The Old Indian 1781942323, 9781781942321

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Junior Tay

The Old Indian move

by

EVERYMAN CHESS www.everymanchess.com

move

First published in 2015 by Gloucester Publi shers Limited, North burgh H ouse, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT Copyright© 2015 Junior Tay The right of Junior Tay to be identified as the author of this work h as been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication m ay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or tran smitted in any form or by any mean s, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publi sher. British Libra ry Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. I S B N : 978 1 78194 2 3 2 1 Distributed in North America by N ational Book Network, 15 200 N B N Way, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 172 14. Ph : 717.794.3 800. Distributed in Europe by Central Books Ltd., 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN. Ph 44 (0 ) 845 458 9911. All other sales enquiries should be directed to Everyman Chess, Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT em ail : [email protected] ; website: www.everymanchess.com Everyman is the registered trade m ark of Random House Inc. and is used in this work under licence from Random House Inc.

Everyman Chess Series Chief advisor: Byron J acobs Commissioning editor: John Emms Assistant editor: Richard Palliser Typeset and edited by First Rank Publishing, Brighton. Cover design by Horatio Monteverde. Printed by TJ International Limited, Padstow, Cornwall.

Junior Tay is a F I D E Candidate Master and an ICCF Senior International Master. He is a for­ mer N ational Rapid Chess Champion and represented Singapore in the 1995 Asian Team Championship. A frequent opening surveys contributor to New in Chess Yearbook, he lives in Balestier, Singapore with his wife, WFM Yip Fong Ling, and their dog, Scottie. He used the Old Indian Defence exclusively again st 1 d4 in the 2014 SportsAccord World Mind G ames Online event, which he finished in third pl ace out of more th an 3000 participants. Also by the Author: The Benko Gambit: Move by Move lvanchuk: Move by Move

Contents

About the author

3

Series Foreword

5

Bibliography

6

I ntroduction

7

1 The Classical Ten sion Tussle

17

2 Samisch-Style Set-Ups a n d Ea rly d4-d5 Systems

139

3 Va rious Ideas i n the Fianchetto System

2 74

4 Ma rshalli ng a n Attack with 4 i.g5 a nd 5 e3

395

5 N avigating the Old I n d i a n Tra il: 20 Questions

456

Solutions

467

I ndex of Va riations

490

I ndex of Games

495

Move by Move is a series of opening books which uses a question-and-an swer format. One of our m ain aim s of the series is to replicate - as much as possible - lessons between chess teachers and students. All the way through, readers will be ch allenged to answer searching questions and to complete exercises, to test their skills in chess openings and indeed in other key aspects of the g ame. It's our firm belief that practising your skills like this is an excellent way to study chess openings, and to study chess in general . Many thanks go to all those who h ave been kind enough to offer inspiration, advice and assistance in the creation of Move by Move. We're really excited by thi s series and hope that readers will share our enthusiasm . John Emms Everyman Chess

Bibliography Books A Strategic Chess Opening Repertoire for White, John Watson (Gambit 2012) Attacking with 1 e4, J ohn Emms (Everyman 2001) Grandmaster Repertoire: 1 d4, Volume 2, Boris Avrukh (Quality Chess 2010) Opening for White According to Kramnik: Book 1a, Alexander Khalifman (Chess Stars 2006) Playing 1.d4: The Indian Defences, Lars Schandorff (Quality Chess 2012) Starting Out: 1 d4!, John Cox (Everym an 2006) The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White, Larry Kaufman (New in Chess 2011) The Old Indian Renewed (leonard Pickett, The Chess Player 1984) Wojo's Weapons: Winning with White, Volume 2, Tim Hilton and Dean Ippolito, (Mongoose Press 2011) Wojo's Weapons: Winning with White, Volume 3, Tim Hilton and Dean Ippolito, (Mongoose Press 2013) Databases MegaBase 2014 MegaCorr 4 Correspondence Database 2014 ICCF Database Other resources Chessbase Magazine Chess Informant Chess Openings 24/7 website Ch esspublishing .com Chess Today New in Chess Yearbook Playchess.com server (live gam es) The Week in Chess Chess Engines Houdini 4 Komodo 7 Stockfish 5

6

lntrod,uctlon What is the Old Indian Defence? The Old Indian refers to the opening which begins 1 d4 li:Jf6 2 c4 d6, when Black places the king's bishop on e7 in stead of g 7 (as in the King's Indian Defence). Black allows White to build a big centre with pawns on c4, d4 and e4, intending to strike back with ... e7-e5 to g ain his own central strongpoint. This is norm ally prepared by 3 ... li:Jbd7, although there are adherents of 3 li:Jc3 es, challenging White to a queen less middlegame after 4 dxes dxes 5 'i¥xd8. The Old Indian Defence h as similarities with its more popular sibling, the King's In­ dian Defence, especially when it comes to Black's undermining options ( ... c7-c6xd5 or ... c7c6, ... a7-a6 and ...b7-b5) or flanking ideas ( .. .f7-f5). This is due to the similarity in the gen­ eral pawn structure in some lines (e.g . white pawns on C4, ds and e4 versus Black's on c6, d6 and es).

Why play the Old India n Defence? 1. The Old Indian h as not, generally, been high up on the Indian Defences 'totem pole'. In fact, it has a reputation of being the "poor m an's King's Indian " (Nunn's Chess Openings). Nevertheless, it is a very solid and compact opening where Black seldom gets hit or overrun by sharp gambits or bamboozled by the tricky move orders commonly seen in other Indian Defences. 2. Black's general themes are relatively simple to remember and understand. There is no need to memorize long and compulsory intricate continuations in order to get out of the opening alive. 3. Personally, I feel that there have been some interesting developments in the opening to warrant its recon sideration as a weapon in one's repertoire. Black is no longer confined to playing for the standard ... c7-c6, ... a6-a6 and ... b7-b5 expansion after asserting him self in the centre with ... e7-e5; recent developments h ave given Black other mean s of setting problem s for White, especially with ...'ii'e 8/ ... .td8 ideas. 4. There's always room for a secondary defence, especially for a King's Indian player. If you have been pl aying that line, you'll already be familiar with Old Indi an themes, whereas White doesn't get either the Four Pawn s Attack or the typical Samisch Variation pawn storms where the black king is frequently under heavy bombardment. s. Adherents of the Old Indi an include some of the world's most respected grandm as­ ters. Famous players of the past wielding this defence include Chigorin, Capablanca, Bron-

