Analysis by Vasik Rajlich

V. Rajlich - Z. Sarosi
[B13/07] Caro-Kann: Panov (Czerniak)
7 Jan 2000

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Qa5

This line is extremely rare. My opponent’s strategy of choosing an offbeat line worked beautifully in this game - I had in fact never seen it before, burned up a ton of time (which eventually cost me the game), and yet was unable to get to the bottom of it and find the best - or even a good - continuation.

7.Bxf6

NCO (Nunn’s Chess Openings) gives as the main continuation 7.a3 Ne4 8.Bd2 “!” (a strange way to annotate a forced move) 8...Nxd2 9.Qxd2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 +/=. I don’t know that I buy this assessment, this seems pretty reasonable for Black. I like my move better.

7...exf6 8.cxd5

Here the continuation 8.a3 seems more plausible than on the previous move. In fact, the only top-level game that I know of in this system, Ljubojevic-Adams, Belgrade ’95, went 7.Bxf6 exf6 8.a3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Bd6 10.Qe2+ Kf8 +/=. However, here too I again think that my move is best.

8...Bb4 9.Qf3

This, however, is definitely inaccurate, and on top of that it cost me about 45 minutes. 9.dxc6 gives Black at least a draw: 9...Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qxc3+ 11.Ke2 0-0 12.f3 Re8+ 13.Kf2 Qe3+ 14.Kg3 Qg5+, etc. Black may even consider playing for a win in this variation. The best move was 9.Qd2. I rejected it because of 9...Ne7 10.Bb5+ Qxb5 11.Nxb5 Bxd2+ 12.Kxd2 Nxd5, this seemed very close to equal for Black, but in the post-mortem it became very clear that simply the quiet 13.Ne2 poses considerable problems for Black. In fact, my opponent was pretty booked up on this line, and he was ready to play 9...Bxc3 10.bxc3 Qxd5. NCO assesses this as unclear, but I have trouble believing that White isn’t considerably better.

The point of 9.Qf3 is to hold d5, but it has a serious tactical defect.

9...Ne7 10.Bc4

Consistent and logical, but White needs to be thinking about survival.

10...Bg4

I saw this but didn’t fully appreciate it, I figured that I could just side-step it with 11.Qg3 if the 11.Qxg4 lines didn’t turn out well. The problem is that in response to 11.Qg3 Black has 11...Rc8. So, White must plunge in:

11.Qxg4 Bxc3+ 12.Kd1

On 12.Kf1 Black just plays 12...0-0 and White will have problems for a long time time come. 12.Kd1 avoids this my threatening 13.bxc3. As a matter of fact, I was still not completely unhappy here. White’s position looks a little shaky, but Black has material hanging. What does he play?

12...Qa4+

Unfortunately, this ending is good for Black - though at the same time White should be able to hold it pretty comfortably.

13.Bb3

White has little choice, 13.b3 Qa5 14.Rc1 0-0 and Black keeps the queens on the board without having to sacrifice anything.

13...Qxd4+ 14.Qxd4 Bxd4 15.Nh3

I spent another thirty minutes or so on this move. White has three loose pawns. Fortunately, the b- & f-pawns can be defended and then f7 will be exposed after Black takes the d-pawn. In light of this, as well as White’s control of the light squares and Black’s hard-to-mobilize kingside pawns, I find it hard to believe that Black has serious winning chances against accurate defense.

15...0-0-0 16.Rc1+ Kb8 17.Kc2 Nxd5 18.Rhd1 Nb4+ 19.Kb1 Rhe8 20.a3

This, however, is inaccurate. White should just play 20.Rd2.

20...Re2

The resulting ending is really good for Black.

21.Rxd4 Rxd4 22.axb4 Rxb4 23.Rc3

Probably 23.Rc2 right away is a little bit more accurate. Black’s rook needs to be removed from the seventh rank. However, the tempo doesn’t matter much.

23...g5 24.g3 a5 25.Rc2 Re7 26.Bd5 Rd4 27.Bg2 h6 28.b3 Re5 29.Kb2 Rb5

Perhaps this is slightly inaccurate, I’m not sure. It lets White re-activate his bishop. It seems to me that Black should be able to either win this position or at least cause White serious problems, yet in a few moves White seems to be pretty much ok.

30.Bf1 Rb6 31.Bc4 a4

Maybe 31...Rd7 is better, but White has certainly made some progress.

32.Bxf7 Rd1 33.Rc1

But this loses on the spot. I saw 33...a3+ too, but I should have been more suspicious. I don’t see anything wrong with just 33.f4, and while I certainly continue to prefer Black in this case it doesn’t seem that White is in serious danger of losing.

33...a3+ 34.Kc2 Rxc1+ 35.Kxc1 Rd6

White is of course now helpless against the dual threat of 35...Rd2 and 35...Rd1. If 36.b4 then just 36...Rb6. The rest deserves no comment.

36.Kb1 Rd2 37.Ka1 Kc7 38.Bc4 Kd6 39.b4 Ke5 40.b5 Kd4

White’s last two moves didn’t help, but it was hopeless anyway.

41.Bf7 b6 42.Be8 Kc3 43.Bf7 Kb4 44.Be8 a2 45.Bh5 Ka3 46.Ng1 Rxf2 47.Be2 Rg2 48.Nf3 Rxe2 49.h4 Rb2 0-1.