Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game (conclusion)

THE position after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 is a very common one, and one that can get very sharp very quickly.

There are more than 107,000 games in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database with the reply 3...Bc5, and almost 80,000 with 3...Nf6.

Even when White does not go for the sharpest lines after these moves, there is a lot of theory to learn.

By contrast the move 3...d6 occurs fewer than 5,300 times.

Position after 3...d6 - relatively rare but with a prestigious pedigree

A list of big names who at one time or another have won from the black side of the diagram reads like a Who's Who of chess: Capablanca, Alekhine, Donald Byrne, Grob, Tal, Keres, Petrosian, Korchnoi, Karpov, Averbakh, Mestel, Dreev, Pachman, Hector, Ivan Sokolov and Spanton.

There is little theory to learn with 3...d6 for the simple reason that the Semi-Italian, as it is called in Wikipedia, has largely been left alone by theoreticians.

At present it is still very much an 'ideas' opening, and I hope I have covered in this series the important ones for both sides.

The only preparation necessary is by players thinking of meeting 4.c3 with 4...Bg4, when the reply 5.Qb3!? has been criticised by some annotators but is liked by analysis engines and is the one occasion sharp variations are likely to arise.

Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game (part eight)

WHITE does not have to commit to 4.c3, 4.d4 or 4.h3!? after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6.

Vishy Anand (2786) - Vassily Ivanchuk (2738)

Leuven (Belgium) Grand Chess Tour Blitz 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.0-0

This natural move, which is commonly played early in double-e pawn openings, is only the sixth-most popular choice in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database. That is probably partly because players want to do something more aggressive, and maybe partly to keep open the option of queenside castling.

4...Be7

Slightly more popular in Mega21 is 4...Bg4, after which the main line runs 5.c3 Nf6 6.Re1 (6.d3 is equally popular, but 6.Re1 has tended to attract stronger players) Be7 7.d3 0-0 8.Nbd2 Na5 9.Bb5 a6 10.Ba4 b5 11.Bc2 c5, which is a transposition to a main line of the Spanish (the extra-tempo Bc4-b5 is cancelled out by avoiding Ba4-b3-c2 in the Spanish move-order).

5.d4 Nf6 6.d5 Nb8 7.Bd3!?

In part six of this series, White, with the same central pawn-structure, preferred piece-play with 7.Nc3. Anand is going for a Maróczy Bind.

7...Nbd7 8.c4 Nc5 9.Nc3 Nxd3!? 10.Qxd3

Black has won the bishop-pair, but the black bishops will not play a dominant role in a game with a blocked centre and less space for Black. Meanwhile White should not particularly miss the light-square bishop as his central pawns are on light squares.

10...0-0 11.Nd2?!

This regrouping seems to have been a novelty, albeit in a position that is anyway not common. My main analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 suggest 11.h3 with an equal game.

Position after 11.Nd2?!

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11...Nh5!

Highlighting the problem with White's 11th move. The f4 square is undefended and Black can aim for a kingside initiative with ...f5.

12.g3

This keeps the black king's knight out of f4 but leaves the white king draughty on the light squares.

12...g6!?

Ivanchuk presumably did not want the white knights using the e4 square after 12...f5 13.exf5, but the natural-looking 12...Bh3 may be better than the text.

13.b4 f5 14.Ba3?!

Preferable would seem to be 14.f3 or 14.exf5, moves more normally played in this type of position.

14...Bg5!?

Even stronger seems to be 14...f4.

15.c5?!

Again f3 or exf5 was probably better. Anand is relying on queenside counterplay, but it seems too slow.

15...Bxd2 16.Qxd2 fxe4?

A strange decision that gives White's surviving knight a great outpost at e4. Black is much better after 16...f4.

17.Nxe4 Nf6 18.Nxf6 Qxf6

Ivanchuk has eliminated the well-placed white knight, but the simplification favours White's drawing chances.

19.f4 Bh3 20.Rf2 g5! 21.f5

Keeping lines closed. White loses control of the f file after 21.fxg5?! Qg6.

21...h5?!

Not 21...Bxf5?? 22.g4. But the engines reckon Black is better after 21...Qg7, one point being that if, as in the game, White plays 22.Bc1, Black has 22...h6.

22.Bc1!

But now this move is strong. The black g pawn cannot be defended, except by pushing it to g4, which is bad because it effectively shuts the light-square bishop out of the game.

22...Bxf5 23.Qxg5+ Qxg5 24.Bxg5 Rae8?!

Ivanchuk may have still been pressing for a win, but he probably should have accepted equality by a move such as 24...Be4, inviting exchanges on the open file.