7

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve stein, Petrosian, Kotov, Bolevslavsky and Larsen . In more recent times, GMs Akopian, Movsesian, Granda and Kozul h ave taken up its cause with good results. The mercurial three-time Georgian Champion, devotee of offbeat openings, Baadur Jobava h as given the Old Indi an a new lease of life by using it against Elo 2 700+ opposition. 6. One very pertinent reason for taking up the Old Indi an : the theory i s definitely not as well known or analysed as the King's Indian . One may scoff at the placement of the bishop on e7 where it (allegedly) seem s more like an extra e-pawn (being blocked by the d6-pawn and apparently havin g no prospects), but if White plays stereotypical 'standard' moves or tries to transpose into a King's Indian type of position, the bishop may turn out to be excel­ lently placed on e7! Let me explain ... In the Classical King's Indian, after 1 d4 ltlf6 2 c4 g 6 3 ltlc3 ..ig7 4 e4 d6 s ltlf3 0-0 6 ..ie2 es 7 o-o ltlc6 8 ds ltle7 g ltle1 ltld7 10 ltld3 fS 11 ..id2 ltlf6 12 f3 f4, Black tends to drop his g7-bishop back to f8. In some cases it goes to e7 to clear the f8-square for the heavy pieces to m ake their way to the king side; sometimes it re-routes further via d8 to b6 to join in the attack from the other side. In the Old Indian, on the other h and, the bishop is already on e7, so there's no need to reshuffle it. If Black gets .. .fS-f4 in, the bishop can support the ... g7-g 5 advance. In other cases ... g 7-g 5 is not required to start an attack; Black can also consider the rook lift .. JU6g6/h 6 to take aim at the white king side, as g ames in the book will show you. Here's a perfect illustration of how 'standard' play can go horribly wrong against the Old Indian :

ExdmpTri.1· . J�Jrennmrh8 Black mustn't play stereotypical moves either. For instance, after the immediate 9 ... g 6, White can l atch onto the weakness created to play on the h-file with 10 lZJge2lZJg 7 11 1Lh6 lZJf6 12 h4 Wh 8 13 h S ! and White is having a great time in E.Vegh-Ka.Wolter, Mun ster 1992. 10 lZJge2 a6 11 o-o Only when White has castled does Black prepare .. .f7-f5 with his next move. 11 ... g6 12 a3 f5 13 Wh1 Another way to m ake sure Black doesn't get the lion's share of activity is to play 13 exfs gxfs 14 f4 e4 15 1Lc2 with equal chances. White will be aiming for g 2-g4 to wreck the op­ posing pawn chain, while Black will try to prevent that from happening by pressing on the g-file and gunning for the white king . 13 . . .f4 1 4 ..tg1 g s

All o f a sudden, Black h as a souped-up Classical King's Indian-style attack, without hav-

9

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve ing to waste time getting the king's bishop out of the way! 15 lt::l c 1 If White tries 15 g4 (a standard defen sive idea in the KI D), we see a further plus point to having the bishop on e7 in that the black king can easily m ake way for the rook: 15 ...h S 16 h3 �g 7 17 �g 2 l:th 8 and Bl ack h as the initiative. 15 ... h5 16 .i.e2 l:ig8 17 lLld 3 lLlef6 18 b4 b6 19 l:lab1 g4

The dark-squared bishop isn't exactly badly placed on the e7-square, as the g-file is clear for barnstorming activities. In fact Black's attack is already reaching dangerous propor­ tions while White is barely starting his queenside intentions. 20 l:ib2 'iffs 21 .l:r.fb1 'ifg7 22 'ife1 lt::l h 7 23 'iff1 'ifgs 24 .itd1 lt::l hf8 2 5 a4?1 If 25 .i.a4, Black can continue on the king side with 25 ...h4!. 2 s asl •.•

After this m aster stroke, suddenly White h as nothing to aim at on the queenside and

10

I n tro d u c t i o n must watch helplessly a s Black takes his sweet time t o build the ideal kingside break­ through. 26 bxcs bxcs 27 lt'le1 �dB! Now Piket plays a couple of defen sive moves to cover the queen side squares. 2B ll'lbs l:ta6 29 ll'ld3 ll'lg6 Not falling for 29 ... ll'lf6? 30 lt'lxd6! l:!.xd6 31 �xes, when White breaks into the queenside with strong play; e.g. 3 1 .. J::td 7 3 2 l::tb 8 .ta6 3 3 .txf8 .txf8 34ll'lcs .l::t d6 3 5 .l:.a8, winning ma­ terial. 30 ll'le1 ll'lh4

The rest is just Black building and building until the attack reaches insurmountable proportions. 3 1 .tb3 ll'lf6 3 2 ll'ld3 With the bishop impeding the rooks on the b-file, the piece for two pawn s sacrifice doesn't work as well after 3 2 ll'lxd6 .l:.xd6 33 .txcs lld7. 3 2 ... .td7 33 l::te 1 .te8 34 .td1 l:i.b6 35 :a2 .tg6 36 l:.b2 .th7 37 l:ta2 ll'le8 38 lib2 .l:tb7 39 .:ta2 l:tbg7 40 %:tb2 .te7 Only one pawn h as been exchanged since the start of the game, but it is obvious that Black i s poised for a breakthrough. First, Piket reorganizes his minor pieces, cheekily return­ ing the dark-squared bishop to its home square.

