[Event "Linares Anibal op 04th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Lalic, Bogdan"]
[Black "Khalifman, Alexander"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2585"]
[BlackElo "2650"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "1997.02.??"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.06.01"]

1. d4 1... Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 {Khalifman has been having excellent
results with the Volga gambit lately (see the games in this CBM!) As he has
certainly done some deep analysis in the main lines and believes in Black's
counterchances, with White he tends to play sidelines, also wth success.;
Khalifman,A-Leko,P/Ubeda (9) 1997/1-0} 4... a6 5. f3 e6 6. e4 exd5 7. e5 (7.
exd5 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Kf8 9. Nc3 axb5 10. Be3 10... c4 $1 11. Kf2 Ra5 12. g3 {
Bareev,E-Khalifman,A/RUS-ch/1995/} 12... Bb7 $1 $36 {Bareev}) 7... Qe7 8. Qe2
Ng8 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Nh3 10... c4 $5 {Since 1991, when it first appeared in
Hertneck's games, this move became Black's main alternative in this sharp line.
} 11. Be3 (11. Qf2 $6 $143 11... axb5 12. Nf4 Qxe5+ 13. Kd1 Nf6 14. Bxc4 bxc4
15. Re1 Ne4 16. Qb6 Bc6 17. Nfxd5 Bxd5 18. Nxe4 Be6 19. Qb7 19... Qa5 {
0-1, Lobron,E-Hertneck,G/Munich/1991/ This game started the popularity of 10...
c4!}) (11. Bg5 Qc5 12. O-O-O axb5 13. Be3 Qc6 14. Nf4 Ne7 15. a3 Na6 16. Nfxd5
Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Nc5 18. Bxc5 Bxc5 19. Qd2 O-O 20. Be2 Rfe8 21. f4 Qxd5 22. Qxd5
Bxd5 23. Rxd5 Be3+ 24. Kc2 Bxf4 25. Rxb5 c3 26. bxc3 26... Rxa3 $15 {
,Komljenovic,L-Wendt,R/2.BLO/1994/}) (11. b6 $5 11... Qc5 12. Be3 d4 13. Bf2 d3
14. Qe3 Qxe3+ (14... Qb4 $5) 15. Bxe3 Nc6 16. Nd5 O-O-O 17. f4 Nxe5 18. fxe5
Bxd5 19. Nf4 Bc6 20. Rc1 Re8 21. Rxc4 Rxe5 22. Kd2 Nf6 23. Bxd3 Ne4+ 24. Bxe4
Rxe4 25. Rxe4 Bxe4 26. Rc1+ 26... Bc6 $13 {
,Del Rey,D-Renteria,J/La Coruna op/1995/}) (11. Nf4 Qc5 12. a4 d4 13. bxa6 Nxa6
14. Ne4 Qb4+ 15. Kf2 d3 16. Qe3 Bc5 17. Nxc5 Nxc5 18. Nh5 Ne7 19. Nxg7+ Kd8 20.
Qe1 Qb6 21. Be3 Rg8 22. Nh5 Qxb2+ 23. Kg1 Qxe5 24. Ng3 f6 25. f4 Qd5 26. Qb4
Ne4 27. Bb6+ Ke8 28. Re1 28... f5 $17 {Adianto,U-Polgar,J/Jakarta m/1996/})
11... axb5 $1 {
Only this move can justify Black's idea. The alternatives are much weaker:} (
11... Qb4 12. b6 $1 12... Bc5 (12... Qa5 13. Qd2 Bb4 14. Rd1 Ne7 15. a3 Bxc3
16. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 17. bxc3 Nbc6 18. f4 Na5 19. Kf2 Bc6 20. Be2 Nb3 21. Bf3 O-O 22.
g4 Rab8 23. Rhe1 Rfd8 24. f5 $16 {Soffer,R-Belotti,B/Biel op/1992/}) 13. O-O-O
(13. Bxc5 $143 13... Qxc5 14. Qf2 d4 15. O-O-O Nc6 16. Ne4 Qxe5 17. Bxc4 Nge7
18. Rhe1 O-O 19. Kb1 Nf5 20. Nhg5 Ne3 21. Rxe3 dxe3 22. Qxe3 Na5 23. Qd3 Bxe4
24. Nxe4 Rab8 25. f4 Qxf4 26. Bd5 Rxb6 27. Qc3 Nc6 28. Nd6 28... Nb4 {
0-1,Neverov,V-Bukhman,E/St.Petersburg op/1994/}) 13... Qxb6 14. Bxc5 Qxc5 15.
Nf4 $5 (15. Qf2 Qxf2 16. Nxf2 Ne7 17. Ng4 Ra7 18. Ne3 Nbc6 19. Nexd5 Nxe5 20.
Nb6 N7g6 21. Nxc4 Kd8 22. Nd6 Bc6 23. Rd4 Kc7 24. Be2 Nf4 25. Rxf4 Kxd6 26.
Rd1+ Ke6 27. Rfd4 $36 {Volke,K-Hertneck,G/BL/1991/}) 15... Ne7 16. Qd2 d4 17.
Qxd4 Qxd4 18. Rxd4 Nbc6 19. Rxc4 Nxe5 20. Rb4 Bc6 21. Bxa6 O-O 22. Re1 f6 23.
Bf1 Rfc8 24. Kb1 $16 {Zoler,D-Mencinger,V/Groningen op/1994/}) (11... Qd8 12.
O-O-O (12. b6 $1 $16) 12... axb5 13. Nf4 Ne7 14. Qf2 Qa5 15. Bb6 Qa6 16. Bc5
Bc6 17. g4 Qb7 18. Qd4 Na6 19. Bd6 Nc7 20. Bxc7 Qxc7 21. Nfxd5 Nxd5 22. Nxd5
Qa7 23. Qxa7 Rxa7 24. a3 b4 25. Bxc4 bxa3 26. bxa3 Bxa3+ 27. Kd2 27... O-O $11
{Zabala,A-Gomez Jurado,L/ESP-ch Linares/1993/}) (11... Qxe5 12. O-O-O Nf6 13.
Qd2 Bb4 14. Bf4 Qf5 15. g4 Qg6 16. Qe3+ Be7 17. Qb6 Bc8 18. Bxb8 O-O 19. Bg3
axb5 20. Nf4 Qh6 21. h4 Nxg4 22. Ncxd5 Qxb6 23. Nxb6 $18 {
Bernard,C-Parant,F/Le Touquet op/1993/}) 12. O-O-O (12. Nf4 12... Qxe5 $1 (
12... Qb4 13. Kf2 Ne7 14. Rd1 Na6 15. g3 Qa5 16. Bh3 Bc6 17. Nfxd5 Nxd5 18.
Nxd5 Bc5 19. Kg2 O-O 20. a3 Rfe8 21. Bd2 Qd8 22. Bc3 Nc7 23. Nxc7 Qxc7 24. Qd2
Re7 25. Rhe1 Rae8 26. Bf5 $14 {Ivanov,S-Sivokho,S/St.Petersburg-ch/1996/}) 13.
O-O-O Ne7 14. Qd2 b4 15. Ncxd5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 16... c3 $1 17. bxc3 Bxd5 18. Qxd5
Qxe3+ 19. Kb1 Ra7 20. Bc4 Kd8 21. cxb4 Bxb4 22. Qb5 Na6 23. Rd5 23... Re8 $19 {
Shipov,S-Ivanov,V/RUS-ch Elista/1994/}) (12. Nxb5 $6 $143 12... Qb4+ 13. Nc3
13... Ne7 $1 (13... Bc5 14. O-O-O Ne7 15. Nf4 O-O 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Qd2 Ra5 18.
Nh5 Re8 19. Kb1 Qb6 20. g4 20... Ng6 $36 {
Sakalauskas,V-Buchman,E/Siauliai/1995/}) 14. a3 Qa5 15. Qf2 Ra6 16. Qd2 Nf5 17.
Bf2 Bc5 18. Rd1 Bxf2+ 19. Nxf2 O-O 20. Ne2 Qc7 21. Qf4 Ne7 22. Ng4 Ng6 23. Qg3
d6 24. exd6 Rxd6 25. Nd4 f5 26. Nf2 Nc6 27. Be2 Nxd4 28. Rxd4 f4 29. Qg5 Re8
30. Ng4 Rde6 31. Rd2 c3 32. bxc3 32... Qxc3 {
0-1,Ivanov,S-Khalifman,A/St.Petersburg-ch/1997/}) 12... Qb4 {
Again Black chooses the only playable move, as the practical examples show.} (
12... Qxe5 $2 $143 13. f4 Qe7 14. Rxd5 $1 14... d6 15. Rxb5 Nf6 16. Qd2 d5 17.
Bxc4 dxc4 18. Bc5 Qd7 19. Qe3+ Qe6 20. Rxb7 Qxe3+ 21. Bxe3 Nbd7 22. Kb1 O-O-O
23. Ra7 Ng4 24. Bd4 Nb8 25. Nb5 Rd7 26. Rc1 $18 {
Dlugy,M-Alburt,L/USA-ch m/1991/}) (12... b4 13. Nb5 Qxe5 14. Re1 d6 15. Nc7+
Kd7 16. Nxa8 Bxa8 17. Qd1 Bc6 18. Bg5 Qf5 19. g4 Qg6 20. Qd4 f6 21. Be3 Nh6 22.
Nf4 Qf7 23. g5 fxg5 24. Bh3+ g4 25. Ng6 {1-0, Lobron,E-Kuntz,P/Cannes op/1992/}
) (12... Qd8 13. Nf4 Ne7 14. Nxb5 Ng6 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Rxd5 Rxa2 17. Kb1 Ra8
18. Qf2 Na6 19. Bxc4 Be7 20. Nd6+ Bxd6 21. Rxd6 Nb4 22. Bb6 Qg5 23. Re1 O-O 24.
Qc5 Na6 25. Qe3 Qxg2 26. Rxd7 Qxh2 27. e6 $40 {
Pecorelli Garcia,H-Matamoros,C/Capablanca mem-B/1994/}) 13. Nf4 ({The idea of
the Q-sacrifice is not new, it appeared for the first time in the following
game:} 13. Rxd5 13... Qxc3+ $1 14. bxc3 Bxd5 15. Nf4 Ba3+ 16. Kb1 Ne7 17. Qd2
Be6 18. Nh5 Rg8 19. Nf4 Nbc6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. f4 Kf7 22. Be2 Nd5 23. Bf3 Nce7
24. f5 Rgb8 25. fxe6+ dxe6 26. Rf1 Kg8 27. Ka1 27... b4 $40 {
Klein,E-Waitzkin,J/USA-chJ New York+/1993/}) 13... Ne7 14. Bb6 $5 { Rd5} (14.
g3 Qa5 15. Qd2 b4 16. Ncxd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 c3 18. bxc3 bxc3 19. Qxc3 Ba3+ 20.
Kc2 Bxd5 21. Rxd5 Qxd5 22. Qc8+ Ke7 23. Bg5+ f6 24. exf6+ gxf6 25. Bxf6+ Kxf6
26. Qxh8+ Ke7 27. Qxh7+ Kd8 28. Qh8+ Kc7 29. Qc3+ 29... Nc6 $17 {
Wagner,C-Solozhenkin,E/St.Petersburg-Paris/1996/}) (14. Rxd5 Nxd5 (14... Qxc3+
$5 15. bxc3 15... Nxd5 $44) 15. Nfxd5 Bxd5 16. Nxd5 Qa5 17. Bb6 Qxa2 18. Nc7+ (
18. Nf6+ 18... Ke7 $11) 18... Ke7 19. Nd5+ $11) 14... h5 $5 $146 {
Rh6 A new move, which practically forces White to act.} (14... g6 15. Rxd5
Qxc3+ (15... Nxd5 16. Nfxd5 Bh6+ 17. Kb1 Bxd5 18. Nxd5 Qa4 19. Nc7+ Ke7 20.
Bc5+ Kd8 21. Nxa8 Qxa8 22. g3 Qd5 23. Bb6+ Kc8 24. Bg2 Re8 25. f4 Qe6 26. Qf2
Bf8 27. Rc1 Nc6 28. a4 Qf5+ 29. Qc2 $16 {Mincsovics,M-Masat,A/HUN-chT2/1993/})
16. bxc3 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Kb1 Nc6 19. Qe3 Be7 20. Bc5 O-O 21. Bxe7 Nxe7
22. Qc5 Rfe8 23. a3 Bc6 24. Kb2 Nd5 25. Qd4 Re6 26. h4 h5 27. f4 d6 28. Rg1
dxe5 29. fxe5 Rae8 30. g4 Rxe5 31. gxh5 Rxh5 32. Rg5 $1 $14 {
Miniboeck,G-Danailov,S/Vienna op/1996/}) (14... Ra6 $2 15. Bc7 $40) 15. Rxd5
15... Qxc3+ $1 {Forced, but strong anyway.} 16. bxc3 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Qd2
{Black's 14-th move not only stops possible   expansion (g4), but enables in
favorable circumstances a Rh6-a6 maneuver to strengthen the attack.} ({
Anyway, analoguous to the Miniboeck-Danailov game, White probably should have
tried} 18. Kb1 $5 18... Nc6 $142 (18... Rh6 19. Qe3 (19. Be3 19... Rha6 $40)
19... b4 20. cxb4 (20. Bc5 20... Rha6 $5 $40) 20... c3 21. Qxc3 $1 21... Rc6
22. Bc5 $14) 19. Qe3 19... b4 $44) 18... Be6 19. Be2 $2 {But this is
definitely a mistake, after which Black starts a strong sacrificial attack.} ({
Critical for the evaluation of Black's new idea was} 19. Bc7 $5 $142 19... Nc6
20. Bd6 Bxd6 21. exd6 21... O-O $44) 19... Nc6 20. f4 (20. Bc7 b4 21. Bd6 21...
b3 $1 $19) 20... b4 $40 21. f5 (21. cxb4 21... Nxb4 $19 { Ra2,c3!}) 21... bxc3
22. Qxc3 22... Ra3 $1 (22... Bxf5 23. Bxc4 $13) 23. Qb2 (23. Qc2 Nb4 24. Qe4
Bd5 25. Qd4 Nxa2+ 26. Kb1 (26. Kb2 c3+ 27. Kb1 27... Nb4 $19) 26... Be4+ $1 27.
