Reinaldo Vera

Chess Explained: The Nimzo-lndian

Reinaldo Vera

Translated by Phil Adams

[e]A[i!j]B0l1 First published in the UK by Gambit Publications Ltd 2008

The right of Reinaldo Vera to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accor dance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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ISBN-13: 978-1-904600-72-5 ISBN-10: 1-904600-72-7

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Gambit Publications Ltd Managing Director: Murray Chandler GM Chess Director: Dr John Nunn GM Editorial Director: Graham Burgess FM Gennan Editor: Petra Nunn WFM We bmaster: Dr Helen Milligan WFM Contents

Symbols 4 Introduction 5

1 Samisch Variation: 4 a3 or 4 f3 7 2 Capablanca Variation: 4 'iYc2 d5!? 20 3 Capablanca Variation: 4 'iYc2 0-0 31 4 Rubinstein System: 4 e3 0-0: Variations with etJe2 51 5 Rubinstein System: 4 e3 0-0 with �d3 and CLJf3 71 6 Fianchetto Variation: 4 g3 or 4 etJf3 c5 5 g3 86 7 Leningrad Variation ( 4 i.g5) and Other Lines 97

List of Games 109 Index of Variations 110 Symbols

+ check ++ double check # checkmate !! brilliant move good move !? interesting move ?! dubious move ? bad move ?? blunder Ch championship corr. correspondence game 1-0 the game ends in a win for White 11z_11z the game ends in a draw 0- 1 the game ends in a win for Black (D) see next diagram Introduction

1 d4 ttJf6 2 c4 e6 3 tt'lc3 .ib4(D)

The Nimzo-Indian has arguably the best reputation of all defences against I d4. Most of the Wo rld Champions have relied upon the Nimzo at some point in their careers. What is the reason for this? Basically it is due to the logic and simplicity of this defensive forma tion, since with his first three moves Black obeys the most important opening principles: develop ment, control of the centre and preparation for castling, to ensure the safety of the king. Moreover, he does so while retaining great flexibility regarding his eventual set-up and structure. When Black uses the Nimzo-Indian it is very rare for him to fall behind in development, so that he is almost never overwhelmed by a lightning attack in the opening. The main and in fact only problem for Black is that he has to be willing to give up his dark-squared bishop, which means that his kingside is weakened slightly and White gains the famous advantage of the bishop-pair. How ever, Black always obtains something in return forthis strategic concession, whether it be better pawn-structure (doubled white pawns on the c-file, isolated or hanging pawns in the enemy camp, etc.) a pawn-majority in the centre, or a considerable advantage in development which enables him, with energetic play, to maintain the balance. Black's best-known and most common playing methods of play and strategies in this defence are :

• blockade of the position (to restrict the scope of the enemy bishops, with pawns on c5, d6 and eS);

• attack on the doubled pawn on the c-file ( ... b6, ....ia6, ... tt'la5);

• creation, blockade and siege of an isolated queen's pawn, or pressure against hanging pawns. Nevertheless, we shall also see many other modem ideas where the only way to exploit White's lag in development is to play actively, even opening the position, with the aim of inflicting perma nent weaknesses on White or obtaining some other compensation for the bishop-pair. White has tried virtually everything to gain some advantage against this solid defence and at var ious times it has looked as if he had finally achieved this goal with one line or another, but each time the defenders ofthe Nimzo-Indian have come up with a way to neutralize the possible advantage. 6 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

Chapter 1 is devoted to the Samisch Variation (4 a3 or 4 f3), owing to its importance for under standing the basic ideas in the struggle which takes place between the bishop-pair and the superior pawn-structure or the better development. There is no doubt that the most reputable lines for White are the Classical or Capablanca line 4 �c2 and the Rubinstein System 4 e3. To each of these systems we have therefore devoted two chapters, each presenting different methods of handling the position for Black. In Chapter 2 we shall see the most energetic way to play against the Capablanca Variation (4 �c2 d5 !?), immediately breaking in the centre and by forceful play creating a whole series of com plications. Black's main objective here is to punish White for the luxury he has allowed himself of losing several tempi in order to gain the bishop-pair without spoiling his structure. In Chapter 3 (4 'ifc2 0-0) Black employs a more restrained method of play, giving priority to completing his queenside development before starting action in the centre. We shall study the Rubinstein System (4 e3) in Chapters 4 and 5. From among the many ways of meeting it we have chosen to focus on the most popular and the hotly debated at the present time, concentrating on the move-order 4 ...0-0 followed by ...d5. The five games in Chapter 4 show how to play when White employs development systems based on moving his king's knight to e2, whereas in Chapter 5 we shall see games in which White opts for the more natural set-up with lt'Jf3 and ..id3. The dangerous variation with 4 g3 (or 4 lt'Jf3 and g3) is the theme of Chapter 6. There we shall observe the differences created by the deployment of White's king's bishop on the long diagonal and we shall study two ways for Black to deal with this troublesome variation. Chapter 7 is devoted to the Leningrad Vari ation (4 ..ig5) and other minor lines against the Nimzo-Indian Defence, among which the move 4 'i¥b3 standsout. In respect of the Leningrad Vari ation, we shall study the gambit with ... c5 and ...b5, which has become popular again at the present time, as well as more traditional methods, but with an emphasis on putting pressure on the ad vanced white pawn on d5. The aim of this book is to offerthe greatest possible coverage of the different systems that both sides can employ in the vast Nimzo-Indian complex. I have tried to include as many important vari ations as possible with different strategic themes, but obviously we would need several volumes to cover the long history of this popular opening. After studying this book, a player should have enough information to put this opening into prac tice in tournaments. Furthermore, the reader will have enriched his arsenal of strategic knowledge, since this is one of the defences richest in positional ideas. If this is achieved, the author's objective will have been fulfilled.

GM Reinaldo Ve ra 1 Samisch Variation: 4 a3 or 4 f3

Introduction

The first chapter of this book is dedicated to the systems with 4 a3 or 4 f3. Why? For two funda mental reasons. First, these variations present us with the most basic and characteristic struggle of the Nimzo-lndian Defence, where White obtains the bishop-pair or gains control of the centre and Black seeks counterplay against the doubled pawns or contests the aforementioned central occupa tion. The second reason is that these are the most ambitious lines for White and the most dangerous for Black. White's idea in both cases is obvious: in the case of 4 f3 the immediate occupation of the centre, and with 4 a3 the gain of the bishop-pair and the subsequent occupation of the centre with f3 and e4. They often transpose, which is why they are being studied in the same chapter. These variations have always had the support of great players: Botvinnik and Spassky in the past, Shirov later on and at the present time a whole generation of GMs headed by Milov, Yakovich, Vo lkov and Moskalenko, to mention just a few of those who have investigated this variation, creat ing many ideas on the white side. Getting down to details, in the case of the direct 4 a3 we shall look at the system in which Black, after doubling the pawns on the c-file with 4 ... .ixc3+, goes immediatelyafter the c4-pawn (5 ...b6, ... i.a6and ...tt:'lc6!?), which does not leave White with a great deal of choice. He must either attack on the kingside, in many cases sacrificing the c-pawn, or else the defend the pawn, tying down some of his pieces. Black has sufficientdefensive resources in both cases, and there ensues a fight to the death in which the plans are quite clear for both sides.

The Games

In Game 1 (Radjabov-Dizdarevic), we shall see the most obvious ways for White to defend the c4- pawn: with �a4 or .id3 followed by �e2, as well as the cases where White decides to sacrificethe c-pawn for an attack, and we shall see how Black should react in each case. On move 8 Black chose the wrong plan, ending up in a rather passive position, and his attempt to become active gave White the opportunity to finish offthe struggle with an unusual attack on the queen side.

In the encounter Hillarp Persson-P.H.Nielsen (Game 2) we shall study a way of meeting 4 f3 which is closely related to the previous game ( 4 ...tt:'lc6 !?), since if White plays 5 a3 the same posi tion would be reached. Following the consistent 5 e4, Black breaks with 5 ...d5 and after White ad vances with e5 a position arises where White has a solid but quite extended centre, which gives Black good squares for his minor pieces and possibilities of striking with .. .f6 and the manoeuvre ...i.a5-b6. In the game, White lost a few tempi and allowed the enemy bishops too much activity, while his king remained in the centre, which cost him material and eventually the game.

In Cebalo-Komarov (Game 3) we shall examine another way of dealing with 4 f3, in this case with the immediate 4 ...0-0!?, which has the virtue oflending more force to the break 5 e4 d5 !, since 8 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

Black's king is safer and he has the possibility of attacking the base ofthe pawn-chain (i.e. d4) with ...c5. For this reason the best continuation for White is 5 a3 !?, but then Black has the original ma noeuvre 6 ....�'Jh5 followed by ... f5, as used by Komarov in the game, obtaining an excellent posi tion, although mistakes later on allowed White to equalize the struggle with an ingenious pawn sacrifice. Obviously there are many other ways for Black to confront the Samisch Variation (4 a3 or 4 f3), but I have chosen these lines on the basis of their soundness and practical successes.

Game 1 [E241 Teimour Radjabov - Emir Dizdarevic Calvia Olympiad 2004

1 d4 l2Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 l2Jc3i.b4 4 a3 i.xc3+ deploy the bishop to a6 and the knight to aS, Naturally, retreating the bishop makes no which causes White a lot of problems. If the sense here. c4-pawn falls and the exchange of the light 5 bxc3 (D) squared bishops is achieved without making too many concessions on the kingside, Black will not only have an extra pawn, but will have considerably limited White's attacking poten B tial. A final point: do not be in too much of a hurry to castle as Black! In general, if your op ponent has the attack on the kingside as his main plan, there is no reason to rush to place your king there. It is preferable to give priority to the attack on the c4-pawn and only later de termine the best position for the king, which on many occasions finds refuge on the queenside. This rapid concentration of force against the c4-point is one of the best ways of confronting the Samisch Variation.

5 ... b6 From this position the basic plans for both The actual move-order in this game was sides are well-established. White's primary ob 5 ...l2Jc6 and then ...b6 and ...i.a6. jectives are total occupation of the centre with 6 f3 f3 and e4 (taking advantage of the fact that he Pursuing the main idea; if White plays 6 e3 has not developed his knight to f3) and attack instead, then Black would continue with the on the kingside. Also among White's possible standard plan of 6 ...i.a6 and ...l2Jc6-a5 . White threats is the pin with i.g5, which can be un can make immediate use of the pin with 6 i.g5 pleasant for Black since he no longer has his but after 6 ... h6! (to have the unpinning move dark-squared bishop. White's ideal development ... g5 available) 7 i.h4 i.a6! (more accurate would be to form a pawn-centre with f3 and e4, than 7 ...l2Jc6 8 l2Jf3! and 9 l2Jd2!, defending c4 place his bishops on d3 and g5 and his knight and supporting the advance e4) 8 e4 g5 ! 9 e5 on e2 or h3, etc. gxh4 10 �f3 !? d5 11 exf6 i.b7 ! 12 �f4 l2Jd7 What is the fundamental defect of the white 13 l2Jf3 h3! 14 c5 hxg2 15 i.xg2, instead of position? The weakness on c4! Based on that 15... bxc5?! (Muci-Graf, Merida 2001), Black premise, Black should start to lay siege to c4 as can take on f6 immediately by 15... 'ihf 6! 16 soon as possible; the most direct method is to ii'xf6 (16 ii'xc7l2Jxc5 !) 16... l2Jxf6 with an extra SAMISCH VA RIA TION: 4 a3 OR 4 f3 9

pawn. Note that if Black had castled previ ously, the advance with ...h6 and ...g5 would be extremely risky for him. B 6... tt:Jc6 7 e4 .ta6 (D)

problems: 9 ...ctJa5 10 �e2 c5 ! 11 .te3 { 11d5 ? .txc4! and ...�4+ or 11 ctJh3 cxd4 12 cxd4 �4+ } ll....l:.c8 12 .l::!.c 1 ctJe7 13 ctJh3cxd4 14 cxd4 ctJf5 and Black has pressure on the white pawns) 9 ...tt:Ja5 10 �a4 (D). A key position for this variation. Faced with the threat of ... tt:Ja5 and the capture on c4, White has various plans. He can defend the pawn with .td3and �e2 B (although this weakens the squares b3 and a4) or with �a4, which would take the queen away from the wing on which White supposedly will attack. He can also dislodge the knight from f6 by playing e5 before deciding how to defend c4. In the game, White employed one of the most troublesome plans (8 .tg5!), creating the threat of e5, although Black always has avail able the response ...h6 and ...g5, which avoids loss of material. 8�g5! The most natural defence of the c4-pawn is 8 The e5-pawn gives White extra space on the �d3 ctJa5 9 �e2 (D), but then the queen loses kingside, allowing him to go on the offensive in control of the squares b3 and a4. that sector. Black should seek the exchange of This allows Black to eliminate the bishop queens, to eliminate a defender of the c4-square pair and head for a simple position without many and reduce White's offensive arsenal, and to problems by playing 9 ...ctJb3 !? 10 .l::!.b 1 ctJxcl achieve this Black has two manoeuvres that the 11 .l::i.xc l ctJh5 followed by ... �e7 !?. However, reader should remember: bringing the queen to the ambitious 9 ...d6 !? with the idea of ...�d7- c6 (via c8-b7-c6) or else placing the queen on a4/c6 is even better. e8 in order to play ...d5 or ...d6. The advance 8 e5 gains space and forces the It is easy to understand why even 10... 'it>f8 !? knight back. However, after the retreat of the followed by ...�e8 and ... d5 ! can be considered knight Black has ... �h4+ available, which will in this position. However, the most common be useful in many variations; for example, continuations are 10... h6 !? (controlling the g5- 8 ... ctJg8 9 ctJh3 (if he now defends c4 with 9 square) and 10... ctJe7!. Let us look at a few of �d3 and �e2 then the check on h4 causes White's attacking ideas after 10... tbe 7!: 10 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDJAN

a) II .id3 h6!? 12 lbf4 0-0 13 0-0?! (it is better to advance against Black's king with 13 h4, but after 13... d6! hitting the white centre, w fo llowed by a timely ...�e8 !, Black is fine) 13. .. d6 14 .Udl �e8! 15 �c2 .ixc4, Gutman Karner, USSR 1975. b) II .ig5 0-0 (necessary to be able to ad vance the d-pawn and to free the e8-square for the queen) 12 .id3 and now both 12... �e8 ! and 12... h6 13 .ih4 �e8! put into practice one of Black's main ideas when the white queen is on a4: the threat is ...d5 or ... d6, offering the ex change of queens, which fo rces White to rush into the attack. c) The dangerous II lbg5 is also answered counterplay. White has tried various options by ll...h6! 12 lbe4 0-0 and now in reply to without gaining any advantage: Gutman's recommendation 13 .if4, 13... �e8 !? a) 13 exf6? 'iVxf6 14 c5 .ixfl 15 �xfl g4! is again very interesting, and although White 16 �d3 0-0 and suddenly Black goes over to has many ways to continue the attack, none the attack, Simagin-Petrosian, Moscow 1950. seem to give him any advantage. For example, b) 13 c5 .ixfl 14 �xfl 'iVc 8! followed by 14 .ixh6 d5!? or 14 �c2!? lbg6! 15 .ixh6f5 ! ...�a6+ with excellent play for Black, Volkov 16 exf6 gxh6 and Black holds. Lysy, To msk 2006. From these variations we can conclude that c) 13 hxg5 'iYxg5 14lbh3 �g6 15 g4 fxg4! when the white queen is on a4 and the white 16 .id3 �f7 17 fxg4 lbf4 and Black is fine, pawn has advanced to e5, Black's strategy of Agrest-A.Sokolov, St Petersburg 1993. breaking in the centre with ...d6 or ... d5 and of- d) After 13 g3 f4 ! the complications are not fering the exchange of queens with ...�e8 !? is unfavourable to Black; for example, 14 hxg5 quite effective. �xg5 15 lbh3 �g8 16 gxf4 and in addition to

8 .• .'iVc8?! 16 ...0-0-0, Berkes-Almasi, Kazincbarcika 2005, This is the cause of Black's fu ture difficul Black can capture with 16... .ixc4 or prevent ties. He allows the set-up with .id3 and �e2, the f5 advance with l6... 'iVf7. which differs from what we saw earlier (with All these variations show that Black can ven out the inclusion of .ig5),since in that position ture upon the combative 8 ...lba5 !, allowing 9 Black was able to eliminate the dark-squared e5. And if White defends c4 with 9 �a4, then bishop with the immediate ...lbb3, or attack the the manoeuvre ...�c8 -b7-c6 is fully justified. c4-pawn with ... d6, ...�d7 and ...�a4. 9 .id3!lba5 10 �e2 d6 Instead of bringing the queen to c6 (which is The plan of IO... �b 7?! (intending ...�c6) effec tive when the white queen is on a4), Black now runs into II e5 lbg8 12 .ie4 !. should play 8 ...lba5 ! (D) immediately. ll lbh3lbd7 12 f4 f6 13 .ih4 �b7 14 0-0 This gives White no time to arrange the de 0-0-0 15 llabl(D) fence of the c-pawn with .id3 and �e2 and in The Azeri GM brings the two pieces that he vites the complications that fo llow the advance has on the kingside towards the centre before 9 e5 !?, giving rise to a forced variation which starting the offensive. The main problem for has stood the test of time: 9 ...h6! I 0 .ih4 g5 II Black is that he is bogged down on the queen .if2 lbh5 ! 12 h4 ( 12 c5 .ixfl 13 �xfl f5 !? side and is unable to increase the pressure on does not give White anything, Vo lkov-Brodsky, the c-pawn.

Dubai 2003) 12.. .f 5!. This move of Petrosian's, 15•.• �d e8 with the objective of fighting for space on the 15... �c6 is answered with 16 .l::i.b4 !, and kingside, allows Black to achieve reasonable Black remains immobilized. SAMISCH VARIATION: 4 a3 OR 4 f3 11

Liquidating the doubled pawns and irreme diably weakening the hitherto secure black for tress.

23••• .ixd3 24 ltJxd3 cxd5 There are not many options. If 24 ...dxc5, then 25 lL'lxc5 lL'lxc526 .ixc5 .l:td727 .ib4and the knight on aS is lost. 25 cxb6 'l'i'a6 Recapturing on b6 would also lose to the ma noeuvre lL'lb4-d5, attacking the rook and the b6-pawn, but now the pawn reaches a7, with check and also protected. 26 bxa7++ �aS 27 '!'i'g4! ltJc4 Little is changed by 27 ...lL'lf6 28 'i¥'f5 dxe4 16 ..tf2h6 17 ..te3 .l:te7 1S lL'lf2�bS 19 h3 (28 ...ltJxe4 29 .l:tb8+!) 29 lL'lb4 'l'i'c4 30 �xd6 Prophylaxis. As White is in no hurry, after 'l'i'xc331 �h2 !, with a decisive advantage. centralizing his pieces he gives his king an es 2S .if2 lL'lf6 29 'iVf5 .l:Iec7 cape-square. There is no time for 29 ...dxe4 in view of 30 19 ....l:!.c8 lL'lb4 'ti'b7 31 lL'ld5 and the material losses are If 19... g5, then 20 fxg5 fxg5 21 ltJg4. substantial. The best try was 29 ...llf 8!, but then 20 lifd 1 e5 21 fxe5 fxe5 22 d5 (D) White still wins by 30 lL'lb4 'i¥'c8 31 'i¥'xc8+ .U.xc8 32 lL'lc6!. 30 ltJb4(D)

Keeping the black pieces imprisoned on the queenside.

22 ••• c6?! Now the d5-pawn falls and the one on a7 de It is natural for Black to try to open a line on cides the game.

the queenside in order to bring his dormant 30 .• .'i�'a431 lL'lxd5 ltJxd532 .U.xd5 ltJxa3 pieces back into play, but this move weakens If 32 ...'ii xa3, then 33 .l:Ib8+.l:txb8 34 axb8'1'i'+ his pawn-chain, especially b6. Here 22 ...c5!? �xb8 35 .l.:tb5+ and mate in a few moves. was best, permanently preventing the threat of 33 llbS+ White playing c5, but White would retain his The shortest way. White sacrifices his a7- space advantage. A good plan would be 23 pawn to leave the black king without any pro ttlhI ! ? intending lL'lg3-f5, attacking d6, followed tection.

by doubling rooks on the f-file. 33 ••• .l:IxbS34 axbS�+ �xb8 35 11xd6 ltJc4 23 c5! 36 lidS+ �b7 37 'iVfS 12 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

The queen joins in to leave Black's king de- 37 .•• i!Va6 38 .l::tb8+ Wc6 39 i!Ve8+ l:td7 40 fenceless against the combined attack of the .l:.c8+ 1-0 three white pieces. Excellent play by Radjabov.

Game 2 [E20] Tiger Hillarp Persson - Peter Heine Nielsen Danish League 2001/2

1 d4 l2Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 l2Jc3 .tb4 4 f3 Consistent with his previous move. If he This move-order can also be regarded as part plays 5 a3 instead, then after 5... .txc3+ 6 bxc3 of the Samisch Variation, or Neo-Samisch, since b6 there is a transposition to Game 1. generally, at some point White plays a3, trans s ...ds! posing to the positions seen in the previous It is essential to strike in the centre. game. At the start of the 1990s, this line be 6cxd5 came very popular owing to its adoption by the It seems more logical to advance without super-GM Alexei Shirov and now it is very capturing on d5, so that the c8-bishop will re popular once more thanks to the contributions main shut in, but this has the drawback that of I vanchuk, Milov and Vo lkov, to mention just Black has available the subsequent ...dxc4 (at a few illustrious names. White's intention is tacking d4) and after .txc4? there is the re clear: to take over the centre completely. source ...lbxe5 ! and ...'iVh4+ !, winning a pawn. 4 ... l2Jc6 (D) For example: 6 e5 l2Jg8! (the knight always . comes to this square, in order to initiate the blockade on the light squares with ...l2Je7-f5), and now: a) If White plays 7 f4 ? then after 7 ...dxc4 ! he cannot recapture on c4 since the d4-pawn drops. Later Black can consolidate the pawn with ...i!Vd5 or increase his pressure on d4 by ...l2Jge7 and ... l2Jf5, with excellent play in both cases. b) Another inaccurate move is 7 .te3?! in view of 7 ...dxc4! 8 a3 (if 8 .txc4? then Black replies 8 ...l2Jxe5 !) 8 ... �xc3+ 9 bxc3 �d7 ! 10 f4 lDa5 and Black defends the extra pawn. c) The critical continuation is 7 a3 ! �xc3+ 8 bxc3 dxc4 9 i!Va4! (9 �xc4? l2Jxe5 !) 9 ... f6 !? With this move, Black allows White tempo (9... �d 7!? 10 �xc4 lba5 ! followed by ... c5 ! rary domination of the centre, in order to coun deserves consideration) 10 exf6 lDxf6 11 �xc4 ter-attack there later. This is a way of playing 0-0 12 lbe2 Wh8 13 0-0 e5 14 �d 1 e4! and that has given Black excellent results. He gives Black's activity on the kingside compensates priority to development and subsequently strikes for White's bishop-pair, Moskalenko-Barsov, at the white centre, forcing it to advance so as Sitges 2000. then to occupy key posts with his minor pieces. 6 ... exd5 7 eS l2Jg8(D) Note how many pawn moves White is making, 8f4 causing a slight lag in his development which White finds himself forced to carry on mak Black will exploit with his next few moves. ing pawn moves in order to complete his devel 5 e4 opment. This is one of the problems of the SAMISCH VA RIA TION: 4 a3 OR 4 f3 13

move 4 f3: it occupies the knight's natural de break, and this keeps the f2-bishop completely velopment square. paralysed and out of play. 8 �b5 has the drawback that after 8 ...�d7 ! b) It seems more logical to avoid the dou there is a threat to win a pawn with both .. :iVh4+ bling of the pawns with I 0 �e2 tbf5 11 0-0 and .. .lbxe5, so that White is forced to capture �a5 !? (a typical manoeuvre in this variation; on c6, losing control of the light squares. the bishop goes to b6 to reinforce the pressure The most sensible course is to defend against on d4, but the simple Il...'iVd7, followed by the threat of .. :iVh4+and ...'t�Vxd 4 with 8 �e3 !? ...0-0-0, is also sufficient) 12 tbg5 �xe2 13 and now I like 8 ...tbh6! (preventing 9 f4 in tbxe2 �b6 14 tbf3 h5 (D). view of 9 ... tbg4!) 9 �d2 (9 �xh6?! 'iVh4+) 9 . ..Cbf5 10 �g5 f6 ! and Black seizes the initia tive, Linares-F.Amold, Villa Real 200 I, but also satisfactory is 8 ...tbge7 9 f4 0-0 I 0 �e2 �f5 II ctJf3 �e4 ! and Black manages to activate this bishop, fo llowed at an appropriate mo ment by .. .lbf5 and the manoeuvre ...�a5-b6 with counterplay against d4, Milov-Aimasi, Corsica (rapid) 2005.

8••. tbh6! Not only preparing to blockade on f5 but also ready to jump to g4 in reply to �e3. 9�e2 The purpose of this move is to prevent the pin on the knight, but in view of what happened in the game it seems preferable to play 9 ctJf3 Black has achieved a perfect blockade on the �g4, and now there are two ways: light squares, although White's control of more a) 10 �e3 tbf5 11 �f2 �xf3 ! (destroying space means that the chances are balanced. White's structure and securing f5 for the black White's position suffers from a certain paraly pieces) 12 gxf3 0-0 and now, instead of 13 sis; practically his only plan is to play a3, with l:tgl?! lt:Jcxd4!? 14 �xd4 'iVh4+ 15 �f2 'iVxf4, the idea of b4. In the two available practical ex when Black had a strong attack in Shirov-Tivia amples, the struggle was balanced after 15 'iVd3 kov, Wij k aan Zee 200 I, Tiviakov recommends 't�Vd7 16 a3 a5 !. Curiously, in one of these Black 13 'i¥d3 tbce7 14 �h3 g6 15 .l:!.g1 �h8 (D). sent his king to the queenside ( ...�d8 !?-c8-b8), However, Black has little to fear, because while in the other the king took refuge on the the blockade on f5 is practically impossible to kingside with ...g6 and ... �f8-g7, maintaining 14 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-lNDIAN

the blockade and keeping the rooks on their 0-0 was better, although after 14... c5 ! Black original squares. breaks open the centre.

9••• lLlf5! 14 ...f6 ! (D) Much better than Tiviakov's recommenda tion 9 ... .i.g4. With the sequence in the game ( ...lLlf5 ! and ....i.a5 !) Black makes use of his dynamic resources (better development and the initiative) to contest White's occupation of the centre. 10lZ'lf3 .i.a5! (D)

It is essential to contest White's central dom ination. In addition, the f- file is opened so that the rook protects the knight, freeing the c8- bishop from that task. 15 .i.e3fx e5 16lZ'lxe5 After 16 fxe5 .i.a6 ! 17 �d2 lLlxe3 18 �xe3 the exchange sacrifice 18... l:!.xf3! is decisive, A recurrent idea which is very effective. since the pawns at d4 and e5 drop.

White must move the e2-bishop again, which 16 •••.i.a6 ! demonstrates that his strategy has failed. Black continues energetically. ll.i.b5 17 �d2lZ'lxe3 18 �x e3 c5! (D) A pretty and simple variation arises in the case of II g4? lZ'lfxd4 ! 12 lZ'lxd4 �h4+ 13 �fl lZ'lxd4and the white position falls apart, since it is not possible to capture on d4 because of ....i.b6. 11... 0-0! Black's lead in development is becoming alarming. 12 a3?! Another wasted tempo. It was necessary to accept a slightly inferior position with 12 .i.xc6 bxc6 13 �a4 .i.b6 14 �xc6 l:l:b8! 15 �xd5 lLlxd4 16 lLlxd4 .i.xd4 17 �xd8 l:l:xd8 18 lZ'le2 .i.c5 and the activity of all the black pieces, es pecially his bishop-pair, clearly compensates for the missing pawn. After this break the position completely

12••• .i.b6 13 .i.xc6bxc6 14 �d3 opens up in Black's favour. In the hope of keeping things blocked up after 19 dxc5 d4! 20 �e4 dxc3 .i.e3, followed by queenside castling, but Black Now the white king is condemned to remain will not allow him the time for this. Instead, 14 in the centre. SAMISCH VA RIA TION: 4 a3 OR 4 f3 15

21!.1d1'iVf6 ! Attacking the last soldier of the once-proud white centre! W 22 g3 After 22 cxb6 'iVxf4 23 'iVxf4 .l:!.xf4 the e5- knight is left without support.

22•• J:tae8 Here 22 ...lhd8 ! would have been immedi ately decisive, because not only would the d5- square be protected but also the black queen would penetrate along the d-file: 23 cxb6 (23 .l:!.xd8 'iVxd8 !) 23 ... .U.xdl+ 24 �xd l 'iYd6+ and the queen enters at d2. 23 cxb6 ..ib7! 24'iVc4+ Here 24 'iVxb7 �xe5+! leads to an elegant 31 �h3 'i¥xa332 i:Id1 �a633 l:td7't\Ye6+ 34 mate. �h4 't\Yh6+ 24.. .<.t>h8 25 0-0 �xb6+ 26 't!Vd4 34 ...�f6+ ! . If 26 .l::tf2, then 26 ....l:txe5 !. 35 �g4 �xh2 36 lt:Jf7+ 26 ...c2 27 't!Vxb6cxd1 't!V28 'iVxb7�d4+ (D) After 36 .l::!.xg7 h5+! 37 �g5 'iYxg3+ the Black is the exchange up and has the safer white king will not survive. king, so the struggle is decided. The rest is quite 36 ...�g8 37 lt:Jg5h5+ 38 '.t>f3 l:tb3+39 �e4 clear although apparently both players were in .l::!.e8+ 40 �f5 0-1 time-pressure. White lost on time before being mated. An 29 '.t>g2.l::tb8 30 'J/IIxc7 �xb2+ entertaining game, illustrating the problems that Better was 30 ...Ii.xb2+! and ... 'iVd2. can be caused by falling behind in development.

Game 3 [E27] Miso Cebalo - Dimitri Komarov Bratto open 2006

1 d4 lt:Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 lt:Jc3 ..ib4 4 f3 0-0!? (D) This move has, in principle, the same idea as 4 ...lt:Jc6. Black makes a developing move and w waits for White to play 5 e4. Then Black strikes in the centre immediately with ... d5, so that he can exploit his development advantage. 5a3 The central strike 5 e4 d5 ! is even better now than when the black knight is on c6 (Game 2), because Black has the immediate central coun ter-attack ...c5 ! available. White must capture with cxd5, either immediately or after 6 e5, since otherwise Black will take on c4 and de fe nd the pawn with ...b5 or ...lt:Jb6. For exam ple, 6 e5 lt:Jfd7 7 a3?! ..ixc3+8 bxc3 dxc4! and After 6 cxd5 exd5 7 e5 lDfd7 ! White has now 9 ..ltxc4? is not possible in view of the fa problems in supporting his advanced pawn

miliar idea 9 . ..lt:Jxe5 !. centre. If he tries to bolster d4 with 8 a3 ..ixc3+ 16 CHESS EXPlAINED: THE NIMZO-IND/AN

9 bxc3 Black breaks with 9 . . .f6!, and the white centre vanishes, because I 0 f4? is not possible in view of 10... fxe5 II dxe5 lt:Jxe5 ! and the de velopment advantage makes itself felt. White must play more modestly with I 0 exf6 �xf6 II �d3 lt:Jb6 12lt:Je2 �f5, but after the exchange of the light-squared bishops the outpost on c4 guarantees equality, Moskalenko-J.Gonzalez, Mataro 2004. If White plays 8 f4 then after 8 ...c5 ! the centre explodes and Black can play sacrificially to smash open lines towards the white king in the centre. For example: a) 9 a3 �a5! 10 lt:Jf3 cxd4 II lt:Jxd4 lt:Jxe5 ! (D). the e8-knight can go to d6, reinforcing the at tack on c4, while the f-pawn serves to restrict the white fo rces. w TLe move 6 ...lt:Jh5 !? gains time for moving the pawn to f5 and subsequently the queen to h4 (important!), thus hindering White's advance in the centre. Black's general idea consists of con testing control of the centre with the above mentioned advance ...f5 and later ...d6 and ...e5. In this way Black restricts White's aggressive intentions on the kingside. Development is com pleted with ... lt:Jc6 and ... i.d7. If White can be prevented from advancing in the centre, Black will later tum his attention to White's weak nesses on the queenside ( c3 and c4) or else gain A typical sacrifice in this variation. Black space with ...e4 or ...f4 , with possibilities of at

· exploits his advantage in development and the tacking on the kingside. exposed position of the white king. 12 fxe5 7 lt:Jh3 �h4+ 13 '>t>e2 �b6! (the key move: the bishop The most common move, which is designed comes to the a7-gl diagonal with devastating to protect against the queen check on h4. Of effect) 14 �e3 �g4+ 15 lt:Jf3 d4 ! 16 �xd4 course, 7 e4? is bad in view of 7 ...�h4+ 8 g3 �xf3+ 17 '>t>xf3 i.xd4 and White is destroyed, lt:Jxg3 9 hxg3 �xh I with a decisive advantage. Vo lkov-Vekshenkov, Togliatti 2003. Grandmaster Sergei Volkov experimented suc b) 9 lt:Jf3 cxd4 !? 10 �xd4 (after 10 lt:Jxd4 cessfully with 7 g3 !? f5 8 e4 but, instead of once again the sacrifice works: 10... lt:Jxe5 ! II 8 ...b6, Black should remain consistent with fxe5 �h4+ 12 '>t>e2 �c5 !) 10... lt:Jc6 II �xd5 the general idea of the variation by playing lt:Jdxe5 ! 12 �xd8 lt:Jxf3+ 13 gxf3 .l:!.xd8 14 �e3 8 ...d6!?, followed by ...e5, since it is better to �f5 and White stands badly, because his king develop the bishop along the c8-h3 diagonal, remains in the centre and his pawns are weak, to make it difficult for White to develop his Kadziolka-Alexandrov, Warsaw 2005 . knight.

5 ... �xc3+ 6 bxc3 (D) 7... f5

6 ••. tt:Jh5!? The point of ... lt:Jh5. Capablanca's manoeuvre 6 ... lt:Je8 !? is also 8e3 well-known and popular here. Black avoids the The simplest way of bringing the king's pin and plays ...b6, ...�a6 and ...lt:Jc6-a5 . Also bishop into play and castling quickly. SAMISCH VA RIATION: 4 a3 OR 4 f3 17

The brilliant Bronstein employed the ener getic idea 8 e4 !?, which gave him an excellent position in Bronstein-Szabo, Candidates tour- W nament, Budapest 1950 after 8 ...c5?! 9 e5 ! l2Jc6 10 f4 g6 II i.e2b6 12 0-0l2Jg7 13 i.e3cxd4 14 cxd4 i.a6 15 'ifa4, and White had the bishop- pair and a strong centre, while Black's g7- knight is out of play. Knaak's recommendation 8 .. .fxe4?! 9 i.g5 l2Jf6 10 fxe4 h6 II i.h4 g5? does not seem beneficial, since the insecurity of the black king becomes clear after 12 i.g3 l2Jxe4 13 'ifc 2! d5 I4 l2Jf2!. It is best for Black not to deviate fro m the general plan and so to continue with 8 ...d6! followed by ...e5 and in some cases .. .f4. quite simple: develop with ...�d7 and ....l:i.ae8 A fu rther option for White is to develop the and then advance in the centre or attack on the queen's bishop before playing e3, but this does kingside. not alter the character of the position much: 8 White has little activity and his best plans are i.g5 !? 'ife8 9 e3 and Black should continue to exert pressure on the b-file, and try to ad with the standard plan: ...d6, ... l2Jc6and ...e5 . vance with c5, given that it is not sensible to

8... d6 play e4 because Black can respond with .. .f4 After hindering White's advance in the cen and then transfer a rook to h6 or g6. tre with .. .f5, Black prepares to complete the 12 'tiVe1 mobilization of his queenside with ...e5 and With the objective of dislodging the black ...l2Jc6, fo llowed by developing the bishop on queen from h4. It seems more logical to play ei d7. ther 12 'ifc2,exerting pressure on f5, or l2l!bI, 9l2Jf2 making it difficult for the black bishop to be de After 9 i.d3 the best move is 9 ...'ifh 4+ !, veloped.

which forces the white knight to a more passive 12 ••• i.d7 13 g3!? 'ife7 position on f2. Furthermore, when White cas It is not possible to play l3... l2Jxg3? be tles, it will be difficult to dislodge the queen cause of 14 lLlh l! winning a piece, but it was from this square, since the move g3 can be an worth considering keeping the queen on the swered with the sacrifice ...l2Jxg3 !, dismantling kingside with l3.. .'�!Vg5!? , renewing the threat the white fortress. of ...l2Jxg3.