11

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve

41 lita2 Rather than just sitting there, White might at least h ave tried to do something on the queen side, even if it would be ultim ately futile; e.g. 41 ti::Ja 7 ti::Jf6 42 ti::Jc 6 ii.fB 43 ti::Jd 8 (or 43 ti::Jx a5 gxf3 44 �xf3 ti::Jxf3 45 'i!Vxf3 'ii'h 4 46 �f2 l:.g 3 ! ) 43 ... gxf3 44 gxf3 ti::Jx e4! 45 ti::Je 6 'ii'f5 46 ti::Jx g7 Ilxg 7 47 fxe4? 'it'xe4+ and wins. 41...i..f8 42 .l:.b2 ti::Jf6 43 ti::Jc 3 �g6 44 l:.b1 i.. e 8 45 �f2 i.. d 7 46 .:tb2 Black h as finally achieved his optimum set-up and pulls the trigger. 46 gxf3 47 gxf3 ti::Jg 21 48 llee2 i.. h 3 49 'ii'g 1 ti::Jh 4 •••

The queen trade removes White's only reliable defensive piece, after which there's no way to stop Black from utilizing the g-file for the kill. 50 'ii'xg5 .l:r.xg5 51 .lite1 �g2+ This windmill bishop will collect a truckload of m aterial . 5 2 'iii>g 1 �xf3+ 5 3 'iii>f1 �g2+ 54 'iii> g 1

12

I n t ro d u c t i o n Or 54 �e2 liJf3 . 54 ... .i.xe4+ 0-1 In recent years, Old Indian mavens have surmised th at the king's bishop might b e better placed on the queenside (!) and so, in conjunction with ... 'ii'e 8, the bishop is rerouted via the dB-square to as (putting pressure on the e4-pawn by attacking the c3-knight), or b6 (to increase central ten sion on a pawn or knight on d4), or to c7 (to protect the d6- and es­ pawn s). Sometimes, the bishop can assist in a powerful king side attack from b6 as it radi­ ates power down the g 1-a7 diagonal . Although the following g ame was played at blitz speed, it is a good caution ary tale about the danger of the ever-lurking Old Indian bishop.

ExQmple2 Zhu Chen.-J.l(ru$h

Women's Wodd Blitz Charrip.ionship� Khanty.:Ma.nsiysk.2014 1 d4 liJf6 2 c4 d6 3 lDf3 liJbd7 4 liJc3 es 5 e4 j_e7 6 j_e2 o-o 7 o-o c6 8 h 3 'iVe81?

The queen and bishop dance ( ...'ii'e 8-e7, ... .i.d8-b6/c7/a5) was recommended in a 1984 32-page opening monograph by Leonard Pickett, The Old Indian Renewed. The point is to use the queen (rather than the king's rook) to maintain the strongpoint on es, while the bishop finds greener pastures on the queenside outside the pawn chain. Typically in the Old Indian, the bishop goes to f8 and sometimes g7, giving it a King's Indian character. In 2002, in New In Chess Yearbook 63, Argentine IMs Diego Adla and Pablo Glavina drew atten­ tion to the queen and bishop regrouping, calling ... 'i!Ve8 "the drastic solution" to address the passive position of the dark-squared bishop. Let's see how Krush's Old Indian bishop performs in this g ame. 9 l:le1

13

Th e O l d I n dia n : M o ve by M o ve We look at 9 �e3 �d8 in Game 13 (in the second part of Ch apter One). 9 ...�d8 The re-routing of the bishop is also seen in the Sn ake Benoni: 1 d4 ltlf6 2 c4 cs 3 ds e6 4 ltlc3 exds 5 cxds �d6, where the bishop tends to move to c7 and as. How is it that Black can afford to waste so many moves switching the queen and bishop around? The main reason is that the position is relatively closed and there are no sudden breaks to catch Black out (unless the thematic c4-c5 works). 10 �f1 'iie 7

11 b3 In stead: a) 11 i.e3 i.as ! is covered (by tran sposition) in Game 11. b) 11 b4 i.b6 12 cs?! �c7 sees White having released the centre tension too soon, and Black's 'Indian' bishop is well placed to take advantage with 13 cxd6 'ii'x d6 14 llb1 exd4 15 'il'xd4 (not 1S ltlxd4?? 'ifh 2 mate) 1S ...'ii'xd4 16 ltlxd4, when the position is roughly equal . 11 l:.e8 12 i.b2 After 12 i.a3, the active moves ... i.as or ... i.b6 might be shelved in favour of defending the d6-pawn (and vicariously the es-pawn) with 12 ... i.c7. For example, 13 1i'c2 ltlh s 14 l:tad1 'ilkf6 1S l::te 3 ltlf8 16 ltle2 ltlf4 17 dxe s dxe s 18 i.b2 ltlxe2+ 19 'ii'x e2 ltle6 with even chances. 12 ... �b6 13 'iVd2 exd4 14 ltlxd4 ltlcs •••

14

I n t ro d u c t i o n

Black should b e happy with the outcome o f the opening. Her bishop is well placed and the seeming weakness at d6 is pretty hard to get at. 15 tDfs?l Premature; now Black really has no problems. It was better to play a game of restraint with 1S l:tad1 i.d7 16 'il¥c2 as 17 .l:[e2 l:Iad8, when White perhaps has a slight edge. 1S i.xfs 16 exfs 'ii'd 7 17 'ilff4 .l:txe1 1S lixe1 liteS! Setting a cute trap based on the loose d6-pawn. 19 l:txeS+ 'it'xeS .••

20 Wxd6?? White should have preferred 20 lDd1 "ike7 21 g4, although it's not easy to improve her position even with the bishop pair. 20 tDce41 All of a sudden, the f2-pawn falls and the weakened dark squares are irredeem ably ex••.

15

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve posed. 21 tL!xe4 tL!xe4

Life sucks. The white queen simply has no good squares to go to, despite having the run of the entire board. 22 'ii'e s After 2 2 'ii'a 3 i.xf2+ 2 3 'iii>h l (or 2 3 'iii>h 2 'ifb8+) 2 3 ... tLlg 3+ 24 'iii>h 2 tL!xfl+ 2 5 �h l \!Vel, White gets mated. 22 ... i.xf2+ 23 'iii> h 2 Or 2 3 'iii>h l tLlg 3+ 24 'iii>h 2 tL!xfl+ 2 5 'iii>h l Vxe5 with a decisive advantage position for Black. 2 3 ...i.g3+ It i s fitting that the zigzag bishop delivers the coup de grace. 24 1¥xg3 tL!xg3 2 5 'iii>x g3 "ii'e 3+ 26 'iii> h 2 'ii'f2 0-1 Don't underestimate that zigzag Old Indian bishop!

