The Carlsen Variation - A New Anti-Sicilian: Rattle your opponents from the get-go! 8793812442, 9788793812444

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Contents Title page Foreword by Grandmaster Simon Williams Introduction

Chapter 1: Minor 5th Moves Chapter 2: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e5 Chapter 3: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...a6 7.Bb2 b5 Chapter 4: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 d5 Chapter 5: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 Chapter 6: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 b5 Chapter 7: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 Be7 Chapter 8: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: minor lines Chapter 9: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: 8...0-0 9.f3 Chapter 10: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: 8...0-0 9.Kb1 Chapter 11: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: Minor lines Chapter 12: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...f5 Chapter 13: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...Nf6 8.Bb2 e5 Chapter 14: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...Nf6 8.Bb2 0-0 Chapter 15: 4...a6 5.b3 Chapter 16: 4...Bd7 5.b3 Chapter 17: 3rd Move alternatives

Epilogue Books by Carsten Hansen

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The Carlsen Variation A New Anti-Sicilian by Carsten Hansen 2020 CarstenChess The Carlsen Variation – A New Anti-Sicilian Copyright © 2020 by Carsten Hansen All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America First Printing, 2020 ISBN 978-87-93812-44-4 (printed edition) CarstenChess Bayonne, NJ 07002 Sign up for free materials, exclusive material and more on www.WinningQuicklyatChess.com

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Foreword by Grandmaster Simon Williams Carsten Hansen has established himself as a world-leading expert on opening theory and exciting and new concepts that occur in the early stages of the game, and his new and exciting book ‘The Carlsen Variation’ is no exception. Ram-packed with original ideas, this opening will give you access to a new variation that you can use against the Sicilian, lines that come with the ‘Magnus Carlsen seal of approval.’ I have long been a fan of Carsten’s extensive and tireless work on openings; in the past, several of Carsten’s books have helped me better understand and develop my own opening repertoire. We share a mutual affection for the English Opening, and my own library holds countless, well-thumbed volumes by Carsten in this and other opening repertoires. I must also praise Carsten for his self-publication work. Bringing out your own books can often be a stressful event, sometimes leading to below-par products. This is certainly not the case with any of Carsten’s publication; every self-published work from Carsten is of an exceedingly high standard. If anything, self-publishing has allowed Carsten to share his special creative ideas with the chess community. In ‘The Carlsen Variation,’ the opening moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4!? already take the game into new and uncharted areas, full of potential. The ‘Carlsen Variation’ is the ideal tool to shock your opponent, cautiously and optimistically, without taking too many undue risks for White. The opening comprehensively covered in this book is one of the most recent opening discoveries in modern theory; by using such a set-up, you are certain to confound your opponent! It is very rare nowadays to discover new opening concepts, making such openings that much more exciting. Why copy every other chess player when you can bring something unique, exciting, and cutting edge to the board! One of the reasons that I have fallen into love with chess is because of the new and exciting ideas that even a seasoned professional can find over the sixty-four squares. Rather than merely copying all the main standard ideas, I have found beauty in bringing rarer and more untapped concepts to life. The ‘Carlsen Variation’ does just that. It shows how the opening can still be a rich tapestry in the modern era; new ideas are there to be found and there to be played. Name-sake Magnus has been one of the main practitioners of the Carlsen Variation, making its use popular as of only a couple of years ago, which we see in the introductory game where Magnus uses it to destroy Grandmaster Radoslaw Wojtaszek. This is really a model game for the variation; Black seems to do very little wrong, yet White gains a decisive attack with very little risk or compromise. The set-up that you will learn in this book has also been given the seal of approval by a number of other strong and imaginative Grandmasters; Carsten goes on to name some of these players after the introductory game. The key concept that I really like about this variation is how it is based on very sound positional ideas. Yet, it contains a number of remarkably poisonous intentions, my favorite being the deployment of White’s Bishop to b2, which is extremely rare in the Sicilian yet very effective! Such an idea will surely shock and surprise your opponent, leaving them with much to think about from a very early stage of the game. 4

On a personal note, I will certainly be utilizing this opening in my chess adventures, and I know that you, the reader, will also reap the benefits from the many discoveries and developments that Carsten brings to life in this pioneering book.

Simon Williams Godalming, Surrey, July 2020

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Introduction First of all, what is the Carlsen Variation? Well, to be honest, I’m not even sure that this is the correct name, but since it was World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who first played the opening at top level, it makes perfect sense that it is named after him. Additionally, I have seen that name applied on the excellent chesspublishing.com website, so I decided to go along with it. The first time I saw this variation, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. What on earth was the World Champion doing? Was this one his nutty ideas spawned by too many online blitz games, or was he actually serious? What is the exact thinking behind this line? What are the typical ideas for both sides? Before continuing, let us take a look at that inaugural game (at least in top-flight chess): Magnus Carlsen (2843) – Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2744) Gashimov Memorial (Shamkir) 2018 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4!? The first surprise, but possibly only a small one as White can still transpose to several other lines. 3...cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 Here, Black undoubtedly expected 5.Bb5 with a likely transposition to a well-known anti-Sicilian after 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nf3 Nf6, which has been played in more than 7000 games in my database. 5.Qd2!

The exclamation point is solely given for the surprise value. The objective value is no better than the above-mentioned line with 5.Bb5. Before this game, this move had only been played in a few inconsequential games between lower-rated 6

players. But this game started a trend that has only been gathering steam. If you are analyzing the variation with an engine with the typical assessment will frequently be equal play, but in praxis, matters are far from that clear. Typically, Black will be forced to think for him- or herself right from the get-go. Additionally, Black’s task to find a feasible set-up is far from easy. Standard plans may initially be acceptable, but what then? White’s moves are far easier to find and play than Black’s moves. Also, what are the consequences of White having a bishop on b2 rather than the traditional development? The bishop is ominously pointing straight at Black’s kingside, and the pawn on b3 prevents many of Black’s typical counterplay ideas. In other words, unless Black has specifically studied this line, he, or she, will be hard challenged to find a good line, whereas White, being on home turf, will be rather comfortable. With this in mind, it is easy to see what attracted the World Champion to use this line against the theoretically, very well-armed Polish super grandmaster. 5...Nf6 The Polish Grandmaster usually plays the Najdorf Variation and therefore is not keen on heading for the nowadays more popular line starting with 5...g6. Again, it is important to understand that Black in this game had no reference point, no prior experience with this line, and had to make up his mind about each position for the first time, no a fun situation to find yourself in when playing the World Champion. 6.b3 This is White’s idea, developing the bishop to b2 and then castling queenside. 6...e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 b5 9.f3

Thus far, nothing out of the ordinary has happened: White has completed his queenside development and is now ready to start pushing the kingside pawns forward. Black has chosen a typical Najdorf/Scheveningen set-up but now has to start figuring out what to do next. 9...h5?! 7

In the English Attack against the Najdorf/Scheveningen, Black often resorts to this move to restrain White on the kingside, making the pawn advances more challenging to accomplish. However, here it creates some weaknesses that White normally will have a hard time addressing, but here, with the knight still on g1 instead of on d4, White can play the knight to g5 and even 10.Qg5!? can be considered. 10.Nh3!? Be7 In a later game, Black tried 10...Bb7 when White after 11.Ng5 Rc8 12.Kb1 Be7 13.f4 Qa5 14.Be2 0-0 15.Bf3 Rc7 16.Rhe1 had a comfortable advantage in the game Kraus-Kozak, Radenci 2019. 11.Ng5 h4 Black wants to prevent White from playing h2–h4, anchoring the knight on g5, but as we saw in the game with 10...Bb7, White does not necessarily need to play that pawn advance, perfectly happy to play f3–f4 instead. Therefore, it is unclear what Black gets in return for his investment in time. 12.f4 Bb7 13.Kb1 The normal square for the king, keeping him away from potential shenanigans on the h6–c1 diagonal. 13...Rc8 14.Be2 Qc7 15.Rhe1 Model play but also 15.Rhf1 could have been considered. 15...Nh7? This is definitely wrong, but matters are beginning to be quite uncomfortable for Black. With the pawn on h4, the castling kingside seems like a step in the wrong direction, for instance, 15...0-0 16.Bd3 (or 16.Bf3) 16...Nb4 17.Qf2 (also 17.Nxb5 axb5 18.Qxb4 d5 19.Qd2 is better for White) 17...Nd7 18.Qxh4 Bxg5 19.Qxg5 and White has won a pawn for inadequate compensation. 16.Nxh7 Rxh7

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17.g4?! Another normal move, but White had an interesting alternative in 17.Nd5!, severely challenging Black’s future, for instance, 17...exd5 18.exd5 Nd8 (the computer prefers to hand the piece back immediately with 18...Kf8 when 19.dxc6 Bxc6 20.Bg4 Re8 21.Qc3 leaves White with an overwhelming positional advantage; all of White’s pieces are on their ideal squares while Black is struggling with his poorly coordinated pieces) 19.Bg4 Kf8 20.Re2! (intending Rde1; alternatively, 20.Qd3!? Kg8 21.Bf5 Rh5 22.Bxc8 Rxd5 23.Qxd5 Bxd5 24.Rxd5 Qxc8 25.Rxe7 with an overwhelming advantage for White) 20...Kg8 21.Bxc8 Bxc8 22.Qc3! (exchanging Black’s key defender) 22...Qxc3 23.Bxc3 and White is completely winning as Black loses a piece. 17...hxg3 18.hxg3 Bf6 19.Bd3 Rh8

20.g4?! White grabs space on the kingside but 20.Rh1! appears better, for example, 20...Rxh1 21.Rxh1 Bd4 (if 21...Ke7, then 22.e5! Nxe5 23.fxe5 Bxh1 24.exf6+ gxf6 25.Qh6 and White is clearly better) 22.Rh7 (or 22.Nd5 exd5 23.exd5 Bxb2 24.dxc6 Qxc6 25.Re1+ Kf8 26.Kxb2 with a positional advantage for White) 22...Qa5 23.Be2! Ke7 24.a3 and White has clearly better chances. 20...Nd4! A strong reply, limiting White’s dominance in the center and threatening ...Nf3. 21.Re3 Kf8! Another strong move, creating some safety for Black’s king. 22.Ne2! 22.Qf2!? could also be considered. 22...Nxe2 23.Rxe2 9

23...Bc3?! Another option was 23...Bxb2 24.Kxb2 Rh4 25.f5 exf5 26.gxf5 Qc5 when White’s chances are slightly preferable, but Black is still firmly in the game. 24.Bxc3 Qxc3 25.Qe3! White is not interested in exchanging queens as he controls the initiative, and therefore having the queens on the board suits him. 25...Rc5?! Or 25...Qc5 26.Qg3, again keeping the queens on the board. While Black is far from lost, it is not easy to come up with an effective plan. White, on the other hand, is ready to launch an attack on the kingside. 26.e5! dxe5 27.fxe5 Rh1? A costly mistake, possibly made in time trouble, that costs Black the game. If instead 27...Rc7 then 28.g5 Rh4 29.g6! (or 29.Qg3!? Qd4 30.Rh2 and White is much better) 29...Qd4 30.Qc1 Qf4 31.Qa3+ Qb4 32.Qxb4+ Rxb4 33.Rh2 and White is clearly better in the endgame. 28.Rxh1 Bxh1 29.Rh2! Likely the move that Black had overlooked. 29...Rxe5 30.Rh8+ Ke7 31.Qa7+ Black resigned as after 31.Qa7+ Kf6 32.g5+! Rxg5 (or 32...Kxg5 33.Qe7+) 33.Rxh1, White wins easily. 1–0 As is clear from this game, it is not easy to play against this set-up by White. Of course, neither you nor I, for that matter, are as strong as Magnus Carlsen, but it is noticeable how White’s game flowed naturally and quite smoothly, whereas Black was struggling for concrete ideas about what to do with his pieces. 10

Since this game, many other grandmasters have taken up this variation, such as Caruana, Nakamura, So, Firouzja, Andreikin, Morozevich, Sethuraman, and countless other grandmasters and international masters. But despite this relative popularity, this opening variation is still relatively unknown, and at the time of writing, it has been played fewer than 300 times in my database. In this book, I have taken all the material that is available to me, structured it, and made it more digestible. At the same, I have added a lot of new ideas, fresh analysis as well as some repertoire recommendations. I will not guarantee you any opening advantage, but I will promise you a lot of exciting games, where you, with this book in your hands, will know more about the arising positions than your opponents. Personally, I have played the variation several times in online games at various time controls. In nearly all cases, my opponents have used a lot of their allotted time in the opening, only to see themselves struggle through the middlegame. Have fun with the Carlsen Variation, and play some exciting games! Also, if you play some interesting games with this variation, e-mail them to me, and the same goes for if you have found holes in my analysis or some improvements of your own. I may then include them in a future update of this book. My email address is [email protected].

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Chapter 1: Minor 5th Moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 a6 Additionally, Black has some additional minor 5th move options. Still, they too tend to transpose, as we will see below, (and therefore other chapters) but there are a few independent ideas to look at: a) 5...e5 (this move has been the preference of Armenian Grandmaster Gabuzyan)

a1) A different choice and not our game plan was tested in Shabalov-Gabuzyan, Greensboro 2018: 6.Bc4!? Be6 7.Bb3 Nf6 8.Nge2 (8.Nf3 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Rd1 h6 11.Qe2 is an alternative although hardly better for White) 8...Be7 9.0-0 0-0

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10.f4?! (this is a bad idea; White should have given preference to 10.Rd1 when 10...Rc8 11.Ng3 a6 12.Qd3 Qc7, the chances are more or less even) 10...b5!? 11.Qd3 Rc8?! (Black misses an opportunity to take command of the game with 11...Nb4! 12.Qxb5?! (and 12.Qd1 a6 and Black has solved his opening problems) 12...Rb8 13.Qa4 d5 14.fxe5 Bc5+ and White is clearly in trouble) 12.Qxb5 Nd4?! (if 12...a6!? then 13.Qd3!? (but not 13.Qxa6 when 13...Bxb3 14.axb3 Nb4 15.Qa5 Nxc2 and Balck is fine) 13...Nb4 14.Qf3 Qc7) 13.Qd3! Nxb3 14.axb3 d5 and now 15.exd5 Nxd5 16.fxe5 Bc5+ 17.Kh1 Ne3 18.Bxe3 Qxd3 19.cxd3 Bxe3 20.d4 and White has the better chances. a2) 6.b3 Nf6 7.Bb2 Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.f3!? (9.Kb1 is discussed in the note to Black’s 8th move in chapter 2) 9...a5 (9...a6 10.Kb1 b5 is another transposition to chapter 2) 10.Kb1 Be6 11.g4 Ne8 12.h4 Bxh4? 13.Qh2 g5 14.f4! and White is winning. b) 5...e6 6.b3 Nf6 (6...a6 transposes to our main line) 7.Bb2 and now Black’s 7...d5, 7...Be7, 7...a6 transpose to subsequent chapters. 6.b3 Nf6 7.Bb2 e6 7...b5 is covered in chapter 3. 8.0-0-0 Qa5 8...b5 9.f3 transposes to chapter 3 as well. 9.f3 Be7 10.Kb1 b5 Black intends to stay away from castling as long as possible. 11.g4 Bb7 12.h4 Rc8 Or 12...Rd8 13.g5 Nh5 14.Qf2 0-0 15.Nge2 and White has a good game. 13.g5 Nd7 14.Nge2

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The immediate 14.a3 should also be discussed because White doesn’t need to allow Black the option discussed in next note; White can always follow up with Nge2 on the next move or later when it is convenient 14...0-0 The alternatives are: a) Tempting but ultimately not very good is 14...b4? 15.Nd5! (Yes, even in this line, White can use sacrifices like this; the safer alternative is 15.Na4 when things rapidly turn messy, for instance, 15...Nce5 16.Nd4 Nxf3 17.Nxf3 Bxe4 18.Qe2 Bxc2+ 19.Ka1 Bxd1 20.Qxd1 where Black has a rook and three pawns for two minor pieces, yet White’s chances seem preferable because it is easier to generate threats and Black’s minor pieces are difficult to activate) 15...exd5 16.exd5 Na7 17.a3 Qc7 18.axb4 0-0 19.c4 and while White only has two pawns for the piece, Black’s position is rather depressing because getting his piece into play presently constitute a massive problem. b) 14...Nb4? 15.Nd4 (15.a3 Nc6 16.Bg2 is clearly better for White) 15...0-0 16.a3 Nc6 17.Nxc6 Rxc6 18.Nd5 Qd8 19.Qd4 f6 20.Nf4 and White clearly better, Pirola-Carvalho, Teresina 2019. 15.a3!? This pawn advance looks inaccurate because it allows Black’s next move, but when Black’s queen is on a5, it is less of a concern. 15...b4 Also 15...Rfd8 16.Bg2 (or 16.h5 b4 17.axb4 Nxb4 18.g6 fxg6 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.Bh3 Nf8 with a sharp position where I prefer White, but Black certainly has a solid share of the chances) 16...b4 17.Nd5! exd5 18.exd5 Nce5 19.f4 Ng4 20.axb4 Qc7 21.c4! a5 (21...Nf2? 22.Qd4 wins for White) 22.Bf3 h5 23.Bxg4 hxg4 24.h5 and Black will have a hard time stopping White’s kingside attack. 16.Na2 bxa3 17.Qxa5 Nxa5 18.Bxa3 and White has somewhat better chances. 14

Chapter 2: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e5 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 e5

The Boleslavsky Variation set-up for Black (typically this variation is played after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be2 e5) makes a lot of sense in practical terms as it puts a cork in the long diagonal. That being said, the weakness of the d5–square and the back d6–pawn may end up accounting for some problems for Black in the long run. 7.Bb2 Be7 7...a6 8.0-0-0 (there is no immediate need to play 8.f3 although it is playable, for instance, 8...Be7 9.Nge2 0-0 10.Ng3 b5 11.Be2 Qb6 (11...Nd4!? looks like a strong alternative) 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Nd8 14.0-0-0 Nb7 15.Kb1 a5 with a sharp position and chances to both sides, Bork-Wuebker, Dortmund 2018) 8...Be7 (or 8...b5 9.f3 h5 10.Kb1 Be7 11.Nge2 (11.h4!?) 11...Be6?! 12.g3 Qb6?! 13.Bg2 Rc8 14.Nd5 Bxd5?! 15.exd5 Qf2? 16.Bh3 Rc7 17.Rdf1 and White is winning, Xu XiangyuZeng Chongshen, Shenyang 2019) 9.Kb1 0-0 10.f3, and now:

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a) 10...b5 11.g4 (or 11.h4 Qb6 12.g4 b4 13.Na4 Qb7 14.h5 with the somewhat better chances for White) 11...Be6 12.Nge2 Qb6

13.Ng3?! (A logical move, aiming for the f5–square but it allows Black a strong counter. White should play 13.Nd5! Qf2 14.g5 Nd7 15.Ng3 Qxd2 16.Nxe7+ Nxe7 17.Rxd2 Nc8 (but not 17...d5? when 18.Ba3! wins for White) 18.f4 exf4 19.Nh5 Ne5 20.Nxf4 Bg4 21.Nd5 Ra7 22.Bg2 Bf3 23.h4 and White has the clearly better chances) 13...Nd4?! (Black can improve with 13...d5! when after 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Bxd5, White cannot capture on d5 due to ...Rfd8, and therefore Black is doing quite well) 14.Qe3 Qc5 15.Qd3 Rfc8 16.Rc1 Nd7 17.h4 Rab8 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 d5? was played in Gharagyozyan-Denishev, Minsk 2018, and now (but Black can improve with 19...Qc6 20.Bg2 b4 21.Na4 Nc5 22.Nxc5 dxc5 23.Qe4 Qxe4 24.fxe4 with a position where Black should not be worse) 16

20.f4! e4 21.Nxe4 dxe4 22.Qxd4 Qxd4 23.Bxd4 and White has a clear advantage thanks to the bishop pair and better pawns. b) 10...Be6 11.g4 (I like 11.Nge2 better, for instance, 11...Nd7 12.g3! a5 13.Nd5 Bg5 14.f4 Bh6 15.Nec3 Nc5 16.a4 and White has a firm control of the game and the clearly better chances) 11...Nd4 12.Nce2 Nxe2 13.Nxe2 Qb6 14.Ng3 Rfd8 15.g5 Ne8 16.Nf5 Bf8 17.Ne3 (or 17.Bd3 a5 18.a4 Nc7 19.h4 and White has a clear plus) 17...Qc5 18.Bc4 Nc7 19.h4 Rac8 20.Qe2 a5 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Rd3 (22.g6 h6 23.Rhf1 a4 24.f4 is also clearly better for White who is a lot further with the plans than Black are with his) 22...Nb5 23.Rhd1 Na3+ was played in Poetz-Martinez Alcantara, Graz 2020, and now White could have continued 24.Bxa3 Qxa3 25.g6 a4 (or 25...h6 26.Nc4 Qc5 27.Qh2 with a clear advantage) 26.gxh7+ Kxh7 27.Qg2 axb3 28.cxb3 Rd7 29.h5 and White’s attack is a lot more dangerous than anything Black has going on. 8.0-0-0 White has tried a few other things at this point but since the text move is logical and little is achieved by postponing it, I cannot recommend the alternatives, but for completeness sake, let us have a quick look at them: a) 8.f4 0-0 9.0-0-0 Nd4 (Black can try to exploit White early f2–f4 by playing 9...Nh5, e.g., 10.Nd5 Nxf4 11.Nxf4 exf4 12.Nf3 Be6 13.Qxf4 Qa5 14.Kb1 Rac8 15.Qg3 f6 and White should have the slightly better chances, although, admittedly, it is not a lot) 10.Kb1 Bg4 11.Re1 Rc8 12.Bd3 Qa5 13.h3 Bd7 14.Rd1 Bd8 15.a3 (This is fully playable and keeping the option of b3–b4 in reserve, but I like 15.Nf3!? better, for instance, 15...Nxf3 16.gxf3 exf4 17.Rhg1 g6 18.a3 (or 18.Bc4 Be6 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.Qxd6 Rc6 21.Qd2 Bb6 22.Rgf1 Nh5 which I find preferable for White but Black is very close to equality) 18...Bb6 19.Qxf4 Bd4 20.Rg5 Qb6 21.Ne2 and White has the better chances although the fight is far from over) 15...Bc6 16.Nf3 Re8 17.Rhe1 a6 18.Qf2?! (another option is 18.Nd5!? Qxd2 19.Nxd2 b5 20.c4 Bd7 21.b4 Nxd5 22.exd5 and White has more space and the better chances) 18...Nxf3 19.Qxf3 exf4 20.Qxf4 Bd7 21.b4 Qe5, and now 22.Qd2 was played in Bivol-Bodnaruk, Sochi 2018, when (Instead, White should have tried 22.Qxe5 dxe5 23.Nd5 Bc6 24.Re3 is at best marginally better for White but certainly better than the game continuation) 22...Qg3! seems to equalize for Black. b) 8.g3 0-0 9.Bg2 Nd4 10.Nge2 Nxe2 (10...Ne6!?) 11.Qxe2 Bg4 12.Qd3 Rc8 13.0-0 Qc7 14.a4 Qc5 15.Rfc1 Rfd8 and while I prefer White’s position, a potential plan is a4–a5, Nd1 followed by c2–c4, Black is pretty close to equality, Fedoseev-Najer, Sochi 2018. 8...Be6 A major alternative is 8...0-0 9.Kb1 a5, and now:

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a) White should not rush to play 10.a4?! as it makes the b4–square available to Black’s knight on c6, and from there, it can support the ...d6–d5 advance: 10...Nb4 11.f4, and here:

a1) 11...d5! 12.Nf3 d4 13.Qc1 Qb6 14.Nb5 Nxe4 15.Nxe5 Bc5 16.Rxd4 Bxd4 17.Bxd4 Qh6 18.Bc4 Be6 19.Nc7 Bxc4 20.Nxa8 Bxb3 21.cxb3 Rxa8 and Black has the better chances on account of White’s open king, Dolzhikova-Gabuzyan, Poti 2019. a2) 11...Be6 is also playable, for instance, 12.Nf3 exf4 (the immediate 12...Rc8!? is also an option) 13.Nd4 (or 13.Qxf4 Rc8 14.Nd4 Rc5 with chances to both sides) 13...Rc8 14.Qxf4 Rc5 15.Bd3 Nd7 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.exd5 Ne5 18.Be4 Bf6 19.Nf5 Re8 20.Rhf1 (I like 20.Bd4!? even better, for instance, 20...Qc7 21.c4!? (or 21.Nh6+ Kf8 22.Qf5 (not 22.Bxc5? Qxc5 when White’s dark squares around the king are ridiculous weak) 22...Rc4 23.bxc4 Qxc4 24.Rhe1 Qa2+ 25.Kc1 Nc4 26.Bxf6 Qa3+ 27.Kb1 18

Qa2+) 21...Qb6 22.Qg3 Kf8 23.Rhf1 and White dominates the entire board; note that White is not particularly interested in winning the exchange on c5 as it weakens the dark squares and if White can resist the temptation, Black is left without counterplay) 20...Qc7 (Or 20...b5 21.g4 Bg5 22.Qg3 followed by h2–h4, pushing Black backwards and launching a kingside attack) 21.Rf2 b5 22.axb5 Rxb5 23.Qg3 a4 24.Nd4 Ra5 25.Rxf6 axb3 26.Nxb3 Ra2 27.Rd4 Nc4 (Now White can force mate) 28.Bxh7+! Kxh7 29.Rh4+ Kg8 30.Rh8+! and Black resigned before getting mated, 1–0, AndriasianGabuzyan, Philadelphia 2019. b) 10.f3 is a better try, for example, 10...Be6 11.Nge2 Nb4?! (this seems normal, aiming for ...d6–d5, but kicking the knight away from b4 is obviously not that complicated; another option is 11...a4!?, intending 12.Nxa4 d5 when 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nec3 Bb4 15.a3 Nxc3+ 16.Nxc3 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 Bxa3 18.Bxa3 Rxa3 19.Bb5 Ra5 which seems close to equal, even if my computer prefers White) 12.a3 Na6 13.Nc1 Qb8 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Bf5 16.g4 Bg6 17.h4 Rc8 18.Bd3 Bxd3 19.Nxd3 a4 20.b4 Rc4 21.f4 (White could have tried 21.Qe2 when 21...b5 22.f4! is better for White) 21...e4 22.Nc1? Nc7 23.f5 Qc8 24.Ne2 Nb5 25.Rc1 Qd7 26.Rhf1 Bxh4 27.g5 was played in Mai-Ott, Bayern 2019, and now 27...Qe7 28.f6 e3 29.Qd3 Qe4 would have left Black with a clear advantage. White can improve with 22.Nf2 which Black can meet with 22...Nxb4! with sharp complications, for instance, 23.axb4 (or 23.Rde1 Rxc2 24.Qxb4 Rxf2 25.Qd4 Rxb2+ 26.Qxb2 h5! 27.g5 (27.gxh5 Bf6 28.Qc2 Qe8! 29.Rxe4 Qb5+ is fine for Black) 27...f5 28.gxf6 Bxf6 29.Qc2 Ra5 and Black has full compensation for the exchange) 23...a3 24.Bc3 a2+ 25.Ka1 Qc7 26.Bb2 Rxc2 27.Rc1 Rxd2 28.Rxc7 Bd8 29.Nxe4 Rxb2 30.Kxb2 Bxc7 31.Ra1 Re8 and the chances are about even in the endgame. 9.Kb1 0-0 10.f3

