Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Revealed
James Plaskett
BATSFORD
First published in 2005
© James Plaskett
The right of James Plaskett to be identified as Author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 0713489707
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without permission from the publisher.
www.chrysalisbooks.co.uk
Introduction 5
First Moves 7
Strategy 30
What's Hot? 75
Solutions 199
Details 213
In any case, one thing is for sure - you will be better prepared than
your opponent, as this is the first book devoted to 2 Bg5.
Although most of the players who buy this book will be intending to
learn how to play it from the white side, I have been objective in my
assessments. I haven't pretended it is a forced win for White, in the
style of some so-called 'Repertoire' books. Here you get the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Good luck with the opening - I hope you use it to score a lot of
points!
5
6
First Moves
7
First Moves
situations from the earliest moves. Players of the black pieces hoping
for a Queen's Gambit may find their preparation sidestepped at move
two. But, one of the problems with pinning a 'ghost' knight thus is
that Black may manage to steer around any structural or tactical
complications whatsoever which might result from ...tDf6, and
engineer a solid formation akin to a Slav variation of the Queen's
Gambit Declined. This has proven to be one of the most popular
responses to the Queen's Bishop Attack. It has, however, been seen
more in recent years than the not unrelated Veresov System: I d4 dS
2 tDc3 tDf6 3 ~gS. Here, for starters, is a recent victory in this
opening by an 1M over a British Candidate Grandmaster.
N.Povah White
A.Ledger Black
4NCl British Team Championship 2003
I d4 d5 2 ~g5 c5
3 dxc5
3 e4!? has also been tried here, leading play at times into something
akin to an Albin Counter Gambit with colours reversed. 3 c3 ought to
be no big deal, although Miladinovic did beat the strong GM Tiger
Hillarp-Persson with it at Ohrid, 200 I .
3......a5+
8
First Moves
This move has not fared as well in practice as either 3... ttJc6 or even
3.. .f6!? In the latter instance the game Chepukaitis-Aleksandrov,
Petrov Memorial 2002, went 4 .i.h4 e5 5 e4!? dxe4 6 'ifxdS+ ~dS
7 ttJc3 .i.xc5 S ttJxe4 i.e7 9 0-0-0+ i.d7 with unclear play.
4 ttJcl
4 •••e6 5 e4!
S•••hcs
On 5... dxe4? Black is lost because of 6 b4! when his queen must keep
covering dS, and after 6 ... 'ifc7 7 ttJb5! 'ifd7 S 'ifxd7+. The fork at c7
may not be allowed either, so we would have 8. ..~xd7 9 0-0-0+ ~c6
10 %:tdS ttJd7 I I ttJxa7 + and wins.
6exdS
6•••'ii'b6 7 'ifd2
7 •••.bf2+?
The consistent move, otherwise how to regain the pawn? But Povah
9
First Moves
II dxe6
11 •••fxe6 12 :'gl!
Threatening 16:'b I .
IS •••..t>f7 16 'ifd6!
An accurate move. 16 .txd7 lId8 17 l:[b I does not snare the queen
because of 17...Ld7 + and 18... 'iIIxc2.
10
First Moves
16•••lDb6
17lDeS+!
1-0
II
Heroes and Zeros
Grandmaster of Disaster
J.Hodgson White
O.Kirsanov Black
London Open 200 I
12
Heroes and Zeros
All in Slav mode. But Julian did not obligingly shift his prodded horse.
9~xc4!
9 ••.g5
If 9 ... bxc3 then White has a strong attack with 10 ttJe5 .l\.g6 II 'iib3.
amongst other continuations.
10 ttJe5! e6 II he6!
Brilliant.
11 .••bxcl
Il ••JWc8 14 ~h5
13
Heroes and Zeros
J.Hodgson White
G.Roeder Black
Bad Woerishofen 1995
Essentially this sequence wins the exchange, but Black hoped to find a
clever way out.
14
Heroes and Zeros
IS ••• ~ 16 'ifhS+ ~ 17 b4
Trapped! Again and again one sees these unusual and viable ideas in
the games of Hodgson.
17..•.tg4 IS 'ii'eS!
1-0
A.AIekhine White
Gregory Block
St Petersburg 1914
I d4 dS 2 .tgS 'iVd6!?
15
Heroes and Zeros
llLlcl
l •••c6
16
Heroes and Zeros
5 f3!? e6 6 e4 .li.g6.
A1ekhine may have hoped to scare his opponent, but he gets hit by a
whirlwind sequence of tactical, and strategical, surprises.
11 ...~d8!!
12 .d3 tLlb6! 13 a3
13....a5 14 e4
14...tLlc4!
Threatening 14....li.xa3!.
15 tLlbl
15 ...tLlh5!?
17
Heroes and Zeros
16.i.eS?!
16...~e7!
17 h4 f4!?
Strategically this move is fighting on the new weakness at g3. The less
profound idea is to trap the bishop with .. .f6.
21 'it'e6 tiJel!
18
Heroes and Zeros
Maintaining the grip. It is very rare to see knights sunk into sixth rank
outposts with such effect. Only my game with Shipov from the 2000
Hastings tournament springs to mind: I e4 cS 2 ttJc3 d6 3 f4 ttJc6
4 ttJf3 g6 S .ltbS .ltd7 6 0-0 .ltg7 7 d3 a6 S .ltxc6 .ltxc6 9 '1t;h I 'iid7
10 'iie2 fS? I I ttJdS ftdS 12 ttJgS ttJf6 13 ttJb6 "ilc7 14 ttJc4 fxe4
IS ttJe6 "ilcs 16 fS ltgS 17 ttJb6
24 :lhe 1 'iib6!
The only option was to hide the queen at h7. but that would have not
have worked because of 26 'iigS+ '1t;d7 27 "ilh7 gS when White
would. at least. suffer a loss of the exchange.
19
Heroes and Zeros
The theme of domination extends right unto the end of this game.
Now 38 ttJa4 bS traps the knight, so the future World Champion tries
to hide it elsewhere, but unsuccessfully.
38 ttJc8 b5
G.Oskam White
M.Euwe Black
Amsterdam, 1920
20
Heroes and Zeros
6.bf6 'ii'xf6?
7 'itb3!
21
Heroes and Zeros
G.Chepukaitis White
A.Praslov Black
St Petersburg Championship 1999
8 •••lL'lg4
171i.f2
17•••lL'lg4+ 181i.e2l:te8
22
Heroes and Zeros
190-0!
A monster pin.
Two pawns for the piece and threats and a continuing initiative against
Black's disorganised game and loose king.
The late great English GM Tony Miles had a marked fondness for
openings which involved an early deployment of his queen's bishop,
such as the London System, Torre and Trompowsky. He had a
resounding success when he used I d4 d5 2 ii.g5 to grind down the
young Kramnik and thereby knock him out of the PCNlntel
tournament of 1995. It is rare for fans to get over emotional at chess
events in London, but Miles was applauded off the stage. At Hastings
that same year he demonstrated once again his ability to wear down a
formidable opponent.
23
Heroes and Zeros
A.Miles White
M.Sadler Black
Hastings 1995-96
You can find coverage of this variation in the What's Hot chapter,
on page I 12. Instead Kramnik preferred 5... e5 here for which see
page 123.
19 .Jid6!? bxc5
Dynamic equality!?
24
Heroes and Zeros
Necessary before White trades bishops with .i.d3. The pure rook
ending, with White's rook behind his outside passed pawn, would
definitely be worse for Black.
36... c4 37 ~c2 and the white king SWiftly goes to b4 with advantage,
as his bishop keeps an eye on the passed c-pawn.
Black is lost. White's passed a-pawn drags away the defender's king.
White will then play e3-e4 forcing decisive inroads or generating a
second and decisive passed pawn. Sadler comes up with a counterplan
of mobilising two passed pawns of his own, but this proves
insufficient. In such situations it is impossible to generalise and the
player must use concrete calculation. Sometimes the connected
pawns prove the stronger, sometimes the separated ones.
41 ••• h5
25
Heroes and Zeros
M.Adams White
L. Van Wely Black
FIDE World Championship Knockout, Groningen 1997
A chunkier approach.
4el
4 ...ttJh6
It's striking still how uncharted these waters are. After 4 ... eS there is
little to gUide us. Miladinovic-Shabalov, Moscow Olympiad 1994
26
Heroes and Zeros
5.i.d3
7 .i.g3 tiJb4
White emerges from the opening moves with the edge, as the black
king dances around.
13•••c6 14 c4
27
Heroes and Zeros
20 ...l4h6!?
21 d5 a4
35 •••'ii'e4
28
Heroes and Zeros
Van Wely resigned as 41 ... ~f7 42 "ilh7 ~f8 43 .tg6 strips away his
defences since 43 ....te6 loses to 44 'ifh8+ ~e7 45 "ile8 mate, or
44 ... ~g8 45 ~h7.
29
Strategy in the
Queen's Bishop Attack
The Queen's Bishop Attack does not result in anything like as fixed a
pawn structure as arises normally in openings such as the French or
Benko Gambit.
30
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
The bishop gets to fulfil its kamikaze role as early as move three
after either I d4 dS 2 .tgS tiJf6 or the Trompowsky move order
I d4 tiJf6 2 .tgS dS
Now 3 i.xf6 disrupts Black's pawn structure and forces him to make
an important choice.
With the recapture l ...exf6 Black has cleared the way for his bishop
on f8 to enter the game, and the kingside remains a solid residence
for his king. The f6 pawn guards the eS square or could equally
control e4 after f6-fS. In fact, after White plays e2-e3 the plucky
f-pawn could even be used for aggressive purposes with fS and f4.
31
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
In the first game, Black readily accepted an IQP in return for active
piece play. White underestimated the dynamism in Black's set up and
the 'defective' doubled pawn on f6 came good.
J.Gallagher White
W.Unzicker Black
Bundesliga 1997-98
GM Eric Lobron made the rare decision of taking play back into a line
of the Veresov System when he was faced with 4 ... .i.e6 in his game
with Klovans in 1998 and after S id3 tiJd7 6 tiJc3!? c6 7 'iff3 g6 8 e4
dxe4 9 'ifxe4 fS 10 'iff4 .i.g7 chances were level.
S•••cS
6 dxcS
32
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
The regaining.
17 tiJd4?
17...~h3
33
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
Winning the exchange, as 18 l:te I i.b4 19:tb I 'iVc3 still insists on the
win, unless White grovels pathetically with 20 ibn i.xa5.
24 ibfS l:td8 25 'iVg4 i.f8 26 i.c4 <t>h8 27 ibe3 llxdS 28 i.xdS lid8
29 'ii'fS 'ii'd7 30 'ii'hs <t>g8 31 c4 g6 32 'iVfJ i.g7 33 cS i.d4 34 c6 'iVd6
35 ibc4 'ii'xdS 36 c7
B.Gurgenidze White
E.Ubilava Black
Volgodonsk 1981
34
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
16 b3 tiJd7 17 g4 tiJc5 18 f3
35
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
Gurgenidze alertly spots that this unusual thrust is here the apposite
continuation of his kingside developments.
24 •..g5 25 h4
Naturally.
32 liJe6+
1-0
I.Rogers White
G.Kasparov Black
Europe-Asia, rapid play match, Batumi 200 I
36
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
4e3
Better player makes the better decision about which bishop's pawn to
advance.
811Jf3
8 •••11Jd7
Here the purposeless move 8 ...g6?! would have almost taken us back
into a game Kasparov played himself, as White in a simultaneous
display in Germany in 2000 against D.Baramidze. That one concluded
9 0-0 0-0 10':'c I c6 I I 'iVc2 llJf6 12 ':'fd I 'iVe7 13 g3 .lle6 14 .i.xe6
'iVxe6 15 a3 Drawn.