Acknowledgements I would like to thank my editors GM John Emms and IM Byron Jacobs for allowing me to make chess writing a viable and enjoyable career. I also greatly appreciate the efforts of CC­ SIM Jonathan Tait for his extremely careful and thorough editing of the book draft. Also, a note of thanks to IM Andrew Martin, whose flamboyant Old Indian g ames have demon­ strated that the defence is not a stodgy, safe, secondary opening to get out of the opening alive. Finally, I am especially grateful to my wife, WFM Yip Fong Ling, for h er incredible pa­ tience and for continuing to believe in me.

16

Chapter

One

The Classical Tension Tussle

In this chapter, we will look at the most popular line in the Old Indian Defence. White es­ tablishes a classical pawn centre and tends to keep it fluid for as long as possible; i.e. with­ out locking the centre with d4-d5 or trading pawn s with d4xe s .

The First Few Moves 1 d4 liJf6 2 c4 d6 3 liJc3 liJbd7 I won't be covering 3 ... es (Ukrainian Variation) or 3 ... Jl.fs (Janowski Variation) here. For more information on the former, you can refer to The New Old Indian (Everym an 2011). Both lines focus on an early skirmish in the centre, whereas the text tends towards a more solid build-up, delaying the fight until later in the g ame. In particular, Black intends to push ... e7-e5 without trading queens. 4 e4 Unsurprisingly, the most popular line for White involves occupying the centre with pawns for a space advantage. 4 ... es Black stakes a claim in the centre too. s liJf3 White develops n aturally and pressurizes the eS-pawn while keeping tabs on the d4pawn . s ... Jl. e7 Black develops the bishop on this m eek square first, but as you will see later on, the bishop isn't necessarily confined to a defensive role on f8. Sometimes it goes to g S to chal­ lenge its white counterpart. Alternatively, it m ay zigzag to d8 en route to C7, b6 or as.

17

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve

6 .te2 o-o 7 o-o c6

Question: Why make this 'weakEmfng' pawn move? Answer: This little move serves many function s. It: 1. Deters a white knight from using the bs- or ds-squares. 2 . Allows the queen or king's bishop access to c7, b6 or as. 3 . Chips away at White's ds-pawn (should it be pushed there eventually). 4. Keeps things flexible. After d4-d5, Black can decide whether to open the c-file with ... c6xd5, block up the centre in Czech Benoni style with ... c6-cS, or retain the ten sion by leaving the pawn where it is. s . Prepares (coupled with ... a7-a6) a queenside expansion scheme with ... b7-b5. 6. Sometimes, Black can even hit back in the centre with ... d6-d5 to set it ablaze (see Ch apter Two). Some grandmasters (Granda Zuniga, Grigorian and Gal ego come to mind - g-force?) prefer to pl ay 7 ..Jle8 first, but they will invariably punt ... c7-c6 at some stage in the open­ ing.

18

Th e C l a s s i c a l Te n s i o n Tus s l e

Thi s is the basic tabiya of the Classical Variation. A s we've already noted, White will generally try to maintain the central ten sion for as long as possible.

Qt.r�sfioiJ:so wh:e� will be

an

opportune time for White to push d4-d5?

Answer: White might try to play d4-d5 when : 1. Black has pl ayed ... .l:te8, thus 'wrong-footing' the rook (since the fl anking .. .f7-f5 move would be better served with a rook on f8). 2 . Bl ack has pl ayed both ... c7-c6 and ... a7-a6, weakening the queenside dark squares, and White's ..i.e3 (a common square for the bishop) control s the g 1-a7 diagonal . 3 . Black is poised t o play . . . e sxd4 favourably (to attack White's e4-pawn). As it happens, Black tends to maintain the ten sion as well, at least until pressure can be put on the e-pawn with a rook or queen on the e-file. Of course, White also can clarify mat­ ters and close the centre at once with 8 dS (which is a Kasparov specialty), directing play to the flanks. In this chapter, I will be examining two main ways of handling the black pieces, both of which aim at safeguarding the spearhead e s-pawn as a strongpoint until it is favourable or necessary to effect the opening of the centre with ... esxd4. We will examine the lines where Black plays ... .l:te8 first, followed by those with th e more new-fangled idea of ... 'it'e8.

A) Classical lines with ... c7-c6 and ... a7-a6 In Games 1 and 2, we look at White's l:te1/..i.f1 set-up, simply maintaining the central ten­ sion, as well as halting Black's queen side advance with a2-a3. The second g ame has a dem­ on stration by Old Indian virtuoso GM Em anuel Hossein on how to blow up the centre after achieving ... e7-e5 and ... b7-b5. Game 3 covers 'iic 2/�fd1/�ac1, getting White's m ajor pieces on their natural squares.

19

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve In my opinion, the toughest line to meet in the Classical O l D is 8 .te3, which I cover in Game 4. This is endorsed by G M Khalifman, I M Cox and even my boss G M Emms in their respective publications. This flexible move, usually followed up by 9 ds!, gives White swift queen side play as well as positional superiority in that sector. As such, I would like to rec­ ommend a more obscure yet tough-to-meet response in 8 ...l:.e8 ! ? (see G ame 5) where Black will try to use piece play, usually on the kingside, to justify the 'tempo loss' after 9 dS. Game 6, on the other hand, is a rather scary example of why I do not fancy ... esxd4 lines in the Classical Old Indian . Black just doesn 't seem to have enough play again st the centre. In Game 7, we look at the immediate central lock with 8 ds, while Game 8 has White aiming for a quick queenside space grab with Uhlmann's 8 b4. Games 9 and 10 have simi­ lar overtones with White initiating queen side play after 8 l:tb1. Pay close attention to Peru­ vian GM Granda Zuniga's in structive piece play in Game 9, where the Dutch prodigy Giri just got outplayed positionally and tactically.