9.•. l2Jc6 14 'ifd 1.l::i.ae8 15 l:!.a2l2Jf6 (D) It is also possible to play 9 ...e5 !?, in accor dance with the general plan. After 10 f4 l2Jf6 II fxe5 dxe5 12 c5l2Jc6 13 �c4+ �h8 14 0-0 b6 !?, White has difficulty in bringing his queen's w bishop into play, Vo lkov-Izoria, European Clubs Cup, Saint Vincent 2005. 10 �d3 e5 11 0-0 If II 'ifc2 then the best move is once again l l...'ifh4 !?, posting the black queen on its ideal square . 11... 'ifh4! (D) From this menacing square, the queen exerts pressure on d4, and at the same time restricts White's actions on the kingside. Black's plan is 18 CHESS EXPlAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

The knight returns to f6 to support the ad This allows the c 1-bishop to come back to vance ...e4, which will leave White with weak life. It was better to maintain the blockade on nesses on the kingside and a wretched bishop the light squares by 20 ...b5 ! 21 axb5 .ixb5 22 on cl. This is one of Black's basic ideas in this .l:txa7 �xd5! 23 l:!.xc7 l:!.c8, with a clear posi variation: to maintain the blockade and at some tional advantage due to the passivity of the point to advance the e- or f-pawn, gaining space. white pieces and Black's pressure on c3 and 16 f4 e3. Cebalo prefers Black's ...e4 advance to take 21 c4! (D) place without it attacking the f3-pawn, so that he will not be forced to capture on e4, which would allow the d7 -bishop into play. 16... e4 17 .i.e2 �f7! B Now Black puts pressure on c4 in order to force the advance of the white pawns, which would result in more weaknesses in the white camp. It is worth noting this formation for at tacking c4: ...Wii f7, ...lt::!a5 and ... .i.e6 if neces sary. 18 a4 lt::!a5 19 .l:ta1!? It would be much worse to defend the pawn by playing 19 d5, leaving himself paralysed and handing over the c5-square to Black, who would respond with the manoeuvre ... b6, ... lt::!b7, ...aS and ... lt::!c5, with a clear positional advan Now White's bishop-pair and command of tage. the al-h8 diagonal provide some compensation

19••. ltJxc4 (D) for the pawn. In this defence it is essential to take particular care not to allow the bishop-pair any activity, especially the dark-squared bishop when it has no opposite number. w 21 ... b6 22 .ib2 lt::!b7 'it>h1!23 (D)

It would seem that Black has his opponent completely under his thumb, since as well as having an extra pawn, he exerts a degree of con trol over the light squares and the opposing pieces lack activity. However, the experienced White prepares the opening of the g-file, to Croatian GM finds a way to complicate his op exert pressure on g7 in coordination with the ponent's task. bishop on b2.

20 d5! lt::!a5?! 23 .•.ltJc5 SAMISCH VA RIATION: 4 a3 OR 4 f3 19

Now White exchanges his weak a-pawn and demonstrates. Black must do this before cas activates his queen' s rook, but if Black prevents tling, so that against the .i.g5pin he has the re the advance with 23 ... a5, White would break sponse ...h6 and ...g5 available, if required. immediately with 24 g4 !, obtaining sufficient It is essential to remember important queen counterplay. manoeuvres such as ...'iVe8 (especially when 24 aS! .l:!.a8 25 .l:!.gl the white queen is on a4) in order, after the ad Patiently preparing the break, since his op vance of his d-pawn, to offer the exchange of ponent lacks active play. queens, which would leave the c4-pawn with

25•.. c6 26 g4! one less defender. Also, ...'iVd7 and ...'iVa4 or Better than regaining the pawn with 26 dxc6 ...'iVc8-b7-c6 share the same objective of at .ixc6 27 'iVxd6'iVe8 !, since the threat of .. .'�Jd3 tacking the c4-pawn and activating the black gives Black the initiative. queen. Dizdarevic 's error in Game I was to em

26 .•.t2Jd 3!? (D) ploy the last of these queen manoeuvres, di rected against the 8 .i.g5 pin, when he should have played 8 ...t2Ja5 !, entering the complica tions that arise after 9 e5 h6 ! 10 .i.h4 g5, or else forcing the white queen to defend the c4-pawn from a4. Against the immediate 4 f3 Black has a rea sonable option in 4 ...t2Jc6 !?. The positions that arise after 5 e4 d5 6 cxd5 exd5 7 e5 t2Jg8 are perfectly playable for Black, who achieves a good blockade on the light squares and has ac tive play with ...f6 and the manoeuvre ... .i.a5- b6. Game 2 is an example of how to punish in accurate play and a delay in castling by White. I think that White should handle this position by playing the immediate 6 e5 fo llowed by 7 Creating more complications, to distract a3 !, so that the c8-bishop remains locked be White from his positional attack. hind its own pawns, and although so far Black 27 t2Jxd3exd3 28 'iVxd3 fx g4 has achieved sufficient counterplay, I expect Now White will simplify in order to regain that this line will be the most problematic in the the pawn. It was worth considering 28 ...t2Jxg4 !? fu ture. but after 29 .l:!.g2 .l:!.ae8 30 axb6 axb6 31 e4! The encounter Cebalo-Komarov (Game 3) White has sufficient counterplay because the featured 4 f3 0-0!? and, as the analysis demon position of the knight on g4 is unstable. strates, Black has nothing to fear in the event of 5 29 axb6 axb6 30 .l:!.xa8 .l:!.xa831 .i.xf6 'iVxf6 e4 d5 ! because after the advance 6 e5 the breaks 1/z-lfz ...c5 ! and/or .. .f6!, as appropriate, make it very The position is fairly equal and since both difficult for White to maintain his centre. The kings are exposed, the chances of perpetual critical line begins with 5 a3 but by employing check are high. the formation seen in the game (6 ...t2Jh5 fol lowed by ... f5 and the central advance ...d6 and Conclusions ...e5), Black has no serious problems neutraliz ing White's initiative in the centre and on the When White gains the bishop-pair by playing kingside. It should be emphasized that in this 4 a3 right away, the plan of an immediate siege variation the black queen's best square is h4. It is of the c4-pawn with ...b6, ....i.a6 and ...t2Jc6- to be expected that this line will gain popularity a5 can be strongly recommended, as Game 1 in the future owing to the simplicity of its ideas. 2 Capablanca Variation: 4 �c2 d5!?

Introduction

The classical 4 �c2 is one of the most solid and reputable responses to the Nimzo-Indian, based above all on its logic: White wants to obtain the bishop-pair without spoiling his pawn-structure. However, its fundamental drawback is that it uses several tempi to this end, which means that White lags behind in development and the queen remains rather exposed to attack by the black pieces. The move 4 �c2 was very popular from the 1920s to the 1950s owing to its inclusion in the rep ertoires of players such as Capablanca, Alekhine and Euwe. Later it fell into disuse until the 1980s, when Seirawan obtained excellent results with it. Later he was joined by Kasparov, I.Sokolov, Bareev and M.Gurevich, who contributed to its success with new ideas and splendid results. Today it is one of the most common and deeply-investigated variations. The variation that we shall study in this chapter, 4 1i'c2d5 !?, aims to take advantage of White's lack of development by immediately opening the position with central breaks such as a well-timed ...c5 or even ...e5. Black's philosophy is very clear: to give priority to active piece-play above any other positional or material considerations, so that White does not have time to use his bishop-pair. That is why in this variation Black even delays his own castling, allows the destruction of his pawn-structure or sacrifices a pawn, all with the objective of mobilizing his queenside and creating threats against the insecure queen and the enemy king, which needs several tempi to castle on the kingside and which would be too exposed on the queenside.

The Games

In Game 4 (Bareev-Ivanchuk), we shall see the line 5 a3 ! ?, in which White persists in his idea of gaining the bishop-pair without attaching too much importance to the tempi consumed. Black is forced to give up his bishop, but with the continuation ... lt:Je4 and ...c5 ! he obtains very good counterplay along the a5-e I diagonal, or full compensation for the pawn if White hangs on to the material, as in the game. We shall also see that the variation with ...lt:Je4 followed by ...e5 is some what better for White, who manages to complete his development and maintain the bishop-pair plus a stable centre. In the notes to this game we shall also see a less risky alternative (6 ...dxc4 and ... b6 !?) with the aim of exchanging one of White's bishops and trying to equalize quietly. In the game, Ivanchuk achieved excellent compensation for the sacrificed pawn in the shape of a lasting initiative, which finally grew into a strong attack owing to some slight inaccuracies from Bareev.

In Ibrahimov-Mamedyarov (Game 5), we shall analyse the variation where White takes on d5 and then plays 6 .ig5 and we shall see how the response 6 ...c5! produces an extremely complicated position, where both players are walking a tightrope. White chose the main move 7 dxc5!? and Black put immediate pressure on the c3-knight with ...h6, ...g5, followed by ... lt:Je4 and .. .'iVa5, which is the most popular manoeuvre these days and which reduces White's options. As the reader will see, the struggle was very complicated, with both kings exposed, but it took only one mistake CA PABLANCA VA RIATION: 4 Wfc2 d5!? 21

by White on move 18 for Black to launch a very strong offensive,which ended in a mating attack on move 31.

Game 6 (Van Wely-Topalov) shows us all the alternatives to the move 7 dxc5 of the previous game and in particular 7 a3, which was the move used by Van Wely and which is quite popular at the time of writing. With this move White obtains the bishop-pair and the better pawn-structure, but To palov demonstrated how Black's development compensates for these factors, even in the end game.

Game 4 [E37] Evgeny Bareev - Vasily lvanchuk Havana 2006

1 d4 tbf6 2 c4 e6 3 tbc3 i..b4 41Vc2(D) and the move a3 is useful for responding to the central attack ...c5 with dxc5 followed by b4. It is also possible to answer with 6 cxd5 followed by i..g5, reaching the structure of the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit, with the fa vourable difference that the move a3 supports the advance b4, which is an essential part of the typical minority attack. 61Vxc3 (D)

The basic idea of this variation is to obtain the bishop-pair without any damage to the pawn structure.

4... d5 Black immediately strikes in the centre, con trolling e4. 4 ... 0-0 is also possible, as we shall see in the next chapter, as is the immediate at tack on the centre with 4 ... c5. 5 a3 White has invested his last two moves in the White carries on with his initial plan. We acquisition of a stable and lasting advantage - shall see 5 cxd5 in the next game. If 5 i..g5?! the bishop-pair - but he has fallen behind in de Black captures by 5 ...dxc4! attacking d4 and af velopment and his queen is rather exposed. It is ter 6 e3 or 6 tbf3 he defends the pawn with important to understand that if Black quietly 6 ...b5, and ...c6 if necessary. develops his pieces without disturbing White,

s... i..xc3+ allowing him to complete his development, he The retreat 5 ... i..e7?! makes no sense here, will be condemned to a passive and unpleasant since White continues with the natural develop defence in the middlegame and even in the end ing moves tbf3, i..f4 or i..g5, followed by e3, game. What can Black do? One plan consists of 22 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

opening the centre as quickly as possible (even if it means sacrificing one or more pawns) to try to exploit his advantage in development. An other plan is to try to exchange one of White's bishops. In the game the first method is used, while the attempt to exchange a bishop is ex plained in the next note.

6.. .lbe4 The knight occupies an important post in the centre, and at the same time attacks the queen and prepares a central break. The alternativeis 6 ...dxc4 7 �xc4 b6 !? to play ....i.a6, attacking the queen, and to exchange the light-squared bishops as soon as White moves his e-pawn. However, I have the impression that afterseiz White now has various ways to win material ing the centre and castling on the queenside the but Black has obtained sufficient compensation white position is slightly better. In contrast, if in the majority of cases. For example, 9 g4 (9 White tries to retain his bishop-pair by develop dxe5 c6! ?) 9 ....i.g6 10 'iib3 exd4 11lbf3 0-0 12 ing the fl-bishop to g2 then Black first harasses .i.g2, Nechepurenko-Khairullin, Russian Ch, the queen with ... .i.b7-d5 or ....i.a6, and then Krasnoiarsk 2007, and now 12... d3! gives Black follows up by ...lbbd7, ....l:tc8 and ...c5, with the initiative. very good piece coordination. Let us see an ex Regardless of their soundness, the moves ample: 8 CtJf3 0-0 9 .i.g5 (this pin is logical, 7 ...e5 !? and 8 ....i.f 5!? are in the spirit of how given that Black has no dark-squared bishop; if Black should operate to counteract White's 9 g3 .i.b7 10 .i.g2, then IO... .i.d5 followed by bishop-pair. ...lbbd7, ...c5 and ....l:i.c8, with excellent play) 8dxc5 9 ....i.a6 10 �c2 (inadvisable is 10 .i.xf6?! 'iixf6 White must not accept a position where he 11 'iixc7 .l:tc8 and the black pieces are very ac has an isolated pawn without any attacking pos tive) 10... lbbd7 11 e4 .i.xfl 12 llxfl 'iic8!? 13 sibilities, i.e. 8 e3? cxd4 9 exd4 lbc6 10 lbf3 0-0-0 �b7 14 �fe l �ac8 15 Wbl l:Ife8 fol 'i!Va5+. lowed by ... c5 with equality, Golod-S.Feller, 8 ...lbc6 9 cxd5 Cappelle Ia Grande 2007. Protecting the c5-pawn and giving his oppo 7 Wic2c5! nent an isolated pawn, but the queen's bishop At the time of writing, this break has the best gains the freedom to reach f5 (or g4), creating reputation. The two alternativelines for break various tactical possibilities at the white queen's ing in the centre are connected with the advance expense. ...e5: Attempts have been made to gain an advan a) 7 ... lbc6 8 e3 e5 !? is one way, but after9 tage without exchanging on d5, so as to keep f3 ! lbf6 10 dxe5 lbxe5 11 cxd5 'ifxd5 12 e4 we the black bishop shut in at c8, but then the reach the type of position that Black must avoid, check on a5, followed by the elimination of the because his knights lack outposts in the centre dark-squared bishop, equalizes: and he has no active breaks, while the bishop a) 9CtJf3 �a5+! 10.i.d2(10CtJd2!? is trick pair and central superiority give White the ad ier, but the complications after 10... lbd4! 11 vantage. �dl !? {or 11 �d3 e5 } ll... .i.d7 are no worse b) With 7 ...e5 !? Black intends to answer 8 for Black) 10.. .'�xc5 II e3 lbxd2 12 'i!Vxd2 cxd5 with the active 8 ....i.f 5!? (D) (instead of dxc4 with equality. 8 ...Wixd5 ?! 9 f3 followed by 10 dxe5 and 11 e4 b) 9 e3 �a5+! 10 .i.d2 lbxd2 ! 11 'i!Vxd2 and Black is condemned to passive defence, dxc4! 12 'ifxa5 lbxa5 13 lie I b5 ! (giving up a Kasparov-Adams, Linares 2005). pawn, but once the files are open, the queenside CA PABLANCA VA RIATION: 4 'iVc2 d5!? 23

pawns will be subject to attack) 14 cxb6 .i.b7 15 ctJf3 �e7 16 bxa7 and now the most appropriate course is to eliminate the f3-knight, and W exert immediate pressure on the white pawns along the b-file.

9••. exd5 10 ctJf3(D)

It is more prudent to return the pawn imme diately with 16 .l:txd2 dxe3 17 fxe3 M.xe3 with approximate equality.

16••• .l::t ad8 (D)

10.• Ji'f6!? w Hindering the b4 advance and its further consequences of White developing his dark squared bishop actively. The last word has not yet been said regarding 10 ....i.f5 !?, but the latest games favour White: 11 b4! d4!?(l l...ctJg3?! 12 �b2 ctJxh l 13 �xg7 .l:!.f8 14 �h6 is no use; nor is 11...0-0 12 �b2 ctJg3?! 13 �c3 d4 14 ctJxd4 ctJxd4 15 fxg3! with a decisive advantage) 12 g4 �g6 13 'iVb2 0-0 14 .i.g2 Ii.e8 15 0-0 ltJc3 16 .U.el h5 17 g5 i.e4 18 �d2 and White completes his develop ment while retaining the extra pawn and keep This position exemplifies the kind of com ing pressure on d4, Ivanchuk-Anand, Monte pensation that the pawn sacrificeprovides: pres Carlo (blindfold) 2007. sure on the centre filesand more active pieces. 11 e3 .i.g4 12 .i.e20-0 (D) 17 'iVc1 13 0-0 17 exd4 is met by 17... ctJxd4 !, when 18 Natural, but inaccurate. Now White will find ctJxd4?.i.xe2 costs White the exchange. Now it it difficult to bring his queen's bishop into play. seems that White has solved his problems, but It is better to play 13 .i.d2! and now Black lvanchuk finds an energetic continuation that should exert pressure on the c-file by 13... .l::t ac8 ! retains the initiative.

14 0-0 b6! with counterplay, Hillarp Persson 17••. d3! J.Hammer, Copenhagen 2007. A further temporary pawn sacrifice which

13••• I:i.f e8! 14 .i.d2d4! brings about a weakening of White's castled The opening of the centre enables the rooks' position. pressure on the central files to make itself felt 18 I!xd3.l:Ixd3 19 .i.xd3.i.xf3 20 gxf3 ctJe5 and highlights the passivity ofthe white pieces. 21 .i.e4 ctJxf3+ 22 .i.xf3'iVxf3 23 �d 1 �f5 24 15 I!ad1 ctJxd2 16 �xd2 b4 h6! 24 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE N!MZO-INDIAN

Now the black rook is free to join the attack. It was better to play 29 l!xe4! �xe4 30 25 l:te1 aS!? �d8+ �h7 3l li'd7 ! f5 32 b5 f4 33 li'g4 ! with To weaken b4. good drawing chances.

26 e4! (D) 29.• .'i!Va6+ 30 'lt>g2 After 30 b5 .l:Ixel + 31 �xel 'iVe6+ 32 �fl �c4+ 33 �gl 'i¥xc5 theextra pawn seems suf ficientfor a win.

B 30 .•..l:tg4+ 31 �h3 I!.g632 "Wif5? The decisive mistake. It was necessary to rescue the king by means of the manoeuvre 32 .l:!.e3 ! and l:tg3.

32 ••.�c6 33 .l:!.e4 There is no salvation in 33 f3 .ilg5 34 �f4 �d7+ 35 �h4 .l:!.g2 with the threat of ...g5+.

33••. .l::t g5 The mating-net tightens around the unfortu nate king. 34 li'f3 'i¥d 7+ 35 Wh4 l:tg1 36 �e3 If 36 l:te5, then 36 ...'i¥d8+ 37 �h3 g5! and Bareev returns the pawn in order to simplify Black wins. the position and prevent the combined attack of 36•.• �f5 37 .l:!.e8+Wh7 38 �e4 g5+ 0-1 the black queen and rook on his weakened king. Bareev resigned in view of the unusual mate

26•• .'i!Vg6+ 27 Wfl axb4 28 axb4 .l:lxe4 29 that occurs after 39 Wh5 'i¥g6+! 40 "Wixg6+ �b1? fxg6#.

Game 5 [E35] Rasul lbrahimov - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov President's Cup, Baku 2006

1 d4 lt:Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 lt:Jc3ii.b4 4 li'c2d5 5 cxd5 exd5 5 ... 't!Vxd5 is a major alternative, but we shall not be examining it in this book. 6 ii.g5c5 ! (D) It is very logical to attack d4 and open the c filewhen the queen is on c2 and is no longer pro tecting d4 or putting pressure on d5. Previously preference was given to 6 ...h6, intending 7 ii.h4 c5!, but this move-order allows the variation 7 ii.xf6!? 't!Vxf6 8a3 i.xc3+9 'i¥xc3, which leads to rather tedious positions where Black is in little danger but is just playing to neutralize White's minority attack on the queenside.

7 dxc5 7 ••• h6 8 ii.h4 The most demanding variation for Black. We Now 8 i.xf6!? gains time for completing de shall see the topical 7 a3 !? together with other velopment but gives up the bishop-pair with the alternativesin the next game. centre open, so that Black does not have many CA PA BLANCA VA RIA TION: 4 Wfc2 d5!? 25

problems equalizing. Black will have compen surprising 10 ...�f6 ! works perfectly: 11 ..ig3?! sation for the isolated pawn on d5 in the form of (it is better to solve the development problem pressure on the c-file. In addition, Black can with 11 tZ'lf3 ! ..ixc3+ 12 bxc3 l:txb8 13 e3! 0-0 capture on c3 and leave his opponent with a 14 ..id3 tZ'lxc5 15 0-0 ..id7 and both sides have backward pawn, or even retain the bishop-pair weaknesses, H.Rau-Babula, Bundesliga 200617) in some variations. ll ...tZ'lxc3 12 a3 ..if5! 13 �d2 ..ia5 14 b4? tZ'le4

8•.. g5! 15 �c I l:tc8 !!, as in the famous game I.Soko The f6 -knight is needed to increase the pres lov-Aronian, Turin Olympiad 2006, which sure on c3. This advance certainly weakens the ended in a quick victory for Black, because the kingside, but sooner or later it will be essential undeveloped white forces could not cope with to break the pin. Note that here and on the fo l the coordinated attack of the black army. lowing moves the advance 8 ...d4? does not work 10... �a5! (D) because with 9 0-0-0! White gets out of the pin In this variation the most advisable policy is and in turn pins the d-pawn. to apply immediate and continuous pressure on The move-order 8 ...tZ'lc6 ?! 9 e3 g5 10 ..ig3 the c3-knight. Remember that 1 O ...tZ'lc6?! is an CLJe4 gives White the possibility of putting the swered with II a3 ! transposing to the variation question to the bishop immediately with 11 a3! mentioned in the note to Black's eighth move. "i'a5 12 tZ'le2 ..if5 and thenafter 13 "i'c I ! thefo l lowi ng semi-forced variation arises: 13... tZ'lxc5 ! 14 axb4 tZ'ld3+ 15 �d2 "i'xb4 (15... 4Jx cl? 16 l:txa5 !) 16 l:ta4 tZ'lxc l (16... "i'b3? 17 �bl !) 17 l:txb4 tZ'lxe2 18 l:txb7 tZ'lxg3 19 hxg3 d4! 20 exd4 tZ'lxd421 tZ'ld5 ! (D).

11 tZ'le2 White does not have time to play 11 ..ie5 0-0 12 ..id3in view of 12... tZ'lc6 ! 13 ..ixe4tZ'lxe5 14 ..ixd5 ..ig4! 15 tZ'lf3 ..ixf3 16 ..ixf3 tZ'lxf3+ 17 gxf3 l:tac8 and Black will soon regain the pawn with a good endgame. Nor can White expect a Black is suffering in the endgame, as several quiet life after 14 ..ih7+ �g7 15 ..id3 d4! 16 master games have shown. As we shall reiterate exd4 ..ixc3+ 17 bxc3 tZ'lxd3+ 18 �xd3 ..if5 ! 19 in the notes to Black's 1Oth and lith moves, 'ifc4 �fe8+ with an attack, I.Sokolov-Short, whenever Black includes the move ...tZ'lc6? ! Wijk aan Zee 1995. White can exploit the tempo to reach this ad ll .....i f5! vantageous variation. ll...tZ'lc6?! prevents ..ie5, but once again 12 9 ..ig3tZ'le4 e310 a3! gives White the advantage. It is essential to try to bring the kingside 12 ..ie5 pieces into play. It looks as if with 10 ..ixb8 Dreev's idea 12 ..i xb8 is not as strong: White would force Black to simplify, because 12... �xb8 13 tZ'ld4 ..id7 ! 14 tZ'lb3 ..ixc3+ 15 I O ...l:txb8? II �a4+ costs him a piece, but the bxc3 �xc3+ 16 'ifxc3 tZ'lxc3 17 f3 �e7 and 26 CHESS EXPlAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

after ...tZ:la4 and ....l::t c8 Black's pressure on c3 Overlooking Black's strong reply. It was es compensates for his weaknesses on the king sential to maintain the knight on f5 and start the side and the isolated queen's pawn. counter-attack with 18 g4! l:Iaxb8 19 h4.

12••• 0-0! 13 tZ:ld4.l::t e8! (D) 18 •• .'*1Vxf5!? 19 fxe4 dxe4! (D)

Short's idea, to involve this rook in the fight The unprotected white king comes under fire as soon as possible. from the opponent's major pieces. 14 .i.xb8 20 .i.d6 l:Ied8! There is no advantage for White in 14 l2lxf5 Threatening ... .i.xc5. Black's other rook is .U.xe5 15 tZ:lxh6+ �g7 16 tZ:lg4 and now instead needed on the c-file. of 16.. J:te7 (Biriukov-Emelin, St Petersburg 21 �e2 2005), Black should play 16... lle 6!, which de An ugly but unavoidable move. The king fends the king side and is ready for the attack if would not be safe on the other wing either: 21 White castles on the queenside. �cI .l::tac8 22 i.c4 .i.xc5 23 i.xc5 WUxc5 24

14••• tZ:lxc3 ! .i.xf7+�xf7 25 ltfl+ �e6 26 WUxc5 :Ixc5+27 Better than 14... .i.g6? ! 15 .i.d3! .l:i.axb8 16 �bl l:td2 and the rooks invade the seventh 0-0 and, now that he is castled, White goes over rank. to the attack on Black's weaknesses in the cen 21.•• .l::t ac8 tre and on the kingside, Atalik-Short, Sarajevo Threatening ....l::i. xd6!. 2004. 22 'it'a4 15 tZ:lxfS It was better to play 22 l:Id l WUg4+ 23 �f2 The knight is more effective than the queen i.xc5 24 i.c4 .U.xd6 25 �xd6 i.xd6, although on f5 . with an extra pawn and the safer king, Black's

15 .•.tZ:le4+ �16 e2 advantage would be decisive.

White wants to play f3 and shelter the king 22 •••.l::t xc5! (D) on f2. An alternative worth consideration is 16 23 'it'xb4 l:Ixd6 �d l !?, so as not to obstruct the bishop and in The king stuck in the centre and the total lack some cases bring the king to the queenside, but of coordination among White's forces outweigh after 16 .. Jhxb8 17 f3 tZ:lf6! 18 l2lxh6+ �f8 ! the sacrificed piece. the struggle remains wide open. White will try 24 �e1 aS! to penetrate on the king side, but the black forces Deflecting the queen from the d2-square. occupy more active positions and after ...l:tbc8 25 'it'xb7 and ....U.xc5, the white king also finds itself in After 25 WUa4 .l::tf6 26 iYd4 WUf2+ 27 �d l danger. .U.cc6,fo llowed by ...l:i.fd6, Black wins the queen 16 .. :�a6+!? 17 �d1 "iff6 18 f3? and the game. CA PABLA.NCA VA RIATION: 4 "YJHc2 d5!? 27

25 .• JU6 26 �b8+ �g7 27 �g3 Vacating the a5-square for the queen. The queen has managed to defend against 29 b4 axb3 30 axb3 �d5 0-1 penetration at f2, but the final attack will come White resigned in view of the imminent mate. from the other side of the board. It is significant that White did not manage to

27.• J:tc2 28 i.e2 a4! (D) move either of his rooks in the 30 moves.

Game 6 [E35] Loek van Wely - Veselin Topalov Wij k aan lee 2004

1 d4 ctJf6 2 c4 e6 3 ct:Jc3 Jl.b4�c2 4 d5 5 cxd5 the centre where Black does not have anything exd5 6 i.gS c5 (D) to fear, since the position of the queen on c2 fa vours Black because it does not defend d4. The creative lvanchuk tried to make use of having brought the queen to c2 by playing 7 0-0-0!? but 7 .....txc3 ! is a typical course of ac tion when White castles queenside, since it eliminates the knight that defends the castled position and gains time for seizing the c-file. After 8 �xc3 cxd4 9 ..txf6 dxc3 I 0 i.xd8 cxb2+ II �xb2 �xd8 Black is fine since he has no weaknesses and has a queenside pawn majority, Ivanchuk-Gashimov, Havana 2007. It is more logical to defend d4 with 7 ctJf3, but Black can either capture on d4 and play ...ctJc6 !, when after the exchange on c6 the po sition is fairly equal, or else insert 7 ... h6!?, and 7 a3 although this allows White to gain time to com Apart from capturing on c5 (which we ex plete his development with 8 Jl.xf6 �xf6, he amined in Game 5) and playing a3, which is the has obtained no advantage with any of the fol main line of this game, what else can White do? lowing lines: Defending the pawn with 7 e3 is not very ambi a) 9 a3 ..txc3+ (the simplest) 10 �xc3 ctJd7 tious and will lead to a symmetrical position in II e3 0-0 I2 ..tb5 c4 I3 i.xd7 ..txd7 14 ctJe5 28 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

.i.f5 15 b3 b5 16 0-0 a5 17 bxc4 bxc4 and the White replies 10 g3, Black can continue with passed pawn gives Black a slight advantage, 10... lt:Jbd7 and ...h6, forcing White to capture Wang Yue-Asrian, Taiyuan 2006. on f6 when Black will recapture with the knight, b) 9 0-0-0?! .i.xc3! (as soon as White cas followed by ....i.f5 with harmonious develop tles queenside, Black captures the knight which ment. If White brings his bishop into play with attacks d5 and protects the white king) 10 �xc3 10 e3 instead, then 10... lt:Jc6 and ....i.f5, fol c4 11 e4 0-0! 12 exd5 b5! and Black's attack on lowed by ... b5 and ... a5, is sufficient to equal the queenside arrives more quickly, Lopez Co ize. Ion-Vera, Canaries Team Ch, Las Pal mas 2007. 9 �xd4 lt:Jc610 �f4 c) 9 dxc5 0-0 10 e3 .i.e6 11 l:tc l lt:Jc6 12 10 .i.xf6 ?? loses material after 10... lt:Jxd4 II .i.b5 l:i.ac8 13 0-0 .i.xc5 with the bishop-pair .i.xd8 lt:Jc2+ 12 'it'd 1 CDxa1. and tremendous development, Reinderman 10... d4! Michalczak, Gausdal 2005. It is possible to continue developing with

7 ••• .i.xc3+ 10... .i.e6 llCDf3 but now l l...d4! is essential in The only move, to obtain a development ad order to gain space and prevent White from de vantage in return for the bishop-pair. veloping easily with e3. 12 b4 �d5 ! (D) is an 8 �xc3! (D) idea that works very well against the b4 ad White is very ambitious; now he has the vance. better structure and the bishop-pair, but the de velopment factor and the exposed position of the queen work in Black's favour. The best way to deal with 8 bxc3!? is by 8 ...lt:Jbd7 !?, with a clearly defined plan of cre ating problems for White by the manoeuvre ...�a5 and ...lt:Je4: 9 e3 �a5 ! 10 .i.d3 c4 11 .i.f5 lt:Jc5 ! 12 .i.xc8 lt:Jd3+ 13 'it>e2 .l:i.xc8 14 .i.xf6 gxf6 and the knight on d3 provides com pensation for Black's poor kingside structure, Drasko-M.Roder, Cutro 2007.

B Black sacrifices a pawn and even a rook, but obtains good counterplay by penetrating with the queen on b3, which creates problems not only for the insecure white king but also for the rook and the white pawns at a3 and b4. For ex ample, 13 .i.xf6 gxf6 14 g3 (14 �xf6 �b3 ! 15 �xh8+? 'it>e7) 14 ...�b3 15 �d2 0-0-0 16 .i.g2 d3 ! and Black's initiative compensates for his weaknesses, Mena-F.Corrales, Havana 2006. ll .i.xf6 In response to 11 b4 Black can choose be

8... cx d4!? tween the thematic 11... �d5 !? (to penetrate on Obtaining a queenside majority with 8 ...c4 !? b3 or c4, without worrying about 12 .i.xf6gxf6 is a perfectly playable idea. After 9 lt:Jf3 the 13 �xf6 �c4 ! 14 �xh8+ 'it>e7, when curiously

flexible 9 . ..0-0 !, without determining how to White cannot avoid the perpetual), and the sim develop the queenside, is the most accurate. If plifying 11...lt:Jd5!? 12 .i.xd8 CDxf4 13 .i.c7 CAPABIANCA VA RIA TION: 4 '¥Jic2 d5!? 29

tt:Je6 14 �d6 f6 IS CDf3 �f7 16 e3 l:td8 17 �g3 because on e6 the bishop would be secure and and now, instead of 17 ... b6?! (Van Wely-Gol would also control the b3-square. oshchapov, Bundesliga 200617), Black can ob 15 b4 (D) tain good play with 17... dx e3! 18 fxe3 aS ! 19 bS tLle7 20�c4 CDfS. ll... gxf6 !? 12 CDf3 If White prevents the check on aS with 12 b4!? then Black can use the idea of penetrating with the queen on b3: 12... �e6 13 CDf3 'iYdS ! 14 �xf6 �b3!. 12 ...�a 5+!? Here 12 ... .Si..e6! deserves consideration, wait ing for White to determine how he is going to continue his development. If then 13 b4, Black can respond with 13... 'iYdS !, while if 13 g3 then 13 ...�a S+ fo llowed by the exchange of queens and ...0-0-0. 13 �d 2 'iYxd2+ 14 �xd2 (D) With this move, White cuts out once and for all the annoying manoeuvre ...tt:laS-b3, which would give White a lot of headaches. From now on, Black's play is very similar in all variations: after castling, he brings the rooks to the centre, creating problems for the white king with the threat of ...d3. Another plan is to initiate skirmishes on the queenside with ...aS , taking advantage of the fact that a large part of the white fo rce is located on the kingside.

15•.• 0-0-0 16 licl�b8 17 g3 aS!? (D) Another plan was 17... lihe8 18 ..ig2d3 !? 19 e3 ..ie4 with the idea of ...lDeS or ...lidS-fS, with good counterplay. We have reached a strange position where Black has a catastrophic pawn-structure (iso lated pawn on d4, doubled pawns on f7 and f6 , fo ur pawn-islands), but in return has dynamic development which provides sufficient coun terplay. The value of the whole variation depends on the assessment of this position. White possesses the structural advantages indicated above, but Black's forces are almost fully mobilized, while White still needs several tempi to bring all his pieces into play. 14... �f5 The bishop supports a possible ...d3 advance and leaves the e-file free for the king's rook. Here 14 ...�e6 !? was also worth considering, 18 ..ig2!? 30 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

If 18 b5, then 18... lt:la7 followed by ...lt:lc8- 22••• lt:lc6 23 �bllt:leS!24 .l:.i.cb425 .l:Id7 lt:Jf4 d6/b6, or l8... lt:le5 !? and ...lt:lg4 !?. llc8

18••• ..te4 Black retains his extra pawn and has acti It is essential to restrict the action of the g2- vated all his pieces, but his weaknesses give bishop. If Black allows the exchange of the White sufficient chances to equalize. white bishop for his knight, his structural prob 26 I!a4 lems will start to be significant: 18... axb 4?! 19 Threatening lllb4. lt:lh4! .ite6(19 ... ..td7 20 axb4 lt:lxb421 .itxb7 !? 26••• lt:Jc4+ 1/z-•!z 'iti>xb722 �bl and all the black pawns are weak) The players considered that the best course 20 ..ltxc6 bxc6 21 axb4 and White is in com was to repeat moves with 27 'ifi>d3 lt:le5+. mand. 19lt:lh4 Conclusions White sacrifices the b-pawn in order to com plete the mobilization of his forces, obtaining The solid Capablanca line can be met with the considerable pressure on Black's weaknesses aggressive 4 ...d5 !?, which aims above all to and on the b-file but, as the game itself will open the game as soon as possible and take ad demonstrate, this compensation is sufficient vantage of White's lag in development. only for a draw. The struggle would remain If White plays the immediate 5 a3 Black can alive after 19 b5 !? lt:la7 ! 20 b6 !? lt:lb5 !? 2l l:tc5 play for ...lt:le4 and ... c5, as demonstrated by d3! with great complications. Game 4 and its notes. The position becomes

19.•• ..txg220 lt:lxg2axb4 21 axb4 lt:lxb422 very complicated if White decides to win the .l:.c4 (D) pawn with 8 dxc5 and 9 cxd5, but Ivanchuk's idea 10... 'ii' f6 !? seems to give Black enough counterplay for the pawn. Black can also em ploy the quiet line 6 ...dxc4 7 llVxc4 b6!? to ex B change the light-squared bishops, equalizing without many problems. When White plays 5 cxd5 exd5 6 ..ltg5,Black has 6... c5 ! ?, a line which is giving good results, although the last word on it has not yet been spoken. However, the psychological advantage is with Black, since White generally aspires to a quiet position when he employs this variation but here he has to enter fully into the complica tions by playing 7 dxc5 if he wants to obtain any advantage, since the alternatives do not set Black many problems. Remember that in this Black has won a pawn but now it is White case Black must exert pressure as soon as possi who takes the lead and mobilizes his rooks with ble with ...lt:le4 and ...'ii' a5 and not fear for his gain of time. If White manages to regain the king, or worry about a bad pawn-structure; the pawn he will have a won game owing to his priority is to develop the greatest possible activ better structure and his centralized king, but ity by mobilizing the queenside and creating this cannot be forced. threats against White's king and queen. 3 Capablanca Variation: 4 �c2 0-0

Introduction

In this chapter we shall see a quieter way to meet the Capablanca Variation, in which Black plays in a logical manner but without trying to exploit White's lag in development immediately as in the previous chapter. Here Black castles and plans a scheme of development with ...b6, .....tb7 and ...d6, ...'!iJbd7 and ...c5, with the idea of exerting pressure on the c-file and controlling the e4-square. Obviously, White has many ways to play and we shall examine each of them.

