Garry Kasparov's Forgotten Weapon Against The Queen's Gambit (part four)

KASPAROV won his 1983 candidates quarter-final against Alexander Beliavsky by the score of +4=4-1.

His next event, five months later, was a tournament in Yugoslavia, where in round one he was drawn against the Damascus-born American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan.

Seirawan (2600) - Kasparov (2690)

Nikšić 1983

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5

Not everyone always wants to challenge Black in the main lines - even such greats as Karpov, Kasparov and Carlsen are among those who have played 4.e3. The most popular continuation then is 4...Nf6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.a3!? a6!? 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.b4 Ba7 9.Bb2 0-0, reaching a position that the analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon slightly favours White.

Another popular choice is 4.Nf3, although this usually transposes to the game continuation via 4...Nc6 5.cxd5 exd5.

4...exd5 5.Nf3

White can grab a pawn with the somewhat underrated 5.dxc5!?, but then comes 5...d4 6.Na4!? (this is much less popular than 6.Ne4 in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, but scores 15 percentage points better) b5!? (this sharp response is the only move stopping White from getting an advantage, according to the engines) 7.cxb6 axb6 8.b3, and now the engines reckon the little-played 8...b5!? 9.Nb2 Bb4+ gives Black a slight edge, despite being a pawn down. A possible improvement for White is 8.e3!? (marked as a blunder in Play The Tarrasch by Shamkovich & Schiller) Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 (Shamkowich & Schiller may have missed that this recapture is possible) Rxa4 11.Bb5+ Bd7 12.Bxa4 Bxa4 with an unclear position that the engines reckon is dynamically balanced.

Instead of grabbing a pawn, White can sacrifice one with Frank Marshall's 5.e4!?, when the main continuation is 5...dxe4 6.d5 (Marshall first played 6.Bb5+!? but later switched to 6.d5) Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bb5+. Black then usually plays 8...Kf8?!, but White has tremendous compensation for a pawn. The engines prefer 8...Bd7 9.d6!? (fear of this move seems to account for the popularity of 8...Kf8?!) Bxb5! 10.Nxb5 (10.dxe7 Qxd1+ 11.Rxd1 Bd3!) Qa5+ 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bh4 Bd8, when Stockfish12 prefers Black but Komodo11.01 reckons White has full compensation for a pawn. Instead of 6...Nf6, Black can try Dawid Janowski's 6...f5!?, which is recommended by Shamkowich & Schiller. The commonest continuation is 7.Bf4 Bd6, when White's best may be 8.Nh3, but 8...Nf6!? (better than Tarrasch's 8...a6, according to the engines) seems to leave White with not enough compensation for a pawn.

Although 5.Nf3 is overwhelmingly the most popular move, some of these other continuations illustrate how sharp the Tarrasch Defence can become at an early stage.

5...Nc6 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Bg5 cxd4 10.Nxd4 h6 11.Bxf6!?

This "does not make much sense," according to Shamkowich & Schiller, but has been played by Efim Geller and Oleg Romanishin, as well as by Seirawan (three times in 1983).

11...Bxf6 12.Nb3!?

Two other continuations are more popular, but neither 12.e3 Nxd4 13.exd4 Be6 nor 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.Rc1 Re8 seems to give White anything.

12...d4

Pushing the d pawn is thematic in IQP positions, but it is not the only move here.

The earlier game Seirawan (2600) - Murray Chandler (2500), OHRA (Netherlands) 1983, saw 12...Be6!? 13.Rc1 (13.Nxd5 Bxb2 14.Rb1 Ba3 is roughly equal, according to the engines) Rc8!? 14.Nc5 Qe7 15.Nd3 Rfd8 16.Nf4 with maybe a slight edge for White, according to the engines (½–½, 68 moves).

At the same tournament, Seirawan (2600) - Eric Lobron (2515) went 12...Bg4!? 13.Bxd5 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Qf6 15.Qc2 Rac8, when the engines reckon Black does not quite have enough compensation for a pawn (but 0-1, 24 moves).

13.Ne4 Be7 14.Rc1 Qb6 15.Nec5 Rfd8 16.Rc4

The engines prefer 16.Qd3 Bxc5!? 17.Nxc5!? Qxb2 18.Rb1 Qxa2 19.Nxb7 Bxb7 20.Rxb7 Rac8, when they reckon White has compensation for a pawn, but no more.

16...Bxc5

The engines reckon 16...a5 gives Black a slight edge.

17.Nxc5

17.Rxc5 Be6 is slightly better for Black.