9 0-0
37
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
When I got this position against the Uzbek, luldachev, in Dhaka, 1997,
play continued 9 'ifc2 4Jf6 10 h3!? 'ife7 II g4!? 4Je4 12 0-0-0 4Jxc3
bxc3 bS with great obscurity, from which I emerged the victor.
Nobody else proved sufficiently inebriate to copy that plan of g4 with
0-0-0 from here, although Miladinovic-Benderac, Cetinje 1993 saw
9 'ifc2 a6 10 h4!? (10 'ifxfS?? 4JeS wins) 10... bS I I ~d3 b4 12 4Ja4 g6
13 hS with some initiative. I would advocate ... 'ife7 and the planting of
the knight on e4 as the appropriate response to such demonstrations
on the kingside.
IS ... iLe6 16 ~xe6 fxe6 17 4Jf4 'it'd7 18 'it'b3 rJi;f7 was about equal.
But, as ever, Garry tries his utmost to extract all he can from a
pOSition.
38
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
16 .tb3 c5 17 tLlf4
17•••.tb7
18 dxc5?
The consistent follow up, but Kasparov shows that Black can play
around the new f7 pawn and still show advantage. However, it is too
late to reverse policy, as if here 20 Jhe I %lfeB 21 tLld3, then Black
turns it into a Grunfeld proper with 21 ....tfB en route to g7, and the
white structure is wrecked.
It turns out that white pawn on f7 can be handled, and the black
bishop is extremely strong on the diagonal aB-h I.
24:el
24•••.te4 25 lhe4?!
39
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
The radical solution to his problems, but not wholly adequate, and he
might have done better with 25 h3.
Always centralisation.
Now the king takes care of the passed b-pawn so that the rook may
go off to take on a3. The game soon ends.
40
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
I d4 4Jf6 2 iLgS dS
3 .i.xf6 exf6
Defining the structure. 4 4Jc3 would now go into a line of the Veresov
System (I d4 d5 2 4Jc3 4Jf6 3 iLg5).
4 e3 iLd6
IOc4
41
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
IO•••dxc4
II tbxc4 .i.c7
Bishops are usually a bit better than knights, so he preserves this one.
42
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
17 h4!
17•• :itg7 18 lLlb2 lLlb4 19 'iWd2 'iWf6 20 lLld3 trued3 21 'iWxd3 l:lad8
Black's last few moves have not been the most accurate, and White
now plays well to make something of his queenside possibilities.
24 ••• b6
26••• he I 27 llxe I f4
43
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
30 lbc4 :taB 31 'i'd2 ii.h3 32 'i'e2 ii.g4 33 'i'c2 ii.h3 34 i.xh3 'i'xh3
35 'i'e2
35 ...'i'e6 36 lbe5
A radiant outpost.
There is nominal equality, but Black's weaknesses cost him the game.
Keeping control.
51. ••:th7 52lbc6+ ~d7 53 lbe5+ ~d8 54:cI ':c7 55 :Xc7 ~c7
56 b4 ~d6 57 b5 ~d5
Or 57...:ta8 58 as!.
J.Hodgson White
J.Plaskett Black
Hastings 1986-87
45
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
4 ti)f3
4 ..•cS
Continuing sharply.
5 c4
In Trent-Farago, Porto San Giorgo Open, 2003, White had varied his
move order to reach the position after Black's 8th with his queen's
knight on c3 and king's knight unmoved. After, by transposition,
9 ti)ge2 ti)c6 10 0-0 fS I I dS ti)eS 12 JL.b3 'ild6 I 3 'iid2 JL.d7
chances were balanced.
90-0 JL.g4
46
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
The end of the beginning, and Black has a very comfortable and easy
to play position.
22 d6
47
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
In the following game Miles plays a little too passively beginning with
5 c3. This allows Black not only to carry out the e6-e5 advance but
also to start a counter attack along the semi-open file involving l:gS.
A.Miles White
S.Conquest Black
Hastings 1995-96
48
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
14g3
49
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
28••. ttJxf4!
0-1
J.Plaskett White
H.Jonkman Black
Mondariz Zonal 2000
50
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
4 •••cS 5 dxcS
S•••lDc6
51
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
But the gambit with B... b6 is not so bad too, because Black gets a lot
of play on the queenside.
15 tiJxd5!
17 ':xd5 'fie6
52
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
Four pawns for the bishop give White a big advantage. In addition, all
the Black pawns are separated, and his pieces are not connected yet.
There is no outpost for the black knight on the board! Black can not
create any target for attack in White's camp.
32 ~c2 l:tb7 33 ~c3 tDe7 34 %:t4d6 lhd6 35 :Xd6 tDcs 36 .l:.a6 ~e7
37 c5
53
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
It rarely hurts to repeat the position when you are in control. Just
don't do it three times!
Peter Leko has the reputation of being solid in the opening, but he is
willing to play sharp lines if he has looked at them in detail at home.
Against 5 c4 he comes up with a very sharp treatment of the position
for Black.
A.Anastasian White
P.Leko Black
FIDE World Championship Knockout, Moscow 200 I
5•••cxd4 6 exd4
6 •••'ii'b6!?
Attacking the pawn on b2. Leko starts out sharp, but soon the draw
master came into mode. Or, could it be that he already had the
54
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
7 tbc3 'ii'xb2
7... dxc4!?
White is not satisfied with a draw after 9 tbc7 + ~d8 10 ttJxaS .Jtc2!
I I 'it'cI 'ii'c3 + 12 ~e2 'it'd3 + 13 ~e I 'it'c3 + and neither side can
deviate from repetition of moves. Of course, on 9 Iitc I, 9 ... .Jth6
would spoil the fun.
1 1•••.Jth6 12 tbe3
55
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
14 ttJe2 e6?!
Black is just too solid. He might well have preferred the line
14...ii.xe3!? 15 fxe3 ii.xg2 16 ltg I ii.dS (16 ... ii.c6 17 ~ e6 is
unclear) 17 ii.xdS ttJxdS 18 e4 ttJc7 19 ltb I 0-0-0 20 :g7 l:tdfB 21
'it>d2 ttJe6 and White still has to prove that he has sufficient
compensation for the pawn.
With every exchange of the pieces the draw comes closer and closer,
but neither side can really play for a win in this position.
56
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
J.Timman White
S.Gligoric Black
Wijk aan Zee 1975
Instead 4 ... c6 5 c4 'ifb6 6 'ifc2 i.e6?! looks awkward and turned out
poorly for Black after 7 c5 'ifc7 8 i.d3 in Povah-Hughes, British
League match 1997.
5 c4
S•••c6
57
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
As so often in the Queen's Bishop Attack, White gets the space over
this side.
12••. e5
13 c:lxe5 he5
The early middlegame has all been a bit turgid, as each side sorts their
game out and there is little engagement.
58
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
ll.:tbbl
ll •••i.xaS!
l7 Jia4lDg6
lSf4
lS•••JifS
59
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
A.Miles White
P.Van der Sterren Black
Linares Zonal 1995
I drew a Torre Attack with the black pieces against Miles at Hastings
once, and in the post mortem expressed the opinion that some of the
problems Black experienced against very simple White play were
perhaps greater than those he gets in a main line Queen's Gambit.
60
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
11 •••c4
Paul van der Sterren, who not long before had qualified as a PCA
Candidate, burns his strategic boats. Perhaps he was inspired by a
famous victory of Petrosian over Spassky from a I960s World
Championship match where something similar was tried!? Most
people would have preferred 11 .. :fic7, I am sure, and Black soon
finds himself without much counterplay.
19~9S
Simple chess. Doubling along the f-line and swapping dark square
bishops certainly gives White the advantage.
19•••f5
61
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
24••• ~a6 25 .i.f7 ttJg4 26 "iig7 :c8 27 1:f4 hS 28 ttJfl .i.e8 29 "iig6 eS
30 dxeS 'iVcs
36•••"iixb2 37 ttJg 1!
Locking up.
37•••'iVc2 38 e6
Decisive.
The next game may give a feeling of deja vu, but there is a typical
moment of Hodgson quirkiness at move seven when he prefers ttJh3
to the move every one else would play: ttJgf3.
62
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
J. Hodgson White
K.McEwan Black
St Helier Open 1997
6 f4!?
6 .•• b6 7 liJh3!?
Giving the bishop back. Not my preference, and, as in the game Miles
- Van der Sterren, he is to be teased on the kingside dark squares.
Probe.
Here I would prefer 17...\We7 or 17... liJb8!? Too many of these guys
were anxious to come to ... c4.
63
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
Now the targets along and adjacent to the f line give White a big edge.
Emphasising the domination, by taking time out to rub it in. Often the
swiftest way to bring about a collapse.
64
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
Hodgson has tried keeping his options open with 4 ttJd2!? . If then
4 ...g6 he can exchange with 5 J.xf6 forcing Black into the e7xf6 pawn
structure. as he can no longer recapture with his g pawn.
J.Hodgson White
Y.Gavrikov Black
Bundesliga 1997-98
6 •••J.d6
65
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
17.•:ii'xeS!?
L.MeShane White
Y.Tseshkovsky Black
Hastings 2002-3
66
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
With this move Black shows he has no fear to play with double pawns
on the f-file. 7 ...g6 or 7 ... e6 were quieter alternatives.
8 i.xf6
8 •••gxf6 9 i.e2
9 i.f5!?
9 ••• hS
On 9 ... e4 I guess he goes 10 lDh4. But 9 ... c5!? might have made for
more of a fun day out!?
67
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
140-0-0
14•••i.e6 15 'ittb I
Further safety for the king and forseeing activity to come down the
c-line.
23 f4 'iVd6
24 'ii'b3!
68
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
With the idea to play tiJd7 forcing the knight to come to c3.
30 ttJc3?!
30••• b5
Fishing for chances with his c-pawn. He might also have considered
starting action on the other side with 40 g4!? hxg3 41 hxg3 a4 42 g4.
40••J:tbbS 41 c6
Again, 41 g4!?
Much better was 45 :as 'ii'xd5 46 ltxd5 Itbc8 47 :xr5 ltxc6 48ltxc6
ltxc6 with a probable draw.
69
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attock
50•••a3?!
Missing the last chance to win the game after 56... 'ii'xg2+ 57 l:lc2
'iWg I.
57 ~b3 ~h7 58 l:lc3 :tb6 59 'iWd4 :!b5 60 %:th3 hc6 61 hh4+ l:lh6
62 hh6+ 'iWxh6 63 'ii'd7 l:le5 64 'ii'xf7 + 'iig7 65 'ii'xg7 +
70
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
N.Legky White
A.Kosten Black
IBM Open, La Reunion 1997
I d4 ttJf6 2 ~gS dS
7 cxdS!?
7 •.. cxdS
r
On 7... cxd5, 8.2. There existed the bizarre option of 7... e6?! which
would have led us, again by transposition, back to a known game,
Tukmakov-Ljubojevic from the 1984 U.S.S.R. vs The Rest of the World
match in London's Docklands. I do not think Ljubo repeated the
experiment for, after 8 dxe6 fxe6, g5 now hangs and Black must
regain his pawn at c3. But he has voluntarily weakened his kingside
and central structure. 9 ~h4 ~b4 10 ttJd2!? ttJxc3 I I bxc3 J.xc3 12
I:tc I e5 13 ~c4 exd4 14 exd4 ttJf6 15 'ifc2 J.b4 16 a3!? J.e7 17 0-0.
