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The Closed Sicilian Daniel King (PDFDrive)
The Closed Sicilian Daniel King (PDFDrive)
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Chess Press Opening Guides
Daniel King
;r
w.m
The Chess Press, Brighton
\
First published 1997 by The Chess Press, an imprint οί First Rank Publishing,
23 Ditchling Rise, Brighton, East Sussex, ΒΝ1 4QL, ίη association with
Cadogan Books plc
Distributed by Cadogan Books plc, 27-29 Berwick Street, London WIV 3RF
Α CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 1 901259 06 4
Bibliography 8
Introduction 9
4 6 f4 e5 65
5 6 iιe3 77
6 6l2Jge2 95
7 6 l2Jf3 and other SΊXth Moves for White 107
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Haνing spent alarmίngly large chunks going to be refuted oνernight. What is
of my life studying the white side of important is an understanding of the
the Open Sicilian, Ι find myself ask- ideas. Let's run through the first few
ing, why did Ι bother? Was Ι really so moνes and look at the reasoning be-
νain as to think Ι could refute the hind them:
Dragon, or the Najdorf, or that funny 1 e4 c5 2lΔc3
line with ... e7-e6 that Ι can neνer re- This moνe is important. Before
member the name of? (Is it a Kan, or a White fianchettoes his king's bishop,
Taimanoν, and should Ι aνoid a trans- it's crucial that ... d7-d5 is preνented,
position to a Scheνeningen?) There are otherwise Black can cut across his
certain players who long ago took the plans. For instance, 2 g3 would allow
attitude that life is too short for all 2... d5, which is still fine for White, as
that business, and Ι should haνe joined we shall see ίη Chapter 9, but it pre-
their ranks long before now. Vassily νents the Closed Sicilian formation
Smysloν, Boris Spassky, Vlastimil that we are heading for.
Hort and Oleg Romanishin are just a 2 ... lΔc6
few of the great players who haνe Systems with ... e7-e6 followed by
mastered the Closed Sicilian. They are ... d7 -d5 οη the next moνe are dis-
natural players who haνe deνeloped a cussed ίη Chapter 8.
'feel' for the positions that arise rather 3 g3 g6 4 iιg2 iιg7 5 d3
than staking their reputations οη I'm taking this position as my fun-
hours and hours of home preparation. damental starting point. White fi-
The great adνantage of the 'Closed' anchettoes his bishop which increases
is that it is possible to put your own the influence oνer d5, and ίη general
stamp οη the opening - as all the bolsters White's centre. When White
aboνe players haνe done. There isn't decides to attack, the reason he can get
one approνed method, and it's not away with it is that his pawn centre,
9
The CIosed SiciIian
10
Introduction
11
The CIosed SiciIian
Positional trick
White has more posltlve ways of
Even if it appears that there is little meeting the advance of the b-pawn
chance of an immediate attack, it is than simply moving the knight out of
remarkable how often Black's king the way. Here's a nice positional trick:
does eventually suffer. The exchange
of bishops also weakens Black's hold
over the centre and queenside.
12
Introdυction
the b1ack b-pawn with b2-b4. interested ίη one particu1ar 1ine, it's
good to p1ay through as many games
as possib1e, ίί you have time, as the
same ideas can often be transferred
from one kind οί position to another.
Ιη this book Ι have chosen to con-
centrate οη new ideas for both sides,
rather than repeating numerous 01d
and well-known games.
And final1y, Ι have always found
one οί the best ways to 1earn an open-
ing is to study the games οί a particu-
1ar expert to see how he interρrets the
A1though general1y this move is system. The obvious candidate to f01-
strategical1y desirab1e - a wing pawn 10w ίη the Closed 5icilian is Boris
knocks out a centre pawn - White has 5passky. Throughout his career he has
to be carefu1 that the horse οη c3 isn't contributed so many new ideas; even
nobb1ed by a tactic οη the 10ng diago- when he is at his most peacefu1, there
nal or c-fi1e. is a thoughtfulness about his p1ay
which is revealing. For this book Ι
Summary have se1ected as many οί his games as
50 there we have some of the main possib1e, even when not direct1y re1e-
strategic ideas ίη the Closed 5icilian. vant from a theoretical point οί view.
When we get stuck into the different Enjoy p1aying the Closed 5ici1ian,
chapters, Ι shal1 be examining these and don't forget: there is much more
strategies ίη greater detai1. Patterns to this opening than just pushing the ί
quick1y emerge. Even ίί you are οη1Υ pawn down the board!
13
Main Ιίηθ: 9 ~θ3 lίJd4
1 Ο e5 Pawn Sacrifice
14
Main Line: 9 ~e3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pa wn Sacrifice
Heard enough? If you are not con- course for Black mίght have been to
vinced οί the potential dangers, play give υρ the exchange with 16 ... exf4.)
οη: 16 ...1:!.e8 17 fxe5 b6
10 ... lίJef5 After 17 ... ~xe5 18 j,xa7 ~a8 19
Black's various other possibilities ~ί2 White is a pawn υρ for nothing.
here are discussed ίη Games 9-18.
11 .tf2 lίJxf3+
The most critical move. 11 ... ~b8 is
considered in Game 7 and 11 ... d5 ίη
Game 8.
12 ~xf3 lίJd4
12 ...~d7 is also playable - see Game
6.
13 ~d11:!.b8?
This move looks natural enough
but, as we shall see, it is far too slow.
Having got this far, Black should cap-
ture twice οη e5 - see Games 2-4, since 18 ~d6 1:!.b7 19 ~e2 1:!.d7 20 d4
13 ... dxe5 14 fxe5 ~b8 15 lbe4 (Game ~b7 21 ~a3 ~c8 22 g4 ~a6 23
5) and 13 ... d5 14 lba4 b6 15 b4 (Game ~f2 ~xf1 241:!.xf1 lίJe7 1-0
8, by transposition) are also promίsing ... and Black resigned before White
forWhite. could decide whether to play lbd6 or
14lίJe4! 'i'xf7+ first.
Α typical move for this variation:
the knight looks at the sensitive Black puts υρ a better defence in the
squares οπ c5, d6, and f6. next game, but White's strategy still
works perfectly.
15
Τhe Closed Sicilian
16
Main Line: 9 1ιθ3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pa wn Sacrifice
17 b4
The best moνe. White has to be a
little careful here. For instance, 17
l2Ja4 would haνe been strongly met by The picture becomes a little clearer.
17 ... f4, breaking through to White's ΒΥ knocking out the pawn οη c5,
king, while 17 l2Jb3?! was refuted by White has gained greater control οί
17 ... l2Jxb3 18 axb3 i.xb2 19 l:.a5 i.c3 the centre.
20 l:.a4 b5 21 l:.xa7 l:.xa7 22 i.xa7 e5 20 ... b6 21 lίJd3 ~b7
23 'iVf3 i..e6 24 Φh1 b4 with a clear Exchanging the bishops looks natu-
adνantage for Black ίη Miles-Marin, ral- Black hopes that White's kingside
Manila 1990. Finally, 17l2Jxb7? would will be weakened - but take a look at
haνe been a dreadful mistake, handing the backward pawn οη e6: target.
oνer the initiatiνe to Black after 22 ~xb7 1:txb7 23 a4 lίJc7 24 1:tfe1
17 .....txb7 18 i.xb7 l:.ab8 19 i.g2 lίJd5 25 c4lίJe7
l:.xb2. Here Black has solνed his major If 25 ...l2Jc7 then 26l2Je5 followed by
problem, how to deνelop the bishop b4-b5 and l2Jc6, with a complete stran-
οη c8, and his rook has thrown itself glehold oνer Black's position.
into the attack; far from being driνen 26lίJf4
back, the knight οη d4 looks like a
fixture οη d4, unless White wishes to
exchange it, but ίη that case he would
definitely stand worse.
17 ... 1:tb8?!
Once again, this seemingly natural
moνe is a mistake. 17... l2Jc6 is
stronger, as we shall see ίη Game 3,
where moνe order differences mean
that the same position is reached after
18 moνes instead οί 17!
18 c3lίJb5 19 d4 ~f6
17
Τhe Closed Sicilian
18
Main Line: 9 .iιe3 t:Δd4 10 e5 Pawn Sacrifice
19
Τhe Closed Sicilian
Ιη the next game we consider the a1- the centre and οη the queenside. For
ternative 16 ...'iYc7. example,
a) 18 c3 and now:
Gafiιet~ a1) 18 ... f3 19 .i.xd4 .i.xd4+ 20 cxd4
hQ,v;;;J<arpman fxg2 21 !ίχf8+ ~xf8 22 'iYf3+ 'iYf7 23
,CQwqΜΑΟΡen:1θ89" .' , 'iYxg2 and White is οη top.
a2) 18 ...lbb5 19 d4 fxg3 20 hxg3
1 e4 c5 2 tiJc3 tiJc6 3 g3 g6 4 .tg2 iιg7 21 'iYd3 and White has estab-
.i.g7 5 d3 d6 6 f4 e6 7 tiJf3 tiJge7 8 lished his familiar centra1 contro1.
ο-ο ο-ο 9 .te3 tiJd4 1 Ο e5 tiJef5 11 a3) 18 ...lbf5!? 19 g4 f3 20 .i.xf3 (or
.i.f2 tiJxf3+ 12 ~xf3 tiJd4 13 ~d1 20 'iYxf3 lbh4) 20 ... .i.xh2+ 21 ~g2
dxe5 14 fxe5 .txe5 15 tiJe4 f5 16 lbg7 22 'iYe2 !ίb8 with an unclear ρο
tiJxc5 sition.
This position ought to be familiar b) 18 gxf4?! rather plays into Black's
by now! Now something different: hands, a1though even this was unclear
16 .. :~ΙVc7 ίη the following game: 18 ... !ίxf4 19 c3
Perhaps not quite as good as lbf5 20 d4 !ίχf2 21 !ίχf2 .i.xh2+ 22
16 ... 'iYd6 but playable, as we shall see. ~h1 .i.g3 23 !ίf3 'iYe7 24 'iYd3 'iYh4+
25 ~g1 Sιh2+ 26 ~f1lbg3+ 27 ~e1 b6
28 !ίχg3 iιxg3+ 29 ~e2 and the com-
plications weren't over yet ίη Sa1aun-
Pedersen, Cannes 1995 .
... f5-f4 is a1ways worth looking out
for ίη these lines. At a stroke Black has
the potentia1 to damage White's king-
side. We will see more of this motif
later (Game 10, for instance).
18 c3 tiJb5 19 ~b3!
17 b4.tg7
This time 17 ...lbc6?! is somewhat
lame: 18 d4 Sιg7 19 c3 a5 20 b5 lbe7
21 'iYb3 and White dominated ίη Lyr-
berg-Nykopp, Helsinki 1992, while
17 ...lbb5?! is just greedy after 18 a4
Sιxa1 19 'iYxa1 lbd6 20 !ίe1 with a
fierce attack οη the long diagona1 ίη
Knutgen-Lendwai, Oberwart 1996.
However, 17 ... f4!? is an interesting
attempt to unsettle White οη the king- Instead, 19 d4 gives Black fairly easy
side before he establishes control ίη equality: 19 ...lbxc3 20 'iYe1 lbe4 21
20
Main LίΠθ: 9 iιθ3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pawn Sacrifice
21
The Closed Sicilian
'iVxh6 31 iιxh6 lLJd5 32 I:tg3 I:tg6 33 there is nothing wrong with 13 l2Je4!?,
iιxg5 b5 341:td1 h6 35 iιc1 'it>h7 36 which should transpose to Game 16
Φf2 I:tc7 37 I:tdg1 b4 Υ:ι - Υ:ι after 13 ... iιc6! However, 13 exd6?!
Ιη the final position White has iιc6 14 l2Je4 l2Jxd6 15 ~xc5 l2Jxe4 16
thrown away the greater part of his dxe4 iιd4+ is better for Black.
advantage. 13 ...l:tb8 14 ~xa7 I:txb2 15 l:tac1
15 l2Je4!? has been suggested, but it
The next game shows an interesting doesn't appeal to me. After 15 ... ~xc2
alternative approach for Black οη 16 g4 l2Jd4 17 iιxd4 cxd4 18 l2Jxd6 g5!
move 12. (undermining the pawn οη e5) a messy
position is reached, but personally that
Game6,' rook οη the seventh rank would ter-
indermann-Spasov rify me.
c. ~vi,,~ad'Olympiω1'1~90 '. 15 ... dxe5
16 fxe5
If we are looking for improvements,
then this mίght be the place. After 16
'iV a3 (Ι like the idea of expelling the
rook before it can do any damage οη
This has a similar motivation to the seventh) 16 ... ~b8 (16 ...'iVb8 17
1O ... ~d7 (Games 16 and 17) - solving ~b 1 hands the initiative over to
the problem of this light-squared White) 17 iιxc5 exf4 18 ~xf4 the posi-
bishop, and enjoyed some popularity tion is quite unclear. White is a pawn
after this convincing Black victory ίη ahead, but his forces are rather scat-
1990. White has a choice ίη this posi- tered compared to Black's very com-
tion: he can lead the game into well- pact posltιon (Novicky-Zezulkίn,
known channels or plunge into com- USSR 1991).
plications. 16 ... ~xe5 17lLJe4
13 ~xb7 After 17 'iVxc5 iιd6 18 'iVc4 ~b4
Kindermann takes the plunge, but Black's active pieces promise good
22
Main Line: 9 .iιe3 CΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pa wn Sacrifice
23
The Closed Sicilian
24
Main Lίne: 9 Sιe3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pawn Sacrifice
doesn't really test White's idea. but at least he has active pieces.
25
The Closed Sicilian
11 l::tb1!
This is more testing than 11 lLIe4!?
lLIef5 12 i.f2 'iWxb2 13 lLIxd4 cxd4 14
g4 tLJe3 15 iιxe3 dxe3 16 lLIxd6 f6 17
'iWe2 fxe5 18 tLJc4 ~d4 19 fxe5 1af2 20
'iWxe3 1axf1 + 21 1axf1 iιxe5 22 'iWxd4
i.xd4+ 23 Φh1 1ab8 24 1ab1 lh-lh
Spassky-Horvath, European Club
Cup, Rotterdam 1988. (White can
eliminate one of the bishops after
24 ... b6 25 lLIa5, followed by lLIc6, for 15 ... lίJd4
example, leaνing the position dead The amusing 15 ... i..d7? 16 i..xc5
leνel.) White was ίη ηο danger ίη this i..d4+ 17 Φh1! winning, occurred ίη
game, but it is difficult to find im- Ba1ashoν-Κiseleν, Moscow 1989.
proνements after 11 lLIe4 - for both 16 ~d1 f5 17 lίJd2 ~c7 18 c3 lίJb5
sides. 19 ~e2
11 ...lL\ef5 12 i.f2 lL\xf3+ 13 ~xf3 Threatening d3-d4, which is actua1ly
dxe5 surρrisinglyawkward to meet.
13 ... lLId4 14 'iWd1 fxe5 15 fxe5 i.xe5
16 lLIe4 simply transposes to the text
as it is again dangerous for Black to
leaνe the pawn οη e5. For example, if
instead of 15 ... i.xe5, 15 ... i..d7 then 16
lLIe4 i..a4 (or 16 ... i.c6 17 b4!?) 17 b3
.tc6 18 b4!? led to faνourable compli-
cations for White ίη Balashoν
Magerramoν, Pa1ma de Ma110rca 1989.
14 fxe5
White cannot justify playing the
knight out to the edge: 14 lLIa4? 'iWc7
26
Main Line: 9 .iιe3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pa wn Sacrifice
1 e4 c5 2 d3 tΔc6 3 g3 g6 4 .i.g2
i..g7 5 tΔc3 d6 6 f4 e6 7 tΔf3 tΔge7
8 ο-ο ο-ο 9 i..e3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 ~b6 11
1:f.b1 tΔef5 12 i..f2 tΔxf3+ 13 "tixf3
This is the drawback of 19 ... a6: dxe5 14 fxe5 .i.xe5 15 tΔe4 tΔd4 16
Black's knight is mίserably placed. ~d1 f5 17 tΔd2 "tic7 18 c3 tΔb5 19
21 tΔc4 ~f6 22 b4! cxb4 23 tΔb6 ~e2
1:f.b8 24 tΔxc8 tΔxc8 25 ~xe6+ Φg7 Up to this point we have been fol-
26 cxb4 10wing the previous game, Balashov-
26 ~xb4 is also strong: 26 ...'iVxc3 27 Pigusov. Black's response here is more
~xb7+ ~xb7 28 i.xb7, when the pugnacious: instead of grovelling
bishops dominate the board. around with his knight οη the queen-
26 ... ~d6 27 'i:Vxd6 tΔxd6 28 1:f.bc1 side, he attempts a counterattack οη
Balashov excels ίη technical situa- the kingside.
tions, and this endgame is a textbook
example of how to exploit the poten-
tial of the two bishops.
19 ...ii.f6
19 ....tg7 is also possible.
