Yearbook

139
A

Contributing Authors
Adams • Bosch • Cummings • Flear • Fogarasi • Ganguly • Giri • Grandelius • Gray
Hazai • Ikonnikov • Ilczuk • Lalic • l’Ami • Lukacs • Mchedlishvili • Moskalenko • Nielsen
Olthof • Panczyk • Ponomariov • Ris • Rodi • Saric • So • Sokolov • Stella • [Link]
Talsma • Timman • Tzermiadianos • [Link] Foreest • Vilela • Wallis • Warmerdam

CHESS OPENING NEWS

Edited by Jan Timman
From the editor

The best prepared

Right at the start of the second half of the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg, Fabiano
Caruana beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a game that Kasparov labelled as ‘the best prepared
game in the history of chess’. Undoubtedly Caruana had spent countless hours on this specific
line of the Najdorf Poisoned Pawn. There is not a Survey yet, since we will have to await further
developments in the line, but a brief report on the game can be found in the FORUM Section of
this Yearbook.

Congratulations to Ian Nepomniachtchi for winning the Candidates. His most significant
theoretical contribution in this Yearbook is not from this tournament, though, but from the
Magnus Invitational earlier in the year. He tackled the Berlin Defence in his own way. Ruslan
Ponomariov wrote a Survey on the line.

We welcome Surya Sekhar Ganguly as our new contributor. As a long-time second of Anand
he has an extensive knowledge of the openings. His two Surveys are about important new
developments in the Sicilian – in the Rauzer and in the Najdorf.

Anish Giri is probably the best prepared top player at the moment. I became interested in his
way of handling the Bogo-Indian against Radjabov in the Opera Euro Rapid and decided to
write a Survey on this subject.

In his correspondence chess column, Erwin l’Ami focusses on a line in the French Winawer
that I used to play myself, a quarter century ago. His conclusion: it is not playable for Black. I
must admit that I’d had this feeling already for quite some time.

Jan Timman
Opening Highlights
Fabiano Caruana
The World number two started the second leg of the
Candidates by dealing a heavy blow to Maxime Vachier-
Lagrave with a one-off piece sac novelty in the Najdorf
Poisoned Pawn (see FORUM Section, page 12), though
perhaps of more lasting value was his flabbergasting
concept in the Classical King’s Indian against Wojtaszek
in Wijk aan Zee, giving both his bishops for knights and
outplaying the Polish top GM strategically. The line is
analysed by Tibor Fogarasi on page 210.

Wesley So
Wesley is the most experienced of all elite players in the
fashionable Giuoco Piano with 5.d4 and 6.e5. Black may be
OK here (So plays this from both sides!), but against Magnus
Carlsen in the Opera Euro Rapid the American showed you
can still achieve a lot if you know the nooks and crannies
better than the other guy. See his analysis in Glenn Flear’s
Survey on page 131. There is so much material here that the
second part of this article will be published in Yearbook 140.

Ian Nepomniachtchi
Nepo is the new challenger of Magnus Carlsen. He won
the Candidates Tournament by staying as cool as he did
in many online events. In the Magnus Invitational early
this year, the Russian impressed with a brilliant win versus
Hikaru Nakamura. He sacrificed two kingside pawns
against the Berlin Wall, totally paralysing Black and
finishing with a flourish. The game features in the Survey
on page 107 by Ruslan Ponomariov, who is no longer
convinced that the Berlin is always boring.

Maksim Chigaev
One of the strongest grandmasters of the new Russian
generation, Chigaev ended on 6/11 in the Russian Superfinal
last December, half a point above eight-time champion
Peter Svidler. Maksim ventured the principled and crucial
push of the e-pawn all the way to e3 against the popular
double fianchetto in several online blitz games with Victor
Mikhalevski. Black sacrifices an exchange à la Kasparov and
starts a dangerous offensive. The Survey on this important
set-up is by Krisztian Szabo on page 216.
 Alireza Firouzja
Sharp solutions are what the Iranian phenomenon excels
in. We have a nice example in Viacheslav Ikonnikov’s
Survey on page 190 of this issue. This article features
a tricky line of the 4.♘f3 Nimzo in which White
move-orders Black into an inferior type of Carlsbad
structure. Black players’ modern solution to this, of
moving the queen’s bishop to f5, has been livened up
with some aggressive ideas by Firouzja, and he even beat
Magnus Carlsen with one of them in Banter Blitz.

Magnus Carlsen
The experiments of the World Champ in online chess seem
to know no end. In his own ‘Invitational’ he launched the
bizarre-looking 4.a4 in the Four Knights Game to win
a superb attacking game against one of his main rivals in
online rapid, Wesley So. As you may have guessed, this
move is all about transpositions, reversed openings and
forcing your opponent to think for himself. Jeroen Bosch
explains things in his Survey on page 148.

Surya Sekhar Ganguly

The Indian grandmaster and long-time member of Team
Anand debuts on these pages with two Surveys as well
as a big FORUM story! Both Surveys are on the Sicilian.
In the Najdorf, Ganguly has scored well with a delayed
h2-h3 push, and in the Rauzer he introduced the new
‘all-purpose’ move 8.♕d3 mainly on ‘subtle positional
grounds’, as Surya put it. That’s as may be, but the
theoretical whiz has churned out some exciting lines!
You’ll find his Surveys on pages 40 and 55 respectively.

