winning with c4 - andrew

WINNING WITH 1 c4 A COMPLETE

OPENING SYSTEM

ANDREW SOLTIS INTERNATIONAL GRANDMASTER

ISBN: 0-87568-192-1

WINNING WITH 1 c4

ANDREW SOL TIS INTERNATIONAL GRANDMASTER

Chess Digest, Inc.

Copyright0 1990 Andrew Soltis

All rights reserved under Pan American and International Copyright conventions.

ISBN: 0-87568- 192 - 1

This is a revised and expanded edition of White Opening System With 1 P-QB4 by Andrew Soltis (Chess Digest, Inc. 1974).

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tapes, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior and current permission from the publisher.

Author: Andrew Soltis Editor: Ken Smith & Hugh Myers Computer Typesetting: Elaine Smith Cover: Elaine Smith Proofreader: Hugh Myers Diagram Paste-up: Laurin Curtis Final Preparation & Diagrams: David Sewell & Ken Smith

Publisher: Chess Digest, Inc.*, 11836 Judd Court, #338-E, Dallas, Texas 75234-4402

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This book is dedicated to the inspiration o f all my writing, my w ife Marcy.

4 Table o f Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION INTROD UCTION

SECTION I 1 c4, eS A 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3 , N f3 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!

A 1 4 ... Bb4 A2 4 ... g6 A3 4 ... Nd4 A4 4 ... Bc5 AS 4 ... d6 A6 4 ... d5

B 1 c4, eS 2 N c3 C 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, Nc6 3 N f3, fS D 1 c4, eS 2 N c3, fS

SECTION I I 1 c4, cS A 1 c4, cS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6

(1 c4, c5 2 Nc3, Nf6 3 Nf3, Nc6 4 g3!, g6 5 Bg2, Bg7 6 0-0, 0-0 7 d4!)

A 1 7 ... cd A2 7 ... d6

B 1 c4, cS 2 Nc3, Nc6 3 N f3, g6 C 1 c4, cS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, dS

SECTION I I I 1 c4, N f6 2 Nc3 A 2 . d5 B 2 ... e6 C 2 ... c6 D 2 ... g6

SECTION IV Other Ideas Against 1 c4 A 1 ... c6 B 1 ... e6 c 1 ... rs D 1 ... g6 E 1 ... Nc6 F 1 ... b6 G l...dS

Page 3 5

22 24 25 4 1 43 45 47 48 52 54 55

56 59

62 70 73 75

78 80 85 89 90

96 97 98 99

100 100 101 102

Introduction: Winning With 1 c4 s

INTRODUCTION The English Opening has come a long way in a

mere twenty years. Before 1970 it was regarded as the province of the positional stylist, the super-sophisticated master who wouldn't muddy his hands with the tactical turmoil begun by 1 d4 or 1 e4. And non-masters would hardly consider opening a game with 1 c4!?.

Today, in the 1990's, all classes and styles of players enjoy starting a game with the English and the body of theory has multiplied at least 10-fold since the days wh"en it was worthy of only a few pages in an opening manual. What is remarkable is how many questions about the right way of playing it remain unanswered.

After 1 c4:

This White opening repertoire (using the English Opening) has the practical aim of acquainting a player with the theoretical equipment he may need to play 1 c4 in serious chess. The accent is placed on learning a simple developing plan to counter each different formation of an opponent's (Black) pieces. The many transpositional possibilities -- especially rich in the English Opening -- are vital to the serious player.

6 Introduction: Winning With 1 c4

Basically the English Opening involves two areas of attention for White: the center and the Queenside. There are many situations in which White secures a Queenside initiative, seals off the center and then shifts to the Kingside. But the Kingside attack is usually only a secondary theme in the English Opening.

First consider this relatively ancient example of how White can play in the center. The game in question is Carls- Antze, Bremen 1933: 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3, d5 5 cd, NxdS 6 Bg2, Be6 7 0-0, Be7 8 d4!, ed 9 Nx d4, N x c3 10 bxc3, Nxd4 1 1 cxd4, c6 12 Rb 1 , Qd7 13 Qa4!

White threatens Rxb7 and dS. He already has a very strong game due to his seizure of the center on move eight. The game continued 13 .. . 0-0 14 d5!, B x d5 15 B x d5, QxdS 16 Rxb7, DeS 17 Rd1 , Qe6 18 Qc2, Bb6 19 Rd3!, Q fS 20 B f4, gS 21 e4!, Qc8 22 Rdd7!, gx f4 23 Qc4!, fg 24 Rx f7 and Black resigned in face of mate. The tactical conclusion was not inconsistent with the development of a superior central position in the opening.

Now with the center closed, White works on the Queenside. Almost always this involves b4-b5 and the maximization of strength on the White squares.

A particularly poignant example of this strategy's success was Petrosisn - Portlsch, 1974 Quarter Finals Candi dates Match.

Introduction: Winning With 1 c4 7

1 N f3, N f6 2 c4 (transposing back into English patterns after the next few moves) 2 ... g6 3 b3, B g7 4 Bb2, c5 5 g3, d6 6 Bg2, e5 7 0-0, Nc6 8 Nc3, 0-0 9 d3, N b S 10 Nd2!, Bg4 1 1 a3, B h6? 12 b4!, Nd4 13 h3, B e6 14 e3, cb? 15 ab, N c6 16 bS, N e7 17 B xb7!, B x h3 18 B x a8, B x f 1 19 Kx fl , Qxa8 20 Qf3!

White has a grossly won ending if Queens are exchanged. He wins the a-pawn almost automatically. Note White's domination of the white squares. The game concluded with 20 Qb8 2 1 g4, Ng7 22 Q f6! and Black resigned shortly after losing the piece (threat of taking the N on e7 or playing Qh4).

These two examples, one from the 1930s, the other from the 1970s, illustrate the beginning and end of an earlier era of English experimentation. Now let us examine two more recent games in depth to understand more fully the positional themes.

The first theme is the traditional English Opening policy of White's struggle for control of the light-colored squares. In this example, from the world champion elimination cycle, notice how often White exploits -- and Black fails to use -- one of those 32 squares.


A. KA RPOV vs J . HJ ARTARSON Candidates Match

Seattle 1989

1 c4 2 g3

e5

A recently popular move order. More common is 2 Nc3 and then 2 . N f6 3 g3, d5 4 cd, Nx d5 5 B g2 will transpose into our system.

2... N f6 3 Bg2 d5

This was once thought to be Black's easiest road to equality: the exchange on d5 leaves White with more center pawns, but Black has immediate use of the d-file. A Black rook or queen at d8 or d7 will now be able to contest the inevitable White pressure on d5.

4 cd N x d5 5 Nc3

Now is the time for the horse's entrance. Black must take some time to deal with the 6 N x d5 threat. As we'll see later in this book, 5 Nx c3 and 5 . Be6 are insufficient. The former because it strengthens White's center and the latter because it creates tactical problems when White attacks b7 or e6.

5... Nb6 6 N f3 Nc6 7 0-0 Be7

Black plays the position as if it were a colors-reversed version of the D ragon Variation of the Sicilian. In fact, for many years this opening was also called a Reversed Sicilian. However the addition of an extra move to White changes the balance of chances found in the Dragon.

Introduction: Winning Wit h 1 c4 9

8 a3!

This begins the queenside initiative that lasts for another thirty moves. White wants to soften up the lightcolored squares by advancing the b-pawn to the fifth rank. Once the Black Knight moves from c6, the b7-pawn will be under the gaze of the White Bishop at gl.

8 ... Be6

Black could hold up the queenside expansion with 8 ... a5, as we see White often do in the colors reversed situation of the D ragon. But that would weaken b6 and b5, allowing for example, a White Knight to sit on b5 for the foreseeable future.

9 b4 0-0 10 Rbl f6

Black has several ways of getting counterplay, most on the kingside and in the center. He can try to neutralize the light-square strategy with ... Qd7 and ... B h3 x g.2. Or he can play for a pawn advance in the center with ... f7- f5 and perhaps ... e5-e4!?.

But here Black prepares another thematic idea, the planting of his queen knight on d4. (To achieve this he must first protect his e-pawn since 10 ... Nd4 allows 1 1 Nxe5.

10 I ntroduction: Winning With 1 c4

White's lOth move has taken away the possibility of an answering ll ... Bb3).

11 d3 Qd7 12 Ne4!

Both sides have good outpost squares for their knights. White wants to use his half-open c-file by dropping this piece onto c5 at an appropriate moment.

12 ... Nd5 13 Qc2

13 ... b6?

0 ften the most difficult moves Black has to make in these kinds of English Opening positions involve decisions about his queenside pawns. Earlier he rejected .. a7-a5 to restrain White's b-pawn. Here he uses his b-pawn to keep the enemy off c5. But he pays a positional price: the square c6 can no longer enjoy the protection of a Black pawn. And the c7-pawn becomes that unfortunate figure of the chess board, the backward pawn on an open file.

A more natural plan is 13 . Nd4, or with the added moves 13 ... a5, 14 b5, Nd4. (Black must advance the knight in these situations, since a retreat such as 14 .... Nd8? abandons the center and allows White to obtain a serious advantage with 15 d4!) .


After 13 . . aS 14 b5, Nd4, White would most likely continue 15 Nxd4, exd4 16 Bb2 followed by organizing an attack on the d4-pawn and continuing his pressure on the c-file.

14 Bb2 Rac8 15 Rbcl!

This keeps the other rook available for duty at d1 in case Black allows the opening of the other central file (15 ... Nd8 1 6 d4!) .

15 ... Nd4

This positionally desirable move is based on tactical tricks. See next note.

16 Bxd4! exd4

Now White cannot take the pawn 17 Nxd4 without allowing 17 ... Nxb4! 18 axb4, Qxd4 or 18 Qb2, NdS.

17 Qc6!

This exploits the c6 hole that Black surrendered at move 13. The reason why White gave up his bishop rather than a knight to capture on d4 wil l be explained tactically two moves from now. But note that had White played 16

1l Introduction: Winning With 1 c4

N x d4, exd4 17 Qc6, Qxc6! 18 Rxc6, Black would solve many of his positional problems with 18 ... Bd7 19 Rc2, cS.

17 ... Qxc6

There was no convenient way of dealing with the threat of 18 N x d4.

18 Rxc6 Bd7

Now 19 Rc2? allows 19 cS! followed perhaps by .

f6- fS and later ... Nc3!, turning the c-file from a Black liability into an asset.

19 Nx d4!

The point. White sacrifices the Exchange for a pawn. Normally this transaction can be favorable or unfavorable. But here White gets the enemy's light-colored bishop -- and the very valuable d-pawn that had been intended as the anchor of Black's center strategy. Also, the Black a-pawn may prove to be untenable. And White's remaining bishop will now have tremendous range, while his knights will enjoy free rein over squares such as c6, c4, dS and rs.

19... B x c6 20 N x c6 Rce8

Black would have preferred moves such as 20 .. Kf7, bringing his king towards the center now that queens are off the board. But there are various tactical problems on the light-colored squares from now on. Even in the English Opening White needs tactical awareness.

2 1 Rct rs 22 N d2

Also good was 22 NcS!, bx cS 23 B x dSch , although Black could have complicated in that case with 22 ... Nxb4!

I ntroduction: Winning With 1 c:4

22... N f6 23 N x a7 Bd6

13

Time to take stock: White has added a second pawn as compensation for the Exchange. Moreover he has clarified the situation in the center. White can now advance his e- and d-pawns with the support of his minor pieces. Black's compensation lies in his extra rook. But his rooks have no scope.

24 e3 c:S 25 Nc:4 Bb8 26 Nc6 bS

The queenside pawns can't seem to find any squares on which they will be invulnerable. Now for example, 27 Nb6! would insure one kind of White advantage.

27 N (4)a5 cb 28 ab Nd7 29 d4

Note how the path is being cleared for the bishop to attack bS by way of 30 B fl.

29 . gS!


Black is desperate for some operating room for his pieces and prepares for 30 f4. White can offset this miniinitiative by bringing his king to the center (30 Kf1, f4 31 Ke2). But he settles on a more active plan.

30 Nxb8 Rxb8 31 Rc7 N f6 32 N c6

White owns the c-file (32 . .. Rce8?? 33 Ne7ch). He now turns his attention to the center where his pawns are a few moves away from being prepared to inflict damage by advancing. Black doesn't e ven try to avoid the loss of the f-pawn.