The problems with his king in the middle were difficult for him to
cope with and after I 7...~f5 18 ttJb3! ~xc2 19 ttJxa5 White went on
to win.
8 ~d3!?
71
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
10 bxc3
10......xc3+ II <MI
Enough for a pawn? Legky thought so, but I am far from convinced.
11 •••g6
I I ... e6!? was probably a better way of getting it all together. Kosten
underestimates the power of the coming h-pawn advance.
72
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
13 ••• 0-0?
Right into the teeth of it! Kosten explains that this tournament was
held on an island off the Southern African coast, and that dubious
behaviour from the organiser prompted he and other masters to
spend much time on the beaches, having agreed to short draws. He
later wrote most unfavourably about the whole business in the French
chess magazine Echecs & Mat. However on this day, the last, the play
was to be for real, and he woke up in the early middlegame to realise
that it was already too late.
14 h5 g5
17 trucg5!
Crash!
17•••fxg5 18.i.xh7+
Bash!
18••• ~
73
Strategy in the Queen's Bishop Attack
25 :tel e6
26he5!
1-0
74
Opening theory is always advancing and modifying itself, and systems
come and go as ideas are honed and refined. The QBA exponent
needs to be aware of what is most likely to be used against him, based
upon current trends, and also to familiarise himself with the very
sharpest lines, just in case they occur. In this chapter we consider
Black's most popular and challenging response to the Queen's Bishop
Attack: namely a quick c7-c6 followed in most cases by 'ii'b6 hitting
the unguarded b2 pawn. We look at some of the currently
theoretically significant games, as well as some highly topical ones, in
order to facilitate the student's preparations for what will be the
variation most likely to come his way after I d4 d5 2 iLg5.
A typical sequence is
75
What's Hot?
First of all Black kicks the bishop away to h4, so that there is no
chance of it defending the b2 square. This rules out any nonsense
similar to I d4 itJf6 2 1.g5 itJe4 3 1.f4 c5 4 d5 'iib6 5 1.c I !? in the
Trompowsky. As will be seen, the position of the bishop on h4 can
also generate a crucial tactical trick that facilitates a future space grab
by Black with e7-e5.
Having cleared the way with 3... c6, which also strengthens his centre
in good Slav style, Black sends his queen to b6 to terrorise b2. If there
is anything intrinsically wrong with 2 1.g5, this is the way players as
Black usually seek to prove it. Indeed, the early 'ifb6 approach
accounts for at least a third of the games played with the Queen's
Bishop Attack, which makes it a white hot variation.
White already has a big choice to make after 3 ... c6: namely whether
to play 4 itJf3 or 4 e3. You might think there isn't much of a difference
between the moves, but in fact they can lead to markedly contrasting
middlegames.
Part One: White offers to gambit the b2 pawn with 4 itJfJ 'ifb6
SitJbd2
S•••'ifxb2 6 e4
One can hardly give a concrete conclusion. Suffice to say that White
has three of his men out and the black queen wandered off whilst
development was neglected. A classical gambit.
76
What's Hot?
The Guadalest game varied with 7... dxe4 Slbxe4 i.b4+ 9 ~e2!?
Not such an indignity for his Majesty to lodge here. Spassky made a
similar early improvisation in a Torre Attack game with Miles from
Tilburg. I97S. 9... ttJd7 10 %lb I 'ilfa3 II :b3 'ii'aS 12 'ii'b I i.e7
13 i.g3 ttJgf6 14 ttJd6+ i.xd6 15 ii.xd6. and I was happy as the
bishop slices his game in two. It ended 15 ...'ii'dS 16 c4 b6 17 :d I
ii.b7 IS ttJe5 c5 An attempt to return the pawn for some freedom.
but white need not oblige.
B i.g3
10•••'ii'dB I I 'ife2
77
What's Hot?
Is...gs
Taking the bait. 15 ... 0-0 was certainly safer, although White would
keep a lot of play for his gambit pawn.
16 ttJxgs! lbds
17 lbxe6! ~xe6
Neither did running the other way work as 19 ... 'iiiid7 20 l:.xb7+ 'iiiicS
21 ~a6 kills him, e.g. 21 .. :iiaS 22 l::txa7 + 'ii'xa6 23 lha6 l::txa6
24 'ii'e5 spearing a rook.
20~es
78
What's Hot?
20••• tbf6
J.Hodgson White
V.Smyslov Black
Sochi 1986
5 tbbd2
5 ....tfS
Another way to decline, of course, is development with 5 ...tbf6 when
Hodgson, in his game with Alburt from the 1995 PCA New York
Qualifier, chose to take it and after 6... exf6 then protect b2 with
7 'ifcl.
79
What's Hot?
6e3 e6
9 0-0 ~e7
Even here there are certain spirits who would take on b2 and boast of
their extra pawn after 9 ...'iVxb2 10 .l:tbl 'iVxa2 II l:xb7. I think I am
not amongst those.
80
What's Hot?
Here White aims to seize space on the queenside with c2-c4 and
c4-cS. This is all the more attractive as it will come with a time gaining
attack on the black queen. Once the c6 point is fixed, a follow up
advance with b4-bS will expose it to attack and hopefully open the
b-file to White's advantage. Let's see how it can work out in practice.
This approach just plays into White's hands: he has all the fun of
pressing for a win with little risk of losing. The two games that follow
show how quickly planless play can ruin Black's position.
81
What's Hot?
I.Miladinovic White
D.Sebastianelli Black
Porto San Giorgo Open 2003
Igor gets on with his development where Nigel Povah had preferred
to throw up the queenside pawns.
82
What's Hot?
14 b4
Naturally.
Simple chess.
17•..tiJe4
19••• ttJb8
Ugh.
20.lthS!
A Karpovian probe (you will see the move bishop to rook's flVe-
either king's or queen's, as an exploratory probing device, in many of
his games) Here, it flattens Black outright.
83
What's Hot?
20•••g6 21 f3!
A sweet tactic.
As can be seen, Black has to play very precisely to hold the balance
against White's seemingly eternal slight advantage. In the next game
he suffers a similar fate.
N.Povah White
C.Frostick Black
4NCL British Team Championship 2003
9 •••0-0
9... ttJhS would be met with the probing 10 ii.eS!, and ifthen 10.. .f6
I I ii.xb8 lhbS 12 h3! ii.e4 13 ii.e2 and Black is in big trouble, e.g.
13 .. .fS 14 ttJd2 and he will lose a minor piece.
10 h3
84
What's Hot?
with 10 ...ttJh5. for White could try I I .Jixb8!? l:taxb8 12 ttJe5 ttJf6
13 g4 and 14 h4 with chances for attack.
This way of addressing queenside developments did not work out all
that well. 12... a5 13 b5 favoured White. but 12 ... ttJe4. as we shall be
seeing. has a good current reputation.
13 a4! a6
Black will now have to contend with the threat ofaxb5 and an
invasion down the a-file.
18 'ii'c3 ttJf6
24 ••• ttJg8
25 ..td6! hd6 26 cxd6 :taB 27 .lbg7 %ha7 28 lha7 ttJf6 29 :tc7 ttJe4
30 he4 fxe4 31 'ii'xc6 'fIxc6 32 :Xc6 :td8 33 d7 lhd7 34 l:txe6 ~g7
85
What's Hot?
35 l:[b6
1-0
The games above are very encouraging for White, but in the next
encounter, Black plays with just enough energy to disrupt White's
queenside build up. He arranges ll:\e4 and the pawn push e6-e5 to
breathe life into his pieces. The fact that he holds the draw against
Hodgson is a testament to the power of his centre counter action.
In fact, Black may have shown a clear way to equality by making an
improvement on move IS!
J.Hodgson White
A.Naumann Block
Bundesliga 2003
9 c5
86
What's Hot?
After 9... 0-0 10 ..te2 ttJbd7 I I cS 'iVdS 12 0-0 ttJe4 13 ttJxe4 ..txe4
14 ttJd2 ..th 7 IS b4 lleS 16 'iVb2 ..tf6 he took radical steps to prevent
Strenzwilk's ... eS, with 17 f4 and after 17.....th4 IS ..txh4 'iVxh4 19 bS
stood slightly better. The Vescovi game varied with I O... ttJe4 and after
I I ttJxe4 ..txe4 12 0-0 ttJd7 13 ttJd2 ..tg6 14 cS 'iVdS IS b4 a6
16 ttJb3 ..tf6 he this time permitted the black central advance and we
were left with a situation of some dynamic equality after 17 ttJaS l::[a7
IS ..td6. The common arrival point for this guy in this opening.
IS .....te7 19 ..txe7 'iVxe7 20 'iVb2 eS, although, in a scrappy
conclusion to the game, Hodgson fell into unfavourable complications
when both sides' kings opened up, and he resigned around move
forty. Now he goes straightaway for the gain of space with c4-cS. The
plus of the knight on as is the additional pressure when the white
pawn breakthrough lands. The minus is the absence of a potential key
defender.
9 ...'iVd8 10 e3 ttJbd7
In this game, like quite a few others of the type, the broad outlines
are that White gains space on the queenside early on whilst Black tees
up a central response of ... eS. But there have been some instances of
Black reacting swiftly on the queen's wing, e.g. Hodgson-Boensch,
Germany 2002, saw 10...0-0 I I h3 b6 12 b4 as 13 a3 'iVcs 14 ..te2
ttJbd7 IS 0-0 'iVb7 16 'iVd2 ::tfcS 17 1.:[fc I ..tdS with balanced play, and
Hodgson-Chernin, Pardubice 1993 went I I ..te2 b6 12 b4 as 13 a3
'iVcs 14 ttJa4!? ttJbd7 IS ttJeS it'b7
S7
What's Hot?
II h3
Bishop preservation. But here, when reviewing the instant game and
also by comparison with those cited in the earlier notes, I think that it
is a move better omitted. I I J.e2 ttJe4 12 ttJxe4 J.xe4 13 b4 J.xf3
14 gxf3!? J.h4 IS f4 J.xg3 16 hxg3 left White's pawns straightened
out to form a structure where he was clearly better in Hodgson-
Abdullah, Scarborough 1999.
11 ••• 0-0 12 b4
12••• ttJe4
Much more appropriate and active than 12 ... bS?! in the Povah-Frostick
game above.
14•••J.g6 15 'iVc3
IS •••J.f6!?
88
What's Hot?
20•••'ii'e7
No point in closing the centre by ... e4 since the white dark squared
bishop is very strong on the diagonal bS-h2. For example 20 ... e4?!
21 'ii'e2 .ltM 22 .ltf4 l::te6 23 b5 l::tg6 24 bxc6 bxc6 25 :ab 1;1;.
21 ttJaS exd4 22 exd4 ttJf8 23 .ltd6 'ilfd7 24 ':ae I lhe I 25 l':.xe I b5!?
26l':.al
89
What's Hot?
33 :d I JigS!?
On 52 r:tie3 Black can't save his knight but the advance of his pawn
will save the game, e.g. 53 ... h3 54l::txe7 h2 and White must take a
repetition by checking with his rook, 55 :e8+ r:tih7 56 '!J.e7 + r:tig8
(56 ... r:tih6? 57 g5+ wins) 57 l:te8+ etc.
And definitely not 56 r:tifl?? lIg4 and the pawn sails away.
90
What's Hot?
In the above examples, Black used the position of the enemy bishop
on h4 to boost his development with i.e7!? when, in order to keep
up the tension, White tended to avoid the exchange of bishops with
the retreating i.g3. A different approach for Black is to target White's
dark squared bishop with his king's knight.