Nils Grandelius
The Swedish GM was a last-minute replacement in Wijk
aan Zee due to Covid problems, but he had a very good
start, playing fearless and ever interesting chess. In round
2 he got into a flow when he won a great game versus Jan-
Krzysztof Duda. In the Symmetrical English, Grandelius
showed that White’s lengthy knight manoeuvres cannot
really worry Black. We present his analysis of this game
in David Cummings’ Survey on page 222.
Your Variations

Trends & Opinions

Forum
Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Najdorf Variation 6.♗g5. . . . . . . . . . . Olthof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Caro-Kann Defence . . . . . Exchange Variation 3.exd5 . . . . . . . . Ganguly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
HOT! Ruy Lopez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Møller Variation 5...♗c5. . . . . . . . . . . Warmerdam. . . . . . . . . . 18
Caro-Kann Defence . . . . . Exchange Variation 3.exd5 . . . . . . . . Rodi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
SOS King’s Fianchetto . . . . . . . Early Divergences 3...c5 . . . . . . . . . . . Horton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
King’s Pawn Openings. . . Philidor Defence 4...♘bd7. . . . . . . . . Hoekstra. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Benoni Defence. . . . . . . . . Modern Main Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mchedlishvili . . . . . . . . 23
Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Closed Variation 3.d4. . . . . . . . . . . . . Boel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Prins Variation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olthof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Erratum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editorial staff. . . . . . . . . 28
From Our Own Correspondent by Erwin l’Ami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Surveys

1.e4 openings
Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Najdorf Variation 6.♗e3. . . . . . . . . . . Ganguly. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Scheveningen Variation 6.g3. . . . . . . Mchedlishvili . . . . . . . 50
Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Rauzer Variation 7.♗b5 . . . . . . . . . . . Ganguly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
SOS Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Four Knights Variation 6.♘db5 . . . . Vilela. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
HOT! Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Four Knights Variation 6.♘xc6 . . . . Stella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
HOT! Sicilian Defence. . . . . . . . . Closed Variation 3.d4. . . . . . . . . . . . . Bosch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
King’s Fianchetto . . . . . . . 4.♗e3 Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saric. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
French Defence. . . . . . . . . Exchange Variation 4.♘f3 . . . . . . . . . Lalic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
French Defence. . . . . . . . . Tarrasch Variation 3...♘f6 . . . . . . . . . Moskalenko. . . . . . . . . 100
Ruy Lopez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Berlin Defence 4.0-0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ponomariov. . . . . . . . . 107
Ruy Lopez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Early Divergences after 3...a6 4.♗a4. . Ris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Ruy Lopez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Open Variation 9.♘bd2 . . . . . . . . . . . Talsma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
HOT! Italian Game. . . . . . . . . . . . Giuoco Piano 4.c3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Italian Game. . . . . . . . . . . . Early Divergences 3.♗c4 d6 . . . . . . . Sokolov. . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
SOS Scotch Opening. . . . . . . . . Four Knights Game 4.a4 . . . . . . . . . . Bosch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

8
 Scotch Opening. . . . . . . . . Mieses Variation 4...♘f6 5.♘xc6. . . . [Link]. . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
SOS Various Openings . . . . . . . Nimzowitsch Defence 1...♘c6 2.d4. . . Tzermiadianos. . . . . . . 160

1.d4 openings
Slav Defence. . . . . . . . . . . . Slow Slav. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Panczyk and Ilczuk. . . 168
Slav Defence. . . . . . . . . . . . Semi-Slav: Meran 6.♕c2 . . . . . . . . . . Olthof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Tarrasch Defence. . . . . . . . Semi-Tarrasch 4.♘f3 d5. . . . . . . . . . . Adams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
HOT! Nimzo-Indian Defence . . 4.♘f3 Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ikonnikov. . . . . . . . . . . 190
Queen’s Indian Defence. . Bogo-Indian 3...♗b4+ 4.♘bd2. . . . . . Timman. . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Grünfeld Indian Defence. . 4.♗f4 Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lukacs and Hazai . . . . 203
King’s Indian Defence. . . Classical Main Line 7...♗g4. . . . . . . . Fogarasi . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Queen’s Pawn Openings. . Double Fianchetto 6.b3 . . . . . . . . . . . [Link]. . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Others
English Opening. . . . . . . . Symmetrical Variation 3.b3. . . . . . . . Cummings . . . . . . . . . . 222

Views

Reviews by Glenn Flear

The Modern French Defence 1 by Dmitry Kryakvin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
The Modern French Defence 2 by Dmitry Kryakvin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Beat the French Defence with 3.♘c3 by Pentala Harikrishna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Lifetime Repertoires: French Defense by Anish Giri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Sicilian Warfare by Ilya Smirin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Grandmaster Repertoire: 1.e4 vs Minor Defences by Parimarjan Negi.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Solutions to exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

HOT! = a trendy line or an important discovery

SOS = an early deviation
GAMBIT= a pawn sacrifice in the opening

9
Forum

Bull’s eye!