25.Raf1?!

White can try for more with 25.cxd6 cxd6 26.Bh6, eg 26...Rf7 27.Raf1 Bg6 28.Rf6! Rxf6 29.Rxf6 Kh7 30.Bg5, when Black cannot save the d6 pawn. White is also slightly better after 26...Rf6 27.Raf1 Rxh6 28.Rxf5.

25...Be4 26.Rxf8+ Rxf8 27.Rxf8+ Kxf8 28.Bd8 dxc5 29.bxc5 Bxd5 30.a3 c6 31.Bc7 e4 32.Kf2 ½–½

Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game (part seven)

AFTER 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6, White has a major alternative to 4.c3 and 4.d4 in the prophylactic 4.h3!?

Árpád Soós (2409) - János László (2319)

Hungarian Team Championship 2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nc6

Reaching the starting point of the Semi-Italian via a Philidor move-order.

4.h3!?

The simple point of this popular move - more than 1,000 examples in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database, narrowly behind 4.c3 - is to prevent the pinning ...Bg4.

4...g6!?

Normal is 4...Be7, played in the stem game in 1903 by Adolf Albin, but the text has attracted the attention of some strong players.

5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4

6.c3!? is not in Mega21 but might tempt attacking players. Komodo11.01 wants Black to accept the gambit; Stockfish12 prefers 6...d3.

6...Bg7 7.Nxc6

Stockfish12 narrowly prefers this to 7.Be3, but Komodo11.01 fluctuates between both moves and the strange-looking 7.Nf3!? After 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.0-0 Re8, Komodo11.01 rates the position as equal although Stockfish12 gives a tiny edge (less than a fifth of a pawn) to White.

7...bxc6 8.0-0 Nf6

8...Ne7!?

9.e5!?

It would be interesting to know if László had overlooked this energetic thrust.

9...Nd5

9...dxe5?! 10.Qxd8+ Kxd8 11.Bxf7 seems to leave Black with too many weaknesses.

10.exd6 Qxd6 11.Nd2?!

The natural 11.Re1+ Be6 is better for White after 12.Nd2!? h6!?, according to the engines, eg 13.Ne4 Qe7 14.Rb1 0-0 15.Bd2.

11...0-0 12.Nf3 Nb6 13.Qxd6 cxd6 14.Bd3 Na4!?
Black has an extra pawn-island but has the only central pawn and has a slight initiative against the white queenside.

15.c3 Rb8 16.Rb1 Be6 17.Bc2 Nb6 18.Bf4 Rfd8 19.Rbd1 Nd5 20.Bc1 Nb6!?

A tacit draw-offer?

Position after 20...Nb6!? How should White proceed?

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21.a4?!

This makes defending the queenside problematic. The engines prefer 21.Bb3, eg 21...Bxb3 22.axb3 a5 23.Bg5, after which the white knight can, if necessary, defend the b3 pawn from d2.

21...c5!?

This keeps the white knight off the d4 square and indirectly threatens the a2 pawn. Note that 21.Nd4!? could have been met by 21...Bxd4 22.Rxd4 c5 23.Rdd1 Bxa2, when 24.b3 c4 25.bxc4 Bxc4 leaves Black a pawn up but only slightly better, according to the engines, as White has the bishop-pair and targets in the shape of weak black pawns. However, the engines point out an improvement for White, namely 24.Bg5! Rd7 25.b3, which they reckon gives equal chances.

22.Bg5 Rd7 23.Bf4 Nc4 24.b3

The engines slightly prefer the sharp 24.Ng5!?, when they reckon best-play goes 24...Bf5 25.Bxf5 gxf5 26.Nf3 Rxb2 27.Rd5 Bxc3 28.Rc1 Nb6 29.Rxd6 Rb4 30.Rxc3 Rxf4 31.Rxc6 Nxa4 32.Ra3 Rb4 with an unclear position. This long line is very tactical, with many sharp alternatives along the way.

24...Na3 25.Be4 Rxb3 26.Bxd6 Rxc3 27.Bc6 Rd8 28.Ng5?

The engines suggest 28.Be7 Rb8 29.Ng5 Bd4 30.Bf3, although Black retains his pawn-plus.

28...Bb3

Soós must have missed this - White is losing a piece.

29.Bd5 Bxd5 30.Rxd5 Nc4 31.Ne4

Not 31.Rfd1? Rxd6 32.Rxd6 Nxd6 33.Rxd6 Rc1+ 34.Kh2 Be5+ 35.g3 Bxd6.