White should not rush to develop the g1–knight to e2 as it opens for some additional options for Black while not adding much for White, for instance, 10.Nge2 Qb6 (after 10...Ng4, White can play 11.Nc1 Bg5 12.Qe1 which does not lead to any significant advantage, but the simplest is 11.Ng1 when Black likely will not have anything better than withdrawing the knight to f6 at which point White can choose 19

to repeat moves or transpose to our main line with 12.f3) 11.f3 (alternatively, 11.Ng3!? Rfd8 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Nb4 14.Bc4 a5 15.a3 Na6 16.f4 Ng4 17.Rde1 was clearly better for White in Ayats Llobera-Porta Tovar, Linares 2018) 11...d5 12.Nxd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nc3 Nxc3+ (Black could improve with 14...Ne3 15.Re1 Nxf1 16.Rhxf1 Bb4 with more or less even chances) 15.Qxc3 Rac8 16.Bd3 Bb4 17.Qc4 Nd4 18.Qd5 Rc5 19.Qe4 f5 20.Qe3 Kh8 21.g4 (an attractive alternative was 21.f4!?, when 21...Qa5 22.c4 Bc3 23.Bxc3 Qxc3 24.Qe1 Qa5 25.Qxa5 Rxa5 26.Rhe1 promises White the somewhat better chances in the endgame) 21...Qa5 22.gxf5 Bc3 23.Bxc3 Qxc3 24.Qd2 Qxd2 25.Rxd2 Nxf3 26.Rf2 Nd4 27.Re1 a5 28.Kb2 g6 29.f6 Ne6 30.Rfe2 and draw agreed, ½–½, in Haldorsen-Arvola, Norway 2019, which seems reasonable as Black equalizes after 30...Nf4. Instead, White could have played 30.Be4!? Rc7 31.Rd1 Nc5 32.Bg2, claiming the somewhat better chances, although the advantage is minimal. 10...Nd4 The alternatives are also quite pleasant for White: a) 10...Rc8 11.Nge2 a6 12.g4 (12.Nd5 Ne8 13.g3 is better for White) 12...b5?! (12...Nd7!?) 13.Nd5 (13.h4 Nb4 14.a3 Nc6 15.g5 Nd7 16.Nd5 Nb6 17.Bh3 Bxh3 18.Rxh3 Re8 19.Nxb6 Qxb6 20.Nc3 Qa5 21.b4 Qd8 22.Nd5 and White has an obvious positional advantage, Iljiushenok-Teterev, St Petersburg 2018) 13...Bxd5 14.exd5 Nb8 15.g5 Nfd7 16.h4 Nb6 17.f4 f6 18.Bh3 N8d7 19.fxe5 fxe5 20.Ng3 and White has a dominating positional advantage, Libiszewski-Murzin, Stockholm 2018. b) 10...a5!? 11.g4 Nd4 (or 11...Ne8 12.h4 Nc7 13.g5 (13.Nd5!?) 13...f5?! 14.Bh3 b5? 15.exf5 Bxf5 16.Bxf5 Rxf5 17.Nxb5! and White is clearly better) 12.h4 Qc7 13.Nb5 (White achieves less with the direct 13.h5 h6 14.g5 hxg5 15.h6 g6 16.h7+ Kh8 and Black seems to be doing quite well) 13...Nxb5 14.Bxb5 Qc5 15.a4 Rfd8 16.g5 Nh5 17.Ne2 and White has the better chances. 11.Nd5!? I think White has a strong alternative in 11.Nge2, exchanging the knight on d4 and settling Black with a backward d-pawn, e.g., 11...Nxe2 12.Bxe2 Rc8 13.Nb5 Qb6 14.c4 a5 15.Nc3 and White has better chances with nice control of the entire board. 11...Nxd5 A logical choice, but also 11...Bxd5 can be considered, for instance, 12.exd5 a5 13.f4 (after 13.a4 Rc8 (13...Nxd5?! 14.c3 Bg5 15.Qe1 Qb6 16.Bc4 wins material for White) 14.Bxd4 exd4 15.Qxd4 Qc7 16.Bd3 Nd7, Black has excellent dark-squared compensation for the sacrificed pawn) 13...Qc7 14.Re1 a4 15.Nf3 Nxf3 16.gxf3 axb3 17.axb3 exf4 18.Rg1 Nh5 19.Qxf4 g6 with sharp play and chances for both sides. 12.exd5 Bd7 A tempting active alternative is 12...Bf5 13.Bd3 Bg5 but White still has a comfortable game after 14.Qf2 Bxd3 15.Rxd3 Bf6 16.g4 g6 17.h4 and White has the better chances. 13.f4 Bf6

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14.Bd3 This is probably better than also interesting 14.fxe5 dxe5 15.Nf3 Bg4 16.Be2 (16.Bd3 Re8 would transpose to our main line but Black would, of course, capture on f3 instead) 16...Nxe2 17.Qxe2 Rc8!? (or 17...Re8 18.h3 Bf5 19.g4 Bg6 20.d6 when White has the upper hand) 18.Rhe1 (also 18.Bxe5 is possible but Black seems to have decent compensation for the pawn after 18...Bf5 19.Rc1 Re8 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Qd2 Qd6) 18...Re8 19.Qe3 Bf5 20.Rd2 e4 and Black has no reason to complain. 14...Re8 15.fxe5 dxe5 16.Nf3 Bg4 17.Be4 White has excellent control of the board. Of course, the knight on d4 looks good for now, but that is only a temporary situation as it can relatively easily be evicted. 17...Qd6 18.Qf2 Nxf3 19.gxf3 Bh5 20.Rhg1 Or 20.c4 b6 21.Rhg1 with a similar position to the game continuation. 20...g6 21.c4 b6 22.Rde1 a5 23.a4 Bg7

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24.Rg5 White has a pleasant position, but the text move is particularly problematic for Black as White intends to kill all of Black’s hopes for future counterplay, particularly those involving ...f7–f5. 24...Kh8 25.Qg3 h6 26.Rxh5! The point behind White’s 24th move. Black is without counterplay, and the weak light squares are highly problematic for Black. 26...gxh5 27.Qh3 27.f4 is according to the computer preferable, but White is content to tie up Black before setting in the fatal strike. 27...Qf6 28.Qxh5 Qg5 29.Qxf7 Re7 30.Qf5 Qxf5 31.Bxf5 White has a decisive advantage and eventually won the game. 31...Rf7 32.Bg4 Rd8 33.Bxe5 Bxe5 34.Rxe5 Kg7 35.Kc2 Rd6 36.Kd3 Rff6 37.Ke4 Kf8 38.Bh5 Rd8 39.f4 Rc8 40.f5 Rd8 41.Re6 Rxe6+ 42.fxe6 Ke7 43.Ke5 Rd6 44.Be8 Rd8 45.Bd7 Black resigned. 1–0. Praggnanandhaa-Aditya, Moscow 2019.

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Chapter 3: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...a6 7.Bb2 b5 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 a6 7.Bb2 b5

8.f3 Set-ups for White that includes f2–f4 are covered in chapter 5 and 7. White has two alternatives: a) 8.a3 e6 9.g3 Bb7 10.Bg2 Be7 11.Nge2 0-0 12.0-0 Rc8 13.Rad1 Qb6 14.h3 Rfd8 15.g4 a5 16.Ng3 a4 and Black already has a pleasant game, Iljiushenok-Hayrapetyan, Moscow 2019. b) 8.0-0-0 Bb7 9.f3 Qc7 10.g4 e6 transposes to chapter 6. c) 8.Bd3

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8...e6 (or 8...e5 9.0-0-0 Be7 10.Kb1 Be6 11.f4 exf4 12.Qxf4 Qa5 13.Nge2 Rc8 14.h3 (14.Nd5!? even improves for White) 14...0-0 15.g4 Ne5 (15...h6!? is provocative but much better) 16.g5 Nh5 17.Qe3 b4 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Nxd3 20.Qxd3 Bxg5 was Redondo Benavente-Represa Perez, Bratislava 2019, and here 21.Qf3 Bf6 22.Nd4 would have been comfortably better for White) 9.0-0-0 Be7 10.Kb1 Bb7 11.f4 0-0 12.Nf3 Nd7 13.e5 dxe5 14.Rhe1 exf4 15.Qxf4 Qb8 16.Qg4 Nce5 17.Nxe5 Nxe5 18.Bxh7+ Kxh7 19.Qh5+!? (a fun line was 19.Rxe5! Qxe5 20.Ne4 Qxb2+ 21.Kxb2 Rad8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 (22...Bxd8 23.Nc5) 23.Qh5+ Kg8 24.Ng5 Bf6+ 25.Kc1 Rd7 with a complex endgame where White should be better, but Black can definitely hang on for some time) 19...Kg8 20.Rxe5 Bf6? (also 20...g6 21.Rd3 Bf6 22.Rg5! wins for White, but; 20...Qe8 21.Qh3 f5 22.Rxe6 Qf7 23.Qe3 would have been somewhat playable for Black, if better for White) 21.Ne4 Bxe4 22.Rxe4 Rd8?? 23.Bxf6 Rxd1+ 24.Qxd1 gxf6 25.Rh4 and White was winning in Der Manuelian-Mendonca, Paracin 2018. 8...e6 Alternatively, Black has also tried 8...Bd7 9.0-0-0 (this is normal, but also the non-traditional 9.a4!? bxa4 10.Rxa4; and 9.Nd5 can be considered for White) 9...Qa5 10.Kb1 e6 11.g4 0-0-0 12.g5 Ne8 13.f4 h6 14.Nf3 Nc7 15.h4 hxg5 16.Nxg5 with a clear advantage for White, Jires-Bacak, Brno 2019. 9.0-0-0

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9...h5 Both 9...Be7, and 9...Bb7 are covered in chapter 6; the remaining alternatives are: a) 9...Qc7 10.Nge2 (I prefer 10.g4 h6 11.h4 Bb7 12.Bh3 although, objectively, the chances are only marginally better) 10...b4 11.Na4 Bd7 12.g4 Ne5 13.Nd4 Bxa4 14.bxa4 Nc4 15.Bxc4 Qxc4 16.Nb3 Nd7 17.Kb1 Rb8 when Black has full compensation for the sacrificed exchange, Perske-Dobrovoljc, Le Castella 2018. b) 9...Nd7 10.Kb1 Nc5 11.Nce2 Bd7 12.Nh3 (12.h4!? is more logical and should be better for White) 12...a5 13.Nhf4 a4 14.Nc1?! b4 15.Bb5 Qa5 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Rhe1 f6 18.g4 Be7 with excellent counterplay for Black in Demchenko-Dastan, Teplice 2018. c) 9...Bd7 10.g4 h6 11.h4 b4 12.Nce2 (the provocative 12.Na4! is better, for instance, 12...Rb8 13.Kb1 Qa5 14.Qe2 and White is better) 12...a5 13.Nh3 a4 14.g5 Nh5 15.g6 axb3 16.gxf7+ Kxf7 17.axb3 Ra2 with a messy position where Black seems to be okay, Gara-Huang Qian, Astana 2019. d) 9...Ra7 10.g4 h6 11.h4 (more accurate is 11.Kb1 Rd7 12.Qe1 Bb7 (or 12...d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Rxd5 15.Rxd5 Qxd5 16.Bd3 Bb4 17.Qe4 f6 18.Ne2 and White has some initiative, but Black should be okay) 13.h4 d5 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Rxd5 Rxd5 16.Nxd5 Qxd5 17.Bd3 Bb4 18.Qf1 when White’s position is preferable) 11...Rd7 12.Qe1 d5 13.e5 (13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Rxd5 15.Rxd5 Qxd5 16.Bd3 Bb4 17.Qe4 f6 is the same as above) 13...d4 14.Nxb5 Bb4 15.Qf2 Nd5 16.Nd6+ Bxd6 17.exd6 Rxd6 and Black is definitely doing fine, Xu Xiangyu-Sandipan, Xingtai 2019. 10.Nh3

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White has also tried 10.g3 Be7 11.Kb1 Bd7 12.Bg2 b4 13.Na4 Na5 when Black already had a comfortable game in Perez Garcia-Chen Qi, Seville 2020. 10...Bb7 Alternatively, 10...Be7 is possible, for instance, 11.Ng5 h4 12.f4 Bb7 13.Kb1 Rc8 14.Be2 Qc7 15.Rhe1 as was Carlsen-Wojtaszek, Shamkir 2018, as discussed in the Introduction. 11.Ng5 Rc8 Another option is 11...Qa5 12.Kb1 Rc8 13.Bd3 (this bishop move is not yet necessary; I prefer 13.h4 Be7 14.g3 followed up by Bh3) 13...Be7 14.f4 (if 14.Rhe1 0-0 15.h4 Rc7 16.a3 Qb6 17.Na2 Rfc8 18.Nb4 a5 19.Nxc6 Bxc6 the chances would have been about even, Black having made some progress on the queenside) 14...Nb4 (immediately targeting the bishop on d3) 15.Rhe1 0-0 16.a3 Nxd3 17.cxd3 Qb6 (Black has a comfortable game) 18.Ne2 d5?! (with 18...a5 19.Rc1 b4 20.a4 Nd7 21.Bd4 Nc5, Black could have claimed a clear advantage) 19.e5 Ng4 20.Nd4 Bc5 21.Ngf3 b4 22.a4 Nxh2

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was Ollier-Gao, Avoine 2019, when 23.f5!! (with 23.a5 Nxf3 24.Nxf3 Qc7 25.d4 Be7, White could also achieve a pleasant position, but the text move is even more problematic for Black) 23...Nxf3 24.gxf3!! exf5 (24...Bxd4?? 25.f6 wins for White) 25.Rg1! Bxd4 26.Bxd4! Qe6 (26...Qxd4?? 27.Rxg7+! forces mate) 27.Rh1 Qh6 28.Qxh6 gxh6 29.Rdg1+ Kh7 30.e6 and Black is in serious longterm problems. The difference in strength between the two bishops is palpable. 12.Kb1 Be7 13.f4 Similar to the Carlsen-Wojtzaszek plan. 13...Qa5 14.Be2 0-0 15.Bf3 Rc7 16.Rhe1

White is in no rush. Black is basically without counterplay and, therefore, White can build up his attack 27

according to his likes. 16...b4 17.Ne2 Possibly stronger is 17.Na4 e5 18.Qf2 with a clear advantage for White. 17...Rfc8 18.h4?! 18.Rc1!? 18...Na7! Rerouting, if allowed, the knight to b5 and onward to c3 where it could do real damage. 19.a4! d5?! Black makes a questionable decision, attempting to break open the game, but effectively closing the center, thus causing White to control the game. Instead, Black should have played 19...Rxc2! 20.Qe3! (if 20.Qxc2 Rxc2 21.Kxc2 then 21...d5 22.e5 Ne4 and Black has a clear advantage) 20...Nb5! 21.axb5 Ng4 22.Bxg4 Bxg5 23.fxg5 Rxb2+! 24.Kxb2 Qa3+ 25.Kb1 Bxe4+! 26.Qxe4 Qxb3+ with a draw by perpetual check. 20.e5 Ne4 21.Bxe4 dxe4 22.Nd4 Bxg5 23.hxg5 Bd5 24.Qe2 White has a clear advantage. Black’s attack on the queenside has been stalled completely, having to hope on impatience or indecision by White to get back into the game. White, on the other hand, can soon be ready to jump on Black’s king, launching an attack with g2–g4 and then stacking up heavy artillery on the h-file. 24...g6

25.g4? White should have safeguarded the queenside with 25.Rd2 Rc3!? (perhaps intending ...e4–e3, but mostly an attempt to keep White from his king) 26.f5! (breaking through anyway!) 26...e3 27.Rd3 Rxd3 28

28.Qxd3 exf5 29.Rxe3 Be4 30.Rxe4 fxe4 31.Qxe4 and White is much better. 25...Nc6? Logical, but not best. Black had a good alternative in 25...Rxc2!! when Black’s counterplay jumps back to life, one line runs 26.Nxc2 Bxb3 27.Rc1 Qxa4 28.Nxb4 Qxb4 29.Rxc8+ Nxc8 30.Qxe4 Bc4 31.Kc1 hxg4, when White’s vulnerable, open king provides Black adequate compensation for the exchange. 26.Nxc6 Rxc6 27.Rc1? Too passive! After 27.Rd2, Black would have found it challenging to resist White’s breakthrough on the kingside long-term. 27...hxg4??

A bizarre decision. Black should have played 27...e3! 28.Qxe3 hxg4 when the bishop on d5 once more becomes an important piece, preventing White from placing a rook on h1 and thus slowing White’s kingside efforts considerably. 28.Qxg4? White misses his chance. With the consistent 28.Qh2!, White could have won, for instance, 28...Kf8 (Now 28...e3?? is of no consequence, and Black will get mated after 29.Rh1 Bxh1 30.Rxh1 Kf8 31.Qh8+ Ke7 32.Qf6+ Kd7 33.Qxf7+ Kd8 34.Rh8#) 29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Qf6+ Ke8 31.Rh1 Qc5 32.c4! (but not 32.Rh8+ Kd7 33.Qxf7+ Qe7 and Black saves himself) 32...bxc3 33.Rxc3 Qe7 34.Rh8+ Kd7 35.Qxe7+ Kxe7 36.Rxc8 and White is, of course, winning. 28...Qc7 29.Qd1?! Now, White should have played 29.Rh1! Rxc2 30.Qh3 Rxc1+ 31.Rxc1 Qb7 32.Rh1 Kf8 33.Qh8+ Ke7 34.Qf6+ Ke8 35.Bd4! (not 35.Rh8+ Kd7 36.Qxf7+ Kc6 37.Rxc8+ Qxc8 38.Qxg6 when my computer calls it equal, undoubtedly spotting a perpetual check) 35...e3 36.Rh8+ Kd7 37.Qxf7+ Kc6 38.Rxc8+ 29

Qxc8 39.Qxg6 and White has the better chances, but there are a lot of draws hiding in the oppositecolored bishops. 29...Kf8 30.Re3 Ke7 Now the black king is safer than on g8. White should still be better, but in the continuation, White seemed satisfied with a draw. 31.Rh3 a5 32.Rh7 Rc5 33.Bd4 Rc6 34.Bb2 Rc5 35.Bd4 Rc6 36.Bb2 and draw agreed, ½–½, KrausKozak, Radenci 2019.

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Chapter 4: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 d5 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 e6 7.Bb2 d5

Black takes a radical step toward changing the nature of the game from a typical Sicilian pawn structure to something that could have arisen from the Franch Defense. This is a departure that many system players will not be comfortable with. That being said, getting any kind of advantage for White also requires both patience and proper technique. It is, however, comforting to know that playing White is far more enjoyable than it is to play Black in these types of positions. 8.exd5 exd5 9.0-0-0 Be6

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The text move appears to be the only way for Black to keep things relatively under control. An untried but logical move is 9...Bb4, and now: a) 10.Qg5!? Be6 11.Kb1 (11.Qxg7 allows 11...Rg8 12.Qh6 Rg6 13.Qh4 Rg4 with a repetition of moves as 14.Qh3 d4 15.Na4 Ne4 16.Qf3 Qg5+ is pleasant for Black) 11...Rg8 (11...0-0 is met by 12.Nxd5!) 12.f3 h6 13.Qh4 and White has the better chances. b) 10.a3 appears to the simplest way to address the pin: 10...Bxc3 (or 10...Ba5 11.Qg5 d4 12.Nb5 0-0 13.Nxd4 Ng4 14.Qf4 Qc7 15.Qxc7 Bxc7 16.Nh3 Nxh2 17.Be2 with better chances for White) 11.Qxc3 0-0 12.Bd3 Re8 13.Kb1 (or 13.Ne2 Bg4 14.f3 Bh5 15.Nf4 d4 16.Qd2 and White has the upper hand thanks to the pair of bishops and better pawn structure) 13...Bg4 (13...Be6 14.Ne2 a5 15.Rhe1 a4 16.b4 Rc8 17.Qd2 is quite pleasant for White) 14.f3 Bh5 15.Ne2 Bg6 16.h4 and White is in control of the game and has the better chances.) By contrast, 9...d4? is pointless, basically losing the d-pawn after 10.Nb5 Bc5 11.Nxd4 and Black does not have compensation for the lost pawn. 10.Kb1 White has some alternatives to consider: a) 10.a3?! Bc5 (10...Bd6!?) 11.Nf3 0-0 (or 11...Qe7 12.b4 Bd6 13.Nb5 Bb8 14.Nbd4 Ne4 15.Qe3 a5 16.b5 Nxd4 17.Nxd4 Bd6 with chances to both sides, Legemaat-V.Ivanov, ICCF 2019) 12.Bd3 Rc8 13.Rhe1 Re8 (Black can also consider 13...a6 14.Kb1 h6) 14.h3 Qa5 15.Nb5!? Qxd2+ 16.Rxd2 a6 17.Nbd4 Ne4 18.Rde2 (White can gain an advantage with 18.Bxe4!? dxe4 19.Rxe4 Bd5 20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.Nf5 Bxf3 22.gxf3 g6 23.b4 Re1+ 24.Rd1 Bxf2 25.Rxe1 Bxe1 26.Kd1 Bf2 27.Ke2 Bg1 28.Nd6 and White’s queenside majority promises White the upper hand in the endgame but, of course, this is by no means a trivial win) 18...Bd7 19.Kd1 f6 20.Nxc6 Bxc6 21.Nd4 Bd7 (21...Kf7 22.f3 Ng3 23.Rxe8 Bxe8 24.Nf5 Nxf5 25.Bxf5 Rd8= is despite Black’s isolated pawn perfectly equal) 22.f3 Ng3 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8 24.c4 dxc4 25.Bxc4+ Kf8 26.b4 Bd6 27.Ne6+ Bxe6 28.Rxe6 Rd8 29.Kc2 Nh5 30.Re4 32

b5 31.Bd3 Nf4 32.Bf1 and while I prefer White in this endgame, the computer assesses it as very close to equal and the game, Caruana-Vachier Lagrave, Karlsruhe/Baden Baden 2019, eventually ended in a draw. b) 10.Nf3 Qa5, and now

11.Nb5! (11.Nd4 Bb4 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.Qe3 Kf7 14.Kb1?! (White should have opted for 14.Qh3 Bxc3 15.Bxc3 Qxa2 16.Bd3 e5 17.Rhe1 Rhe8 with approximately even chances) 14...d4 15.Rxd4 Nxd4 16.Qxd4 Rhd8 17.Qe3 Bxc3 18.Bxc3 Rd1+ 19.Kb2 Qb6! and Black is better, Guseinov-Sarana, St Petersburg 2018) 11...Qxd2+ 12.Rxd2 Ne4 (or 12...Rc8 13.Bd3 Bc5 14.Nbd4 0-0 15.Nxe6 (15.Nxc6 Rxc6 16.Nd4 Rcc8 17.f3 is somewhat better for White) 15...fxe6 16.Ng5 Rce8 17.Re1 Bb4 18.c3 Bd6 19.g3 e5 20.Bf5 Nd8 21.Ree2 g6 was played in Stanic-Stojanovic, Porto Carras 2018, and now 22.Be4! Nxe4 23.Nxe4 dxe4 24.Rxd6 would have been clearly better for White.) 13.Nc7+ Kd7 14.Nxa8 Nxd2 15.Nb6+ axb6 16.Kxd2 Bb4+ 17.Kc1 f6 18.Bb5 Kd6 19.a3 Bc5 20.Rf1 Kc7 was played in IlonenV.Ivanov, ICCF email 2019, and here 21.b4 Bd6 22.h3 would have offered White the somewhat better chances. c) 10.Bd3

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10...Qa5 (10...Bc5 11.Kb1 (11.Nge2?! Ng4 is better for Black) 11...0-0 12.Nf3 (12.Nge2 Re8 13.f3 is assessed as about equal by my engine but White’s position seems easier to play) 12...Qe7 13.Na4 Ba3 14.Rhe1 Bxb2 15.Nxb2 Rac8 16.h3 h6 17.Na4 Rfd8 with chances to both sides, Black is certainly not worse), and here: c1) 11.Nge2 Bb4 12.Qg5 Rg8 13.Kb1 0-0-0 14.Nb5 Be7 15.Nbd4 Nb4 16.a3 (16.a4!?) 16...Nxd3 17.Rxd3 Bxa3 18.Bxa3 Qxa3 19.Rc3+ White is winning and converted smoothly: 19...Kd7 20.Rc7+! Ke8 21.Rxb7+– Ne4 22.Qe3 Rc8 23.f3 Nc5 24.Nb5 Qa6 25.Nc7+ Rxc7 26.Rxc7 Nd7 27.Nd4 Kd8 28.Rc6 Qa5 29.Rxe6 fxe6 30.Nc6+ and Black resigned, 1–0, Sadhwani-Narayanan, chess.com INT 2020. c2) In a recent correspondence game, White tried 11.Nb5 which leads to a messy position that is difficult to assess, particularly in an over-the-board game: 11...Nb4 (my computer claims that even 11...Qxa2!? is possible as the knight fork on c7 is not viable, so 12.Ne2 Bb4 13.Qg5 Kf8 14.Nf4 Re8 when after 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Qxf6 Rg8 17.Qb2 Qa5 when Black has adequate compensation for the sacrificed pawn) 12.a4 a6 13.Nd4 b5 14.Ngf3 bxa4 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Rhe1 Kd7 17.Qe3 Kc7 18.Qxe6 (after the tempting 18.Nd4, Black can play 18...e5 when 19.Qxe5+ Bd6 20.Qg5 Nxd3+ 21.cxd3 Rhg8 with a complete mess which undoubtedly had been analyzed by both players) 18...Rd8 19.Bf5 Kb7 20.bxa4 Bd6 21.Re3 (White can consider 21.Qe3 Qxa4 22.Nd4 Rhf8 23.g3 with a sharp position where both sides have chances) 21...Ka8 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.c3 Na2+ 24.Kd2 Rhe8 25.Qxd6, and draw agreed, ½–½, Volodarsky-Kubicki, ICCF 2019. d) An untried idea is 10.Nge2 when 10...Qa5 11.f3 Ba3 (11...Bb4 is again met by 12.Qg5!) 12.Nd4 0-0 13.Kb1 Bxb2 14.Kxb2 Qc5 15.g4 a6 16.h4 Rac8 17.Bh3 and White has the upper hand. 10...Qa5 11.Nb5 White achieves less after 11.Nge2 Bb4 12.a3 (this is better than 12.f3?! 0-0 13.Nd4 Nxd4 14.Qxd4 Rfc8 is pleasant for Black) 12...Bxa3 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 14.Qxd5 Nxd5 15.Bxa3 0-0-0 16.Bb2 Ndb4 34

17.Rc1 f6 18.Nf4 Bf5 with an insignificant advantage for White; Black’s activity more or less counterbalances the pair of bishops. 11...Qxd2 12.Rxd2

12...Ne4 A similar idea is 12...0-0-0 13.f3 Bc5 14.Ne2 Rhe8 15.Ned4 (or 15.h4 Kb8 16.Nbd4 Bd7 17.Rd1 Rc8 (also 17...Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Bxd4 19.Nxd4 Nh5 20.Rg1 is somewhat better for White) 18.a3 with an edge for White) 15...Bd7 16.Bd3 Ne5 17.Nf5 (17.Ba3 Bxa3 18.Nxa3 Nc6 19.Nab5 with a comfortable edge for White) 17...Nxd3 18.Nbd6+?! (White should have opted for 18.Nfd6+ Kb8 19.Rxd3 Re2 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Rxd5 and White has the upper hand) 18...Kc7 19.Bxf6?! (19.Rxd3 Bxd6 20.Nxg7 Be7 21.Nxe8+ Rxe8 22.Be5+ with chances to both sides) 19...gxf6 20.Nxe8+ Rxe8 21.Ng7 Re5 and Black has the better chances in the endgame, Eugene-Drygalov, New Delhi 2019. 13.Re2 0-0-0 14.f3 a6 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 Bc5 17.Bxc5 Nxc5

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Some more pieces have come off the board, which should favor White if he can manage to get his pieces adequately coordinated. 18.Rd2 Rhe8 19.Ne2 Bf5 20.Kb2 Ne6?! Or 20...Re3 21.Nf4 (21.Ng3 Bg6 22.Be2 Ne6 23.Rhd1 Kc7 24.Bf1 with a small plus for White) 21...d4 22.Bc4 Be6 23.Be2 Bf5 24.g4 and White has an edge. 21.g4 Bg6 22.h4 h6 23.Bg2

23...d4 Black decides to change the dynamic of the position by sacrificing a pawn. The alternative is unpleasant for Black 23...Rd7 24.Rhd1 Red8 25.c3 Bh7 26.Bf1 g5 27.h5 and White has a pleasant edge 36

in the endgame, although the conversion is neither obvious nor easy. 24.Rhd1 d3 25.cxd3 Nd4 26.Nxd4 Rxd4 27.Kc3 Black has some activity to compensate for the sacrificed pawn, but entirely satisfactory it is not. Nakamura makes the conversion look rather unproblematic, which could have something to do with it being a rapid game. Nevertheless, it looked very smooth. I have left the rest of the game for your reference, albeit without annotations. 27...Red8 28.h5 Bh7 29.Bf1 Rf4 30.Be2 f5 31.Rg1 Rd7 32.g5 Rh4 33.gxh6 gxh6 34.d4 Rxh5 35.Bc4 Kc7 36.Rdg2 f4 37.Be6 Re7 38.Rg7 Kd6 39.Rxe7 Kxe7 40.Bc8 Bf5 41.Bxf5 Rxf5 42.Rg7+ Kf6 43.Rxb7 h5 44.Kc4 Kg6 45.d5 h4 46.d6 h3 47.Re7 Rf8 48.Kd5 Rh8 49.Re1 Kg5 50.d7 Rd8 51.Kc6 Kh4 52.Re8 1–0 Nakamura-Vachier Lagrave, Abidjan 2019.