The FORUM is a platform for A wise investment! 11.fxe6 ♗xe6!? – Black’s latest
discussion of developments in by René Olthof old toy (SI 8.8 – B97) – was
chess opening theory in general put to the test by two big
and particularly in variations SI 4.8 + SI 8.14 (B97) contenders in Yekaterinburg:
discussed in previous Yearbook YB 82, 86, 89, 92, 102, 122, 128 12.♖xb7 (12.♘xe6 fxe6 13.♖xb7
issues. Chigaev-Vitiugov, Moscow
With the world premier 2020 – YB/138-24) 12...♘xd4
experts on the Najdorf for 13.♕xd4 ♗e7! 14.♗c4 (the
Contributions to these White (Caruana) and Black novelty 14.♗d3 h6 15.♗d2
pages should be sent to: (Nepomniachtchi and ♕c5 didn’t give White any
editors@[Link] Vachier-Lagrave) present chance of an advantage
at the second leg of the in Nepomniachtchi-Giri,
Candidates and pundits like Carlsen Invitational, March
Anish Giri and Alexander 2021) 14...♖c8 15.♘d5 (15.♗b3
Grischuk not far away, the Beliavsky-Buljovcic, Novi
infamous Poisoned Pawn Sad 1979 (!), is a dinosaur
Variation was always on the reference – YB/138-125)
mind of experts as the most 15...♗xd5 16.♗xd5 ♘xd5
likely opening choice in 17.♕xd5 (17.♕xg7 ♖f8 18.exd5
Yekaterinburg. ♗xg5 19.♕xg5 ♕c3+ 20.♔f2
And sure enough: bull’s eye in ♕xc2+ 21.♔g3 ♕e4 Epiney-
the very first round. Koteski, cr 2003) 17...♕c3+
18.♔e2 ♕xc2+ 19.♗d2
Fabiano Caruana ♖c5 20.♖c1 ♕xc1 21.♗xc1
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ♖xd5 22.exd5 h5 ½-½ (40)
Yekaterinburg ct 2021 (8) Nepomniachtchi-Giri, Carlsen
1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 Invitational, March 2021.
4.♘xd4 ♘f6 5.♘c3 a6 6.♗g5 e6 10.♗e2 was a clever choice
7.f4 ♕b6 8.♕d2 ♕xb2 9.♖b1 by Caruana in Wijk aan
♕a3 Zee 2021, not giving away
any major secrets and at
TsL_Ml.t the same time still posing
difficult questions to MVL,
_J_._JjJ who faltered immediately:
J_.jJs._ 10...♘c6?! 11.♘xc6 bxc6 12.e5
_._._.b. ♘d5 13.♘xd5 exd5? 14.e6!;
._.nIi._ see Yearbook 138.
10...h6
d.n._._. 10...dxe5 11.fxe5 ♘fd7
I_Iq._Ii 12.♘e4 h6! 13.♗h4 is a mere
_R_.kB_R transposition of moves.
11.♗h4 dxe5 12.fxe5 ♘fd7
10.e5 13.♘e4 ♕xa2 14.♖d1
In the last tournament before The old 14.♖b3 has been
the Candidates, 10.f5 ♘c6 completely ousted.
12
 Forum

♕xc3+ 9.♘d2 ♕xa3 10.♖c1 12.♘g5 a6! 13.♘xd6 b5!

(10.♗d4!?) 10...♘c6 11.♘c4 (13...exd6 14.♘xf7!), a sample
♕b4+ 12.♗d2 ♕c5 13.♗c3 line being 14.♕d1 ♕xd6
(rather than 13.♗e3 ♕b4+ 15.♗d5 ♗b7 16.♘xf7 ♕d7
½-½ Benko-Bakonyi, 17. ♘xh8 ♗xh8 18.♕f3+ ♘f6
Budapest 1950) 13...f6 19.0-0-0 ♗xd5 20.♖xd5 ♕e6
14.♘e3 with overwhelming 21.♖hd1 ♔e8 with an ongoing
compensation for the two struggle after 22.♗d4.
sacrificed pawns. Only
suitable for the very brave!
Secondly, from the first Selling himself short
diagram above White indeed a letter by IJntze Hoekstra
quickly lost in the stem game
Rowson-Malakhov (1995) KP 4.7 (C41)
after 10.e5 a6 due to the IJntze Hoekstra
unwarranted tactical strike I would like to bring to
11.♗xf7+? ♔xf7 12.♘g5+ ♔e8 your attention a find of 12...♕xa8, concluding that
13.♕b3 ♘xe5 14.♘d4 ♗f6. my computer that was not ‘Black is fine’ but Black is
But things are less clear after mentioned in Side-Stepping selling himself short here.
11.♘a3, e.g. 11...♗xe5 12.♕b3 Mainline Theory by Welling I believe White should play
e6 13.♘xe5 ♘xe5 14.♗b6 and Giddins (New In Chess 12.♗e3.
(14.♗e2!? with compensation) 2019). It is too beautiful (and
14...♕g5 15.0-0 ♘f3+ 16.♔h1 decisive) not to bring it up Yours sincerely,
♘d2 (16...♕f4 17.gxf3 ♕xf3+ here. It concerns the game IJntze Hoekstra
18.♔g1 ♕g4+ is an immediate Radulski-Mchedlishvili, Zeist, The Netherlands
perpetual check) 17.♕b4 Plovdiv 2012 on page 133.
♘xf1 18.♗xf1 ♘e7 19.♕xd6 1.e4 d6 2.d4 ♘f6 3.♘c3 e5 Reply by Steve Giddins:
♘f5 20.♕e5!? (or 20.♕b4 4.♘f3 ♘bd7 5.♗c4 ♗e7 6.♘g5 This is all correct, of course.
♗d7 21.♘c4 with decent O-O 7.♗xf7+ ♖xf7 8.♘e6 ♕e8 Quite a shocking find!
compensation) 20...f6 21.♕c7 9.♘xc7 ♕d8 10.♘xa8 b6
0-0 22.♖d1 ♖f7 23.♕d8+ ♖f8 10...b5!?.
24.♕c7, repeating moves. 11.d5 Saddening the Benoni
Thirdly, Mr. Horton’s 11.♗e3 ♗a6 12.♘xb6?! ♕xb6 by Mikheil Mchedlishvili
recommended 11...♘c6 after 13.b3? d5!; 11.dxe5 ♘xe5!?.
10.♕b3 ♘a5 11.♕a4 allows 11...♗a6 BI 5.6 (A65)
for the dangerous 12.e5 or
12.0-0-0 when 12...a6 13.♘bd4 N_.d._M_ I would like to share an old
leaves Black in hot waters. and forgotten/new idea in the
In our opinion the best reply
j._SlTjJ Benoni with you.
to the novelty 11.♕a4 is Lj.j.s._ 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.♘c3
11...♔f8!, stepping out of the _._Ij._. exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.♘ge2
battery. ._._I_._ ♗g7 8.♘g3 0-0 9.♗e2 b6