32... Rb6 33 Ne7ch Kh8 34 N x fS Ra6 35 Rcl Ra2

If Black bothers the b-pawn (35 ... Ra4) , White forges ahead with 36 e4!, Rxb4 37 eS, Ng4 38 B h3 and Black cannot last much longer without the surrender of significant material, e.g. 38 ... Nxf2 39 Kxf2, Rxd4 40 Ke3 or 38 . . . Nxe5 39 dxe5, g4 40 Nd6, gxh3 41 e6.

36 h3! Rb2 37 e4!

Introduction: Winning With 1 c4

Here come the pawns.

37... Rxb4 3S g4 h5

15

Semi-desperate. On 3S . N d7 White w1ns routinely with 39 e5.

3 9 e5 hxg4 40 e x f6 gh 4 1 B x h3

White also wins with 4 1 B e4, R x f6 42 ReSch, Kh7 43 Ne3eh and N d5.

4 1... R x f6 42 ReSch Kh7 43 Rc7ch Kg6

No better was 43 ... KhS because then White's unobstructed king shepherds the pawns forward, e.g. 44 Kg2, Rc4 45 Rb7, b4 46 Kg3, Rc3ch 47 f3, b3 48 Kg4, etc.

44 Rxg7eh Kh5 45 13!

Black Resigns. The main idea is 46 Bg4 mate. And g4, you will

note, is another light-colored square.

16 I ntroduction: Winning With 1 c4

Quite a different face is shown by the middlegames in which it is White, not Black, who has been the first to break in the center. Typically this comes about when White plays dl d4, after Black has placed a pawn on eS or cS. In the pages that follow you will see how quickly White can obtain an advantage after 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3, Nf6 3 Nf3, Nc6 4 g3, g6 5 d4!

A similar story is told in our main 1 c4, cS line: after l N c3 , Nc6 3 g3, g6 4 Bgl, Bg7 S N f3, N f6 6 00, 00 we recommend 7 d4! and then 7 ... cxd4 8 Nx d4.

This time it is White who has the benefit of the half-open d-file, and Black who holds access to the c-file. But the slight initiati ve that is inevitably provided to White by the game's first move enables him to set the tone for this middlegame, just as he did in the prev ious Illustrative Game. To see how White's advantage can grow, we'll examine the following game:

Z. POLGAR vs S. G ROSS Stary Smokovec 1987

8 ... N xd4

This game actually came about from a different order of moves (White opened with 1 d4, in fact). But the position of the diagram was soon reached and Black found no better defense to the pressure on c6 (8 ... d6 9 Nxc6 is a


questionable pawn sacrifice) than this exchange. It eases Black's defensive task by eliminating pieces and also creates tactical chances based on the vulnerability of the White queen on d4.

9 Qxd4 d6 10 Qd3

White eliminates those tactics soon enough. He plans to develop his rooks at d1 and either c1 or e1, depending on whether his goal is c4-c5 or an attempt to open the efile (with e4-e5 or perhaps Nd5, and if Nxd5, then exd5). His QB may be developed on bl, f4 or gS.

10 ... Nd7?!

This knight will gain back some time with l l . . . NcS, but it seriously ignores the power of a White knight on dS. For superior alternatives, see Section HAl.

11 b3 NcS 12 Qdl Rb8 13 Bbl a6

14 NdS!

Step One in a grand, but rather straightforward, strategy. White exchanges off the dark-squared bishops and

18 Introduction: Winning Wit h 1 c4

plants his knight on d5. If Black ousts the knight with . .. e7-e6, the d6-pawn will be left without pawn protection and wil l not be able to advance to d5.

14 ... 15 Qxb2

Bxb2 b5

Black absolutely must have some counterplay and this, at least, opens the a-file and c-file. (There is no benefit to opening the b-file partially with 16 cxb5, Rxb5, since the White pawn at b3 is well defended.)

16 cxb5 axb5 17 Rfd1 Bb7 18 h4!

Introducing another English Opening theme, the two-front war. While the rooks and bishop appear concentrated on the queenside and center points such as c6 and d5, White also harbors thoughts against the king (h4-h5 and then h5xg6 or h5-h6 depending on the situation) .

18 ... B x d5?!

This exchange was neither inevitable nor timely. White's edge remains small but clear after l8 ... h5 19 Racl.

19 R x d5! Nd7

Hurrying back to the kingside that the knight deserted nine moves before. The vulnerability of his king is shown by 19 ... h5 20 B f3 and 2 1 g4!, a policy that is more effective now that Black has surrendered his remaining bishop.

20 h5 N f6 2 1 h6!


The possibility of Qg7 mate now becomes a recurring nightmare for Black in tactical lines such as 2 1. .. Qa5? 22 Rx d6!, ex d6? 23 Q x f6 and 24 Qg7 mate, or 2 1. .. Qb6 22 Rad1, R fd8 (else 23 Rxd6!) 23 R 1 d3 with the idea of Rf3 and Rx f6!. This last idea keeps cropping up in a slightly altered form in the game.

2 1. . 22 Rad 1 23 Rc1 24 R x c6 25 R f5!

Rb6 Qc7 Rc6 Q xc6

See last note. Black's queen must move (26 Bxc6!) and yet also watch the b-pawn as well as the threat of 26 Rx f6!.

25 ... Qe8

Now 26 Rx f6, e x f6 27 Q x f6 is halted by 27 ... Qe5.

26 Rf4!

Black is almost out of moves. White uses this luxury to switch back to a queenside plan: the creation of a passed pawn.

26 ... Qd8


27 a4! eS

A semi-desperate reaction to the threat of slow annihilation by way of 27 ... bxa4 28 bxa4 and 29 Rb4.

28 Rb4 QaS

Black's last is a trap. On 29 RxbS Black comes back from the dead with 29 ... Qe1ch 30 B fl (30 Kh2, Ng4ch) Ne4! and if 31 e3, then 3 1 ...Nd2.

29 Qd2 bxa4 3 0 bxa4 dS

Some more cute tricks: On 30 . Rd8 White has a surprise in the form of 3 1 Rb8!, Q x d2 32 R x d8ch and mates. A similar, but even prettier, version is 30 .. Rc8 3 1 Rc4!, Qd8 32 Qxd6!!.

3 1 QgS 32 Qe7 33 Rb8

34 Qe5!

Ne8 e4 Q x a4

More accurate than 34 Rxe8?, Rxe8 35 Q f6, Kf8!

34 .. f6

The only defense to the threat of 35 Rxe8.

Introduction: Winning Wit h 1 c4

35 Qe6ch Kh8 36 Qe7

Black Resigns

2 1

Mate cannot be avoided after 3 6 .. Rg8 3 7 Rx e8!, Qxe8 38 Q x f6ch.

Now let us turn to the specific variations of the English that we recommend.

Our chapters are divided into:

I Black plays ... eS on the first move or later. I I Black plays ... c S on the first move or later I I I Black plays 1 ... N f6 (in variation "D" Black

plays the King's Indian Defense) IV Other plans for Black.

22 Section 1: Winning With 1 c4

SECTION I 1 c4 e5

Section 1: Wlooiog With 1 c4 23

SECTION I 1 c4 eS

After many years of estrangement from tournament players, the Reversed Sicilian has re-emerged in the past twenty years as the most popular anti-English weapon. The old rule-of-thumb was that if Black had to play ... dS, he was fighting for equality because of the natural advantages of keeping the center closed. With the development of Black's KB on b4 or g7, this set of variations is back in favor.

The new research on the ... eS English lines indicates that White's most exact order of moves is probably 2 Nc3 and 3 N f3. Our main line will be one in which Black also develops his knights on the second and third moves. It doesn't really matter which knight Black brings out first in this case.

It should be pointed out that during the 1980s an entirely new idea has been tried by Black. Instead of developing his bishop on b4 on the fourth move -- as in our main line -- Black has tried it as early as the second move (2 Nc3, Bb4) thereby leaving himself the option of ... N f6 or ... Ne7.

24 Winning With 1 c4

There are many sophisticated methods of treating this accelerated attack on the center, but the simplest is the obvious 3 N d5!. If the bishop retreats to aS or c5, then 4 b4 makes sense. (And where else is the bishop going?)

A recent example of forthright play by White, I . Ivanov-Rohde, New York 1990, went 2 Nc3, Bb4 3 Nd5, B aS 4 b4, c6 (forced, else 4 .. . Bb6? 5 c5 wins a piece) S bxaS, cd 6 cd, N f6 7 e4, Q xa5 8 B d3!, d6 9 Ne2, 0 -0 10 0-0 and with B c2 and d2 -d4 coming up White has the beginning of a fine middlegame (this one went 10 ... Nh5 1 1 Bc2, f5 12 d4, f4 13 dxe5, dxe5 14 Nd4, Nf6 15 Nb3, Qa4 16 Bb2 with commanding presence in the center).

We now classify the following analysis: A Our main line: 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3! B 2 Nc3, d6 C 2 Nc3, Nc6 3 N f3, fS D 2 N c3, rs

A ( 1 c4, eS 2 N c3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!)

There is still a lot of chance for advantage in 4 d4 or even 4 e3 and 4 a3. But the latter two moves only work well when Black plays 4 .. . d5. If he doesn't, White hasn't much of a constructive and forceful middlegame plan.

Section 1: Winning Witb 1 c4 25

After 4 g3 Black can choose among the following lines:

A1 4 ... Bb4 A2 4 ... g6 A3 4 ... Nd4 A4 4 ... Bc5 AS 4 ... d6 A6 4 ... d5

AI ( 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!)

4 ... Bb4

An important current line which you will find tn the following analysis.

A comparison with the popular variations beginning 3 g3, Bb4 will show that White has gained from the change. He can play Nd5 which in many lines will have greater effect than in the comparative position because . N x d5 and cxd5 will threaten Black's N on c6. The only concession White has made in choosing the 3 N f3 and 4 g3 line over the 3 g3 one is that he has committed himself to this development of the KN.

5 Bg2


This is more exact than S NdS because if now S ... e4, White attacks the e-pawn further with 6 NgS. This is not possible after S NdS, e4 6 NgS?, N x dS.

Black should castle here because it leaves his plans more flexible. In some cases he will retreat his K B to f8 and in some he will exchange on c3. He may play e4 or he may try ... d6. No reason to choose now, e.g. 5 ... d6 6 Nd5! favors White since 6 ... N x d5 7 cxdS loses a piece to Qa4cb after the ON moves.

s ... 0-0 6 0-0

On 6 NdS Black has good play with 6 . . . N x d5 7 cxdS, Nd4!. White should wait a bit longer before changing the nature of the center.

Now there are three subvariations: Al l 6 ... e4 All 6 ... Bxc3 A13 6 ... Re8

Section 1: Winning With 1 c4

All (1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, N c6 4 g3!, Bb4

5 Bg2, 0-0 6 0-0)

6 e4

27

Now the e-pawn becomes exposed and subject to the line-opening motifs of d3 and f3.

But where does White's N go? Since Black has not played . Bx c3 yet, White can't play Nd4. And 7 N e l is effective only after Black's ... B:xc3 has given White's pawn control of d4 because then N- el -c2-e3 or b4 is thematic. That leaves one logical plan.

7 NgS! Bx c3

The White N-move to gS is playable here (as opposed to positions in which White has played Nd5). And Black can only preserve his e-pawn with the capture on c3.

8 b:xc3

Here is one of those cases in which d:xc3 is also reasonable. When Black has not moved his e-pawn, the d-pawn recapture is usually unwise because then White has no method of opening up the center and his pawn structure is more attackable by Black's minor pieces. But in this posi-

2S Winning With 1 c4

tion S dxc3, ReS 9 f3, d6! (9 ... e3 eventually loses the epawn and 9 ... ef 10 ef is fine for White) 10 b3, B d7 1 1 N h3!, ef 12 e f, Ne7 13 BgS, N fS 14 Qd3 (Smyslov- Portlsch, Petropolls 1973) is quite good.

8 ReS

White has two methods of challenging the center for advantage here:

Alla 9 f3! Allb 9 d3!?

All a ( 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3 , N f6 3 N f3, N c6 4 g3!, Bb4 5 B g2 , 0 -0 6 0-0,

e4 7 NgS!, B x c3 S bxc3, ReS)

9 f3!

Section 1: Winning Witb 1 c4 29

9 e r

Little attention bad been paid to 9 . e 3 - - until Anatoly Karpov sprang it on Garrl Kasparov in the 1987 World C hampionship Match. If White grabs the pawn he severely weakens the c-pawns. Can he afford to surround the epawn with 10 d3, knowing that in an endgame it is almost certain to fall?