SAgdestein White
S.Skembris Black
Cappelle la Grande Open 200 I
7 tbc3 tbd7 8 cS
8•••'ii'aS!? 9 a3 tbgf6 10 e3 gS
91
What's Hot?
13•••ltJxg3
Nabbing it now. If 13 ... iLg7 White plays his bishop into d6.
14 hxg3
So Black achieves the aim of eliminating White's bishop for the knight.
Michael Adams made the following remark in Chess in the Fast Lane
about a similar scenario versus Nigel Short: I\Ithough there is no
reason for White to be concerned about the doubled pawns, the loss
of the dark squared bishop is important'. Still, in the present game
Agdestein builds a wall of pawns on the dark squares that ensures
Black's own bishop on g7 is never that special.
16•••f5
17lLld2!
17•••a5!?
A bid for counterplay based upon the tactical nuance that if White
plays 18 bS then 18 ...'iff6 prepares the unstoppable ... eS due to the
other threat of ... lLlxcSL
92
What's Hot?
20f4
20•••lIal 21 0-0
28 <MI!?
The king is a strong piece, and Agdestein gets his act together by
making full use of his king.
34 •••'Wd8 35 ltJf3
93
What's Hot?
Keeping her out of h4. The play remains complex, across the whole
board.
Well played! He gives up two pawns to get the passer on the c-line
moving. The pedestrian 42 'fib3? would have allowed Black a drawn
minor piece ending, in view of his own h-pawn, with 42 ...'fixd I!
43 'fixd I tbf2 +, etc.
94
What's Hot?
compensation white will receive for his proffered Queen's Pawn and
some interesting new developments are arriving. It is fair to observe,
though, that Black has not been the winner in all that many of those
where the gambit was accepted.
J.Hodgson White
M.Godena Black
Mondariz Zonal 2000
5 'it'cI g5
By no means forced, but the most critical and the hottest line. We
have already seen a lot of theory on 5 ...J.f5 in the games above.
Six years before Godena had dodged the complications when he had
faced Hodgson in another Zonal tournament in Spain, and after
95
What's Hot?
6 .tgl g4
Consistent.
7 ttJeS 'ii'xd4
96
What's Hot?
7 •••'it'xd4
A key position. as Black takes his booty. Here 7...tiJd7 would have
taken us back towards Hodgson-Shaw. British Championship.
Scarborough 200 I. where the inveterate Hodgson insisted on
continuing. anyway. in gambit fashion after (by transposition) 8 c4
ttJxe5 9 i.xe5 f6 10 i.g3 'ifxd4. Black has stretched himself and
White certainly has. in my opinion. at least as much compensation for
the pawn as he receives in the main lines following 5 ...g5 6 i.g3 g4
7 ltJe5 'it'xd4. Play continued I I cxd5 'ifxd5 12 ltJc3 'iff7 13 e3 e5
14 i.d3 i.e6 15 'fic2 0-0-0 160-0 h5!? 17 i.h4. (17 f4!?) 17... i.e7
18 i.g6 'fig7 19 i.f5 Draw agreed. In general. White has a
development lead. the weakening of ...g5-g4 and the imminent gain of
more time for him in kicking around the black queen as compensation
for his sacrificed pawn. The jury is still out and in my view will remain
out for some time yet.
8 c4
97
What's Hot?
By contrast with similar lines resulting from 8 c4, here White did not
pull the knight back but chose 10 cxdS .lig7!? I I liJc4 'iWb4 + 12 liJc3
cxdS 13 a3 .lixc3+ 14 bxc3 'ii'cs IS liJd2 when he kept some play for
his pawn, and won in 81 moves. 8 liJd2 was tried in Djurhuus-Borge,
Reykjavik Open 1996, and play went 8 ...liJd7!? 9 c3 'ifb6 and here
White elected to take back his pawn by 10 ltJxg4, but he thereby lost
something of his co-ordination and after 10... hS I I liJeS ttJxeS
12 i.xeS f6 13 .lif4 eS 14 .lie3 cS IS f3 .lie6 16.lin 0-0-0
Black stood comfily and went on to win. Material over position? Still
something to be debated, long after Capablanca taught that position
was the more important. Lastly, in Mladinovic-Fontaine, Cap d'Agde
2003, White punted 8 a4!?, perhaps arguing that the move often came
in useful in other games in this gambit line, so why not throw it in
now!? After 8 ....lig7 9 c3 'ife4 10 f3 gxf3 I I gxf3 'ii'fS 12 ltJd3 liJd7
13ltJa3 eS 14 :!gl liJe7 we were left with a complete mess. White
won in 37 moves.
98
What's Hot?
8 •••i..g7
They tend to force White's hand with this developing move which
also threatens the knight. S... tDf6 has been less common. In Hodgson-
Zlatdinov, Guernsey Open 1991, he played 9 tDc3 i..e6 10 e3 'iVb6
I I cxd5 cxd5 12 i..b5 + tDc6 and then tried to make something of the
pins. I 3 a4 as 14 tDe2!? i..d7 15 tDxd7 tDxd7 16 0-0 i..g7 17 tDf4 tDf6
IS i..h4 e6 19 'iVc3 tDh5 20 'iVa3 i..f6 21 i..xf6 tDxf6 22 :ac I with
continuing annoying pressure for the pawn, which he converted into a
win by attack at move 39. Lots of unanswered questions, still.
12 a4
99
What's Hot?
16... i.f5
100
What's Hot?
101
What's Hot?
19 as
Povah-Shaw, 4NCL British Team Championship 2003, varied here
with Nigel's 19 .i.e5. The irritating white pressure against the queen's
wing was such that John decided that the best solution was to give
back the pawn with 19 ... a6 20 .i.e2 ':c8 21 'ii'b4 tbd7 22 .i.xg7 +
~xg7 23 'ii'xb7 'ii'd6 when play was about balanced and the game
ended in a draw at move 42.
22 ':abl
102
What's Hot?
This time Black escaped the Hodgson attack, as White has no more
purposeful checks.
0-1
Rather than gambit the pawn or defend it with the queen, White
simply moves the pawn forwards. The critical response is 5 ...i.f5,
getting the bishop outside the pawn chain before setting up a Slav
centre. Then a typical sequence is 6 e3 e6 7 i.d3 i.xd3 8 'ii'xd3 as
in the Morozevich-Kramnik game below.
103
What's Hot?
White can try for pressure with c2-c4 but it is hard to believe that this
is going to disturb Black very much.
J.Hodgson White
Y.Mikhalevski Black
North American Open, Las Vegas 2000
8 ...e6
104
What's Hot?
20••• b6 21 bS
21 .••tDxd4! 22 c6!
24•••:tbd8
105
What's Hot?
The only move, as all others allow 29 b7 and White will keep a queen.
=
29 cxd8 'if + ~d8 30 a4 1/2- 1/2
The protected passed b-pawn means that, a pawn down, White still
holds the game by stationing his king around d2 or c2 whereupon an
impasse becomes apparent as the black king may not step outside the
queening square of the bS pawn.
Now we'll see another highly creative player getting into trouble as
White when he tries for too much against Black's super-solid set up.
A.Morozevich White
Y.Kramnik Black
Astana 2001
8 ... ttJd7 is often played here. In a game from their 1998 World
Championship Match, Anand then innovated against Karpov with 9 c4
(9 0-0 was customary) and Anatoly spotted the interesting idea of
9...ttJe7!? Anand reacted oddly with 10 cS?! and Black quickly got the
edge after 10...WaS I I ttJc3 b6, when an unnerved Anand even
followed up with 12 b4? and had little to show for that pawn after
106
What's Hot?
12••• 'ifa6!?
19••.ttJxc3 20 :Xc3 c5
107
What's Hot?
0-1
The moral of the games above for White seems to be: patience is a
virtue - leave it to Black to weaken himself.
Joel Lautier is a fine player, but in the next game he virtually presents
the point to Gelfand with his loose opening play.
B.Gelfand White
J.Lautier Black
FIDE World Championship Knockout, Groningen 1997
5 b3 ttJd7!? 6 e3 e5
The same tactic based upon the loose h4 bishop but in a different
form. Now 7 dxe5 ttJxe5 8 ttJxe5?! 'ifb4+ favours Black.
7 J.e2 e4 S ttJfd2
108
What's Hot?
S •••cS?
Quite a rare mistake from a player of his level. After the move in the
game Black is saddled with serious problems concerning the pawn at
d5. On the more standard S... ltJe7 White has the interesting option of
9 .Jig4!? when 9 .. .f5? fails to 10 .Jixf5. 9... ltJg6 10 .Jig3 ltJf6 II .Jixcs
.l::r.xcS would lead to equality.
9 dxcS ltJxcs
9 ... 'iWxc5!?
10 ltJc3!
10•••gS?!
This does not work, but on 10....Jie6 White has II .Jib5+ ltJd7
12 0-0 and Black is under strain, e.g. 12 ... 'ii'c5 I 3 .Jixd7 + .Jixd7
14 ltJe2. Note that 10... 'ii'e6 lost instantly to I 3 ltJc4!.
109
What's Hot?
There were those ruthless spirits who even advocated here the
'Nigel Short approach' of 22 iLxa7! 'ii'aS 23 Jid4 ttJxd4 24 cxd4 JiM
25 Wd I b5 26 h4 and whatever headaches Black's activity may cause
White are hardly going to fully compensate for two pawns. Gelfand,
understandably, preferred to keep more control over matters.
22 f3? exf3 23 'ii'xf3 'ii'b5 24 'iVe2 'iVc6 25 0-0 Jid6 26 ttJc4 Jib8
27 'ii'c2! ttJf8 28 %H6 'iVc8 29 .:taf 1 b5 30 ttJd2 "iic7 31 'ii'e4 +!
35 ...Wb7
36 ':'af6
110
What's Hot?
Here play is similar to lines discussed in Part Two above where after 4
ttJf3 'ifb6 5 'ii'c I Black replies S.....tfS.
III
What's Hot?
Khalifman once spumed the opportunity of 5... e5 and played like this
against Hodgson. He held the draw, but White looked slightly better
throughout thanks to his customary queenside pressure.
J.Hodgson White
A.Khalifman Black
Hastings 1995-96
112
What's Hot?
For all the effect it has when he eventually gets it in, it might have
been better just to go b4-b5 right now!
Finally!
Play here can easily transpose to lines discussed in Part Three: ... tDf3
'iVb65 b3 above after Black's reply 5 ....tf5. Here is one brief
example.
A.Rakhmangulov White
A.Miles Block
Alushta 1999
113
What's Hot?
First of all we see Michael Adams trying to start a direct attack, but
Boris Gelfand spoils things by forcing off the queens.
114
What's Hot?
M.Adams White
B.Gelfand Black
Chalkidiki 1993
7 ttJeS!?
IO ... cS!?
II c3 'ifd6
115
What's Hot?
Mestel believes that endings with rooks and knights are always played
exceptionally well by really strong players. Adams' forces have
become the more centralised and effective, so Gelfand hastens to
mobilize a passed pawn asset, but it does not look as though it is
going to suffice for equality.
Such is the power of the advanced d-pawn that here White is not
losing.
116
What's Hot?
On 53 ...'ifxb3 54 ~c7!.
And draws.
MAdams White
B.GeHand Black
Investbanka, Belgrade 1995
117
What's Hot?
7•..tDe7
The older I get the more I personally value the pair of bishops.
10 hxg3 ~e6
IO ...'iWd8!?