Ka1 Nc3+ 28. Kb2 28... Ra2+ $1 29. Kxc3 Rc2#) (23. Qa1 Bxf5 (23... Bd5 24. Rd1
24... Nb4 $17) 24. Bxc4 24... Bb4 $1 { Qa1, Rc3,Bc3}) 23... c3 24. Qb5 {
Now Black winds up his attack with a nice tactical finish.} (24. Qc2 24... Nb4
$19) (24. Qb1 Bxa2 25. Qe4 25... Bb3 $19) 24... Bxf5 25. Rf1 25... Rxa2 $1 26.
Rxf5 26... Nb4 { Ra1#} 27. Qa5 (27. Bd3 $8 27... Ra1+ 28. Bb1 c2 (28... g6 $2
29. Be3 $1 $18) 29. Qxb4 Bxb4 30. Kxc2 30... Rh6 $19 {
with a technically won endgame. Now White loses at once.}) 27... g6 $1 { Bh6} (
27... Rxa5 28. Bxa5 28... g6 $19) 0-1

[Event "Ciocaltea Memorial"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Notkin, Maksim"]
[Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2515"]
[BlackElo "2545"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "1997.03.??"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.09.29"]

1. d4 {Milu,R} 1... Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. f3 e6 6. e4 6... c4 $5
{Today the topical theoretical struggle concentrates on the line} (6... exd5 7.
e5 Qe7 8. Qe2 Ng8 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Nh3 10... c4 $5 {Black's 6-th move is played
very rarely. It's idea is to disturb White's K in the center with Bc5,
regardless of the sacrificed pawn or pawns.}) 7. Nc3 ({
The most obvious and testing alternative is accepting the gambit with} 7. Bxc4
$5 7... axb5 $5 (7... Bc5 8. Nc3 (8. dxe6 fxe6 9. Nc3 axb5 (9... O-O 10. Bg5
axb5 11. Bxb5 Qb6 12. Nh3 Nc6 13. Bxc6 dxc6 14. Qc2 e5 15. Nf2 Ba6 16. Ncd1 Kh8
17. Rc1 Nd7 18. Ng4 Bb4+ 19. Nc3 Nc5 20. Nf2 Ne6 21. Bd2 Rad8 22. a3 Bc5 23.
Ncd1 Qb5 24. Nc3 24... Qc4 $40 {Wikstrom,P-Malmstig,E/Borlange SWE-chJ/1995/})
10. Bxb5 O-O 11. Nh3 d5 12. e5 Nfd7 13. Qe2 Qh4+ 14. Kf1 Rf5 15. Bg5 Rxg5 16.
Nxg5 Qxg5 17. Re1 Bd4 18. Nxd5 exd5 19. e6 Ne5 20. e7 Qxe7 21. Rd1 Qc5 22. b4
Qxb4 23. f4 23... Bg4 {0-1,Strating,S-Blees,A/NLD-ch op/1994/}) (8. Ne2 Qb6 9.
Nbc3 axb5 10. Bb3 O-O 11. Bg5 Ne8 (11... Bb7 12. Qd2 Ne8 13. Nc1 f6 14. Bh4 Kh8
15. Bf2 e5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Qf2 Qxf2+ 18. Kxf2 Nd6 19. Nd3 Na6 20. Rhc1 Rfc8
21. Nd1 Nc4 22. Ne3 $16 {Sheldon,R-Rodriguez,A/Cala Galdana WChJWU-16/1996/}) (
11... b4 $5 12. Na4 Rxa4 13. Bxa4 exd5 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Qxd5 Qxb2 16. Rc1 d6
17. Rc2 Qa1+ 18. Rc1 Qb2 19. Rc2 19... Qa1+ {
,Hoffman,A-Alvarez Ibarra,D/Elgoibar/1996/}) 12. Qd2 Bf2+ 13. Kf1 Bc5 14. Nd1
Na6 15. Be3 d6 16. g3 e5 17. Kg2 f5 18. Bc2 fxe4 19. Bxe4 Nf6 20. Nec3 Ra7 21.
Bd3 $14 { ,Shipov,S-Nesterov,J/Moscow2/1994/}) 8... axb5 9. Bxb5 Qb6 10. Nge2
O-O 11. Bg5 (11. Kf1 Bb7 12. Bc4 Na6 13. g3 Rfc8 14. Kg2 Bb4 15. b3 Nc7 16. Qd3
exd5 17. exd5 Ra5 18. Be3 Qd6 19. Ne4 Nxe4 20. fxe4 Re8 21. Bf4 $16 {
,Law,A-Ledger,S/4NCL9697/1996/}) 11... Na6 12. Qd2 Nc7 13. Bc4 Bb7 14. d6 Bxd6
15. Be3 Bc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Qd4 Qa5 18. O-O d5 19. e5 Nd7 20. Bd3 Rfb8 21. b4
Qa7 22. f4 Ba6 23. Bxa6 Nxa6 24. Qxa7 Rxa7 25. a3 $16 {
Solodovnichenko-Sergeev,V/SVK-ch/1997/
}) (7... Bc5 {Milu,R}) 8. Bb3 (8. Bxb5
$5 8... Qa5+ 9. Nc3 Bb4 10. Qd3 10... Na6 $13) 8... Bc5 9. Ne2 O-O 10. Nbc3 (
10. Bg5 d6 11. Nbc3 h6 12. Bh4 b4 13. Na4 Ba7 14. dxe6 fxe6 15. Nd4 g5 16. Nxe6
Bxe6 17. Bxe6+ Kg7 18. Bg3 Nc6 19. Bd5 Rc8 20. Bf2 Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Qa5 22. h3
Ne5 23. Kg3 Qa7 24. Rf1 Qe3 25. Kh2 Qf4+ 26. Kg1 Qe3+ 27. Kh2 {
,Tosic,M-Phominyh,A/Alushta3/1993/}) 10... b4 11. Na4 Rxa4 12. Bxa4 exd5 13. e5
Re8 14. Bb5 (14. Bf4 $16 $142) 14... Qb6 15. Bd3 Rxe5 16. Bf4 Re8 17. Qc2 Nc6
18. Rc1 Ba6 19. Kd1 Be3 20. Bxa6 Bxc1 21. Nxc1 Qxa6 22. Re1 Rxe1+ 23. Kxe1 Qb6
24. Kf1 24... h6 $15 {Rabelo Gil,E-Alvarez Ibarra,D/Capablanca mem-B/1995/}) (
7. dxe6 fxe6 8. Nc3 Qb6 9. e5 Nd5 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Qxd5 Bb4+ 12. Bd2 Bb7 13.
Qxc4 Qe3+ 14. Qe2 Bxd2+ 15. Kd1 Qxe2+ 16. Nxe2 Be3 17. bxa6 17... Nxa6 $17 {
Haslinger,M-Kucypera,A/EU-chJW16 Zagan/1995/}) 7... axb5 (7... Bc5 8. Na4 Bxg1
9. Rxg1 axb5 10. Nc3 Qb6 11. Ne2 Ba6 12. Qd4 Qxd4 13. Nxd4 exd5 14. e5 Ng8 15.
Nf5 Ne7 16. Nxg7+ Kd8 17. Bg5 Rg8 18. Bf6 Nbc6 19. Nf5 b4 20. O-O-O c3 21. Bxa6
Rxa6 22. Kb1 Ra5 23. Rd3 Rc5 24. g4 $16 {
Miton,K-Sheider,D/Cala Galdana WChJU-12/1996/}) 8. Be3 $146 {White doesn't
accept the offered pawn and still doesn't solve the problem of his K and
harmonious development.} (8. dxe6 $6 8... fxe6 { } 9. e5 b4 10. Nb5 Nd5 11. Qd4
Nc6 12. Qe4 b3 13. a4 Ncb4 14. Na3 Rxa4 15. Bxc4 Rxa3 16. Rxa3 Nc2+ 17. Kf1
Nxa3 18. bxa3 Qb6 19. Bb2 Ne3+ 20. Ke1 Qa5+ 21. Kf2 21... Nd1+ {
0-1,Gonzalez Garcia,J-Fogarasi,T/Budapest Elekes/1995/}) ({More consistent is}
8. Nxb5 $5 $142 8... Ba6 9. Nc3 Bc5 10. Nh3 O-O 11. Bg5 Qb6 12. Qd2 Qb4 13.
Bxf6 gxf6 14. Nf4 Kh8 15. Nh5 Rg8 16. Nxf6 Rg6 17. e5 d6 18. a3 Qa5 19. Nfe4
Nd7 20. exd6 e5 21. g3 Bd4 22. Bh3 Bc8 23. Bf5 $16 {
Notkin,M-Nesterov,J/Moscow2/1994/}) 8... Bb4 9. Kf2 O-O (9... Qa5 $5 10. Bd4
10... Bb7 $132) 10. Nge2 (10. Nxb5 $5 10... exd5 11. e5 11... Re8 $5 (11... Qa5
12. a4) 12. exf6 12... Rxe3 $5 13. Kxe3 Qb6+ 14. Nd4 14... Nc6 $44) 10... d6
11. a3 (11. Nxb5 exd5 12. exd5 12... Ba6 $44) 11... Ba5 $5 (11... Qa5 12. Rc1
Bxc3 13. Nxc3 b4 14. axb4 14... Qxb4 $11) 12. b4 {Now White wisely resists the
temptation and doesn't open the position in the center} 12... cxb3 (12... Bb6
$143 13. Bxb6 Qxb6+ 14. Qd4 $1 $36 { b5}) 13. Qxb3 13... Na6 $1 (13... exd5 14.
Nxd5 Be6 15. Nef4 $14) 14. Rd1 (14. Qxb5 Nc7 15. Qc6 exd5 16. exd5 16... Rb8
$36) 14... Bb6 (14... b4 $5 $142 15. axb4 Nxb4 16. dxe6 16... Bxe6 $36 { Kf2})
15. Nd4 15... e5 {A strange decision, Black should try to open the position up
and get at White's K.} (15... Nc5 $5 16. Qb2 exd5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Na4
19. Qb3 Bd7 20. Bxb5 Bxb5 21. Nxb5 21... Re8 $44) 16. Nc2 $1 (16. Ndxb5 16...
Ng4+ $1 17. fxg4 Qf6+ 18. Ke1 18... Bxe3 $17) 16... Nc5 17. Qb2 (17. Qxb5 Rb8
18. Qe2 18... Nh5 $5 $13 { f5}) 17... Nh5 $1 (17... Na4 18. Nxa4 Bxe3+ 19. Nxe3
bxa4 20. Bd3 $16 { a4,d6, b,c gives White full control of the   and Black has
no effective counterplay. So he decides to sacrifice a pawn and create threats.
}) 18. Bxb5 f5 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Rhe1 (20. Nb4 Qh4+ 21. g3 Qf6 22. Kg2 22...
Be4 $1 $40) (20. g3 $14 $142 {Milu,R}) 20... Nf4 $2 (20... Bxc2 $5 21. Qxc2
21... Rxa3 { Rc3!,Ne4} 22. Kg1 22... Nb3 $15) 21. Kg1 (21. Nb4 $5 $14) 21...
Rf6 (21... Bxc2 $142 22. Qxc2 22... Rxa3 $14) 22. Bf1 (22. Kh1 $1 22... Bxc2
23. Qxc2 Rxa3 24. Ra1 $36) 22... Rh6 23. Nb4 (23. g3 $5 23... Nh3+ 24. Kg2 $16)
23... Qg5 $1 24. Nc6 $2 {White underestimates Black's tactical possibilities.}
(24. g3 $8 24... Na4 25. Qd2 $8 (25. Nxa4 Bxe3+ 26. Rxe3 Nh3+ 27. Bxh3 27...
Qxe3+ $19) 25... Bxe3+ 26. Qxe3 $16) 24... Na4 $1 25. Qd2 (25. Nxa4 Bxe3+ 26.
Rxe3 (26. Kh1 Rxh2+ 27. Kxh2 Qh4#) 26... Nh3+ 27. Kh1 Qxe3 28. gxh3 28... Qxf3+
$19) 25... Nxc3 (25... Bxe3+ $2 26. Rxe3 Nxc3 27. Rxc3 $14) 26. Bxb6 $8 (26.
Qxc3 Bxe3+ (26... Nh3+ {Milu,R} 27. Kh1 Nf2+ 28. Bxf2 Bxf2 29. Re2 $2 29...
Rxh2+ 30. Kxh2 Qh4#) 27. Qxe3 Nh3+ 28. Kh1 Qxe3 29. Rxe3 29... Nf2+ $19) 26...
Nxd1 27. Rxd1 27... Rxa3 $17 28. Qb2 Ra8 (28... Rxf3 $6 $143 29. Ne7+ $1 $17)
29. g3 Nh3+ 30. Kh1 Kh8 31. Qe2 (31. Ra1 $5 $142 31... Rf8 $17) 31... Ra3 32.
Nd8 (32. Bd8 32... Qe3 $19) 32... Qf6 33. Ne6 (33. Nc6 $5 $142) 33... Bxe6 34.
dxe6 Qxe6 35. Bc5 35... Ra2 $19 36. Qb5 $2 (36. Rxd6 Rxe2 37. Rd8+ Qg8 38.
Rxg8+ Kxg8 39. Bxe2 39... Rc6 $19) 36... Rxh2+ $1 37. Kxh2 37... Nf2+ $6 ({
Black could win a Q by} 37... Qa2+ $1 38. Be2 (38. Kh1 Nf4+ 39. Bh3 Qg2#) 38...