The Games

In Game 7 (Radjabov-Alekseev) White tries to seize the centre right away with the aggressive 5 e4 !?, but Black reacts immediately with 5 ...d5, followed by putting his knight on e4 and breaking with ... c5, which makes way for the queen to go to a5. A recurrent theme in this variation is that Black keeps his knight on e4, even when White plays f3, with the powerful ...f5 !, so that if White captures the knight, Black takes on e4 with the f-pawn, attacking the bishop on d3 and opening lines against the white king, which generally has problems escaping from the centre. In this game White gave priority to development with .i.d3,lLle2 and 0-0, but did not achieve anything special.

Games 8-11 all feature 5 a3 .i.xc3+ 6 �xc3 b6.

In Bocharov-Lysy, Game 8, White employed a very clever system based on prioritizing the de velopment of his kingside (lLlf3, .i.e2 and 0-0) aftergaining the bishop-pair. But Black reacted cor rectly, creating an offensive on the kingside based on a Dutch-type set-up with ...ltJe4, .. .f5 and the deployment of the queen and the rook to that sector, generating a strong attack. Only mistakes in the conduct of the attack sent Black to his defeat.

In Game 9 (Van We ly-Wells) White played the logical .i.g5 followed by e3, with the modem plan of bringing the g !-knight to c3 and the queen to c2, controlling the e4-square. In the game, We lls placed unfounded hopes on the attack on White's c4 point, but in so doing he lefthis d6-pawn very weak, which was exploited by Van Wely to gain a clear advantage. Black's attempts to attack the white king did not yield the results for which he hoped and with some precise moves White managed to castle, retaining both a material and positional advantage. In the notes to the game the best line for Black in this difficult variation is analysed.

The Gustafsson-Postny clash (Game 10), is an example of another knight manoeuvre (lLlf3 and ctJd2) before completing the development of the kingside. In general in these variations, when Black attacks the centre with ...c5, White captures with dxc5, producing a particular pawn-structure where Black has central superiority and a useful b-file, while White possesses the bishop-pair and pre ssure on Black's d-pawn. This game is a good example of coordination on the part of Black, who manages with precise moves to bring each piece to a good square, in accordance with the general 32 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NJMZO-INDJAN

plan of exerting pressure along the half-open b-file. The strongest plans for each side are explained in the notes. In the middlegame White had an opportunity to exploit an inaccuracy by his opponent but he missed it and Black was victorious in the endgame.

Game 11 (M.Gurevich-Leko) is a confrontation between two of the greatest experts in this vari ation. White employed here the most ambitious system after 7 .1Lg5,which consists of playing 8 f3, supporting the e4 advance. In the game Black played ... d5 and White chose to take play into an end game which has been debated at the highest level for some years. We shall also analyse other possi bilities, especially the typical structure following the exchange of pawns by cxd5 and ...exd5 with White remaining with a backward pawn on the e-file. Leko's play in this game was very accurate, since he combined the occupation of the open c- and d-files with the creation of some weaknesses in the white centre, which was sufficient to equalize the chances. Overestimating his position led Gurevich to commit some mistakes which finally left him into a hopeless endgame.

Game 7 [E32] Teimour Radjabov - Evgeny Alekseev Sochi 2007

1 d4 lLlf6 2 c4e6 3 tLlc3 .1Lb44 �c2 0-0 (D) being on f3, which guarantees him equality, even when he loses the bishop-pair. An effec tive plan is to follow ...lLlxc5 with ... b6, .....lk.b7 and ...lLlce4 ! or ...J:k8 with pressure on the c file. 5 a3 ! is the main line, and will be seen in Games 8-1 1. 5 ...d5! Black strikes at the white centre. 6e5 Gaining space. Naturally White cannot cap ture twice on d5, since he would end up with an isolated pawn on d4 without any compensation.

6••• l2Je4! From now on, many of the variations are based on the theme of the insecurity of this One of the most important variations against knight, because it is usual for Black to try to 4 '1i'c2. Black waits to see White's intentions maintain it in this position as long as possible, and will react accordingly. since the defence of his king side depends on it. 5 e4!? Note that if White gives up his light-squared This ambitious move became popular in the bishop for this knight then Black will always rnid- 1 980s and reached its climax when Karpov obtain excellent play on the light squares. adopted it in some games from 2000 onwards. 7 .1Ld3 It is necessary to know that 5 lLlf3 should be an Giving priority to development. Remember swered with 5 ...c5 ! (not 5 ... b6? in view of6 e4! that if White tries to dislodge the knight with 7 d5 7 e5 lLle4 8 .1Ld3 with a white initiative) 6 f3? he runs into 7 ...�h4+ 8 g3 lLlxg3 9 '1i'f2 dxc5 tLla6 ! and Black will seize control of the lLlf5 and Black saves his piece, remaining a e4-square, taking advantage of the white knight pawn up. CAPABLANCA VA RIATION: 4 ifc2 0-0 33

The main alternative is to strengthen the cen tre at the expense of development with 7 a3 .1xc3+ 8 bxc3. After 8 ...c5 !, the attack on the pa wn-chain begins, and a path is opened for the queen to aS . White then has two lines: a) The strange 9 �b2!? cxd4 I 0 cxd4 pro tects the centre, but posts the bishop rather passively and delays the development of the kingside. Now IO.. :�Va5+?! fails to II We2, when the threat of f3 forces Black to make po sitional concessions. One of the best responses is I 0 .....1d7 ! (keeping the queen on d8, which prevents II f3 for the moment in view of ll...'iVh4+) II ..id3 'iVaS+ I2 We2 .llc8! (ex erting pressure along the fi le) I3 f3 (D). ll... dxc4! 12 �xe4 d3 with advantage to Black, T.Rej -Timoshenko, Sydney 2007) II... exd5 12 f3 tt'lxc3 13 tt'lxd4. Here, Black has an extra pawn and several possible knight discoveries. For his part, White threatens ..ixh7+ and �d2, winning the knight. Usually Black continues 13... tt'lb5+ 14 �d2 tt'lxd4 but after 15 �xh7+ Wh8 16 ..1xa5 tt'lxc2+ 17 ..ixc2 heworse stands because White has the bishop-pair, the more compact pawn-structure and the more central ized king. However, Leko' s idea I3... tt'le 4+ ! 14 We2 f5 ! changed the assessment of this posi tion. We have already mentioned this idea. The knight is maintained on e4 by means of tactics. The disadvantageous position of the king on e2 gives Black sufficient resources. White is un Black should now play 13... f5 !. Remember able to capture the knight since, as Leko points this idea, which comes up in many positions. out, Black wins after 15 fxe4 ?? fxe4 16 ..ibS Black maintains his knight on e4 or secures a ..ig4+ 17 We3 'i¥b6! and the white king will not good retreat for it to f6 , since if White captures survive. Instead, 15 exf6 tt'lxf6 leaves Black the knight he will be unable save his bishop on with an extra pawn, and is no good either. d3. 14 exf6 (Black was threatening I4... dxc4 15 Vallejo-Leko, Morelia/Linares 2006 continued .1xc4? .llxc4! and .....ibS) 14... tt'lxf 6 (admit 15 ..ie3 tt'lc6! 16 tt'lxc6 bxc6 17 .llhc l .llb8 !, tedly Black remains with a weakness on e6, but when the game was very complex but satisfac fo r the moment White is not coordinated enough tory for Black. Even after the best move, 15 e6!, to attack it and is more worried about the secu Black has good play following 15 ...tt'lc6! ac rity of his king and the pressure on the c-file) cording to Leko.

15 cS .ibS ! and Black exchanges his passive 7 ... c5! bishop and subsequently prepares to break with It is essential to react in the centre, before ...e5 or ...b6. White consolidates with tt'le2 and 0-0 . b) The main variation is 9 ..1d3 'iVaS ! (D). 8 tt'le2 This queen move leaves White with the fe w If 8 dxc5?! tt'ld7 ! Black regains the pawn est options. Black puts pressure not only on c3 with the better development. but along the whole a5-e I diagonal. I 0 tt'le2 Inserting 8 cxdS exdS before 9 tt'le2 just cxd4 II cxd5 (now II f3?! is not advisable: gives Black additional possibilities, although it 34 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

generally leads to the same position as in the 14... 'iVc 5!?, which is still OK) 14... �e8 15 ctJg3 game after 9 ...lt:Jc6 10 0-0 cxd4. However, Black �e6 16 �d2 �d5 and Black stands well, can deviate with 9 ...cxd4 10 lt:Jxd4lt:Jd 7!? or af A.Ramirez-Vesco vi, Buenos Aires 2003. ter 9 ...lt:Jc6 l 0 0-0 �f5!?, with good prospects in both cases.

8 •••lt:Jc6 9 cxdS exdS 10 0-0 (D) B

13... �a5 It is also possible to bring the bishop to the kingside with 13... i:!e8 !? 14 �xh7+ 'h8 15 Finally White manages to remove his king �d3 �f8, but from a5 it controls the e 1-square from danger, but now his pawn-centre vanishes. and later from b6 it supports the queen's pawn.

10.•. cxd4! 14 �xh7+ 'h8 15 �d3 �g4 Preferable to IO... lt:Jxd4 II lt:Jxd4 cxd4 12 A typical idea; by putting pressure on e2 lt:Jxe4 dxe4 13 �xe4, when White has slight Black provokes a weakness on the a7-gl diago pressure on both flanks. nal. 11 lt:JxdS! 16 f3 �d7 Wo rse is 11 lt:Jxe4?! dxe4 12 �xe4 lt:Jxe5 13 If l6... �e6 then 17 f4 !? and 18 f5, winning �xh7+ 'ii>h8 and White has problems with the tempi to initiate the attack on the kingside. h7-bishop and dealing with the passed pawn. 17 �f4 'iVf6 18 'iVcS! (D)

ll... 'iVxdS 12 �xe4 'i!VxeS13 a3 (D) White wants to determine the position of the black bishop as soon as possible and then post his own pieces accordingly. His hopes are based on combining an attack on the kingside (by de ploying the queen and the rooks towards that sector) with a degree of pressure on Black's queenside and the siege of the queen's pawn. However, Black has enough resources to main tain dynamic equality. His centralized queen is a major obstacle to White's attack and his passed pawn on d4 does not allow White to take too many liberties. A more common approach is the direct 13 �xh7+ 'it>h8 but apart from a slight initiative for a few moves White has gained nothing con One of the ideas of 13 a3 : the queen gains the crete. For example, 14 �e4 (if 14 �f4, then c5-square to transfer to the kingside. l4... 'iVf6 or l4... �c 5!?, while 14 f4 is met by 18.•• 'g8 19 'iVhSg6 CA PABLANCA VA RIATION: 4 'ilfc2 0-0 35

White has managed to weaken the royal for Other retreats of the queen do not change the tress further, but Black's queen is very well general assessment: White's attack is sufficient placed on f6 and his minor pieces are active only to maintain the balance. enough to repel the white attack. 28 •••d3! 29 fx g6 20 i.g5�e5 ! 21 'ii'h6 i.d8! After 29 f6 'ii'f8 the attack grinds to a halt.

It is essential for Black to eliminate White's 29••• �xg6 (D) annoying dark-squared bishop, or else transfer his own bishop to the king side, before the white attack gains intensity. 22 i.xd8 w After 22 i.f4 'ii'g7 White has to exchange the queens.

22.• J::taxd8 23 .l:i.ad1 White combines the attack on the kingside with pressure on the passed pawn.

23 .••1H5 Continuing with the policy of simplifying, which will enhance the value of the passed pawn and weaken White's attack, but with these ex changes White will gain tempi for the attack at the black queen's expense. Instead, 23 ....l:tf e8!? was worth considering. White has managed to weaken the oppo 24 i.xf5 �xf5 25 f4 nent's kingside even more, but the passed pawn A typical plan, to involve the f-pawn and the and the activity of the centralized black rooks fl-rook in the attack. It was possible to bring do not allow White's attack to generate serious the knight straight into play with 25 lLlg3 �f6 threats. 26 lLle4but after 26 ...'ii' h8! 27 'ii'g5 �e5 the at 30 'it>h1 tack is unsuccessful. If 30 lif5 , then 30 ...M.e5 ! defending g5.

25••• nres 26 lLlg3�f6 27 f5 30••• l::t e5 31 'ilif4 !':tdd5 The future weakening of Black's castled po Controlling the fifth rank, especially the f5- sition guarantees White a draw at least and of square. fers some practical chances to create a surprise 32 .:d2 �e6 33 h3 �e1 34 !':txe1 'ii'xe1 + 35 mating attack. Wh2 'ilie6

27 •• .'ilig7 35 ...'ii' e5 !?. This was the moment to advance the passed 36 ltJe4Wf8! 37 ltJg3'ilie5 If2.1f2 pawn with 27 ...d3 !? 28 fxg6 'ii'xg6 29 �h4 d2 !, Black could have played on, although a draw tying the white rooks to the first rank. is the most probable result, owing to the insecu 28 'ilic 1 rity of his king.

Game 8 [E32] Dmitri Bocharov - Igor Lysy Moscow 2007

1 d4 lLlf6 2 c4 e6 3 lLlc3 i.b44 �c2 0-0 5 a3 5 .•• i.xc3+ 6 'ii'xc3 b6 The continuation most in tune with 4 'ilic2; The most logical; Black develops his queen White obtains the bishop-pair without wreck side and exerts pressure on the centre. The ing his pawn-structure. bishop will go to b7 (or a6 in some variations) 36 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

controlling the long diagonal and especially the pawns, penetrating the enemy camp with the e4-square. It also supports the central counter rooks, winning material, etc.), because other attack with ...c5. wise he will end up suffering in an open posi 7 lLlf3 �b7 8 e3 (D) tion against very powerful bishops. 3) The third method of play is the one used in this game. It consists of using the e4-square as a launch-pad for an attack against White's B kingside castled position. Black plays ...d6 and ...lbbd7 and subsequently ...lbe4 and .. .f5 (remi niscent of the Dutch Defence) and sends the queen ( ...�h4 or ...�f6) or the rook via the third rank ( .. JH6-g6-h6) towards the kingside. In the first games played with this system, the pioneers Larsen and Smyslov obtained brilliant results, but White strengthened his play subse quently by means of temporary pawn sacrifices (d5 !) to activate his bishops. Nowadays the struggle in this variation is wide open.

8 ...d6 (D) A dangerous system, despite its modest ap It is hardly ever advisable to play ...�xf 3?! pearance. It has been used with some success because as well as gaining the bishop-pair White by GMs I.Sokolov, Karpov and Van We ly. White would strengthen his centre and have the g-file speeds up the deployment of all his forces by available for attacking purposes. �e2 and 0-0, fo llowed by b4 (or b3) and �b2, in some move-order or other. Once his develop ment is complete, White will seek to open the position to favour his bishop-pair. Other sys tems, based on �g5, will be seen in Games 10 and 11. Black has several schemes for combating this system: 1) Complete his development, placing his pawns on dark squares while maintaining con trol of e4, which he achieves by playing ...d6, followed by ...lbbd7 andsubsequently ...c5. To my way of thinking, this formation is rather passive and does not cause White many wor ries; he just completes his development with �e2, 0-0, b4 and �b2 and subsequently opens 9�e2 the long diagonal with dxc5, obtaining the ad If White plays 9 i..d3, Black can pursue the vantage in all cases. same plan of attack recommended against i..e2 2) The plan of playing ...d5, ...lLlbd7 and ( ...lbe4 and .. .f5) or else try to exploit the posi then ...c5, by which he seeks to open the game tion of the bishop on d3 with 9 ...lbbd7 !? 10 0-0 as soon as possible to exploit White's slight lag c5 11 b4 cxd4!. Then if White recaptures with in development and the exposed position of the 12 exd4 Black replies 12... �xf3, when White's white queen on the c-file. However, with this structure will be seriously damaged, while after method Black runs a great positional risk, in 12 lLlxd4lbe5 ! (hitting the bishop) 13 �e2 .l:tc8 that he has to achieve something concrete with the pressure on the c-filegives Black the initia his temporary initiative (weakening of the white tive. CA PABLANCA VA RIATI ON: 4 'i¥c2 0-0 37

The move-order 9 b4 !? followed by .ib2 is the black knight from e4 with f3 are also rele more dangerous, delaying the deployment of vant. the king's bishop until Black shows his hand. It If 12 CLJel it makes little sense to wait pas also retains the possibility of queenside cas sively for White to play f3, followed by b4, tling. For example, 9 ...CLJbd7 10 .ib2 CLJe4 II .ib2 and CLJd3, because Black would be left '1Jiic2 f5 12 .id3 !. Now: without a plan. It is best to send the queen into a) 12... CLJg 5?! isn't sensible in view of 13 d5 ! the attack with 12... "i¥h4 !, and after 13 f3 CLJg5, and the white bishop is hitting f5: 13... CLJxf3+ 14 the threat of .. JH6-g6/h6 gives Black good gxf3 lDe5 15 0-0-0!, with a strong initiative on play. the g-file. In the event of I2 CLJd2, 12... "i¥g 5! is best, b) Bringing the queen to the kingside with taking advantage of the fac t that the knight on 12 .. .''1Jie8 ...and "i¥h5 is not very advisable either d2 obstructs the c !-bishop. Now the typical since after 13 0-0 "i¥h5 14 d5 ! Black is in diffi pawn sacrifice 13 d5 !? is indicated, to restrict culties, because if he takes on d5 the c7-pawn Black's initiative. Black must either capture on drops. d5 or maintain the tension in the centre, since it c) I suggest 12... c5!? , a temporizing move, would be a serious positional mistake to play waiting for White to determine the position of 13 ...e5 because then the b7-bishop would be his king. 13 0-0 CLJg5 ! 14 Ct:Jxg5 (if White re come a dead piece. After 13... exd5 ! 14 cxd5 treats the knight, Black takes on d4 and if White .ixd5 15 .ic4! CLJef6 16 CLJf3 "i¥g4 White had recaptures with the pawn then comes ...CLJh3+ some compensation but not more in M.Gure and ... CLJf4, attacking both the bishop and the vich-Van der Wiel, Hoogeveen 200 I. g2-square, with an initiative) 14 ..."i¥xg5 15 f4 12.•. l:tf6 ! (D) '1Jiig6 gives Black the e4-square for his pieces The start of the thematic plan of attack. The and the b7-bishop has an excellent diagonal. rook goes to g6 or h6 and in combination with 9 ...CLJbd7 10 0-0 Ct:Je411 "i¥c2 fS ! (D) the b7-bishop creates unpleasant threats against the white king. Moving the queen (12... "i¥f6) has also given Black good practical results. However, trying for counterplay on the queen side with 12... a5?! favours White, since he can tum the open a-file to his advantage. Even if all fo ur rooks are exchanged, White can harass Black with his bishop-pair, as well as threaten to penetrate with his queen at a7.

We have reached the type of Dutch position that we discussed above. Black is planning to attack on the kingside, while White tries to ej ect the knight fro m e4 and bury the b7-bishop with d5. 12 b4 This is the plan chosen by the majority of experts with White, although the retreats of the f3-knight to el or d2 in order to dislodge 13 dS! 38 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE N!MZO-INDIA N

An important resource in this position, dis covered by GM I van Sokolov. White tempo rarily sacrifices the pawn but speeds up his B development and limits the opponent's aggres sive intentions. In these positions, restricting the action of the b7-bishop with d5, or f3 and e4, is White's objective. Delaying d5 would be met by an instructive stratagem: 13 .ib2 l:i.g6 14.l:!.ad l VJJie7 15 d5 c5 ! (D).

w This is the only continuation that keeps the initiative and does not resign Black to having the worse position. That is what would happen after 15... exd5 16 cxd5 .ixd5 17 .tc4! (with this simplification an important attacking piece is eliminated and the queenside light squares are weakened, to be penetrated by the white queen) 17... .ixc4 18 'iVxc4+ 'it>h8 19 'ikc6! �d8 20 'iVxc7 ltJe5 21 .l:Ia2! and White defended successfully on the kingside and subsequently gained material on the queenside in Kramnik Remember this positional point. Black wants J.Polgar, Sofia 2005. to capture on d5 but without leaving the c7- 16 ltJxe6 pawn backward. If White takes on c6 or e6, the Accepting the challenge. More conservative long diagonal stays open and the b7-bishop re is 16 ltJf3 (to reduce the number of attacking mains in the game. For example: 16 dxe6 'iVxe6 pieces) 16... 'i¥e7 17 ltJxe5 dxe5 18 �d1, de and all Black's pieces are active, Rubinetti fending d5 and keeping the black bishop out of Smyslov, World Team Ch, Lucerne 1985. play, but after 18... exd5 19 cxd5 c6! Black suc

13••• l:i.g6 ! ceeds in opening the diagonal, or else White Better than 13... exd5, because after 14 i.b2 has to sacrificea pawn, as in Dobrov-Yakovich, .l:Ig6 15 cxd5 i.xd5 16 i.c4! (another theme Moscow 2007. After 20 i.b2 cxd5 21 �ac l that keeps cropping up: the exchange of Black's .l:Ic6 22 'i¥a4 l:tac8 White's compensation was active bishop) 16... i.xc4 17 VJJixc4+ �h8 18 only sufficient for a draw at best.

VJJid5!, the f5 -pawn drops and White keeps some 16.• Jixe6! initiative. A forced sacrifice of the exchange which 14 ltJd4! opens the long diagonal for the b7-bishop; this, Neither side wants to make any positional combined with the coordinated action of Black's concessions. The knight is in contact with the knights and queen, places the white king in se critical points (e6 and f5) and at the same time rious danger. makes way for the f-pawn to expel the black 17 dxe6 VJilg6! knight. If 14 i.b2,then 14 ...c5 !, while 14 dxe6 Leaving the g5-square free for the knight. helps Black to bring his pieces into the attack 18 l:.d1!? after 14 ...ltJf8 followed by ...ltJxe6. Preparing to return the exchange and vacat

14 •••'iVg5! 15 g3 (D) ing fl to allow the king to escape. In Drozdov

15 •••ltJe5 ! sky-Grishchuk, Odessa 2007, 18 'i¥b3 ltJg5 !? CA PABIANCA VA RIATION: 4 'iVc2 0-0 39

(18. . . h5 !? is interesting, followed by ...h4) 19 e4! f4 ! was played, with great complications. 18... ctJg5 19 !:i.d5! (D) w

25 l:.xb5..te4 26 'i¥e2�g6 27 ..tb2'i¥xe6 28 'it>b3 The king has finally slipped out of reach of the enemy pieces and White remains the ex White returns the exchange to block the b7- change up.

bishop. If Black accepts, the e6-pawn will be 28.•. a5?! passed and protected. This hastens his defeat, but after 28 ... d5 29 19... ctJgf3+ ..tc3! dxc4+ 30 '1t>b2White would safeguard his 19... 'i¥xe6 !? was also possible. king, after which his extra material and pressure 20 i.xf3 l2lxf3+ 21 'it>fl l2lxh2+ on the long diagonal should prove decisive. After 2l...�g4 !?, keeping the white king 29 .l:Ixa5.l:txa5 30 bxa5 d5 31 'it>a2!dxc4 32 confined, Blackhas at least a draw. ..tc3 22 'it>e2'i¥g4+ 23 'it>d2 The struggle is over. The active black pieces Now the king takes refuge on the queenside. have vanished into thin air, and now all White

23 .•. ctJf3+ 24 'it>c3b5? (D) has to do is mobilize his rook and go over to the Losing the thread of the game. It was essen counter-attack.

tial to play 24 .....txd5 25 cxd5 ctJel or 25 ...c5, 32••• �d 5 33 .l:tdl ..td3 34 'i¥b2 'it>f7 35 a6 and the complications continue. ctJg536 �b7 1-0

Game 9 [E32] Loek van Wely - Peter Wells London 2007

1 d4 ctJf6 2 c4 e6 3 ctJc3 ..tb44 'i¥c2 0-0 5 a3 c5, Black can recapture either with the b-pawn, .bc3+ 6 �xc3 b6 7 ..tg5(D) obtaining a pawn-majority in the centre and the The most logical and popular continuation. half-open b-file, or with the knight, if it is im The bishop goes outside the pawn-chain and portant to operate on the c-file and allow the pins the knight, taking advantage of the ab knight to gain the e4-square quickly. If White sence of its black counterpart. does not exchange in the centre, Black can cap 7... i.b7 ture on d4 himself at some point and then exert This move, followed by ...d6, ...ctJbd7 and pressure on the c-file or play ...d5. the subsequent ... c5, introduces Black's most The move 7 ... ..ta6!? also makes a lot of sense, popular and logical set-up. If White takes on in order to exert pressure on c4 with ...d6, 40 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE N!MZO-INDIAN

...tZ'lbd7, ... c5 and ...l:tc8. But recently Black Despite the time that all this takes, Black has encountered some difficulties after 8 �f3 !?, does not have many active plans available and, which forces him to play 8 ... tZ'lc6, blocking the although Black can easily break in the centre c-pawn. with ... d5, or ...cx d4 and ... d5, White always It is hard to determine whether the inclusion has slight pressure on the dark squares owing to of the moves 7 ... h6 8 ..ih4makes a significant the absence of Black's king's bishop. differenceto the position. Normally these moves 8 ... d6 9 lZ'le2 lZ'lbd7 (D) can be included at any point in the fo llowing The immediate 9 ...c5 is answered by 10 variations, but in general Black prefers to delay dxc5 ! dxc5 (if IO... bxc5?!, then 11 0-0-0! fo l this move until White has committed himself to lowed by ..ixf6, when the weakness at d6 forces a kingside development scheme. It is possible Black to recapture on f6 with the pawn and, to attack the centre immediately with 7 ... c5, but since the queens are still on the board, White in that case Black would be showing his hand can develop a strong attack with lZ'lg3 and tZ'lh5) too early and his opponent could take advan 11 �c2 h6 12 ..ih4 �e7 13 0-0-0 .l:i.d8 14 tage of this by quickly opening the d-file and l::!.xd8+ �xd8 15 lZ'lc3and White is a bit better, castling queenside at an opportune moment. Kramnik-Bologan, Dortmund 2003. In these The simplifying idea ...tZ'le 4!? is very com stable positions, without any pawn-breaks, the mon, attacking the white queen on c3 while ex bishop-pair can operate at long distance, sup posing Black's own queen to the attack of the porting advances on both wings. g5-bishop. For this to work, Black has to make sure that he will not lose material in the result ing exchanges. It usually works if, after captur ing the queen on c3, the knight is attacking another enemy piece. 8e3 (D) White has several possible kings ide develop ment systems. In this game, he employs a rather modem one which consists of the following piece regrouping: the knight goes to c3 via e2, the queen makes room for the knight and goes to c2 (or d3) controlling e4, while the rook goes to dl to support the d5 advance, to gain space and block the pressure exerted by the black bishop against g2, so that White can finally de velop his king's bishop to e2 and castle. 10 �c2!? CA PABLANCA VA RIATION: 4 'iVc2 0-0 41

The main alternative is I 0 'iVd3, which also This move is generally linked with the plan vacates the c3-square for the knight and con of opening the c-file (after a timely ... d5) with trols e4, as well as supporting a fu ture d5 ad the hope of achieving counterplay on that file. vance, but Black can take advantage of the However, it is better to maintain the flexibility queen's position to create pressure on the c of the position with l l...'iVc7 !? 12 CLJc3 a6 ! (D). pawn with the thematic I 0 ....ta 6!, the strategic objective of which is to exchange one of White's bishops. Now, with or without the inclusion of ... h6 and .th4, many games have been played with II CLJc3, but after ll... d5 12 'iVc2 .txc4 13 i.xc4dxc4 14 'iVa4 c5! the most probable result has been a draw, since White can obtain very little from such a symmetrical position; for ex ample, 15 �dl !? 'iVc8 16 'iVxc4 cxd4 17 �xd4 (17 "iVxd4 'iVa6 !) 17... 'iVxc4 18 �xc4 �fc8 main taining equality, M.Gurevich-Cheparinov, Metz 2005.

IO••• cS (D)

With this Black waits for at least one more move to see how White is going to solve the problem of his kingside development, which he has three ways of doing: a) Sacrificing the g-pawn, which proved in adequate in the game Lafuente-S.Garcia, Ha vana 2004 after 13 .te2 h6! 14 .th4 .txg2 15 �gl .tb7 16 d5 �fe8 and, with the king on el, it is difficult to launch an attack on the g-file. b) Carrying out his scheduled d5 advance, which in this particular position allows Black some queenside activity which influences the centre and exposes the main defect of White's The struggle for the centre begins. Note that position: his lag in development. After 13 d5 it is almost never appropriate, in this type of po exd5 14 cxd5 b5 ! White does not have time to sition, to advance in the centre with ... e5, since stabilize his centre and simultaneously com White plays d5 and the b7-bishop is left very plete development: 15 .td3b4 16 axb4 cxb4 17 badly blocked. CLJe2'iVxc2 18 .txc2.txd5 19 0-0 .l:Ifc8 20 CLJd4 11 �dl! a5 and the missing pawn counts for more than Before continuing with his plan of CLJc3, White's bishop-pair and slight initiative, I.Sok White defends d4 with the rook, so he can an olov-Ponomariov, Wijk aan Zee 2005. swer ...cxd 4 by recapturing with the rook, main c) 13 f3 might be the best option, but after taining pressure on d6. If White plays 11 CLJc3 l3... cxd4! 14 �xd4 (14 exd4?! is answered by then Black captures with II... cxd4, closing the l4... d5 !) l4... d5 ! 15 .te2 (there is no time to d-file, and then focuses on attacking the c4- evade the pin with 15 'iVd l due to l5... e5 !, while pawn by ...'iVc7, ...�ac8 and ....ta6. It is also 15 cxd5 is answered by 15... CLJxd5 !, threatening possible to follow up with ... d5, which would ...CLJxc3 and ...'iVe5 !) l5... e5 ! l6llh4!? h6 ! and leave White with an isolated pawn. White loses the bishop-pair, after which the ll. ..cxd4 game is equal. 42 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NJMZO-INDIAN

12 llxd4 h6 Better than 16... 11fd8 17lLlxa7 and the knight The swift counter-attack on c4 continues to returns later to b5 . be attractive, but with a series of precise moves 17 .:dl! e5 18 lLlxd6 ltJd4 Van Wely highlights the defects of Black's po Trying to open the centre to get at the white sition. king. A more modest plan is to get rid of the 19 exd4! iVxd6 weakness at d6 with a well-timed ...d5 ad Here 19... exd4+? loses a piece to 20 'iVe2. vance, but then White completes his develop 20 dxe5 iVe7 21 i.e2! (D) ment and the bishop-pair gives him a slight advantage: 12 .. .'tiVc7 l3lLlc3a6 14 'ifdl! d5 15 cxd5 lLlxd5 16 lLlxd5 �xd5 17 e4, I.Sokolov Stefansson, Cal via Olympiad 2004. B 13 i.h4 lLle5 14 lLlc3 11c8 15 �g3! (D)

Finally the bishop emerges and the threat of exf6 prevents Black from capturing on g2.

21••• lLle4 22 ..itf4 White will lose one of his extra pawns but will retain the bishop-pair which, combined The lack of the dark-squared bishop makes with the extra pawn, suffices for victory.

itself immediately felt. 22 .•. g5 23 �e3 'iVxe5 24 0-0 'iVe625 .Ufel

15•• J!fe7 16 lLlb5! The game is decided: extra pawn, bishop Increasing the pressure, regardless of the pair and safer king. lag in development. Now Black loses a pawn 25••• Ir.fe8 26 b3 g4 27 �n 'iWg628 l:td7..ltc6 and seeks compensation against the white king 29 .l:i.xa7h5 30 11a6h4 31 l:!.xb6.U.e6 32 b4 g3 which is still on el. 33 b5 i.a834 l:!.xe6fx e6 35 c5 gxf2+ 36 ..itxf2

16••• lLlc6 .l::tf8 37 c6 1-0

Game 10 [E32] Jan Gustafsson - Evgeny Postny Greek Te am Ch� Ermioni 2006

1 d4 lLlf6 2 c4 e6 3lLlc3 ..itb44 'i!Vc2 0-0 5 a3 way the knight does not get in the way of the �xc3+ 6 'iWxc3b6 7 ..ltg5i.b7 (D) light-squared bishop and, in addition, on d2 it 8lLlf3 fulfils the mission of overprotecting c4. A modem plan, which consists of first put At one time 8 e3 d6 9 f3 lLlbd7 was very pop ting the knight on d2 and then playing f3 and e4 ular and White tried two models of develop (or f3 and e3) followed by i.e2 and 0-0. In this ment: CA PA BLANCA VA RIATION: 4 "VJilc2 0-0 43

'iVxf6 gxf6, the ending is good for Black, be cause he breaks with ...d5 and his development advantage makes itself fe lt, or he puts the king on e7, defending d6 comfortably) 12... .l::!. c8 and he starts counterplay on the c-file by ...cxd4 and ...d5 ! or ....i.a6.

8••• d6 9 lt'Jd2(D) Against the natural development 9 e3 lt'Jbd7 I 0 ..ie2 Black has achieved excellent results with IO... 'iVe8 ! fo llowed by ...lt'Je4 and ...f5 . Here the bishop on g5 only helps Black's game and if White exchanges on f6 Black does not have any problem at all.

