Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Winning With The Modern London System Nikola Sedlak 2016 OCR OPT PDF
Winning With The Modern London System Nikola Sedlak 2016 OCR OPT PDF
Winning With The Modern London System Nikola Sedlak 2016 OCR OPT PDF
WINNING
with the
Modern London System
Chess
Evolution
Cover designer
Piotr Pielach
Cover photo
Big Ben photo by Ingram Image
Typesetting
Piotr Pielach <www.i-press.pl>
Winning with the Modern London System. A complete opening repertoirefor White against 1.d4 ds
Copyright © 2016 Chess Evolution
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys
tem or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN 978-83-944290-9-6
e-mail: info@chess-evolution.com
website: www.chess-evolution.com
Printed in Poland
TABL E OF CO N T E N TS
PRE FACE 5
I NTRODUCTION 9
CO N C LUS I O N 221
K EY TO SYMBO LS
± White is better
+ Black is better
+- White has a decisive advantage
-+ Black has a decisive advantage
00 unclear
� with counterplay
i with initiative
� with an attack
D only move
N novelty
a good move
!! an excellent move
? a weak move
?? a blunder
!? an interesing move
?! a dubious move
+ check
# mate
PR EFAC E
However, over time, the computer world has conquered chess and I real
ized that i.e4 was too concrete for me. It was not allowing my playing style
to express itself and I was not reaching positions in which I could show
my true face. Also, I realized that i.e4 couldn't be played without thorough
computer analysis, and I must admit that I still prefer the approach of an
older generation; one which favours a chess book and a board in front of
them and which likes to hold pieces in their hands while working on the
development of their chess skills.
So, my opinion about i.e4 slowly began to change. At the age of 22 I de
cided to seriously focus on a study of i.d4. However, I encountered one,
should I say, obstacle - and that was i. .. ds! Just to mention that i. .. llJf6
wasn't a problem, because the positions arising weren't symmetrical, while
i. .. ds followed by the Slav Defence and the Queen's Gambit was becoming
an 'impenetrable fortress' which could be credited largely to Grandmaster
Vladimir Kramnik.
I wish to emphasize that the problem for me at that time wasn't being un
able to find an advantage for White, because I think that if Black plays the
opening phase precisely White can't reach an advantage in almost any
system (except when Black is using openings proven to be incorrect), but
the bigger issue was with the types of positions that were reached, which
didn't allow me to be free and creative. Also, the arising positions were
6
deeply analysed by professional chess players with the help of very strong
computer programs.
Back then I didn't know much about that system, and actually didn't care
to know, because I saw mostly weaker players playing the "London System"
and it seemed to me that they were using it with the purpose of achieving
a draw. It was precisely that attitude I had beforehand that helped me un
derstand that maybe a great number of other players also had the same at
titude, that they were underestimating the system and that maybe it should
be analysed in greater detail and given a new meaning. I began to see that
it could also serve as a very strong psychological weapon if studied well.
The "London System" wasn't played very often at the top level, it was rela
tively unexplored and it was precisely those conclusions that showed me
that the effort should be made to thoroughly analyse this opening.
liberty to say that it was a fruitful collaboration because I'm personally sat
isfied with the results achieved using the studied material.
10 years after my first game in the "London System" - with more than so
games played against many Grandmasters among others and with an over
all performance over 2700 - I felt free and confident enough to distil my
experience into a book, its purpose being to serve as a guide for other play
ers searching for an opening which they will play with pleasure. The ideas
and ways of treating these positions have changed over time, and I put an
emphasis on that which I currently consider to be best for White.
This is the reason why the book is called Winning with the Modern London
System. I have to mention that i.d4 i.':ZJf6 2 . .ll f4 or 2.i.':ZJf3 with � f4 are also
known as the London System. Personally, I'm not a fan of the London Sys
tem against t. .. i.':ZJf6, especially when Black arranges his pieces as he would
in the King's Indian Defence. The position of the bishop on f4 seems ad
equate to me only when black plays i. .. d5, in which case it has a very im
portant role to play, as opposed to when Black has the option of playing
. . .. d6 when the London set-up seems less logical and I don't believe in it.
So I chose to deal with the London System only against t. .. ds in this book!
I N TRODU CTIO N
In this book the London System opening is presented using all of the most
important games with thorough comments, through which the readers
will have the opportunity to understand the essence of this opening, which
in my opinion has a future ahead of it and a lot of space for growth and
development.
I would like to mention that the book comprises the most important parts
of this opening, and also the ideas reached through the experience of play
ing games in tournaments, as well as the positions analysed in collabora
tion with Grandmaster Ferenc Berkes. But there should always be room,
if a player chooses this opening, for some new interesting idea during the
game itself, because either side (both White and Black) can encounter
something new and unexplored in a relatively early phase of the game.
Therein lies the beauty of chess: creativity, freedom to mix things up, and
an abundance of possibilities and ideas for a game of high quality.
I'm certain that this book will be very helpful to most chess players in build
ing a strong foundation in order to be able to use this opening in praxis.
At this point it's important to say a few words about the move order. Many
players enter this system with 2.� f3 and 3 . ii. f4. Positions reached after
2.� f3 are usually identical to those with 2. �f4, but that move order is ac
tually less elastic and it narrows down White's options. It is for this reason
that I am promoting the development of the bishop on the 2nd move as
the main move order. Those differences in options will be the most obvi
ous in chapters 2 and 4.
In the process of writing this book the biggest problems for me arose from
the different move orders used in the analysed games. In order to avoid
confusing the readers, for each chapter there's an introduction where the
correct move order can be seen clearly. I'm using this opportunity to point
out to readers that they definitely shouldn't skip the introductions to the
chapters!
10
One way or the other, what's important are the facts which I obtained
through my study of the London System and which I will prove in this
book with a thorough analysis of games. I will show that this system is fully
deserving of your attention for analysing and playing, that it's unjustly ne
glected in comparison with other openings and also that it gives players
myriad interesting positions on the board, free and creative play, with lots
of space for further growth and improvement.
THE NARROW PATH OF ADVERSITY:
A BRIEF HISTORY
9.ez:Jes ez:Jxes
It also works here! 9 ... CZJe4!
many threats such as CZJ f3- CZJ h4 or Prevents e4, but makes a weak
f4-fs point on es!
T H E N A R ROW PATH OF ADVERS ITY: A B R I E F H I STO RY 13
14. �es!
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
White puts his bishop on its most The position has a closed charac
active square and then continues ter so time is not a key factor, but
with a typical kingside plan! anyway I don't support wasting
time! It was better to play 19.g4±
14 ... �f6?! immediately.
It was a bad idea to head for the
exchange of bishops after which the 19 'Lles
•..
a b c d e
33.E!h1 gxhs?!
Black loses patience! He should
search for an escape with 33 ... Wf7!
34.hxg6+ hxg6 35.CZJe5+ We7 36.Wg3
CZJ f7 37.E!h7 Eifg8 and it's not clear
how to break into Black's position.
27. • •
E!fs 28.�et! 35.CZJes Whs 36. i.xhs+-
White is careful! 28.h4? h5! = Now nothing can save the black
leads to a complete blockade! monarch!
T H E N A R ROW PATH OF ADVERS ITY: A B R I E F H I STO RY 15
sfj ··- fj
4 a �r� a JP
A. Rubinstein - S. Tartakower
BCF Congress, London (13), 1922 3a
2
a DtlJa
AfiA�R ��Afi
oilo� !P�oil
In 1922, 17 years after James Ma
son's death, a very strong tourna
, �.�f ,,/a�m:£a%li
a b c d e f g h
ment called London BCF Congress An interesting treatment of the
was played, and it was won convinc position. Allowing a partial destruc
ingly by 3rd World Champion Jose tion of his pawn structure, White
Raul Capablanca with score of 13 takes greater control of the es square.
points from 15 games without de
feat, in front of other elite players 5 �xf4 6.exf4 cs
•••
8 ... ll:lbd7 was a better option (After 17. il.xe4 dxe4 18. !fxe4
with the idea being to exchange il.c6 � Black getting some hopes
one pair of knights, e.g. 9.ll:lb3 (9.b4 with active Bishop!)
b6 10.cxb6 axb6�) 9 ... 0-0 10. �d3
ll:lxcs 11.ll:lxcs !fxcs and the posi Entering into the endgame where
tion is about equal. Black lacks serious counterplay.
17... !fxe3 18. � xe3 fs 19.exf6 gxf6!
9· Ji.d3ll:Jc6 10.C3
Preventing . . . ll:l b4 and creating (19... ll:lx/6 20. �ae1±)
a post for the knight on d4.
20. il. xe4 dxe4 2i. � xe4 es and
io . . • o-o 11.0-0 h6 i2.ll:lb3 !fb6 a pawn down in the endgame Black
i3. �e1� can hope for salvation thanks to
Black doesn't have an active plan, his active bishop.
while White is controlling all the
important squares in the center. 17.h4 fs
Black is more-or-less forced to
13 il.d7 14. !fe2 �ae8?
••• play this move. For example n .. f6
The wrong plan! Correct was 14 ... 18.!fc2 fs 19.ll:Jd4±
as! with . . . a4 next, aiming to ex
change one pair of knights. 18.ll:ld4 �e7 i9.f4
In this game, like in the previ
ous, Black has a problem with his
"French bishop".
19 �hs 20.hs!
•••
23. !!g2 CZJd7 24. !!ag1 ll:Jcs 25. it.bi± A clever move! Freeing the queen
and g4 is coming next move! from defending the b2 pawn.
21 CZJ fS!
••• 27 !!ef7 28. !!fi a6 29.'1Wxg4 �bs
•.•
to play a fast . . . e6-. . . .Jld6 and 15 ... �e7 16.b3 �e4 17- �c1 �c8
then to develop knight from g8 to 18 . .1i.d3 �g6! with lots of com
e?! 6.�d2 e6 7.�gf3 ii.d6 8. ii.xd6 pensation for Black.)
'i!fxd6 and now White has two in
teresting continuations 9. ii.bs!? (or 12 ... 0-0 13. �ae1
9.�h4!?) 9 ... �ge7 (9 ...a6 10.ii.xc6+!
'i!Nxc6 11 .�e5 with the idea g4-h4) (13 .'i!Nxb7 �ab8 14 .'i!Na6 � b6
10.� h4!? This position has not been 15.'i!Na4 �xh2=)
tested so much at GM level, but for
sure it deserve attention. 13 ... �ab8=
6 .ll fs
•••
This is the critical position. See the be trapped). Another problem for
game Piscopo-Madeja Ita eh team Black in this position is the bishop
2009. (10 ... 0-0?!- game Browne g7 which is permanently useless,
W.-Larsen B. San Antonio 1972.) ; and there is no realistic possibility
of bringing him to life with . . . es
because White controls the center
very well.
1.e4
Our move order would be i.d4 ds
2. il.f4 cs 3.e3 cxd4 4.exd4 �c6 5.c3
� f6 6.�d2 iLg4 7.�b3 �c8 8.�gf3
e6 9 . .id3
An original concept which her
alds in non-standard positions.
CHAPTER O N E - CARO-KA N N POS I T I O N 23
12.�c2
Now /£le5 is no longer possible
anymore. White also has another
interesting move with similar ide
as to the game. 12. iLg5!? the idea is
to prevent . . . /£le5! 12 ... 1£le8 13. i.xe7
9 iLe7 10.o-o o-o?!
••• 1£l xe7 14. �c2 ilg6 15./£lxg6 hxg6
16./£lf3 1£l f6 n�e2 1£lc6 18 . .B:ae1
�c7 19./£le5 1£l xe5 20.dxe5 /£ld7
2i.h4-t, Aagaard,J (2535)-Dittmar,P
(2318) Arco 2007
12 iLg6 13./£lxg6
.••
13 hxg6
..•
closer to the kingside and attack all his pieces are on their optimal
with g3-Wg2-h4-B'. h1-hs. squares and ready for action.
a b c d e g h
21 ...�d7?!
a b c d e g h The knight on f6 makes it difficult
to counter the plan with h4. Black
Usually the B'.a1 goes to ei. His should search for other options.
colleague from fr is needed for ac
tion on the h-file. 22.�f3 �fs
Without any activity, Black can
is ... B'.fes 19 . .Jic1! only sit and wait.
Bishops are best at long range!
Now, White has a dream position;
CHAPTE R O N E - CARO-KAN N POSI T I O N 25
order! i.d4 ds 2 . .ll f4 cs 3.e3 cxd4 13.�es o-o?! Too early, after which
4.exd4 �c6 5.c3 � f6 6.�d2 .ll g4 one not so well-known player react
7. l!fb3 l!fcs 8.�gf3 e6 9 . .ll d 3 1i.. e 7 ed well and won a game with a typi
10.0-0! cal attack on the kingside!
2.d4 ds 3.exds cxds 4. Ji.. d3 �c6 14.�df3 �d7 15. �e3! The rook
5.c3 � f6 6. li. f4 li.g4 7.l!fb3 l!fcs is aiming for the h3 square! 15 ...
8.�d2 e6 9.�gf3 .ll e7 10.0-0 .ll hs! a6 16. � fe1 �cxes n� xes �xes
The right move. After an ex 18. Ji.. xes bs 19. l!fd1! as 20.h4!
change of light-squared bishops, it A typical pawn sacrifice with the
is much harder for White to organ idea of opening the h-file! 20 ...
ize a kingside attack. i. xh4 2i.l!fg4 i.e7 22. � h3 �a6
23. �ee3 l!fes 24. �eg3 the threat
is l!fhs with a mating attack!
24 .. .f6 25. l!fh4! <t!if7 26. l!fh7 �g8
27. �xg6! <t!ifs
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
A nice move with the idea of dou Too risky. Black's king would be
bling rooks on the e-file and trans much safer after 16 ... Wf8!?
ferring to the g3 or h3 squares at
some point. 17.h4
A good idea but not the best
12 a6 13.a4
.•• move. With nl£lgs! and a quick
Of course! Why give any possibil transfer of the rook to h3, the attack
ities for a minority attack after . . . bs? moves more quickly.
20 gxhs 21.�d2+-
•••
And now the h-file comes into White has a decisive attack. This
White's hands! kind of sacrifice must work in view
of the misplaced queen on a2!
21 !fa2 22.!fxhs g6
•••
28... Wgs 29. �xd7 �xb2 30. �xds+ V. Kramnik (2796) - S. Sjugirov (2646)
<i!lhs 31.�hs+ <i!lgs 32.�ds+ <i!lhs Qatar Masters Doha QAT (8.2),
33.�hs+ 28.12.2015
a b c d e g h
32 W I N N I N G WI T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
14. 'it>b1 bs
Black starts his counterplay but
with some prophylactic moves it
will soon be stopped!
air". The knight on gs is a real head !!aB 25. bxC4 bxc4+ 26. il. b2 !! hbB
ache for Black as the game progresses. 27.CiJxd6 'i!txd6 28 . .1l.. h3+ - Black
cannot increase the pressure on the
18 CiJ f4 19 .1l.. f1
••. • White king, while the Black king
Like I said, it's important to pre is also not safe after !! he1 next.)
serve the bishop, while the knight 24.lia2±
will be expelled after g3.
22 CiJas?
•••
11•• • •
·'·/ ;·�-/.3•
8 27. .ll d 2
7
• ��, · %••11�
White is in complete control. The
only job left is to activate the rooks.
6 � x �
••••• �
• .. . . ...
43 .�0%
5
11�'· •
J.%/ .11 ..
27 !!cs 28.<tlb2 !!c6 29. !!a1 !Ifs
•••
23.�a2!
Now the Black minor pieces slow
ly go backwards!
35 ... ..ixf4 36.gxf4 W8c7 42. <J;;xc3 � h3+ 43. <J;;c 2 W8xd4
Black handed over a pawn so now With a piece sacrifice, Black has
he is going to take something for him. activated the rest of his pieces and
now White has to be a little bit care
37. 1'.xb5 W8xf4 38.tL'lf3 ful! Kramnik chose the safest way,
Now the knight is coming to help! entering into the endgame!
38 tL'le4
••• 44. W8b5+ <J;; c 7 45. W8b7+ rJi;d6
In case of 38 ... W8e4 White would 46. WKbs+
avoid exchanges and continue the The simplest and the best! Also
attack with 39.W8d1 �c8 40.tL'le5+ winning was 46. � xd5+ exd5
with W8a1 next. 47. W8d7+ <J;; e 5 48. W8xh3 W8xb4
49.W8g3+ rJi;e6 50.W8e3+ rJi;d6 51. �e8
39.tL'le5 �hs 40.tL'lc6+ W8c4+ 52. rJi;d1 W8g4+ 53. rJi;d2 W8b4+
It was necessary to eliminate the 54. <J;;e2 W8g4+ 55. <J;; fi W8f5 56. <J;;g 2+
defensive knight, otherwise Black's but White will still have to work
king is safe. hard for a win.
47.W8a7+!
Excellent assessment! The b
pawn will be fast in the endgame!
� h4
Black is going to have to con
trol the b-pawn somehow. In the
case of 49 ... �xh2 it is unstoppable!
50. �d7+ <J;; e 5 5i.b5 � xfa+ 52. rJi;b3
The best practical chance, but not �fr 53. rJi;b4!+-
enough - especially against Kram
nik. The black king cannot get far 50. rJi;b3 �h3+ 51. rJi;b2 �h4 52. �d7+
away after 41. .. <J;;c 7 42. � a7+ rJi;d6 <J;;e5 53. <J;; a3
43 . ..ia4!+- In this elegant way checks are
avoided and the pawn is undis
turbed in his running.
