aay 7 Ae) rm ATG ee AMAL URN WRU RL NEW LN CHESSContents Tntroguctions 669g 5 Foreword to the second edition... 2.2... . ee ee eee eee 7 (Chapters) The|CuD eee 0 ee 1.1 The choice of an opening .... . 11 1.2 History; from Philidor to Jansen . . . 12 1.3 Characteristics 19 1.4 The ‘Teacher’ 23 1.5 The ‘pupil’ 26 1.6 Wise lessons by wise men 26 Chapter 2 - The Lion’s Den: 3...Qbd7 4.f4e5 2.0. ...-.00.000. 31 Variation 1: S.dxe5 dxeS 6.fxeS AxeS 7.Wxd8+ Gxd8.. 32 Variation 1.1: Bg... 33 Variation 1.2: 8.2f4 37 Variation 1.3: BOB... : 38 Variation 2: 5.DP3 exd4 6.Wxd4 c6 40 Variation 2.1: Oo 43 Variation 2.2: 7203... 46 Variation 2.3: 7Ad2 2... 55 Variation 3: 57 Variation 3.1: 58 Variation 3.2: 64 Variation 3.3: : 67 Variation 3.4: 6Bct eee 68 Chapter 3 - The Lion’s Claw: 3...bd7 4.03 e5 77 Variation 1: 5.Re2 Be7 6.0-0 c6 79 Variation 1.1: Tat 81 Variation 1.2: 0S ee 84 Variation 2: 5.8c4 Be7 6.0-0h67.a4c6......... 86 Variation 2.1: 82e3 2. 93 Variation 2.2: 95 Variation 2.3: ; 98 Variation 2.4: Bh3. ee 102 8.dxe5 112 Variation 2.5:The Black Lion Chapter 4 - The Lion’s Roar: 3...Abd7 4.0f3 e5 5.2c4 ........ 117 Variation 1: Oe 118 Variation 1.1: 6.Axf7+ .. 118 Variation 1.2: 6.dxeS dxes. 130 Variation 1.3: CNS eee 149 Variation 2: 5..h6 6.dxeS dxeS 7.2xf7+ &xf7 8.Axe5+ Sg8 9.Ag6Hh7... 2... - 165 Variation 2.1: 10Wd4. 0.2.0.0... 00000, 169 Variation 2.2: 10.0-0 171 Chapter 5 - The Lion’s Yawn: 175 Variation 1: 177 Variation 1.1: 178 Variation 1.2: 185 Variation 1.3: 195 Variation 2: 205 Variation 2.1: 205 Variation 2.2: 214 Variation 2.3: 217 Chapter 6 - The Lion’s Mouth: 3...abd7 Anti-Lion Systems. ..... 221 Variation 1: 4.263 e5 5.3 Re7 6.Wd2 06... .. . 224 Variation 1.1: 70-0-0.............0004 226 Variation 1.2: Weel 228 Variation 2: 4.94 h6 232 Variation 2.1: Sees a - 235 Variation 2.2: Sh3.. 2... bee 239 Variation 3: 4. 055.94 20.00.0002 eee 243 Variation 3.1: 5...h6 245 Variation 3.2: S.Dxgt oe 249Introduction Opening books about ‘The Lion’, as our opening has come to be known, have been a success ever since their first appearance in 1997. And so it is high time for a second, fully revised and updated edition for the devotee, the Internet player and the Lion fan. In this revised edition of The Lion, the black weapon (2001) the authors continue on. the path taken, but we have shuffled the cards a little. This edition aims to reflect mo- dern times better. New material has been-included, analyses have been improved, but the presentation has also been altered. In February 1997, the first Dutch edition of The Lion, the black weapon was publis- hed. It was soon followed by a second edition (1998) and in November 2000, the third edition saw the light of day, followed by an English translation in August 2001. When the third Dutch edition sold out as well, the demand for a new edition re- mained enormous. The time came for a fourth edition, as well as a second English edition, of the 'Black' version. This second English edition is now lying before you. We have baptized it The Black Lion, in order to avoid confusion with the ‘White’ version. What's it all about? The Black Lion is characterized by the following starting position: The most important features and side-variations that spring from this starting positi- on will be discussed in this work. The most important characteristics, combinations and tricks will be presented to the reader. This means that in this fourth edition, the 'genuine! Philidor opening will not be discussed. In earlier editions, this opening, where kingside castling for both sides played the leading part, was discussed in the chapter 'The Lion's Head’. For a discussi- on of the Philidor we refer the reader to works that have been written specifically on this subject. Recent examples are The Philidor Files by the French grandmaster Christi-The Black Lion an Bauer and Geheim-Waffe Philidor by the German IM Christian Seele. We will restrict ourselves to genuine Lion variations about which next to nothing is to be found el- sewhere. (Of course, The Lion's Head can still be studied in the earlier editions of The Lion, the black weapon.) Mainly by using the inexhaustible chess oeuvre of this system's pre-eminent champion, Leo Jansen, the authors have been able to turn The Black Lion into a playa- ble chess opening. The name of The Lion results from the following thoughts of our chess friend Rob Klop, who, sadly, passed away much too soon: * The black opening looks quiet, like the slumbering predator the Lion. It's not for nothing that the Lion is known as the king of allanimals; it uses its powers very eco- nomically. * The contrasts in the character of the big cat also find expression in the present open- ing. The Lion can be suave, but wait until it is menaced or gets hungry. It will use its predator's instinct to catch its prey with minimum effort. Finally, LEO is Latin for Lion. Therefore the name is also a wink at Leo Jansen, who has been the great champion of this system for years. Of course no book on chess theory can claim to be exhaustive, but the authors of The Black Lion, a Predator's Choice against Both 1.e4 and 1.d4 are confident that this fourth edition will help many (club) players in their quest for a surprising opening choice, not giving prevalence to learning variations by heart, but to the train of thought be- hind the system. The Black Lion has also turned out to be an excellent weapon for playing chess on the Internet. The system is often a time-winner for its user, since the black player can follow fixed patterns, whereas White often has to search for the right way to conduct the battle. Thus, we can see that The Black Lion produces some surprising results on the world wide web. On the other hand, grandmasters like Alexander Morozevich try out new ideas for White on the Internet to combat The Black Lion, adding yet another dimension to our game. Jerry van Rekom & Leo JansenForeword to the second edition Who would have expected it — a fourth Dutch edition of The Lion and a second Eng- lish edition! Written by a bunch of ‘amateurs’, since that is precisely what we are. And we were deeply honoured when New In Chess expressed their willingness to take a chance with us. It will be clear that a revised edition is not made overnight. Without help, it can- not be done. Therefore, we take the opportunity to thank the following people who have played an important part in the realization of this completely revised edition. Firstly these are Jan Jaap Janse, Hans van Steenis, Wim Hokken, Frank Stoute and Peter van den Bergh, who have done loads of correction work. Secondly we thank Hans Berrevoets, who has made an enormous contribution as an inspirator and an intervie- wer. Thirdly, we thank the adherents of The Lion all over the world who have provi- ded us with games and analyses, enabling us to actualize and update the variations. And, of course, all those who have made a contribution to this edition in one way or another. With the new edition we embark on a new path, but our aim, to present The Black Lion to a big group of chess players in an understandable way, remains upright. However, by using more grandmaster games as examples, we have tried to raise the level of the analysis, in order to make it still easier for the adherents to fathom the sy- stem. We are proud that every chapter is introduced by someone who has had much significance for chess in general, but also for The Lion. We are grateful that Jan Tim- man, Gerard Welling, Johan van Mil, Hans van Steenis and Keith Hayward have made a contribution to this edition. In view of the fact that Leo Jansen has turned 80 by now, this new edition sets the seal on his chess career. His contribution to this edition has mainly been one of think- ing along with us. Leo also considers it marvellous that ‘his’ system is being attacked by an early g2-g4 by White nowadays. 'A desperado attack’, the old teacher opines, for if White has to revert to such moves, then the system must be solid as a rock! And with this 'solid rock' we hope to have given many chess ‘predators’ a weapon that will serve them well and give them much pleasure. May The Black Lion roar on for a long time... Jerry van Rekom, July 2008Chapter 1 The Cub This chapter tells the story of how the foundation can be laid for a certain opening choice. It also reveals the history — the birth — of ‘The Black Lion’, a system which has grown quite extensive. We will explain the most important features of this system here. Finally, the authors of The Black Lion relate how they have come to their choice for this opening. 1.1 The choice of an opening For a novice chess player, it is difficult to choose which opening to play. Do you pre- fer open or closed games? Young players often start by learning the ins and outs of the Italian Game. Soon after, as a weapon with black, they often choose the Sicilian Defence against 1.e4. And it is important not to restrict yourself to one single ope- ning. Even extraordinarily gifted talents like Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov switched from one opening to the other at the beginning of their chess-playing ca- reers. Current top players do not restrict themselves to a single, fixed weapon with white and with black. The lesser gods have even more trouble choosing a regular weapon. Small wonder — the game of chess harbours an infinite amount of possibi- lities to build up a game. Which is a fortunate thing. It seems there is something to suit all tastes in chess. But after a number of chess-playing years, you will gradually tend towards a pre- ference for a certain playing style, and you will try to choose an opening repertoire that suits this style as well as possible. That is not an easy task, but a little experience, instruction and entertainment will get you a long way. Just as you have learned to walk with ups and downs, you will learn to play chess by either sweeping your oppo- nent off the board, or being swept off the board yourself. So how will you be able to reach the choice of a certain system? These days, this does not seem so difficult, with all the modern resources available to a chess player. Every player can derive knowledge from thousands of chess books and make his choi- ce. Also the computer, well-established in the chess world by now, can be an impor- tant and — not least — high-speed tool to gather the desired information. With the computer we can learn the game, play it, as well as gather and store information. The Internet plays a very important role here. Whereas the authors of The Black Lion have had to search for hours in the card-trays of the Dutch ‘Koninklijke Bibliotheek’ (Royal Library) and the Max Euwe Centre in Amsterdam for games with Leonine features, nowadays the games fly over your screen at the push of a button. The same goes for an opening repertoire. You can find such an enormous amount of information on the world-wide web that you cannot actually see the wood for the trees.The Black Lion The more information you have, the greater the choice. And so a novice chess player runs the risk of losing his way without timely help from outside. But how to get this help, and by whom? To help on your way you who are searching, we give you The Black Lion. A sys- tem that appeals to many (club) players, but also has its adherents on a high level. Among the current elite players, former European Champions Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu and Zurab Azmaiparashvili are advocates of the system. The Black Lion is also regular- ly employed by grandmasters Alexander Beliavsky, Hichem Hamdouchi and Christian Bauer, as well as tournament sharks like Kamran Shirazi and Slim Belkhodja. And from many, many reactions the authors have learned ae many club players use The Black Lion to their hearts’ content. 1.2 History; from Philidor to Jansen When you study the history of The Black Lion, you will encounter several well- known grandmasters who have played this opening. Of course, Philidor was the Great Instigator of all that we are putting on paper here. Francois-André Danican Philidor (1726-1795) was ahead of his time in many respects. He was a very successful opera composer, and a no less successful chess player. The Frenchman called the pawns the soul of chess. This notion is clearly visible in the Philidor Defence — Philidor himself preferred to call ita ‘counterattack’ —, but also in The Black Lion. Philidor liked to play ‘his’ counterattack with an early 3...f5: 1.e4 e5 2.0f3 dé 3.d4 £5. This can lead to wild complications after 4.2c4 exd4 (4...fxe4?! 5.DxeS dxeS 6.Wh5+ Gd7 7.WES+ Bc6 8.Wxest) 5.DAg5 Dh 6.Axh7?! Dg4! 7.DxfS Sxf8 8.exfs We7+ 9.Gf1 Axfs 10.Wxd4 Dxh2+ 11.Bxh2 Exh2 12.2e3 We4 13.Wxet Hhi+ 14.2 &xe4 0-1, as occurred in the game Peter Nurmi-Jonathan Mestel, Tjentiste World Junior Championship 1975. After Philidor’s time, Philidor’s Counterattack became one of Paul Morphy’s weapons. That same Morphy was a famous crusher of the Philidor Defence himself. The follo- wing game is world-famous. 