II ~e2
11 •••lUd7
12 a3
12 lUc3 is an alternative.
118
What's Hot?
16••• b6
16....td6!? 16... dxc4 17 ttJaS would have allowed White to regain his
pawn.
17 cS as?!
18 bxaS
Taking him on. Had he not. Black may have played ... a4. then ... b5 to
close up the queenside whilst White is denied as for a knight. and only
then attempt a pawn break on the other wing.
18••• bxcS
19 dxcS ttJd7
20 ttJd4!
20•••'ifc7 21 a6 ttJxcS
119
What's Hot?
23 •••it.d7
Forcing play with 25 .i.g4 leads to an equal game after 25 ... ttJxa6
26 .i.xd7 'ifxd7 27 4:Jdxc6.
25 •••.i.f8
28 'ifd I 4:Je6.
33 4:Jb4 ltea8 34 'ife 1 'ifd6 35 ltb3 lte8 36 ':e3 ltee7 37 .i.d 1 .i.f6
38':e4
120
What's Hot?
39 i.e2?
In time pressure Michael slips up. A line such as 39 lhc6 would have
left things equal. Boris now seizes his chance.
39.••e5! 40 ttJxd5
This, the last move of the time control, is insufficient, but on a retreat
Black would roll on powerfully with 40... d4.
Gelfand sets about tidying up, and from now on he never lets his
control of the position slip.
S.Drazie White
VAnand Black
Corsica Masters, Bastia 2000
121
What's Hot?
Reasoning that she will have to be moving soon anyway, Anand shifted
his queen back last move. It also prepared his next.
IS •••aS!?
Unusually for this variation, it is Black now in control along the b-line.
21 ~fl hS
122
What's Hot?
27 •••.i.d7
28 %0015?
28•••lbg4 29 g3 'iVf6
30 lbxe4 dxe4 31 lbc3 hxg3 32 hxg3 'iVh6 33 .i.g2 lhb3 34 lbxe4 :b2
35 :txg5+ lbg6 36 'iVc5 'iVh2+ 37 <til lbxe3+! 0-1
Now 6 c3 has the virtue that it doesn't lose time with the knight as
occurs after 6lbfJ e4. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine an
inert move like this setting Black any real problems.
A.Miles White
G.Flear Black
4NCL British Team Championship 1998
123
What's Hot?
6 cl
6... Jie7!?
124
What's Hot?
Seems Miles did not think so, as 9 f4 4:Jf5 would have necessitated a
king move to hang on to his pawn, and then Glenn would have gone
to work with 10... ttJxe3! II 'ii'xe3 'it'xb2.
9 •••'ii'c710e6
A short but valuable game, as Flear, solid as ever, dealt with the White
opening with characteristic efficiency to equalise.
Naturally the main battleground has been after 6 4:Jf3. If now 6 ... exd4
then 7 ttJxd4!? keeps up the tension.
I d4 dS 2 .JigS h6 3 .Jih4 c6
125
What's Hot?
4 e3 'ii'b6 5 'ii'c 1
7 •••i.e7
S .tg3 hS?!
White gave away the bishop pair for a development lead and some
chances, he would surely have thought, against the weaknesses
created by the advancing h-pawn.
12•••'ii'cS
126
What's Hot?
Both men were really going for it. Perhaps each was in pursuit of a
norm!? 12...ttJf6 was sounder.
14•••'iVxg2
Normally in this line it is the queen's knight pawn which Black accepts
as a gambit, but this time it was the king's!
17•••.tb4?
18:gS
Missing a shot with the splendid IS !txg7!! 'iVxg7 19 ttJxc6! when the
threat of mate decides. Black would do better with IS ....txc3 19 bxc3
ttJh6, but then 20 :g5 leaves the Black game greatly compromised
through the loss of the g-pawn, and where is his king now to live?
127
What's Hot?
Also, if you are not going to take on g7, then I would have thought
18 e4 to be a more purposeful move, as that pawn then enters the
fray.
18•.. ~
What was that all about? We might as well say 'B' with 22 'ii'xa7
'ii'xe3 + 23 'iitb I 'ii'xf4 24 %:tgg I when White may be two pawns down
but the black queen must take care of the rook at b8 and the threat
of bringing a rook to the f-Iine is very hard to meet.
22 .. JlhS
2S ....txhl 26 11g7!
Blasting his way in. Now, as 26 ...~7 27 iDf5+ wins on the spot,
Black is finished.
128
What's Hot?
This brings us to the crux of the matter, which is 6 ttJf3 &4. In the first
game Black allows himself to be provoked by White's unobtrusive play
into a wild adventure. The verdict is perhaps 'unclear' but this is just
the kind of fight White is looking for when he plays 2 ~gS.
Y.Milov White
A.Mikhaievski Black
Biel 1999
Another galloper.
9 c4 h4 10 ~f4 g5 1 1 J..e5 f6
12bbS
Interestingly Milov has egged the black pawns on before conceding his
bishop for the knight, although it is far from clear that those advances
do constitute authentic weakening.
The usual stuff. Is White playing a French where he has rid himself of
his problem bishop?! The rook on b8 is conveniently placed insomuch
as White's offer now of a queen exchange with 15 'ifb3 may be
declined, with the b7 pawn covered, by IS ...'ifd8.
129
What's Hot?
ISg4
Here he goes.
Touche.
20g4!
20 •••cxd4 21 exd4 f4
21 ...e3 22 cS and lbb3 still leaves Black troubled by the fall of fS.
130
What's Hot?
I.Miladinovic White
P.Charbonneau Block
Match, Montreal 2000
7 •••tiJe7
8 c4 tiJf5
Straight after it. Brumen-Petrov, Pula 2000, continued, by
transposition, 8 ...tiJd7 9 cxdS!? A relatively rare option. 9... cxdS
10 tiJc3 gS I I ~g3 a6. To stop someone dropping in via bS. 12 f3!?
exf3 13 tiJxf3 ~g7 14 ~d3 fS IS 0-0 and White won.
131
What's Hot?
12 'ifc2 0-0
16 c5 tiJd7 17 b4 b5
17... a6 was another better strategy than the one he devised. Pascal
explained to me that this was the final game of a match which he had
already won.
18 tiJb3
Black is now faced with the problem of how to cope with White's
projected a2-a4, and it's not easy. If he braces with 18... a6 then 19 a4
lIfc8 20 tbaS leaves him already vulnerable to a sacrifice at c6. So
then 20 ...:ab8 21 ~d2 i.d8 was probably best. Instead he uncorked
a counter sacrifice which proved just a bit too clever for his own
good. The knight remains en prise to the end of the game.
18••.tiJb6?! 19 a4!
19 cxb6? i.xb4 and 20 ...axb6 gave Black two nice pawns and every
chance of taking the third at a2 whilst White's activity has gone. But
Miladinovic steamed on and Charbonneau's hanging knight just adds to
his woes.
132
What's Hot?
19••• bxa4 20 liJa5! l:tfc8 21 i.a6! l:te7 22 i.b7 l:tb8 23 i.xc6 tbc4
24 i.xdS
1-0
R.Ovetehkin White
A.Lastin Black
Chigorin Memorial, St Petersburg 1998
7 tbfd2
133
What's Hot?
hxg3 14 fxg3 ibd7 and White threw in the towel. An inglorious end to
the queen's bishop.
7 ..•~e6
8 c4 ibd7 9 ibcl
White has lost a tempo through his choice of c3 and a later c4, but
the contours of the play are characteristic. 10...ibh5 I I ibc3 ibxg3.
Nigel axes the very useful walker. 12 hxg3 ibf6 13 a3 ~e6 14 b4.
The standard gaining of space. 14 ...'iWd8 Out of the way and towards
his action zone. 15 ~e2 ~e7 Why ever not to d6? 16 c5. Further
Lebensraum and removing d6 from the bishop. 16... 0-0 (16 ...g5!?)
17 ibb3 b6?! Probably unwise. I prefer prefacing expansion with
17.. .':Ji;h7. 180-0. The canny Cornishman deferred castling until a
situation had arisen where the threats of black kingside advance were
more easily contained and also where he had begun to make progress
on the other wing. 18....:.b8 19 'iWc2 g5 20 b5!. Adams capitalises on
Short's inaccuracies - he would have done better to have shorn up
the queenside with ... b5 - and starts his break-in. 20 ... bxc5 21 dxc5
'iWc8 22 bxc6 ~f7 23 ibd4
134
What's Hot?
9 ••. ttJe7!?
10 f3 exf3
14 c5 Yi'd8 15 ..td3 b6 16 b4 f5 ?
17 ttJb3!
17••• 0-0 18 h4
Naturally.
135
What's Hot?
20•••a5
21 iba4!
It will be hard for Black to make much use of the temporary extra
pawn, and White can cope with whatever is coming along the new
a-file.
Not only winning a pawn and contributing to his attack, but also
re-opening the h2-bS diagonal for his bishop.
136
What's Hot?
34 •••%:te4
Another inaccuracy. 36 ':'h2! keeping the black horse out and with
the intent of some breakthrough sacrifice with .:th6! was clearly
winning.
39.bg7 ttJxgl 40 d5
Reaching the time control, but as so often, the last move before was
weak and simply 40 'iWxg I <ii;>xg I 41 dS!, vacating d4 for the knight,
ought to have done the job.
137
What's Hot?
50 'ii'cl?
Short of time again, he throws his last clear win away. With 50 ttJf4!
he would have covered the check on d3 and brought the knight also
into the game with decisive influence, e.g. 50 ... ttJxf4 51 'iVh7 + 'it>e6
52 'ii'h6+ 'it>d5 53 'it'xf4 'it>xc5 54 'iWxf5+ 'it>b6 55 'iVxe4! ttJd2
56 lb:d2 'it'xd2 and the pawn ending is won after 57 'it'd4+.
White must be careful as the black passed pawns are also dangerous.
He wisely let it all peter out.
Or 60 ...'it>g6 61 ttJg3.
61 ttJxf4 ttJexf4 62 lbf4+ 'it>e6 63 lhe4+ 'it>d6 64 l:tc4 'it>c7 '12- 11z
Here we'll look at two of the off beat methods White has tried to
take the sting out of Black's 'ifb6 idea.
138
What's Hot?
Here the way is cleared to defend b2 along the second rank after
l ... h6 4 .th4 'ifb6 with 5 'ifd2: a more economical method than the
usual l el h6 4 .th4 'ii'b6 4 'ficl as it doesn't block in the rook on al
and leaves the white queen seeing more daylight. Let's see how it
might work in practice.
E.Meduna White
Z.Szymczak Black
Ceske Budejovice 1992
I d4 dS 2 .tgS c6 3 c4
3 •.• h64 .th4 'iWb6 5 'ii'd2 dxc4 6 e4 gS 7 .tg3 .tg78 4JO 4Jf69 4Jc3
.te6
10.te2
139
What's Hot?
17 tiJdS!
1-0
140
What's Hot?
On the positive side, you will notice that 3 a3 has also defended the
b4 square, so that the 5 ...e5 trick that works after I d4 d5 2 J1.g5 c6
3 e3 h6 4 ~h4 'ii'b6 5 'ii'c I is here prevented as 5 ... e5?? 6 dxe5! is
safe for White as Black win the bishop by checking on b4.
E.Prie White
C;.t(o~cikBlock
French Team Championship 2004
A similar formation to lines arising from 5 'ii'c I , but with the rook
unusually positioned.
141
What's Hot?
19 b5 'iff6 20 f4 b6
Provoking a crisis.
