Not to put too fine a point on it, but the players who have reached this posi tion with the black pieces need collec tively to have their heads examined. White's main asset is his powerful pawn duo on e4 and f4. Black's main asset is his central pawn majority. One need notice only one of these two things in order to come up with the correct plan (or at least the correct sixth move) for Black. In fact, I'm not even going to insult my readers by say ing it out loud, so if you still don't know, see Wood-Penrose below and then read Pawn Power in Chess by Hans
Kmoch.
Instead of taking the opportunity to strike in the centre, Black has generally been seduced by 6 ... �c5, occupying the a7-g1 diagonal, presumably to stop White from castling. Naturally this is less important than the central battle and, what's worse, it doesn't even work. If White finds the bishop trouble some, he can trade it off with a timely tt:Ja4 or 'ii'e2 and �e3. To add insult to injury, White is usually better off cas tled long anyway. Sometimes 7 ... �c5 is a good idea (or 7 ... �b4+ 8 c3 �c5), but if there is a knight on c3, it is much bet ter to put pressure on White's centre with 7 ... �b4, which prepares ... li:Jf6-e4.
Black's e4-knight can be a very an noying piece. As we see in the following analysis, White's light squares are usu ally too weak (because he has had to play g2-g3) to allow him to eliminate the knight comfortably with .i.d3 and
1 d4 li:Jc6 2 ds
�xe4, even if this wins a pawn. Let's get to the analysis. 6 li:Jf3
Other moves:
a) 6 �d3 is less popular and less successful. Then Black has done fine with 6 ... �c5, but 6 ... d5! is more accu rate, as in B.Wood-J.Penrose, Southend 1957(!),
which continued 7 e5 li:Jh6 8 .i.e3?!, and now not the game's 8 ... li:Jf5?! 9 �xf5 exf5 10 li:Jf3 .i.e7?! (1o ... c5!) 11 c4 which is good for White, but instead 8 ... li:Jh4! 9 'ii'e2 c5! and Black is better.
No better is 7 li:Jc3 �b4 8 �d2 li:Jh6 9 li:Jf3 o-o 10 g3, when Black gently plays 10 ... e5 ! ! and lets White try to work out the details with his king in the centre. The correct solution is 11 li:Jxd5 �xd2+ 12 'ii'xd2 c6 13 li:Je3 exf4 14 �c4+ 'it>h8 15 'ii'xd8 :xd8 16 gxf4 li:Jxf4 17 :g1 b5 with equality. Accord ing to Houdini, 11 f5 dxe4 12 li:Jxe4 .i.xd2 13 'ii'xd2 �xf5 14 o-o-o 'ilie7 is also equal, but to me it looks a lot like White is down a pawn for nothing. For tunately, it's not really our problem.
Th e Dark Knight System
b) 6 i.e3 is seldom played - al though it prevents ... i.cs, White's im portant dark-squared bishop is vulner able:
6 ... ds (of course) 7 g3 (7 lt:Jc3 i.b4 8 �d3 i.xc3 9 'ii'xc3 lt:Jf6 10 0-0-0 0-0 11 exds exds 12 lL'lf3 i.g4 is equal) 7 ... cs! 8 lt:Jd2 'ii'b6 9 l:tb1 (sad, but there's really nothing better: 9 fs exfs 10 exds lt:Jf6 11 'ii'e2 i.e7 12 lt:Jc4 �a6 13 d6 bS! or 13 i.xcs o-o 14 d6 i.d8 15 d7 i.xd7 16 i.xf8 lt:Jxf8 gives Black more than enough for a small exchange; while 9 i.d3 i.e7 10 lt:Jgf3 lt:Jh6 11 'ii'e2 lt:Jg4 12 exds exds 13 i.g1 o-o 14 o-o-o i.d6 15 h3 lt:Jf6 is fine for Black) 9 ... i.d7 10 lt:Jgf3 lt:Jf6 11 es lt:Jg4 12 i.g1 "ikc7 13 c4! d4 14 i.d3 i.c6 15 h3 lt:Jh6 16 i.f2 i.e7 17 0-0 0-0 18 b4 b6 19 lt:Je4. White's play makes an excellent im pression, but here Black has 19 ... tt:Jxf4! 20 gxf4 l:txf4 21 �e2 tt:Jfs 22 .:tb3 .l:r.f8, which reverses the initiative at the cost of a small material investment. Hou dini calls it equal, but if I had the choice, I'd sit behind the black pieces.