Nf4+ 39. Kg1 39... Nxe2+ $19) 38. Kg1 Nxd1 39. Bc4 $6 (39. Bxd6 Rf6 40. Qb8+
Qg8 41. Qxg8+ Kxg8 42. Bxe5 Rxf3 43. Be2 43... Re3 $19) 39... Qc8 40. Bb6 Nc3
41. Qb4 d5 (41... Nd5 $1 42. Bxd5 Qc1+ 43. Kg2 Qh1+ 44. Kf2 Rh2+ 45. Ke3 Qc1+
46. Ke4 Qc2+ 47. Ke3 Re2#) 42. Ba6 Qb8 43. Bb7 43... Rf6 $1 (43... Rf6 44. Qxc3
Qxb7 45. Bf2 45... d4 $19) 0-1

[Event "RUS-ch m1-2"]
[Site "Elista"]
[Date "1997.05.19"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Sherbakov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Shovunov, Baatr"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2580"]
[BlackElo "2340"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "1997.05.19"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.08.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. f3 axb5 ({Currently the rage is} 5...
e6 $5 {where Black now scores well-} 6. e4 exd5 7. e5 Qe7 8. Qe2 Ng8 9. Nc3 Bb7
10. Nh3 10... c4 $1 11. Be3 axb5 12. O-O-O (12. Nxb5 Qb4+ 13. Nc3 Ne7 14. a3
Qa5 15. Qf2 Ra6 16. Qd2 Nf5 17. Bf2 Bc5 18. Rd1 Bxf2+ 19. Nxf2 O-O 20. Ne2 Qc7
21. Qf4 Ne7 22. Ng4 Ng6 23. Qg3 d6 24. exd6 Rxd6 25. Nd4 f5 26. Nf2 Nc6 27. Be2
Nxd4 28. Rxd4 f4 29. Qg5 Re8 30. Ng4 Rde6 31. Rd2 c3 32. bxc3 32... Qxc3 {
0-1,Ivanov,S-Khalifman,A/St.Petersburg-ch/1997/}) 12... Qb4 13. Nf4 Ne7 14. Qf2
$5 $146 (14. Bb6 14... h5 $5 15. Rxd5 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Qd2
Be6 19. Be2 Nc6 20. f4 b4 21. f5 bxc3 22. Qxc3 Ra3 23. Qb2 c3 24. Qb5 Bxf5 25.
Rf1 Rxa2 26. Rxf5 Nb4 27. Qa5 27... g6 {
0-1,Lalic,B-Khalifman,A/Linares op/1997/}) 14... Na6 (14... Qa5 $5) 15. Kb1 Nf5
16. Nfxd5 Bxd5 17. Nxd5 Nxe3 18. Qxe3 Qc5 19. Qxc5 Bxc5 20. Nc3 Nc7 21. a4 bxa4
22. Bxc4 a3 23. Bxf7+ Ke7 24. b3 a2+ 25. Nxa2 Nb5 26. Rd5 Bd4 27. Rxb5 27...
Rxa2 $1 28. Kxa2 Ra8+ 29. Kb1 Ra1+ 30. Kc2 30... Rxh1 $44 {
Lalic,B-Alterman,B/EU-chT Pula/1997/}) (5... g6 6. e4 Bg7 7. e5 $6 {
Premature, the center unsupported by pieces will crumble.} 7... Ng8 8. f4 d6 9.
Nf3 Nd7 10. Bd2 dxe5 11. Bc3 Nb6 12. Nxe5 Nf6 13. bxa6 O-O 14. Nc6 Qd7 15. Bxf6
Bxf6 16. Ne5 Qf5 17. Qf3 Bxe5 18. fxe5 Qxe5+ 19. Qe2 Qxd5 20. Nc3 Qf5 21. Qxe7
Be6 22. O-O-O 22... Na4 $40 {Volkov,S-Ponomariov,R/RUS-Cup6/1997/}) 6. e4 Qa5+
7. b4 $5 {This temporary sacrifice has caused the decline of the popularity of
5...axb5. As the game and also other examples show,matters are far from clear.}
(7. Bd2 b4 8. Na3 d6 9. Nc4 Qd8 10. a3 bxa3 (10... e6 $1 $142) 11. Rxa3 Rxa3
12. bxa3 12... e6 $2 13. Ba5 Qe7 14. Qa4+ Qd7 15. Nxd6+ $1 $18 {
Bb5,Kanstler,B-Rotstein,A/Czerniak-mem Bikurei Haitim/1997/}) 7... cxb4 (7...
Qxb4+ $5 8. Bd2 Qa4 9. Qc1 Qa7 (9... b4 10. Qxc5 Na6 11. Qd4 (11. Bxa6 e6 12.
d6 Bxa6 13. Bxb4 Rc8 14. Nc3 Qc2 15. Qa5 Bxd6 16. Bxd6 Qxc3+ 17. Qxc3 Rxc3 18.
Rb1 Kd8 19. Ne2 Bxe2 20. Kxe2 Ne8 21. e5 Nxd6 22. exd6 Rc8 23. Rhc1 h5 24. h4
Rh6 25. Rxc8+ Kxc8 26. Rb5 Rg6 27. Kf2 27... e5 $11 {
Lautier,J-Smirin,I/EU-ch act Cap d`Agde/1996/}) 11... e6 $5 (11... d6 12. Nc3
Qa5 13. Nb5 g6 14. a3 Bg7 15. axb4 Qd8 16. Rc1 O-O 17. Qe3 e6 18. dxe6 Bxe6 19.
Bd3 Qb8 20. Ne2 Bd7 21. Nbc3 Nxb4 22. O-O Nxd3 23. Qxd3 23... Ra3 $11 {
Bellon Lopez,J-Matamoros Franco,C/Las Palmas op/1995/}) 12. d6 Qc6 13. e5 Nd5
14. f4 b3 15. Na3 Nc5 16. Bb5 Qb6 17. axb3 Nxb3 18. Qxb6 Nxb6 19. Ra2 Bb7 20.
Ne2 20... g5 $1 21. f5 Nxd2 22. Kxd2 22... exf5 $15 {
Gurevich,M-Claesen,P/BEL-chT/1996/}) (9... Nxe4 10. fxe4 Qxe4+ 11. Be2 Na6 12.
Nf3 Nb4 13. Bxb4 cxb4 14. d6 e6 15. Nbd2 Qd5 16. Qb2 Bxd6 17. Qxg7 Rf8 18. Rd1
Rxa2 19. O-O Bb7 20. Kh1 Qh5 21. Bd3 $16 {
Csiszar,C-Gyorkos,L/Zalakaros op/1995/}) 10. Bxb5 Na6 (10... e6 11. Nc3 Ba6 12.
Nge2 c4 13. Rb1 Bc5 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Nb5 Qb8 16. Bf4 e5 17. Bd2 O-O 18. Qxc4
Ne8 19. Rb3 Nd6 20. Nxd6 Qxd6 21. Kf1 Rfc8 22. Qd3 Nb4 23. Bxb4 Bxb4 24. Qb1
24... Ra4 $44 {Ziegler,A-Cramling,D/SWE-chT/1995/}) (10... Ba6 11. Qc4 Bxb5 12.
Qxb5 Na6 13. Ne2 e6 14. dxe6 fxe6 15. Be3 Nb4 16. Qxb4 cxb4 17. Bxa7 Rxa7 18.
Nd2 Be7 19. O-O O-O 20. Rfc1 Rfa8 21. Rc2 Ne8 22. f4 Nd6 23. Nd4 Kf7 24. e5 Nf5
25. Nxf5 exf5 26. Nb3 26... d6 $11 {Csiszar,C-Rovid,K/HUN-chT/1994/}) 11. Ne2
g6 12. Nbc3 Nc7 13. Bc4 d6 14. Nb5 Nxb5 15. Bxb5+ Bd7 16. Bxd7+ Qxd7 17. Bh6
Qb5 18. Kf2 Qa4 19. Rd1 Bxh6 20. Qxh6 Qxe4 21. Qg7 21... Qh4+ {
0-1,Gonzalez Garcia,J-Gyimesi,Z/Budapest GM/1995/}) 8. Nd2 8... d6 $5 $146 {
This very natural move is surprisingly a novelty.} (8... e5 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. Qe2
(10. Bb2 d6 11. Ne2 Be7 12. Nec1 O-O 13. Nd3 Ra4 14. Qd2 Na6 15. Be2 Nd7 16.
Nf2 Ndc5 17. O-O h6 18. Kh1 Bg5 19. Qe1 Bd7 20. Bd1 Ra8 21. Bc2 Nxb3 22. axb3
Rxa1 23. Bxa1 23... Rc8 $17 {Hamgokov,A-Nedobora,M/Moscow op2/1995/}) 10... Bd6
11. Be3 Qd8 12. Qxb5 Ba6 13. Qb6 Qxb6 14. Bxb6 Ke7 15. Nh3 Rc8 16. Kd2 Rc3 17.
Nf2 Bb7 18. Bd3 Ne8 19. Rhc1 Rxc1 20. Kxc1 f5 21. Kb2 Nf6 22. Bc4 fxe4 23. fxe4
Ba6 24. Rc1 Bxc4 25. Rxc4 Na6 26. Nc1 $1 $16 {
b4,Shipov,S-Tzermiadianos,A/GRE-chT Athens/1996/}) (8... e6 9. Nb3 Qc7 (9...
Qd8 10. Bb2 exd5 11. e5 Nh5 12. Qxd5 Ra6 13. Ne2 g6 14. g3 Be7 15. Ned4 O-O 16.
Bxb5 Rb6 17. O-O Bb7 18. Qc4 Nc6 19. Qe2 Qb8 20. Rae1 Ng7 21. Bc4 Qa8 22. Nb5
Ba6 23. Nc7 Bxc4 24. Nxa8 Bxe2 25. Nxb6 Bxf1 26. Kxf1 $16 {
P ,Lautier,J-Shirov,A/Monaco blind/1995/}) 10. Bb2 Na6 11. Rc1 Qb8 12. d6 Bb7
13. Be5 Nh5 14. Bxb5 Bc8 15. Bc6 f6 16. f4 g6 17. Bxa8 fxe5 18. Qc2 18... Kd8
$13 {Nadanian,A-Borgo,G/Jerevan olm/1996/}) (8... b3 $5 9. Qxb3 9... e6 $13 {
Fominyh}) 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. Qd3 Bd7 11. Be3 (11. Bd2 11... Ra4 { Na6-c5 }) 11...
Qb7 12. Ne2 12... g6 $1 {Black sensibly doesn't cling to his extra doubled
pawn and ends his development first.} (12... Na6 13. Ned4 (13. Rc1 $5 $44)
13... Nc5 (13... Rb8 14. Na5 $40) 14. Qd2 (14. Nxc5 dxc5 15. Nxb5 $2 15... Ra5
$19) 14... Nxb3 (14... Ra4 $6 15. Rc1 $36) 15. Nxb3 Ra4 16. Bd4 $44) 13. Ned4
Bg7 14. Qd2 (14. Nxb5 $6 14... Nxe4 $5 15. fxe4 Bxa1 16. Nxa1 Rxa2 17. Nb3
17... O-O $17 {  Ke1}) 14... O-O 15. Bd3 {White sees taking back the pawn
would give Black play, so he also first finishes his development.} (15. Qxb4
Ra4 16. Qd2 16... Na6 $36) 15... Ra4 (15... Na6 $6 16. Na5 $36 { Nac6}) 16. Rc1
(16. O-O Na6 17. Rfc1 17... e6 $5 $15) 16... Qa6 (16... e6 $5 17. dxe6 fxe6 18.
e5 $5 18... dxe5 19. Nc5 19... Qd5 $1 20. Ndb3 $44 (20. Be4 Nxe4 21. fxe4 Qxa2
22. Nxa4 Qxd2+ 23. Bxd2 23... bxa4 $17)) 17. Rc2 Rc8 18. Rxc8+ Qxc8 19. O-O (
19. Bxb5 $143 19... Bxb5 20. Nxb5 20... Qc4 $36 { Ke1}) 19... Qa6 20. Bb1 Be8
21. Bh6 $44 {
Black's extra pawn is practically worthless, the position is roughly equal.}
21... Bxh6 22. Qxh6 Qb6 23. Kh1 Na6 24. Rc1 Nc5 25. Qd2 25... Nxb3 $5 (25... e5
$6 26. dxe6 fxe6 27. e5 $1 $16) (25... Bd7 26. Nc2 { Nb4 } 26... Nfxe4 $5 27.
fxe4 Nxe4 28. Qd4 Qxd4 29. Nbxd4 (29. Ncxd4 29... Nc3 $44) 29... Nc3 30. Ne3
30... e5 $44) 26. axb3 Ra7 27. Qxb4 27... Rc7 $1 (27... Rc7 28. Rxc7 (28. Rd1
28... Qc5 $11) 28... Qxc7 29. Qd2 29... Qc5 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-Cup Gr3"]
[Site "Slough"]
[Date "1997.09.22"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Volke, Karsten"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2680"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "1997.09.22"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.01.31"]

1. d4 1... Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. f3 5... g6 {This move has a bad
reputation and is considered much weaker than the main alternatives 5...e6 and
5...ab5.} 6. e4 d6 7. a4 ({White's strong hold onto b5 doesn't enable Black to
achieve the typical Volga   counterplay on the a and b-files. In this sense
also possible is} 7. Na3 $5 7... Bg7 8. Ne2 O-O 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Be2 Nb6 11. O-O
Bb7 12. Be3 (12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 Nh5 14. f4 Nf6 15. bxa6 Bxa6 16. Bxa6 Rxa6 17.
Qe2 Qa8 18. Nab5 Ra5 19. Rad1 Na4 20. e5 Nxc3 21. Nxc3 dxe5 22. fxe5 Nd7 23. e6
$18 { ,Rylander,D-Punteri,M/EUChJ Tallin/1997/}) 12... Qc7 13. Qd2 Rfd8 14.
bxa6 Bxa6 15. Nab5 Qb7 16. Rfd1 Ne8 17. a4 Nc7 18. b3 Bxb5 19. axb5 Rxa1 20.