12Chapter 1: The Cub Paul Morphy-Duke of Brunswick/Count Isouard, Paris 1858: 1.e4 e5 2.03 dé 3.d4 Bgt 4.dxeS Qxf3 5.Wxf3 dues 6.2c4 Afe 7.Wb3 We7 8.23 c6 9.Ag5 bS 10.Axb5 cxbS 11.2xb5+ Dbd7 12.0-0-0 Hd8 13.Bxd7 Hxd7 14.Bd1 Weé 15.Axd7+ Axd7 16.Wb8+ Dxbs 17.Hd8 mate (1-0). Bee BAR BAB Ga eaa @ BA a eee a ave 4228 @ EB Bee Later on, in the Philidor Defence the so-called Hanham set-up with Abd7, Be7, c6 and Wc7 became popular. Especially Aaron Nimzowitsch was an advocate of this set-up. One of his best games featured the Philidor. Richard Teichmann-Aaron Nimzowitsch, San Sebastian 1911: 1.e4 e5 2.0f3 dé 3.d4 Df6 4.0c3 DAbd7 5.Act Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7,We2 c6 8.Xg5 h6 9.2h4 Dhs 10.2g3 Axg3 11.hxg3 bS 12.2d3 a6 13.a4 Bb7 14.Had1 We7 15.axb5 axb5 16.g4 Bfes 17.d5 b4 18.dxc6 Bxc6 19.Ab1 AcS 20.Abd2 We8 21.Rct g6 22.g3 Hg7 23.0h2 Kgs 24.f3 We7 25.Hfel Hhs 26.Adfl hS 27.gxh5 BxhS 28.d5 Hah8 29.Rxc6 Wxc6 30.Wc4 Who 31.g2 De6 32.He2 Ad4 33.Heel Wh7 34.Exd4 exd4 35.Dg4 Whé6 36.f4 Be7 37.Ed1 £5 38.Df2 fret 39.Wxd4+ Wxd4 40.Hxd4 d5 41.4 &cS 42.Bd1 Hh4 43.Exd5 &xf2 13The Black Lion 44.Gxf) Hxg4 45.he3 Hc8 46.hxe4 Hott 47.Gd3 Hcxf4 48.0e3 Hg3 49 Hes Bf6 50. Hes £7 51.Hes Hfo 52.c4b3 53.de4 Heb 54.Hxe6 Hes 55.Dd5 g5 0-1. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Georg Marco and Alexander Alekhine frequently employed the opening as well. And with success. Below we give a game that can serve as a good example of Black’s chances in the Philidor, the defence that has many similarities with The Black Lion. Philidor Defence Hanham Variation GAME 1 Alexander Evenson @ Alexander Alekhine Kiev, 1916 1, e2-e4 e7-e5 2. Agi-f3 d7-dé 3. d2-d4 Dg8-£6 4. Q@bi-c3 Abs-d7 5. f1-c4 - Qf8-e7 Alekhine claimed at the time that 5...h6 was strong, since after the text move White could already have obtained an advantage with 6.dxe5 @xeS! (not 6..dxe5 in view of 7.2xf7+ &xf7 8.DgS+ gs 9.De6 Wes 10.Axc7 and White is better) 7.AxeS dxeS 8.Wxd8+ Qxd8 9.2g5 and 10.0-0-0. Today we know that the text is the best continuati- on in The Black Lion. 0-0 7. d4xe5? Today it is also known that the early ex- change on e5 is not so good, although it is often played. Better moves are 7.Hel and 7.We2. After the text Black takes control of the d4-square, and his weak d6 pawn disappears. 7. d6xe5 8. Sct-g5 The text is stronger when the black queen has already been transferred to c7. 8. c7-c6 9. a2-a4 Alekhine also deems this move necessary, in order to restrain Black’s activity on the queenside connected with the pawn thrust b7-bS. QD. we Wd8-c7 10. Wdi-e2 @d7-c5 According to Alekhine, Black is better here thanks to his control over the d4- and f4-squares, whereas White cannot avail of any direct counterchances. 11. Df3-e1? A loss of time. With 11.Had1, followed by the doubling of rooks, White could still have obtained equality here. Alekhine states that: ‘In general it can be established that the retreat of a knight to the first rank, if it hinders the connection between the rooks, is inadmissible.’ Also ill-advised was 11.@h4?, with the possible follow- up 11...g6 12.f42 Qg4 13.We3 Des 14. Qxe6 Bxe6 15.£5 Qc4 and F.oh ee Dc5-e6 12. &g5-e3 Losing a tempo, but the exchange on f6 was not attractive either. 12, . Deb-d4 aw Hib sae Wie Ben Belz 13. We2-d1 Less good is 13.2xd4 exd4 14.0b1 2d6 15.g3 Bh3 16.0g2 Hac8, with ad- vantage to Black. With the text White is threatening to win a pawn, but Black can easily parry this threat. 13... Ef8-d8 14. Det-d3 2cB-e6 Alekhine develops his pieces in a power- ful manner, whereas the white pieces are scattered loosely over the board. 15. &c4xe6 ADd4xe6 Black clearly has the advantage, with his occupation of the open d-file, the more active positions of his pieces and his control of the d4-square. 16. Wdt-e1 Intending to prevent Black’s c6-cS-c4 push, but also to prepare the push f2-f4 himself. 16. .. Ed8-d7 Immediately 16...0ag4 or 16...ad4 looks better. 17. £2-£3 Now 17.f4 would have been met by 17...2g4, after which 18.f5 fails to Chapter 1: The Cub 18...Exd3 (or 18...Ad4! 19.Bcl Axc2! 20.Exc2 Hxd3!) 19.cxd3 @xe3 and now: * 20.Wxe3 Bc5—+. * 20.fxe6! Axfl 21.exf7+ hs 22.Wxfl &c5+ 23.Gh1 Hfe 24.We2r Exf7 25.Hf1 Og8 26.Bxf7 Sxf7F. 17. ow Ha8-d8 Black has got his way: he has doubled his rooks on the d-file, whereas White has hardly been able to create a single coun- terchance. 18. 2e3-f2? A senseless move, which weakens f4 in the process. Better is 18.a5, which threa- tens 19.8xa7, Ac3-a4-c5 and W2, gi- ving White control of the dark squares. 18... }£6-h5 Of course, Black wants to occupy the f4-square. 19. 2c3-e2? 19.g3 is simpler. Bie & AAnan 9... C6-c5 Now that the @ is gone from c3, Black can prepare an exchange on d4 or f4, af- ter which the dark squares in White's position become hopelessly weak. 20. b2-b3 After 20.Ac3 c4 21.0d5 Wd6 22.0cl, there follows 22...Ahf4, when this 15The Black Lion knight becomes even stronger than in the game. 20. ... Dh5-f4! Simple, but strong. Black forces the ex- change of pieces, after which White is left with a weak bishop against a strong one for Black. Of course, as a humble amateur you would not have exchanged your beautiful black knights!? 21. Dedxf4 Debxfa 22. Dd3xf4 eSxf4 Black is already threatening to achieve a winning advantage with 23...ct 24.b4 c3 and 25...8d2. Therefore: 23. ¢2-c3? Indeed, White is constrained on all sides. But 23.We2 Hd2 24.Wc4 Qf (24...WeS 25.c3 Hc2 26.Hacl=) 25.c3 b6 26.b4 would have given him more air to breathe, ¥. 23... We7-e5 24, Hat-a2? Hd7-d3 Black gives an instructive demonstration of how to convert an advantageous end- game into a win. 25. Ha2-c2 b7-b6 26. Wel-cl We5-e6! Alekhine pressurizes his opponent on both flanks and vacates the e5-square for his bishop. 16 27. Wet-b1 Be7-f6 Activating his last inactive piece. 28. b3-b4 Desperation! 28. .. c5-c4 The c-file must be kept closed; otherwise White will get counterplay. 29. Whi-c1 g7-g5! Before the decisive strike on the d-file, Alekhine first closes off the kingside, thereby keeping control of the al-h8 di- agonal. 30. h2-h3 = Bf6-e5 31. Wet-al White tries to open the a-file, but Alek- hine thwarts this escape attempt as well: 31... h7-h5. g5-g4! 32. a4-a5 33. a5xb6 34, 2f2-h4 Wrong would be 34.hxg4 hxg4 35.fxg+ a7xb6 ~ Wxg4 36.Qxb6 in view of 36...Hd2 37.Bxd2 Hxd2 38.2f2 (38.Hf2? Hd1+) 38...f3 winning, 34... £7-f6 35. &h4-e1 Otherwise the bishop would be locked out permanently by g4-g3. Sor ae g4-g3! 36. Wat-a6White is making a desperate attempt to prevent the b6-b5 push, followed by We6-b6-€3. 36. We6-c6! Threatening to win the enemy queen with 37...Ha8. 37. Wa6-a3° b6-b5 38. Wa3-b2 Wc6-b6+ 39. @gi-hi Bd3-d1 40. He2-c1 Wh6-e3 Now Black maintains a rook on d1 per- manently, which decides the issue. 41. Het-at = Bd1xa142. Wh2xa1 We3-e2 43. Hft-g1 Bd8-d1! Winning. As a last resort, White is going for perpetual check. 44, Wat-a8+ &g8-g7 45. Wa8-a7+ &g7-g6 46. Wa7-e7 We2xet! 47. We7-e8+ &g6-95 48. We8-g8+ &g5-h4 and White resigned, 0-1. It is characteristic for the Philidor De- fence that on move 2 the e5 pawn is al- ways protected by 2...d6 (ie, 1.e4 e5 2.2f3 d6). The Black Lion always starts with 1...d6, regardless of White’s first move. The Chapter 1: The Cub next moves often transpose to the same basic set-up: 1.e4 e5 2.0f3 dé 3.d4 DFE 4.Dc3 Dbd7, or let dé 2.d4 Afo 3.0c3 Dbd7 4.A£3 e5. This difference in move order allows White to play a quick f2-f4 in The Black Lion, but it gives Black the possibility to go for a quick queen exchange with 3...e5. These features induced Leo Jansen to develop, in the latter move order, his so-called ‘Jansen System’. Since the late 1960s, L.B. Jansen B Sc has been the greatest champion of The Lion, or, as he prefers to call it, ‘the chess creed’. He has played the opening unfai- lingly as White and as Black since 1967. No-one knows the pluses and minuses of the opening as well as he does. He has played several hundred games with it, and with great success. With his deter- mination, his faith in the opening and his good results with it, he has along the ‘way convinced many other chess players of the playability of The Lion. Itall started with this game. The Lion’s Head GAME 2 O Anton den Ouden l@ Leo Jansen Dordrecht-Charlois, January 14, 1967 1. e2-e4 d7-d6é 2. d2-d4 g8-f6 3. Dbi-c3 e7-e5 4. Dgi-f~3 Abs-d7 5. Qft-c4 2f8-e7 6. 0-0 0-0? 7. h2-h3 c7-c6 8. d4xe5 d6xe5 17The Black Lion 9, Wdi-e2 Wd8-c7 10. a2-a4 @d7-c5 11. Qct-g5 &c8-e6 12. Bft-d1 Ha8-d8 13. b2-b4 Rebxc4 14, We2xc4 Ac5-e6 15. Qg5-e3 a7-a6 16. a4-a5 Ed8xd1+ 17. Hatxd1 Hf8-d8 18. Hd1xd8+ Se7xd8 19. Of3-g5 Debxg5 20. 2e3xg5 Af6-d7 20... Wd6! is a little better. 21. Qg5xd8 We7xd8 22. We4-d3 Wd8-e7 23. Dc3-a4 og8-f8 draw agreed. Everything has a beginning. And so it was with the Jansen Project, which cul- 18 minates in The Black Lion, the Predator’s Choice against both 1.e4 and 1.d4. It all started rather innocently, when, in the late eighties of the previous century, Leo Jansen jotted down ‘his’ system on some note-sheets and distributed these to a few adherents, providing Jerry van Rekom, Jan Wiemans and Ronald Breedveld (who were all (former) mem- bers of the Sliedrecht Chess Club) with the basis of the system. For Jerry this was nothing new, as he had been confronted with the system in the late 1970s during his chess lessons at his school ‘De Lage Waard’, where Leo was not only his maths and physics teacher, but also his chess teacher. In those days, Leo had made a draw with the then World Cham- pion Anatoly Karpov in a clock simul. Of course, Jerry was shown this game on his free Friday afternoons for weeks after- wards. It stimulated him to start playing the system himself. The rest is history... Jerry had employed the system for years, but had applied other systems in the years after that. Now, Jansen’s notes motivated him to start employing the sy- stem anew. And when Leo Jansen beca- me a member of the Sliedrecht Chess Club, the ‘Jansen system’ became com- mon property in the club competition. Also in the team competition, the adhe- rents achieved excellent results with the system. Their fellow team members playing White mostly counted on a posi- tive score for the black players, so they could permit themselves to take it easy! With time, the so-called Jansen system became a household name. This promp- ted Rob Klop to fill his chess column ‘Surprising Opening Variations’ with anelaboration on Leo’s notes. With the help of Jerry van Rekom, Jan Wiemans and Ronald Breedveld, Klop, who was Sliedrecht’s walking opening encyclo- pedia, reviewed the variation over no less than 35 pages in Schakend Sliedrecht (Slie- drecht Plays Chess)! Judging by the reactions of the Slie- drecht club members, not to mention those from outside this club, the article in the club bulletin was popular. Nobody knows how, but copies of the review cir- culated throughout the entire country. The article provoked many reactions, one of them suggesting: ‘Could you turn it into a book?’. That was a challenge, of course, but a tricky one for amateurs like us. After much deliberation, everyone had become so enthusiastic that the ‘Jansen Project’ was born. And the ‘Jansen Project’ led to the first edition, De Leeuw, hét zwarte wapen (The Lion, the black weapon) in 1997. A second edition followed quickly (in 1998), and a third one in 2001. Simultaneously with this third edition, the booklet Levenslang door de Leeuw (Life with The Lion) appea- red, which contains the story of the ori- gin of The Lion and many reactions by Lion fans. Also, in 2001 the first edition of the English version appeared. In 2003, the Lion’s success resulted in the first edition of De Witte Leeuw (The White Lion). To distinguish from this White Lion, we will from now on refer to the black system, discussed in this book, as ‘The Black Lion’. In recent years, interest in The Lion has increased again, since elite players have also included the system in their ope- ning repertoire. In this second, revised Chapter 1: The Cub edition, examples from grandmaster practice will serve as a basis for the treat- ment of the different variations of The Black Lion. 1.3 Characteristics So what actually is The Black Lion? What are the strong and weak points of this system? Let’s just start with the initial moves. These are: 1. e2-e4 d7-d6 2. d2-d4 g8-f6 3. Dbi-c3 ADAb8-d7 Or 3...e5. In many variations, play can transpose to the so-called Philidor, if White continues with 4.2f3 and Black replies 4...e5. Of course, the above position can also occur after the opening moves: 1.e4 e5 2.0f3 d6 3.44 Af6 4.Ac3 Dbd7. This set-up is called the Hanham Variation of the Phili- dor. But in fact, grandmaster Aaron Nim- zowitsch was the originator of the set-up with @f6, c6, bS and &b7 — Hanham was the originator of the set-up with @bd7. James Moore Hanham was an American who lived from 1840 to 1923. He was successful in the New York State Chess Association championship in 1891, a tournament he managed to win. 19The Black Lion In 1889, at the Master tournament in New