T_Ld.mSt _.n._._. TsLd.tM_

jJ_.jJlJ IiI_.iIi j._._JlJ
._.j._J_ [Link]._R .j.j.sJ_
sN_._._. Now 12.f3 was played but this _.jI_._.
Q_B_I_._ deserves a question mark due ._._I_._
to 12...♘g4!! 13.g3 ♗h4! 14.a4
_.i.bN_. ♘xh2!. _.n._.n.
Ii._.iIi Stockfish indicated this Ii._BiIi
r._.k._R refutation while analysing [Link]._R
one of my own games.
This leads to immense Welling and Giddins only This position is also regularly
tactical complications after give the game continuation reached via two different
23
From Our Own Correspondent

Nothing to do...?
by Erwin l’Ami
We have a wide range of and it has remained the most
openings in this quarterly critical test to this day.
update on the world of 5...♘c6 6.♗g2 ♘f6 7.0-0 ♗e7
Correspondence Chess. It is 7...cxd4 8.♘xd4 ♗c5 is a
possible to fill all the pages very viable line with the
of the Yearbook with these knight on c3 and king still
games, but as usual I have on e1. Dubov has successfully
selected five games that give proven the viability of that
a nice overview and bring line. In this move-order
something new to the table. though, 9.♘xc6 bxc6 10.♕c2!
is (very) problematic.
A soft spot for the Tarrasch 8.dxc5 ♗xc5

TD 5.11 (D30)
T_LdM_.t
In this column, Dutch grandmaster
We start with the Tarrasch. jJ_._JjJ
and top chess coach Erwin l’Ami I have a soft spot for this ._S_.s._
scours the thousands of new opening. It’s perhaps the _.lJ_._.
only opening where Black
correspondence games that are
can volunteer to play with
._._._._
played every month for important
novelties that may start new waves an isolated pawn and get _._._Ni.
in OTB chess also. Every three
away with it! It was largely Ii._IiBi
due to Kasparov’s losses rNbQ_Rk.
months it’s your chance to check
against Anatoly Karpov
out the best discoveries from this that the Tarrasch faded for 9.a3
rich chess source that tends to be a couple of decades. At the Of course, 9.♘c3 0-0 would
underexposed. present though, it is alive now transpose back to the
and kicking. That shouldn’t main line of the Tarrasch
surprise us much, as with Defence, but White prefers
the advent of ever stronger a subtle pawn push. White’s
engines we have come to idea is that 9...0-0 10.b4
realize that more or less any followed by 11.♗b2 is very
opening line is playable. pleasant.

Alfonsas Kupsys
Klaus Kögler
MT-Uogele (LTU) ICCF 2020
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.♘f3 c5
4.cxd5
Siegbert Tarrasch himself
once called this a premature
exchange and instead
considered 4.e3 the ‘only
correct move’. We have come
a long way since then!
4...exd5 5.g3
This is how Rubinstein
played against the Tarrasch, Alfonsas Kupsys

29
Sicilian Defence Rauzer Variation SI 27.9 (B62)

Double pin in the Rauzer

by Surya Sekhar Ganguly
1. e4 c5 quickly and keeps the option of taking on
2. ♘f3 d6 c6 open. The queen on d3 might look odd
3. d4 cxd4 at first glance, particularly since Black can
4. ♘xd4 ♘f6 attack it with ...♘e5, but it turns out that
5. ♘c3 ♘c6 after being chased away, the white queen
6. ♗g5 e6 can safely rest on h3 from where it keeps
7. ♗b5 ♗d7 an eye on the black e6-pawn and, more
8. ♕d3 importantly, makes sure Black cannot
play ...h7-h6 and ...g7-g5 as the h-pawn
T_.dMl.t remains pinned.
jJ_L_JjJ Black has various plans at his disposal,
._SjJs._ but what makes this line a bit confusing
_B_._.b. is that on almost every single try, Black
._.nI_._ can do it with or without ...h7-h6. There
_.nQ_._. are pros and cons to all of these options,
IiI_.iIi depending on whether Black wants to
r._.k._R include ...h7-h6 or not. The plans can be
described as follows:
The double pin move 7.♗b5 is not a
rare species in the Rauzer, and it has The main line with ...♗e7 and ...0-0
been played several times. In fact, it is This is by far the most popular and most
the second most popular move after logical choice. Black can either include
the standard 7.♕d2. Traditionally after ...h7-h6/♗h4 and then opt for ...♗e7 and
7.♗b5 ♗d7, 8.♗xc6 used to be the main ...0-0, or play this directly.
line with over 500 games already played
as per Mega Database. In recent times T_.d.tM_
the move 8.♕d3 came into fashion and jJ_LlJjJ
this is our Survey topic. At grandmaster ._SjJs._
level, this move was first tried in a game _B_._.b.
between Matlakov and Maghsoodloo ._.nI_._
in the World Blitz, 2018. I already see _.nQ_._.
many Indian grandmasters employing it IiI_.iIi
frequently. I had a look at this line and _.kR_._R
got a chance to play it myself recently (without ...h7-h6/♗h4 – Game 1)
in an online tournament. The line looks
quiet but has its own venom. White’s play remains more or less the
Unlike the traditional 8.♗xc6 or same in either case: he takes on c6 with
Alekhine’s continuation 8.0-0, here White the bishop, and we reach a position
does not wish to show his intentions so with 10.♗xc6 bxc6 11.♘b3, which is

