0 f5 1 3 .i.c6 ikc7
Trying to drive the white bishop from the long diagonal. 13 .. J�b6!? is also possible.
1 4 d5
On 14 ctJe5, 011 gives 14 ... �g7 15 iLxd7+ �xd7 16 ctJxd7 �xd7 17 dxc5
�xd1+ 1 8 �xd1 �c8 19 .td2 as with equality.
1 4 .. . .lig7 1 5 e4 fxe4 1 6 l:te 1 ! ? An interesting idea. Lugovoi
Sveshnikov, Novgorod Open 1995, continued instead 16 ctJg5 0-0 17 �xd7
�xd7 18 ctJxe4 c4! 19 �e 1 llb5 20
�h6!? �xh6 2 1 ctJf6+ 'it>g7 22 �d4 'it>g6 23 h4 �f4! 24 h5+ 'it>g7 25 ctJe8+
'it>g8 26 ctJf6+ 'it>h8 27 �xf4 �xf4 28 ctJxd7 �d8 29 dxe6 fxe6 and Black was winning. I think he always had that one under control!
1 6 .. . exd 5 !
16 ... 0-0 17 �xe4 exd5 18 iLxd5 with
�f4 to follow is very good for White according to 011.
1 7 '1ifxd 5
17 �xd5 ctJf6! 18 �xe4 0-0 is un
clear according to 011.
1 7 .. . 0-0 1 8 '1ifxe4 l:tb6 1 9 .lta4 l:te6 20 i.f4 l:txe4 21 .1i.xc7 l:txe 1 + 22 l:txe 1 .ltxb2 23 i.d6 l:td8 24 !JLc7 l:tf8 25 i.d6 Yz - Yz
Neither side can avoid the repeti
tIOn.
Akesson-Ingbrandt
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 tiJf3 tiJf6 4 tiJc3 e6 5 e3 tiJbd7 6 !JLd3 dxc4 7 .ltxc4 b5 8 !JLd3 b4 9 tiJe4 c5 1 0 tiJxf6+
gxf6 1 1 e4! ? cxd4 1 2 tiJxd4 !JLc5 1 3
!JLe3 ! ?
This is very risky. Black has not yet committed his light-squared bishop, which detracts from the strength of
�b5. 13 ctJb3 would have been safer.
1 3 .. JWb6! 1 4 i.c2 ! ? .lia6
Stopping White from castling king
side.
1 5 .lia4!
Now the fun begins! White's first threat is 16 �xd7+ 'it>xd7 17 ctJb3+
. . .
wmnmg a plece.
1 5 .. . l:td8 1 6 l:tc 1 !
1 6 .. . 0-0
White threatened 17 �xc5 �xc5 18 ctJc6! �c4 19 ctJxd8 0-0 20 �g4+ \t>h8 21 iLh6! �g8 22 ctJxf7+ mate. 16 ... b3!?
(intending ... �b4+) is tempting, to meet 17 l:lxc5, not with 17 ... �xc5
Meran Va ria tio n : S ys tems with a n Ea rly . . . b 5 - b 4
when 18 tbc6 �c4 19 axb3! is strong, but with 17 .. . bxa2!?
After 18 tbc2 'iixb2, I really don't know what is going on!
1 7 i.xd7 l:txd7
Or 17 .. . b3!? 18 �xc5 'iixc5 (18 ... bxa2!?) 19 'iVg4+ �h8 20 tbxe6!, and now 20 .. :iYb4+ 2 1 .td2 fxe6!? (to stop 'ti'g7+ mate; 2 1 . . :iixd2+!? 22 �d2 :xd7+ 23 \tiel seems better for White) 22 .txb4 bxa2. Here 23 'iWdl fails to 23 .. .lhd7 24 'iVaI �fd8, when 25 'iVxa2 �dl+ is mate, but 23 \t>d2
�xd7+ 24 �c3! (24 Wc2 .td3+ 25 �b3 .ib 1 ! ! followed by ... a2-al'iV!) 24 .. . :c8+ 25 �b3 .tc4+ 26 Wa3 does the trick for White.
1 8 l:txc 5 !
It took me a while to believe that 18 .. :iYxc5 loses to 19 'ii'g4+ Wh8 20 tbxe6! Black has no checks and cannot deal with the double threat of 'i'g7+
mate and .ixc5.
1 8 .. . f5
Black's last chance was 18 ... b3.
1 9 exf5 �xc5 20 �g4+ �h8 2 1 tbxe6 ! � e 5 22 tbxf8 l:td8 2 3 tbd7 !
1 -0
23 . . .lhd7 10ses to 24 f6!, threatening 'i'xd7 and 'iVg7+ mate.
Well it worked, but it certainly was risky! There is still plenty of life in this system for Black!