31...Ra3 32.Rfd1 Ra1 33.Rxa1 Bxa1 34.g4 f5 35.gxf5 gxf5 36.Rxf5 Nxd6 37.Rd5 Nb7 38.Rg5+!?

Arguably, objectively better is 38.Rxd8+ Nxd8 39.Nxc5, but that makes the win straightforward for Black, not that it is difficult after the game continuation.

38...Bg7 39.Nxc5 Nxc5 40.Rxc5 Bd4 41.Rc2 Bb6 42.Kg2 Kf7 43.Kg3 Rd4 44.Ra2 Rd5 45.Rc2 Kg6 46.Rc6+ Kg5 47.Rc2 h5 48.Rc8 Rd3+ 49.Kg2 Ra3 50.Rg8+ Kh4 0-1

Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game (part six)

AFTER 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.d4, the main alternative to 4...exd4 is 4...Bg4, which is the most-popular reply in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database.

White usually continues 5.c3, which is a transposition to the already-covered line 4.c3 Bg4 5.d4.

The following game features 5.h3, a more-modern continuation that quickly became popular and today is second in popularity to 5.c3 in Mega21.

Marián Kantorík (2331) - Martin Mrva (2435)

Slovakian Team Championship 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.d4 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.d5!?

This is the main idea of pushing Black's light-square bishop to h5. Instead of relying on piece-play, which is White's usual general-plan in the Semi-Italian, White grabs space and is ready to meet ...Nd4 with g4.

6...Nb8

6...Nd4?! 7.g4 Nxf3+ 8.Qxf3 Bg6 seems very good for White after 9.Bb5+.

More plausible is 6...Nce7!?, intending to play on the kingside, but this probably does not fit well with having already developed the light-square bishop.

The idea of the text is to redeploy the queen's knight via d7 to c5.

Position after 6...Nb8

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7.Nc3

A major alternative is grabbing more space with 7.Bd3!? Nf6 8.c4, which seems to have first occurred in Viktor Pozharsky - Rashid Nezhmetdinov, Russian Spartakiad (Yoshkar-Ola, USSR) 1963. That game continued 8...Nbd7 9.Be3 Nc5 10.g4 Nxd3+ 11.Qxd3 Bg6 12.Nc3, when White is better, according to the engines (but 0-1, 71 moves). They reckon Black should play 10...Bg6!?, forcing 11.Bxc5 dxc5, when 12.Nxe5!? Bd6 13.Nxg6 fxg6!? gives Black great dark-square play for a pawn. White should probably avoid pawn-grabbing and instead develop with 12.Nc3.

7...Be7 8.g4 Bg6 9.Be3 Nf6 10.Qd3 c6 11.0-0-0?!

The engines do not like this as Black gets quick counterplay with ...b5. They suggest 11.dxc6 bxc6 and now 12.0-0-0, when 12...Nbd7 13.g5!? Nh5 14.Qd2 Rb8 15.Kb1!? is better for White, according to the engines, but looks a typically unclear opposite-side castling position.

11...b5 12.Bb3 b4 13.g5

13.Na4? Bxe4 is horrible for White.

13...bxc3 14.gxf6 cxb2+ 15.Kb1!?

15.Kxb2 Bxf6 is also slightly better for Black, according to the engines.

15...Bxf6 16.dxc6 0-0?!

There seems nothing wrong with 16...Nxc6 as 17.Qxd6? runs into 17...Qxd6 18.Rxd6 Bxe4.

17.Bd5

17.Qxd6 is now possible as 17...Qxd6 18.Rxd6 Bxe4 is not so strong for Black since White has 19.c7 (19.Rxf6!? gxf6 20.Bh6 is also interesting). However, the text seems to be also roughly equal.

17...Qc7 18.h4 Bh5 19.Bg5 Bd8!? 20.Bxd8

The engines' 20.Nxe5!? is sharp and, probably, better, eg 20...Bxd1? 21.Bxd8 Qxd8 22.Rxd1 Qc7 23.Bxf7+! Rxf7 24.Nxf7 Qxf7 (24...Kxf7? 25.Qb3+ and 26.Rd3) 25.c7! Nc6 (25...Qxc7 26.Qd5+) 26.Qxd6 Qe8 27.e5, when they reckon White is winning. So Black needs to play 20...Kh8 with an unclear position.

20...Rxd8 21.Rhg1

Nxe5!? is no longer so strong, but is better than the text, according to the engines.

21...Nxc6 22.Qe3?!