20 d4
27
The Closed Sicilian
White can win the pawn back ίη a give White the edge.
couple οί different ways, but Ι think 28 ... .i.xf1 29 I.ιxf1 f3 30 1ie3 h6 31
this is the best. For example: 20 ~e3 h4 \id7 32 Φf2 tΔh7 33 Φg3 i.xd4
:d8 21 a4 lbd6 22 'iVxc5 'iVxc5 23 34 ~xd4+ tΔf6 35 I.ιxf3 h5 36 I.ιf4
.i.xc5 lbf7 24 d4 e5 and Black equal- ~e7 37 I.ιe4 'VJIic7 38 I.ιe6 I.ιae8 39
ised ίη Seifried-Bauer, Germany 1994; 'i'e5 I.ιxe6 40 ..txe6 Φh7 41 b4 b6
or 20 lbb3 c4 21 dxc4 lbd6 22 c5 lbf7 42 .i.b3 bxc5 43 bxc5 tΔe8 44 i.c2
and by comparison with the main tΔg7 45 'i'g5 tΔf5+ 46 'it>h3 \ixc5 47
game, the knight is less well placed οη tΔxf5 gxf5 48 \ixh5+ Φg7 49 \ig5+
b3. 'it>h7 50 'VJIih5+ Φg7 51 \ig5+ %-%
20 ... tΔd6 21 dxc5 tΔf7 22 tΔc4 e5 Αη exciting game. Ι don't think that
1ι makes sense ιο go for the kingside Black's play overturns the basic as-
counter straightaway. 22 ... ~d7 didn't sessment οί the 1O ...~b6 variation (οη
work ουΙ toο badly ίη Staskin- balance Ι feel that White should have
Horνath, Hungarian Open Champi- the better chances), but at least he was
onship 1994, but ίι is less energetic. kicking hard.
After 23 :fdl lbd8 (23 ...:ae8 100ks
stronger) 24lbd6 White stood better. 1η the next five games we 100k at
1O ... dxe5, a move that Joe Gallagher
recommended ίη his book Beating the
Anti·Sicilians.
28
Main Line: 9 Jιe3 I:i:Jd4 1 Ο e5 Pa wn Sacrifice
29
The Closed Sicilian
14 ... .Yιb7
14 ... ..ta6? is an outright mίstake: 15
iYa4 ~xd3 16 Cbxd3 iYxd3 17 1:.ad1
iYe2 18 1:.d2 'iWh5 19 h3 was winning
18 ... cxd4 19 ~xd4 a6 20 c4 ttJf6 for White ίn Kνeinys-Bachmeyer,
The immedίate 20 ... b5! is stronger, Dresden Open 1994. Howeνer,
maίntaίning the knight οη d5, though 14 ... f6!? cuts the Gordίan knot. Black
Ι still prefer White's chances after 21 rids himself οί the knight, but mίght
cxb5 axb5 22 'iWa7 although it's com- be storing up trouble for himself as
plicated! the e6 pawn is weakened. In Papazoν
21 ttJxf6+ ~xf6 22 i.f2 b5 23 Dao Thien Haί, World U-16 Champi-
!Ixd8+ 'iVxd8 24 !Id1 'iVc7 25 cxb5 onship 1993, Ι think White drifted; he
!Ixb5 26 ~f1 iLxe5 27 fxe5 !Id5 28 neνer found a good plan after 15 Cbc4
!Ie1 Φg7 29 'iVf4 ttJg8 30 i.g2 !Ib5 Cbd5 16 1:.e1 iYc7 17 a4 1:.d8 18 iYc2
31 !Ic1 'iVd8 32 b3 i.b7 33 iLxb7 Cbh6 19 h3 Cbf7 20 Cbed2 a6 21 a5 b5
!Ixb7 34 'iVc4 !Ib5 35 a4 !Id5 36 22 Cbe3 Cbe7 23 Cbb3 e5 24 Cbg4 h5 25
..wxa6 !Id1+ 37 !Ixd1 'iVxd1+ 1-0 Cbh2 exf4 26 iιxc5 Cbf5 with a crush-
ing counterattack. Instead, Ι would
Ιη the next game we deal with prefer 15 Cbf3 followed by either pres-
Black's alternatiνes to 14 ...iYc7. sure οη the e-file; the d3-d4 break; or
g3-g4 - or a combination οί all three
οί these plans.
15 'iVa4
This moνe is surρrisingly difficult
to counter. White threatens perhaps
1 e4 c5 2 ttJc3 ttJc6 3 g3 g6 4 i.g2 iYxa7; and perhaps Cbd7; and he mίght
iLg7 5 d3 d6 6 f4 e6 7 ttJf3 ttJge7 8 f1ick ίη g3-g4, depending οη Black's
ο-ο ο-ο 9 .Yιe3 ttJd4 1 Ο e5 dxe5 11 response. The alternatiνes are weaker:
ttJxe5 !Ib8 12 ttJe4 b6 13 c3 ttJdf5 a) 15 Cbc4? (agaίn White plays aίm
14 iLf2 lessly) 15 ... Cbd5 16 'iie1 iVc7 17 Iίd1
30
Main Line: 9 ~e3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pa wn Sacrifice
1:ίbd8 18 Φh11:ίfe8 19 iιg1 h6 20 'iVf2 iιxb7 1:ίχb7. After 15 ... Φh8, White
b5 with a winning initiative ίη Lang- could just plonk a rook ίη the middle.
ner-Stohl, Czechoslovakia 1992. d) 15 ... lbd5 is also slapped with an
b) 15 'iVe2 'iVc7 16 g4? (a nice idea, unclear symbol by Stohl, which is rea-
but simply a mistake ίη this case) sonable. If 16 lbd7?! (16 ~fe1!) then
16 ...lbd5! (it is well worth remember- Black should play 16 ...lbfe3! 17 lbxf8
ing this motif: support for the knight .txf8 18 .txe3 lbxe3 19 ~ί2 lbxg2 20
οη e5 is undermined) 17 gxf5 exf5 18 1:ίχg2 ί5! winning back material .
.tg3 fxe4 wrecking White's position 161:1ad1
ίη Paulic-Renet, Belgrade GMA 1988. 16 lbd7 doesn't work here due to
15 ... a5 16 ... b5 17 'iixb5 .txe4 18 'iixb8 'iixd7.
16 ... VιlVc7 17 jVd7! 1:1fc8
Not 17 ... iιxe5? 18 fxe5 'iixd7 19
lbf6+.
18 g4 tίJh6 19 h3
31
Τhe Closed Sicilian
moνe, as we see ίη the next game. with good compensation for Whίte)
16 ii.h6 ~e8 17 i.f4!
15 1:tae1 ~c7! 16 d4 b5
The simplest way οί coping with
White's temporary initiatiνe seems to
be 16 ... cxd4 17 cxd4 ί6 (the e6 pawn is
1 e4 c5 2 tΔc3 tΔc6 3 g3 g6 4 ~g2 easy enough to defend and, haνing rid
iιg7 5 d3 d6 6 f4 e6 7 tΔf3 tΔge7 8 himself οί the knight οη e5, Black has
ο-ο ο-ο 9 ~e3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 dxe5 11 more manoeuνring space).
tΔxe5 1:tb8 12 tΔe4 b6 13 c3 tΔdc6
32
Main LίΠθ: 9 i.e3 lΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pa wn Sacrifice
32 1:I.b 1 SΙa3 33 1:I.b 7 SΙb4 34 SΙd4 a5 might have been more to the point)
1:I.dd8 35 f5 exf5 36 gxf5 1:I.d5 37 f6 17 ... l:lbd8 18 l:lfe1 l:lfe8 19 'iYc2 ..ta8
1:I.f5+ 38 ~g2 SΙd6 39 1:I.d7 SΙe5 40 20 'i'b3 lbf6 21 a5 lbd5 22 axb6 axb6
1:I.c5 1:I.g5+ 41 Φf3 iιxf6 42 1:I.xg5 23 l:la6 ~b7 24 l:la7 l:la8 25 l:lxb7
SΙxg5 43 1:I.d5 SΙd8 44 1:I.d7 SΙh4 45 'i'xb7 26 lbed6 lbxd6 27 lbxd6 'iYd7
1:I.a7 SΙe1 46 SΙb6 1:I.c8 47 SΙxa5 28 lbxe8 l:lxe8 29 ~xd5 exd5 30
~xa5 48 1:I.xa5 1:I.c3+ 49 Φf2 Φg7 50 l:lxe8+ 'iYxe8 31 'iYxb6 and White
a4 1:I.a3 51 1:I.a6 h5 52 Φg2 g5 53 should have cleaned υρ ίη 01esen-
1:I.a7 h4 54 1:I.a6 g4 55 1:I.a5 Φg6 56 Moskow, New York 1993. White's
1:I.a8 Φg5 0-1 strategy was straightforward and reli-
able.
50 far we have looked at games 13 ... tιJdf5 14 ~f2 tιJd6 15 b4
where White has played 13 c3 fol- 15 'i'e2, to support the knight οη
lowed by a rapid 'i'a4, often leading to e5, mίght have been an improvement,
obscure tactics. Ιη the next game we and οηlΥ then b2-b4.
look at what happens when White 15 ... tιJxe4 16 ~xe4
tries a different tack. 16 dxe4 'i'c7 17 bxc5 bxc5 is more
comfortable for Black.
16 .. :~Vc7 17 bxc5
17 ... f6?
After 17... bxc5! White would still
have had a few problems to solve οη
the a1-g8 diagona1, and after the fu-
ture exchange of light-squared bishops,
his king wou1d feel a touch exposed.
18 cxb6 axb6 19 tιJc4 f5 20 ~g2
Another idea is 13 a4 ~b7 14 c3 ~xa1
lbdf5 15 ~f2 'i'c7 16 lbc4 lbd5 17 How could Black even consider tak-
'iYe2 (ίη view of White's later play, 17 ing this exchange? His game rapidly
l:lfe1 followed by 'iYc2 or 'iYb3 and a4- goes downhill now.
33
The Closed Sicilian
34
Main LίΠθ: 9 i..e3 lΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pawn Sacrifice
playing 17 ... c4 this would be a painful Αll these moves were mentioned by
experience: 18 d4 iιd6 19 llJxd6 'iVxd6 5tohl. Black has the better chances
20 b3 with oodles of compensation. because of his strong pawn centre and
White's bishops sizzle, and Black's White's weak king position. This is
king is potentially weak) 18 llJxc5 tib8 borne out by the game.
19 iιh3 (19 iιe4!?) 19 ...tid5 20 iιxf5 22 Jιd5+ Φg7 23 d4 t2Jxc3 24 bxc3
exf5 21 d4 iιd6 22 'iVf3 'iVf7 23 .te3 e4 25 'iVe2 f5 26 'iVg2 'iVd6 27 c4
.txc5 a draw was agreed ίn Franke- Φh8 28 c3 i..d7 29 a4 1:I.be8 30 a5
Κίshnev, Germany 1993. The final b5 31 :ι::tab1 bxc4 32 i..xc4 f4 33
position is complicated, but after 24 1:I.b7 f3 34 'iVg3 'iVxg3+ 35 hxg3
dxc5 iιe6 25 iιd4 tid7 26 tiae 1 Ι Jιxg4 36 Jιf7 e3 37 i..xe8 f2+ 38
would give White the edge, as he has Φh2 e2 39 1:I.bb1 exf1'iV 40 1:I.xf1
the plan of doubling rooks along the e- Jιθ241 1:I.xf2 1:I.xf2+ 42 Φg1 1:I.f343
file. d5 1:I.xc3 44 d6 ..tg4 0-1
1n principle 11 fxe5 appeals to me,
but 11 ... llJec6 may be a problem. ΜΥ
analysis needs checking, however!
1 e4 c5 2 t2Jc3 d6 3 g3 g6 4 ~g2
.1g7 5 d3 t2Jc6 6 f4 e6 7 t2Jf3 t2Jge7
8 ο-ο ο-ο 9 ~θ3 t2Jd4 1 Ο e5 ~d7
1t 100ks extraordίnary to leave eve-
rything hanging ίn the centre, but,
strangely enough, it seems that White
is unable to take advantage of the
situation.
35
The Closed Sicilian
36
Main Lίne: 9 Jιe3 l'Δd4 1 Ο e5 Pa wn Sacrifice
18 h4?!
15 exd6 White has ηο realistic attacking
1nstead, White played 15 1ιfd1 ίη chances, so this move merely weakens
Relange-Berestetzky, European Junior White's king. 1t would have been bet-
Championship 1991, after which ter to play 18 d4 immediately.
Black commίtted the sin of releasing 18 ... 1:tfe8 19 d4 lbxe4 20 i.xe4
the tension too early: 15 ... dxe5? 16 .i.xe4 21 ~xe4 ~b5 22 1:td2 cxd4 23
iιxc5 1ιe8 17 iιxa7 and White had i.xd4 1:ted8 24 ~b7 i.xd4+ 25 cxd4
simply won a pawn. 1nstead, 15 ... b6 ~a5 26 ~g2 1:tc4 27 ~f2 1:tdc8 28
was correct, when play will follow a3 ~a4 29 Wh2 1:td8 30 1:tad1 1:td5
along simίlar lines to the main game if 31 ~e3 a5 32 f5 1:txf5 33 b3 ~xa3
he captures οη d6, or ίnstead White 34 d5 ~c5 35 ~e2 1:tc1 36 d6 1:tf2+
could play 16 d4!? maintaining the 0-1
pawn οη e5. Chances are balanced. Α fine positional performance from
15 ...lbxd6 16 ~e2 b6 17 1:tfd1 ~d7 Sadler.
Although there appears to be little
to choose between the two sides, Ι
would favour Black here. Why? Be-
cause he has a clear plan (pressure οη
the d3 pawn combined with a
potential break ίη the centre after 1 e4 c5 2 lbc3 d6 3 g3 lbc6 4 i.g2
... 1:ϊfe8 and ... e6-e5) while White isn't g6 5 d3 i.g7 6 f4 e6 7 lbf3 lbge7 8
quite sure what to do. If he attempts ο-ο ο-ο 9 .i.e3 lbd4 1 Ο e5 .i.d7 11
37
The Closed Sicilian
15 exd6?!
I'm still not happy with this moνe. Ι
would offer two alternatiνes:
13 ... iιc6! a) 15 liJxd6!? liJxd6 16 i.xc5 liJfs 17
At the risk of sounding monoto- iιxf8 i.xf8 18 .txc6 bxc6 19 11f2.
nous: it is simply a mistake to release Two pawns and a rook is usually good
the tension before the bishop reaches νalue for two minor pieces, but ίη this
the long diagonal. 13 ... dxe5?! 14 fxe5 case Black' s knight is well-anchored,
(not 14 i.xc5? exf4 15 i.xf8 'iVxf8 and his kίng position secure, so, any-
with compensation for the exchange thing could happen.
ίη Relange-Cheνalier, Paris 1991) b) 15 d4 is reasonable, holding the
14 ...i.xe5 15liJxc5 iLc6 16 iLxc6 bxc6 pawn οη e5.
17 c311b8 18 'iVe2 i.g7 19liJe4 'iVc7 20 15 ... b6 16 tιJf6+ iιxf6 17 .Jixc6 1::[c8
iLc5 ~fd8 21 g4 liJh6 22 11f2 11d5 23 18 .Jib71::[b8 19 iιe4 ~xd6
i.e3 ~h8 24 i.f4 e5 25 .txh6 i.xh6
26 g5 .i.g7 27 11af1 with the better
chances for White, Geurink-Simons,
Groningen Open 1994.
14 c3
Not 14 exd6?! as after the continua-
tion 14 ... b6 15 c3 11c8 16 'iVe2 liJxd6
17 ~fd1 'iVe7 18 d4 c4 19 liJg5 'iVb7 20
i.xc6 'iVxc6 21 'iVf3 'iVd5 Black had a
big positional adνantage ίη the game
Turner-Wolff, London Lloyds Bank
Masters 1994.
14 ... h5 There is little to choose between
As usual, White was hoping for this and 19 ... liJxd6 , which was played
14 ... dxe5 15 fxe5 iιxe5 16 i.xc5 with a ίη Kνeinys-Dokhoian, Βοηη 1994.
slight pull. That game is worth looking at as
38
Main Line: 9 .i.e3 CiJd4 1 Ο e5 Pawn Sacrifice
White's strategy is far better than ίη move, but Ι don't believe that we have
Sale-Sadler: 20 WNe2! (the queen should seen the best yet from White ίη this
be οη this side οί the board, where ίι variation. Ι have pointed ουΙ plenty οί
can protect the king ίί necessary) instances where there is room for im-
20 ...WNc7 2ι1ιί3 Z:Ιfd8 22 Z:Ιadllbf5 23 provement.
Z:Ιfel Z:Ιd6 24 1ιe4 lbe7 25 h3 1ιg7 26
g4 (White can get away with this ad- Ιη the final game οί this chapter
vance as he has so many pieces around Black takes a hot pawn and suffers for
his king) 26 ... hxg4 27 hxg4 ί5, when it ίη typical fashion.
chances are balanced and the game
eventua1ly ended ίη a draw.
20 'iVa4?!
The queen is οη the wrong side οί
the board!
1 e4 c5 2 lΔc3 lΔc6 3 g3 g6 4 i.g2
i..g7 5 d3 e6 6 f4 d6 7 lΔf3 lΔge7 8
i..e3lΔd49 ο-ο ο-ο 10 e5 lΔec6?!
