| In this installment, we again examine a case where one book trap doesn’t
tell the whole story on an inferior defense. Larry wrote: “I bought a book
showing crushes against the Sicilian, and my opponent fell into one of
the traps. But he varied from the book line and I lost! The trap
arises after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 g6?,
when 7.Nxc6 bc 8.e5! de 9.Bxf7+ Kxf7 10.Qxd8 wins. |
| “In my game after 8.e5 my opponent simply played 8...Nd7. I tried 9.e6
fe 10.Bxe6 Ne5, but I could not get any advantage and went on to
lose. After the game I told my opponent he was busted, but he disagreed.
Who is wrong here? The book or my opponent?” |
| 6…g6? is a serious error in this position, but your book makes it look
a lot simpler than it actually is to punish. After 7.Nxc6 bc 8.e5! Black
actually has many options: |
|
| I. 8…de? loses the queen after 9.Bxf7+ and is therefore the worst move
of all. |
| II. 8…Nd7, your opponent’s move, does not lose material immediately
but does lead to a lost position. Instead of 9.e6, which allows your opponent
to unravel, play 9.de de 10.0-0. White is up two tempi and ready to attack,
while black has weakened his kingside and overall pawn structure. Best
play for both sides might go 10…Ne5 (10…d5 was refuted by Fischer in a
1964 simul: 11.Nxd5! Nc5 (if 11…cd 12.Qxd5 wins the rook because of the
mate threat on f7) 12.Qd4! cd 13.Bb5+ Bd7 14.Bxd7+ Qxd7 15.Qxh8) 11.Re1
Be7 (Forced because of 11…Bg7 12.f4, but with the bishop on e7 Black has
weakened his Kingside for nothing – the move 6…g6 was literally wasted)
12.Bb3 0-0. |
|
| The secret of this position is that Black’s minor pieces have no good
squares, and White has the center firmly under control. In addition, White
has the better pawn structure if it comes to an ending. Model play from
here can be found in the game Cigan-Scheck, from the 1995 Austrian championship,
where White’s constant threat to win a pawn in the center let him build
up an overwhelming position: 13.Bf4 Qc7 14. Qe2 Bf5 (14…Bf6 15.Ne4; 14…Bb7
or 14…a5 and 15…Ba6 may be better, but White can still keep his advantage
as in the game) 15.h3! Rad8 (15…Bf6 16.g4 and then Ne4) 16.g4 Bc8 17.Bh6! |
|
| This is better than 17.Bxe5 de 18.Qxe5 Bd6 – Black is all tied up here!
Scheck played 17…Bf6 18.Bxf8 Kxf8, but there is no hope of holding this
position down the exchange. But the beauty of Cigan’s move is that 17…Rfe8
is met by 18.f4! and the knight has nowhere to go, because 18…Nd7 19.Bxf7!
Kh8 (if 19…Kxf7 20.Qe6#) 20.Bxe8 wins! The play after 18…Bh4 or 18…Qb6+
19.Kh1 Ba6 20.Qe4 Bh4 is complicated, but turns out in White’s favor because
of the terrific pressure the first player can generate down the e-file
and on f7. Therefore Black’s best is 18…Nxg4 19.hg Qd7 20.Qf3 Qxg4+ 21.Qxg4
Bxg4, but with a piece for two pawns and reduced material White is winning. |
| III. After 8…Nh5 Fischer analyzed 9.Qf3! e6 (9…d5 10.Nxd5) 10.g4 Ng7
11.Ne4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Qxe5 13.Bc3, beautifully exploiting the main diagonals.
This line, and some of the material in IV below, comes from Gary Lane's
book Winning with the Fischer-Sozin Attack. |
| IV. Finally, 8…Ng4!? is Black’s best, and requires accuracy to refute.
9.Bf4 should lead to a better game for White: |
|
| A) 9…d5 10.Nxd5 (what else?) 10…Bg7 (10…Be6 11.f3 – Stidd) 11.Nc3 is
a free pawn - Lane. |
| B) 9…Bh6 10.Bxh6 Nxh6 11.Qd2 Nf5 12.ed gives White a pull, but he or
she will have to know how to win the ending because of lines like 12…Qxd6
13.0-0-0 Qxd2+ 14.Rxd2 0-0. This may be a good drawing line at lower levels
against opponents who lack endgame savvy. |
| C) 9…Qb6 10.Qf3 Bf5 (10…d5 11.Nxd5 cd 12.Bxd5 Qxf2+ (12…Rb8? 13.Bxf7+
Kxf7 14.Be3+ and 15.Bxb6) 13.Qxf2 Nxf2 14.Kxf2 Rb8 15.Bc6+ Kd8 (15…Bd7
16.Bxd7+ Kxd7 17.e6+ and 18.Bxb8) 16.e6 wins the rook. |
| Several people have recently asked me who the real world champion is.
My answer is that the 16th (not 14th!) World Chess Champion is Vladimir
Kramnik, because of his recent match victory over Garry Kasparov, champion
since 1985. It is true that Kramnik’s overall record in recent years is
less impressive than Kasparov’s or even Anand’s. However, except for the
creation of the title at the very first international chess tournament
(London 1851, won by Adolph Anderssen) and the rare occasions when title-holders
have died (Alekhine) or refused to play (Morphy, Fischer), the World Champion
title has always been decided by matches with the previous holder. So Kasparov
is still the best player in the world, and Anand is the champion of the
entirely corrupt (though this is not Anand’s fault!) official world chess
organization, but Kramnik is the World Champion. In order to maintain that
title, however, Kramnik either needs to start winning all the major tournaments
– which will be very difficult with Kasparov and Anand out there – or defend
it in a match sooner rather than later. |
| Keep the questions coming! Email them to Don at mca-editor@home.com,
or post them to me at 512 N. Seventh St. #1, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. And remember:
you’re welcome to send them anonymously if you don’t want to embarrass
yourself or others with your play. |