21 fS
25 'iVd4 f6 26 lbe7
This knight is moving in the direction of the black king. Black's sundry
weaknesses start to tell against him.
39lbd6
142
What's Hot?
1-0
J.Plaskett White
M.Petursson Black
Hastings 1986-87
7 cS
...ala Vlado Kovacevic. Space can always come in handy. Not only do
your men have more room for manouevre, but those pawns are just
that bit further toward the queening squares.
7 ••:ifxbJ 8 axbJ
143
What's Hot?
8...bbl
A big decision, he stops the roller of ttJc3, b4-bS, but cedes his nice
bishop.
9:xb1 g5 10 .te5
Stopping bS.
14 l:tal l:te8
Again stopping bS, and so now creating time to nab the g3 bishop
with '" ttJfS.
15 h3
Preserving a prelate.
Off to as - the familiar route through life for this knight in this
structure.
18•••.te7
Off to eat him. There is little else Black could do about it now that
...eS is not possible.
144
What's Hot?
21 ...tDfB 22 %:ta4
Naturally.
22•••:d8
Preparing defence.
Organised defence?
145
What's Hot?
30..txa6
I thought I had better exchange and that the consequences were
certainly at least unclear.
33 ...~g7 34 ..td6
Before ... eS shuts him out. So often in such lines we see White post
his bishop at d6.
34...0,g6 35 ~ab6 e5 36 a6
More or less the kind of position that I had in mind when making the
break-in sacrifice.
I sealed this after long thought. 41 :b6 may have been better.
41 •• ..l::tfe7+
He must try for activity, otherwise White's passed pawns and
dominant pieces must win.
146
What's Hot?
Black sets out on a long series of irritating checks with his three
remaining pieces against the lone white king. But they are - just -
insufficient, and the a pawn is going to queen.
1-0
A.Chemin White
A.Kundin Black
Biel Open 1997
I d4 d5 2 .i.g5 .i.f5
147
What's Hot?
Definitely wrong here. I say again that Black oUght to prefer 7...'ifc8,
perhaps even followed by capturing at c4. What follows now is classic.
The Yugoslav GM, Vlado Kovacevic, made a living out of such systems
with White. The gain of queenside space, in conjunction with his
excellent queen's bishop, won him many points.
9 ••• ttJd7 10 b4
IO ••• e5
He did not want to come under the Kovacevic squeeze, so broke out
now.
I I ttJf3 1.g7
Not liking bringing the knight with tempo to the nice d4 square after
as
11 ... exd4 12 tiJxd4, nor pushing it along the route to after 11 ... e4
12 ttJd2.
148
What's Hot?
Eyeing d6.
24••• bxc6 25 f5
149
Tricks and Traps
J.Hodgson White
KArkell Black
Watson Farley Williams, London 1991
After 7 tDn tDd7 8 tDc3 f5 9 0-0 tDf6 Black went on to equalise and
then win a drawn rook ending in Timman-Kasparov, Hoogovens Blitz
150
Tricks and Traps
7 •.,a68l:lcl
IO~+!
This trick. White thus wins a clear pawn and there is no Black
compensation whatsoever. Remarkably, the late ex-World
Championship Candidate Lev Polugaevsky fell into exactly the same
thing against Michael Adams at a rapidplay event in France in 1992,
after 7... cS? 8 dxcS .txcS 9 .txf7+!. Equally surprisingly, Mickey only
managed to draw from there. Things went even worse for French 1M
Giffard against Sibarevic at the 1989 Lugano Open. He overlooked 9
.txf7+! entirely, played 9 iYhS? and went on to lose from that level
position, as did Nelmann in his game from the French 2002
Championship with Beudaert. The moral may be not to grab on f7 in
France?! Bogdan Lalic also missed his chance vs Boric in the 2000
Croatian Championship. He too went 9 'iWhS?, but the game shortly
ended in a draw. In both Zlochevski-Quinto, A1mantea Open 1995
and Bezold-Vokanian, New York Open 1995, White grabbed and won.
So, now you know! Make sure your name is never added to that
illustrious list of plonkers. Hodgson, too, swiftly wrapped things up.
lSI
Tricks and Traps
10••• ~ II 'iVhS+
Le point.
I I ••• ~g8 12 'iVxeS iDe6 13 iDge2 .i.e6 14 0-0 iDeS 15 iDf4 ~f7
16 iDed5 b6
20 •••%ld8 21 'iVe3 iDe4 22 'iVe7 l:r.e8 23 'iVxf6 %:te6 24 'iVd4 :d6 25 'iVe5
%le6 26 'iVe7 %lg6 27 f3
1-0
GM Keith Arkell also tried the plan of c7-cS in his next encounter with
Julian Hodgson. Although there was no catastrophe on f7 this time,
the liquidation in the centre didn't provide the easy equality he might
have been hoping for. Instead, White was able to use the heightened
mobility of his pieces to power up a decisive attack on the black king.
152
Tricks and Traps
J.Hodgson White
KArkell Black
Lloyds Bank Open 1991
8a4
8 .•.lbd7 9 lbge2 cS
10 dxcS ..txcS
No trick on f7 now.
Interesting play; there is a hole at d5, but what kind of hole, and how
much should it matter anyway?
12•••'iVb6
153
Tricks and Traps
13 as
A quirky move. I would have preferred 13 'iWc2.
13 ••• 'iVe7?!
The black game is inherently sound, despite the d5 lacuna. Keith, who
was disinterested in the as pawn at move 13, now went after what
proved to be, in this instance, the somewhat more poisoned bait.
16 liJe4!
18ltJxf6+!
154
Tricks and Traps
18••• ~h8?
Without a fight. Black was lost after IS ...gxf6 19 'iWxf6 :ae8 20 ttJh5
'iVe5 21 'ii'h6 threatening 22 ttJf6+. 21 ...~hS 22 ttJf6 ~f5 23 ttJxe8
Ib:e8 24 'iVxb6, or 21 ...:e6 22 ~xe6 fxe6 and White may keep the
kettle boiling with 23 f4! 'iWxb2 24 :tab I be3 + 25 ~h I 'it'c3 26 :f3
with winning threats. Alternatively, there is a route to being a pawn
ahead with 21 'it'xb6 'iVxh5 22 ~f3 (22 ...ttJc4 23 'it'b4).
20••JUd8 21 ttJcS
Hodgson, who retired from active play in 2004, had a truly unique
style.
1-0
155
Tricks and Traps
Black's centre is split in half after 3... dxe4 4 d5. It is also awkward for
him that the knight on bS is denied the natural c6 square. Here is a
highly tactical game in which Black tried to solve his poSitional
problems by launching a quick counterattack against b2.
E.Lobron White
A.Nadanian Black
European Championship, Saint Vincent 2000
I d4 dS 1 i.gS cS 3 e4!?
3 ...dxe4
Many other ideas have been seen. 3... cxdo4?! 4 'ifxdo4 accelerates
White's development and is almost certainly advantageous for him.
3... h6 4 i.fo4 cxdo4 5 'ifxdo44:Jc6 6 i.b5 'ifaS+ 74:Jc3 'ifxb5 S4Jxb5
4Jxdo4 9 4:Jxdo4 g5 10 i.g3 was good for White in Hodgson-Dlugy from
a 1995 Blitz event in Las Vegas.
4 dS
156
Tricks and Traps
4.. Ji"6 !?
7•..~
157
Tricks and Traps
12•..0-0-0?!
20•.•lbfd7 21 'ii'b5
158
Tricks and Traps
21 ...ttJxa4
22 'iVxa4 'iVxf4 23 g3
23 •••'iVh6?
A weak defence in time trouble. Toughest was 23 ... 'ii'f6 with best play.
Perhaps then 24 l:tbl lbb6 25 :as+ tbxaS 26 'iVxa8+ 'it>d7 27 'ilxh8
when Black would have to cope with the threat of the rook's
incursion with 27... l:tb6 and then 28lhb6 'ilxb6 29 'iVxg7leaves
White clearly better in the queen ending.
24 l:tbl?
24•••'it>d8?
159
Tricks and Traps
27•••l:te6 28 fxe3 g5
Or 28 .. Jlxe3 29 'iWh4+!
I.Sokolov White
L.On Black
Parnu 1996
If this line is seen in the future, then I imagine that here it would be
7...a6 or 7...•a5 that is tried.
8 i.h6
160
Tricks and Traps
8 ....b:h6
8... 0-0 looks very dodgy after 9 h4. but was probably preferable.
Bringing the queen to h6 prevents himself castling to any kind of
safety. and the whole thing comes down like a pack of cards with
frightening rapidity.
12•••dS
161
Tricks and Traps
16 l%dS+
J.Hodgson White
I.Sokolov Black
Groningen 1996
I d4 dS 2 .i.gS cS 3 dxcS f6
4.th4 eS
162
Tricks and Traps
Se4
S•••~e6
A new move, but I am not sure that it is stronger than S... d4, when
6 ~c4 ~xcS 7 ttJe2 'ii'b6 S ttJd2 ~e6 was equal in Mohrlok-Beikert,
Belgium 1993. Fans of H.G.Welis would appreciate why we would not
wish to see a match between the player of the white pieces in that
game and French GM Relange, whose first name is Eloi. S... dxe4
6 'iixdS+ 'it'xdS 7 ttJc3 bcS S 0-0-0+ ttJd7 9 ttJxe4 ~e7 was how
Hodgson-Van Wely, Horgen 1995 began. Julian then enlivened it with
10 f4 exf4 I I ttJf3 ~c7 12 ttJc3 ttJb6 13 a4 ~b4 14 as ~xa5
IS ttJbS + and he eventually won, although there were many
unexplored branches already even by that point in the game.
8 ...~e6
163
Tricks and Traps
9 tDbS ttJa6
On 9...~d7 10 tDd6!.
IOf4
Very Hodgson, but for the more restrained amongst you, please note
that 10 tDd6+ iLxd6 I I cxd6 tDb4 12 0-0-0 also looks very strong.
The active position of all White's pieces plus the terrible knight on a6
guarantee a clear advantage for Hodgson.
14 tDxeS tDe4
Ivan lost a pawn, and his only chance now is activisation of his pieces.
164
Tricks and Traps
15 ttJd4
15•••it.xa2!
An alert grab!
Nominal material equality, but White has the better pieces and pawns
plus the threat of trapping the bishop with b2-b3.
22 b4! lic7 23 'ittb2 it.e6 24 c4± :f8 25 'ittc3 it.c8 26 :ed I :e7
27 ttJc6 ':'c7 28 ttJa5
Often also a good middlegame square for a knight when White has
such play with his queenside pawns.
Sokolov tries to stay active whilst fighting the c-pawn, but 33 ...it.e6
may have been better there.
34 ttJc4
165
Tricks and Traps
34....tf5?!
35 ttJe3 :e7
36 l::tdd2
The fork and the pawn mean that Black is now over the edge.
36•••%:tbl +
1-0
In the next game Black eschews the f7 -f6 plan in favour of piece play
which begins with 3 ... ttJc6 and culminates in a tactical slugfest. Two of
the world's more creative Grandmasters clash, so it was bound to be
an interesting opening.
166
Tricks and Traps
J.Hodgson White
T.Hillarp Persson Black
Vikings Grandmasters, York 2000
Not pushing his luck with 7... 'ilfxd 1+ 8 l:xd I f5 to drown out the
bishop, as then White might have, for example, 9 .tc4!? f4 10 ltJbS,
etc.
167
Tricks and Traps
19 'iVe3
23 h4!
