[Annotator "Spraggett"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3
O-O 8.Be2 d6 9.O-O ( 9.h3$5 {<strong style="color: black;">will likely transpose</strong>}) Bd7
{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>This position, known by the theorists for about a century, is reached countless thousands of times each year in tournaments of all levels and time-controls. I personally have encountered it atleast a dozen times. Theory considers the line fully playable for Black.</strong></span></div>
}
10.h3$1 {[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>This is the move that I was talking about. Of course, it has been known for a very long time, but the idea played here is different. </strong></span></div>
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Over the past 50-odd years theory has concentrated on plans for White that include f3, cementing his e4 pawn. And in these 50-odd years a variety of fully playable plans have been developed for Black to neutralize White’s attempts at getting an initiative.</strong></span></div>
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong> The new idea for White is to protect his e-pawn (when it is attacked by an eventual …Bc6) with Qc2, allowing Rad1 and (very important) a later Bg4, which would be impossible with f3 already played.</strong></span></div>
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong> Combined with the possibility to play c5 or e5 (when opportune), Black surprisingly finds himself without a clear plan of development.</strong></span></div>
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 16pt;"><strong> The accepted theory has concentrated on two moves:</strong></span></div>
}
( {<strong style="color: red;">A:</strong>}10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bc6
12.f3 )
( {<strong style="color: red;">B:</strong>}10.Rc1 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bc6 12.f3 ) Nxd4{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>The usual plan for Black, which includes positioning the Bishop on c6, and then a5 and Nd7, trying to exchange the dark-square Bishop.</strong></span></div>
<div></div>
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 16pt;"><strong>But there are alternatives, and I suspect that Black will have to seriously consider them because in the game continuation Black suffers:</strong></span></div>
}
({<strong style="color: red;">A:</strong>} 10...a5$6 11.Ndb5 )
( {<strong style="color: red;">B:</strong>}10...a6$5 11.Qd2 ( 11.Nf3$5 Rc8 12.Rc1 Qa5 13.Nd2$14 ) Rc8
( 11...Nxd4 12.Bxd4 Bc6 13.Qe3 Nd7 ( 13...a5 14.Rad1 ) 14.Bxg7
Kxg7 15.b4 ) ( 11...b5 12.Bd3 {!?} ) 12.Rac1 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Bc6
14.Qe3 e5 15.Bb6 Qe7 16.b4 Rfe8 17.Rfd1 Qf8 18.g4 Nd7 19.b5 axb5
20.cxb5 Nxb6 21.Qxb6 Bd7 22.Qxb7 Be6 23.Nd5 Rb8 24.Qc7 f5 25.Rc6
fxe4 26.Qxd6 Qf7 27.Rc7 Bf8 28.Qc6 Bxd5 29.Rxd5 Qf4 30.Rdd7 {<strong style="color: red;">1-0, Yanofsky Daniel – Hebert J , Calgary 1975 Ch</strong> }
)
( {<strong style="color: red;">C:</strong>}10...Rc8$5 11.Qd2 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 Bc6 13.Qe3 b6 14.f4 e6 15.Bf3
Qe7 16.Qf2 Rfd8 17.Rad1 Ne8 18.Bxg7 Nxg7 19.b3 Qb7 20.Rd3 Rd7
21.Rfd1 Rcd8 22.Qh4 b5 23.cxb5 Bxb5 24.Rd4 Bc6 25.Kh2 Qb8 26.Qf6
Ne8 27.Qg5 f6 28.Qa5 Qc7 29.Qa3 Qb7 30.Rc4 f5 31.Qa5 Nf6 32.exf5
Bxf3 33.fxe6 Bxd1 34.exd7 Rxd7 35.Nxd1 d5 36.Rd4 {<strong style="color: red;">1-0, Najdorf M – Bass A , Quilmes 1980 Ch Argentina</strong> }
) 11.Bxd4 Bc6{[#]} 12.Qc2$1{[#]} a5 ({worse seems} 12...Nd7 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.b4$1
( 14.Rad1 a5 15.Bg4 ) ) 13.Rad1$1{[#]} Nd7{[#]}
( {<strong style="color: red;">A:</strong>}13...a4$6 14.c5 )
({<strong style="color: red;">B:</strong>} 13...Qc7$6 14.Nd5 Bxd5 ( 14...Nxd5 15.exd5 Bd7 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Rd4 )