C H A PTER O N E - CARO-KA N N POS I T I O N 35
53 ... Wd4 54. �xf7 �xh2 ss.bs Wes 6.tl:Jd2 il. fs 7. �b3 �cs s.tl:Jgf3 e6
56. �c7+ 9.ClJ h4
A lovely London game by an in
spired former World Champion.
Conclusion: With the advantage of
the two bishops, long castling de
serves serious attention because
White has good attacking re
sources. White's king is safe on the
queenside!
1-0
F. Berkes - T. D. V. Nguyen
Zalakaros open, 28.05.2016
17. �e3!
Taking on d6 with the weakened
f4 square would be a huge positional
mistake!
16 �d6?!
.••
26 ... �cs
Black decides to play for all or
nothing! Passive defence with
26 ... � h7 leads to a fast end after
27.h6! g6 (27...gxh6? 28. �gB+ <itiq
29. 'i!9c2 + + -) 28. �gs! and White
wins the d-pawn!
42. kds!
A nice move closing the d-file
and the connection between rook
and knight.
gxes
The main point comes after 45 ...
ii.. xe5 46. � f4!+- and next is hs�
40 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
46. �xd4 �e7 47. �xf6 �xh7 entered a position with heteroge
The rest of the game was Black neous castling. Carlsen was on top
hoping for a miracle! and he foundm the brilliant idea of
transferring his knight to cs uti
48. �gs �hi+ 49.'i!fc2 �ft so. �g7 lising many prophylactic moves to
as s1 . .tds � fa+ s2.<i!fb3 � f3+ prevent Black's ideas.
s3.<i!fa2
Conclusion: The Black plan with 1.d4 '2i f6 2 . .1t. f4 ds 3.e3 cs 4.c3
9 ... �g4 - provoking pawn action '2ic6 s.'2id2 cxd4 6.exd4 � fs
with h3-g4 - actually helps White. 7. ifb3 ifcs s.'2igf3 e6 9.'2lh4! �e4
With a space advantage, White has Surely the best and the most criti
more options than Black and the cal move here.
possibility of playing on both flanks.
1-0
when 13.0-0 f!fq 14.g3 o - o 15./fiJg2 side of the board. Well known is 14 ...
looks slightly better for White. The h6 15.0-0 o-o with good results for
idea is gae1-f3 and playing on the Black in contemporary praxis. The
e6-pawn.) 13.g3 o-o 14.0-0 fffC7 reason why Wojtaszek avoided this
15. �g5! Disturbing the knight and may be 16. f!fe2 gabs n. Wh1!?N
provoking a kingside weakening.
15 ... /fiJd7 16.f!ic2 h6 n �e3 g fc8
18.f!ie2 �e7 19. � f4 f!ids 20./fiJ f3
/fiJa5 21. gad1 a6 22.h4 /fiJc4 23.b3
/fiJa5 24.c4 /fiJf6 25.c5 lfiJc6 26.a3 /fiJd7
27.b4± Jovanic,O (2469)-Doric,N
(2308) Sibenik 2015. White had a big
advantage and won this game in the
end. A very convincing game by Jo
vanic Ognjen!
u ... �d6 12. �xd6 lfiJ xd6 13. �d3 A nice move with the idea (17.
f!ic7 a4 g be8 18.lfiJes lfiJxes 1/2-1/2 (18)
Improving the queen and waiting S e d l a k , N (2538) - Prohaszka , P
with castling. (2573) Hungary 2012) 17. . .b 5 18.g4!
White has chances for an attack
14.f!fc2 o-o-o considering the weakness at h6.
Black doesn't have any pieces close
to his King to defend him and the
attack is real.
23.CZJet! es
It seems Black is ok, but White has
judged the chances better: the open
a b c d e g h ing of the position is in his favor.
21. Be2!
Another excellent move, leaving
the ei square empty for a knight and
at the same time creating the option
of Bc2 supporting a c4 break.
CHAPTER O N E - CARO-KA N N POS I T I O N 43
The first serious mistake. After The end of any counterplay for
this, no chances against Carlsen! Black. Giving air to the king and
A very good option for Black was covering the f4 square!
26 ... �c4! 27. � xc4 (27f4 �e4�)
27... l!fxc4 28.� f3 �e6 with some 31 ... l!fcs 32. l!fd7
compensation. With the queen entering the 7th
rank attacking the pawns on king
27.c4!± side, Black is forced into complete
The main point. It is possible passivity.
that Black forgot his rook on dB is
unprotected. 32 ... l!ffs
32 ... llfC? 33.l!fes+ �ds 34.l!ffs!+-
27... �e6 28.�f3 l!ff4
The main idea is to prevent cs! 33.�es �cs 34. l!fds!
28 ... l!fe4 29.cs± Again the strongest! Threatening
28 ... l!fd6 29.cxds l!fxds 30.l!fe1 l!fcs.
b6 3i. E:c3! with E:d3! Next when the
black king become very weak and 34... �c7
the knight on as is far from events. 34 .. .f6? 3s. l!fxcs!+-
Lessons to be learned:
ing the structure, with the idea of The only way to counter . . . CZJds.
playing against the CZJ h4. I was ready
for it because the whole idea with
CZJh4 depends on that position. The
critical moment in the game was
14 .. .fs? which looks really attractive
but is too optimistic because it cre
ates weaknesses. After the opening
of the e-fi.le Black's plan fell apart.
16 ... .'£l f6
If 16 ... exf3 17. ii. xf3 °f9d7 18. !!ae1
with easy play for White. After dou
bling rooks on the e-file, sooner or
later the pawn e6 will fall!
23 � x a 2
. • . 2 4 . �xe 4 E: ac 8 26 ... �cs+ 27.$>h1 ll:Je7 28.ll:Jes?!
25.�xe6+- Unnecessary. I started to lose the
White's domination is obvious! thread of the game. Simple and good
is 28.d6 ll:Jg6 29.d7 E:cd8 30. �c7+-
25 ... �xb2 26.ds
A pity. A nice win is 26.ll:J h6!
43.c4 a2
33. ilgs! Bc6 34. Bd1 Otherwise, White's king comes
Finally the rook enters the 7th to support the c-pawn on the square
rank. d5, with c5 next.
34 ... <i!?gs 3s. �xf6 44. !! bas it.es 4S· B xa2 B xc4
The main defender is killed. 46. B sa4 Bc3+
If 46 ... B xa4 exchanging rooks,
3s ... gxf6 36. Bd7+- as 37. Bf4! White wins with 47. B xa4 <i!?g5
Another rook comes to help! 48. Bas <i!?g6 49. <i!?e4 h4 50. Bg8+
<i!?h7 (or 50 . <i!i>f7 51 . Bg4 hxg3
. .
Lessons to be learned:
In this game between two great po A typical move for this kind of
sitional players, Black used the plan position. Black is seeking a better
with . . . g6. Like I said in the intro position for his knight, with the idea
duction to this chapter, Black's big being to open his dark-square bish
gest problem is his dark-squared op, after which the freeing move . . .
bishop on g7 and that is also shown es becomes more realistic.
in this game. Before you start to
look at the game, take a look at the 11. !!e1 h6
introduction to C H A P T E R 1 where Black's idea is . . . gs, securing
our move order is explained! a safe home for the problematic
bishop. However, this also weakens
1.d4 � f6 his king. The logical 11 ... �b6 does
Our move order is t. .. ds 2. il f4 not equalize after 12.�b3 �xb3
cs 3.e3 cxd4 4.exd4 �c6 s.c3 � f6 13.axb3 � xd2 14.�xd2 es 1s.dxes
6.�d2 g6 7. i.. e 2 ilg7 8.h3 o-o � xes 16. � xes it. xes 17. il g4 !
9.�gf3 .ifs 10.0-0] i.. xg4 18. !!xes ile6 19.� f3± when
the knight is dominates the bish
op. Nikolenko,V (2221)-Safronov, S
(2234) Cheliabinsk 2009.
CHAPTER O N E - CA RO-KA N N POS I T I O N 49
12. �f1 gs 13. �h2 e6 14.Cl:Jxe4;;!; 19 ...fs with the active plan: . . . gads
White swaps knights with the and the . . . es push.
idea of playing Cl:Jd2 with tempo.
After that White is able to play f4 20.�hl
in the future, at an opportune mo Avoiding the trap! 20. �d3 is
ment for him. a mistake 20 ... Cl:J xd4! 2i. �xg6 (21.
cxd4 �xd4+ 22. �h1 �xcs 23. �xg6
14 ... �xe4 15.ctJd2 �g6 16.ctJb3 fxg6+) 21 ... �xcs 22.cxd4 �xd4+
Improving the knight to the out 23 . �xd4 � xd4+ 24.�h1 fxg6
post on cs! 25. g xe6 k xb2 26. gb1 g f6 and
White is fighting for a draw in this
endgame!
22.Cl:Jes
White decided to change the
structure and to get the d4 square!
An interesting idea was 22.Cl:J fa!
with a double purpose; exchanging
white bishops with �d3; and send
ing the knight into attack via g4.
17... lt.e4!
It is quite possible that White
missed this one. Black finds a nice
place for the Bishop which can be
supported with . . .fs!
6.!fc2!
Losing a tempo with the idea be
ing to ruin Black center with b3
or e4! To go for the endgame after
6.'ilxb6? would be a big positional
mistake. 6 ... axb6 and now White
can't prevent plan bs-b4! With
7.ctJa3 Black has 7... e5! 8.ctJbs �as+.
the inserted moves CZJf3- CZJf6. After squares) 9.CZJ xe4 dxe4 10. il xc4
6...CZJf6 the important move is 7.CZJd2! �g7 11. ile3±;
8. i.gs
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e g h
7.�xfs!
Almost unimaginable for that
time! White sacrifices the exchange
in a position where he is still unde
veloped - and it works well! In this
mess, it will turn out that White's
king is safer and Black will have
huge problems with his queen!
It seems that White is win
7... �xb2 8.�xds �ci+?! ning after 10./f:)d2 but things are
messier. 10 ... �xa1 11.�bs o-o
o 12.g3! with the idea .ll g 2. 12 ... e6
(12 ... �xc3 13 . .llg2 �xd4 14. ii.. x c6
�xd2+ 15. 'i!tft '8d7 16./£)/3 �d3+
17. 'i!tg2+-) 13. ii.. g 2 /f:)ge7 14./f:)gf3
�xa2 (14 . . . �xc3 15. '8 b1 '8 d7
16./£)xc4+- and if 16... /£)d5 l'J. �xc6+!
bxc6 18. '8b8#) 15. '8b1 �a6 16.�xa6
bxa6 17-/f:)gs /f:)d5 18. � xds '8 xds
19./f:)xf7 '8g8 20./f:)xc4 gs 21./f:)cd6+
.ll xd6 22./f:) xd6+ 'i!td8 23.c4 '8 xd4
24 . .ll xgs+ '8xgs 25.exd4+-
Lessons to be learned:
11. Wdi+- and I emerged a piece up. a) 11.1!fxa8 1!fxbi+ 12. We2 e5!
Sedlak,N (2512) -Czebe, A (2497) (12 ... 1!9d3+? 13. Wf3! 1!9xft 14. ii. q
Subotica 2005 f6 15. 1!9xd8+ Wf7 16.h3±) 13. 1i.. xe5
1!fd3;!;; ;
9.1!9hs o-o-o?! b) 11. 1!fb4? e5 12.1!fa4+ We7
13.1!fb4+ Wd7 14.1!fM+ CZJc6-+;
11 ... g5!?
a b c d e g h a b c d e f g h
At first sight this move looks like Black wants to remove the bishop
the only one! The drawback is that from the h2-b8 diagonal and to ac
the queen will stay on ai for a long tivate the rook from b8.
time! Better practical chances were a) 11 ... 1!fb2 12. �xc4 CZJ f6 13.1!fd3
offered by 9 ... a6!? 10.1!fxb7 CZJd8 1!fci+ 14.1!fd1 1!fxdi+ 15.Wxd1± Two
11.1!fe4! pawns for an exchange, enough for
a big advantage in the endgame.
b) 11 ... CZJ f6 12.1!fc2 e5 13. ii. xe5
CZJd5 1 4 . � xc4 CZJ xc3 1 5 . 1!f xc3
1!fxbi+ 16.We2 i.b4 17.CZJ f3! 1!fxa2+
(17... 1!9xh1 18. 1!9xb4+- With too
many threats. 18.. f6 19.1!9a4+ We7
20.1!9a3+ WeB 21. 1i.. b3!fxe5 22.1!fa4+
We7 23. 1!9b4+ WeB 24.CZJxes+ -)
18. � xa2 1i.. xc3 19. � xg7 ggs
a b c d e f g h
20. �e5±;
1 2 . 1!fc2! (12. � es gives some
The only move which guarantees chances to Black 12 ... �g7! 13. il.xc4
an advantage, but a big one in this il.xes 14.dxes g bB 15. 1i.. b3 1!9b2
case. 1 6.CZJe2 CZJe6±; 12. �xgs? g bB+)
12 ... i.g7 13. �g3 h5 14. 1i.. xc4 h4
CHAPTER TWO - EARLY �b6-c4 59
15. �e5 �xe5 16.dxe5 �c8 17-CLJe2! control of the b-line favors White.
�xc4 18.0-0+- with CLJd2 next after Simplification with 15 ... CLJd5 after
which the queen dominates against 16. � xd5 � xd5 (1 6... exds 17. �fs+
two rooks! The black rooks lack �d7 18.CLJes lLJxes 19. �xes+-) 17.c4
co-ordination. �d7 18.c5± leads nowhere. White's
plan is simple: CLJd2-c4!
10.�fs+
Good enough; the idea is to re 12. �g3
turn the queen to c2! But maybe A cold-blooded reaction. It was
even simpler is 10. �xc4! e5 11.CLJe2! not a good idea to fall for provoca
tion of 12. �xg5? �d5! 13.CLJ f3 �b5
14.CLJ fd2 �xg5 15. �xc4 �a3-+
12 et:Jas!?
•••
a b c d e f g h
Black has saved his queen, but the It is crucial to retain a bishop at
price is too high. He is underdevel e2! From hs he becomes an attack
oped with his king still in danger. ing monster. After 20. il xfi? the
position is not so clear 20 ... 1£l xc3
15 i£l f6
•.. 2i.°ifa8+ Wd7 22.°ifxb7+ We8 and
15 ... °ifb2 16. °ifa4+- with �c4! now White's king has some safety
next! issues.
15 ... .B'.b2 16.°ife4! 1£lc6 (16... .B'.xe2
17. °ifes Wd7 18. °ifc7+ We8 19.l£ies 20 ... 'ifxc3
i.,q 20. °if c8+ �dB 21. °ifd7+ Wf8 Now a force win arises. Protect
22.°ifxf7#) 17. �xc4 l£i f6 18.°ifd3+- ing the b7 pawn with 20 ... °ifb2 also
leads to a loss after 2i. °ifb8+ Wd7
16.°ifa4! 22. � hs! �g7 23. °ifd6++-
The queen finally enters the
attack! 21. °ifbs+ Wd7 22. °if xb7+ Wds
23.°ifbs+ Wd7 24. il hs!
16 .•• .B'. xb1 17. 'ifxas 1£ids As I said before ...
Defending against mate on C7·
CHAPTER TWO - EARLY °i!fb6-c4 61
a b c d e g h
24 ... e5
Closing one diagonal, but open
ing another!
7 Cl::l hs
•••
10 � g7
•••
'.Bg8 13.g3;;!;;
White is using the light squares
on the kingside and aiming to put
a bishop on hs! An advantage also
comes from 15.g4!? ild7 16.e5;;!;; with
the maneuver � fi-g3-h5
15 il d7
•••
16. � h5?!
18 £5
.•.
This is a little bit careless, giving Black was forced into this reac
Black some counterplay. White was tion. What else against CLJg4-f4?
supposed to play first 16.CLJg4! not
allowing any counterplay 16 ... CLJe7 19.exf6 !! xf6 20.ll:Jg4 !! f5 21.ll:J f3
17.CLJe3 �c7 18. �hs� Black position is terrible! White
controls all the important squares!
/."'\ .,,
16 �e7
••• • .
Lessons to be learned:
10 ll:Jg7
•••
16. B'.xhs!+-
Deflecting the bishop from the
diagonal. Black's center crumbles
after this one!
23.!fa4
19 ... e6 There is no defence against the
Black was forced to return the ex coming bs!
change. 19 ... B'.d7 20.ds B'. xds (20...
il.g6 21. !fa4 + -) 21.lt:J xds !fxds 23 ... ke4
22. B'.d1 !fe6 23.etJd4+- 23 ... a6 24.bs axbs 25.!fas+ Wd7
26.!fxb7++-
20.lt:J xds !fxds 21. Wfi B'.gs 22.b4?!
An incautious, nervous move. 24.bs lt:Jds 2s.!fxa7 B'. xg3
Better is to activate the rook with The only way to prolong the
22. B'.d1 and c4 comes next, and 22 ... surrender!
!fxa2 fails to 23.ds! kg6 24. !fc1 exds
25.!ff4 !fas 26. B'.xds !fb6 27.etJd4+-
CHAPTER TWO - EARLY 'i!fb6-c4 67
29.c4
Conclusion: In this game the
most important moment was 13.h4!
which presents the refutation of
a generally very dubious set-up for a b c d e g h
Black.