That may be the best policy, as the game SofferKindermann, Bern Zonal 1990, shows: 9 .. e3 10 d3, d5 1 1 Qb3, N a5 12 Qa3! and now l l ... c6 1 3 cd, c d 1 4 f4, Bg4 15 Ret, N c6 16 Rbl, Qd7 17 N f3, b6 18 Bb2 put all of White's pieces in order. Black has liberated his game, but the future belongs to the bishops. And after l8 ... Rac8 19 c4!, B x f3 20 B x f3, d x c4 2 1 dxc4, Na5 22 B x f6, gx f6 23 Qd3, Qe7 24 Bd5! White's superiority was obvious.

10 N x f3 d5?!

In another of their 1987 match games Karpov tried 10 . Qe7? here, relying incorrectly on piece activity against the impending march of White's center pawns.

That game illustrated once again bow powerful a center can be: 1 1 e3, Ne5 12 Nd4! (not fearing 12 ... Nxc4 because 13 Nf5, Qe5 14 d4! is too strong), Nd3 13 Qe2, N x c l 14 Raxcl , d6 15 R f4, c6 16 Rcfl and the combination of doubled rooks and restrictive pawns proved too powerful for Black's defenses.

1 1 cd N x d5

As good as 1 1 cd is, Kasparov found a strong alternative in 1 1 d4 in his game with Vassily I vancbuk in the 1988 Soviet Championship. Then 1 1 ... dxc4 is met by 12 Bg5!, h 6 13 B x f6 and 14 e4 with command of the center.


Black preferred the central outpost of l l . . . Ne4, but then 12 Qc2, de 13 Rb1, f5?! 14 g4! destroyed the outpost and led to a typically devastating Kasparov initiative (14 ... Qe 7 15 gxf5, Nd6 16 Ng5!, Qxe2 1 7 Bd5ciJ, KIJB 18 Qxe2, Rxe2 1 9 Bf4 and 20 Rbe1) .

12 e4! Nb6

If 12 R xe4, then 13 Ng5, Re7 14 Q h5 or if 12 N f6 13 e5!, N xe5 14 Nxe5, Rxe5 15 d4, ReS 16 Bg5! is great for White.

13 d4 Bg4 14 b3 B b 5 15 e 5 N d5

So far as in the game U blmann-Smyslov, H astings 1972-73, which continued 16 B d2, Qd7 17 g4, B g6 1S Ng5 and White soon had a tremendous position.

Allb ( 1 c4, e5 2 N c3, N f6 3 N f3, N c6 4 g3!, Bb4

5 Bg2, 0-0 6 0-0, e4 7 Ng5!, B x c3 S bxc3, ReS)

9 d3!?

9... ed 10 ed d6


1 1 Rb 1 12 Ne4

Better is 12 Ne5. 13 Bxe4 14 f4!? 1s rs 16 Bg2

b6 Nxe4

NeS Nxc4 dS

3 1

We are following the game Mecking-Tan, Petropolis 1973. In view of White's kingside attack once he pushes the f-pawn, Black played 16 ... Ne3. But after 1 7 B xe3, Rxe3 18 f6, g6, Black's position soon fell apart after the further moves 19 Qd2, Re6 20 Qx h6, Rxf6 2 1 Rx f6, Qxf6 22 BxdS.

More accurate however is 10 .. . h6 with the idea of 1 1 N h3, dS or 1 1 Ne4, b6 and 12 ... Bb7. In general, we have more confidence in White's position after 9 f3! as shown in the previous variation A1la.

A12 ( 1 c4, eS 2 N c3, N f6 3 N f3, N c6 4 g3!, Bb4

S Bg2, 00 6 0 0)

6 . . . B xc3 7 bxc3

This is almost always the best recapture.

7 ... d6 8 d3


Now Black has three main choices. Alla 8 ... Bd7 Allb 8 ... h6 Allc 8 ... e4

A12a ( 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!, Bb4

5 Bg2, 00 6 00, Bxc3 7 bxc3, d6 9 d3)

8 ... Bd7

9 e4!

Stopping e5-e4 in a pos1t10n in which Black has granted White pawn control of White's d4. There are no weak squares in White's center now.

9 Kh8!

This is Black's best resource. In the game Smej kal Hec ht, Siegen 1970, Black tried 9 .. a6. But after 10 a4, NaS 11 N h4, Ne8 1l f4, eC 13 B xf4, Nc6 14 N f3, Qc8 15 d4, White had a great game.

10 Nh4

Also good i s Ne l-c2-e3!.


10... Ng8 1 1 Be3 Be6 12 Qd2 Nge7 13 f4 e f 14 Bxf4!

On 14 gf Black has 14 ... fS!.

14 ... f6 15 Be3

33

As in U hlmann-Korchnoi, Leningrad 1973. Black's position is defensible enough, but White is freer. Another policy for White (instead of 12 Qd2) is 12 Rbl , b6 13 Rb2, Nge7 14 f4 as recommended by John Watson.

NxgS!

Al2b ( 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!, Bb4

S Bg2, 0-0 6 0-0, Bxc3 7 bxc3, d6 8 d3)

8 ... h6?

9 Net

Or 9 e4 , e.g. 9 ... Ne7 10 Nh4 , gS 11 N f3, Ng6? 12


9 . . . Be6 10 e4!

White is clearly better. Not advisable, however, is 10 f4 as in Balashov-Makarichev, USSR 1973, as Black has 10 e4!

The move 8 . . h6, once popular in master chess in the early 1970s, is almost never played today. Still, you need to be ready for it.

A12c ( 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!, Bb4

5 Bg2, 0-0 6 0-0, Bxc3 7 bxc3, d6 8 d3)

8 ... e4!?

9 Ne l

9 Nd4 is also good since Black may not obtain chances from 9 . Ne5 because of 10 dxe4, Nxc4 1 1 Rb1 with advantage.

White.

9... ReS 10 Rb1 b6!?

10 . . ed 1 1 ed, Bg4 12 N f3, Rb8 13 h3 also favors


11 Bg5 ed 12 Nxd3 Bb7 13 Nb4

35

As in the game Rogo ff B isguier, Norristown 1973, which continued 13 . . . Nxb4 14 Bx b7, Rb8 15 B f3 and here White's bishops must outweigh Black's more secure pawn structure.

All ( 1 c4, e5 2 N c3, N f6 3 N f3, N c6 4 g3!, Bb4

5 Bg2, 00 6 00)

6 ReS

This maintains the status quo in the center -- at least temporarily. Black can also do this with 6 .. d6, but that unnecessarily reduces Black's options (his bishop cannot retreat to f8 or e7 any more, while it will have cost him two moves to push his d-pawn to d5).

White will again respond 7 Nd5 and now passive play such as 7 ... a5?! can get Black squashed: 8 e3!, Nxd5 9 cxd5, Ne7 10 d4, ed 1 1 ed after which Black's bishop is in trouble on b4, and in H. Ola fsson- Benj amin, Reykj avik 1990 Black had to shed a pawn with 11 . a4 12 a3, BaS 13 Qxa4 to save it.

7 Nd5


The knight going to dS is finally appropriate. Black has several choices here.

A13a 7 ... Bf8 A13b 7 . . . Nxd5 A13c 7 ... e4 A13d 7 ... Bf5

All a ( 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!, Bb4

S Bg2, 0-0 6 0-0, ReS 7 N dS)

7 .. B f8

The original idea of Black's opening. The Bishop controls several good squares from its home base, but it lacks somewhat in punch.

8 d3 h6

To stop 9 BgS. On 8 ... Nxd5 9 cxdS, Nb4 10 e4 , c6 1 1 a3, Na6 U d4 White has an excellent game in the center as in G heorghiu-J akobsen, Helsinki 1972.

9 Bd2

Or 9 Nxf6ch, Qxf6 10 Nd2, d6 11 Ne4, Qd8 12 Nc3! retaining the iron control of dS that gave White an edge in Petroslan-Gheorghlu 1967.

Section 1: Winning Wit h 1 c4 37

9 ... d6

In the game Polugaevsky Podgaets, U S S R 1973 Black tried 9 .. aS, but after 10 Bc3, d6 1 1 N d2, NxdS 12 cxdS, Ne7 13 d4! White stood better.

10 Bc3 1 1 cxdS 12 e4

NxdS Ne7 c6

Now the game Steln - B arcza, Z agreb 1972 continued, 13 de, Nxc6 14 d4 with a powerful position for White.

Al3b ( 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!, Bb4

S Bg2, 0 0 6 00, Re8 7 N dS)

7 . NxdS 8 cxdS

8 .. Nd4

After 8 Nb8 White plays 9 e4 and 10 d4.

9 Nxd4! exd4 10 b3


Now Black will have problems defending his advanced d-pawn.

An alternative policy is 10 e4 to maintain the pawn at d5 and gain time for harassing the enemy bishop. For example, 10 e4, c6 1 1 d3, cd 12 Qb3! occurred in the game Kolfman-Tetush kln, USSR 1976 with favorable complications for White following 12 . Qa5 13 a3, Bd6 14 eS!?, BxeS 15 BxdS.

10... b6 11 Bb2 DeS 12 e3 B a6 13 Re1 Q f6

So far as in U hlmann- Portlsch , S kopje 1972. Now 14 Qc l is the right move because 14 ... de is discouraged and 15 b4 is threatened.

A13c ( 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!, Bb4

5 Bg2, 00 6 0 -0, Re8 7 N dS)

7... e4

8 Ne1 d6 9 d3! Bxe1

Section 1: Winning With 1 c4 39

Practically forced as both 9 . . . ed 10 N xd3 and 9 . . . B f5 10 Bg5 favor White greatly.

10 Rxe 1 ed 1 1 Bg5!

The point of White's pawn sacrifice.

1 1... de 12 Rxel Rxel 13 Qxel Be6 14 Nxf6ch gd6 15 Bh4 Ne5

As in Smyslov-Mestel, H astings 1972-73, which continued 16 Bxb7!, Bxc4 17 Qh5, Rb8 18 Be4 and White had more than enough positional compensation. This is an instructive example of how . e5-e4 gets Black into hot water.

Al3d ( 1 c4, e5 l Nc3, Nf6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!, Bb4

5 Bgl, 0-0 6 0-0, ReS 7 N d5)

7 Bc5

8 d3 Nxd5

8 ... h6 to stop the Bg5 pin is met by 9 Nxf6ch, Qxf6 10 Ndl as in the Petrosian-Gheorghiu game in IA13a.


9 cxd5 Nd4

9 . Nb4 is well met by 10 e4 and 11 a3.

10 Ndl!

A voiding exchanges and preparing to kick back with Ne4 or e3 as in the game Gheorghiu-Benko, Las Palmas 1972.

This lengthy analysis of the main line indicates that White stands very well against the recently popular Bb4 ideas. The following alternatives also seem to grant Black little chance for easy equality.

Section 1: Winning With 1 c4 4 1

A2 ( 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, N c6 4 g3!)

4

g6

5 d4!

This resemblance to the line beginning 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3, Nc6 3 N f3, g6 4 d4! seems to favor White clearly.

5... ed 6 Nxd4 Bg7 7 Bg2 0-0 8 0-0 ReS

On 8 Nxd4 9 Qxd4, d6 we have a posttwn similar to a hotly debated line in the King's Indian given in Section II except that Black's pawn is on e7 instead of c7 as here. The position favors White after 10 Q h4! followed by 1 1 Bg5 and Rad1 or N d5.

9 Nxc6 bxc6

Black has no compensation for his crippled Queenside majority of pawns after 9 ... dxc6 10 B f4.

10 Qa4!


And Black has great difficulty breaking his QB out and connecting his Rooks. In U hlmann-Raj kovic, H astings 1972-73, White soon had a commanding position after 10 . a5 1 1 Rd1, Bb7 12 Rd3, Ng4 13 Ne4, f5 14 Bg5, fxe4!? (14 ... Nf6 15 Nc5) 15 Bxd8, exd3 16 ed!, Raxd8 17 c5!.

To illustrate how strong White's position is, Wolfgang Uhlmann used another lOth move when the occasion arose fifteen years later. That was in U hlmann-Zapata, Thessaloniki 1988 when the German showed that 10 B f4, with the idea of Qd2 and Rad1, is also strong. After 10 B f4, Rb8 11 Qd2, Ba6 12 b3, d5 13 Rad1, Qe7 14 Qc2!, Rbd8 15 R fe 1 Black was stumped for counterplay (15 ... d4 16 Na4! leaves both c5 and the c6 weak). The game saw 15 ... Nh5 16 Bel! and 17 Bb2 give White an obvious advantage in terms of the scope of his rooks and bishops.


A3 ( 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!)