39
The CIosed SiciIian
40
Main Line: 9 iLe3 tΔd4 1 Ο e5 Pawn Sacrifice
Summary
The popularity of 10 e5 has waned over the last few years as Black has found
adequate responses. For instance, Hjartarson's play ίn Game 3 was extremely
solid; 1O... f:xe5 (Games 11-15) is sensible; and the lines with 10 ... ~d7 (Games 16
and 17) also look sound for Black. However, Ι hope Ι have shown that the pos-
sibilities ίn this complex position are far from exhausted. Ιn my ορίnίοn it is
time for White to try out this line again.
41
Main Ιίηθ:
Alternatives after 9 iιθ3
42
Main Line: Alternatives after 9 Jιe3
1 e4 c5 2 tZJc3 d6 3 f4 g6 4 lbf3
43
The Closed Sicilian
44
Main Line: Alternatives after 9 .i.e3
The fact that Black has such a White ίη the main line.
choice of reasonable moves ίη this ρο
sition is a fair indication that this is
not the most critical variation ίη the
Closed Sicilian.
11 a4 tbec6 12 tbe1
The same idea from Game 21 of 1 e4 c5 2 g3 tbc6 3 i.g2 g6 4 d3
ducking the knight οη d4 with the i.g7 5 f4 e6 6 tbf3 tbge7 7 t2Jc3 d6
intention of driving it out later with 8 ο-ο ο-ο 9 i.e3 t2Jd4 1 Ο t2Jg5
c2-c3. Except that White never quite
gets around to it here.
12 ... a6 13 g4!? b5 14 h4
Brutal! Hort's strategy is notewor-
thy: instead of opening the a-file, he
prefers to let Black pass with the b-
pawn, thus ensuring that the queen-
side remains closed.
45
The Closed Sicilian
46
Main Lίne: Alternatives after 9 iιe3
10 d4
... although Ι have my doubts as Ιο
whether this is really a move White
wants to play.
10 ... d5!? 13 ...JLa6 14 1:e1 1:c8
This was recommended by Joe Gal- Instead, if 14 ... exd5?! 15 12Jxd5 J:.c8
lagher ίη Beating the Anti-Sicilians, but 16 c3 12Je6 17 'iVa4 (Laurent-Nelson,
I'm ηοι convinced of its effectiveness. Cappelle la Grande 1995), then Whίte
White cannot play 11 dxc5 as 11 ... d4 is a tempo up οη Abramovic-
wins a piece, while 11 e5 is unattrac- Razuvaev, Paris 1989 (see the next
tive due Ιο the forced variation note).
11. .. l2Jf5 12 i,f2 i,a6 13 J:.e1 cxd4 14 15 dxe6 lbxe6 16 lbd5 JLb7
12Jxd4 12Jxd4 15 i,xd4 12Jxd4 16 'iVxd4
'iVc7 (Gallagher), when Black has a
pleasant positional advantage: pressure
down the c-file and ... f7-f6 is ίη the aίr,
opening up the position for the dark-
squared bishop. For 1O ... ~a6 see the
next game.
11 exd5 lbf5!
If 11 ... exd5 then White can capture
οη c5: 12 dxc5 d4 13 12Jxd4 and Black
has problems οη the 10ng diagona1.
12 ~f2lbcxd4 13 lbe5
Ιι is important to stay active. Other 17 c4!?
moves give Black an easy time: 13 Ιι seems strange ιο give Black the d4
dxe6 (13 12Jxd4 12Jxd4 14 dxe6 .txe6 is square for his knights, but if the
simίlar) 13 ...~xe6 (13 ...l2Jxe6 is rec- knight οη d5 is to be maίntaίned, then
ommended by Gallagher, but Ι see this move is necessary. The stem game
nothing wrong with this natural which Gallagher quotes is Abramovic-
47
Τhe CIosed SiciIian
48
Main Line: Alternatives after 9 .i.e3
49
The Closed Sicilian
50
Main Line: Alternatives after 9 1ie3
Summary
After 9 .. .'~Jd4 10 ~ί2 (Games 19-22) is a sound alternative to 10 e5, and White's
results with it are by ηο means bad. Ι think Black's most interesting response to
1O ... e5, attempting to exploit the slight weakening οί the ί4 square (Game 20).
Instead οί 9 ...tbd4, 9 ... b6!? (Games 25-27) has been scorίng very well for Black.
The only way for White to exploit the omίssion οί ... tbd4 is to play 10 d4 him-
self, and then my bet is that we will be seeing more οί 10 .....t.a6 (Game 26) ίη the
future, rather than 10... d5 (Game 25).
9 ... l2Jd4
9 ... b6 (D)
10 d4
10 ... d5 - Game 25; 10 ... SΙa6 - Game 26
10 iιί2 - Game 27
10 ~f2 (D)
10 tbg5 - Game 23; 10 tbh4 - Game 24
10 ... b6
1O ... tbxf3+ 11 ~xί3 tbc6 12 ~g2 tbd4 13 e5 transposes to
10 e5 tbef5 11 ~ί2 tbxf3+ 12 "iWxf3 tbd4 13 'i'd1 ίn Chapter 1
1O ... e5 - Game 20
1O ...tbec6 (D)
11 tbxd4 tbxd4 12 e5 transposes to 10 e5 tbef5 11.Jtf2 tbxf3+
12 'iYxf3 tbd4 13 "iWd1 ίη Chapter 1
11 tbd2 - Game 21
1O ...~b8 - Game 22
11 lbxd4 - Game 19
51
Μθίη Line: White does
not ρlθγ 9 i.e3
52
ΜΒίπ Lίne: White does not ρlΒΥ 9 ~e3
οη Black's queenside and centre. Sur- 1::txe4 35 1::tc8 .i.e3+ 36 Φg2 1::txc8 37
prisingly few players have tried this ~xc8 .t1e7 38 Φf3 Φg7 39 .i.a61::tf7+
idea ίη exactly this position, but it 40 Φθ4 1::tf4+ 41 Φd3 .t1f2 42 .t1a1
looks sensible to me. At this point a Φf6 43 Φθ4 .t1f4+ 44 Φd3 1::tf2 45
reasonable idea for Black is to attempt Φθ4 Φg5 46 ~c4 ':c2 471::ta5+ Φh4
to transpose into the next game with 48 .i.f7 h6 49 .l:l.xa7 l:[b2 50 l:[a4
9... l:tb8. Φg5 51..1tc4 Υ:ι-Υ:ι
9 ....i.d7 10 1::tb1 1::tc8 11 ~d2
Now White is ready to play b2-b4,
but Black jumps ίη to stop it.
11 ... lΔd4 12 lΔθ2
Another plus οί playing l:tb1: the
pawn οη b2 is covered. 1 e4 c5 2 lΔc3 lΔc6 3 g3 e6 4 .i.g2
12 ... ~a4 13 b3 ~c6 14 c4! g6 5 d3 i.g7 6 f4 lΔge7 7 ίΔf3 ο-ο 8
Increasing his control over the cen- ο-ο d6 9 .i.d2
tre. This idea is closely connected to
14 ... lΔxf3+ 15 ~xf3 d5 16 .i.e3 d4 that ίη the previous game - indeed, it
17 .i.d2 iVd7 18 g4 f5 19 lΔg3 could potentia1ly transpose. 9 .i.d2
was also a favourite οί Spassky's, but
this game has put a dampener οη the
whole variation for White.
53
The Closed Sicilian
12 ... bxa4 13 lbxa4 and Black's pawn Lputian reckons that 18 ... e5! is eνen
adνance has been halted and the a- stronger: 19 i.e3 d5 20 exd5 lbf5 with
pawn isolated) 13 lbb5 .i.a6 14 c4! and a νicious attack ίη the makίng.
the knight οη b5 has been secured. 19 nc1 Ψid7 20 ~d2 liJec6 21 na1
This is the positional trick that Ι men- liJd4 22 na3 nc7 23 ~θ3 liJb5 24
tioned ίη the introduction. nb3 liJc6 25 liJxb5 ~xb5 26 liJf3
ncb7 27 na1 a5 28 na2 ~c7 29 e5
dxe5 30 liJxe5 lί)xθ5! 31 fxe5 .i.xe5
32 .i.xb7 ~xg3+ 33 Φg1 ~xb7 34
nxa5 'iNd5 35 nc3 'iii'd8 36 i..a7 nb7
37 'iNg2 ~xa5 38 ~xb7 'iNa1+ 39
Φg2 'iii'xb2+ 40 Φχg3 'iNxc3 41
'iNb8+ Φg7 42 i..e3 i..xd3 43 'iιi'd6 e5
44 SΙc5 i..c4+ 45 Φf2 tic2+ 46 Φg1
tic1+ 47 Φh2 tif4+ 48 Φg2 h5 0-1
Α complicated game, but the odds
wereheaνily ίη Black's faνour.
12 h3?!
Α waste of time. 12 .te3 d5 13 dxc4
bxc4 14 lbd4 lbxd4 15 iιxd4 dxe4 16
SΙxg7 'ifxd1 17 .:l.fxd1 Φχg7 18 lbxe4
SΙb7 is giνen as unclear by Lputian. Ι 1 e4 c5 2 lί)c3 liJc6 3 g3 g6 4 i..g2
can't imagine that either side should i..g7 5 d3 e6 6 f4 d6 7 lί)f3 lί)ge7 8
lose if they play sensibly. ο-ο ο-ο 9 lί)θ2
12 ... b4!
Black has a powerful initiatiνe.
13 axb4 cxd3 14 cxd3 iVb6+ 15
..t>h2 liJxb4 16 ~θ1 ~a6 17 ~f2 Ψic7
18liJe1 nfc8
54
Main Line: White does not p/ay 9 i.e3
playing c2-c3. The drawback is that it attack οη the kingside when his centre
is time consuming and gives Black an and queenside are so sensitive. The
easy plan: the advance οί the b-pawn. game is finely balanced.
9 ... 1:!.b8 14 1:!.fd1 ~a5 15 g4 ':fc8 16 ~f2
The most critical response. Games ~a3 17 1:!.ab1 iLb5 18 ~b2 ~xb2 19
31, 32 and 33 consider 9... b6, 9... j,d7 1:!.xb2 ~a4 20 1:!.dd2
and 9... d5 respectively. Not 20 ~dbl iιc2!
10 c3 20 ... t2Ja5 21 e5 dxe5 22 t2Jxe5 ':xb2
White dίd without c2-c3 ίη Kostrov- 23 1:!.xb2 g5 24 iLg3 gxf4 25 ~xf4
Al.Sokolov, Kstovo Open 1994: 10 t2Jd5 26 j.xd5 exd5 27 t2Jg3 1:!.e8 28
Φh1 b5 11 g4 ί5 12 gxf5 exf5 13 lbg3 t2Jh5 iLh8 29 g5 ':xe5 30 ~xe5
Φh8 14 'iWe1 'iWc7 15 'iWf2 (ίί White is iLxe5 31 t2Jf6+ Wg7 32 t2Jxd5 ~c6
going to play this crudely, then how 33 1:!.e2 ~d6 34 t2Jf6
about 15 h4 here?) 15 ...lbd4 16 c3 34 c4!? might have been a better try.
lbxf3 17 'iWxf3 c4 18 ~e1 j,b7 when 34 .. .'ϊt>g6 35 h4 h6 36 t2Je4 ~xe4 37
White's centre is under enormous 1:!.xe4 hxg5 38 hxg5 Φχg5 39 :a4
pressure. ~c7 40 Wg2 f5 41 d4 cxd4 42 ':xd4
10 ... b5! 11 ~c2 b4! 12 iLe3 bxc3! i..b6 43 ':a4 t2Jc6 44 Wf3 t2Je5+ 45
Ιη a previous round ίη the same Wg3 t2Jd3 46 Φf3 f4 0-1
tournament, Black had played less ac-
curately: 12 ... 'iWa5 13 lbd2 ~d8 14 g4
bxc3 15 bxc3 'iWc7 16 ί5 ί6 17 lbf4 e5
18 lbh3 j,d7 19 a3!? ~ί8 20 ~ί2 lba5
21 'iWa2+ Φh8 22 ~af1 j,c6 23 g5 with
a strong attack, Gabriel-Markowskί, 1 e4 c5 2 t2Jc3 t2Jc6 3 g3 g6 4 ~g2
World Junior Championship, Singa- ~g7 5 d3 d6 6 f4 e6 7 l2Jf3 l2Jge7 8
pore 1990. ο-ο ο-ο 9 t2Je2 b6
13 bxc3 iLa6
55
Τhe Closed Sicilian
This justifies White's strategy: the should have got more from the posi-
knight will find a good square οη h5. Ι tion.
don't see what is wrong with 12 ... exf5.
This position is worth investigating. Ι
suppose that Black must have been
worried about 13 t'Δg5 'iVd7 14 'iVb3+,
a1though after 14 ... ~h8 Ι don't see
how White should continue.
56
Main Line: White does not p/ay 9 iιe3
lZJg3
......... Game3q" 274Jg5! was the moνe .
.'Stao~c-Lend
.... n,tjJJΊimpt'bnsh'
,< ",χ-"
57
Τhe Closed Sicilian
Black to reveal one of the main points the e-pawn: Black's king keeps its
of his piece formation: pawn cover. The οηlΥ drawback can
9 ... f5! be if the a2-g8 diagonal becomes a lit-
tle sensitive, or White can put the d5
square to good use.
11 ~θ3 Φh8 12 "iVd2 ~θ6 13 Itae1
~d7 14 tiJg5
14 d4 runs into 14 ... fxe4 15 lbxe4
i.d5 and White should lose a pawn.
14 ...i.g8 15 tiJd5
58
Main Line: White does not p/ay 9 iL.e3
White has a pleasant space advan- possible (that's the good news) , but
tage, but ίη the remainder of the game leaves his kingside position slightly
Black is a little too cooperative ιη weaker (bad news). If Ι were playing 9
helping him to exploit it. g4, Ι think Ι would be very glad to see
Black recapture like this: it justifies
White's blunt strategy.
11 l2Je2!
59
Τhe Closed Sicilian
22 ~xe1
White has the better chances as his
pieces are slightly more active. How-
ever, the game should still be a draw.
60
Main Line: White does not p/ay 9 1Le3
9 ... e5
Quite logίcal; meeting a wing attack
with aπ advaπce ίη the centre. This
seems more effective thaπ 9... h5 10
33 .txf5+ I;ιxf5 34 Sιh4 Φg6 35 b3 lbg5 lbd4 11 lbe2 aπd after expel1ing
61
Τhe Closed Sicilian
62
Main Line: White does not p/ay 9 Sιe3
63
The Closed Sicilian
Summary
Lputian's noνelty ίη Game 29 has remoνed any danger which might haνe existed
ίη the system with 9 iιd2, and this probably a1so applίes to Game 28, which is
likely to transpose. 9 lbe2 (Games 30-33) is sensible but, if handled correctly, a
bit tame. 9 g4 (Games 34 and 3S) just looks too crude to me, so long as Black
plays 9 ... fS, and recaptures οη fS with the e-pawn. Ι can't belίeνe that 9 h4
(Game 37) is terribly good, but it's ίυη, and 1'11 be giνing it a punt ίη the next
blίtz game Ι play.
7 tΔf3
7 lbh3 - Game 38
7 ... tΔge7 8 ο-ο ο-ο (D) 9 a3
9 .i.d2 - Game 29
9lbe2 (D)
9 ... ~b8 - Game 30
9 ... b6 - Game 31
9... iιd7 - Game 32
9 ... ds - Game 33
9 g4 fs 10 gxfS
10 ... exfS - Game 34
lO ... gxfS - Game 35
9 ~e1 - Game 36
9 h4 - Game37
9 ...i..d7 (D)
9 ... ~b8 10 a3 - Game 29 (by transposition)
10 ~b1- Game 28
64
6 f4 e5
65
The CIosed SiciIian
7 ... ίΔge7 8 ο-ο ο-ο 9 i.e3 I:ιae1 b4 17 tΔd1 tΔc6 18 Wh1 l:.ad8 19
The speculative 9 f5 is considered ίη tΔe3!? tΔe7, as ίη Benschop-Cameron,
Game41. Dutch Women's Championship 1989.
9 ... ίΔd4 1 Ο ~d2 exf4 White has the slightly freer position,
10 ... iι.g4 is the subject of the next although Black flunked the challenge:
game. what would have happened if Black
11 iιxf4 had taken the pawn? 19 ... iιxb2!? 20
11 gxf4 is similar to Games 34 and l2Jc4 ~e5 21 iιg5 I:ιc8 22 tΔxe5 tΔxe5
35 if Black chooses to block with 23 I:ιf4 'iVe6 24 I:ιef1 is one plausible
11 ... f5. Ιη fact, this may be a slightly line, when White has attacking
improved version from White's view- chances ίη return for the pawn.
point as Black has already commίtted 12 ... ~b6!
himself to ... tΔd4. Α well-timed move. White would
11 ... ίΔΧf3+ like to get οη with his kingside attack
Here 11 ... ~g4 isn't terribly good: by doubling rooks οη the f-file, ex-
12 l2Jxd4 cxd4? (12 ... ~xd4+ 13 ~e3 changing bishops with iιh6, for ex-
and White stands comfortably: after ample, but he must first deal with the
the exchange of bishops White dou- threat to b2. If he tries 13 b3, then the
bles rooks οη the f-file) 13 tΔb5 a6 14 knight's support is undermίned and
tΔxd6 g5 15 tΔxb7 'iVb6 16 iιd6 'iVxb7 Black can exploit this with 13 ...'iVb4.