1-0 The most logical decision in or
der to complete development as
soon as possible! Ruining the cent
F. Berkes (2645) -A. Rustemov (2520) er with 8.b3 also makes a lot of
Germany (14.2), 28.03.2009 sense 8 ... cxb3 9.axb3 �c8 10. �b1
e6 11. �d3 .ie7 12.h3 .i hs 13.CZJgf3
In this game the main characteristic o-o 14.0-0;!; with a better structure
is how White regroups his pieces and for White. The plan is b4- CZJ b3- CZJcs
leads out the attack after the nicely
prepared - and typical push - e4 8 ... � xe2 9.CZJ xe2 e6 lO.o-o �e7
in the London System. In this game 11.CZJg3!
again with the inserted moves CZJd2
& . . . CZJf6, Black chose 7... 1l.g4 with
the idea of . . . e6 next, which allowes
White to push e4. White continued
the game excellently after which he
won in an attractive way.
White has to first prepare e4! �xg5 19. � h3, Black has big weak
11.e4?! CZJxe4 12.CZJxe4 dxe4 13.�xe4 nesses around his king.
o-o 14. � ab1 � ad8= and White
doesn't have nice co-ordination. 13.CZJgxe4 dxe4 14.CZJxe4;;!;;
The rook on bl and knight on e2 are A stable center and more space
awkwardly placed. gives good hopes of building an at
tack on the kingside. Changing the
11 ... 0-0 structure with 14.CZJ xc4?! looks to
With the annoying move 11 ... h5?! be going in for unnecessary com
Black gives up the g5 square to the plications 14 ... �a6 15.CZJe3 (15.CZJd6
White bishop. For example: 12.h3 h4 ilxd6 16.ilxd6 CZJxd4 1'J,cxd4 �xd6
13.CZJe2 �ds 14.b3 b5 15.M a6 16.axb5 18.�xe4 �b6+.; 15 .CZJes gs 16.CZJxc6
axb5 17.bxc4 bxc4 18. ii.g5;;!;; and now �xc6 1'J. ii.g3 �adB�) 15 ... g5 16. il.g3
Black has to worry about his h4 pawn f5 17.d5 CZJds!�
and the position of his king.
12.e4
White has achieved what he
planned. He has full control of the
center!
12 CZJxe4
•.•
15. E'. fe1 ifds 16. E'.e3 A blunder, probably in time trou
The rook lift, entering the attack ble! The safest move was 21. .. Wh8
via the 3rd rank on g3 or h3! 22.CLid2! (22. E'.g3 ifJs!=) 22 ... .1i.d6
23 . .1i. xd6 ifxd6 24.ctJ f3± and it's
16 bs 17. E'.ae1 E'.ae8
••. just matter of when Black will fall.
Black is condemned to sit and There are many concerns in his po
wait while White has a free hand to sition, for example, how to react af
play in the center and on the king ter the following series: CLies, CLigs,
side. The only active plan - with E'.e4-E'. h4.
n .. b4? - doesn't work because the
pawn on c4 becomes weak. 18. ife2 22. E'.g3+- f6?!
as 19. E'.g3 Wh8 20.CLid2± The fastest way to lose! 22 ... Wh8
23.ctJgs! �xgs 24. E'. xgs es 25. E'. hs!
18.ife2! h6 26. �xh6 Wg8 27. �gs f6 28. �xf6
The queen is also needed to help gxf6 29. E'. h8+ Wf7 30. E'. h7+ Wg8
in attack. 31.ifhs+-
22 ... iffs 23.ifh6 � f8 24. it.d6!
18 as 19.a3 a4
.•. Wh8 25. it. xf8 gxh6 26 . .fi.g7+ Wg8
Black closed the queenside be 27.ctJ f6 + if xf6 28 . .1i. xf6 + Wf8
cause he couldn't face thinking 29. E'.g7+-
about White's a4 every move, but on
the other hand Black has now lost 23. ifh6 k f8
all chances to play on the queenside. This allows CLi f6 next but be
tween two bad choices something
20. iff3 E'.d8 21. ifh3 E'. fe8? had to be picked! 23 ... g6 24. E'.xg6+
hxg6 25.ifxg6+ Wh8 26.ifh6+ Wg8
27. E'.e3+-
25 ... ile7
25 ... gxf6 26.ifxh7++-
Lessons to be learned:
6.ttJgf3!
Here we see a very important
move order! Our favorite 6. �b3
here does not achieve much 6 ...
�d7 7.ttJgf3 c4 8.�d1 e6 9. �e2
.ll d6 10 . .ll xd6 �xd6 11.0-0 (11.b3
bs 12.a4 b4!=) 11 ... 0-0 12.ttJ h4 bs An interesting try in this position
13.ttJxfs exfs and White lacks space which hasn't been tested enough in
and cannot even dream about the practice is 7.dxc5!? �xb2 8.ttJd4 and
e4 push. White develops a particular initia
tive, but it seems that the defensive
6 ... �b6 possibilities for Black are enough.
Pressurising the b2 pawn is al 8 ... es 9. il.xes .ll g4 10. �b1 �a3 11.f3
ways questionable: will it work well l:t::l xes 12.fxg4 .i. xcs 13.l:t::l b s �xa2
or not? White always needs to have 14. �a1 �b2 15. �b1 �a2 16. �a1
a good answer to that! Also critical �b2 17. � b1 1/2-1/2 (17) Prie,E
is 6 ... e6 7. �b3 -see the games Kam (2490) -Flear,G (2483) San Sebas
sky G.-Holt C. Las Vegas 2015. and tian 2011.
Chernyshov K.-Seres L. Budapest
2004. (always deserving of attention
is 7. Ji.bs!? pressuring the c6 point A. Delchev (2638) - R. Behling (2117)
after �a4- /:tJe5.) sth Forni di Sopra open (1), 14.06.2014
7.dxcs!
12 ... Cl:J xd4 (12 . . . exd4 13. il.xd6 Without this move Black would
dxe3 14fxe3f6 15. ile2 <J;;j7 16.0-0±) be fine, but very often you need just
13.exd4 f6 (13 ... 0-0 14. ilbs/6 15.0-0 one tempo stand well!
ti:Jb6 16.ti:Jf3 a6 l'J. ile2 'B.feB 18.dxes
fxes 19. Jl d1 ilg6 2 0. 'B. e1 CZJ c4 13 ... CZJxd4
21. ila4! bs 22. il. b3 e4 23.CZJd4±; 13 ... exd4 14. it.. xd6 dxc3 (14 ... dxe3
13 ... <J;;e 7 14.dxes li:Jxes 15.CZJb3t) 1sfxe3 <J;;j7 1 6.0-0±) 15.bxc3 <J;; f7
14. it.. e 2 <J;;e 7 15.dxes fxes 16.0-0± 16. il xc6 bxc6 17-ti:Jb3 it.d3 18.CZJd4
Black's king is not safe, nor is the 'B. hc8 19. <J;;d 2 il.C4 20. 'Bast
center.
14.exd4 <J;;e7
12 ...f6?! Defends the bishop with the idea
Black strengthens the center and of ed.
decides to keep his king in the cent
er. Sometimes even in endgames, 15.dxes it.. xes
the king can be unsafe in the cent 15 ... Cl:Jxes 16.CZJb3 a6 17. it.. e 2;\;
er, however, so better was 12 ... 0-0 Black would make just a short
13.0-0 a6 14. it.. M 'B. fes 15. it.. b 3 CZJ f6 l i ved central demonstration
CHAPTER T H R E E - C LASS ICAL SET- U P W I T H O U T e6 75
Lessons to be learned:
8 ... tl:Jd7?!
This natural human move para
lyzes his own pieces. Black could
play much more actively by prepar
ing . . . es at all costs. 8 ... cxd4! 9.exd4
a b c d e g h ii.g7 10.tl:Jgf3 � fs 11. � xb6 o-o
12. �c7 :8. fcs 13. � f4 tl:Jd7 14. ii.e2
The idea of this move, as stated, (14. �bs es 15. i.. xc6 :8.xc6 16.tl:Jxes
is to play . . . c4 and after '%!fc2 to take (16. dxes tl:Jcs 17.0-0 tl:Jd3 18. i.. e3
a tempo with . . . il. fs! tl:Jxb2 19.tl:Jd4 :8.xc3 20.tl:Jxfs gxfs
21. il.d4 :8.d3 22.tl:Jb3 tlJ C4�) 16 .. .
7.'%!fxb6 tl:J xes 17.dxes (17. .ii. xes �h6!) 17 .. .
What else? Otherwise Black is :8.b6 18.b3 f6) 14 ... es! (14 . . . tl:J b6
fine! 7.tl:Jgf3 c4 8. '%!fxb6 (8. '%!:Vc2 il.fs 15.a3 tl:Ja4 16. :8.a2;;!;;) 15.dxes tl:Jdxes
9.'%!:Vc1 tl:Jhs+) 8 ... axb6 9.a3 bs 10. :8.c1 16.tl:Jxes tl:Jxes n it.. xes (1;w-o tl:Jd3
il.g7= 18. �xd3 �xd3 19. :8.fd1 d4) 17... it.. xes
or 7.dxcs '%!fxcs s.tl:Jgf3 �g7 9.h3 18.tl:J f3 � f6 19.0-0 d4! 20.tl:J xd4
o-o 10. ii.e2 :8.e8= St. xd4 2i.cxd4 :8.c2 22. � f3 :8. xb2
with a drawish position.
CHAPTER T H R E E - CLASS ICAL S ET-U P WI T HO UT e6 77
op from C?· 13 . .B'. fc1 it.dB 14. il.d6 It was not necessary to retreat
il.e7 15. il.C? it.dB 16. i.g3 i. f6 the bishop! Occupation of the c-file
17-tl:Jb3! c4 1B.tl:Jbd2 .B'.eB 19.b3! cxb3 and eventually bringing the rook to
20.tl:J xb3 tl:J fB 2i.c4 dxc4 22.tl:Jbd2! c7 is more important than saving
c3 2 3 . tl:J c 4 ± Bogosavlj evic , B a bishop.
(2550)-Rabrenovic,V (2393) Valjevo
2011 14 ... tl:J xc7 15 .B'. xc7 .B'.ds 16 . .B'.ac1
•
tl:J fs?
Maybe this move was based on
a faulty calculation. Black could
play 16 ... i. f6 17-a3 tl:J fB with trans
position to the game but without
giving up the e1 pawn.
12 cxd4
•••
A very safe and slow move. Bet Of course, White has to avoid
ter was 17. g xe7! but it looked to be simplifications. The knight is much
taking an unnecessary risk. 17... �d7 better than the bishop!
(17... gxa2 18. !ti.eB! !ti.e6 19. gcq
gxb2 20.� bd2 gas 21.g3 il. h3 20 !ti.d7 21. !ti.xd7 gxd7 22.f4
••.
22. it.. xf7+ <itlhB 23. gci +-) 18. g xc8 Taking space is always good if
gaxc8 19, gxd7 g xd7 20. k xd7 gc2 you don't have any better option.
2i.�e1 gxb2 22.�c1 gb1 23.�cd3
ga1 24. kcs gxa2 25. !ti.xb7+- 22 hs 23. <itlfa Wh6 24. We2
•••
Avoiding a ny counterplay !
17... !ti.f6 1S.�e5 �e6 19. g7c3 24.�d2? � xd4! 25.exd4 it.. xd4+
Black manages to expel the rook 26.We2 it.. xc3 27. g xc3 f6�
from 7th rank and it looks like he
has some air. 24 ... gads 25.�d2
The knight deserves a better place
19 ... <itlg7? than b3!
A move into space! The bishop on
f6 is not useful and it was the right 25 gas 26.�b Wg7 27.g3
•••
time to exchange him. 19 ... it.. xes! This is always necessary before
20.dxes !ti.d7 21. ii.. xd7 gxd7 22.£4;!; h3! After 27.h3?! Black prevents
Control of the c-file and a better White's plan with 27... h4!
structure guarantee a long term ad
vantage to White, but the position 27 gd6 2S.h3 ga4 29.�b4 gas
.••
30, gcs
Entering the 8th rank is always
good idea.
33.hxg4
Black is slowly losing squares for
his pieces!
CHAPTER T H R E E - CLASSICAL SET- U P W I T H O UT e6 79
8 • • ··�� •
7 . ... . . ... ....
:4 ,
�!a!�·�
. . ,.% ��f·
.
·�·
� n n �
� �� . r:� -- 0n�n
b� m �b�
1 6 '8/, . ,'� � - ,-�,
a b c d e f g h
l'J.iLd6! i.. xd6 18.cxd6 iLfs 19. 'Bbc1±; iLc2 15. iLbs±) 10.dxes ll:Jd7 11. iLbs
14 ... il.xcs 1s.l'i:Jb3 il.. e7 16. °VJ9xa7 o - o iLe7 12.e4 o-o-o 13.0-0 ll:Jb8;\;;
1'J,°Vl9xb7±) 15. ii.. xc6+ bxc6 16. 'Bb8!
'Bxb8 17.°VJ6xc6+ �e7 18.°VJHC?+ �f6 s ... ll:Jxes
19.°VJHes+ �e7 20.°VJ6xb8+- The typical 8 ... c4 ?! doesn't work
well here because White imple
7 °VJ6b6?!
••• ments e4 easily. 9. °VJ9 xb6 axb6
A natural reaction, seen many 10.ll:J xg4 ll:J xg4 11.e4! bs 12.exds
times before, but in this specific exds 13. it.e2 CLJ f6 14.0-0 Jle7
position it is not good! Black didn't 15. iLf3 o-o 16. 'B fe1 b4 17.CLJfl bxc3
evaluate the endgame which will 18.bxc3 bs 19.CLJe3 'B fd8 20 . .ies! ±
occur very well! Another and better
option for Black was 7... °VJ6c8 8.ll:Jes! 9. .ixes °VJ6xb3
ll:Jxes (8... iLe7 9. iLbs o - o 10. iLxc6 Black was more-or-less forced
bxc6 11. °VJ9a4 cxd4 12. ll:Jxc6 °Vl9d7 into on this decision to head for
13. CLJxe7+ °VJ9xe7 14. °VJ9xd4± 1/2-1/2 a slightly worse endgame! 9 ... c4
Abel, L-Boensch,U/Szekszard 1989/ 10.°VJ6a4+ CLJd7 11.b3 cxb3 12.axb3;\;;
(39)) 9. iLxe5 CLJd7 10.°VJHM!?;\;;
10.axb3;\;;
The a-file and doubled b-pawns
promise a space advantage and ini
tiative on the queenside for White!
18 ... a6
With the seemingly more active
18 ... lt.gs Black isn't able to solve his
problems either after 19.�b3 �c4
20.0-0 �xb2 (20... a6 21. �xc4 dxc4
22.�cs±) 21. .B'. xa7 .B'. xa7 22 . .il xa7
.ig6 23. �d4± and White's pieces
are much better placed. The plan is
.B'.a1 or f4-fs.]
At the moment, White is not in
terested in the d4 square. First he
provokes new weaknesses on the
queenside!
33.Wfa fs
and opening the position. The facts Wf8 12.l:Z:J xe6+! fxe6 13. �d1 l:Z:J xd2
that support such a decision are 14. � xd2 ilxd2+ 15.Wxd2
the vulnerable position of Black's
queen on c8 and the absence of the
il f5 from the queenside. Anoth
er logical continuation is 8.l:Z:Jh4!?
ile4 9.f3 (9. ilgs!? ilq 1 0.l:ZJxe4
l:ZJxe4 11. ilxe7 l:ZJxe7 12. ilbs+ WfB
13. 'VJ!/di�) 9 ... ilg6 10.l:Z:J xg6 hxg6
11.g4 ile7 12. ilg2 a6 13. ilg3 b5oo
Sapis,W (2401)-Korneev,O (2566)
Cappelle-la-Grande 2004
io.l:Z:Jxfs exfs
Attractive-looking is 10 ... l:Z:Je4 but
White has a strong answer 11.l:Z:Jxg7+ a b c d e g h
CHAPTER TH R E E - CLASS ICAL S ET-U P WI T H O UT e6 87
16. l'!hd1+
Thepawnislostand�e6 isin theair.
88 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
16 il.xe4
••. A quiet move, inviting the last
If 16 ... dxe4 nCLic4 E:c8 18. E:c3+ piece to the party. Black would en
and E:b3 cannot be stopped. joy a little break after 20. �xe4 �ds
20 �d6
.••
tion and I won the theoretical duel would have the opportunity to take
in the opening! the initiative. 8. � b3 �b6 9.a4 a6
10.as �dB 11.h3 e6 12. � bd4 � xd4
13. exd4"t, The resulting position is
CHAPTER T H R E E - C LASS I CA L SET-U P WI T H O UT e6 91
10. ilg3 g6
Playing aggressively with 10 ...
Cl:'l xg3 11.hxg3 and now 11 ... es has
drawbacks (11 ... e6 12.e4t) 12.dxes
Cl:'l xes 13.CZJdf3! CZJg4 14 . .B:d1 ile6
15. �e2t;
10 ... e6 doesn't change White's plan
11. ile2 Cl:'l xg3 12.hxg3 �c7 13.e4t
Elj anov, P (274 2) -Ponomariov, R
(2744) Moscow 2010
20.�d2 hs
Now 20 ... CZJgS is not so good,
because of 2i.�f4 hs 22.CZJgs �e7
23.CZJh2! with a strong outpost at gs.