4 Nd4

This is a clever idea often employed by Korchnoi. The tactical point is 5 NxeS?, Qe7 6 f4, d6 7 N d3, B fS with great play. The strategic point is that once Black's ON is traded off, he can defend the Queenside more easily with c7 -c6. Note that 5 Nxd4, exd4 6 NdS, c6 is fine for Black.

5 Bg2 6 Bxf3

Nxf3ch Bb4

If Black makes no gestures towards aggression he will surrender a strong initiative to White: 6 . Be7 7 d4!, d6 8 Bg2 , 00 9 00, c6 10 b3, B fS 11 e4 as in G heorghiu- Por tisch, Skopje 1972.

7 00

An alternative policy here is putting the question to the bishop with 7 Qb3. If Black temporizes with 7 ... a5, White can proceed with 8 0-0, 00 9 d4! since ... Bxc3 will not double his c-pawns as they would in the main line below, and he wil l be able to regain his pawn, following 9

.. exd4 with the favorable 10 NbS.


And what if Black tries to stop the d-pa wn's advance by retreating to cS? 7 Qb3. Then 7 .. Bc5 8 N a4! will force him further back, e.g. 8 Be7 9 Qe3, d6 10 d4, N d7 11 N c3, c6 12 b3 with a queenside fianchetto that favors White comfortably.

7 0-0

Now 8 d4 is a positional error because of 8 . . . Bxc3! 9 bx c3, e4 10 B g2, b6 with a fine game for Black. The best example of play for White here is 8 Qb3, BcS 9 d3, d6 (Hartston recommends 9 ... c6 so Black's bishop can retreat along its original diagonal) 10 N a4, N d7 1 1 Bg2, aS U NxcS, NxcS 13 Qc3 Ublmann-Korch nol, Amsterdam 1972. White's minor exchange must confer a slight edge.

You have the choice. 7 Qb3 as suggested 1n the above note, or the main line 7 0-0.


A4 ( 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!)

4 Bc5

This was thought to be refuted by a BotvinnikKeres game in 1966, but it is not that convincing.

5 d3

The Botvinnik game saw White obtain an edge with 5 Nxe5!?, Bxflc h (5 ... Nxe5 6 d4) 6 Kxfl, N xe5 7 e4, but Black has promising chances due to his control of many dark squares after 7 .. c5! 8 d3, d6 9 h3, 0 -0 and ... Ne8-c7-e6!

5... 0-0 6 Bgl d6

Black loses the option of Bxc3 that we saw in earlier pages, but retains a solid center in this line. By locking his bishop away from the kingside however, he creates some potential problems in the form of a later Bg5 by White.

7 0-0 h6


An important move that Black cannot do without for long because of the danger of Bg5 and N d5 by White.

8 N a4!

In the English, like any other opening, you have to take what the position offers you. In this case it is Black's bishop on c5. White can try to eliminate the bishop, and slightly tarnish the enemy pawn structure with Nxc5, or he can begin a general queenside or central expansion with this move.

8 .. 9 e3

Otherwise 10 d4 may hurt.

Qe7 aS

10 b3 ReS 1 1 Bb2

White has played relatively quietly, almost without worrying about Black's moves. This is possibly due to the absence of immediate enemy counterplay. We have been following Benko-Malich, S kopje 1972, in which White without seeming to do very much at all, obtained quite a nice middlegame with l l ... B fS 12 a3, B a7 13 Nc3, Qd7 14 Ret.

Section 1: Winning Wit h 1 c4 47

AS ( 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3 , N f6 3 N f3 , Nc6 4 g3!)

4 d6

5 d4 Bg4

Not good enough is 5 ... g6 6 de, de 7 Qxd8ch, Kxd8 8 Bg5, Be7 9 0-0-0ch.

6 d5! Nb8 7 Bg2 Be7 8 0-0

White has the usual advantage in space, N imzovitcbTarrascb, B aden- B aden 1925 . He can continue with e4, Be3 and Qc2 with prospects of c4-c5.

This is an example of how Black used to play in the Neanderthal Era of the English Opening.


A6 ( 1 d4, eS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3!)

4 dS

This enters into the Reversed Dragon which has for years been considered slightly better for White.

5 cxdS 6 Bg2

NxdS Nb6

The only way to punish 6 Bg2 (more aggressive than 6 d3) is 6 . Nxc3 7 bxc3, e4. But then 8 N d4!, Nxd4 9 cxd4, Qxd4 10 Rb1 appears to give White enough for a pawn, e.g., 10 ... Bc5 1 1 e3, Qc4 (ll ... Qd3 or ll ... QdS are answered by 12 Qa4ch) 12 Bg2, 00 13 Ret and 14 Qc2.

There are other ways to play for Black: a) 6 ... Nde7 7 0-0, g6 (7 ... Nf5 8 b4!, a6 9 Bb2, Be6 10

Ne4 or 8 ... Bxb4 9 Nxe5, Nxe5 10 Qa4ch favors White) 8 b4!, a6 9 a4, Bg7 10 Ba3, 0-0 11 b5, N d4 12 N g5 as in Larsen Lehmann, Palma 1967. This line is a Taimanov idea.

b) 6 ... Be6 7 0-0, Be7? (Better 7 ... Nb6 transposing into the main line) 8 d4!. This is why White delays d3 on move 6. The punch in the center gives him an edge, e.g. 8 ... ed 9


Nxd4, Nxc3 10 bxc3, Nxd4 11 cxd4, c6 12 Qa4 or 8 ... Nxc3 9 bxc3, e4 10 Nd2, f5 11 Rb1, Rb8 12 Qa4.

c) 6 . Nxc3 7 bxc3, Be7 8 d3, 0-0 9 0-0, Be6 10 Qc2, f5 11 Rb1 and now 11...Bd5!? is best met by 12 Ne1! (12 Rxb7?, Nd4 or 12 c4, Bxf3 13 Bxf3, Nd4) 12 ... Bxg2 13 Nxg2 with some pressure on the queenside. Black can also develop his KB on other squares on the seventh move, but 7 ... Bc5 8 d3, 0-0 9 0-0, Be6 10 Qa4 followed by Rb1 or Ba3 puts Black under pressure. the reason 6 ... Nxc3 is frowned upon is that White usually profits handsomely from the bfile.

7 00 Be7 8 a3 00

Black can stop b4 with 8 . . . aS, but the cure is worse than the disease. On 9 d3, 00 10 Be3, fS 1 1 Rei, Kh8 U NbS! White's knight is very effective on the queenside and can no longer be driven away by the a-pawn.

9 b4 Be6

Moves like ... a6 and ... f6 usually transpose into alternatives at move 10.

Black can also play 9 ... Re8 with the idea of exploiting the e-file after ... B f8 and then ... Nd4/Nxd4/ ... exd4!. Here this would involve the complications of 10 bS, Nd4 11 NxeS!?, B f6 . But since White is obtaining a good position from simple play, he is advised here to just meet 9 ... Re8 with 10 Rb1, e .g. 10 ... B f8 1 1 d3, aS U bS, Nd4 13 Nd2!, a4 14 Bb2 and Eh lvest- Hjartarson, Rotterdam 1989 went 14 ... RaS! 1S Nc4, Nxc4 16 dxc4, B fS?! 17 Bxb7!, Bxb 1 1 8 Qxb 1 with excellent compensation for the Exchange.

10 d3

Recently 10 Rb1 has come into fashion. And indeed we examined 10 Rb 1 , f6 in the Introduction game Karpov-

50 Winning With t c4

Hjartarson. The delay in moving White's d-pawn gains him time for some extra positional options. After White plays d2 - d3, he loses the last pawn control over c3 and thereby encourages Black to play . .. Nd4 and after the exchange of pieces on d4, the capture . . . e x d4 followed by . Nd5-c3.

The maneuvering after tO Rbt, f6 is very subtle and we can only touch on some of the themes involved. For example 1 1 Ne4 is useful since l l aS can be strongly met by 12 N cS!.

Also on 1 1 .. . B a2 (to displace the rook) 12 Rbl, BdS White gets a fine game from either t3 NcS, Rb8 t4 d3, B x cS tS bxcS or from t3 . . . Nc4 t4 Rbt, b6 tS N a4!, Nd4 t6 N c3! as in Adorj an- Huebner, Linares t985. The critical line here is t3 .. . e4! when Black appears to have equal chances after t4 Net , Nc4 tS Rb t , B x cS t6 bx cS, b6 as in SubaThorsteins, New York t989.

tO rs

It is not a new story to learn that tO . . . a6 gives White too free a hand on the queenside, e.g., 1 1 Ne4, h6 12 Bbl, fS t3 N cS, B x cS t4 bxcS, N d7 tS Ret and now Botvinnik-Benkner t956, went l5 .. . Qe7 t6 N h4, Q f7 (16 ... Nxc5 1 7 Bxc6 and 18 Bxe5 or 1 7 Ng6) t7 f4, e f t8 gf, Rad8 t9 Qet, BdS 20 B h3! as quoted in Shatskes.

And tO . . . f6 is not aggressive enough: t t B e3, Qd7 12 Ne4, NdS t3 Re t!, R fd8 t4 B cS, b6 tS B x e7, Ndxe7 t6 Qcl and t7 R fdt.

11 Be3 B f6

On ... f4 Black concedes White an excellent Noutpost on e4.

12 Net

Section 1: Winning With 1 c4 5 1

This stops 1 2 ... N d 4 and discourages 12 ... e4 1 3 Rcl , B x c3 14 Rxc3, Nd5 15 ReS with an excellent Queenside game. Now on 12 . Rb8 13 B x c6, bxc6 14 Rcl Black has to mate White. Otherwise he will lose the queenside middlegame.

This main line with both sides bringing out their two knights appears quite sound for White.

You have the choice of the main line with 10 d3 or the more modern 10 Rbl as suggested in the above note.


B ( 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3)

2 d6

This is an idea of Smyslov which retains Black's options of ... g6 or ... rs as well as giving him chances for ... Bg4 or ... Be6. As we'll see 2 ... rs has the drawback of allowing 3 d4! immediately, but 2 ... d6 3 d4, ed 4 Q x d4 is not nearly as strong since Black has not weakened his pawn structure with ... rs.

3 N f3 Bg4

The alternatives are not as effective: a) 3 ... rs 4 d4! (again effective) 4 ... ed 5 Nxd4 fol

lowed by 6 g3 with an edge, or 4 ... e4 5 Ng5!?, Nf6 6 f3 opening up the game for White's advantage in space.

b) 3 ... g6 4 d4 and now 4 ... ed 5 Nxd4 transposes into IA2. If Black maintains the center with 4 ... Nc6 or 4 ... Bg7 here, he has a bad ending after 5 de, de 6 Qxd8ch.

c) 3 ... c5 4 e3 followed by d4 with a fine game in the center s10ce Black has conceded a hole at his d5 already.


d) 3 . N f6 4 d4, e4 5 Ng5, Bf5 6 g4! securing a powerful center.

4 d4! B x f3

There is little point in not making this capture. On 4 ... N c6 5 dS, N ce7 6 e4 followed by b3 or g3, Black has misplaced two minor pieces. Better is 4 ... Nd7, but Shatskes says White is better with S Be3, Ne7 6 dS, N fS 7 B d2, Be7 8 Qc2, g6 9 Ng1! or S ... g6 6 dS, Bg7 7 N d2 embarrassing the Bishop.

S gx f3 ed

And here S ... Nd7 6 Bg2, Be7 7 0-0, Ngf6 8 b3 has to favor White's pieces. The doubled pawns actually improve White's center.

6 Qxd4 Ne7

This follows two games. In O'Kelly- Smyslov 1967 White played 7 N dS, Nbc6 8 Q c3, NeS, but should have tried 9 B h3, c6 1 0 Nxe7 and 1 1 f4 for advantage. In SubaMitltelu, Skopje 1972 White tried 7 b3, Nbc6 8 Qd2, g6 9 Bb2, Bg7 10 h4!, N fS 1 1 hS, Rg8 12 NdS and White had a big edge.

Also Black can play 6 ... Nc6 immediately, but White appears to be able to transpose favorably into the Skopje game with 7 Qd2 or play for more with 7 Qe4ch and 8 NdS!.


c ( 1 c4, eS 2 N c3, N c6 3 N f3, fS)

Again 3 ... g6 would leave White with a superior game after 4 d4!, ed S Nx d4, Bg7 6 N x c6, bxc6 7 g3 and now 7 . N f6 8 Bg2 transposes into IA2. Also, 7 . Ne7 leads to trouble after 8 Bg2, 0"0 9 0-0, Rb8 10 Qc2, N fS 1 1 e3!, Qf6 12 Rb1, Rd8 13 Rd1 and finally 7 .. Qe7 8 B g2, Qb4!? 9 0 -0!, Ba6 (9 ... Qxc4 10 Bf4 is very dangerous) 10 NbS!, B x bS 1 1 cx bS, QxbS 12 B f4 as in Renter- Fiohr 1947.