55
Sicilian Defence – Rauzer Variation

exchange on d4 it is easier for White

to build his pressure on the d6-pawn
because he has a quick ♗g3. The same
would not be possible with the bishop
on g5 as ♗f4 runs into the ...e6-e5 fork.
If Black wants to opt for the ...♕b6
idea, then I think it is better to go for it
directly. All the ...♕b6 ideas are covered
under Game 3 between Ragger vs Sanal.

Surya Sekhar Ganguly ...♘e5 ideas

Since White has committed himself
the main idea of this line from White’s with ♕d3, it feels tempting to attack the
perspective. White is building pressure queen with ...♘e5. White usually retreats
on the d6-pawn, and a threat of e4-e5 is to h3 to keep the pin on the h-file and
deadly as the bishop on d7 hangs. At this stop ...h7-h6 and ...g7-g5. Black’s critical
stage, Black has a couple of moves to deal try could be 11...0-0 instead of 11...a6 and
with White’s threat: 11...d5, 11...e5, 11...♗c8 the blunder 13...g5 that occurred in my
and 11...a5 are all analysed under Game 1. game against Rahman (Game 4).
Black is not exactly worse, however I feel
White keeps a microscopic but safe edge T_.d.tM_
in such positions that are easier to play jJ_LlJj.
from the white side. ._.jJs.j
With the inclu­sion we see similar lines _B_.s._.
in Game 2. The evaluation remains more ._.nI_.b
or less the same either way. _.n._._Q
IiI_.iIi
T_.d.tM_ _.kR_._R
jJ_LlJj.
._SjJs.j After 11...0-0, it is not obvious how White
_B_._._. can gain an advantage, but clearly it is
._.nI_.b Black who must play accurately. Anton
_.nQ_._. Guijarro lost a game against Dragnev
IiI_.iIi in this direction which is also covered
_.kR_._R under Game 4. If Black wants to play
(with ...h7-h6/♗h4 – Game 2) ...♘e5, inserting 8...h6 is an absolute
necessity as after 8...♘e5 9.♕h3, White
...♕b6 ideas won’t be obliged to move the bishop
As typically happens in many other from g5 when Black goes ...h7-h6 here.
Rauzer lines, Black has the standard
...♕b6 option, which once again he ...♘xd4 ideas
can play with or without ...h7-h6. In This capture also makes a lot of sense
this case, however, it is better not to as White has committed with his queen
include ...h7-h6/♗h4 since after the mass move, thus taking back on d4 with the

56
 Survey SI 27.9

queen will cost him an extra tempo. The surprising by any means. The game
main question for Black is, when to take Sethuraman vs Gupta (Game 6) deals
on d4? Gelfand played it immediately with this variation.
on move 8 against Sethuraman, which
is featured in Game 5. The position Conclusion
gets dynamic after both sides castle to The line avoids insurmountable
opposite sides. In the game, after castling theory and is easy to prepare. We can
queenside, White even made a daring understand the ideas within a short time
move by taking on a7 with the queen. span, and it is easy to play. The computer
It is also possible to include 8...♗e7 calls it equal in many positions, but I felt
9.0-0-0 first before taking on d4. The it is easier to play from the white side.
main reasoning could be that Black Since the line is still developing, it also
would like to take on d7 with the knight has a lot of surprise value.
instead of the queen. I think Black Having said that, one should also under­
gets a more or less equal position, but I stand that Black has multiple options to
personally would prefer to have White fight. However, in most cases, White gets
in such a scenario. In the line 10.♕xd4 a safe and solid position that is easy to
♗xb5 11.♘b5 0-0 White cannot take on handle.
d6 thrice at the end of the variation When to include ...h7-h6 can be a tricky
as Black has a fork with ...♘xe4. It is question. Depending on what set-up
important to understand that the same Black wants to take, he should decide
idea won’t work with the inclusion of whether to include ...h7-h6 or not. It
...h7-h6/♗h4. makes a big difference in the ...♕b6,
...♘e5 and ...♘xd4 lines: particularly, it is
Provoking White with ...a7-a6 better to include ...h7-h6/♗h4 in ...♘e5
This move has occurred rarely and is of lines, but in the other two lines it is
a dubious nature. White is going to take wiser to refrain from it.
on c6 anyway, so there is no need to I hope that working through this
provoke this. White gets an advantage Survey will bring a lot of clarity in this
due to this extra tempo, which is not seemingly simple-looking opening.