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Chapter 5: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 e6 7.Bb2 Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.f4

With the king castled, White can play this pawn advance at ease, not needing to prepare with f2–f3, unless he so desires. These are still options, however, 9.Kb1 followed by f2–f3; and 9.f3 a6 10.Kb1 (but 10.g4? can be met with 10...Nxg4! after which the recapture is impossible on account of ...Bg5, winning White’s queen (rather than 10...Nd7 11.Kb1 b5 as played in Zasukhin-Bocharov, Cheliabinsk 2019, when 12.a3 Nc5 13.h4 would have been better for White) ) 10...b5 transpose to chapter 6 9...Qa5 The immediate counterstrike in the center looks impossible at first glance, apparently losing a pawn. Still, it has been tried: 9...d5 10.e5 (Andreikin was not impressed by White’s chances after 10.exd5 exd5 11.Nxd5 Qxd5 12.Qxd5 Nxd5 13.Rxd5 Be6 14.Rd1 Bc5 as White will lose the gained pawn because 15.g3?! Nb4! 16.a3 Bd5 is even worse) 10...Nd7 11.Nf3 a6 12.Kb1 b5

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13.h4 (White has an interesting alternative in 13.f5!? Ndxe5 (or 13...b4 14.Na4 exf5 15.Qe3 Nc5 16.Nxc5 d4 17.Nxd4 Bxc5 18.Qf3 with better chances for White) 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.fxe6 Bxe6 16.Nxd5 and White has the upper hand) 13...Nc5 14.Ng5 b4 15.Na4 Nxa4 16.Qd3 g6 17.bxa4 f5 18.h5 Bxg5 19.fxg5 Qxg5 20.hxg6 Qxg6 21.Qe3, when White, despite being a pawn down and with a ridiculous pawn structure, has better chances because of Black’s weakened king shelter and poorly organized forces, Andreikin-Shevchenko, Minsk 2018.; 9...a6 transposes to lines covered in chapter 7. 10.Kb1 Rd8 Here, 10...a6 11.Nf3 is covered in the note to Black’s 10th move in chapter 7. 11.Qe1 Another try is 11.Nf3 but now 11...d5! is quite effective, for instance, 12.e5 Ne4 13.Nxe4 dxe4 14.Nd4 Qxd2 15.Rxd2 Bc5 (Black already has a pleasant position, having freed himself of most of the usual headaches) 16.c3 b6 17.Re2 Nxd4 18.cxd4 Ba6 19.Rxe4 Bb7 20.Bd3 Rac8 21.dxc5 Rxd3 22.Rd4 Rxd4 23.Bxd4 bxc5 and the opposite-colored bishops ensure equality, Koykka-Szustakowski, Pardubice 2019. 11...d5 12.e5

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12...Ne8 12...Nd7 13.Nb5 Qxe1 14.Rxe1 Nc5 15.Nf3 a6 16.Nbd4 Ne4 17.Bd3 Nf2 18.Rhf1 Nxd3 19.cxd3 Bd7 20.Rc1 Rdc8 21.Rfd1 Nxd4 22.Bxd4 Rxc1+ 23.Rxc1 Rc8 24.Rxc8+ Bxc8 with equal chances in the endgame, Mohite-Sapale, Zadar 2018. 13.Nf3 Bd7 In another correspondence game, Black survived after 13...Bb4 14.Qe3 Nc7 15.Bd3 (both 15.h4!? and 15.a4!?, each having their purposes, one aggressive and the other one defensive) 15...d4 16.Qe4 Bxc3 17.Qxh7+ Kf8 18.Ng5 Nd5 19.Qh5 Rd7 20.Qh8+ Ke7 21.Qg8 Nd8 and later a draw after 36 moves in Filipchenko-Sykora, ICCF email 2018, but 22.Qxg7! Bxb2 23.Kxb2 Rc7 24.Ne4, White can keep an intense pressure on Black, which he may or may not survive. In over-the-board games, Black will definitely be struggling, whereas, in correspondence games, Black with engine support will likely have more success. 14.g4 14.Nb5, intending Nbd4 with a French Defense-like clamp on Black’s position, is best prevented with 14...Nb4! when White’s best move is simply to retreat the knight as 15.a4?! Bxb5 16.Bxb5 a6 gives Black’s pawns and pieces purpose and targets on the queenside. 14...Rac8 15.h4 Bb4 16.Rh3!? Defending the knight sideways. 16...Nc7 17.Qe3

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17...d4!? A freeing move, allowing Black to activate his cramped pieces. This option is worth keeping in mind, as White may not want to allow it, and Black would definitely want to use this resource if looking for active counterplay. 18.Nxd4 Nxd4 19.Qxd4 Nb5 20.Bxb5 Bxb5 21.Qg1 Bc6 22.h5 22.Rhd3 Rxd3 23.Rxd3 may be an improvement, but the positions that arise are quite similar to those in the game. 22...Rxd1+ 23.Qxd1 Rd8 was played in Filipchenko-Tombette, ICCF email 2018, and now 24.Rd3 Rxd3 25.Qxd3 h6 would have led to more or less even chances, Black’s bishop pair provides excellent compensation for the missing pawn.

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Chapter 6: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 b5 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 b5 9.f3

This position looks a bit like the English Attack, except the bishop is on b2 instead of e3. There are both plusses and minuses to this “discrepancy.” To start with the negative, the bishop on e3 is very good at supporting the advance of the kingside pawn, providing them with an extra guardian. Its absence from e3 sometimes causes headaches because of the lack of support and that Black with more potency can play on the dark squares. The plus side, the bishop on b2, is a beast and is entirely unopposed on the longest diagonal of the board. Additionally, it is not always easy for Black to create an effective counterplay on the queenside because White’s fianchetto set-up is more robust than what Black typically encounters. 9...Be7 Black’s move order in these set-ups are relatively fluid, and there are plenty of transpositions, admittedly, I found myself a little confused more than once. But at this juncture, the main alternative is 9...Bb7, and here: a) 10.g4

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10...Nd7 (or 10...Qc7 11.g5 Nd7 12.h4 Nc5?! 13.Kb1 0-0-0 14.a3 Be7 15.Nge2 Rhe8 16.Bg2 Nd7 17.f4 Nb6 18.Rh3 f6 19.Nd5 exd5 20.exd5 and White is winning, Morozevich-Lupik, Tallinn 2019) 11.h4 b4 12.Nce2 a5 13.g5 a4 14.h5 h6 15.g6 f6 16.Nf4 Nc5 17.Bh3 axb3 18.axb3 Bc8 19.Nge2 Be7 was Henris-Verheyen, Charleroi 2018, and now 20.Nd4 Nxd4 21.Qxd4 Qa5 22.Kd2 would have offered White the somewhat better chances. b) 10.Kb1, and here: b1) 10...Qc7 11.g4 h6 12.Bg2 (or 12.Nge2 Rd8 13.Nf4 Be7 14.Qe3 Rc8 (14...Ne5!?) 15.h4 Ne5 16.Rc1 Qc5 17.Qe2 Bc6 18.Bg2 Qb6?! (18...b4!?) 19.Nd1 b4 20.Nf2 Bb5 21.Qd2 a5?! was Bellahcene-Talbi, Oran 2018, and now 22.g5 Nfd7 23.Nh5 would have been very unpleasant for Black) 12...0-0-0 13.Nge2 d5 14.exd5 exd5 15.Qf4 d4 16.Ne4 Nxe4 17.fxe4 Qxf4 18.Nxf4 Bd6 19.Rhf1 Bxf4 20.Rxf4 f6 21.Rf5 Rd6 22.Rd5 Rhd8 23.Ba3 with a marginal plus for White in DarbanNalbant, Manisa 2018. b2) 10...Be7 11.g4, and now:

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b21) 11...0-0 12.h4 Nd7 13.g5 Nb6 14.Bd3 Rc8 15.f4 d5 16.Nf3 (White can also consider 16.exd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 18.Rh3 Qc5 19.a3 with somewhat better chances) 16...Qc7 17.f5 b4 18.exd5 Ne5 19.Ne4 Nxf3 20.Qg2 Ne5 and Black has a very nice position, Cuenca Jimenez-Ortiz Suarez, Chihuahua City 2019. b22) 11...Qc7 12.g5 Nd7 13.h4 0-0-0 14.Bh3 Kb8 15.Nge2 b4 16.Na4 Nc5 17.Nxc5 dxc5 18.Qe3 e5 19.f4 Bd6 20.fxe5 Nxe5 21.Rhf1 Rhe8 22.Nf4 and White is clearly better, next up is Nd5, Krzyzanowski-Bashirli, Budapest 2019. b23) 11...h6 with another fork in the road: b231) 12.Bg2 Rc8 13.Nge2 Qc7 14.h4 Nd7 15.g5 Nb6 16.g6 b4 17.gxf7+ Kxf7 was Hernandez Sanchez-Rivera, Cartagena 2019, and now 18.Na4 Nxa4 19.bxa4 Ne5 20.Bh3 Bf6 (20...Nc4 21.Qf4+) 21.Nf4 Rhe8 22.Qg2 would have lead to a sharp position with chances to both sides. b232) 12.Qe3 Nd7 13.f4 Qb6 14.Qe1 Rg8 15.Nf3 g5 16.Nd5 exd5 17.exd5 gxf4 18.dxc6 Qxc6 19.Be2 Rxg4 20.Rf1 Rg2 21.Bd3 with a position where White is clearly better, Lagarde-Donchenko, Brest 2018. b233) 12.h4 Qb6 13.Nh3 0-0-0 14.g5 hxg5 15.Nxg5 Rhf8 16.Bh3 Kb8 17.Rhg1 d5 18.exd5 Nxd5 19.Nxd5 Rxd5 20.Qe2 Rfd8 21.Qh2+ Bd6 22.f4 Qc7 23.Rxd5, and draw agreed, ½–½, in PetrisorDambacher, Maastricht 2018, although White has the clearly better chances in the final position, for instance, 23...exd5 24.Bxg7 Bxf4 25.Qf2 Re8 26.Rg4 Bh2 27.Bb2 when White’s better-placed pieces along with the dangerous h-pawn should give him excellent winning chances. b234) 12.Nge2 Qc7 13.Nf4 Ne5 14.Be2 Rc8 15.a3 Bc6 16.h4 Nfd7 17.Nh5 g6 18.Ng3 Nc5 19.f4 Ned7 20.Nxb5 axb5 21.Bxh8 Nxe4 22.Nxe4 Bxe4 23.Bd3 Bxh1 24.Rxh1 was better for White in Ramos Silvera-Diaz Garcia, Pinar del Rio 2019. Finally, 9...Qc7, 9...Nd7, and 9...Bd7 are all covered in the note to Black’s 9th move in chapter 3.

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9...h5 transposes to the main line in chapter 3. 10.Kb1 White need to pay attention at this juncture, for instance, 10.g4? is a mistake

10...Nxg4! (or 10...b4!? 11.Na4?! (11.Nce2 a5 12.g5 Nh5 13.Kb1 0-0) 11...Nxe4 12.Qe1 Nf6 13.Bd3 Qa5 14.Nh3 h6 15.Rg1 Ne5 and White does not have adequate compensation for the pawn, LazovStanojoski, Skopje 2019) 11.Nh3 Nf6 12.Rg1 Rg8 (12...g6!? 13.Kb1 0-0 was safer and better, promising Black the better chances) 13.Kb1 Qb6 14.f4 Bb7 15.f5!? Ne5 16.Bg2 Nfg4 17.fxe6 fxe6 18.Ng5 Bxg5 19.Qxg5 and White was in command in Guseinov-Martinez Alcantara, Barbera del Valles 2018, no small feat, considering he fell into an opening trap! Another idea is 10.h4 h5 11.Nh3 (immediately heading for g5) 11...Bd7 12.Ng5 b4 13.Na4 Qc7 14.Kb1 a5 15.f4 (15.Bb5!?) 15...e5 16.g3 0-0 17.Bb5 Nb8 18.c4, and draw agreed, ½–½, in SisákMorozov, ICCF 2019, something Black could not have been unhappy about as White’s position looks easier to play even if objectively about evenly balanced. 10...0-0 The normal continuation, focusing on bringing all of his pieces to natural squares, including castling, even if White’s attack is just about to head in the king’s direction. The alternatives are: a) 10...h5 11.Nh3 Bd7 12.Ng5 b4 13.Ne2 (13.Na4!? 0-0 14.h4 could also be considered; I prefer White, but that is entirely a matter of taste) 13...a5 14.h4 a4 15.Nc1 Qa5 16.f4 Na7 17.Bc4 Nb5 18.Bxb5 Bxb5 19.Qd4 Bc6 20.Nd3 axb3 21.axb3 Bb7 22.Rhe1 0-0 23.Kc1 Rfc8 24.Re2 Ba6 and Black has an enjoyable position, Meissner-M. Brunello, Berlin 2018. b) 10...Qb6 11.g4 Bb7 12.Bg2 (there is no urgency to place the bishop on this awkward square; if instead 12.g5 Nd7 13.h4, White appears to have the better chances) 12...Nd7 13.f4 Nc5 14.Nf3 0-0 15.g5 b4 16.Na4 Nxa4 17.bxa4 Rfc8 18.f5 Na5 19.Qd4 Qxd4 20.Nxd4 was seen in Katkov-Kuhar, 45

Pardubice 2019, and now 20...Bxg5 21.fxe6 fxe6 or 20...Nc4 seem to offer Black a comfortable game. 11.g4 The main line and the most natural, English Attack style, continuation, but also 11.h4 has been tried: 11...Qc7 12.g4 b4 13.Na4 d5 14.g5 Nh5 15.Bd3 d4 16.Ne2 e5 17.f4 exf4 18.Nxd4 Bg4 19.Rde1 Ne5 20.Rhg1 g6 21.Nf5 Bxf5 22.Bxe5 Qxe5 23.exf5 Qc7 with a sharp position and chances to both sides as in T.Schmidt-Mirkowski, ICCF 2019, which ultimately ended in a draw, but frankly in over the board chess, this is a tough position to play for either side, each having weaknesses and poorly placed knights. 11...b4 A significant alternative that has been tested several times is 11...Nd7 12.h4 (or 12.Nge2 Nb6 13.Ng3 b4 14.Nce2 a5 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.Qxd4 e5 17.Qd2 Qc7 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.gxf5 Rfd8 20.Rg1 Bf6 21.Bd3 d5 22.Qe1 with an interesting position, where both sides have their chances, although in this particular case, I think Black’s position – and attack – is easier to play, Gabrielian-Tsybikov, Samara 2018) 12...Nc5 13.g5 b4 14.Nce2 a5, and now we have reached a position that has been tested several times, but in all encounters, Black has won(!):

a) 15.Nh3?! e5!? (this pawn advance seems better leaving White with issues of where to place his knights; alternatively, Black has also tried 15...a4 16.Nc1?! (16.Nd4!? was certainly better, but Black does not have any problems) 16...axb3 17.cxb3 Ba6 18.Nf4 Qa5 19.Nh5 e5 20.Qd5 Bb7 21.Qd2 Rfc8 22.Bh3 Ba6 23.Qd5 Rc7 24.Rh2 Bb7 and Black was clearly better in Tadic-M. Popovic, Belgrade 2019) 16.Rg1?! (White is playing for an attack that is currently not there; instead, he should have limited the extent of Black’s advantage with 16.Nf2) 16...a4 17.g6 fxg6 18.Qd5+ Be6 19.Qxc6 Qa5 20.Nc1 was played in M.Popov-Bocharov, Ekaterinburg 2019, and now 20...Rac8 21.Qb5 Qxb5 22.Bxb5 Bxh3 would have been clearly better for Black. b) 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4, and now:

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b1) 16...Qc7 17.Ne2 (White should have played 17.h5!? Bb7 18.Nh3 with chances to both sides) 17...e5 18.Bxc5 dxc5 19.Nc1 Rd8 20.Qe1 Be6 21.Bh3 Bxh3 22.Rxh3 c4 23.Rxd8+ Rxd8 and Black is clearly pressing and White is in trouble, Sulskis-Lupulescu, Batumi ol 2018. b2) 16...a4 17.Qxb4 Qc7 18.Qc3 e5 19.Bxc5 (19.Be3!? Be6 20.Bh3 Bxh3 21.Nxh3 whenI prefer White but Black has decent compensation for the sacrificed pawn) 19...dxc5 20.Bc4 Ba6 21.Ne2 Rfb8 22.Nc1 Bxc4 23.Qxc4 Rb4 with a comfortable position for Black as seen in Brodsky-Peng Shunkai, Charlotte 2020. b3) 16...e5 17.Bxc5 dxc5 18.Qxd8 Rxd8 19.Rxd8+ Bxd8 20.Bc4 Ba6 21.Ne2 Bxc4 22.bxc4 f6 with equal chances, Maters-De Boer, Hoogeveen 2018. 12.Na4

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I’m not a fan of 12.Nce2?! which seems to give Black the kind of play he is hoping for, and White’s minor pieces are struggling to find a way to untangle themselves: 12...a5 (or 12...Qa5 13.Nf4 (13.g5!? Nd7 14.f4 improves) 13...Rd8 14.h4 d5 15.e5 Nd7 16.Nh5 d4 17.f4 Bb7 18.Rh3 Nb6 19.Bg2 Nd5 20.Bxd5 Rxd5 with chances to both sides, Vagman-Han Yichen, Bratislava 2019) 13.h4 a4 14.h5 axb3 15.axb3? (15.cxb3 is the lesser evil, but Black still has a comfortable game after 15...Qa5 16.Nc1 Nd7) 15...Qa5 16.Nc1?? Nxe4! 17.fxe4 Bf6! (the point: Black threatens mate on a1 and White could have resigned on the spot) 18.e5 Bxe5 19.Bxe5 dxe5 20.c3 bxc3 21.Qa2 c2+ 22.Qxc2 Qa1# 0–1, Gharagyozyan-Mosadeghpour, Poti 2018. Let that be a warning if you think that your king will survive anything on the queenside! 12...Nd7 13.h4 Once more, we have a couple of alternatives to cover: a) 13.Qe3 Qc7 (13...Bb7!?) 14.f4 Nc5 15.Nxc5 dxc5 16.Nf3 a5 17.Bb5 Ba6 18.Bxc6 Qxc6 19.Ne5 Qb5 20.g5 Rfd8 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 was Nasuta-Bonade, Vienna 2019, and now 22.f5! would leave White with an initiative and a space advantage. b) 13.f4 Nc5 14.Nxc5 dxc5 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 16.Rxd8+ Bxd8 17.Nf3 Bc7 (17...Bb7!?) 18.f5 Bb7 19.fxe6 fxe6 20.Bc4 Re8 21.Rd1 Re7 was played in Asensio Linan-Perez Pastora, Barcelona 2019, and now 22.Ng5 Bc8 23.e5 would have left Black’s bishop pair quite limp. 13...Nc5 14.g5 White chooses to ignore that Black can capture on a4, ruining White’s queenside pawn structure. Understandably, if White is playing for a win, then 14.Nxc5 dxc5 15.Bc4 Qxd2 16.Rxd2 Na5 17.Be2 Bb7 is not something that will make Black shake in his boots. 14...Nxa4 15.bxa4 e5 16.Ne2 Na5?!

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Surprisingly, this move is a mistake. A better continuation was 16...Qa5 17.f4 Bg4 18.f5 f6 19.Rg1 Bh5 20.Qd5+ Qxd5 21.Rxd5 when White has more space, but Black should be okay. 17.Ng3!? For pure shock effect, White could also have played 17.Nd4! although after 17...Qc7 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.exf5, White, like in the game, would have had a small but clear advantage. 17...Qc7 18.f4?! 18.Nf5! transposes to the line in the previous note. 18...Bd7? Black should have played the natural 18...Nc4 when 19.Bxc4 Qxc4 20.fxe5 dxe5 21.Qd5 Qxd5 22.exd5 Bg4 would have equalized. 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20.exf5

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20...Rfc8 21.f6 gxf6 22.gxf6 Bxf6 23.Rg1+ Or 23.Bd3 Nc4 24.Qg2+ Kf8 25.Bxc4 Qxc4 26.Rxd6 and White is winning. 23...Kh8 24.Bd3 Also 24.Qxd6 Qxc2+ 25.Ka1 Rc6 26.Qd5 wins for White, albeit not as clean as in the game continuation. 24...Nc4 25.Qe2! Nxb2 26.Bxh7! The point: now, Black’s king is stripped of his cover. 26...Nxd1 27.Qh5! Nc3+ 28.Ka1 Bg7 29.Bd3+ Kg8 30.Qh7+ Kf8 31.Rxg7 d5 32.fxe5 Ke8

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33.e6?! The most convincing win was 33.Qg8+ Kd7 34.Qxf7+ Kc6 35.Qf6+ Kb7 36.a5 and Black can resign. 33...Ke7 34.Rxf7+ Kd6 35.Rd7+ Kc6 36.Rxc7+ Rxc7 37.Qg6? 37.e7 was more accurate. 37...Re7 38.Qf6 Rg8 39.a3 Rg1+ 40.Bf1 a5 41.axb4 axb4 42.a5 Kd6 43.Qf4+ Kc6 44.Kb2 Na4+ 45.Kb3 Nc5+ 46.Ka2 Ne4 47.Qe3 Rxe6 48.Qxg1, and Black finally resigned, 1–0, AravindhSandipan, Majitar 2019.

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Chapter 7: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 Be7 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 Be7 9.f4

9.Kb1 0-0 (9...b5 10.f3 transposes to chapter 6) 10.f4 (10.f3 also transposes to chapter 6) 10...b5 11.Bd3 Qc7 12.g4 Nd7 13.Nf3 Nc5 14.g5 f5?! (this advance seems a little panicky, instead 14...Bb7 15.h4 would have been normal with chances to both sides) 15.exf5 Nxd3 16.Qxd3 Rxf5 17.Qe3 Bf8 18.Nh4 Rc5 19.Rd2 d5 20.Ne2 e5 21.fxe5 d4 22.Nxd4 Rxe5 was Kolotilina-Alsina Leal, Marbella 2019, and her White should have played 23.Qg3 Nxd4 24.g6! (24.Rxd4 Bb7 25.Rc1 is also fine) 24...Re7 25.gxh7+ Kxh7 26.Qg6+ Kg8 27.Rxd4 with a clear advantage for White, thanks both the extra pawn and Black vulnerable king. 9.f3 h5 (while 9...b5 and 9...0-0 are other transpositions to chapter 6) 10.Nh3 b5 transposes to chapter 3 and the introduction. 9...0-0 10.Nf3 White continues with normal development which makes sense, but has a sharp, exciting alternative in 10.g4!?, and now Black has to choose his path carefully:

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a) 10...d5? is a little desperate, White gains an advantage after 11.g5 Nh5 12.exd5 exd5 13.Nxd5 and White has won a pawn without a trace of compensation for Black. The rest of the game went as follows: 13...Be6 14.Ne2 Bxd5 15.Qxd5 Qc7 16.Qd7 Qa5 17.Bg2 Qxa2 18.Nc3 Qa5 19.Bxc6 Ba3 20.Bxb7 Qxc3 21.Bxa3 Rad8 22.Rd3 Qa1+ 23.Kd2 Qxa3 24.Qxd8 Qb4+ 25.Kc1 Qxb7 26.Re1 and Black resigned, 1–0, N.Petrov-Kraemer, Switzerland 2018. b) 10...b5 11.g5, and now: b1) 11...Nd7 12.h4 Nc5 13.Bd3?! (this is a mistake, White should instead have played 13.a3 b4 14.axb4 Nxb4 15.h5 e5 16.h6 g6 17.Bc4 Bb7 18.Nd5 with a comfortable edge for White) 13...b4 14.Nce2 a5 15.Nf3 a4 16.Kb1 axb3 17.cxb3 d5 18.Nfd4 Nxd4 19.Nxd4 was Ly-Varshini, Bangkok 2019, and here 19...Nxd3 20.Qxd3 Bb7 would have offered Black a clear advantage. b2) 11...Ne8 12.Nf3 Bb7 13.h4 b4 14.Ne2 Qa5 15.Kb1 d5 16.exd5 Rd8 17.Nfd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Bxd5 19.Rh3 Nd6 was played in Caglar-Kocyigit, Skopje 2019, when 20.Bg2 offers White a small advantage. c) 10...Nxg4!? 11.Nf3 Nf6 12.Rg1 b5 13.e5 Ne8 14.exd6 (White could also consider 14.Kb1 d5 15.f5 but 14...dxe5 would likely improve) 14...Qxd6 15.Bd3 Bf6? (15...Qc7 is better) 16.Ng5! Bxg5 17.Rxg5 (the counterintuitive 17.fxg5!? is even better, intending Ne4–f6+ with mayhem) 17...Qe7?? (total collapse by Black; necessary was 17...f5 18.Qe3 with excellent compensation for pawn for White) 18.Qg2 f6 19.Rh5 Qc7 20.Bxh7+ Kf7 21.Bg6+ Ke7 22.Qe4 Qb7 23.Nd5+ Kd8 24.Nxf6+ and, utterly busted, Black resigned, 1–0, Xu Xiangyi-Liu Yuan, Tianjin 2018. 10...b5 The sharpest answer and according to my analysis also Black’s best. A couple of other options have been tried: a) 10...Qa5 11.Kb1, and now:

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a1) 11...Rd8 12.Bd3 Nb4 13.a3 Nxd3 14.cxd3 Qb6 15.Ka2 Bd7 16.g4 a5 17.g5 Ne8 18.f5 a4 19.b4 exf5 20.Nd5 Be6 21.Nd4 Bxd5+ 22.exd5 and despite his odd pawn structure, White is in command of the game, right now, only Black’s queen is on an «active» square but even on b6, she is severely restricted by White’s move active pieces, Gabrielian-Zubritskiy, St Petersburg 2018. a2) 11...b5 12.Bd3 Nd7 13.g4 Nc5 14.h4 Nb4 15.Be2 Nc6 16.Nd4 Qc7 17.Nxc6 Qxc6 18.Bf3 (Here, White should have played 18.h5 b4 19.h6 g5 20.Qd4 with clear advantage for White) 18...Bb7 19.Qd4 e5? (a mistake; Black should have played 19...Bf6 20.e5 Qc7 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.Bxd5 Bxe5 23.fxe5 dxe5 24.Qxe5 Qxe5 25.Bxe5 exd5 26.Rxd5 and White’s more active pieces ensure White at least a small advantage) 20.Qd2 Rfe8 21.Nd5 exf4 was Gomez Barrera-Puppi Lazo, Asuncion 2019, and now 22.e5! is close to winning for White.) b) 10...Qc7 11.Bd3 b5 12.g4 b4 13.Na4 d5 14.e5 Ne4 15.Qe3! Nc3?! (or 15...Qa7 16.Qxa7 Nxa7 17.Nb6 Rb8 18.Nxc8 Rbxc8 19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.Nd2 and White once more has the better chances) 16.Nxc3 bxc3 17.Bxc3 Nb4 18.Kb1 Qa5 19.Bxb4 Qxb4 20.Nd4 Bd7 21.f5 and even when missing the dark-squared bishop on b2, White is completely dominating the game, Ibarra Jerez-Aguilar, Seville 2019. 11.Bd3 Again, the pawn sacrifice with 11.g4!? is an option, for instance,

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11...b4 (accepting the pawn is quite dangerous as everything, very quickly, points in the direction of Black’s king: 11...Nxg4 12.Rg1 Nf6 13.e5 Ne8 14.Qe3 d5 15.f5 with a nasty initiative for White) 12.g5 bxc3 13.Qxc3 Qb6 14.gxf6 Bxf6 15.Qe1 (or 15.Qd2 Bxb2+ 16.Kxb2 Bb7 17.Rg1 and White’s position is a lot more fun to play) 15...Bxb2+ 16.Kxb2 a5 17.Rxd6 Qc5 18.Rd3 Bb7 19.Rc3 and White has a clear advantage, Galopoulos-Giannoulakis, Rio Achaea 2018. 11...Bb7 12.g4 We have already looked at similar pawn sacrifices above, but at this juncture, it is probably no longer the best. Instead, I like the untried 12.e5 Ne8 (or 12...dxe5 13.fxe5 Nd7 14.Bxh7+ Kxh7 15.Qxd7 Qb6 16.Qd3+ Kg8 17.Qe2 seems promising for White) 13.Kb1 Nb4 14.Be2 dxe5 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 16.Rxd8 Bxd8 17.a3 Nd5 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.fxe5 when White’s advantage in space promises him some initiative, but objectively, Black should be okay. 12...Nb4 13.g5

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13...Nxd3+! Exchanging this bishop is typically in Black’s interest in this variation, and this position is no exception. In a recent online game, Black instead tried 13...Nd7?! 14.Kb1 (it may be even better to preserve the bishop with 14.Be2!?, leaving the knight sitting a little loose on b4, but Black has a tactical resource up his sleeve that we should familiarize ourselves with: 14...Rc8 15.Kb1 Nxc2! 16.Qxc2 b4 17.Bc4 Rxc4 18.bxc4 bxc3 19.Bxc3 f5 (or 19...Nc5!? 20.Nd2 f6) 20.gxf6 Bxf6 when Black has excellent compensation for the exchange thanks to White’s open king) 14...Rc8 15.h4 d5?! (Black should still have played 15...Nxd3 16.Qxd3 Nc5 17.Qd4 f6 with chances to both sides) 16.exd5 Nxd5?! (16...Nc5!?) 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.Qe2 Qc7 19.h5 f5? 20.Bxf5 Rxf5 21.Rxd5 exd5 22.Qe6+ Rf7 23.g6 and White was winning in Sadhwani-Barrientos Chavarriaga, chess.com INT 2020. 14.cxd3 Nd7 15.h4?! Natural but not best, after 15.Kb1 Nc5 16.Ne2 a5 17.Ng3 and White has a playable position. 15...a5 16.g6 fxg6 17.Nd4 Nc5 18.Ndxb5

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18...Qd7?! Here, 18...d5! is very unpleasant for White, Black is at least clearly better. 19.Qe3 Rfc8 Or 19...a4! 20.b4 a3! 21.Nxa3 Na4! and White is clearly in trouble. 20.Kb1 Ba6 21.d4 Bxb5 22.dxc5 Rxc5 23.Ba3?! Now, 23.e5 d5 24.h5 would have been the way to go for White. 23...Rcc8 23...Rh5!? 24.e5 24.h5 would have brought White back into the game. The rest of the game will remain unannotated, but it is far from error-free. 24...Bc6 25.exd6 Bxh1 26.dxe7 Bd5 27.Qe5 Rxc3 28.Qxc3 a4 29.Rc1 axb3 30.axb3 Kf7 31.Qb4 Qa7 32.Qa4 Qb7 33.Qb4 Qa7 34.Qa4 Qb7 35.Qb4 and draw agreed, ½–½, Purygin-Kavyev, Samara 2019.