c) 6 g3 dS 7 lL'lf3 transposes to 6 lt:Jf3
dS 7 g3 below.
d) 6 h4! ? has never been played, but it's a venomous move. The tactical jus tification is 6 ... lt:Jxh4? 7 'ii'g4! i.e7 (7 ... lt:Jg6 8 .l:i.xh7) 8 'ii'xg 7 with a large advantage for White. Correct is the anti-shocker 6 ... ds even though 7 hs lt:J6e7 blocks the f8-bishop. After 8 lL'lf3 lt:Jc6 9 l2Jc3 i.b4 10 i.d2 lt:Jf6 11 es i.xc3 12 i.xc3 lt:Je4 13 i.d3 lt:Jxc3 14 bxc3 Black gets out of Dodge with 14 ... 'ife7 15 tt:Jg s i.d7 16 i.xh7 o-o-o, when White has space and a pawn, but is badly overextended with nowhere for his king. I will utter a naughty word: unclear.
e) The rare 6 lt:Jc3 ! ? is logical, fight ing for the dS-square, but Black forces ... d7-d5 anyway with 6 ... i.b4! 7 lt:Je2 (other moves, such as 7 lL'lf3 and 7 i.d3, transpose elsewhere) 7 ... ds 8 'i¥d3 c6 9 i.d2 lt:Jf6 (after 9 ... dxe4 10 "ikxd8 'ii;xd8 11 a3 i.as White is a little better in the endgame) 10 es lt:Jg4 11 h3 lt:Jh6 12 o-o-o o-o 13 g4 bs 14 wb1 i.cs 15 i.g2 as and although White had a head start in the race, it is difficult for him to advance further. Then 16 lt:Jd4!? 'ifb6 17 tt:Jxc6 i.b7 18 lt:Jxds exds 19 lt:Jxas lt:Jxf4 20 i.xf4 'ii'xas 21 i.xdS+ r;i;h8 22 i.xh6 gxh6 is certainly complicated, but not unfavourable to Black.
The text move, 6 lL'lf3, is by far the most common - apparently with good reason since White has won the last five games in a row from this position, most notably A.Onischuk-I.Shkuro, Ukrainian Team Championship 2009,
which is a perfect example of what Black must avoid (see Game 28). Clearly we need some new and improved ideas.
6 . . . ds!
This move is part of my original analysis that dates back to 1986, and inspired the above variations. In twenty-five opportunities, Black has somehow failed to try this, so we ana lyse in a vacuum. For most players, the following lines need hardly be memo rized, but offer an excellent opportu nity to get acquainted with the wide variety of plans for both sides.
7 tLlc3
a) The first thing I realized 26 years ago was that 7 f5?! is not a problem: 7 ... dxe4 8 'ir'xd8+ 'ititxd8 9 tZ::lg 5 exf5 10 tLlf7+ 'itite8 11 tZ::lxh8 tZ::lxh8 12 tLlc3 c6 13 .ic4 (13 g4! ?) 13 ... tZ::lf6 14 .ie3 .id6 is a bit better for Black. As it turns out, 7 ... exf5 is also okay: 8 exd5 tZ::lf6 9 tLlc3 .ib4 10 'ii'e2+ 'ifitf7! 11 tLlg 5+ 'ititg8 12 .id2 ..txc3 13 ..txc3 tZ::lxd5 14 .id2 h6 15 tLlf3 'itith7 16 0-0-0 .Ue8 and it is White who has the hard job of proving full
1 d4 tLlc6 2 dS
compensation.
Notice that Black isn't actually threatening 7 ... dxe4, so White has an array of options:
b) 7 e5 may not be best, but it is cer tainly critical.