Garr:��.3,.;.. . .

.·

,

.

c.serrer..Cft�tLU... . : . . Gerrnan Championshlpi ·�adNeu�.at(fi�99.�:.; ,ih 1 b6 20 bS! cs and Black's chances of even equalizing are rather bleak, since he is saddled with a perma­ nent weakness on d6, V.Tukmakov-D.Prasad, New Delhi 1986. g i.f1 White can close the centre with 9 dS, but I don't reckon it presents Black with any prob­ lems here after 9 ... ttJcs. Let's look at a couple of moves: a) 10 i.f1 as 11 l:.b1 i.d7 12 tiJd2 'iib 8 13 tiJb3 ttJxb3 14 \i'xb3 cxds 1 S cxds a4 16 'i'd1 .l:.c8 and Black is doing fine in Z.Amanov-B.Finegold, US Chess League (online) 2012. b) 10 tiJd2 as 11 .l:tb1 (on 11 b3, Black should develop the queen side with 11...i.d7 12 i.a3 'ifb6, so as not to give White a protected passed d-pawn after i.xcs) 11 ... i.d7 12 b3 cxds 13 cxds ttJe8 14 ttJa4 ttJa6 ! 1S tiJf1 b S 16 tiJc3 ttJec7 17 tiJe3 ttJcs and Black equalized in S.Sitanggang-Xu Jun, Jakarta 1994. g bs ...

...

10 a 3 This is typically how White restrains the black queenside; sometimes b2-b4 is thrown i n a s well, followed by a later a3-a4 o r c4-cS . Black is l e s s inclined t o play . . .bsxc4 a s this will leave the c6-pawn weak, unless he has an impending ... d6-dS break. Note th at if White allows the b-pawn to advance, Black will expand rapidly on the queen side; for example, 10 h 3 b4 11 ttJa4 cs 12 ds ttJe8 13 a3 as and Black has a comfort­ able g ame already, G .Sosonko-Be.Larsen, Tilburg 1978.

21

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve

Exercise: After 10 cxbs, which way should Black recapture?:

Answer: All things being equal, we should capture towards the centre: 10 ... axb s ! keeps Black's pawn structure more compact and the dS-square under control. Then 11 b4 .i.b7, as in H . Lehmann-K. Langeweg, Beverwijk 1966, gives Black better fighting chances. Whereas 10 ... cxb s ? ! 11 b4 i..b 7 12 ds ttle8 13 a4 bxa4 14 'ifxa4 allows White's queen side pl ay to reap dividends, P.Baka1ar-F.Micha1ek, Czech Championship, Karvina 1988. 1o .i.b7 11 .tgs After 11 h 3 l:le8 12 .tg s h 6 13 i..h 4, there is the manoeuvre 13 ... 'i!Vb8 ! ?. This is quite a typical queen shift in the Old Indian, especially after Black has achieved ... b7-b5. Here it: 1. Overprotects the d6- and es- pawns. 2 . Paves the way for a possible ... i.. d 8-c7/b6. 3 . Allows the queen a possible good diagonal on the a7-square. For example, 14 i.. g 3 i..f8 15 b4 'ii'a 7 16 l:ta2 and now: •••

After 16 ... g 6 ? ! 17 :d2, White got a good central grip, thanks to the well-pl aced rook, Y.Balashov-V.Tukm akov, USSR Championship, Lvov 1984. Exercise: How can Black circumvent this plan?

Answer: Rather th an playing 16 ... g6, Black can hit back in the centre immediately, since his queen is aiding the task from the a7-square: 16 ... exd4! 17 ttlxd4 (or 17 'iixd4 'iixd4 18 ttlxd4 bxc4 19 .i.xc4 dS 20 i..f1 cs 2 1 bxcs i.. x cs with considerable pressure in the centre) 17 ... bxc4 18 .i.xc4 dS 19 .i.b3 cs 20 bxcs ttlxcs 21 es ttlxb3 22 ttlxb3 ttle4 23 ttlxe4 dxe4 and Black's bishop pair gives him the edge in this wide-open position . 11 h6 12 i.. h 4 lieS Black indicates his intention to play ag ain st the e4-pawn with ... esxd4. Altern atively: •••

22

Th e C l a s s i c a l Te n s i o n Tus s l e a ) 12 . . .lLlh 7 is a trifle unambitious. After 13 !iJ..x e7 'ilfxe7 14 'iVd2 l:tfd8 15 l:tad1 l:tab8 16 b4, Black has to accept a cramped, albeit solid set-up for quite a while, N.Mich aelsen­ J.Maiwald, German League 1996. b) 12 ... 'ili'b8 ! ? is again possible: 13 'i!kc2 !iJ..d 8 14 l:tad1 ltJh 5 15 'iid 2 exd4 16 'ili'xd4 lLle5 17 ..te2 lLlxf3+ 18 !iJ..xf3 !iJ..xh4 19 !iJ..xh 5 iLe7 with a roughly equal position since White's space advantage is counterbalanced by Black's bishop pair, T.Nazaretyan-A.Esipenko, Taganrog 2014. 13 l:tc1 The queen's rook belong s either here or on the d1-square. The text move discourages ... b5xc4 to an extent, which would leave Black's c6-pawn isol ated and possibly exposed to the c1-rook. With preparation, White might be able to play for b2-b4 and c4-c5 too. On the other hand, it allows Black to carry out his plan of taking on d4, since the white rook does not apply pressure down the d-file. After 13 'ii'c 2 'ili'b8 ! ? (13 ... ltJh 5 14 !/Lxe7 'iix e7 is slightly better for White, even if a draw was agreed drawn here in P.Kiss-A.Kiss, Koszeg 1999) 14 .l:.ad1, Black might consider 14 ... g 5 ! 15 !iJ..g 3 lLlh 5 t o unbalance the position . 13 exd4 This is the logical continuation now that White's queen's rook has been placed on the c1-square. In one of his famous clock simul matches, Garry Kasparov faced 13 ...'ili'a5 ? ! . ...