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Chapter 8: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: minor lines 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 In this chapter, we will look at those lines where Black chooses a Dragon set-up but where the play does not enter the main lines. 5...Nf6 An important move order alternative is 5...g6 6.b3 Bg7 (the main line, 6...Bh6 is covered in chapter 11– 14), and here:

a) 7.Bb2, and here: a1) 7...Qa5 8.0-0-0 Bg4 9.Be2 Bxe2 10.Ngxe2 0-0-0 (Black avoids having to stare down a kingside attack by sending the king to the queenside, but White nonetheless has a pleasant game) 11.Kb1 Kb8 12.Nd5 (this is not necessary yet, instead 12.f3 Nf6 and only now 13.Nd5 was the way to go, for instance 13...Qxd2 14.Rxd2 Ne8 15.Rhd1 with a positional advantage) 12...Qxd2 13.Rxd2 Bxb2 14.Kxb2 e6! (evicting the knight from d5 and allowing Black to set up a solid, yet somewhat passive, defensive stance) 15.Ne3 Nf6 16.Nc3 (16.f3!?) 16...Rd7 17.f3 a6 18.Na4 b5 19.Nc3 Rhd8 20.Rhd1 Kc7 with an endgame that is about even, Luukkonen-Koykka, Helsinki 2018. a2) 7...a6 8.0-0-0 usually transposes to chapter 10 after 8...Nf6 9.f3 0-0, but Black can also play 8...Be6 9.Kb1 b5 (or 9...Nf6 10.Nge2 0-0 11.Nf4 Bd7 12.Nfd5 (12.h4!? h5 13.f3 is also pleasant for White) 12...b5 13.f3 Nxd5 14.exd5 Na7 15.h4 Rc8 16.Ne2 Bxb2 17.Kxb2 Rc5 18.h5 Bf5 19.c3 b4 20.c4 and Black without an attack of his own and White getting ready to strike with force on the kingside will have to pull a miracle to survive, Odeev-Ozguner, Ankara 2018) 10.h4 h5 11.Nf3 Rc8 12.Ng5 Nd4 13.Bd3 Nf6 14.Ne2 Nxe2 15.Qxe2 0-0 16.e5 Nd5 17.Bxg6 fxg6 18.Nxe6 Nf4 19.Nxf4 Rxf4 20.exd6 58

e5 21.d7 Rc5 22.Rd6 Kh7 23.Rhd1 and Black resigned, 1–0, Ter Sahakyan-Baghdasaryan, Yerevan 2018. b) 7.f4 seems unnecessary and ill-advised; White can always play this move later if deemed necessary; usually, it makes sense to play f2–f3 to support the kingside attack where g2–g4 and h2–h4 is the usual way forward. After 7...Nf6 8.Bd3 0-0 9.Bb2 e5 10.Nge2 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 (Black has a comfortable game at this point) 13.0-0-0 exf4?! (both 13...Bg4; and 13...Rd8 should leave Black with the better chances) 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Nxf4 Qe5 (15...Qc5 would still be fine for Black) 16.Kb1 Bf5? (a better option was 16...Bg4 17.Rde1 Qd6 which would have kept White’s advantage to a minimum) 17.Rhe1 Qc5 18.Nh5+ Kh8 19.Qh6 Rg8 20.Nf6 Rg7 was played in Sadhwani-Aditya, Lichess.org INT 2020, and now 21.Bxf5 Qxf5 22.Ne8 Rg8 23.Nd6 would leave White winning. 6.b3 g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0

8.f3 0-0 9.0-0-0 a6 10.Kb1 transposes to chapter 10. 8...Be6 Some key alternatives are: a) 8...Qa5 9.Kb1, and here:

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a1) 9...Be6 10.f3 0-0-0 11.Nd5 Qxd2 12.Rxd2 Bxd5?! (Black should consider grabbing some space with 12...h5) 13.exd5 Ne5 14.Nh3! Kb8 15.Be2 Rc8 16.Re1 Rhe8 17.Bb5 Red8 18.f4 Bh6 19.Rdd1 and White was well on the way to winning in Morozevich-Utnasunov, Sochi 2019. a2) 9...a6 10.f3 b5? 11.Nd5 Ra7 12.Qxa5 Nxa5 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Bxf6 exf6 15.Rxd6 and White is a clean pawn up, Bodnaruk-Li Zhenyu, Harbin 2019. a3) 9...0-0 10.f3 (or 10.Nge2 Ng4 11.Nf4 Nxf2?? 12.Qxf2 Bxc3 13.Rd5 Qb4 14.a3 Qxe4 15.Bd3 and Black’s queen was trapped and soon lost, Bracker-Van Dael, Hamburg 2018) 10...Rd8 11.Nge2 e5 12.g4 Be6 13.g5 Nh5 14.h4 Bf8 15.Bh3 Bxh3 16.Rxh3 Ne7 17.f4 exf4 18.Nxf4 Nxf4 19.Qxf4, and White had a substantial advantage in Ivic-Sahajasri, Veliko Gradiste 2018. b) 8...Bd7 9.Kb1 (9.f3 Rc8 10.Kb1 transposes to chapter 16) 9...Qa5 (9...0-0 10.f3 also transposes to chapter 16) 10.f3 h5?! (10...0-0 was more normal, taking play to the following chapter as well as chapter 16) 11.Nd5 Nxd5?? (Black should have played 11...Qxd2 12.Rxd2 0-0-0 although White is clearly better after 13.Bb5!) 12.Qxa5 (or 12.Bxg7) 12...Nxa5 13.Bxg7 Ne3 14.Re1 Nxf1 15.Bxh8 Nd2+ 16.Kc1 Ndxb3+ 17.cxb3 and White was winning, Hamidi-Shamsi, Teheran 2020. c) Finally, 8...a6 9.f3 typically transposes to chapter 10. 9.f3 Once more, we have a couple of alternatives to explore: a) 9.Kb1 Rc8 10.f3 (or with a different move order: 10.Nge2 b5 11.f3 a5 12.Nf4 b4 13.Ncd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Ne5 15.Bb5+ Ned7 16.h4 0-0 17.h5 Ne5 18.hxg6 hxg6 19.Rh3 Rc5 20.Bc6 Nxc6 21.dxc6 as played in Kollars-Goossens, Rome 2019, and now 21...Qc8 22.g4 e5 23.Rdh1 with a strong initiative for White; compared to a normal Dragon, where White frequently tries to eliminate Black’s knight on f6 to weaken Black’s kingside defense, White, here, constantly threatens Bxf6, creating immediate havoc for Black) 10...0-0 11.g4 Qa5 12.Nge2 b5 (or the normal 12...Rfd8 13.g5 Nh5 14.a3 (14.Nd5!?) 14...a6 15.Nd5 Qxd2 (15...Qc5!?) 16.Rxd2 h6 17.h4 Bxb2 18.Kxb2 Kg7 19.Ne3 a5 20.f4 Bd7 21.Bg2 60

and Black is struggling for air with little of coming, Nayhebaver-Turqueza, Batumi 2018) 13.Nf4 b4 14.Nce2 Rfd8 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Nf4 Kf7 17.h4 Ne5 was played in Gutenev-Gaydym, Sochi 2019, when 18.g5 Nh5 19.Bh3 Nxf3 20.Bxe6+ Ke8 21.Qd5 Qxd5 22.Nxd5 is overwhelmingly better for White. b) 9.f4 (having completed the queenside development, this move makes more sense at this juncture now, but I still think both 9.f3 and 9.Kb1 are preferable) 9...Qa5 10.Kb1 0-0-0 11.Nf3 d5 12.e5 Ne4 13.Qe1 f5 14.Bd3 Kb8 15.Nb5 Qxe1 16.Rhxe1 a6 17.Nbd4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 with a small, positional plus for White, Henriquez Villagra-Biastoch, Barcelona 2019. 9...a6 10.Kb1 White has a couple of attractive alternatives that need to be explored: a) 10.Nd5

10...Ne5 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.g4 Qc7?? (Black should have given preference to 12...h6 13.h3 g5 although 14.h4!? looks better for White) 13.g5 Bg7 14.f4 and White was already winning in Magnusson-Znuderl, Cagliari 2019. b) 10.Nge2 Rc8 11.Kb1 Ne5 12.h3 (White intends to play f3–f4, but also 12.Nf4 was better for White) 12...b5 13.Nf4 Qb6 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Ne2 0-0 16.Nd4 Kf7 (having to play this as Black is an indication that things have gone wrong) 17.h4 Nc6 18.Ne2?! (too timid, instead 18.g4!, threatening g4– g5 with serious issues on e6) 18...Qa5 19.Qxa5 Nxa5 20.g3 and White has a pleasant positional advantage, Bajarani-Vokhidov, St Petersburg 2018. 10...Qa5 Alternatively, 10...0-0 11.g4 (11.Nge2 Qa5 12.g4 transposes to chapter 9; see Vasiesiu-Roseneck in the first note) 11...b5 12.h4 (White could play 12.Nd5! Rc8 13.h4 with a comfortable advantage for White) 12...h5 13.g5 Nd7 14.f4?! (14.Nd5 was better) 14...Nc5 15.Re1 (15.Bg2 was necessary) 15...Rc8?! 61

(Black had an attractive alternative in 15...d5! 16.exd5 (16.Nxd5?? Nxe4! wins for Black) 16...b4! 17.Nd1 Qxd5 18.Qxd5 Bxd5 and Black would have been in command of the game; this is a good example why White has to keep the ...d6–d5 advance in check) 16.Nd5!? Bxb2 17.Kxb2 Bg4?! 18.Bh3! Bxh3 19.Nxh3 e5 20.Rhf1 exf4 21.Nhxf4 Nd7 22.Nxh5 gxh5 23.Nf6+ Kh8 24.g6 Nxf6 25.g7+ and White was winning in Sindarov-A.Nguyen, Hamedan 2018. 11.Nd5 Not strictly necessary, but it is a tempting option to keep in the back pocket; also, 11.Nge2 0-0 12.Nf4 is better for White. 11...Qxd2 12.Rxd2 0-0-0

13.Nxf6?! This type of exchange riddles Black with a passive, inflexible pawn structure, but the exchanges also makes it difficult to build on the pressure on Black’s position. Black will keep his isolated pawn on d6 for now, but after ...f6–f5 at some point for Black, he may eventually be able to free himself entirely. Instead, I prefer 13.c4! Nh5 14.g3 Kb8 15.Ne2 Bxb2 16.Kxb2 g5 17.Bg2, which leaves White with a pleasant positional advantage, Black will be struggling for counterplay for a long time to come. 13...Bxf6 14.Bxf6 exf6 15.c4 f5 A typical pawn break, as discussed above, here it makes extra good sense because White is far from having completed his development. 16.exf5 Bxf5+ 17.Bd3 Also 17.Kb2 d5 18.cxd5 Be6 19.Bc4 b5 would equalize for Black. 17...Bxd3+ 18.Rxd3 Rhe8!? Black could have pushed his lead in development to rid himself of his remaining pawn weakness with

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18...d5! 19.cxd5 Nb4 20.Rc3+ Kb8 and Black has the initiative. 19.Nh3 Re2 20.Nf4 Rf2 with equal chances in the endgame, Jires-Koutny, Brno 2019.

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Chapter 9: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: 8...0-0 9.f3 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.f3 In this chapter, we will focus on the lines that involve 9.f3 not followed by a 10.Kb1, as those lines tend to transpose to what we will be covered in chapter 10. 9...Qa5

Black has several alternatives at this juncture but as discussed in the previous chapter, what Black is struggling with in “classical” Dragon set-ups (I define those as the lines without ...Bh6 and ...e7–e5), Black does not have his typical plans of counterplay available: ...d6–d5 is rarely possible, ..Nc6–e5–c4 is not possible because of the pawn on b3 and the exchange sacrifices on c3 is not even a threat because White will not end up with a doubled pawn along with a weakened king shelter because White is protecting the knight with the bishop on b2. So, Black has to come up with something different, and that is not easy at all. In fact, I will venture the guess that unless Black has thoroughly studied this line and knows what he (or she) is doing, playing this Dragon set-up will be a slow but a fairly certain death sentence. The alternatives are: a) 9...a6 10.g4, and now:

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a1) 10...Qa5 11.Kb1 Be6 (or 11...Rd8 12.g5 Nh5 13.Nge2 Be6 14.f4 b5 15.Bg2 Bg4 16.h3 Bxc3?? (this capture falls flat immediately and loses whereas 16...Bxe2 17.Nxe2 b4 18.Bxg7 Nxg7 19.h4 is clearly better for White as Black is no closer to achieving any counterplay and White’s kingside attack is just about ready to make contact with Black’s king shelter and the dark-squared bishop is noticeably absent) 17.Bxc3 b4 18.hxg4 bxc3 19.Nxc3 Nxf4 20.Qxf4 Qxc3 21.Rxh7 Rf8 22.Rdh1 f6 23.e5 and Black resigned, 1–0, Meissner-Jazdanovs, Pardubice 2018) 12.Nge2 Rfc8 13.Bg2 (also 13.h4 is perfectly logical, for instance, 13...h5 14.gxh5 (14.g5!? is even better) 14...Nxh5 15.f4 Bg4 16.Rg1 Bxe2? (Black sees a tactical opportunity and goes for it, a common disease among Dragon players - I’m allowed to say this because I belong in that group - but Black forgets to look far enough and his combination faces a terrible refutation. Instead 16...Nf6 was necessary but comfortably better for White after 17.Nd5!) 17.Bxe2 Nxf4?? 18.Qxf4 Bxc3 19.Bc4! (Ouch! The threats against both f7 and g6 are impossible to parry) 19...Ne5 20.Bxf7+ Nxf7 21.Rxg6+ Kf8 22.Rf1 Ke8 23.Qxf7+ and Black resigned, 1–0, Vasiesiu-Roseneck, Bad Blankenburg 2018) 13...Qc5 14.g5 Nh5 15.h3 Qf2 16.Rhg1 Ng3 17.Nf4 Bd4 18.Rge1 b5 19.h4 Qxd2 20.Rxd2 Be5 21.Nfd5 b4 22.Na4 Bxb2 23.Kxb2 and White has a clear advantage, Black has no prospects of active counterplay, Lagunow-Pallas, Willingen 2018. a2) 10...b5 11.h4!?

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(this traditional wing attack move is probably better than 11.Nge2 Bb7?! (Black should have opted for 11...b4 12.Na4 Qa5 13.Kb1 Bd7, when it looks like Black is finally making some headway on the queenside but after 14.g5 Nh5 15.Ng3 Bxb2 16.Nxb2 Ng7 17.f4, White’s position seems a little easier to play) 12.h4 (12.Kb1!? is also perfectly good) 12...Rc8 13.h5 Ne5 14.Bg2 b4 15.Na4 Qc7 16.hxg6 hxg6 17.Nd4 (17.Nf4!? e6 is better but very complicated and quite unclear) 17...d5 18.g5 Nh5 19.exd5 was seen in Amonatov-V.Karthik, Bhubaneswar 2018, and now 19...Bxd5 20.Kb1 Rfd8 21.Qf2 Nc6 would have been better for Black... finally!) 11...h5 (This pawn advance plays into White’s hands, but I don’t see many good alternatives) 12.Nd5! (without the knight on f6, the ...h7–h5 is just a hideous weakness of the kingside) 12...e5 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.gxh5 gxh5 15.Kb1 (sidestepping the ...Bh6 threat) 15...Bh6 16.Qf2 Bb7 17.Nh3 Rac8 18.Ng5 Nb4 19.Rd2 and Black is completely busted, MilosevicOzturk, Manavgat 2018. b) 9...Bd7 is quite passive and relatively uncommon in this move order. However, when Black plays 4...Bd7 instead of 4...Nc6, there will frequently be a transposition to this particular line, which is pleasant for White. We will just show one line here, but for reference to this line, head to chapter 16 for a more complete & detailed coverage.

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10.h4 (the better 10.g4!? is the main line in chapter 16, including the critical main game Sevian-Xiong, Saint Louis 2018, and also the promising alternative 10.Kb1 as in Andrade-Martins, Recife 2018, which is also covered in chapter 16) 10...a5 (or 10...Rc8 11.Kb1 Qa5 12.g4 Rc7 13.Nge2 b5 14.Nf4 Rfc8 15.g5 Ne8 16.Ncd5 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 and Black was struggling in Kashlinskaya-A.Wagner, Dortmund 2018) 11.a4 (stopping the advance of the a-pawn is natural but not necessarily best, for instance, White could consider 11.g4, 11.Bb5, and 11.Kb1, in all cases, claiming a good game for White; the text move is not a mistake as much as it is unnecessary) 11...Nb4 12.Kb1 Rc8 (Black could even contemplate the immediate 12...d5 when 13.exd5?! Bf5 is better for Black) 13.Rc1

(White should have played 13.Nge2!? intending to meet 13...d5 with 14.e5 when White has Nd4 available when Black throws ...Bf5 at us) 13...d5! (now Black is already better) 14.exd5 Be6 (14...Bf5! 67

is even better, when 15.g4? Nfxd5! is a disaster for White, e.g., 16.Nxd5 Bxc2+ 17.Ka1 Qxd5 and White’s position collapses) 15.Nh3 Nfxd5 16.Nxd5 Qxd5 17.Qxd5 Nxd5 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Ng5 Bd7 and Black has successfully solved his opening problems, Khusnutdinov-Makarian, Moscow 2019. c) 9...Be6 places the bishop on a better square than on d7 and better supports ...d6–d5, but it is also not without its independent problems...

c1) 10.Kb1 a5 11.Nge2 (11.h4!? is also fine; Black’s attack with ...a5–a4 should not worry White unduly, e.g., 11...a4 12.Nxa4 Rxa4 13.bxa4 Qb6 14.Bb5 and Black does not have enough for the sacrificed exchange) 11...a4 12.Nxa4 (a better try was 12.Nf4!? axb3 13.cxb3 Bd7 14.h4 and White’s position is preferable although Black is not entirely without his share of the chances) 12...b5 13.Nac3 b4 14.Na4?! Rxa4 15.bxa4 Qa5 16.c4 Qxa4 17.Nc1 Nd7 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.h4 h6 20.Nb3 Nc5 and Black has more than adequate compensation for the sacrificed exchange, the white queenside is weak and exposed, and to boot, the black pieces are better coordinated, Kostolansky-Razafindratsima, Bratislava 2019. c2) 10.g4 Rc8 (or 10...a5 11.Kb1 Nd7 12.Bb5 (12.h4!?) 12...Nc5 13.a4 Nb4?! (13...Nd4!?) 14.Nge2 Rc8 (or 14...Nxc2 15.Kxc2 Bxb3+ 16.Kb1 Bxd1 17.Qxd1 e6 with a messy position where I nevertheless prefer White, but that could be a matter of taste) 15.Nd4 Bd7 16.h4 Bxb5 17.Ndxb5 Qb6 18.h5 Ne6 19.f4 Rc5 20.f5 Nc7 21.hxg6 fxg6 22.fxg6 hxg6 23.Qh2 and Black was busted in BabaniyaSafiri, Lorestan 2019) 11.g5 Nd7 12.Kb1 Nc5 13.Nge2 a5 14.h4! (14.a4?! Nb4 is what Black is hoping for) 14...a4 15.h5 axb3 16.cxb3 (16.axb3 can also be considered although Black can pursue the same line as after cxb3) 16...Nxb3?! 17.axb3 Bxb3 18.hxg6 fxg6 19.Nc1 Be6 20.Bh3? (Black’s optimistic attack could be refuted by 20.Qh2! Kf7 21.Nd5 Bxb2 22.Qxb2 and Black will not stay alive for long) 20...Bxh3 21.Rxh3 Ne5 22.f4 and while Black has reasonable compensation for the sacrificed piece at this juncture, White should have the slightly better chances, Tirelli-Calavalle, Arco 2018. c3) 10.Nge2!? Qb8

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(Black is hoping to launch both a- and b-pawns toward White’s king; an alternative is 10...Rc8 11.Nf4 Bd7 12.g4 (White can also consider 12.Ncd5!? Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Bxb2+ 14.Kxb2 which can quickly become unpleasant for Black on the kingside, considering the absence of defenders) 12...Qa5 13.Kb1 Rfd8 14.h4 h5 15.g5 Ne8 16.Ncd5 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 Bxb2 18.Kxb2 Kf8 19.Be2 Nc7 20.Ne3 Ne6 21.Nxe6+ Bxe6 22.f4 and White has an overwhelming space advantage, Nigmatov-Manish, New Delhi 2020) 11.g4 (note that after 11.Kb1, Black can try the trick 11...d5!? which exploits the fact that White’s rook on d1 is unprotected, but White can possibly meet this with 12.Nf4!? Bh6 13.Qe1! thank you, computer! - 13...Bxf4 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.Rxd5 Rd8 17.Bc4 and White has a nice plus) 11...b5 12.Nd5 Qb7 13.g5 Nh5 14.Ng3 Bxb2+ 15.Kxb2 Ng7?! 16.h4 a5

17.a3 (possibly even better is 17.h5 a4 18.Kb1 axb3 19.cxb3 and White is clearly better) 17...Rac8 69

18.h5 a4 (or 18...b4 19.a4 and White is entirely in command) 19.Qh2? (19.b4!? closing the queenside looks more promising as Black misses an good chance for counterplay with his next move...) 19...axb3? (19...b4! is the way to break White’s king shelter wide open; the computer indicates several lines leading to a perpetual check, for instance, 20.hxg6 bxa3+ 21.Kb1 fxg6 22.Qxh7+ Kf7 23.Nf4 a2+ 24.Kb2 a1=Q+ 25.Kxa1 (25.Rxa1 Ne5 is better for Black!) 25...axb3 26.Qxg6+ Kg8 27.Qh7+ Kf7 with a draw) 20.cxb3 (White is even better after 20.hxg6! fxg6 21.Qxh7+ Kf7 22.Nf4 Ne5 23.Nxe6 and it is curtains for Black) 20...b4 21.a4 Ne5? 22.Ba6 Qxa6 23.Nxe7+ Kh8 24.hxg6 h5 25.Qxh5+ and Black resigned before he would get mated, 1–0, Harutjunyan-Tologontegin, Cheliabinsk 2019. d) 9...a5 is a logical approach by Black, hoping to knock a hole in White’s queenside armor, but White should not worry unduly:

d1) White decides to stop Black’s active plans before he gets started; White has several other interesting ideas; for instance, 10.Bb5 Qb6 11.Kb1 Rd8 12.g4 (12.Nge2, creating connection between the rooks, is also considering as it eliminates Black’s tricks with ...d6–d5; after 12...e5 13.Bc4 Be6 14.Nd5, White’s position seems preferable) 12...Be6 13.g5 Ne8 14.a4?! (White should have played 14.Nge2!? Nc7 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Na4 Qb4 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 and here the computer claims an advantage for White, starting with 18.Qc1!?) 14...Nc7 15.Nge2 d5 16.exd5 Bxd5 17.Nxd5 Rxd5 18.Bd3 Bxb2 19.Kxb2 Ne6 and Black has achieved everything he was hoping for and has the clearly better chances, Haavamae-Garanin, Palanga 2018. d2) 10.a4 Bd7 (10...Nb4 looks more natural, saving the decision regarding the placement of the bishop for later although d7 is the likely destination) 11.Nge2 Rc8 12.Kb1 Nb4 13.g4 Rc5?! (Black should probably have opted for 13...Qb6 14.Nd4 Rfd8 when the chances are fairly balanced, White has to watch out for Black playing ...e7–e5 following by ...d6–d5 with strong counterplay) 14.Nd4 Qb8?! 15.Na2!? (or 15.Ncb5 Rfc8 16.c3 and Black’s counterplay seems stuck) 15...Nxa2 16.Kxa2 Rfc8 17.c4! (if White can successfully set-up the Maroczy-like bind, Black will regret his decision to go for ...a7–a5 as the counterplay is non-existent and a long period of suffering is likely) 17...b6 18.Bd3 Ne8 70

19.h4 e6 20.h5 d5 21.exd5 exd5 22.hxg6 hxg6 was played in Henderson de la Fuente-Antova, Sitges 2018, and here, the young Spanish grandmaster could have decided the game with 23.Nf5! gxf5 24.Bxg7 Nxg7 25.Qh6 f6 26.gxf5 Qd6 27.Qh7+ Kf7 28.Qg6+ and curtains for Black. Finally, two untried options are 10.Kb1 and 10.h4, both of which are perfectly fine for White. 10.h4!? 10.Kb1 transposes to chapter 10 10...Be6 11.Kb1 Rac8 A couple of alternatives are 11...Rfc8 12.Nge2 b5 13.Nf4 Bh6 14.g3 Ne5 15.Ncd5 is clearly better for White, Kutchoukov-Van Randtwijk, Hoogeveen 2018. and 11...Rfd8 12.Nd5 Qxd2 13.Rxd2 Bxd5 14.exd5 Nb4 15.c4 a5 16.Ne2 Na6 17.g4 Nd7 when White at best is marginally better. 12.Nge2 Rfd8 13.Nd5 After 13.Nf4, Black can consider the typical 13...d5 trick we have seen a couple of times previously, although here it is less potent, for instance, 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Qe1 d4 16.Na4 and White is doing fine. 13...Nxd5?! Or 13...Qxd2 14.Rxd2 Bxd5 15.exd5 Ne5 16.c4 Bh6 17.Rd1 Be3 18.Nc3 is can become uncomfortable for Black unless he figures out a way to generate some counterplay. 14.Qxa5 Nxa5 15.Bxg7 Ne3 16.Rd3 Kxg7 17.Rxe3 Nc6 18.Nf4 a6 19.g3 d5 20.exd5 Bxd5

21.Bh3?! White can improve with 21.c4! Be6 22.Nxe6+ fxe6 23.Bh3 would have left White with a clear advantage in the endgame. 21...f5 22.g4 Kf6 23.Rhe1?

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White could still push for an advantage with 23.gxf5 gxf5 24.Rhe1, but after the text move, Black takes over the initiative. 23...e5 24.Nd3 Nd4 25.Nb4 Bxf3 26.gxf5 gxf5 27.Rxe5 Be4 28.R5xe4 fxe4 29.Bxc8 Nf3 30.Re3 Rxc8 and Black has the clearly better chances in the endgame thanks to his active king, supporting the passed e-pawn. Yet, at this point, the players agreed upon a draw, ½–½, undoubtedly on account of White being rated almost 200 points higher, Asadli-Babazada, Baku 2019.

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Chapter 10: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: 8...0-0 9.Kb1 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.Kb1 White decides to tug the king away to b1 immediately before doing anything on the kingside or continuing the development. So, is that necessary? Strictly speaking, no! But there are some tactical tricks for Black that involves the king and queen being on the c1-h6 diagonal, also after ...Qa5, it can come in handy to have the a-pawn protected to be able to play Nd5, in some cases forcing an advantageous exchange of queens. Are there any downsides to having the king on b1? Yes, there is. As we will see, there some tactical tricks where Black can play ...d6-d5 and exploit that White’s rook on d1 is no longer protected by the king; additionally, Kb1 takes a tempo away from anything White is doing, particularly on the kingside. So, there are pros and cons.