The other alternative is 3 d6 which is not very different from previous lines after 4 d4 e.g., 4 .. B g4 S dS or 4 ed S N x d4, g6 6 g3, Bg7 7 N x c6 or 4 ... N f6 S de.

4 d4! e4

Black is in no position to open up the game.

5 NgS Bb4 Or S ... Be7 6 h4, N f6 (6 ... h6 7 Nh3, Bxh4 8 e3 fol

lowed by Qh5ch or Nf4-g6) 7 e3 to be followed by cS with pressure on the a2 -g8 line. This is similar to a note in the following variation - 10, after 1 c4, eS 2 Nc3, fS 3 d4, e4. Also good is 6 N h3.

6 h4 Also good is 6 cS and 7 Qb3, but the text is more

active. Now on 6 .. N f6 7 e3, 0-0 8 Qb3 White will have a very fine game.

Section 1: Winning With 1 c4 ss

D (1 c4, eS 2 N c3, fS)

3 d4!

Now with 3 . e4 Black is not even attacking a knight. After 4 e3, N f6 S Nge2, Be7 6 N f4, 0 -0 7 b4!; White follows with f3 or cS! (and Qb3ch) with great advantage. In Euwe -Kolste 1926 Black went under after 7 ... Ng4 8 Be2, Nb6 9 NcdS, d6 10 Nxe7cb, Qxe7 11 Qb3, N d7 12 cScb, Kb8 13 Qe6!.

3 ... ed 4 Q x d4 Nc6

Or 4 ... N f6 S g3, N c6 6 Qe3 cb!, Be7 7 Bg2, 0-0 8 N b3 also with advantage. The check is a good idea because it slows down Black's desire to play ... Bb4. The line cited is Mi kenas- Polugaevsky 1954 which went 8 ... Re8 9 0-0, Bb4 10 Qd2, NeS 11 Qc2, c6 12 a3, B f8 13 b3.

S Qe3ch!

Now S ... Be7 would transpose into the line above. And S ... Kf7 6 N f3, N f6 7 NdS! or 6 N b3, N f6 7 Qd2, h6 8 N f4 are great for White.

56 Section I I: Winning With 1 c4

SECTION I I 1 c4 c5

Section II: Winning With 1 c4 57

SECTION I I 1 c4 c5

This is a difficult variation to obtain superiority against because Black can follow symmetrical play for some time without incurring the usual penalty of imitation. Indeed, many tournament players learn how to play l. .. c5 against the English when they are content to split the point and want a drawing line.

2 Nc3 N f6

Another idea is 2 . Nc6 3 N f3, e5 4 e3, N f6 5 d4, e4. But now instead of 6 Nd2, cd 7 ed, Bb4!, White should be willing to go into 6 d5!, e x f3 7 dxc6, fg 8 cd ch, B x d7 9 B x g2 followed by a Queenside fianchetto.

If Black plays 2 ... N c6, then 3 N f3, N f6 transposes into the symmetrical Four Knights' variation (A) . However, after 2 ... Nc6 3 N f3 Black can try 3 .. g6, which we cover under (B). Finally, after 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3 Black can play to open the center with 3 ... d5. This is under (C) .

A 1 c4, c5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 8 1 c4, cS 2 Nc3, Nc6 3 N f3, g6 C 1 c4, c5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, d5


A rare but playable sideline after 1 c4, cS 2 Nc3, Nc6 3 N f3, is 3 .. Nd4. The simplest procedure here is 4 e3, forcing 4 . . . N x f3ch S Qx f3. Then Black can prevent white from advancing his d-pawn two squares by way of S .. . g6 and 6 ... Bg7. But White should stand quite well with 6 b3!, Bg7 7 Bb2, d6 8 g3, Rb8 9 Bg2 and now 9 . . . N h 6 10 Qdl , N fS 11 Qc2, 0-0 12 0-0 , a6 13 a4 followed by NdS and Bxg7 as in Ribli- Benj amin, Wij k aan Zee 1989.

Section I I: Winning With 1 c4 59

A (1 c4, cS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6)

This is our main line, the symmetrical Four Knight's game. Black has some other possible moves:

a) 3 ... e6 4 g3, dS 5 cd and now: at) 5 ... Nxd5 leads to a Semi-Tarrasch-like

position in which it is White, not Black, who has the preponderance of pawns advanced in the center. Typical play in this line, sometimes named after P aul Keres and Bruno Parma, would go 6 Bg2, Be7 7 0-0, 0-0 8 d4, N c6 9 e4!

White should not be reluctant to push those pawns, as they are his chief source of strength. If Black captures on c3, White's center is strengthened (9 ... Nxc3 10 bxc3, cd 11 cd, b6 12 Bb2, Bf6 13 Rb1, Bb7 14 d5! as in the impressive game Cbristiansen- Portisch, Linares 1981 in which the young American grandmaster upset his established rival after 14 ... ed 15 ed, N a5 16 N e5, Bxe5 17 Bxe5, Rc8 18 Rc1, Qd7 19 Bc3 preparing for Qd4!

Note also that 9 ... Ndb4 is suspect because of 10 dxc5! and 11 e5. That leaves 9 ... Nb6. A good illustration of how White uses his center is Portisch-Diugy, Wij k aan Zee 1990: 9 ... Nb6 10 d5, ed 11 ed, Nb4 12 Ne1, Bf6 13 Be3 after which the liquidation of the center by way of 13 ... Bxc3 14 bxc3, N4xd5 15 Bxc5 favored White (15 ... Re8 16 Bd4, Bf5


17 Rc1, Rc8 18 Nf3, Be4 19 Re1, Nf6 20 Bh3, Rc7 21 Ng5 and so on).

a2) 5 ... ed 6 d4 is the Tarrasch Defense to the Queen's Gambit Declined for which the reader should consult Winning With 1 d4 by your author and published by Chess Digest, Inc.

b) 3 ... e6 4 g3, b6 {The Queen's Indian Defense approach). The correct plan for White in this case is 5 Bg2, Bb7 6 0-0, Be7 7 d4, cd (else d4-d5) 8 Qxd4! and now:

b1) 8 ... 0-0 9 Rd1, Qc8 10 e4 setting up a good Maroczy Bind after 10 ... Nc6 11 Qd2 followed by b3, Bb2 and Racl.

b2) 8 ... Nc6 9 Qf4, 0-0 10 Rd1 and here 10 ... Qb8 has been considered safe for Black for many years. But recently 11 e4, Qxf4 12 Bxf4, Rfd8 13 e5!, Ne8 14 Nd4, Na5 15 b3, Bxg2 16 Kxg2 has proven to give White a slight edge because of his potential Queenside majority and edge in space.

c) 3 ... g6. This should transpose into the text after 4 g3, Bg7 5 Bg2, N c6 6 0-0, 0-0.

4 g3 g6

Again here 4 ... d5 5 cd, N x d5 6 Bg2 transposes into IIC, while 4 .. c6 5 Bg2, d5 is also covered under IIC.

5 Bg2 Bg7 6 0-0 0-0

Black could have stopped White's next move with 6 ... e5 so it must be examined. This is sometimes credited to Botvinnik, but the former World Champion preferred to play e5 when he has developed his KN on another square such as e7. The N f6 interferes somewhat with the harmonious development of Black's kingside and center.

White has any one of several strategies here after 6 ... e5. For example, 7 a3. On 7 ... a5 Black has weakened his

Section I I : Winning With 1 c4 6 1

queenside and bas not permanently stopped b2-b4, e.g., 8 Ne1, d6 9 N c2, 0-0 10 Rb 1 followed by b2-b4. It often appears that Black is advised to play .. aS because then he obtains an open a-file if White persists in playing b2-b4. The trouble with this line of reasoning is that Black usually has to return control of the file later to White who is better developed on the queenside.

Note also that 7 . 0-0 allows 8 b4 immediately (B . .. cb 9 ab, Nx b4 10 Nxe5) and so does 7 . .. d6 (8 b4, cb 9 ab, N xb4 10 B a3, N c6 1 1 NbS, B f8 12 d4.

An altogether different strategy is 7 N e 1, 0-0 8 Nc2. This handy N-maneuver is useful in (a) opening up White's long diagonal, (b) supporting b4 and (c) providing greater control of dS after Ne3.

7 d4!

Now we come to a parting of the ways. 7 ... cd is our main English line, while 7 . .. d6 transposes into the Yugoslav Variation of the King's Indian Defense.

A 1 7 ... cd A2 7 ... d6

62 Section II : Winning With 1 c4

Al ( 1 c4, c5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3, g6

5 Bg2, Bg7 6 0-0, 0-0 7 d4)

7 ... cd 8 N x d4

8 . . N x d4

The point of this exchange is that White cannot maintain the central square for his queen and may, in fact, run into tactical trouble on d4. Moreover, it is difficult for Black to complete development without this exchange.

For example, 8 .. d6 is a pawn sacrifice which is not sound: 9 Nxc6, bxc6 10 B x c6, Rb8 1 1 Bg2, Qa5 and now 12 Qc2 seems most exact, e.g., 12 .. . Be6 13 b3, R fc8 14 B d2, Qh5 15 e4!, Ng4 16 h3, Ne5 17 Qd1! as in Espig-Markland, Polanica Zdroj 1973. If Black has any real play in this gambit line, it must be in 13 ... d5!?, although 14 cxd5, N x d5 15 N x d5, Bxd5 16 Bd2! or 14 .. 8 f5 15 Qd2 seems more than sufficient for Black.

Also 8 ... Qa5 is suspect because of 9 Nb3! and 10 c5 restraining Black's center pawns. Examine 9 ... Qa6 10 c5, b6 11 e4!, be 12 e5, Ne8 13 Nxc5, Qa5 14 Nxd7, B x d7 15

Section II : Winning With 1 c4 63

Qx d7, Nxe5 16 Qd5! (Tal- Ree, Sukhumi 1973). Or 9 ... Qh5 10 c5, b6 11 cb, ab 12 e4!, Q x d 1 13 Rxdl , Rb8 14 f4, Na5 15 e5 Krogius-J ansa, Soc h i 1965.

There is an attractive gambit in 8 .. Ng4 9 e3, d6 - but White should avoid 10 Nx c6?! and instead play 10 b3 followed by Bb2 next. His position has no holes and is ready to use the advantage in space by placing rooks on d l and c l and a N on d5.

The same goes for 8 ... Qb6 9 N c2, d6 10 b3 e .g., 10 ... B e6 1 1 NdS!, B x dS 12 cxdS, NeS 13 Be3 or 10 ... Ne5 1 1 h3, Be6 12 Be3, Qc7 13 N d4, and 1 4 N d5.

9 Qxd4 d6 10 Qd3

The queen voluntarily vacates d4 and prepares to develop a bind in the center with e4, b3, Bb2 and the use of rooks on c1 and dl . There is no rush to play e4 because it blocks the KB's line. And there are tactical problems about b3. But otherwise, recent theory regards this variation highly. White's completion o f development proceeds smoothly.

Now Black has several choices: A l l JO . .. Bf5 A ll JO . . . Ng4 A13 JO . . . a6


A14 JO . . . Be6

All (1 c4, cS l N c3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3, g6 5 Bgl, B g7 6 0-0,

0-0 7 d4, cd 8 N x d4, N x d4 9 Qx d4, d6 10 Qd3)

10 . B fS

Aimed at forcing e4.

11 e4 Be6

Now Black is not offering the b-pawn.

ll Bdl a6 13 b3

White's recommended policy 1s to follow up with Racl and Rfd1.

13 ... Rb8

After 13 ... Qd7 14 Racl, Rab8 15 a4 (Sometimes this is a bad weakening because of . .. Nd 7-c5, but here that maneuver cannot be achieved immediately) B h3 16 Rfd1 , B x gl 17 Kxgl and White has not been interrupted from his


quest for central superiority. The exchange of bishops has actually helped White.

Also on 13 . . Nd7 14 Rac1, Nc5 ( ... Ne5 should transpose into our main variation - 13 . . . Rb8) 15 Qc2! as suggested by Keene, prevents . .. b5 and leaves Black with development problems.