Timman once observed that only the greatest players were able to
defend an inferior or even lost game whilst also keeping in mind the
possibility of playing for a win. He mentioned Fischer, Karpov and
Korchnoi as rare exemplars of this. I do not suggest that Mr
J.M.Hodgson was ever of that stature, but I do believe that
throughout all of his clever defensive footwork in this game he had in
mind the prospect of going on to the front foot if Black overstepped.
29•••eS 30 'iVf5!
Why not? 30 'iVxh6 led to a drawn ending, but he keeps the game
alive.
168
Tricks and Traps
30... e4?
30... 'iIi'g6.
The tide turns! It transpires that it is now the self-exposed black king
who is the worse off.
37 'ili'eS mate
We have already seen the f7-f6 idea in conjunction with 2... cS, and
2.. .f6 can possibly transpose to these lines. It may look ugly, but Black
intends to construct a pawn centre with e7-eS, and 2 .. .f6 is a useful
building block. The pawn move also facilitates e7-eS in a secondary
way by breaking the pin on the e7 square. As it comes with gain of
time by hitting the white bishop, it is no Patzer move. There is,
however, a drawback: the knight on g8 is disgruntled at finding itself
deprived of its natural square on f6. Indeed, it is hard to think of a
Queen Pawn Opening in which the knight doesn't almost
automatically land on f6.
169
Tricks and Traps
Here Black normally decides to develop the horse via h6 and f5 which
leads to a highly interesting struggle. As you can see from the notes to
the illustrative game, some very highly powered players have taken
this route as Black.
J.Hodgson White
J.Shaw Black
East Kilbride Open 1996
4 e3
4 •••tiJf5
S ..tg3
170
Tricks and Traps
5 ••.g6
The only way out, but I personally find it unconVincing. IO ... dxe4
II iLci ~e7. When this position arose in the game Adams-Van Wely
from a Hoogovens Blitz tournament of 1998, Luke preferred I 1... c6
12 iLg4 ~c7, and after many adventures and many errors it all ended
in a draw. Like many great players, Adams is also lucky. To return to
171
Tricks and Traps
23 liJhxg5! Smashing his way in. 23 .. .fxg5 24 1Wg4 J.e7 25 J.xg5 <j;;f8
26 J.xe7 + liJcxe7 27 "g5. Black may not defend against these
incursions. 27 ...:h6 2S g4!. Decisive. White opens up the f-line.
2S ... hxg3 29 fxg3 l4xh5 Desperation. 30 'iWxh5 J.c6 3 I liJg5 ~g7
32 'it'h7+ ~6 33 h4! ..teS. Or 33 ...:18 34 :ael wins. 34liJe4 mate.
6c4 e6
6 ... liJxg3 7 hxg3 c6 SliJc3 ..tg7 9 J.d3 would have, believe it or not,
transposed into a game from the 1935 World Championship match
172
Tricks and Traps
9 .••c6
9 ... ~f8!? . Now Hodgson grabs a pawn and Shaw never demonstrates
much for it.
173
Tricks and Traps
Material equality may have been restored, but the black structure is
ghastly. Shaw produces a trick to snaffle back an exchange, but White
still holds all the trumps.
1-0
174
Tricks and Traps
Although White won the game above with the statistically most
popular bishop retreat to h4, attention might be shifting to 3 i.f4. For
one thing, 3... lbh6? can now be answered by 4 i.xh6 wrecking Black's
kingside pawn structure (yes, it is White's third bishop move in a row,
but such opportunities mustn't be missed!). Furthermore, the white
bishop might have some joy aiming in the other direction towards the
c7 square if Black is careless. Take a look at what happened to poor
Black in the next game and you will see what I mean.
I d4 dS 2 .tgS f6 3 .tf4 cS
4 e3
Both Hodgson and Torre have played 4 .txbS lhbS 5 lbc3 here.
4 ••• lbc6 S lbfJ 'iVb6
6lbc3!
175
Tricks and Traps
6•••e6?
7 ttJbS!
Straight in.
7 •••'ifaS+ 8 c3 ~ 9 .ic7!
9...b6
1-0
176
Tricks and Traps
J.Hodgson White
S.Dishman Black
4NCL British Team Championship 200 I
I d4 d5 2 .ltg5 f6 3 .ltf4
4 ••. .ltg4
Clearly there were lots and lots of alternative approaches for Black.
Mr Dishman sets his mind on a kind of Dutch.
S ttJe5
1I •••g5!
Inventive play. I 1... b6 and I 1... h6 were the more sober moves, but
Dishman takes his chance to undermine the white centre.
A unique player.
177
Tricks and Traps
14•••gxf4 15 liJxf4
15•••liJxf4?
Maybe the best chance, as h3 and g4 would come anyway, and that is
an unpleasant house guest.
1-0
178
Tricks and Traps
In the first example, Black decides he needs the help of c7-c6 after all
to safeguard d5, but arranging it disrupts the coordination of his
pieces.
E.Prie Black
O.Renet White
French Team Championship 2004
179
Tricks and Traps
Avoiding ttJeS.
110-0
11 •••ttJdS
12 .tes!? ..te6
Black has some problems finding natural squares for his men.
White has played skillfully and stands better. amongst other nice
options he has here is the Pillsbury plan of advancing his f-pawn.
17••• ttJd7 IS e4
18 f4!?
21 ttJg3!
180
Tricks and Traps
Off to f5, where Garry Kasparov was always telling me you ought to
send them.
This does not work out, but he was under gathering pressure, and
probably a bit frustrated at the little activity he had enjoyed so far in
this game.
With three healthy pawns for his knight and still dominant pieces,
White is going to win this game.
29 ••• ttJg7 30 ttJg6+ :xg6 31 i.xg6 ttJd7 32 l:.c3 ttJf6 33 'iWg3 'iWd7
34 %lce3 .i.d8 35 'iWf4 <J;;g8 36 'ifh6 <J;;fa 37 .i.e5
1-0
181
Tricks and Traps
J.Hodgson White
R.Baumhus Black
Bundesliga 200 I
182
Tricks and Traps
Somehow one can detect the authorship of Hodgson. even were the
identity of the player of the white pieces hidden. His playing style was
quaint and highly original.
183
Tricks and Traps
Activity holds the game for Black. His sleeping knights wake to cause
some mischief of their own.
A more aggressive approach than 3... c6, which figured in the What's
Hot? chapter.
We have come full circle, as this line is clearly related to the 2 ...c5
variation with which we started the chapter. The sharp position that
arises after 4 dxc5 'ii'aS + 5 lbc3 lbc6 needs investigation. It should be
compared with the similar situation that arose in Povah-Ledger in the
First Moves Chapter, but without the moves h7-h6/iLh4 thrown in.
184
Tricks and Traps
GoChepukaitis White
So.vanov Black
St Petersburg Championship 1999
• d4
One last genuflection to the master, with a game from his final years .
12.. oiLxc2!
185
Tricks and Traps
18 bxe3
Inexplicable. Classical rules say you never split pawns without good
reason. Chepukaitis' chances of realising the advantage of the pair of
bishops would have improved had he kept the pawns together. As it
was, he probed and stretched for fifty-five more moves before they
shook hands.
186
Tests
To help you to keep your tactical and strategical wits honed, here are
some Test Positions, each of which began life as I d4 dS 2 .tgS or, in
a few cases, as I d4 ttJf6 2.tgS.
B.Larsen - M.Bain
US Open, Boston 1970
White to play
187
Tests
Y.Jansa - Z.Ribli
Bucharest 1971
White to play
A turgid and blocked situation. How did Vlastimil Jansa bring it to life?
What is the best move here for White.
Y.Hort - H.Ree
Wijk aan Zee 1972
White to play
188
Tests
Y.Jansa - P.Ostojic
Vmjacka Banja 1973
White to play
Still very early in the game, and White is thinking about a plan. What is
his best option now?
C.Oepasquaie - S.Byme
Australian Championship, Melbourne 1991
White to play
Chris Depasquale hit upon an enterprising plan from here. What was
it?
189
Tests
M.Adams - A.Kovalev
Osten de Open 1991
White to play
J.Hodgson - A.Martin
British Championship, Plymouth 1992
White to play
Hodgson had played for initiative and Martin had made some very odd
decisions, including saddling himself with a weak cS square and putting
his queen bishop out in limbo. What is best play from here?
190
Tests
G.Chepukaitis - G.Tunik
St Petersburg Open 1994
Black to play
S.Drazic - S.Skembris
Cesenatico Open 2000
White to play
191
Tests
M.Adams - VAnand
PCNlntel-Grand Prix, London 1994
White to play
J.Hodgson - M.Petursson
Horgen 1994
White to play
Black's decision to play an earlier ... hS was inexplicable, when the safer
option of ... h6 existed. What is a good plan from White here?
192
Tests
A.Miles - W.Janocha
Cappelle la Grande 1995
White to play
Miles liked to play for small technical edges with White. How did he
continue here?
M.Adams - C.Lutz
Wijk aan Zee 1995
White to play
193
Tests
J.Degraeve - E.Neiman
French Championship, Narbonne 1997
White to play
Black has dithered a bit and White has progressed things on the
queenside. What should he play now?
White to play
Black thought his pawn sac had clogged White up due to a pin on the
h6-c I diagonal should he try to unscramble with 24 f4 gxf4 25 tiJxf4?
~h6. How did Fries-Nielsen demonstrate that this is inaccurate?
194
Tests
B.Larsen - B.Birk
Hedehusene Open, 1992
White to play
Black had lost a pawn on the queens ide early on. But with an
otherwise solid structure and opposite coloured bishops, his cause
was far from hopeless until he made an inaccurate twenty-third move.
How did Bent Larsen exploit it?
J.Hodgson - W.Huebner
San Bernardino Open 1989
White to play
The known idea of g4 but Hodgson gave playa quaint twist. How to
continue with White?
195
Tests
Z.Rahman - Shetty
Calcutta 1992
White to play
M.Adams - E.Sveshnikov
Tilburg 1992
White to play
196
Tests
J.Hodgson - J.Gokhaie
British Championship, Dundee 1993
White to play
White to play
197
Tests
MAdams - J.Lautier
Groningen 1995
White to play
198
Solutions
B.Larsen - M.Bain
us Open, Boston 1970
White to play
Larsen figured that the black knight is better here than her bishop, so
he swapped it off. 12 liJxd7 'ifxd7 13 ttJc4 Off to the eS outpost.
13 .••0-0-0!? 14 'ife I 'iie7 15 b4 Larsen in the, for him,
comparatively rare role of the middlegame attacker. 15 •••Jte8 16 a4
Carrying on the pawn storm whilst stopping ...JtbS. 16••.g5 The
counter demonstration is nothing like as effective. 17 ttJe5 gxf4
18 lbf4 :tg8 19 c4 'iig5 20 'iif2 Jth5 Always the problem child in
the Dutch Defence, here this bishop is not really outside of the pawn
chain so much; more stuck on the board's edge. 21 b5 :g7 22 ~h I
:dg8 23 1::[gl Coping with all of Black's stuff. 23 •••'iie7 24 c5
Grabbing space as well as prosecuting an attack. 24 ••.'iid8 25 'ilal
'iif6 26 as Jte8 27 c6 and White broke in and soon won.
199
Solutions
Y.Jansa - Z.Ribli
Bucharest 1971
White to play
200
Solutions
Y.Hort - H.Ree
Wijk aan Zee 1972
White to play
V1astimil Hort showed that the black queen is in trouble with 16 l:.b3!
Play continued 16•••'iVxa2 (16 ...'iVa4 17 tLlb I! threatening 18 l:.a3.