9...Qa5 Two important alternatives are: a) 9...a6!?, and here: a1) 10.f3 b5, and now:

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a11) 11.g4 b4 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Bxg7 Nc3+?! (this check is a mistake; a better try was 13...Ne3, although White, also has better chances after 14.Qxe3 Kxg7 15.h4 h6 16.h5 g5 17.f4 gxf4 18.Qxf4 e5 19.Qg3 Nd4 20.Nf3 Nxf3 21.Qxf3 and White is in command of the game, particularly the pressure against Black’s d-pawn as well as the breakthrough with g4–g5 will cause Black headaches) 14.Bxc3 bxc3 15.Qxc3 Bd7 16.h4 Qb6 17.h5 g5 18.Nh3 h6 19.f4 Bxg4 20.Rd2 Qa5 21.Qxa5 Nxa5 22.fxg5 Bxh3 23.Bxh3 hxg5 24.Rd5 and White was clearly better in the endgame, Andreikin-Amonatov, St Petersburg 2018. a12) 11.h4 h5 12.Nge2 Ne5 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Qc7 15.Ng3 Bd7 16.Be2?! (White could play 16.f4! Ng4 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.f5 Rac8 19.Bd3 with a dangerous attack on the kingside) 16...Rac8 17.Rc1 a5 18.Ne4?! (this looks normal, but White should have given preference to 18.Rhe1 Qb6 19.f4 Nc4 20.Bxc4 Bxb2 21.Kxb2 bxc4 22.Qe3 c3+ 23.Ka1 Qb4 24.f5 with a sharp position and chances to both sides) 18...a4 19.g4 hxg4 20.fxg4 axb3 21.cxb3 Qa7 when Black is doing fine, DubovAlekseenko, Sochi 2018. a2) 10.Bd3 b5 11.f4 Be6 12.Nf3 b4 13.Na4 Qc7 14.h3 Bd7 15.g4 (White should strongly consider 15.e5!? at this point, for instance, 15...dxe5 16.fxe5 Nd5 17.Be4 e6 18.Bxd5 exd5 19.Qxd5 and White is clearly better) 15...Rfb8 16.g5?! (a better choice is 16.Rhe1!? Rd8 17.Qe3 Na7 18.Qb6 and White is in command) 16...Nh5 17.Bxg7 Nxg7 18.Nb2 a5 19.Bc4 Na7 20.f5 (finally, White can improve with 20.Ne5 dxe5 21.Qxd7 Qxd7 22.Rxd7 exf4 23.Bd5 and White has the better chances) 20...gxf5?? (Black would have been fine after 20...Nb5!, e.g., 21.Bxb5 Bxb5 22.Nd4 a4 23.Nxb5 Rxb5 24.fxg6 hxg6 25.Nxa4 Qc6 and Black has excellent compensation for the sacrificed pawn) 21.g6!! hxg6 22.Qh6 e6 23.Ng5 and White was winning in Bodnaruk-Voit, St Petersburg 2018. b) 9...a5!?, and now:

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b1) 10.a4 Nb4 11.f3 Be6 12.g4 Rc8 13.Nge2 Nd7 14.Nf4 Nc5 15.Nxe6 (White should probably give preference to 15.Bb5 Bd7 16.Bxd7 Nxd7 17.h4 Ne5 18.Rh3 and White’s kingside attack is more likely to cause Black trouble than anything Black can come up with on the queenside) 15...Nxe6 16.h4 Nd4 17.Bc4? (17.h5 Ndxc2 18.Bc4 (or 18.hxg6 fxg6 19.f4 d5 with a messy position and chances to both sides) 18...Rxc4 19.bxc4 Qb6 with excellent compensation for the sacrificed exchange) 17...Nxf3 18.Qe3 Ne5 19.Be2 Qc7 and Black has a pleasant game thanks to his superior pawn structure, especially White’s dark squares are weak, Danielyan-Sakaev, St Petersburg 2018. b2) 10.f3 Be6 11.Bb5!? (with this move, White deters Black from playing ...a5–a4; however, even 11.h4 Qb6 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Ne5 14.a4 could be considered as Black will struggle to gain counterplay) 11...Qb6 12.Nge2 Rfc8 13.h4 h5 (13...Qf2 14.Rdf1 is also better for White) 14.Nf4 Nb4? 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.a3? (16.Qe2! is much simpler, leaving White with a large advantage) 16...Rxc3 17.Qxc3 Qxb5 18.axb4 axb4 19.Qc4 Qa5 20.Qxe6+ Kf8 21.Kc1 Bh6+ 22.Rd2 was played in Xu Xiangyu-Keymer, Sitges 2018, and now instead of capturing on d2, Black should have played 22...Qc5! 23.f4 Qe3 and Black is still in the game, admittedly it is messy, but computer approved. However, considering White’s improvement on move 16, this is not a line Black should pursue. c) 9...Be6 10.Nge2 Rc8 11.Nf4

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(11.f3 is also perfectly playable) 11...Bd7 (Black can also consider 11...Bh6 although I still prefer White, for instance, 12.g3 Bg4 13.Be2 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Bg7 15.h4 h5 16.f3 and I feel White’s position is easier to play) 12.f3 Bh6 13.Nce2 Bg7 14.g4 e5 15.Ng2 Be6 16.h4 Qb6 17.Ne3 d5 18.g5 d4? (this pawn advance looks natural but is wrong; a better try was 18...Rfd8 even if White has the better chances after 19.gxf6 dxe4 20.Qc3 Bf8 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.a3 when Black doesn’t not appear to have full compensation for the sacrificed piece) 19.Nc4 Bxc4 20.gxf6 Bxf6 21.bxc4 Na5 22.Nc1 Nxc4 23.Bxc4 Rxc4 when either 24.Nb3 as played in M.Popov-Gurvich, Moscow 2019, or 24.Nd3 Rfc8 25.Rc1 leave White with clearly better chances as Black’s counterplay is not sufficient compensation for the sacrificed piece. 10.Nge2 White can also play 10.f3 first, and after 10...Be6, and now: a) 11.g4 Rac8 12.a3 a6 13.Nge2 Rc7 (13...b5 14.Nf4 Nd7 15.Nfd5 Bxd5 16.Nxd5 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 Rfd8 18.Bg2 with a pleasant space advantage for White) 14.h4 Rfc8 15.h5 Ne5 16.Bg2 b5 17.hxg6 hxg6 18.g5 Nfd7 19.f4?

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(White is tempted to take more space away from Black, but Black has a clever counterstroke available; instead 19.Nd5! Qxd2 20.Rxd2 Bxd5 21.exd5 and White is clearly better) 19...Ng4 (Black could have played 19...Nc4!! 20.bxc4 Nb6 with a dangerous attack for Black) 20.Nd5 Qxd2 21.Nxe7+ Kf8 22.Rxd2 Kxe7 23.Bxg7 Ne3 24.Nd4 Nxg2 25.Rxg2 and White is winning, Plazuelo Pascual-Perez Gonzalez, Madrid 2019. b) 11.Nge2 Rfd8 (or 11...Rfc8 12.g4 (White can consider 12.a3 b5 13.Nf4 b4 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Ne2 when I think White has the better share of the chances) 12...b5 13.Nd5 Qxd2 14.Rxd2 Nd7 15.Nef4 Bxb2 16.Kxb2 Rab8 17.Be2 Nc5 18.h4 h6 19.Ng2 Kf8 20.Nge3 a5 21.a3 with marginally better chances (but we are talking margins and a wet finger in the air to trace the advantage) for White OdeevKaraoglan, Marmaris 2019) 12.Nd5 Qxd2 13.Rxd2 Ne8 14.c4 Rac8 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Kb2 Nf6 17.Nec3 Nd7 18.Be2 h6 19.Re1 Re8 20.f4 Nc5 21.Bf3 Bd7 22.Nb5 with more space and comfortable edge for White, Kazakov-Amonatov, Astana 2019. 10...e5 11.f3 Rd8 12.g4!

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This pawn advance is far more challenging for Black than 12.Nd5 which nevertheless is an option, for instance, 12...Qxd2 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Rxd2 Bg5 15.Rd1 (White can try 15.Rd3 Nb4 16.Rd1 Be6 17.Nc3 Rac8 18.a3 Nc6 19.Nd5 Ne7 20.Bc4 with a slightly better game) 15...Be6 16.Nc3 (16.h4!? Be3 17.Nc3 Rac8 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.Rxd5 a6 20.Rd3 with better chances for White) 16...Nd4 17.Bd3 Rac8 18.Rhf1 Nc6 19.a3 (19.g3!?) 19...Ne7 20.Ne2 Be3 21.h3?! (21.f4!? is another way to fight for the initiative) 21...g5 and Black has equalized, Nakamura-Vachier Lagrave, Stavanger 2018. 12...Be6 13.g5 Nh5 It looks like White’s kingside attack has ground to a halt with the knight on h5, and admittedly removing that knight is far from easy, but on the plus side for White, the knight is also quite out of play while on h5. 14.h4 So, why is White playing h2–h4 if the prospects of advancing the pawn further are slim to none? The answer is that White can then play Bh3 and exchange on e6 or play Bg4 when convenient. Note that 14.Ng3?! is answered by 14...Nf4! when 15.Nd5 Qxd2 16.Rxd2 Bxd5 17.exd5 Nd4 with about even chances. 14...Kh8?! This king shuffle makes very little sense, but clearly, Black was struggling to come up with a constructive plan. 15.Bh3 Ne7? Black is keen on making ...d6–d5 happen, but he may have failed to account for White’s next move, which adds to Black’s already abundant headache. It was necessary to play 15...Bxh3 16.Rxh3, when White has a clear advantage, primarily because he is almost entirely without counterplay. 16.Bg4! 78

The knight on h5 will now be removed. 16...Qb6 17.Bxh5 gxh5 18.Ng3 Now Black’s kingside collapses. 18...d5 19.Nxh5 d4 20.Nxg7 Kxg7 21.Ne2 White is winning, Sethuraman-Zou Chen, China 2018.

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Chapter 11: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: Minor lines 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4 e5?!

Another try is the simple 7...Bg7, claiming that White’s f2–f4 is an achievement for Black 8.Bb2 Nf6 9.0-0-0 a6 10.Kb1 0-0 11.Nf3 b5 12.Qe1 (my computer suggests 12.a3 e6 13.Bd3 Bb7 14.h3 but this looks unconvincing after 14...Qc7 15.Rhe1 Rfd8 with chances to both sides, but the immediate 12.Bd3!? Bg4 13.Nd5 is worth considering) 12...Qa5 13.h3 Bb7 14.Nd5 (14.Rg1!?) 14...Qxe1 15.Rxe1 Nh5?! (Black should have opted for 15...Nxd5! 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.exd5 Nb4 and Black cannot be worse, for instance, 18.Rxe7 Bxd5 19.a3 Nc6 20.Re1 Rfe8 21.Rd1 Ne7 intending ...Bxf3 followed by ...Nf5 with a pleasant endgame advantage for Black) 16.g4 Ng3 17.Rg1 Nxf1 18.Rgxf1 Rac8 19.Rd1 Rfd8 20.Rfe1 Bxb2 21.Kxb2 with a comfortable advantage for White in the endgame, PourramezanaliDuzhakov, St Petersburg 2018. 8.Nb5!

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8.g3?! exf4 (8...Nf6 9.Bb2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a5 11.Bg2 (11.a4 transposes to chapter 13) 11...Be6 12.Nge2 Qb6 13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Ne7 15.Nc3 Nf5 16.Rde1 exf4 17.gxf4 Qb4 with a sharp position where Black seems to enjoy the better chances, Paravyan-Ofitserian, Loo 2018), and now: a) 9.Bb2? fxg3 10.Qg2 Ne5 (10...Qa5!?) 11.hxg3 was played in Lodici-Boruchovsky, Lichess.org INT 2020, when 11...Bg4 is better for Black. b) 9.Nb5!? is almost certainly an improvement c) 9.gxf4 Qh4+ 10.Qf2 Qxf2+ 11.Kxf2 Bg7!? (11...Nf6 12.Nge2 0-0 13.h3 Be6 14.Bg2 Bg7?! 15.Ba3 Rfd8 16.Rad1 Bf8 17.Rd2 a6 18.Rhd1 is better for White, S.Tadic-Rigatti, Nova Gorica 2019) 12.Bb2 Nf6 13.Bd3 Ng4+ 14.Kg2 Nb4 15.Kf3 0-0 16.h3 Nh6 17.a3 Nxd3 18.cxd3 Be6 19.b4 f5 was clearly better for Black in Sarkar-Woodward, chess.com INT 2020. 8...Bxf4 9.Qxd6 Qxd6 10.Nxd6+ Kf8 A recent online game saw Black play 10...Ke7?! when 11.Ba3 Kf6 12.Ne8+ Kg5 13.h4+ (or 13.g3 Be3 14.Nf3+ Kh6 15.Bf8+ Kh5 16.Ng7+ Kg4 17.Be2 and it is curtains for Black) 13...Kh6? (now Black gets mated by force) 14.Bf8+ Kh5 15.Ng7+ Kg4 16.Be2+ Kg3 17.Bf3 Nd4 18.Ne2+ Nxe2 19.Kxe2 Bg4 20.Bc5 Bh6 21.Bf2+ Kf4 22.g3# 1–0, Gabrielian-Mhango, chess.com INT 2020.

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11.Ba3 White has a couple of important alternatives to consider: a) 11.Bc4 Bxc1 12.Rxc1 Nh6 13.Ne2 (or 13.Nf3 Ke7 14.Nb5 Bd7 15.Nc7 Rac8 16.Nd5+ Kf8 17.0-0 Kg7 18.Ng5 f5 19.exf5 gxf5 20.Rcd1 Rhd8 21.Nxh7?! (21.g3!? Kg6 22.Nf3 looks slightly better for White) 21...Na5! 22.Ne7 Nxc4 23.Nxc8 Ne3 24.Nd6 was Apryshko-Eynullayev, St Petersburg 2018, and now 24...Rg8 25.Ng5 Bc6 would have kept the chances about balanced) 13...Ke7 14.Nxc8+ Raxc8 15.Nc3 Rhd8 (15...f5 16.Nd5+ Kf8 17.exf5 gxf5 18.0-0 Kg7 19.Rcd1 Rhd8 20.Rd3 Rd6 21.Ne3 Nd4 and Black had equalized in Gomez Dieguez-Sanchez Aller, Santiago de Compostela 2020) 16.Nd5+ Kf8 17.c3 Rd6 18.0-0 Kg7 19.Ne3 f6 20.Bd5 Ng8 21.b4 Nge7 22.Nc4 Rdd8 23.Be6 Rc7 24.b5 (I’m not super keen on this pawn advance although it does have some points to it; after 24.Rcd1 b5 25.Nd6 a6 26.Kf2!? f5 27.exf5 gxf5 28.g4, White has the somewhat better chances) 24...Rf8 25.Nd6 Nd8 26.Bb3 b6 with a small plus for White in Li Chao-Sarana, Qinhuangdao 2018. b) 11.Bxf4 exf4 12.0-0-0 Nf6 13.Nf3 (13.Bb5 Ng4 (13...Ke7!? 14.Nf3 Ng4 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Rhe1 Be6 17.e5) 14.Rf1 Ke7 15.Bxc6 Kxd6 16.Bd5 g5 17.h4 Ne3 18.Rf2 g4 19.Rxf4 and White was clearly better in Gokerkan-O’Gorman, Montebelluna 2020) 13...Bg4 (13...Ng4 14.Rd2 Ke7 15.Bb5 Rd8 16.Bxc6 Rxd6 17.Bd5) 14.Bb5 (14.Bc4 Bxf3 15.gxf3 Ne5 16.Nxb7 Nxf3 17.Rhf1) 14...Bxf3 15.gxf3 Ne5 16.Be2 Rb8 17.a4 Ke7 18.Rd2 Rhd8 19.Rhd1 Rd7 and the chances are close to equal, Xu Xiangyu-Alonso Rosell, Moscow 2019. 11...Nge7 Black loses quickly after 11...Kg7?? 12.Ne8+ Kh6 13.Bf8+ Kg5 14.Nf3+ Kh5 15.Ng7+ Kg4 16.Be2 (strictly speaking, 16.Kf2! is more accurate, forcing mate sooner, but, obviously, the text move is more than sufficient) 16...Be6 17.Kf2 Bg3+ 18.hxg3 and with mate being delivered on the next more, Black resigned, 1–0, Gabrielian-Guo, Lichess.org INT 2020.

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12.Nf3 White has several interesting options at this juncture. The alternatives to the main line are: a) 12.Bc4 f6?! (this allows White a clear advantage, but even the alternative 12...Nd4 promises White an edge after 13.Bd3 Kg7 14.c3 Ndc6 15.Nf3 Rd8 16.Ke2 Rb8 17.Nxc8 Rbxc8 18.g3 Bh6 19.Rad1 with a pleasant game for White) 13.Ne2 Be3 14.Rd1 Bb6 15.Nf7 Rg8 16.Nd6 Rh8

17.Bc1 (White seems able to improve after 17.Bb5!?, e.g., 17...Ba5+ 18.Kf2 Bb4 19.Bxc6 Nxc6 20.Bxb4 Nxb4 21.Nxc8 Rxc8 22.Rd7 is clearly better for White) 17...h5 18.c3 Kg7 19.b4 Rd8 20.a4 a6 21.Rf1 Bc7 22.Nxc8 Rxd1+ 23.Kxd1 Rxc8 24.Be6 Rd8+ 25.Kc2 Rd6 26.Bb3 with a small but comfortable edge for White thanks to his bishop pair and queenside majority as well as general advantage in space, Santos Ruiz-Van Delft, Belgium 2019. 83

b) 12.Bd3 Kg7 13.Ne2 (13.Nf3!? Rb8 14.g3 Bh6 15.Nxc8 Rbxc8 16.0-0 f6 17.Rad1 gives White a pleasant edge on account of his bishop pair and queenside pawn majority) 13...Be3 14.Nc4 Bh6 15.0-0 f6 16.Nd6 b6 17.Nc3!? (17.Nxc8?! Raxc8 18.Rf3 and now instead of 18...Rhf8? as in Ten HertogVisser, Hilversum 2019, when (Black should have played 18...Rhd8 19.Raf1 Ng8 and he is only marginally worse) 19.Raf1 would have been clearly better for White) 17...Bd7 (17...Be3+ 18.Kh1 Bd4 19.Ndb5 Bxc3 20.Nxc3 is nice for White) 18.Kh1 Be3 19.Nd5 Nxd5 20.exd5 Ne7 21.Rae1 Bd4 22.c3 Bc5 23.Bxc5 bxc5 24.Rxe5! fxe5 25.Rf7+ Kh6 26.Rxe7 and White is clearly better. c) 12.c3!? Kg7 13.Nf3 f5

14.g3?! (14.Bd3! Rd8 15.g3 Be3 16.Rd1 promises White a comfortable advantage) 14...Be3 15.Ke2 Bh6 16.Nxc8 Raxc8 17.Bh3?! (here 17.Rd1 Rhd8 18.Bh3 would have kept the chances more or less even; the computer continues 18...fxe4 19.Nd2 Nd4+ 20.cxd4 Rc2 21.Bxe7 Rxd4 22.Bc5 Rcxd2+ 23.Rxd2 Rxd2+ 24.Ke1 Rc2 25.Bg1 Rc1+ 26.Ke2 Rc2+ 27.Ke1

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with a perpetual check but possibly Black can play for more due to White’s pieces being poorly coordinated) 17...fxe4 18.Nd2 Bxd2 19.Bxc8 Bxc3 was played in Mamalis-Gaehwiler, Zuerich 2019, and now 20.Bxb7 Nd4+ 21.Kf2 (21.Ke3?? Nc2+ is much better for Black) 21...e3+ 22.Kxe3 Nef5+ (now 22...Nc2+ 23.Kd3 wins for White) 23.Ke4 Bxa1 24.Rxa1 Rb8 25.Bd5 Nc2 26.Bb2 Rb4+ 27.Kxe5 Nxa1 28.Bxa1 and Black has the slightly better chances. 12...Kg7 13.g3 Be3 14.Nc4 Or 14.c3 Rd8 15.Bc4 (15.Rd1 Bg4 16.Ke2 Bb6 17.Bg2 Rab8 18.Nc4 f6 is at best marginally better better for White) 15...f6 16.Ke2 Bb6 17.Rad1 h6 18.Nxc8 Raxc8 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Rd1 with a pleasant endgame for White. 14...Bh6 15.Ncxe5 Re8

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16.Bb2 16.Kf2!? limits Black’s opportunities to generate active counterplay, e.g., 16...Be6 17.Nc4 Nc8 (17...f5 18.Nd6 is much better for White) 18.Rd1, when Black simply does not have enough for the sacrificed pawn. 16...f6 17.Nc4 Nf5?! Black could possibly improve with 17...Nd5!?, for instance, 18.Bd3 (or 18.e5 fxe5 19.Ncxe5 Kf8 20.Bb5 Bh3 and Black’s active pieces ensure adequate compensation for the pawn) 18...Bh3 19.Kf2 Ndb4 20.Rad1 with a small plus for White. 18.Bd3 Once more, White can consider 18.Kf2!? when 18...Rxe4 19.Bd3 Re7 20.Rhe1 has White with a lead in development and better chances. 18...b5 19.Ncd2 Nd6 20.0-0 Black is struggling a bit to demonstrate sufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn. 20...a6 Or 20...Bh3 21.Rfe1 Rad8 22.Rad1 a6 23.e5 and White is better. 21.Rfe1 Nf7 22.a4 Rb8 23.axb5 axb5

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24.Nf1 24.Kg2!? is a decent alternative. 24...Nfe5 25.Nxe5 Nxe5 26.Bxe5 Rxe5 27.Kf2 Rb7 28.Ne3 Rbe7 29.Nd5, when White despite extra pawn, was unable to convert his advantage and eventually settled for a draw after 107 moves, Dominguez Perez-Topalov, Saint Louis 2019.

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Chapter 12: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...f5 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4 f5!?

Black challenges White’s set-up in the most chaotic way possible. Similar ideas are seen in both the Sicilian Accelerated Dragon as well as the English Opening with the colors reversed. It is an exciting line that has been tested by both Vachier Lagrave and Grischuk, but objectively speaking, Black should not be able to equalize as he frequently struggles with structural issues. 8.Bb2 Black does not have any problems after 8.Bd3 fxe4 9.Bxe4 Nf6 10.Bxc6+ (the fact that White has to play this move should give us an indication that something is already off, however, even 10.Bf3 Bf5 11.Bb2 0-0 12.Nge2 is not without problems, for instance, 12...Rc8, or 12...Ne5 or even 12...e5 are all attractive options for Black) 10...bxc6 11.Bb2 0-0 12.Nge2 e5 13.0-0-0 d5 14.Kb1 Ng4 15.Na4 d4 (Black is clearly better) 16.Qb4 Ba6 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Rxd4 Qc7 19.Nc5 Bc8 20.Re1 Nf6 21.g3 Bg7 and White has some but not full compensation for the sacrificed piece and eventually lost a long game, Lagarde-Donchenko, Brest 2019. 8...Nf6 9.Bd3

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Natural, protecting the e4–pawn but this is a significant intersection of alternatives on both sides, which we will take a look at now: a) 9.0-0-0, and here we have several forks in the road:

a1) 9...0-0 10.Kb1 Bg7 11.exf5 Bxf5 12.Nf3 Qa5 13.Bc4+ Kh8 14.Rhe1 Rac8 15.a3 Bg4 16.Re3 e5 17.fxe5 dxe5 18.Qe1 and White had the better chances in Caruana-Vachier Lagrave, Stavanger 2019. a2) 9...Qa5 10.Kb1 fxe4, and now White has tried a few different moves: a21) 11.h3 Bg7 12.g4 0-0 13.Nge2 Be6 14.Bg2 d5 15.f5 gxf5 16.Nf4 Bf7 17.gxf5 Rfd8?! (17...e3 18.Qd3 Rfd8 was a better option although 19.Bxd5 Kh8 20.a3 with better chances for White) 18.Rhg1 Kh8 19.Bh1 Ne5 20.Nxe4 Qxd2 21.Nxd2 and White was clearly better in Morozevich-Kulaots, 89

Tallinn 2019. a22) 11.Bc4 Rf8 12.Nge2 Bg4 (Black also has the very sharp 12...g5!? available, e.g., 13.fxg5 Bxg5 14.Qe1 with chances to both sides) 13.h3 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Bxf4 15.Nxe4 Be5 16.Nxd6+ exd6 17.Rxd6 Nd7

18.Rd5? (a mistake; after 18.Bxe5 Ndxe5 19.Rhd1 Black’s bare king in the center will eventually cost material of some sort, promising White more than sufficient compensation for the missing piece) 18...Qc7 19.Bb5 0-0-0 20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.Rxe5 Nxe5 22.Bxe5 Rfe8 and Black was clearly better in Andreikin-Firouzja, St Petersburg 2018, the material advantage was duly converted. a3) 9...fxe4 10.Kb1 Rf8 (or 10...Be6 11.h3 Qa5 12.g4 Bg7 13.Nxe4 Qxd2 14.Nxd2 0-0 15.Re1 Bf7 (also 15...Bd5 16.Rh2 Rae8 17.c4 Bf7 18.Rhe2 seems better for White) 16.Ne2 a5 17.a4 Rac8 18.c4 Nd7 19.Bg2 Nc5 20.Nc1 Rc7 21.Ne4 Nxe4 22.Bxe4 Nb4 23.Na2 Bxb2 24.Kxb2 Nxa2 25.Kxa2 with more space and small plus for White, enough to make Black’s life a little uncomfortable, but in Kostenko-Ter Sahakyan, Taleigao 2019, Black managed to secure a draw) 11.Nge2 Be6 12.h3 Qa5 13.g4 Bg7 14.Bg2 d5 15.f5 gxf5 16.Nf4 Bh6 17.gxf5 Bxf5 18.Qf2 Bxf4 19.Qxf4 Be6 (or 19...d4 20.Nxe4 Nd5 with a clear advantage for Black) 20.Ne2 Rc8 21.a3 Qc7 22.Qh6 Rg8 23.Rhg1 Bf7 and here a draw was agreed upon, ½–½, in Morozevich-Sakaev, Sochi 2019, but Black is two pawns up and comfortably better, leaving us to conclude that White’s reputation helped him in his time of trouble. a4) 9...Rf8 10.exf5 Bxf5, and here: a41) 11.Bb5 Qb6 12.Nge2 Ne4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Bxc6+ Qxc6 15.Kb1 e5 (also 15...Rc8!? can be considered) 16.Rhe1 0-0-0 17.g3 Bf3 18.Qa5 Bxe2 19.Rxe2 exf4 20.Qxa7 f3 21.Re7 Rd7, and now White saw nothing better to force the draw with 22.Qa8+ Kc7 23.Qa5+ Kc8 24.Qa8+ Kc7 25.Qa5+ Kc8 26.Qa8+ Kc7 27.Qa5+, and draw agreed, ½–½, in So-Volokitin, Douglas 2019. a42) 11.g3 Qa5 12.Nge2 0-0-0 13.Bg2 e5 14.a3?! (14.a4 was better) 14...d5 15.b4?! (White could have kept his disadvantage to a minimum with 15.Nxd5 Qxd2+ 16.Rxd2 Ne4 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Rhd1 Bf3 90

19.c4 exf4) 15...Qc7 16.Na4? d4 17.Nc5 Nd5 18.Bxd5 Rxd5 and Black is much better, KoykkaKenneskog, Pardubice 2019) b) 9.exf5 Bxf5 and now:

b1) 10.Bd3?! is a poor idea and promises Black a comfortable game as White ruins his pawn structure 10...Bxd3 11.cxd3 0-0 12.Nge2 Qb6 13.0-0-0 Rac8 14.Kb1 Bg7 15.h3 Qa6 (15...Nb4!? is an interesting alternative; Black intends to plunk a knight on d5 next, claiming a good game) 16.g4 Nb4 17.f5 Nfd5 18.a3 Nxc3+ 19.Nxc3 Nc6 was Gevorgyan-Mikaelyan, Yerevan 2020, and now 20.Rhf1 would have been White’s best chance, for instance, 20...Nd4 21.Qe3 Rxc3 22.Bxc3 Qxa3 23.Qc1 Qxb3+ 24.Qb2 Qxb2+ 25.Bxb2 and White has a small plus, but it is not a lot. b2) 10.Bc4?! Qa5 (10...e6!? intending to play a quick ...d6–d5 would also have promised Black a good game) 11.Nge2 0-0-0 12.Nd5 Qxd2+ 13.Kxd2 Ne4+ 14.Ke3? (14.Ke1 was safer and better) 14...Rhf8 15.Nd4 Rde8 16.Nxf5 gxf5 17.Rad1 e6 18.Nc3 d5 19.Nxe4 fxe4 and Black is clearly better, KazminEynullayev, Moscow 2020. b3) 10.Nf3 Rf8 11.g3 Qa5 12.0-0-0 0-0-0 13.Kb1?! (White should given preference to 13.Bd3 although 13...Bg4 14.Be2 Kb8 15.Kb1 e5 16.Rhe1 Bf5 with chances to both sides) 13...e5 14.a3 exf4 15.Nd4?! Nxd4 16.Qxd4 f3 17.Nb5 Kb8 18.Nxd6?? was played in Xu Xiangyu-Sasikiran, Moscow 2019, and now (18.h3 Bg7 19.g4 Ne8 20.Qe3 Bxb2 21.Kxb2 Bd7 would have kept Black’s advantage to a minimum) 18...Qc7 would have been a simple path for Black to claim a decisive advantage. 9...Qa5 10.exf5 Another option is 10.Nge2 Rf8 (Black seems able to equalize with 10...fxe4 11.Nxe4 Qxd2+ 12.Kxd2 Nxe4+ 13.Bxe4 0-0 14.Rhf1, but this has yet to be tested in any kind of game), and here White has tried:

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a) 11.g3 fxe4 12.Nxe4 Qxd2+ 13.Kxd2 (in a recent game, White tried 13.Nxd2 Nb4 14.Nc3 Nxd3+ 15.cxd3 b6 16.Nde4 Bb7 17.0-0-0 Kd7 18.Rhe1 Rac8 19.Kb1 Nd5 20.Nxd5 Bxd5 and Black has comfortably equalized, in fact I prefer Black’s position at this juncture, Gabrielian-Le Quang Liem, Lichess.org INT 2020) 13...Nxe4+ 14.Bxe4 Bf5 15.Bxf5 Rxf5 16.Raf1 e5 (16...g5!? is possibly even better) 17.g4 Bxf4+ 18.Nxf4 Rxf4 19.Rxf4 exf4 20.Rf1 g5 21.h4, and draw agreed, ½–½, PaichadzeAravindh, Abu Dhabi 2019; the position is more or less equal. b) A brand new idea was tested in an online game just before the publication of this book: 11.exf5!? Bxf5 12.Bxf5 gxf5 13.0-0-0 Rc8?! (this is wrong although even the better 13...0-0-0 14.Kb1 Rg8 15.g3 with better chances for White) 14.Kb1 Bg7 15.Rhe1 (White is already clearly better, Black’s king is stuck in the center, and Black has several serious structural issues) 15...Nb4?? (this move has a particular tactical idea in mind, 16...Ne4, but it is easily refuted) 16.a3 Ne4 (if Black tries to retreat with 16...Nc6 then 17.b4 Qc7 18.Ng3 leaves him with a hopeless position) 17.Nxe4 Rxc2 18.Nxd6+! and Black resigned, 1–0, he will suffer heavy material losses, Sadhwani-Warmerdam, chess.com INT 2020. 10...Bxf5 11.Nge2 0-0-0 Here, 11...Bxd3 was tried out by Grischuk, which naturally deserves attention for that reason alone, but White should be able to obtain an advantage: 12.Qxd3 Nb4 13.Qd2 Rc8 14.a3 Nc6 15.0-0-0 0-0 16.Kb1 Bg7 and here Nakamura went for 17.h3 b5 18.Rhe1 b4 19.axb4 Nxb4 with chances to both sides, Nakamura-Grischuk, Leuven 2018, White can instead try 17.Rhe1!? b5 18.Ng1! Rf7 19.Nf3 and White’s superior pawn structure and well-organized pieces promise White the better chances. 12.0-0-0

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White can take the game in a different direction with 12.a3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Qf5 14.Rd1 Bg7 15.Ne4 Qxe4 16.Qxe4 Nxe4 17.Bxg7 Rhg8 18.Bb2 Rgf8 19.0-0 e6 20.Rf3 d5 with at best a minimal edge for White, Khismatullin-Sarana, Yaroslavl 2019. 12...d5 In this position, Black has a couple of alternatives: a) 12...Kb8 13.Kb1 Rhe8 14.Rhf1 Bc8 15.h3 e5 16.g4 exf4 17.Nxf4 Nb4 18.a3 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 Bg7 20.Qb5 Qxb5 21.Nxb5 and White has an obvious positional advantage, Ibarra Jerez-Durarbayli, Caleta 2020. b) 12...e5 13.Bxf5+ gxf5 14.Kb1 (a better try was 14.Qd3 exf4 15.Qh3 (15.Kb1 Rhe8 16.Nd4 Nxd4 17.Qxd4 Ng4 18.a4 Kb8 and while Black’s pawns are scattered and his pieces look scattered across the board, he has sufficient activity and counterplay to make up for that) 15...Bg5 16.Nd4 Nxd4 17.Rxd4 Kb8 18.Kb1 Rhe8 19.Qd3 and while I prefer White’s position, the advantage is minimal) 14...Rhe8 15.Rhf1 d5 16.Qd3 e4 17.Qh3 Ng4 18.Qh5 Ne3 19.Qxh6 Nxf1 20.Rxf1 d4 21.Na4 Qd2 and Black has the better chances, Andriasian-Kulaots, Tallinn 2019. 13.Bxf5+!? White can also consider 13.Kb1?!, but it seems insufficient for an advantage: 13...d4 14.Nb5 Qxd2 15.Rxd2 Bg4 16.Nbxd4 (or 16.Rdd1 a6 17.Nbxd4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Rxd4 19.Nxd4 Bxd1 20.Rxd1 Bxf4 with an endgame similar to the game continuation) 16...Nxd4 17.Bxd4 Rxd4 18.Nxd4 Bxf4 19.Re2?! (or 19.h3 Bxd2 20.hxg4 Rd8 21.Nf3 Bc3 22.g5 Nh5 23.a3 e5 is also insufficient for any kind of useable advantage) 19...Bxe2 20.Nxe2 Be5 21.h3 Rf8 (21...Nd7!?) 22.Rf1 Nd7 23.Rxf8+ Nxf8 and while the continued for a while longer, White was unable to do anything with miniscule endgame advantage in Le Quang Liem-Vaibhav, Caleta 2020. 13...gxf5 14.Qe3 Kb8

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A sharp alternative 14...e5 15.Qd3 Rhf8 (after 15...e4?! 16.Qh3, White has better chances) 16.Qxf5+ Kb8 17.Qh3 Bxf4+ 18.Nxf4 exf4 19.a4 and thanks to Black’s loose pawn, White has somewhat better chances. 15.Nd4 Ng4

16.Qe6!? White can improve with 16.Qf3!? Nxd4 17.Rxd4 e6 (or 17...e5 18.Rxd5 Rxd5 19.Nxd5 Rd8 20.Rd1 and White is clearly better) 18.h3 Nf6 (or 18...Ne5? 19.Qh5 Qc5 20.Qxh6 Qxd4 21.fxe5 Qxe5 22.Nb5 and White is winning) 19.Ra4 Qb6 20.Nb5! and White is clearly in command of the game. 16...Bxf4+? Natural but wrong, capturing a pawn with a check is difficult to steer your attention away from. A much better try was 16...Bg7, for instance, 17.Nxc6+ bxc6 18.Ne2 Bxb2+ 19.Kxb2 Nf2 20.Nd4 Rc8, and here has some moves to consider:

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a) 21.Nxc6+ Rxc6 22.Qxc6 Rc8 23.Qxd5 Qc3+ 24.Ka3 Nxh1 25.Qxf5 a6 26.Rd7, with a complicated position that can be difficult to assess accurately, my computer claims White to be marginally better, but I will leave it at that. b) 21.Nxf5 Qc7 22.Rhe1 Nxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Rhe8 24.g3 and while White is an exchange down, his active pieces and Black’s passive counterparts and looser pawn structure, guarantee White the upper hand. c) 21.Rhf1 Nxd1+ 22.Rxd1 Qc7 23.Nxf5 Qxf4 (23...Rhe8 transposes to line ‘b’) 24.Nxe7 Rhe8 25.Nxc6+ Ka8 26.Qxd5 Qe4 27.Ne5+ Qxd5 28.Rxd5 Rcd8! and while White has three pawns for the exchange, it is unclear how big his advantage actually is. 17.Kb1 Be5 18.Ncb5 Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Qb6 20.Rhe1 Bg7 21.Qxf5 Qg6 22.Rxe7 Qxf5 23.Nxf5 Bxb2 24.Kxb2 and White has an extra pawn and the clearly better chances, which were eventually converted into a full point, Xu Yi-Chen Qi, China 2019.

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Chapter 13: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...Nf6 8.Bb2 e5 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4 Nf6 8.Bb2 e5

This is, in my opinion, the sternest and most ambitious test for White’s opening set-up. Black attacks White on the diagonal where both the queen and soon king will be located, so attention is definitely required by White. Meanwhile, Black has another option worth considering: 8...a5!? 9.a4 0-0 10.0-0-0 e5!? (again, this plan! 10...Nb4 transposes to chapter 14, the note after White’s 11th move) 11.g3, and now Black has several moves available:

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a) 11...Qb6 12.Kb1 Be6, and here:

a1) 13.Nf3 Rfd8 14.Ng5 Bxg5 15.fxg5 Ng4 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.exd5 Nb4?! (Black can improve with 17...Ne7!? 18.Qe1 Ne3 (18...Nf2 is met by 19.Bd4 exd4 20.Qxf2 Nf5 21.Bb5 Qc5 22.Rhf1 and White is better) 19.Rd3 N3xd5 20.Bg2 Nb4 21.Rd2 when White has compensation for the pawn) 18.Rc1 Nf2 19.Rg1 Ne4 20.Qg2 Nxg5 21.Bc4 Qe3 22.Rce1 Qf3 was played in Pridorozhni-Sarana, Ekaterinburg 2018, and here 23.h4 Qxg2 24.Rxg2 Nf3 25.Re3 and White’s chances are preferable. a2) 13.Bh3 with another for in the road: a21) 13...Rad8 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.Qg2 exf4 16.Qh3 Bg7 17.gxf4 e5 18.Nge2 Kh8 19.Rhg1 Ne7 20.Qe6 Nfg8 21.Nb5 and Black is in trouble, Iljiushenok-Sarana, Khanty-Mansiysk 2018. a22) 13...Nd4 14.Bxe6 (or 14.Qf2 Nd7? (a mistake, Black can improve with 14...Qc6 15.Bxe6 fxe6 with chances to both sides) 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Nce2 Nxe2 17.Qxb6 Nxb6 18.Nxe2 exf4 19.Rxd6 f3 20.Nf4 Bxf4 21.gxf4 and White is clearly better, Kollars-Wachinger, Magdeburg 2019) 14...Nxe6 15.Nge2 Rfd8 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Nc5 18.Nc3 (White is already comfortably better) 18...Qb4 19.h4 Rac8 20.h5 Bg7 21.hxg6 fxg6 22.fxe5 Bxe5 23.Rh4 and White once more had the clearly better chances, I.Popov-Ofitserian, Sochi 2019. a3) 13.h4 Nh5 14.Nge2 Rad8 15.Qe1 Nb4 16.Bh3 Bxh3 17.Rxh3 Qc6 18.Ba3 Nf6 (18...Rc8!?) 19.h5 Bg7 20.h6 Bh8 with a complex position with chances to both sides, but here is prefer White, Danielyan-Drygalov, Moscow 2019. b) 11...Nb4 12.Nf3 (White should stay away from 12.Bh3?! exf4 13.Kb1 Be6 (13...Re8!?) 14.gxf4 Re8 15.Qf2 Bxh3 16.Nxh3 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Rxe4 18.Qf3 d5 19.Qc3 d4 20.Rxd4 Rxd4 21.Qxd4 Qxd4 22.Bxd4 Re8 23.Rf1, and here a draw was agreed, ½–½, Brkic-Arsovic, Tuzla 2019, but after 23...Bg7 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 Black would have had a clear advantage) 12...Bg4 13.Bg2 (13.Be2 Rc8 14.Kb1 Re8 15.h3 Rxc3 16.Qxc3 Nxe4 17.Qe1 Qc8 was Meissner-Ftacnik, Hamburg 2019, and now White should have played 18.c3 even though Black can force a draw with 18...Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Nxc3+ 20.Qxc3 Qf5+ 97

21.Ka1 Nc2+ - thank you, Stockfish!) 13...Rc8 14.Kb1 exf4 15.h3 Be6 16.g4 Bg7 17.Nd4 d5 18.Qxf4 Qb6 19.e5 Nd7 20.Rhe1 and White has nice control and the better chances, Meissner-Boruchovsky, Pardubice 2018. c) 11...Re8 12.Kb1 Bg4 13.Be2 Bxe2 14.Ngxe2 exf4 15.Nxf4 Nxe4 16.Nxe4 Rxe4 17.Qd3 Re8 18.Qxd6 Qxd6 19.Rxd6 Rad8 and Black has equalized, Pridorozhni-Gabrielian, Sochi 2018. d) 11...Be6 12.Kb1, and here: d1) 12...Nb4 13.Bg2 (in a very recent correspondence game, White, a correspondence grandmaster, tried 13.Nf3!? Rc8 14.Qxd6 Qxd6 15.Rxd6 exf4 16.Nd4 Rxc3 17.Bxc3 Nxe4 18.Bxb4 axb4 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Rxe6 Nc3+ 21.Kb2 f3 22.Bc4 Kh8 23.Rb6 Bg7 and draw agreed, ½–½, Lecroq-Emelyanov, ICCF 2020) 13...Rc8 14.Nge2?! Re8? (14...Ng4! improves and is better for Black) 15.Qxd6 Qxd6 16.Rxd6 Ng4 17.Bh3 Bf8?? (17...Nf2 was still playable for Black) 18.Rxe6, and Black resigned, 1–0, Sadhwani-Valenzuela Gomez, chess.com INT 2020. d2) 12...Rc8 13.Bg2 (White can also consider 13.Nf3 Qb6 14.Bb5 (14.Bg2 transposes to the main line) 14...Nb4 15.Ng5 Bxg5 16.fxg5 Rxc3! 17.gxf6 Rxc2 18.Qh6 Rxb2+ 19.Ka1 (19.Kxb2 Qf2+ is better for Black) 19...Ra2+ 20.Kb1 Rb2+ with a perpetual check) 13...Qb6 14.Nf3 Rfd8 15.Qe2 Nb4 16.fxe5 Nxc2 17.Qxc2 Bxb3 18.Qd3 Bxd1 19.Rxd1 dxe5 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.exd5 Bg7 22.Qb5 Qxb5 23.axb5 Rc5 and Black is clearly better, Alsina Leal-Mingarro Carceller, Marbella 2019. Finally, both 8...0-0 9.0-0-0 e5 and 9...a5 transpose to other lines in this chapter. 9.g3 0-0 Black has a couple of alternatives: a) 9...Nd4 10.Bg2?! (10.0-0-0 transposes to Bodnaruk-Sloiwicka below) 10...0-0 (10...Bg4!?) 11.Nge2 (11.Nf3!? Ne6!? 12.0-0-0! exf4 13.Kb1 Ng4 14.Nd5 fxg3 15.Qe1 and White has compensation for he sacrificed pawn but not much more than that) 11...Bh3 12.0-0 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 Nxe2 14.Qxe2 exf4 15.gxf4 Rc8 16.Qd3 Re8 17.Rae1 a6 18.Re2 Qa5 19.Nb5 Rxe4 20.Rxe4 Nxe4 21.Qxe4 Qxb5 and Black has the better chances, Quesada Perez-Albornoz Cabrera, Havana 2018. b) 9...exf4 10.gxf4 Nh5 11.Nd5 0-0 12.0-0-0 Be6 13.Kb1 (13.Ne2 transposes to Tereladze-Eynullayev in the note to Whtie’s 15th move) 13...Bxd5 14.exd5 Ne5 15.Qf2?! (15.Ne2 Qh4 16.Qb4 was a better option although White can hardly hope for an advantage.) 15...Nxf4 16.Nf3 Bg7 17.Ne1? Qf6 and Black is clearly better, Isanzhulov-Zhalmakhanov, Almaty 2019. 10.0-0-0

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10...exf4 Black has numerous alternatives at this juncture, so let’s take a look at them: a) 10...Re8, and now: a1) 11.Kb1 Nd4, and here: a11) 12.Bg2 Bg4 13.Rf1 (or 13.Re1 a5 14.h3 Bd7 15.Nf3 Nb5 16.Qd3?! (16.Nxb5!? Bxb5 17.Nh2 Bg7 18.Ng4 is definitely better than the game continuation but whether White is actually better is another question) 16...Nxc3+ 17.Bxc3 Qc7 18.Bd2 Bg7 19.g4 exf4 20.Bxf4 Nxe4 21.Rxe4 Rxe4 22.Qxe4 Qc3 and Black is winning, Sethuraman-Sunilduth Lyna, Sitges 2019) 13...d5!? 14.exd5 Bf5 15.Rc1 b5 16.Nge2 b4 17.Na4 Nxd5 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.Bxd4 Qa5 20.Rhe1 Red8 was played in Di Nicolantonio-Lamard, Paris 2019, and now 21.Be4 Bxe4 22.Rxe4 Rac8 23.Qf2 and White has the better chance. a12) 12.Nge2 Bg4 13.Bg2 (White has also tried 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Qxd4 Bg7 15.Nd5?! (Another try is 15.Rc1 Nxe4 (or 15...Bf3 16.Rg1 Nxe4 17.Qxg7+ Kxg7 18.Nxe4+ Kf8 19.Ng5 Be4 20.Nxh7+ Kg8 21.Nf6+ Kf8 22.Nxe8 Qxe8 23.Bd4 when the material is appriximately balanced but with his better pawn structure and bishop pair, my sympathies lie with White) 16.Qxg7+ Kxg7 17.Nxe4+ Kf8 18.Nf6 Bf3 19.Rg1 Re7 20.Nxh7+ Kg8 21.Nf6+ Kf8 22.g4 and White’s chances must be preferable) 15...Bxd1 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Qxf6 Qxf6 18.Bxf6 Bf3 19.Rg1 Bxe4 and White does not have enough compensation for the exchange, Gabrielian-Giri, chess.com INT 2020) 13...Rc8 14.Nxd4 Bxd1 15.Rxd1 exd4 16.Qxd4 Bg7 and here White has tried a couple of things:

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a121) 17.Qd2 a6 18.Bf3 b5 19.a3 Qb6 20.Qxd6 Qf2 21.Qd3 Qxh2 22.e5 Nh5 was played in Gabrielian-Matlakov, chess.com INT 2020, and 23.Ne4 would have been clearly better for White. a122) 17.Qxd6 Qa5 18.Qd3 Ng4 19.Nd5? (White would have had a large advantage after 19.e5 Nf2 20.Qd5 b5 21.Rf1 and Black is obviously in trouble) 19...Nf2 20.Qd2 Qxd2 21.Rxd2 Nxe4 22.Bxe4 Rxe4 and Black was better in Gabrielian-Sunilduth Lyna, chess.com INT 2020. a123) Best is 17.Nb5! Nh5 (or 17...Re7 18.e5) 18.Qxa7 Bxb2 19.Rxd6 Qe7 20.Kxb2 and Black’s position is a disaster. a2) 11.Bg2 and here:

a21) 11...exf4 12.gxf4 Bg4!? 13.Rf1 Bg7 is interesting. 100

a22) 11...a5 12.a4?! (12.Kb1 Bg4 13.Nge2 exf4 14.gxf4 a4 is sharp and pretty unclear) 12...d5 13.exd5?! (White is gradually getting himself into more trouble; a better try was 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.Qxd5 Qxd5 15.Rxd5 exf4 16.Kb1 Bg4 is pleasant for Black) 13...Nb4 14.Bh3 exf4 15.gxf4 Qd6 16.Kb1 Bxf4 was already clearly better for Black in Sadhwani-Sarana, Lichess.org INT 2020. a23) 11...Bg4 12.Rf1 Rc8 13.Kb1 Qa5 14.h3 Be6 15.Nge2 and here a draw was agreed upon, ½–½, in Sindarov-M. Andersen, Abu Dhabi 2018, which, of course, is wildly premature, the battle is just about to start. A possible continuation could have been 15...b5 16.Rd1 (16.a3!?) 16...Bg7 17.Rhf1 b4 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Nd4 20.Nxd4 exd4 21.Bxd4 and White is better. a3) 11.Nf3 Bg4 12.Be2 Rc8 (the computer recommends the following fascinating line: 12...exf4 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Ne5 15.Bg4 d5 16.exd5 Nfxg4 17.hxg4 Nf3 18.Qg2 Nh4 19.Qd2 Nf3 20.Qg2 with a draw by repetition, but there is a lot to unpack there and alternatives are undoubtedly possible) 13.Kb1 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Nd4 15.Bg2 b5 16.Rc1 Qa5 17.Rhd1 b4 18.Ne2 Nb5 was played in GabrielianSunilduth Lyna, chess.com INT 2020, and here White should have played 19.c3 bxc3 20.Nxc3 Nxc3+ 21.Rxc3 Rxc3 22.Bxc3 Qc7 23.Bb2 and White has the clearly better chances. b) 10...Bg4 and now White has tried several ideas:

b1) 11.Be2 Be6 (11...Nd4?! 12.Bxg4 Nxg4 13.Nd5 Ne6?! (13...Rc8!?) 14.Kb1 Nc5 15.Qe2 Nf6 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.Bxe5 Nxd5 18.Rxd5 with a clear advantage for White, Potapova-Solozhenkina, Sochi 2018) 12.Kb1 Rc8 (alternatively, Black has tried 12...Re8 13.Bf3 Nd4 and draw agreed, ½–½, Sindarov-Saydaliev, Tashkent 2019, and 12...a5 13.a4 (but 13.h4! appears to be an effective improvement for White, for instance, 13...Nd4 14.h5! Nxe2 15.Ngxe2 Nxh5 16.Qe1 Bg4 17.Rh4 Qd7 18.Nd5 f6 19.Qf2 and White has a strong initiative; Black’s pieces are poorly coordinated) 13...Nb4 14.Nf3 Ng4 15.Bb5 Qb6 16.Rde1 Rad8 17.h3 Nf6 18.Qh2 with chances to both sides in GrabinskyMendonca, Budapest 2020) 13.Nf3 a6 14.Qe1 Qc7?! 15.Bd3?! (15.Nd5! Bxd5 16.exd5 is better for White) 15...Bg4 16.Rf1 Nd4 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Ne2 Rfe8 (18...Nxe4! 19.Bxe4 Rfe8 is clearly better for 101

Black) 19.h3 Bxe2 20.Qxe2 Nd5 21.Qf3 Nc3+ 22.Kc1 Nxa2+ 23.Kd2 Qa5+ 24.Ke2 Nb4 and Black has a clear advantage; that white king in the middle of the board is not an ideal situation, Xu XiangyuSasikiran, Moscow 2019. b2) 11.Re1?! Rc8 12.Bd3?! (12.Kb1 looks more normal) 12...Nd4?! (12...d5!? is unpleasant for White) 13.Kb1 a6 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Qb6 16.Qf2 Qc7 17.c3 Nb5 18.Rc1 Bg7 was tested in BodnarukMendonca, chess.com INT 2020, and now 19.h3 Bd7 20.c4 Nd4 21.fxe5 dxe5 22.Ne2 leads to interesting play where I prefer White but objectively, the chances are close to even. b3) 11.Nge2?! Bf3 12.Rg1 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Nc3 Bf3 15.Be2 Nd4 16.Rgf1 Bc6 17.Kb1 Rc8 and White does not appear to have sufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn, GabrielianMendonca, chess.com INT 2020. c) 10...Nd4

11.Kb1 (11.Nge2 Bg4 12.Nxd4 Bxd1 13.Qxd1 exd4 14.Qxd4 Bg7 15.Bc4 (but it seems possible for White to improve with 15.Nd5 Ne8 16.Qb4, for instance, 16...Bxb2+ 17.Kxb2 Nf6 18.Qxb7 and White has the upper hand.) 15...a6 16.Nd5 Ne8 17.Qb6 Bxb2+ 18.Kxb2 Qxb6 19.Nxb6 Rd8 is about balanced, Mohite-Gaehwiler, Aracaju 2018,) 11...Bg4 (a tempting alternative is the active 11...b5 but White appears to be better after 12.Bg2 Bb7 13.Nge2 b4 14.Na4 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 (15.Qxb4!? looks even better) 15...Bxe4 16.Nxd4 Bxh1 17.Rxh1 exd4 18.Qxd4 f6 19.Qxb4 Rf7 20.f5 Rb8 21.Qd4 and White has the better chances but lost in the end, Morozevich-Zakhartsov, Skolkovo 2019.) and now: c1) 12.Re1 Rc8 13.h3 Be6 14.Bd3 Qa5 15.Rd1 Nh5 16.Qe1 Nxg3 17.Qxg3 Rxc3 18.Qe1 Rxd3 19.cxd3 Qxe1 20.Rxe1 Bxf4 21.Ne2 Nxe2 22.Rxe2 d5 and Black has excellent compensation for the exchange, Pridorozhni-Zakhartsov, St Petersburg 2018. c2) 12.Rc1 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Qxd5 15.Bg2 Qd7 16.h3 Bf5 17.Ne2 Rfd8 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.Rhd1 Bg7 20.g4 Be6 21.Qb4 Rab8 22.Rd3 and White was clearly better in Timofeev-Oganian, Khanty-Mansiysk 2018. 102

c3) 12.Be2 Nxe2 13.Ngxe2 Bf3 14.Rhf1 Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Qb4 Bf5 17.fxe5 Qc8 18.Nd4 (White could get an improved version of the game continuation with 18.Rxf5 Qxf5 19.exd6 Rad8 20.g4 Qe6 21.Qd4 when White is in command) 18...Bg4 19.exd6 Bxd1 20.Rxd1 Qg4! 21.Rd3 Rad8?? (21...Qe4 would have been fine for Black) 22.Nc6! (Ouch! White threatens mate on e7 and now White is winning) 22...f5 23.Qc3 Rd7 24.Qh8+ Kf7 was Bodnaruk-Sliwicka, Wroclaw 2019, and now White could have forced mate with 25.Qf6+ Kg8 26.Ne7+ Rxe7 27.Qh8+ Kf7 28.Qxh7+ Bg7 29.Qxg7+ Ke8 30.Qxe7#. d) 10...a5 11.Bg2 Be6 (11...Bg4!?) 12.Nge2?! (12.Kb1!? looks like a solid improvement) 12...Qb6 (12...Ng4!?) 13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Ne7 15.Nc3 Nf5 16.Rde1 exf4 17.gxf4 Qb4 18.Kb1 Bxf4 19.Qd3 Rfe8 with chances to both sides, but Black cannot be worse, Paravyan-Ofitserian, Loo 2018. e) 10...Be6 11.Kb1 Qb6 12.Bh3 Nd4 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Nge2 Nxe2 15.Qxe2 exf4 16.Qc4 Rae8 17.Nb5 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Qxb5 19.Rxd6 was seen in Colin-Ortiz Suarez, Avoine 2018, and now 19...f3! 20.Rxe6 Bg7 when Black seems to have decent chances. f) 10...Nh5? is too optimistic and single-minded and White easily obtains an advantage after 11.Nd5 (11.Kb1! exf4 12.Be2 is even better) 11...Be6 12.Nf3 (12.Be2!?) 12...Bxd5 13.exd5 Ne7 14.Kb1 Qd7 15.Ng5?! (White can do even better with 15.Qg2!, for instance, 15...f6 16.Qh3 Qxh3 17.Bxh3 Ng7 18.Rhe1 and White is clearly better) 15...Bxg5 16.fxg5 f5 17.gxf6 (17.Be2!?) 17...Nxf6 18.Qe1!? Ng4 19.Bh3 h5 20.Qe2 with somewhat better chances for White, Souleidis-Wachinger, Hamburg 2018. 11.gxf4 Nh5 12.Nge2 12.Nd5!? Be6 13.Ne2 Qh4 14.Kb1 Bxd5 15.exd5 Ne5 transposes to the note after Black’s 15th move. 12...Qh4 13.Nd5 Be6 14.Kb1

14...Bxd5 15.exd5 This is better than 15.Qxd5?! Nxf4 16.Nxf4 Bxf4 17.Bb5 Rac8 18.Rdf1 Be5 19.Bxe5 dxe5 (Black 103

would have been clearly better after 19...Nxe5! 20.Qxb7 (or 20.Qxd6? Qxe4 when Black is much better) 20...Rc5 and Black is in command) 20.Qd7 Qd8 21.Bxc6 bxc6 22.Qxa7 c5 with chances to both sides, Tereladze-Eynullayev, Poti 2019. 15...Ne7 Black can also play the more active 15...Ne5, using the pin on the pawn to place the knight, at least temporarily, on a more active square; after 16.Qb4!? Rfd8 (16...Bg7!?) 17.Qxb7 Ng4 18.Qb4 Bg7 (alternatively, 18...Qf2 can also be considered, for instance, 19.Ng3 Ne3 when play soon gets complicated 20.Rc1 Qxf4 21.Qa5 Nf6 22.Bb5 Nfg4 with sharp play and chances to both sides, whereas; 18...Nf2 is met by 19.Qe1!? Re8 20.Bd4 Nxf4 21.Qxf2 Qxf2 22.Bxf2 Nxe2 23.Bxe2 Rxe2 24.Bg3 with an endgame that difficult to assess accurately) 19.Bxg7 Nxg7 20.f5?! (20.Qe1 Nf5 21.Qxh4 Nxh4 22.Rg1 Nf2 23.Rc1 Re8 24.Ng3 is a better option for White) 20...Nxf5 21.Rg1 h5 22.Ng3 Nge3 23.Qxh4 Nxh4 24.Re1 Re8 and Black has clear advantage, Vallejo Pons-Banikas, Patras 2019. 16.Bg2 Bg7 17.Bxg7 White can consider 17.Bf3!? but whether it is noticeably better for White after 17...Bxb2 18.Kxb2 Ng7 19.Nc3 Nef5 is questionable. 17...Nxg7 18.Ng3 Rfe8 19.Be4 Qf6

20.Qb4 White has other options, e.g., 20.Rde1!?; or 20.Bf3 Nef5 21.Ne4 Qh4 22.Rhe1, which both lead to positions where I prefer White, but where my computer spits out evaluations close to 0.00. The actual “truth” of these positions will require more tests, so for now, if considering playing these positions with either side, try to define a plan for how you would proceed and which factors you value as important, that will be more important than an assessment by me or a computer engine.