White plans tLlg 5 and tZ::lxh7, an ar gument he will try to enhance with h4- h5, .id3, or 'ifh 5. This plan is indeed dangerous, especially if Black is castled on that side of the board. However, Black does not skip his turns, and as long as White is pursuing this plan he is neither developing quickly nor at tending to his own king. For instance, 7 ... tLlh6! 8 g3 (or 8 .ie3 tZ::lg4 9 'ir'd2 tZ::lxe3 10 'it'xe3 'ir'e7! 11 tZ::lc3 'ii'h4) 8 ... c5 9 tLlg 5 .ie7 10 tZ::lxh7 (after 10 .ib5+ 'ifitf8 White has to worry about both 11 ... c4 and 11 ... tZ::lxe5) 10 ... tLlf5 11 'ii'h5 'ifitf7, when Black has good compensa tion after White's failed attack; e.g. 12 tLlc3 'ititg8 13 tZ::lf6+ ..txf6 14 'i¥xg6 .ie7 15 .ig2 c4 16 o-o l::th6 17 'ii'g4 'ii'h6+ 18 'itith1 .id7 and White is having trouble with development, the centre, and his king, which doesn't leave much to be
The Dark Kn ight System
happy about. There is also 8 h4!? ..tcs 9 h S (or 9 ..td3 l2Jg4 when, according to Houdini, White has nothing better than 10 l2Jd4 l2Jh6 11 l2Jf3, with a repetition) 9 ... lbe7 10 lLlg s lLlhfs 11 'ii'd3 h6 12 g4 l2Jd4 13 c3 l2Jdc6 14 l2Jf3 as ! with equal chances. Black intends ... b7-b6, ... .i.a6 ( ... ..tb7), ... �d7 (or ... dS-d4, .. .'�ds), and will have the choice of which side to castle. White may enjoy his space, but may also find himself overextended.
Hold on: what's so great about 7 ... l2Jh6 - ?
I used to have problems in this posi tion in blitz games because I didn't know the proper arrangement for the pieces - especially whether to play 7 ... -tcs or 7 ... cs, and also whether to play ... l2Jh6 or ... l2J8e7. As it turns out, it is not yet clear whether it is the bishop or the pawn that belongs on cs, so it makes sense to wait on that decision, but the knight is just about always best on the h6-square. All of ... l2Jg4, ... lLlfs, and ... lLlf7 are useful options from there, and it can hold up White's g- and f-pawns. Just as important, developing
the knight to h6 avoids a traffic jam on the e7-square, which may be needed for Black's other knight, not to mention the bishop and queen. (You may now resume your normal programming.)
c) The immediate 7 h4! ? is also pos sible, but Black is already fine after 7 ... .i.b4+! 8 c3 (not 8 .i.d2? dxe4!) 8 ... .i.cs 9 h s l2J6e7; e.g. 10 b4 .i.b6 11 c4! ? dxc4 12 'it'xd8+ 'it>xd8 13 .i.b2 (not 13 ttJg s? ..ltd4!) 13 ... exf3 14 ..txg7 lLlfs 15 ..txh8 f2+ 16 Wd2 l2Jg3 17 cs l2Jxh1 18 cxb6 axb6 19 lLlc3 lbe7, which is cer tainly no worse for Black.
d) 7 .i.d3 allows us to surprise White with 7 ... dxe4! 8 ..txe4 'i!t'xd1+ 9 'it>xd1 l2Jf6 10 ..txg6 hxg6.
Although our pawns are vile, our bishop pair and overall activity are quite enough, particularly since the enemy king is a bit loose; e.g. 11 l2Jbd2 ..td6 12 l2Jc4 bs 13 lLlces .i.b7 14 'it>e2 ..txes 15 fxes l2Jd7 and Black is more comfortable because of White's bad bishop; or 11 .i.e3?! ..id6 12 l2Jc3 l2Jg4 13 We2 0-0! 14 g3?! (14 ..tc1!) 14 ... b6! and suddenly White is in big trouble; or
11 tLic3 i..d7 12 tLie5 (12 �e2 i..d6! 13 tLie5 i..xe5 14 fxe5 tLig4 nets a pawn) 12 ... 0-0-0! ! 13 tLif7 i..c6+ 14 ttJxd8 �xd8 15 h4 i..xg2 16 l:i.h2 i..f3+ 17 �el i..c5 and how is White going to untangle himself without shedding any mate rial ?
e) 7 c4!? does force 7 ... dxe4, but weakens White's position as well : 8 "O'xd8 �xd8 9 ttJg 5 'ilo>e8 10 ttJxe4 tLif6 11 i..d3 b6 12 ttJbc3 ..ib7 13 o-o l:td8 and Black is comfortably equal.