17 'iVxg5 iι.e2 18 e5 was winning for If 13 tΔd1, then 13 ... i.g4. 50 White is
White ίη Fahnenschmίdt-Gauglitz, reduced to playing .. .
German Bundesliga 1994. 13 l:tb1
... but assigning a whole rook to the
defence of a lousy pawn is hardly de-
sirable. White must also take care that
Black doesn't throw in a discovered
check with ... c5-c4 at some awkward
moment.
13 ... iιe6
12l:txf3
This recapture is never commented
οη ίη theory books, but 12 iιxf3 is ηο
better and ηο worse. For instance,
12 ... iιh3 13 iιg2 iιxg2 14 'iVxg2 'iVd7
15 g4! (5passky likes to play ίη this
way οη the kingside as well) 15 ... b5 16
66
6 '4 e5
67
The Closed Sicilian
17 ... Sιxd1 !
Black appreciates that the knight
will contribute greatly to White's at- 1 g3 c5 2 Sιg2 CΔc6 3 e4 d6 4 d3 g6
tack if it arrives at e3, so he hacks it 5 f4 Sιg7 6 CΔf3 e5 7 ο-ο CΔge7 8
off. CΔc3 ο-ο 9 f5!?
18 iYxd1 d5!
Another good move. Black is fight-
ing for the initiative. If he doesn't,
then White will build υρ unopposed
οη the kingside. Nevertheless, Ι still
prefer White.
19 c3 bxc3 20 bxc3 CΔdc6 21 iYf3
d4 22 iYf6+ <joJg8 23 c4
68
6 '4 e5
69
The CIosed SiciIian
70
6 (4 e5
9 f5!
This sacrifice agaίn.
9 ... gxf5 1 Ο ~h5!
This moνe is neνer commented οη
ίη theoretical works, but if Ι were
playing White Ι would want to make
sure that Ι had something worked out
against 1O ... ttJxc2 before playing my 16 lΔd5 lΔe3 17 1:txf7! lΔxd5 18
queen out. Ιη fact, after a little exami- 1:txd7 1:txd7 19 'ii'g6 lΔc7 20 lΔf2
nation, Ι think Black would haνe to be 1:te7 21 ~h3 d5 22 ~xe6+ tίJxe6 23
suicidal to take the pawn: 1O ... ttJxc2? tίJg4 tίJd8 24 b4 1:the8 25 b5 e4 26
11 ttJg5! ttJg6 (11 ... l2Jxa1 12 ttJxf7!) 12 ~f5+ Φb8 27 ~xd5 e3 28 tίJxh6
exf5 ttJxa1 13 ttJxf7 Φχf7 14 fxg6+ is ~xh6 29 'ii'd6+ 'it>a8 30 'ii'xh6 lΔf7
the end for Black. 31 'ii'h5 e2 32 1:te1 tίJd6 33 νi'd5 lΔf7
10 ... h6 11 1:tf2 ~e6 12 ~e3 ~d7 34 'it>g2 1:te6 35 a4 tίJh6 36 h3 1:te5
After 12 ... fxe4 White could simply 37 νi'xd4 lΔf5 38 νi'c3 tίJe3+ 39 'it>g1
recapture οη e4 with the pawn which tίJf5 40 'it>h2 1:t5e6 41 a5 tίJe3 42 g4
would guarantee good compensation, 'it>b8 43 'it>g1 tίJf1 44 νi'd4 1:tf8 45
but it is tempting to pile οη the 1:txe21-0
71
The Closed Sicilian
72
6 f4 e5
73
The Closed Sicilian
74
6 f4 e5
75
The Closed Sicilian
Summary
7 tLJf3
7 tΔh3
7 ... tΔge7 8 ο-ο (D)
8 ... 0-0 - Game 42
8... tΔd4 - Game 43
8... exf49 iιxί4 - see 7 ... exf4 8 iιxί4 tΔge7 9 ο-ο below
7 ... exf4 (D)
8 tΔxί4 - Game 44
8 iιxί4 tΔge7 9 ο-ο
9 ... h6 - Game 45; 9 ... 0-0 - Game 46
7 ... tLJge7 8 ο-ο ο-ο (D) 9 ~e3
9 ί5 - Game41
9 ••. tLJd4 1 Ο ~d2 exf4
10 ... iιg4 - Game 40
11 ~xf4 - Game 39
76
6 iιe3
77
Τhe Closed Sicilian
78
6 ~e3
ct::Jxf6 ~xb4 51 axb4 ct::Jd4 52 l:!.h1+ black king) 13 ... 4Jg6 14 4Jd5 (14 ί5!?
Φg7 53 l:!.h7+ Φf8 54 l:!.h8+ Φθ7 55 4Jge7 15 tiJh3) 14 ... gxf4 15 gxf4 ί5 16
l:!.c7+ Φχf6 56 l:!.xf7+ Φχf7 57 l:!.xd8 exf5 .txf5 17 fxe5 4Jgxe5 18 0-0-0 was
'Δχθ4 58 l:!.d7+ Φf6 59 l:!.d8 Φθ7 60 fun for White ίη Franke-Gupta, Ger-
l:!.g8 ct::Jc2 61 l:!.g6 ct::Jxb4+ 62 Φa3 man Bundesliga 1988/89.
ct::Jxd5 63 b3 axb3 64 Φχb3 ct::Jdf6 65 10 ~xh6 f6!
Φb4 ct::Jxg4 66 Φχb5 ct::Je3 67 l:!.a6 g4 This is the trick: ίί White plays 11
68 l:!.a3 ct::Jc2 69 l:!.a8 g3 70 Φc4 Φf7 h5, then Black closes the kingside with
71 l:!.a7+ Φf6 0-1 11 ... g5 and traps the queen ση h6.
11 ~d2
This retreat is the most sensible
moνe. C.Morrison-Howell, London
Lloyds Bank Masters 1988, shows
what might happen if White ploughs
1 e4 c5 2 ct::Jc3 ct::Jc6 3 g3 g6 4 .Jig2 ση blindly with his attack: 11 4Jd5?!
~g7 5 d3 d6 6 jιθ3 e5 7 ~d2 ct::Jge7 4Jxd5 12 exd5 4Je7 13 i..e4 .1:Η7 14 h5
8 .Jih6 ο-ο g5 15 ί4 exf4 16 gxf4 g4 17 0-0-0 .1ιί5
18 4Jf3 (or 18 4Je2 Φh8 and ... 4Jg8)
18 ... gxf3 19 1:.dgl+ Φh8 20 ~xf54Jxf5
21 'iWg6 'iWd7 0-1.
11 ... ct::Jd4 12 ct::Jge2 .i.d7
12 ... ~g4! is stronger. In that case Ι
don't see that White has any adνan
tage at all.
9 h4
Going for mate ση the h-file. Black
is not going to fall for that, is he?
Probably nat, but he has to be careful.
For 9 ~xg7 see Games 49 and 50.
9 ....i.xh6
It looks odd to inνite White's queen
into the heart σί the kingside, but this 13 ct::Jd1 ~g4 14 ct::Jxd4 cxd4 15 c4
is actually the best moνe. Instead, ct::Jc6 16 f3 .i.e6 17 ct::Jf2 Φg7 18 .i.h3
9...f6?! is less good: 10 .1ιχg7 Φχg7 11 ~xh3 19 ct::Jxh3 h6 20 ο-ο a5 21
h5 g5 12 h6+! Φh8 13 ί4! (Black's Φg2 'fie7 22 l:!.ae1 g5 23 ct::Jf2 ct::Jd8
kingside is a bit shaky: the pawn ση 24 l:!.h1 ct::Je6 25 hxg5 hxg5 26 ct::Jg4
h6 is a long-term problem for the l:!.h8 27 l:!.xh8 l:!.xh8 28 'iVxa5 Φg6 29
79
The Closed Sicilian
1::th1 1::txh1 30 Φχh1 lbc5 31 ~d2 Solid, but Ι think 10 ... lZJd4 is more
'iVh7+ 32 Φg2 'iVd7 33 b3 'iVc8 34 to the point - see the next game.
lbf2 lbe6 35 ~b4 lbc5 36 'iVb6 'iVd7 11 lbf3 f6 12 ο-ο lbd4 13 lbh4
37 'JJIJa7 Φg7 38 'iVa8 f5 39 b4 lba4
40 exf5 lbc3 41 f6+ Φχf6 42 ~f8+
Φg6 43 lbe4 lbxe4 44 fxe4 'iVg4 45
'JJIJxd6+ Φh5 46 'iVf6 'iVe2+ 47 'iVf2
'JJIJxd3 48 'iVf3+ 'iVxf3+ 49 Φχf3 g4+
50 Φe2 Φg5 51 a4 Φf6 52 c5 Φe6
53 b5 Φd7 54 a5 Φc7 55 Φd3 Φd7
56 Φc4 Φc7 57 Φb4 Φd7 58 Φb3
Φc7 59 Φc4 Φd7 60 c6+ Φc7 61
cxb7 Φχb7 62 Φb3 Φa7 63 Φb4
Φb7 64 Φc4 Φc7 65 a6 Φb6 66
Φb4 Φa7 67 Φc5 d3 68 Φc6 d2 69
b6+ Φχa6 70 b7 d1~ 71 b8'iV Υ:ι-Υ:ι Without the dark-squared bishop,
White had nothing from the open- Black's pawn structure is strong but
lng. inf1exible. If he advances one οί his
centre pawns, then the rest οί the
structure creaks, and this gives Whίte
time to develop an attack. Spassky is
preparing lZJd1, followed by c2-c3, and
then lZJe3. De Firmίan is aware οί
1 e4 c5 2 lbc3 d6 3 g3 lbc6 4 i..g2 that, and tries too cut across his plan.
g6 5 d3 ~g7 6 ~e3 e5 7 'JJIJd2 lbge7 13 ... 'iVb6 14 1::tf2!
8 .th6 ο-ο 9 ~xg7 Φχg7 1 Ο f4 14 lZJd1 c4! 15 Φh1 cxd3 16 \lVxd3
9 h4 is fun if Black doesn't know ~ac8 is getting a bit too busy for
what he is doing, but this is more reli- White.
able. Boris knows best.
14 ... c4
10 ....te6 Not 14 ...\lVxb2 15 ~b1 'iVa3 16
80
6 i.e3
~xb7 with the initiative, but 14 ... ~ac8 g6 5 d3 ~g7 6 ~e3 e5 7 'iid2 lΔge7
looks quite solid. 8 ~h6 ο-ο 9 ~xg7 Wxg7 1 Ο f4 lΔd4
15 dxc4 ~xc4 16 b3 ~g8 17 lΔa4 We saw 1O ... Jιe6 ίη the previous
'iic7 18 c3 lΔdc6 19 c4!? lΔd4 20 game.
1::tc1 1::tad8 21 ~h3 h6 22 lΔg2 b5 23
cxb5 ~b 7 24 lΔe3 lΔxb5 25 lΔc3
lΔxc3
If 25 .. .'~Jd4 26 ~cf1 and White is ση
the attack.
81
The CIosed SiciIian
82
6 il.e3
83
The Closed Sicilian
84
6 ~e3
85
The Closed Sicilian
86
6 ~e3
87
The Closed Sicilian
88
6 ~e3
~d1) 12 iιg2 ο-ο 13 tΔd1 and White iιe7 35 lZJxd6 iιxg2+ 36 'ί!fxg2 ..ίtf6
had a pleasant advantage. 37 lZJe4 ~d5 38 lZJxf6 1-0
8 ... b5 9 lZJd1 f5
9... b4 10 c3 bxc3 11 bxc3 tΔc6 12 e5
hands the initiative Ιο White.
1 Ο c3 lZJe6 11 t2Jf3 t2Jh6 12 lZJf2 ~b7
13 ~e2 ~d7 14 ο-ο ο-ο 15 ~ae1
lZJd8 16 h3
89
The CIosed SiciIian
If 10 ο-ο then Black continues ση Polgar loses her way ίη the mίddle
the queenside: 1O ... a5 and White (before pulling off the win!) she has
doesn't have the standard positional certainly won the opening battle.
trick available: 11 a4 b4 12 tΔb5 iιa6, 18 f4 ~b6 19 f5 b3 20 Φh2 ~d8 21
as White's rook needs to be ση b1 for c4 b2 22 lZJg4 h5 23 lZJh6+ Φh7 24
c2-c4 to work. However 11 'iHd2!? is lZJxf7 ~xf7 25 fxg6+ Φχg6 26 lZJf4+
possible: 11 ... b4 12 axb4 axb4 13 tΔd1 ~xf4 27 gxf4 ~e8 28 f5+ Φf6 29
followed by ~h6 with a tense game i.c3+ e5 30 ~xb2 ~xb2 31 ~xb2
ahead. ~h6 32 ~c1 ~h8 33 h4 lZJd4 34
.th1 i..f4+ 35 ~xf4 exf4 36 ~xf4
Φe7 37 ~g1 lZJe2 38 i..g5+ Φd7 39
jt'e3 ~b2 40 ~g2 ~b7 41 Φh3 lZJc3
42 ~f6 ~e2 43 jt'f3 jt'd2 44 jt'xh5
jt'xd3+ 45 Φh2 lZJ3xe4 46 ~f7+ Φc6
47 ~d8 lZJd7 48 ~e6 lZJe5 49 ~e8+
Φc5 50 ~b5+ Φd4 51 i.b6+ Φc3 52
1ιa5+ Φc2 53 ~a4+ Φb2 54 ~b4+
Φc1 55 ~e1 + Φc2 56 ~f1 lZJg4+ 57
Φg1 jt'e3+ 0-1
90
6 i.e3
that he has gained a tempo for his de- tιJf6 26 g5 tιJxe4 27 "iVxe4 "iVc5 28
velopment, but White can take heart I:txf8 ΦΧf8 29 I:tf1+ 'iitg7 30 'ilkf3 ~f5
that if he throws his f-pawn up the 31 'iith1 e6 32 I:td1 "iVc7 33 c5 e4 34
board, it will reach f5 without being ~f1 tιJc6 35 'i'c4 ~xh3 36 "iVxe4
blocked by Black's pawn. ~xg2+ 37 tιJxg2 tιJd8 38 ~d4+ e5
7 ... 0-0 8 tιJge2 39 ~xd8 ~xd8 40 I:txd8 I:txa2 41
8 f4 will probably transpose into I:ta8 I:ta1+ 42 Φh2 a2 43 c6 I:tc1 44
Game 60. Another possibility is 8 I:txa2 I:txc3 45 I:ta7+ 'iitf8 46 c7 'it>e8
'ilid2!? t2Jd4 9 t2Jce2 e5 10 c3 t2Jc6 11 f4 47 I:ta8+ 'iitd7 48 c8"iV + I:txc8 49
b6 12 t2Jf3 exf4 13 1ιχf4 1ιa6 14 ο-ο I:txc8 Φχc8 50 Φg3 Φd7 51 Φf3
~e8 15 c4 b5 16 cxb5 1ιχb5 17 ~f2 Φe6 52 Φe4 Φf7 53 tιJe3 Φe6 54
with an attack down the f-file, Ljubo- tιJg4 Φd6 55 tιJf6 1-0
jevic-Sunye, Brasilia 1981.
8 ... tιJd7
Or 8... ~b8 9 f4 t2Je8 10 ο-ο iιd7 11
f5 b5 12 'ilid2 b4 13 t2Jd1 t2Jd4 14 t2Jf4
t2Jc7 15 h4 with a strong attack, Ham-
douchi-Pineda, Erevan Olympiad 1 e4 c5 2 d3 d6 3 g3 g6 4 ~g2 ~g7
1996. 5 f4 tιJc6 6 tιJf3 tιJf6 7 tιJc3 ο-ο 8
9 g4 I:tb8 1 Ο tιJg3 b5 11 ~d2 tιJd4 ο-ο
12 f4 b4 13 tιJd 1 a5 14 c3 bxc3 1 5
bxc3 tιJc6 16 ο-ο a4 17 e5!?
Αη enterprising sacrifice. 1t was pos-
sible to continue the attack ίη standard
fashion with 17 f5 and 1ιh6, but this is
more dynamic, denying Black the use
of e5, and opening more lines.
91
The Closed Sicilian
7 e5
Α good start: open the centre while
Black fiddles around at the side.
7 ... 'iVd7
7 ... iιb7?! 8 exd6 exd6 9 lZJxb5 lZJge7
was played ίη Ljubojevic-Miles, Lon-
don 1982, and now Miles recommends
10 lZJe2 which he assesses as 'slightly
better for White'. Νο one has repeated
this with Black, not least Miles himself
18 'tid2 lΔxf3+ 19 1:i.xf3 lΔe5 20 1:i.g3 who varied when he faced Ljubojevic
.tb7 21 1:i.f1 1:i.c8 22 hxg6 hxg6 23 a year later (see the next note) .