York, he first surprised the chess world with the move 3...2d7, after 1.e4 e5 2.Ac3 dé 3.4. From the diagram position we will investigate the following variations: * A white set-up with f4; The Lion's Den (Chapter 2); A black set-up with hé and g5, and the knight manoeuvre ®b8-d7-f8-g6-f4; The Lion’s Claw (Chapter 3); White attacks 7; The Lion’s Roar (Chapter 4); A quick exchange of queens after the early 3...e5; The Lion’s Yawn (Chapter 5); A white set-up with f3 or a quick g4; The Lion’s Mouth (Chapter 6). The most important characteristics of. the black set-up are the following (al- most regardless of White’s opening play): * Maintaining pawns on cé and e5, as in the Hanham Variation of the Philidor, in combination with Wc7. Only in some lines of The Lion’s Den, where White plays an early f4, is the move e5xd4 an exception to this rule. 20 * The march of the g-pawn, and someti- mes also the h-pawn, after which 0-0 may still be possible, with the knights posted in the ‘trenches’ on f6-g6. No early castling. A gallop of the queen's knight — which in most openings is only in the ‘way anyway — via b8-d7-f8-g6-f4. The light-squared bishop (&c8) is hardly ever played to g4 at an early stage. This bishop is not to come out of its shell until the attack in, for example, The Lion’s Claw makes this necessary. In other variations, this bi- shop plays an important part in the defence. In The Lion’s Den, the light-squared bishop is often placed on e6. In the Philidor (when both si- des have castled kingside), b7 is often the intermediate station for this bi- shop. You should know and remember well a number of lines where White sacri- fices his &c4 on f7. This will take some time! Obviously, The Lion is perfectly appli- cable with white as well. See the book De Witte Leeuw (The White Lion). Especially in blitz, your opponent will lose much time, or the white player will grossly overestimate his position. The Black Lion occurs after the Pirc moves 1.e4 d6 2.44 Af 3.0c3. Alter- natives to 3.2c3, such as, for instance, 3.23, allow Black to carry out his sy- stem moves with less risk. The Black Lion is also playable against 1.d4, in which case it resembles the Old Indian; or, after 2.e4, transpositi- on follows into the known variations of The Black Lion. .The various pawn formations that can occur are important for the system. The most important are the following. a ee a Ae fs oo ee Be 18 és a ie & ee This pawn structure occurs after an ex- change on eS. Black’s d6 weakness has disappeared. Black’s pawn structure is mainly aimed at minimizing the activity and the mobility of the white pieces. The pawn on c6, for instance, keeps the whi- te pieces away from the squares b5 and dS. At the same time, the pawn chains fa- cilitate the occupation of certain impor- tant squares. The pawn on e5, for instan- ce, keeps the squares d4 and f4 in Black's hands. This structure guarantees equal chances. It often occurs in The Lion’s Yawn and The Lion’s Roar. ae ee BAR 28 a & & mi GAB BA a 2 ee a & 8:8 Gal Bae aaa In The Lion’s Claw, the above pawn structure often occurs. Especially after Kingside castling by White, this set-up, Chapter 1: The Cub in combination with a black knight on £4, gives Black good attacking opportu- nities. This pawn structure becomes even more attractive for Black if White has played h2-h3. This pawn structure occurs in The Lion’s Den, where White forces a quick ex- change of queens by f2-f4 and a double exchange on eS. In this structure, White has an isolated pawn, whereas Black is more solid with his two pawn groups. The downside is that Black no longer has the right to castle. Looking at the various main lines of The Black Lion, we often see the following set-ups, from White’s and Black's per- spective: In The Lion’s Den, with the early f4, White often chooses the following for- mation: 21The Black Lion Now White can opt for an exchange on e5, often followed by the exchange of queens. Another option is to continue development. In that case, White often chooses a set-up with queenside castling. Black, for his part, can choose the follo- ‘wing structure against White's set-up: Next, Black can choose between ex- changing on d4, with the possibility to go on the attack himself with d6-d5 and &c5, and continuing to play the usual system moves, such as Wc7 and 2e7. In the event that White opts for a general exchange on e5 followed by the ex- change of queens, the black king will be able to play an active part. The Lion's Claw often appears on the board when White opts for the usual de- veloping moves and selects the following. basic set-up: 22 Here, White will get the chance to deve- lop further with 2e3, Hel, etcetera. Another, similar set-up is with the light-squared bishop on e2. In the Lion’s Claw, Black opts for an at- tacking set-up, striving for the following ideal position: Ee @ eee Boa & & at 2 @ go wae Mae Wak Execs Black is ready to start an attack on the white king. He can strengthen the attack by setting up a battery 2d7-Wc8, or by creating open lines by pushing his kings- ide pawns. In The Lion’s Roar, White goes for Black’s throat by means of the notorious bishop sacrifice on £7. With it, White strives for a strong attack on the black king. Often the following basic position appears on the board: First exchanging on e5 before sacrificing on £7 is also a well-known way to startfor White. In both cases the white knight goes into the attack and in many cases it collects the Ha8. Black starts a counterat- tack with his queen, or by b7-bS and Qb7. The Lion’s Roar always produces spectacular games. In The Lion’s Yawn, Black opts for a direct set-up with 3...e5 instead of 3...Dbd7, in order to avoid the compli- cated lines with 4.f4. Against this set-up, White can opt for a direct exchange of queens by capturing on eS. This results in the following starting position: In this position, White can either opt for a set-up with &g5 and 0-0-0, or for the direct &c4, which results in a doubled pawn for Black if he replies 2e6. Practice shows, however, that this doubled pawn (e6 and e5) provides Black with a solid fortress against the white attack. (Instead of allowing the exchange on e6, Black can also protect the f-pawn with @e8, as will be shown in the chapter on this subject.) Black’s main aim is to activate his king and rooks; often this is accom- panied by a march of his queenside pawns. In The Lion’s Mouth, Black is confronted with a white set-up with an early g4 (sometimes combined with f3). In re- Chapter 1: The Cub cent years, the Shirov Gambit has gained popularity, which is characterized by this starting position: White sacrifices a pawn for a fierce attack on the black king’s position. Black can choose to accept the pawn, or to play g6 or h6. This ‘new’ variation also results in spectacular games quite frequently. 1.4 The ‘Teacher’ Of course, Leo Jansen is the originator of the Jansen System, which ultimately res- ulted in The Black Lion. When asked what was his most characteristic ‘Lion game’, he replies without having to think long: ‘My game in a clock simul against the then World Champion Anato- ly Karpov. On February 18, 1976, Karpov played a clock simul in Rotterdam against ten op- ponents, including yours truly. The then mayor of Rotterdam, André van der Louw, also shook my hand on that occasion, thinking that I was a Russian from Karpov's delegation. To make up for this mistake he followed my game sympathetically for a long time. Wéll, that’s not something I will easily forget, since his pipe was constantly in my neck and I almost ‘went up in smoke’. In the 23The Black Lion game Karpov played the decent and dog- matic a2-a4-a5-a6xb7, which yielded Black 3 extra tempi. Those were useful for pushing g7-g5-g4 (1 tempo gained for Black — effectively even 2, since after the exchange hxg4 the black queen’s bi- shop immediately stands well on g4, for- cing White to play 2e2). In a better position I remained a pawn up, but in approaching time-trouble I proposed a draw on move 30, which Karpov gladly accepted’ This game went as follows: The Lion's Claw GAME 3 O Anatoly Karpov @ Leo Jansen Rotterdam, February 18, 1976 1. e2-e4 d7-d6 2. d2-d4 Dg8-16 3. Dbi-c3 Abs8-d7 4. Og1-f3 e7-e5 5. Qf1-c4 -h7-h6 6. 0-0 c7-c6 7. a2-a4 2f8-e7 8. Hft-e1 24 The alternative is 8...a5, which, after 9.2f1 Wc7 10.b3 DFS 11.2b2 ADg6 12.b1 0-0, leads to an equal position, =. 9. a4-a5 In the following games, White played 9,.@a2 instead of the text: Dragoljub Ciric-Ulrich Steiner, Krems 1967, which continued as follows: 9..g5 (better than 9...0f8?, which occurred in the game Friso Nij- boer-Dirk Stavast, Zwolle 2004, where White struck as follows: 10.ah4 g6 11.4 DbS 12.0F5 exf4 13.Axe7 Wrxe7 14.0d5 cxd5 15.exd5 Dh7 16.Bxe7+ @xe7 17.WEl gS 18.We2+ 1-0) 10.Wd3 Dfs 11.De2 Deo 12.0g3 g4 13.0d2 Afa 14.Wc3 Be6 15.2c4 Deo with an equal position, =. Dragoljub Ciric-Karl Patzl, Krems 1967, which continued as follows: 9...g5 10.Wd3 Af8 11.De2 Be 12.c4 DhS 13.Dg3 Axg3 14.fxg3 cS 15.d5 2d7 with equal chances, =. The alternative 9.h3, which occurred in the game Roel Trimp-Jerry van Rekom, Capelle aan den JJssel 1996, soon gives Black a winning attack: 9...0f8 10.2e3 g5?! (10...Bg8) 11.ah2 Dgé 12.f1 Bd7 13.d5 Hg8 14.b4 SF8 15.25 Af4 16.Ag4 Dxg4 17.hxg4 We8 18.f3 hS 19.93 hxg4 20.dxc6 bxc6 21.gxf4 gxf4 22.9f2 gxf3 and 0-1. Actually, the black set-up with 10...g5?! is not so good, since it makes the the- matic sacrifice on e5 possible again, as happened in the game Leonid Yurtaev- Viktor Komliakov, Calicut 1998. Here, White quickly gained the victory after: 1l.dxeS dxeS 12.dxeS Wxe5 13.2d4 Was 14.c5 dS 15.c6 £6 16.Dxd5 cxd517. BbS+ Gd8 18.2c3 Woe 19.Wxd5+ &c7 20.25 Wd6 21.Wxd6+ &xd6 22.e7 Qa7 23.exf8W Bhxf8 24.Qxd7 &xd7 25.Had1 Had8 26.2b4 Sc7 27.Bxd6 1-0. 9. aw @d7-48 & A Samo a ai a 10. h2-h3 In Hans van Schaaik-Jan Wiemans, Sliedrecht 1988, White tried 10.b4, and there followed: 10...g5 11.2xg5? (White deviates from his plan, which is not a good idea here either. He tries to demol- ish The Black Lion by violent, but incor- rect means) 11...hxg5 12.0xg5 Deb 13.f4 DxgS 14.fxg5 Let 15.\Wd3 DhS 16.Bf1 Dfs 17,.Wg3 Wd7 18.h3? Qxh3! 19.Eixf4 exf4 20.Wxf Wg4! and 0-1. 10... g7-95 11. d4-d5 By pushing his queenside pawns, White wants to cause a chronic weak- ening of Black’s position on that wing. But this costs time, and therefore Black will be first with his action on the kingside. The move 11.@h?! is better for White. We . g5-94 12. h3xg4 = &c8Bxg4. &c8 has been developed with gain of tempo, arid the semi-open g-file will Chapter 1: The Cub certainly benefit Black. White is already ina little bit of trouble, ¥. 13. Qc4-e2 13.Wd3 is also possible, to lift the annoying pin. The advantage of the text is that the bi- shop vacates the c4-square for the 3 knight. iso @i8-g6 14. a5-a6 c6-c5 The text is necessary, in order to prevent the following combination for White: 15.axb7 Wxb7 16.dxc6 Wxc6 17.2b5, winning the queen. 15. a6xb7 16. Af3-d2 We7xb7 h6-h5 17. Qd2-c4 The World Champion keeps pointing his arrows at the queenside, while Black gets time to strengthen his attack on the other wing WT. Eh8-g8 18. Ac4-a5 Bg4xe2 19. Wd1xe2 After 19.0xb7, Black gets the upper hand with 19...2xd1 20.Bxd1 @h4 (20...8b8? 21.8xa7) 21.g3 AP+ 22.692 Ad4F. 19... 20. We2-b5 Wb7-d7 25The Black Lion Karpov puts all his money on the queen- side and does not bother about Black’s attack — an incorrect policy. The alterna tive 20.4cé6 looked better. 20. .. Dg6-hA! Already gaining a pawn on g?, but also threatening f3+, winning the ex- change. 21. Wh5xd7+ de8xd7 22. &g1-f1 This is obviously meant to avoid the loss of the exchange. Wrong would be 22.He3? in view of 22...axg2 23.Bg3 Exg3 24.fxg3 Del F. 22. @®haxg2 23. Hel-d1 h5-h4 Bae & xe Bw mx Black is winning, since the passed h-pawn cannot be stopped by White without heavy material loss. After, for example, 24.83 @h5, followed by 25...Dhf4 (or 25...2g5), 26...b3, Black will win the race. However, in the actual game there follo- wed 24.Hd3 2d8? 25.Ac4 DhS 26.De2 He4 27.Hf3 f6 28.Ha6 Qc7 29.03 @xe3+ 30.2xe3 Qb6 (30...Bxe4? 31.25) and the draw was agreed. 1.5 The ‘pupil’ After the teacher we give the stage to the pupil. Leo Jansen was Jerry van Rekom’s 26 mathematics teacher at the secondary school De Lage Waard in Papendrecht. Leo also gave chess lessons on Friday af- ternoons, and in these lessons I (Jerry) was, as it were, spoon-fed with the Jan- sen system. Small wonder that later on — when Leo Jansen became a member of the Sliedrecht Chess Club — the demand for an elaboration of the Jansen system grew. The pupil was still under the influ- ence of his first chess lessons. 1.6 Wise lessons by wise men Two wise men stood at the cradle of my chess-playing life. First, of course, there was Leo Jansen, who explained ‘his’ sy- stem with enthusiasm on a weekly basis. And his story did not fall on deaf ears. I achieved one of my greatest successes in the school competition, against Terry Dijkstra from the Dordrecht Gymnasi- um. Watched by my teacher Leo Jansen I ma- naged to crush my opponent with The Black Lion. My opponent’s teacher (Leo Jansen’s eternal rival Pank Hoogen- doorn) looked upon this game with sor- row and spoke the (for Leo Jansen and myself) legendary words: ‘The hand of the teacher is visible!’ A better compli- ment could not have been given to the proud teacher and his beaming pupil. It was an honour for me to write the Lion books with him many years later. We were sentenced for Life together, and in our case it wasn’t punishment. PC. Parel was my second great example. As an administrator in the first place, he ‘was a great example for many, and cert- ainly for me. Therefore, I was very proud when the then chairman of the Slie-drecht Chess Club asked me to take a seat on the club board when I was 21. At that age, I could only blush at this token of appreciation. Secondly, the honorary chairman, who passed away in 2003, was a great chess player. A player to admire. With no less than 22 club titles, PC. Parel remains the strongest chess player in the history of the Sliedrecht Chess Club. He was a hard man to beat, and especially as a novice — in the late 1970s — I admired him enormously. And so, my first victory over my idol was very important for my fur- ther ambitions as a chess player. The Black Lion GAME 4 O Piet Parel Mi Jerry van Rekom Sliedrecht, February 1, 1978 1. d2-d4 2g8-f6 In later games with PC. Parel, I regularly chose the King’s Indian, with success. 2. ¢2-c4 Against this set-up, The Black Lion is also an excellent weapon. a d7-d6 3. Dbi-c3 Ab8-d7 4. e2-e4 e7-e5 5. d4-d5 This move is often played against the King’s Indian. But the text releases the pressure on eS. 5. 2f8-e7 6. g2-93 h7-h6 Nowadays we know that against this white set-up — with the king’s fianchetto ~ the plan with h5, h7-g5 is the best, especially if White opts for kingside cast- Chapter 1: The Cub ling. But at the time of this game I was al- ready an adherent of the Lion's Claw. 7. Sf1-g2 — c7-c5?! Not really a system move; in principle, 7...c6 is possible here. 8 Dgi-e2 Ad7-f8 g7-g5 9. 0-0 10. b2-b4! White opts for an attack on the queensi- de. And he is right to do so, since the black king has not yet been brought into safety. 10... b7-b6 11. b4xc5 b6xc5 12. Hal-b1 Af8-g6 13. Wd1-a4+ 2c8-d7 14. Wad4-a6 Attacking dé and a7 indirectly. White has the initiative. 5 0-0 This is not common in The Black Lion, but in this case itis forced. 15. Dc3-b5 Ad7-c8 After 15...@xb5 16.BxbS, White gets firm control of the b-file. 16. Wa6-a3 2c8-g4! Finally Black crosses the halfway line. This is another characteristic of The Black Lion: Black builds up quietly and attacks when the time is ripe. 27The Black Lion 17. 2-43 a7-a6 Forcing White to retreat, since after 18.fxg4 axb5 and 19...bxc4, Black's troubles are over and he has the superior pawn structure. 18. @b5-c3 2g4-d7 19. Qct-e3 Wd8-c8 20. Hbi-b6 &g8-g7? Too passive. Better would have been the set-up with 20...e8 or 20...Dh5, follo- wed by 21...f5. The text is a pure waste of tempo. 21. Efi-b1 a6-a5 The picture is clear: White attacks on the queenside and Black defends on that part of the board. At the same time, Black is still hoping for a kingside attack. 22. Be3-d2 Af6-e8 23. Dc3-a4 Le7-d8 24. Hb6-b2 7-f5! Now the time is ripe to start a counterat- tack; almost all of White’s pieces are fo- cusing on the queenside, and the kings- ide lies abandoned. 25. Dad-b6 2d8xbé 26. Eb2xb6 a5-a4! This is the move that stops the white at- tack. Black’s defence is optimal. Now he will be the one attacking. 27. Hb6-b7 wg7-g8 28 28. Wa3-b2? f5xe4 29. f3xe4 2d7-h3 Suddenly it becomes clear that Black has attacking chances. 30. Whb2-c3 We8-g4 31. We3-d3 2h3xg2! Now Black's attack comes fast. With a couple of powerful moves White is mopped up. 32. dgixg2 Agé6-h4+! 33. g2-h1 Hfe-f3 34. Wd3-c2 34.23 runs into 34...Bxg3!, with mate in two. 34... Ef3-c3i! The white queen is overburdened. The rook sacrifice is correct, since mate is inevitable: 35.Wxc3 Wxe4+ 36.1 Weg2 mate. A pretty sample game thataptly illustrates the power of The Black Lion. White appears to have an easy ad- vantage, but he is knocked out with a flash in a counterattack. ‘After this, many successes with ‘our’ opening weapon followed. Contrary to Leo Jansen, who remained unconditio- Chapter 1: The Cub nally true to the system, I have experi- mented with other openings as well in the past decades. It must be said, howe- ver, that I have often returned to The Black Lion. One way or another, the sys- tem continues to attract and to fascinate. And I think that’s how it’s going to stay... 29Chapter 2 The Lion’s Den The white set-up with an early f2-f4 is a serious attempt at a refutation of The Black Lion. White’s strong centre forces Black to act adequately in order to avoid immediate problems. This is also a variation about which there is not much theory. It is often mentioned indirectly, but as far as we know it has never been extensively analysed. In this chapter we will deal at great length with this variation, which is so important for The Black Lion. The theoretical part is introduced by none. other than Holland’s best-known chess player from the past decades, grandmaster Jan Timman. Jan Timman about The Black Lion: ‘This opening can create a surprise effect’ Grandmaster Jan Timman (born 1951) is familiar with The Black Lion as an opening system and he knows its ‘teacher’ Leo Jansen personally. In the 1960s he played against Leo Jansen for the first time, in the Third League of the Dutch chess competiti- on. This is not without significance, since at that time Jansen had just become active again at this national level, after having played First League for Rotterdam for a num- ber of years. After he had moved back from Vlaardingen to Dordrecht, he re-entered ‘chess service’ at the Dordrecht Chess Club and soon also became the chairman of this club. Jan Timman was at that time an up-and-coming talent, who still played for the Delftse Schaak Club DSC (Delft Chess Club). One day he met Jansen at a memorable, perhaps even historic Dutch league match. C. Buddingh’, a well-known Dutch poet from Dordrecht, played with Jansen in the first team of the Dordrecht Chess Club. Buddingh’ did not look at his own board only — later he described the Timman-Jan- sen encounter in literary fashion. For Buddingh’, this wasn’t just a poem — it was a very special poem. When in 1978 Buddingh’, on his 60th birthday, was appointed honorary citizen of Dordrecht, and the entire council visited him and his wife Stientje at Banka Street, he was asked to write the weekly Diary column for the Saturday edition of the natio- nal Dutch newspaper NRC/Handelsblad. This Diary featured Buddingh’s chess poem on Jansen-Timman. Today the grandmaster recalls: ‘I remember this game, and also Leo Jansen, well. Buddingh’s poem rather splendidly reflected what had happened. I still think it’s a beautiful poem.” He followed the development of the Lion system. ‘During some simuls in Slie- drecht in 2005 and 2006 I faced it on several occasions and didn’t have an easy time of it. Clearly, White needs a lot of time to find the right way to fight the system. For 31The Black Lion instance, Leo Jansen had a good position for a long time, even though he lost in the end. This simultaneous game was a so-called game ‘in honour of’ Leo Jansen, recollec- ting that meeting from bygone days, which had had become immortal thanks to Buddingh’. Jan Timman says that he cannot recall exactly when he found out that Jan- sen put the system The Black Lion on the market. ‘It all happened many years ago. The impact of it is that Black has a workable system against 1.e4, one of the most impor- tant opening moves. It isn’t played at top level, which doesn’t mean, by the way, that it is unplayable. The Alekhine Defence is not played on top level either, but when Mag- nus Carlsen employed it in his game with Veselin Topalov at the latest Linares tourna- ment, it brought him success. This could also happen with The Black Lion, thanks to its surprise effect’ The grandmaster also has a verdict on the overall value of ‘The Lion, the black we- apon’: ‘Its strong point is that Black’s play is easier because he has a clearly outlined strategy. Its weak point is that Black does not immediately start a fight for the centre.” This chapter deals with the theory after 1 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.fxe5 AxeS the following initial moves: 7 Mxd8+ Sxd8 1. e2-e4 d7-d6 5.D£3 exd4 2. d2-d4 g8-16 3 5.DF3 c6 3. Dbi-c3 ADb8-d7 4, 2-f4 e7-e5 Variation 1 5. d4xe5 This variation has been dubbed ‘The Lion’s Den’, because both White and Now Black has only one correct option: Black can get caught in many pitfalls. In So d6xe5 this chapter we will investigate the fi- 6. f4xe5 nesses of this variation. From the above diagram position we will deal with the most important variations. The main continuations are: 32, In only one known game did White play differently. In the simul game Hans Bouwmeester-Leo Jansen, Papendrecht 1974, 6.@£3 appeared on the board. Theblack player continued with the prema- ture 6...c5 instead of the correct 6...2b4!, which gives Black an equal game after 7.fxeS Axed 8.Wd4 Sxc3+ 9.bxc3 f5 10.243 AdcS 11.0-0 c6 12.8a3 Wxd4+ 13.cxd4 Axd3 14.cxd3 Dc3, =. Black’s next choice is thematic: 6. ow Dd7xe5 White must be consistent now and ex- change queens, as other possibilities give Black an extra tempo. After all, Black has already developed one piece more than White has, and therefore White must re- gain the tempo by exchanging queens and depriving Black of the right to castle. If White were to continue with 7.2g5, for instance, Black would win several tempi with 7...Wxd1+ 8.Hxd1 @fd7!. After this a position occurs that shows similarities with the variations below, but here Black can still castle and he has put his pieces on their ideal squares, or will be able to do so. 7. Wdixd8+ Se8xd8 Ae ene BEA & @ BAe BB Ea & @ aa Ee 4848 Bae A eo Bemis This position is characterized by the fact that Black no longer has the right to cas- tle, but White has an isolated pawn on e4 and he has developed one piece less. In all the following variations it is vital for Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...bd7 4.{4 €5 Black to keep control of the e5-square. If he manages this, he will at least be equal. Here White has three possibilities: Ld 8.2g5 1.2 8.2f4 1.3 8.263 Variation 1.1 8. Sci-g5 8... c7-c6 A playable alternative is 8...e6, and af- ter 9.0-0-0+ there follows 9...@c8 (not 9..2d6 as in the game Jerry van Rekom-Ton Slagboom, Sliedrecht 1992, which continued as follows: 10.0f3 (perhaps 10.0b5!? Se7 11.Rxf6+ gxf6 12.Dxd6 is better) 10...8e7? (10...8c8 was still better) 11.Qd5+ Q&xd5 12.AxeS BxeS 13.Bxd5 Se6 14.Hbs! Hhe8 15.Qct+ @d7 16.8xf7 Be7 17.245 Hb8 18.2xb7 c6 19.Bd1+t GSc7 20.HxeS HxeS 21.24 He8 22.226 @xet 23.Hel Sb6 24.Qxe5 BxeS 25.2d3 and 1-0) 10.Af3 Bd6=. 9. Dgi-f3 The modern continuation, as played in Michael Ewaldt-Alexander Bodnar, Ham- burg 2006. Now Black should not con- tinue, 9...Axf3?, because after 10.gxf3 White no longer has an isolani, he can 33The Black Lion 10.2f4?! Qd6 11.0f3 (11.2g3 @fe4) 11...0d3+ (11...Afg4) 12.2xd3 Qxf4+ 13.8b1 Age consider developing the f1 bishop to h3 and, last but not least, White can start an attack along the semi-open g-file. — Jerry van Rekom-Jan Timman, Til- burg 1998, where White seized the advantage after: 10.0f3 hé6?! 11.@xe5 hxgS 12.2ct Be6 13,Qxe6 fxe6 14.h3 cS 15.Bhel Bf. 16.He2 Qg3 17.Ac4! Se7 18.e5! DdS 19.Aes BF4+ 20.8b1 bS 21.4a5 Hac8 22.g3 RxeS 23.Axg5 Qf6 and now 24.Hxe6+ $Sd7 25.Exc6 Hxc6 26.Hxd5+ Sc7 27.Axc6 would have given White a big advantage. ~ Jerry van Rekom-Leo Jansen, Slie- drecht 1993, continued: 10.03 @xf3 (10...Dfd7? 11.DxeS Axes 12.Bd8 mate) ll.gxf3 Re6 12.He2?! QcS 13.0d4 Bxa2 14.f5 with advantage to White, +. * The correct move after 9.0-0-0+ is 9...8c7, as played in the following ga- mes: — DW. Vermaas-Jerry van Rekom, Rotterdam 1991, continued: 34 Alternatives are: 14.He2 Be3 15.Bhfl BcS © 9.0-0-0+ 16.Dfd4 f6 17.8f3 DAxh2 18. g3 Dg 19.c3? Qd6 and Black easily EE Oma won the endgame. — In Jacek Gdanski-Bogomil Andonov, ae a e Naleczow 1988, Black seized the ad- 2 e vantage after: 10.0f3 Dfd7 11.Le2 a -(11.AxeS AxeS 12.2d8+ &b8, or Bw ae 6) el nie BcS 13.24 f6 14.0d4 He8 15.2h5 g6 ais 16.2g4 @f8 17.2xc8 Haxc8 a 18.Hhfl Ad7 19.Ace2 2d6 20.b3 7 21.23 Bxf4+ 22.Exf4 Dd6 And now not 9...@e8?, as occurred in 23.Hel He7 24.0f2 Hce8 25.Bfe2 the following games: @cS 26.e5 HxeS 27.HxeS HxeS 28.BxeS fxeS—+. * 9.Hd1+ occurred in the game Markus Kunze-Stefan Biicker, Bad Neuenahr 1991. There followed: 9...8c7 10.Af3 Bdé 11.Ad4 (threatening 12.Ab5+) 11...26 12.Re2 Degs? (better is 12...0fd7 13.0f5 Bf8 14.0-0 f6 15.@f4 g5, maintaining the stronghold on eS) 13.g3 hé 14.2f4 xfs 15.gxf4 De3 16.Bd2 Dg2+ 17.f2 Axf4 and Black won. 9. ow 28-6 10. 