17...Qxb2 18.Qc2 Qxc2 19.Rxc2

White is a pawn down but his pressure against Black's queenside gives him equal chances, according to Komodo11.01, although Stockfish12 prefers Black.

19...Rb8 20.Rb2

Milorad Knežević (2425) - Milan Draško (2460), Yugoslav Championship (Budva) 1986, went 20.Nxb7 Bxb7 21.Bxc6 Bxc6 22.Rxc6 Rb2 with a slight edge to Black.

20...Rd6 21.Rd1 b6 22.Nb3 Bb7 23.Rbd2 Rbd8 24.Kf1 Ba6 25.Bxc6 Rxc6 26.Nxd4 Rc5 27.Nb3 Rxd2 28.Rxd2 Rc7

How would you assess this ending?

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Black has bishop versus knight on an open board with rival pawn-majorities, a queenside pawn-majority and the better minor piece for cooperating with a rook ... but the position is almost dead-equal, according to the engines.

29.Rd8+ Kh7 30.Ke1 Bc4 31.Kd2 g6!? 32.Nc1 Kg7 33.a3 Kf6 34.e3!?

Kasparov called this dubious but it seems it is OK if followed up correctly. However, White has an easier time of it after the engines' 34.Nd3.

34...Ke7 35.Rd4 Rd7!?

Although rook and bishop usually work together better than rook and knight, and there is no reason to think this position is an exception, Kasparov decides bishop-versus-knight with rival pawn-majorities (and no rooks) gives better winning chances.

36.Kc3 Rxd4 37.Kxd4 b5

The bishop is maintained on c4, from where it dominates the knight.

38.Nd3!?

This is Stockfish12's choice, but Komodo11.01 reckons it is the losing move.

38...Bxd3!?

Although a bishop is usually better than a knight on an open board with rival pawn-majorities, and there is no reason to think this position is an exception, Kasparov decides he has better winning chances in the pawn ending.

What makes this ending remarkable is that Kasparov goes against accepted wisdom on two major occasions - i) swopping rooks, ii) swopping minor pieces - in order to win, although it has to be said he gets a big assist from his opponent.

39.Kxd3 Kd6 40.e4?

Kasparov called this a blunder, and it does seem this is the real losing move. Drawing, according to Stockfish12, is 40.Kd4, which conforms with first world correspondence champion Cecil Purdy's rule-of-thumb that in an ending you should get your pieces to their best possible squares before advancing pawns. Komodo11.01, however, reckons for a long time that 40.Kd4 is also losing. But after the engines' joint-continuation 40...f5 41.e4 fxe4 42.Kxe4 Kc5 43.g4 a5 44.f4 they agree the ending is drawn.

40...g5!?

Kasparov gave this an exclamation mark, but the engines reckon 40...Kc5 also wins.

41.f4 gxf4 42.gxf4 Kc5 43.Kc3 a5 44.Kd3

If 44.e5 then 44...Kd5.

44...h5

Also winning is 44...b4.

45.h4 b4 46.a4

Equally hopeless is 46.axb4+ axb4, eg 46.f5 f6 47.e5 fxe5 48.f6 Kd6 49.Kc4 Ke6 50.Kxb4 Kxf6 51.Kc4 Kf5 52.Kd3 Kg4 53.Ke4 Kxh4 54.Kxe5 Kg3 etc.

46...f6 47.f5 Kc6 48.Kc4 Kc7 49.Kd3

Or 49.Kd4 Kd6.

49...Kd7

Black takes the distant opposition.

50.Ke3

Or 50.Kc4 Kc6, which is the same position as after 48.Kc4 but with White to move rather than Black.

50...Kc6 51.Kd3

If 51.Kd4 then 51...Kd6 52.Kd3 Ke5 53.Ke3 b3 etc.

51...Kc5 52.Ke3

Or 52.e5 fxe5 53.f6 Kd6.