21.CZJ f6+!?
17.es! :t
43. �xh7
And the rest of the game was just
routine!
In this chapter we come to the main, I can offer them 6. �d3!? which
and the most often played, position shows the flexibility of 2. �f4! The
at the highest level. This position idea of 6. �d3 is simply to make
has characteristics of an improved a Stonewall position after 6 ... �d6
Slav Defense and Stonewall with re 7. �xd6 '%!fxd6 8.f4 cxd4! 9.cxd4 o-o
versed colours with a tempo more for 10.a3 �e7 11.�gf3 °%!fb6?! This was
White. A big plus in White's position not the best moment to enter into
is the 'solved problem' of the bishop the endgame, especially not against
on f4, as I said in the preface. Also in Kramnik! (11 ... �fs!? 12. '%!fe2 �g400)
my chess praxis I often met this po 12.°%!fb3 °%!fxb3 13.�xb3 b6 14. �c1;\;
sition which allows for very rich play. Kramnik-Grandelius Norway 2016.
a .1 BJ.B•m •
7 . ... . . ... . ...
6 ri1•• • • •
5 • �,� , • m•
43 • • •'?[:;;;::;
�� • �2 '?[
$!!,
B �/� OttJB
2 � n rn n � n
1 �f y•®,�/;£
�:'� �./riiir�
�/,; '!;§' � � � .§
6.�gf3 a b c d e f g h
for the simple reason that it pro
vides more opportunities. Forplay 8 ... � xcs (8 . . . �xb2 ? 9.� d4!±)
ers who don't like complications 9.b4 �e7 10.bs �b8 11. �xe7 rJ;;;xe7
96 WI N N I N G WI T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
7... 0-0
7... 't!fe7 8.CL:les i. xes (8 ... ClJ d7
9. ii.bs!? -see Prie E.-Gozzoli Y. Fra
eh 2012.) 9.dxes CLld7 10.f4 -see Prie
E.-Dgebuadze A. Condom open 2012.
7... i.xg3?! The idea is clear: to go
for . . . es after . . . 't!fe7 or . . . 't!Nd6! But
from the other side White gains new
possibilities with the open h-file, and
Black also has the problem of what
the idea is to prevent . . . gs and to to do with his king. Short-castling al
play 't!fg4 next. 9... il.xh4? 10. 't!Ng4 gs ways brings big headaches for Black.
11. 'fJ.xh4! gxh4 12. 't!Ng7 'fJ.fB 13. �gs+-) 8.hxg3 't!Nd6 9. �d3 -see Sedlak N.
8. i.d3;!;; and White has an easy plan Bodiroga P. Vrnjacka Banja 2012.
to organize an attack via 't!Nfa-'t!fh3.
Check Gorovets A.-Ynojosa F., USA, 8. i.d3
2015. This is the main and most played
move! As always, interesting is
7. �g3! 8. �bs!? with the idea of fighting
The best reaction! Controlling for the es square and preventing
the es square is very important! the . . . b6 plan! The best answer for
Here Black has three different plans Black is 8 ... a6! (Avoiding a position
which will be shown throughout the with doubled pawns is not the best
games in this chapter. idea 8 ... CLle7 9. i.d3! The bishop has
finished his job and goes back to its
best place: the knight has been re
moved from control of the es square.
CHAPTER FOU R - CLASS I CA L SET-U P WITH e6 97
common is 9.e4!? �e7! (9 ... dxe4 ?! This is the critical move: White
-see Sedlak N. -Prusikin M. Region covers the e4 and f5 squares.
alliga 2014.) 10.e5 -see Grischuk A. See Izoria Z., Brattain, USA, 2015.
-Nakamura H. EU cup 2015. The
latest idea is 9.Wfe2!? �b7 10. !!d1!
with e4 plan-see Kamsky-Goganov N. Sedlak - P. Bodiroga
Aeroflot 2016. My suggestion is to Vrnjacka Banja, 28.04.2012
mix all of them, thereby avoiding
preparation from your opponents. In the classical set-up with 5 ... e6
Nowadays, modern chess require Black used plan with 7... �g3 aiming
such ability! to play a fast . . . e5! I chose the plan
with 9. �d3 which offers the possi
9.. �b7
. bility to castle long at some point.
9 ... WiC??! 10.f4 1£le7 11. �h4! ;l;; My opponent didn't react well with
See Sedlak N.-Sargissian G . 9 ... �d7?! after which he encoun
Valjevo 2012. tered serious problems, mainly due
to the position of his king, which
10.f4 1£le7! proved expensive at the end. This
With the plan of fighting for the game shows the negatives of 7... �g3
e4 square by . . . 1£le4, or with the and how White has to use the h-file.
plan . . . l£i f5-�e7- l£id6! 10 ... !!cS?!
11. �h4 �e7 12. �xf6! ;l;; See Sedlak 1.d4 ds 2. � f4 cs 3.e3 1£lc6 4.c3
N.-Brkic A. Reykjavik 2015. 1£lf6 5.1£ld2 e6 6.l£igf3 �d6 7. �g3
�xg3?!
11.Wfbt!
with next e5. This plan has one big continue with 9 ... e5 after which
minus - White gets the open h-file! my idea was to enter the end
Properly using the h-file and with game after 10.dxe5 1£l xe5 11.1£l xe5
a timely opening of the position in �xe5 12.�a4+! �d7 13.!;Vf4 �xf4
the center, Black's monarch may be (13 ... �e7 14. 0-0-0 o-o-o 15. e4�
at risk. Grachev,B (2684) -Potkin,V (2606)
Ulan Ude 2009) 14.gxf4� White
8.hxg3 �d6 9. �d3!? has a pleasant endgame and a clear
It's hard to say which move is plan of launching his pawns on the
better: 9. �d3!? or 9. �b5!? It's mat kingside, however Black doesn't
ter of the taste! My opinion is that have weaknesses! If readers doesn't
both give a small advantage. Anoth like this one, you can always choose
er plan which looks perhaps a little 9. �b5.
bit simpler has been played by Gata
Kamsky 9. � b5!? 10. �e2
Development and a multifunc
8 .. . ... . . . . tional move! Waiting with castling
7 ".· '•!1:
, • · ·,•
r�, .,
- �.
and threatening e4!
6
••% - - � ..
5 ·�· · · • 10 ...h6
•n" 1"'n·�
• �f� • •
4 One more waiting move! Other
3�
•
%
. � ���
moves also shows a downside to
2�Wf�{ · ·. " ,' ·/p P, '9
·"
o � �'. � o M
Black's position. 10 ... 0-0-0 is too
1 ��f "•��� -1.i risky 11.dxc5 !:fxc5 12.0-0 with
a fast attacking on the queenside!
a b c d e f g h
After 10 . . . e5 the black cent
in order to prevent . . . e5 and er is unstable 11.dxc5! � xc5 12.e4
achieve control over the dark dxe4 (12 ... d4 13.l£lb3 �e7 14. cxd4
squares 9 ... �d7 10 . .ll xc6 .ll xc6 exd4 15. 0 - 0 - 0±) 13.1£l xe4 1£l xe4
11.1£le5 1£ld7 12.f4 1£l xe5 13.fxe5 !:fe7 14. k xe4 o-o-o 15.0-0-0 f5!? (15.. .
14.�g4 f5 15.�h5+ �d7 16.a4 �c7 f6 1 6. 'fl.xh7 'fl.xh7 17. �xh7±; 15 .. .
17.dxc5! �xc5 18.�g5 �f8 19.'£lf3� h6 1 6. 'fl.d5 �e7 17.1£lxe5! 1-0 (17)
Kamsky G.-Potkin V. FIDE World Sedlak,N (2568) -Hobber,A (2299)
blitz 2013. Norway 2013) 16. lt.d5! An impor
tant move with the idea being to
9 it.d7?!
••• force e4 and gain the d4 square for
This move was probably played the knight! (16. 'fl.xd7 unfortunately
to avoid White's queen maneuver don't bring any advantage after 16...
after 9 ... e5. However Black should �xd7 17. �xf5+ �C7 1B.l£lg5 1£ld4!�;
1 00 W I N N I N G WI T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYST EM
16. ii.xc6 kxc6 17. 'i!.xd8+ 'i!.xd8 l5.tlJe5! tlJxe5 16.dxe5 �C7 17. 'i!.d6±
'S llds ' l9. c4 '111
18. 'i!.xh7 'lll · 'S 11as 20. a3 e4
21.ttJd2 �es) 16 ... e4 17. ii.xc6 � � xc6 14.0-0-0!
18."Ll
/1"'\d 4�
11.e4!--+
The right moment for opening
t�e position in the center and grab
bmg the initiative!
a b c d e f g h
14 ... �cs?!
This turns out to be a mistake, be
c�use the white rook enters the game
with tempo via h5. Better was 14
�c8 15. <i!?b1 �e7 16.ttJxd4 (16.cxd�
tlJ b4! 17. ii.xb7 'i!.b8 18. ke4 o-o)
u ... dxe4 12.ttJxe4 ttJ xe4 13. ii.xe4 16 ... ttJxd4 17- 'i!.xd4 �c6 18. ii. xc6+
cxd4 'i!.xc6? Sedlak N -Rama L . C et"mJe· .
More-or-less forced! 13 . . . o - o 2016. (18... bxc6�) 19. 'i!.hd1 'i!.b6
14 dxc5 �xc5 15.0-0-0 'i!.ad8 16.g4,
:
with g5 next or 13 ... 0-0-0 14.0-0- 8 • • • �-. :
� �• •.••
o 'i!.hes 7 . , � ·" ' •
W.&%1 � . ,;
!
%%: 0/ . . � ..0W • . % ,3
/ , �""' "" ;,
6
-
� • •, / . .
� ... . .
5• •
J
4 .·�/. /5i�/··
�rg· "•
•
3-�
�. ., � . • n
2 /? D . R�D�,�
- ,. � �
, .�. M
a b c d e f g h
1s. lZ:J xd4 CZJ xd4 16. � xd4 il.c6 21. �xh6gxh6 22. �xh6+-) 21. �xh6+
17. �hs!± gxh6 22. � h4 <i!?gs 23 . �xh6 fs
24.�h8+ <i!?f7 25.�h7++-
18. l::! c 4
There is no respite for Black!
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
9 Cl:Jdxes?!
••• With this move, White supports
Black can't handle the tension in ideas with �h7 and Cl:Jgs. 11 ... Cl:Jxes
the center any longer and goes for
simplifications. After this move, (After 11 .. fxes? the typical sacri
White gains bigger attacking pros fice on h7 works well 12. ilxh7+!
pects on the kingside! Safer was 9 ... <:J:Jxh7 13. Cl:Jgs+ <:J:igB 14. W!!hs �xgs
f6 10.Cl:J xc6 bxc6 11.0-0 c4 i2. �c2 15.hxgs '8xf4 1 6. ex/4 exf4 17.g6
fs making a hole on es, but prevent <:J:ifB 18. W!!hB+ <:J:Je7 19. W!!xg7+ <:J:id6
ing e4 which is more important. 20. '8h8 W!/gs 21. W!/jB++-)
i3.h3;!; and the White plan is to
open the position with b3 at a pref 12. �xes! Here the knight is more
erable moment. important than the bishop! 12 ...
fxes 13.CZJxes W!/es
10.dxes
Only in this way White keeps the
initiative and attacking chances!
The knight on f3 is important in at
tack and there was no reason to ex
change him for his colleague on c6.
10 ... fs
A logical decision! Black tries to
close down the diagonal and there
by kill off the dangerous bishop on
d3! Too slow is io .. .f6 11.h4! This is (13 . . . ilf6 14. W!ihs g6 15.CLJxg6
very often one of the crucial moves hxg6 16.W!lxg6+ ilg7 17.W!/h7+ <:J:Jf7
for attacking in this type of position. 18. '8h3+-)
11.h4! C4
Black gives up the d4 square but
tries to create counterplay on the
queenside. The break in the center
with 11 ... d4 just makes the e6 pawn
weaker 12. W!/e2±
1 04 W I N N I N G WI T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
15 gxf6?!
•••
ideas and moves in this game was This decision is not fully justified.
10.dxes and 11.h4! which you need After this move, the dark squares in
to remember! Black's position will become weak,
especially the d6 square at some
1-0 point!
1 06 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
19. il. xc4 !fxd1 20. !! fxd1 �d7 20. !fd1 exds 21. !fxds �e6 22. !fd2
21. !!d6± �b3 23.!fc3!
Making a route for the knight:
17.a3 as? d2-c4-d6!
Weakening the b6 pawn! More
resistant was 17... dxc4 18.ezJd2 ezJa5 23 ... ezJe6 24.ezJd2 ezJa5 25.ezJxb3
19. !fc2 ii.. a6 (19 . . . il.. b7 20.lLixc4 The last piece which still kept the
lLixc4 21. 1lxc4 $t.e4 22. !fe2 o - o positon together is now killed off.
o 23. !!fd1 !fe7 24. !!xdB+ !fxdB
25. !!d1 !fe7 26. !! d6±) 20. !! fd1 25 ... axb3 26. !!ad1 !!ds 27. !!xds+
!¥C7 21.ll:Jxc4 ezJxc4 22. it.xc4 �xc4 'itixd8 28. !!di+ 'itie7 29. �h4+!
23.!fxc4 !!d8 24.!fa4+ !!d7 25.b4± With the idea to open up the
black king even more.
Lessons to be learned:
9. �b5!
Forcing Black into . . . � xes! The
E. Prie - Y. Gozzoli most-played move in this position
FRA-ch Accession, 24.08.2012 is 9.f4 o-o 10. �d3 (Just once was
there played 10. il.. b s!?
This game reminds one a lot of the
previous game, with the difference 8 . . ... . . . .
being 8 ... CZJd7 instead of giving up 7 • · • � • · •r
the dark-squared bishop with 8 ... 6 ·�· · · •
Ji.es?! White reacted in the strong 5•� �-· rn //. •
est way with 9. Ji. bs! forcing Black 4 . - ,n n �.
into . . . Ji. xes. Actually the differ
ence is in White's bishop placed
3• �o'· - ·· ;0 3��-� �
A 'tff ";/ W'% 8 A W'�
2 ei !:l � W 8 ei H
on bs. The critical moment in the 1�%'.�{ "�,illxi
8 1§f %
� 0( 0W
!f/;;;/
-�%
game was 12 .. .fs? instead of 12 .. .f6! a b c d e f g h
This faulty decision left Black with
out counterplay and White used
that with the typical plan of B'.g1-g4
building up an attack on the Black
king.
a b c d e f g h
now White has the clear plan of Or 9 ... liJdxe5 10.dxe5 �c7 11.V/!Ig4!
�g1-g4!) 10 .. .f6 11. k h4 V/!Jfs (11 ... 0-0 12. �h4 liJxes 13. �xe7
(Now 11. kxh7+ liJxg4 14. �xcs! � dB 15. �e7+ -)
12. �xc6+ bxc6 13.V/!Ia4 ii.d7 14.c4±
with the well-known idea �c1- liJb3
and the cs pawn is doomed.
9.. �xes
.
12 f5?
..•
13... ctJc5 14. �h4 W9e8 15. �c2 �d7 18 ... WHhs
16. �gi! ± The toughest defence was 18 ...
ctJd3+!? 19. �xd3 cxd3 20.W9xg4 W9g6
2i.ctJ h3 �e8 22.ctJ fa W9xg4 23. � xg4
�g6 24. <i!fd2±; 18 . . . h6 19. W9xg4
hxgs 20. �xgs ctJd3+ 2i. �xd3 cxd3
22. �f6+-
20 ... ctJd3+
A bad move after which Black los 1 1 . . . 'i!f x d 6 1 2 . dxcs 'i!f xcs
es a pawn, but who can assume 13. Ji.xh7+!+-
that something is hidden here? The
only move is 10 ... 'i!fxd7! 11.0-0
a b c d e g h
n ... b6 12. il.. xd6 'i!fxd6 13.f4;;!;; with 17.'i!fxf7+ Wh8 18.'i!fhs+!
a typical London position without An important check against . . .
the bad bishop. 'i!fh4!
11. ii.xd6
Now comes a couple of forced
moves.
114 WI N N I N G WI T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
21 tZ::l e 7!?
•.•
A crucial move. With this move Black finds the only way to pro
White doesn't allow . . . ¥!fd3. long the surrender. 2i. .. 1i.g4 does
not bring safety after 22.f3 ¥Wes
19 ... es 23.¥!fg6! ¥!fe3+ 24.�fi �g8 25.¥!fh7+
The idea is . . . ¥!fg4. 19 ... �e8 los �fB 26.¥!fh8+ �e7 27.¥!fxg7+ �d6
es by force 20. ¥!fh7+ �f8 21. ¥!fh8+ 28. �xds#
�e7 22.¥!fxg7+ �d6 23.b3! ¥!fh4
24.g3 ¥!fg4 (24 . . . ¥!f h5 25. fi::rn 4 #)
25.tZ::l f7+ .fi.xf7 26.¥!fxg4+-
Black can't cover the f7 square
because the rook enters the attack
19 . . tZ::l e s 20. �d4!+-
.