Rxa1 Ra8 21. Rb1 Ra3 22. Qc1 Qa7 23. Na4 Ra2 24. Bf1 Nca8 25. Nxb6 Nxb6 26. b4
$1 $18 {Gallego,V-Pham,S/ESP-ch Torrevieja/1997/}) 7... Bg7 8. Na3 O-O 9. Ne2
9... e6 $5 {Black logically tries to mix up the matters in the center.} ({
A good example of White's strategy is the following game-} 9... axb5 10. Nxb5
Ne8 11. Nec3 Nc7 12. Bg5 Nba6 13. Bc4 Rb8 14. O-O h6 15. Be3 Bd7 16. Qd3 Kh7
17. f4 f5 18. e5 $1 18... dxe5 19. fxe5 Bxe5 20. Rae1 Nb4 21. Qd2 Bxb5 22. Nxb5
Nxb5 23. axb5 Qd6 24. Bxh6 $16 {Bareev,E-Adams,M/Munich 1993/0-1 (54)}) 10. Nc3
$6 ({More clearcut and simpler is} 10. dxe6 $5 $142 10... Bxe6 (10... fxe6 11.
Bg5 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qc7 13. Bf4 Qa5+ 14. b4 cxb4 15. Nc4 Qd8 16. Bxd6 axb5 17.
Bxf8 Qxf8 18. Nb6 Ra6 19. Nxc8 Qxc8 20. Rc1 Qd7 21. Qxd7 Nfxd7 22. axb5 Ra2 23.
Rb1 Nc5 24. Kf2 b3 25. Kg3 b2 26. Nf4 Ra1 27. Bc4 Be5 28. Kg4 $16 {
Nogly,C-Hess,M/Hamburg op/1992/}) 11. Nf4 d5 12. Be2 (12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. exd5
Nxd5 14. Bc4 axb5 15. Bxb5 Qh4+ 16. g3 Qb4+ 17. Qd2 Rxf3 18. Qxb4 cxb4 19. Nc4
Ra7 20. Ke2 Rf8 21. Bd2 Na6 22. Bxa6 Rxa6 23. Rhf1 23... Rc8 $15 {
0-1 Kludacz,M-Pinski,J/Koszalin op 1997 (60)}) 12... axb5 (12... Qe7 13. e5 Nh5
14. Nxh5 gxh5 15. f4 Qh4+ 16. g3 Qh3 17. Bf1 Qg4 18. Qxg4 hxg4 19. Bg2 $16 {
Levitt,J-Smith,A/Dublin zt/1993/}) 13. Nxb5 Nc6 14. O-O (14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Nxe6
fxe6 16. O-O Nd4 17. Re1 Qh4 18. Bf1 Rad8 19. Re4 Qh5 20. Nxd4 Bxd4+ 21. Rxd4
cxd4 22. Qxd4 22... Nf6 $13 {Bogdanovski,V-Cosma,I/Belgrade Trako/1994/}) 14...
Qd7 15. exd5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Be3 Qe7 18. Bf2 Rfd8 19. Qc2 Nd4 20. Nxd4
cxd4 21. Bd3 $14 {Levitt,J-Nelson,J/Swansea GB-ch/1995/}) 10... exd5 (10... Bb7
11. Bc4 axb5 12. Naxb5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Bxd5 Bxd5 15. Qxd5 Ra6 16. O-O
Qb6 17. Qc4 Nc6 18. Nc7 Bd4+ 19. Kh1 Ra5 20. Nd5 Qa7 21. Bd2 Ne5 22. Qa2 Ra6
23. Bc3 Bxc3 24. Nxc3 $16 {Kohler,T-Lutzenberger,R/GER-ch Sued Jedesheim/1991/}
) 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 ({Hazardous is} 11... Nxe4 $6 12. fxe4 Qh4+ 13. Kd2 Qxe4 14.
Qf3 14... Bh6+ {Vaisser,A-Polgar,S/Oviedo rapid/1993/} 15. Kd1 $1 $16 { } 15...
Bg4 $2 16. Nf6+) (11... Nh5 12. g3 Nd7 13. Be2 Bb7 14. bxa6 Bxa6 15. Nb5 Bxb5
16. Bxb5 f5 17. Bxd7 Qxd7 18. Nb6 Qb7 19. Qd5+ Qxd5 20. exd5 Ra6 21. a5 Rb8 22.
Kd1 Bd4 23. Kc2 Nf6 24. Bg5 Kf7 25. Rhe1 c4 26. Bxf6 Bxb6 27. Bc3 $16 {
Lavrov,A-Vajda,L/Budapest FS FebIM-A/1995/}) 12. Qxd5 Ra7 13. Bc4 13... Bd4 $1
$146 {  Trapping White's K in the center.} (13... Be6 14. Qd3 14... d5 $5 15.
Bxd5 Bxd5 16. Qxd5 Qa5+ 17. Bd2 Qxa4 18. b3 Qd4 19. Qxd4 Bxd4 20. Rb1 Rb7 21.
b4 cxb4 22. Bxb4 Rc8 23. Bd2 axb5 24. Nxb5 Nc6 25. Nc3 Rxb1+ 26. Nxb1 f5 27.
exf5 gxf5 28. Ke2 $14 {Tsvetkov,I-Marcholev,D/BUL-ch/1997/}) 14. h4 $2 {
A serious tactical miscalculation, after which White's   falls to pieces.} (14.
Qg5 Qxg5 (14... Bxb2 $2 15. Qxd8 Bc3+ 16. Bd2 Bxd2+ 17. Kxd2 Rxd8 18. b6 Rb7
19. a5 $16) 15. Bxg5 Bxb2 16. Ra2 Bxa3 17. Rxa3 axb5 18. Bxb5 18... Ba6 $13) (
14. bxa6 14... Nxa6 { Nb4 }) (14. Bg5 $5 14... Qb6 (14... Qa5+ $2 15. Bd2 Qxa4
16. b3 $18) 15. Be2 axb5 (15... Be6 $2 16. Nc4 $1) (15... Bxb2 16. Nc4 Bc3+ 17.
Bd2 $16) 16. Nxb5 Bxb2 17. Nxa7 (17. Rb1 17... Be5 $11) 17... Bxa1 18. Nxc8
Bc3+ 19. Bd2 Bxd2+ 20. Qxd2 20... Rxc8 $132) 14... Be6 15. Qg5 Bf6 16. Qg3 (16.
Qf4 Bxc4 17. Nxc4 17... axb5 $17 { } 18. Nxd6 18... Rd7 $19) 16... Bxc4 17.
Nxc4 axb5 18. Nxd6 18... Rd7 $1 19. Bf4 $8 (19. Nxb5 19... Rd1+ $19) (19. O-O
Rxd6 20. e5 20... Bxh4 $19) (19. e5 19... Bxe5 $1 20. Qxe5 20... Re7 $19) 19...
Bxb2 20. O-O $5 (20. Rb1 20... Qa5+ $5 (20... Bc3+ 21. Ke2 bxa4 22. Rhc1 (22.
Nb5 $2 22... Rd2+ $19) 22... Bb4 $15) 21. Ke2 (21. Kf1 21... Qxa4 $1 $17) 21...
Qc3 $40) (20. Rd1 Qa5+ 21. Ke2 21... Qxa4 $19 { Ke2, b,c}) 20... Bxa1 21. Rxa1
bxa4 22. Rxa4 22... Nc6 {White somehow managed to survive the opening, but he
is an exhchange down for unsufficient compensation.} 23. Kh2 (23. Rc4 Nd4 24.
Kf2 24... Qa5 $19 { }) 23... Nd4 24. Ra2 24... Qe7 $6 (24... Ne6 $142 25. e5
25... f6 $5 (25... Nxf4 26. Qxf4 Qe7 27. Ne4 $132) 26. Bh6 26... Ng7 $17) 25.
e5 Qe6 (25... Ne6 $5 26. Ne4 26... Rd4 $17) 26. Rd2 Nf5 27. Qf2 Nxd6 28. exd6
Rc8 29. Re2 Qf6 (29... Qf5 30. Bg3 30... c4 $17) 30. Be5 Qf5 31. Bg3 31... h5
$2 {A serious mistake, which costs Black his passed pawn and winning chances.}
32. Re5 $44 32... Qd3 33. Rxc5 Re8 (33... Rxc5 34. Qxc5 Kg7 35. Qc8 35... Rxd6
$11 (35... Qf5 36. Qe8 $36)) 34. Rc7 Rdd8 (34... Rxd6 35. Bxd6 Qxd6+ 36. Qg3
$11) 35. Qa7 Qd5 36. Re7 Rf8 (36... Rxe7 $2 37. Qxe7 Rf8 38. d7 Qa5 39. Bd6 $18
) 37. Qe3 37... Rxd6 $11 38. Bxd6 Qxd6+ 39. Qe5 Qxe5+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "VISA GP"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "1998.03.18"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Djurhuus, Rune"]
[Black "Van der Weide, Karel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2510"]
[BlackElo "2450"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1998.03.10"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.06.02"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. f3 axb5 6. e4 Qa5+ 7. Bd2 ({
The excitement, originally caused by Lautier's idea, has died down, Black has
at least two satisfactory methods to counter it.} 7. b4 $6 7... Qxb4+ $5 (7...
cxb4 8. Nd2 d6 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. Qd3 Bd7 11. Be3 Qb7 12. Ne2 g6 13. Ned4 Bg7 14.
Qd2 O-O 15. Bd3 Ra4 16. Rc1 Qa6 17. Rc2 Rc8 18. Rxc8+ Qxc8 19. O-O Qa6 20. Bb1
Be8 21. Bh6 Bxh6 22. Qxh6 Qb6 23. Kh1 Na6 24. Rc1 Nc5 25. Qd2 Nxb3 26. axb3 Ra7
27. Qxb4 27... Rc7 $11 { ,Sherbakov,R-Shovunov,B/RUS-ch m1-2/1997/}) 8. Bd2 Qa4
9. Qc1 9... Qa7 $1 10. Bxb5 Na6 11. Ne2 g6 12. Nbc3 Nc7 13. Bc4 d6 14. Nb5 $2
14... Nxb5 15. Bxb5+ Bd7 16. Bxd7+ Qxd7 17. Bh6 Qb5 18. Kf2 Qa4 19. Rd1 Bxh6
20. Qxh6 20... Qxe4 $1 21. Qg7 21... Qh4+ {
0-1,Gonzalez Garcia,J-Gyimesi,Z/Budapest GM/1995/}) 7... b4 8. Na3 d6 9. Nc4
Qc7 ({More popular is} 9... Qd8 10. a3 (10. Bg5 $6 $143 10... g6 11. Bxf6 exf6
12. a3 bxa3 13. Rxa3 Rxa3 14. bxa3 Nd7 15. Qa4 Be7 16. Ne2 O-O 17. Nc3 f5 18.
exf5 Bh4+ 19. g3 Qe7+ 20. Kd2 Bg5+ 21. f4 Bf6 22. Bd3 Bxc3+ 23. Kxc3 Nf6 24.
fxg6 Nxd5+ 25. Kc2 25... hxg6 $17 {  Kc2,Meessen,R-Praet,M/BEL-chT/1998/})
10... e6 $5 $13) 10. Bd3 $6 {This move is too slow.} ({The same goes for} 10.
Bf4 $6 10... Nbd7 11. Nh3 g6 12. Qd2 Ba6 13. Nf2 Bg7 14. Bh6 Bxh6 15. Qxh6 Nb6
16. Qc1 O-O 17. Be2 Bxc4 18. Bxc4 Nxc4 19. Qxc4 Ra5 20. O-O Qa7 21. Rfe1 21...
Ra8 $17 {Miranda,M-Fishbein,A/Boston op/1988/}) ({Much better is} 10. a3 $142
10... bxa3 (10... e6 11. dxe6 Bxe6 12. Bf4 $5 (12. axb4 Rxa1 13. Qxa1 d5 14.
exd5 Nxd5 15. Qa4+ Bd7 16. Qa5 Nc6 17. Qa8+ Qb8 18. Qxb8+ Nxb8 19. Ne5 cxb4 20.
Nxd7 Nxd7 21. Bb5 Bc5 22. Ne2 Ke7 23. Ng3 Ne5 24. Kd1 Rb8 25. Re1 {
Akopian,V-Leko,P/Wijk op/1993/} 25... Rxb5 $5 26. Rxe5+ 26... Kd6 $14) 12...
Bxc4 13. Bxc4 bxa3 14. Rxa3 Rxa3 15. bxa3 Be7 16. Ne2 O-O 17. O-O Nc6 18. a4
Ne5 19. Bb5 Rd8 20. Nc3 h6 21. Qd2 Nc6 22. Bc4 Ne5 23. Be2 Rb8 24. Nb5 Qc6 25.
Rd1 Rd8 26. Nc3 Rb8 27. Bb5 $16 {Vaisser,A-Solana,E/Fuerteventura/1992/}) 11.
Bc3 $5 11... g6 (11... a2 $5 $13 $142) 12. e5 dxe5 13. Bxe5 Qd8 14. Rxa3 Rxa3
15. bxa3 Nbd7 16. Bc3 Ba6 17. Qa4 Bxc4 18. Bxc4 Bg7 19. Bxf6 $1 19... exf6 20.