15.exd5 ) 14.Bxg7 Kxg7{[#]} 15.Bg4$1{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Brilliant! And this is the KEY to the new plan started with 10.h3 White intends to take this Knight, leaving Black with a passive Bishop. The White Knight is known to dance circles around such a Bishop. I think it was first Botvinnik and later Korchnoi who played such an idea in their games. Typically, the theorists did not pay much attention to it!</strong></span></div>
} Nc5$6{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>This natural move is quickly shown to be inadequate, and Black will spend the rest of the game in pain and agony before throwing in the towel.</strong></span></div>
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong> There are alternatives, but it is not clear where Black should invest his attention:</strong></span></div>
}
( {<strong style="color: red;">A:</strong>}15...Ne5 {most frequently played, and also leaving White with a promising game} 16.c5 Nxg4
( 16...a4 17.Be2 Qa5 18.cxd6 exd6 19.Rxd6 a3 20.Rfd1 Qc5 21.R6d4
axb2 22.Qxb2 f6 23.a4 Rf7 24.Kh1 Rd7 25.Rxd7+ Nxd7 26.Bb5 Nb6
27.Bxc6 bxc6 28.f4 Ra7 29.e5 f5 30.Qb3 Qe3 31.Qb4 g5 32.Qd6 Rf7
33.fxg5 Qxg5 34.Qxc6 Qe3 35.a5 Na8 36.e6 Rc7 37.Rd7+ Kg6 38.Qxa8
{<strong style="color: red;">1-0, Vocaturo,D – Herraiz Hidalgo,H , 21/ 3/2015 TCh-CAT</strong> } )
17.hxg4 Qc8 ( 17...Qd7 18.cxd6 exd6 19.f3 Qe6 20.Rd4 Qe5 21.Qd2
h5 22.gxh5 Qxh5 23.Rxd6 Rh8 24.Qd4+ Kg8 25.Qf6 Qc5+ 26.Rd4 Re8
27.Rfd1 Re6 28.Qf4 Kg7 29.a3 b5 30.Ne2 Rf6 31.Qc1 Qb6 32.Qe3
Qc7 33.e5 Rf5 34.Rd6 Bxf3 35.gxf3 Qe7 36.f4 Rfh5 37.Ng3 Qh4 38.R1d2
Qg4 39.Rg2 {<strong style="color: red;">1-0, Anton Guijarro,D – Ruiz C,J , Linares 5th ch-Iberoamericano</strong> }
) 18.cxd6 exd6 ( 18...Qxg4 19.dxe7 Rfe8 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.Rxd5
( 21.Qc3+$5 Kg8 22.exd5 Rxe7 23.d6 ) Rxe7 22.Qc3+ Kg8 23.f3 Qe6
24.Rfd1 ) 19.f3 {With a small but lasting positional advantage.} )
( {<strong style="color: red;">B:</strong>}15...Nf6 16.c5! ( 16.e5 ) Nxg4 17.hxg4 Qc8
18.cxd6 exd6 19.f3 {is the last note} )
( {<strong style="color: red;">C:</strong>}15...Ra6 16.Rfe1 ( 16.Bxd7$5 ) Qb8
17.Bxd7 Bxd7 18.a4 Rc6 19.b3 Rc5 20.Nd5 e5 21.Qd2 Be6 22.Nc3
Rd8 23.Re3 b6 24.Rd3 Rc7 25.Rxd6 Rcd7 26.Rxd7 Rxd7 27.Qc2 Rxd1+
28.Qxd1 f5 29.exf5 gxf5 30.Qd2 h6 31.Nb5 Kg6 32.Qd3 Kf6 33.Qg3
Kf7 34.Qh4 Qf8 35.Nc7 Qc8 36.Qxh6 {<strong style="color: red;">1-0, Grandelius,N – Kollars,D , Karlsruhe GER 15/ 4/2017</strong> }
)
( {<strong style="color: red;">D:</strong>}15...f6 16.Bxd7 Qxd7 ( 16...Bxd7 ) 17.c5 )
({<strong style="color: red;">E:</strong>} 15...f5$6 16.exf5
h5 17.f6+ Nxf6 18.Be6 )
( {<strong style="color: red;">F:</strong>}15...b6$6 16.Bxd7 Qxd7 17.e5 )
16.e5!{[#]
<div class="custom_attn_box" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Effectively condemning Black to a cheerless future with no prospect of counterplay.. The Black d-pawn will need constant attention. The rest of the game is an excellent example of how a +2700 player exploits such a positional trump.</strong></span></div>
}
f5 {[#]} ( 16...Qc7 17.exd6 exd6 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.Rxd5 ) 17.Be2 Ne6 18.Rfe1{[#]}
Qc7 19.exd6 exd6 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.Rxd5 Nf4 22.Qc3+ Rf6 23.Rb5 Re8
24.Bf1{[#]} Rxe1 25.Qxe1 b6 26.Qe3 d5 27.c5 bxc5 28.Rxc5 Qd6 29.Rxa5
d4 30.Qd2 Qc7 31.b4 Ne6 32.Ra6 f4 33.b5 f3 34.b6 Qc6 35.Qb2 Qe4
36.b7 fxg2 37.Bxg2 Qe1+ 38.Kh2 Qe5+ 39.Kg1 Qe1+ 40.Bf1 Rf5 41.Qe2
Rg5+ 42.Kh1 Qb1 43.Rxe6 Qxb7+ 44.Qe4 Qb2 45.Re7+ Kh6 46.Qh4+
Rh5 47.Qf4+ Rg5{[#]} 48.h4 {<strong style="color: red;">1-0, Andreikin,D – Jones,G Reykjavik Open 2016</strong> }
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