Exercis•: How did he exploit the qtieen's erroneous frolic to, seize a firm edge for White?

Answer: Kasparov unleashed 14 c 5 ! to dismantle the Old Indian centre: 14 ... exd4? ! (Black probably has to play actively with 14 ... l:tad8 15 cxd6 .txd6, though after 16 dxe5 lLlxe5 17 ..txf6 gxf6 18 lLlxe 5 .txe5 19 'ili'g4+ �h 7 20 'iVh 5 or 16 ... ..txe5 17 lLlxe5 ltJxe5 18 'i!fc2 g5 19

23

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve i..g 3, the kingside weaknesses give White the nod) 1 5 tLlxd4 'ilkc7?! (Kasparov presses home the initiative hyper-accurately from here; but 1 5 ... dxc5 16 tLlf5 'ilkc7 would probably be met by 17 e 5 ! tLlxe5 18 tLlxe7+ llxe7 19 i.. xf6 gxf6 20 tLle4 and Black has come undone, espe­ cially on the king side) 16 tLlf5 tLlxc5 17 i.. xf6 i.. xf6 18 b4 tLld7 19 tLld5 ! 'ifb8 20 tLlxf6+ tLlxf6 2 1 'ii'x d6 lle6 2 2 'i¥xb8+ .li!.xb8 2 3 e5 tLld7 24 f4 f6 2 5 tLld4 llee8 26 e6 tLlf8 2 7 f5 and Black resigned in G. Kasparov-M.Trepp, Zurich (clock simul) 1987. A warning for Old Indian play­ ers ! It is vital to keep an eye for c4-c5 pawn breaks which can alter the central pawn array drastically. 14 tLlxd4

Question: Wbat about 14 .d4; ce>ntesting the e�square ,Withthe'qtteen to prevent Black frotn'J>laying ·.32)es,�so easi;ty? ,

Answer: Black can counter-contest the square with 14 ...'ii'b 8! 15 llcd1 (or 1 5 i..g 3 tLlh 5 ! ) 1 5 . . .tLle5 16 i..g 3 i..f8 with even chances. 14 ... tLlesl Adding pressure to the c4-pawn. 15 tLlfs ! White counters with a temporary pawn sacrifice. 15 i..f8 It would be foolh ardy to take the c-pawn with 15 ...bxc4?, as after 16 i.. xf6 ! i.. xf6 17 tLlxd6 .lile7 18 tLlxc4, it is White who has g ained a pawn with an easy g ame. 16 cxbs White decides to open the c-file . •..

. EJterdse: Which way should Black recapture?

.

24

Th e Clas s i c a l Te n s i o n Tus s l e

Answer: Once again, we should follow the general rule and recapture towards the centre, which m aintains Black's queenside pawns as a single island. Moreover, 16 ... cxb 5 ? ! leaves the d5-square up for grabs and White can seize control by means of 17 �xf6 ! 'it'xf6 18 lbe3 lbd7 19 lbed5 'ii'd 8 20 a4 bxa4 2 1 'ii'xa4 lbc5 22 'it'd1 with a durable advantage, thanks to his central outpost. 16 ... axb51 17 'ii'd 2 �c81 The white knight on f5 is getting to be quite a nuisance so Black regroups his bishop to look after the c6-pawn and f5-square. 18 lbd4 �d7 19 �h1?1

White takes the time to vacate the g 1-a7 diagonal in preparation for f2-f4, but this im­ precise move allows his opponent to seize the initiative. Instead, after the solid 19 f3 �e7 20 .lir.edl 'it'b8 2 1 .ltf2 'ifb7 2 2 �h 1 l:tad8? ! (here 2 2 ....ltd8 2 3 lbc2 .ltc7 would be more active) 23 Wc2 .l\.f8 24 .ltg 1 lbg6 25 b4, White maintained control in M.Skal ski-R.Sokolowski, Polish Team Championship 2003. EJtetclse: How d®S Black take aqva11tage o f /

' ', , ' '

'

'

Whit�'s 'pass' with �h1 .�.

.

-

?.

Answer: Chase and win the dark-squared bishop: 19 ...lbg61 Not only does Black g ain the bishop pair, White's best minor piece is removed. 20 �g3 lDh s 21 f4 Setting a 'trap' for Black by daring him to capture the f-pawn . 21 ...'ii'f6 22 �e2? Thi s was what Serrer was counting on : that the f-pawn is untouch able due to a llfl pin . He should have preferred 2 2 lle2 llab8 (here 2 2 ... lbgxf4 would met by 2 3 llf2 g 5 24 �xf4 gxf4 2 5 �e2 'ii'h 4 2 6 .ltxh 5 'iVxh 5 27 .lir.xf4 with an unclear position, since the kin g side weaknesses give White chances despite Black's two bishops) 2 3 lbc2 lbxg 3+ 24 hxg 3 lbe7

25

Th e O l d I n dia n : M o ve by M o ve 2 S l:Iee1 'iVg 6 2 6 c;i;>h 2 ttlc8 27 ttle3 ttlb6 28 i.e2, keeping Black's advantage to a minimum .

Exercise: Have Black's kingside manoeuvres been for nought? What did Lutz work out when he went after the f-pawn?

Answer: He has foreseen that his pieces will be more relevant and dominant after giving up his queen for rook, bishop and pawn . 22 ... ttlgxf4! 23 l:.f1 ttlxe2 24 l:txf6 ttlexg3+ 2 5 hxg3 ttlxf6

Once the smoke has cleared, it transpires that White will have a torrid time: 1. He h as significant weaknesses in the e4- and g 3 -pawn s. 2. His pieces have no scope at all; there is nothing for them to do, while Black can choose between attacking the e-pawn or down the b-file after ... l:.ab8 and ... bS-b4. 3. White's king is already in danger due to his weakened pawn formation. It is easy for

26

Th e C l a s s ica l Te n s i o n Tus s l e Black's pieces t o flood into the kingside with .. J!es-h s , . . .tLlg4, not t o mention the inevitable appearance of the dark-squared bishop. 26 'iff4 l:tes 21 tDfs? This only eases Black's task by presenting him with an open e-file and a powerful, mo­ bile centre. No better is 27 tDf3 ? l:th S+ 28 c;f;>g 1 dS!, when the Old Indian bishop emerges on the a7-g 1 diagonal with deadly effect. The attempt to block its path with 29 'ife3 is futile due to 29 ... dxe4 30 ttJxe4 ttJxe4 3 1 'ifxe4 and now 3 1 ... .1i.cs+ with a decisive attack 27 ... .1i.xfs 28 exfs .:tae8 White can only watch helplessly as the black forces crush down the centre. 29 1111 ds 30 'ifd2 i.cs o-1 There is no point waiting for execution; after 31 h 2 tLlg4+ 32 'ifilh 3 tDe3 3 3 llf3 ttJc4 34 'ilc2 .l:.e1 3 5 'ifilh 2 hs, White has run out of moves.