Game 106
Lautier-Piket Leiden (match) 1995
1 d4 tbf6 2 c4 c6 3 tbc3 d 5 4 tbf3 e6 5 e3 tbbd7 6 i.d3 dxc4 7 i.xc4 b5 8 i.d3 b4 9 tbe4 i.e 7
This quiet move introduces the main line of the 8 ... b4 variation.
1 0 tbxf6+ tbxf6 1 1 e4 i.b7 1 2 "e2!
It is now time to discuss move or
ders! Black players who play the main line of this variation usually prefer to reach it via 8 ... .tb7 9 0-0 b4 10 tbe4 .te7 1 1 tbxf6+ tbxf6. The flexibility of 8 .. . b4 is of no use in the main line, since Black wants his bishop on b7 in all cases. Moreover, 8 ... b4 9 tbe4 .te7 10 tbxf6+ tbxf6 1 1 e4 .ib7 gives White the possibility of delaying castling with 12 'ife2!
Question 3: Can't Black just castle here?
Answer: 12 .. . 0-0 13 e5! tbd7 14 'iVe4!
(14 h4!?) 14 .. . g6 15 .th6 �e8 is not pleasant for Black after 16 h4!? or the
more sober 16 0-0. Black must there
fore play 12 ... ttJd7 to anticipate 13 eS.
However, after 13 0-0 0-0, Black has lost all chance of playing the lines that arise after 12 0-0 0-0 13 'iWe2 cst?
Question 4: How does the 8 ... .ltb7 move order help?
A nswer: After 8 ... .1b7 9 0-0, White has already castled. Consequently, after 9 ... b4 10 ttJe4 .1e7 1 1 ttJxf6+
ttJxf6 12 e4, he cannot play 'iiVe2 be
fore Black castles, and after 12 ... 0-0 13 'iiVe2, Black can play the most active lines with 13 ... cS.
1 2 .. . lLid7 1 3 e5?!
This, however, tries for too much.
13 0-0 was better - see the next game.
1 3 .. . c5!
Preparing castling by preventing 'iiVe4.
1 4 dxc5 0-0 1 5 O-O? ! lLixc5 1 6 �c4 l:tcS 1 7 i.f4 lLia4!
A typical idea in this system. The knight is impossible to remove from a4, since b2-b3 would concede an out
post on c3. White must live with the annoying pressure against b2.
1 S l:tfd 1 �a5 1 9 l:td2 l:tfdS! 20 l:txdS+
The natural 20 llad 1 would have
lost a pawn to 20 ... ttJxb2! 2 1 ':xb2 llxdl+ 22 'iiVxdl ltxc4.
20 . . . l:txdS 2 1 l:tc 1 h6 22 h3 lLib6 Regrouping the knight now that it has done its duty.
23 iob3 lLid5 24 iod2 'i'b6 25 l:tc2 a5 26 'i'c4 iofS 27 'i'g4 lLie7 ! 2S i.e3 �b5 29 l:tc5 �e2 30 l:txa5 lLif5 31 �b6 l:tcS 32 Wh2 l:tc 1 33 ioe3 l:ta 1 34 lLid4 'i'f 1 35 lLixf5 exf5 36 i.xf7+ WhS 0-1
A nice game from Piket.
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 lLic3 e6 4 lLif3 lLif6 5 e3 lLibd7 6 �d3 dxc4 7 �xc4 b5 S i.d3 b4 9 lLie4 �e7 1 0 lLixf6+
lLixf6 1 1 e4 iob7 1 2 'i'e2! lLid7 1 3 0-0 0-0
On d7, his knight is well-placed to support ... c6-cS since d4xcS ... ttJxcS hits the bishop on d3. However, Black has less control over the dS-square, so it is easier for White to meet ... c6-cS with the central thrust d4-ds.
1 4 l:td 1
Very natural, but White could
bor-M e r a n Va ria tio n : S ys tems with a n Ea rly . . . b 5 - b 4
row from another variation and play 14 :el!? to meet 14 .. . cS with 15 dS exdS 16 exdS, hitting the bishop on e7.
For a more detailed discussion of this idea, see the game Greenfeld-Khenkin (Game 92) .
1 4 .. jj'e7 1 5 .i.e3 l:tae8 1 6 .i.a6?!
Very passive. 16 11ac1 had to be bet
ter. White has already committed himself to early castling. would have transposed to the previous game. White in Stohl-Novikov, Ostrava 1995, after 15 c6! .txc6 16 .te3 .tb7 know what Piket had in mind!
1 5 .. . SiLxe5?
This falls into the same trap that Black had previously avoided! IS . . . aS 16 a3 (16 !tac1!?) 16 .. . bxa3 17 :xa3
�xcS is suggested as unclear by Piket.