0-0-010. &d8-e7 Also playable is 10...8c7, as occurred in the game Rudy van Laeken-Stephane Hautot, Belgium Team Championship 2001/02. Black seized the advantage af- ter: 11.h3 a6 12.0d4 Dh5 13.Ade2 h6é 14.2h4 Dgo 15.2f2 b5 16.23 Hes 17.g4 Dhf4 18.0g3 eS 19.2d4 Qxd4 20.Bxd4 DeS 21.Hd2 g6 22.Bf2 Deb 23.8g2 &b7 24.Hd1 Had8 25.b3 Bxdl+ 26.@xd1 a5 27.Gcl b4 28.axb4 axb4 29.Ad1 Ha8 30.8b1 Ad4 31.De3 DS 32.De2 Rab 33.hb2 Hds 34.0c4 Oxc4+ 35.bxc4 Da 36.Exf7+ Sb6 37.Of4 Hdl 38.2f1 Hb1+ 39.%a2 Exfl 0-1. Besides 11.h3, 11.@d4 is also playable for White. In the game Elena Sedina-Christian Bauer, Swiss Team Championship 2006, this move led to an equal position after: 11...d7 (11..De8!?) 12.A0F5 (12.Re2 Afg4! 13.Hdfl f6 14.2f4 @f7 15.g3 Hhe8) 12...Qxf5 13.exf5 Degs 14.2c4 hé 15.Hxd6 hxgS (15...exd6?! 16.2f4-+) 16.Hd2 He5=. After 10...@c7 11.2e2 Black has to be careful. Wrong is 11...Axf3, a move which was severely punished in the game Boris Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...Dbd7 4.f4 e5 Spassky-Nicolas Eliet, French Team Championship 2002: 12.gxf3 @hS 13.Exd6 Gxd6 14.Bd1+ SeS 15.2e7 gS 16.2xg5 Hgs 17.2d8 Dg7 18.f4+ Sxf4 19.Bf1+ 1-0. Also losing is 11...8.g4? 12.Axe5 Bxe2 (12.,.Axe5 13.8xf6 2f4+ 14.6b1 Qxe2 15.Axe2 +—) 13.Hxd6! +-. After 10...@c7 11.2e2 the following al- ternatives are better: * 11...fd7 occurred in the game Sam Palatnik-Meadows, Tennessee 2001. After 12.@d4 Black could have obtai- ned an equal game with 12...a6 13.Df5 &f8. However, there followed 12... 2f8?! 13.2f4! Re7 14.294 Bf6 15.f3 He8 16.Hhfl @b6 17.Da4+ BbS 18.Rxd7 Axd7 19.b3 Bxes 20.2g5+. * 11...Be8 was played in the game Ga- briel Mischke-Algirdas Bandza, Mainz 1995, where Black soon obtained a decisive advantage after: 12.h3 Dxf3 13.gxf3 DhS 14.2c4 f6 15.267 Hes 16.QxhS fxgS 17.h4 g6 18.294 Qxg+ 19.fxgt gxh4 20.Exh4 HE7 21.b1 He8 22.a3 Hee7 23.Hdh1 BeS 24.95 Sd7 25.422 Ses 26.b3 &f8 —+. After 11...0fg4 White must sacrifice on d6 to obtain an advantage: 12.Bxd6! (12.Bhfl f6 13.242 Age 14.h3 O4e5F, or 12.h3 Af? 13.Bxd6 Dxf3 14.2xf3 Sxd6 15.Hf1 Dxh3 16.gxh3- @xh3¥F) 12... @xd6 13.Bd1+ Qc7 (13...8e6? 14.0d4+ Bd6 15.DdbS+ hc5 16.Aad+ bs 17.2d2+ Gxa4 18.b3+) 14.24 f6 15.h3 gS (15...Dh6? 16.DxeS fxeS? 17.Qxe5+ Sb6 18.Da4+ Bad 19.2c3+ xa4 20.Hd4+) 16.2¢3 35The Black Lion e3 17.AxeS Dxd1 18.Df7+ Gd7 19.2xd1 (19:Axh8? Axc3 20.bxc3 e7) 19..Hg8 20.2g4+ de7 21.Qxc8 Haxc8 22.Ad6+ (analysis: Mark Ishee). Hi omne & 11. Qfi-e2 11.Exd6 &xd6 12.2f4 Dd7 promises White nothing. The exchange on f6 does not yield him an advantage either. In both cases it turns out that the @c3 re- mains underdeveloped. The alternative 11.2d4!? looks strong, in view of the possible continuation 11...Dg4 12.0f5+ QxfS 13.exfS, when the black king appears to be somewhat uncomfortable. We. 2d6-c7 Bad is 11...2g4?, since after 12.@xeS Qxe2 13.Hxd6! Sxd6 14.0xf7+ White is winning. The game Tunveer Gillani-Slim Belkhodja, Turin Olympiad 2006, went on as follows: 11...h6 12.8f4 @d3+ 13.Qxd3 Qxf4t+ 14.b1 Be6 15.De2 Qc7 16.Hed4 Dgt 17.Dxe6 fxe6 18.Hdel Had8 19.He2 DeS 20.AxeS QxeS- 21.8f2 Hhfs 22.863 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Hfs 24.22 Hf4=. Playable is 11...@xf3, which occurred in the game Sergey Galkin-Garun Nureev, 36 Perm 1997. The Russian player Nureev — who has incorporated The Black Lion in his repertoire — simplified to a draw as fol- lows: 12.gxf3 hé 13.2h4 2f4+ 14.@b1 Reb 15.2d3 g5 16.Lf2 Dd7 17.De2 BeS 18.h4 (6 19.0d4 Qxd4 20.2xd4 De5 21. Led Agé 22.bxgs hxgS 23.Hxh8 Exh8 24.Qxa7 Qxalt+ 25.@xa2 Ha8 26.8b3 Hxa7 27.Bhl “-”. The text move at least avoids a possible sacrifice on d6. 12. h2-h3 h7-h6 13. Qg5-e3 Afé-d7 A thematic move, which turns up in many positions. In this case the move is intended to guard the c5-square. 14. Df3-d4 7-96 Black has all the important squares under control, giving the white knights litle elbow room. 15. Ehi-fi a7-a6 The position is balanced; =. The sample game Ewaldt-Bodnar continued: 16.0f3 £6 17.b1 bS 18.b3 Bb6 19.Acl BcS 20.2b2 2b7 21.a3 Had8 22.Ha2 Dxf3 23.gxf3 DeS 24.f4 D7 25.Acl Exdl 26.2xd1 Qc8 27.Ad3 Abé6 28.2g4 hS 29.2xc8 Hxc8 30.f5 gS 31.Hel g4 32.h4 g3 33.He2 Hg8 34.Hg2 Het 35.e5 fxeS 36.2xe5 DxeS 37.DxeS Het38.Dg6+ Sf6 39.Exg3 xfs 40.0g5+ wf 41.068 Bxh4 42.Bg6+ Of 43.Hxcé Bhi+ 44.6b2 Qd4+ 45.c3 Bh2+ 46.8b1 Be5 47.0d7 2g7 48.04 bxa4 49.bxa4 h4 50.Bc4 h3 51.Bh4 Bxc3 52.Dc5 SF6 53.Bh7 Sg6 0-1. Variation 1.2 8, &ct-f4 The text is mainly intended to increase the pressure on eS. It looks like the most logical move: it develops a piece, attacks an enemy piece and prepares queenside castling, Cr 2f8-d6 The text move is slightly more accurate than 8...Afd7, since it prevents 9.0f3 due to 9...Dxf3+, winning a piece. Still, 8...Dfd7 gives Black a playable game, as was illustrated in the following games: * Arjen van Splunter-Pieter Hopman, Leiden 2002: 9.0f3 &d6 10.AxeS RxeS 11.2xe5 DxeS 12.0-0-0+ Bd7 13.@e2 c6 14.Qa4 b6 15.b3 &c7 16.Ab2 Hae8 17.h3 £6 18.0d3 Ago 19.2f3 He7 20.Hd2 Hhe8 21.ct &c8¥, on account of White’s weak e-pawn. In F. KuiperJerry van Rekom, Slie- drecht 1989, Black achieved an advan- Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...@bd7 4.f4 e5 tage after: 9.0-0-0 2d6 10.&b1 a6 11.Re2 Ges 12.AF3 £6 13.Ad4 Acs 14.25 Qxf5 15.exf> Hds¥. 9. 0-0-0 Less good is 9.&xe5, which hands Black an edge in the endgame afer 9....0xe5 10.2c4 Be7 11.3 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Hes; F. oie &c8-d7 Also perfectly playable is 9...@e7, which threatens 10...d3+ for one thing. In the game Philip van Gelderen-Leo Jansen, Dordrecht 1979, there followed: 10.Af3 (10.@b1 c6 11.0f3 Afd7 12.Qe2 f6 13.0d4 g6) 10...0d3+ 11.xd3 &xf4+ 12.6b1 c6 13.Hde1?! (13.h3!) 13...Ag4 14.0d1 Bes 15.Bhfl Hass. 10. 2g1-f3 With 10.g3 or 10.8b1 White could have prevented 10...2d3+, but this would cost him a tempo. 10. .. De5-d3+ 11. Qfixd3 Qd6xf4+ 12. Scit-b1 Af6-g4 Wim Thieme-Leo Jansen, Voorschoten 1978, continued as follows: 12...e8 13,.h3 c6 14,Qe2 Bc7 15.Ag5 He7 16.@c3 Be5 and eventually Black man- aged to convert his small advantage into awin, ¥. 37The Black Lion Black has the initiative. The isolani on e4 remains a source of worry for White. Black only has to see to it that his king is brought to permanent safety. The model game Florian Kainrath-Sergey Galdunts, Graz 2001, continued as follows: 13.g3 Rd6 14.e5 AxeS 15.Oxe5 Axes 16.2f5 Qd6 17.Rxd7 Sxd7 18.De4 Hhe8 19.Axd6 cxd6 20.843 Hac8 21.Hhd1 Hc6 22.83d2 £5 23.c3 Hes 24.0f1 Be6 25.8cl bS 26.6d1 Bes 27.Bf3 g5 28.Bdf2 h5—+. Variation 1.3 8. Dg1-f3 The text move can transpose to the above-mentioned variation with 8.2g5, but it can also lead to a variation with in- dependent value. A piece is developed, an enemy piece is attacked and, should Black decide to exchange on f3, the problem of the isolated pawn on e4 is solved as well. Black must see to it that he keeps possession of the e5-square. If he manages this, he will have an edge in the endgame, which he will be able to ex- ploit without any risk. Of course, after the text move Black should not play the above-mentioned 8... Dxf3+, as White then gets a strong central pawn 38 duo on the e- and Ffiles and e5 is no lon- ger a weak square for him. In the game Anatoly Lutikov-Endel Kivioja, Parnu 1971, the white player proved this as fol- lows: 9.gxf3 @e6 10.2e3 c6 11.0-0-0+ Se8 12.Egl Hys 13.4 g6 14.2d4 Qg7 15.£5 Qc8 16.e5 AdS 17.Ae4 Bho+ 18.b1 Qxf5 19.0d6+ Be7 20.Axb7 Be3 21.Bg3 Qxd4 22. Exd4 Heb 23.0a5 cS 24.Bd2 Had8 25.2ct Ed7 26.cl Bet 27.He3 SxeS 28.AxdS Hxd5 29.Bc4+ Gf4 30.Hf2+ 1-0. 8 @f6-d7! The text move maintains the knight on e5 and avoids the possible pin by 2g5. The downside is that for the moment, the knight is in the way of the bishop on c8. The text gives the game a positional character. The direct 8...2d6 is also playable, but in most cases this transposes to the above- mentioned variation with 8.25. 9. &c1-f47! The reason for showing this move is that it can lead to a well-known Black Lion theme, ie. ...ad3+, followed by ... 2xf4. If possible, White should avoid this. 9.@d5 is an interesting alternative which, among others, occurred in the following games:« Wout Boer-Leo Jansen, Sliedrecht 1995. This game developed into a stri- king example of the many complicati- ons around the e5-square that can ari- se in this type of position: 9...2d6 10.2g5+ (10.8e3) 10...f6 11.Qh4 Hes? (11...c6!) 12.0-0-0! Age 13.8f2 c6 14.0c3 (14.Axf6 Qf4+ 15.@b1 gxfo—+) 14... 2f4+ 15.6b1 c7 16.g3 BeS 17.Ad4 Bxd4 18.Bxd4 AdeS 19.2e2 ADg47 (19...2g4) 20.8e1 Be6 21.4 4 4e5? (21...A6eS) 22.b3 Hads=. In Jan Lindfeldt-Gennady Govashe- lishvili, Esbjerg 2005, Black seized the advantage and eventually won after: 9..2d6 10.2g5+ £6 11.2h4 Agé 12.2g3 Qxg3+ 13.hxg3 c6 14.0f4 DdeS 15.0-0-0+ Bc7 16.Ad4 Bb6 17.Re2 Qg4 18.Hdel Hae8 19.05 QxfS 20.exf5 De7 21.g4 Ads 22.He6 He7 23.Hh3 a6 24.c4 Dc7 25.cS+ Ba7 26.Axc7 Hxc7 27.Hd1 h6 28.b4 Hb8 29.He3 He7F. After 9.2e3 c6 10.0-0-0 Se8 11.2e2 (11.2f4) 11...2b4 12.Bhfl Axf3 13.gxf3 Qc5 14.Qxc5 AxcS the posi- tion becomes placid; After 9.2g5+ £6 (9...Re7 10.Qxe7+ Sxe7 11.0d5+ Sd8 12.0-0-0=) the motif 10.&h4 and 11.2g3 crops up, but with c6, 2d6 and $e7 Black can build upa tenable position. Co 10. 2f4-93 White wants to retain the bishop pair. With the text move we follow the game Andras Meszaros-Gyula Mester, Hajdu- Dboszormeny 1995. Rob Jonkers-Leo Jansen, Dordrecht 1973, continued as follows: 10.0-0-0 2f8-d6 Chapter 2: The Lion's Den: 3...Dbd7 4.£4 e5 10...0d3+ 11.Bxd3 Qxf4+ 12.8b1 c6 13.g3 Qc7 14.22 He7 15.b4 Des 16.Axe5 Bxe5 17.24 Be6 18.HBhd1 Bad8 19.Hxd8 Hxd8 20.Hxd8 @xd8F. 10... c7-c6 Or immediately 10...f6. 11. 0-0-0 d8-e7 12. Qfi-e2 f7-f6 13. Df3-d4 g7-g6 13...@b6 is also playable, but then White can obtain an advantage by solving the isolani on e4: 14.0f5+ Qxf5 15.exf5 cS 16.De4 Be3+ 17.8b1 Hads 18.Hhel Hxd1+ 19.2xdi! Hd8 20.b3+. 14. Bht-f1 14... @®d7-c5 14...c5 is also playable. This position is slightly more pleasant for White, if he likes playing with the bishop pair in the endgame. Actually, the same goes for black players who are endgame special- 39The Black Lion ists. The better player will tend to prevail in this position. A possible continuation is: 15.Qf2 Hd8 16.a3 b6 17.b4 Qxd4 18.Exd4 &b7 19.Hfdi Af 20.Bxds Bxd8 21.Exd8 Gxd8 22.6d2 De6=. 15. Bf-f2 Interesting is 15.2h4 Ef8 16.h3 (16.AdbS Abs 17.f2 De6 18.Dd5+7! (18.Ad4 Has) 18...2£7 19.Qh4 cxbS 20.Oxf6 Be8 21.QxbS+ 2d7—+) 16...Qc7 17.Adb5?! (17, Bf2 Deb (17...b6?? 18.Axc6+ Axc6 19.Ad5+ £7 20.Axc7 1-0) 18.0b3 (18.xe6 Sxe6) +), and now: © 17..Qa5 18.2f2 b6 19.Ac7 Bb8 20.b4 xb4 21.07d5+ cxdS 22.Axd5s+ Ges 23.Axb4 Axes 24.0d3 (24.2d4 Qb7 25.QxeS!F) 24...Axf2! 25. Hxf2 Dxd3+ 26. Qxd3F. * 17...2b6! 18.Bd5? Dcd7! (18...cxdS. 19.Dxd5+!) —+. The immediate 15.@db5 also hands Black an advantage: 15...Q@b8 16.2a3 Deb! (16...b5 17.DaxbS (17.LxbS cxb5 18.0d5+ Gf8 19.Axf6 &g7 20.Bd5 @cd7) 17...cxbS 18.ad5+ G7 19.Axf6 Sg7 20.Hd5 Acd7 21.2xbS Bf8 22.2xeS AxeS 23.De8+ gs 24.Df6+ Shs) F. 15... h7-h5 With a balanced position. The game Meszaros-Mester continued: 16.3 Acd7 17.Ob4 QcS 18.EfF1 bS 19.Rxb5 cxbS 40 20.DdS+ Bf7 21.Axf6 Sg7 22.Hds Re7 23.Bxd7 Axd7 24.Bfd1 Aso 25.HxbS Axet 26.Hel Qxh4 27.Qxh4 QFS 28.Hb7+ Sh6 29.2e7 Hhes 30.h4 gS 31bxg5+ &g6 32.Hfl a6 33.Hb6+ Sf7 34.8b7 Sg6 35.Bb6+ SF7 36.0b7 Ya-Y/ (analysis: Arnold van ’t Hof). Variation 2 1, e2-e4 d7-d6 2. d2-d4 Dg8-F6 3. Dbi-c3 Db8-d7 4. f2-f4 e7-e5 In the previous main line we looked at ways for White to try for an advantage by means of a quick exchange of queens. In the present variation we will discuss continuations where White attacks the black set-up with 5.f3, but Black coun- ters immediately with 5...exd4. The fol- lowing variations will make clear that The Black Lion is able to jump catlike from its den and take over the attack. 5. Dgl-f3 Increasing the pressure on eS. Now Black has two possibilities: 2A 5..exd4 6.Wxd4 c6 2.2 54006 Variation 2.1 5. ww e5xd4 te2ove & BEAR BABIAThis is one of the few variations where Black voluntarily captures on d4, giving up the e5-square. His intention is to re- move the weakness on dé by pushing d6-d5. Furthermore, the basic idea be- hind the text is that, as soon as White’s central pawns are eliminated, the white pawn on f4 will be an obstacle for its own queen’s bishop, and the a7-g1 diag- onal is clearly weak. Black can opt for this variation if he wants to avoid the tricky lines after S...c6 6.dxe5. 6. Wdixd4 The option 6.@xd4 is an interesting al- ternative. In earlier editions, we indi- cated 6...@c5!? as a good continuation. Indeed, this can lead to playable positions for Black, especially if White were to con- tinue with 7.2b5+. A spectacular model game with this move is Michael Link- Uwe Kersten, Bad Zwesten 2004, which went: 7...c6 8.Dxc6 bxc6 9.Axc6+ Bd7 10.2xa8 Wxa8 11.ad5 Wd8 12.axfo+ Wxf6 13.0-0 Bc6 14.e5 dxeS 15.fxe5 Wego 16.We2 Be7 17.Me3 0-0 18.b4 Det 19.23 DAc3 20.W2 Vh4 21.93 Wes 22.63 We4 23,WhS 2d8 24.Hfel Wet 25,Wh3 Whi+ 26.0f2 WB+ 27.Sg1 De2+ —+. Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...