Game2·· ...Mursheci-E.tiossain Bangla.deshi Championship, Dhaka 2013 1 d4 tDf6 2 c4 d6 3 tDc3 ttJbd7 4 e4 es 5 tDf3 c6 6 i.e2 i.e7 7 o-o o-o 8 Ile1 a6 9 h3 White continues his policy of restraint by taking another square away from the black pieces. 9 l:le8 10 'i!Vc2 bs 11 a3 .••

This is as far as the black b-pawn is allowed to go. The point of White's a2-a3 move is both to stop the black pawn and prepare b2-b4 himself. White will then decide on a fa­ vourable moment to exch ange on bS or to play either c4-c5 or d4-dS to crack the black cen­ tre. 11 ... i.. b 1 12 ..tgs

27

Th e O l d I n dia n : M o ve by M o ve A n atural square for the bishop, encouraging Black to weaken his king side slightly with ... h 7-h 6. The alternative is to put the bishop on e3; for example, 12 .tf1 l:lc8 13 .te3 'ii c 7 14 �ad1 .tf8 1 5 'ifb1 exd4 and now:

:rxerclsei should W'hi1:e tapture tn�'paWn wftn'tlie ' "

blsnop bf'kh1�ht? ',,: .· · ·.·
f2, White keeps his extra pawn . 21 f4?1

H ere Nimzowitsch's maxim, "the threat i s stronger than its execution", surfaces. Al­ though White's position looks loose, it is pretty hard to put him away after, say, 2 1 i..f1 tLlh 5 2 2 g 4! ltJf4 2 3 tLla5 ! (it is imperative to remove the light-squared bishop) 2 3 ... i.. x d5 24 ttJxd5 lilxc1 25 l:.xc1 ttJxd5 26 ttJc6 tLle5 ! 27 'ii'x d5 (or 27 ttJxd8 ttJxf3+ etc) 27 ...ttJxc6 28 l:.xc6 i..h 2+ 29 'it>h 1 (not 29 'it>f2? 'ii'g 3 + 30 'it>e2 i.. g 1) 29 .. .lilxe3 30 .l:r.xa6 (30 .l:tf6 i s met by 30 ... 11Vc7 3 1 l:tc6 'i¥f4!) 30 ... 'it>g7 31 'i¥d4+ 11Ve5 32 Wxe5+ i..x e5 33 b4 i..b 2 with a drawn endgame. Exercise:

WhiteciJNillin91��i� �he paJ'�eliminate

the danger on thfi darlc: squa:t�;'b'litcan

Hos�afn do better?

21 .l:r.xe3 I'm sure Murshed saw thi s pseudo-exch ange sacrifice and probably worked out th at he could handle the resulting position . For Black, winning the pawn back is not bad, but he had something stronger. It was in fact an unusual case of "the wrong rook"; he should have sacrificed the other one. Answer: Black has the bril liant riposte 21 .. Jixc3 ! ! 2 2 bxc3 (22 Ilxc3 is m et by 22 ... ltJe4) 22 ... ttJxd5 23 i..f3 ttJxe3 24 i.. xb7 tLlc5 ! 25 i.. d 5 ttJxb3 26 i.. xb3 i.. c 5 27 'it>h 1 l::t e 7! 28 11Ve2 'ii'xf4 29 'ii'f3 'ii'g 5 with a superb bind. Black reigns supreme on the dark squares, while the white pieces have no scope at all . •••

32

Th e C l a s s i c a l Te n s i o n Tus s l e 22 'ifxe3 ii.xf4 2 3 'ii'd 4 ii.xc1 24 l:lxc1 'ikd6

This is probably the position Murshed was aiming for. The dark-squared bishop menace has been removed and White hopes to con solidate behind his passed d-pawn. 2 5 1::td 1 ttlb6 26 ttla sl?

A dare! Murshed makes a stone-cold poker bluff, asking Black whether he will risk tak­ ing the dS-pawn. Instead, 26 ii.f3 l:tc4 2 7 'ii'e 3 b4! leads to some sharp tactics which fi zzle out to equality after 2 8 ttlas bxc3 29 ttlxb7 ttlfxds 30 'ii'x c3 'ii'e 7 3 1 'ii'h 3 .l:.c1 3 2 .txds ttlxds 33 'it'xds .l:.xdl+ 34 'iVxd1 'ii'xb7. 26 ...ii.a8 Hossain refuses the risk, so the bluff worked, in that White gets a slightly improved ver­ sion of 26 ii.f3, although Black h as no real worries with the d-pawn firmly blockaded. All the same, he might have captured it: 26 ... .txds 27 .i.f3 'ike6 28 ttlxds ttlbxds 29 �h 1 (if 29 .i.xds ttlxds 30 'ii'x ds 'i!i'b6+ reg ains the piece) 2 9 ...ttle7 30 'ii'd6 ttle8 3 1 'ili'xe6 fxe6, when

33

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve White has some initiative for the pawn but no more than th at. 27 i..f3 tt::lc4 28 tt::lxc4 :txc4 29 'ii'a 7 l:tc8 30 lle1 This time the d-pawn is clearly taboo; i.e. 30 ... i.. x ds ?? 3 1 l:.d1 and the bishop is gone for good. 30 ...�f8 31 6+ 27 'i¥f2 'ifxf2+ 2 8 �xf2 llb8 29 a 3 :cs 3 0 .txa6 l:.c3 etc. 21 .tf6 Both sides play for activity and the position fizzles out to a draw after a tactical skir­ mish. 22 .i.xbs ...