.th6 Φh7 24 1:i.h3 1:i.h8 25 g5 Sιxh6 8 exd6
26 1:i.xh6+ Φg8 27 1:i.xh8+ Φχh8 28 8 lZJf3 is also fine for White, al-
f6 Φg8 29 'iVf4 1:i.c6 30 'iVh4 1:i.b6 31 though Miles managed ιο work some
lΔf4 exf6 32 gxf6 d5 33 lΔh3 dxe4 magic οη the position: 8... lZJh6 9 exd6
34 lΔg5 lΔf3+ 35 1:i.xf3 'iVd4+ 36 1:i.f2 exd6 10 lZJe4lZJf5 11 iιg5 (11 ~f4!? is
1-0 more dangerous: 11 ... 0-0 12 ο-ο iιb7
13 iιh3!) 11 ... 0-0 12 ο-ο f6 13 iιc1 (13
iιd2!? was suggested by Miles)
13 ... iιb7, when Black was fine ιη
Ljubojevic-Miles, Plovdiv 1983.
8 ... exd6 9 lΔge2 lΔge 7
1 e4 c5 2 lΔc3 lΔc6 3 g3 g6 4 .tg2 Or 9... b4 10 lZJd5 iιxb2 11lib1
.tg7 5 d3 d6 6 iιe3 b5 iιg7 12 ο-ο iιb7 13 c3 with a slight
This move enjoyed a period of advantage {Romanishin}.
popularity ίη the early 1980s, but since 1 Ο d4 b4 11 lΔe4 ο-ο 12 .th6
then has been seldom encountered. 12 ο-ο!? was also worth a second
92
6.te3
93
The Closed Sicilian
Summary
6 ... e5 continues to be a sound reply to 6 j,e3, even ίί Black has to play with care
οη some occasions. Black's play ίη Games 47 and 50 is particularly worth look-
ing at. 6 ... e6 7 ~d2 ~a5 (Game 53) is solid enough, but 7 ...llb8 gives White
chances for an advantage (Games 54-56) as he 1S able to exchange bishops οη the
kίngside. 6 ... 1:ϊ.b8 (Games 57 and 58) is double-edged, but White should be able to
build υρ an attack ίί he plays correctly - and that is all we can ask for!
1 e4 c5 2 lbc3 lbc6 3 g3 g6 4 iLg2 iLg7 5 d3 d6 6 i.e3 (D) 6 ... e5
6 ... e6 7 ~d2
7 ... CL\ge7 - Game 52; 7 ... ~a5 - Game 53
7 ... 1:ϊ.b8 8CL\ge2CL\d4 9 ο-ο
9 ...CL\e7 - Game 54
9 ... b5 10 CL\d1 b4 11 CL\c1 CL\e7
12 a3 - Game 55; 12 c3 - Game 56
6 ... llb8
7 ~d2 b5 8CL\ge2 b4 9CL\d1CL\d4 10 ο-ο e6 - Games 55 and 56
(by transposition)
7 ί4 - Game 57; 7CL\ge2 - Game 58
6 ... CL\f6 7 h3 ο-ο
8CL\ge2 - Game 59; 8 ί4 1:ϊ.b8 9CL\f3 b5 10 ο-ο - Game 60
6 ... b5 - Game 61
7 ~d2 lbge7 (D) 8 iLh6
8 ί4 CL\d4 9 CL\f3 ο-ο 10 ο-ο iιg4 - Game 40 (by transposition)
8h4-Game51
8 ... .txh6
8... 0-0 (D)
9 h4 - Game48
9 j,xg7 Φχg7 10 ί4
10 ... j,e6 - Game 49; 1O ... CL\d4 - Game 50
9 ~xh6 - Game 47
94
6 ttJge2
95
The Closed Sicilian
here. There is also a more subtle ap- that creates problems, e.g. 21 b3 lί:Jf6
proach: 9 i.e3 b5 10 'iVd2 b4 11 lί:Jd1 22lί:Jb2 and lί:Jc4.
followed by i.h6, exchange οη g7, and
lί:Je3. According to how Black plays
White can attack οη the kingside, or
break ίη the centre.
9 ... .iιd7 10 .iιe3
The even more brutal 10 g4 is dis-
cussed ίη the next game.
10 ... b5 11 ~d2
11 a3 is calmer: 11 ... lί:Je 8 12 d4 cxd4
13 lί:Jxd4 b4 14 lί:Jxc6 i.xc6 15 axb4
1hb4 16 1::i.xa7 1::i.xb2 17 e5 and a draw
was soon agreed ίn Spassky-Fischer,
Belgrade 1992. 21 b3 t2Jf6 22 g5 t2Jd7
Or 22 ... lί:Jh5!? 23 1::i.a2!? ~e5 24 1::i.a7
with an attack.
23~h4
Perhaps 23 f6+!? instead.
23 ... t2Je5
Cou1d Black have captured οη c2?
23 ... 'iVxc2!? 24 f6+ exf6 25 gxf6+ Φh8
26 1::i.f4 (26 ~h6 1::i.g8 27 1::i.f4 g5 28 1::i.f5
1::i.g6 29 ~h5 i.xd3) 26 ... g5 wins for
Black.
24 t2Jf2
Suddenly White has an attack out of
11 ... b4 12 t2Jd1 t2Je8 13 f5 t2Jd4 14 nowhere.
g4 a5
After 14 ... lί:Jxe2+ 15 ~xe2 a5 16
~d2 a4 17 i.h6 White's attack hasn't
been slowed down.
15 t2Jxd4 cxd4 16 ~h6 ~c7 17
iLxg7 'it>xg7 18 a3!
The counterρlay οη the a-file is use-
fu1.
18 .. :iVc5 19 axb4 axb4 20 ~f2 .iιb5
Ιη view of the game continuation it
looks advisable to block the kingside
completely with 20 ... g5, though even
here White has chances: Black's queen 24 ... 'it>h8 25 t2Jg4 iLc6 26 f6 t2Jxg4
is tied to defending the d-pawn and 27 hxg4 exf6 28 gxf6 1:tb5 29 1:ta6
96
6 tΔge2
~b7 30 'tirVh6 lιg8 31 lιf3 'tirVg5 32 Black varied with 13 ... lΩe8, but White
'tirVxg5 lιxg5 33 lιxd6 Sιc8 34 lιxd4 still achieved a powerful attack with
Sιxg4 35 lιg3 h5 36 Sιf3 lιc8 37 14 ~b1 a4 15 iιg5 a3 16 b3 lΩd4 17
lιc4 lιxc4 38 bxc4 Φg8 39 Sιxg4 ~d2 iιc6 18 iιh6 'i'b6 19 ~h1 lΩxe2
hxg4 40 Φf1 lιa5 41 lιxg4 lιa2 42 20 lΩxe2 lΩf6 21 ~g5 ~h8 22 lΩf4
lιg2 Φf8 43 lιθ2 Φθ8 44 Φf2 g5 45 iιxh6 23 ~xh6.
c5 g4 46 c6 lιa6 47 Φg3 lιxc6 48 14 Sιf4lZJe8
e5 lιc3 49 lιd2 lιa3 50 Φχg4 lιa2
51 lιh2 Φd7 52 Φg3 Φθ6 53 d4 lιa8
54 Φf4 Φd5 55 1:!.h7 lιa7 56 Φf5
Φχd4 57 lιxf7 nxf7 58 e6 1:!.c7 5917
lιxc2 60 e 7 b3 61 f8'tirV b2 62 'tirVf6+
Φd3 63 e8'tirV b1'tirV 64 'tirVe4+ Φd2 65
'iVfd4+ 1-0
One needs strong nerves to play
such positions. The game can turn οη
one move.
97
The Closed Sicilian
23 ~xg5! was the way to continue. Ι was surprised to see that ECO
23 ... h6 24 h4 gives this as its maίn line.
White gets over-excited. 9 t2Jxd4
Not mentioned ίη ECO, but Ι think
we should trust Boris.
9 ... cxd4 1 Ο t2Je2 t2Jd7 11 f4 f5
Black has ηο desire to allow f4-f5
aπd be subjected to aπ attack.
12 'it>h2 'ίt>h8 13 exf5 gxf5 14 c3
dxc3 15 bxc3 ~a5 16 ~e3 t2Jc5
231:1g1!
It is hard to appreciate at fίrst, but
this is a brilliaπt move. 23 l:ta4 faίled
to 23 ... l2Jxc3!
23 ... .1ιa8 24 1:1a4 'it'b2 25 1:tb4 'it'a2
26 na4 'iVb2 27 1:1xa7 t2Jxc3 28
98
6 tΔge2
99
The Closed Sicilian
26 ... tZJf6
If 26 ... fxg4 I'm sure it was Spassky's
intention to play 27 ~xe5! dxe5 and
now either 28 d6 or 28 "iYe3!? offers
7 ... d6 8 a3 White compensation for the material.
Game 67 deals with 8 ~e3. 27 gxf5 gxf5 28 l:txf5 i.d4+ 29
8 ... 0-0 9 l:tb1 f5 tZJxd4 l:txe1+ 30 .txe1 l:txe1+ 31
Hort sets a trap. Φf2 ~e7 32 l:txf6 ~xf6+ 33 Φχe1
10.Jtd2 ~xd4 34 ~g3 ~xc4 35 ~xd6 ~c1+
If 10 b4 f4 White can't capture οη f4 36 Φf2 ~xb2+ 37 Φg3 ~g7+ 38
as the knight οη c3 hangs. Φf2 ~d4+ 39 Φg3 Φg7
100
6 tΔge2
101
The Closed Sicilian
10 b4!
This was the point of ~b1: the
black knight had to jump to d4 and
that permitted b2-b4.
10 ... b6 27 ... Wg7 28 f4 Wf6 29 Wf2 e5 30
It is staggering that Black can get fxe5+ Wxe5 31 We3 g5 321::tb7 SΙc6
away with this. 33 SΙxc6 1::txc6 34 1::tb5+ We6 35
Wd4 f5 36 g4 1::td6+ 37 Wc3 fxg4 38
1::txg5 1::ta6 39 Wb4 1::ta2 40 1::th5 1::ta7
41 c5 1::tf7 42 Wb5 Wd7 43 1::tg5 1::tf2
44 1::tg7+ Wc8 45 1::txh7 1::tf6 46 1::th4
1::tf2 47 Wb6 1::tb2+ 48 Wc6 Wb8 49
1::th8+ Wa7 50 Wd6 1::td2+ 51 Wc7
1::tf2 52 1::th7 1::tf8 53 c6 1::tg8 54 1::te7
g3 55 Wd6+ Wb6 56 hxg3 1::txg3 57
1::tb7+ Wa6 ~-~
11 e5 tΔd5 12 exd6
12 Cbxd5? exd5 13 .txd5 .th3 14
Cbxd4 cxd4 15 .txd4 dxe5 wins. 1 e4 c5 2 tΔc3 tΔc6 3 g3 g6 4 i..g2
102
6 t:Δge2
~g7 5 d3 d6 6 '2Jge2 e6 7 ο-ο '2Jge7 15 f5!? f6 (15 ... gxf5!? 16 "iVg5+ l2Jg6
8~g5 17 "iVxd8 %:txd8 18 exf5 l2Jf8 19 c3 is
finely balanced) 16 g4 g5 17 c3 is more
double-edged than the game, although
Ι don't think Black should be too
afraίd.
15 ... dxc3 16 bxc3 f6 17 rJo>h1 a5 18
'2Jg1 ~e6 19 '2Jf3 ~c7 20 1:!.ac1
1:!.bc8 21 ~b2 1:!.b8 22 ~d2 :tbc8 23
'iVb2 Υι- Υι
103
Τhe Closed Sicilian
13 a4! bxa4
13 ... b4 14llJbs and the knight is se-
cure.
14 CΔxa4 CΔθ5 15 b3
ΜΥ plan is simple: to round υρ the
6 d3 CΔge7 7 h4 a-pawn.
104
6 tiJge2
105
The Closed Sicilian
Summary
106
6 tΔf3 and other
Sixth Moves for White
107
The Closed Sicilian
White already has a slight but clear Why dίdn't White play to win this
strategic advantage. position? Of course, it would have
15 ... lLJe7 16 iιg5 f6 17 iιθ3 f5 18 been hard work, but even more so for
exf5! lLJxf5 the defender.
18 ... j,xdS 19 j,xds+ tιJxdS 20 'i'b3
wins the piece back and maίntaίns
central control.
9 a4 a6 10 lLJc4 b5
Ill-judged. Even though Black wins
this game quickly, Ι am not convinced
by his plan. He doesn't prevent the
knight from arriving at dS, and
108
6 tΔf3 and other Sixth Moves for White
1 e4 c5 2 tZJf3 d6 3 d3 tZJc6 4 g3 g6
5 .tg2 .tg7 6 ο-ο e5 7 tZJc3 tZJge7 8
tZJh4
109
The Closed Sicilian
110
6 'Δf3 and other Sixth Moves for White
i.xe5 dxe5 21 ~θ3 0-0-0 22 .I::1.ae1 worth, let's see how our mentor han-
dled the position: 8 .tg5 h6 9 ~d2 e5
10 a3 .te6 11 kϊb1 a5 12 a4 d5 13 exd5
liJxd5 14 liJxd5 .txd5 15 .te3 c4 with
tremendous complications ίη Spassky-
Τ al, Tbilisi Candίdates 1965 (Spassky
won the game!). 15 ... c4 is the kind of
moνe which Τ al would find hard to
resist, but 15 ... b6 instead would haνe
maintained Black's space adνantage,
when Ι prefer his position. Spassky's
opening play was, for once, not terri-
bly impressiνe.
Now Black is struggling: his pawns
are weak and his king too open. He
does well to groνel into a poor endίng.
22 ... fxe4 23 1ιχθ4 tΔf5 24 ~f3
1ιχθ4 25 .Ι::1.χθ4 h5 26 .I::1.fe1 .I::1.he8 27
a3 .I::1.d4 28 .I::1.xd4 tΔxd4 29 ~f7 .I::1.e6
30 .I::1.f1 ~d8 31 Φg1 ~θ8 32 ~χθ8+
.Ι::1.χθ8 33 tΔθ4 tΔf5 34 .I::1.f3 .I::1.d8 35
.I::1.c3+ Φb8 36 .I::1.c5 tΔd4 37 tΔg5 .I::1.c8
38 .I::1.xc8+ Φχc8 39 c3 tΔc6 40 Φf2
Φd7 41 Φθ3 Φθ 7 42 Φθ4 Φf6 43
tΔf3 Φθ6 44 a4 a5 45 tΔd2 tΔd8 46
tΔc4 tΔf7 47 tΔxa5 tΔd6+ 48 '1t>d3 8 ... .I::1.b8 9 a4!
Φd5 49 c4+ Φc5 50 tΔb3+ Φb4 51 White can gain good play for his
tΔd2 e4+ 52 Φd4 Φχa4 53 c5 e3 54 rook οη the a-file.
Φχθ3 tΔf5+ 55 Φf4 h4 56 g4 tΔg7 9 ... a6 10 ~g5
57 Φθ5 Φb5 58 tΔθ4 tΔθ8 59 tΔd6+ Τ empting Black into playing ... h7-
tΔxd6 60 cxd6 Φc6 1-0 h6. It isn't clear whether he should
play this or not. 10 .te3 is considered
ίη Games 77-80.
10 ... b5
Ι think that Black should call his
opponent's bluff and play 1o... h6 11
1 e4 c5 2 tΔf3 d6 3 tΔc3 tΔf6 4 g3 iιe3 b5 12 axb5 axb5 13 'iid2 'it>h7. It
tΔc6 5 ~g2 g6 6 ο-ο ~g7 7 d3 ο-ο 8 isn't clear to me that White has gaίned
h3 anything, but he mίght try 14 e5!?
Α preparatory moνe so that the (compare with Game 77). Howeνer, Ι
white bishop can sit οη e3 without don't think Black stands worse here.
being hassled by ... liJg4. For what it's 11 axb5 axb5 12 ~d2 b4 13 tΔd5 e6
111
The Closed Sicilian
10 ... b5
This allows White the option οί
White has the more pleasant posi- opening up the position. The more
tion. He intends d3-d4; Black prevents conservative 1O ...iιd7 is dealt with ίη
it, but eventually finds that his pawn Game 79 and 10... e5 ίη Game 80.
structure is simply too rigid to do any- 11 axb5 axb5 12 e5!?
thingwith. This radically changes the character
16 ... e5 17 lΔθ1 ~θ7 18 lΔc2 bxc3 of the game. The more sedate 12 ii'd2
19 bxc3 11b2 20 ~ c 1 11b3 21 lΔθ3 is considered ίη Game 78.
iιθ6 22 f4 f6 23 f5 iιf7 24 h4 ~d8 12 ... lΔθ8
25 fxg6 hxg6 26 lΔg4 .1ιθ8 27 11a2 Black ought to capture: 12 ... dxe5 13
lΔb8 28 11af2 lΔd7 29 .iίh3 11b7 30 .ixc5 when Ι prefer White, but don't
lΔθ3 lΔb6 31 iιθ6+ iιf7 32 11xf6 let that sway you! The position is just
.1ιχθ6 33 11xf8+ ~xf8 34 11xf8+ complicated, and ίη any case, Black
Φχf8 35 c4 lΔd7 36 lΔd5 Φf7 37 must try this. Ιη the game he is simply
'ilih6 lΔf8 38 h5 iιxd5 39 exd5 11e7 worse.
40 g4 Φg8 41 ~g5 11f7 42 Φg2 Φh7
43 "iVd8 gxh5 44 gxh5 lΔd7 45 "iVc7
Φh6 46 'iVxd6+ Φχh5 47 'i'e6 11g7+
48 Φf3 Φg5 49 d6 11h7 50 Φθ4 11g7
51 Φd5 e4 52 dxe4 Φf4 53 'ilif5+
1-0
.Garne17,:i~!·
JSibilio':Gik~s>
<ΆiJ,~gάnΌοΡί?n :1989!ζ ....