Game Section 10...♗xc6 11.f4 h6 12.h4!?⩱ – White Essentially the main plan, on
8.♕
8. ♕d3 keeps a slight edge with ♗h4 also. which this entire line stands.
The move 12.h4 is more dynamic, White creates the threat of e4-e5
Maxim Matlakov 1 and Black is way behind with his as the d7-bishop hangs after
Parham Maghsoodloo counterattack on the queenside. ...dxe5 ♗xf6. Black has multiple
St Petersburg Wch Blitz 2018 (17) 11.♘b3! ways to deal with the threat or
1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.d4 cxd4 he may simply ignore it with
4.♘xd4 ♘f6 5.♘c3 d6 6.♗g5 e6 T_.d.tM_ moves like 11...a5. 11...d5?! An
7.♗b5 ♗d7 8.♕d3 ♗e7 9.0‑0‑0 j._LlJjJ understandable panic decision in a
0‑0 10.♗xc6 The crux of the line. ._JjJs._ blitz game when facing this move
White gives up the bishop and _._._.b. for the first time. Now White gets
intends to build more pressure on ._._I_._ complete control over the dark
the d6-pawn. 10...bxc6 The most squares.
_NnQ_._.
logical way to recapture. With the A) 11...e5?! 12.♗xf6 gxf6 13.♘d2⩱
IiI_.iIi
knight on d4, it makes little sense – the knight is coming to c4, and
to take on c6 with the bishop:
_.kR_._R Black will likely lose the d6-pawn;

57
Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence RL 7.4 (C67)

Pockets full of novelties

by Ruslan Ponomariov
1. e4 e5
2. ♘f3 ♘c6
3. ♗b5 ♘f6
4. 0-0 ♘xe4
5. d4 ♘d6
6. ♗xc6 dxc6
7. dxe5 ♘f5
8. ♕xd8+ ♔xd8
9. ♘c3 ♔e8
10. h3 ♗e6

T_._Ml.t Ian Nepomniachtchi

jJj._JjJ
._J_L_._ play. Chess players have become much
_._.iS_. more pragmatic about results: even
._._._._ amateurs started to play the line and
_.n._N_I you can find many chess books on it,
IiI_.iI_ including some written by 2400+ chess
r.b._Rk. players. Some radical minds proposed
to simply forbid this line altogether in
When someone asks you about the Berlin tournament play. Another popular trend
Defence in 2000, probably you will have is that White started avoiding the Ruy
associations with Belarusian GM Alexey Lopez or even switched to 1.d4.
Aleksandrov, who exclusively plays this There were hopes that with short time-
system with black, and with the historic controls players would start taking more
World Championship match in London risks and play more entertaining chess.
where Vladimir Kramnik replaced However you can still see a ‘pragmatic’
his favourite Petroff Defence with a game now and then going 1.e4 e5 2.♘f3
totally new concept. Without queens ♘c6 3.♗b5 ♘f6 4.0-0 ♘xe4 5.d4 ♘d6
on the board, some magic disappears. 6.dxe5 ♘xb5 7.a4 ♘bd4 8.♘xd4 d5 9.exd6
It’s unbelievable, but Kasparov didn’t ♘xd4 10.♕xd4 ♕xd6 11.♕e4+ ♕e6
manage to win even a single game during 12.♕d4 etc.
the whole match! This anti-record I would say that Ian Nepomniachtchi’s
was repeated in 2013 by the reigning games are a breath of fresh air, and they
Champion Vishy Anand, and of course are the focus of my investigation for
the Berlin was again involved in some this Survey. His quick aggressive style
games. in the main game of this article was
No wonder that the Berlin started to be so convincing that his fans started to
associated with ultra-solid and drawish complain: ‘Ian, what are you doing? Why

107
Ruy Lopez – Berlin Defence

are you wasting your preparation before also in this variation. We already saw
the Candidates?’ ☺ a few signs of this in 2018 during the
Candidates Tournament, when Vladimir
Conclusion Kramnik showed some fresh ideas with
Well, don’t worry – you can still play the white (!) and players picked them up for
Berlin with black. But it seems that the the next championship cycle in 2020. It’s
trends are starting to change and now going to be interesting to see where this
you need to memorize lots of theory line will be heading in the near future.