22 .txa1l The general idea is to whittle most of the pieces off the board. Recapturin g the bishop •••

49

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve results in a position which only one side is playing: 2 2 ... axb5 2 3 l:.ac1 'ifb6+ 24 'it>h 1 'ii'd4 2 5 'ii'e 2 ! 'ji'xb4 26 tl:Jc6 'ifa3 27 l:.b1 and the superb white knight dominates the g ame. 2 3 i.c6 'iVf6 24 i.xaS i.c3 2 5 'ii'd 1 Or 2 5 'i!le2 i.xb4 26 'ifxa6 'ild8 ! 2 7 tl:Jc6 i.c5+ 28 'it>h 1 'iVxa8 29 'ii'c 4 f6 30 l:tb1 a3 and Black should hold. 25 i.xb4 26 tl:Jc6 i.c5+ 27 �h1 IbaS 28 'ii'x a4 'ii' b 2 29 'iib 3 'i!lxb3 30 axb3 �fS Yz-Yz .•.

Game s

A. Tugarin-An.Demchenko St

Petersburg 2013

·

1 tl:Jf3 tl:Jf6 2 c4 d6 3 d4 tl:Jbd7 4 tl:Jc3 e5 5 e4 i.e7 6 i.e2 o-o 7 o-o c6 8 i.e3 lieS I?

Black indicates his intention to open the e-file with ... e5xd4 and play against the e4pawn in the near future. 9 d5 Once the rook leaves the f8-square, it is customary to close the centre, as Black will find it more difficult to attain .. .f7-f5 without returning the rook to f8 again. White might delay the d4-d5 push with 9 'i!lc2, but after 9 ... 'ii'c 7 10 h 3 tl:Jf8 11 l:.fd1 tl:Jg6 12 b4 h 6 13 d5 cxd5 14 tl:Jb5 'ili'b8 15 cxd5 i.d7 16 tl:Jc3 l:k8, Black has a comfortable g ame. Then 17 tl:Jd2 tt:'le8 18 tl:Jc4 i.g 5 19 'i!i'd2 i.xe3 20 tl:Jxe3 l:.C7 2 1 .Udc1 'ii'd 8 2 2 i.g4 :r.ac8 23 tl:Je2 tl:Jf6 24 tl:Jg 3 was agreed drawn in I.Hera-N.Stanec, Oberwart 2009, and Black might well have pl ayed on here. 9 ...tt:'lf8!? A specialty of GM Demchenko. The plan is to tran sfer the knight to the g6-square for king side operation s while keeping the e5-strongpoint protected in case of White's c4-c5 break.

50

Th e C l a s s i c a l Te n s i o n T u s s l e 1 0 .!Lle1 The most natural continuation. White routes the knight to d3 in Classical King's Indian style, where it will aid in b2-b4, c4-C5 and f2-f4 advances, or perhaps drop back to f2 (after f2-f3) for king side defence. Some altern atives: a) 10 .!Lld2 .!Llg 6 11 g 3 .i.h 3 12 �e1, as in Wl .Schmidt-W.Sapis, Legnica 1994, can be met by 12 ... "ii'd7 ! (intending ... .!Llg4 to trade off one of White's bishops) 13 f3 h s with counter­ play. b) 10 dxc6 bxc6 11 cs deserves special attention, trying to exploit the absence of the d7knight and isolate the black c-pawn. The best response is 11 ... tt'le6 ! (after 11 ... .tg4?! 12 cxd6 'i!i'xd6 13 "ii'x d6 .i.xd6, White had good play against the c-pawn in J .Sarkar-T. Battsetseg, Philadelphia 2006) 12 cxd6 Ji.xd6 13 i.. c 4 (13 'ili'a4 can be m et by 13 ... cs immediately) 13 ... h 6 ! , followed by ... c6-cs and ... .!Lld4, when Black has no problem s. 10 ....!Llg6 11 .!Lld 3 h61

Question: Wh at's the point of this move?

Surely it's not just to create 'luft' for the king?

Answer: The pawn shift allows the f6-knight a retreat square when planning .. .f7-f5 and gives the dark-squared bishop a 'hook' to trade bishops with ... Ji.g s . If Black opts simply to return the rook to f8 and pl ay .. .f7-f5, White would get the better g am e after 11 ... llf8 12 b4 .!Lle8 13 c s ! . 12 b4 White begins his queen side offen sive - if Black's counterplay doesn't seem forthcom­ ing, just wait and see ... In stead, 12 f3 i.d7 13 b4 cxds 14 cxds bs 1 5 a4 a6 16 'i!fd2 'fic7 17 lla3 'ii'h 7 18 l:tfa1 was good for White in I.Khairullin-An . Demchenko, Moscow 2012, but Black can consider 14 ... .!Llh s ! 15 g3 i.. g s with a fine g ame.

51

Th e O l d I n d ia n : M o ve by M o ve 12 ... �d7 Completing development and getting ready for heavy piece action by both sides. 13 a4?! More prudent is 13 1:tc1, continuing the fight for queenside supremacy. Black would re­ ply 13 ... cxds 14 cxds bS with an interesting struggle in place.

Exercise: The text move, grabbing more space, looks natural enough but it allows Black to stem the assault and create time for his own

plans. How did young, newly-minted GM Oemchenko do that?

Answer: 13 ... a s ! Demchenko gives his opponent the choice between opening the a-file or locking up the queen side. The latter would be a pity for White, since his pieces are set up for play on th at fl ank; so Tugarin decides to play on the b-file, but it transpires that he cannot achieve much there either. 14 bxa s 14 b S cs would transfer the fight totally to the king side. 14 .. .'�xa s 1 5 'it'b3 cs!

52

Th e C l a s s i c a l Te n s i o n T u s s l e

.

..

el{!flf �rn�tiqri tnarl