sosonko's corner

8/12/2019 Sosonko's Corner

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Sosonkos Cor ner

Roman + RybkaJust when I was pondering aboutthe sub ject of my next columnViktor Kortchnoi called me fromSwitzerland. Genna, you havebeen playing the Dragon your en-tire life. I saw some recent gamesby Carlsen, in which he played12...a6, not without success. Is itworth trying? Does White reallyhave some problems here?I dared not to give a straight an-swer to the famous maestro. Tothis very day he still works a lot onopenings, although manually hasto be added to this observation.

Later that very day I received aphone call from another continent.My old friend Roman Dzindzi-chashvili, using exactly the samewords: Genna, you have beenplaying the Dragon your entire life I found the refutation of the sys-

tem!Dzindzi was referring to this line.1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cd44.d4 f6 5.c3 g6 6.e3g7 7.f3 c6 8.d2 0-0 9. 0-0-0d5 10.b1 d4 11.e5

T_Ld tM_jJ_ jJlJ _ _ sJ__ _Ji _

_ s _ __ n bI_IiIq _Ii_K_R_ _R

T Ld tMjJ jJlJ sJ

Jis

n bIIiIq Ii K R B R

In Year book 42 I already men-tioned this line. To my knowledgethis bizarre move was first playedin the game L.Milov-Cirkvencic,Nagykanizsa 1993.11...d7 12.d4 e6 13.f4 f614.ef6 f6 15.e3 b6 16.h4d4 17.d4

T_Ld tM_jJ_ _ _J s _J_J__ _J_ _

_ r i i

_ n q _IiI_ _I__K_ _ _R

T Ld tMjJ J s J J

Jr i i

n qIiI IK B R

Subsequently hundreds of gameshave been played with this originalidea. The main line culminates in aqueen sacrifice.11...f5 12.ef6 f6 13.d5d5 14.d5 e3 15.d2 d1

16.d1The fact that renowned grand-masters such as Fabiano Caruana,one the worlds youngest and besttalents and gifted with a sharp eyefor theoretical developments, have

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by Genna Sosonko

A per sonal view

on the chess open ing

Y E G R E S

N I T H K O R O S

S O B N E D R E T G A S T I R F

Kortchnoi talking to Dzindzi


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given this line their seal of ap-proval, speaks volumes.

T_L_ tM_jJ_ jJ_J _ _ lJ__ _ _ _

_ _ _ __ _ _I_IiI_ _Ii_K_Q_ _R

T L tMjJ jJ J lJ

IIiI Ii K Q B R

The evaluation of my computer is0.70, in human terms a sizable advantage for White. However, inthis type of position the silicon

judgment is slightly less relevant,because it is to a large extent basedon material considerations.16...e6Doubtlessly the best reply. Themore ag gressive 16...f5?! al lowsWhite to occupy the a2-g8 diago-nal. This assures him of the betterchances: 17.c4! b5 (17...fd818.e2 g5? 19.d1 d120.d1 c8 21.b3 c6 22.d5e6? 23.e5 h5 24.g4 1-0Shabalov-Kiewra, Chicago Open2004; 17...fc8 18.b3 g5 19.g4g6 20.h4 h6 21.f4 gf4 22.f3c5 23.f4 ac8 24.h2 g725.h5 e5 26.f3 h2 27.hg6 f628.b7 d6 29.a7 Fier- Arribas Lopez, Parla Open 2008)18.b3 a5 19.g4 fd8 (19...c8

20.e2 b8 21.d1 e6 22.d2!a8 (22...a4? 23.f4!)23.f4 g7 24.a4 ba4 25.a4N.Mamedov-Aronian, BatumiEch 2002) 20.e2 d7 21.d5ab8 22.d1 a4 23.f4 b4 24.c4e6 25.g5 g7 26.d6 f8 27.d3c6 28.h4 d3 29.d3 g7 30.h5d8 31.h6! h8 32.e3 d433.e1 b8 34.d2 c5 35.e2d4 36.g6! hg6 37.c4