14 Racl Nd7 15 Qe2 Ne5 16 Rfd1

So far as in the game Krogius-Tringov, Varna 1969. White has excellent placement for his pieces; he has stopped . . . b5 and may continue with Be3-d4. The game continued 16 ... Bg4 17 f3, Bd7 18 Be3, B c6 19 c5!, Qa5 20 Nd5, Bxd5 21 Rxd5 with a considerable advantage.

A12 ( 1 c4, c5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, N c6 4 g3, g6 5 Bg2, Bg7 6 00,

00 7 d4, cd 8 N x d4, N x d4 9 Qxd4, d6 10 Qd3)

10 .. . Ng4?!

An ambitious but poor plan. Similar is 10 ... Nd7 1 1 b3, Nc5 12 Qd2, aS 13 Bb2, Bd7 1 4 Nd5 and White has a simple superiority which increases with the exchange of black-squared bishops, after which White can work on the


kingside with h4-h5 or in the center with prospects of e4 eS. See also the Polgar-Gross game from the Introduction.

On 10 .. . Rb8 1 1 Be3, a6 (probably l l ... Qa5 is safe and sound), 12 Bd4 or 12 Rfd1 with prospect o f cS, look better for White .

In each of these lines White may have to move his queen again from d3, but that is a minor concern. If White played 10 Qd2, howe ver, Black could play 10 .. . 8e6 1 1 b3, dS with immediate equality. The Queen protects the cpawn when it retreats to d3.

1 1 b3 QaS 12 Bd2!

This is better than the pin created by 12 Bb2 . White can continue NdS and Bc3 easily now.

12 ... QhS 13 h4 NeS 14 Qe3

With QgS and an endgame in view.

14 ... Qg4

As in Reshevsky-Zuckerman, U.S. Championship 1967. A fter 15 Rad1, Qd7?! 16 NdS, Qd8 17 Bc3, White obtained a winning positional advantage.


All (1 c4, c5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3, g6 5 Bg2, Bg7 6 0-0,

0-0 7 d4, cd 8 N xd4, N xd4 9 Qxd4, d6 10 Qd3)

10 . . a6

Black prepares b7-b5.

White must be careful in trying to get too much too soon from the position. For example, 1 1 BgS and if 1 1 ... Rb8, then 12 c5 looks attractive since 12 ... dx c5 allows 13 Qxd8, Rxd8 14 B f4, Ra8 15 Na4 with strong queenside pressure. But 12 ... Qa5! can make an effective gambit, e.g., 13 B x f6 (not 13 cxd6??, Qxg5), B x f6 14 cx d6, exd6 15 Qx d6, Be6 16 Qd2, Rfd8 17 Qc2, Rdc8 and in Dzhindzhichashvili-Ehlvest, New York 1990, Black had more than enough compensation.

1 1 Be3 Brs

More effective than 1 1 ... Rb8 12 Bd4 (or 12 Ba 7, Ra8 13 Bd4) Be6 (12 ... Qa5 13 Bxf6, Bxf6 14 Nd5) 13 Racl and now 13 ... b5 only looks dangerous for White. He retains an edge with 14 cb, ab 15 NxbS, B x a2 16 Na7!.

Several years ago it was thought that 1 l . . . Ng4 only drives the White bishop where it wants to go, d4. A number of games in the 1970s tested that thesis and the conclu-


sion today is that White stands well if he does not hurry to play his c-pawn to the fifth rank: 1 l. .. Ng4 12 Bd4, Ne5 13 Qd1, Rb8 14 Nd5! and now with Nb6 or Bb6 coming up, the likely continuation is 14 . b5 15 cb, ab 16 Nb4, Bb7 17 e4 , N c6 18 B xg7, Kxg7 19 Nxc6, B x c6 20 Qd4ch and 21 Rfcl with the usual spatial edge for White (ThomasMath eson, Correspondence 1981-83).

12 Qd2

The point of 11 Be3 is to allow White to retreat his queen to d2 comfortably.

12 Rb8

Now 12 Qd7 13 Bg5, Rab8 (13 . . . Rac8 14 Bxf6!, Bxf6 15 Nd5) 14 Racl favors White because Black is still not ready for 14 . b5 - - 15 cb, ab 16 Bx f6, B x f6 17 Nd5 threatening both N x f6ch and Rc7.

13 Racl

Also good is 13 B d4.

13... b5 14 cb ab 15 B a7! Ra8! 16 B d4!

Not 16 B x a8, Q x a8 followed by . .. b4 or . B h3.

16 . . b4

Now Gligorich analyses 17 Nd5, N x d5 18 B x d5, B x d4 19 Qxd4, Rb8 20 Rfd1, D eS with a slight edge for White.


A14 ( 1 c4, cS 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3, g6 S Bg2, Bg7 6 0-0,

0-0 7 d4, cd 8 N x d4, N xd4 9 Qx d4, d6 10 Qd3)

10 . . . Be6

A pawn sacrifice which White must treat accurately to achieve an advantage.

Another possibility is 10 . . QaS 11 B d2 and then 1 1. .. QbS intending ... B h3 looks logical. White should play 12 f3 so that he can have a white-square bind if Black exchanges Bishops. White maintains an edge after 12 f3, e.g., 12 ... Be6 13 Racl, Rac8 14 NbS, a6 1S N d4, B d7 16 e4.

1 1 B xb7! Rb8 12 B g2 QaS 13 b3!

White does best to return the pawn for a positional advantage.

13 ... 14 axb3

Rxb3 Qxa1

Now the game Quinteros-Jimenez, Cie n fuegos 1972 continued 1S Bd2, Qa6 16 NbS with excellent prospects for White since Black's a-pawn is very weak.


No better in the line above is 13 Ng4 because 14 Bd2, Qh5 15 h3, Ne5 16 g4!, N x d3 17 gxh5 favors White greatly ( U h lmann- B oasch, East German Championship 1981) .

A2 (1 c4, c5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3, g6

5 Bg2, Bg7 6 00, 0-0 7 d4)

7 . . d6

Transposing into the Yugoslav Variation of the King's Indian Defense. We shall examine a straight forward method of play for White -- the exchange system - with 8 de, de 9 Be3.

8 de de 9 Be3 Qa5

The best move. In the game Petrosian- Bronste in, Amsterdam 1956, Black played 9 . . . Nd7. But after 10 Qc1! (with the simple plan of Bh6 and Bxg7 and Rdl) 10 . . . Nd4 11 Rd 1, e5 12 B h6, QaS 13 Bxg7 followed by 14 Kh1! (meeting the threat of 1 4 .. . Qxc3 and 15 . .. Nx e2cl!) White had the better position for several reasons. For one, he can drive off Black 's only really effective piece with e3. Then

Section I I : Winning With 1 c4 7 1

White has the use of d S for his own knight, but Black cannot do the same anymore. Also White has the better use of the long white di agonal and of the queen file.

The symmetrical defense 9 ... 8e6 is considered not quite sound because after 10 BxcS, Black has problems after either 10 ... B xc4 1 1 Nd4!, N x d4 12 B x d4, Ba6 (how else to defend the b-pawn?) 13 b4!, or 10 ... Qa5 1 1 B a3, Bxc4 12 Nd4, N x d4 13 Qx d4, Rac8 14 Qe3 or even 10 . . . Qa5 1 1 Ba3, Rfd8 12 Nd2, B x c4? 13 Nxc4, Rxd1 14 N x a5, Rxa1 15 Rxa1 , N x a5 16 Bxe7. As usual, symmetrical play is dangerous for Black.

Also take note of 9 Be3, Be6 10 Qa4!? with the idea of 10 ... N d4 1 1 Rad1, e.g., 1 1 ... Bd7 12 Qa3, N c2 13 Qxc5, b6 14 Qg5, h6 15 Q f4 with ferocious compli cations after 15 . . . g5 (Grigorian- Kasparov, USSR 1981) .

10 Qc1

Pursuing the plan of exchanging off the blacksquared bishops. Another good move is 10 B d2 to take advantage of the Black queen's square. On 10 ... 8e6 1 1 N a4 for example, the queen must retreat and allow something like 1 1 . . . Qc7 12 N x c5, Bxc4 13 Rcl, Bd5 14 Qa4, Nd7 15 B f4 as pointed out by Boleslavsky. Better is 10 ... B f5 1 1 Q c 1 ( J J e4? is tactically justified by l l . . . Nx e4 12 Nx e4 attacking the queen. But it is a mistake since after l l.. .Bg4 Black has control of White's d4 and therefore a fine game.) Now to avoid White's buildup with Rd1 and N d5 and B h6, Fischer played 11 . . . Nd4 against Pachman at H avana 1965, obtaining a slightly inferior game after 12 N x d4, cxd4 13 Nd5, Qd8 14 B h6, B x h6 15 Qx h6, N x d5 16 cx d5, ReS 17 Qd2, Qb6 18 Rac1 because of the weakness of Black's dpawn.

10 ... B f5


Or 10 ... eS 1 1 B d2, Be6 12 Rd1 , and now Black has problems with 12 ... Nd7 13 NgS or 12 ... B x c4 13 NdS or 12 ... Rad8 13 N dS.

1 1 Nh4 Bd7

On 1 1 ... B e6 12 NdS favors White.

12 Bd2 eS 13 e3

And White follows up with NdS and the better prospects.

These lines don't promise White much chance for a quick and decisive middlegame advantage, but they avoid the complexity of the dS lines and contain very little risk of losing. His endgame is usually excellent.

Section I I : Winning With 1 c4

B 1 c4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 N f3 g6

73

This order of moves was considered, until fairly recently, to be a clumsy positional mistake by Black. The reason is that with 4 e3! White prepares a strong pawn center.

4 e3

Now Black would like to play 4 ... N f6 5 d4, cd 6 ed, d5 in order to isolate White's remaining center pawn. In similar positions this can be effective. But here 7 Bg5 is good and 7 cd! is even better since 7 ... N x d5 8 Qb3, Nb6 9 d5! or 8 ... Nxc3 9 Bc4! gives White a tremendous game in the center (9 .. . e6 10 bxc3, Bg7 1 1 Bb5, Bd7 1 2 Ba3, Bf8 13 0-0, Bxa3 14 Qxa3, Qe7 15 Qb2, 0-0 1 6 Rfe1, Qf6 1 7 Rab 1 and 1 8 Nd2 as in Andersson - H uguet, Las Palmas 1973).

4 .. . Bg7

Note that 4 ... d6 5 d4, Bg4 6 Be2, Bg7 puts pressure on White's center, but the normal reaction to it ( 7 d5) grants White an excellent game. After 7 d5, Ne5? 8 Nxe5, Bxe2 9 Qa4ch! or 7 ... Nb8 8 b3 White's position is clearly


preferable. And 7 . N a5 would be similar to our main line below but with the bishop somewhat misplaced on g4.

5 d4 d6

A chief reason for this line's poor reputation is that often Black played S ... cd? here, giving White a favorable center after 6 ed, e.g., 6 ... N f6 7 dS, NbS 8 d6! or 6 ... d6 7 Be2, N f6 8 dS with prospects of strong pressure along the e-file.

6 Be2 Bd7

Here 4 ... Bg4 would transpose back into the note to Black's fourth move.

7 0-0 N f6 8 d5!

It's about time to punish Black for his attitude towards the center.

8... N aS 9 e4 0-0 10 eS

With this push White obtains a small but significant edge in central space. If lO ... dxeS 1 1 Nxe5, he will continue with B f4, Qd2 and the placement of rooks on dl and el .

More testing is 10 . . . Ne8 1 1 B f4, Bg4, after which White can no longer maintain his pawn at eS. But 12 exd6 gives White better pawns and better pieces. A recent example, Vaganian- Kamsky, New York 1990, went 12 ... N x d6 13 N d2 , B fS 14 Ret, b6 15 b3, e5 (Black needs more space to operate) 16 de, fe 17 B f3 and White kept an advantage.

Section I I: Winning With 1 c4

c 1 c4 cS 2 Nc3 N f6 3 N f3 dS

75

This method of liberating Black's game was a favorite of Akiba Rubinstein. He hopes after S cd, N x dS to build a Maroczy Bind with .. Nc6 and ... e7-e5. White has to be careful to put pressure on both eS and cS to keep from getting a cramped game.

line.

4 cd s g3

N xdS

As usual, White will exert force along the g2 -b7

s ... Nc6

At some point soon Black will have to deal with tactical threats to his knight on dS (5 ... Nc6 6 Bg2, e5? 7 Nxe5!, Nxe5 8 Nxd5). He can eliminate that danger immediately with S ... Nxc3 6 bxc3, but that strengthens White's center and creates other dangers, e.g., 6 . . . g6 7 Qa4ch!, Bd7 8 Qc4 threatening the c-pawn as well as 9 NgS, or 7 ... Nd7 8 Bg2, Bg7 9 d4, 0-0 10 0-0, a6 1 1 Qa3, Qc7 12 Rd1 , eS 13

76 Section II: Winning With 1 c4

Be3 threatening the e-pawn (Krasenkov- Kozlov, Mosco w Ch ampionship 1989) .