Bb5 Ke7 21. Nh3 Qc7 22. O-O Rd8 23. Re1+ Kf8 24. d6 Qc8 25. Re7 Ne5 26. d7 Nxd7
27. Rxd7 f5 28. Qa7 {1-0,Sokolov,I-Berg,K/Akureyri/1994/}) 10... g6 (10... e6
$6 $143 11. dxe6 Bxe6 12. Bf4 Nc6 13. Ne2 Be7 14. O-O O-O 15. Ng3 Rfd8 16. Re1
Qa7 17. Qb1 h6 18. Kh1 d5 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. Be5 Nb6 21. Nxb6 Qxb6 22. Bh7+ Kh8
23. Bxg7+ $1 23... Kxg7 24. Nh5+ Kf8 25. Rxe6 $1 $40 {
Tomicic,Z-Zelic,M/Zadar op/1995/}) 11. a3 {White logically tries to disrupt
Black's pawn chain, as the structure is not in his favour ( a2).} (11. Ne2 Bg7
12. O-O O-O 13. Qb3 (13. a3 bxa3 14. Rxa3 Rxa3 15. bxa3 Ba6 16. Qa4 Bxc4 17.
Bxc4 Nbd7 18. Rb1 Ne5 19. Bb5 Rb8 20. Nc3 e6 21. Bc6 exd5 22. Rxb8+ Qxb8 23.
exd5 Qb2 24. Qa8+ Bf8 25. Bh6 Qa1+ 26. Kf2 Nfg4+ 27. fxg4 Nxg4+ 28. Ke2 Nxh6
29. Ne4 Kg7 30. a4 Qe5 31. Qe8 Be7 32. Kf3 32... Qf5+ {
0-1,Sergienko,S-Rovid,K/Budapest Spring op/1993/}) 13... Ba6 14. Qc2 Nbd7 15.
Rae1 Nb6 16. Nc1 Nxc4 17. Bxc4 Bxc4 18. Qxc4 Nd7 19. Qc2 Qb7 20. Be3 Rfc8 21.
Re2 Qb5 22. Kh1 c4 23. Qd1 c3 24. bxc3 bxc3 25. Rff2 25... Qb1 $17 {
Sutton,R-Love,A/NZD-ch/1991/}) 11... bxa3 12. bxa3 Bg7 13. Ne2 O-O 14. O-O
14... Ba6 $1 (14... Nbd7 15. Kh1 Ba6 16. Ba5 Qa7 17. Bc3 $13 {
Na5,Gabriel,C-Adamson,R/New York op/1995/}) 15. a4 (15. Ba5 $5 15... Qa7 16.
Bc3 Nfd7 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. f4 $13) 15... Nfd7 $1 {
Black delays the development of Nb8 to keep the c6 square protected.} 16. Bc3 (
16. Rb1 Ne5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Bxa6 18... Nxa6 $15) 16... Nb6 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18.
Qc2 Nxc4 19. Bxc4 19... Nd7 20. a5 $6 {Black has a solid pawn structure, which
gives him long-term chances for an advantage. Therefore White should try to
molest Black's  . The move in the game only weakens the Pa4.} (20. f4 $132 $142
) 20... Nf6 $1 {Now Black gains the a-pawn.} (20... Bxc4 21. Qxc4 21... Rxa5 $4
22. Qc3+) 21. g4 Kg8 (21... Bxc4 22. Qxc4 22... Rxa5 $4 23. g5 Rxa1 24. gxf6+
$18) 22. Bxa6 Rxa6 23. Nd4 $5 {White's best chance.} (23. Qc3 23... Rfa8 $17)
23... Rxa5 24. Rxa5 Qxa5 25. Nc6 25... Qa3 $1 {
Black returns the pawn and relies on positional factors.} (25... Qc7 $6 $143
26. g5 (26. Ra1 e6 27. Ra7 Qb6 28. g5 exd5 29. Ne7+ Kh8 30. Qa2 $13) 26... Nh5
27. Ra1 e6 28. Qb2 $1 28... exd5 29. exd5 c4 30. Ra7 c3 31. Qxc3 (31. Qf2 31...
c2 $8 32. Qxc2 Qb6+) 31... Qb6+ 32. Kf1 h6 33. gxh6 33... Kh7 $13) 26. Nxe7+
26... Kg7 $36 { c, K,N Now White can't occupy the a1-h8 diagonal, his K is
weak and the N is out of play.} 27. Nc6 (27. Kg2 Rb8 28. Rb1 $17) (27. Qc1 Qd3
28. Nc6 28... Ra8 $36) 27... h5 $1 28. h3 $6 (28. g5 Qe3+ 29. Kh1 29... Qxg5
$17) (28. gxh5 $8 28... Nxh5 $36) 28... hxg4 29. hxg4 29... Rh8 $1 $40 {
h Black's final attack with only three pieces is very impressive.} 30. Qc1 (30.
Kg2 30... Nxg4 $1 31. fxg4 Qh3+ 32. Kf2 32... Qh2+ $19) (30. Qe2 $5 $142 30...
Qc3 $17) (30. e5 $6 30... dxe5 31. Qe2 31... e4 $19) 30... Qd3 31. Rf2 (31. e5
dxe5 32. Qxc5 32... Rh1+ $1 33. Kxh1 33... Qxf1+ $19) 31... Rh4 { Ng4!} 32. Qf1
(32. Kg2 $2 32... Nxg4 $19) (32. Qc2 Qe3 33. Qe2 33... Qc1+ {-32.Qf1}) (32. Qd2
Qb1+ 33. Rf1 33... Rh1+ $19) 32... Qe3 33. Qe2 Qc1+ 34. Qf1 34... Qf4 $1 $19
35. Qe2 (35. Qg2 35... c4 { c}) 35... Rh3 36. Qd2 (36. Qf1 Qg3+ 37. Qg2 (37.
Rg2 Qxf3) 37... Qh4 38. Kf1 $8 38... Rg3 39. Qh2 Qxh2 40. Rxh2 40... Rxf3+ $19)
36... Qg3+ 37. Kf1 37... Nxe4 $1 (37... Rh1+ 38. Ke2 38... Nxg4 $1 39. Qb2+ (
39. fxg4 Qxg4+ 40. Kd3 40... Rd1 $19) 39... Kh7 40. fxg4 40... Qxf2+ $1 41.
Kxf2 41... Rh2+ $19) 38. fxe4 (38. Qb2+ 38... Kh7 $19) 38... Rh1+ 39. Ke2 Qxg4+
40. Kd3 (40. Ke3 40... Rh3+ $19) 40... Rd1 0-1

[Event "NED-ch53"]
[Site "Rotterdam"]
[Date "1998.06.21"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Timman, Jan H"]
[Black "Van Wely, Loek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2635"]
[BlackElo "2605"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "1998.06.21"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.09.30"]

1. d4 {Van Wely} 1... Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. f3 e6 6. e4 exd5 ({
A dubious alternative is} 6... c4 7. Nc3 (7. Bxc4 $5) 7... axb5 8. Nxb5 Bc5 9.
Bxc4 Qb6 10. Ne2 exd5 11. exd5 O-O 12. Bd2 Ba6 13. Qb3 Bf2+ 14. Kf1 Bc5 15.
Nec3 Bb7 16. Re1 d6 17. g3 Nbd7 18. Kg2 Qd8 19. Qc2 Nb6 20. Qd3 Nxc4 21. Qxc4
Qd7 22. a4 Rfc8 23. Qd3 23... Bb4 $14 {
Iljushin,A-Gershon,A/EUChJ-U18 Mureck/1998/}) 7. e5 {
The main line, although White occasionally plays also} (7. exd5 Bd6 8. Qe2+ (8.
Nc3 O-O 9. Nh3 Re8+ 10. Be2 axb5 11. O-O b4 12. Nb5 Ba6 13. Bc4 Bxb5 14. Bxb5
Qc7 15. Kh1 c4 16. a4 Qc5 17. Bf4 Be5 18. Rc1 c3 19. Bxe5 Rxe5 20. bxc3 bxc3
21. Nf2 Rxd5 22. Qb3 Nc6 23. Ne4 $1 23... Nxe4 24. fxe4 Re5 25. Qxf7+ Kh8 26.
Rxc3 $1 $16 {Iljushin,A-Karatekin,T/EUChJ-U18 Mureck/1998/}) 8... Kf8 9. Nc3
axb5 10. Nxb5 Ba6 11. Qd2 Qe7+ 12. Kd1 Qe5 13. Nh3 Bxb5 14. Bxb5 Qxd5 15. Qxd5
Nxd5 16. Ng5 f5 17. Bc4 Nb6 18. Bb3 Nc6 19. Nf7 Nd4 20. Nxd6 Nxb3 21. Rb1 Nxc1
22. Rxc1 $13 {Iljushin,A-Moiseenko,A/EUChJ-U18 Mureck/1998/}) 7... Qe7 8. Qe2
Ng8 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Nh3 c4 11. Be3 11... Qb4 $6 {A strange and very risky
attempt to avoid the topical line and perhaps confuse the opponent.} ({
The main move is} 11... axb5 12. Nf4 Qb4 13. O-O-O (13. Kf2 $5 13... Ne7 14.
Rd1 Na6 15. g3 Qa5 16. Bh3 Bc6 17. Nfxd5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Bc5 19. Kg2 O-O 20. a3
Rfe8 21. Bd2 Qd8 22. Bc3 Nc7 23. Nxc7 Qxc7 24. Qd2 Re7 25. Rhe1 Rae8 26. Bf5
Qb7 27. Be4 h6 28. Bxc6 dxc6 29. f4 $36 {
Ivanov,S-Sivokho,S/St.Petersburg-ch/1996/}) 13... Ne7 {
White's most important try is the refined} 14. Qf2 $1 (14. Rxd5 14... Qxc3+ $1
15. bxc3 15... Nxd5 {This Q-sacrifice is the crux of Black's defence/attack
and in practice has caused White a lot of problems.} 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Qd2 Be6
18. Be2 Nc6 19. f4 b4 20. f5 bxc3 21. Qxc3 Ra3 22. Qc2 Nb4 23. Qb2 Rxe3 24.
fxe6 c3 25. Qb3 Rxe2 26. exd7+ Kd8 27. Qc4 Rc2+ 28. Kb1 28... Rb2+ {
0-1,Czerwonski,A-Gipslis,A/Koszalin op-A/1998/}) (14. Bb6 14... h5 $5 (14... g6
15. Rxd5 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Kb1 Nc6 19. Qe3 Be7 20. Bc5 O-O
21. Bxe7 Nxe7 22. Qc5 Rfe8 23. a3 Bc6 24. Kb2 Nd5 25. Qd4 Re6 26. h4 h5 27. f4
d6 28. Rg1 dxe5 29. fxe5 Rae8 30. g4 Rxe5 31. gxh5 Rxh5 32. Rg5 $14 {
Miniboeck,G-Danailov,S/Vienna op/1996/}) 15. Rxd5 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Nxd5 17. Nxd5
Bxd5 18. Qd2 Be6 19. Be2 Nc6 20. f4 b4 21. f5 bxc3 22. Qxc3 Ra3 23. Qb2 c3 24.
Qb5 Bxf5 25. Rf1 Rxa2 26. Rxf5 Nb4 27. Qa5 27... g6 $3 {
0-1,Lalic,B-Khalifman,A/Linares op/1997/}) 14... Na6 (14... h5 $5 $142) 15. Kb1
Nf5 16. Nfxd5 Bxd5 17. Nxd5 Nxe3 18. Qxe3 Qc5 19. Qxc5 Bxc5 20. Nc3 Nc7 21. a4
bxa4 22. Bxc4 22... a3 {Lalic,B-Alterman,B/EU-chT Pula/1997/} 23. b3 $1 23...
Bb4 24. Ne4 a2+ 25. Kb2 $16) 12. a3 $146 {A recent novelty.} ({But the older
continuation seems very convincing and one can hardly see potential for
improvement after} 12. b6 $5 12... Bc5 (12... Qa5 13. Qd2 Bb4 14. Rd1 Ne7 15.
a3 Bxc3 16. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 17. bxc3 Nbc6 18. f4 Na5 19. Kf2 Bc6 20. Be2 Nb3 21. Bf3
O-O 22. g4 Rab8 23. Rhe1 Rfd8 24. f5 d4 25. Bxd4 Nxd4 26. Rxd4 Rxb6 27. Rxc4
Bxf3 28. Kxf3 Rb3 29. Rd1 Rxa3 30. Nf4 $36 {  ,Soffer,R-Belotti,B/Biel op/1992/
}) 13. O-O-O (13. Bxc5 $6 $143 13... Qxc5 14. Qf2 d4 15. O-O-O Nc6 16. Ne4 Qxe5
17. Bxc4 Nge7 18. Rhe1 O-O 19. Kb1 Nf5 20. Nhg5 Ne3 21. Rxe3 dxe3 22. Qxe3 Na5
23. Qd3 Bxe4 24. Nxe4 Rab8 25. f4 Qxf4 26. Bd5 Rxb6 27. Qc3 Nc6 28. Nd6 28...
Nb4 {0-1,Neverov,V-Bukhman,E/St.Petersburg op/1994/}) 13... Qxb6 14. Bxc5 Qxc5
15. Nf4 (15. Qf2 Qxf2 16. Nxf2 Ne7 17. Ng4 Ra7 18. Ne3 Nbc6 19. Nexd5 Nxe5 20.
Nb6 N7g6 21. Nxc4 Kd8 22. Nd6 Bc6 23. Rd4 Kc7 24. Be2 Nf4 25. Rxf4 Kxd6 26.
Rd1+ $36 {Volke,K-Hertneck,G/BL/1991/}) 15... Ne7 16. Qd2 d4 17. Qxd4 Qxd4 18.
Rxd4 Nbc6 19. Rxc4 Nxe5 20. Rb4 Bc6 21. Bxa6 O-O 22. Re1 f6 23. Bf1 Rfc8 24.
Kb1 Kf8 25. Nd3 Nd5 26. Nxd5 Bxd5 27. b3 $16 {
Zoler,D-Mencinger,V/Groningen op/1994/}) 12... Qa5 13. Bd2 (13. Qf2 13... Bb4
$6 (13... axb5 14. Bb6 Qa6 15. Nf4 15... Ne7 $13) 14. Bd4 axb5 15. Rd1 Bxc3+ (
15... Bf8 $142 16. Nf4 $44) 16. Bxc3 Qc7 17. Qg3 Ne7 18. Qxg7 Rg8 19. Qxh7 Na6
20. Nf4 20... O-O-O {} 21. Qxf7 Rde8 22. Be2 Kd8 23. g3 Ref8 24. Qh7 Rh8 25.
Qc2 Rhg8 26. Qd2 Kc8 27. e6 Nc5 28. exd7+ Qxd7 29. Qe3 $18 {
Krupenski,Y-Szilagyi,Z/EUChJ-U16 Mureck/1998/}) 13... Qb6 $8 14. Nf4 Ne7 15. a4
$6 (15. Qf2 $142 15... Qxf2+ 16. Kxf2 d4 (16... g6 17. b6 (17. bxa6 {Van Wely}
17... Nxa6 18. Nb5 18... Nf5 $13) 17... Bg7 18. Re1 O-O 19. Na4 $36) 17. bxa6
$1 17... Bxa6 18. Ncd5 (18. Ne4 Nec6 19. Nd5 19... Ra7 $132) 18... Nxd5 19.