Fier-Robson, Hoogeveen 2008.17.b5!According to Dzindzi the strongestmove. Whites manoeuvre can beseen in several other lines of theDragon. The modest 17.e2 is less

promising: 17...fd8 18.c1 b519.d1 dc8 20.e3 a5 21.g4 b422.b5 (too late) 22...a4 23.d3?(a tac tical mistake. 23.e4 a324.b4 b2 25.c4 ab8 26.a4 isstill acceptable for White)23...a2! 24.a2 c2 25.g5 g726.d2 b3 27.a3 (27.b1 ac828.e2 d4 29.d2 d2 30.d2e3 31.d1 g5 32.a4 c233.b3 h2) 27...b2 28.b4c1 29.c2 e3 30.e2 c131.d3 b2 32.b1 a3 33.b3 a234.a2 a3 0-1 Simacek- Kashlinskaya, Marianske Lazne2009.

T_ _ tM_jJ_ jJ_J _ _LlJ__ _ _ _

_ _ _ __ _ _I_IiI_ _Ii_K_Q_ _R

T tMjJ jJ J LlJ

B

IIiI Ii K Q R

17...a6Other moves are no bed of rosesfor Black either. A) 17...fd8 18.e2 d419.d1 ad8 20.d4 d4 21.a3(21.c3 is also quite possible, e.g.21...f5 22.a1 d5 23.c4 e524.f2 h5 25.f4 a5 26.a3 b627.d2 g7 28.d8 c5 29.b3c8 30.g3 h4 31.e8 e6 32.g4

c7 33.h3 g5 34.fg5 g5 35.c2a6 36.b8 d7 37.a4 d3 (adesperate attempt at activity.37...e7 38.e5 f6 (38...f639.e4) 39.h5 with 40.g5 tocome) 38.a7 c4 39.b6 d540.b5 h3 41.c4 h1 42.a2 h343.cd5 h2 44.de6 a1 45.a1h1 46.a2 c1 47.d7 1-0Spoelman-Van Haastert, DutchTeam Championship 2008/09)

21...h5 22.d3 g7 23.g3 a524.f4 g4 25.f1 d7 26.f5 b627.fg6 fg6 28.f3 and al thoughthere were some techni cal hiccupsin the end White reeled in victoryin Caruana-E.Pinter, Szeged 2007.

B) 17...ac8 18.e2 a6 19.a4c4 20.e3 fd8 21.b3 d622.c4 c4 23.c3 c7 24.c2cd7 25.g4 h4 26.f4 e627.f3 ed6 28.g2 g5(28...f6 29.g5 g7 30.h4 and

just as in Fier-Robson, White isgoing to clamp Black down withh5-h6) 29.f5 g7 30.f1 b531.e2 e6 32.f3 ef5 33.f5 e634.f3 h6 35.b3 e1 36.d5de7 37.d8 b4 38.a8 bc339.g8 f6 40.f3 e5 41.d8b6 42.a3 1-0 Mekhitarian- Aloma Vidal, Sants Open, Bar ce-lona 2008.18.a4 fd818...b5 19.b3 b3 20.ab3 a521.c3? (this should be avoided at allcost. Dzindzi recommends 21.e2!

b4 (af ter 21...a4 22.a2! is the keymove. The king feels comfort ableon b3 af ter 22...ab3 23.b3) 22.d1and the exchange of a pair of rookscontributes to Whites advantage.The bat tle is only for two results)21...a4 22.b4 a3 23.d5 fd824.b7 ab8 25.a7 a8 26.b7db8 27.d5 a4 28.b3 ab229.b2 c8 30.c1 c4 and onlyBlack can win (which he actu ally

did) in Filev-Georgescu, Bucharest jr 2008.19.e2 d4 20.b3 b321.ab3 ad8 22.g322.g4 h4 23.e3 8d5 24.f4 e625.f5! ef5 26.gf5 g7 27.f1 d7