f) 7 g3
7 ... ..ic5 (7 ... ..ib4+ 8 c3 ..ic5 9 'ii'e2 ·iie7 10 tiJbd2 tLih6 11 tLig 5 o-o 12 h4 .:e8 is okay, too) 8 li'e2 (8 tiJc3 tiJf6 ! 9 e5 tLig4 10 tLid4 0-0 11 'ii'xg4 ..ixd4 12 �d2 c5! 13 o-o-o li'b6 with equal chances) 8 ... tiJf6 9 e5 tLie4 10 ..ie3 ..ixe3 11 'ifxe3 tLie7! 12 i..d3 i..d7 13 ttJbd2 �xd2 14 ttJxd2 (14 'ii'xd2 c5) 14 ... 0-0 15 o-o tLif5 and with 16 ... 'ii'e7 (or 16 ... b6) and 17 ... c5 coming, Black has sufficient counterplay.
g) 7 exd5?! exd5 8 i..d3 makes no sense - it surrenders the centre and ac tivates Black's problem piece, the c8-
1 d4 tL\c6 2 dS
bishop. Unsurprisingly Black has many ways to play: 8 ... ..ig4 9 o-o i.c5+ 10 �hl tiJ8e7 11 h3 i.xf3 12 'i!Vxf3 o-o seems simplest, or Black can enter an equal endgame with 8 ... ..ib4+ and 9 .. .'iVe7+. 7 . . . ..ib4
8 g3
White usually finds it necessary to play this sooner or later. Otherwise:
a) 8 i.d3 i..xc3 9 bxc3 dxe4 10 i..xe4 li'xdl+ 11 �xdl tiJf6 12 i..d3 o-o 13 .l:tel tL'lg4 14 i..xg6 hxg6 15 h3 tiJf6 16 tLie5 tLih 5 17 ttJxg6 l:!.f6 18 tLie7+ �f7 19 ttJxc8 ttJxf4! with equal chances.
b) 8 e5 tiJ8e7 (8 ... c5 isn't bad either) 9 g3 0-0 10 ..td3 c5 and Black's good centre and rapid deployment ensure that he will not be rolled up on the kingside and that his chances are not worse.
c) 8 'ii'd3 !? i..xc3+! 9 'ii'xc3 tiJf6 10 e5 tLie4 11 �a3 'ii'e7 12 �xe7 ttJxe7 13 i..d3 b6 14 i..xe4 dxe4 15 tLig 5 h6 16 ttJxe4 i.b7 17 tL'lc3 tLif5 18 o-o o-o-o and Black has the d-file, while White's cl bishop is a huge problem, a situation which fully compensates for the pawn.
The Dark Knight System
8 . . . lt:Jf6! 9 i.d2 0-0 10 es .txc3 11 i.xc3
lt:Je4 12 i.d3 b6!
White's c3-bishop is a silly piece - at the moment Black is far better off keeping the e4-knight and blocking the other bishop.
a) 13 i.xe4 dxe4 14 tt:Jg s is pointless
because of 14 ... h6! 15 lt:Jxe4?! .tb7 16 "ife2 'ili'ds 17 lt:Jf2 tt:Jxf4! 18 gxf4 .l:r.xf4 19 l:tf1 (not 19 �d1?! .l:.xf2!) 19 .. J:taf8 20 .td2 (still not 20 .l:td1?! "ifxa2! 21 l:.d7 'i¥a4 22 l:txc7 i.g2 and White is toast) 2o ... .l:.f3 21 a4 l:.8fS 22 o-o-o .l:txes 23 'i¥xf3 'ii'xf3 24 lt:Jd3 'i!Vds 25 tt:Jxes 'il'xes 26 .tc3 'ii'e3+ 27 ct>b1 .tds 28 h4 gs with some advantage to Black.
b) 13 'ii'e2 i.b7 14 o-o-o 'ii'e8 15 i.xe4 dxe4 16 tt:Jg s e3 17 l:.he1 h6 18 lt:Jf3 lt:Je7 19 "ifxe3 tt:Jds with enough play for the pawn; e.g. 20 'i¥d3 as 21 lt:Jd2 lt:Jb4! or 21 lt:Jd4 a4 22 a3 cS 23 tt:Je2 bs.
c) 13 o-o lt:Je7 14 'i¥e2 i.b7 (14 ... tt:Jcs ? 15 .txh7+ is too strong) 15 .l:.ad1 'ii'e8 is equal.