20.¥!ff7+
A precise move! 20. ¥!fh7+?! �f8
2i.¥!fh8+ �e7 22.¥!fxg7+ �d6 and
Black's king runs away.
27-�h7+ rttfB 28. �fs+ rttgB 29. �xhs kingside, which I then used in the
�hi + 3 0. rtt e2 � xd2 + 31. rtt xd2 thematic way with g4!
�dB+ 32. r:Ji;e3 �xh1 33.�b3+ rtt h B
34.li:Jf7++-) 26.bxc3 �xd2 27.r:Ji;xd2 1.d4 ds 2 .ll f4 li:J f6 3.e3 e6 4.li:Jd2
•
�ds+ 28. rttc 1 �d3 29. rttc 2+- cs 5.c3 li:Jc6 6.li:Jgf3 �d6 7. ilg3
o-o s .id3 b6 9.li:Jes �c7?!
•
24.�f7!+-
and Black doesn't have a defence
against �hs with the further hunt
ing of the Black king. The rest of the
game is very clear and without any
comments, because everything was
forced.
17... 'ifd6?!
In an unpleasant position Black
doesn't find the best defense. The
queen was well-placed on c7 from
which she defends her king well.
The best defence was 17... ll.. d6 and
then White can use a tactical pos
sibility to achieve a small plus by
exchanging the inactive knight
from d2 18.etJdc4!? (18. ll.c6 ii. b7 2i... ll.. xd7 22. ii.c4+ \!Jh8 23.etJg6#
19. ll.d7 ll.c8=) 18 ... ll.. xes (18... dxC4
19. ll.xc4+ \!Jh8 20.etJg6#) 19.etJ xes 18. �g1 il.f6
cxd4 20.exd4 a6 21. �d3 �f6 22. �g1 Also in this position 18 ... �e6
ll.e6;;!;; although White's pieces stand doesn't work because of 19.etJ xe4
well, it's not easy to crush the black fxe4 (1 9 . . . dxe4 2 0. 'ii' h 6 ll.f6
position. For example: 23. �g2 \!Jh8 21. �d7!+-) 20.'ii' h6 �f6 21. �d7!
24.0-0-0 �h6 2s.'iff3 bs 26. �dg1
�g8 and somehow Black is still in
the game.
118 W I N N I N G W I T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
a b c d e f g h
33 ... �xf4 34. �d7 .Ji.gs 35. We2 42 ... k h4 43. �g1!
Against top players you always This looks passive, but the idea
need to be careful. 35. �e8+ ?? is to support pushing the pawns on
�f8+-+ the queenside in the future! 43. �g4
�ei+ 44. Wg2 cxb3 45.axb3 .Ji. f6
1 20 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
and Black has gained some minor for the knight to prevent . . . /£)e4
chances in the endgame! He will sometimes, and the second is to
control the b-pawn from behind. provoke weaknesses on the kingside
with the move �hs, after which the
43 ... g f4+ 44.�g2 gfa+ 45.�h1 move . . .f6 for Black usually doesn't
.ilf6 46. gxc4! work!
1-0
13 ... il.e7
After another slow move the po
sition starts to become a nightmare
for Black! The only move to stay in
the game was 13 ... 1i. xes! 14.fxes
a b c d e g h f6 i5.exf6 !fxf6 16.0-0! !fh6 (16...
!fe 7 17. il. bsi and the es square
This developing move looks very is in White's hands.) 17. !fd2 The
strange to me. After this limp move, queen is more useful on d2 than on
the typical plan for white works eas e2, because of the idea b4. 17... !!f6
ily. The right move is io ... CL:le7 as in iS. !! fa !!cfs 19. !!afii with a small
the next game. advantage due to the slightly better
bishop and control of the es square.
Plans for White could be Ji. bs or b4!
is.l:lJxes
Again an important move after Almost everything happens the
which . . .f6 doesn't work! 15.fxes same compared with the previous
achieves nothing for White after fs! game!
16.exf6 kxf6�
16 cxd4 17.exd4 kxh4+
..•
i5 f5
..• Black risks taking the pawn on
Black is more-or-less forced to h4 and opens the h-file to his king.
play this move. Other moves do not promise a good
position for him either. 17 ... .1Ld6
15 . . . f6 16. V/Bhs fsD 17.g4 V/Bes 18.gxfs exfs 19.V/Bf3 "iJ.C? 20.0-0-
18.V/Bxe8 'B.cxe8 19.gxfs exfs 20.hs± 0± black is powerless against plan
or 15 ... kd6 and now comes our fa 'B.dg1-'B.gs-'B. hg1-hs.
vourite 16. V/Bhs! fs
18.<!Jd2 kf6
(16...g6?! 17. V/Bh6 'B.C7 18. hs V/Bf6 Forced! The threat was gs!
19.hxg6fxg6 20.ClJf3±; 16... h6 17-g4
.1Lxes 1Bfxe5 V/BeB 19.0-0-0±) 19.gxfs �xes 20.fxes V/Bgs+ 21. <!Jc2
exfs
ng4 V/Be8 18.V/Bxe8 'B.cxe8 19.gxfs During the game I was waiting
exfs 20.hs± with a clear advantage for 21 ... 'B.xfs after which comes the
in the endgame! sophisticated move 22. V/Be2! White
has no reason to hurry.
The pawns fs and <ls are potentially (22. kxfs?! gives some small
weak while White has a free hand chances for Black to survive. 22 ...
to combine play on both flanks! V/Bxfs+ 23.V/Bd3 V/Bxd3+ 24. <tlxd3 'B.fB
CHAPTER FOU R - CLASS ICAL SET-U P WITH e6 1 23
26 �xg6
•••
11.�bt!
The only move which gives chanc
Z. lzoria (2573) - M. A. Brattain (2336) es to fight for an advantage. This is
ICC I NT, 20.10.2015 a typical move in the Slav Defense,
with the idea of controlling the e4
Finally in this game Black reacts square. In this position the f5 square
the best way in the opening! Com is also important. Black's main idea
pared with the previous game, here is to play . . . tl:J f5 with next . . . .1i.e7, . . .
he played 10 ... tl:Je7! - the right tl:Jd6. Other moves don't cause any
plan. The idea is to play . . . tlJ f5- problems for Black. On the high
lt.e7- tl:Jd6- tl:J fe4! This maneuver est level White had no reason to be
is characteristic in the Stonewall. happy after 11.�f3 tl:J f5 12. ilfa ile7!
The "Georgian beast", a forgotten 13.g4 tl:Jd6 14.g5 tl:J fe4 15.0-0-0 C4
big chess talent, reacted the best 16. ilc2 b5�. and Black was much
way also with 11. �b1! opposing the faster on the queenside. Karjakin,S
Black plan. However the huge dif (2769)-Adams,M (2744) Wijk aan
ference between the two players is Zee 2016;
obvious and at the critical moment, 1i.�c2 c4 12. ile2 tl:J f5 13. il fa
in an unclear position, Black chose ile7! oo with tl:Jd6 next Andreikin
the wrong plan which was roughly D.-Karjakin S. FIDE World cup 2015.
punished by Izoria Zviad.
11 ... g6
1.d4 ds 2 . .ll f4 tl:J f6 3.e3 e6 4.tl:Jd2 n ... tl:Jg6 also make sense 12.0-0
cs 5.c3 tl:Jc6 6.tl:Jgb it.d6 7. ilg3 tl:J h5 13. ile1! (13 . .1i.f2 is not so good
o-o 8 .1i.d3 b6
• because White doesn't have the � f3
This is the best set-up for Black! plan.) 13 ... cxd4 14.cxd4 tl:J f6 15. �f3!?
is a little improvement bringing
the rook into the attack (15.a3 �c8
16. h3 �C7 17. kg3 �b8oo Kamsky
G.-Dreev A. FIDE World blitz 2013.)
15 ... �c8 16. � h3 and White has
good attacking chances. The idea
might be tl:Jdf3-tl:Jg5 or tl:Jg6-.i h4!
for example.
12. kfa
The idea is to prevent ... tl:J f5 with
tempo. 12 . .i h4 doesn't prevent
12 ... tl:J f5 as 13 . .1i.xf5 (13 . .1i.xf6 �xf6
CHAPTER FOU R - CLASS I CA L SET- U P WITH e6 1 25
12 ... as?!
It is a positionally good idea to
exchange white-squared bishops,
but it takes time.
16 fs?
.••
bs the only move! (Too slow is 21.lLJb3 dxc3 22.bxc3 l!!/c 7 23.g3
21 ... �aB 22. l!!fe2 cJ;;jB 23. l!!/e 6 lLJf6 i.a3 24. �ad1 cJ;; f7 25. � fe1 �d8
24.lLJf3 lLJe4 25.lLJfes+-) 22.l!!f x bs 26. l!!fb s �d7 27. cJ;;g2 lLJa7 28. l!!fe2
�b6 23. l!!fa 4 cxd4 24.cxd4 lLJ f6 lLJ ac6 29. l!!fe 6+ cJ;; fs 30. l!!f f6+
(24 ... �xb2 2s.lLJf3 lLJf6 26.lLJgs �g7 cJ;;g8 31. l!!/e 6+ cJ;; fs 32. ii.gs �d6
27. �e6+-) 25. �e6 cJ;; g 7 26. � ae1 33. i. h6 + cJ;; e s 34. l!!f g8 + cJ;; d 7
l!!/d 7 27. � xe7 l!!f x c6 2 S . !9xas 35.l!!fxh7
�xb2 29.l!!/a7 �b7 30.l!!fxb7 l!!fxb7 Conclusion: The critical moment
3i. �xb7 �xb7 32. �a1± in the opening was 11. l!!/ b 1! which is
important to remember, preventing
18 ... lLJb8 . . . lLJe4 and the plan . . . lLJ fs-.ll e 7-
Black tries to defend the rook and lLJd6! The position will be unclear
c6 square at the same time. 1S ... after 12 ... cd! , but it is far from being
�as 19.lLJc6 !Des 20 . .i xe7 .i xe7 a position where White cannot con
2i. �ae1 � f7 22.l!!fe 2 cJ;; fs 23.l!!/e 6 tinue playing for a win - it is still
lLJf6 24.lLJ f3+-; very rich in strategic possibilities!
1S...c4 1 9 . lLJ d x c 4 dxc4 1-0
20.l!!fxc4++-
7 �ttJ . :. A
· · ·�
/
841• • • •
/.... . ....
2
o �---,� a �o�
and all White's pieces are well-posi ��
, �% •
�d
m:
�
. Flfl
-�
tioned. One idea could be il.c2-�d3 a b c d e f g h
or il.b1-�d3
1 28 WI N N I N G W I T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
This typical sacrifice works but 23. � xd8 W!ixd8 24. W!Jf7+ Wh8
not with 'human' moves and I will 25. W!lg6 Wg8 26. �d1 l2:Jd4D 27.cxd4
show just one of the many wins ac cxd4 28. W!ih7+ Wf8 29.l2:J xe6+!
cording to the computer. �xe6 30. W!ih8+ We7 3i. ii. h4+ it.. f6
32.W!ixg7+ Wd6 33.W!ixb7+-
(Also possible is to play saf
er 14.0-0-0 1i.xg3 15. hxg3 h6 13.dxcs it.. xcs
16. W!ib5!±) 13 ... ii. xg3 looks active but in the
end Black's weaknesses remain,
14 ... Wxh7 15. W!ih4+ Wg8 16.l2:Jg5 e.g. 14.hxg3 (Here not so good is
�fe8 17.0-0-0 1i.. e 5D 14. it.. x h7+? Wxh7 15. hxg3 + WgB
1 6. W!ie4 f5 17. W!Jxe6+ �f7+) 14 .. .f5
(17... it.. xg3 18.hxg3 WfB 19.lLi h7+ 15. Jt.. c 2 tLl a5 (15 ... bxc5 1 6. it.. b3±)
WgB 20.lLi/6+ WfB 21.lLid7+ with 16. W!ih4! W!ixh4 17. � xh4 � xc5
fast mating) 18.0-0-0±
a b c d e f g h
2i. 'Y:!fxa7 'YWC? 22. � xd6 (22.ll:Jes 17... ll:las 18 ..1l.xb7 �c4!
•
16.b4
I missed taking the pawn after
16. �d7 �as 17. �c7! � xc7 1S. � XC7
e5 19. �xe5 'Y:!fh6 20. �ei+-
16 �fs 17.bs?!
•••
a W% L%9A •••
.I � �,
�Im "'.... %
12 ... '!J.a7!?
7• • •,., A clever move with several ideas.
6 -�· · · • Defending the 7th rank after a fur
5 •" ;,• in �;qrni ther . . .f6 or . . .f5 and the idea is fast ac
3 . 8�• �
b4 after which the rook is defended.
In one rapid game on the highest
2 3 f1 rn n t!:i n
a···0·��t "e�
level, Black reacted badly with 12 .. .
, c4? 13 . .ll c 2 b5 14.1£\g5! ii. xg5 (14 .. .
a b c d e f g h
g6 15.1£\xh7!+-) 15.f!ixh5 g6 16.f!ie2
11 ... ilxg5 (11 ... 1£\xg3?? 12. ilxh7+ f5 17.exf6 f!ixf6 18.h4 ii.f4 19. kxf4
c:J;; h B 13.1£\xj7+! 'B.xf7 14.hxg3 ii.g5 f!ixf4 20.g3 f!if6 21.f4 'B.a7 22.1£\f3 h6
15. Ji.g6+ c:J;;gB 16. f!ih5 ilxd2+ l'J. c:J;;xd2 23.1£\e5 1£\xe5 24.dxe5 f!ig7 25.f!ig4±
'!J.xf2+ 18. c:J;;di+-; 11 ...g6 12.1£\xh7! '!J.eB Kramnik,V (2777)-Zhigalko,S (2656)
13. f!ig4 c:J;;g7 14.1£\j3 cxd4 15.1£\hg5±) Berlin 2015.]
12.f!ixh5 g6 13.f!ie2 cxd4 14.h4! dxc3
15.bxc3 ii.xd2+ (15 ... llh6 16.h5 ilg7 13.0-0?!
(16...g5 l'J.1£\f3 with the very unpleas
ant 1£l h2- 1£\g4) 17.c:J;;fi ! with the idea
'B.e1-f!ig4-f!ih3) 16.f!ixd2 d4 17. it.e4
ii.b7 18.cxd4 f!id7 19. '!J.d1 (19. h5?
1£\xd4 20. llxb7 '!J.adB!+ defending
the knight with the threat 1£\f3) 19 ...
1£\e7 20.f3 h5
After 11.0-0?! White doesn't
have any attacking chances 11 ...
ii.d7 12. 'B.e1 'B.c8 13.a3 1£\xg3 14.hxg3
f5+ Kamsky,G (2683)-Nakamura,H
(2798) Saint Louis 2015.
11 as 12. f!ie2
••• This looks slow and loses attacking
Here the same idea with 12.1£\g5?! chances. White had a chance to im
doesn't work after llxg5 13.f!ixh5 prove his "bad" knight with 13.1£\ fi!?
g6 14.f!ie2 cxd4 15.h4 dxc3 16.bxc3 c4 (13 .. f5 14.exf6 ii.xf6 15. '!J.d1! 'B.af7
it. xd2+ nffixd2 it.a6! with a3-a5 16.1£\e3 g6 17. .$_ b5! a typical method
the difference is big 18. ii.xa6 '!J.xa6 of fighting for the e5 square l'J. .. ii.d7
19.h5 '!J.a7+ and Black's king is safe. 18.1£\g4 ilg7 19. ii.xc6 it.xc6 20.1£\ge5
'!J.q 21.1£\xc6 'B.xc6 22.0-ot) 14. il.c2
b5 15.1£\g5 .lixg5 16.f!ixh5 g6 nf!ie2
1 32 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
15 ... g6?
Black misses a chance for a big ad
vantage. Very logical was 15 ... CZ:Jxg3!
16.fxg3 b4 17-axb4 axb4 18.CZJ xc4
and probably in his calculations
Black missed 18 ... b3! (18 ... dxc4 ?
19. VJ9e4±) 19. !! xa7 CZJ xa7 20 . .ll xb3
dxc4 21. il.xc4 il.b7+
21 � ff7 22.f4?
•••
22 ... e5!
24 gxfs?
•••
Conclusion: After the best reaction decision in 13 ... c4? closing the cent
of Black with 9... i.e7 the position be er at the worst moment after which
comes very sharp which reminds us his counterplay was very slow on
a lot of positions from the French De the queenside. Kamsky was given
fence! White's biggest problems are a free hand on the kingside and he
the lL!d2 (which can remain fairly crowned his play with a pretty and
useless for a long time) and the i.g3 effective finish.
which disturbs the white attack! For
these reasons 11.ClJg5!? deserves seri 1.d4 ds 2. �f4 ClJf6 3.e3 cs 4.ClJf3
ous attention! Another way to solve Our move order is 4.c3 ClJc6
the problems with the minor pieces 5.ClJd2 e6 6.ClJgf3 �d6 7. i.g3 o-o
is the plan lL!fi before castling, fol 8. i.d3 b6 9. lie2!?
lowed by ClJe3 or, h4 with the idea
i.h2 playing against the knight on 4 ...ClJc6 5.lL!bd2 e6 6.c3 �d6 7. �g3
h5. However, the position is very in o-o 8. �d3 b6 9. lie2!?
teresting and I expect that it will be
tested more in the future.