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20...a5 21.Qxb7 Ballsy, but that is Firouzja. 21...Reb8 22.Qc7 a4 23.Ne2 Rc8 24.Qb6 Ngf5 25.Qb4 axb3 26.cxb3 with a very complicated position where Black has reasonable compensation for the sacrificed pawn thanks to White’s open king; an exact evaluation is challenging to offer, White eventually won the game but it being an online blitz game and White being Firouzja, doesn’t tell us much, Firouzja-Dominguez Perez, chess.com INT 2020.

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Chapter 14: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...Nf6 8.Bb2 0-0 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4 Nf6 8.Bb2 0-0 in the previous chapter, we looked at what happens when Black plays the sharp 8...e5. Here, we will focus on what happens when Black avoids that central counterpunch but rather opts for more traditional counterplay.

9.0-0-0 a5 A logical response, aiming to make something happen on the queenside. It looks anti-positional by weakening the light squares, b5 in particular, but if Black has to get something started, he must make some compromises along the way. The alternatives are: a) 9...Bg4 10.Be2 Rc8 11.Kb1 (I would probably have been tempted to play 11.Bxg4 Nxg4 12.Kb1 Qa5 13.h3 Nf6 14.g4 Bg7 15.Nge2 with a pleasant space advantage for White) 11...Bxe2 12.Ngxe2 b5 (or 12...Bg7 13.h3 a6 14.g4 b5 15.Ng3 Qa5 16.Nd5 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 Nd7 18.h4 Bxb2 19.Kxb2 (this type of position looks a bit dull, but it is Black who is truly suffering with lack of active counterplay and lack of room for his pieces) 19...Rfd8 20.h5 a5? 21.hxg6 fxg6 22.Rdh2 Nf8 23.f5 Kf7? 24.Rxh7+! Nxh7 25.Rxh7+ and Black resigned,1–0, Deac-De Lucas Bello, Benasque 2019) 13.Qd3 a6? (This is mistaken, but also 13...Qa5 14.h3 Rfd8 15.g4 Bg7 16.g5 or even 14.g4!? are better for White) 14.e5 Ne8 15.Nd5?! (15.h4! dxe5 16.Qh3 followed by h4–h5 looks horrendous for Black) 15...Bg7 16.h4 (16.exd6! is somewhat better for White) 16...e6 17.h5? (17.Ne3) 17...exd5 18.hxg6 fxg6 19.Qxd5+ Kh8?? (19...Rf7! was clearly better for Black, White’s attack does not fully compensate for the sacrificed piece) 20.Qe6 Ne7 21.exd6 Nxd6 22.Rxh7+! Kxh7 23.Rh1+ Bh6 24.Rxh6+ and, Black resigned as there is mate in the next move, 1–0, Ssegwanyi-Osunfuyi, Casablanca 2019. b) 9...e5 transposes to chapter 13. 106

c) 9...a6 10.Kb1 b5 11.Bd3 Bg4 12.Nge2 Nb4 13.h3 Bd7 14.g4 Bg7 15.e5 Ne8 16.Be4 Rc8 17.a3 Nc6 was played in Valeanu-Lim Z, Graz 2020, and here 18.Rhe1 would have left White with a dominating advantage; Black’s position is rather passive and depressing. 10.a4

This move makes an awful lot of sense, apparently putting a cork in Black’s attempt at creating counterplay on the queenside and from a pure scoring perspective, it has done very well for White, but it is not without problems as the b4–square now completely is in Black’s hands, helping to support the ...d6–d5 advance and potentially Black can put a lot of pressure on the c-file. Therefore, before we continue, let us have a look at the alternatives: a) 10.Bd3 Nb4!? (or even the immediate 10...d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.Nf3 Qc5 and Black should have equalized) 11.Kb1 (I’m not keen on letting Black capture the bishop on d3, so White can consider retreating the bishop, 11.Be2 when 11...a4 12.a3 Nc6 13.b4 e5 leads to sharp & messy positions) 11...Nxd3 12.cxd3 Bd7 13.Nge2 a4 14.bxa4 Bxa4 15.Nxa4 Rxa4 16.Nc3 Ra5 and Black should be better, Bodnaruk-Antova, Moscow 2019. b) 10.Bb5 (another “cork” move, aimed to stop ...a5–a4 from happening) 10...Qb6!? (threatens ...Nxe4, so White needs to react to that threat) 11.a4 (or 11.Ba4 Bg4 12.Nf3 Qc5 13.Kb1 Rab8 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.h3 Bxf3 16.gxf3 Nh5 17.Ne2 a4 with chances to both sides, but Black cannot be worse, GolubovYeletsky, Moscow 2018) 11...Nb4 12.Kb1 Bg4 13.Rf1 d5 14.h3 Be6 15.e5 d4 16.Na2 Ne4 17.Qe1 Nxa2 18.Qxe4 Nc3+ 19.Bxc3 dxc3 20.Ne2 Rfd8 and here Black should be doing fine as well, Vavulin-Kokarev, Yaroslavl 2018. c) 10.Kb1 (choosing to ignore Black’s ideas) 10...a4!, and here:

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c1) 11.Nxa4 Nxe4 12.Qe3 Nf6 13.Nf3 Qa5 14.Nd4 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 Bg4 16.Bc3 Qc7 17.Rd3 Bf5 18.Rf3? (or 18.Nb6 Be4 19.Nxa8 Rxa8 20.Re3 (20.Bd2 b5!) 20...e5! and White is in trouble) 18...Be4 19.Rf2 Rxa4! 20.bxa4 Rc8, White’s position is a disaster, White is an exchange up, but he has more issues to deal with than is worth mentioning, needless to say, this is not something White should be aiming for, Bivol-Kevlishvili, Saint Louis 2018. c2) 11.bxa4, with additional paths in the road:c21) 11...Be6 (c22) 11...Qa5 12.Nf3 e5 13.Bc4 Ng4 14.Qe2 Bxf4 15.Rxd6 Ne3 16.Bb3 Bg4 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.Rxd5 Qc7 19.Qf2 and White has the clearly better chances, Engel-Van Dael, Hamburg 2018. c23) 11...Bg4!? is an untested but promising option for Black, for instance, 12.Nf3 Nh5 13.Bb5 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Bxf4 15.Qf2 e6 with a pleasant position for Black.) 12.Bb5 Ne5 13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Ned7 15.Ne2 Nc5 16.Qb4 Bg7 17.Rhe1 Qc7 with a complicated position and chances to both sides, Tadic-Mullick, Belgrade 2019. c3) 11.Be2 axb3 12.axb3 Qa5 13.h3? (13.Nf3 would have been better, but Black is doing very well after 13...Nb4 and it is Black who has the attack and White dreaming of counterplay) 13...Bg7 (13...e5! 14.g3 Re8 and White is already in serious trouble) 14.Bd3 Nb4 15.Nge2 Nd7 16.h4 Nc5 17.Bc4 Nxe4 18.Qe3 Nxc3+ 19.Nxc3 Bf5 20.Rd2 was played in Paramzina-Afanasieva, Moscow 2018, and now just about anything wins for Black: 20...d5, 20...b5 or 20...Rfc8. 10...Nb4 This knight leap is a logical consequence of White’s previous. Although the score in this line is massively in White’s favor, Black is doing okay. As on the previous moves, we have some alternatives to look at: a) 10...Qb6 11.Kb1 Bg4 12.Be2 Bxe2 13.Ngxe2 is, if anything, slightly better for White. b) 10...Bg4 11.Be2 Bxe2 (11...e5 is, once more, a natural move once: 12.g3 Be6 13.Kb1 Rc8 14.h4 (14.Nf3!? seems to improve) 14...Nd4 15.h5 Bg7 16.h6 Bh8 17.Bd3 Bg4 18.Rf1 d5 19.fxe5 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 dxe4 21.Bxe4 Bxe5 with chances to both sides, Ansat-Abdusattorov, Tashkent 2019) 108

12.Ngxe2 Nb4 13.Kb1 Rc8 14.Nd4 Qb6 15.g4 (15.g3!? is better, not giving Black the option for counterplay he used in the game) 15...e5 16.g5 exd4 17.Qxd4 Qxd4 18.Rxd4 Bg7 19.gxf6 Bxf6 20.Nd5 Bxd4 21.Ne7+ Kg7 22.Bxd4+ f6 23.Nxc8 Rxc8 with equal chances in the endgame, StuderOrtiz Suarez, Batumi 2018. c) 10...Be6

c1) 11.Nf3 Rc8 12.Ng5 (12.Kb1 Nb4 13.Ng5 Bg4 14.Rc1 d5 15.e5 Ne4 16.Ngxe4 dxe4 17.Qe3 Rxc3 18.Qxc3 Bxf4 19.Bc4 Bd2 20.Qg3 Bxc1 21.Bxc1 Bf5 and White has some, but probably not full compensation for the sacrificed pawn, Lye-Antova, Zadar 2019) 12...Nb4 13.Nxe6 (13.h4 Bg4 14.Re1 e5 15.g3 Qc7 16.Bc4 Nh5 17.Nb5 Qe7 18.Nxd6 Rcd8 19.Bxe5 Nc6 20.Ngxf7 Rxf7 was Xu XiangyuMakoveev, Moscow 2019, and now 21.Nxf7 Rxd2 22.Nxh6+ Kf8 23.Kxd2 Nxg3 24.Nxg4 Nxh1 25.Nf6 and White is clearly better) 13...fxe6 14.Kb1 e5 15.g3 Qd7 16.h4 Qg4 17.Qe1 Rc5 18.Bh3 Qh5 19.fxe5 Rxe5 20.Nd5 and White was winning, Brodsky-Huschenbeth, Rockville 2018. c2) 11.h3 Nb4 12.g4 Rc8 13.g5?? Nxe4 14.Nxe4 Rxc2+ 15.Qxc2 Nxc2 16.Kxc2 Qb6 17.Bc4 Bf5 18.Bd3 Rc8+ 19.Nc3 Qf2+ 20.Rd2 Bxd3+ 21.Kxd3 was played in Pijpers-Warmerdam, Amsterdam 2019, and now 21...Qg3+ 22.Kc2 Qxf4 23.gxh6 Qe4+ would have ended the cold shower for White. d) 10...e5 11.g3 Note that transposes to chapter 13. 11.Kb1

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With the bishop on h6, the king will usually belong on this square. Of course, other moves have been tried: a) 11.Nf3 Bg4 12.Be2 Rc8 13.Kb1 Rc5 14.e5 Nfd5 15.Nxd5 Rxd5 16.Qc3 dxe5 (Black can improve with 16...Rc5!? 17.Qxc5 dxc5 18.Rxd8 Rxd8 19.g3 Bf5 with about equal chances) 17.Rxd5 Nxd5 18.Qxe5 f6 19.Qe4 Bf5 20.Qc4 e6 21.Nd4 leaves White with better chances, Milosevic-Yakubboev, Porto Carras 2018. b) 11.Nge2 Bd7 (or 11...Qb6 12.h3 Be6 13.g4 Bg7 14.Nd4 Rac8 15.Kb1 Rxc3 (here, Black can consider 15...Nxe4!? 16.Nxe4 Nxc2 leading to a messy position) 16.Qxc3 Nxe4 17.Qe3 Bd5 18.Bg2 Nc3+ 19.Qxc3 Bxg2 20.Rh2 Be4 was Berger-Korchmar, chess.com INT 2020, when White, once more, has the somewhat better chances after 21.Qe3) 12.Nd4?? (a blunder 12.Kb1 is much better) 12...Rc8? (Black could have punished White for her inaccurate play with 12...e5! 13.Nde2 d5! 14.g3 Rc8! and White is busted) 13.Kb1 Bg7 14.Bb5 Bg4 15.Rc1 e5 16.Nde2 Qe7 17.h3 Bxe2 18.Bxe2 exf4 19.Qxf4 Rxc3 20.Bxc3 Nfd5 21.exd5 Nxd5 was played in Larina-Bodnaruk, Moscow 2020, where White here went completely wrong and soon lost, but with 22.Bxg7 Nxf4 23.Bxf8 Kxf8 24.Bf3 the chances would have been fairly equal. 11...Qb6 Another logical move, but there are many interesting options for Black at this point: a) 11...d5!? 12.e5 (White should play 12.Nf3 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bf5 14.Qd4 f6 15.Bd3 Nxd3 16.cxd3 dxe4 17.Qc4+ Kh8 18.dxe4 Bd7 19.f5 and while the chances are objectively more or less even, I would prefer to play White) 12...Nh5 (here, Black could have considered 12...Ne4 13.Nxe4 Bf5 14.Nf2 Bxc2+ 15.Ka1 Rc8 16.Rc1 Bxb3 17.Nf3 Rxc1+ 18.Qxc1 Bxa4 19.Nd4 Qd7 with a sharp position that is really difficult to assess accurately - the engine gives is as about equal) 13.Nge2 Bf5 14.Nd4 Bg4 15.Be2 Bxf4 16.Qe1 Bxe2 17.Qxe2 Qc7 18.Rde1 Qc5 19.Ncb5 Rac8 20.Rhf1 and White had a clear advantage and eventually won, Dubov-Firouzja, Abu Dhabi 2018. 110

b) 11...Bg4 12.Be2 Rc8 13.Bxg4 Nxg4 14.Nf3 (White can gain the upper hand with 14.h3 Nf6 15.g4 Bg7 16.e5 and Black is under pressure) 14...Qb6 15.Rhe1 (15.Nd5!?) 15...Nf6 16.h3?! Rfd8 17.g4 d5 18.exd5 Nfxd5 19.Nxd5 Rxd5 and Black has solved his opening problems successfully and has the better chances, Iljiushenok-Demchenko, St Petersburg 2018. c) 11...Qc7 12.Nf3 d5 (12...Nh5 13.g3 Bg4 14.Be2 is somewhat better for White) 13.e5 Ne4 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Nd4 Rd8 16.Bc4 Bg4 17.Rde1 Rac8 18.Qe3 Qc5 19.h3 Bd7 20.Qxe4 e6 21.g4 and White has an extra pawn and excellent control of the position, Pichot-Asis Gargatagli, Barcelona 2018. 12.Nf3

Putting the knight on f3 is undoubtedly a more natural square for the knight, but from e2 is helps support the f4–pawn, which is likely to be attacked further when Black plays ...e7–e5. Both moves have been played with excellent results for White, so which is better? I tend to lean toward 12.Nf3, but let us take a look at the alternative so that you can judge for yourself. 12.Nge2 Be6 (Black can almost certainly improve with the untested 12...Rd8!?, for instance, 13.Nd5 Nfxd5 14.exd5 Qc5 15.Nc3 Bf5 16.Rc1 Rac8 17.Bc4 with a sharp position where Black should be close to equal) 13.Nd4 Rac8 (or 13...Bg4 14.Be2 e5 15.Ndb5 Bxf4 16.Qxd6 Qxd6 17.Nxd6 Bxe2 18.Nxe2 Ng4 19.Nxf4 exf4 20.Rdf1 Rfd8 21.Nxf7 Kxf7 22.Rxf4+ Ke6 23.Rxg4 and White was a clear pawn up and eventually won in Chigaev-Sunilduth Lyna, chess.com INT 2019) 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.g3 e5 (or 15...Rc5 16.Bh3 Kf7 17.Rhe1 Rfc8? (Black should have played 17...Qc6 although 18.Re2 is still comfortably better for White) 18.e5! dxe5 19.Qf2 exf4 20.Bxe6+ Qxe6 21.Rxe6 Kxe6 22.Nb5 and White was winning in Liang-Santos Ruiz, Manavgat 2018.) 16.Bh3 Rc5 17.Be6+ Kh8 18.Rhf1 Qc6 19.Qe1 Bg7 20.f5 Nxe4 21.Nxe4 Rxc2 22.Bc3 Rxh2 23.g4?! (23.Rh1! would have been clearly better for White; now Black is allowed an opportunity to save himself) 23...Nc2! 24.Qg3 Re2 25.Bd5 Na3+ 26.Ka1 Nc2+ 27.Kb1 Na3+ and draw agreed, ½–½, in Tahbaz-Idani, Moscow 2019. 12...Be6 111

A logical square for the bishop; in some cases, Black is threatening to play ...Nxc2 and as long as the bishop is on e6, White will not place his bishop on c4. Black has also tried a couple of other bishop moves: a) 12...Bd7 13.h4? (on 13.Bc4, Black should play 13...Rfc8 14.Rhe1 Rxc4!? 15.bxc4 Rc8 which is difficult to assess but Black has decent compensation for the exchange) 13...Rac8 (13...Nh5!? 14.Ng5 Rac8 (14...Ng3 is an interesting alternative, e.g., 15.Bc4 Nxh1 16.Rxh1 followed by h4–h5 with compensation for the sacrificed exchange) 15.Bc4 Bg7 and Black is doing fine) 14.Ng5 Bg7 15.Rc1 Ng4 16.Bb5 Bxb5 17.Nxb5 Bxb2 (17...Qe3!? is also good) 18.Kxb2 Qe3 19.Rhd1 was played in Jumabayev-Raja, Xingtai 2019, and here 19...Qg3 would have left Black with a comfortable game. b) 12...Bg4 13.Be2 Rac8 14.h3 Be6?! (14...Bd7!? was okay for Black) 15.Nd4 Bg7?! (15...Bd7!?) 16.Bf3 d5 17.e5 Nd7 18.g4 Bh6 19.Qh2 Rxc3 20.Bxc3 and White has a large, probably decisive advantage, Sadhwani-Raja, Lichess.org INT 2020. 13.Ng5 Bg4 14.Re1 e5 15.Bc4 Rac8 16.Rhf1 Nh5??

Black does not sense the danger. He had a very reasonable option that he should have jumped without hesitation in 16...Rxc4 17.bxc4 Qc6, which gives proper compensation for the exchange. 17.Nxf7! The decisive breakthrough, another reason why Black should have killed the bishop on c4. 17...Rxf7 18.Bxf7+ Kxf7 19.fxe5+ Kg7 20.Qxd6 Qxd6 21.exd6 Kg8 22.Nd5 Nxd5 23.exd5 Bf8 24.h3 Bd7 25.g4 Ng7 26.Ba3 Ne8 27.c4 White has a decisive advantage and eventually won the game. I will give the rest without any further comments. 27...b6 28.Re7!? Bxe7 29.dxe7 g5 30.Bb2 h6 31.Rf8+ Kh7 32.Bd4 Rb8 33.Kc2 Kg6 34.Kc3 Rb7 35.Be5 Ra7 36.Kd4 Rb7 37.Ke4 Ra7 38.Kf3 Ra8 39.Kg3 Ra7 40.Bd4 Rb7 41.Be5 Ra7 42.h4 gxh4+ 112

43.Kxh4 Rb7 44.Bd4 Rb8 45.Rh8 Kf7 46.Rxh6 Kxe7 47.Be5 Rb7 48.Rh7+ Kf8 49.g5 Bc8 50.g6 and Black resigned, 1–0, Sivuk-Van Dael, Skopje 2019.

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Chapter 15: 4...a6 5.b3 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 a6

Like we saw in the previous chapter, some black players are concerned about White playing lines with Bb5 on ...Nc6. The text move prevents that option, but since we did not intend to play Bb5 anyway, we are happy to see Black invest a tempo in that move. That being said, it is more active than ...Bd7 that we saw in the previous chapter because Black will often play ...a7–a6 to support the ...b7–b5 advance to create some counterplay. 5.b3 There is not any real good reason to steer away from our intended set-up. Some of the more tempting alternatives aim to exploit the weakened dark squares on Black’s queenside, for instance: 5.Nd5 Nd7 6.Bg5!?

114

(the only way for White to try for an advantage; White achieves less with 6.Qc4, e.g., 6...Nc5 7.b4 e6 8.bxc5 exd5 9.exd5 dxc5 and Black has a comfortable game) 6...h6 7.Bh4 Ngf6 8.0-0-0 Qa5 9.Kb1 e5 10.Qc3 Qxc3 11.Nxc3 b5 12.f3 and White is perhaps marginally better.; 5.f3 Nf6 6.Qf2!? e6 7.Be3 Nbd7 8.g4 with a peculiar version on an English Attack that will lead to original play. 5...Nf6 Black has also tried the immediate 5...e5 6.Qd2 Nf6 7.Bb2

and now Black has two main moves: a) 7...Be6 8.0-0-0, and here: 115

a1) 8...Nc6 9.Kb1 Be7 10.f3 Nd4 (but not 10...h5? 11.h4 Qa5 12.Nh3 Bxh3 13.Rxh3 b5?! 14.Rh2 Rc8 15.a4 Nd4 16.axb5 axb5 17.Nxb5 Qxd2 18.Rxd2 Nxb5 19.Bxb5+ and White is winning, VialCaderon, Nimes 2018) 11.Nge2 Nxe2 12.Bxe2 0-0 13.g4 Rc8 14.h4 b5 15.h5 (15.Rhg1!?; 15.a3!?) 15...Nd7 was played in Chyzy-Dhrupad, Mumbai 2019, and now 16.h6 g6 17.Rhg1 is comfortably better for White. a2) 8...Nbd7 9.f4 exf4 10.Nf3 Be7 11.Qxf4 0-0 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Qa5 14.a3 Rfe8 15.Bd3!? (15.Kb1!? Nxd5 16.Qd4 N5f6 17.Bd3 Nf8 will give White enough compensation for the pawn but not more than that) 15...Nc5 (or 15...Ne5 16.Kb1 Nxd3 17.Rxd3 Nxd5 18.Qg3 Nf6 19.Re1 and White is command) 16.Bf5 Qc7? (also 16...Ncd7 17.Rhe1 h6 18.Qd4 leaves Black with a miserable position) 17.Kb1 b5 18.Rhf1 Nh5 19.Bxh7+! Kxh7 20.Qxf7 Nf6 21.Bxf6 Bd8 22.Ng5+ and Black resigned before he would get mated, 1–0, Xu Xingyu-Sousa, Lisbon 2019. b) 7...Be7 8.0-0-0 (or 8.f3 Be6 9.0-0-0 Nbd7 10.Kb1 b5 11.g4 Nb6 12.Ba3 0-0 13.Nge2 (White could simply capture the pawn on d6: 13.Bxd6 Nfd7 (or 13...b4 14.Nce2 Qxd6 15.Qxd6 Bxd6 16.Rxd6) 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 Qa3 17.Ne2 and White has the better chances) 13...d5! 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 and Black already has a comfortable game, Tazbir-Krak, Slovakia 2019), and now: b1) 8...Nc6?! places the knight on a less than ideal square for this particular pawn structure, for instance, 9.Kb1 0-0 10.f3 Be6?! (or 10...b5 11.Nge2 Rb8 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Na5 14.f4 and White has the initiative) 11.g4 Nd4 12.Nce2 Nxe2 13.Nxe2 Qb6 14.Ng3 and White has a comfortable advantage, Poetz-Martinez Alcantara, Graz 2020. b2) 8...0-0, and now: b21) 9.f4 Nbd7 10.Nf3 Qc7 (10...b5!?) 11.g4?! (here White should play 11.Bc4!? b5 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 Rb8 14.Kb1 and White has the better chances) 11...Nc5 12.g5?! (it was better to play 12.Rg1 when 12...Nfxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qe3 Nc5 15.fxe5 d5 would have been about even) 12...Nfxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qe3 Nc5 15.fxe5 Bf5! and Black is in command, Grover-Rocco, London 2019. 116

b22) White should probably opt for 9.Nge2 b5 10.Ng3 (but not 10.f3?! when 10...b4 11.Na4 Nxe4! is comfortable for Black) 10...Nbd7 (or 10...Be6 11.Kb1 Nbd7 12.f4 Nb6 13.Nf5!? and White has some initiative, but Black is still very much in the game) 11.Nf5 Nc5 12.Nxe7+ Qxe7 13.f3 Rd8 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Bb7 16.Kb1 when White’s chances are preferable but objectively Black is still very much in the game. Finally, 5...Nc6 6.Qd2 transposes to lines covered elsewhere in the book, depending on Black’s choice of set-up. 6.Bb2 Nbd7 Another Najdorf-like move, 6...e5!? can also be considered, e.g, 7.Qe3 (7.Qd2!? is once more our preferred square) 7...Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.Kb1 b5 10.Nge2 b4 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.Rxd5 Nd7 13.Ng3 Nf6 14.Rd2 a5 15.Bb5 Ng4! 16.Qf3 Qb6 17.Bc4 g6 with a comfortable game for Black in Bitoon-Tran Tuan Minh, Ho Chi Minh City 2015. 7.0-0-0 White has also tried the aggressive 7.f4, which is fully playable, but allowing Black to play the typical Najdorf counterpunch with a threat to White’s queen seems less than ideal, for instance, 7...e5 8.Qd2 b5 9.Nf3 Bb7 10.0-0-0 Be7 11.Qe1 Qc7 (Black has not needed to think for himself yet, and he is already doing quite well) 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Rc8 14.Bd3 exf4 15.Nd4 Nxd5 16.Nf5 Ne5 17.Be4 Ne3 18.Nxe3 fxe3 19.Qxe3 0-0 20.Kb1 and White has compensation for the sacrificed pawn but not more than that, A.Smirnov-Stojic, Melbourne 2018. 7...e5 8.Qe3

There is a certain amount of logic behind this move; for instance, it clears the d-file for the rook on d1, and the queen can potentially swing to g3, supporting or initiating an attack against Black’s king. However, more importantly, and this is the major downside to this move, it makes the queen more vulnerable to attack, either through ...Ng4 but also with ...Qb6, offering an exchange. Therefore, 117

retreating the queen to d2, as we usually do in all other lines, would be the way to go here as well. An example is 8.Qd2 Nc5 (or 8...b5 9.Kb1 Be7 10.f3 (10.a3!? can also be considered) 10...h5 11.a4 b4 12.Nd5 with a position where I prefer White) 9.f4! Ncxe4?! (the health conscious will know that this is probably a little too much of a walk on the wild side; the prudent 9...Be7 was to be preferred) 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.Qe1 f5?! (or 11...d5 12.c4!? Qf6 13.g3 Be6 14.Nf3 Be7 15.Nxe5 with a clear advantage for White) 12.Bc4 Qc7 13.Nf3?! (13.g4!) 13...exf4?? 14.Ng5 Be7 15.Nxe4 fxe4 16.Bxg7 and White was winning in Keinanen-Finnsson, Borgarnes 2019. 8...b5 9.f4 Qb6!?

Another normal move is 9...Bb7 when 10.Nf3!? looks best, for example, 10...Be7 11.Kb1 Ng4 12.Qd2 0-0 13.fxe5!? (this appear stronger than 13.h3 Ngf6 which is fine for Black) 13...Ngxe5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.g3 intending either Bg2 or Bh3 depending on Black’s plans, White has the better chances. On the other hand, 10.Nd5?! is premature; after 10...Nxd5 11.exd5 Be7 12.Nf3 0-0 13.g4?! (13.Kb1 Bf6 is about even) 13...Nf6 14.g5 Nxd5 15.Qe4 f5 (or 15...Rc8!, intending 16.Rxd5 Rc5 and Black is clearly better) 16.gxf6 Rxf6, Black had taken control of the game, Gomez Dieguez-Represa Perez, Linares 2018. 10.Qxb6 Nxb6 11.fxe5?! Releasing the tension in the center only helps Black. A better choice was 11.Nf3, although 11...b4! 12.Nd5 (12.Nb1!?) 12...Nfxd5 13.exd5 f6 is fine for Black. 11...dxe5 12.Nf3 Ng4!

118

Black has already achieved a comfortable game. 13.Re1?! White should have given preference to 13.Rd2 but 13...f6 14.Be2 Ne3 15.Ne1 Bb7 16.Bf3 b4 and Black has no problems. 13...f6! 14.h3 Nh6 15.g4 Nf7 16.Bd3 Bb4 After 16...Be6!?, I would rather play Black. 17.a3 Be7 18.Nh4 Nd6 The chances are fairly even, L.Christiansen-I.Novikov, Saint Louis 2019.