@bd7 4.f4 e5 A better alternative after 6...Ac5! is 7.243, which yields White an advantage after 7...2g4 8.Wd2! — a recommenda- tion by Christian Bauer. The &g4 can be chased away easily, while the exchange on d3 provides White with a strong centre and chances of a mating attack. Instead of 7...2g4, Stefan Bicker recommends 7...2e7, followed by 8.0-0 0-0 9.h3 c6=. The move 6...c6?! also gives Black little chance of a satisfactory game after 7,2e2!. Things can even go downhill quickly, as was seen in the game Jerry van Rekom-Paul van Valen, Sliedrecht 2000, where White won quickly after 7..Wc7? (7...g6 8.0-0 &g7 9.2b3) 8.0-0 Be7 9.AF5! g6 10.Axe7 dxe7 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxeS Wxe5 13.@h1! He8 14.2f4 We6 15.63 Abs 16.2c4 Wd7 17.2g5, winning a piece, 1-0. Therefore, our advice to black players af- ter 6.Axd4 is to opt for a set-up with 6...g6. This leads to a good Pirc Defence. About this opening, Max Euwe already wrote in Chess Archives in 1952: ‘In the Pirc, White plays f2-f4 to radically pre- vent the liberating e7-e5. Therefore, Black has to revert to c7-c5, when he will miss his point of support on c6. In the present case Black does not have this 41The Black Lion problem; therefore, this alternative is perfectly playable. Black should opt for a set-up with 2g7, 0-0, He8 en cS, enabling him to attack the e4 pawn. Stefan Bicker gives the fol- lowing possible continuation after 6...g6: 7.204 2g7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Af3 (9.Hel cS!) 9...We7! (9...Db67! 10.2b3 cS 1l.a4 c4 12.Qa2 d5 13.e5 Det 14.Axe4 dxe¢ 15.g5 Qf5 16.a5 h6 17.Axf7 Sxf7 18.We2+) 10.Bel c6 11.2b3 (11.We2 bS of 11.24 d5 12.exds Wc5+) 11..DcS 12.5 dxeS 13.fxeS Ags 14.Wd6 Hes 15.2f4 Wxd6 16.exd6 Af6 17,h3 Qd7 18.Be5 aS 19.Ags5 Axb3 20.axb3 2f5 21.Hacl hS=. In Karlis Betins-Aaron Nimzowitsch, Riga 1910, Black played 6...2e7. After 7 Sct (7.Re2! 0-0 8.0-0 He8 9.23 c6 10.2e1 Wbé 11.6h1 @f8 12.4b3) 7...0-0 8.0-0 a6? (better 8...c6, threaten- ing both 9...Axe4 and 9...d5) 9.AfS @c$ 10.Ag3 dS Black gained the upper hand and eventually he won the game. The move 6...@e7 transposes to the Antoshin Variation of the Philidor, which is popular again nowadays. This opening is played by, among others, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu and Levon Aronian. Its treatment lies outside the scope of this work. Hie Ss a i 42 c= c7-c6 The purpose of this move is to be able to play 7...d5, followed by 8...&c5S and ...0-0. Black can permit himself to give a pawn for this quick development scheme. The interesting alternative 6...0c5 is less along the lines of The Black Lion, and the move has not been played much yet. For its treatment we refer to the above-mentioned book The Philidor Files by the French grandmaster Christian Bauer. 6...c5? is not a ‘Black Lion move’ either, and it quickly leads to an advantage for White: 7gl! Be7 8Re3 0-0 (8..Ag4 9.2d2) 9.0-0-0 Was (9...He8 10.g4) 10.@b1 bS 11.e5+. The ‘Philidor move’ 6...2e7? hands White a big advantage immediately after: 7.e5 dxeS 8.fxeS cS 9.Wat (9.We4 We7 10.We2 Dg4 11.4d5 Bf2+ 12.Wxf2 @xf2 = 13.Axe7 Axh1 14.2d5+—) 9...hS 10.94! (or 10.2g5 £6 11.exf6 Dxf6 12.0-0-0 0-0 13.Wc4+ h8 14.8xd7 Qxd7 15.WxcSt+—, as occurred in the game Folco Castaldo- Vincent Colin, Aymavilles 2000). Another model game where Black stumbled soon after 6...2e7 is Pieter van Groenesteijn-Jan Jaap Janse, The Netherlands 2004. On that occasion, the lights went out quickly for Black af- ter: 7.204 0-0 8.h3 (8.0-0? d5!) 8...Be8?? (8...c6) 9.Bxf7+ Gxf7 10.Ag5+ Sg8 11, We4+ (11.Be6? 5!) 1-0, in view of 11...d5 12.Axd5 @xd5 13.Wxd5+ Ghs 14.07 + Sg8 15.Dh6+ Bhs 16.Wys+ Exg8 17.07 mate.Now White has three important alterna- tives: 211 7.85 2.1.2 7.203 2.1.3 7.2.42 7.2c4 tansposes to a variation investi- gated further on in this chapter (after 5...€6 6.24 exd4 7.Wxd4). The American IM Mark Ishee gives 7.h3 as another possibility for White. This move hands Black the initiative in most cases, for example after 7...d5 8.e5 (8.exd5?! BcS 9.Wic4 0-0 10.DeS cxdS 11.Wd3 He8 12.22 Whe 13.Hfl d4 14.He4 Dxet 15.Wxe4 Qb4+ F, as in the game Heiko Kesseler-Christian Bauer, Germany Bundesliga 2001/02) 8...2c5 9.Wd3 DhS 10.0gS (10.He2) 10...h6. And now: °11.@xf7 Wh4+ 12.g3 13.Dxh8 De4+ 14.6d1 Df2+ —+. Dxg3 Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...Abd7 4.f4 e5 © l1.g4 hxgS 12.gxh5 gxf4 13.Qxf4 Wh4+ 14.293 Wxhs 15.2e2 @xe5—+. © 11.e6 hxgS 12.exd7+ Qxd7 13.fxgs We7+ 14.8e2 Qfs 15.WE (15.Wxfs Og3 16.WF3 Dxh1) 15...2xc2 16.g4d4—+. Christian Bauer indicates that after 7.£e2?! Black gained an advantage with 7..WWb6 8.Wxb6?! axb6 9.0d4 bs 10.@f3 g6 in the game Stefan Djuric- Olivier Peyrat, France 1993. Instead of 7...Yb6, 7...d5 is more thematic. After B.exd5 QcS 9.Wd3 cxd5 10.Axd5 0-0 Black has sufficient compensation for the pawn. The French grandmaster gives 7.24?! as yet another possibility. After 7...d5! 8.e5 (8.exd5? BcS 9.We4 0-0) 8...2c5 9.Wd3 Dgs 10.0d1 We7! (or 10...0-0!) 11.He3 Bxe3 12.Axe3 Axe3 (12...f6!) 13.Wxe3 Wb4+ 14.8f2 Acs 15.Wd4 the game is approximately equal, as occurred in Viktor Bologan- Christian Bauer, Bastia 1999. Variation 2.1.1 7. e4-e5 Bch 8 Aan Es e aA oe Be mse 1.8 abie B@ Bem@omx With this push White aims at three things: 43The Black Lion * chasing away the Df6; * vacating the e4-square for the Ac3; * opening the cl-hé diagonal for the Rl. However, the text move also relieve Black of his weakness on dé and clears the road for the 2£8. a d6xe5 8. f4xe5 After 8.@xe5 there follows: © 8..Axe5 9.Wxd8+ (not 9.Wxe5+ on. account of 9...2e7, with an edge in development for Black) 9...&xd8 10.fxe5 Dg4 followed by 11...Rc5, after which Black is clearly better. * 8..2c5 9.We4 0-0F. 8. 28-5 9, Wd4-h4 Here, interesting alternatives are: * 9.W4, followed by 9...We7 10.Re2 @d5 11.Axd5 cxd5 with equal chan- ces, =, as was proved in the game Eran Liss-Sam Palatnik, Rishon-le-Zion 1997/98: 12.2e3 — (12.&d2) 12...Qxe3 13.Wxe3 Wb4+ 14.c3 Wrxb2 (14... Wet 15.8f2 0-0 16.243 Wxe3+ 17.Sxe3 DcS 18.2c2 was Georg’ Seul-Stefan Bicker, Germany Bundesliga B 1996/97) 15.e6! 0-0! (15...Wxal+? 16.@f2 = Wxhi 44 17.exd7+ Gxd7 18.DeS+ Gc7 19.WcS+ bs 20.Wd6+) 16.0-0 Whé! 17.0d4 fre6 18.Wxest+ Wres 19.@xe6 Hxfl+ 20.Bxfl Afe 21.c7 Hbs 22.2.3 4-4. + 9.Wc4 gave Black, in the game Paul Wilhelm-Leo Jansen, Dordrecht 1996, the advantage after: 9...We7 10.2f4 (10.We2 Dg4 11.2g5 Wes 12.De4 Qbe 13.Ad6+ Gf8 14.2f4 £6) 10.:.Dh5 11.0-0-0 Dbé 12.Wet Dxf4 13.Wxf4 Be6 14.6b1 Ads 15.Hxd5?! cxdS 16,.2b5+ &f8 17.Hd1 Bd8F. * Not good for White is 9.Wd1?, which gives Black a good game after 9...We7 10.We2 Aga. After 11.De4 Agxes White has sacrificed his pawn for not- hing. a. Wd8-e7! Pinning the white e-pawn and attacking it for the second time. Now White does not have much choice: 10. Bct-f4 2c5-b4! A very interesting alternative is 10...Ag4!?, for instance: 11.Wxe7+ (11.Wxg4? @xes 12.Wxg7? (12. Wxe8+ Exc8 13.2xe5 f6, or 12.Wg3 Dxf3++ 13.8d1 — g5) 12...Axf++ 13.@d1 Wel mate) 11...@xe7 12.He4 Be3 13.293 (13.8xe3 Axe3 14.Hcl (or 14.602) 14...g4 and Black wins a pawn) 13...f6 (13..0c5? 14.0d6 Be6 15.h3 Dhé 16.Be2!+—) l4.exfo+ Ddxfe 15.Axf6 Axf6 (15...Sxf6! 16.h3 He8 17.hxg+ Qftt+ 18.8f2 Re3+) 16.2d3 Reb 17.e2 BcS=. Less good is 10...2d6?, since Black can- not win the pawn here because of 11.0-0-0 @xeS 12.Axe5 Bxe513.2xe5+— (13...Wxe5 14.Hel). Also bad is 10...Ag8?, which gives White an advantage after 11.0e4 Wrxh4+ 12.Dxh4 Be7 13.0f5+. 11, 0-0-0 White also has problems after 11.2c4, as was played in the game Reinhard Jaenig-Christian Bauer, Metz 2000. After 11..He4 12.Wxe7+ Gxe7 13.23 Qxc3+ 14.bxc3 Ab 15.2d3 Ads 16.2cl Adxc3 17.24 AcS 18.Ba3 @xa4 Black clearly had the better chances. thh oo &b4xc3 12. e5xfé 12.bxc3 is met by 12...Wa3+ 13.@d2 Det+ 14.6d3 Wxc3+ 15.hxe4 Acd Tate. 12 Rc3xfé 13, Wh4-g3 0-0 14. 2f4-d6 In Leonid Yudasin-Manuel Rivas Pastor, Dos Hermanas 1993, White continued with 14.8c4, but after 14...Wb4 15.2b3 DcS 16.8d6 RFS 17.2xf8 Exf8 18.Bhfl Axb3+ 19.axb3 Bxc2 a draw was agreed because of the perpet- ual check. Sam Palatnik has found a clear improve- ment on Black’s sixteenth move in this Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...@bd7 4.f4 e5 game. He introduced it into practice in the game Shiaf-Sam Palatnik, Asheville 1997: 16...He8 17.Bhfl @xb3+ 18.axb3 We4 19.Bfel Qf5 20.W2 Be4 21.3 Ws 22.We2 Heo 23.Wh ho 24.2Bf1 Baes 25.Wxa7 Hxd6! 26.Bxd6 Wr4+ 27.Hd2 Qxf3 28.gxf3 Qgs 29.Was (29. d1? Wxd2+ 30.Hxd2 Hel mate) 29..b6 30,.We3 He2 31.d1 Wh2 32.Wxc6 Hxd2 33.Wc8+ Hd8+, and White resigned. A magnificent model game which clearly illustrates Black’s chances. 4. We7-e3+ 15. Sci-b1 We3-b6é With 15...Hd8 16.2c7 Efs 17.2d6 Black would throw away his advantage. Black has the initiative and an extra pawn. The only weaknesses in his positi- on are the hole on dé and the undevel- oped Sc8. 16. b2-b3 Hf8-e8 17. Sf1-c4 = Ad7-c5 Threatening ed, and finally giving the &c8 its freedom. 18. ADf3-g5 Bf6xg5 This exchange serves to avert the calam- ity on f7. 19. Wg3xg5 45The Black Lion White has minimal compensation for his pawn in the shape of his bishop pair and the attack on black’s king, and in this po- sition the knight on cS is under attack as well. In Rini Kuijf-Jean-Luc Seret, Lyon 1990, Black continued with 19...de4?, where 19...2e6 would have been in or- der. In the game, the aspiring adherent of The Black Lion escaped to a draw with: 20.8xf7+ xf? 21.WhS+ 6 22.Wxh7+ Sf6 23.Hhfl+ QfS 24.24 c3+ 25.al Dxd1 26.Hxf5+ gxfS 27. Wxf5+ Sg7 28.Wes+ Of7 29.WES+ Bg7 30.Weg5+ A. Variation 2.1.2 7. &ct-e3 Preparing queenside castling. Black must act quickly in order to avoid too great a lag in development. oS d6-d5! In the correspondence game Michael Yeo-Robert Arnold, 1989, Black played 7..MWb6, but this got him into trouble quickly after: 8.0-0-0 (8.Wd2 Wxb2 9.Hb1 Wa3 10.8e2 Ab6 and 11...2e6=) 8...Wxd4 9.Qxd4° 2e7? (more chances would have been offered by 9...Db6, creating space for the &c8) 10.e5 dxeS 11.fxeS DhS 12.De4+=. 46 This simplified position is hard to defend for Black. Yet, it appeared on the board again ten years later in a game Gyula Meszaros-Slim Belkhodja, Agneaux 1999, where Black fought his way to a draw with: 12...0-0 13.0d6 @b6 14.2xb6 axb6 15.Axc8 Efxc8 16.8d7 Sf8 17.2c4 bS 18.2b3 Hab8 19.g3 Hds 20.Hxd8+ Hxd8 21.8f1 cS 22.c3 g6 23.Hd1 Hb8 24.6d2 Dg7 25.He3 Deb 26.a3 Be8 27. Qxeb fre6=. 7...@e7? is a clearly inferior move, as was shown in the game Alexey Shirov- Lubomir Ftacnik, Senec 1998. In a spec- tacular game White was victorious: 8.g4! dS 9.g5 QcS 10,Wd3 dxet 11.Qxe4 Axes 12.Wxe4+ We7 13.Wxe7+ Gxe7 14.2d4 Qxd4 15.Axd4 Dc5 16.0-0-0 Hd8 17.f5 h6 18.h4 Det 19.292 ADd6 20.Rxc6! @®xf5 21.Qxb7! Qxb7 22.0xf5+ Sf8 23.gxh6! gxh6 24.Hxd8+ Bxd8 25.Hf1 hS 26.Bd1 Hb8 27.Hd7 Re4 28.0d6 gb 29.c4 Sg7 30.c5 SF6 31.c6 Hb6 32.De8+ heb 33.Hd6+ e7 34.c7 AES 35.Exb6 axb6 36.0g7 Qc8 37.AxhS Sd6 38.Dg7 Sxc7 39.5 Bb7 40.h6 Set 41.De8+ 1-0. 7...We7 also gives White an advantage soon, after: 8.0-0-0 b6 9.e5 dxeS 10.fxeS QcS 11.Wd2 Qxe3 12.Wxe3Dgt 13.Wg5+—, as in the game Hakan Knutsson-Mats Harren, Rodeby 1998. The text move prepares &c5, with which Black can seize the initiative. This may involve the sacrifice of a pawn. Hece fi a mA Hao A BS BAR E Gi8 ao ie 1284 B Be@eme Now White has the following two im- portant possibilities: 21.2.1 8.exd5 2.1.2.2 8.e5 In both cases Black must see to it that he can carry out the standard moves ...&c5 and ...g4 quickly. The alternative 8.0-0-0!? (a recommen- dation by Krum Georgiev) is also played regularly. White completes his develop- ment as quickly as possible, but he has to be on his guard for Black’s attacking chances. These can arise after the follow- ing black continuations: * 8...c5?!, Black is going for the gain of a piece, but this gives White active Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...@bd7 4.f4 e5 counterplay. In the game Marcio Merg Vaz-Aleksa Strikovic, Internet 2004, Black won as follows: 9.Wa4 d4 10.2b5? (10.Axd4! cxd4 11.Axd4 Re7 12.e5 DhS 13.Me3+) 10...a6 11.DeS axbS 12.Wxa8 Be7 13.2xd4 cxd4 14.Bxd4 0-0 15.Bhd1 Whe 16.a4 DxeS 17.fxeS Ags 18.25 We7 19.Wa7 BcS 20.Axbs Wxes 21.Wxb7 Sxdi 22.Hxd1 hS 23.We6 Eb8 24.c4 Axes 25.06 g6 26.Wd5 We7 27.27 Qxa7 28.Hel Hes 29.0d6 Hd8 30.Hxes Wxdo 31.Wxd6 Exd6 32.He7 QcS—+. 8...2c5. After 9.Wd3 (9.Wd2 Qb4! 10.exd5 Axd5 11.2d4 (11.2c4 Axc3; 11...0-0? 12.8xd5 cxdS 13.Wxd5 xc3 14.bxc3. We7£) 11...0-0=) 9..WWe7 (9...2xe3+ 10.Wxe3 dxet 11.2xe4 0-0 12.Axf6+ (12.8c4) 12... Wxf6 13.g4!2 Db 14.65 Qd7 15.Wes Wh6+ 16.6b1 Haes 17.Wg3 (17.We7 c5!) 17...He3 18.243 Bfes 19.Hhel cS 20.Hxe3- Hxe3 21.Hel Bxel+ 22.Dxel We6 23.Be2 c4=, ac- cording to Stefan Biicker) 10.e5 Ag4 Black does not have any problems. In the game Jakup Erturan-Baadur Jobava, Ankara 2002, Black even won quickly after: 11.@d4 (Stefan Biicker gives as a possible alternative 11.@xcS AxcS 12.d4 bS 13.Wgl Be6 (13...0-0? 14.h3 Oho 15.Hxd5 Deé (15...cxd5? 