22.Bxc6 Qxc6 and now Nxe5 is easier to visualise than earlier, and its consequences are clearer, although after 23.Nxe5! Qc8 24.Qg3 g6 25.Ng4 Bxg4 26.Qxg4 Qc4 Black is a pawn up.

22...Nb4 23.Bb3 g6

Black is two pawns up. The b pawn will probably be lost in time, but Black will remain a pawn up with the safer king and sounder pawn-formation. Kantorik therefore goes in for a desperate combination.

24.Qh6? Bxf3 25.Rxg6+ hxg6 26.Qxg6+ Kf8 27.Qh6+ Ke8 28.Ba4+ Nc6 29.Rg1 Kd7 30.Qf6 Bxe4 31.Qxf7+ Kc8 32.Qc4 Nd4 33.Qa6+ Kb8 0-1

Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game (part five)

ALTHOUGH starting to build a centre with 4.c3 after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 is very logical, the most-popular move in ChessBaase's 2021 Mega database is 4.d4.

This is the same move as is commonly played against the Hungarian Defence: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7.

Sergei Tiviakov (2695) - Mihail Marin (2564)

Porto Mannu (Italy) 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.d4

Marin reckons 4.c3 is more consistent "from the strategic point of view."

4...exd4

More popular in Mega21 is 4...Bg4, which I will cover later, but the text is the choice of Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01.

5.Nxd4 g6!?

A rare move that is the speciality of Argentine grandmaster Leonardo Tristan.

The main line runs 5...Nf6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0, after which David Sedgwick (2095) - Spanton (2115), Isle Of Man 1998, saw 8.Nxc6!? bxc6 9.f4 Bb7 (the engines like 9...d5!?) 10.Qe1 Re8 with what the engines reckon is a slight edge for Black (½–½, 28 moves).

6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Be3 Nf6 8.f3 0-0

Position after 8...0-0

9.Nxc6!?

This is Stockfish12's choice.

Magnus Carlsen (2972) - Leonardo Tristan (2540), Chess.com Internet Blitz 2017, went 9.Qd2 Ne5 10.Be2 a6 (Tristan later switched to 10...d5!?, which is preferred by the engines) 11.0-0 (11.0-0-0!?) c5!? 12.Nb3, when the backward d pawn proved a long-term liability for Black (1-0, 43 moves).

9...bxc6 10.0-0 Re8 11.Re1 Be6 12.Bb3 Qb8!?

Marin: "Black has a solid position but has little space, which requires from him a very rational positioning of his forces. Black plans ...a5 and ...Qb4, aiming to force the exchange on e6 by a further advance of the a pawn to a4."

13.Qd2 Qb4

Marin calls this a "micro-mistake," saying he should have played 13...a5.

14.Ba4 Qb7

Marin says 14...Bd7 is not only passive but takes away the d7 square from the black knight. If Black had played 13...a5 rather than 13...Qb4, then the continuation14.Ba4 Qb7 would save a tempo on the game.

15.Ne2 a5

It is not clear that ...a5 is any longer particularly useful, so perhaps 15...Nd7!? is an improvement.

16.Bd4 Bd7

It is too late for repositioning the knight as 16...Nd7? drops a pawn to 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qc3+ etc.

17.c4?!
This helps justify Black's 15th move by making Qb4 attractive. The engines prefer 17.b3, one point being 17...Qb4 can be met by 18.c3.
17...Qb4 18.Qc2 Nh5!?
Exchanging dark-square bishops often helps Black when White, as here, has set up a Maróczy Bind.
19.Bxg7 Nxg7 20.c5!? Ne6
20...dxc5!? is playable, but it would be wrong to think of Black then being a pawn ahead in a practical sense.
21.cxd6 cxd6 22.Rad1 Rad8 23.Nc3 Nc5 24.Kh1
Not 24.Rxd6?? as 24...Nxa4 wins a piece.
24...Re6
Marin says he should have taken the chance to play 24...d5! One point is that 25.exd5?? loses material to 25...Bf5.

25.Re2 Be8?!

The engines strongly dislike this. They prefer 25...Rde8, and if, as in the game, 26.Red2, then 26...f5, when the weakness of White's back rank comes into play.

26.Red2 d5 27.Rd4

27.exd5 is certainly no improvement -  again the weakness of White's back rank is crucial.

27...Qb7 28.Qd2

Marin says 28.Nxd5 cxd5 29.Qxc5 Bxa4 30.Rxa4 Qxb2 31.h3 gives White a large advantage. Komodo11.01 agrees; Stockfish12 reckons the position is equal.