119

Chapter 16: 4...Bd7 5.b3 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Bd7 This move is typically played by those who are concerned with 4...Nc6 5.Bb5, but that continuation is, of course, nothing we are bothered with at this point. Black may not know this, and therefore it is seen from time to time. For now, it mostly amounts to a waste of time or a slow version of the Dragon setups for Black. 5.b3 Here, 5.f3 Nf6 6.Qf2 Nc6 7.Be3 g6 8.0-0-0 Bg7 9.Nge2 Qa5 10.Kb1 is also an option for White, but it is not consistent with our game plan. 5...Nc6 Another option is 5...Nf6 6.Bb2 e5 7.Qd2 Bc6 8.f3 Be7 9.h4 (stopping Black’s ...Nxe4 tricks) 9...h5 (9...Nh5 10.Qf2 0-0 11.0-0-0) 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.Kb1 Qa5 12.Nh3 Qc5 13.Nf2 a6 14.g3 Qa7 15.f4 00 16.Bh3 (16.Nd5!? may improve) 16...b5

17.g4!? (I prefer 17.Nd5, e.g., 17...Bxd5 18.exd5 a5 19.Bxd7! Nxd7 20.fxe5 dxe5 21.d6 Bd8 22.Nd3 Bf6 23.Rhe1 Rfe8 24.Qg2 a4 25.Nb4 Qc5 26.Qe4 and White has a dominating positional advantage.) 17...hxg4 18.Nxg4 Nxe4 19.Nxe4 Bxe4 20.Bg2! (In the game we have been following, White instead went 20.Rhg1 Rac8 21.Ne3 f5? (Black could have tried 21...Rxc2! 22.Nxc2 Rc8 23.Bc3 b4 24.Qe2 Bxc2+ 25.Qxc2 Rxc3 26.Qg2 Bf8 27.Rgf1 when White has the upper hand but there is still a lot play left) 22.Bg2 Rf7 23.Bxe4 fxe4 24.Nd5 (24.h5!) 24...Bf8 25.h5 e3 26.Nxe3 Rxf4 27.h6 Nf6 28.hxg7 Bxg7 29.Qxd6 Qf7 30.Qxe5 Ng4 31.Nxg4 Bxe5 32.Nxe5+ and Black resigned, 1–0, LiangB.Jacobson, Saint Louis 2019) 20...Qb7 21.Rhg1! f5 22.Ne3 Nc5 23.fxe5 dxe5 24.Bxe5 and White has 120

a strong initiative and the better chances. A sneaky alternative is 7...Be7!?

8.0-0-0 Bc6, and now: a) White needs to pay attention, for instance, 9.f3?! is met by 9...Nxe4! 10.Nxe4 Bxe4 11.Qb4?! (White should opt for 11.Bxe5 Bg5 12.f4 (if 12.Bf4 then 12...Qf6! 13.Kb1 Bxf4 14.Qe1 Be5 15.fxe4 Nc6 is pleasant for Black) 12...dxe5 13.fxg5 Qxd2+ 14.Rxd2 with chances to both sides) 11...Bg6 12.Bb5+? Nc6 13.Bxc6+ bxc6 14.Bxe5 0-0 15.Qc3 f6 16.Bf4 d5 was comfortably better for Black in Stearman-B.Jacobson, Charlotte 2018. b) 9.Kb1! Nxe4 10.Nxe4 Bxe4 11.f4 Nd7 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.Bb5 Bc6 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.Qe2 Qc7 16.Nf3 f6 17.g4 0-0-0!? (17...0-0 18.g5 Rae8 19.h4 is quite unpleasant for Black) 18.Nd4 exd4 19.Qxe7 Ne5 20.Qxc7+ Kxc7 21.Bxd4 Nf3 22.Bf2 with an objectively insignificant edge for White but playing White is definitely easier. 6.Qd2 g6 Black can also choose a Scheveningen style set-up with 6...Nf6 7.Bb2 e6 8.0-0-0 a6 9.f3 Be7 10.Kb1, and here:

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a) A common move for Black in some Sicilians with this type of pawn structure is 10...h5 and now White should probably swing to a different set-up with 11.f4!? (interesting but probably okay for Black is 11.Ba3!? Qa5 12.Na4 Qxd2 13.Rxd2 Ne5 14.Nb6 Rd8 15.Nh3 Bc6 16.Bb2 0-0 17.Be2 (or 17.Nf4 g6 18.Be2 Ned7 19.Nxd7 Nxd7 20.Ba3 Nc5 21.Rhd1 b6 and while White’s position is probably a tiny bit easier to play, it is nothing special) ) 11...b5 12.Bd3 Nb4 13.Be2 Nc6 14.a3 Qa5 15.Bf3 Rc8 16.Nge2 and White has a comfortable plus. b) 10...Qa5 11.g4 h6 12.h4 0-0-0 13.Bg2 Kb8 14.Nh3 Bc8 15.g5 (15.Nf2!? d5 16.exd5 exd5 17.Nd3 Bd6 18.Ne2 Qxd2 19.Rxd2 Rhe8 20.Rhd1 Re3 21.Nd4 leaves White with the better chances) 15...Nh5 (Black can also consider 15...hxg5 16.hxg5 (16.Nxg5 Rhf8 17.Bh3 is also possible) 16...Nh5 17.f4 Ng3 18.Rhe1 d5 19.Qe3 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 dxe4 21.Qxe4 Bb4 22.Rh1 e5 and Black is close to having equalized) 16.f4 e5 17.f5 hxg5 18.hxg5 (18.Nxg5!? Rhf8 19.Nd5 Qxd2 20.Rxd2 is clearly better for White) 18...f6 19.g6 d5 20.Nxd5 Qxd2 21.Rxd2 Bc5 22.Rd3 Nb4?! 23.Nxb4 Bxb4

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24.Rhd1 (24.Ng5! Nf4 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Nf7 Re8 27.Bf3 and White is a pawn up) 24...Rxd3 25.Rxd3 Be7 26.Bc1 Kc7 27.Bf1 Bd6 28.Be2 Nf4 29.Nxf4 exf4 30.Rxd6 Kxd6 31.Bxf4+ Ke7

(according to the computer, Black is close to having equalized but this position is far easier for White to play) 32.Bd3 Rh3 33.Kb2 Bd7 34.Kc3 Bb5 35.Kd4 Bxd3 36.cxd3 Rf3 37.Bc7 Kd7? (the king belongs on e7 and Black should resist the temptation to move it away, even when wanting to «gain» a tempo which is ultimately insignificant in the overall picture; therefore, 37...Rf2 should have been played, but even so, after 38.a4 Rb2 39.Kc3 Rb1 40.Bb6 Kd6 41.Kd4 Ke7 42.Bc5+ Ke8 43.b4 b6 44.Bd6, White has every chance of winning the game) 38.Bb6 Rf2 39.a4 Rb2 40.Kc3 (40.Bc5!?) 40...Rb1? (Another mistake but also 40...Rh2 41.Bc5 Rh8 42.a5 should win for White) 41.Bc5 Rc1+ 42.Kd4 Rb1? 43.Bf8 Rxb3 44.Bxg7 Ke7 45.e5 fxe5+ 46.Bxe5 Rb4+ 47.Kd5 Rxa4 48.f6+ Kd7 49.f7 123

Ra5+ 50.Ke4 Rxe5+ 51.Kxe5 Ke7 52.d4 a5 53.d5 a4 54.d6+ and Black resigned, 1–0, MorozevichChos, Sochi 2019. 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0 Nf6 Waiting to deploy the knight to f6 is also possible but not necessarily better: 8...Rc8, and now:

a) 9.Kb1 Qa5 10.Nge2 (10.f3 Nf6 11.h4 0-0 12.g4 h5 13.g5 Ne8 14.Nge2 Nc7 15.f4 Rfd8 16.Nd5 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 Nxd5 18.exd5 Nb4 19.a3? (an oversight; White should have played 19.Bh3 Bxh3 20.Rxh3 Rc5 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Nc3 and White has the easier position to play but Black is not dramatically worse) 19...Na6 (19...Nxd5! is better for Black) 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.Nd4 Nc5 22.Bg2 and while the game ultimately ended in a draw, White had a small but clear positional advantage in this position, Maurizzi-Sokolovsky, Bad Blankenburg 2018) 10...b5 11.Nd5 Qxd2 12.Rxd2 Bxb2 13.Kxb2 Nh6 14.f3 f5 15.Ng3 fxe4 16.Nxe4 Ne5 was played in Caglar-K.Tadic, Skopje 2019, and now 17.f4! Nef7 18.Nec3 with a dominating positional advantage for White. b) White has an interesting alternative in 9.Nd5!? Bxb2+ (or 9...Kf8 10.Be2 Qa5 11.Qxa5 Nxa5 12.f4 Be6 13.Nf3 and White has the easier game and a nice space advantage) 10.Kxb2 Qa5 11.b4 (11.c3!? is also perfectly good and playable) 11...Qd8 12.c3 Be6 13.f4 (or 13.Nf3 a5 14.a3 with an interesting position that is difficult to assess accurately but I would prefer White) 13...a5 14.Nf3 axb4 15.cxb4 Nf6 16.Nxf6+ exf6 17.a3 0-0 and both sides have their share of the chances. 9.f3 White has also tried 9.Kb1 0-0 10.f3 Qa5

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11.g4 (a tame alternative is 11.Nd5?! Qxd2 12.Rxd2 Nxd5 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.exd5 Ne5 15.h3 g5 16.Ne2 Bf5 (16...a5 would have kept the chances even) 17.Nd4 Bg6 18.Kb2 a6 19.a4 h6 20.Be2 Nd7 21.Re1 (or 21.Bd3 Ne5 22.Bxg6 Kxg6 23.Rf1 with a pleasant edge for White in the endgame) 21...Nf6 22.c4 and White has the upper hand, Andrade-Martins, Recife 2018) 11...Rfc8 (11...Rac8 12.Nge2 b5 13.Nf4 a6 14.g5 Ne8 15.h4 b4 (15...e6 16.h5 Nb4 17.a3) 16.Na4! (White played less accurately in the game with 16.Ncd5? Bxb2 17.Kxb2 e6 18.Nf6+ Nxf6 19.gxf6 Qe5+ with chances to both sides, Neelotpal-Aditya, Bhubaneswar 2018) 16...e6 17.Bxg7 Nxg7 18.Qxd6 Rfd8 19.Qc5 and White is simply a pawn up.) 12.Nge2 (or 12.h4 h5 13.g5 Ne8 14.Nge2 Nc7 15.Nf4 e6 (or 15...b5 16.Ncd5 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 with a comfortable edge for White) 16.a3 Nd4 17.Qe3 Ndb5 18.Bxb5 Bxb5 19.Rh2 Be5 20.Rhd2 Be8 21.Nfe2 Nb5 22.Nxb5 Bxb5 23.Nd4 Be8 24.f4 and White had a large advantage in Iljiushenok-Abdusattorov, St Petersburg 2018) 12...b5 13.h4 h5 14.gxh5 Nxh5 15.f4 Bg4 16.Rg1 was seen in Nandhidhaa-Semenenko, St Petersburg 2019, and now 16...Bf3 17.Rg5 promises White the better chances. 9...0-0 Another option is 9...Rc8 10.Kb1

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10...0-0 (or 10...Qa5 11.Nge2 h5 12.Nf4 (12.Nd5 Qxd2 13.Rxd2 Ne5 14.Nef4 Bc6 15.Be2 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 Rg8 and White has the upper hand) 12...0-0 13.Be2 Rfe8 14.g3 with an edge for White) 11.g4 a6 12.h4 h5 13.gxh5 (White seems able to improve with 13.g5 Ne8 14.f4 Qa5 15.Nd5 Qxd2 16.Rxd2 Bxb2 17.Kxb2 Bg4 18.Ne3 and White is better) 13...Nxh5 14.Nge2 Qa5 15.Rg1 Ne5 16.Bg2 Bb5 (also 16...Rfe8 17.f4 Bh6 18.Qd5 Rc5 19.Qd4 Nc6 20.Qe3 (20.Qf2!? can also be considered) 20...e5 21.Qf2 exf4 22.Bf3 Nf6 23.h5 Ne5 24.Rxd6 and White has the much better chances) 17.Nd4 (Another option was 17.Nxb5 Qxd2 18.Rxd2 axb5 19.Rd5 Rc5 20.Rxc5 dxc5 21.f4 Nc6 22.e5 Bh6 23.e6 Nxf4 24.Nxf4 Bxf4 25.exf7+ Kxf7 26.Be4 and White has an advantage in the endgame) 17...Nc6? (17...Rfe8 18.Ncxb5 Qxd2 19.Rxd2 axb5 20.Nxb5 Bh6 21.Rdd1) 18.Nxc6 Bxc6 19.Nd5 Qd8 (or if Black exchanges queens 19...Qxd2 20.Nxe7+ Kh7 21.Rxd2 Rc7 22.Nxc6 Rxc6 23.Bh3 and White is clearly better) 20.Bh3 e6 21.Nf4 Bxb2 22.Nxh5! (now White is winning) 22...Qxh4 23.Qh6 Qxh3 24.Nf6+ Bxf6 25.Qxh3 Kg7 26.Qg3 Be5 27.f4 Bf6 28.e5 dxe5 29.fxe5 Be7 30.Qf4 Rcd8 31.Rdf1 Rd5 32.Rh1 Kg8 33.Qh6 and Black resigned, 1–0, Gutenev-Kryakvin, St Petersburg 2018. 10.g4 a5 10...Qa5 transposes to the lines above. 11.Kb1! Here 11.a4 looks natural to stop Black’s advance on the queenside, but it only makes Black’s play easier with access to the b4 square. A possible continuation is 11...Nb4 12.Kb1 Rc8 13.h4 h5 14.g5 Ne8 15.Bd3 Qb6 16.Nge2 Be6 with a complicated position and chances to both sides. 11...a4?! It is difficult to decide on a good plan for Black. For instance, looking at a couple of alternatives: a) 11...Ne5 12.g5 Nh5 13.f4 Nc6 14.Be2 with a good game for White. b) 11...Qb6 12.g5 Nh5 13.Nd5 Qc5 14.Ne2 Bxb2 15.Kxb2 a4 16.b4 Qf2 17.Ng3 (17.Nec3 Qxf3 126

18.Be2 is also interesting) 17...a3+ 18.Kb1 and White is better. 12.Nxa4 Rxa4 13.bxa4 Qb6 14.Bb5! Effectively putting a cork in Black’s counterplay 14...Ra8 15.c4 Ne8 16.Ne2 Ne5 17.Bd4 Qc7 18.Qc3 Bxb5 19.axb5

19...Nxc4 Alternatively, 19...Qxc4 20.Qxc4 Nxc4 21.Bxg7 (or 21.Rd3 Ra5 22.Rc1 Rxb5+ 23.Ka1 Ne5 24.Rdc3 Nc6 25.Bxg7 Nxg7 26.Rb1 and Black does not have enough for the exchange) 21...Nxg7 22.Ka1 Ne6 23.Rc1 Ne5 24.Rc3 and White is clearly better. 20.Bxg7 Qc5 21.Rd5 Even stronger is 21.Bh6! Ra3 22.Rd5 Rxc3 23.Rxc5 Na3+ 24.Kb2 Rxc5 25.Kxa3 and White wins easily. 21...Na3+ 22.Ka1 Qf2 23.Rd2 Nxg7 24.Nd4 Also, 24.Nf4 is much better for White. 24...Qh4 25.Rc1 h5 26.gxh5 Nxh5 27.Rb2 Kh7 28.Rb3 Qf2 29.Qb2 Qxb2+ 30.Kxb2 Ra4 31.Rxa3 Rxd4 32.Rc7 and Black resigned, Sevian-Xiong, Saint Louis 2018.

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Chapter 17: 3rd Move alternatives 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 In this chapter, we will look at those lines where Black does not capture on d4 and therefore do not enter the lines covered in the previous chapters. 3...Nf6

a) 3...e5 4.dxe5 (in the only game in my database with this unusual move, the game continued equally puzzling - I assume it was a pre-arranged draw: 4.f4 Qc7 5.Nf3 Nd7 6.Bd3 Ngf6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Ne2 0-0 9.c3 Re8 and draw agreed, ½–½, Sarenac-Bozic, Kragujevac 2013) 4...dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Be3 Nc6 7.0-0-0+ and with Black’s weak light squares, unsafe king, etc., White has a clear positional advantage. b) 3...Nd7 4.d5 (This leads to a Schmid Benoni where Black has played the very passive ...Nd7; however, White has also tried 4.dxc5 Nxc5 (or 4...dxc5 5.f4 e6 6.Nf3 a6 7.a4 Ne7 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.e5 Be7 10.0-0 and White has a good game) 5.Be3 e6 6.Nf3 a6 7.Qd4 Ne7 8.Rd1 Nc6 9.Qd2 b5 10.a3 Be7 11.Bf4 e5 12.Be3 Be6 was seen in Mamedyarov-Heberla, Istanbul 2005, and now 13.b4 Nd7 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.Qxd5 Rc8 16.Qb3 looks very nice for White although Black is by no means lost) 4...Ngf6 5.Nf3 a6 6.a4 g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Nd2 (9.Re1 b6 10.h3 Ne8 11.Bf1 Ra7 12.Bf4 f6 13.Nd2 Ne5 14.Be3 Bd7 15.f4 and White has a very good position thanks to Black’s completely passive set-up, Miranda-Dos Santos, Itapiruba 1997) 9...Rb8 10.a5 b5 11.axb6 Nxb6 12.Nb3 Ra8 13.Bf4 Qc7 was played in Tomazini-Stajner, Slovenia 2017, and now 14.Na5 would have been clearly better for White; Black is almost entirely without counterplay. c) Finally, 3...e6 4.dxc5 (or 4.Bb5+ Bd7 5.Bxd7+ Qxd7 6.d5 with a small plus for White whereas 4.Nf3 will likely transpose to a normal open Sicilian) 4...dxc5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Bd7 8.0-0-0 and White is clearly better, although it will take some time to prove. 128

4.dxc5! This capture is the best attempt at refuting Black’s attempt at transposing to normal lines. By contrast, 4.d5 takes us straight to a Schmid Benoni after 4...g6

which is generally considered slightly better for White, but given that it has been used countless times by grandmasters, this is not a fireproof way of claiming an advantage. But I will give a few lines to illustrate how White can play for an advantage: a) 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Bb5+ Nfd7 7.a4 0-0 8.0-0 Na6 9.Re1 Nc7 10.Bf1 (or 10.Bg5 Nxb5 11.axb5 a6 12.Qd2 Re8 13.h3 Nb6 14.bxa6 bxa6 was played in Le Quang Liem-Nakamura, Dubai blitz 2014, and here 15.b3 would have been slightly better for White) 10...a6 11.Bf4 f6 12.a5 Rb8 13.Nd2 Ne5 14.Bxe5 fxe5 15.Be2 with a pleasant positional advantage for White in Sunilduth Lyna-Iturrizaga Bonelli, chess24.com INT 2020. b) 5.f4 Bg7 6.Bb5+ Nfd7 7.a4 Na6 8.Nf3 Nc7 9.Bc4 Rb8 10.0-0 b6 11.e5 0-0 was seen in AronianZvjaginsev, Mainz 2010, and now 12.Qe2 would have left White with a massive advantage in space. Finally, note that 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 transposes to a regular Sicilian. 4...Qa5

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Black tries to sharpen the game, but as we will soon see, White has nothing to worry about from this approach. Also, the immediate recapture is very pleasant for White, for instance, 4...dxc5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Be3 (or 6.Bc4 Ke8 7.Nf3 Be6 soon lead to a (pre-arranged) draw in Sharapov-Cyborowski, Lubawka 2008, and now (also 7...e6 8.Nb5 Na6 9.e5 Nd5 10.Bd2 is clearly better for White) 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.Be3, Black is left with a complete disaster) 6...Nbd7 7.0-0-0 e6 8.h3 a6 9.Nf3 (or 9.e5 Ng8 10.f4 b5 11.Ne4 and Black is obviously in trouble) 9...b5 10.a3 Bb7 11.Ne5 Ke8 12.Nxb5 axb5 13.Bxb5 Rd8 14.Bg5 Bc8 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Nc6 and Black is close to being lost, R.Nielsen-M.Becker, Helsingor 2012. 5.cxd6! This is simple and best. The alternatives are decent, and we will take a brief look at them as well: a) 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Qe2 dxc5 7.Bd2 Nc6 8.Nf3 e6 9.e5 Ng4? (or 9...Ng8 10.Ne4 with a large advantage for White) 10.h3 Nh6 11.Ne4 Qc7 12.Bxh6 gxh6 13.Nf6+ and White is winning, Burchardt-Melamed, Germany 2005. b) 5.Bd3 Qxc5 6.Be3 (or 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.0-0 g6 8.Nf4 Qa5 9.Nfd5 Bg7 10.Bd2 with a small but comfortable advantage for White) 6...Qa5 and now:b1) 7.h3 (b2) 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.0-0 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 10.g4 Bg6 11.a3 (both 11.Qd2 e6 12.Rad1; and 11.g5 Nd7 12.Nh4 leave White clearly better) 11...a6 12.b4 Qd8 13.Nd5 Nd7 14.Qe2 e6 15.Nf4 Be7 (15...Nde5!?) 16.Rac1 0-0 and Black has equalized, Kuznetsov-Lazarenko, Tomsk 2008.) 7...Nc6 (Black can also head in the direction of a Pirc Defense with 7...g6 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Nf3 Bg7 10.Bh6 0-0 11.0-0 Qh5 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.Qe3 Qh6 14.Ng5 Nh5 as seen in Magomedov-Kantsler, Azov 1991, and now 15.Nd5 with a comfortable edge for White) 8.Nge2 e6 9.0-0 Be7 10.a3 (or 10.Qd2 0-0 11.Rfd1 a6 12.a3 Qc7 13.Nf4 b5 14.Be2 Ne5 15.f3 Rb8 16.Bf2 Bd7 with a comfortable game for Black, Mossong-Efimov, Beirut 2014) 10...0-0 11.f4 a6 12.Qe1 b5 13.Nd4 (13.b4!?) 13...Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Qd8 15.Rd1 Bb7 16.e5 dxe5 17.Bxe5 Qb6+ 18.Kh2 Rfe8 and Black has equalized, M.Tan-Tjiam, Belgium 2009.

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5...Nxe4

Or 5...exd6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.Nf3 (also 7.Nge2 0-0 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Nf4 Re8 10.Nfd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 simply left White a pawn up, Berkes-Marasescu, Pecs 1998) 7...Nc6 8.0-0 Bg4 9.Be2 (or 9.h3 Be6 10.Bd2 and Black has nothing to show for the pawn) 9...0-0 10.Nd4 (10.a3!?) 10...Bxe2 11.Ndxe2 Rac8 12.Nf4 and White is, of course, clearly better, Brzeski-Ferenc, Koszalin 2007. 6.Qd5! An outright refutation of Black’s opening play! 6...Qxd5 7.Nxd5 Nc6 Or 7...Na6 8.Bxa6 bxa6 9.dxe7 Bxe7 10.Nc7+ Kd7 11.Nxa8 and White is winning. 8.Nc7+ Kd8 9.Nxa8 Nb4 10.Bd3 Nc5 11.Ke2 exd6 12.Bg5+ f6 13.Bd2 Nbxd3 14.cxd3 with a decisive advantage for White, Ilincic-Negulescu, Varna 1994.

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Epilogue Congratulations on making it to the end of the book! I hope you have enjoyed studying the many fascinating lines and come away with a better understanding of the ins and outs of this new variation. As you will undoubtedly have noticed, there is plenty of room for further exploration in the various lines, as you may have noticed from many suggestions, improvements, and pieces of analysis. I’m confident that the developments will continue at an ongoing rapid pace, throughout the process of writing this little book, I had to update several chapters multiple times because of new games. On the note, the games come from a lot of types of tournaments, traditional over-the-board tournaments, in particular, but also correspondence and online tournaments, something we have seen explode this year as we were ensconced in our own little fortresses, waiting out the resolution of the COVID crisis in around the world. As for your own games and improvements in this variation, please share them with me if you want them to make it into the next edition of this book, something that undoubtedly will become necessary due to the rapid pace of new games by strong and young players alike. A special thank you to Simon Williams for agreeing to write a foreword on truly short notice. I have been a fan of his for years, although I’m not nearly as brave as he is when he plays. His creativity at the chessboard and his ability to convey ideas and concepts to his readers and viewers in books and videos is uncanny. You should definitely check out his work. Also, thank you to Renato Quintiliano, who send me some analysis he had done on the variation and the countless others who have supported the work, release, and promotion of this book. Finally, I would like to ask you a small favor, if you have enjoyed this book, kindly submit a short review, no more than 10-20 words are necessary, on a platform like Amazon or where you have bought the book. If you have found mistakes, and unfortunately, I’m sure there are several, please let me know. You can reach me via email: [email protected] or you can visit my website: www.winningquicklyatchess.com where you can sign up to the newsletter, get a free book and other free materials, and you can catch me online: Twitter: @cazhansen Instagram: @chansen64 Facebook Group: Winning Quickly at Chess And soon, also on YouTube. Keep having fun and look out for the next volumes in this new series of books where I will explore new or forgotten, exciting, or entertaining ideas and variations.

Opening hacker greetings, Carsten 132

Books by Carsten Hansen Winning Quickly Series: Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 1: Indian Defenses Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 2: 1.d4 d5 Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 3: Flank Openings Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 4: Dutch, Benonis & d-pawn Specialties Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 5: Anti-Sicilians Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 6: Open Sicilians Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 7: Minor Semi-Open Games Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 8: 1.e4 e5 Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening - Volume 9: French & Caro-Kann Catastrophes & Tactics in the Chess Opening – Volume 10: Selected Brilliancies from Volumes 1-9 Entire series also available in Large Print Format Chess Miniatures Series: Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the Sicilian Najdorf Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the Queen’s Indian Defense: 4 g3 Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the Ruy Lopez: Main Lines Upcoming Volumes: Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the King’s Indian Defense: Fianchetto Systems Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the Slav Defense: Main Lines Winning Quickly at Chess: Miniatures in the Scotch Game Specialized Chess Tactics Series: Specialized Chess Opening Tactics: Budapest & Fajarowicz Gambits Upcoming Volumes: Specialized Chess Opening Tactics: Caro-Kann - Main Lines Specialized Chess Opening Tactics: Caro-Kann - The Panov, Advance & Specialties Specialized Chess Opening Tactics: Benko & Blumenfeld Gambits Specialized Chess Opening Tactics: The Sicilian Dragon – Classical Lines Specialized Chess Opening Tactics: The Sicilian Dragon – Yugoslav Attack Daily Chess Training Series: Chess Tactics – Volume 1 (404 puzzles from 2nd half of 2018) 133

Chess Tactics – Volume 2 (404 puzzles from 1st half of 2019) Chess Tactics – Volume 3 (404 puzzles from 2nd half of 2019) Chess Tactics for Improvers – Volume 1 (808 puzzles from 2019) Upcoming Volumes: Chess Tactics – Volume 4 (404 puzzles from 1st half of 2020) Chess Tactics for Improvers – Volume 2 (808 puzzles from 2019-20) For updates and free material, please visit www.winningquicklyatchess.com Other books by Carsten Hansen: The Sicilian Accelerated Dragon: Improve Your Results with New Ideas in This Dynamic Opening (with Peter Heine Nielsen, Batsford 1998) The Gambit Guide to the English Opening: 1...e5 (Gambit Publications 1999) The Symmetrical English (Gambit Publications 2001) The Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3 (Gambit Publications 2002) Improve Your Positional Chess (Gambit Publications 2004) - also available as e-book (Gambit Publications 2016) and in a Spanish-language edition Mejore su ajedrez posicional (Editorial La Casa Del Ajedrez 2008) A Strategic Opening Repertoire (with John Donaldson, Russell Enterprises 2008) - also available as an e-book (Russell Enterprises 2015) Back to Basics: Openings (Russell Enterprises 2008) - also available as an e-book (Russell Enterprises 2016) The Sicilian Dragon: Move by Move (Everyman Chess 2016) - also available as an e-book (Everyman Chess 2016) The Closed Sicilian: Move by Move (Everyman Chess 2017) – also available as an e-book (Everyman Chess 2017) The Chameleon Variation – Confronting the Sicilian on Your Own Terms (Russell Enterprises 2017) – also available as an e-book (Russell Enterprises 2017) The Full English Opening – Mastering the Fundamentals (New in Chess 2018) – also available as an ebook (New In Chess 2018) The Sicilian Accelerated Dragon – 20th Anniversary Edition (with Peter Heine Nielsen - CarstenChess 2018) – Expanded version of the 1998 edition with approximately 15% new material) Upcoming books: Marvelous Modern Miniatures – 2020 games in 20 or less (Russell Enterprises 2020) The Modernized Accelerated Dragon (Thinkers Publishing 2020)

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Table of Contents Title page Foreword by Grandmaster Simon Williams Introduction Chapter 1: Minor 5th Moves Chapter 2: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e5 Chapter 3: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...a6 7.Bb2 b5 Chapter 4: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 d5 Chapter 5: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 Chapter 6: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 b5 Chapter 7: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0-0-0 Be7 Chapter 8: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: minor lines Chapter 9: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: 8...0-0 9.f3 Chapter 10: 5...Nf6 6.b3: 6...g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.0-0-0: 8...0-0 9.Kb1 Chapter 11: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: Minor lines Chapter 12: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...f5 Chapter 13: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...Nf6 8.Bb2 e5 Chapter 14: 5...g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4: 7...Nf6 8.Bb2 0-0 Chapter 15: 4...a6 5.b3 Chapter 16: 4...Bd7 5.b3 Chapter 17: 3rd Move alternatives Epilogue Books by Carsten Hansen

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