I) bringing the knight into play via h3, put ting his bishop on e2 and castling; 2) simple development with .i.d3 followed by lL'le2. In the first case (lLih3 and ..ie2) Black ob tai ns good play by breaking with ...c5 and an swering the capture dxc5 by retaking with the b-pawn, which gives rise to a typical pawn structure in which Black has a strong centre and the half-open b-file to compensate for White's bishop-pair. In the second case, when White plays ..id3 and lL'le2, Black also plays ...c5, but if White takes on c5, Black recaptures with the knight, attacking the bishop on d3 and subsequently 9... c5!? exerting pressure on the c-file. If White keeps I consider that this is the most precise move the pawn on d4, Black takes on d4 at some point to reach the typical structure of this variation in and creates play against the c4-pawn and the which White takes on c5 and Black recaptures queen on c3 ( ....l::!. c8, .....ia6 and ...d5). with the b-pawn. However, the most common

Let us see a few examples of both positions: line is 9 ... lt'Jbd7 I 0 f3 (if White plays I 0 e3, a) I 0 lt'Jh3h6 II ..ih4c5 !? 12 dxc5 bxc5 13 Black takes advantage of the omission of ... h6 �e2 (if 13 0-0-0, then 13... 'iVb6! followed by and ..ih4 by playing I O ....l::!. c8 II f3 c5 12 dxc5 ... d5, .....ic6 and ...ki.ab8 with an attack on the lhc5 ! 13 ..ih4 b5 ! with excellent counterplay white king; here 13... lt'Je4? fails to 14 'iVe l ! on the c-file, Krush-Shirov, Edmonton 2005). remember this idea! - by retreating to el the Now: queen defends the bishop) 13... a5 14 0-0 a4 15 a) Black can oppose the e4 advance with �ad l �a6 and Black will have counterplay on I O ...d5 II cxd5 ! exd5 (Black will exert pres the b-file and can also play in the centre at some sure on the weakened e3-pawn with ....l::!. e8 and point with ... d5 or, if necessary, with ... e5. This ...'iVe7, but even then he will fail to equalize) 12 position is quite similar to the one in the main e3 .l::!.e8 13 .i.e2 ! .l::!.c8 14 0-0 'iVe7 15 .i.b5 ! c6 16 game, but on h3 the knight is worse than on d2. .i.a4 h6 17 .i.xf6 lt'Jxf6 18l:i.fe l, Topalov-Leko, b) I 0 .i.d3 h6 II .i.h4c5! 12 lt'Je2 (after 12 Morelia/Linares 2006, and according to To pa dxc5 Black replies 12... lt'Jx c5! 13 ..ic2 .l::!.c8, lov the position is more pleasant for White to when he is ready to exert pressure on c4 with play, with moves such as b4, .l:!.acI and the prep ... lL'lcd7 and ... d5; if then I 4 ..ixf6 'iVxf6 15 aration of e4. 44 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

b) It is preferable to play 10... c5 !? 11 e4 !? Black's pressure on the b-file) 14 l:.adl .Ma6! (11 dxc5 bxc5 brings about the pawn-structure (D). of the main game) 11.. .Ite8! 12 �d3 (12 �e2 lt:Jd5! leads to equality) 12... cxd4 13 'ii'xd4 lt:Jc5 14 �c2 e5 ! (a novel strategy, seeking control of the dark squares) 15 �f2 (15 �e3? lt:Je6 16 �h4 lt:Jg4) 15... lt:Jg4 ! and White loses his dark squared bishop, after which the position be comes equal. 10 dxc5 10 f3 h6 11 �h4 cxd4 12 'ii'xd4 lt:Jc6 13 'iVc3 gives Black a choice between 13... lt:Je5 fo l lowed by ...l:Ic8, and 13... e5 followed by ...l:.c8 and ...d5, when Black has good prospects ow ing to his better development. 10 e3 lt:Jbd7 11 f3 .l:.c8 transposes to Krush Shirov, mentioned above. 10... bxc5 11 e3 Seeking the most harmonious set-up for his The endings after 11 �xf6 'ii'xf6 12 'ib'xf6 pieces: the rook defends d6 and will go to b6, gxf6 are comfortable for Black, who has better the black queen will gain a tempo with ... �a8, development and can bring the king to e7 to de attacking g2 and defending a4, while the king's fend d6 if necessary. rook heads for b8. Then the bishop can go to c6 ll ... lt:Jbd7 12 �d3 (D) or a6 and the queen to b7 or b8, exerting maxi mum pressure on b2. I.Sokolov-Beliavsky, Bel grade 1991 continued 15 'iVc2 't!Va8 16 f3 h6?! (according to Sokolov it was better to play 16 ....l:.b8 and ...�b6) 17 �h4 llb6 18 lt:Jbl .Mb8 19 �g3! but now instead of the passive 19... e5?!, Beliavsky should have complicated the game with 19... lt:Je5 !. 14 �c2?! The plan of blocking the b-file by putting a knight on b5 is the best option for White here, although I have no doubt that subsequently Black can gain counterplay by the central mo bilization with ...d5 and ...e5 . Hence White should play 14 b3 ! and a4 as soon as possible and only then bring the knight to b5 . In the 12 ... a5 game B.Esen-Aiexandrov, Saint Vincent 2005, Black will double rooks on the b-filein the White delayed this manoeuvre and was out most elegant way ( ....l':la6-b6 and ...l:.b8); addi played after 14 .l:tadl .U.b6 (14... a4 !) 15 �c2?! tionally the a-pawn has the function of pre (15 b3 !) 15 ...�a8 16 f3 h6 17 �h4 l:tb8 18lLlbl venting b4. Accepting the pawn by 12... �xg2 lt:Je5 19 �xf6 gxf6 20 lt:Jd2 �c6 21 .l:tbl a4 22 would give White good compensation on the �e4 f5, when Black was better. g-file. 14... h6 (D) 13 0-0 l:.a6 The advantage of including ...h6 is, natu It is more accurate to play 13... a4 !? (fixingthe rally, that the king has luft, but from h4 the queenside pawns and preventing the plan of b3 bishop can go to g3, attacking d6. Perhaps the and a4, followed by lt:Jbl -a3-b5, neutralizing immediate 14 .. .'�Va8 is better. CA PA BLANCA VA RIA TION: 4 'iYc2 0-0 45

the queen will come to d2 with simultaneous threats against d6 and h6. It was better to play 24 ...'iib7 !?. 25 .te2!fx e4 26 fxe4? (D) Losing a precious tempo. It was necessary to go after the black king as soon as possible with 26 �d2 !. Black then has difficultydef ending, as the following variations demonstrate: 26 ... ®e7 (26 ...�c6 27 �xh6+ ®e7 28 �f6+ ®d7 29 f4 !) 27 t!.bd l �c6 28 �xh6! exf3 (28 ...e3 29 �f6+ ®f8 30 lt::lg7 !) 29 �f6+ ®f8 30 i.xf3 ! lt:Jxf3+ 31 t!.xf3 t!.xf3 32 gxf3 with a fierce attack on the dark squares by the queen and the knight.

15 ..lth4 �a8 16 f3 t!.b8 He should prevent b3 with 16... a4 !?. 17 lt:Jb1 t!.b6 18 lt:Jc3 ..lta6 19 t!.ab1 Here 19 lt::lbS !? was worth considering, al though Black can exchange on b5 and then try to win the b-pawn: 19... ..\txbS 20 cxb5 a4 !?. 19... lt:Je5 ! (D)

26 ...®e7 ! Once his king is under cover, Black's posi tional advantages will tip the balance in his favour. 27 t!.fd1 It was better to choose 27 lLlf6 ! with counter play. 27 ... t!.8b6 To prevent White from plugging the b-file Preparing to triple on the b-file and at the with lLlbS, although the kingside is now weak same time making room for the queen to come ened. to the defence of the kingside with ...�h8 or 20 ..ltxf6 gxf6 21 lt:Je4f5 !? . .. �g8-g5, as appropriate. 21...�g7 ! is more solid. 28 lt:Jg3?! 22 lLlf6+ ®g7 23 lLlh5+®f8 Passivity leads directly to defeat. 28 i.fl The black king abandons the weakened king was better. side and takes refuge on e7. 28 ...�b8 24 e4 t!.b3?! Now either the b2-pawn or the a3-pawn Trying to exert pressure on the white pieces, drops. so that they take up passive positions and can 29 �d2 not go on to the counter-attack, but this move Trying to launch a belated attack on the black leaves d6 unprotected. After White's next move, king. If 29 t!.d2 Black has 29 ...t!.xa3 or the 46 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-!NDIAN

positional 29 ...iVg8, followed by ...iVg5 with Trying to get the king under cover. If 36 h5, total command. then 36 ... iVb6+ 37 'it>h2(37 'it>hI c3 !) 37...l:ib2'

29•• J::t xb2 30 �xb2 �xb2 31 iVxh6�bl! (D) 38 iVfl lLlg4+ 39 'it>hI lLlf2+ and the rook drops. 36 ...�xdl Here 36 ...c3 ! was better. 37 iVxdl 'iVb338 iVd4 (D)

With the disappearance of the rooks, all pos sibility of an attack is eliminated, because the queen and the knight are unable to hunt down the black king. 32 iVg5+ 'it>d733 iVd2 The last attempt to seek perpetual check, but 33 iVxe5? fails to 33 ...�xd l+ and ...dxe5 . it is well-known that with a knight in close at

33•.• Si.xc4 tendance the king is very well protected from The white position is collapsing. The passed queen checks. c-pawn will soon decide the struggle, whereas 38... c3 39 iVa7+ 'it>e8 40 iVa8+ cJ:ie7 41 the h-pawn has a long way to go. iVa7+lLJd7 42 iVxa5 c2 43 iVg5+ f6 44 'i'd2 34 h4 Si.xe2 35iVxe2 c4! 36 'it>h2 'iVb2 45 lLle2iV cl 0-1

Game 11 [E32] Mikhail Gurevich - Peter Leko Elista 2007

I d4 lLlf6 2 c4 e6 3 l2Jc3 Si.b4'iVc2 4 0-0 5 a3 Si.xc3+ 6 iVxc3 b6 7 Si.g5 Si.b7 8 f3 h6! In this line, where Black will play ...d5 and in some variations recapture with ... lLlxd5, at tacking the queen, it is appropriate to force the bishop to h4, so that White does not have iVd2, defending the bishop. 9 Si.h4d5 (D) The natural response, in order to prevent the central advance e4. It is essential to keep one point in mind: after playing f3, if White takes on d5 then Black will have the option of recap turing with the pawn, to exert pressure on the CA PA BLANCA VA RIA TION: 4 'iYc2 0-0 47

backward pawn on the e-file. As the reader will notice, it is also quite usual to recapture on d5 with the knight; it all depends on small details W which we shall try to explain in the following annotations. 10 e3 Exchanging immediately with 10 cxd5 forces

IO. ..exd5 (because IO.. .

If White plays 11 �d3 before capturing on d5, Black seizes the initiative by attacking the centre immediately with ll... c5 !? 12 cxd5 cxd4! 13 �xd4 (if 13 exd4 l::!.c8 14 �d2 �xd5 the iso lated pawn on d4 means that Black is at least equal) 13... e5 ! 14 �xf6 lLlxf6! 15 �xe5 ltJxd5 16 �d4 lLlxe3! 17 �xe3 .l:te8 18 �e4 f5 regain ing the piece with an advantage in develop ment, Candela-Xu Jun, Linares 1998.

11••• ltJxd5 ! 11...exd5?! allows White to set up his ideal position with 12 �d3 and 13 lLle2. 12 �xd8 ltJxc3 13 �h4 White can complete his development in vari Black would regain the pawn immediately ous ways, but Black always obtains counter after 13 �xc7?! ltJd5 !. play: 13... ltJd5 14 �f2 (D) a) I2lLlh3 �e7 13�f2 c5 ! 14�b5 �c6! 15 �e2 ( 15 .txc6ltJxc6 16 0-0 .:.ac8and the white pieces are very passive) 15... �d7 !. It should be noted that the knight is not very well placed on B h3. b) 12 �f2!? (defending e3, to reach the op timal position with �d3 and lLle2) ...12 c5 ! (the immediate break in the centre is best, so that the knight can come to c6) 13 �b5 cxd4 14 �xd4 and now the safest is 14 ...ltJc6! 15 �xc6 �xc6 16 lZ'le2 �b5 !, making it difficult for White to castle. c) 12 .tb5c6 13 �a4 ltJe4 !? (taking advan tage of the position of the bishop on a4) 14 �xd8 'Llxc3 15 bxc3 z:i.xd8 with approximate equality, since White has lost the bishop-pair, The classic position, which has been reached Van We ly-Grishchuk, Biel 2007. in innumerable contests. White retains the 10...

black pieces back with e4. His only problem is 21 i.e2 CDd5 22 CDxd5 i.xd5 and, in M.Gure his lag in development, which will be exploited vich-Leko, Elista 2007, Black had managed to by Black to try to penetrate with his rooks or damage White's pawn-structure and secure an create some permanent weakness to compen outpost in front of the isolated pawn. His plan sate for the advantage of the bishop-pair. If consists of advancing the queenside pawn Black achieves any of these, or manages to ex majority without allowing White's bishops to change one of White's bishops, he succeeds in become active. equalizing completely. 14... c5 !? Consistent with the above-mentioned ideas of opening files. Black can also restrain White's B central expansion with 14 ...f5, and subsequently break in the centre with ...c5 or ...e5 . 15 e4 For a time it seemed that 15 i.b5 placed Black in difficulties, but Kasparov showed that 15 ....ll fd 8! keeps everything in order. White achieves nothing by taking with 16 i.xd7.llxd7 17 dxc5 because after 17... bxc5 18 CDe2 CDb6! Black has excellent counterplay on the light squares and commands the d-file. 16 e4 is stron ger, but then comes l6... CDc7 ! (a resolute pawn sacrificeto open the centre and exploit the posi 16 ... f5 ! tion of the white king on e 1) 17 i.xd7 .llxd7 18 Immediately attacking the white centre in dxc5 f5 !. This is the natural follow-up to the order to inflict some permanent weakness, or at preceding moves; if White now takes on f5 he least hinder White's development. Trying to opens the e-file onto his king, while allowing penetrate along the open files allows White to Black to capture on e4 after 19 cxb6 axb6 20 gain a small advantage: 16... .ll ac8 17 CDc3 cxd4 CDe2 fxe4 21 fxe4 i.xe4 leaves White strug 18 i.xd4 CDc5 19 .U.d l l:i.fd8 20 ..te3 !.U.xdl + 21 gling for equality, Kramnik-Kasparov, Wo rld 'it>xdl e5 22 b4 ! CDe6 23 'it>c2 CDc6 24 'it>b2and Ch (8), London 2000. White sheltered his king on the queenside and

15•.. ltJe7 subsequently prevailed in Kramnik-Leko, Dort The knight retreats to a square where it can mund 2006. not be attacked and is ready to support the .. .f5 17 ltJg3 break. 15 ...CDf4 16 ..lte3 CDg6 is somewhat infe Worse is 17 CDf4?! fxe4 18 CDxe6 .llf6 and rior as the knight is worse on g6 than on e 7. White's poor development becomes obvious. 16 ltJe2 (D) The only way to avoid being left with a weak Development can be completed rapidly with pawn on e4 is 17 exf5 ! CDxf5 18 dxc5 CDxc5but 16 ..ltb5, but then Black exchanges one of the then the activity of the black pieces allows him bishops with 16... i.c6, which is sufficient to to equalize, even though his pawn-structure is equalize. inferior. Here 16 0-0-0?! is very risky because it com 17... fxe4 18 fxe4 cxd4 19 ..ltxd4.U.ac8 (D) mits the king prematurely to the queenside, giv The position is equal: the bishop-pair is bal ing Black the chance to seize the initiative by anced by the better development of the black combining an attack on the king with weakening pieces. White's centre: l6 ... Mac8 17 'it>blc4 ! (blocking 20 1:i.d1 the development of the fl-bishop and preparing Preventing ...CDc5 as well as ...CDf6 because to attack the white centre) 18 CDe2?! (18 .llel White would exchange, followed by ....ll d7.

was better) l8.. .f5 ! 19 exf5 CDxf5 20 CDc3 CDf6 20•.• 1:i.fd8 21 ..tc3 ltJg622 ..ltbS ltJcS23 0-0 CAPABIANCA VA RIATION: 4 "VJic2 0-0 49

27 ... b5! 28 aS tt:Je8 (D)

Gurevich is hoping for an exchange of e pawns, so that the bishops will give him a small advantage in an open position where he has no The knight is best placed on e8 for the time weaknesses. being. lt defends the g7-pawn and prepares to in

23 ...�a6! (D) vade enemy territory with ... tt'ld6-c4 or ...l2lf6. 29 l2le2?! Misplacing the knight. 29 .llf3 !? is better.

29 •.• e5 30 l:!.cltt:Jf6 31 l2lg3 h5! Black has the initiative. 32 h3? It was necessary to defend with 32 h4!? but after 32 ...a6 !? White has an arduous defence.

32 ..•a6! Leko slightly improves his position and elim inates the possibility of his opponent compli cating the game with the advance a6. 33 c,i{h2? (D) It was essential to seek immediate counter play on the c-file with 33 ii.el!.

As usual in this variation, when Black ex changes one of White's bishops he is com pletely out of danger. 24 �xa6 tt:Jxa625 I!.xd8+?! Surrendering the d-filein order to try to keep the a6-knight out of play. It was better to play 25 tt'lh5 e5 26 'it>f2, bringing the king to e3, with equality.

25. .. .llxd8 26 b4?! Now the bishop loses its natural support and the queenside pawns become weak. 26 tt'lh5 was indicated. 26 ... tt'lc7 27 a4 Continuing with the idea of keeping the

knight out of play. 33.. .�c8! 50 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

Now he wins a pawn after the exchange of Game 8, Bocharov-Lysy (l6.. J:he6). Another rooks and White no longer has counterplay important idea is to answer d5 with a well-timed with a6. . ..c5, to be able to capture ...exd5 without leav 34 i.d2 l:txcl35 i.xcl h4 36 ltJf5ltJxe4 37 ing the c7-pawn exposed. g3 hxg3+ 38 ltJxg3 ltJxg3 39 'it>xg3 'it>f7 40 The line with 7 i.g5 followed by e3 and the 'it>g4 ltJe7 0-1 manoeuvre �c2 and ltJe2-c3 (Game 9) is quite White resigned because he is unable to put up strong. White brings his pieces to secure squares much resistance to the advance of the e-pawn and with .l:!.d I overprotects his centre and pre (supported by the knight and the black king) and pares the advance d5 to restrict the action of at the same time defend his b- and h-pawns. Black's b7-bishop. The best course for Black seems not to hurry with the capture on d4 and to Conclusions adopt a waiting policy with l l...�c7 !? 12 l'Llc3 a6 !, to be prepared against the d5 advance or The line with 5 e4!? (featured in Game 7) has else force White to play f3 in order to complete two basic interpretations: White either gives his development. priority to his development with 7 i.d3 and When White chooses ltJf3-d2 and i.e2, or ltJe2or else strengthens his centre with the im ltJh3 and i.e2 (lines examined in Game l 0), mediate 7 a3. In the firstcase, after the simplifi Black should play ... c5 and after the compul cations in the centre, Black is left with a passed sory capture dxc5 (otherwise at some point pawn on d4 and White with a slight initiative Black plays ... cxd4, exerting pressure along the which with correct play by both sides tends to c-fileand later creating permanent weaknesses disappear. In the event of 7 a3 the struggle be in White's centre with ... d5) Black should re comes sharper but with accurate play ( ...c5 ! and capture with ...bxc5, seeking counterplay on .. .'iVa5 !) the chances level out. Remember that the b-fileand advancing his central majority at it is important to maintain the knight on e4 to some point, which allows him to gain sufficient defend the kingside and harass White, even counterplay. White has several plans, such as when there is a white pawn on f3, as occurred in exerting pressure on d6 and trying to bring a Vallejo-Leko (note 'b' to White's 7th move in knight to the b5-square, blocking the b-file. Game 7), since the resource .. .f5! is almost al If White chooses the formation ii.d3 and ways available. lLle2, Black should first develop the queenside The system with 8 e3 (seen in Game 8), ( ...d6 and ...ltJbd7) and then play ...c5, so that if keeping the queen's bishop inside the pawn White captures by dxc5 Black can recapture chain, is very dangerous, despite its quiet ap with the knight, attacking the bishop on d3. pearance. Black does well to initiate play on the Otherwise, Black creates pressure on c4 with light squares with ...ltJe4 and .. .f5. Here it is es ....:tc8, ...i.a6 and ...d5 . sential for Black to keep in mind the possible If White plays i.g5 followed by the ambi retreats of the white knight, in order to eject the tious f3 (Game II), Black should reply ...d5 black knight with f3, and at that moment con and bear in mind that if White captures on d5 sider sending the queen into the attack (for in there are two ways to recapture: with the knight, stance, meeting ltJel with ...�h4 and ltJd2by exchanging the queens, and with the pawn, in .. .'ifg5). order to exert pressure on the backward pawn White's d5 advance, even as a pawn sacrifice, on e3. Black should choose the recapture with is one of the basic ideas of this position. If White the pawn if White is unable to achieve his ideal manages to activate his queen's bishop on b2, set-up with ii.d3, lLle2 and i.f2. exchange the light-squared bishops and pene In the variations in which White captures trate on the c-file, he will gain the advantage, so with the queen on c3 and then plays li.g5, both it is essential for Black to speed up his attack on sides must constantly keep an eye on the unpin the kingside and even sacrifice material, as in ning move ...ltJe4 !?. 4 Rubinstein System: 4 e3 0-0: Variations with ttJe2

Introduction

4 e3, known as the Rubinstein System, is the most popular move against the Nimzo-lndian De fe nce. White simply fortifies the centre and continues his kingside development, for which he has three logical patterns of development available: I) .i.d3 followed by tZ'lf3 and 0-0. 2) .i.d3 followed by lZ'le2. 3) lZ'le2 fo llowed by a3, to gain the bishop-pair without doubling the pawns. White's most problematic piece to bring into play is the c 1-bishop. The most logical continuations for meeting the Rubinstein System are 4 ...b6, 4 ...d5, 4 ...c5 and 4...0-0. The move-order that I suggest is the most natural and flexible: 4 ...0-0, followed by ... d5. With 4 ...0-0, Black allows White to show his cards, i.e. he waits for White to choose the type of set-up he will use and then selects the most suitable development in response. One advantage of 4 ...0-0 over 4 ...c5 is that in the event of White playing 5 lZ'le2 anda3, the b4- bishop can retreat along the a3-f8 diagonal, leaving the white pieces rather awkwardly placed. 4 ...0-0 is generally associated with the central advance ...d5 and ...c5 but, as we have already noted, Black first wants to see what moves White will make. In this chapter we shall see some of White's main set-ups in response to 4 ...0-0, before reaching the position that occurs after I d4 lZ'lf6 2 c4 e6 3 lZ'lc3 .i. b4 4 e3 0-0 5 .i.d3 d5 6 tZ'lf3c5 7 0-0, which will be the theme of the next chapter. It should be pointed out that at any moment White can insert the move a3 (without having de fe nded the c3-knight with another piece) to gain the bishop-pair and reach positions characteristic of the Samisch Variation, in which Black has already played the move ...d5 or ...0-0, so that (after ... d5) White can easily get rid of the doubled pawns on the c-filewhilst maintaining the advantage of the bishop-pair, or, in the event of the location of the black king having been determined by ... 0-0, organize his offensive more easily. However, it should be noted that in these variations with 4 e3 the c 1-bishop cannot be activated as easi ly as in the Samisch or Capablanca Variations, in which it could go to g5 at any moment.

The Games

In Nakamura-Vo lokitin (Game 12) we see White's attempt to exploit Black's early commitment of his king by transposing into a Samisch Variation. Black blockaded the doubled pawns with ...c5 and subsequently went after the c4-pawn with the sequence ... lZ'lc6, ...l2la5, ...b6 and ... .i.a6. We shall see how Black neutralized White's attack on the kingside but how several slack moves on his part allowed White to obtain a dominating position which the American GM rounded off with an elegant manoeuvre. 52 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

In Game 13, I.Sokolov-J.Polgar, we see once again the advance a3 by White, but only after Black has carriedout the advance ...d5, so that after the exchange of bishop for knight White can quickly get rid of the doubled pawns. We shall see how Polgar chooses the most favourable pawn structure to combat the bishop-pair and the white centre, avoiding positions of the Botvinnik Capablanca type, which we shall discuss during this chapter and the next. This game is very in structive, because Black achieved a blockade of the centre and of the enemy bishops and concluded the game with a strong attack on the king.

In the game Alexandrov-Le Quang (Game 14), White opts for the set-up with ..id3and lt:Je2,but after capturing on d5. In this very fluid position, we shall see how Black should retain his dark squared bishop and when and how he should react to White's plans of expansion in the centre and on the kingside. The game is a good example of well-timed counterplay by Black in the centre, but he let his experienced opponent off the hook on at least two occasions.

In Milov-Sharavdorj (Game 15), the Swiss GM also arranges his minor pieces as in the previous example (..id3 and lt:Je2)but without the exchange cxd5. In these positions, White is left with an isolated pawn on d4, but with the unusual feature that the king's knight is placed on e2. We shall see some of Black's schemes fo r fighting againstthe isolated pawn in these conditions, but we shall de vote particular attention to Tal's popular retreat (IO... ..id6) and Ivanchuk's method (12.. .'iYc7 !?) used in the game. We shall also look at Karpov's plan of 12... .l:le8.

Y.Gonzalez-A.Aivarez (Game 16) looks at the famous Reshevsky Variation (5 lt:Je2) in which White gives priority to placing the knight on e2 before developing the king's bishop, immediately seeking the advantage of the bishop-pair while retaining a perfect pawn-structure. Black does well to retain his two bishops, but must be careful in choosing how to deploy his forces, because although the white position seems inoffensiveand Black has many different ways to develop, it is essential to take care not to fall under an irresistible attack, as occurred in the game.

Game 12 [E29] Hikaru Nakamura - Andrei Volokitin Cuernavaca 2006

1 d4 lt:Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 lt:Jc3 ..ib44 e3 0-0 5 a3!? practice has shown that Black has sufficient In the firstcha pter, we studied the Samisch resources for active defence combined with a Variation with 4 a3 or 4 f3, in which White's counter-attack on the c4-pawn. usual plan consists of gaining the bishop-pair 5 •••..ixc3+ 6 bxc3 c5! (D) and bolstering the d4-square, so as then to play This move is easy to recommend; Black fixes e4. So it would seem that playing 4 e3 first is a the doubled pawns and is ready to attack them waste of time if he continues 5 a3 !?. However, with the typical sequence ... b6, ... ..ia6 and White wants to show that Black's quick king ...lt:Jc6-a5, followed by ... .l:lc8 ifappropriate. It side castling actually makes it easier for him to is possible to play this formation without in launch an attack. Moreover, there are lines cluding the move ... c5, but in that case White where White regains the tempo by playing e4 can take advantage of not having played the and f4 (rather than f3-f4 ), and a direct transpo move f3 to create direct threats on the castled sition to the Samisch occurs - indeed, this is king, because his queen has the open d l-h5 di the case in our main game here. Nevertheless, agonal at its disposal. RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VA RIATIONS WITH tjje2 53

10 0-0 This natural move has the idea of subse quently advancing the f-pawn, but other plans have been tried here, such as: a) 10 e5 i..a6 II �a4 lba5 12 dxc5 �c7 ! (a typical sacrifice that we shall see over and over again in the Nimzo-Indian when White has dou bled pawns on the c-file) 13 i..e3 f6 !? (13... bxc5) 14 Md I bxc5 15 exf6 C'bxf6 16 i..f4 e5 17 i..g3 d6 and White's bishops are not very active, Moskalenko-M.Roder, Barbera 2000. b) 10 i..e3 i..a6! (without delay) II lbg3 (remember that capturing the pawn with II dxc5 always gives Black good play: ll...lbe5 !) 7 i..d3 lbc6 8 lbe2 i l...lba5 12 �e2 Mc8 and after 13 Me l or 13 d5 Best. The pawn sacrifice with 8 e4!? can be Black should play the prophylactic 13... �h4! accepted with 8 ...cxd4 9 cxd4 lbxd4 10 e5 followed by ... lbd6. From h4 the queen has in l"Lle8!? or declined with the central counter fluence along the fourth rank and restricts attack 8 ...d5 !? 9 cxd5 exd5 I 0 e5 lbe4 II lbe2 White's actions on the kingside.

Ji.g4!, reminding White that his king is still in 10... i.. a6! (D) the centre. 12 i..b2 (12 f3 i..xf3 !) 12... cxd4 13 cxd4 �b6 14 i..xe4 dxe4 15 i..c3 Mfd8! gave Black strong pressure on White's centre in V.Georgiev-Efimenko, Port Erin 2007.

8... b6 9 e4! Black must now take measures against the threat of i..g5.

9 ... lbe8! (D)

11 f4 !? With this move, we have now transposed to a position that can also arise from the Samisch Variation. The advance of the f-pawn is White's best plan of attack. Against other moves Black sim ply carries on with his plan of ...lba5 and ...Mc8 or ...d5 and defends the kingside with A well-known manoeuvre devised by Capa ...f5 or ...f6. The only alternative worth con blanca. Black prevents the i..g5 pin and at the sidering is the immediate advance II e5, with same time is ready to increase his pressure on the idea of �c2, in order to force Black to the c4-pawn with ...lbd6. In addition he frees weaken his kingside. ll...d6 (ll ...lba5 !? 12 his f-pawn, which will play a major role in the �c2 f5 is worth considering) 12 �c2 h6 13 defence of his castled position. Md l dxe5 14 dxe5 �c7 15 i..f4 lbxe5 16 i..e4 54 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

and now instead of 16... J::t c8, Stefanova-Lahno, hems in Black's forces. However, in Radjabov Krasnoturinsk (women) 2007, Black should Leko, Monte Carlo (rapid) 2007 Black played play 16... .l:tb8 ! in order, after 17 'i!Va4 lt:lf6 18 the simple 12... exd5 ! 13 cxd5 i.xd3 14 'ii'xd3 i.xe5 'iVxe5 19 i.f3, to have 19... i.b7 ! sup fxe4 15 'i!Vxe4 lt:ld6 16 'ii'd3 lt:la5. Here the ac ported by the rook. tive black knights have outposts on c4, b3 and

ll... f5 (D) d6, whereas White does not have anywhere to It is also interesting to wait for White to ad attack.

vance f5 and then reply with ...f6, which also 12•.• exf5 13 dxc5 bxc5 14 i.e3 d6! leads to a lively struggle: II...lt:la5 12 f5 f6 ! (it Better than moving the queen away with is vital to prevent 13 f6! lt:lxf6 14 i.g5 with a 14... �a 5?!. strong attack) 13lt:lf4 i.xc4 14 i.xc4 lt:lxc4 15 15 lt:lg3 g6 (D) fxe6 lt:lc7 ! with complex play, Stefanova-Sar gissian, Zafra 2007.

This interesting position has been debated in several games recently. In the long term Black 12 exf5 has the advantage, because White's bishops It is best to exchange on f5 and then close the and knight do not appear to be very active, and c-file.If White keeps the tension with 12lt:lg3 g6 it is easier to attack White's weakness on c4 13 i.e3, then theplan devised by Karpov works than Black's backward pawn on d6. However, peifectly: 13... cxd4 14 cxd4 d5 ! (an excellent the black king is more vulnerable than the op move, designed to block the e3-bishop com posing king and White can benefit from the pletely and exchange the light-squared bish present lack of coordination among Black's ops) 15 cxd5 .ixd3 16 'iVxd3 fxe4 ! 17 �xe4 forces. 'iVxd5 18 'iVxd5 exd5 and, owing to his control 16 i.xf5!? of the light squares and his pressure on d4, White has also tried to gain the advantage by Black does not have any great problems. This regrouping the rook to e I, the knight to d5 via has occurred in a number of games, starting fl-e3 and then the e3-bishop to h4, but Black with Yusupov-Karpov, Linares 1993. can become active on the e-file and bring his The move-order 12 dxc5 is less accurate in knight to e4, with good play. Let us see a recent view of 12... fxe4!? 13 i.xe4i.xc4 14i.e3 lt:lf6 example: 16 .l:teI lt:la5 17 lt:lfl lt:lf6 18 i.f2 and the control of the light squares gives Black 'ii'd7 19 lt:le3.l::!. ae8 20 i.h4 .ib7 !? 21 i.fl lt:le4 good play. 22 lt:ld5 i.xd5 23 cxd5 c4 and the outposted It had appeared that White could gain better black knights are better than the clumsy white chances with the advance 12 d5 !?, because after bishops, I.Sokolov-Grishchuk, Canada de Cala the thematic !2... lt:la 5?! 13 e5 ! i.xc4 14 i.xc4 trava (rapid) 2007. lt:lxc4 15 d6 the strong chain of white pawns 16 ••• gxf5 17 'ii'd5+ :r7 RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VA RIATIONS WITH ClJe2 55

Better than 17 ...�h 8!? 18 'i¥xc6 .i.xc4 19 �fd 1 'i¥c 8 20 .l::i.xd6!? lt:Jxd6 21 'iVxd6 'iVe6 22 'i¥xc5 with compensation for the exchange, Hillarp Persson-K.Ong, Stockholm 2007. 18 'i¥xc6 .i.b7!? 19 'i¥a4 (D)

at the same time gives his king an escape square. 25 h4! .l::i.d7 26 'iVd1 Tying Black to the defence of h5 and creat ing threats on the light squares.

26 ••• �h7 27 'i¥a4 'i¥f728 lld1 lt:Je6 29 .i.e3 An important moment. At the cost of a pawn, 'i¥g7?! Black has managed to divert the white queen Occupying the knight's ideal square; it was from the kingside and increase the activity of better to play 29 ...�g6 ! right away. the b7-bishop. 30 �f2 �g6 (D)

19.• .'�f6 Activating the queen, but the older move 19 ... h5 !? is possibly better, followed by the im mediate further advance of the h-pawn, creat w ing strong counterplay against g2. 20 �ab1 lt:Jg7 lf20 ...'i¥xc3 2l .l::i.fe 1 lt:Jg7 22 .i.f2White has a small advantage based on his command of the open files and his safer king. 21 'i¥d1�e8! (D) Activating the rook. 2l...'i¥xc3?! is inferior due to 22 .i.xc5! dxc5 23 .l::i.xb7!; after these simplifications the weakness of the black king becomes clearer. 22 �e1 After 22 .i.d2 'i¥g6 and ... h5, Black would The black pieces are defending each other. continue with his counterplay on the kingside, Now White carries out a tremendously effec by advancing his h-pawn. tive regrouping. 22 ...'i¥g 6?! 31 l:ld2! Very ambitious. After 22... 'iVx c3! the pres Suddenly there is a threat of 'i¥d1 hitting d6 sure of the black pieces would keep the bal and h5. ance. 31...'i¥e732 'i¥d1! 'iVxh433 llxd6 lle7 23 .i.f2! lixe1+ 'i¥xe24 1 hS Passive defence also would not have helped: Black was relying on this attack, but Naka 33 ...l:txd6 34 'iVxd6'iVf6 35 'i¥d7 .i.e4 36 'i¥e8+ mura's unexpected reply blocks the h-pawn and 'iVf7 37 �h8 and White wins material. 56 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

34 l:!.d7!'ifh2!? 47 !Ih6+'it>d7 48 '*iVxg4hxg4 49 l:.h7+ 'tt>c6 Staking everything on the complications. 50 �xa7 g3 51 :lg7g2 52 '1t>d2 35 !Ixe7'ii' xg2+ 36 'it>el �xg3+ 37 �d2?! 52 c4 !? is better, making it more difficult for More accurate was 37 i..f2! 'ifxc3+38 �d2 the black king to become active. and White wins. 52... tt:Je6 53 1lg8(D)

37 ••• 'it>f6! 38 !th7 tt:Jxf4 39 �n Here 39 'iig1! would allow less counterplay. 39 ... lLlg240 i..xc5 i..e4! (D)

53 ...f4 53... 'it>d5 !? 54 i..f2 'lt>c4 would offer more resistance. Maintaining threats and allowing Black to 54 i..f2 f3 55 a4 tt:Jf4 56 We3 fighton, although objectively the game is lost. With the pawns blockaded, Black does not 41 i..d4+ We6 42 c5! have anything he can do. The rest is simple. With the deadly threat of 'ifc4+. 56 ... i..d5 57 l:tg4lLle2 58 c4 i..f7 59 a5 lLlc3 42... �g5+ 43 'it>dl�g4+ 44 'lt>cl'ifg5+ 45 60 !If4 i..h5 61 '1t>d2 lLldl 62 1:1f6+ ctlc7 63 Wdl 'ifg4+ 46 �e2! lLlf4 'lt>el tt:Jb2 64 i..g3+ Wd7 65 'it>f2 lLldl+ 66 It is essential to exchange queens; otherwise 'lt>gl tt:Jc3 67 i..f2 tt:Je4 68 c6+ '1t>d8 69 l:,e6 the black king will perish immediately. tt:Jxf2 70 'it>xf2 i..f7 71 a6 ..ixe672 a7 1-0

Game 13 [E49] Ivan Sokolov - Judit Polgar Hoogeveen 2006

1 d4 lLlf62 c4 e6 3 lLlc3..ib4 4 e3 0-0 5 i..d3 d5 White, because the move a3 can also prove use 6a3 ful. This move has the same objectives as in the 7 bxc3 dxc4! previous game, but it is better now, since White If Black delayed this capture, White would will not have any problems getting rid of his take on d5 himself. At first sight it seems to doubled pawns. come to the same thing, but this is not the case. 6 ...i.. xc3+ After 7 ...c5 8 cxd5 exd5 9 lLle2 (D) we would 6 ... i..e7 is possible, leading to positions of reach a fixed structure in the centre that be the Queen's Gambit in which White has his came very famous after Botvinnik's victory bishop on c 1, behind the pawn-chain. However, over Capablanca at the AV RO tournament in Black's wasted tempo with the bishop favours 1938. RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VA RIATIONS WITH fDe2 57

and unstable than in the Botvinnik-Capablanca structure. His long-term plans are to advance B with e4 or c4, to activate his dark-squared bishop and generate threats on the kingside, or else create a passed pawn on the d-file. Black's slight development advantage can be used to disturb White's development and ex change one of his bishops (keep in mind the variations with ...b6 and ...�a6), or else Black can strike at d4 with the advance ...e5, which is not possible if Black allows the exchange on d5. It should be pointed out that in the end game, after theexchange on d4, Black retains a queenside pawn-majority which, combined with Black enjoys easy development and does not control of the c-file, can yield an advantage. have any weaknesses; he even has a plan for 9 etJe2 eliminating one of White's bishops ( ...b6 and Best. White develops his knight and defends ....ia6), which in other cases guarantees equal his c-pawn while leaving the f-pawn free to ad ity. However, White's central majority is very vance. strong and his plan is clear: carry out the ad 9 etJf3 is answered with 9 .. .'iVa5 !? and Black vance e4 and e5 and attack on the kingside. answers 10 �b2 or I 0 Vi'c2 with I O ...cxd4, This is achieved with 0-0, f3, etJg3 and in some leaving White with an isolated pawn-couple on cases .ib2 to defend d4. There are also other c3 and d4. After 10 �d2 Black can eliminate manoeuvres such as �a2-e2 and even the ad the bishop-pair immediately with IO... etJe4 !?, vance g4. In this type of contest, White aban but even better is 1 O ...Vi'c 7! in order to continue dons the queenside, where he loses material in with the plan of ...b6 and ...�a6. For example, many cases, but the attack generated on the I I �d3 b6 12 e4 (12 Vi'e2!? prevents ...�a6, ex kingside is often decisive. changing the bishops, but after 12... �b7 13 e4 8 .ixc4cS (D) Vi'c6 ! White is compelled to enter complications Attacking the centre and giving the queen in order to defend his central pawns) 12... �a6 access to aS or c7. 13 �xa6 etJxa6 14 Vi'e2 'iVb7 15 e5 etJe4! (D).