1/2
minds us of the game Grischuk A. lic7 but after 10.e4! it seems as though
Nakamura H. EU cup 2015. In gener Black has serious problems! 10... dxe4
al, the position is unclear, but Black 11.lL!xe4 lL! xe4 12 . .li.xe4 f5 13 . .li.xd6
has to be very accurate! In this game lixd6 14.dxc5 lixc5 15. it.c2± the e6
Aleksey Goganov made the wrong pawn is weak, and if Black tries 15 ...
1 36 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
� . . �
� If��
es? then after 16. .1i.. b3+ <i!?hs nl£lgs�
his king is in great danger! ���,�;%�
io. !!d1 ,5 "•"•=
, X•��·
'•;•'" '•"•
,Y
One more useful move that place
4 • o • •
the black queen at gunpoint!
3 a D�Ull1�
2 � n ���n
io .. !!eS?!
.
However, Black had a very good 17.l£lc4! 'YJ!/e6 18. !! xd3 'YJ!/xc4
option in 10 ... h6! 19.bS'YJ!i! !! xb8 20. !!ds+ !! xd8
21. iLxc4+-)
CHAPTER FOU R - CLASSICAL S ET- U P W I T H e6 1 37
11.e4! i.e7
Black was not prepared to react
in the center and it highlights the
shortcomings of 10 ... 'i!.e8?! After
the logical 1i. .. dxe4, with a series of
forced moves White achieves a clear
advantage 12.tl:Jxe4 tl:J xe4 13. i.xe4
cxd4 14.tl:J xd4 tl:J xd4 15. 'i!.xd4 i.ds
16.0-0 i. xg3 (16... ii.cs l'J. 'i!.d3 Wilgs
18.h4 Wilj6 19. i.. xds exds 20.W!ld1±)
17.hxg3 Wi/g5 18. i. xd5 exd5 19.W!/d2±;
1 38 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
The reaction in the center with 11 ... move. With a stable center, the at
es is not so good because Black is still tack is much easier for White.
not ready for it. 12.dxcs! �xcs 13.0-
0 d4 Black is forced on this in view
of exd! (13 ... dxe4? 14.CiJxe4 CiJxe4
15. 'V/lixe4 g6 16. �C4 'V/liq 17- li.ds±)
14.cxd4 CiJxd4 15.CiJxd4 exd4 (15...
�xd4 16.CiJb3±) 16.a3 as 17. !!fe1± The
pawn d4 is well-blocked and is actu
ally weak. White's plan is to play es
at a favorable moment!
12.es CiJhs
Now we have a similar position a b c d e g h
as in the game Grischuk A.-Naka
mura H., European Club Cup 2015. Black should seek counterplay
with !!d1-'V/lie2 and !!e8-1i.. b 7 insert with 13 ... as! 14.CiJ f1 (14.h4 cxd4
ed. It seems like a better version for 15.cxd4 CiJxg3 16fxg3 fs!�) 14 ... 'V/lics
White. idea is 1i.. a6 15.h4 ila6 16. ilh2 ilxd3
17. 'V/lixd3 fs.
14. �b1 g6
Defending the knight against the
CiJgs idea.
15.CiJft!
A famous move with the idea
CiJe3- CiJg4 Here the idea from the
game Grischuk A.-Nakamura H.
also works: 15.h4!? CiJ xg3 16.fxg3�
a b c d e g h
In this chapter the variations are 7. il.d3 CZJbd7 8.h4! See Kovacevic V.
similar to positions from the previ Ree H., Maribor 1980.
ous chapter with certain differenc
es. Those differences could be in de 4. �g3!
laying Black with the move cs or in Again the best reaction against
developing the knight from b8. In the . . . il.d6 idea! Also tested was
general it doesn't change the plans 4. il.xd6 cxd6! (4... 'VJ!ixd6?! 5.'VJ!lg4!t.)
for White too much because the 5.'VJ!ig4 and now the point is 5 ... CZJf6!
structures are the same. In the Lon after which Black achieves good
don System you have to play mostly compensation for the pawn! 6. 'VJ!!xg7
by understanding the ideas. gg8 7. VJ!ih6 gg6 8. 'VJ!if4 'VJ!ib6 9.b3
VJ!iC?! 10.CZJ f3 (10. il.d3 es 11.'VJ!ih4 e4
1.d4 ds 2. il. f4 e6 12. il. bs+ ii.d7 13. �xd7+ lZJ bxd7i;
10. c3 es 11. 'VJ!ih4 il.fsi) 10 ... VJ!lxc2
11.CZJ bd2 <i!fe7! 12.g3 gg4 13. VJ!ih6
gg6 14. 'VJ!ih4 gg4=
4 CZJ f6
•••
6 cs
.•• Again the position is very similar
For Black it is almost always pos to positions from C H A P T E R 4. but
sible to play the plan with 6 ... b6!? without lfJ f3- lfJc6! which is a bet
7.lfJgf3 (Preventing . . . �a6 brings ter version for White - see Grachev
another type of problem. ;i; '%!Ve2 i.b7 B. - Timofeev A. RUS eh rapid 2015.
8.lfJgfe l£Je4! and Black wins the bat
tle for the e4 square!) 7... � b7 (;i; .. iLa6
8. iLxa6 lfJxa6 9.c3 Black ex changed V. Kovacevic - H . Ree
important white bishop, but now he Maribor, 1980
has to lose time to return the knight
into play. 9 ... c5 10.'%!Ve2 l£Jb8 11.�!with In the first game of this chap
some pressure) 8.l£Jes l£Je4 (8... l£Jbd7 ter Black chose a very passive set
9. '%!Vf3! with play on the kingside. Cov up with an early . . . e6 putting the
ering the e4 square is always impor bishop on e7, which provoked our
tant!) 9.'%!fhs!? fs 10.l£Jxe4 fxe4 11. �bs "London maestro" to show his at
c6 12. iLe2 cs 13. �g4 '%!Ve8 14. '%!Vh3i tacking skills. With the very aggres
Heberla B.-Pinkas K. Katowice 2015. sive approach 8.h4! Vlatko Kovace
vic showed how you have to punish
7.c3 b6 passive play!
Here Black tries to exchange the
white-squared bishops but it is not 1.d4 lfJf6
possible after White's next move! 7... Our move order would be: 1 ... d5
l£Jc6 s.l£Jgf3 - is a transposition to 2. � f4 lfJ f6 3.e3 e6 4.l£Jd2 cs 5.c3
CHAPTER 4. il.e7 6.lfJgf3 o-o 7. iLd3 lfJbd7
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
A very good and aggressive ap The knight is far from the gs square,
proach which is based on an attack but this typical sacrifice works here
on the black king. After this move, anyway! White has enough time to
the Black's whole concept comes add the knight to the attack.
into a question!
After the typical 8.'2ies '2i xes 11 ... <i!?xh7 12.'V/!!hs+ Wg8 13.'2l f3 f6
9.dxes '2ld7 and Black has in his ar The following lines show White's
senal moves such as . . .f6 or . . .fs in attacking resources!
facing the threats on his king. 13 ... il a6 14. B'.d1! Prophylaxis!
preventing . . . ild3 and continuing
8 ... b6 9.'2les '2ixes? the attack as in the game!
It's hard to believe, but this loses 13 . . . g6 1 4 . 'V/!! h 6 B'.es 15.'2lgs
by force mostly thanks to 8.h4! '2i fs 16.hs+-; 13 ... B'.es 14.'2lgs '2i fs
Natural was 9 ... ilb7 10.'�'£3 ! 1s.'V/!!xf7+ <i!?hs 16. B'. h3!
protecting the e 4 square i s always
very important! 10 ... B'.cs (10... '2ixe5
11.dxes '2id7 12. 'V/!!g4 fs 13.exf6 B'.xf6
14.l2if3� ) 1i. B'. h3�. White has
a clear plan of attacking the black
king, while it's not easy to find ap
propriate counterplay for Black.
1 44 W I N N I N G W I T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
16 ... �d7 17.�hs+ Wg8 18.lt:J f7 18 ... lt:J f8 19.�h8 Wd7 20.g7 ll:Jg6
�d8 19. �h8+! Wxf7 20. E:f3+- 2i.�xd8++- g8�
19.�h8! E:gsD
There is no other way to prevent
g?!
20.�gS!
A nice move with a double threat,
but the main one is �f7 mate!
20 lt:Jxes
•••
1.d4 ds 2. ii.f4 e6 3.e3 il.d6 4. il.g3 Now, after many years of experi
ii.xg3 ence, I don't believe so much in ,J4.
For example: 8. �e2 forcing Black
into the unusual move 8 ... 'i!ff8 and
after 9.c3 ltJc6! with the idea . . .
ltJe7- ltJ fs 10. il. f3 ii.d7 11.e4 (11. �e2
o - o - o 12.e4 dxe4 13.ltJxe4 ltJxe4
14. il.xe4 'i!Ud6= Black has too many
options, moves such as . . . h4 or . . .f6-
ltJe7-�c6) 11 ... dxe4 12.ltJxe4 ltJxe4
13. il. xe4 o-o-o 14.ltJ f3 (14. 'E.xhs
is risky 14 ... 'E.xhs 15. 'i!fxhs ltJxd4!
16.cxd4 �b4+ 17-�ft �bs+ 18.ltJe2
g6 19. 'i!Uf3 'i!Uxd4� with the very
unpleasant threat of . . . 'E. h8!) 14 ...
Like I said before, I am not a big f6 and I don't believe White has an
fan of this kind of moves! advantage!
8.c3 u ... c6
11 ... !l;,. d7 is similar to the game
12.iff4 ifxf4 13.gxf4;!;;
tion here. The massive pawns on the Black plays 'into space' and
kingside offer a lot of possibilities. doesn't use his chance to improve
For example to play for g4-gs, or to the position of the knight with 22 ...
play for e4. �d7 and next comes . . . �cs
for the knight. In the future I had an Black loses patience. 27... �C7;;!;:
idea to open the position with e4 af would continue the waiting strategy.
ter which the bishop could become
dominant over the knight. 28. ii.c2 hs?
8 - - - -
�.r��-r:::
7 � � .. -�� �t&:�,,/� �
.. � �
6 %,, , , /_ ,,_% ,/-f, , , /�/�
s m - ·· -
4 m m o m
3 m D�D � a
2 � �/� - - � -
, ��/ / m
� �
� a
.� :a
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
1 48 WI N N I N G W I T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
35 ll:Jg4+
. ••
late, now simply creating new Now Black gains some small
weaknesses. hopes with his h-pawn!
33. !!d2 !!ds 3 4 . !! xfs+ - !!d6 37. !!fxds !!xds 38. !!xds h3 39. !!d1
35. �e4 c4!
Strong enough! Black doesn't have to lose any-
thing and plays in the most active
CHAPTER FIVE - EARLY e6 1 49
47 bs
..•
s1 ... Wd4
White is much faster after 5i. .. b3
52.axb3 axb3 53.e5 b2 54. g h1 bi�
55. g xb1 g xb1 56.g6 g fi+ 57.Wg5+-
s2. ga7
Now all the Black counterplay
has disappeared and the rest of the
game was just delaying a handshake.
Passive play in rook endgames
doesn't bring success. Black could
search for better chances with 43 ...
gxc4! 44. gxh2 Wd6! ±
1 50 WI N N I N G W I T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
52 ... a3 53.g6 <i!?c3 54. g h7 <i!?d4 1.d4 d5 2. iL.f4 e6 3.e3 iL.d6 4. il.g3!
55.g7 b3 56.axb3 <i!?xe4 57. g h1 lie7 5.c3
Conclusion: The plan which
Black used in this game is very sol
id! In general you don't have a bet
ter option than forcing an endgame
with the maneuver lia4-lif4 and
to play it with great patience! For
players who prefers endgames with
a clear plan and a small space ad
vantage, this will be a huge pleasure
for them!
1-0
a b c d e g h
Black changed his plan here with 4 ... An original idea from the old
lie7 and � h6!? To follow, bringing 'classical' player, entering the knight
the knight to fs. However, it doesn't into play on fs!
change much about White's con
cept in reply. At some point, Black 6.�d2
wandered from his plan and later 6. iL.d3 allows easy equality after
he missed a chance to castle short, 6 ... �c6! (6... �fs 7- .ilxfs exfs B. li.xd6
after which he didn't get another Yixd6 9. lif3 o - o 10.�e2 iL.e6
chance! His King was left in the 11.�d2 �d7 12.�f4't. with a typi
center, unsafe, and the black rooks cal Trompowsky position) 7.� f3 es
were left without co-ordination! Af 8.dxes �xes 9.� xes li. xes 10. �xes
ter 19.e4 and the opening of the e lixes=
file, Black's king couldn't find a safe
home and in the end the price was 6 �d7
.••
19.e4!±
The correct moment to open the
e-file and use the lack of co-ordina
tion between the black rooks.
15.�a4
There is no preferable place for
the queen.
15 ...h6 a b c d e g h
A strange move but anyway
this position is not good for Black.
15 ... CZJd6 16.0-0-0 � fs n � xfs 19 ... dxe4 20. �xe4 CZJxe4 21. '8xe4
CZJxfs 18.g4 (18. e4 is an unneces �f7
sary complicating of the position 21. .. � fs lead to a lost endgame
18 ... dxe4 19. 'i!!. he1 CZJ d6 20. 'i!!. xd6 after 22. '8 xe7 �xc2 23. '8 he1 �g6
�xd6 21. �xe4+ WfBD 22. �fs 'i!!. eB 24. 'i!!. C ?+-
23. 'i!!. x eB+ Wxe8 24. �cB+ �dB
25.�xb7 'i!!.fB 26.�xc6+ Wf7 2'J.CZJd4 22.CZJd4 il.d7 23. '8he1 '8h7
WgB�) 18 ... CZJd6 19.CZJd4± Covering the square e?! Black
would barely be able to move after
16.0-0-0 b5 23 ... '8e8 24. '8 xe8+ .t xe8 25.CZJe6+
Maybe this was too much, but Wgs 26. �e4+-
the idea was to remove the white
queen far from the d4 square. 16 ...
CZJd6 17.CZJd2 fs 18.�d4! ±
CHAPTER FIVE - EA R LY e6 1 53
35 b4 36.cxb4 a4
•••
lo• • •
fs
After 10 ... g6 White has achieved
a great French-type position, e.g.
11.iVe2 �c6 12.�gf3 cxd4 13.cxd4
�b4 14.0-0 as 15. !! fc 1 � xd3
16.iVxd3 .ll a6 17.iVe3 !!es 18.h4 hs
1 56 W I N N I N G W I T H T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
27.Cl:Jges
White decides to take a pawn, en
tering into the endgame. Very pain
20 ... gcs 21.Cl:Jdf3 V/Bc7 22. ge2! ful for Black would be 27.CZJ xf6+
A prophylactic move with the gxf6 28.CZJe5±
idea of avoiding the endgame after
Black's . . . V/Bc2!
with a White dream in the French 40.g4 !!d1 41.� f3 !!c1 42.fs g6
Defense. 43.f6 gs
44. !!h2+!
White uses a tactic to finish the
game!
44 ... �gs
44 ... �g6 45.�es+ �xf6 46. !!h6+
�g7 47. !!xb6+-
i.d4 ds 2. kgs h6 3. k h4 c6 4. e3
�b6, but in our position the bish
op on f4 is better-placed than on
gs. From f4 it better controls the es
square and Black can only dream of
implementing the freeing move . . .
es! 4.b3. See: Winants L - Georgiev
V. Turin ol 2006.
4.c4 e6
A 'violent' approach does not
bring the desired result 4 ... �xb1
s.�xb1 es? See: Berkes F. -Lupules
cu C. Dresden ol 2008.
10 ... 0-0 u. �d6! �d8 i2.�a3!
kxd6 13.CZJ xd6 ke4 14.l!iJ xb7 �b6
is.Cl:Jcs l!iJ xcs 16. � xcs � fb8 17-b3
�xf3 18.gxf3 as 19. �d3 M 20.bxa4
CZJd7 2i. �c1 �as+ 22.�c3 �xa4
23. �xc6 �xc6 24. � xc6 � xa2
2s.o-o±
6 ... dxc4
Black has to do something against
the cs threat. To me it looks better to
play 6 ... .td6 7. .t xd6 (or 7. .tg3 l£Jj6
8.l£Jf3 o-o 9.cxds exds 1 0• .td3 00 )
I prefer this move, although Black 7... ¥!¥xd6 s./fJ f3 1£J f6 9.cxds exds
has the possibility to spoil White 10. �d3 o-o 11.We2 l£Jbd7 i2. B:c1
castling. With 4.c4 the idea is to c6 13.b4 with a standard Carlsbad
play a quick ¥!¥b3. position.
1 62 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
9. kbs+ WfS 10.'£l f3 it.xg3 11.hxg3 After this weakening, Black posi
/£lf6 tion begins to be difficult. The only
Black missed an interesting con route leading to a playable posi
tinuation after which the position tion for Black was 16 ... 1£lbd7 17.�c7
would be balanced: 11 ... cxd4 12. �d3 !!cs! 18.�xb7 !!bs 19.�xa6 !!xb2+
a6 13./£lxd4! ;;!;; with the idea 1£ld6; 20. !!c2 !!xc2+ 21 . .ilxc2 �c7 22. !!c1
u ... a6! 12. �a4 cxd4 13. �d3 bs !!cs 23. Wfi;;!;;
14. �b3 /£lc6 1s.exd4 (15. !! c1 ? dxeJ+)
1s ... /£l f6 16. !!c1 �d6 17.We2 in this 17. .ilb3 �e7 18.�cs?! ;;!;;
non-standard position with isolated Very logical. White bases his play
pawns, I prefer White thanks to his on the queenside.
slightly better development and the
cs square.