1 lΔf3 lΔf6 2 g3 g6 3 .1ιg2 iιg7 4
ο-ο ο-ο 5 d3 d6 6 e4 c5 7 lΔc3 lΔc6 13 exd6 exd6 14 d4! c4 15 d5 lΔb4
112
6 t'Δf3 and other Sixth Moves for White
16 lΔd4 lΔc7 17 ~d2 ~e8 18 ~g5 f6 16 ... b3 17 iιxg7 Φχg7 18 ~f4 bxc2 19
19 ~f4 g5 20 ~e3 .ί:i.e5 21 lΔcxb5 ~xd4+ Φg8 20 Iϊfc1 ~b6 21 ~xb6
lΔcxd5 22 lΔc6 lΔxc6 23 ~xd5+ ~xb6 22 ~xc2, although he was a clear
ιJ;>h8 24 ~xc6 ~xh3 25 ~fd1 ~c8 pawn down and eventually lost ίη
26 ~xd6 ~g4 27 ~d4 ~exb5 28 Norwood-McDonald, British Cham-
~xb5 ~f3 29 ~d7 ~f8 30 ~c6 1-0 pionship 1990) 17 ~xh6 b3 and now
instead of 18 c4 as ίη Herzog-Weis,
;:.;',;.>;~~Ι~~~~:Ιθ;a~~ 78'ζ'%~:/'8 '.. Germany 1992, Ι think White could
have won by playing 18 Iϊa4! bxc2
"British Cham
co, , . ,j,""
(18 ...'iVb6? 19 c3) 19 1hd4 e5 20 ~h4
~e8 21 ~xh7+ Φf8 22 ~h6+ Φe7 23
1 lΔf3 lΔf6 2 g3 g6 3 ~g2 ~g7 4 'iVg5+ Φd7 24 ~c1!? with a winning
ο-ο ο-ο 5 d3 d6 6 e4 c5 7 lΔc3 lΔc6 position.
8 h3 ~b8 9 a4 a6 1 Ο ~e3 b5 11 15 lΔxe5 ~xe5 16 d4 ~xd4 17
axb5 axb5 12 ~d2 Sιxd4 cxd4 18 ji'xd4
12 e5!? was considered ίη Game 77.
113
The Closed Sicilian
/ .. GtArne79 ..~!>
•. indel'C~mpo-Vel,duga;:;;
, . i3diyamo 1990 .. .
1 e4 c5 2 lί:Jf3 d6 3 g3 lί:Jf6 4 lί:Jc3
g6 5 i.g2 lί:Jc6 6 ο-ο i.g7 7 d3 ~b8
8 a4 a6 9 h3 ο-ο 1 Ο i.e3 i.d7
114
6 4:Jf3 and other Sixth Moves for White
from playing e4-e5 and clamps down Horvath, Budapest 1989; and 6 ltJd5
οη the centre. e6 7 ltJe3 ltJge7 8 f4 ο-ο 9 ltJf3 d5 10
11 ~d2 b5 12 axb5 axb5 13 .Jίg5 ο-ο (10 e5!?) 1O ... d:xe4 11 d:xe4 b6 12 e5
Mr Urban obviously wasn't satis- i.a6 13 c4 (13 ~e1) 13 ... 'Yi'xd1 14 ~xd1
fied with his play ίη this game and ~ad8 15 b3 ltJf5 with equal chances ίη
three years later tried something else: Jovic-Bernard, Dortmund 1989.
13 ltJh2 b4 14 ltJe2 ltJd4 15 ltJxd4 cxd4
16 iιg5 'Yi'b6 17 b3 'Yi'c5 18 f4 ltJh5 19
iιh4 h6 20 f5 g5 21 f6 ltJxf6 0-1 Ur-
ban-Stocek, Budapest 1994. Back to
the drawing board.
13 ... .Jίe6 14 CLJh2 ~d7 15 f4
If White is to make anything of the
position then he must try this move.
For a pawn he gets some attack.
15 ... exf4 16 gxf4 .Jίxh3 17 f5 .Jίxg2
18 ~xg2 b4
Not 18 ... ltJe5 19 .txf6 .txf6 20 ltJd5
~h8 21 ltJf3 and with a bit of luck, 6 ... CLJf6
mate οη the h-file. If Ι were White, the aggressive 6... h5
19 .i.xf6 bxc3 20 ~xc3 .JTιxf6 21 would concern me.
~xf6 CLJe5 22 b3 ~a8 23 ~h4 ~d8 7 ο-ο .JTιg4 8 f3 .JTιxh3 9 ~xh3 ο-ο
24 f6 h5 25 ~g5 Φh7 26 ~ae1 ~h8 10 .JTιe3 CLJe8 11 ~d2 CLJc7 12 ~ae1
27 CLJf3 ~e8 28 CLJh4 ~e6 29 CLJf5 b6 13CLJd1 d5 14 ~e2 e6 15 f4 f5
CLJg4 30 ~h1 Φg8 31 ~a1 ~xa1 32
~xa1 Φh7 33 ~xg4 ~xf6 34 ~h1 d5
35 CLJe3 Υ:ι - Υ:ι
115
The Closed Sicilian
position opens for his bishops. 39 .th3!, when Black's king begins to
16 i.c1 1::I.f7 17 i.g2 ~d7 18 lίJf2 feel the draught.
1::I.d8 19 c3 b5 20 exd5 exd5 21 .Jίd2
c4 22 ~f3 lίJe 7 23 dxc4 bxc4
23 ... dxc4 would have been met by
24.te3!
24 b3! lίJc8 25 bxc4 dxc4 26 i.c1
~a4 27 1::I.d1! 1::I.df8
If 27 ... .aΌxd1?! 28 .aΌxd1 or 27 ... .aΌfd7?!
28 .aΌxd7 .aΌxd7 29 .aΌe 1.
28.Jίe3!
28 ... lίJb6
Perhaps 28 ... 'ilHxa2?! 29 .tc5 .aΌe8 30
'ilHc6 with the idea of 31 .td5.
29.Jίc5
Αη interesting alternative was 29
lbh3!? h6 30 .aΌd6.
29 ...1::I.c8 30 .Jίb4 lίJa6
30 ... a5? wou1d have been met by 31
i.c5. 42 ... lίJd4!
31 i.d6 ~a5 32 94 ~xc3 33 ~e2! Not 42 ... lbxf4 43 .aΌe8+ Φf7 44
'iVf6 341::1.fe1! 1::I.d7 35 i.e7! 1::I.xe7 lbb5!
Not 35 ... 'ilHf7? 36 .aΌxd7 lbxd7 37 43 1::I.e5! .Jίxe5 44 fxe5 1::I.xc3 45
iιb7! l:txd4 Φf7 46 :d6 1::I.c5 47 1::I.f6+ Φg7
36 "fixe7 ~xe7 37 1::I.xe7 lίJc5 38 48 i.e4 l:txe5 49 l:txg6+ Wf7 50 .Jίc2
gxf5 1t would have been better to play 50
~g4! and only then 51 iιc2.
see fo//owing diagram
50 ... 1:I.e1+ 51 Φf21::1.a1 52 1::I.c6 1::I.xa2
38 ... c3! 53 h4 lίJd5 54 Φf3 1::I.a3+ 55 Φθ4
38 ... gxf5 would have been met by 1:I.c3 ΥΖ-ΥΖ
116
6 tΔf3 and other Sixth Moves for White
Summary
White's system ίn Games 76-80 shouldn't be taken lightly. Game 77, ίn particu-
lar, is worth a second look. Perhaps Black's best defensive idea is seen ίn Game
80. However, Game 75 showed that it is difficult to make progress against 6 ... e6.
6 tΞJf3
6 t2Jh3 - Game 81
6 ... e5
6 ... e6 7 ο-ο t2Jge7 - Game 75
6 ... t2Jf67 ο-ο ο-ο 8 h3 .ϊ::i.b8 9 a4 a6
10 iιg5 - Game 76
10 iιe3 (D)
1O ... b5 11 axb5 axb5 (D)
12 e5 - Game 77
12 iYd2 - Game 80
1O ... iιd7 - Game 78
1O ... e5 - Game 79
7 ο-ο tΞJge7 8 tΞJd2 (D)
8 t2Jh4 - Game 74
8 ... ~b8
8 ... t2Jd4 - Game 72
9 tΞJcd5 - Game 73
117
Black plays ... θ 7 -e6
and ... d7-d5
118
Black plays ... e 7-e6 and ... d7-d5
1 e4 c5 2 t2Jc3 e6 3 g3 d5 4 JLg2
It is more accurate for White to cap-
This is exactly the same as a Goring ture οη d5 first as here Black has the
Gambit reversed, with the exception option to play 4... dxe4, giving him a
that White has a pawn οη g3 rather comfortable position: ... 4:Jc6, ... iιe7,
than g2 - which doesn't help. The ... 4:Jf6 and so οη. However, 4... d4 isn't
following sequence is just about forced that great. White gets a favourable re-
for Black if he wishes to avoid any versed Κing's Indίan.
problems and with best play the 4 ... t2Jf6 5 exd5 exd5 6 d4
119
The Closed Sicilian
8 ... d4
Simple development also wasn't
bad: 8... iιe7 9 l2Jge2 iιd7! tests
White's idea. If 10 'iVb3 here, then
1O... l2Ja5 is embarrassing.
9 tΔce2 .id7 1 Ο ~b3 1ιb4+ 11 c3 6 ... i.e7!
iιa5 12 tΔf3 dxc3 13 tΔxc3 Not 6... iιe6? 7 iιxb7 or 6...'iVe7 7
Instead of this Ι would suggest 13 l2Jd5 'iVxe2+ 8 l2Jxe2 with a great lead
bxc3 ο-ο 14 ο-ο iιb6 15 ~dl or 13 ο-ο!? ίη development.
with play for a pawn. 7 tΔd5 tΔc6 8 d3 iιe6 9 tΔf4 iιd7 1 Ο
13 ... ~e7+ 14 Sιe3 1ιe6 15 'iYa4 tΔd5 g4!?
16 ο-ο iιxc3 17 bxc3 Radical, but if White is content to
Why Black now takes οη c3 is be- draw then 10 l2Jd5 iιe6 11 l2Jf4 iιd7
yondme. 12 l2Jd5 was agreed drawn by repeti-
17 ... tΔxc3 tion ίη Davies-Beim, Tel Ανίν 1992.
17 ... l2Jxe3 18 fxe3 ο-ο is very good 10 ... tΔf6 11 g5 tΔg4 12 tΔd5 tΔge5
for Black. 13 iιf4 tΔg6 14 iί..c7 ~c8 15 h4
18 ~c2 tΔd5 19 1ιc5 'V/IJc7 20 1:tac1 .te6 16 i.g3 i.d8 17 h5 tΔge7 18
a6 21 'V/IJb2 1:tg8 22 tΔd4 tΔxd4 23 h6 tΔxd5 19 hxg7 1:tg8 20 .ixd5
iιxd4 ~d7 241:tfe1 g5 25 1:tcd1 1:tc8 1:txg7 21 tΔf3 'V/IJd7 22 iιxe6
26 .if6 Φf8 27 1:txd5 1ιχd5 28 ~a3+ After 22 iιe4!? or 22 iιb3!? the ρο
1-0 sition stilllooks favourable to White.
120
Black ρlays ... e7-e6 and ... d7-d5
:c,~, Game8~.
·'Casper-Vaiser c
. ··ΆrBerlin 1982
1 e4 c5 2 tΔc3 e6 3 g3 d5 4 exd5
exd5 5 !i.g2 tΔf6 6 d3
For 6l2Jge2 see Games 88-90.
121
The Closed Sicilian
122
Black ρlays ... e7-e6 and ... d7-d5
32 ... fxe5 33 ~xe5 ~xe5 34 fxe5 exd5 5 ..tg2 lΔf6 6 d3 .1Le7 7 lΔge2
Φe7 35 Φf2 ~d7 36 Φe3 lΔc6 37 d4 8lΔe4 ο-ο
Φe4lΔe7 8... tΔxe4 would be fairly dull if
37... b5 38 e6+ Wd6 39 iιxc6 Wxc6 White recaptured with the bishop: 9
40 We5 a5 41 Wf6 b4 42 e7 wins. iιxe4 tΔd7 10 ο-ο ο-ο 11 iιg2 tΔf6 12
38.1Lb7! iιg5 h6 13 j,xf6 iιxf6 14 tΔf4 iιe5 15
Forcing a crucial weakness οη the iYf3 !:ιb8 16 !:ιfe1 !:ιe8 17 !:ιe2 iVd6 18
queenside. !:ιae 1 iιd7 19 tΔd5 b6 when White is
38 ... a5 minutely better, but if Black is sensi-
ble, and he was, then a draw is ίη the
bag, as ίη Taimanoν-Polugayeνsky,
USSR Championship 1965. However,
9 dxe4 isn't bad, as we have seen.
9 lΔxf6+ ..txf6 1 Ο ο-ο t2Jc6 11 t2Jf4
ke5
11 ... tΔe5 transposes to Chigorin-
Tarrasch, Ostend 1907 (hot theory!),
which continued 12 tΔd5 iιg4 13 f3
~e6 14 tΔxf6+ iVxf6 15 f4 tΔc6 16
iYh5 with a clear advantage to White,
according to ECo.
The game is reminiscent of the fa- 12 J::!.e1 ..td6 13 ~h5
mous endgame Fischer-Taimanov The difference between this game
from their Candidates match ίη 1971. and the one ίη the note above is that
39 a4! Φc7 40 kd5 g5 41 kc4 Φd7 Black' s king is less well protected: the
42 kf7 Φc7 43 ke8! 'it>d8 44 kb5 manoeuvre ... tΔd7-f6 is ίmportant to
Φc7 45 h3 h6 46 c4 Black's defence, as we see ίη the next
Zugzwang. game.
46 ... Φd8 47 e6! lΔc8
Or 47 ... Wc7 48 We5.
48Φe5
48 wd5 We7 49 iιd7 tΔd6 50 j,c6
tΔc8 51 iιb5 tΔd6 52 j,d7 Zugzwang.
48 ...Φe7 49 kd7 lΔd6 50 'it>d5! lΔb7
51 Φc6 lΔd6 52 'it>xb6 lΔxc4+ 53
Φχc51-0
123
The Closed Sicilian
~xc6 12Jxc6 20 12Jd5 12Jb4 21 iιg5 f6 ':'e8 to be equal. See the next game ΙΟ
22 iιxf6 gxf6 23 12Je7+ Φh8 24 find ουΙ whether this is true!
12Jg6+ Φg7 25 12Jxf8 'iVxf8 26 'iVg4+ 12l2Jf4 ο-ο
Φh6 27 'iVh3+ Φg6 28 1:!.e4 h5 29 g4 12 ... Sιxf4 13 'iia4+ i..d7 14 ':'e1+
h4 30 'iVf3 'iVh6 31 'iVf5+ Φg7 32 Φf8 15 iYxf4 is good for White, as the
'iVd7+ Φg8 33 'iVxd6 1:!.f8 34 1:!.e8 bishop can always emerge after b2-b3.
12Jxc2 35 'iVd5+ 1-0 13 12Jxd3 iιxg3 14 fxg3!
Νοι 14 hxg3 'iixd3 15 'iif3 Sιf5!
14... 'iVxd3 15 'iVf3 'iVxf3
15 ....:.d8 16 'iixd3 !Ixd3 17 1'Ϊe1 fol-
lowed by iιH should untangle and
then the bishops have some fun.
1 e4 c5 2 12Jc3 e6 3 g3 d5 4 exd5 16 iιxf3 ~h3 17 ~xb7
exd5 5 ~g2 12Jf6 6 12Jge2 d4 7 12Je4 17 ':'dl tbg4 was played ίn an ob-
12Jxe4 8 iιxe4 12Jd7 9 ο-ο 12Jf6 1 Ο scure game ίn Germany, but as Kas-
iιg2 ~d6 parov poίnts ουΙ, the logical move is
Kasparov has carried out the stan- to exchange bishops with l7 ... iιg4!,
dard manoeuvre, ... tbd7-f6, and looks solving Black's problems.
set to completely equalise. (He actu- 17 ...llae8
ally assesses the position after 11 d3 After 17 ... i..xf1 18 iιxa8 .i.d3 19
ο-ο 12 Sιf4 ':'e8 as slightly better for iιf3 ':'e8 20 b3 White untangles, re-
Black.) But Spassky has a different idea maining a pawn υρ - Kasparov.
ίn mίnd. 18 ~g2 iιxg2 19 Φχg2 1:I.e2+ 20 1:!.f2
11 c3! 1:!.fe8 21 b3
One of the points behind this move 21 ':'xe2 isn't much of an improve-
is that after 11 ... dxc3 White recaptures ment: 21 ....:.xe2+ 22 Φf3 .:.xh2 23 b3
with the d-pawn - see Game 90. tbd7 24 d4 cxd4 25 cxd4 f5 26 a4 Φf7
11 ... d3!? 27 b4 tbf6 28 i..e3 1:Ib2 29 d5 1:Ixb4 30
.iιxa7 tbxd5 31 a5 and eventually
drawn ίn Dudek-pfrommer, Germany
1996.