6 Bg2 Nc7

Another piece in the Rubinstein plan and a necessary precaution (6 .. . e5 7 Nxd5). The knight is not badly placed at c7 since it can go to e6 and d4 quickly.

7 0-0 eS 8 d3 Be7 9 Nd2

This is the most direct approach to the middlegame. The knight heads for c4 while opening up the g2 -b7 diagonal. In some cases White will play Bx c6 in order to damage Black's queenside. For instance 9 .. . Be6? 10 Bxc6ch, B x c6 11 Qa4 places the enemy pawns under immediate pressure (J J ... Qd7 12 Nc4, f6 13 Ne4, Bh3 14 Rd1, 0- 0 15 Na5! as in Korchnoi -Bohm, Wij k aan Zee 1980).

9 ... Bd7 10 Nc4

Here Black must decide whether or not to risk his e-pawn which is now threatened by 1 1 B x c6. On the natural 10 ... f6, White exploits the new weakness with 1 1 f4!. Play may then continue 1 1 ... bS 12 Ne3, ef 13 gf, 0 -0 14


NedS with a nice positional pull (Spiridonov-Pinter, Baile H erculane 198.2).

The crucial line is 10 .. . 0-0!?, offering the e-pawn. Then 1 1 B x c6, B x c6 12 N xeS, Be8 13 Be3 leads to a di f ficult middlegame in which the onus is on Black to prove that he is more than just a pawn down. After 13 ... Ne6 14 Ret, B f6 15 N f3, B c6 Black's bishops appear imposing, but White has fine chances with 16 Qb3, offering the pawn back e.g., 16 ... 8 x f3 17 e x f3, Qxd3 18 Ne4!, Qxb3 19 Nx f6ch, gx f6 20 axb3 with an endgame edge. Or 16 . . . Bd4 17 B x d4, Nxd4 18 N x d4, cxd4 19 Ne4, ReS 20 ReS! as in Hjartarson - Vaganian, Rotterdam 1989.

78 Section I l l : Winning With 1 c4

SECTION I l l 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3

Section I I I: Winning With 1 c4 79

SECTION I l l 1 c4 N f6

The knight move is flexible in regard to pawn formation. Black can make up his mind in the next few moves about where he wants the bases of his central pawn structure -- at e5, c5, or d5 -- or whether he wants to exchange off a pair of pawns in the center.

2 Nc3

Aside from the transpositional 2 ... e5 and 2 .. c5 (2 ... d6) there are a few distinct alternatives open to Black.

A 2 .. . d5 B 2 . . . e6 C 2 ...c6 D 2...g6

80 Section I I I: Winning With 1 c4

A ( 1 c4, N f6 2 Nc3, d5)

This presses the game into a Gruenfeld Defense-like position with the major difference being that White has not played his d-pawn into a position where it can be assaulted.

3 cd 4 g3

N x d5

As with most other variations we've explored, the typical response by White to any center action by Black is g3 and Bg2. Now 4 ... c5 would lead to lines mentioned earlier under 1 c4, c5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, d5 4 cd, N x d5 5 g3. And 4 . . . e5 would soon enter variations considered after 1 c4, e5 2 Nc3, N f6 3 N f3, Nc6 4 g3, d5 5 cd, N x d5.

4 . . . g6

Or 4 . . . Nxc3 leading to something else we've consid-ere d.

White may even benefit from the absence of Bg2 in this move order, e.g. 4 .. . N x c3 5 bxc3, g6 and here instead of 6 Bg2 which transposes into our main line, White can play 6 h4!?

Section I I I : Winning Wit h 1 c4 8 1

The idea is to try for a mating attack based on the absence of a Black knight from f6. White can play on both wings: 6 ... Bg7 7 h5, Nd7 8 Bgl, c5 9 Qb3, Rb8 10 N f3, b5 1 1 d4. And in Ribli- Gutman, West Germany 1988, White won quickly with l l . . . Qa5 12 B f4, cd 13 B x b8, dxc3? 14 B f4! (return trip), clch 15 Bdl, B x a 1 16 0-0!.

If Black sets out on an adventure to find a new idea -- say with 4 ... Nc6 5 Bgl, e6 6 N f3, Be7 -- he finds it difficult to complete his development harmoniously.

5 Bg2

Now we analyze two lines: A1 5 . . . Nxc3 Al 5 . . . Nb6


Al (1 c4, N f6 2 Nc3, d5 3 cd, N x d5 4 g3, g6 5 B g2)

5. . . Nxc3 6 bxc3 B g7

7 Rb1!

The early exploitation of the b-file is the clearest explanation of why White's game is preferable. Note that on 7 . 0-0 White doesn't play 8 Bxb7? (8 . . . Bxb7 9 Rxb7, Qd5), but 8 Rxb7!. And the passive 7 c6 is hardly appealing after 8 N f3, 0-0 9 0-0, Nd7 10 c4, e5 1 1 d3, Qc7 e .g., 12 B a3, Rd8 13 Ng5!, N f8 14 c5, Ne6 15 Ne4 to exploit d6.

The problem with 7 . Nc6 is that it doesn't solve the problem of the b-pawn since Black must eventually move the QB. After 8 Qa4, 00 9 N h3, for example, White can prepare a kingside attack with Qh4, B h6 , and Ng5 while keeping Black pressured on the Queenside.

7.. . Nd7 8 N f3

Not 8 Bxb7, Bxb7 9 Rxb7 because the rook doesn't escape after 10 . . . Nb6.

Section I I I : Winning With 1 c4

s... 0-0 9 0-0 e5

S3

Alternatives are no better. For example, in an earlier Botvinnik-Smyslov match game (our main line 9 . .. e5 is the 16th game Botvinnik-Smyslov, World C hampionship Match 195S) Black had played 9 ... RbS 10 c4, b6 1 1 d4, e5 12 B a3, ReS and equalized, but he shouldn't have after 13 e3. Black's queenside is still weak. Another idea is 9 . . Nb6 when 10 Nd4 has been recommended in the past, offering a pawn (JO ... Bxd4 1 1 cxd4, Qxd4 12 Bb2. An attractive alternative is 10 Ng5, which seems to be a misguided attempt at kingside attack, but is actually a method of bringing the knight to bear on the queenside via e4. For example 10 .. Qd7 1 1 Qb3, Qg4 12 Ne4 or 12 N f3, as in the game Ribl i - Gutman, West Germany 19S7 which continued 12 N f3, Be6 13 Qc2, Qc4 14 Ng5!, Bg4 15 B xb7!.

A2 (1 c4, N f6 2 Nc3, d5 3 cd, N x d5 4 g3, g6 5 Bg2)

s ... Nb6

Once again White can try to exploit the absence of an enemy knight from the kingside by going directly for mate: 6 d3, Bg7 7 Be3, 0-0 S Qcl!, ReS (else Bh6xg7) 9 B h6, B h 8 10 h4!?, N c6 11 h5, Nd4 12 N f3, N x f3ch 13 B x f3, c6


14 h x g6 and 15 Kfl! (Seirawan- 1 . Sokolov, Sarajevo 1987). White's uncastled king frequently turns out to be safer than Black's castled one in such positions.

But more in harmony with our overall English strategy is a sim pier procedure, as follows:

6 N f3 Bg7 7 0-0 0-0 8 d3 Nc6 9 Be3 Nd4

Or 9 . . . e5 10 a4, aS 1 1 Bxb6!, cxb6 12 N d2, Be6 13 N c4 and 14 Qb3.

10 N x d4 1 1 B x d4 12 Qc2

B x d4 Qxd4 c6

As in Stolyar- Kiaman, USSR Ch ampionship 1 957. Black doesn't have the counterplay he usually enjoys against the d-pawn in the normal Gruenfeld.


B ( 1 c4, N f6 2 Nc3 )

2 . e6

Black is ready to enter an assortment of d-pawn games after 3 d4 including the Benoni (3 ... c5) , the Queen's Gambit Declined (3 ... d5) or the Nimzo-Indian (3 ... Bb4). These don't work so smoothly after 3 e4.

3 e4 c5

There is nothing good to say about 3 Bb4 4 eS, Ng8 5 Qg4.

And against 3 .. dS White should play 4 e5 with these possibilities:

a) 4 ... Ne4 5 Nf3, c5 6 Qc2 (an idea of Soviet Master Bivshev) and now 6 ... Nxc3 7 bxc3, Nc6 8 Rbl, Qc7 9 d4 favors White. This is clearer than the gambit line 5 Nxe4 and 6 Qg4.

b) 4 ... N fd7 5 cd, ed and here Schwarz suggests the interesting 6 f4, c5 7 N f3 possibly followed by a kingside fianchetto or by d4 as in the Steinitz Variation of the French Defense.

86 Section I I I: Winning Wit h 1 c4

However White would do better to liquidate rather than maintain his pawn center. A good policy here (instead of 5 cd) is 5 d4. And if 5 ... c5, then 6 cd, ed 7 N f3, N c6 8 Bb5! as in Smyslov- Farago, Hastings 1976-77, which went 8 ... a6 9 Bxc6, bxc6 10 0-0, Be7 11 de, Nxc5 12 Nd4, Qb6? 13 Be3 and White won very quickly: 13 ... 0-0 14 Rc1, Rd8 15 b4!, Ne4 16 N a4, Qb7 17 Nxc6. Resigns!

c) 4 .. d4 which is considered the most aggressive and best chance for equality; 5 exf6, dxc3 6 bxc3, Qxf6 7 d4 and now either 7 ... c5 8 Nf3, h6 (8 ... cd 9 Bg5, Qf5 10 cd, Bb4ch 11 Bd2 is much better for White.) 9 Bd3, Nc6 10 0-0, cd 11 cd, Nxd4 12 Nxd4, Qxd4 13 Rb1 with a very strong attack, or 7 ... b6 8 Be2!, Bb7 9 Bf3, Bxf3 10 Nxf3, Bd6 11 Qa4ch and 12 Bg5. White is better in each case.

In recent years Black has tried to revive his play with 7 ... eS. Then 8 Qe2?, Be7 9 QxeS, QxeS 10 de, Nc6 is questionable for White (Chekhov-Zicheik, U SSR 1980), but 8 N f3! makes sense.

Then 8 N f3!, ed leads to a position that was tested throughout the 1980s. A fairly recent example was VaiserSmagin, Tallinn 1986 when White had a withering attack with 9 BgS, Qe6ch 10 Be2, Be7 (JO ... d3? 1 1 0-0! or 1 0 ... f6 1 1 Nxd4, Qf7 1 2 Bf4 are also dangerous) 1 1 cd, B x gS 1 2 NxgS, Qe7 13 Qd2, 0-0 14 0 -0, h6 15 N f3, Rd8 16 Bd3 and so on.

4 eS Ng8 S N f3 Nc6

Now White is faced with the prospect of Black playing ... d6 and developing pressure against White's backward d-pawn. The only optimistic line for White involves a pawn sacrifice.

6 d4 cd 7 N x d4 NxeS


On 7 . a6 White has a considerable edge after either 8 Nxc6 or 8 B f4. Black has lost too much time with his KN to expect equality if he does not accept the pawn.

8 NdbS!?

This appears to be the best move and supercedes the previously favored 8 B f4, Ng6 9 Bg3, eS!.

After 8 NdbS!? White threatens B f4 or Nd6ch, in either case with good pressure on the black squares. After 8 . . a6 9 Nd6cb, Bx d6 10 Qxd6, for example, Black could quickly find his queenside under paralysis after 10 .. Ng6 11 Be3, Qe7 12 Qb6, Qd8 13 Qb4 followed by Ne4 or B cS.

After 8 .. d6 White continues with 9 B f4 and Qd2, or Ne4.

Better is 8 .. . f6 (after 8 Ndb5) so that on 9 N d6ch, Bxd6 10 Qxd6 Black can evict the queen with . . . N f7. The key game in this line is Liebert-Zlnn, East German Championship 1964 which went 8 . f6 9 B f4, a6 (else 9 Bxe5 and Qh5ch) 10 B x eS, axbS 1 1 Bg3, be 12 B x c4, dS 13 Bd3, Bb4 14 QhScb, K f8 15 00, Bxc3 16 bxc3, Ne7 17 c4 with play for the pawn. White might also improve with 13 BbScb and 14 0-0 or Qe2.