17... 'ii'xa2 18 tLlc I 'ii'a I 19 l:.a3 'iVb2 20 0-0 would transpose to the
game.) 17 tLlcl 'iIIal (17 ...'iVa4 18 tLlbl) 18 tLlbl! as A rescue
mission too late to help. 19 l:.al 'iVb2 20 0-0 and there is clearly no
way out. 20•••axb4 21 l:ta2 bxc3 22 l:txb2 cxb2 23 tLle2 and White
rounded up b2 and won the game.
Y.Jansa - P.Ostojic
Vmjacka Banja 1973
White to play
201
Solutions
C.Oepasquaie - S.Byrne
Australian Championship, Melbourne 1991
White to play
202
Solutions
M.Adams - A.Kovalev
Ostende Open 1991
White to play
Michael simply went 7 'ii'bS+ ttJc6 and then, not 8 'i!fxd5? ii.b4+,
nor 8 'i!fxb7 ttJb4 when he must cover c2 allowing Black at least a
draw with 9 .. Jitb8 and 10 ....l:r.a8. Instead he just played 8 ttJcl! and
there was no way for Black to avoid clear loss of a pawn for no
compensation.
J.Hodgson - A.Martin
British Championship, Plymouth 1992
White to play
203
Solutions
G.Chepukaitis - G.Tunik
St Petersburg Open 1994
Black to play
Tunik could have chosen to cover b7 with a rook, but after, say,
23 ...ttJbS 24 :fl and the trade of a pair of rooks, White would have
the unpleasant plan of placing his knight at as, the other at a4 or b6,
his king at c3 and then Black might always be vulnerable to the kind of
breakthrough sacrifices which we saw in the earlier game, Plaskett-
Petursson, Hastings 19S6-S7. He rightly preferred activity with
23 •••ttJxe5!? 24 dxe5 d4 when play went 25 ttJd I d3 26.tfl .te4
27 :tg I .txe5 This was the sort of thing he had in mind when
sacrificing the knight. He has two healthy pawns, the bishop pair, an
irritant passed pawn and all of the White men have been pushed back
to their lower ranks. 28 <t;d2 .td5 29 :tal 1:[fl Continuing in active
vein. 30 ttJc3 .txg3 31 ttJxd5 + l:txd5 32 <t;d I :ttl (3 I ....tf2!?)
33 ttJc I .tf4 34 l:txd3lhb2 35 l:txd5 cxd5 36 ttJd3 .l:th2 37 .l:tg2
:th I 38:ttl e5 and Black's healthy pawns and active pieces enabled
him to keep the balance and the game was agreed drawn at move
sixty-eight.
204
Solutions
S.Drazic White
S.Skembris Black
Cesenatico Open 2000
White to play
M.Adams - V.Anand
PCNlntel-Grand Prix. London 1994
White to play
205
Solutions
Mickey brought his superior minor piece into it with 23 e4 and after
23 •••lUf6 he played 24 exdS. If Black takes back with the pawn then
25 :te7 is very strong. so he preferred the knight recapture:
24••• ttJxdS Adams patiently built it up with 2S .l:.b2 rJitg7 26 'ife2
lId8 27 'ifeS+ rJitg8 28 .l:.eb I .l:.d7 29 .l:.b6! 'ife8 and. having
pushed his queen to a passive square. only now did he take the knight.
30 ~xdS lb:dS 31 'ii'e4 It turns out that the pressure on b7 is not to
be contained. as either 3 1•••l:r.b8 or 3 1•• J:ta7 is decisively met by
32 c6. Anand grovelled with 31 •••'iff8 32 .l:.xb7 .l:.ad8 when Adams.
rather than hanging on to d4. preferred to use his mobile c-pawn as a
cashable asset with 33 e6! .l:.xd4 34 'ii'e2 :d2 3S 'ife I lita2 36 e7
.l:.e8 37 .l:.b6 l::ta8 38 'iff4 and Anand resigned it.
1-0
J.Hodgson - M.Petursson
Horgen 1994
White to play
206
Solutions
A.Miles - W.Janocha
Cap pelle la Grande 1995
White to play
Miles went straight over to the attack with 23 'ifh5. Black played
23 •• J:tc7, perhaps reasoning that 23 ...iLxe5 24 dxe5 just allowed the
rook on c4 to swing straight over to the offensive. 24 'ifg5+ 'it>f8
25 f4! and the problems for the black defence were becoming acute.
25 .••'iib6? Better to have taken on e5 now, although after 26 dxe5 he
would have been unlikely to be able to hang on to his h-pawn. Miles
now topped things off efficiently. 26 'ifd8+ r:Jitg7 27 tiJd7! 'ifxb2
28 .g5+ r:Jith8 29 tiJf6 and, as 29 .. Jk8 allows 30 'ifh6, Black
resigned.
M.Adams - C.Lutz
Wijk aan Zee 1995
White to ploy
207
Solutions
Michael started opening things up with 26 e4! and Lutz had real
concerns about the security of his king. He sought complications with
26 •••b4 but Adams kept his cool and continued with moves which
nicely blended attack and defence. 27 ~xa6! bxc3 2S bxc3!
Not 2S ~xcS? cxd2 29 ~xd7 1:tc I + and Black wins. 2S •••.:.aS
29 ~bs 'iWd6 30 ~xeS Removing a key defender. 30••• tLlc4 31 'iWe2
:tea7 On 31 ... ~e8 White can continue to attack and defuse via
32 %:.xg7!. But neither is the text sufficient. 32 tLlc6+! ~eS
33 ttJxa7 'iWcs Adams now quickly put it all to sleep. 34 exds %ha7
35 dxe6! 'iWxgs 36 exf7+ ~ 37 'iWxc4+ ~ 3S 'iWb4+ ':'e7
39 1:th I Or 39 1:te I. 39 •••'i!?eS and Black resigned.
J.Degraeve - E.Neiman
French Championship. Narbonne 1997
White to play
20S
Solutions
21 Ji.c7 'ifd7 and White had more than one way to cash in,
preferring 22 l:tc I 'ifc8 23 'ifxc8 ttJxc8 24 Ji.xd8 hd8 25 ttJg5!
ttJd6 26 ttJxe6+ and 27 ttJxg7 with clear win of a pawn.
White to play
23 f4! gxf4 24 g5! and Black caught on that is he who gets done over
by just such a mirror image pinning. The game ended 24 •••'ifxg5
25 iLh3 ':'de8 26 liJxf4 iLh6 27 ttJxe6 'iff6 28 ttJg5 + and Black
resigned.
B.Larsen - B.Birk
Hedehusene Open 1992
White to play
209
Solutions
One of the greatest tournament players ever took his chance with
24 "e7! and f7 was indefensible. Play concluded 24•• :ifd5
25lbcS+ lbcS 26 ..txc4lhc4 27 bxc4 'ii'xc4 2S l:ta8+
and Black conceded. 1-0
J.Hodgson - W.Huebner
San Bernardino Open 1989
White to play
He sidestepped any headaches that his own king might have in the
event of long castling, and prepared the attack by going the other way
with 12 O-O!?, which still allowed rapid contact. The game continued
12•..tDb6 13 'it;h I ! 'ifd7 14 1:.g I ..tfB 15 g5 f5 16 tDh5 ..te7
17 tDf6+! ..txf6 IS gxf6 g6 19 dxc5 and White was going well.
19•••tDa4 20 'iff4 'it;hS 21 'ifh6 :gS 22 tDIJ and before the roof
formally caved in, Black resigned.
Z.Rahman - Shetty
Calcutta 1992
White to play
210
Solutions
MAdams - E.Sveshnikov
Tilburg 1992
White to play
211
Solutions
J.Hodgson - J.Gokhaie
British Championship, Dundee 1993
White to play
White to play
212
Solutions
M.Adams - J.Lautier
Groningen 1995
White to play
16 .i.xg6! fxg6 17 .i.h2 left White with his preserved and excellent
bishop on the h2-bS diagonal, the e5 outpost and pressure. After
17•• ifB 18 ttJe5 'iff6 19 .l:te3! l:te6 20 ~f3 'ii'd8 21 g4 tiJf6
22 ttJxg6 won a clear pawn and then the game.
213
Details
These are the subject of the 'What's Hot' Chapter. The main division is
whether White plays 4 tt:Jf3 or 4 e3
And now:
5 tt:Jbd2 76, 79
5 'ii'c I
S ... .tfS 82, 84, 86, 91
S ... gS 95
214
Details
5 b3
5 ... tiJd7 108
5 ... ~f5 104, 106
5 'ii'c I
5 ... e5 123, 125, 129, 131, 133
5 ... ~f5 24, 112
5 b3
5 ... e5 115, 117, 121
5 ... ~f5 113
3 a3 140
3 c4 139
3 tiJf3 ~f5 4 c4 12, 143
215
Details
Note: the most popular line 3 ... cS 4 .i.xf6 gxf6 transposes to 3 .i.xf6
gxf6 4 e3 cS as directly above.
3 ... ~bd7 71
3 ... c6
4 .i.d3 66
4~d2
4 ... g665
4 ... cS 5 c3 60 [planning Stonewall. d I d4 ~f6 2 .i.gS e6 3 ~d2 dS 4 e3
.i.e7 5 .i.d3 63]
Other Variations
2 •.• 'ifd6 15
2 ••• cS
3 e4 dxe4 4 dS 14. 156. 160
3dxcS8.162.167
2 ••• f6
3 .i.f4 175. 177
3 .i.h4 26. , 70
2 ••. ~c6lel
3 ... f6 181
3 ... .i.fS 179
216
Before the Fight
Well, I hope that survey gives you a feeling for the many different
types of play which the Queen's Bishop Attack may generate, and has
also given you an appetite to try out I do4 d5 2 Jt.g5 for yourself.
There is still a lot of uncharted territory in those lines where Black
plays an early .. .f6, to nudge the bishop and probably prepare the way
for a central advance. But, as I say, to me .. .f6 is a definite weakener,
and, broadly speaking, aim for c2-co4 against it. In the lines where
Black has done a sturdy Slav stance with ... c6, positions of middlegame
solidity have tended to result. But we have still seen, in e.g. Povah-
Frostick and Plaskett-Petursson, some nice positional victories based
upon White's space gain with co4-c5. In the sharpest and longest
theoretical line we saw; I do4 d5 2 Jt.g5 h6 3 Jt.ho4 c6 4 4Jf3 'ii'b6
5 'ii'c I g5 6 Jt.g3 g4 7 4Je5 'ii'xdo4 8 co4, White's results have not been
bad. Remember that commencing your games with the White pieces
with I do4 means that you will also need a repertoire prepared against
the Pirc/Modem systems, with 1...g6, or I ... d6. You will need to know
how to confront those of your opponents who will try the Dutch,
1... f5 and the majority who will be playing 1...4Jf6. In each instance
you might do what so many others of the Jt.g5 mind have done, and
play it at move two there. The Trompowsky with I do4 4Jf6 2 Jt.g5
I have referred to many times throughout this volume, and we have
seen more than a few examples of direct transposition into lines also
stemming from that move order. There is nothing here about the
'Veresov Dutch', with I do4 f5 2 Jt.g5, but that is also a respected line
deployed by various strong GMs, e.g. the late Tony Miles. To 1...c5 the
recommended theoretical response used to be 2 dxc5 e6 3 4Jc3
217
Before the Fight
James Plaskett
Playa Flamenca, Espana 2005
218
Definitions of Symbols
+ check
++ double check
= equal game
good move
!! excellent move
?! dubious move
? weak move
?? blunder
219