21 ...1:!.xf2+ 22 Φχf2 12Jg4+ 23 Φg2
f5
Νοι 23 ....:.e1? 24 .i.b2 1:Ie2+ 25 Φf3
1:Ixd2 26 .i.a3 tbxh2+ 27 Φe4 with a
clear advantage (ΚasΡarοv).
24 h3 12Je5 25 d4 cxd4 26 cxd4 12Jd3
27 iιg5 h6 28 1:!.d1 hxg5 29 1:!.xd3
1:!.e2+ 30 Φf3 1:I.xa2 31 d5 Φf7 32 d6
Φe8 %-%
Mixing ίι. Kasparov judges the posi- Α likely finish being: 33 l::ϊe3 Φd7
ιίοn after 11 ... 0-0 12 cxd4 cxd4 13 d3 34 !Ie7 Φd6 35 ':'g7 1::ϊb2 36 :g5 Φe6
124
Black plays ... e7-e6 and ... d7-d5
37 Φf4 ~f2 38 Φe3 ~b2. Equal. These 15 ~b3! ~a5 16 ~c2 ~f5 17 i..d2
notes were based ση Kasparov' s illu- i.b4 18 ~xb4 ~xb4 19 a3 ~b5 20
mίnating comments ίη In/ormator 33. ~d2 h6 21 h4 1:tac8 22 1:tfc1
'Equal' is the correct assessment,
though Black now overplays his hand.
22 ... b6 23 1:txc8 l:1xc8 24 1:tc1 1:tc5
25 b4 1:txc1+ 26 νi'xc1 ~e5 27 νi'd2
Φf8 28 i-f3 g5 29 hxg5 hxg5 30
1 e4 c5 2 lίJc3 e6 3 lίJge2 lίJf6 4 g3 lίJe2 i.g4 31 iιxg4 lίJxg4 32 'iib2
d5 5 exd5 exd5 6 i.g2 d4 7 lίJe4 ~b8 33 ~xd4 Υ:ι - Υ:ι
lίJxe4 8 i.xe4 lίJd7 9 ο-ο lίJf6 1 Ο
iιg2 ~d6 11 c3 ο-ο
Varying from Kasparov's 11 ... d3.
1 e4 c5 2 lίJc3 e6 3 g3 d5 4 exd5
exd5 5 iιg2 lίJf6 6 lίJge2 d4 7 lίJe4
lίJxe4 8 iιxe4 lίJd7 9 ο-ο lίJf6 1 Ο
~g2 iιd6 11 c3 dxc3?
Α poor move. Black underestimates
White's position.
125
The Closed Sicilian
Summary
Ιη Games 82 and 83 an early d2-d4 was interesting, but Ι suspect not enough for
the advantage if Black plays accurately. Game 86 was the most dynamίc way for
White to play - at least the pawn structure becomes unbalanced. Spassky's idea
was interesting, but agaίnst accurate play should be fine for Black, as Games 88
and 89 both showed. Ιη conclusion, 2... e6 3 g3 d5 remaίns a solid and viable ορ
tion for Black.
1 e4 c5 2 tΔc3 e6 3 g3
126
1 e4 c5 2 93
Strictly speaking, this fina1 chapter positions is often more important than
doesn't really fall into the category of 'variations' - there aren't any.
the 'Closed Sicilian', which is nor- Theoretica1 ορίηίοη has not yet
ma11y classed as a11 positions arising crysta11ised οη this system. However,
out of 1 e4 c5 2 LΔc3 LΔc6 3 g3. I've getting into the system is often the
decided to include a chapter οη 2 g3 as problem. Many players (myself ίη
ίη certain cases White can achieve a cluded) like to begin with 1 g3 g6 2
much improved version of the kind of .tg2 iιg7 3 e4 and so οη. The reason
Closed Sicilian positions which Ι ex- being that after 1 e4 c5 2 g3, Black
amίned ίη the first four chapters. may play the 10gica1 move 2... d5!, cut-
Υου might reca11 that ίη many ting across White's plans completely.
games White experienced difficulties I'm not saying that this is good for
οη the 10ng diagonal: the pawn οη b2 Black, the position is very compli-
was sometimes νulnerable; the knight cated, but it prevents White setting υρ
οη c3 could be attacked by the b- his 'Clamp" (See Games 91-93.) ΑΙ
pawn; and it was often difficult to ex- ternatively, White can play 1 e4 c5 2
pel the knight οη d4. So οη the face of d3, hoping that Black makes the stan-
it, leaving the knight οη b 1 and play- dard moves .... g7-g6, ... iιg7 etc., and
ing the pawn to c3 makes good sense. doesn't 100k at what is going οη ίη
This system, often named 'The front of him. If Black is a1ert, and ca-
Clamp' as White intends squashing pable of playing other systems, then
Black οη a11 sides of the board, has a 2... LΔc6 3 g3 d5! 4 lbd2 will transpose
good reputation. As with the usua1 to some kind οί reversed Κing's Ιη
Closed Sicilian with LΔc3, White can dian, though that mίght not be to eve-
play the system ίη many different ryone's taste.
ways (the same applies to Black as Games 94-103 feature the Clamp ίη
well) , so an understanding of typica1 a11 its glory.
127
The Closed Sicilian
pleasant endgame.
, ",' : Game:91 '. , 6 ... iιh3
'Sepp..Malisauskas .. ' This is the old move, originally rec-
ommended by theory. Ιη principle
one would like to exchange off the
1 e4 c5 2 g3 d5 bishop οη g2, but here Black is taking
Black takes advantage of the fact liberties. He is already lagging ίη de-
that White has omitted tiJc3 and velopment, and this gives White a
breaks ίη the centre. As the long di- chance. 6... tiJc6 is the subject of
agonal is slightly νulnerable, this is a Games 92 and 93.
sound and potentially dangerous move 7 b4!?
for White to meet. He must already This shocking move is White's best
compromιse. chance of upsetting Black. Instead 7 d4
3 exd5 ~xd5 4 tιJf3 doesn't achieve the desired effect, e.g.
The only decent move. 4 iVf3 iVxf3 7... cxd4 8 tiJxd4 'iVd7 9 tiJc3 tiJc6 10
5 lΔxf3 tiJc6 promises White nothing tiJxc6 'i!fxc6 11 iVdS 'i!fxd5 12 tiJxd5
and ίη fact Ι prefer Black as he has a .txg2+ 13 ~xg2 0-0-0 should be equal
space advantage. once Black develops οη the kingside,
4 ... iιg4 5 iιg2 ~e6+ as ίη Pachman-Taimanov, Buenos Αί
If it weren't for this check, then res 1960. 7 tiJc3 tiJc6 8 d3 'i!fd7 9 i..e3
White could castle and perhaps take .txg2+ 10 ~xg2 e6 is also level
advantage of the queen οη ds. 7 ... cxb48 a3
White knocks out one of Black's
centre pawns so that he can roll for-
ward with his own. The pawn sacri-
fice also opens up files and diagonals
for the attack.
8 ... b3
8... tiJc6 9 axb4 tiJxb4 10 tiJa3 'iVd7
11 d4 i..xg2+ 12 ~xg2 e6 13 c4 is a
quite typical position ίη which White
has a tremendous initiative, as ίη
Korolev-Panjushkin, Correspondence
1978.
6 Wf1 9 tιJc3
It's a trade off. White would rather Rapid development is crucial.
not have his king οη f1, blocking ίη 9 ... tιJf6 10 1:tb1 iιxg2+
the rook οη h1, but Black is also a lit- Or 1O ... g6 11 ~xb3 (Κοrοleν
tle behind ίη development as the Rusakov, Correspondence 1978) and
queen blocks the e-pawn. White is now Lepeshkin analyses 11 ... b6!? 12
forced to move his king since 6 iVe2 tiJbs tiJa6 13 1:e3 'iVd7 14 iVe2 i..h6 15
'iVxe2+ 7 ~xe2 tiJc6 gives Black a 1:d3 iVe6 16 'iVxe6 i..xe6 17 tiJfd4 as
128
2 g3
7 h3
It is best to flick this moνe ίη.
14... ~c8 White prepares to break the ρίη and
If 14 ... exd5 15 .ί:le1 giνes White an rules out ....i.h3.
irresistible attack and 14 ... lLJxd5 like- 7 ... !iLh5 8 liJc3
wise: 15 lLJxd5 νi'xd5 16 νi'xd5 exd5 17 8 d3 is considered ίη the next game
.ί:le1. 8 ... liJf6
15 ~e2 ο-ο 16 dxe6 fxe6 17 g,e1 This is the most popular moνe here,
!iLc5 18 ~xe6+ ~xe6 19 g,xe6 b6 20 but Ι don't think it is the most accu-
liJe4 liJbd7 21 !iLb2 liJxe4 22 g,xe4 rate. After 8...νi'd7 9 d3 e6 10 a4 lLJf6
liJf6 23 g,e2 g,ae8 24 g,xe8 g,xe8 25 11 a5 .ί:ld8! 12 g4 .i.g6 13 lLJh4 iιe7 14
liJe5 g,c8 26 g,d3! !iLe7 27 c4 Φf8 lLJxg6 hxg6 15 h4 a6 16 .i.e3 νi'c7 17 g5
28 Wf3 We8 29 g4 g,c5 30 g5 liJg8 lLJh5 the game was already swinging ίη
31 h4 h6 32 Wg4 hxg5 33 hxg5 b5 Black's direction ίη Short-Sνeshnikoν,
34 g,h3 bxc4 35 g,h8 c3 36 g,xg8+ European C1ub Cup 1992.
!iLf8 37 liJg6 1-0 9 d3 ~d7 1 Ο g4 iιg6 11 lίJh4
6... iιh3 has been discredited by 7 White grabs the two bishops, but at
b4! Black has to be νery foolish or the cost of compromising his kingside
νery braνe to go into this sacrifice. pawn structure. 11 .i.f4!? e6 12 g5 lLJg8
13 νi'e1lLJge7 14 h4 .i.h5 15 lLJe5lLJxe5
16 .i.xe5 lLJc6 17 a4 was better for
White ίη Speelman-Sunye Neto, Graz
1981, and still hasn't been improνed
upon.
1 e4 c5 2 g3 d5 3 exd5 ~xd5 4 liJf3 11 ... e6!
.tg4 5 .tg2 ~e6+ 6 Wf1 liJc6! This is the structure that Black
This is stronger than 6... .i.h3. Black should aim for. It is important to
thinks about deνeloping the rest of his coνer a few of the light squares.
pieces, and it is also useful to maintain 1 2 !iLe3 .te 7
129
The Closed Sicilian
15 a41::td8!
As one mίght expect from Ribli, his
strategy is careful and sensible: he
clears his pieces from the long diago-
nal out οί the line οί the bishop οη g2.
White can make little progress οη the
queenside.
161::th3 Φf8
Α curious situation: both kings have
been displaced, though this is rather
common for this line. Black is right
not to castle. Ιη that case he would
13 l2Jxg6 face the pawn storm.
13 g5 is worth considering ίη this 17 Φg1 b6 18 1::tc1 Φg8 19 b3 1::th7
position, e.g. 13 ... ~h5 (13 .. .'~:Jh5 is 20 Φh1 1::th8 21 g5
met by 14 iιί3, but 13 ... ttJd5!? is pos- Hort can think οί ηο other way to
sible) 14 'iVe1 ttJg8 (not 14 ...ttJd5? 15 proceed. This does give him a little
ttJxd5 exd5 16 iιxc5) 15 ttJe4 ttJd4 16 more room to manoeuvre, but it also
'iVc3.1:1c8 17 b4 b6 18 bxc5 e5 19 ~xd4 gives Black some squares as wel1.
exd4 20 'iVb3 (perhaps 20 'iVd2!? iιxc5 21 ...l2Je8 22 ~g4 l2Jd6! 23 l2Je4 'ii'c8
21 11e 1, and ίί 21 ... ttJe7? 22 ttJf6+ gxf6 24 l2Jxd6 iLxd6 25 iLe4 l2Jf5 26 Φg2
23 gxf6) 20 ... iιxc5 21 11e1ttJe7 22ttJg3 .ite5 27 1::tch1 1::th5 28 .i.f3 iLd4 29
~g6 23ttJxg6 hxg6 24 h4 11d8 25 iιe4 ~θ4 1::th8 30 .itf4 'ii'd7 ΥΖ - ΥΖ
Φί8 26 Φg2 ~d6 27 :e2 :c8 and Neither side can make much prog-
Black was fine ίη Shaw-Wells, Oak- ress. If White breaks with 31 h5, then
ham 1994. 31 ... gxh5 32 ~xh5 g6 33 iιg4 :xh3 34
13 ... hxg6 14 h4 11xh3 Φg7 and Black remains solid.
For the moment Hort is careful not
to lunge forward with the g-pawn.
That would cede the ί5 and h5 squares
to Black. White would have a promis-
ing position ίί he could find a safe
place for his king - he has a superb 1 e4 c5 2 g3 d5 3 exd5 ~xd5 4 l2Jf3
bishop οη g2, and the makings οί a .i.g4 5 .i.g2 ~θ6+ 6 Φf1 l2Jc6 7 h3
pawn storm οη the kingside - but that iLh5 8 d3 ~d7!
isn't easy. The position οί the king As we saw ίη the previous game, it
also means that the rooks don't con- is best to delay developing the knight
nect. to f6.
14...l2Jd4! 9 l2Ja3
Α powerful square for the knight: it 9 g4 iιg6 10 ttJh4 e6 11ttJa3 iιe7 12
hits c2 and restricts the movement οί ttJxg6 hxg6 13 ttJc4 ttJf6 14 a4 ttJd5 15
White's queen. iιd2 g5 16 a5 11d8 was similarly good
130
2 g3
131
The Closed Sicilian
the Clamp οη several occasions and side ίη the long-term. The plan is usu-
found that my opponents were often ally g3-g4 and f4-f5. Obviously, it
racked by indecision. For the sake of takes a lot of organising, but the space
comparison, 8 tt:Jc3 would be a advantage helps.
'normal' C10sed Sicilian.
8 ... b6
Here's a good example of the inde-
cision Ι mentioned above: 8... Ilb8 9
J.e3 b6 (if he had wanted to keep
playing for ... b7-b5, then 9... d6 was
the move) 10 tt:Ja3 J.b7 11 J.f2 d6 12
'iiYd2 ~a6 (another change of mind) 13
tt:Jc2 e5 (and another!) 14 Ilfe1 exf4 15
gxf4 'iiYc7 16 d4 Ilfe8 17 Ilad1 Ilbd8 18
d5 lba5 19 b3 J.c8 20 lbe3 lbb7 21
~h4 with an enormous position for
White ίη King-Gunawan, London 11 ... d4?!
1994. Black was worried that White was
9 liJa3 going to play d3-d4 himself (possibly),
As c3 has been taken from the but this is an over-reaction. Ν ow
knight, this is probably the best square White can use the e4 square for a
for it, eyeing c4 and b5. Very often the bishop or, better, a knight.
knight drops back to c2, and then over 12 c4 'iVd7 13 liJg5! tΔf5 14 liJc2
to e3, ίη the long-term. iιb7 15 jVe2 .ίIae8 16 tΔe4!
9 ... ~a6 10 .ίIe1 d5 White is ready to push with g3-g4,
1O ... d6 is a more patient approach, or break with b2-b4 οη the queenside.
although the game Shchekachev- Black has to break himself before he
Khalifman, St Petersburg Open 1994, gets squashed, but White still holds the
showed that even the strongest players trumps.
ίη the world aren't entirely at ease οη 16 ... f6 17 exf6 iιxf6 18 tΔxf6+ .ίIxf6
the black side of the position: 11 ~e3 19 a3 e5 20 iιd5+ .ίIfe6 21 b4! b5
l1c8 12 ~f2 'iiYd7 13 tt:Jc2 ~b7 14 'iiYe2 22 bxc5 bxc4 23 ~xc4 Φg7 24
!:!fe8 15 ~ad1 a6 16 d4 cxd4 17 tt:Jfxd4 iιxe6 .ίIxe6 25 .ίIb 1 ~a8 26 ~f2
'iiYc7 and White stands more com- 'iVd5 27 .ίIe4 ~xc5 28 g4 liJd6 29 f5
fortably (this was a good choice of liJxe4 30 dxe4 .ίIe8 31 iιh6+ Φg8 32
opening agaίnst Khalifman who is fxg6 tΔd8 33 'iVf6 'iVc7 34.ίIf1 1-0
usually well-versed ίη the maίn lines of
openings).
11 e5
Ιη general, this kind of pawn struc-
ture favours White as he has good
chances to build an attack οη the king- 1 e4 c5 2 d3 g6 3 g3 ~g7 4 ~g2
132
2 g3
133
The Closed Sicilian
134
2 g3
135
Τhe Closed Sicilian
life awkward for Black. Like the chap back to f2 before developing the
who bought the razor company, Shi- knight οη b 1 is a popular way of play-
rov was so impressed he thought he ing the C1amp. One of the advantages
would try the system ουΙ himself. is that ίι is useful for the bishop to be
12 lbc2 e5 13 d4 cxd4 14 cxd4 out of range of the knight if White
exd4 pushes οη with e4-e5 after ... d6-d5.