Sosonkos Corner

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S S E H C N I W E N

Fabiano Caruana


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A multi-func tional move. Black does not want to castle kingsideanyway, so he prepares counter-play in case White de cides to takeon f6. What should White do?11.c3 e6 12.f6R+R suggest to meet the retreat12.e3 with 12...d7 13.b3 0-0-0 14.a7 c6!. White has re -covered his pawn, but e4 is hang-ing and Blacks pieces harmonizemuch better. Moreover, Whitesknight on the edge is a sorry sight.12...gf6 13.f3Black is ready for this consistentapproach. However, Black is alsofine after 13.h1 d7 14.f3g6 intending 15...0-0-0.13...f4 14.g3 h3In this po sition good advice doesnot come cheap!

Mys te rious Rook MoveNimzowitsch called moves like10...g8 mysterious rook moves. Long before the advent of computer en gines there were ex-amples of similar moves.

Uhlmann,WolfgangAlexandria,NanaHalle 1981 (3)

1.c4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 f64.f3 e6 5.g5 dc4 6.e4 b57.e5 h6 8.h4 g5 9.g5 hg510.g5 bd7 11.g3 b712.g2 b6 13.ef6 0-0-014.0-0 c5 15.d5 b4

_Mt l tjL_S_J_

d _Ji __ jI_ b

jJ_ _ __ n _ iIi _ i ir _Q_Rk

Mt l tjL S J

d JijI b

jJn i

Ii iBir Q Rk

16.b1

Or how about the following myste-rious move?

Porreca,GiorgioBronstein,DavidBel grade 1954 (10)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 de44.e4 f5 5.g3 g6 6.h4 h67.h3 h7 8.c4 f6 9.f4bd7 10. 0-0 c7 11.e1

T_ _Ml tjJdSjJjL _J_ s j_ _ _ _

_ i n i_ _ _ nIiI_ iI_r bQr k

T Ml tjJdSjJjL J s j

Bi n i nIiI iIr bQr k

11...g8!Bronstein was always quite eco-

nomical with the use of exclama-tion marks, but he awarded himselfone for this unusual prophylacticmove.

Equal izer?Who does not know the followingminiature by two fighters par ex -cel lence ?

Miles,Anthony

Kortchnoi,ViktorJohannes burg 19791.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.c4 c54.c3 f6 5.d4 ed4 6.cd4 b47.d2 d2 8.bd2 d5 9.ed5d5 10.b3

T_LdM_ tjJj _JjJ _S_ _ __ _S_ _

_ i _ __Q_ _N_Ii n iIir _ k _R

T LdM tjJj JjJ S

S

BiQ N

Ii n iIir k R

10...a5! 11.a4 c6! 12.b3a5! 13.a4 c6! -

The move 10...a5 in this an cientmain line was already known in the19th century, but it was thismini-game that truly launched itinto prominence. Countless timesthis game has been copied, also bystrong grandmasters who dontmake a habit of opening with thekings pawn, adding fuel to thesuspicion that the result of thegame was known be fore it wasplayed.Before we present Dzindzis rec-ommendation we will try to ex-plain why this line has such a finereputation as an equalizer.Af ter 11.a4 c6! what canWhite do?

T_LdM_ tjJj _JjJ _S_ _ __ _S_ _Q_ i _ __ _ _N_Ii n iIir _ k _R

T LdM tjJj JjJ S

SQ Bi

NIi n iIir k R

A) The all too aggressive12.e5 is thwarted by 12... 0-0!13.c6 e8! 14.f1 b6!15.b5 bc6 16.c5 e6 17.b3

d8 18.e1 c4 19.c4 d520.a7 a8 21.a8 a8 22.e2a2 23.f3 b5 24.b1 f525.bf1 b3 26.f4? (26.e3)26...g6 (26...d3!) 27.e5?(27.f3) 27...c5 28.dc5 a4 29.g5

Sosonkos Corner

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Ro man Dzindzichashvili in 1979