16.Axd5 and 17.WxcS) 16.HaS Axf4 17.Bxa7) 14.h3 Dh6 15.g4 g6 16.Re2 0-0-0 17.Ad4 Sbs 18.b1 2d7 19.23 Des 20.Wh2 Edf8=) 11...Axe3 12.Wxe3 0-0 13.g4 bS 14.25 Ab6 15.Ace2 Bgt 16.Wg3 Rxd4 17.Exd4 c5 18.Wxg4 cxd4 19.Dxd4 Wb4 20.c3 Hac8 21.Wdl Dat 22.Wd2 Axb2 47The Black Lion 23,Dc2 Hxc3 24.b1 Act+ 25.Axb4 @xd2+ 26.6b2 HZ 27.2xbS Hbs 28.a4 Dct+ 29.Gcl He3+ 30.Ac2 a6 0-1. There are some continuations with which White can seal his own fate quickly, as was shown in the game Rob- ert Mirandi-Sam Palatnik, Chattanooga 1998: 8.h3? cS 9.Wat d4 10.e5 DhS 11.QbS dxc3 12.0-0-0 (12.4? cxb2 13.Bb1 Dg3 14.Hg1 Des 15.Wxes WaS+ 16.2d2 WxbS) 12...a6 13.045 bs 14.Hhd1 axbS5 15.WxbS Be7 16.e6 fxe6 17.Bxh5 Wb6! 0-1. Variation 2.1.2.1 8. e4xd5 Bw. 2f8-c5 The alternative 8...cxd5 looks less good, even though in the game Franz Schuh- Gilbert Grimberg, Dortmund 1989, Black obtained a dangerous initiative: 9.0-0-0 &cS 10.Wd2 0-0 11.Axd5 @xd5 12.AxcS DxcS 13.WxdS Was 14.23 Be6 15.Wd2 We7 16.b1 Hads 17.2d3 @xd3 18.cxd3 RFS 19.Del Ed4 20.Hf1 Hfd8 21.c1 Wd7 22.893 Was 23.Hc3 bS 24.We3 Gf8 25.Hc7 (25...He8 26.Wd2 Hes) 0-1. 9. Wd4-d3 48 The alternative 9.Wd2 seems less good. After 9...We7 10.0d4 Zg4 White has three important options: Higom 63 iA BARA Be @ an i mA a. a mS Beiemx * 11.2d1 occurred in the game Engin Cukuroglu-Tamaz Gelashvili, Izmir 2003. Black scored an attractive victo- ry after: 11...@df6 12.h3 (12.2c4 Det 13.Wd3 Def2 14.0xf2 Wxe3+ 15.Wxe3+ ADxe3 16.0b3 Lb6 17.243 @Dxg2+¥F) 12... Dxe3 13.Qxe3 Det 14.Wd3 Wh4+ 15.@e2 @g3+ 16.6d2 @xhi 17.dxc6 0-0 18.c3 bxc6 19.Re2 DF2 20.We4 Qxd4 21.cxd4 Weft 22.23 Dest+ 23.63 DAdé 24.Wxc6 Qb7 25.WeS Ba6+ 26.Gd2 Dc4+ 0-1. 11.0-0-0 is the move recommended by Christian Bauer in his Philidor Files, in view of the following variation: 11...Wxe3 (11...@xe3_ 12.Hel 0-0 13.Hxe3 We 14.He4 Abo 15.Qb3t) 12.Hel 2xd4 13.0d1 Wxel 14.Wxel+ Gd8 (14...6f8 15.dxc6 (15.d6!?) 15...bxc6 16.We4) 1S.dxc6 bxc6 16.WaS+ Lb6 17.WgS+ Dgfe 18.Wxg7oo. Stefan Bicker elaborates on this analysis with: 18...Hg8 19.Wxf7 2b7 20.Wb3 Bc7 21.g3 Hae8 22.292 He7 23.Wet Hd8 24.b4 Ags 25.b5De3 26.Axe3 Qxe3+ 27.Hb1 DcS 78.Wb4 Hed7 29.a4 cxb5 30.&xb7 bxb7 31.Wa3 Rd4 32.axb5 Sb6=. After 11.2£5 the following continua- tion is possible: 11...2xe3 12.Wd1 Qft! (12..Wb4? 13.Wxgs Wxd2 14.Wxg7 Wxalt+ 15.62 Efe 16.Axe3+) 13.6d2 Wb4 14.Wxg4 Dio! 15.We2r2+ (15.Wxg7 Hgs 16.Wxf6 Wxf4+ 17.2d1 Qxf5 0-1) 15...@f8 16.Wxf2?? De4+ 0-1 (ana- lysis: Cyril Marcelin). 2 Wd8-e7 In earlier editions we indicated 9...0-0 as the best possibility. After 10.0-0-0 Wb6! (10...cxd5? 11.0xdS Dxd5 12.Bxc5 @xcS 13.WxdSt) 11.AxcS AxcS 12.Wd4 cxd5, the position is balanced; =. Instead of 10.0-0-0 White has an in- teresting alternative in 10.dxc6!. Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...bd7 4.f4 eS Now there could follow: * 10...He8 11.0e5 @xeS 12.Wxd8 Exd8 13.cxb7 &xb7 14.Rxc5 Dgé 15.65 Dh4 16.f2 Hd2+ 17.Ge1 Had8 18.243 Exg? and Black has the initiative. 10...bxc6 11.2xcS AxcS 12.Wxds Exd8 13.He5 Ags 14.Rc4 ADxeS 15.fxe5 Be6 16.Mxe6 Dxe6 17.Bd1 Exd1+ 18.Qxd1 Af4 19.3 Age 20.e6 fxe6 21.He4 Hd8+ =, after an idea by Wilmar Meijer. 10. Af3-d4 The alternative 10.8d2?! is riskier. If White manages to play He1 quickly and safely, things will be OK for him. But Black can seize the initiative with 10...2b4! (10...Wxe3+? 11.Wxe3+ Bxe3+ 12.Gxe3 cxdS 13.6d4!4+—). This pin yields Black excellent chances, as becomes clear from the following continuations: * 11.Hel? is too early, as was clearly demonstrated in the game Adam Szie- berth-Sergey Galdunts, Cappelle la Grande 2002: 11...&xc3+ 12.bxc3 cxdS 13.0g5 0-0 14.244 Wade 18.2e5 Web 16.c4 DcS 17,.Wae dxc4 18.c1 Qf5 19.2d6 Ad3+ 20.cxd3 cxd3+ 21.8b2 Had8 0-1. * 11.dxcé also gives Black good chances after: 11...@xc3+ 12.bxc3 Det+ 13.@d1 bxc6 14.0e5 Ddfo 15.We4 0-0 16.2d3 Be6F. Besides 10...2b4!, an interesting alterna- tive is 10...0-0!?. There can follow: 11.Hel Qxe3+ 12.Bxe3 Wb4 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.We4 Wxb2 15.Wb3 (15.Wxc6? Db6 16.WeS Reb! 17.2d3 Hfcs 18.Bb1 ExcS 19.Bxb2 Hxc3—+) 15...Bb8 16.Wxb2 Hxb2 17.He7 Hd8=. 49The Black Lion 10... @d7-b6 Attacking d5, but also clearing the way for the &c8. Promising alternatives are: * 10...g4, which occurred in the game Sergey Rublevsky-Rodrigo Vas- quez, Internet 2006. Black seized the initiative after: 11.0f5 Wf (11...AdeS! 12.fxeS (12.Dxe7 @xd3+ 13.Qxd3 Axe 14.Axc8 Hxc8 15.dxc6 Exc6! 16.@d2 0-0) 12...WxeS 13.dxc6 @xfS 14.cxb7 0-0 15.bxa8W Exa8—+) 12.0-0-0 Axe3 13.Axe3 Wxf4 14.Hel 0-0 15.g3 Wes 16.Wet Wi2 17.He2 Wie 18.2g2 Whe 19.6b1 Afe 20.Wd3 cxdS 21.MexdS AxdS 22.Axd5 gsk. * 10...Axd5, which soon gave Black a winning advantage in the game Alexandra Kosteniuk-Rolf Berg- strém, Port Erin 2000, after: 11.@xd5 cxd5 12.0f5 (12.0-0-0 0-0 13.g3 Af6 14.2g2 He8=) 12... WE6 13.0-0-0 (13.2xc5! AxcS 14.Wb5+; 14.We3+ Ded 15.Qb5+ 2d7 16. 2xd7+ Gxd7 17.0d4 g3!? 18.0-0-0 Axh1 19.AbS Web 20.Wes Wee 21.Wc7+ es 22.Wxb7 We3+ 23.@b1 Has 24.8xh1 @f8 25.Wxa7 Wxa7 26.@xa7 He8= according to Stefan 50 Bicker) 13...0-0 14.23? (14.Wxd5 Bxe3+ 15.Axe3 Wxf4=; or 14.g4!, with an initiative for White) 14...2b6 15.Wxd5 Abs 16.2xb6 axb6 17.8d3 Ha5 18.Wd6 &xfs—+. 11, d5xc6 The continuation 11.0-0-0?! also regu- larly appears in practice. Black does not have to fear this move. After 11...Abxd5 12.Axd5 @xd5 13.2d2 0-0, Black has a satisfactory game and the initiative, as becomes clear from the following exam- ples: * 14.Hel, yielded Black a quick victory in the game Holger Bonte-Laura Bens- dorp, Hengelo 2000, after: 14...Wf6 15.Qb3 Qb6 16.93 QfS 17.We2 Wee 18.ct Qbi 19.Ba5 Bxad 20.cxdS Whi+ 21.¢d2 Wxb2+ 22.843 Wxb3+ 23.2c3 Wxd5+ 0-1. * 14.4b3 occurred in the game Richard Berube-Sophie Milliet, St Lorrain 2003. Now Black obtained an advan- tage as follows: 14...2b6 15.Wf3 aS 16.a4 QF5 17.2d3 Axd3 18.Wxd3 £5 19.Bhe1 WE7 20.Wce4 Hfes 21.Aad4 Qxd4 22.Wxd4 DfOF. WW. . b7xc6 11...Abd5? was quickly punished in the game Christian Bauer-Aleksa Strikovic,Calvia 2005: 12.cxb7 Wxb7 13.Wb5+ WxbS 14.2xbS+ Ld7 15.AxdS Dxds 16.2f2 0-0-0 17.8a6+ Bc7 18.Ae6+ Qxe6 19.Axc5 Axf4 20.0-0+—. ‘Also 11...0-0? did not turn out fortu- nately for Black in Judit Polgar-Alexan- der Khalifman, Sevilla 1993: 12.0-0-0 bxc6 13.2g1 We7 14.g3 Hd8 15.0db5 Bxd3 16.Axc7 Bxd1+ 17.Axd1 &xgi 18.Dxa8 Axa8 19.Hxgl 1-0. 12. Bfl-e2 12.0-0-0!? looks risky, since this move Jeads to the temporary loss of a piece af- ter: 12.26 13.Wd2 (13.Wxa6? Wrxe3t+ 14.0d2 Qxd4 15.0d1 Wxf4—+) 13... 2xf1, because 14.Bhxf1? fails to 14..act 15.Wd3 Wxe3+ 16.Wxe3+ ADxe3 17.Efel 0-0-0!—+. However, according to Christian Bauer White has a better move than 14.Bhxf1?: * 14.8f2!. Now threatening Hel and Exfl. After 14...0c4 15.Wel Qxd4 (15...2xg2? 16.Df5!) 16.Wxe7+ Sxe7 17.Exd4 cS 18.Hd1 &xg2 19.QxcS+ @e6 20.Hhel+ ofS 21.84 White is better, +. * 14.2£5!? with a counterattack for White. A possible continuation is: Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...@bd7 4.£4 ¢5 14...Ac4! (14...xe3? 15.Axe3 Act 16.axct Qxct 17.Hhel Reb 18.f5+) 15.RxcS WxeS 16.Wd4 Wxd4 17.Exd4 cS 18.Bxct @xct 19.2d6+ Ge7 20.Axc4F. Another interesting idea is 12.@d1, followed by &e2, 0-0 and, possibly, c2-c3. 12. &cB-a6! In the game James Howell-Vlastimil Jansa, Lazne Bohdanec 1995, Black con- tinued 12...0-0, and after the following moves the position petered out to a draw: 13.2g1 Wc7 14.93 (14.De6!?) 14...8h32! (14...Hd8! 15.0-0-0 2b7 16.WES Qb4) 15.De6 feed 16.RxcS Efds 17.Qd4 Qf5 18.We3 Abds 19.Axd5 Dxd5 20.Wes WxeS 21.2xe5 De3 22.f2 Axc2=. 13. Wd3-d2 13.Wxa6? Wxe3 14.0xc6 WE2+ 15.8d1 Wxg? 16.Hel 0-0 —+. 13... Df6-g4! tea 2 BB EGA MoMA ras BoA @ With the text Black adds power to his initiative. In the game Laurent Fressinet- Slim Belkhodja, Marseille 2001, Black tried 13...Abd5?!, but after 14.Axd5 Dxd5 15.Af5 Bxe3 16.Dxe7 Qxd2+ 17.xd2 &xe7 18.2xa6 Axf4 19.Hael+ Deb 20.2c4 Hhd8+ 21.8c3 51The Black Lion Hd6 22.Bhfl Had8 he had to concede a draw soon. 14. 2e3-g1 After 14.2xg4 Dc4 15.0f5! (15.0xc6? Qxe3 16.We2 WeSF) 15... Bxe3 (15...0xd2? 16.Axe7 Axe3 17.Axc6 Qb7 18.Ad5!) 16.Wad3 (16.We2 2d2+ 17.6f2 Wxe2+ 18.2xe2 Axb2 19, Qxa6 Qxc3 20.2b7 Hd8 21.2xc6+ Hf8co) 16..2d2+ 17.6f2 We5+ 18.g3 it’s still Black’s move, but the position is unclear. eS @b6-c4 15. Wd2-d3 In the game Marc Santo-Roman-Chris- tian Bauer, Narbonne 2003, White continued 15.@f5. After 15...@xgl 16.Exg] WeS 17.Wd4 WxfS 18.2xc4 Hd8 19.0-0-0 Hxd4 20.Bgel+, 20...WeS! would have won immediately. In the game there followed: 20...6f8? 21.Exd4 Wfe 22.Hdet g6 23.2xa6 @xh2 24.0a4 Sg7 25.AcS Has 26.2d3 Dg4 with a slight advantage for Black, ¥. Interesting is 15.Axc6!? Qxgl (15...Axd2 16.Dxe7 Qxgi 17.4ed5!) 16.Axe7 2f2+ 17.Gd1 Dge3+ 18.8cl Axd2 19.Qxa6+. 15... Dg4-e3 16. &gixe3 Ac4xe3! The text move is better than the alterna- tive 16...Wxe3?!, which is answered by 17. Wxe3+ Axe 18.Qxa6 Qxd4 19.2b7 Eb8 20.2xc6+ Be7=. 17. Wd3xa6 0-0 18. Wa6xc6 18.@xc6 would still give White a chance of survival: 18...Wd6 19.2d3 Axg2+ 20.2d1 Wxf4oo, 18... Rcdxd4 $2 In this position, Black has the initiative and ample compensation for the two pawns; ¥. In Anatoli Vaisser-Murtas Kazh- galeev, Marseille 2007, play continued as follows: 19.Ad5 (19.Hcl Efes 20.W£3 Wb4!) 19..AxdS 20.WxdS Hfes! 21.3 Wh4+ 22.8f1 Hac8 23.243 Be3 24.WadsS Bxd3! 25.WES (25.cxd3 Wxb2! of 25.c3 Wxb2) 25...Bxc2 0-1, in view of 26.Wxd3 Hf2+. Variation 2.1.2.2 8. e4-e57! This frequently played move gives Black chances on the queenside, and defini- tively hands over the c5- and f5-squares to Black. o.= af6-g4 Now Black threatens to win a piece on e3 by means of 9...2.c5. Worthy of consider-ation is : 8...c5 9.Wd2 d4 10.exf6 dxc3 11.Wxc3 Waxfe 12.Wb3 We and +. The immediate 8...&c5 is less good. Af- ter 9.Wd2 Ags 10.AxcS AxcS 11.h3 @Dh6 12.g4, White takes over the initia~ tive and he will have a long-term advan- tage. 9. 2e3-g1 In Wim Hokken-Leo Jansen, Sliedrecht 1994, White continued with 9.Wd2?. This turned out to bea loss of a tempo af- ter 9...Dxe3 10.Wxe3 cS 11.Wd3 Woe 12.0-0-0 @e3+ 13.@b1 Qxf4 with a clearly better position for Black, ¥. Instead of 10...&c5, 10...Wbé6 is a good alternative, with which Black achieved a great advantage in the game Ali Niknaddaf-Zoltan Varga, Yerevan 2001: 11.Wxb6 axb6 12.243 Qb4 13.62 0-0 14.a3 Re7 15.5 bS 16.g4 Hes 17.h4 248 18.Hael Bc7 19.6 fxe6 20.Hxe6 Hxe6 21.fxe6 AcS 22.Hel Rf4t 23.61 Bxe6—+. 9.52 Whe! 10.Wxb6 Axb6 does not promise White an advantage either. I ®g4-h6 In recent years, this move has been more popular than 9...&c5, which gives White too many counterchances after 10.Wd2 &xgl 11.Bxgi Wbé 12.0-0-0 and now: Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...bd7 4.f4 e5 * 12...Axh2 seems too greedy in view of 13.Qe2 or 13.Ad4+, but Sam Palatnik indicates with the following variation that this is playable for Black nonethe- less: 12...Axh? 13.0a4 Axf3 14.Dxb6 @xd2 15.0xa8 Axfl 16.Hgxfl bé6 17.e6 (17.Ac7+ Sd8 18.AxdS cxdS 19.Hxd5 @e7¥) 17...fxe6 18.2c7+ Se7 19.Bfel Df 20.f5 Dest 21.fxe6 Rxe6 12. Axes SxeoF. * 12..@c5 occurred in the game Frans Vermeulen-Hans van Steenis, The Ne- therlands 2007, which continued as fol- lows: 13.He1 (13.0d4) 13...0-0 14.f5? QxfS 15,WegS Be 16.Wh4 Af?! 17.8b1 Dfe4 18.Dxe4 dxet 19.05 h6 20.Axe4 (20.Dxe6) 20...Dxe4 21.Wxet Wxgl 22.243 Bf5!F. 12.h3 instead of 12.0-0-0 is less good, as became clear in the game Mohamed Al Sayed-Slim Belkhodja, Cairo 2003: 12...Oh2 13.0d4 Dxfl 14.Exfl Wxb2 15.Bb1 Wa3 16.Hf3 0-0 17.Axd5 WS 18.2c3 Abé 19.Hg3 Hds 20.Bd1 AES 21.Bxg7+ xg? 22.Dxf5+ Sg6 23.Dh4+ -”r. Instead of 12.0-0-0, a good alternative is 12.@a4. Now Black has to be careful in order not to become much worse imme- diately, as was shown in the game Alexey Dreev-Aloyzas Kveinys, Vienna 1996: 12...We3+ 13.Wxe3 Dxe3 14.243 b5 15.2c3 Db6? (15...0-0 and 15...AcS are better alternatives) 16.a3 0-0 17.b3 Hd8 18.ad4 2b7 (18...2d7!) 19.6f2 Dec4 20.Ace2 gé6 21.a¢ Db2 22.a5 @xd3+ 23.cxd3 Dd7 24.26 Bc8 25.Dxc6 He8 26.43 1-0. Instead of 11...Wb6, 11...h5!? is an in- teresting alternative. This move stops the direct g4 and yields Black an equal game 53The Black Lion after 12.0-0-0 @h6 13.2e2 Ac 14.0g5 @fS5 15.@xhS HxhS 16.24 Exgs 17.fxg5 De7; =. The text move is better than 9...f5, which was seen in Jean-René Koch-Em- manuel Bricard, France 1989. After 10.3 @h6 11.0-0-0 AcS (11...Rc5!) 12.BgS Deb? (12...D£7) 13.Axe6 White obtained a clear advantage, +—. However, a good alternative to the text move is 9...4#b6!, which occurred in the game Peter Wells-Michael Oratovsky, Budapest 1999. Play continued as follows: 10.Wxb6 (10.h3 @cS 11.Wd2 Qxgl 12.Bxgi ®h2=) 10...axb6 11.h3 Dh6 12.4. Here, according to Stefan Bicker, 12...b5 13.2e3 b4 14.De2 Dc! 15.Ded4 f6 16.2g2 Af7 17.0-0 Bet 18.Hfel h5! gives Black sufficient counterchances. 54 10. Wd4-d2 Another possibility is 10.0-0-0. The best reply to this move is 10...WaS!. The game William Watson-Christian Bauer, Ger- many Bundesliga 1996/97, continued quite spectacularly, as follows: 11.b1 Db6 (11..DF5 12.WE2 Bb4 13.2e2!) 12.a3 (12.Dd2! Bg4 (12...c5 13.Wd3!) 13.Bel cS 14.Wd3+ according to Stefan Bicker) 12...2g4 13.Wd2 &xf3 14.gxf3 Qe7°15.2d3 g6 16.2d4 cS 17.Qf2 (17.2b5+? Sf8 18.Qf2 d4!) 17...Bd8 18.£5 DxfS 19.QxfS gxfS 20.Wh6e d4 21.e6 Hf8 (21...dxc3? 22.exf7+ &xf7 23.Wh5+) 22.Hhg1 Ac4 23.exf7+ Exf7 24.8g8+ bd7 25.Bxd8+ Wxd8 26.0d5 We 27.