majority on the kingside and the 2014) 18...♘d5 19.♘xd5 (19.♗d2

Modern developments
exposed position of Black’s bishop. ♗d6 20.♖d4 ♗e5 21.♖d3 ♖h4)
11...♘e7 12.♘d4 19...cxd5 20.♖e5 ♖h4 21.♖g5 ♖e8
Ian Nepomniachtchi 22.♗e3 ♖e4 23.♖xd5+ ♔e6 24.♖ad1
Hikaru Nakamura T_._Ml.t ♖exg4+ 25.♔f1 ♖h1+ 26.♔e2 ♖xd1
Magnus Carlsen Inv KO rapid qf 2021 (1.2) [Link] 27.♖xd1 ♗d6 Nepomniachtchi-
1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♗b5 ♘f6 ._J_L_._ Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen Inv
4.0‑0 ♘xe4 5.d4 ♘d6 6.♗xc6 dxc6 _._.i._. rapid prel 2021;
7.dxe5 ♘f5 8.♕xd8+ ♔xd8 9.♘c3 ._.n._I_ B) Earlier, Hikaru also faced
♔e8 10.h3 13.♔h2 c5!? (13...♘d5 14.♗d2 h5
_.n._._I
15.♔g3∞) 14.♘db5 (14.♘de2 h5
IiI_.i._
T_L_Ml.t r.b._Rk. 15.♔g3 hxg4 16.hxg4 and now it’s
jJj._JjJ not really necessary but interesting
._J_._._ 12...♗d7 Hardly a good idea is to try 16...f5!? 17.exf6 gxf6 18.♗f4
_._.iS_. 12...♗c4?! because Black doesn’t f5 19.g5 ♗c6 20.♗xc7 ♖h5 when I
._._._._ challenge White’s pawn chain: believe Black should have enough
13.♖d1 ♘g6 14.b3 ♗a6 15.♔g2!? (a active play for the sacrificed
_.n._N_I
typical idea in such positions; in pawn) 14...♔d8 15.♗e3 a6 (more
IiI_.iI_
the endgame the king can be an flexible was 15...b6!? because the
r.b._Rk. active piece!) 15...h5 16.♔g3 hxg4 knight is not very stable on b5 and
10...♗e6 Nakamura played this 17.hxg4 ♖d8 18.f4 (18.♗b2!? ♘xe5 needs to look for a better square)
line twice in 2014 and 2015 and 19.♘e4 △ ♘f5) 18...c5 19.♘f3 16.♘a3 b6 17.♘e4 h5 18.♔g3 hxg4
suddenly, after a long break, ♖xd1 20.♘xd1 ♗e2 21.♘f2 ♘e7 19.hxg4 ♗c6 20.♘g5 ♔e8 21.f4?
he decided to play it again. I 22.c4 ♗xf3 23.♔xf3 ♘c6 24.♗b2 (≥ 21.♖ad1♘d5 22.♗d2 b5 23.c4
guess one of the reasons was and White is clearly better here. ♘b6∞) 21...f5!, reminding us
that recently Black started to Nowadays you can only dream that even without queens on the
have some problems in the most about such positions in the Berlin board you should not forget about
popular line: 10...h5 11.♗f4 ♗e7 endgame! [Link], the security of your own king,
12.♖ad1 ♗e6 (12...♘h4 was what Romania tt 1998. 13.f4 Grischuk-Nakamura, London 2015.
Nakamura played two games later A) During the qualification stage, 13...h5 14.f5 hxg4
against Nepomniachtchi, see next Ian was not prepared for this line
game) 13.♘g5 ♖h6 14.♖fe1 ♗b4 and he played the dull 13.♖e1 h5 T_._Ml.t
15.a3!? ♗xc3 16.bxc3 etc. One of 14.e6 fxe6 15.♘xe6 ♗xe6 16.♖xe6. jJjLsJj.
the topical games here is Vachier- Now Black no longer has the ._J_._._
Lagrave-Grischuk, Yekaterinburg bishop pair, but with some active _._.iI_.
2020, and there were also many play he manages to create enough ._.n._J_
games by Nakamura. I will not counterplay to compensate his
_.n._._I
go deeply into the details here. slightly worse pawn structure:
IiI_._._
Probably this deserves an extra 16...hxg4 17.hxg4 ♔d7 18.♖e4?!
Survey, and you need to have a (more tension is kept by 18.♖e2
r.b._Rk.
good memory just to remember ♘g6 19.♗g5 ♗d6 20.♘e4 ♖h7 but 15.e6!?N Surprisingly I didn’t
the games that have been played Black should still be okay here, e.g. find even a single game with this
already. 11.g4!? A very tempting 21.♘xd6 cxd6 22.f4 ♖ah8 23.♖ae1 move in the online database.
way to exploit White’s pawn c5⇆ Caruana-Nakamura, London Earlier White automatically played

108
Nimzo-Indian Defence Ragozin Variation NI 27.2 (D38)

Fearless play
by Viacheslav Ikonnikov
1. d4 ♘f6 to the Carlsbad method (8...c6), so the
2. c4 e6 alternative 8...♗f5 is becoming more and
3. ♘f3 ♗b4 more popular. True, it should be noted
4. ♘c3 d5 that you need to be prepared for a rather
5. cxd5 exd5 risky weakening of your own king. How
6. ♗g5 h6 dangerous this can be, we will analyse
7. ♗h4 0-0 with the help of recent games by top
8. e3 ♗f5 chess players.
In the diagram position, White has
Ts.d.tM_ two ways of recapturing after 9.♕b3
jJj._Jj. (the move-order 9.♗e2 ♘bd7 10.♕b3
._._.s.j is a Grischuk specialty; see Game 4)
_._J_L_. 9...♗xc3+: 10.♕xc3 and 10.bxc3.
.l.i._.b
_.n.iN_. The queen takes on c3
Ii._.iIi Without the dark-squared bishop, Black’s
r._QkB_R play with ...c7-c5 is not so effective,
so after 10.♕xc3 the best chance for
This is a very interesting and rather Black is to attack on the kingside with
‘young’ option. With 5.cxd5 White ...g7-g5 and ...h6-h5. After 10...g5 11.♗g3
bypasses the well-studied variations ♘e4 12.♕a3 Black has three options:
of the Vienna (after 5...dxc4) and 12...♖e8, 12...♘c6 and 12...♘bd7. The move
transfers the position into the Carlsbad 12...♖e8 increases the pressure on the
Variation but with the black bishop e3-pawn and prepares a pawn storm on
in an unfavourable position on b4. Of the kingside. In addition there is the
course, it is not entirely profitable for possibility of exchanging the queens
Black to continue playing according by ...♕e7 when necessary. Shankland’s
improvement 14.♘e5! against Dominguez
(with the idea f2-f3) allows White to
continue the game without any worries,
whereas his move 14.♖c1?! against Vidit
soon led White into trouble. It turned
out that the inclusion of 14.♖c1 ♘c6
plays into Black’s hands. The same is
true for the immediate and rare push
12...h5!? (instead of 12...♖e8), applied by
Bok against Urkedal, where White played
‘regularly’ with 13.♖c1 ♘c6 14.♘e5 and
Alireza Firouzja got into a difficult position. Realizing