This gives the centre to White. Ιη However, Black should box clever and
stead, what about 14 ... exf4 15 gxf4 (15 meet 10 ~f2 with ...
iιxf4 is stronger, when White has the 10 ... e5
slightly better position.) 15 ... d5 16 e5 This is mildly irritating for White as
l2Jf5 with a decent blockade? the f4 pawn doesn't have the same
15 lbfxd4 J::tac8 16 ~d2 lbxd4 17 support as ίη the previous game for
lbxd4 ~b7 18 J::tad1 J::tfd8 19 ~f2 example.
~e8 20 b3 ~d7 21 a4 a6 22 lbe2 11 lba3
b5 23 ~b6 1::te8 24 a5 ~e6 25 lbd4 Instead 11 d4? is a blunder: 11 ... exd4
~d7 26 J::te3 f5 27 ~h3 d5 28 e5 12 cxd4 ~g4 13 'iYd2 ~xf3 14 ~xf3
~f8 29 ~g2 ~a8 30 nd3 Wh8 31 l2Jxd4 Wagener-Borge, Υerevan
lbc2 ~g7 32 lbb4 ~b7 33 lbxd5 01ympiad 1996. 11 f5 is worth a sec-
lbxd5 34 ~xd5 ~xd5 35 J::txd5 ~e6 ond glance, but obviously isn't as ef-
36 ~d3 g5 37 J::td6 ~e7 38 ~d8 ~f7 fective with the bishop οη f2: 11 ... gxf5
39 J::td7 'iVe6 40 ~xg5 1-0 12 l2Jh4 fxe4 13 dxe4 iιe6 14 l2Jf5 d5
15 ~g4 l2Jxf5 16 exf5 i.c8 17 .ie3 e4
18 ~h6 'iYf6 19 iιg5 'iYe5 20 l2Jci2 h5
21 'iYxh5 iιxf5 22 .tf6 .ig6 23 iιxe5
~xh5 24 ~xg7 Φχg7 25 I:.f5 ~g6 26
I:.xd5 f5 27 l2Jc4, as ίη Brandner-
1 e4 c5 2 g3 lbc6 3 ~g2 g6 4 d3 Petrone, European Junior Champion-
~g7 5 f4 d6 6 lbf3 e6 7 ο-ο lbge7 8 ship, Arnhem 1989.
c3 ο-ο 9 ~e3 b6 10 ~f2 11 ... h6
11 ... exf4 is a more severe test, a1-
though according Ιο these games
White passes after 12 gxf4 and now:
a) 12 ... d5 13 iιh4 f6 14 l2Je5 (an ex-
traordinary move, just to give his
queen a decent square) 14 ... ~e6 (or
14 ... fxe5 15 exd5 'iYd7 16 dxc6 l2Jxc6)
15 l2Jxc6 l2Jxc6 16 'iWf3 l2Je7 17 I:.ae1
~f7 18 f5, as ίη Υ andemirov-
Poluljahov, Cheliabinsk 1991 ..
b) 12 ... iιh6 13 f5 Φh8 14 .tg3 f6 15
l2Jb5 gxf5 16 l2Jh4 f4 17 'iih5 fxg3 18
This idea of retreating the bishop 'iYxh6 gxh2+ 19 Φh1 iιa6 20 I:.xf6
136
2 g3
137
Τhe Closed Sicilian
21 i.xf5+ ~xί5 22 'i!Vc2 should win for 17 h4 'fie7 18 h5 tιJd7 19 tιJh4 'fIf6
White, as ίη Makarichev-Dolmatov, 20 hxg6 exf4 21 gxf7+ ~xf7 22 tιJf5
USSR Championship 1979) 11 ~e1 tιJe 7 23 .th3 tιJxf5 24 exf5 fxg3 25
'i!Vd7 12 l2Ja3 ~ac8 13 d4 cxd4 14 cxd4 iLxg3 tιJθ5 26 'fIh5 'fig5 27 'fIxg5
(after this Black gets good counterplay hxg5 28 f6 ~xf6 29 ~xe5 dxe5 30
οη the queenside; 14 l2Jxd4! would ~θ4 ~f4 31 ~be1 Wf8 32 tιJb5 ~f6
have been better) 14 ... d5 15 e5 l2Ja5 16 33 tιJxa7 ~a8 34 tιJc6 ~xa2 35
b3 ':'c3 17 ~e3 ~xe3 18 iιxe3 ~c8, tιJxe5 Φg7 36 ~xf4 gxf4 37 tιJd3
when White is too busy defending οη i-a6 38 tιJxf4 i.d4+ 39 Wh 1 .txc4
the queenside to develop an attack; 40 d6 .tb5 41 tιJe6+ Wf6 42 tιJxd4
Cherniaev-Gallagher, Hastings 1993. cxd4 43 d7 iιxd7 44 iLxd7 ~xb2 45
10 ... ~b7 11 d4 ~θ6+ Wg5 46 ~d6 ~b4 47 Wg2 Wf4
48 Φf2 ~b2+ 49 We1 Φθ5 50 ~h6
d3 51 ~h4 ~θ2+ 52 Wd1 ~θ4 53
~h6 Wd4 54 ~d6+ Wc5 55 ~c6+
Φd4 56 ~xb6 Φθ3 57 .tf5 ~f4 58
~e6+ Φd4 59 i.g6 ~f1 + 60 Wd2
~f2+ 61 Wc1 ~f1+ 62 Wb2 ~g1 63
.th5 ~g2+ 64 Wb3 ~g5 65 .td1
~b5+ 66 Wa2 ~θ5 67 ~d6+ Wc3 68
~c6+ Wd2 69 .tg4 1:1g5 70 ~c4
~a5+ 71 Wb3 ~b5+ 72 Wa3 Φθ3 73
Φa2 Wd2 74 ~c7 Φθ1 75 ~e7+ Wf2
76 Wa3 ~g5 77 i.e6 % - %
The advantage οί playing d3-d4 Ιη the next game, unusually for the
with the knight still οη b 1 is that after 'Clamp', White plays an e4-e5 pawn
an exchange οί pawns οη d4, White sacrifice similar to that ίη Chapter 1.
may play the knight to its best square, The most notable difference is that
c3. Another example is 11 iιί2 'i!Vc7 12 White can't play his knight to e4.
d4 f5? 13 exf5 exf5 14 dxc5 dxc5 15 However, White does manage to cap-
l2Jg5 l2Jd8 16 i.xb7 'i!Vxb7 17 'i!Vb3+ ture the pawn οη c5 and establish a
with a winning position, as ίη Braga- strong pawn chain which is very
Bischoff, Υerevan Olympiad 1996. much as we saw earlier. It just shows
11 .. :iVc7 12 tιJa3 ~ad8 13 iιf2 h6 that it is worth taking into account
14 ~b1 e5 15 d5 tιJb8 16 c4 tιJc8 lots οί different variations as the ideas
The plan White chooses looks pow- can often be transferred between them
erful at first glance, but Black survives.
Perhaps 17 ί5 could be considered ίη
stead. When the kingside closes, White
can play οη both wings. Black would
then have had a miserable defence
ahead οί him. 1 e4 c5 2 g3 tιJc6 3 .tg2 g6 4 d3
138
2 g3
~g7 5 f4 e6 6 lΔf3 lΔge7 7 ο-ο ο-ο The move isn't quite as effective as ίη
8 c3 d6 9 i.e3 1:tb8 1 Ο i.f2 b6 11 the earlier chapters as White has the
lΔa3 crucial d4 square covered.
11 ... b5
Once again we see evidence of inde-
cision. Black has option paralysis. He
can't just follow variations by rote.
12 e5 a6
12 ... dxe5 13 fxe5 tιΊxe5 14 tιΊxe5
.1ιχe5 15 iιxc5 followed by d3-d4 is
more comfortable for White to play
than Black, although with hindsight Ι don't like a2-a4 ίη this position.
this is stronger than the game con- First and foremost, Ι don't think that
tinuation. Black was actually threatening ... b7-
13 1:te1 h6 14 ~e2 i.b7 15 lΔc2 b5, at least not if White develops hίs
dxe5 16 fxe5 ~c7 17 a4 g5 queen, e.g. 11 'iVe2 b5 12 e5! (an echo
17 ... b4!? might have been better. Ιη of the previous game) , when the c5
the game the open a-file is decisive. pawn becomes νulnerable. It is also
18 axb5 axb5 19 i.xc5 lΔxe5 20 d4 possible to play the queen to c2, but Ι
tιJxf3+ 21 i.xf3 i.xf3 22 ~xf3 'iib7 prefer it οη e2 keeping an eye οη the
23 'iixb7 1:txb7 24 lΔb4 1:tc8 25 1:ta6 e-file - see the next game.
~f8 26 ~f2 lΔf5 27 i.xf8 ~xf8 28 11 ... b6 12 d4 fxe4
1:te5 1:tc4 29 d5 1:tc5 30 1:tc6 1:txc6 31 12 ... cxd4 13 tιΊxd4 tιΊxd4 14 cxd4
dxc6 1:tb6 32 1:txf5 1-0 (not 14 .1ιχd4 e5!) 14 ... fxe4 15 liJxe4
Ιη the last two games Black lashes liJd5 16 .1ιf2 is better for White if he
out with ... f7-f5, which is an under- plays οη e6 with J;te1, 'iVb3, liJg5, and
standable reaction: He isn't exactly so οη.
sure where his play is coming from, 13 tιJxe4 tιJf5 14 i.f2 d5 15 tιJeg5
and this 100ks like a constructive way h6
of putting pressure οη White's centre. Eventually Black pays for having
139
The Closed Sicilian
weakened his kingside pawns. White got the better position: 9...1::i.b8
16 tίJh3 cxd4 17 cxd4 3ιd7 18 .1:Ie1 10 lbc2 b5 11 a3 a5 12 .td2 b4 13 axb4
.1:Ic8 19 .1:Ic1 tίJb4 20 .1:Ixc8 "iYxc8 21 axb4 14 lbe3 .td7 15 g4 bxc3 16 bxc3
g4 tίJe7 22 tίJe5 3ιχe5 23 fxe5 tίJc2 f5 17 gxf5 exf5 18 lbc4 fxe4 19 dxe4
24 .1:If1 3ιχa4 25 "iYd2 Φg7 26 3ιh4 .te6 20 'i'e2 h6 211::i.a6 and White has
tίJg8 27 tίJf4 g5 28 tίJh5+ 'ίt>h8 29 uncomfortable pressure. We can see
3ιf2 ~c4 30 .1:Ic1 a5 31 3ιf1 "iYb4 32 how important ίτ is το have the pawn
.1:Ixc2 3ιχc2 33 ~xc2 "iYe7 34 3ιe3 οη c3, preventing Black's knίght from
"iYh7 35 3ιd3 "iYf7 36 3ιe2 "iYh7 37 arriving οη d4.
"iYxh7+ Φχh7 38 3ιd3+ Φh8 39 3ιd2 1Ο tίJc2 iιb7
tίJe7 40 3ιc3 tίJc6 41 tίJf6 .1:If7 42
3ιb5 .1:Ic7 43 Φf2 tίJb4 44 'ίt>e3 tίJa2
45 'ίt>d3 tίJxc3 46 bxc3 .1:Ia7 47 c4
dxc4+ 48 3ιχc4 .1:Ie7 49 3ιb5 'ίt>g7 50
~d7 b5 51 3ιχb5 .1:Ib7 52 tίJe8+ Φf8
53 tίJd6 .1:Ib8 54 Φc4 Φe7 55 d5 .1:If8
56 tίJe4 exd5+ 57 Φχd5 .1:Ib8 58
tίJd6 Φf8 59 Φc6 Φe7 60 Φd5 Φf8
61 Φe6 .1:Ia8 62 Φf6 .1:Id8 63 tίJf5
.1:Ib8 64 e6 .1:Ib6 65 3ιd7 1-0
Το finish, appropriately enough, a
win from the great champion of the
Closed Sicilian. 1t is interesting to see 11 "iYe2
that he plays the Clamp ίη his own Sharply played. 1t has not escaped
style, more ίη keeping with the tradi- Spassky's attention that Black's e6
tional Closed Sicilian strategy rather square is weakened as the bishop has
than the games we have been 100king moved to b7. The significance of this
at so far with the system. becomes apparent later οη, although
I'm sure that Spassky just played 'iVe2
'.: .. ' . G~m~ ΙΡΙ ,.,. . ,. οη ίηιυίτίοη.
" , ' ~g~~sls:v,.Ηοffmi1η~;i~;; 11 ... ~d7 12 3ιd2 .1:Iac8 13 .1:Iae1
;~;:}~;~«!·ζ;'iuganο.ορen198Ί· "" .1:Ife8 14 iιc1 .1:Icd8 15 g4! f5 16
tίJg5 h6
1 e4 c5 2 d3 If 16 ... fxe4 17 'i'xe4 e5 18 fxe5
Note Spassky's move order - see .txe5 19 lbf7 gives White a ferocious
my comments οη this ίη the introduc- attack.
tion to the chapter. 17 exf5 exf5 18 tίJe6 .1:Ib8 19 g5 h5
2 ... e6 3 g3 tίJc6 4 jιg2 g6 5 f4 20 tίJxg7 Φχg7 21 ~e6 .1:Ibd8 22
tίJge7 6 tίJf3 3ιg7 7 ο-ο ο-ο 8 c3 d6 "iYf6+ Φg8 23 c4.1:If8 24 3ιd5+ Φh7
9 tίJa3 b6 25 3ιf7 jιa8 26 tίJe3 .1:Ig8 27 tίJd5
Black pushed the b-pawn το b5 ίη tίJxd5 28 cxd5 t!.g7 29 dxc6 ~xc6
Damljanovic-Jukic, Cetinje 1990, bur 30 3ιχg6+ 1-0
140
2 g3
Summary
The Clamp has an excellent reputation. Ι mίght add that ίn my own games, my
opponents have experienced great dίfficulty ίη findίng a constructive plan. This
variation is not always to the taste of Sicilian players who are not used to waίting
before getting down to hand-to-hand fighting. The problem is, how to reach it. 1
e4 c5 2 g3 d5! has its drawbacks (if Black plays accurately - see Game 93 ίη par-
ticular); otherwise, 2 d3 is a bit lame, and 1 g3 can lead anywhere; likewise 1 f4.
If you want to try the Clamp, it is a case of weighing υρ which is the lesser evil.
1 e4 c5 2 g3 tΔc6
2 ... d5 3 exd5 ~xd5 44Jf3 j"g4 5 j"g2 ~e6+ 6 ΦΗ (D)
6 ... iιh3 - Game 91
6 ...4Jc6 7 h3 .th5
8 4Jc3 - Game 92; 8 d3 - Game 93
3 iιg2 g6 4 d3 iιg7 5 f4 e6
5 ... e5 - Game 97
6 tΔf3 tΔge7 7 ο-ο ο-ο 8 c3 (DJ b6
8 ... d5 - Game 96
8 ... d6
9.te3
9 ... b6 (D)
10 4Ja3 - Game 98; 10 .tf2 - Game 99;
10 1:ie 1 - Game 100
9 ...1:ib8 - Game 1ΟΙ
9 ... f5 - Game 102
9 4Ja3 - Game 103
9 tΔa3
9 .te3 - Game 94
9 ... i.a6 - Game 95
6 r!;f1 8 c3 9 ... b6
141
Abramovic-Damljanovic, Yugoslav Championship 1989 48
Abramovic-Koch, Paris Championship 1989 43
Abramovic-Stohl, Vrnjacka Banja 1989 42
Balashov-Karpman, Moscow GMA Open 1989 20
Balashov-Magerramov, Smolensk Open 1991 136
Balashov-Pigusov, USSR Team Ch., Podolsk 1990 25
Bartsch-Clemens, German Bundesliga 1982/83 119
Bastian-Loew, German Championship, Binz 1995 46
Bastian-Pieper Emden, German Bundesliga 1986/87 33
Baum-Howell, German Bundesliga 1992 69
Becke-Steiger, RLN 1983 79
Berg-Dinstuhl, Richmond 1994 91
Bergonzi-Κropff, Asuncion San Cristobal Open 1995 34
Bilek-Barczay, Sousse Interzonal1967 107
Bojkovic-Markovic, Belgrade 1988 28
Borngaesser-Blaskowski, NRWII 1995 125
Bomgaesser-Mozny, Prague 1990 120
Casper-Vaiser, Berlin 1982 121
Claesen-Dgebuadze, World Student Ch., Leon 1996 39
Degenhardt-Szabo, Frankfurt 1988 110
Denoth-Ecabert, Berne Open 1991 68
Donev-Felsberger, Austrian Team Championship 1995 121
Flower-Aseev, London Lloyds Bank Masters 1994 130
Fries Nielsen-Jansa, Esbjerg 1981 45
Fήtsche-Κengίs, German Bundesliga 1994/95 77
Gabriel-Miladinovic, WorldJunior Ch., Singapore 1990 54
142
Index of Games
143
The Clased Sicilian
'... . , - L ~
144
Tlle CΙosed vaΓίatiοη (1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 g3) l1as
always been [egarded as an ίnteΓestίng and
dynaIl1ic \vay to Il1eet tl1e aggressive Sicilian
Defence. At tlle l1ighest level, former World CΙlaIllpionS
natoΓΥand
ISBN 1-901259-06-4
Ι Ι
9 781901 259063
111 7