Nxd5 $36) (15. Rd1 $6 {Van Wely} 15... axb5 (15... d4 $6 16. Na4 (16. Ne4 d3
17. Nd6+ Qxd6 18. exd6 dxe2 19. Bxe2 19... Nf5 $14) 16... Qxb5 17. Qxc4 Qxe5+
18. Kf2 $36) 16. Be3 Qa5 17. Qd2 b4 18. Ncxd5 (18. axb4 Qxb4) 18... Nxd5 19.
Nxd5 bxa3 20. Qxa5 Rxa5 21. Bxc4 21... axb2 $15) (15. O-O-O $2 {Van Wely} 15...
axb5 16. Be3 Qa5 17. Nfxd5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 (18. Rxd5 Bxa3) 18... Bxd5 19. Rxd5
19... Bxa3 $17) 15... axb5 16. Nxb5 16... Qxb5 $1 {Sacrificing a Q comes easy
to Black in this line, where positions with material inbalance are quite
common.} 17. axb5 Rxa1+ 18. Kf2 Nf5 19. g4 Bc5+ 20. Kg2 Nd4 21. Qf2 Nb3 22. Qe2
22... Nd4 $11 {Already Black has the option of taking a draw by repetition.}
23. Qf2 23... Nb3 {'?!' Van Wely.} (23... Ne6 $5 {Van Wely} 24. Qe2 24... O-O
$15) 24. Qe2 24... O-O $5 {
Black decides to play this highly tactical position on.} (24... Bd4 25. Bc3 $14
) (24... Rb1 25. Bc3 25... O-O $44 (25... d4 $6 26. Qxc4 dxc3 27. Qxc3 Bd4 (
27... Nd4 28. Qxc5 Bxf3+ 29. Kg1 Bxh1 30. Qd6 $1 30... Nbc6 31. bxc6 Nxc6 32.
Qd3 $18) 28. Qc7 Rxb2+ 29. Kh3 O-O 30. Qxb7 $18)) 25. Be3 Bxe3 (25... d4 $2 26.
Qxc4 dxe3 27. Qxb3 $16) 26. Qxe3 d4 27. Qf2 Rc1 (27... Rc8 28. Bxc4 $1 (28. Nh5
{-27...Rc1}) (28. Nh5 {Van Wely} 28... Bd5 29. Qh4 Nc5 30. Bxc4) 28... Rxc4 (
28... Rxh1 29. Bxb3 Rcc1 30. Qxd4 Rhg1+ 31. Qxg1 Bxf3+ 32. Kf2 Rxg1 33. Kxg1
33... Bxg4 $16 { Nb8}) 29. Rxa1 Nxa1 30. Qh4 Rc8 31. Qe7 $5 $44 { Qd6-b6,e6 ,
 Bb7,Nb8 Despite his material advantage Black has great problems with
coordinating his pieces.}) 28. Nh5 (28. Be2 $2 28... Rc2 $17) 28... Rc8 29. Qh4
29... Nc5 $8 {Black needs the Ne6 resource.} 30. Qg5 ({
White misses a promising tactical shot} 30. Bd3 $5 30... Rxh1 (30... Nxd3 $143
31. Rxc1 Nxc1 32. Qg5 g6 33. Nf6+ Kg7 34. Qxc1 34... c3 $14 { }) 31. Bxh7+ Kf8
(31... Kxh7 $4 32. Nf6+ Kg6 33. Qh5#) 32. Kxh1 Bxf3+ 33. Kg1 d3 (33... Ne6 34.
Bf5 $40 { Ng7}) 34. Nf4 $14) 30... Rc2+ 31. Kg3 Ne6 32. Nf6+ Kf8 (32... Kh8 $2
33. Qf5 gxf6 34. Qxc2 $18) 33. Qf5 {'?!' Van Wely.} (33. Nxh7+ Kg8 (33... Ke8
34. Qf5 Rxb2 35. Ng5 $14) 34. Nf6+ $11) 33... d3 34. b3 $6 {
'?' Van Wely.  White goes astray in the tactical jungle.} (34. Nxh7+ Kg8 35.
Ng5 Nxg5 36. Qxg5 Rxb2 37. h4 Rxb5 38. h5 f6 39. Qf4 (39. Qg6 Rxe5 40. h6 Rg5)
39... Rxe5 40. h6 40... Ba6 $5 (40... Bd5 {Van Wely} 41. hxg7 Kxg7) 41. hxg7
41... Kxg7 $15) (34. Qxh7 gxf6 35. exf6 Ke8 36. Qg8+ Nf8 37. h4 $44 { h,g})
34... Rc1 $1 { d2-+} 35. Bxd3 $8 35... Rxh1 36. Bxc4 $2 {This definitely loses.
} (36. Nxh7+ 36... Ke8 $5 $17 $142 (36... Kg8 37. bxc4 $44 (37. Bxc4 37... Rc1
$17)) (36... Ke7 37. bxc4 Rg1+ 38. Kf2 Ra1 39. Ng5 $132)) 36... gxf6 37. exf6
37... d5 $1 $19 {
Black finally frees himself and his material advantage decides.} 38. Qxh7 38...
Ke8 $8 39. Qh8+ Nf8 (39... Kd7 $6 40. Qh5 $1 $132) 40. Bd3 Nbd7 41. b6 Re1 42.
g5 Rc3 43. Kf2 Ra1 44. g6 44... Rxd3 $1 45. g7 45... d4 $1 $40 46. Qh5 (46.
g8=Q Rxf3+ 47. Ke2 Ra2+ 48. Ke1 Re3+ 49. Kf1 (49. Kd1 Bf3+ 50. Kc1 Re1#) 49...
Ba6+ 50. Kg1 Re1#) 46... Ra2+ 47. Kg3 Rxf3+ (47... Rxf3+ 48. Qxf3 Bxf3 49. g8=Q
(49. Kxf3 Nxf6) 49... Rg2+ $19) 0-1

[Event "Ubeda op 5th"]
[Site "Ubeda"]
[Date "2000.01.24"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Hauchard, Arnaud"]
[Black "Salmensuu, Olli"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2418"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2000.01.19"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.04.05"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. f3 axb5 ({
The most popular choice nowadays is the sharp} 5... e6 $5 {
A typical and brilliant game:} 6. e4 exd5 7. e5 Qe7 8. Qe2 Ng8 9. Nc3 Bb7 10.
Nh3 c4 11. Be3 axb5 12. O-O-O Qb4 13. Nf4 Ne7 14. Qf2 Na6 15. Bb6 h5 16. Kb1
Rh6 17. a3 Qb3 18. Nfe2 Nc8 19. Nc1 19... Qxc3 $1 20. bxc3 Nxb6 21. Na2 Nc5 22.
Qb2 Nba4 23. Qc2 Nb3 24. Nb4 Bxb4 25. cxb4 25... d4 $40 26. Bxc4 bxc4 27. Qxc4
27... Bd5 $1 $19 {Lotscher,R-Prusikhin,M/Zug/1999/}) 6. e4 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 $5 {
A very rare move.} (7. b4 Qxb4+ 8. Bd2 Qa4 9. Qc1 b4 10. Qxc5 Na6 11. Bxa6 e6
12. d6 Bxa6 13. Qxb4 Qc6 14. e5 Nd5 15. Qb3 15... Bxd6 $5 16. exd6 Qxd6 17. Nc3
Qe5+ 18. Kf2 Qd4+ 19. Kg3 g5 20. h4 Qxd2 21. Nxd5 gxh4+ 22. Rxh4 Qg5+ 23. Kh3
Qxd5 24. Qxd5 exd5 25. g4 25... Bc4 $11 {
Gretarsson,H-Gunnarsson,J/Gentofte/1999/}) (7. Bd2 b4 8. Na3 d6 9. Nc4 {
is the main line.}) 7... b4 (7... Ba6 $143 8. a4 d6 9. Ra2 b4 10. Nb5 g6 11. b3
Bg7 12. g4 O-O 13. h4 h5 14. gxh5 Nxh5 15. Rg2 Be5 16. f4 Bg7 17. f5 Nd7 18.
Bh6 Bxb5 19. Bxb5 Ne5 20. Bxg7 Nxg7 21. Nf3 Nxf3+ 22. Qxf3 $40 {
Hjelmaas,L-Hoff,T/NOR-chT/1993/}) 8. Nb5 ({Too passive is} 8. Nb1 $6 8... d6 9.
Bd3 g6 10. Ne2 Bg7 11. Be3 Nbd7 12. Nd2 Ne5 13. Nc4 Nxd3+ 14. Qxd3 Qa6 15. O-O
Nd7 16. a3 O-O 17. axb4 Qxa1 18. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 19. Kf2 Ba6 20. Qb3 20... Rb8 $17 {
Velitshko,J-Abramov,S/Smolensk/1992/}) 8... d6 ({
Black shouldn't commit his Bc8 too early:} 8... Ba6 9. a4 d6 (9... e6 10. d6
Bxb5 11. Bxb5 Qb6 12. e5 Nd5 13. Bc4 Qc6 14. a5 g6 15. Bd2 Bg7 16. f4 Bh6 17.
Nh3 $16 { , Niederwieser,P-Humenberger,S/Werfen/1994/}) 10. b3 g6 11. Bb2 Bg7
12. f4 O-O 13. e5 Ne8 14. Nf3 Qd8 15. Bc4 Nd7 16. Qe2 Nb6 17. Nxd6 exd6 18.
Bxa6 Nxd5 19. Bb7 Nxf4 20. Qe4 Ra7 21. O-O-O Ne6 22. Bd5 $44 {
1-0 Menk,R-Bokelbrink,U/Pinneberg 1998/EXT 99 (40)}) 9. a4 ({
Too sophisticated and time-consuming is} 9. Kf2 9... Nbd7 10. a4 g6 11. b3 Bg7
12. Ra2 O-O 13. g4 Ba6 14. Rc2 Ne8 15. Kg2 Nb6 16. Bg5 $2 16... f6 17. Be3 Nxa4
18. bxa4 Qxa4 19. Nh3 Bxb5 20. Bxb5 Qxb5 21. Nf4 21... Nc7 $19 {
Drazic,S-Liardet,F/Geneve/1991/}) (9. Be3 Nbd7 10. Nh3 g6 11. Be2 Ba6 12. a4
Bg7 13. O-O O-O 14. Nf2 Ne8 15. Rb1 Nc7 16. Nxc7 Qxc7 17. b3 Qb7 18. Bxa6 Qxa6
19. Qd3 f5 20. Rfe1 f4 21. Bc1 Ne5 22. Qxa6 Rxa6 23. Bb2 g5 24. Kf1 24... c4
$15 {Kurz,A-Marinkovic,I/Bundesliga 9192/1991/}) 9... bxa3+ $2 {After this
ature opening of the position Black suprisingly quickly succumbs to a strong
attack due to his lack of development.} ({If Black keeps the position closed,
it's not easy for White to maintain control of b5 and c4, sometimes a timely
sacrifice on a4 as above exposes the Nb5. On the whole this line is not too
promising for White.} 9... Nbd7 10. b3 (10. g4 g6 11. h4 h5 12. g5 Nh7 13. b3
Bg7 14. Ra2 O-O 15. Bd2 Qd8 16. Nh3 Ne5 17. Nf2 Qb6 18. f4 Ng4 19. Bc4 Kh8 20.
Bc1 Bd7 21. Nxg4 Bxg4 22. Qd3 Bd7 23. Re2 23... e6 $1 24. dxe6 Bxb5 25. axb5
25... fxe6 $13 {Pesantes,C-Oblitas,C/Peru/1994/}) (10. Ne2 g6 11. Ng3 Bg7 12.
Be2 O-O 13. O-O Nb6 14. Be3 Bd7 15. b3 Rfc8 16. Kh1 Be8 17. Rb1 Nxa4 18. bxa4
Qxa4 19. e5 dxe5 20. Qxa4 20... Rxa4 $17 {Santa,L-Safarzadeh,E/Moscow olm/1994/
}) 10... g6 11. Bb2 Bg7 12. Bc4 O-O 13. Ne2 Ne5 (13... Nb6 $5) 14. Bxe5 dxe5
15. O-O Ne8 16. Qd2 Nd6 17. Qe3 Bd7 18. Nxd6 exd6 19. g4 Qd8 20. Nc1 f5 21.
gxf5 gxf5 22. Nd3 Kh8 23. Kh1 Qh4 24. Rg1 Bh6 25. Qe2 Rf7 26. Bb5 Bxb5 27. axb5
27... Raf8 $132 {Lobron,E-Milos,G/Tilburg/1993/}) (9... g6 10. b3 Bg7 11. Bb2
O-O 12. Qc2 Nbd7 13. Nh3 Nb6 14. Nf2 Bd7 15. Nd1 Rfc8 16. Kf2 $6 16... c4 17.