52...b3 53.Kd3 Kb4 54.e5 Ka3 0-1

My Best Ever Tournament (part two)

Spanton (2096) - Vladimir Tukmakov (2581)
Lausanne 1999 Round 2
Caro-Kann Panov-Botvinnik
Vladimir Tukmakov is a Ukrainian grandmaster whose best results, according to Wikipedia, were in the days of the Soviet Union when he finished second to Bobby Fischer at Buenos Aires 1970, second to Anatoly Karpov at Madrid 1972 and first ahead of Tigran V Petrosian at Vilnius 1978.
1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.exd5 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nxd5 6.d4 e6 7.Nf3 Bb4 8.Bd2
By a slightly unusual move-order, we have reached one of the main variations of the Panov-Botvinnik. I had just bought Jacob Aagaard's Easy Guide To The Panov-Botvinnik Attack - it had been published by Cadogan in the previous November - and had started playing the opening to learn how to use an IQP.
8...Nc6 9.Bd3 Nf6 10.0-0
Aagaard only covers 10.a3, which turns out for quite some time to be Stockfish10's top choice, narrowly ahead of the mainline text.
10...0-0
White seems to get more than enough compensation for a pawn after 10...Nxd4?! 11.Nxd4 Qxd4 12.Be3.
11.Qe2!?
However this move is labelled a "reckless pawn sacrifice" in Karpov & Mikhail Podgaets' 2006 Batsford book, Caro-Kann Defence: Panov Attack. Normal is 11.Bg5.
11...Be7
Critical is 11...Nxd4!? 12.Nxd4 Qxd4, when Larry Christiansen (2563) - Yasser Seirawan (2647), USA Championship 2000 (Seattle), quickly finished 13.Rfd1 Qg4 14.Qxg4 Nxg4 15.Be2 Nf6 16.Bf3 Bxc3 17.Bxc3 Nd5 18.Bxd5 exd5 19.Rxd5 Bxe6 ½–½.
12.Rad1
Here the main move is 12.Ne4, but the text scores a better percentage in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
12...Nb4
Again Black can try grabbing the pawn. After 12...Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Qxd4, Stockfish10 and Komodo10 suggest 14.Bg5, which has been seen in three high-level games, with all three possible results having occurred.
13.Bb1 b6 14.Ne4!?
14.Rfe1 was played in Mihai Suba (2500) - Petrosian (2605), Interzonal 1982 (Las Palmas), which continued 14...Bb7 15.Ne5 Rc8 16.Qe3, transposing to a position that had been reached by Petrosian as White in 1967 against Miguel Najdorf. The latter played ...Nfd5 and lost; Petrosian, against Suba, played ...g6 and drew.
14...Ba6?!
This natural-looking move may be a mistake. My move 14.Ne4!? only appears once in Mega20, in the game Petra Papp (2256) - Pal Kiss (2362), Hungarian team championship 2011, and was met by 14...Nbd5 15.Ne5 Bb7 (½–½, 26 moves).
15.Nxf6+ gxf6

How should White proceed?

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16.Bxh7+?
In playing my 14th move, I had missed that 16.Qe4 is met by 16...f5. I thought the bishop sacrifice gave me my best chance of saving the game, but the engines point out 16.Qe3, when 16...Bxf1? leaves White on top after 17.Bxb4 Bc4 (17...Bxb4?? 18.Qh6) 18.Bxe7 Qxe7 19.Nd2, eg 19...Bd5 20.Qg3+ Kh8 21.Qh4. Best for Black, according to the engines, is 16...Nd5, when 17.Qh6 f5 18.Rfe1 is slightly better for White, they reckon.
16...Kxh7 17.Qe4+ f5 18.Qf4 Rh8
Best, according to the engines.
19.Ne5 Kg8 20.Rfe1 Nd5?!
The engines much prefer 20...Kf8.
21.Qg3+ Kf8 22.Ng6!
My notes show Crafty - I do not know which version - did not like this move, but it is definitely White's best shot, according to modern engines.
22...fxg6 23.Qxg6 Qd6?
I recall being worried about 23...Bc8, which is indeed better than the text. But best, according to Stockfish10 and Komodo10, is 23...f4, blocking White's bishop from the kingside. They continue 24.Rxe6 Bc8 25.Re5, and now 25...Qd6!? or 25...Qe8!? to get queens off at the cost of returning some material, eg 25...Qd6!? 26.Qxd6 Bxd6 27.Rxd5 Ke7, when Black's extra bishop is worth much more than White's extra three pawns, according to Stockfish10, although Komodo10 is not so sure.
24.Bh6+ Rxh6 25.Qxh6+ Kf7 26.Qh7+ Kf6 27.Qh6+ Kf7 28.Qh7+ Kf6 29.Qh6+ ½–½
Tukmakov could have played on with 25...Ke8, but Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon 26.Rxe6 Qf4! (this seems an only-move) 27.Qh8+ Kf7! 28.Rxe7+! Nxe7 (it is important that the knight protects the black king from a check at a7) 29.Qxa8 Be2 is dead-level despite the unbalanced material (White has rook and three pawns for bishop and knight).