28...Re5 29.exd5 Nxa4 30.Rxa4 cxd5 31.Rxa5 Qb4 32.Ne2! Rb8 33.Qxb4 Rxb4 34.Rd2 Bb5 35.Ng1 Re1

White's pieces have lost coordination, but he is a pawn up and has connected farside passed pawns. Stockfish12 reckons White is winning; Komodo11.01 gives White just a slight edge.

36.Ra8+ Kg7 37.Rb8 d4 38.h3 d3 39.b3 Rc1 40.a4!?

This seems better than 40.Rxd3 Bxd3 41.Rxb4 Rc2 42.a4 Bf1, when Black has at least a draw by repetition.

40...Rxb3 41.Rxb5 Ra3 42.Kh2 Raa1 43.Rxd3 Rxg1 44.Rd7

After sharp play White is a pawn up but the engines agree his advantage is small.

44...Rgb1

A general rule in such endings is that the side with the extra pawn wants no rooks on the board or all four - two tend to be drawish.

45.Kg3

Marin says 45.Ra5 runs into 45...Rd1, when 46.Rda7 avoids an exchange but is hopeless from a winning perspective.

45...h5

There seems no need to immediately exchange on b5, so Black sets up what is often an ideal defensive formation on the kingside.

46.h4 Kf8 47.Rd6?!

This allows Black to extinguish White's small winning chances. Better is 47.Rxb1 Rxb1 48.Rd4, when the game continues.

47...Rgb1

Black threatens 48...Ra2.

48.Rdb6 ½–½

Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game (part four)

A MORE-MODERN response to 4.c3 is to immediately attack the white centre with 4...f5!?

Claude Wagener (2235) - Ivan Sokolov (2656)

Vienna 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.c3 f5!? 5.d3

5.Qb3 can be met by 5...Nf6!?, when 6.Bf7+ Ke7 is nothing special for White thanks to the threat of ...Na5, eg 7.Bc4? (Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon best is 7.exf5 Na5 8.Qa4 Kxf7 9.Qxa5 Bxf5 with equal chances) Na5 8.Qa4 Nxc4 9.Qxc4 fxe4, which the engines reckon is already winning for Black. White should probably meet 5...Nf6!? with 6.Ng5 Nxe4 7.Nxe4 (not 7.Nf7? Qh4) Na5! 8.Qa4+ c6 9.Be2!?, when 9...b5 10.Qc2 fxe4 11.Qxe4 Qf6 is roughly equal, according to the engines.

The text is Komodo11.01's choice, but Stockfish12 prefers 5.exf5!? Bxf5 6.0-0, with a position somewhat reminiscent of the Ponziani.

Position after 5.d3. How should Black proceed?

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5...f4!?

This is Stockfish12's choice, although Komodo11.01 prefers 5...Qf6, which has been played by David Paravyan (2656) and Jiří Štoček (2595).

I suspect many club players would automatically reject the text because of the reply 6.d4, but the engines suggest meeting that with 6...Qf6 with an unclear position.

6.b4 Qf6 7.a4 Be7 8.a5 a6

White is playing moves that are normal in closed lines of the Italian Game. Both players have a tricky decision to make about where to place their kings.

9.Bb2 g5!? 10.Na3 g4 11.Nd2 Qg6 12.Qb3 Nf6 13.0-0-0!?

This is the engines' choice. It certainly looks safer than castling kingside.

13...Nd8!?

The knight is headed for the kingside, where Black has more room.

14.Qc2 h5 15.Rhe1 h4 16.d4 Nf7 17.Bd3 g3 18.fxg3 fxg3 19.h3 Nh5 20.Nf3 Nf4 21.c4?!

This may be too loosening. The engines suggest 21.Kb1 or 21.Bf1, which Komodo11.01 reckons give roughly equal positions but Stockfish12 prefers Black.

21...Ng5 22.Nxg5 Qxg5 23.Kb1 c5!?

The engines prefer opening the position with 23...exd4 24.Bxd4 0-0!?, although it looks rather unclear.

24.bxc5 dxc5 25.d5 0-0 26.Ka1 Bd6 27.Bf1 Bd7 28.Nb1 Rab8 29.Nd2 Ng6!?

Retreating - perhaps a better word is withdrawing - to allow the king's rook to enter White's position.

30.Be2?!

30.Re2 discourages 30...Rf2, although Black can play 30...Rf7 followed by 30...Rbf8.

Another way to stop 30...Rf2 is 31.Nf3, when Komodo11.01 wants to sac the exchange with 31...Rxf3!? 32.gxf3 Nf4 with promising but unclear play. Stockfish12 reckons 31...Qd8 is very good for Black.