White has the bishop-pair and a pawn-ma This is the type of position that Black is aim jority in the centre, but he is slightly behind in ing for, since he has the better pawn-structure development and the position is more open and control of the light squares, especially d5. 58 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

His queenside pawn-majority constitutes an ad ... l':.fd8. To me it seems more logical to play vantage in the endgame and he only has to take 13... .l:1f d8! in order to place the other rookon c8 precautions so that White cannot bring a knight and continue quickly with the plan of ... CDa5 to d6 or develop an attack on the kingside, and ... �c4, so that White has no time to bring where he has more space. his queen's rook to dl and answer ...i..c4 with 9 .. :fic7 �b l. If Black exchanges the light-squared Vacating the d-file and putting the question bishops, he does not mind much if White ad to the bishop, forcing it to decide which diago vances with e4, since Black would then obtain nal it will occupy. counterplay on the light squares and the c-file. 10 i..a2 14 �b2 Against 10 �d3 Black can continue with the 14 tt::lh5 eliminates the defender of Black's plan of 10... b6 followed by ...�a6 although, castled position, but after 14 ...tt::l xh5 15 'i¥'xh5 bearing in mind that the bishop has abandoned �d3! White will have difficulty mobilizing his the a2-g8 diagonal, it is also logical to play ...e5 central pawns to activate his bishops. and ...tt:Jc6. 14 ...e5 15 'ikc2! (D) 10... b6! In this way White is able to deploy his rook Polgar takes control of the a6-fl diagonal harmoniously on dl, instead of the less logical and c4 in particular, so that subsequently she 15 .i:i.c l played in the game Vallejo-Illescas, can exchange bishops on that square. Spanish Team Ch, Sanxenxo 2004. 11 0-0 �a6 12 l:re1 (D) Polgar's recommendation 15 d5 !? was played The other way to move the rook away from in Haimovich-E.Berg, European Clubs Cup, the pressure of the bishop is 12 f3 tt::lc6 13 l:rf2, Kerner 2007; after 15... tt:Ja5 16 e4 tt::le8!? (here but on f2 the rook does not make a good impres Polgar recommended 16... �c4 but 17 i.c l ! sion. Black would bring his rooks to the centre gives White the better game) 17 'ikg4 lt:'ld6 18 and exchange bishops on c4 ( ...tt::l a5 and ...�c4 ). .l:.ad 1 'iVd7 19 "fih5 Black embarked upon the conquest of the queenside with 19 ...'i.Va4, giv ing White chances of counterplay on the king side. It was more prudent to keep the queen in B the centre and penetrate with the minor pieces at c4.

12 •.•tt:Jc6 13 tt::lg3 From g3 the knight supports e4 and can jump to h5, or f5, if Black plays ... e5 at some point. If 13 �b2 Black is fine if he follows the well-known recipe of bringing the bishop to c4:

13... tt::l a5 ! 14 tt::lg3 �c4. 1S.. J:td7 13 .. Jlad8 15... tt::la5 is answered with 16 dxe5 ! and 17 The idea of restraining the e4 advance will c4! sacrificing White's structure but opening be reinforced with ... e5 and ....l:1d7 fo llowed by the al-h8 diagonal for the b2-bishop. RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VA RIATIONS WITH tiJe2 59

16 .l::!.ad1 .l::!.fd8 17 h3 A useful move which does not spoil anything. According to Polgar, it was preferable to W exchange the knights on e4 to weaken the kingside and then create threats in that sector with .1bl . 17... c4!? (D) Note that Black is unable to increase the pressure on d4, which is why she decides to complete the total blockade of the position so that the bishops do not have any diagonals. 17... tt'la5? fa ils to the thematic 18 dxeS 'i¥xe5 19 c4 'i¥e6 20 ..lii.bl !? 'i¥xc4 21 .l::!.xd7 .l::!.xd7 22 'i'fS and Black is defenceless. 21 lDe2! .l::!.gS 22 lDf4 �c8?! This leaves the c4-pawn undefended, allow ing some counterplay. It was better to play 22 ...'i¥d7 !? with the idea of ...lbd5 exchanging the defending knight. 23 'i¥e2 As Polgar points out, the correct 23 ..lii.a2 ! would have compelled Black to acknowledge her error with 23 .....lii. a6 or retreat the knight from c6.

23••• 'i¥d7 24 'i¥xc4 lba525 'i¥b4?! This puts the queen in range of the knight. 25 'i¥e2 was preferable.

25.•. lbd5! (D)

18 a4? Weakening the b4-square prematurely. It was better to play 18 ..lii.bI! g6 and only then 19 a4, answering 19... .l::!. e8 with 20 e4 !. 18 ....l::!. e8! 19 �a3 Sokolov should have prevented the advance ...e4 with 19 lbe4, but not 19 e4? because with his last move he weakened the b4-square and 19... exd4 20 cxd4 lbb4 ! would fo llow, with ini tiative to Black. 19... e4! (D) Completing the blockade of the position, which leaves Black with more space and the dS-square fo r her pieces. This allows her to take the offensive on the kingside. Meanwhile, White 26 lbxd5? is confined to only three ranks and lacks pawn White should have kept his defensive bastion breaks. f4 at all costs by means of 26 'i¥d6 !? lbxc3 27 20 ..lii.b1 .l::!.d5 .l::i.cl lbxbl 28 .l::!.xbl 'i¥xa4 29 �b4 with strong The concentration of force on the kingside counterplay for the pawn, because the black will create problems for White. pieces have become disorganized. 60 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

26 •••'i'xd5 !? 27 h4?! The best defence was 27 'i'd6 ! 'i'f5 28 'i'f4 ! l2lc4 29 ..ltcI iV g6 30 'i'h2 ..ltd7 31 ..ltc2 and White resists, although obviously Black keeps the initiative. 27.. ..l::i.g4 28 'i'b5'i'd8! 29 g3 a6! Dislodging the queen from b5, where it at tacks the rook on e8. 30 'i'b4?! It was more prudent bring pieces to the de fence of the king with 30 �fl 'i'xh4 31 ..ltd6!?. 30 ... 'i'xh4 31 ..ltxe4 lixg3+! (D) After this exchange sacrifice, the white king remains at the mercy of the black pieces, be cause there is no way to defend the light squares. 33... 'i'f3 34 'it>h2 'i'h5+ 35 'it>gl 'i'f3 36 32 fxg3 'i'xe4 33d2 l::i. 'it>h2f5! .ll. 37 e4 .ll.xe4 38 lixe4 'i'xe4 39 dS 33 d5 l2lc434 l::i.d4 'i'f3 ! also loses for White. l2lc4 0-1

Game 14 [E48] Alexei Alexandrov - Kim Le Quang Abu Dhabi 2007

1 d4 l2lf6 2 c4 e6 3 l2lc3 .ll.b4 4 e3 0-0 5 .ll.d3 d5 and develops the kingside harmoniously. As in 6 cxd5 other variations where the knight goes to e2, the Completely ruling out the possibility of f-pawn is left free to support his main plan based ... dxc4. on the central expansion by f3 and e4 or on the 6 ... exd5 7 l2le2(D) flank attack with f3 and g4. Also typical is the transfer of the queen to the king side by 'i'el- h4. However, White has difficulties in mobiliz ing the c 1-bishop and as soon as he plays f3, B Black replies with ...c5, putting pressure on d4 and hindering e4.

7 .•.lie8 The rook holds up the e4 advance. In addi tion, the f8-square becomes available for the bishop. The immediate 7 ...c5 has the drawback of shutting off the retreat of the b4-bishop. White's reply would be 8 0-0 l2lc6 9 a3 cxd4 (after 9 ....ll. xc3?! 10 bxc3 White reaches the fa vour able Botvinnik-Capablanca structure that we mentioned earlier) 10 axb4 ! dxc3 II b5 ! l2Je5 This line became popular following the (after l l...cxb2?! 12 ..ltxb2 White's bishops are young Kasparov's victories over Yurtaev in worth more than the pawn) 12 l2lxc3 and White 1981 and later against Tal in 1987. At the pres has control of the dark squares (in particular the ent time GMs Alexandrov and Milov are its d4-square, which is useful as a base for the strongest exponents. White stabilizes the centre queen or the rook after lia4-d4) together with RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VA RIATIONS WITH t'De2 61

pressure on the a-file and on Black's isolated queen' s pawn. 8 .i d2 This flexible developing move (8 'i¥c2is sim ilar) has the aim of delaying kingside castling so that Black cannot create any immediate threats against White's king. It also delays the move f3, so that if Black rushes with the advance ...c5, White captures on c5 and plays against the iso lated pawn without having a weakness on e3. After the natural 8 0-0, Black can retreat the bishop to a more active square with 8 ... .id6! (D), creating threats against White's castled po sition. 18 'it>fl .ig3!! and White resigned because the mate is unstoppable. c) Epishin has regularly used the prophylac tic 9 h3 and afterwards he continues with 'i¥c2 and �d I hindering the ...c5 break and intending to fo llow up with the minority attack with �bl and b4. In that case, Black should look for counterplay on the kingside by bringing the knight from b8 to h4 ( ...lZ:lbd7-f8-g6-h4). We now return to 8 .id2(D):

Let us see the main ideas in this position: a) White's first attempt to gain an advan tage here was with 9 f3. Black reacted in an ex emplary manner with 9 ... c5! and after 10 �e l tt:lc6 II �h4 Black defends successfully with Il....ie7 12 'i¥f2 a6 13 g4 b5 fo llowed by ...b4, ...aS and ...it.. a6 with excellent counterplay or with il...lZ:le7 ! followed by ...lZ:lg6. b) White has also played 9 a3, which rather neglects the safety of the king. Kasparov-Junior,

New York (5) 2003 fe atured 9 ...c6 and after 10 8... a6 "ti'c2 the computer sacrificed the bishop unex An unpretentious but useful move. Black pectedly with IO... .ixh 2+!? II 'it>xh2 lZ:lg4+ covers the b5-square and prepares to play ... .id6 12 Wg3 �g5, obtaining a strong attack which against any other white waiting move. ended in a draw, while Acs destroyed Van The direct 8 ...c5?! is not accurate owing to 9 We ly at Hoogeveen 2002, with the spectacular a3 !, when White gains the bishop-pair. 9...l2lg4!? 10 h3? (10 lZ:lf4! is better) IO... lZ:lh2 ! Once again 8 ....id6 !? is possible, to which II .l:tei lZ:Jf3+! (D). White can respond with 9 �c2 c6 I 0 f3 (I0 12 gxf3 �g5+ 13 Wh l �h4 I4 lZ:Jf4? .ixh3 h3!? is interesting, followed by g4!? and 0-0-0) 15 l2lcxd5�e 6!! !6lZ:lxe6 .if5+ I7 Wgl 'iVh2+ IO... c5! II dxc5 .ixc5 12 e4 dxe4 13 lZ:lxe4 62 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NJMZO-INDIAN

tt'lxe4 14 i.xe4 �6! 15 .i.xh7+ h8 16 .i.e4 i.e6 and the insecure position of the white king gave sufficient compensation for the pawn in Milov-Ehlvest, Merida 2006. 9 tt'lg3 Alexandrov has tried plans of containment which include this move, 0-0, f3 and the transfer of the c3-knight to e2. Objectively this brings nothing special, but in practice Black has to de cide when it is prudent to advance with ...c5 and how to arrange his pieces in the most effective way. These positions are reached basically after the moves 9 0-0 i.d6 10 l:tc1. If Black plays ...c5 immediately, without waiting for White to play f3, then he remains with an isolated pawn Reaffirming that as soon as White plays f3, without the compensation of a white weakness Black should react immediately with ...c5. on e3. For example, 10... c5 11 dxc5 i.xc5 12 12 .i.b1c5! 13 dxc5 tt'lb5 tt'lbd7 13 tt'lbd4 and White has rather the With the following sequence of moves, White more pleasant position, Delchev-Graf, Spanish tries to take advantage of the loose position of Team Ch, Torrelavega 2007. So it is better to the black pieces, but this will be counterpro play 10... tt'lbd7, to meet 11 f3 with 11...c5!. ductive. 13 tt'lce2!? was more prudent.

9 •••tt'lc6!? (D) 13 ... .i.xc5 14 tt'la4 i.f8 15 �b3 d4! This unexpected tactical shot takes advan tage of the momentary lack of coordination among the white forces. 16 .i.xb4.l:!.xe3! This is the key: the queen cannot maintain the defence of both bishops. 17 .i.d3.i.e6! More accurate than 17... .i.xb4. 18 �a3 .i.xb419 .i.xh7+ 'it>xh7�xb4 20 bS 21 tt'lc5.i.c4! (D)

An interesting idea which forces White to castle right away in view ofthe threat of ...tt'lxd4. The knight temporarily obstructs the c-pawn, the advance of which is essential as soon as White plays f3, but Black can recycle it to e7 or b4, as occurs in the game. 10 0-0 i.d6 11 f3 11 a3 prevents the following manoeuvre, but Black has various interesting options, such as 1 1...tt'le7!? controlling f5 and preparing ...h5 or ...c5 as appropriate. This shows the advantage of having placed ll ... tt'lb4! (D) the bishop on e6 on move 17. Black's bishop RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VA RIATIONS WITH fbe2 63

supports the advance of the d-pawn and blocks not very secure, because the pieces guarding it the path of the queen. can be dislodged. 22 l':!.fdl d3 23 'it>hl 29 a3?! Removing the king from the g1-a7 diagonal. More accurate was 29 l':!.ab1 ! CLlxa2 30 CLJfl 23.. .'iVb6 24 b3 CLJd5?! l':!.e2 31 l':!.xd3 l':!.xc432 l':!.d2 witha minimal ad Stronger was 24 ...a5 ! 25 'i¥a3 (25 CLJa4?! vantage to Black. fai ls to 25 ... axb4 26 CLJxb6 i..xb3!, winning) 29••• l2Jc2 30l':!.acl l':!.xc4 31 CLJfl (D)

25 . . . b4 26 CLJa4 ! 'i¥e6 27 'iVc I i..b5 28 CLJc5'i¥e5 29 ctJce4 CLlxe4 30 CLlxe4 (30 fxe4 loses to

30 . . . l':!.xg3 !31 hxg3 'i¥d4 !) 30 ... l':!.e2 with a dom inant position. 25 l2Ja4! (D)

3l...l':!.e2?! Overlooking a golden opportunity to main tain the passed pawn with 31...l':!.c3!, when 32 CLlxe3?is not possible because after 32... CLlxe3 33 l':!.xc3 1CLJxd 34 'Jd..c7 CLJf2+ 35 'it>g 1 d2 the An unexpected defence in an extremely awk rook would drop. White must settle for 32 '>t>g l ward position. l':!.e2, with a great advantage for Black. 25 ...CLJxb4 32 l':!.xd3 Against 25 ...'i¥c7 or 25 ...'iVh6, 26 'i¥c5 ! de With the elimination of the passed pawn, the fe nds. dangers are over.

26 lLlxb6 l':!.b8 27 l2Jxc428 bxc4 bxc4 l':!.c8 32••• l2Jxa3! 33 l':!.xc4CLJxc4 34 \t>gl Black maintains the initiative, but the posi The king comes to support the defence. tion has simplified and the passed pawn on d3 is 34 •••a5 35 .l:!c3 CLJb21/z -1/z

Game 15 [E41] Vadim Milov - Dashzeveg Sharavdorj Las Vegas 2006

1 d4 CLJf6 2 c4 e6 3tLlc3 i..b4 4e3 0-0 5 i..d3 d5 6••• c5 6 ctJe2(D) The thematic response. Another interesting In this variation the knight supports its col variation is 6 ...dxc4 7 i..xc4 e5!?, liberating the league on c3 but without defining the central c8-bishop and attacking the centre. position (with 6 cxd5) as in the previous game. 7 cxd5 Black must strike at once in the centre, since If White calmly castles here, he will end up otherwise White plays a3 and is a bit better. with an isolated pawn on d4 which Black can 64 CHESS EXPlAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

queen's pawn, and it allows f3, protecting the squares e4 and g4. B 9 0-0 tt:'lc6 (D)

easily blockade: 7 0-0 cxd4 8 exd4 dxc4 9 �xc4 and now 9 ...tt:'lbd7 ! followed by ...tt:'lb6, ....i.d7 and ... �c6, or 9 ...tt:'lc6 fo llowed by ...b6, ... �b7 and ...tt:'lce7-d5. In both cases Black establishes a cast-iron blockade on d5, The main position. White has an isolated which serves as a base of operations for Black. pawn and tries to organize the typical kingside White would base his hopes on attacking on attack, but on e2 the knight is more passive than the kingside with .i.b3-c2and 'iVd3 toprovoke on f3, since it does not control e5 or g5. The weaknesses and then bring the rooks to the most usual attacking fo rmation is i.c2 and centre (�fe 1 and .l:i.ad1) and his queen to the �d3, provoking a slight weakening of Black's kingside (via h3 and g3), avoiding piece ex castled position, although other ideas have been changes as far as possible. The struggle is bal employed which we shall see later. anced. 10 �c2 After the ever-present 7 a3 Black can choose 10 �c 2 does not achieve anything; Black fro m two options: can secure easy play with I O ... h6 (Gelfand a) 7 ...cxd4! 8 exd4 (after 8 axb4 dxc3 9 To palov, Monte Carlo (blindfold) 2006), intend- tt:'lxc3 tt:'lc6! 10 b5 tt:'le5 ! 11 cxd5 tt:'lxd3+ 12 ing ... i.d6, ...tt:'lce7 and ...�d7. Also possible is 'ikxd3 tt:'lxd5 the position becomes completely IO... g6 !? followed by ....l:i.e8 and ...�f8-g7. equal) 8 ...dxc4 9 �xc4 �e7 and Black prepares The quiet move I 0 i.e4 deploys the bishop to fight against the isolated pawn, safe in the on the long diagonal, puts pressure on d5 and knowledge that the knight is worse placed on e2 prepares �d3 gaining time, but Black does not than on f3. have any problems completing his develop-

b) 7 ...�xc3+ !? 8 tt:'lxc3 (8bxc3 transposes ment with IO.. . tt:'lf6 ! II .i.f3 h6!, followed by after 8 ...dxc4 9 �xc4 'iVc7 ! to Game 13, I.Soko- ...tt:'le7-d5 or ...i.d7 and ....l::t c8 with good play, lov-J.Polgar) 8 ... cxd4 9 exd4 dxc4 10 .i.xc4 since White does not have any active plans and tt:'lc6 II �e3 and Black plays ...b6 followed by d5 breaks can be answered with ...tt:'le5, attack ...�b7 and ...tt:'le7 or ...tt:'la5, whereas White's ing the bishop on f3. bishops are rather passive. 10... .i.d6! (D)

7... cxd4! 8 exd4 'Llxd5! One of Tal's ideas. Black deals with White's Leaving White with an isolated d-pawn. attack on h7 by posting his queen actively on 8 ... exd5 is worse, because rigid central struc h4. In some cases, after the exchange .. .':tJxc3 tures favour the side with the initiative, in this the bishop supports the ...e5 break. case White. Furthermore, with this structure the Karpov popularized another plan for Black knight on e2 is more useful than the one on f6, in which prophylaxis and harmony are com since it can go to f4, putting pressure on Black's bined: 10... I:te8 !?. Black will forestall White's RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VARIATIONS WITH tDe2 65

intentions with ...g6, so that the bishop can re turn immediately to f8 and subsequently go to g7 to defend the castled position.

13 .•..l:.d8 14 lbgS (D) Evaluated as dubious by many analysts, but probably White's best option. The knight puts pressure on the kingside and forces ...g6. Then 11 ct:le4 White will begin manoeuvres to penetrate on It appears that White is gaining time with the the dark squares or force other weaknesses such attack on the bishop, but the knight on e4 ob as the advance of the h-pawn. After 14 lb4c3 g6 structs the attacking bl-h7 diagonal and loses 15 �h6 lbxc3 16 bxc3 e5 ! we see another of the control of the d5-square. points of placing the rook on d8.

The idea of I O ... �d6! becomes clear after II 'i'd3 'iYh4! and then after 12 g3 'iYh5 thequeen defends h7 and d5, restricting the white attack from this comfortable square. B ll... i.e7 12 a3 This is essential to be able to play 'iYd3 with out allowing ... lbb4.

12... 'ii' c7!? (D) An idea of Ivanchuk's that has several objec tives: from c7 the queen controls the f4 -square, and makes way for the rook to go to d8 to put pressure on the d-pawn. In the future this pres sure can be increased by retreating the knight from d5 to f6 and bringing the queen to b6. It is possible to begin Karpov's plan with

12.. . �e8, although in this case the black bishop 14 ... g6 15 'iYf3 will take two tempi to reach f8. After provoking the advance ...g6, it is logi If Black is satisfied with a draw, I2... e5 !? cal to bring the bishop to the a2-g8 diagonal: I5 equalizes completely, since the central pawns �b3 lbf6!? I6l:i.d I �f8 17 �f4 'iJle7 and here, disappear. instead of I8 'li'e3?, which loses the bishop-pair 13 'ii'd3 after I8... lbd5 !, Kamsky-Karpov, FIDE World The move-order actually used in the main Ch ( I4), Elista I996, 18 �ac I should have been game was 4 ...c5 5 �d3 lbc66lb e2 cxd4 7 exd4 played, with equal chances. dS 8 cxd5 lDxd59 a3 �d6 I 0 lbe4�e7 11 �c2 15 ...� f8 0-0 I2 'ii'd3 'ii'c7 I3 0-0, but I have adjusted it 15... �f6 is more accurate, immediately hit- for ease of reference. ting d4. 66 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

16 lld1 .i.g7 Black completes his strategic plan of bring ing his bishop to g7, where it puts pressure on B d4 and defends the kingside. 17 h4!? (D) In the stem game of this variation, Rogers Ivanchuk, Moscow Olympiad 1994, White pre ferred 17 .i.b3, but after the thematic manoeuvre 17... h6 18 tt'le4tt'lce7 ! the knight overprotected d5 and solidifiedthe kingside, after which it only remained to bring his queenside pieces into the game by ....i.d7 and ....l:Ia c8, with excellent play.

25 tt'lxd5:xd5?! B 25 ... .i.xd5 ! was necessary, keeping the bishop active and not exposing the rook. 26 a4! (D)

17.•. h6 After this move Black will be fo rced to open the b1-h7 diagonal, along which the white queen will penetrate. Another option was to complete development of the queenside immediately with 17... b6 !? 18 h5 .i.a6 ! exerting pressure in the centre and, although White can open the h-file Preparing the way for the bishop to come and penetrate on h7, his attack is not decisive. powerfully into play on a3.

18 tt'le4tt'lce7 19 tt'l4c3 .i.d7? 26•. J:te 8?! 19 ...b6 !? is more precise. If White plays as in Here 26.. .f5 !? is better, although the attack the game with 20 h5 g5 21 tt'lxd5 tt'lxd5 22 would continue powerfully after 27 b4 !, with �d3, it transpires that after 22 ....i.a6! 23 �h7+ the idea of b5 and .i.a3+. �f8 it is not possible to play 24 tt'lc3? on ac 27 b3! rs 28 .i.a3+�f7 count of 24 .. .'�Jf6,trapping the queen. The king is in a very dangerous situation. 20 h5 g5 21 tt'lxd5 tt'lxd5 22.i.b5 �d3 23 29 .i.d3! 'iVd7.l::f. 30 acl! g4 �h7+ �f8 24 tt'lc3! (D) If 30 ...Itxd4, then 31 .i.b2 !. Perhaps Black overlooked this strong move, 31.i.c4'iVd8 32 .i.xd5'iVxdS 33 l::txc6! -qwxc6 which attacks the bishop and the knight. 33 ...bxc6? loses on the spot to 34 -qwg6+.

24•.• .i.c6! 34 d5! �d7 1-0 The c3-pawn could not be captured on ac Black resigned without waiting for 35 dxe6+ count of 24 ... tt'lxc3 25 bxc3 'iVxc3? 26.i.d2 fo l �xe6 36 .i.b2 l:l:g8 37 llc 1! �d7 38 l:l:e1! with lowed by .i.b4+. unstoppable threats. RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VA RIATIONS WITH fDe2 67

Game 16 [E46] Yuri Gonzalez - A. Alvarez Havana 2007

1 d4 CLJf6 2 c4 e6 3 4'lc3 .ltb4 4 e3 0-0 5 4'le2 the centre with ...dxc4 followed by ...e5, hit (D) ting both d4 and the knight on f4 . 1f White de fe nds c4 with 8 b3, Black fo llows the same plan: 8 ...ctJbd7, when 9 .ltb2?! dxc4 10 bxc4 e5 ! II dxe5 ctJxe5 gave Black excellent play in Milos-Lafuente, Santos 2006. It is more logi cal to play 9 .ltd3 !? to respond to 9 ... dxc4 10 bxc4 e5 with II ctJfe2, but Black should play 9 ... e5 !? 10 dxe5 4'lxe5 II cxd5 g5 !? 12 ctJfe2 ctJxd5 and the initiative in the centre is more important than the weakening of the kingside.

7 ...exd5 (D) A useful alternative is 7 ...ctJxd5 !?, seeking greater dynamism in the centre. After 8 ctJxd5 exd5 the identical pawn-structure to the game is reached, but the exchange of knights eases Black's game. There is no advantage in 8 e4 This move of Rubinstein's, later popularized lLlxc3 9 lLlxc3 c5 or 8 ctJg3 c5 either, while the by Reshevsky, has the objective of bolstering the ending that appears after 8 g3 c5! 9 dxc5 lLlxc3 position of the knight on c3, to be able to recap 10 lLlxc3 �xd I+ II �xd I .ltxc5 should be ture on c3 with the knight, keeping the pawn drawn. The flexible 8 .ltd2 and 8 �c2 are more structure intact. However, the knight on e2 does common, but Black has obtained satisfactory not have as much influence on the centre as it results with 8 ...ctJd7 followed by ...c5 or ...b6, would on f3 and fu rthermore it obstructs the ....ltb7 and ... c5. natural development of the king's bishop, which slows down White's development. 5 ... d5 Black occupies the centre and leaves open the option of retreating the bishop from b4. 6 a3 .lte7 6 ... .ltxc3+? 7 CLJxc3 gives White what he wants, but 6 ....ltd6 !? is interesting, because if White takes on d5 the bishop would be well placed on d6, and it is not clear whether White obtains any advantage with the expansion 7 c5 fi..e7 since with the plan of ...b6, ...a5 and ... .lta6, Black exchanges his worse bishop and simpli fiesthe position on the queenside, which re duces the importance of White's space advantage. 7 cxdS We have now reached the basic position of Maintaining the central tension with 7 CLJf4 this variation. is answered by reinforcing the centre with This position is very fluid and both sides have 7 ... c6 and ...ctJbd7 so Black is ready to break in tried various different development patterns. 68 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

The basic plans for White are the break with f3 8••• c6 and e4, the attack on the kingside with f3 and It is possible to defend the d-pawn with g4 and the minority attack on the queenside 8 ...lt:'lbd7 and ...lt:'lb6, leaving open the possibil with b4 and b5. ity of breaking with ...c5 in one move. Further Black can complete the mobilization of his more, from b6 the knight can jump to c4. An queenside in various ways, but must be particu example: 9 .ltg2 lt:'lb6 10 0-0 l::i.e8 II b3 i.f5!? larly attentive to White's central break with f3 12 f3 c5 ! 13 g4 ..tg6 14 tt::lf4 cxd4 15 exd4 I:tc8 and e4 - replying with ...c5 is indicated in most with harmonious development and pressure cases. along the open files, Ve ra-Chandler, Novi Sad 8 g3 Olympiad 1990. White has the following alternative schemes Another successful plan is to restrain the available: queenside with ... a5 followed by ...tt::l a6, which a) Reshevsky's favourite system of 8 lLlf4, practically limits both sides' play to the centre .ltd3 and 0-0. Here Black equalizes with 8 ...a5, and the kingside. fo llowed by ...tt::l a6, ...c6 and ...lt:'lc7-e6 exchang 9 .ltg2 (D) ing the white knight. b) 8 lt:'lg3and .ltd3. In this case the immedi ate 8 ...c5 ! exploits the fact that the knight on g3 does not have any influence on the centre. B c) The most topical line with 8 b4 (control ling c5) intending lt:'lg3 and .ltd3. Michael Ad ams has shown that Black has good play by first seizing the b1-h7 diagonal with 8 ....ltf 5!? (D).

9 .•. -tfS?! This facilitates two of White's main ideas: the central advance e4 and the wing expansion g4. The experts prefer the scheme with ...lt:la6 followed by ...lt:'lc7, supporting the d-pawn, and as soon as White plays f3 Black replies with ...c5. The move ...a5 !? is also employed (before ...tt::l a6 or following the manoeuvre ...tt::l a6-c7) Although the bishop will remain slightly ex preventing any ideas of b4 altogether. In some posed on g6, White gains no advantage. Let us positions, Black can even create counterplay examine a few examples: with the advance of his queenside pawns ( ...a5 c 1) 9 lt:'lg3.ltg6 I 0 .lte2 .l::i.e8 11 0-0 .ltd6 12 and ... b5-b4) to dislodge the c3-knight and find f4 h6 13 f5 jt_h7 14 .ltd3 lt:'lbd7 15 'iff3 c6 and work for the queen's bishop on the a6-fl diago Black does not have any great problems, Milov nal. Adams, European Clubs Cup, Kerner 2007. A basic idea is to respond to f3 with ...c5! c2) 9 f3 h6 (9 ...h5 !?) 10 tt::lg3 .ltg6 II .ltd3 without fearing the creation of an isolated pawn .ltd6 12 lLlf5 lt:'lc6 ! with the idea of ...lt:'le7 to on d5, for White's weakness on e3 would pro contest White's control of the f5 -square, Aro vide compensation. nian-Adams, Wij k aan Zee 2006. 10 f3 RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0: VA RIATIONS WITH liJe2 69

Preparing both e4 and g4. 15 t2Jxd4tLlb6 16 f5 (D) 10 ...:i.e8?! 10 ...c5 !? is indicated, since once White has played 10 f3 the pressure on the d5-pawn is re duced and e3 is weakened. B 11 0-0 c5? One move later and this advance is no longer any good, since White has castled and Black, with his previous move, has weakened the f7- square. After the provocative 1l.. . .itd6!? 12 e4 dxe4 13 fxe4 .itxe4 14 :i.xf6 .itxg2 15 l:i.xd6 'i'xd6 16 'it>xg2tLld7, Gunnarsson-J.Rodriguez, Leipzig Olympiad 1960, Black has a rook and a pawn for two pieces, and the white king is somewhat exposed, but White can retain a slight advantage by means of the manoeuvre tLlgl-f3,

'i'b3, iH4 and:!.f l. 16••• ii.c8 17 g6!? 12 g4! (D) The break 17 f6 !? gxf6 18 �h5 ! is even stronger.

17 .•.t2Jc6?! It is necessary to eliminate the attacking pawns by 17... hx g6! 18 fxg6 fxg6 19 tLlxd5 ! tLlxd5 20 �b3 <;.t>h7 21 jg_xd5 Sg_f6!, with good survival chances. 18 gxf7+ <;.t>xf719 tLlxdS! A pretty combination based on Black's weak king and lack of coordination.

19 .•.t2Jxd5 20 �h5+! <;.t>r6 Worse was 20 ... <;.t>f8 21 .itxd5�xd5 22 tLle6+ .itxe6 23 fxe6+ and the queen drops. 21 t2Je6 It is natural that there should be more than one way to win. For example, 21 b4 ! tLle5 22 Implementing the second plan in this posi jg_b2and the pin is fatal. tion: expansion on the kingside. 2I. ••.itxe6 22fxe6+ <;.t>xe6:i.d1 23 (D) 12... jg_e6 Jf 12... .itg6, White takes advantage of the underdefended queen's pawn and the bishop's exposed position by 13 g5 t2Jfd7 14 f4 ! tLlb615 B dxc5 jg_xc5 16 tLlg3 ! and the bishop on g6 is in trouble. 13 g5 t2Jfd7 Equally after 13... tLlh5 14 f4 White gains the advantage. 14 f4 ! Threatening f5 and putting pressure on d5.

14•.• cxd4?! This move allows the knight to reach d4 with out loss of time. It was better to play 14 ...t2Jb6. 70 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE N!MZO-[NDIAN

White regains the piece without abandoning in mind Tal's idea of retreating his bishop to d6 the hunt of the black king. The game is decided. to neutralize the attack with ...�4. Remember

23 •••..td6 24 �xd5+

Introduction

In this chapter we shall study White's most natural development in the Rubinstein System. White bri ngs his pieces to their natural squares with ..id3 and CLJf3, followed by castling, without clarify ing the situation in the centre. A typical move-order is I d4 CLJf6 c42 e6 3 CLJc3 .ib44 e3 0-0 5 ..id3 d5 6 CLJf3c5 7 0-0. Against this, Black can choose from various set-ups, but I have concentrated on the flexible Parma Variation (7 ...dxc4 and ...CLJbd7 ! ?), a favourite of Nimzo-Indian experts such as Anand and Adams. We shall also see the variation in which Black maintains his centre and plays in a natural manner with 7 ...CLJc6 !?.

The Games

In Game 17 (Kamsky-Elianov), White, using Bronstein's old idea 9 �b3, tries to obtain the bishop pair without altering his pawn-structure, but Black's accurate play brought to light White's prob lems in bringing the c !-bishop into play. Seeing himself completely tied down, Kamsky sacrificed a pawn to change the character of the game and bring his bishops to life, but he failed to achieve suf ficient counterplay and lost in the end. In this game we shall also see the positions that arise after White continues his development with natural moves such as 9 �e2 and I 0 .l:i.dI.

In Bernasek-Ragger (Game 18), White employed the most traditional move in the Rubinstein System, 9 a3, seeking an immediate clarification of the position of the black bishop. After 9 ...cxd4 10 axb4 dxc3 II bxc3 �c7! a peculiar pawn-structure arose, in which White chose the promising pawn sacrifice 12 .lie2 !? obtaining a lot of compensation, as is usual in this variation. Later inaccu racies by Black allowed White to round off the game with a brilliant attack.

If Black is not satisfied with the positions that arise after 9 a3 cxd4 I 0 axb4!? then a good alter native is 9 ....ia5 !?, which was employed in Zilberman-Babula (Game 19). Black delays the cap ture ...cxd4 to limit White's options and waits for the right moment to capture with ...cxd4 and ... ..ixc3, leaving White with an isolated pawn-couple on c3 and d4. In this game we shall see the typical struggle between White's bishop-pair on one side and Black's better pawn-structure on the other. After some instructive manoeuvres, Black embarked upon a risky central break which was objectively unfavourable to him, but in the complex tactical position that arose, White failed to cope with the turn of events and was decisively beaten.

In Game 20 (Korotylev-Zakhartsov), Black chooses another method of play, which consists of completing his development with 7 ...CLJc6 without relieving the central tension. Here we shall look at the various ways for both sides to handle this position. We shall see how, after White obtains the two bishops, Black has good resources for keeping the position sufficiently closed to neutralize them. 72 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

White succeeded in opening the position with the e4 break, but in doing so he had to exchange his light-squared bishop for the annoying e4-knight and, while White controlled the dark squares, his op ponent became the master of the light squares. A final tactical skirmish ended in a draw - a fair result.