CHAPTER S I X - SLAV S ET-U P - 2 c6 A N D SYM M ET RY z.. ilfs
... 1 63
24 'f!.cs 25.f3
•••
28 � xc 2 + 2 9 . � xc 2
• • • � xc 2 +
30. ii.xc2 f6 31.f4!±
6.!fxd3 CZJf6 7.CZJf3 CZJbd7 8.o-o e6 and now the pawn on e6 may be
9.c4 !fa6 come a problem after White's main
A typical move against the cs plan e3-e4.
plan! The downside of this move is
that the Black queen can stand mis
placed at some point.
20 /fJfs 21.lfJes
•••
lfJg6 24./fJxg6
with mate after 'ife6!
Conclusion: The set-up with . . . c6,
. . . 'i¥b6 used by Vladimir Georgiev
doesn't make much sense to me, es
pecially when compared to the posi
The pawn on h6 becomes a tar tion from the Trompowsky (Queen
get, while the queen on a6 is far Pawn) game. For example: i. d4 <ls
from events. 2. ii.gs h6 3. i.. h4 c6 4.e3 'i¥b6 5.b3
es!? or after 5. 'ifc1 es!? and after 6.
15 lfJ hf6 16.lfJ xf6+ /fJ xf6 17.g5
••. de? 'ifb4 with 'ifh4 coming! Anoth
hxgs 18.hxgs lfJ h7 er good plan for Black after 5.b3 or
s. 'ifc1 is 5 ... ii. fs, with . . . e6, . . . i.. e 7
next and Black develops the bishop
with tempo, offering exchanges! In
our position we don't have this kind
of problem and therefore this is
a much-improved version. The bish
op on f4 is much better placed, be
cause the . . . es move for Black is im
possible! Against this set-up, White
has to take space on the queenside
by pushing the pawns b3-C4 and c5-
b4 if Black allows it. It seems like . . .
'i¥b6 stimulates White's action on
Of no help is 18 ... lfJhs 19. \!?g2 'ifas the queenside!
20. '.aae1! an important move! It pre 1-0
vents . . . 'iffs and threatens g6. 20 ...
g6 2i. '.a xe6! fxe6 22.'ifxg6+ /fJg7
23 . ..ies '.a f7 24. '.a h1 ..ib4 25.'ifh7+
\!?fs 26.g6+-
CHAPTER SIX - S LAV S ET-U P - 2 . . . c6 A N D SYMM ETRY 2 ii.fs
... 1 69
the same idea with . . . .txb1 in a simi 12. il xc4 ile7 13. �ei+- when his
lar position in the game Georgiev K. king is weaker.
Godena M. Padova Open 2014, but
1 70 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
12.cs!
A logical decision: White closes
the center, after which his king can
feel safe.
18 ... /fJf6
Black couldn't save his knight
With 18 ... lZJ fa 19. �C4 � f8 (19 . . .
lfJf6 20. �f7+ Wd7 21. il. bs+ WcB
22. �e6+ /fJ d7 23. �c6+! bxc6
24. il.a6#) 20.�hs+ g6 2i.�xh7
�xf4 22.�xg6++-
Conclusion:
12 ... 0-0
This is only move against White's Black is unable to exchange dark
plan of b4-bs. The typical move 9 ... squared bishops after 12 ... lt.. d s
�hs?! doesn't work well 10. lt.. e s! a6 13.�b3 lt.. C ?? Now actually we see
(10... �xes 11.�xes �f6 12.b4± with the main problem of Black's posi
next bs; 10 .. f6 11. lt.. q! .B'.c8 12. lt.. d6 tion: 14. �xc7 .B'.xC? 15.bs!
lt..xd6 13.cxd6 a6 14.h3 gs 15.g4 lt.,e4
16.�xe4 dxe4 17.�d2 �g7 18.h4!
gxh4 19.�xe4+ -) 11.b4 .B:cs 12.h3
�hf6 (12 ... �xe5 13.dxe5+-) 13. lt.. h2±
and Black has achieved nothing
compared with our main game! The
plan is the same �d2- �b3- �as
This is the point! The rook on h8 is 14 ... �es 15.CiJas it.xas 16.bxas
undefended! 15 ... 0-0 Now White improves his pawn
structure! This opens up new pos
(15... cxbs 16.tiJxbs! axbs 17- �a8+ sibilities of bringing the rooks to the
We7 18. �xh8+-) b-file pressuring the b7 pawn.
�cc8 17-/2Ja5 �b8 18 . .il xa6! bxa6 Another typical idea in this sys
19./2Jxc6 and White's pawns on the tem and a very useful move with
queenside are unstoppable. 19 ... two ideas: Pressing the b7 pawn and
�a8 20.b7 � abs 21./2J xb8 /2J xb8 controlling the d4 square.
22.b4 .ild3 23. Wd2 kc4 24. � hb1
/2Je4+ 25:�::J xe4 dxe4 26.b5 axb5
27. �as it.d5 28. � xb5 f5 29. �b6
Wf7 30. Wc3 We7 31. �d6 g5 32. Wb4
Wf6 33. � xd5 exd5 34. �xb8 �xb8
35.c6 We7 36.Wc5 1-0 Grachev,B
(2668)-Rychagov,A (2568) Moscow
2010
is not bad, but here Black can gain With this intermediate move,
some counterplay 14 ... it.xa5 15.bxa5 Black brings his bishop to b5 by force.
e5! 16.dxe5 /2Je4 17./2J xe4 it. xe4
18.e6 fxe6 19. it.d6 � f7 20.f3 .tg6 18. �b4 exd4 19. �xd4 /2Je4
21. �a4 �e8 22. �b4 /2J f8 23. ke2 Black forces exchanges because
e5 24. Wd2 /2Je6 25. �c1 tiJds it's the only way to save the b7 pawn.
26. �c3 k f5 27. �cb3 .ilc8 28. �b6
/2Je6 29. � 3b4;;!;; Grachev,B (2602) 20./2J xe4 � xe4 21.Wd2 � xd4+
-Malakhov,V (2690) Serpukhov 22.exd4 �a4
2007. White is still better, but for Black was concerned about
me more convincing looks to be the White's plan of h4-� h3-�b3 or the
14 . .td6! from our game. longer .ile2- �a1- � a3-�b3 and he
want to put his bishop on b5 to de
fend the b7 pawn.
1 74 WI N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
29. $i.e7 fs
Black must take some space to
avoid a complete stifling.
26 ... g6 27. il.cs il.bs 28. il.xb7 /fJg7! An inaccurate move! Why give
The best defence! The only good up the h-pawn and simplify the po
place for the knight is e6 which sition? White could win by playing
makes the penetration of White's for zugzwang! 33.h4! lfJe6 34.gxf5
king more difficult. gxf5 35. �c8 <i!?f6 36 . .te5+ <i!?f7
CHAPTER S I X - S LAV SET-U P - 2 c6 A N D SYM M ETRY 2 li. fs
... ... 1 75
37.b3 it. fa 38.hs .ibs (38 ... h6 39. Ji..f4 35 ... hxg6 36. Wf4 l£Je4! 37.f3 liJd2
liJg7 40. Ji.. d7 it. bs 41. il.xh6 liJxhs 37... liJ fa also leads to a draw
42. Ji.xfs+-) 39.h6 il.f1 40. il.d7 il.bs 38.b3 liJd3+ 39. We3 l£Jc1 40.b4 liJa2
41. i.g3 Wf6 (41 ... We7 42. it.cs Wf7 41. Wd2 liJ xb4=
43f4 We7 44. it.h4+ Wf7 45. i.d70+-)
42. il.h4+ Wf7 43J40+- 38.b4 liJb3?!
Why to leave the es square un
33 liJxh3 34. gxfs liJgs 35.fxg6+??
••• protected? 38 ... liJc4!=
rh
39. 'a'es r... C 1??
"Z...J • •
,.,....,
20."2...l a4 ,.,...
"2.JC7 ., 4.
21. AXC7+ n
..
A concrete decision. White gives
up his strong bishop for the plan of
isolating Black's rook!
with the idea free the rook never
works because White penetrates on
the a-file after 24.axb6 �as 25. �ha1
'i!?d7 26. ii.xa6!
24.h4! 33.�f4
As usual, you have to play on the White has improved his king,
kingside or in the center when your which is very important in the end
opponent has an isolated piece on game, but a factor which also helps
the queenside. in operations in the center and on
the kingside.
24 h5 25.b4 l£:\f6 26.f3
•••
42 .B'.es
•••
61.�xh5
The rest of the game does not re
quire comment in view of White
being three pawns up. The remain
ing moves were just filling out the
scoresheet!
In this set-up against the London . . . cs Black attacks the center and
System, Black plays the position as bishop on g7 becomes very strong.
he would the Gri.infeld. His idea is It's not to my taste and I like more
to create pressure on White's center to play against the bishop g7 while
with cs and if its possible also with building some kind of fortress with
es. Comparing with other lines the pawns on c3-d4-e3!
from earlier chapters, here White
is playing mostly on queenside! 4 '£\ f6
•••
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
8 cxd4?!
...
14.b4
Now the doubled pawns start to
prove very useful!
What else? The pawns on c6 and 1. With the active and multi
f7 hang! functional move s./fJes you
are preventing . . . /fJ hs and
30.e4 d3 31 . .ixd3 gxd3 32.exf5 Black ideas with . . . es! The
exf5 33. �xf7 limp move h3 is an unneces
Rooks on the 7th rank are a night sary waste of time!
mare in rook endgames! 2. after Black reaction in the
center with cxd4, you can
33 .. , ge2 take with the c-pawn only if
Black tries to achieve the same the knight is still on bi. In
White's 2nd rank! that way you get the c3 square
for him.
34, gg7+! 3. doubled pawns on the b-file
A nice check, removing Black's are not weak - they gives lots
king from the h-pawn. of opportunities for playing
on the queenside.
1 86 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYST EM
9 ... lf::i es - and after 10. �es White 11.l£ixc6 bxc6 1 2 fxe4±; 1 0 . . . lfJ/6
added more pressure on the center. 11.l£id3 c4 12. 'i¥xb6 axb6 13./fJb4
Forced to search for active play, Black 'ila4 14.a3"t, White has a clear plan
went wrong in the complications and to play for e4!) 11. 'ild1! �e6 12.lf::i a 3
at the denouement of the tactical this position is perhaps not better
phase he entered into a lost endgame. for White, but I like it because the
endgames that may arise hold good
1.d4 /fJ f6 prospects for White. For example
Our move order is i...ds 2. � f4 12 .. .£6 (12 ... C4 13.°i¥xb6 axb6 14.e4"t,)
lf::i f6 3.e3 g6 4./fJ f3 �g7 5. �e2 o-o 13./fJd3 c4 14.°ifxb6 axb6 15./fJ fa-;f,
6.o-o cs 7.c3 lf::i c 6 8.lf::i es
10. �xe5"t,
2./fJf3 g6 3.�f4 �g7 4.e3 ds 5. �e2 The pressure in the center and on
cs 6.c3 0-0 7.0-0 lf::i c 6 s.lf::i es °ifb6 the ds pawn is now evident.
10 �g4?
•.•
1s.'i!te2?!
Of course the place for the king
is in the center, but before this
White should prevent any eventual
counterplay, so 18. E:a6! ± fixing the
pawns on the queenside!
18 b5?
••.
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
White is still playing this posi After a long search for the cor
tion in a 'relaxed' manner and misses rect plan, White finally opens the
a win. Now was the right moment for position in the center and goes on
taking action with 26.c4! bxc4 27.bxc4 to realize his big advantage.
�as 28.cs �dds 29.b4 �dbs 30.�d3+-
40 ...fxe4 41.fxe4 dxe4 42.ds �cs
26 ... We7 27. �a1 �f6 28.g3 hs?! 43.Wxe4?!
Black decides to close the posi A white pawn could arrive on the
tion on the kingside but he makes 7th rank after 43.d6 e3 44.d7 �d8
a route for the White king. 45.Wxe3 We7 46. �ai+-
29. We2! �d6 30. Wf3 Wf6 31. Wf4 43 ... �e7+ 44. Wf4 �et
White's pieces stand well and now Black decides to give up the a
it is only left for him to prepare e4! pawn and finally activate a rook!
C H A PTER SEVEN - G RU N FELD S ET-U P 1 89
45. !!xa6+ Wg7 46. !!a7+ Wh6 White complicates the win in
Threatening mate in one with stead of just calculating a little bit.
!!fs. If 46 ... Wf6 47.�e4++- Of course the position is still win
ning but now White has to play
47.�e6 !!c4+ 48. Wf3 !!ce4 carefully. 55.c4! !!b1 56.cs !!xb3+
Black has activated his rooks but 57. We4 !!xb4+ 58. Wes !!c4 59.c6 b4
it's too late. 6o.d6 b3 6i.�e6+ Wf7 62.�gs+ Wg7
(62 ... We8 63. d7+ We7 64.�e6+-)
49.�f4 63.d7 b2 64.dS!f bi if 65.!fd7+ Wg8
White still need to be care 66.!ff7+ Whs 67.ifh7#
ful! 49.�gs?? leads to a draw! 49 ...
!! 1e3+ 50.Wg2 !!e2+ si.Wh3 !! h2+ 55 Wf6 56.�c5 !!c1 57. Wf4!
•••
49 ... !!es 50.�e6 l:!e5 51. !!d7 !!e1 White gives up the b3 pawn, but
52.b3 !!as 53. !!ds he will take the bs-pawn in return.
Simplification is very often the
best way. Again playing for mate 59 !!xb3 6o.d6+ Wds 61.Wd5 !!b1
.••
a b c d e g h
C H A PTER E I G H T
6. kg3!
This is usually the best reaction.
M. Gurevich (2631) - M. Erwich (2416) White wants to exchange bishops
BEL-chT 2008/09, Belgium (5.2). but preferably with the opening of
07.12.2008 the h-file. With this move White
also hinders Black's development
In this game we will see the rare because . . . � bd7 is not possible!
line in the Queen's Gambit with an
early c6 which is considered dubi 6 ...o-o 7.�f3 b6
ous for Black. With 5 ... �d6?! Black Black has almost no other way to
already entered a very tough posi develop his pieces on the queenside.
tion to play, mainly because he has
big problems finishing his develop
ment on the queenside. At some
point, with the most aggressive ap
proach combining e4 and long cas
tling, White seized the initiative
which resulted in a mating attack
at the end.
1.d4 �f6
Our move order is i. .. ds 2. �f4 c6
3.e3 � f6 4.c4 e6 5.�c3 �d6
13.�xd3 exd5 14.g4--+) 12.cxds iLxd3 13.CZJ xf6 + CZJ xf6 14.CZJe5 ii.b7
13.CZJ xd3 exds (13 ... cxds 14.g4 CZJc6 15.0-0-0±
15f4/6 16.0-0-0) 14.b4 CZJf6 15.0-ot: Black is powerless to oppose the
g4 plan.
15 c5
•••
11 dxe4
•••
16 l!fds
•.• 18 g6
..•
20.CiJ xg6 + <i!?g8 2i.CiJ xe7+ <i!?f7 ing for the move dxc4. At one point
22. l! e 1 .t e 4 23 . CiJ c 6 .t xc 6 Black had spent all his useful moves
24.�xe6+ <i!?g6 25.�xc6+- and he took on c4 at the worst mo
ment, resulting in a rapid collapse.
C H A PTER E I G H T - QU EEN'S G A M B I T SET- U P 1 95
a b c d e g h
7... Cl:Jbd7
It's too early for the typical 7...
Cl:J hs?! 8. �d3! fs (B... h6? weaken
ing his king position would be fa
tal for Black after 9. �es CZJd7 10.g4!
Cl:J hj6 11.gs hxgs 12.CLixgs CLixes
13.dxes CZJg4 14. ilh1+ WhB 15. ii.gB!
fs 1 6. exf6 CLi xf6 17. CZJj7+ "i!.xf7
18. ii.xf7+-; 8... CZJxf4 9. ilxh7+! WhB
10.exf4 g6 11. ii.xg6 fxg6 12. !Vxg6�;
B...g6 9. ii.h6 'BeB 10.0-0±) 9. �es
CZJd7 10.h3 Cl:Jxes 11.dxes±
8.h3
Now White doesn't allow the Kramnik V. -Zude A. Bundesliga
possibility of . . . Cl:J hs! 1994.
1 96 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
16 ... Wh8 n�e4 g6 (17. . �xe4. 18 ... exds 19.�xds �xds 20. �xds+-
18. '¥Jfixe4 fs 19.�g6+ +-) 18.� xf6
�xf6 19.� xg6+ fxg6 20.'¥Jf/xg6 il.e8 19.dxe6 �xd1 20. �xd1 fxe6
2i.'¥Jf/xh6+ Wg8 22. �d3 �f7 23. �g3+ White didn't land checkmate,
il.g7 24. '¥Jf/xe6± but he has reached a strategically
winning position. Black is full of
weaknesses!