30...Rf2 31.Bf3

This was the idea behind 30.Be2?!, but Black gets a strong initiative.

31...Nf4 32.Rg1 Rf8 33.Qc3 Ba4 34.Rdf1 Nxh3! 35.Rh1?!

Probably better is 35.Rxf2, but Black has won a pawn.

35...Rxf1+ 36.Nxf1 Nf2 37.Rg1 Be8 38.Ne3 Bg6 0-1

Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game (part three)

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.c3, the main point of playing 4...Bg4 is to put pressure on the centre that White is building.

However, as Andrew Soltis points out in Winning With The Giuoco Piano And The Max Lange Attack (Chess Digest 1992), White can immediately play d4 anyway.

Miguel Najdorf - Izak Aloni

Polish Championship (Jurata) 1937

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.c3 Bg4 5.d4

The actual move-order of the game was 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.d4 Bg4 5.c3.

How should Black proceed?

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5...Bxf3!?

Most popular in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database is 5...Nf6, but 6.Qb3 seems a good reply.

Soltis implies that Black's best is to strongpoint e5 with 5...Qe7, when Grigory Levenfish - Alexander Tolush, USSR Championship (Leningrad) 1939, continued 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qb3 Nd8 (Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 prefer the sharp 7...0-0-0!?) 8.Nbd2 g6 9.dxe5, after which "White has the usual advantage in space," although Tolush won the game. Black could grab a pawn with 6...exd4!? 7.cxd4 Qxe4, but Soltis says 8.Nc3 Qg6 9.Nb5 gives "more than enough compensation."

Interesting is Mikhail Tal's 5...Qd7!?, after which White's score drops below 50%. The engines want White to gain space with d5!?, either immediately or over the next few moves, but in practice the usual continuation has been 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nbd2, when the engines reckon 7...exd4 gives Black at least equality.

All these lines need further testing - the Semi-Italian is not seen often enough to give definite verdicts in most lines.

6.gxf3

Also possible is 6.Qxf3 as White then has a double-attack on f7. Viacheslav Ragozin - Alexander Ilyin-Zhenevsky, USSR Championship Semi-Final (Leningrad) 1936, saw 6...Qf6 7.Qd3 exd4 8.Bb5!? Qg6!? 9.0-0, when Ilyin-Zhenevsky grabbed a pawn with 9...dxc3?! and came under a very strong attack (but ½–½, 41 moves). The engines reckon ....Nge7, at move nine or, even better, at move eight, is more solid.

6...exd4 7.cxd4 Qf6 8.Be3 g6 9.Nc3 Nge7 10.Qa4!?

Komodo11.01's choice. Stockfish12 prefers 10.h4.

10...Qxf3!?

A brave decision. The engines approve, but much prefer White.

11.Rg1 0-0-0?

Castling into it, but White also has lots of play after the engines' 11...Kd8!? or 11...Bg7.

12.d5 Ne5 13.Be2 Qf6 14.Qxa7 Nf3+ 15.Kd1!

This is better than preserving the rook with 15.Bxf3, according to the engines.

15...Nxg1 16.Bb5 Qf3+ 17.Kd2 c6 18.dxc6 Nxc6 19.Qa8+ Kc7 20.Nd5+ Kd7 21.Qxb7+ Ke6 22.Nf4+ Ke6 23.Qxc6

White has a pawn and the bishop-pair for the exchange, but the complications are not over.

23...Bh6 24.Be2

Good enough, but the engines give a mating line: 24.Qc3+ Ke7 25.Qc7+ Kf6 26.Bd4+ Kg5 27.Qe7+ Kxf4 28.Rxg1, when Black can only delay, but not prevent, checkmate by giving up his queen.

24...Qxf4 25.Bxf4 Bxf4+ 26.Kd3?!

It was probably time to concentrate on king safety. The engines reckon White is still winning after 26.Ke1.

26...Nh3 27.Bf3?

The defensive 27.Rf1!? is best, according to the engines.

27...Rc8 28.Qa4 Be5

Black's king is suddenly looking the safer.

29.Rb1 Ra8 30.Qd7 Nf4+ 31.Ke3 Rxa2 32.Bd1 Rb8 33.b4 Ne6 34.Kf3?

34.Bb3, which was surely the point of 32.Bd1, is equal, according to the engines.

34...Bd4 35.Bb3 Rxf2+ 36.Kg3 Rxb4 37.e5+ dxe5?

37...Kg7 wins.

38.h4?

38.Bxe6 Rxb1 39.Qxf7+ Kg5 40.Qe7+ Kh6 41.Qh4+ etc draws.