Bxc4 Bxb5 18. axb5 18... Qxb5 $36 {Fedorov,M-Raudive,A/Polanica Zdroj op/1996/}
) 10. Bd2 Qb6 11. Rxa3 Rxa3 (11... Ba6 $2 12. Ba5 $18) (11... Na6 $6 12. Ba5
Qb8 13. Bc3 $16) 12. bxa3 e6 (12... Nbd7 13. Qa4 { Ba5+-}) (12... Bd7 $142 { }
13. Qa4 g6 14. Ba5 14... Qa7 $1 $14) 13. Qa4 Bd7 14. Ba5 Qb7 (14... Qa7 $142
15. Ne2 $5 15... exd5 16. Nec3 Qb7 17. Qb3 Bxb5 18. Bxb5+ Nbd7 19. Bxd7+ Qxd7
20. Qb8+ $16) 15. Qb3 $1 15... Ke7 $8 (15... Bxb5 16. Bxb5+ Nbd7 17. dxe6 fxe6
18. Qxe6+ Be7 19. a4 $18) (15... Qc8 16. Na7 $1 $18) 16. dxe6 fxe6 (16... Bxe6
17. Bc4 $40 { Ke7}) 17. Nh3 Nc6 18. Bc3 Na7 19. a4 Nxb5 20. Bxb5 $16 20... Qb6
(20... d5 21. O-O 21... Kf7 $5 $16) 21. Qb2 Bxb5 22. axb5 d5 (22... Kf7 23.
Ng5+ {doesn't help, Black has no time to activate Rh8 and Bf8.}) (22... c4 23.
Bd4 Qa5+ 24. Kf2 { Ra1+-}) 23. O-O ({Also strong was} 23. exd5 $5 23... exd5
24. O-O $40) 23... d4 24. Bd2 Ne8 (24... c4 $2 25. Qb4+) (24... e5 25. Ra1 {
Ra6,Qb3+-}) 25. Bf4 $1 (25. Ra1 $6 25... Nc7 $13) 25... Kd7 (25... Nc7 26. Bxc7
Qxc7 27. b6 Qb7 28. Ra1 $18) 26. Ra1 $18 { } 26... Bd6 27. Ra6 Qb8 28. Qb3 $1 {
e5} 28... e5 (28... Bxf4 29. Qxe6+ Kd8 30. Nxf4 $18 30... Qxf4 $2 31. Ra8+ Kc7
32. Qc6#) 29. Qf7+ Kd8 (29... Kc8 30. Rc6+ Bc7 31. Bxe5 $18) 30. Bg5+ Kc8 31.
Qe6+ Kc7 (31... Kb7 32. Qd5+ Kc8 33. Ra8 $18) 32. Rc6+ Kb7 33. Qd5 $1 (33. Qd7+
Bc7 34. b6 $18) 1-0

[Event "EU-ch 4th"]
[Site "Istanbul"]
[Date "2003.05.31"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Azmaiparashvili, Zurab"]
[Black "Conquest, Stuart"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2678"]
[BlackElo "2556"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2003.05.30"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.09.25"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. f3 {A popular line in the nineties,
this variation has gradually fallen out of fashion.} 5... axb5 (5... e6 {
is the main alternative, but the continuation} 6. e4 exd5 7. e5 Qe7 8. Qe2 Ng8
9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Nh3 c4 11. Be3 axb5 12. O-O-O Qb4 13. Nf4 Ne7 14. Qf2 $1 {
still remains problematic for Black.}) 6. e4 Qa5+ 7. Bd2 b4 8. Na3 d6 9. Nc4
Qd8 (9... Qc7 10. a3 $14) 10. Bd3 {
Continuing his development. Practice has shown this is more solid than} (10. a3
10... e6 $1 11. dxe6 Bxe6 12. axb4 Rxa1 13. Qxa1 13... d5 $44) 10... g6 {
Black also develops his   and postpones any   activity.} (10... e6 11. dxe6
Bxe6 12. Ne2 d5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. O-O Be7 15. Qc2 Nc6 16. Be4 $1 $36 16... Rc8
17. Rfd1 Nd4 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Qa4+ Bd7 20. Qb3 Be6 21. Qa4+ Bd7 22. Qa6 22...
Nc7 $6 23. Nd6+ Kf8 24. Qb6 Rb8 25. Nb7 $1 25... Ne6 26. Qa6 Ra8 27. Qc4 Qb6
28. Nc5 $16 {Kasimdzhanov,R-Tregubov,P/FIDE WCh New Delhi/2000/}) 11. Ne2 (11.
a3 $5 $142 11... bxa3 12. Rxa3 Rxa3 13. bxa3 13... e6 $2 (13... Bg7 14. Ba5 $36
) 14. Qa4+ Nfd7 (14... Nbd7 $2 15. Ba5 Qe7 16. Qc6 $18) (14... Bd7 15. Qa7 exd5
16. Ba5 $16) 15. Ne2 exd5 16. exd5 Qh4+ 17. g3 Qe7 18. Nb6 Qd8 19. Ba5 Ba6 20.
Na8 $1 20... Qc8 21. Nc7+ Ke7 22. Nxa6 {1-0,Kerek,C-Vajda,S/Eger op/1995/})
11... Bg7 12. a3 (12. O-O O-O 13. a3 bxa3 14. Rxa3 Rxa3 15. bxa3 e6 (15... Ba6
16. Qc2 e6 17. dxe6 fxe6 18. e5 Bxc4 19. Bxc4 Nd5 20. exd6 Qxd6 21. Kh1 Nc6 22.
Rb1 Ne5 23. Bb5 Rd8 24. Ng3 Nf6 25. Bg5 $14 {Ortiz,W-Chan,M/WChJ Halle/1995/})
16. dxe6 Bxe6 (16... fxe6 17. Ba5 Qe7 18. e5 dxe5 19. Nxe5 Nd5 20. Nc4 Ba6 (
20... Qa7 {-see the game.}) 21. Bd2 Rd8 22. Qc2 Nc6 23. Rb1 Nd4 24. Nxd4 24...
cxd4 $13 {Varga,P-Gyimesi,Z/HUN-chT/1995/}) 17. Nf4 Nc6 18. Bc3 Nd4 19. Re1 (
19. Nxe6 $11 $142) 19... Nd7 20. Ba5 $6 20... Qg5 21. Bd2 Bxc4 22. Bxc4 Ne5 23.
Be2 Rb8 24. Kh1 24... Rb2 $36 {Miniboeck,G-Plachetka,J/AUT-chT/1998/}) 12...
bxa3 13. Rxa3 Rxa3 14. bxa3 O-O 15. Ba5 $146 {Azmaiparashvili's novelty is
very natural, the intermediate move disturbs the coordination of Black's
pieces.} (15. O-O {-12.0-0}) 15... Qd7 16. O-O (16. Bc3 Ba6 17. O-O $14) 16...
e6 $5 17. dxe6 (17. Bc3 exd5 18. exd5 (18. Nb6 18... Qa7 $15) 18... Nxd5 19.
Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Be4 Nf6 21. Qxd6 21... Ba6 $15) 17... fxe6 (17... Qxe6 $2 18. Nf4
$16 (18. Bc7 Ba6 19. Qb3 $1 $36)) 18. e5 (18. Bc3 18... d5 $13 (18... Ba6 $132)
) (18. Nb6 $6 18... Qa7 19. Nxc8 Rxc8 20. Be1 (20. Bc4 $2 20... d5 $1 $19)
20... c4+ 21. Bf2 21... Qxa3 $15) 18... dxe5 19. Nxe5 Qa7 20. Nc4 20... Nd5 $13
{  The resulting position is similar to the game Varga-Gyimesi above. Although
White's forces are well developed and he has a better P structure ( e6), Black
has good piece play and should hold the balance.} 21. Be1 Nc6 22. Bf2 Rd8 (
22... Ba6 23. Re1 23... Bb5 $11) 23. Qb3 (23. Qc2 $6 23... Ndb4 $1 24. axb4
Nxb4 25. Qb3 Nxd3 (25... Rxd3 26. Qxb4 cxb4 27. Bxa7 Ba6 28. Rc1 b3 29. Kf2 b2
30. Nxb2 Bxb2 31. Rc6 $14 {/=}) 26. Rd1 26... Rd5 $1 27. Nb6 27... Qb7 $5 $15 (
27... Nxf2 28. Rxd5 exd5 29. Qxd5+ Qf7 30. Qd8+ Qf8 31. Qxc8 $11)) 23... Nc3 $5
(23... Nd4 24. Nxd4 cxd4 25. Bg3 $14) (23... Ba6 24. Qa4 Nd4 25. Nxd4 cxd4 26.
Bg3 26... Ra8 $11) 24. Qc2 (24. Nxc3 $2 24... Rxd3 25. Rc1 25... Nd4 $17) 24...
Qd7 (24... Nxe2+ $142 25. Qxe2 (25. Bxe2 25... Nd4 $11) 25... Qd7 26. Be4 26...
Ba6 $132) 25. Nxc3 Qxd3 26. Qxd3 Rxd3 27. Ne4 27... Nd4 $5 (27... Ba6 28. Nxc5
Bxc4 29. Nxd3 Bxd3 30. Rc1 $36 { a3}) 28. Rb1 $1 (28. Nxc5 $2 28... Rc3 $19)
28... Bf8 (28... Ba6 29. Nxc5 Bxc4 30. Rb8+ Kf7 31. Rb7+ Kf8 32. Nxd3 $14) 29.
h4 { Rb8} 29... Rb3 (29... Ba6 30. Ne5 $1 30... Rb3 (30... Rxa3 $2 31. Rb8 Kg7
32. Ra8 $40) 31. Nf6+ $14) 30. Rd1 30... Ba6 $5 (30... Ne2+ $143 31. Kh2 { }
31... Ba6 32. Rd7 $1 $36) 31. Bxd4 31... cxd4 {Black decides to rely on his
rather than fight for a draw in a slightly unpleasant   after} (31... Bxc4 32.
Bxc5 Bxc5+ 33. Nxc5 Rxa3 34. Rd7 Bd5 35. Re7 $14) 32. Rxd4 32... Be7 $44 (32...
Bxc4 33. Rxc4 Rxa3 34. Rc7 Bg7 35. Rc8+ 35... Bf8 $14 {
is similar to the above note.}) 33. Ne5 (33. Rd7 $5 33... Kf8 $14 (33... Bxh4
34. Ncd6 { g3+-}) (33... Rb7 $5)) 33... Bxh4 34. Nd2 (34. Nc5 Rb1+ 35. Kh2 Bf6
36. f4 36... Rb5 $1 { } 37. Nxa6 37... Rxe5 $11) 34... Re3 35. Rxh4 Rxe5 36.
Re4 36... Rxe4 $2 {This lands Black in a bad  .} (36... Rd5 37. Rxe6 $14) (
36... Ra5 $142 37. Re3 $14 {/= with only a rather academic advantage for White.
} (37. a4 Bb7 38. Rc4 38... Bd5 $11 { Bc6})) 37. Nxe4 e5 (37... Kf7 38. Ng5+
$18 {also wins a pawn.}) (37... Bc4 38. a4 { } 38... Kf8 39. Nf6 h6 40. Nd7+
Ke7 41. Ne5 $18) 38. Nf6+ Kf7 (38... Kg7 $142 39. Nd7 Bb5 40. Nxe5 Kf6 41. Ng4+
$16 {/+-}) 39. Nxh7 $18 {
White has an extra P and Black's P are weak-the game is decided.} 39... Ke6 40.
Nf8+ Kf5 41. Nd7 g5 (41... e4 42. Nc5 $18) 42. Kf2 Bc8 43. g4+ $1 43... Ke6 $8
(43... Kf4 44. Nf8 { Ng6#}) 44. Nc5+ Kd5 45. Ne4 Kd4 46. Nxg5 1-0

[Event "RUS-chT"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "2005.04.27"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Volkov, Sergey"]
[Black "Iljushin, Alexei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2634"]
[BlackElo "2543"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2005.04.19"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.08.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. f3 {Both players are experts in this
line, although Iljushin with White stopped playing it a while ago. This time
he decides to try it from the other side of the board.} 5... e6 6. e4 6... c4
$5 {A rare side-line, Black invests more material to keep White's K in the  .
However unpleasant this may seem, his compensation is still rather vague.} (
6... exd5 7. e5 ({Volkov plays} 7. exd5 7... Bd6 8. Qe2+ Kf8 9. Nc3 {
, recently he was confronted with the interesting novelty} 9... Bb7 $5 10. Bg5
h6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Bg3 Bxg3+ 13. hxg3 Kg7 14. Qd2 Re8+ 15. Kf2 Qb6 16. Rd1 c4+
17. Qd4 Qxd4+ 18. Rxd4 axb5 19. a3 Ra5 20. Nge2 Na6 21. g4 d6 22. Ng3 Bc8 23.
Nce4 Nxe4+ 24. Nxe4 Rd8 25. Be2 25... Nc5 $15 {
Volkov,S-Mecking,H/playchess.com 5'/2004/}) 7... Qe7 8. Qe2 8... Ng8 $13 {
/  is the main line, but nowadays it's not so popular as in the late 1990s.})
7. Bxc4 axb5 8. Bxb5 {
White will have to suffer discomfort anyway, so he at least cashes in.} (8. Bb3
Bc5 9. Ne2 (9. Nh3 O-O 10. dxe6 $5 (10. Bg5 $6 10... h6 11. Bh4 exd5 12. Bxd5
Qa5+ 13. Nc3 Nxd5 14. Qxd5 b4 15. Na4 b3+ 16. Nc3 Nc6 17. Qxb3 Rb8 18. Qa4 Rxb2
19. Qxa5 19... Nxa5 $40 {Vallejo Pons,F-De la Riva Aguado,O/Pamplona 1999/})
10... fxe6 11. e5 $13) (9. Kf1 $6 9... O-O 10. g3 d6 11. Kg2 exd5 12. exd5 Re8
13. Ne2 13... Ra7 $1 14. Re1 Rae7 15. Bd2 Ba7 16. Ng1 Rxe1 17. Bxe1 Qb6 18. Nh3
Bxh3+ 19. Kxh3 Re5 20. g4 h5 21. Bg3 hxg4+ 22. fxg4 Ne4 23. Nd2 Nf2+ 24. Bxf2
Qxf2 25. Nf1 Re2 26. Qd3 Qg2+ 27. Kh4 Bf2+ 28. Kg5 Re5+ 29. Kf4 29... g5# {
Jakab,A-Predojevic,B/Budapest/2004/}) 9... Qb6 10. Nbc3 d6 11. Bg5 $13 (11.
dxe6 $6 11... fxe6 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Qd2 Nc6 14. Nd1 Na5 15. Qd3 15... Nc4 $1 $40
16. Bxc4 bxc4 17. Qxc4 d5 18. Qc2 dxe4 19. fxe4 Ng4 20. Bh4 Ba6 21. Nec3 Ne5
22. Qb3 22... Qd6 {0-1,Rippis,T-Kulashko,A/Auckland op/2003/})) 8... Bc5 (8...
Qa5+ 9. Nc3 Bb4 10. Qd3 Na6 11. Be3 Nc5 12. Qc4 exd5 13. exd5 Nb7 14. Bf4 O-O
15. Bc7 Bxc3+ 16. bxc3 Qa3 17. Ne2 Ne8 18. Nd4 Qe7+ 19. Kf2 Nbd6 20. Bxd6 Nxd6
21. Qd3 Bb7 22. c4 Ra3 23. Qd2 Qh4+ 24. g3 Qh5 25. Qf4 $16 {
Carron,J-Kogan,A/Zurich/2001/}) 9. Ne2 (9. Nc3 O-O 10. Nge2 {-9.Ne2}) 9... O-O
(9... exd5 $2 10. e5 $16) 10. Nbc3 Qb6 (10... exd5 $6 11. e5 (11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12.