17... �d8
17... cxd5 18.� xd5 '¥Jf/xc2 19.� xe7+
Wh8 20. �XC2+-; After a successful campaign, the
17... exds 18.� xds+- bishop moves to another diagonal.
Conclusion:
The Chigorin set-up is very rarely ez:Jc6 3. i.f4 with the idea being to
played against the London System. play against the knight on c6. The
In my opinion the reason is the im move c4 appears later when Black
possibility for Black to play actively cannot react actively in the center
in the center with . . . es as in the Chi (or 3.e3 with the same idea)
gorin proper, and so the knight on
c6 stands awkwardly. 2 ••• ez:Jc6
a b c d e g h
a b c d e f g h
2 ... �g4 This move has been used
several times by Ivan Sokolov! The
This is the main position in the main idea of this move - in the
Chigorin Defense. Here Black has spirit of the Trompowsky - is to
the rapid development, but it's not prevent the e3 move and making
a guarantee of equalizing because the London set-up! From the exist
White takes the bishop pair and ing games in the database it is not so
builds up his center. The theory is clear how White should react. After
going like this: 6. �d2 �xc3 7.bxc3 many years of experience in these
(or 7- il.xc3 exd4 8.ez:Je2) positions, my conclusion is that the
A lot of players have in their rep only way to fight for the initiative is
ertoire against the Chigorin 2.ez:J f3 with 3.ez:Jc3! -the idea being to play
200 WI N N I N G WITH TH E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
4.c4!
White doesn't have to be afraid of
complications!
5 ... h6
7 .. �d6 8. �g5
.
8 �e7
••• White doesn't play thematically
A very passive move which loses and instead uses exactly the right
time! The best for Black was to go in moment to seize the initiative. This
for the slightly worse endgame after motif was already seen in the first
8 ... h6 9. �xf6! the best decision is to game of CHAPTER 5. Kovacevic V.
play on the better structure (Black Ree H. Maribor 1980.
CHAPTER N I N E - C H I C O R I N SET-U P A N D 2 � g4
.. 203
10 ... e5
Black seeks active play in the cent
er, but the next move brings a very
strong answer! With 10 ... a6 Black
cannot make sufficient counterplay
after 11.0-0-0 es 12.g4 bs 13. �xf6!
�xf6 14.g5 il.e7 15. �g2 e4 16.'Llxe4!
dxe4 17.Yl!¥xe4 'Lias 18.¥Wxa8 ¥Wxa8
19. �xa8 �xa8 20.e4±
11. �bs!
The crucial move in White's con
cept. In this way, pressurising the Black should search for his chanc-
knight on c6, Black is forced to es with the active 12 ... 'Lle4!? 13.'Llxe4
abandon the center. dxe4 14.Yl!¥fs h6 (14 ...g6 15.Yl!¥f4 Yl!¥d6
1 6. ¥Wxd6 �xd6 17. hs±) 15. �d2
11 ... exd4 � xh4 16.0 - 0 - 0 il.gs n � xgs
Another logical reaction is 11 ... e4 YWxgs+ 18.YWxgs hxgs 19. � hs 'Lle7
but it promises nothing good after 20. � xgs c6 2i. 2L.c4 � fe8 22. �es
12.Yl!¥h3 a6 (12 ... ¥Wc8 13.¥Wxc8 �fxc8 'Llg6 23. � fs �e7 24. �e1±
14f3 exf3 15.gxf3± with a strong
center and bishop pair there is no 13.0-0-0
doubt about White's huge advan Of course, Black is too slow on
tage!) 13. �e2 bs 14.f3! and again the queenside!
Black's center crumbles. 14 ... exf3
15.gxf3�
12.exd4
In this symmetrical structure
White has much better placed piec
es and the possibility to feel free to
attack the Black King.
12 ... �eS?
An indifferent move which leads
to even bigger problems.
a b c d e g h
204 W I N N I N G WITH T H E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
A very nice move with a concrete gxf6 2i.CZJe4 �b6 22.ll:Jxf6+! �xf6
idea: to take on f6-eS and then play 23 . �xf6 .1l xf6 24. � xeS+ � xeS
�fs! 25. � xeS++-
15 �d6
••• 18. �he1
Black must make a connection
between his rooks. After 15 ... b4
White is winning by force! 16 . .1lxf6!
bxc3 (16... .1lxf6 17. �xe8+ �xe8
18. �f5+ -) 17-bxc3 .1la3+ 1S. Wc2
�xf6 19. �xeS+ � xeS 20.�xf6 gxf6
21 . .1lxa6+-
16.a3 CLJa5
Leaving the es square unpro
tected, but Black didn't have many
better options. he has no time for a b c d e f g h
16 ... � abs 17.g4! as 1S . .1l f4 �d7
19.g5 CLJg4 20. � hg1 fs 2i.gxf6 CLJ xf6 Black loses material! The biggest
22. i. h6 il.. fs 23. �xes � xeS 24. i.gs problem in Black's position is the
(24. �xf6? �ei+! 25. �xe1 gxf6+) 24 ... weak Sth rank and pinned rook on
il.. e 7 25.hs (25. i.xf6? i.xf6 26. �xf6 eS!
�ei+! 27. �xe1 gxf6 28. ilxb5 Wf8
29.CLJb3 �d6oo ) 25 ... b4 26.h6 bxc3 18 WfS
•••
27.bxC3 .1lxa3+ 2S. Wdi+- or 16 ... h6 In this way Black tries to solve
ng4! �d7 1s. il fs �ds 19 . .1t. xh6! both problems. 1S ... �d7 19. i. xf6
gxh6 20.gs CLJe4 2i.tl:J xe4 dxe4 .1t.xf6 20. �fs!+- Deflection!
22. i.xe4+-
19 .1t.xh7!
•
17 c6
••• White chooses the safest way!
Black can't solve his problem The fastest win was 21.hs �abs
with the d-pawn after n .. CZJc4 in 22.h6 g6 23 . .1lxg6! fxg6 24. �e6+-
view of 1S. i. xc4 dxc4 (18 ... bxc4
19. il.. xf6 il.. xf6 20. �xd5+-) 19. � he1
�ads (19... Wf8 20. �xe7!+-) 20 . .1lxf6
CHAPTER N I N E - CH I G O R I N S ET-U P A N D 2 i. g4
... 205
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
12 �xg3?!
.••
Conclusion:
25 kxes 26.dxes
•••
Although the main theme of this actors were two top GMs in 1980.
book is the opening, I decided to The leader of White's pieces was
devote some care and attention to one of the best team players in ex
the endgames typical of the London Yugoslavia (our well-known London
System. expert), and Black was the famous
One of the most important as Hungarian theoretician (at the mo
pects of chess is the endgame, so it's ment the successful coach and cap
very important to know which end tain of the Austrian team). Black
games may arise in your openings. was well-prepared and he proved
In the London System, endgames that the endgame which happened
can occur in several ways and they in the game held more prospects for
are in general good thanks to the Black thanks to the space advan
healthy pawn structure. Howev tage. This game presents a very rare
er, there are cases when you have case where the endgame doesn't ap
to avoid them, and all will be ex peal to White. We can classify this
plained in this chapter. game as a chess classic.
Also in this chapter I could place
some games from previous chap
ters! Pay special attention to these
games: Delchev-Behling (Chap
ter 3), Sedlak-Miranovic (Chap
ter 3), Sedlak-Ascic (Chapter 5),
Kharlov-Dokutchaev (Chapter 6),
Prie-Varga (Chapter 6), Burmakin
Jerez Perez (Chapter 7).
avoid this ending! A better option 9 ... b4!? was also possible and after
was 7.�c2 �fs! 8.�c1 e6 9.ll:\bd2= 10.ll:Jxc6 bxc6 11.cxb4 e6 Black takes
with the idea of b3 or �e2-d1-c2 back the pawn with a comfortable
trying to push e4 later. position!
7 axb6
••• 10.b4?!
Now Black has an easy plan with Understandably White doesn't
. . . bs-b4 freeing himself of the dou allow b4 but this move creates
bled-pawns! It's interesting to com a weakness on a3 and gives up the
pare this position with the games bishop pair, which will cost him ex
Kharlov A.-Dokutchaev and Prie pensively in the end. After 10. �e2
E.-Varga P. from chapter 6. In those Black equalizes with 10 ... b4
games White pushed cs and forced
an endgame after . . . �xb3. 10 ll:Jhs !
•••
11.ll:Jxc6 ll:\xf4!
An important intermediate
move! Why miss this chance?
C H A PTER TEN - TYPICAL EN DGAMES: LO N DO N SYSTEM 21 1
26.We3
White can't move the knight, be
Here is one more point of 13 .. .f6: cause . . . es comes.
the rook comes to the a file, pressur
ing the a3 pawn.
17. Wd2?+
White gives up a pawn! It was pos
sible to save the pawn with 17. �d1
E:fa7 18.a4! bxM 19. E:a3 �a6! other
wise White takes back the pawn af
ter Wd2-.ic2- E: ha1-E:M! 20. E: xM
�bs 2i. E: xa7 E: xa7 22. Wd2 E:a2+
23. �c2+ and although Black has
the more active pieces and controls
the a-file, it's not easy to find a way
to make progress!
17 ... E: fa7 18.Wc2 E: xa3 19. E: xa3 A very nice and difficult move!
E:xa3 20. Wb2 It is always a very tough decision to
White gave up the pawn but he enter a position with opposite-col
didn't give up the file! oured bishops. It turns out that the
white pawns on the queenside will
21 2 W I N N I N G WITH TH E M O D E R N LO N DO N SYSTEM
be very weak after the break with 34. �e6 Wc7 35. �f7 il.. e7 36. li.es
. . . es! Wb6
The winning plan is . . . � f6 and
27. �xb Wf7 then . . . cs!
It's necessary first to bring the 0-1
king to the center in order to defend
the pawns on the queenside. 27... es?
is too early 28.fxes fxes 29. �g4= V. Kramnik (2801) - N. Grandelius
(2649)
28. �g4 We7 29.h4 h6 30.hs es! Stavanger (1), 19.04.2016
Finally! Everything is well-pre
pared for the break in the center! This game was played between the
ex-World Champion, a well-known
deep thinker and great techni
cal player, and the talented young
Swedish player. After the opening
Nils chose the wrong plan of enter
ing a slightly worse endgame, af
ter which Kramnik demonstrated
his impeccable chess technique!
The biggest problem from Black's
perspective was the position of his
king. Persistent defense from Black
was not sufficient in the end.
take back with his c-pawn (much 14. !!c1 it.d7 15. �e2 �c8!
better would be to recapture exd4 A typical maneuver! Black seeks
for White). the best place for his knight!
24 axb6
•..
White takes action! 28.g4!? was an Black has chances to save the game
interesting option with the idea of due to his active pieces and the re
staking even more space and keep- duced position. (36... 'B.xd4? 37- 'B.b7+
ing the tension. 28 ... 'B.a2 29. Wd3 Wg6 38. 'B.g7+! Wh6 39. 'B.xgs!±)
'Bai 30. 'B.b6 'B.h1 31.l£i fJ;!;
Here, mostly the exchange of queens At this point Black had a difficult
comes after the moves !fb3- !fb6 decision: to choose between two
which gives a pleasant and prospect bad endgames. Finally he decided to
ful endgame to White. In this game enter the one with doubled pawns.
Anthony Miles showed how you have 9 ... !¥xb3?! brings Black noth
to use White's resources in this kind ing good either: 10.axb3 a6 (10 ... e6
of endgame. Unfortunately, at the 11.�es a6 (11 ... �xes? 12.dxes � hs
end he failed to crown his excellent 13. il.e3±) 12.� xg4 � xg4 13.b4
play with a win! This is a game we can il.e7 14.�b3;;!;) 11.b4 e6 12.bs axbs
connect with chapter i. 13. i!.xbs �d7 14.h3 il. hs 15.g4 il.g6
16.�es! �dxes 17. il.xe5;;!;
l.d4 ds 2. il.. f4 � f6 3.e3 cs 4.c3
�c6 5.�d2 !fb6 6.!fc2 lo.�es � xes 11. !¥xb6 axb6
A little reminder, from chapter 3. 12. il.. xes;;!;
I prefer 6. !fb3, but as I said, in this Black's pawn structure is dam
chapter we have illustrative games aged on the queenside but White
about typical endgames! doesn't have an open file for ex
ploiting it. Without a concrete plan,
6 cxd4 7.exd4 il.. g4 8.�gf3 .B'.cs
•.• Black will not feel the weaknesses.
9.!fb3!
Antony Miles had a great feel for
these structures. He could evaluate
C H A PTER TEN - TYPICAL EN DGAMES: LO N DO N SYSTEM 21 7
a b c d e g h a b c d e g h
lL'lbS!? 17...bxas
Black improves his knight's po Black had no better option! 17-..
sition and also attempts to pre � xas 18. � xas lLl xas (18 . . . bx as
vent White's plan with M-as, but 19. �a1 Wd7 (1 9 . . . lL\ a7 2 0. �xas
unfortunately for him it's simply lL'lxbs 2i. �xbs WcB 22. �as±) 20.£3
unstoppable! � fs 2i.lL'lb3 �d6 (21 ... b6 22.lL\xas!
bxas 23. �xas+-) 22. il. xc6+ bxc6
15.0-0 lL'lc6 16.a4! 23. � xas±) 19. � a1! f6 20.b4 lL'lc6
White starts a very strong plan 2i. �a8+ We7 (21 ... Wd7 22. �bB+-)
on the queenside. Although it's an 22.£3 il. fs 23. �c8+-
endgame, Black's king is not safe
and White plans to use that factor. 18.lL'lb3 �e7 19. �a2!
A nice move with the idea of dou
16 ... �as bling rooks! Regaining the pawn
16 ... �e7 17.lL\b3 �f6 18.as lL'l xas with 19. �xc6? means a return to life
19.lL\xas bxas 20. �xas± for Black! 19 ... bxc6 20.lL'l xas Wd7=
21 i.b6
••• Always, after good positional
In case of the passive 2i. .. 1£)b8 play, tactics come easily and White
with the idea of . . . b6, comes 22.b4 soon regains his material!
b6 23.1£)b3 Wb7 24.bxa5 bxa5 25.c4!�
and his king is in big danger! 24 ... ilxas
Here is the point! In case of 24 ...
22.b4 1£)a7 llJxb5 25.llJb6+! then an important
After this move White wins intermediate move comes! 25 ...
material, but it's very hard to find ilxb6 26. gxa8+ Wd7 27. gxh8+-
a better option for Black. For ex
ample: 22 ... � xc5 23.dxc5 or 23 ... 25. gxas b6!
e5 (23 .. .f6 24. i.d6 e5 25.bxa5 1£)b8 Black defends really well and
26.a6 bxa6 (26... 1£)xa6 27.c6+-) 27.c4 finds the best practical chance!
d4 (27... dxc4 28. �xc4 ga7 29. gbi 25 ... Wd8 26.llJb6 We7 27. ild3 h6
llJc6 30. gb6 Wd7 31f3 il.fs 32.g4 28.b5+- or 25 ... llJxb5? 26.llJb6+ Wd8
�g6 33. gaxa6 gxa6 34. gb7+ WdB 27. gxa8++-
35. il.xa6+-) 28.c6 g a7 29. gb2+
with ..ta4 next) 24. �d3 f6 25.£3 i.e6 26. ga2
26.b5 llJd8 27. g xa5 g xa5 28. gxa5± Again precise! This is strong
er than 26.llJ xb6+!? Wb7 27.llJ xa8
23.llJd7! llJ xb5 28. g xb5+ Wxa8 29.fa � f5
Black doesn't have time for a break! (29 ... � hs 3 0. c4!+ -) 30. gc5 it.g6
3i. gc7 gb8 32. �e5 gb7 33. gc8+
Wa7 34 . ..t xg7 gb8± and as always
the endgames with opposite-col
oured bishops involve a small risk
of a draw.
26 ... gdS!?
Again the most resistant! With
an exchange down Black would
have nothing to hope for! 26 ...
llJxb5 27. gxa8+ Wxd7 28. gxh8 ..tf5
29. gb8! Wc6 (29 ... llJxc3 30. g b7+
WeB 31. gxb6 llJe2+ 32. Wft llJxd4
33. �es+-) 30.£3+-
CHAPTER T E N - T Y P I CA L EN DGAMES: LO N DO N SYSTEM 21 9
34 ... cr!;>d7 35. �e1 Bes 36. Be3 Bas;!; The fortress is a necessity. Af
Now White's advantage is purely ter . . . b5- �c4-cr!;>f7 white can only
symbolic and the draw is not far off. dream about the win! White's king
cannot enter between the Black
37. crt>fa Ba2+ 3S. Be2 Bxe2+! pawns!
Black does not miss his chance to
save the game! 41. �h4+ crt>es 42.b5!?
A last try but unsuccessful. The
rest of the game was just waiting for
a draw offer!
I hope that by reading the first book I have ever written you managed to
make a connection with the very cunning London System - an opening
which I always keep very close to my heart, having played it for over 10
years!
I also strongly believe that I have managed to fill the book with all of my
knowledge and understanding of the London System, which in turn will
give you a solid edge even against much stronger players, and from the
very first moves!
I hope you will enjoy winning with the Modern London System at least as
much as I do!