38...Kg7

Now the king is safe, and Black has a winning advantage.

39.h5 Rd2 40.h6+

Najdorf tries to conjure up a perpetual, but there is none.

40...Kxh6 41.Rh1+ Kg7 42.Rxh7+ Kxh7 43.Qxf7+ Kh6 0-1

Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game (part two)

ONE of the best-known games in the Semi-Italian: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 is from a simultaneous exhibition.

It reaches the starting point of the Semi-Italian from a Philidor move-order, and owes its fame to being included by Alekhine as among his best games.

M. Rodzinski - Alekhine

Paris (simul) 1913

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.c3 Bg4

The most-popular move, after which play can get very sharp. There is much less theory on the Semi-Italian than there is on other Italian lines, eg the Guioco Piano, the Two Knights Defence and the Evans Gambit. But it certainly helps to know the basic ideas. The point of 4...Bg4 is to put pressure on the centre that White is building, and is part of Black's plan to play on the kingside, which is where his central pawns are pointing.

5.Qb3!?

This critical response has been given a question mark, for example in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database, but is the choice of the analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01.

Most popular in Mega21 is 5.d3, after which Martin Beardsley (unrated) - Spanton (unrated), Sinclair (correspondence) 2012, went 5...Qd7 6.Nbd2 (a young Vladimir Kramnik played 6.b4 g6 7.Nbd2 in a 1990 game) Nf6 (Mega21 has three games with 6...Na5 and one with 6...0-0-0, but the text transposes to a known position) 7.Nf1 d5!? (but this may well be a real novelty) 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Ne3 Be6 10.Ng5 Nxe3 11.Bxe6? (11.Bxe3 Bxc4 12.dxc4 Rd8 13.Qxd7+ Rxd7 is slightly better for Black, according to Stockfish12; equal, according to Komodo11.01) Nxg2+ 12.Kf1 fxe6 13.Kg2 0-0-0, when Black's extra pawn may not count for much but pressure down the d file and having the safer king do (0-1,  24 moves).

Also slightly more popular than the text is 5.h3, after which Päivi Walta (1808) - Spanton (1975), Riga, Latvia, 2012, continued 5...Bh5 6.d3 Be7 7.Bb3 Nf6 8.Nbd2 Qd7 9.Nf1 d5!? 10.Ng3!? (not in Mega21, but it is the engines' choice) Bg6 11.Qe2 0-0 12.0-0 (12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Qxe5 wins a pawn, but Black is better after the engines' 13...Nb4!!) Rad8 13.Bd2 Rfe8 14.Rad1, which the engines reckon is slightly better for White (but 0-1, 55 moves).

5.0-0 Qf6 6.d3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 Qxf3 8.gxf3 was about equal in John E Richards (2050) - Spanton (2115), British Major (Torquay) 1998 (½–½, 43 moves).

5...Qd7

5...Na5?! 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Qa4 seems good for White.

How should White proceed?

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

6.Ng5!?

White has two tempting alternatives.

6.Bxf7+ Qxf7 7.Qxb7 Kd7! 8.Qxa8 Bxf3 9.d3! (9.gxf3 Qxf3 gives Black huge compensation) Bxg2 10.Rg1 Bf3 with advantage to Black, according to the engines.

6.Qxb7 Rb8 7.Qa6 Be7! (Jonny Hector's move, which comes to be the engines' choice) 8.d3 Bxf3 9.gxf3, when both engines like White but disagree as to how much advantage White has. In any event White will have long-term problems with king safety.

6...Nh6

The engines much prefer the untried - at least it is not in Mega21 - 6...Nd8!?, which covers b7 as well as f7.

7.Bxf7+?

The engines like 7.Qxb7!? (not in Mega21) Rb8 8.Qa6 Be7 9.d3, when they put great stock in White's extra pawn.

7.Nxf7 can be met by 7...Na5 8.Qb4 Nxc4 9.Nxh6 (9.Nxh8 Nb6 seems better for Black) gxh6 10.Qxc4 Be6 11.Qe2 Rg8, when Black has good compensation for a pawn.

7...Nxf7 8.Nxf7 Qxf7?

Missing the winning 8...Be6, but without the text we would not get to see the spectacular finish for which this game is famous.

9.Qxb7 Kd7!?

Stockfish12 much prefers 9...Rd8 10.Qxc6+ Bd7, claiming Black has an edge, despite being two pawns down. Komodo11.01 likes the text as much as 9...Rd8.

10.Qxa8 Qc4 11.f3

The only move to keep the game going.

11...Bxf3!?