Qxd5 Qa5+ 13. Nc3 d6 14. Qd3 Na6 15. a3 d5 16. exd5 Nb4 17. Qd1 Bd4 18. Rb1 Bf5
19. axb4 Qxb4 20. Bd3 Bxc3+ 21. bxc3 21... Qxc3+ {
Pinho,P-Alvarez,R/Mondariz/1996/} 22. Qd2 $11) 11... d4 12. b4 (12. Nxd4 Qe7
13. Nb3 $5 13... Qxe5+ 14. Qe2 $16) 12... Ba7 13. exf6 dxc3 14. Qd5 Qb6 15.
fxg7 15... Re8 $132 16. Bd3 $6 16... Qf2+ 17. Kd1 Rxe2 18. Bxh7+ Kxh7 19. Qh5+
{ ,Martinez,D-Alvarez,R/Mondariz/1996/}) (10... Bb7 $5 11. Kf1 (11. d6 Nc6 12.
Bg5 Qb6 13. Qd2 Rfc8 14. a4 Ne8 15. Bf4 Ba6 16. Rb1 16... Nb4 $44 17. Rd1 $2
17... Bxb5 18. axb5 18... e5 $1 $17 {Wojtaszek,R-Predojevic,B/Halkidiki/2001/ }
19. Bxe5 19... Be3 $19) (11. Qd3 exd5 12. e5 Ne8 13. Nxd5 Nc6 14. Bf4 Nc7 15.
Nxc7 Qxc7 16. Bxc6 dxc6 17. Be3 Qxe5 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 19. Qd4 Qb5 20. a4 20... Qa6
$44 {Lahlum,H-Kolas,T/Oslo/2000/}) 11... exd5 12. exd5 Ba7 13. g3 Qb6 14. Kg2
Qf2+ 15. Kh3 Qxf3 16. Nf4 Qf2 17. Rf1 Qc5 18. Re1 Qd6 19. Nh5 Nxh5 20. Qxh5 Bd4
21. a4 Bxc3 22. bxc3 Bxd5 23. Ba3 Be6+ 24. Kg2 Bd5+ 25. Kh3 Be6+ 26. Kg2 Bd5+
27. Kh3 { ,Wojtaszek,R-Harikrishna,P/WChJ Goa/2002/}) 11. Qb3 $146 {
White gets ready to castle  , but there his K won't be safer than in the  .} ({
The most usual reaction is the developing move} 11. Bg5 11... Na6 (11... Ne8
12. Rc1 Bf2+ 13. Kf1 f6 14. Bf4 e5 15. Bd2 Nd6 16. Bd3 Ba6 17. Na4 Qa7 18. Bb4
$18 {Llanos,G-Felgaer,R/Torre Blanca/1997/}) (11... exd5 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Qxd5
Bb7 14. Qf5 (14. Qh5 Be3 15. Rd1 Kh8 16. Ng3 Bg1 17. Rd2 Be3 18. Rd3 Bc1 19.
Ke2 Bxb2 20. a4 Nc6 21. Nf5 Bxc3 22. Rxc3 Ne5 23. Qh6 Rg8 24. Rc6 Rxg2+ 25. Kd1
Rg1+ 26. Ke2 Rg2+ 27. Kd1 Qd8 28. Rc2 Rg6 29. Qe3 Bc6 30. h4 Rxa4 31. h5 Rg5
32. Bxa4 Bxa4 33. Rhh2 Bxc2+ 34. Rxc2 Nc6 35. Rd2 {
-  Simonet Pons,M-Jose Ramon,G/Andorra 1998/LF_11 (35)}) 14... Ra5 15. a4 Na6
16. Nf4 Nc7 17. Nh5 17... Ne8 {Rylander,D-Holving,R/Stockholm/1999/} 18. Rd1
Bg1 19. Qg4+ Kh8 20. Qh4 $18) 12. Bxf6 (12. Qd2 Nc7 13. Bc4 Bb7 14. d6 Bxd6 15.
Be3 Bc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Qd4 Qa5 18. O-O d5 19. e5 Nd7 20. Bd3 $16 {
Solodovnichenko,Y-Sergeev,V/SVK-ch Presov/1997/}) 12... gxf6 13. Rb1 Nc7 14.
Bc4 Ba6 15. Bxa6 Rxa6 16. Kf1 exd5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Qxd5 Rfa8 19. Qb3 Qxb3 20.
axb3 Rb8 21. Nc3 Rxb3 22. Ke2 Ba3 23. Rhd1 Rxb2+ 24. Rxb2 Bxb2 25. Nd5 $16 {
P,Hauchard,A-Guidarelli,L/Vichy/2000/ Schreckliche schwarze Bauernstruktur
gegen einen riesigen Springer.}) ({Similar to the text-move is} 11. Bc4 11...
Bb7 $6 ({This wastes a tempo.} 11... Na6 $142 {
, this can transpose into the game position after} 12. Qb3 Qa7 13. Bg5) 12. Qb3
Qa7 13. Bg5 Na6 14. O-O-O exd5 15. exd5 Be3+ 16. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 17. Kb1 Rab8 18.
Ne4 Qh6 19. Nxf6+ Qxf6 20. Qc3 Qg6+ 21. Bd3 Qb6 22. Qd4 Nc5 23. Rd2 Rfc8 24.
Ng3 Qa5 25. Nh5 f6 26. Qg4 g5 27. Nxf6+ Kf7 28. Qf5 $1 $18 {
Postny,E-Guseinov,E/EUR-ch Warsaw/2005/}) 11... Na6 12. Bg5 Nc7 13. Bc4 Qa7 14.
O-O-O (14. Bxf6 $142 14... gxf6 15. Kf1 Rb8 16. Qc2 d6 17. g4 $5 $14 { Kg2})
14... Ba6 $1 { a,b } 15. Bxa6 Qxa6 16. Qc2 Rfb8 17. Rd2 $6 (17. Bxf6 $142 17...
gxf6 18. Rd3 $14 (18. dxe6 dxe6 19. Rd7 19... Nb5 $13)) 17... Nfe8 $1 $13 {
Black avoids the exchange and transfers his N to the  . White must defend with
care.} 18. Qd3 18... Qa7 { f6} 19. Nd4 (19. Rc2 19... Na6 $5 20. a3 20... Rb3
$44 (20... e5 21. Nd1 $5 $14)) 19... e5 {
Now White must rely in his defence, as at the moment he has no active  .} 20.
Nb3 (20. Nf5 20... Qa5 $44 { Nb5}) 20... Rxb3 {An enterprising sacrifice, but
Black could have increased his pressure also by quiet methods.} (20... Na6 $5
$44) 21. axb3 f6 22. Bh4 (22. b4 $6 22... Bxb4 $1 23. Be3 (23. Bh4 Qa1+ 24. Qb1
Bxc3 25. bxc3 Qxc3+ 26. Rc2 26... Qe3+ $40) 23... Qa1+ 24. Nb1 $8 24... Bxd2+
25. Bxd2 25... Nd6 $17) 22... Nd6 (22... Be3 23. Na4 Rc8 24. Kb1 Bxd2 25. Qxd2
Nb5 26. Bf2 $14) 23. Kd1 (23. Kc2 Na6 24. Na2 Nb4+ 25. Nxb4 25... Bxb4 $44 26.
Rdd1 Qc5+ 27. Kb1 Qa7 28. Kc2 $11) (23. Na4 $5 23... Be3 24. Kb1 $14) 23...
Qa1+ 24. Qb1 {White must try to escape with his K, the alternative} (24. Nb1 $6
24... Ncb5 25. Bf2 Bxf2 26. Rxf2 26... Nd4 $40 {is extremely dangerous.}) 24...
Ncb5 25. Ke2 (25. Kc2 25... Qa5 { Nd4 }) 25... Qa6 26. Qd3 $6 ({
Simplification helps and gives White chances to disentangle:} 26. Nxb5 $142
26... Nxb5 (26... Qxb5+ $2 27. Qd3 $16) 27. Qd3 Nd4+ 28. Kf1 Nxb3 29. Qxa6 $1 (
29. Rd1 Qb6 30. g4 $14 { Kg2}) 29... Nxd2+ 30. Ke2 Rxa6 31. Kxd2 $16) 26...
Nd4+ 27. Kf1 Nxb3 28. Qxa6 {Here White can't retain his material advantage.} (
28. Rd1 $143 28... Nc4 29. Bf2 $8 29... Bb4 $5 $36 (29... Bxf2 30. Kxf2 30...
Nxb2 $36)) 28... Nxd2+ 29. Ke2 Rxa6 30. Kxd2 30... Nc4+ $11 31. Ke2 (31. Kc2
Ne3+ 32. Kd3 32... Nxg2 $15) 31... Nxb2 32. Rb1 Rb6 (32... Nc4 33. Rb7 (33.
Rb8+ Kf7 34. Rc8 Ra5 35. Be1 35... Nd6 $11) 33... Ra7 $11) 33. Nd1 Nxd1 34.
Rxb6 Bxb6 35. Kxd1 {White has survived a dangerous attack and forced a
liquidation into an  , in which he has a minimal advantage due to his better B.
However, Black still should be able to draw comfortably.} 35... h5 (35... d6
$142 36. Kc2 Kf7 37. Kd3 Ke7 38. Kc4 38... Kd7 $11 {and it's not clear how
White can improve his position, Black avoids a P  and just shuffles his B.})
36. Ke2 Kf7 37. Kd3 Bg1 38. h3 Ke7 39. Kc4 39... g5 $2 {
f6 Creates a second weakness apart from the d-pawn.} (39... d6 40. Kb5 Kd7 41.
g4 hxg4 42. fxg4 Be3 43. Be1 43... Bf4 $11 {and Black holds, White's K has
nowhere to penetrate and his B can't get in via f8.} (43... g5 $2 44. h4 $1
44... gxh4 45. Bxh4 Ke7 46. Kc6 $18)) 40. Be1 h4 (40... d6 41. h4 $1 41... g4 (
41... Bc5 42. g4 $1 42... gxh4 43. Bxh4 hxg4 44. fxg4 {
Kb5-c6-c7-c8,Be1-a5-d8+-}) 42. fxg4 hxg4 43. Bd2 $16 {/+-, h}) 41. Kb5 Be3 (
41... d6 42. Kc6 $1 (42. Bb4 $2 42... Kd7 $11) 42... Bc5 $8 43. Ba5 Ke8 44. Kc7
Ke7 45. Kc8 Ke8 46. Bd8 Bd4 (46... Kf7 47. Kd7 $18) 47. Bxf6 Be3 48. Bd8 Bd2
49. f4 $1 49... Bxf4 (49... exf4 50. e5 Bb4 51. exd6 Bxd6 52. Bxg5 $18) 50. Ba5
$18 { Bb4,Kc7}) 42. Bb4+ Ke8 43. Bd6 $18 43... Bd2 (43... Kd8 44. Ka6 { Kb7,Bc7
} 44... Kc8 $2 45. Be7) 44. Kb6 Bc3 (44... Kd8 45. Kb7 Ba5 46. Bc5 Bd2 47. Bb6+
Ke7 (47... Ke8 48. Kc8 { Bd8+-}) 48. Kc8 Kd6 49. Kd8 $1 $18 { Bc7}) 45. Kc7
Ba5+ 46. Kc8 Bd8 47. Ba3 {
Playing for zugzwang is the simplest, but White already has more ways to win.}
(47. Bc7 Be7 (47... Bxc7 48. Kxc7 Ke7 49. Kc8 $18 {is the game.}) 48. d6 (48.
Ba5 $22 48... Bf8 49. Bd8 Bg7 50. d6 Bh8 51. Be7 Bg7 52. Kc7 Bh8 53. Bf8 $18 {
is the same}) 48... Bf8 49. Bd8 Bg7 (49... Bxd6 50. Bxf6 $18) 50. Be7 Bh8 51.
Bf8 Kxf8 52. Kxd7 Kf7 53. Kc8 f5 54. d7 Bf6 55. d8=Q Bxd8 56. Kxd8 $18) 47...
Bb6 (47... Ba5 48. Bc5 Be1 49. Bb6 $18 { Bd8}) 48. Bb4 Bd8 49. Bd6 $22 49...
Bb6 50. Bc7 Bxc7 (50... Bd4 51. Bd8 $18) 51. Kxc7 Ke7 52. Kc8 (52. Kc8 Kd6 (
52... Ke8 53. d6 $18) 53. Kd8 f5 54. exf5 Kxd5 55. Kxd7 $18) 1-0