1 6 e5 SiLxf3 1 7 'it'xf3 lLld 5 1 8 'it'e4 g6 1 9 SiLh6 l:te8 20 SiLb5 l:te7 2 1 SiLg5
�b6 22 .i.xe 7 lLlxe 7
Despite White's extra exchange, it is
no easy matter to win this position since Black is so solid.
23 .td7 .!:tdS 24 .!:tad 1 ttJf5 25 .ta4 .!:txd 1 26 i.xd 1 .td4 27 b3 �e5 2S .tg4 ttJe7 29 i.f3 ttJd 5 30 �h4 ttJe3 31 �dS+ '&t>g7 32 �f6+ '&t>gS 33
�dS+ % - %
Like the other seven games in this match, the game was drawn!
Now the most aggressive try for White, and the one favoured by most of the top players: 13 eS.
Beliavsky-Anand
1 d4 d5 2 e4 e6 3 ttJe3 ttJf6 4 e3 e6 5 ttJf3 ttJbd7 6 .td3 dxe4 7 �xe4 b5 S i.d3 .tb 7 9 0-0 b4 1 0 ttJe4 .te 7 1 1 ttJxf6+ ttJxf6 1 2 e4 0-0 1 3 e5 ttJd7 14 i.e4
Preventing ... c6-cS by pinning the pawn to the bishop on b7.
1 4 .. . .!:tbS
Defending the bishop to allow ... c6-cS.
1 5 �e2
The ECO recommendation of 15
�c2 is rather mystifying here! How
ever, 15 �e3 seems very sensible.
Jelen-Furlan, Bled 1992, continued IS ... cS 16 �xb7 l:txb7 17 d5. White had a slight edge after 17 ... exd5 18 'i'xdS 'i'b6 19 �g5 �e8 20 �xe7 l:txe7 2 1 l:tac1 �c7 22 �fdl ttJf8 23 ttJd2.
1 5 .. . h6 1 6 i.e3 e5! 1 7 i.xb7 l:txb7 1 S dxe5
Gelfand has suggested that 18 'i' e4 'i'a8 19 l:tfdl is slightly better for White here, but it's not that much.
Instead 18 l:tfdl 'i'c8 19 dxcS ttJxcS 20 Iiac1 �d8! 21 'i'c4 (2 1 l:txd8 iYxd8 22
�xc5 l:tc7! is equal according to Gel
fand) 2 1 . . .l:txd 1 22 l:txd 1 as 23 l:tc1
�d7 was level in Karpov-Antunes Til
burg 1994.
1 S .. . ttJxe5 1 9 .!:tfd 1 �bS 20 �e4 20 i.xcs l:tc8 21 i.xa7 l:txc2 22 .ixb8 llxb8 23 llab 1 11a8 24 ttJd4 Itcs 25 l:tal g5 gives Black good compensa
tion for the pawn according to Anand, who is a frequent advocate of the Semi-Slav.
20 . . . ttJd7 21 �e4 .!:teS 22 .!:td2 .!:tbe7 23 .!:tad 1 .!:te4 24 .!:td4 ttJb6 25 �g4 '&t>fS 26 �e4 '&t>gS 27 �g4 .!:txd4 2S .!:txd4 'Ot>fS 29 �h 5 �e7 30 h4 i.e5 31 .!:td2 .txe3 32 fxe3 ttJd 5 33 'Ot>f2 'iVe5 34 ttJd4 ttJf6 35 �f3 �xe5 36 .!:td 1 'Ot>gS 37 �f4 'iVd 5 3S .!:ta 1 e5 39
�f5 l:te4 40 b3 exd4 0-1
M e r a n Va ria tio n : S ys tems with a n Early . . . b 5 - b 4
Summary
These systems are still quite fresh and unexplored and they could well prove to be a nasty surprise for an unprepared White player.
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 lbf3 lbf6 4 lbc3 e6 5 e3 lbbd7 6 �d3 dxc4 7 �xc4 b5 8
�d3 8 . . . �b7
8 ... b4 9 ltJe4
9 ... ltJxe4 -Game 103 9 ... c5 10 ltJxf6+ gxf6 (D)
1 1 i..e4 -Game 104 1 1 e4 -Game 105
9 ... i..e7 10 ltJxf6+ ltJxf6 1 1 e4 i..b7 12 'i'e2 ltJd7 (D) 13 e5 -Game 106
13 0-0 -Game 107
9 0-0 b4 1 0 lbe4 lbxe4
10 ... i.e7 1 1 ltJxf6+ ltJxf6 12 e4 0-0 (D) 13 'ii' e2 - Game 108
13 e5 - Game 109
1 1 �xe4 - Game 102
1 0 .. . gxf6 1 2 .. . lbd7 12 . . . 0-0