°WhS cb 28. Af Bd6 29.De6 We8 30.Be1 Wd7 31.2g3? 0-1. After 31. Waxf7! Wxf7 32.0d8+, White wins. On 10.0-0-0, 10...AcS?! is a slightly worse continuation. The game Markus Schifer-Stefan Bicker, Bad Neuenahr 1991, continued as follows: 11.Wd2 bs 12.Ag5 Hb8 13.2xcS Qxc5 14.Ace4 Be7 15.We3 Eb6 16.Dd6+ Qxd6 17.exd6 0-0 18.2d3 and now 18...Wxd6! would have yielded Black the advantage, ¥ (analysis: Stefan Bicker). Instead of 11...b5, also possible is 11.,.2g4, as was shown in the game Essam El Gindy-Slim Belkhodja, Lusaka 2005, which continued as follows: 12.2e2 DFS 13.h3 Qxf3 14.Qxf3 hS 18.2f2 h4 16.e2 We7 17.4b1 g6 18.Wce3 Dat 19.Wb3 AcS=. 10... 2f8-b4 11. a2-a3 Wd8-a5 12. Af3-d4 With the intention to stop £5, but also to kick back the queen with Mb3. An alterna- tive is 12.0-0-0, which occurred in thegame Jean-René Koch-Christian Bauer, Auxerre 1996. Play continued as follows: 12..2xc3 13.Wxc3 Wxc3 14.bxc3 Abs 15.802 Dc4+ 16.Axc4 dxet=. 12. @d7-c5! Threatening the decisive 13...0e4. 13. Sf1-d3 0-0 Mee sms In this position Black has the initiative and a lead in development; ¥. In Etienne van Leeuwen-Stephane Hautot, Belgium tt 2002/03, Black finished off as follows: 14.4b3 @xb3 15.cxb3 f6 16.0-0-0 Qxc3 17.Wxe3 Wxc3+ 18.bxc3 fxe5 19.fxeS Ags 20.Hel BS 21.d2 Bxd3 22.xd3 D+ 23.Mxf2 Bxf2 24.g3 Hafs 25.64 Sf7 26.c4 Seb 27.cxd5+ cxd5 28.He3 Hc8 29.h3 Hcc2 30.Hhel bé6 31.83 Hfe2 32.He3 Hcd2+ 0-1. Variation 2.1.3 7. &c1-d2 Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...0bd7 4.f4 e5 This move became known after the game Viktor Kortchnoi-Georgy Bastrikov, Minsk 1952. Viktor the Terrible’s move has gained adherents in recent times, and it is also recommended by Stefan Biicker. The game given can serve as a guideline for this variation. The text move enables White to comfortably castle queenside and bring his king into safety. : it Wd8-b6! 7...Wc7 seems thematic, but it is hardly ever played in this position. 7...d5, how- ever, is an interesting alternative. After 8.e5, which was seen in Humphrey Andolo-Fouad El Taher, Cairo 2000, Black quickly won after: 8...2cS 9.Wd3 Dg+ 10.Ad1 Be7 11.He3 Acs 12.We2 Whe 13.Ad1 Det 14.93 AcS 15.2g2 0-0 16.b4 Qxb4 17.Bb1 Dxd2 18.Hxb4 Dxf3+ 19.2xf3 Wxb4+ 20.c3 We4 0-1. Instead of 8.e5, a better alternative is 8.exd5. The game Thierry Georgelin- Bruno Delacotte, France 2001, contin- ued as follows: 8...&c5 9.Wd3 We7+ 10.2e2 (10.We2 Wxe2+ 11.2xe2 cxd5) 10...0-0 (10...cxd5 11.0-0-0 0-0 12.g4 (12.6b1 He8 13.0d4 Bb4 14.0db5 Lxc3 15.Dxc3 AcS 16,Wa4 Dcet 17.Qb5 Hd8 18.h3 a6 19.23 bS5) 12...2b6! 13.g5 Acs 14.Wb5 Ad7 15.gxf6 Wd6 16.0xd5 QxbS 17.0e7+ 55The Black Lion Wxe7 18.fxe7 Gxe2 19.exf8W+ Exf8= analysis: Stefan Biicker) 11.dxc6 bxc6 12.0-0-0 a5 13.Ag5 Hb8 14.2a4 ho 15.h4 He8 16.294 Be3 17.Hdel Qxd2+ 18.Wxd2 Wb4 19.Bxe8+ Axes 20.2xd7 Wxa4 21.2xe8 hxg5 22.2xc6 Wxc6 23.Wd8+ Ph7 24.hxg5+ Sg6 25.Whe &f5 26.Wxg7 Web 27.24+ cbxgt 28.Hgi+ Of3 29.We3+ We3+ 30.Wxe3+ Gxe3 31.Ef1 Sf5 32.c3 Bhs 33.b4 Hh? 34.Bel+ 3 35.bxaS Hxa2 36.@b1 HxaS 37.b2 Bb5+ 38.823 xc3 39.ha4 Hb4+ 40.ha5 Exf4 41.He3+ Gd4 42.He7 2g6 0-1. After 7...d5, 8.0-0-0 is also perfectly playable. The game Javier Munoz Gallego-Antonio Garcia Cano, Canovelles 1999, continued as follows: 8...&c5 9.Wd3 0-0 (9...dxe4? 10.Dxe4 0-0 11L.@xc5 DxcS 12.Wa3 b6 13.2b4 We7 -14.HeSt) 10.exdS = Bb4 (10...cxd5? 11.0xdS @xdS 12.Wxd5 Whe 13.2c4 DFE 14.Wd3+) 11.dxc6 bxc6 12.He4 Qxd2+ 13.Bxd2 Was 14.Axf6+ Dxf6 15.Wa3 Wxa3 16.bxa3 @d5 17.Hd4 Bb8 18.4d2 2b7 19.c4 @bs 20.He5 cS 21.8d3 Axc4t 22.@xc4 Qxg? 23.Hel Qcé 24.De5 QbS 25.c4 Baé 26.c3 Eb7 27.Ad7 Hc8 28.Axc5 Hb6 29.Axa6 Bxab=. 8. 0-0-0 56 After 8.Wxb6 axb6, followed by 9...b5, Black has an equal game. Or also, as was seen in the game Adam Szieberth- Sebastian Schmidt Schaefer, Bern 1996: 9.e5 dxeS 10.fxeS Ags 11.e6 fe 12.h3 Agf6 13.2ct AcS 14.23 bs 15.Qa2 ADcet 16.Axet Axes 17.HF4 QcS 18.Ag5 AxgS 19.Qxg5 h6 20.2h4 Hat 21.b4 Ad4 22.0-0-0 2f6 23.Qxf6 gxf6 24.Hd3 &e7 25.Hel Hd8 26.Hxd8 Gxd8 27.2xe6 Hxa3 28.6b2 Hg3 29.Qxc8 Sxc8 30.Hf1 Ego=. 8. 2f8-e7! The text is better than the exchange of queens: 8...Wxd4? 9.Axd4 AcS 10.Hel Qd7 (10...Ae6 11.Af3! Be7 12.€5 dxeS 13.Axe5S 0-0 14.8c4 Hes 15.f5+) 11.e5 dxeS 12.fxeS AdS 13.Axd5 cxd5 14.c4 Hc8 15.2c3 Det 16.cxd5 Dxc3 17.bxc3 cS 18.@b2 0-0 19.2d3 bS 20.Ac2 Hfe8 21.Ehfl g6 22.Hf6 2f8 23.Ha6 Bg7 24.Bxa7 Qg4 25.2xb5 Exe5 26.HxeS Qxe5 27.2c6 Qxh? 28.a4 Bg7 29.2b5 hS 30.Ha6+—, as was seen in the game Adam Szieberth- Attila Kiss, Oberwart 1997. 9, h2-h3 In the game Erich Steflitsch-Stephane Hautot, Chalkidiki 2002, White tried 9.Bel (9.2e3 0-0 10.8b1 He8) 9...0-0 10.e5 (10.2c4 Wxd4 11.Axd4 Abo 12.843 g6 13.h3 @fd7) 10...Wxd4 11.Dxd4 dxeS 12.fxe5 Ags 13.e6 DS 14.2e2, and now 14...2f6! 15.@xc6 @f2 16.Bhfl bxc6=. 9. we Wh6xd4 10. Af3xd4 Ad7-c5 11. Hdt-e1 11.e5 also gives Black an equal game af- ter 11..dxe5 12.fxeS Dfe4 13.Dxe4Bret 14.8c4 bS 15.8b3 Dxd2 16.xd2 2d7=. Wo. Df6-h5 The text move is better than 11...h5?!, which yields White an advantage after 12.b4 De6 13.0f5 BAB 14.e5 dxeS 15.fxeS AdS 16.Axd5 cxdS 17.Bdit. 12. g2-94 or 12.Dde2 Dfo 13.0g3 a=. 12. @h5-g3 13. Hhi-h2 g3xfi 13...2h4? 14.951. 14. Heixf1 h7-h5 14...@d7 is a good alternative. 15. g4-g5 97-96 16. 4-75 0-0 17. 2d2-f4 Hz Hy = Bee ome Now 17...He8! 18.He2 (18.b4 @d7) 18...Ad7 results in equality. In Kortch- noi-Bastrikoy, Black went astray with 17...8d8?, after which White finished off as follows: 18.b4 @a6 19.b5 Abs 20.Hd2 &d7 21.h4 dS 22.exd5 Ba3+ 23.Gd1 cS 24.De6 fxe6 25.dxe6 Qb+ 26.Bf3 Ac6 27.exd7 Ad4 28.xd4 cxd4 29.AdS a5 30.fxg6 HFS 31.De7+ 1-0. Conclusion The variations arising after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Df 3.0c3 Dbd7 4.f4 e5 6.03 exd4 Chapter 2: The Lion’s Den: 3...bd7 4.f4 e5 7 Wxd4 are perfectly suited to black players who like to attack in a sudden strike, from a defensive position. This set-up often produces exciting games. Variation 2.2 1. e2-e4 d7-d6 2. d2-d4 Dg8-F6 3. Dbi-c3 Ab8-d7 4. £2-f4 e7-e5 5. Dgi-f3 ¢7-c6 This is the starting position of the most important variation in The Lion’s Den. This variation offers White the opportu- nity to enter an endgame right away (as in the first variation), but he can also pa- tiently develop further. Black, on the other hand, can opt for a promising pawn sacrifice if White chooses to play the set-up with &c4. In the past years, especially the variation with an early exchange of queens has evolved at a quick pace. This means that the variations discussed in earlier edi- tions have become out of date. Of course, they maintain their value, but as in every opening, certain refutations cause new insights and lead to new variations or preference. Such is also the case in The Lion’s Den. 57The Black Lion Here, White has the following important possibilities: 2.2.1 6.dxe5 2.2.2 6.2e2 2.2.3 6.2.43 224A 6.2c4 6.23 is an option that allows Black to play ...Ag4. This temporarily yields the second player either a pawn (in case White retreats the bishop) or the bishop pair. In the game Robert Byrne-Julian Hodgson, London 1991, Black seized the initiative as follows: 7.2g1 exf4 8.Wd2 De3 9.2xe3 fxe3 10,Wxe3 2e7 11.2c4 b5 12.243 Woe 13.W4 0-0 14.0-0-0 b4®. After 6.h3 we follow the game Gerard Kemper-Leo Jansen, Dordrecht 1972, which continued as follows: 6...We7 7.2d3 exd4 8.Axd4 DcS 9.WE3 dS 10.e5 Afe4 11.0-0 £5 12.exfo Wxfo 13.2e3 Axd3 14.cxd3 AcS 15.Hadl 2d6 and Black had a very satisfactory position, ¥. The move 6.a4, with which White in- tends to safely play &c4 and to prevent the b7-b5 push, is a loss of tempo, since the bishop move can be played right away. The advantage of this move for Black is that he can now protect e5 one more time with 6...Wc7. Three sample games with this position are: * Bas van de Plassche-Leo Jansen, Eind- hoven 1987, which continued: 7.2c4 Be7 8.0-0 exd4 9.Dxd4 AcS 10.e5 dxeS 11.fxeS WxeS5 12.2f4 Whs 13,Wel @De6 14.Axe6 Qxe6 15.2xe6 fxe6 16.Wxe6 WE7 and a draw-was agreed. Milan Bajovic-Leo Jansen, Hastings 1977, continued: 7.2c4 exd4 8.Axd4 58 dS 9.exdS Db6 10.We2+ We7 11.0-0 Wxe2 12.Qxe2 Qc5 with a balanced position, =. * Frans van Vugt-Leo Jansen, Den Bosch 1983, continued: 7.8c4 exd4 8.Wxd4 d5 9.2b3 Qc5 10.Wd3 dxet 11,We2 (after 11.Axe4 0-0 Black sei- zes hold of the e-file) 11...0-0 12.g5 &b6 (or 12..a5 13.2¢3 Woe, or 12...Rb4 13.842 Dc5 and 14..0g94) 13.8e3 Qxe3 14.Wxe3 Woe 15.Wxb6 axb6 16.0-0 AcS 17.Hfel Dxb3 18.cxb3, F, and in the end Black managed to convert his ad- vantage to victory. Variation 2.2.1 6. d4xe5 White chooses a set-up related to the one in Variation 1 of this chapter. By means of a quick exchange of queens White at- tempts to enter an endgame where he is better. In many cases, Black has to give up the right to castle, but this is often compensated by a superior pawn struc- ture, thanks to White’s weak e-pawn. The text is more accurate than 6.fxeS, which is met by 6...dxe5, and now 7,.2g57! fails to 7...Wb6! 8.dxeS Ag4!F, butnot 8...Wxb2 in view of 9.2d2.6. d6xe5 7. f4xe5 Here again, White has several interesting alternatives. The first is 7.Axe5, a move Black does not have to fear. After 7..Oxe5 8.Wxd8+ Sxd8 9.fxeS Ags 10.2f4 BcS (10...2e6? 11.h3 Dhé 12.He2! Bc5 13.Rg5+ Sc7 14.0f4 Qd4 15.2d3!F), practice has seen the following continuations: * 11.0-0-0+ e7, which occurred in E.W. Roscam Abbing-Leo Jansen, The Hague 1973. That game continued: 12.Qg5+ £6 13.exf6+ gxf6 14.2h4 Bf2 15.g3 Be3+ 16.8b1 Des (16...Df2? 17.Bel @xh1 18.e5!+) 17.2e2 Dgé 18.e5 Axh4 19.exf6+ &xf6 20.gxh4 Re6=. 11.2c4 Be8 (11...8e7? 12.1 bS (12...2e6?! 13.0d5+! cxdS 14.exd5 Qd7 15h3 Ded 16.d6+ Sd8 17.2xe3 Qxe3 18.Exf7) 13.2xf7!) 12.Hf1 (12.e2 bS! 13.2d3 Qd4=) 12...Bf8 (12...2e67! 13.2xe6 fxe6 14.Ha4! Qd4!?) 13.h3 De3 14.2xe3 Gxe3 15.Bd1 de7 16.Bd3 2b6 17.Hg3 g6 18.Hgf3 Be6 19.Qxe6 xe6=, as occurred in Jos Molle- kens-Leo Jansen, Dordrecht 1980. The second alternative is 7.2c4?!, a less frequently played continuation. Black has to parry this sharp move in an active way. The reply 7...&c5? is good for White, since after 8.0xe5 (8.fxe5 Ag4) 8...0-0 (8...axeS 9,Wxd8+ Sxd8 10.fxeS DAgd 11.Rxf7 DxeS 12.2h5) 9,@d3! Black has too little compensa- tion for the pawn; +. Neither does 7...b5? give Black even the ghost of a chance after 8.2xf7+! @xf7 9.fxeS+—. Chapter 2: The Lion's Den: 3....bd7 4.£4 e5 A much better reply is the active 7...2d41. tf Bvwe @ 2 a wa Gan 41.8 Be Beem For one, this threatens @xe4 and pre- pares kingside castling After 8.dg5 Was! (8...0-0!? 9.Dxf7 Exf7 10.fxeS?! @d5! 11.Whs g6 12.Wh6 Axe5—+) 9.2xf7+ Be7 10.2b3 h6 11.03 Dxet Black hasa slight advantage; ¥. Finally, in blitz games the move 7.f5 is often seen, which leads to equality after 7...2b4 8.2d3 Qxc3+ 9.bxc3 We7 10.0-0 c5 11.We2 b6 12.@h1 Qb7=. Black is constantly threatening to carry through the c5-c4 push. Ta ee Dt6-g4 8. e5-e6 Other possibilities for White are: * 8.2c4 AdxeS! (of course not 8...&c5?? in view of 9.Rxf7+ Gxf7 59The Black Lion 10.Ags+ and 11. Wxg4+—) 9.Wxd8+ &xd8 and now: — 10.Axe5, which occurred in, among others, Rudi Simons-Jerry van Rekom, Helmond 1991. That game continued: 10.Axe5 DxeS 11.2b3 Bd6 12.2g5+ £6 13.0-0-0 Be7=. It is clear that White will not manage to solve the problem with e5 in this way either. — 10.$e2 occurred in Wout Boer- Ton Slagboom, Sliedrecht 1996. There followed: 10...2d6 11.h3 Df 12.Rg5 Be7 13.0-0-0 Qc7 and White had slight pressure in compensation for his isolated pawn, =. 8.Qf4, as played in the game Alexan- der Graf-Evgeny Ermenkov, Dubai 2000, led to equality after: 8...2cS 9.2c4 We7 (9...0f2 10.We2 Axh1 11.0-0-0 (11.8xf7+ @xf7 12.e6+ (12.Dgs+ Bes 13.e6 DFS 14.Bd1 (14...Was? 15.We4t)) 12... e8 13.0-0-0 @f2 14.exd7+ &xd7F) 11...Df2!F) 10.e6 fxe6 11.25 WE7 12.8f1 Wg6 13.Wd2 hé 14.2f4 e5 15.2g3 De3 16.Ah4 Dxfl 17.Axg6 @xd2 18.Sxd2 Hfg 19.Axfs Qxfs 20.8f1 %-%, in view of 20...2e7 21.867+ Gd8, ...2f6 and ...be7 (Evgeny Ermenkov). 8.h3 occurred in Hans van Schaaik-Jan Wiemans, Sliedrecht 1990. There fol- lowed: 8...AgxeS 9.Axe5? Wh4+ 10.d2 DxeS 11.2e2 Re6 12.Wel 0-0-0+—+. Ba f7xe6 9. Af3-g5 How quickly things can go wrong for Black after 9.h3 was proved by White in 60 the game Vlastimil Hort-Jerry van Rekom, Tilburg simul 1998. After 9...0h6? 10.2c4! Db6 11.Wxd8+ Sxd8 12.Rg5+ Be7 13.0-0-04+ Ses 14.203 Of7 15.Re3 Bd7 16.23 AcB 17.Dd4 Qc5 18.Hhel, White was better due to his space advantage and the black weaknesses on e6 and £7, +. A better reply to 9.h3 is 9...Age5, which was seen in the following games: * In Ruud Janssen-Jeroen Bosch, Leeuwarden 2002, Black obtained an equal game after: 10.Qe3 Qe7 11.We2 &f6 12.0-0-0 We7 13.h4 b6 14.$b1 Qb7 15.Dd4 bS 16.g4 Act 17.2cl 0-0-0 18.g5 BeS 19.We4 Ac5 20.Axct Rxd4 21.De2 Res=. Gerard Kolenbrander-Jerry van Re- kom, Sliedrecht 2006, continued as follows: 10.AxeS5 @xe5 11.Wxd8+ Sxd8 12.2g5+ Be7 13.0-0-0+ Bd7 14.Qxe7+ Gxe7 15.8e2 Haf8 16.Hhfl Agé 17.8xf8 Bxfs 18.Hf1 Df4 19.8f3 e5 20.Ad1, and now 20...h5 and 21...5 would have yiel- ded Black a great advantage. The text move attacks both the e6 pawn and the knight on g4. Therefore, Black has only one answer: ao Dd7-e5