Game 17 [E55] Gata Kamsky - Pavel Elianov Montreal 2007

1 d4lbf62 c4 e6 3 lbc3..ltb4 4 e3 0-0 5 ..ltd3d5 The main alternatives are9 'tlVe2 and9 a3!?; 6lbf3 the latter move will be analysed in Games 18 The classical way of developing: the bishop and 19. goes to d3 and the knight occupies its natural With 9 iYe2 and 10 lid1, White mobilizes his square, followed by kingside castling. major pieces and threatens to open the centre

6 •••c5 7 0-0 dxc4 8 ..ltxc4 lbbd7!?(D) with d5 or dxc5. It is possible to play 9 .id3 fo l lowed by 10 'tlVe2 or vice versa, but Black con tinues with the mobilization of his queenside ( ... b6, .....ltb7 and ....l:!.c8) in order to capture on w d4 later and play against the isolated pawn. The exchange on d4 is postponed for as long as possible, to hinder the development of the c 1- bishop, although White can create problems with the advance d5. Let us see some lines after 9 �e2 b6: a) 10 d5 !? (giving rise to a forced variation in which White wins two pawns and in return Black develops a strong initiative on the king side, based on pinning the f3-knight and later weakening White's castled position) 10... i..xc3 (following 10... exd5? lllbxd5 the b4-bishop is This pattern of development is known as the left out of play) 11 dxe6 lbe5 ! 12 exf7 + (less Parma Variation and at the moment it is one of ambitious is 12 bxc3?! lbxf3+ 13 �xf3 i..xe6 the most popular among the world elite. Black with equality) 12... �h8 13 bxc3 1Lg4! 14 e4 wants to complete his queenside development �e7 ! (D). with ...b6, ... ..ltb7 and ....l:Ic8 and is ready, at the right moment, to play against an isolated pawn after a timely ...cxd 4 or against an isolated pawn-couple after ... cxd4 and ... ..ltxc3. w The flexible 8 ... lbbd7 !? keeps the central tension so as not to help the c 1-bishop develop, which is a frequent strategic theme in the Rubin stein System. 9 'tlVb3 This move of Bronstein's has experienced a great boom in the last few years. The queen is activated and vacates the d 1-square for the rook. It also aims to gain the bishop-pair without any great alteration to the pawn-structure. RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0 WITH ii..d3 AND li:Jj3 73

Threatening ...ltJxc4 and ...�xe4. For the 9 ... cxd4! (D) moment Black is two pawns down, but if he re This natural move had escaped the attention gains them, his queenside pawn-majority will of both the theoreticians and the grandmasters, grant him a slight advantage in the endgame. who preferred 9 ...�e7 or 9 ...a6 10 a4 �e7. However, the threats against the white king are more serious once the pawns on the f-file are doubled. 15 .U.e l (defending e4) 15... b5 ! (de flecting the bishop from the defence of f7) 16 w ..txb5 ltJh5! withexcellent counterplay. b) It is more prudent to play 10 .l::tdl cxd4 (with the rook on dl the d5 advance would be stronger) II exd4 i.b7 (D).

At first sight, White will now attain the main objective of �b3, since he gains the bishop pair with a symmetrical pawn-structure. 10 �xb4 The natural response, retaining a healthy pawn-structure. However, the Ukrainian grand master will show with some subtle moves that White's difficulties in bringing the cl-bishop Black has a satisfactory position. The stan into play give Black equal chances. dard plan is to exchange the bishop for the A less classical, but perhaps better, move is knight on c3, making the d5 advance impossible, 10 exd4 !?. Now the most prudent course is to and play against White's isolated pawn-couple. retreat the bishop and continue with the tradi The black queen goes to c7 and the rooks to c8, tional manoeuvre ...ltJb6 followed by ...i.d7 e8 or d8, while his bishop is very strong on the and ... i.c6, regardless of the fact that White long diagonal. Later he can weaken White's eliminates this bishop with ltJe5 and ltJxc6 - structure even more with the advance ... e5 or since Lasker-Capablanca, World Ch (12), Ha blockade White's pawns using the d5- and c4- vana 1921, it has been known that Black's squares. When the queen is on c7 White will chances in this type of structure, where a back have to be alert to the threat of ...ltJg4 !. ward pawn on c6 confronts another isolated If White begins the manoeuvre i.g5-h4-g3 to pawn on d4, are fully acceptable. For example: harass the queen on c7 along the h2-b8 diago IO... i.e7 ! (worse is 10... i.xc3 ?! 11 bxc3 b6 12 nal, this will be met by ...ltJh5 ! when the bishop lbg5! and the threat of ltJxf7gives White a dan is on h4, which paralyses that plan and at the gerous initiative, Topalov-Ponomariov, Vitoria same time threatens to establish a strong knight Gasteiz 2007) 11 Itel lLlb6 12 i.e2 i.d7 13 on f4 . Naturally, White also has his trumps, be lbe5 i.c6! 14 lLlxc6 bxc6 15 i.e3 ltJfd5 16 cause his greater central control gives him an .U.adl ltJxe3 17 fxe3 l:tb8 and Black creates advantage in space, and after Black takes with counterplay on the b-file and against White's .....txc3 he will also have the bishop-pair and central pawns, Liascovich-Vescovi, Buenos Ai the plan of a4-a5 to break up Black's queenside res 2005. structure. 10... dxc3 11 �xc3 �c7! (D) 74 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

A universal move which pins the c4-bishop 16... ct:'lxb3 17 axb3 and generates threats against White's castled There will be problems developing the c) position, in combination with the emergence of bishop after 17 �xb3 l:i.fd8 18 f3 e4 !. the bishop on b7 and the jump of the knight to 17.•. l:i.fd8 18 l:i.e1 g4. Vacating the fl-square for the bishop. If 18 12�b3 b4, then 18... �c 2! would be quite awkward.

Naturally it is not good for White to ex 18•.• a5! change the queens and saddle himself with the Leaving the white queen out of play and pre worse pawn-structure by 12 .1i.e2?! �xc3 13 paring the exchange of the light-squared bish bxc3 ctJe4, while after 12 .1i.d2 ctJe4! Black ops with ... .1i.a6. It is curious how with quite equalizes completely. simple moves Black has managed to dominate

12•.• b6 13 .1Le2 the position, preventing the enemy bishops from White has retained the bishop-pair, but this becoming active. Kamsky reacts in the best has been achieved at the expense of develop way, sacrificing the e-pawn to bring his posi ment. After 13 .1i.d2 ct:'lc5 14 �c2 .1i.b7 Black tion to life. threatens ....�:J g4 and ....1Le4 or ... .1i.xf3. 19 e4 .1Lxe420 Si.gS (D) 13... .1i.b7 14 ctJd4?! Parrying the threat of ...ctJg4 and preparing the central occupation by f3 and e4, which would leave the b7-bishop dead, but Black is B going to forestall him in the centre, taking ad vantage of the fact that White has not com pleted his development. The modest 14 .1i.d2 ct:'lc5 15 �b4 ! ctJfe4 16 .U.fc I a5 17 �a3 ctJxd2 18 ctJxd2.1i.d5 was preferable, with equality.

14.•. ct:'lc5! 15 �a3 eS! (D) Black takes the initiative. This pawn will be come a spearhead which will completely re strain White's play. 16 ctJb3 If 16ctJb5, then 16 ...�c6 17 f3 .1i.a6 18 �b4 e4! hindering e4, which leaves the cl-bishop 20•.. h6! shut in. After 16 ctJf5 l:i.fd8 17 f3 e4! once again Clarifying the position; White decides to give White has difficulties completing his develop up one of his valuable bishops in return for ment. weakening Black's castled position a little. But RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0 WITH .il.d3 AND tDj3 75

the white forces are too far away to worry the Black not only has an extra pawn, but he also black king. controls the dark squares and is preventing the 21 l:'!.acl�b7 22 .1Lxf6 white queen from getting back into play. Forced, since Black was attacking g2. 24 b4!? 22 ...gxf6 23 .1Lfl l:'!.d4! (D) Kamsky sacrifices another pawn to activate his queen and try to create some sort of threat against Black's weakened castled position.

24 •.•.l:'!.xb4! 25 .l:'!.c4 To activate his bishop but, two pawns down, every exchange of pieces brings the end closer.

25 ••• l:'!.xc426 ..ixc4 cJ;;g7 27 h4 ..ig6 28 �g3 h5 29 l:'!.d1 White has not achieved anything for his sacri ficedpawns and the rest is a matter of technique. 29 ...�c7 30 ..ie2 c,i;;h7 31 �f3 .l:'!.d832 l:'!.e1 After 32 �xf6 .l:'!.xdl + 33 ..ixdl �c l 34 �f3 �xb2 the passed pawns decide. 32 ...l:'!.d6 33 b3 �c5 34 g3 cJ;;g7 35 ..ia6 b5 36 .1Lb7 l:'!.d3 0-1

Game 18 [E55] Jan Bernasek - Markus Ragger Mitropa Cup, Szeged 2007

1 d4 CDf6 2 c4 e6 3 Cbc3..ib4 4 e3 0-0 5 ..id3c5 capture 9 . ....ix c3?! is less sensible because it 6 ctJf3 d5 7 0-0 dxc4 8 Jl.xc4CDbd7 !? 9 a3!? (D) strengthens the white centre, while the black knight on d7 neither puts pressure on d4 nor hinders the advance a4-a5. Then 10 bxc3 b6 II ..id3 ..ib7 12 .l:'!.eI! (D) is the most logical for mation for White, who wishes to advance in the centre (e4), releasing his dark-squared bishop and generating ominous threats on the king side.

This is Kramnik's favourite move in this po sition and the one that seems to cause Black the most problems. 9... cxd4

The main move, though 9 . . . ..ia5 !? is also good, as we shall see in the next game. The 76 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-!NDIAN

Now: he manages to prevent the c4 advance and place a) I2 ...tt:'le4 has also been played but after a minor piece on that square he will not have I3 i.b2,fo llowed by c4, White is a little better any problems. II... b6 is weaker, since both 12 since he can aim for a4-a5 or simply improve �d6!? and I2 ..i.e2, followed by c4 and .ib2, his pieces with !lacI and exchange the black give White the advantage. knight on e4 with tt:'ld2. 12 ..i.e2!? b) If I2... e5 White plays 13 e4! and devel This powerful pawn sacrifice, an idea of GM ops his bishop to g5 with a slight advantage, be Guillermo Garcia, is the most energetic. White cause with the disappearance of Black's central organizes his pieces in the best way and for this pawns the bishop-pair and central superiority he must make this small investment of material. give White the advantage. Instead, I2 �e2 tt:'lb6 ! 13 i.d3 e5, followed c) I2... i.e4, opposing White's planned ad by l4... i.e6 and ... i.c4, gives White nothing, vance and offering the exchange of bishops, but 12 'i¥b3 !? is very interesting and has been gives White a choice between I3 i.fl! ? , retain debated at the highest level; e.g., I2 .. .<'2Jb6! 13 ing the bishops and preparing tt:'ld2 and f3, and i.e2e5 ! I4 l:.a5 (14 c4 fails to l4... ..i.e6 15 .ib2 I3 ..i.xe4!? tt:'lxe4 I4 �d3 !, followed by I5 c4 tt:'lxc4 I6 .l:r.fc l tt:'lxb2! with equality) I4... .ie6 and I6 i.b2,and while White has prospects in 15 �c2 tt:'lbd7 16 c4 (D). volving d5 or opening the queenside with a4- a5, Black is rather passive and lacks a plan. 10 axb4 After I 0 exd4?! i.xc3!? II bxc3 'W/c7! Black B reaches, with an extra tempo, the hanging pawns position of Game 19, and continues with the typical plan ( ...b6, ...i.b7, ...l!ac 8, etc.).

10•.• dxc3 11 bxc3 (D)

l6... b6 ! 17 :a6 (the most incisive; if l7l'r.a3, then I7 ...M.fc8 I8 tt:'ld2 b5 ! 19 c5 a5 ! with good counterplay) I7... 1:rfc8 I8'2ld2 and now the sim plest is I8... i.d5 ! followed by ...i.b7 and ...a5 ! (Rogozenko-I.Farago, Hamburg 2002); Black conquers the c5-square for the knight and cre ates a passed pawn on a5.

12•.• tt:'ld5 !? (D) White has obtained the bishop-pair with a The other way to take the pawn, I2.. ."iVxc3, relatively healthy structure (without hanging has fallen into disuse because White obtains fan pawns in the centre or an isolated pawn), and if tastic compensation after I3 i.a3, followed by can complete his development untroubled he �bi, l!fc l and i.d3, as in Kramnik-Kasparov, will have the advantage. World Ch (I2), London 2000. I3l:tbi, followed

ll... �c7 ! by i.b2, has also yielded excellent results; e.g., Essential. Black must exploit the momentary 13... �c7 I4 i.b2 a6 I5 l:tc l �b6 (Potkin lack of coordination among the white forces and Alexandrov, Abu Dhabi 2005) I6 �a4 ! gives exert pressure on the bishop and the c-pawn. If White strong pressure. RUBINS TEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0 WITH i..d3 AND Ci'Jj3 77

If Black does not capture on c3, White sim 14 'iVd2!? ply continues with his plan (c4 and .1l..b2) and A new approach to the position. White re enjoys a small advantage without risk. tains the strong dark-squared bishop, leaving his opponent far behind in development. These factors, combined with the pressure exerted by the a) -rook, give sufficient compensation for the pawn. 14 .11..xc3 'iVxc3 15 'it'd6 has been played on various occasions but the game is greatly sim plified after 15... 'iVc6 !.

14•.. 4:Jxe2+ 15 'iVxe2lL!b6 Removing this defensive knight from the kingside proves fatal. It seems more natural to continue 15 ... b6 !?, although then White can maintain the pressure with 16 l!acI ! ? or 16 �fdl !?. 16 �fcl 'it'd8 17 �d1 'it'e7 After 17... .id7 18 lDe5 or 18 .1i..d4!? White's 13 .1i..b2 pressure is intense. M.Gurevich preferred 13 c4!? lL!c3 (certainly 18 ..ll.d4! 'iVxb4 19 l:Idb1(D) not 13... 4:Jxb4? 14 .ia3 !) 14 'iVc2 lDxe2+ 15 'lixe2. Although Black has eliminated one of the enemy bishops and can easily complete his development with 15... b6 16 .1l..b2 .ib7 17�fd I �fd8, he must be careful, since after 18 lDh4! White threatens the lonely black king. How ever, according to Gurevich, Black holds the bal ance with 18... lDf8 19 b5 a6! and the queen side pawns are exchanged. Another, rather strange, way of sacrificing the c-pawn is 13 ..ll.d3 !? 'iVxc3 14 �a3 'iVf6 (14... 'ihb4 !?) 15 'iVc2 h6 16 b5 lDb4 17 .11..h7+ 'tt>h8 18 'it'bl aS ! with a position that is hard to assess, Aronian-To palov, Morelia/Linares 2006.

13 .•.lL!xc 3 (D) Black has won a second pawn, but he is walking a tightrope because White has threats on both wings.

19 •.• 'it'c4 20 'iVb2 Maintaining the threat of .ixb6 and attack ing g7.

20 •.•lDa4 21 'iVd2 Stronger was 21 'iVa3 ! b5 22 �b4 'iVc6? 23 .ixg7! with advantage. 21...'iVc6?! It was essential to give the knight immediate support with 21 ...b5! although White has com pensation after 22 e4 !. 22 'iVa5! 78 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-IND/AN

The queen attacks a4 and generates hidden threats on the kingside.

22 •••b5 23 lixb5i.d7? This allows a beautiful finish.It was essential to block the action of the b2-bishop with the in genious 23 .. .f6! 24 �xa4 i.d7 25 l:i.b4'iVxa4 26 libxa4 i.xa4 27 lixa4 lifc8 and White has the advantage in the endgame but Black is not with out counterplay, based on White's momentary passivity and the presence of the passed pawn. 24 :g5 f6 (D) 25 .l:.xg7+!! �h8 Instead, 25 ...�xg7 1oses to 26 'iVg5+�h8 (if 26 ... �f7, then 27 i.xf6!and there is no defence against lt:'le5+ or 'iVg7+) 27 i.xf6+ .l:!xf6 28 .1xe5+. In both cases Black faces catastrophic 'iVxf6+ �g8 29 lL'le5 !. loss of material. 26 �g5! 'i¥d5 27 .Mg8+! 1-0 There was no salvation in 26 ...e5 27 lt:'lxe5 ! And mate in two. A perfectly executed at fxg5 28 lt:'lxc6,nor in 26 ... fxg5 27 .l:tg6+ e5 28 tack.

Game 19 [E55] Vaacov Zilberman - Vlastimil Babula Pa rdubice 2007

1 d4lL'lf62 c4 e6 3 lL'lc3i.b4 4 e3 0-0 5 i.d3 d5 9 ...i.a 5!? and also the previous 8 ...ctJbd7 are 6 'Llf3 c5 7 0-0 dxc4 8 i.xc4 lt:'lbd7!? 9 a3 flexible moves, designed to limit White's op i.a5!? (D) tions. In general, Black wants to play ...cxd4 and then ...i.xc3, to leave White with hanging pawns, but delaying these captures deprives White of the characteristic plans of that struc ture, such as immediately bringing the bishop out to g5, followed by .l::!.cI; neither does it make much sense to play 10 l:i.el while the e file remains closed. Furthermore, the move order 9 ....1a 5!? followed by ...cxd 4 avoids the variation 9 ...cxd4 10 axb4!? seen in the previ ous game. 10 'iVe2 The most natural continuation. An alternative is I 0 .ii.d2, but then Black con tinues with the idea of giving White an isolated pawn-couple by I O ...cxd4 II exd4 (White gains This retreat, retaining the bishop for the time no advantage with I I lt:'lxd4 lt:'le5 12 .ii.e2 i.d7 being, is Adams's favourite. Obviously I 0 dxc5? because his bishop is passive on d2 and Black is not good for White because his structure has easy development) ll... .ii.xc3 !? 12 bxc3 (if would be seriously damaged after IO... i.x c3! he plays 12 .1xc3 the blockade of the isolated 11 bxc3 'Llxc5. pawn with 12... lt:'lb6, ... lt:'lbd5 and ... b6 !? or RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0 WITH il..d3 AND ti:JJ3 79

12... b6 !? followed by ...�b7 ensures pleasant play 13 �d3 immediately, sacrificing the pawn, play for Black) 12... b6 13 �e2 �b7 14 �d3 �c7 but Black can decline the offer and continue 15 l:tfeI and now with 15... l:tac8 or 15... l:tfe 8 with his development plan ( 13... b6 followed by we reach the type of position that we have dis ... �b7 and ...l:tac8) because the capture of the cussed, where the play is balanced. pawn would give White many tempi. White can try to leave the bishop out of play White can also defend c3 with 13 �b2 and on a5 with I 0 CLJb5, but after I O ... cxd4 II �xd4 then play �d3 and c4, although in that case (if II CLJbxd4 Black takesthe centre with ll... e5 ! White loses control of the f4-square, which 12 tt'lb5 e4 13 CLJd2 CL'Je5) I l...�b6 12 �h4 a6! Black could use for his queen, threatening 13 tt'lbd4 l:te8 14 b4 CLJf8(threatening ...e5) 15 ...�xf3, or a knight. tileS CLJ6d7 ! and the ensuing exchanges equal l3... b6 14 l:tfe1 i.b7 15 i.d3(D) ize the struggle, We lls-Adams, London 2007. 10 ...cxd4! Now that White cannot capture on b4 as in the previous game, Black takes on d4 and c3, B reaching the pawn-structure with an isolated pawn-couple on c3 and d4. Note that the tempo lost with ... �a5 has only helped White to place a pawn on a3, which is no help to him and could even be a weakness, since it is easier for Black to attack and prevents the possible development of the queen's bishop to a3. 11 exd4 �xc3 12 bxc3 �c7! (D)

15 •.•l:tac8 The eternal problem of where to place the rooks. As I understand it, this is the correct square for this rook and the king's rook should go to e8. However, Carlsen preferred to place them differently: 15... l:tfe 8 16 c4 l:!.ad8 17 �g5 CL'Jf8!? - an interesting idea; Black puts imme diate pressure on d4 and threatens to bring the knight to f4 via g6. He will get doubled pawns on the kingside, but in return the bishop-pair disappears and White loses control of the f4- square: 18 i.xf6 gxf6 19 i.e4?! (a sacrifice without foundation, since Black's kingside is This position can be reached by different well defended; 19 .l:Iad1! ?

16••• :fd8 An interesting idea, but positionally risky. Inaccurate; this rook should go to e8, where Black wants to break on e5 and so prevents it can support a possible ...e5 advance, after SLf5 . The move has the drawback of substan ...SLxf3. Furthermore, from e8 the rook pre tially weakening the dark squares on the king vents the advance d5. side, although it is unlikely that White could 17 .l:tacl "iVd6 launch a mating attack against the black king One of Black's resources in this variation. without the queens on the board. Nevertheless, From d6, the queen attacks the a3- and d4- weakening the dark squares, when you do not pawns, creating the threat of ...SLxf3 . Black have a dark-squared bishop, can be important could also have made use of the rook's posi even in the endgame. tion on d8 by 17 ...lt:Jf8 !? , attacking the queen's 24 lt:Jd2 pawn. It is very logical to bring the knight to d6.

18 SLb4"iVf4 ! (D) 24•.• e5 !? Continuing with his plan. Now the threat is 25 ...exd4 26 exd4 SLxg2 followed by ...lt:Jf4+, winning a pawn. w 25 lt:Je4!? Entering complications. A more positional approach is 25 d5 !?, restricting the action of the b7-bishop.

25 ••• exd4!? (D) Both players are prepared for the tactical battle. In view of what follows, it can be stated that the prudent 25 ...SLxe4 was objectively the correct move. After 26 SLxe4 lt:Jhf6 27 .id3 �g7 28 a4 the two bishops give White a slight advantage, but the black position remains quite solid. One of the key squares in Black's strategy. The threat is once again ...SLxf3. 19 "iVe3 lt:Jh5 A recurrent idea in this variation. From h5 the knight comes into play on f4 . Another ap proach is 19 ..."iYxe3 20 fxe3 (20 l1xe3is met by 20 ...lt:Jd5 !) 20 ...lt:Jc5 21 SLfl lt:Jce4 with ap proximate equality. 20 SLe7! White would not have had this possibility if Black had placed the rook on e8.

20.• Jle8 21 SLg5 The bishop returns to cover the f4 -square and force Black's queen to make a decision.

21.• .'ii'xe3 Here 21...'iVd6!? deserved consideration. 26 lt:Jd6!lt:Jc5! 27 SLb1? 22 fxe3 This was not the moment for slackening the White brings a pawn to the support of his pace. It was essential to play 27 lt:Jxc8! lt:Jxd3! centre. Less ambitious was 22 SLxe3lt:Jhf6 with (now 27 ...SLxc8? is impossible due to 28 exd4!; balanced play. 27... .l:!xc8 is a little better but after 28 .i:tcdI

22 ••• h6 23 iLh4g6!? dxe3 29 .l:txe3 lt:Jxd3 30 :dxd3 .l:txc4 31 .i.eI ! RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0 WITH j_dJ AND ti'Jj3 81

the white rooks would go on the offensive) 28 have maintained a very advantageous position 4Jd6 .l:!,b8 29 exd4 CLJxcI 30 .l:!,xcI g5 ! 31 .ie1 by 38 ....l:!,d6! 39 ..ixd3 .l:!,f6+ 40 �g3 .l:!,f3+41 4Jf432 .l:!,c2 .i.c6 and White has the better end �g4 ..ib7 !, with serious threats against the ing. white king. 27 ... d3! On d3, the pawn restricts the activity of the white pieces. 28 .l:!,cdl? It was better to play 28 .l:!,edI ! to vacate the el-square so that the bishop could reach b4, at tacking the knight. 28... g5 29 CLlxc8.l:!,xc8 30 .i.f2..ie4 (D)

39 .l:!,b2? Overlooking the shot 39 .l:!,xd3 ! .ixd3 40 .ixd3, not only attacking the knight but also threatening .i.h7+, winning the exchange. The best then would be 40 ...CLlxh2 41 .i.h7+ �xh7 42 .l:!,xd8CLJg4+ 43 �e2 and Black should lose, because the a7-pawn drops and it is impossible to stop the passed a-pawn supported by the The position is a nightmare for White. The rook. bishops and the rooks can hardly move. 39 ...CLJe5 3I .l:!,fl Attacking c4 and threatening ...CLlg4+ and Vacating the e !-square for the bishop. ...CLJxe3 winning a third pawn for the exchange. 3l...CLJg7 From now on everything is clear: the knight The only inactive piece starts to move. continues to capture pawns while attacking the 32 .i.el lLJfS33 �f2?! white pieces. It would be sad to play 33 .i.d2 h5, when 40 ..ia2CLlg4+ 41 �el CLJxe3 (D) White could still hardly move, but the move in the game allows another little tactic.

33..• .i.xg2! 34.l:!,gl .i.e4 35 .i.b4 White has lost another pawn but at least he has activated his bishop. 35... .l:!,d8 .i.xc5 36 bxc5 37 .l:!,d2?! White could have simplified the position to reach a pawn-down rook ending by playing 37 .l:!,g4!? CLJd6 3 8 ..ixd3 ..ixd3.l:!,xd3 39 CLle4+ ! 40 .l:!,xe4.l:!,xd3 41 h4! with some chances of salva tion.

37 ••• CLJh4 38 .l:!,gdl CLJf3? (D) In strategically won positions, a tactical slip can spoil all the previous work. Black could 82 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

42 l:tcl The advance of the black pawns decides the White could not manage to exchange the game. black rook with 42 k!dbl 'Llc2+43 �d2 'Llxa3, 45 l:tfl 'Llf3+ 46 �c3 �g7 47 I::tdl d2 48 when 44 l:tb8 fails to 44 ...'Llxb l +. However, �c2 �g6 49 a4 g4 50 aS hS 51 I::tbS h4 52 passive defence is also hopeless. .l:!.xcS g353 hxg3 hxg3 54 �xe4 fxe4 55 .!':!.c6+

42 .•.'Llf5 43 �d2 'Lld444 �bl fS �fS 56 k!c7 g2 0-1

Game 20 [E58] Alexei Korotylev - Viacheslav Zakhartsov Russian Ch, Krasnoiarsk 2007

I d4 'Llf6 c42 e6 3 'Llc3�b4 4 e3 0-0 5 �d3 dS then I4 gxf3 �h3 15 e4 with a lot of compen 6 'Llf3 cS 7 0-0 'Llc6 sation for the exchange in the shape of his This developing move leads to one of the bishop-pair and strong central pawns) 14 gxf3 most important positions in the Rubinstein Sys 'iVxd5 I5 �e2 'iVxc5 16 i.b2, practice has tem. Both sides fight for the centre with the shown that White's bishops are worth more most natural moves, and in contrast to the pre than Black's better pawn-structure. vious games, Black does not try to ease the cen 9 bxc3 'iVc7!? (D) tral tension by exchanging pawns. If Black instead first takes on c4 by 9 ...dxc4 8 a3 (D) 10 �xc4 and then plays IO... 'iVc7, we reach a position very similar to that of Game 13, after the 8th move, but with one fundamental differ ence: in that position Black had his knight on B b8, and thus he had available the excellent se quence ...b6 and ...�a6, bringing about an ex change of light-squared bishops or else gaining command of the active a6-fl diagonal. At any rate, Black can play 9 ...dxc4 I 0 i.xc4 'iVc7and continue with the plan of putting pres sure on d4 by means of ....l:!.d8 and ...e5, which has been played on countless occasions with good results. The advantage of the move-order 9 ... 'iVc7 is that it reduces White's possibilities.

This move is most in tune with White's in tentions: to gain the bishop-pair.

8••• �xc3 In the aftermath of Spassky-Fischer, Wo rld Ch (I), Reykjavik 1972, the move 8 ...�a5 gained a certain popularity, but today its status has declined in view of the variation 9 cxd5 exd5 I 0 dxc5, which forces Black to play I O ...�xc3 II bxc3. Then Black generally completes his development and creates play on the light squares and the kingside with ll... �g4, but af ter I2 c4 'Lle5 13 cxd5 �xf3 (if I3... tt'lxf3+? !, RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0 WITH i.d3 AND ctJf3 83

10 cxdS and e4 to unleash his bishops, while here this White needs to open the centre to make way advance requires a lot of preparation by bring for his bishops, although with this exchange he ing the knight to d2 or h4, followed by f3. also frees the enemy bishop. 11 a4 There are three alternatives. If 10 iLb2, then Seeking a diagonal for the c !-bishop. White 10... tt::l a5 ! forces White to capture on d5, after would like to transfer the f3-knight to f5, but af which a fierce battle will rage for control of the ter 11 tt::lh4, l l...tt::le7 ! prevents both the jump to light squares and aro und the advance e4. Black f5 and the move f3, which would be answered will try to prevent this and at the same time will with ...g5. manoeuvre with the aim of exchanging the Another plan for activating the c !-bishop is light-squared bishops; for example, 11 cxd5 to eliminate the central pawns with 11 dxc5 fol exd5 12 tt::le5 c4 13 iLc2 tt::le4! and the knight lowed by c4 at a suitable moment, but after goes to d6 to support a future exchange of bish ll...i..g4 12 i..e2 tt::le4 13 i..b2 my recommen ops on f5, while allowing the white knight on dation is 13... 1If e8 !?, to have the knight pro e5 to be dislodged with ...f6. tected, and then 14 'ifxd5 is not sensible in view Another line is 10 'ife2?!, but then Black of 14 ...l:Iad8 with excellent play; if White pre takes advantage of the position of the queen to pares c4 with 14 'ifc2, Black maintains the play IO... dxc4 11 ..ixc4 e5 !, with threats of blockade with 14... tt::l a5 !?. ... .\1Lg4 or ... e4, fo llowed by ... tt::lg4, with excel ll... l:I e8 lent counterplay. This is rather more flexible than the immedi 10 h3 !? is very interesting, because after ate ll...c4 12 ..ic2 l:Ie8, which can give White 10 ...dxc4 11 iLxc4 e5, the pawn move is quite extra possibilities such as the immediate 13 useful. However, with IO ...tt::l e7!? Black reaches tt::ld2. an acceptable position, because in the event that 12 iLa3c4 White takes on d5, the knight on e7 will support The capture on d4 is ruled out, since this .. .il..f5, exchanging the light-squared bishops. would leave White with a strong centre and a

10 . .. exd5 (D) clear plan of occupying the c- and b-files. Black has to become strong on the light squares and keep the game closed, so that the enemy bish ops, especially the one on a3, cannot increase their activity. 13 iLc2 (D)

Some readers will be wondering: isn't this the type of Botvinnik-Capablanca position (see page 56) that Black is supposed to avoid? De spite the many similarities, there is one vital difference in Black's favour: the position of the knight on f3. With the knight on e2, White had This very interesting position has arisen in a very clear plan of central expansion with f3 many master-level games. In compensation for 84 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE N!MZO-INDIAN

the bishop-pair, Black has more space and a de worse positions than its present square dl. Af gree of control over the light squares, as well as ter 14 �e I lbe4 I 5 i.xe4 l:txe4 it is difficult to the queenside pawn-majority which could be achieve the e4 break. valuable in the endgame. If, instead of capturing on e4, the bishop de The whole strategy of the position revolves fends with 15 .ib2,Black does well to prevent round the e4-square. White tries to mobilize his White's expansion (lLih4 ! and f3) by means of central majority, which is looking rather sad the precise l5 ...iVd8 !, fo llowed by ... .if5 with right now, while Black opposes this by exerting good play. pressure along the e-file and creating threats on 14••• ltJe4 the kingside with the pin ... i.g4,or the transfer l4 ... .ig4 is possible, but the text-move is of a rook along the third rank. Ideally, White more forcing. would like to break on e4 with the support of a 15 .ixe4.l:Ixe4 16 lLid2.U.e8 17 e4! .ie6(D) pawn on f3, because in that way he would not be giving Black any squares, but this is made difficultby the presence of the knight on f3.

13.. .'�a5 !? (D) GM Tisdall's move, improving the position of the queen by attacking c3, seems more pre cise than the immediate l3.. .<�'\e4, because the inclusion of the moves l3... �a5 and 14 �e l or 14 �c l favours Black. l3... .ig4has the idea of bringing the bishop to g6 ( ...i.h5-g 6), but after the accurate move 14 �el !, with the idea of l4... i.h5 15 lLih4 ! fo llowed by f3, White will end up breaking on e4 and exchanging his clumsy knight for Black's . bishop, while if l4 ...i.xf3 15 gxf3 �d7 16 'it>g2, careful play by White, first making his This is probably the critical position of the king completely safe, will allow him in the long variation. Black maintains the blockade with term to exert pressure along the g-file and break out allowing the white pieces to become active in the centre supported by the two bishops. on the dark squares. 18 iVc2 Defending the a-pawn. Korotylev himself, in a previous game against Grishchuk in Moscow w 2004, sacrificed the pawn and obtained com pensation after 18 e5 iVxa4 19 f4 !? .if5 20 .l:tf2! followed by lLifl-e3.However, if the queen heads for home immediately (20 ...�a5 ! intend ing ...iVd8) the chances are equal.

18•.• dxe4 19 ltJxe4 .if5 20 f3 �d5 One of the advantages of l3... �a 5: the queen can transfer easily to this comfortable square, after which the game is equalized, since all the black pieces are active and while White domi nates the dark squares, his opponent is strong on the opposite colour. 14 �cl 21 I:tfe1 ltJa5 White must defend c3 with the queen and 2l.. . .l:i.e6!? and ...!Iae8 is an alternative worth each of the two possible squares (el and cl) are considering. RUBINSTEIN SYSTEM: 4 e3 0-0 WITH Ji.d3 AND 0Jj3 85

22 l:!.e3 l:!.e6 23 liael l:taeS 24 g4 i.g6 25 in mind that at any moment Black can play �f2 i.xe4 26 fxe4 tlxe4 (D) ...ltJg4, creating the annoying threat of ...i.xf3. Against Bronstein's idea 9 li'b3 (also Game I7), Black should capture immediately with 9 ...cxd4 and if White recaptures with the pawn, Black should retreat the bishop to e7 and subse quently carry out the manoeuvre ...ltJb6 and ...i.d7-c6, establishing an iron grip on the d5- square. Remember that if 10 �xb4 dxc3 II �xc3 Black obtains very good play with the subtle Il...�c7 !, since this takes advantage of White's difficulties in bringing his queen's bishop into play. This is the fundamental theme of Black's strategy. The move 9 a3 can be answered by Black in two ways: 9 ...cxd4 (Game 18) or 9 ...i.a5 !? (Game I9). The firstbrings about a strange po It looks as if White is completely lost, but he sition in which White has the dangerous pawn manages to save himself by combining the pin sacrifice 12 i.e2!?, which promises a lasting and the weakness of Black's back rank. initiative for the bishop-pair and pressure along 27 "iYf3! .l:txe3 2S �xe3 �d7 the open files, although Black has held out in 28 ...�d8 29 "iYd5 ! h6! is similar; White must the majority of cases. In the line with I2 �b3 capture the piece. Black has equalized with the plan of ... ltJb6, 29 �f5! �xa4 30 �xeS+ �xeS 31 �xa5 followed by ...e5 and ... i.e6,trying to gain con The draw is inevitable. trol of the c4-square. Both positions are worth 31..."�el + 32 �g2 �e2+ 33 �g3 'ife3+ 34 investigating. <;t>g2 lf2_lf2 9 ... i.a5!? is more prudent, generally leading to the positions with an isolated pawn-couple Conclusions that we mentioned above, which are completely satisfactory for Black. The Parma Variation (7 ... dxc4 8 i.xc4 ltJbd7) The line with 7 ...4Jc6 (Game 20), maintain is a flexible system which restricts White's de ing the centre with 9 ...�c7, is perfectly play velopment options and leads to different posi able. After the exchange I 0 cxd5 exd5, and the tions, depending on how White reacts. necessary advance ...c4, remember that the If White develops normally with 'ife2 and main thing is to prevent White from carrying �d I (examined in the notes to Game I7), Black out the advance e4 under favourable conditions should capture with ... cxd4 and ...i.xc3, creat and to be alert to the possible manoeuvres for ing an isolated pawn-couple in the enemy camp. activating the f3-knight. A well-timed .. ."�a5!? Remember that the best formation for Black in can force the white queen to occupy a less fa that case is to place the queen on c7, the bishop vourable position (cl or ei) and prepares the on b7 and the rooks in the centre. Black's plans transfer of the queen to the d5-square as soon as include the use of the f4-square for the queen or White breaks with e4. Keep in mind that White the knight, as well as the blockade of the white will try to support this break with moves such pawns on the light squares c4 and d5. Also keep as ltJh4or ltJd2,followed by f3. 6 Fianchetto Variation: 4 g3 or 4 ttJf3 c5 5 g3

Introduction

This variation, which gained great popularity through Romanishin's successes with it in the 1970s, is very different from the other ways of playing against the Nimzo-Indian Defence. The position of the bishop on g2 changes White's plans substantially and therefore also changes Black's plans. Usually White plays for pressure on the long diagonal, making it very difficult for Black to de velop his queenside, especially the c8-bishop. In many variations, White sacrifices a pawn (gener ally the c-pawn) or ends up with an inferior pawn-structure but gains compensation in the fo rm of the pressure that the white pieces exert on the centre and especially on the queenside. In contrast to other variations, where his light-squared bishop is on the bl-h7 diagonal, it is very unlikely that White will obtain any attack on the kingside. There are various ways to play against this system, although I shall foc us on the most topical and effective ones, in which Black tries to derive maximum benefit from the position of the white bishop on g2 by immediately attacking the c4-pawn or by permanently destroying White's pawn structure on the queenside. White has two move-orders leading to the Fianchetto: I d4 lL'lf6 2 c4 e6 3 tt:'lc3�b4 4 g3!? and 1 d4 lL'lf6 2 c4 e6 3 tt:'lc3 ..ib4 4 tt:'lf3!? c5 5 g3 !?. If Black answers 4 tt:'lf3 with 4 ... b6!?, this transposes to the Queen's Indian Defence, given ex cellent coverage in Chapter 6 of the book Chess Explained: The Queen 's Indian by Peter We lls.