Also interesting is 11...Nd4!? 12.d3! Nxf3+! (12...Qxd3 13.cxd4 Bxf3 14.Nc3!) 13.gxf3+ Qxd3 14.Qd5! (14.fxg4 Be7!) Qxf3 15.Qb5+, which the engines reckon is dead-equal, eg 15...Kd8 16.Qb8+ Kd7 17.Qb5+ etc.

12.gxf3 Nd4!?

The engines reckon 12...Qd3 is also a draw.

13.d3?

White had to play 13.cxd4, after which 13...Qxc1+ 14.Ke2 Qxh1 15.dxe5 dxe5 is equal, according to the engines.

13...Qxd3

13...Nxf3+? 14.Ke2.

14.cxd4 Be7! 15.Qxh8 Bh4#

Alexander Alekhine's Forgotten Weapon Against The Italian Game

AFTER 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Black normally plays 3...Bc5 (more than 107,000 examples in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database) or 3...Nf6 (almost 80,000 examples).

Other moves seen reasonably often include 3...Be7 (more than 12,000 examples) and 3...h6!? (more than 5,000 examples).

What I am covering in this series is yet another continuation, called the Semi-Italian Opening by Wikipedia, starting with 3...d6!?

The position can also be reached via the Philidor, ie 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nc6.

The starting position of the Semi-Italian

Grandmaster Andrew Soltis in Winning With The Giuoco Piano And The Max Lange Attack (Chess Digest 1992) calls this line Alekhine's Variation.

He writes: "This early favourite of Alexander Alekhine's prepares to exert pressure on the centre with ...Bg4 in connection with either ...Qe7 and ...g6 or ...Qf6 and ...0-0-0."

Here is Alekhine playing the line after he had become world champion.

Henri Grob - Alekhine

Zürich 1934

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6!? 4.c3

Slightly more popular in Mega21 is 4.d4, but the text has also been played by grandmasters. For what it is worth, the analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 prefer the text.

4...Be6!?

The main move is 4...Bg4.

Soltis warns that "4...Nf6? walks into 5.Qb3 Qd7 6.Ng5." However this seems very good for Black after 6...Qg4, when White has problems defending the g2 and e4 pawns as well as his king's knight. However, 4...Nf6?! probably is bad, despite being the third-most popular move in Mega21, as White has 5.Ng5 d5 6.exd5, which is the same as a famous line in the Two Knights Defence except White has the extra move c3.

5.Bxe6 fxe6 6.Qb3 Qc8 7.Ng5 Nd8 8.d4 Nf6!?

This counterattack against e4 seems best.

9.dxe5 dxe5 10.0-0

10.Qb5+!? Nc6 11.Qc4 Nd8 12.f4 Bd6 13.0-0 was roughly equal, according to the engines, in Boris Kantsler (2491) - Yaacov Zilberman (2473), Israeli Team Championship 2003 (½–½, 23 moves).

10...h6 11.Nf3 Bd6 12.Nbd2 0-0 13.Qc2!?

The engines prefer the natural-looking 13.Nc4, although White is slightly better after the text too.

13...Nc6 14.b4 a6 15.a4 Qe8 16.Bb2 Ne7 17.Rad1 Ng6

Black's doubled central pawns look a liability, but they give him an extra half-open file and therefore kingside attacking chances.

18.g3 Qc6 19.Rfe1?

An extraordinary mistake for a top-class player to make. The engines give White a slight edge after 19.Ba3 or 19.Qb3!?

19...Bxb4 20.Kg2 Kh7 21.h3 Bd6 22.c4 Nd7 23.h4 b6 24.h5 Ne7 25.Re2 Qb7 26.Qc1 Nc6 27.Qa1 Rf7 28.Nh4 Ne7 29.Ndf3 Qc6 30.Nxe5 Nxe5 31.Bxe5 Qxc4 32.Rdd2 Bxe5 33.Qxe5 Nc6 34.Qa1 Rd8 35.Rc2 Qd4 36.Qc1?

White is still in the game, albeit a pawn down, after 36.Qxd4 Nxd4 37.Red2.

36...Ne5 37.Rxc7?

Better, according to the engines, is 37.Qb2 Qxb2 38.Rxb2, although Black is well on top.

37...Nd3

Grob must have missed this. It is fair to say this was not his day.

38.Qc3 Rxf2+ 39.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 40.Kh3 Qf1+ 41.Kh2 Qe2+ 42.Kg1

42.Kh3 Nf2+ leads to a quick mate.

42...Qf2+ 43.Kh1 Qxg3 0-1

To be continued