After our main line move 8 NdbS:

88 Section I l l: Winning With 1 c4

But perhaps the more accurate method of meeting 8 . 16 is 9 Be3!, to force a weakness at b6. After Black defends his a-pawn with 9 ... a6, White continues 10 Nd6cb, B x d6 11 Qxd6, Ne7 12 Bb6, N f5 13 Qc5! with strong compensation on the weakened dark-squares.

Some examples: (a) 13 .

.

. Qe7 14 Qa5, h5 15 0-0-0, K f7 16 c5, N c8 (or 16 ... d5 17 cd, Nxd6 18 Bc5) 17 Qa3, Qe8 18 Ne4 as in Miles-Gruenfeld, World Open 1989.

(b) 13 . . . Qe7 14 Qa5, Nc6 15 Qa4, Qd6 16 c5, Qe5ch 17 Qe4! (since the endgame is excellent after 17 ... Qxe4 18 Nxe4, Nb4 19 0-0-0!), d5 18 cxd6, Nxd6 19 Qxe5, Nxe5 20 0-0-0 and 21 f4! as in Serper-Lutber, Arnbeim 1990.

(c) 13 ... d6 14 Qa5, Qe7 15 0-0-0, 0-0 16 f4, N c6 17 Qa3, e5 18 g4! and 19 Nd5 as in Kasparov-Sokolov, Bel fort 1988.

As shown here, the 8 Ndb5 variation has turned out to be one of the most dangerous gambits in modern chess.

Section I l l: Winning Wit h 1 c4

c ( 1 c4, N f6 2 Nc3)

3 N f3 dS 4 cd

89

With this transposition into the Slav Defense's exchange variation, White maintains the very sure but relatively small impetus of symmetrical positions. As explained in my book Winning With 1 d4, White enjoys a promising middlegame after say 4 ... cd S d4, Nc6 6 B f4, B fS 7 e3, e6 8 NeS! e.g., 8 ... Nx eS 9 B x eS, a6 10 B x f6, gx f6 ( JO ... Qxf6 1 1 Qa4ch) 1 1 Bd3, or 8 ... Nd7 9 N x c6, bxc6 1 0 B a6, Qb6 1 1 Qe2, cS 1 2 0-0! .

Or simply 10 B el, Be7 1 1 0-0, 0-0 12 Rcl , cS 13 NbS, a6 14 N d6 as in Portisch - Bely avsky, Tllburg 1981 . The backwardness of the Black c-pawn can be eliminated by ... c6-cS, but that usually means White will be the first to have access to an open c-file. This variation beginning with 8 NeS! appears strong and indicates that Black may have to play for equality with the asymmetrical 6 ... e6. White then enjoys the simpler placement of his pieces and greater activity of his QB.


D ( 1 c4, N f6 2 N c3)

2 g6

So what if Black just plays a King's Indian Defense? This trusted not-so-old weapon works well against virtually any other opening sequence. Why not against 1 c4? Here is my recommendation for White against the King's Indian Defense:

3 g3 Bg7

3 . . . dS enters the lines beginning 1 c4, N f6 2 Nc3, dS 3 cd, N x dS 4 g3, g6. And 3 cS enters the main line of 1 c4, cS.

4 Bg2 00 S e4!

Section I I I: Winning With 1 c4 9 1

This initiates a system beloved by Botvinnik. It comprises Nge2, d3, 0 -0 followed by either f4- f5 or a3 and b4. White's choice of plans depends strongly on what Black does in the center.

We now analyze these lines: D 1 5 ... c5 (or 5 . .. c6) D2 5 . .. e5

Dl (1 c4, N f6 2 N c3, g6 3 g3, Bg7 4 Bg2, 0 -0 5 e4!)

If White's plan is to dominate the light squares, what happens if Black tries to challenge him with . c7-c6 and . d7- d5 here? For example, 5 .. c6 6 Nge2 (6 eS is an error that leaves the e-pawn over-extended after 6 ... Ne8), d5 7 cd, cd 8 N x d5, N x d5 9 e x d5 gives White an extra pawn but offers Black compensation if he is allowed to play B f5 and . . . N a6-b4.

But 9 . Na6 10 d4, B f5 1 1 Qb3! should hold the pawn and deprive Black of adequate counterchances, e.g., 1 1. . Rc8 12 0-0 (better than 12 Qxb 7, Bd3!) Qd7 13 Be3, B c2 14 Qa3 and 15 Rfcl as in Ribli-Nunn, Reykjavik 1988.

5 . . c5


Black can also avoid an immediate decision with S ... d6. However it will transpose into this main line or into . eS lines at a subsequent point.

6 Nge2 N c6 7 0 -0 d6

Taimanov won his first game with Smyslov after many losses with 7 . a6. Their game from the 1961 USSR Championship went 8 Rb1, Rb8 9 a3, bS 10 cb, ab 11 b4, cb 12 ab, eS 13 d3, d6 and White could make little out of his first move advantage. He played 14 h3, B e6 1S NdS, Ne7 16 Nxe7ch, Qxe7 17 f4, ef and now should have played 18 gf.

8 a3

White's play after . . cS involves b4 rather than f4. On 8 d3, Ne8 9 h3, Nc7 10 f4, for example, White has nothing to speak of after 10 . fS 1 1 Be3, Nd4 12 Qd2, Rb8 13 Rae1, e6 since Black is quite safe on the kingside and is ready to play bS on the queenside.

8 .. . Ne8

8 .. . aS 9 Rb1, Bd7 10 d3, Rb8 is a good try at equality for Black although 1 1 NbS! and Nec3 may gi ve White a pull. The same line could be entered with 8 Bd7 9 Rb1, aS . Another line is S . aS 9 Rb1, Bg4 10 f3, Bd7 11 d3, Ne8 12 Be3, N c7 and here 13 Nh4 seems indicated.

9 Rb1 aS

Black cannot allow b4 with impunity: 9 Rb8 10 b4, b6 11 d3, Bd7 12 Be3, Nd4 13 h3, Nc7 14 Kh2, B c6 1S Qd2, ReS is Taimanov-Najdorf 19S6, after which 16 bS!, Bb7 17 a4, e6 18 Bh6, B h8 19 N x d4, cxd4 20 Na2, aS 2 l f4 led to advantage for White. Or 9 Nc7 10 b4, Ne6 (JO .. . Rb8 1 1 b5, Nd4 1 2 d3, Nce6 13 f4 also favors White) 1 1 d3, Ned4 12


N x d4, N x d4 13 Ne2, b6 14 Nxd4, B x d4 15 B b2, B x b2 16 Rxb2, e5 17 f4 as in Stolyar- Zilber, USSR 1957.

Once White gets b4 in, he has the initiative on the only side of the board that is open enough for major activity.

10 d3 Nc7 1 1 Be3

White maintains a slight edge with this move because of the positional threat of N a4.

Now on l l ... N d4 White continues queenside operations with 12 b4, ab 13 ab. Then if Black safeguards the file with 13 ... b6 as in Evans-Fischer, U .S. C hampionsh ip 1967, White retains the superior chances with the simple 14 Qd2.

02 (1 c4, N f6 2 N c3, g6 3 g3, Bg7 4 Bg2, 0 -0 5 e4!)

5 ... e5

Going into a King's Indian set-up, but this is where White's f4- f5 plan works most effectively.

6 Nge2 d6

94 Section I I I: Winning Wit h 1 c4

7 00 Nbd7

Other moves also favor White. For example, 7 . . . Be6 8 d3, Qc8 9 f4, B h3 10 fS!, B xg2 11 Kxg2 and White has gotten rid of his only questionable piece, the KB. In the game Oj anen- Liflaender, Finnish Championsh ip 19SS, Black tried 7 . Nc6. But now White was able to get in 8 f4 before Black got a chance to play . Ne8 and . . . rs himself. There followed 8 .. . Nd4 9 d3, cS 10 fS!, Ne8 (JO . .. gf 1 1 Bg5!) 11 g4, gS (otherwise Ng3 and g5 and f6) 12 N dS, f6 13 Nxd4, exd4 14 b4, Nc7 IS N x e7, Q xe7 16 be, de 17 h4 with a strong attack.

White's ability to play on the kingside with f2 - f4, and on the queenside with b2-b4, makes this a particularly flexible system.

Suppose for example, White had played a slightly different order of move: S e4, eS 6 d3, d6 7 Nge2, N e6 8 0 0 leaving a tempo behind in the race for f4- fS. He could also play on the queenside where Black has hopes of a7 a6 and ... b7-bS.

Typical play then would be 8 .. . a6 9 Rbl, Rb8 10 NdS, Nd7 1 1 f4 and now San Segundo-Lputian, New York 1990 saw White upset a strong Soviet grandmaster after l l . .. Ne7 12 Be3, e6 13 Nxe7eh, Qxe7 14 fS!, bS IS g4, h6 16 Qd2 , N f6 17 B f3, gx fS 18 gx fS, Kh7 19 Kh l with a growing positional superiority.

8 d3

White can also play the immediate 8 f4, although Black obtains counterplay from 8 . . . e6 9 h3, bS 10 d3, Qb6eh. The instructive game Seiraw an-Sigurjonsson, Wij k aan Zee 1980 continued 1 1 Khl , Bb7 12 g4!, e f 13 B x f4, R fe8 14 eb!, eb IS Ng3 and White was secure on the queenside and threatening on the kingside (15 ... Nc5 1 6 Be3, b4 1 7 Nce2, Qb5 1 8 Bd4, Nfd 7 1 9 Bxg 7 and 20 Nf4, etc.)

Section I I I: Winning With 1 c4

8... Nc5 9 f4 c6 10 b3 Ne6 11 r5 Nd4 12 g4

95

So far as in Botvinnlk-Tscherbakov, U S S R Championsh ip 1955. After ll . .. Ne8 13 Be3, a6 14 Qd2 Black didn't last past move 30.

96 Section I V: Winning With 1 c4

SECTION IV Other Ideas Against 1 c4

We analyze: A 8 c D E F G

Section I V: Winning With 1 c4

SECTION IV Other Ideas Against 1 c4

1 c4, c6 1 c4, e6 1 c4, rs 1 c4, g6 1 c4, Nc6 1 c4, b6 1 c4, dS

1 c4

A c6

97

Although White has his choice here between the Reti Opening (after 2 Nf3, d5 3 g3) or the Caro-Kann Defense (2 e4, dS 3 ed, cd 4 d4) , we prefer a transposition into the exchange variation of the Slav Defense (2 Nc3, dS 3 cd, cd 4 d4). The reader is referred to the Slav chapter of my Winning With 1 d4. Also we covered this Slav exchange in the previous section (Section III C).


B 1 c4 e6

This is also long on transpositional ideas. White's best line for the sake of simplicity is 2 N c3 and then:

a) 2 d5 3 d4 followed by the Exchange Variation cd as outlined in my Winning With 1 d4.

b) 2 N f6 transposes into III B.

c) 2 . . . f5 enters IV C.

d) 2 . cS 3 Nf3 either transposes into III B after 3 ... N f6 or a Tarrasch Defense to the Queen's Gambit after 3 ... d5.

e) 2 .. Bb4 3 Qb3! so that on 3 ... c5 White can play 4 Nb5 followed by an unpleasant N d6ch. If 4 ... d6, 5 Qg3!. This 2 ... e6 usually transposes into a variation already considered in III B.

Section IV: Winning With 1 c4 99

c 1 c4 rs

If the reader is interested in a thoroughly English system against the Dutch Defense, we advise:

2 N f3 N f6 3 g3 e6

For 3 . . . g6 White can choose one of the systems suggested in Winning With 1 d4.

4 Bg2 Be7 s 0-0 0-0 6 d3

And now Black has the usual choice between moving his d-pawn one box or two:

a) 6 . . . dS 7 b3, c5 ( 7 ... c6 8 Ba3! eliminates Black' s better bishop) 8 cd, ed 9 Bb2, N c6 10 d4!, b6 11 de, be 12 Nc3 (Pirc-Tolush, 1957) White's play against the weak center is nearly devastating already.

b) 6 ... d6 7 Nc3, e5 8 Ne1!, c6 9 f4, Be6 10 Nf3, Ng4 11 e3, Nd7 12 h3, Nh6 13 Qe2 as proposed by Schwarz. White can also play b4-b5.


D 1 c4 g6

2 Nc3 Bg7 3 g3

Now 3 ... N f6 will revert to III D and 3 ... c5 may return to II's main line. On 3 ... e5 Black has played into a major variation, but one which we've been able to avo

winning with c4 - andrew

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