The Games

In Game 21 (Vemay-Caruana) we shall see a very effective system which can be employed when White plays the immediate 4 g3 and which consists of the immediate 4 ...d5 and the subsequent cap ture on c4, taking advantage of the bishop's position on g2. This variation has much in common with the Catalan Opening, but the position of the white knight on c3 and the black bishop on b4 works in Black's favour. On reaching the critical position (after 7 ...tt:'lc6) White has various ways to continue in addition to 8 a3 as played in the game, but there are two basic ideas:

• occupy the centre with e4 and complete development, placing the rooks in the centre (d l, el); or

• regain the pawn in some way. For his part, Black should always consider defending his pawn by ....l:i.b8 and ... b5, as well as the manoeuvres ... tt:'ld5-b4-d3or ... tt:'la5-b3if White plays a3 at some point. In this game the young Ital ian/American GM presents one of the strongest plans against the dangerous 8 a3, which consists of returning the bishop to e7, then the accurate manoeuvre ...tt:'la5-b3, fo llowed by the immediate break ...c5 !.

As White often plays the Fianchetto Variation beginning with the move-order I d4 lL'lf6 2 c4 e6 3 tt:'lc3 ..ib44 lL'lf3c5 5 g3!? it is important to know lines that include the move ...c5 !?. In Game 22 FIANCHEITO VA RIA TION: 4 g3 OR 4 CDf3 c5 5 g3 87

(Wojtaszek-Akopian) we shall see a very fashionable system in which Black completely destroys White's queenside pawn-structure but in return has to withstand the early pressure of the bishop pair and in many cases the presence of a knight on d6. But with patient and accurate play, Black can neutralize White's temporary advantages while retaining his own structural advantage. Akopian did precisely this.

In the final game of the chapter we shall see the most classical system for combating the fian chetto, which has stood the test of time. After ... c5 and ... cxd4 Black simply breaks in the centre with ...d5 ; White can capture on d5, fo llowed either by 9 �d2 or the most topical move 9 �b3. White can also castle, sacrificing the c4-pawn, as is usual in this variation. In Game 23 (Wang Yue-Yakovenko) White played 8 cxd5 and 9 �b3 and after a more or less forced series of moves, he managed to keep the bishop-pair and the same pawn-structure as his opponent. However, Black showed that the bishop-pair can be neutralized, by taking advantage of his slight lead in develop ment, which allows him to put pressure on key points in the white position.

Game 21 [E2Q] Clovis Vernay - Fabiano Caruana Budapest 2007

1 d4 CLJf6 2 c4 e6 3 tLlc3 �b4 4 g3 Many players of the Fianchetto Variation use the move-order 4 CLJf3 c5 5 g3 because the line w that we shall see in this game, where Black plays ...d5 and takes on c4, is considered quite risky for White, who has to sacrifice a pawn. However, thanks to the efforts of several grand masters (the pioneer Romanishin, then Gulko and at present Carlsen and Moiseenko), matters are not so clear and Black must play with great care. Practice has shown that White's initiative and firmgrip on the centre compensates for the small material deficit. In reality, White obtains an unclear position with opportunities for cre ative play. very comfortable play, since this would solve

4•.. d5 (D) the problem of the development of his queen's The most natural continuation against the bishop and give him a half-open file in the cen Fianchetto Variation. Black attacks the c4-pawn, tre. His typical development would be to bolster which can no longer be protected by the fl the centre with ...c6 and play ...lle8, ...CLJbd7 bishop which, to be consistent with 4 g3, will (then ...CLJb6 if White plays b4, or ...CLJf8-g6) emerge on g2. and retreat the bishop from b4 to d6, e7 or f8. In 5 �g2 0-0 this pawn-structure, typical of the Exchange A necessary preparation for capturing on c4, Variation of the Queen's Gambit, White needs since 5 ...dxc4?? loses to 6 �a4+ CLJc67 �xc6+ his light-squared bishop to be on d3, so that it bxc6 8 �xb4, when White wins a piece. can support the thematic advance b4-b5 and 6 CLJf3 controls the e4- and c4-squares; furthermore, There are not many valid alternatives to the from d3 it can create threats against Black's sacrificeof the pawn. Taking on d5 gives Black kingside. On g2 its action would be purely 88 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

defensive and it would be very restricted by the White wants to clarify the position of the black pawn-chain b7-c6-d5; also, as we men b4-bishop and, in the event that Black takes on tioned above, if White carries out the natural c3, the d4-pawn will be strengthened, which al advance b4, the c4-square falls into the hands lows White to concentrate on the advance e4- of the black knights. e5. Furthermore, if the dark-squared bishop If 6 'ifb3, Black plays 6 ... c5 ! and White has disappears, the pin with �g5 will be very awk problems supporting his centre; for example, 7 ward, since Black has only two ways to get out a3 �aS! 8 e3 (8 lbf3?loses a piece after 8 ...cxd4 of it: to make the risky advance of his kingside 9lbxd4 e5 10 lbc2 d4, Fish-Morozevich, Al pawns ( ... h6 and ...g5) or remove the queen ushta 1993) 8 ...cxd4! 9 exd4 lbc6 10 lbf3dxc4 from the d8-h4 diagonal, allowing the destruc (M.Kopylov-J.Schulz, 2nd Bundesliga 2005/6) tion of his kingside with �xf6. leaves White with an isolated pawn in an unfa In addition to 8 a3, there are the following vourable position, since with the bishop on the options: h l-a8 diagonal, the possibilities of attack on the a) The slow 8 e3 (with the idea of 'i'e2, kingside are reduced; furthermore the queen on l:!.dl and e4) should be answered with the stan c4 will be an object of attack. dard plan of 8 ... .i:!b8! 9 'ife2 b5 10 l:i.d l ctJdS ! We now return to the position after 6 lbf3 (hindering White's play and anticipating the (D): advance e4-e5) II �d2 �e7 ! (vacating the b4-square and protecting g5) 12 e4 and now both 12... lbxc3 13 bxc3 lba5 ! and 12... CDdb4 !? offer Black good chances. b) 8 l:!.e I supports the advance of the centre pawns to dislodge the black knights, obtaining play in the centre and on the kingside, but this runs into the sequence 8 ... lbd5 ! (putting pres sure on c3) 9 'ifc2 �e7! (D).

6... dxc4 7 0-0 lbc6 The alternatives to this natural developing move are somewhat inferior; e.g., 7 ...�d7, with the idea of completing his queenside develop ment and neutralizing the pressure on the long diagonal, is answered with 8 tt:Je5 !. The other developing move 7 ...lbbd7 gives White a comfortable position, since the knight does not put any pressure on d4 as it would The student should remember this well from c6: 8 'ifc2 lbb6 (if 8 ...c5 then with 9 l!dI! timed retreat. Black protects the g5-square and White gains a lead in development, while Black at the same time vacates the b4-square for his has problems bringing his queenside into play) knights, so that if White advances in the centre 9 l:tdI, followed by liJe5 or the advance 9 e4 with e4, Black plays ...lbb4 and ...lbd3 and the and �e3, leaves White with sufficientcompen knight lodges at the heart of the white position. sation for the pawn. If White prevents this manoeuvre with a3, this 8 a3!? weakens the b3-square, which allows another FIANCHETTO VA RIA TION: 4 g3 OR 4 Ci'Jj3 c5 5 g3 89

typical manoeuvre in this variation: ...lt:Ja5-b3, great energy to compensate for the weakness of and on b3 the knight is also very annoying. his central pawns, Moiseenko-Bologan, Rus Here two important lines should be mentioned: sian Team Ch, Ekaterinburg 2002. bl) 10 lt:Je4?! lt:Jdb4 ! 11 '¥Vc3 (after 11 c2) ll...e5 !? (the simplest) 12 lt:Jxe5 lt:Jxe5 'i'xc4? comes the surprising ll...'ii'd5!, which 13 dxe5 'i¥e7 14 �h5 ..ltxc3 15 .U.xc3 .U.d2 16 wins the exchange after the forced exchange of .l:.bl 'iVb4! and the counterplay against b2 and queens: 12 'ii'xd5 exd5 13 lt:Jc3 lt:Jc2) ll...b5 12 the first rank gave Black equality in J.Gonza a3 CLJd5 13 'ii'c2and now Black has a choice be lez-Tiviakov, Cal via Olympiad 2004. tween 13 ... ..1tb7 and 13 ... ..1td7. Bothmoves put We now return to 8 a3 !? (D): White in a position where it is hard to justify the m1ssmg pawn. b2) 10 a3 lt:Ja5 ! (thematic; the knight comes to b3, putting pressure on d4, al and cl and B fr eeing the c-pawn to advance) 11 e4 lt:Jxc3 12 bxc3 CLJb3 ! (it is important to force the rook to lose a tempo before it reaches d 1) 13 .l:.b1 b5 14 .tf4 .ib7 and Black gradually completes his development whilst retaining the extra pawn, Vi lela-Yu supov, Cienfuegos 1979. c) The line preferred by the specialist Moi seenko is 8 .ig5!? (D).

B 8 ••• .ie7! The most promising continuation; Black prepares to defend the pawn with ...lt:Ja5 and ...tt:Jb3, intending subsequently to strike against the white centre with ...c5. If 8 ... ..1td6,White has the move 9 'ii'a4!, which regains the pawn immediately. If 8 ....ia5, then 9 .ig5is best and after 9 ...h6 White can play 10 .ixf6 �xf6 11 �a4 1i..b6 12 e3 lt:Ja5?! 13 lt:Je5 �e7 14 lt:Je4!, regaining the c4-pawn. The ambitious 8 ... ..1txc3 gains time to com plete development and consolidate the extra White completes his development and tries pawn, but it gives up the important dark-squared to regain his pawn as soon as possible. 8 ...h6 bishop and strengthens White's centre. After 9 (the other way to play is to hang on to the pawn bxc3 White threatens to regain the pawn with with the typical 8 ....l:.b8 and ... b5, but after 9 10 'ii'a4, so Black plays 9 ....U.b8 but after 10 .l:!.c l !? b5 10 b3 ! White obtains good pressure .ig5 b5 (the immediate 10... h6 is also an on the c-file) 9 1i..xf6 'ii'xf6 10 .l:.c1 ! (worse is 10 swered with 11 ..lth4!) 11 e4 h6?! (Adams rec e3 ..l:!.b8 11 lt:Jd2lt:Ja5 ! and White has difficulties ommended ll... lt:Je7 12 .ixf6 gxf6, but after 13 regaining the pawn) 10 ...l:td8 11 e3 and now 'ii'd2 or 13 a4 !? White has sufficient play for the Black has two paths to equality: pawn) 12 ..lth4 e5 13 lt:Jxe5 lt:Jxe5 14 dxe5 cl) ll...�e7 12 'i¥e2tt:Ja5 13 lt:Je5 .id7 14 'iYxdl 15 llfxdl lt:Jd7 16 f4 Black did not man CLJxc4 .ixc3 15 l:txc3 ..ltb5 16 b3 c5 ! 17 'i¥h5 age to equalize in Carlsen-Adams, Turin Olym .ixc4 18 bxc4 cxd4 19 exd4 'ii'b4 with a com piad 2006. plex position in which White has to play with 9e4 90 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

9 e3?! leaves the cl-bishop dead and Black 13... �d6 and the d5-pawn is blocked for the would re spond with the same plan as in the main moment) 13... tt:'lh5 14 'i¥xd5tt:'lxf 4 15 gxf4 iUS game: 9 ...tt:'la5 and ...c5 when appropriate. 16 ri.bd I 'i¥xd5 17 tt:'lxd5 Black keeps his extra

9•.• tt:'la5! (D) pawn with 17... �d8 or 17 ....l:Iae8.

12••• a6! Black does not fear the penetration by the knight enemy. w 13 tt:'lc7 .l:Ia7!d5 14 tt:'lh5 Heading straight into favourable complica tions, but the clearest line was 14 ...exd5 ! 15 tt:'lxd5 (15 exd5 �d6) 15... tt:'lxd5 16 �xd5 b5 17 't'kh5 �b6 with a significant advantage, not only on account of the extra pawn, but because the knight can go to d4 and the rooks to the d file, while the queen can defend the kingside with ...'iYg6 if need be. 15 �e5 �d6! 16 dxe6 More complicated was 16 tt:'lg5 !? .lixe5 17 'ikxh5 h6 18 tt:'lxf7 (after 18 tt:'lgxe6 �d6! 19 10 �f4 tt:'lxf8 Wxf8 the c7-knight remains trapped) 10 �e3 tt:'lb3! 11 l:tb1 c5 ! is similar. 18.. .Ihf7 19 tt:'lxe6, but after 19.. :�f6 the extra

10 ••• tt:'lb3! piece must count.

More accurate than allowing White's ideal 16•.• �xc7 17 �xc7 �xc7 18 tt:'lg5f6! (D) set-up with 'iYe2 and .Mad!, which gave him enough play to muddy the waters in Gulko Popovic, Clichy 1986. 11 .l::!.b1 c5! (D) The most annoying move for White to meet, although it is also interesting to defend the c4- pawn and develop the queenside with ...a6 and ...b5.

Forcing White to retreat or exchange his ac tive knight. 19 tt:'lxh7 If 19 tt:'lh3,then 19... g6, while 19 �d5 is met by 19... 'iYe7 20 tt:'lf3 g6, when the e6-pawn falls.

19•.. Wxh7 20 'iVxh5+ Wg8 21 �h3 b5 22 .l:!.bd1 12 tt:'lb5 Or 22 �f5 g5 !, and Black's major pieces de The alternative would be the central advance fend the second rank.

12 d5, but after 12... exd5 13 e5 (if 13 exd5, then 22•.• lt:Jd4! FIANCHETTO VA RIA TION: 4 g3 OR 4 fDJ3 c5 5 g3 91

The knight blocks the d-file, hindering any The checks come to an end after 25 ..ltf5 tactical shot by White. .ixe6! 26 'iVh7+cJ;;; f7 27 .ig6+c3;; e7 28 'iVxg7+

23 .l::txd4 ..ltf70

The last gasp before resigning. 25 •.• .ixe6 26 .l:i.xd4 'iVxd4 27 .ixe6+ .l:!.tT7

23..• cxd4 24 'iVg6 'iVd6!25 .l:i.dl 0-1

Game 22 [E20] Radoslaw Wojtaszek - Vladimir Akopian Spanish Te am Ch, Lugo 2007

1 d4 CLJf6 2 c4 e6 3 CL:lc3 .ib4 4 g3 c5 5 CL:lf3 forced to exchange itself immediately for the cxd4 6 CL:lxd4 CL:le4 7 'iVd3 black bishop, but the positions resulting from The most active move. White both defends both lines are in fact very similar. For example: c3 and attacks the knight on e4. 7 .id2?!makes 9 'iVe3 b6! 10 .ig2 (putting the knight on d6 im no sense because Black can double the pawns mediately looks very menacing but with careful on c3, exchanging White's bishop-pair, or even play Black can complete his development and capture on d2 and keep his own bishop-pair. 7 subsequently exchange the annoying knight: 10 't!Vc2?! is also weak because Black would play CLJb5 0-0 11 CLJd6 'iVc7 {attacking the unpro 7 ...'iVa5 8 CLJb3 (8 CLJb5 a6 9 'iVxe4axb5 10 .id2 tected knight } 12 CL:lxc8 .l:!.xc8 13 .ig2CL:lc6 14 bxc4 11 'iVxc4 CL:lc6 12 .ig2d5 13 'iVh40-0 and 0-0 .l:!.ab8 and Black will patiently improve his Black's strong centre gives him a very comfort position before finally attacking the weak white able game) 8 ...'iVf5 !, when White has serious pawns) 10... .ib7 ll.ixb7 CLJxb7 12.ia3!?(the problems because his queen is unprotected. immediate 12'iVf3 canbe met with the thematic

7 .•• ..ltxc3+ (D) 12... CLJc6 !, a typical pawn sacrifice to complete development and gain time: 13 CL:lxc6 dxc6 14 'iVxc6+ 'iVd7 15 ifxd7+ c3;;xd7 16 .ia3 .l:!.hc8 and with the queens off the board the ending is inferior for White, on account of the weakness of his pawns on the c-file) 12... CLJa6 (the most logical plan; a knight is strong on c5, blocking the action of the bishop on the a3-f8 diagonal) 13 CLJf5 'iVf6 14 CLJd6+CL:lxd6 15 ..ltxd6 .l:!.c8 16 .l:i.d 1 CL:lc5 17 0-0 (D).

Black immediately doubles White's pawns and posts the knight on the outpost c5, gaining a tempo with the attack on the queen. 8 bxc3 CL:lc5 9 'iVd2 The advantage of 9 'iVd2, compared with 9 't!Ve3, is that it keeps an eye on the d6-square, so that after the manoeuvre CLJb5-d6 the knight will be supported and will therefore not be 92 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

One of the typical positions of the variation. �xd6 b6 ! 16 �d4 tLla4 17 tLld2 i.c6and Black It seems that White has a big advantage in view has excellent compensation, since the white of the position of the bishop on d6 which pre pieces are tied to the defence of his doubled vents castling, but after 17... tLlb7 ! the bishop pawns, Kramnik-Serper, Gdynia 1991. has to retreat (which will be answered with b) 13 tLlb5 i.xb5 14 cxb5 (D). ...tLlc5 !) orallow itself to be exchanged, which would equalize the struggle, since White's pres sure on d7 is balanced by his weak doubled pawns. B The main alternative is 9 iVf3 !? (D).

White has managed to get rid of his doubled pawns while retaining the bishop-pair, which makes his position slightly preferable. How ever, he has a backward pawn on the c-file and the black knights enjoy strong and solid posi This hinders the development of Black's tions. Black completes his development with queenside but has the drawback that when a 14... 0-0 and ...M.c8 and if the pressure increases black knight reaches e5 it will attack both the on d6, he can play .. .f6 or ...f5 and bring the c4-pawn and the queen: 9 ...d6 10 ii.g2 tLlbd7 ! knight from e5 to f7, comfortably defending 11 0-0 (recently there have been some trials of the d6-square.

11 �g4!? 0-0 12 ii.h6 �f6 13 ii.g5 �g6 14 9... b6 10 tLlb5 0-0 11 tLld6i.b7! �h4, diverting the black queen away from the Now White has to decide whether to take the queenside, but after 14... tLlf6 15 0-0 i.d7 16 bishop immediately or keep his knight on d6 tLlb3 Itac8! 17 .l:tfd1 i.c6! Black has little to and play the awkward move 12 f3. fear) 11...tLle5 12 �f4! (best, since 12 iVh5?! 12 f3!? 0-0 13 .l:i.d1 allows 13 ...tLlxc4! 14 tLlb3 tLld7 !) Preferring to maintain the knight on d6. If he 12... ii.d7 (now 12... tLlxc4? would be an error exchanges it by 12 tLlxb7 tLlxb7 13 ii.g2 tLlc6 on account of 13 tLlb3!; this retreat is the key to 14 i.a3 .l:i.e8 15 .l:i.dI �f6! 16 0-0 .U.ed8 17 f4 the position - White forces a capture on b3, .l:i.ac8, then Black reaches his ideal formation which substantially improves his pawn-struc and is ready to attack White's weaknesses with ture and breaks the blockade on c5) and now: a timely ...tLlca5, Parker-Adams, British League a) 13 tLlb3is not too good due to 13.. J::i.c8!? (4NCL) 2002/3.

14 �d4 f6 !- this is a key move in Black's de 12 .•• tLlba6 13 i.g2 i.c6 14 0-0 f5 fence. It supports the knight on e5 and provides a Gaining space on the kingside. retreat-square on f7, from where the knight will 15 i.a3 �f6 ! (D) protect the d6-pawn. It is true that at the moment In this type of position where Black is under the d6-pawn is being offered as a sacrifice, but pressure on the d-file and has less space, one of this is a common idea, to gain tempi and sub his main problems is to find an acceptable posi sequently attack White's doubled pawns: 15 tion for his queen. The ideal square seems to be FIA NCHETTO VA RIA TION: 4 g3 OR 4 l:iJj3 c5 5 g3 93

and ...ct:lbd3 ! weaving a mating-net around the white king. 26 'itg1 After 26 Cbe7+ 'itf7 Cbxc627 dxc6 28 'itg l Cbxc4 ! 29 .txg7 e5 30 �xc4+ 'itxg7 the queen and knight are better than the queen and bishop.

26•.. �d1+! Going into an ending in which White's bish ops are rather clumsy. 27 �xd1 Cbxd1 28 Cbxa7 28 Cbe7+? 'itf7 29 Cbxc6 dxc6 30 .tb8CDd7 31 .txa7 Cbxc3 32 e5 c5 is pretty hopeless.

28•.• .txe4 29 .txe4? Losing time. 29 .td4 ! should draw. f6, where it connects the rooks but is more ac 29 •.• Cbxe4 30 Cbc8 CDd2! 31 .ii.d4 Cbxc4 32 tive than on c7. ct:lxb6 ct:lxb6 33.txb6Cbxc3 (D) 16 e4 fxe4 17 fxe4 �g6 18 �d4 �g5 19 �xf8+?! It is not necessary to give up the fi le. 19 e5 !? is preferable.

19..• �xf8 20 .tel �g6 21 .tf4 Cba4!22 �fl CD6c5 23 .te5?! The exchange of rooks helps Black's game and leaves the white king rather weaker than his opponent's. 23... �xfl + 24 'itxfl ct:lb2 (D) Black activates his knights in exemplary fashion. The pressure on the opponent's weak pawns, the greater security of his king and the passivity of White's bishops make Black's po sition preferable. Black has ended up with an extra pawn, but must take care, because passed rook's pawns are dangerous enemies to a knight. 34 a3 'itf7 35 'itfle5 36 .ta5Cba4 It is essential to keep the passed pawn under lock and key. The knight will be activated once Black has centralized his king. 37 'ite2 'ite638 '>td3 '>td539 .tc7e4+ 40 'ite3 ct:lb2 The moment has arrived for bringing the knight to the support of his passed pawns. 41 'itf4 g5+!? 42 'itxg5 e3 43 g4 43 'itg4 is met by 43 ...'ite4.

43•.• d6 44 .ia5 'ite4 Now the advance of the pawns decides the 25 Cbc8 �h5! game without any great problems. Generating various threats: the h2-pawn, 45 'ith6 d5 46g5 Cbc447 .tb4d4 48 'itxh7 ...Cbxc4, the possibleexchange of queens on dl Cbe50-1 94 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

Game 23 [E201 Wang Vue - Dmitri Vakovenko Novgorod 200 7

1 d4 lt.Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 lt.Jc3 ii.b4 4 lt.Jf3 c5 5 g3 cxd4 6 lt.Jxd40-0 7 ii.g2d5!? (D)

hand, White has compensation in the pressure that his pieces exert on the centre and on b7.

8 ••• lt.Jxd5'i¥b3 9 One of the most logical and popular lines The main alternative is 9 ii.d2 !?. Here the against the Fianchetto Va riation. Black castles clearest way to equalize is to gain tempi for de and then immediately breaks in the centre with velopment with 9 ... 3Lxc3 10 bxc3 e5 II CDb3 ...d5 . lt.Jc6 I2 0-0 lt.Jb6 I3 ii.e3 Wic7. Black will have 8cxd5 harmonious development and sufficient coun It is possible to sacrificethe pawn temporarily terplay against the c4-square.

with 8 0-0!? dxc4 9 Wia4 but after the precise 9••• Wi a5 10 ii.d2 lt.Jc6(D)

9 . .. lt.Ja6! 10 lt.Jdb5 lt.Jd5 ! (restricting the action of the g2-bishop) II .i:tdi both ll...ii.xc3!? I2 lt.Jxc3lt.Jxc3 13 bxc3 lt.Jc5 ! I4 Wic2'iVc7 and the pawn sacrifice II...Wie8!? I2 lt.Jxd5 exd5 I3 ii.xd5 ii.d7! give Black good play. The ambitious 8 Wib3takes care of the pawn structure, but prematurely decentralizes the queen. Black has to choose either to give up the bishop-pair immediately in return for a strong and mobile centre with 8 ...3Lxc3+ 9 Wixc3 e5 I 0 lt.Jb3lt.Jc6 II ii.g5dxc4 (l l...d4! ?) I2 Wixc4 ii.e6 I3 Wih4 ii.xb3 ! I4 axb3 lt.Jd4, when the threats compensate for the enemy bishop-pair, or to defend the bishop and prepare ...e5 with 8 ...lt.Ja6 9 cxd5 lt.Jxd5 I 0 0-0 lt.Jxc3 II bxc3 ii.e7(D) (or II...ii.c5!?). This allows White to weaken Black's pawn Black has succeeded in weakening the c3- formation with lt.Jxc6 but in that case the knight and a2-pawns and the knight has an outpost on on d5 will be strengthened and at the same time a c5 from where it will protect b7. On the other path will be opened for the bishop to come to a6. FIANCHETTO VA RIA TION: 4 g3 OR 4 t:tJj3 c5 5 g3 95

11 tbxc6 White must try to take advantage of Black's pawn-weaknesses and put his own bishop-pair W to use. Retreating the knight gives Black too many tempi: II tbc2 .i.xc3 12 bxc3 Wile? with the familiar idea of bringing the knight to c4 via a5.

ll... bxc6 12 0-0 .i.xc3 White was threatening tbxd5 and tbe7+, win ning a pawn. 13 bxc3 (D)

B of the light-squared bishops with ....i.e2-f3. Now White will try to exploit his slight initia tive to attack the black queenside pawns and dislodge the black knight from b6 with the ad vance a4-a5 . 18 .i.f4 By placing the bishop on f4 , White provokes the advance of the black pawns. Another line played here is 18 .i.e3 .i.e2! 19l:!.d2 (worse is 19 l:tel tbc4 20 'i¥c5 .l:i.fd8 and it is hard for White to improve his position, Bacrot-Gri shchuk, Cap d' Agde (rapid) 2003) 19... .l:!a b8! It seems that White has managed to retain a (it is curious that here 19... tt:Jc4 ?? fails to the healthy pawn-structure and the bishop-pair, but surprising 20 g4! 'iVxg4 21 f3 !, winning mate Black neutralizes these advantages with active rial) 20 .i.xb6axb6 21 'iVd6l:tf c8! 22 l:tbI h6 23 play, using the a6-fl diagonal and his actively e5 .i.f3 and Black has everything defended, placed knight and queen. Bacrot-Leko, Moscow 2004.

13••. i.a614 .U.fd1 �c5 18 .•.e5 !? Defending against the threat of c4, which 18... c5 !? is possible, although later this pawn even works after 14 ....U.a b8?! 15 c4 ! �c5 16 will be an object of attack for the white bishop cxd5 ! M.xb3 17 axb3 i.xe2 18 l1el! .i.b5 (if and Black has to be creative to defend it or else 18... cxd5, then 19 .l:i.xe2 with an advantage in sacrificeit in favourable circumstances. For ex material) 19 dxc6 and the passed c-pawn gives ample: 19 �b2 llad8! 20 l:i.el (20 f3 !? is better) White the better prospects. 20 ....l:!d7 21 h3 h6 with equality, Yakovenko 15 e4 .i.c4! 16 'i!Va4 Carlsen, Tal Memorial, Moscow 2007. The queen must protect the a3-square since 19 .i.e3 .i.e2 20 .l:!d2 after 16 'i!Vc2tbb6, whether White plays 17 .i.f4 After 20 l:teI tbc421 �c5 1:i.fd8! 22 l:!.abI h6 e5 18 i.e3 �a3, Carlsen-Leko, Moscow 2006, 23 h3 tbxe3 24 'i!Vxe3 .i.c4 25 a4a5 ! 26 'i¥c5 or 17 i.e3'i!Va3, Rakhmanov-A .Ilyin, St Peters i.e6, as well as control of the d-file Black has burg 2007, the pressure on a2 and the well counterplay against h3 and a4, Nayer-Yako placed black pieces guarantee equality. venko, Moscow 2006.

16••• tt:Jb6 17 �b4 �h5! (D) 20 •• Jiab8 21 'iVc5 i.f3 22 a4 Exchanging queens would improve White's The typical plan to destabilize Black's b6- pawn-structure and deprive Black of one of his knight. fundamental ideas in this position: the exchange 22 •.•tt:Jxa4 ! (D) 96 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

8 ...h6 and the exchange of bishop for knight, Black has two ways to equalize. If White em w ploys the scheme with 8 e3, followed by 'iVe2 and .:di to support an advance in the centre, Black should defend the c4-pawn with the the matic ....l:!.b8, followed by ... b5, which leads to very lively play with equal chances. The variation used in Game 22 (Woj taszek Akopian) is one of the most popular at all lev els, because it requires White to play energeti cally to make up for the permanent weakness of his doubled isolated pawns on c3 and c4. I have the impression that this type of position is eas ier to play with Black, because his plan is clear: This fine tactical resource exploits the weak neutralize White's pressure and then take ad ness of the first rank and solves all Black's vantage of White's weaknesses. Remember that problems. in many cases Black has to sacrifice a pawn in 23 'iVxc6 order to complete his development, but this is 23 �xa4? fails to 23 ....l:!.b l+ 24 .lin 'iVh3. compensated by the above-mentioned white

23•.• tt'ib6 24 .Jtxb6 weaknesses on the c-file. White frequently suc Resigning himself to the draw. After the ap ceeds in placing a piece on d6, but Black man parently logical 24 .l:!.xa7? White once again has ages either to exchange it or render it fairly back-rank problems: 24 ...tt'ic4 ! 25 'iVxc4.l:!.b l + harmless, before concentrating on attacking 26 .lin ? 'iVh3! and mate in a few moves. White's doubled pawns.

24 ...axb6 1h-1h Game 23, Wang Yue-Yakovenko, features the most logical variation for Black against the Conclusions Fianchetto. After capturing on d4, Black breaks immediately in the centre with ...d5. In this The Fianchetto Variation is a dangerous weapon, variation White is frequently left with an infe because the position of the bishop on g2 grants rior structure (isolated pawns on a2 and c3 in White unusual pressure on the queenside. Black the variation with 8 cxd5 and 9 ..ltd2 !?), but in has various ways to combat it. return White exerts pressure on the queenside. In Game 21, Ve rnay-Caruana, the variation Nevertheless, Black obtains counterplay against with ...d5 and ...dxc4 was employed (remember the c4-square and quite flexible development. that Black has to castle before capturing on c4 !), In the game, after 8 cxd5 and 9 'iVb3, White and although White obtained a formidable cen seems to obtain the better game, because he re tre in returnfor the pawn, the young GM showed tains the bishop-pair in a position where he has that the retreat of the bishop to e7, followed by a no inferiority in pawn-structure. However, the well-timed transfer of the knight to b3 and the pressure of the black pieces in the centre and break ...c5 !, puts White in trouble. This idea also on the queenside (the a6-n diagonal, and the shows up if White plays for 8 .l:!.el and e4, when squares c4, c3 and a3 in some cases) promises the manoeuvre ...tt'id5-b4-d3 usually forces the Black equal chances. This variation is very advance a3, weakening the b3-square. popular and its constant use at the highest level Perhaps the safest line for White is the one means that its theory will continue to be devel with 8 ..ltg5, favoured by Moiseenko, but after oped. 7 Leningrad Variation (4 ..tg5) and Other Lines

Introduction

In this finalchapter we shall study the Leningrad Variation 4 .ig5!? , 4 '!Wb3 (Spielmann) and other moves such as 4 .id2, 4 e4? and 4 '!Wd3. The pinning move 4 .ig5!? gives rise to the Leningrad Variation, so called because of the boost it received through its use by players such as Zak, Korchnoi and Spassky, natives of the city that is now known as St Petersburg. With 4 .ig5the black knight is immobilized and a degree of control is exerted over the disputed central square e4. At the same time, the bishop is brought outside the pawn-chain, so that White can play e3 without this bishop being left inactive, as happens in other variations. On the other hand, 4 .ig5 temporarily weakens the queenside and Black can create counterplay on the a5-e I diagonal. We shall look at two lines to combat White's plan which have in common the idea of contesting White's occupation of the centre, which takes place after 4 .ig5 h6 5 .ih4 c5 6 d5.

The Games

In Game 24 (Comas-Delchev) we shall see how the move-order with ...d6 and ... '!We7 !, followed by putting pressure on the d5-pawn with ...ctJbd7 and ...ctJb6, is a plan that is just as viable as that of closing the centre with the advance ...e5.

In Li Shilong-Harikrishna (Game 25), Black employed the popular gambit against this variation that starts with 6 ... b5 !?. The Indian GM, a great connoisseur of the Leningrad Variation with both colours, employed the best plan, which consists of playing ...a6 after White has captured on b5. He reached a satisfactory position, but then he failed to notice the danger and was beaten by the Chi nese GM with a strong attack on his king via the weakened light squares. As we shall see in the notes to the game, Black has other options, such as firstplacing the bishop on b7 to hinder the white knight from developing on e2.

The positional risk involved in allowing the capture ....ixc3, which on many occasions disrupts White's pawn-structure, has persuaded many players to try various other variations (4 e4?, 4 'lid3, 4 i..d2), in the hope of surprising the opponent. In Game 26 (Corral-Lautier), we shall look at these less common options for avoiding the main lines, with the main focus on the move 4 'lib3, which was used in the main game. Black chose a sound line against this variation (4 ...c5 and ...ctJc6) and soon reached a position in which he was the one who remained with the bishop-pair. White tried to alter the natural course of the game by castling on the opposite side, so as later to launch an offen sive against his opponent's kingside, but some minor inaccuracies in the conduct ofthe attack facil itated Black's defence and the game finished with Black executing the enemy king on the dark diagonals. 98 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

Game 24 [E31] Luis Comas Fabrego - Alexander Delchev Andorra 2006

1 d4 �f6 2 c4 e6 3 �c3 ..ib44 ..ig5 (D) 8 e3 (D)

B B

4 •••h6 8 .. J�'e7! Black puts the question to the g5-bishop be With this move-order, the e5-square is left fore initiating the usual counterplay with ...c5. free for the time being. As we shall see, this can The advantage of the immediate 4 ...c5 is that the sometimes be useful in variations where White feeble response 5 e3?! (5 d5! is normal) can be develops his bishop on d3, since Black has answered forcefully with 5 .. :iVa5 ! followed by ...�e5 available, attacking the bishop. Another ...�e4, attacking the g5-bishop and increasing of the advantages of this move-order is that the pressure on c3. If then 6 ..ixf6..ixc3+ 7 bxc3 White is prevented from employing lines with 'ii'xc3+ 8 <;i;>e2gxf 6 Black has an extra pawn and f3, since Black would then take on d5, attacking the safer king. It is worth pointing out that after 5 the e3-pawn with the queen. The basic idea for d5 ! (with or without the inclusion of ...h6 and Black is to put pressure on the d-pawn in order ..ih4) the tempting move 5 ...�xd5 ?! fails to 6 to force White either to exchange it or to sacri ..ixd8 �xc3 7 'iVb3�e4+ 8 <;i;>d l �xf2+ 9 <;i;>c2 fice it for development. <;i;>xd8 10 'iVg3! �xhl ll 'ii'xg7 l:te8 12 e3 and The classical move 8 ...e5 is less flexible, but the knight on hl will drop; furthermore Black is more popular. It quickly defines the position in undeveloped and has the weaker king. the centre and frees White from the need to de 5 ..ih4c5 6 d5 ..ixc3+7 bxc3 d6 fend his queen's pawn. The specialists with This is one of Black's basic plans: the block White are then showing a preference for 9 ade of the position with ...d6 and ...e5, reducing �c 2!?, to prevent ... ..if5, and this leads to a the scope of White's bishops. However, as we struggle in which there are plenty of ideas for shall see, there are other, more modem methods both sides. Black can strengthen his grip on the based on immediate pressure on the d5-pawn, centre with the advance ... e4, with or without which force White either to sacrifice it or ex the move ...g5. Black can also keep the pawn on change it for the one on e6, thus losing the char e5 and put into practice one of the basic ideas of acteristic space advantage of this variation. these positions, which is to bring his king to c7 Furthermore, with thismove-order Black avoids with the manoeuvre ...<;i;>d8-c7. If Black includes lines such as 7 ... e5 8 d6!?. the move ...g5, White generally strikes on the LENINGRAD VA RIA TION (4 .i..g5) AND OTHER LINES 99

kingside with h4 and tries to gain control of the Til burg 1986) ll...g5 ! 12 i.g3lt:Jxd3 13 "ifxd3 h-file. If Black plays ... g5 and ...e4, White still e5 14 f4 ! e4 and ...lt:Jh5 gives Black good play. plays h4 and, after safeguarding his king with We now return to 9 lt:Jf3 (D): 0-0-0, followed by Wb2-al, he attacks on both wings using the h- and b-files. White's position is slightly preferable in any case, because his plans are aggressive, whereas Black has to await B events, which will be dictated by his opponent. 9 lt:Jf3 9 'i¥c2 is correct when Black has played ...e5 and has no pressure on d5. In this position it is not appropriate, because Black can attack the queen's pawn: 9 ...lt:Jbd7 I 0 lt:Jf3 lt:Jb6! 11 i.d3 (II dxe6 i.xe6) ll...exd5 12 cxd5 lt:Jbxd5 13 .lldl tt'lb6! 14 c4 i.d7 15 'iVb2 i.c6 16 0-0 'i¥e6 17 e4 0-0-0 and Black seems to be a pawn up for nothing, although the opposite-side castling gives White chances of counterplay, Gallardo

Garcia-Leitao, Sants 2006. 9 •••lt:Jb d7 If White develops with 9 i.d3, Blackcan also Continuing with the policy of not clarifying play 9 ...lt:Jbd7 (D) followed by ...lt:Jb6 or ...lt:Je5. the situation in the centre. Then White has some options: 10 ..td3 This move also weakens d5 and now Black can play against the pawn with ...lt:Jb6 !. More worrying is 10 lt:Jd2 ! but, as well as transposing to the traditional blockading lines with 10... e5, Black can press on with the idea of exerting pressure on d5 by 10... lt:Jb 6!. White does not gain adequate compensation for the pawn after II e4 ?! exd5 12 cxd5 g5 13 i.g3 lt:Jxe4, so it seems best to play IIdxe6 i.xe6 12 e4 0-0-0, when the bishop-pair is balanced by Black's better development. Note that 12 lt:Je4 fails to 12... g5 ! and after 13 lt:Jxd6+'it>f8 !, followed by ...l:i.d8, Black wins material.