S E V I H C R A S S E H C N I W E N


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g7 30.d7 0-1 Cubas-Mareco,Santos 2008. B) 12.b3 a5 13.a4 c614.b5 (this brings no ad vantage)14...b6 15. 0-0 0-0 16.c5 c417.c4 e6 18.e3 e7 19.g5d5 20.c2 g6 21.f5 c622.d5 - Andreikin- Romanov, World Junor Cham pi-onship, Erevan 2007. C) 12.b3 a5 13.a4 c614.b5 d7 15.b3 (this is alsotoo ambitious. Better is 15.0-0)15...e7 16.f1 e6 17.c6 bc618.c2 0-0 19.h4?! b4! 20.b1d7 21.a3 f5 22.e5 (22.d1c2 23.c1 d3 24.g1 c225.a2 d4 26.d4 d4 27.c3c5) 22...e6 23.c1?(23.e4) 23...c2 24.g4 d5!and White soon went down inSveshnikov-Mortensen, KotovMemorial, Leningrad 1984.

So what is it that our dynamic duoR+R have in store for us?

Turzo,At tila

Borisek,JureBudapest 2001 (3)

1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.c4 c54.c3 f6 5.d4 ed4 6.cd4 b47.d2 d2 8.bd2 d5 9.ed5d5 10.b3 a5 11.a4 c612.b3 a5 13.a4 c614.a3!?

T_LdM_ t

jJj _JjJ _S_ _ __ _S_ _

_ i _ _q _ _N_Ii n iIir _ k _R

T LdM t

jJj JjJ SS

Biq NIi n iIir k R

By stopping Black from castling

White forces a queen swap. Leav-ing a queen on would be asking fortrouble.14...e7 15.e7 ce715...de7 16. 0-0 0-0 17.fe1 f5

18.d5 cd4 19.d4 d420.e7 Rysavy-Skopal, Havirov2008.16.e4 h6 17. 0-0 0-0 18.fe1b6 19.c3 e6 20.ac1 c621.d5 cd5 22.a6 f5 23.c7g5 24.h3 fd8 25.ec1.

Its quite remarkable that despitethe pres ence of an iso lated pawnRybka pre fers Whites chances inthis endgame. The followingscheme is easy to understand:White will castle kingside and puthis rooks on c1 and e1, he carriesout the knight manoeuvre e4 andpossibly c5-d3, and puts his rookpawns on a3 and h3 to furtherimprove his position. The com-

puter discerns a small ad vantage of0.20. Of course, Black will not sitaround idly, but the position is cer-tainly not dead.

When analysing a slightly inferiorendgame I once asked the lateTigran Petrosian: How on earthare you going to make any prog-ress here? The an swer of the for-mer World Champion was telling:

For progress you should ask Andersson. He was referring tothe Swedish endgame expert, whorelishes in exploiting minute end-game advantages.

One hundred years ago EmanuelLasker stated that the el ement of surprise in the game of chess hasalmost gone. Pillsbury started tosystematically analyse openings tothe bone. This knowledge carriesthe seed of the death of chess. Inthe old days we would seek for ad-venture, now the unknown has allbeen charted.I dont subscribe to this point of view. Our game still has many un-veiled treasures. But in order todiscover these one has to send oursilicon friend in the right di rection.I cannot remember who said thatmusicians can be divided in twocategories: specialists and ama-teurs. Members of the former

group know how to play but dontknow how to love it, those from thelatter group dont know how toplay but certainly know how tolove it. Does such a distinction alsoapply to the world of chess? If yes,Roman Dzindzichashvili, whom Ihave known for half a century andwho has reached the blessed age of65 this spring, belongs to both cat-egories! He knows an awful lot

about chess but still loves ouryoung old game.Dear Roman, I wish you all thebest and may R+R find many moresurprising ideas.

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N O S L I G E T T E I R A M

Ro man Dzindzichashvili and the author

sosonko's corner

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