10... lt:Jb6! (D) Black challenges White's approach by at a) 10 dxe6 is not a problem for Black: tacking d5, which is just as viable a strategy as 10 .. .'�xe6 II tt'le2! g5! 12 i.g3 tt'le5 13 0-0 closing the centre with IO... e5 !?. i.d7 ! preparing ... i.c6 and ...0-0-0, followed 11 i.xf6 by beginning operations on the kingside with An important concession. White gives up the ...h5-h4 or breaking with ...d5 at an appropriate bishop-pair and goes onto the defensive. The moment. main alternatives are: b) I 0 lt:Je2 lt:Je5 ! shows one of the advantages a) 11 0-0?! is not good because then Black of having held back the advance ...e5 . From e5 closes the centre and begins an attack against the knight simultaneously attacks the c4-pawn the white king, which has prematurely taken and the bishop on d3, so that White loses the up residence on the kingside, where he is ex bishop-pair. II 0-0 (after IIi.xf 6 1Yxf6 12 0-0 posed to the advance of the enemy pawns: 1Vh4! Black is slightly better, Miles-Karpov, l l...g5! 12 i.g3e5 ! 13 tt'ld2h5 14 f3 h4 with a 100 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-INDIAN

Black has won a pawn and it only remains to limit White's counterplay along the half-open b- and g-files. 18 l:thg1g5! (D) Defending the pawn and putting a stop to White's activity on the g-file. However, the kingside is weakened and it will not be easy to find a safe refuge for the black king. Worse is 18... 0-0? 19 l:tg3 followed by 20 llcgI with a strong attack.

strong initiative, Dolmatov-Geller, Moscow 1987. b) II dxe6 ..ixe6 12 0-0 is usually given as advantageous for White, but after 12... g5 ! 13 i..g3 0-0-0 14'ii b3 (14 l!Ve2 tZ'lh5 !) 14... 4Jh5 15 a4 tZ'lxg3 16 hxg3 d5 Black has the initiative. 11...'ti'xf6 12 'iVb3exd5 13 cxd5 ..if5 Black does not have any obvious weaknesses and his king can choose where to castle, while the d5-pawn can become a weakness. 14 ..ixf5 14 e4? fails to 14... c4 !? 15 ..ixc4 ..ixe4 16 19 'iVb2 i..b5+ 'it>f8 and the white position collapses. White could have started an attack on the b

14 •••'ifxf5 15 c4? file with 19 a4!? but after the accurate reply An error. White should have played 15 'iVb5+ 19... tZ'ld7 !? 20 'iVxb7?! l:tb8 21 l!Vxa7 l::tb2+ 22 'i:Vd7 (15... 'it>f8 !?) 16 iVd3 with equality. tZ'ld2 tZ'le5 Black has a decisive attack.

15.• .'�g4 ! (D) 19••• 'it>e7?! (D) This risky decision to leave the king in the centre of the board makes it easier for White to create counterplay. The correct way was to play 19... 0-0-0! 20 a4 (20 �f6 l!Vd7) 20 ...'it>c7! (remi niscent of one of the typical manoeuvres of this variation, ...'it>d8-c7) 21 l:tbl l:tb8 22 �f6 tZ'ld7 ! and Black consolidates his advantage. 20 .l:!g3'i¥h5 21 'it>fl l::thg8 Black should have captured the h-pawn with 2l...g4 22 tZ'ld2 'i¥xh2, not just to gain material but so that White's king is also in danger. 22 e4!? g4 23 tZ'ld2.l'.:i.g5! Preventing the opening of the centre, where the black king is stranded. 24 'it>g1 l:i.b8 This double attack wins a pawn, for which Protecting b7 and preparing the centraliza White obtains very little compensation. tion of the knight by ...tZ'ld7-e5. 16 l:i.c1'iVxg2 17 'it>e2'*lVh3 25 l:i.b3?! LENINGRAD VA RIATION (4 Ji.g5) AND OTHER LINES 101

The Spanish GM could have caused his op After 33 tt:lf5 !? Black can play 33 ....l::i. xf5! 34 ponent more problems with 25 .l:!.a3since !, after 'iVxf5'it>e7, fo llowed by 35 ... tt:le5, witha strate 25 ...tt:lc8 the knight is badly placed and White gically won position. can exploit this to break on e5 with 26 .l:tel 'it>d7 33••• tt:lb6?! (if 26 .. .f6, then 27 tt:lfl fo llowed by tt:lg3-f5 It was preferable to keep the knight on c4, with good pressure) 27 t!.ae3 and Black is un maintaining contact with the e5-square, by play able to prevent the e5 break. ing 33 ...b5 !?.

25•.. Ii.e5 26 tt:lfl ! 'iVg5 27 tt:lg3'it>f8 34 tl.f4 Finally the king heads for the kingside. In answer to 34 tt:lf5 the exchange sacrifice 28 f4 !? (D) was once again indicated: 34 ....l:!.xf5 ! 35 .l::i.xf5 White senses that his counterplay is running tt:ld7 36 .l:lg3 'ifd4+ 37 'it>g2 tt:le5 achieving a out and rightly gives up a second pawn to open fairly comfortable advantage. the f-file. 34•.• l:.g5 35 .l:!.xb6?

28•.. 'iVxf4 29 .l:!.fl'iVg5 30'iff2 'iVg6 31 h4?! Probably the result of time-pressure, although The natural 31 tt:lf5 !, threatening 32 tt:lxh6 and White could now do little to complicate the game.

32 tt:lxd6, would have complicated the game. 35•.• axb6 36 'iVb5'ife5 37 'iffl 'it>g838 'it>g2 31...tt:lxc4 32 h5 'iVg7 33 'iVe2 .l:i.a839 .l:txf7.l:.txa2+ 0-1

Game 25 [E31] Li Shilong - Penteala Harikrishna Moscow 2007

1 d4 tt:lf6 2 c4 e6 3 tt:lc3 .ib4.ig5 4 h6 5 .ih4 7 dxe6 c5! 6 d5 There are various ways to handle this gambit, After 6 e3?! 'iVa5 7 'ifc2 tt:le4 ! Black has the although often we are just talking about different initiative. move-orders leading to the same position. Some

6•.. b5!? (D) alternatives: The most aggressive way of playing against a) The counter-gambit 7 e4 !? usually leads the Leningrad Variation. This is the start of an to a draw: 7 ...g5! 8 .ig3 tt:lxe4 9 .ie5 0-0! 10 attractive gambit, designed to blow up White's 'iVh5 (the white queen's proximity creates some centre before he can finish his development and dangers for the black king) IO... d6 11 .id3 begin to make use of the space advantage pro tt:lxc3 12 'iVxh6tt:le4+ 13 'it>fldxe5 14 .ixe4f5 vided by the d-pawn. 15 'iVg6+ and the draw was soon agreed in 102 CHESS EXPlAINED: THE NIMZO-[NDIAN

b2) 7 ....i.b7 !? is also interesting, because the bishop will be well placed here after White w clarifiesthe situation in the centre: 8 dxe6 fxe6 9 cxb5 0-0 (now White is forced to develop the knight on f3) 10 lLlf3 Vi'a5 ! 11 .i.xf6 .l:txf6 12 Vi'c1 ! ? . In some sources this position is evalu ated as slightly better for White, but after 12... a6 ! 13 bxa6 lt:'lxa6, Black obtains a clear advantage in development and his pieces are more active. After the coming exchange on c3, Black will have pressure on the white pawns at a2 and c3. For this, the plan is ...c4 followed by ...lLlc5 and ...lLle4.

7 ... fxe6 8 cxb5 0-0 Yermolinsky-Shabalov, USA Ch, Parsippany Tal once beat Spassky with 8 ...d5, but at the 1996. present time preference is given to developing b) According to Kasparov, the most accu and putting immediate pressure on c3 and b5, rate move is 7 e3 (D). holding the pawn back on d7. This is because White has obtained good results by developing the bishop to d3 and the knight to e2 (protecting the c3-knight). For example, 9 e3 0-0 10 i..d3 ! B and now the immediate advance 10... d4 does not produce the desired results after 11 a3 ! i..a5 12 exd4 cxd4 13 b4 dxc3 14 bxa5 .i.b7 15lt:'le2! i..xg2 16 l::i.g 1 .i.f3 17 �g3 !. In this open posi tion I prefer White on account of his bishop pair, although Black has good chances of creat ing complications since the white king is also weak. 9 e3 (D)

b1) However, this just constitutes a transpo B sition of moves if Black replies 7 ...0-0 !, which has been traditionally rejected on account of the strange move 8 'i¥f3 !? with the threat of bring ing about a favourable endgame after .i.xf6. However, if Black continues with Yu supov's ex cellent recommendation of 8 ...g5 !? (instead of 8 ....i.b7 9 .i.xf6!, Timman-Yusupov, Hilversum (6) 1986) the ensuing complications are far from clear. For example: 9 dxe6 d5 ! 10 cxd5 fxe6 11 dxe6 .i.xe6 12 'i¥xa8 .i.xc3+ 13 bxc3 Vi'a5 ! 14 lLle2 .i.d5 and White loses his queen; 9 d6 lLlc6

10 cxb5 .i.b7! 11 bxc6 .i.xc6 12 'i¥h3 Vi'a5 13 9... a6! lLle2 lLle4 14 !:te l fixa2 with a winning attack; There are various alternatives, but the best or 9 .i.g3!? exd5 10 cxd5 d6 and Black gains a plans are all based on eliminating the b5-pawn lead in development with the threat of ....i.g4. with ...a6: LENINGRAD VARIATION (4 il.g5) AND OTHER LINES 103

a) It is inaccurate to occupy the centre im knight penetrates on d3 with strong counter mediately with 9 ...d5 ?!, because after 10 ..ltd3 ! play. jg_b7?! II tt:Je2 tt:Jbd7 12 0-0 �e8 13 ..ltg3 e5 ll... .i.xc3+ (D) 14 a3 ..lta5 15 �bl any advance of Black's This immediate exchange does not seem central pawns gives White squares and diago logical. In Harikrishna-J.Polgar, Bilbao 2007, nals, whereas the white pawns can advance on Judit preferred to retain both her bishops and the queenside, driving Black's forces back, continue her development with II... ..ltb7 12 0-0 Ward-Hinks Edwards, British League (4NCL) c4 ! 13 jg_c2�b6. 1999/00. This is the type of position that Black must avoid. b) It is more logical to play 9 ...'i!Va5 !? 10 ..ltxf6 (necessary to prevent ...tt:Je4 !) IO.. Jhf6 and subsequently the most appropriate plan is to play ll... a6 !? to open the a-file and liberate Black's minor pieces. c) 9 ... ..ltb7 !? is also playable, since this pre vents White from comfortably developing the bishop to d3 and the knight to e2. Later Black follows up with ... a6. 10 jg_d3(D) Capturing with I 0 bxa6 allows Black to de velop fully with I O .. .'iVa5 !? (forcing �xf6), ...tt:Jc6 and... d5, with the threat of ...d4. A tac tical theme that repeatedly crops up in these 12 bxc3!? positions is the advance ...d5-d4, after first Forcing Black to defend the b5-pawn. Black eliminating the f3-knight with ....l::!. xf3. It might would not be worried by 12 tLlxc3 c4 13 �c2 be necessary for Black to capture on a6 if White 'i!Vb6 14 0-0 ..ltb7, because after ...d5 White's plays II 'i!VcI, defending c3 and preparing a3. bishop-pair is balanced by Black's strong cen This capture should preferably be made with tre. the knight, to have available the manoeuvre 12.•. jg_a6 13 a4 (D) ... tt:Jc7-d5, increasing the pressure on c3.

B B

Tr ying to seize the initiative at all costs.

10•.. axb5 11 tt:Je2 13 •••bxa4 ?! 11 jg_xb5is met by II...'iVa5 ! 12 'iVd3 d5 13 This hands over the initiative and stabilizes a4 tLlbd7, followed by ... tt:Je5 and ...c4, and the the position, which is not wise when fighting 104 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE N!MZO-INDIAN

against the bishop-pair. The correct course was 19 �a4! to keep the game strategically unbalanced with Gaining time to reach h7.

13... b4 !? 14 cxb4 cxb4 15 0-0 tt::lc6 and Black 19••. ii.b7? has a harmonious position. The decisive error. It was essential to orga 14 Itxa4 ii.b7 15 l!xa8 ii.xa8 16 0-0 �c7 nize his defence with 19.. JH8 ! 20 �e4 CiJe7 (D) covering the g6-square. 20 'i!Ve4 (D)

On his scale of static criteria for evaluating a position, GM Dorfman awards top ranking to The penetratjon on th e Jjght squares leads to king safety, and he is absolutely correct. In this material gains. game, White exploits the weaknesses of the 20••• 'it>f8 black king to conjure up a strong attack from an 20 .. JH5? would fail to 21 tt::lxe6! dxe6 22 apparently harmless position. �xe6+ llf7 23 'ii'e8+ k!.f8 24 i.c4+ winning. 17 ii.xf6! 21 �h7 tt::le5 22 'ifh8+'it>e7 Eliminating an important defender of the 22 ...'it>f7 does not help either, in view of 23 light squares. tt::lh5, and g7 fa lls.

17•. Jlxf6 18 tt::lf4 tt::lc6?! 23 �xg7+ Black does not sense the danger. Otherwise The position is collapsing. White has a mate he would have taken urgent defensive measures rial advantage and Black's king lacks protec such as 18... c4 !? (preventing the manoeuvre tion.

'ii'a4-e4) 19 ii.bltt::l a6 (to blockade on e4 or d3) 23 •.•.i:!.f7 24 'i!Vxh6tt::l xd3 25 tt::lxd3 .lia626 20 'ii'c2 l:tf5 21 l:Idl! and White has only slight �g5+ 1-0 pressure. After 26 ...�f8 27 .i:!.al ! Black is defenceless.

Game 26 [E23] Juan Corral Blanco - Joel Lautier Spanish Te am Ch, Cala Galdana 1999

1 d4 tt::lf6 2 c4 e6 3 tt::lc3 ii.b44 �b3 b-pawn. Various famous GMs have used it, This is an obsolete line which shares some such as Piket, Malaniuk and Epishin. Black similarities with 4 �c2. On b3 the queen at has several ways to equalize. But fi rst, let us tacks the bishop but is more exposed, does not examine some other rarely played alternatives control the e4-square and obstructs White's of lesser worth: LENINGRAD VA RIA TION (4 iJ..g5) AND OTHER LINES 105

a) 4 e4? (D). attack by the black pieces. Now 4 ...c5 ! is the best way to exploit the white queen's position, according to Keres: bl) 5 lt:Jf3 cxd4 6 lt:Jxd4 0-0 7 a3 .i.xc3+ 8 'i!Vxc3 d5 and Black's better development guar antees him the initiative. b2) With 5 d5 White seeks to stabilize the situation in the centre, but White's gain of space will be met by the activity of the black pieces. 5 ... 0-0 6 .i.d2 exd5 7 cxd5 d6 8 g3 b6! (after this move and ....i.a6, the activity of the black bishop on the a6-fl diagonal will be decisive) 9 .i.g2.i.a6 I 0 'i!Vc2 lt:Jbd7 II lt:Jh3 l:!.e8 with tre mendous pressure on e2, Mikenas-Keres, Mos cow 1949. c) There is a more logical possibility in 4 This move has attracted the interest of a few .i.d2(D). adventurous souls who have employed it with disastrous results. After 4 ...lt:Jxe4, 5 'i!Vg4!? is the move in which the partisans of this unsound gambit place their hopes. Now simple and natu ral play by Black neutralizes any attempt to complicate the game: 5 ...lt:Jxc3 6 a3 (6 'i!Vxg7is not possible on account of 6 ...'i!Vf6 ! 7 'i!Vxf6 lt:Je4+)... 6 .i.e7! 7 bxc3 .i.f6 8 .i.d3 b6 and by continuing with the development of his queen side ( ....i.b7, ...d6 and ...lt:Jd7), Black obtains a comfortable game with an extra pawn. b) Rather better, but also inadvisable, is 4 'iHd3?! (D).

With this modest move, White relieves the pin in a simple manner and avoids the doubling of his pawns. 4 ...d5 (Black can also choose a method of play that is closer to the Indian sys

tems; for example, 4 . ..0-0 5 lLlf3 b6 6 e3 .i.b7 7 .i.e2 d6 8 0-0 lt:Jbd7) 5 e3 (after this move we can better appreciate some of the defects of the white position: the bishop on d2 has limited scope, in comparison with other variations where it can pin Black's f6-knight or go to b2 to support the white centre) 5 ...0-0 6lt:Jf3 c5 (it is also possible to complete the development of the queenside with 6 ...b6, ... .i.b7 and ... lt:Jbd7, The d3-square is not the most appropriate followed by ...c5) 7 a3 .i.xc3 8 .i.xc3 cxd4 9 square for the queen since, as well as getting in .i.xd4 lt:Jc6 I 0cxd5 lt:Jxd5 II .i.e2 l:!.e8 12 b4 the way of the possible development of White's (intending to retain his bishop-pair, but allow fl -bishop, the queen is exposed to immediate ing Black to develop a dangerous initiative; 12 106 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NJMZO-INDIAN

0-0 is better) 12... e5 13 i.b2e4 14lt:\d4 lt:\e5 15 lt:\b5 (once again 15 0-0 was appropriate, al though after 15... �g5 ! 16 'i¥th 1 i.g4! Black has good prospects of installing his knights on the light squares, which have been left weak by the exchange of bishops) 15... a6 l6lt:\c7 lt:\d3+! 17 i.xd3 lt:\xc7 18 i.c4 �g5 and Black's initia tive compensates for the bishop-pair, R.Stern Almasi, Dresden 2007 . Let us return to 4 �b3 (D):

B b) 7 i.xf6 �xf6 8 lZ'lf3 (if 8 .l:.c I then 8 ...a5 !? deserves consideration, with the idea of ...a4 and ...a3, weakening the dark squares) 8 ... i.xc3+! (Stern-Landa, Bundesliga 2006/7 ended dramatically after 8 ...b6 !? 9 cxb6 axb6 { 9 ...i.xc3+! } I 0 e3 ?? l:i.a3 ! and White resigned, in view of the inevitable loss of material; White should have played I 0 l:i.c1 ! keeping his pawn structure intact, with advantage) 9 'ifxc3 (if 9 bxc3, then 9 ... b6! is equally strong) 9 ...'ifxc3+ 10 bxc3 (D).

4 ••• c5 Now that the white queen has abandoned the defence of the d4-pawn, Black immediately at tacks it. One major difference compared to the 4 �c2 lines is that here of course 4 ...0-0?? is impossible because the b4-bishop hangs. 5 dxcS White is no position to maintain his centre, since after5 lt:\f3 lt:\e4! 5or d5 lt:\e4! Blackhas the initiative. s ...lt:\ c6 (D) 5 ...lt:\a 6!? is equally good. 6lt:\f3 Here 6 i.g5is an important alternative. White prevents ...lt:\e4, but after 6 ...h6 must be willing to give up his dark-squared bishop right away: Now the typical positional pawn sacrifice a) After 7 i.h4 it is essential to play the en 1 O ...b6! guarantees Black sufficient counter ergetic 7 ...g5 ! 8 i.g3 lt:\e4 9 e3 i.xc3+! (the play. By opening files for his rooks, Black puts most accurate move, before the white knight pressure on the weak white pawns, with good can go to e2, defending c3) 10 bxc3 �a5 and chances of restoring the material balance, after aftereliminating the g3-bishop and recapturing which his position would be preferable. 11 on c5, Black is better on account of his healthy cxb6 axb6 12 e3 'i¥te7 and by continuing with pawn-structure, Agdestein-Hjartarson, Reykja the plan of ... l:i.a4, ...i.a6 and ...lt:\e5 or ...lZ'la5 vik 1996. Black develops strong pressure against White's LENINGRAD VARIATION (4 ii..g5) AND OTHER LINES 107

weaknesses, which will finally lead to his re gaining the pawn.

6 •• .lt'le47 .i.d2 lt'lxd28 lt'lxd20-0 9 e3 .i.xcS B (D)

15 •.• lt'lxc4 16 .i.xc4'ifxc4 17 llhg1'.io>hS The defence requires great care: if 17... d5 ?!, then 18lt'lf6+ .ixf6 19 gxf6 g6 20 .l:.d4 'ifc7 21 llh4 with a dangerous attack. 18 llg4'ifc7 19 llh4g6 20 f4? 10 lt'lde4 Losing his bearings. It was better to play 20 The great Alekhine showed how to play if tt'Jf6 ! .i.xf6 21 gxf6, reaching an extremely White employs the passive 10 .i.e2: IO... b6 II complicated position in which Black should re 0-0 (wasting the last opportunity of reaching tain his advantage with precise defence, start equality with II lt'lde4!) ll...f5! (with this, the ing with 2I...'ife5 !.

white knights are denied the use of the e4- 20 •••.i.b7 21 'ifd3 square, and at the same time Black prepares a White does not have the resources to con strong attack on the kingside) 12 llacI llb8 13 tinue his attack, since after 21 tt'Jf6 .ixf6 22 lt'lf3 't!Vf6 14llf d I g5 ! with a strong attack, Nor gxf6 'ifd8 23 'iff2'ifxf6 24 llxd7 .ic6 25 l:td4 man-Aiekhine, Hastings 1925. .l:.ad8 Black can concentrate on exploiting his 10... b6 11 .ie2 material advantage. Letting the black bishop escape is a strategi 21... .ixe4 22 'ifxe4 dS (D) cally risky decision. White should have chosen the quiet II lt'lxc5 bxc5 12 l:!.dI �b8 13 'ifc2 .ib7 14 't!Vd2 't!Va5 15 .i.e2 �fd8 16 0-0, when the game is equal. w ll ....ie7 120-0-0 Risky, since on the queenside the white king can be subject to unpleasant surprises. 12... a6 13 g4 (D) Launching the attack. It was more prudent to play 13 �d2 or 13 'ifc2 and then double the rooks, exerting pressure on the d-file.

13•.• 'ifc 7?! 13... .ib7 is more accurate, fo llowed by ....M.c8 and ...lt'la5, keeping the queen on d8 to protect the f6-square. 14 gS ltJaS 15 't!Vc2 Black has consolidated his material advan After 15 't!Va4 ?, Black opens lines against the tage and the danger to his king is over. white king with 15... b5 !. 23 'ifg2 fS! 108 CHESS EXPLAINED: THE NIMZO-!NDJAN

Leaving the h4-rook permanently out of that we have examined demonstrate that Black play. does not have to limit himself to the central 24 �bl z:i.ac8 25 �d 2 �c4 26 �d4+ �g8! blockade systems (based on ...e5), but can un Giving back the pawn in order to coordinate dermine White's centre by putting pressure on his pieces with gain of time and launch the final d5 (keeping the pawn on e6 and bringing the attack on the white king. knight to b6). Generally White ends up having 27 �xb6 l:Ic6 28 �b7 to capture on e6; Black recaptures with either It was better to play 28 �a7 ! l:If7 29l:Id4 and his queen or bishop, castles on the queenside White exchanges the queens, easing the de and then either attacks on the kingside or breaks fence. in the centre with ...d5. In these positions, White

28•• Jif7! 29 l:td4�cs 30 �b3 .tr83I l:Ih3 will attack on the queenside by advancing with l:Ifc7 32 l:Id3i.. g7 a4-a5 and using the b-file. Black completes his regrouping, after which The gambit with ... b5 !? is offering Black the game is decided, because the white rook on very good play at present. It is necessary to pay h3 is not participating in the struggle. careful attention to the move-orders and the 33 �a4 l:Ib7 34 �c2 l:Ixb2+! (D) plans to follow. Black must combine pressure on the a5-el diagonal with the freeing move ... a6 !, which allows him to complete the active development of his queenside. After the cap ture cxb5 Black cannot obtain good play by combining natural moves such as ...d5, ...lL'lbd7 and ...i.. b7, since White will have no problems containing the black centre and can mobilize his forces in ideal fashion with .id3 and lL'le2. Black should therefore play for ...i.. b7, or .. .'�a5 fo llowed by ... a6. The secondary lines against the Nimzo Indian do not offer any advantage to White. Re cently 4 i..d2 has gained some support from players seeking a safe position, but Black can equalize in various ways. The simplest is 4 ...d5, The most elegant. The rest is a hunt ofthe followed by ...c5; note that in this variation white king. White will often gain the bishop-pair by play 35 �xb2 il.xc3+ 36 �c2 ing a3, but Black then gets it back with ...lL'le4 After 36 �bl i..g7! there is also no defence. or .. .'�Jd5 at some moment.

36••• i..b4+ 37 �dl �cl+ 38 �e2 �el+ 39 Of these rare fourth-move options, only 4 �f3 �fl+ 0-1 �b3 has any venom. Black should react by And mate on the next move. 4 ...c5 and .. .'�Jc6,with the idea of ...lL'le4, putting pressure on c3 and c5. Remember that if White Conclusions keeps an extra pawn in the endgame, but has tri pled pawns on the c-file,then the correct way for The Leningrad Variation has seen a revival in Black to treat the position is to open the a- and master practice with the recent contributions of c-files with ...b6 !, which guarantees sufficient several outstanding grandmasters. The games counterplay against White's doubled pawns. List of Games

Alexei Alexandrov - Kim Le Quang, Abu Dhabi 2007 60 Evgeny Bareev - Vasily lvanchuk, Ha vana 2006 21 Jan Bernasek - Markus Ragger, Mitropa Cup, Szeged 2007 75 Dmitri Bocharov - Igor Lysy, Moscow 2007 35 Miso Cebalo - Dimitri Komarov, Bratto open 2006 15 Luis Comas Fabrego - Alexander Delchev, Andorra2006 98 Juan Corral Blanco -Joel Lautier, Spanish Te am Ch, Cala Galdana 1999 104 Yuri Gonzalez - A Alvarez, Havana 2007 67 Mikhail Gurevich -Peter Leko, Elista 2007 46 Jan Gustafsson - Evgeny Postny, Greek Te am Ch, Ermioni 2006 42 Tiger Hillarp Persson - Peter Heine Nielsen, Danish League 2001/2 12 Rasul Ibrahimov - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, President's Cup, Baku 2006 24 Gata Kamsky - Pavel Elianov, Montrea/ 2007 72 Alexei Korotylev - Viacheslav Zakhartsov, Russian Ch, Krasnoiarsk 2007 82 Li Shilong - Penteala Harikrishna, Moscow 2007 101 Va dim Milov - Dashzeveg Sharavdorj, Las Ve gas 2006 63 Hikaru Nakamura - Andrei Volokitin, Cuernavaca2006 52 Teimour Radjabov - Evgeny Alekseev, Sochi 2007 32 Te imour Radjabov - Emir Dizdarevic, Calvia Olymp iad 2004 8 Ivan Sokolov -Judit Polgar, Hoogeveen 2006 56 Loek van Wely - Ve selin Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 2004 27 Loek van Wely - Peter Wells, London 2007 39 Clovis Ve rnay - Fabiano Caruana, Budapest 2007 87 Wa ng Yue - Dmitri Yakovenko, No vgorod2007 94 Radoslaw Wojtaszek - Vladimir Akopian, Spanish Te am Ch, Lugo 2007 91 Yaacov Zilberman - Vlastimil Babula, Pardubice 2007 78 Index of Variations

1 d4 lt'lf6 5 a3!? 52 5 ...�xc3+ 6 bxc3 c5! 7 .id3 lt'lc6 8 2 c4 e6 lt'le2 b6 9 e4! lt'le8! 53 3 lt'lc3 �b4 5 lt'le2 67 5 ...d5 6 a3 .lte7 7 cxd5 exd5 67 5 d5

Now: A: 4e3 6 lt'lf3 B: 4 'tWc2 6 a3 56 6... .ltxc3+ 7 bxc3 dxc4! 56 C: Other lines 6 cxd5 60 6 ...exd5 7 lt'le2 l:te88 .id2a6 9lt'lg3 62 A) 6 lt'le2 63 6 ...c5 7 cxd5 cxd4! 8 exd4 lt'lxd5! 64 4 e3 0-0 51 6 c5 7 0-0 71

7 ••• dxc4 7 ... lt'lc6 82 8 a3 i.xc3 9 bxc3 Wl/c7 !? 10 cxd5 w exd5 83 8 i.xc4 lt'lbd7!? 72 9 a3!? 75 9 Wlie2 72 9 'iVb3 72 9 ...cxd4 ! 10 WVxb4 73 Now (after 9 a3!?): 9 ....ltxc3?! 75 9 ...cxd4 75 10 axb4 dxc3 11 bxc3 'tWc7! 76 9 ... .lta5!? 78 10 Wl/e2 cxd4! 79

5 �d3 4 Wl/c2 20 INDEX OF VARIATIONS 111

8 e3 d6: 9 ctJe2 40; 9 f3 42 8 ctJf342 8 ...d6 9 tt:Jd2c5 !? 43 B 8 f3 46 8 ...h6 ! 9 ..ih4 d5 10 e3 ctJbd7 11 cxd5!? tt:Jxd5 ! 47

C) 4 tt:Jf3 a) 4 e4? 105 b) 4 'iVd3?! 105 c) 4 ..id2 105 d) 4 'iVb3 104 e) 4 g3 87 el) 4 ...c5 5 tt:Jf3 -4tLlf 3 c5 5 g3 4 0-0 31 e2) 4 ...d5 87 5 ..ig20-0 6 tt:Jf3 dxc4 7 0-0 tt:Jc6 4 ...d5 21 and then: 88 a) 5 a3 21 5 .....ixc3+ 6 '*lVxc3tLle4 7 '*lVc2c5 ! 22 f) 4 a3 8 4 .....ixc3+ 5 bxc3 b6 6 f3 tt:Jc6 7 e4 b) 5 cxd5 24 5 ...exd5 6 ..ig5 24 6 ...c5 ! 27: ..ia6 9 b1) 7 0-0-0!? 27 g) 4 f3 12: b2) 7 tt:Jf3 27 g 1) 4 ...tt:Jc6 5 e4 d5 ! 6 cxd5 exd5 7 e5 tt:Jg812 b3) 7 dxc5 24 7 ...h6 8 ..ih4 g5! 9 ..ig3tLle4 10 g2) 4 ...0-0 !? 15 5 a3 ..ixc3+ 6 bxc3 tt:Jh5 !? 16 e3 'iVa5 ! 25 h) 4 ..ig598 4 ... h6 5 ..ih4c5 6 d5: b4) 7 a3 277... ..ixc3+ 8 'iVxc3! cxd4!? 9 'iVxd4 h 1) 6 .....ixc3+ 7 bxc3 d6 98 tt:Jc6 I 0 '*lVf4 28 h2) 6 ...b5 !? 101 5 a3 35 4 c5 5 tt:Jf3 32 4 ...b6 - Queen's Indian 5 e4!? 32 5 ... d5 ! 6 e5 tt:Je4! 32 5 ..ixc3+ 6 'iVxc3 b6

5 g3 5 e3 - see 4 e3 0-0 5 ..id3 d5 6 tLlf3 c5 5 cxd4 7 ..ig5 39 6 tt:Jxd4 7 tLlf3 36 7 .....ib7 8 e3 d6 9 ..ie2 36 Now: 7 ..ib7 6 ...tt:Je4 91 7 �d3 91 Now: 6 ...0-0 7 ..ig2 d5 !? 94 Other Chess Openings Books from Gambit Publications

Chess Explained: The Queen's Indian Chess Explained: The Meran Semi-Slav Pe ter We lls Reinaldo Ve ra 1 d4 li:Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 li:Jf3 b6 is a mainstream The Semi-Slav is one of Black's most strategic opening, rich in nuances. Many of aggressive defences, and the Meran Variation the modem main lines involve moves that is its traditional main line. Ve ra is superb at look extravagant, but are backed up by a deep explaining the chaotic positions - meaning underlying logic. rich pickings for the player who is better 128 pages, 248 x 172 mm; $19.95 I £12.99 prepared. 112 pages, 248 x 172mm; $23.95 I £12.99 Chess Explained: The c3 Sicilian Sam Collins Chess Explained: The Classical Sicilian The c3 Sicilian is a popular way to sidestep Alex Ye rmolinsky the main lines of the Sicilian. White denies his Former US Champion Yermolinsky explains, opponent the chance to demonstrate his in masterful fa shion, the key plans and ideas preparation in some heavily-analysed system; of one of his favourite openings. This instead Black will have to fight carefully for dynamic Sicilian weapon has been a favourite equality in a more rational position of White's of players such as Anand, Kramnik and choosing. Shirov. 112 pages, 248 x 172 mm; $19.95 I £12.99 112 pages, 248 x 172mm; $19.95 I £12.99

Chess Explained: The Queen's Gambit Chess Explained: The French Declined Via cheslav Eingorn & Va lentin Bogdanov James Rizzitano This important defence suits a wide range of Topical explanation of the Queen's Gambit chess temperaments - an opening that is solid Declined - one of the most important of chess yet uncompromising. In many critical openings. This solid and classical choice for variations White accepts major structural Black has remained in vogue for more than a weaknesses in returnfor piece-play and century. dynamic chances. 128 pages, 248 x 172 mm; $23.95 I £12.99 112 pages, 248 x 172mm; $23.95 I £12.99

Chess Explained: The Modern Benoni Chess Explained: The Ta imanov Sicilian Zenon Franco James Rizzitano This opening is a perennial weapon of This opening system is one of the most aggressive players looking to create winning flexible options for Black in the Open chances with Black. It is one of the few Sicilian. Black avoids committing himself to a openings where White has no easy way to rigid set-up, and tailors his response once force drawish simplifications. White has shown his hand. 112 pages, 248 x 172 mm; $23.95 I £12.99 112 pages, 248 x 172 mm; $19.95 I £12. 99

About the Publisher: Gambit chess opening books are designed to be different. We recruit the fi n est authors, writing passionately on their specialist systems. Our editorial team is obsessive about double-checking variations and transpositions. Gambit believes trustworthy analysis is important, and that an openings book should remain an asset over many years.

www.gambitbooks.com Chess Explained books provide an understarding of an opening and the middlegames to which it leads, enabling you to find the right moves and plans in your own games. It is as if you were sitting at the board with a chess coach answering your questions about the plans for both sides, the ideas be hind pa rticular moves, and what specific knowtedge you need to have.

The Nimzo-lndian is one of the most important of all chess openings, and popular at all levels of play. To gether with the QueeA's Indian (also covered in this series), the Nimzo has provided the backbone of the opening repertoire of a large portion of the world's top players over the last 80 years. It is considered a fully reliable defence, and provides winning chances for both sides as it leads to structures of great strategic variety and complexity. Key battlegrounds in the Nimzo include the blockade, IQP positions, the handling of unbalanced pawn-structures, and the struggle between bishop and knight. All these topics are covered in depth in this book, and an understanding of them will prove valuable in a much broader context than just the Nimzo-lndian.

Reinaldo Vera comes from Cuba and gained his grandmaster title in 1988. He has won the Cuban Championship on two occasions and was a member of the Cuban national team for more than two decades. Vera graduated from Havana University, and has written for many chess magazines, incl uding New in Chess, Jaque and Peon de Rey. He is also a FIDE Senior Trainer, and the coach of the Cuban team.

£12 99 $23 95

ISBN-13: ,78-1-904600-72-5 Mastering ISBN-10 : 1-904600-72-7 the Chess Openings 2 ...... ----.. --

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