190
 Survey NI 27.2

that White’s main method to save his kingside here (in contrast to the ♕xc3
♗g3 is to move the ♘f3 away and play variations) and his main counterplay
f2-f3, Black started to fight for the is against the weak c3-pawn, with or
e5-square with 12...♘c6 (Firouzja) and without ...♘fe4. The combination of
12...♘bd7 (Aronian) instead of 12...♖e8. In the moves ...♘fe4 and ...♕e7, the most
both cases, White used the manoeuvre common move, played in old games
♘f3-d2, which is fraught with some as well as in the most recent game
threats. Indeed, the white king loses his Grischuk-So, has also proved good,
castling rights, but he can also escape apart from the gross mistake So made
to the queenside, giving White the with 21...♗g6?. Fortunately, there is
opportunity to attack on the kingside. still always the good old move 21...a5!
In his game against Carlsen, Firouzja from Wojtaszek, which gave him equal
prevented the white king from escaping chances. For Black, Firouzja’s novelty
to the queenside with a few precise against Grischuk, 16...a5!, deserves special
moves (14...c6 and 17...♕a5+) and got attention in the system with 14...♘fe4
good counterplay. and 15...♖c8! (instead of 15...♕e7).
Aronian’s move 12...♘bd7 is less connec­ Unfortunately, he did not crown his idea
ted with the further attack with ...h5-h4 with the spectacular 17...♘a4!, but anyway
and more with the consolidation and 15...♖c8 looks more promising than
strengthening of the position of Black’s 15...♕e7.
king and centre with ...♘df6. Finally, the third option is to leave the
knight on f6 to protect the d5-pawn
The pawn takes on c3 and start counterplay on the queenside
The plan 10.bxc3 is slightly less popular with ...a7-a5 and ...♕b6. But Black
these days. After it was proved earlier needs to be careful, as without ...♘e4,
that following 10...♘bd7 11.♗e2 c5, taking the d6-square is weakened, which Giri
on b7 with the strong ♗f5 and closed could have exploited in his game against
centre after ...c5-c4 is good for Black, the Maghsoodloo with 20.♘e5!. True, Black
struggle flares up after the exact move made a mistake one move earlier, so in
12.dxc5 g5 13.♗g3 ♘c5 14.♕b4. general the evaluation of this option is
also okay for Black.
T_.d.tM_
jJ_._J_. Conclusion
._._.s.j Summing up, it should be noted that
_.sJ_Lj. Black has counterchances in both
.q._._._ continuations. But White has a choice
_.[Link]. which position he wants to play. In the
I_._BiIi case of 10.♕xc3, as a rule both sides, after
r._.k._R ♘d2 and ♗d3, exchange a couple more
pieces, simplifying the position and
White has a plan here to open the centre reducing the risks. If White wants to play
for his two bishops with c3-c4 and try to a more complicated position with several
get to the weakened black king. Black, tactical possibilities, then the variation
in return, does not have an attack on the with 10.bxc3 and 12.dxc5 is for him.

191
Nimzo-Indian Defence – Ragozin Variation

The queen takes on c3 ♔f5 32.♖h7 ♘xf4+ 33.exf4 ♔xf4 by disrupting the connection
10.♕xc3 34.g6 ♔f5 35.♖xb7 ♔xg6 36.♖xa7 between his rooks. 18...f5 19.♗d6
♔f5 37.♖c7 ♖a8 38.♖xc6 ♖xa2 19.h4 f4 20.exf4 g4. 19...♖ae8
Samuel Shankland 1 39.♔e3 ♖xb2 40.♖c5+ ♔e6 20.g4?! Perhaps Carlsen missed
Leinier Dominguez Perez 41.♔xe4 ♖b4+ 42.♔d3 ♔d6 Black’s 21st move. 20.h4! deserves
Opera Euro Rapid Prelim 2021 (10) 43.♖c4 ♖xc4 44.♔xc4 ½-½ attention, e.g. 20...g4 (20...♕d8
1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘f3 d5 4.♘c3 21.♗xe7 ♖xe7 22.hxg5 hxg5 23.g4↑)
♗b4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.♗g5 h6 7.♗h4 21.h5⩱. 20...♖f6 21.♗e5? ♘g6!
0‑0 8.e3 ♗f5 9.♕b3 ♗xc3+ Magnus Carlsen 2
10.♕xc3 g5 11.♗g3 ♘e4 12.♕a3 Alireza Firouzja ._._T_M_
♖e8 13.♗d3 h5 14.♘e5!N Worse Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup 2020 (7) jJ_._._.
is 14.♖c1?! ♘c6 15.0‑0?! ( 15.♘e5!? 1.d4 ♘f6 2.♘f3 d5 3.c4 e6 ._J_.tSj
h4 16.f3 hxg3 17.♘xc6 bxc6 18.fxe4 4.♘c3 ♗b4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.♗g5 d._JbJj.
♗xe4 19.hxg3 ♕f6⩲), leading to 0‑0 7.e3 h6 8.♗h4 ♗f5 9.♕b3 ._.i._I_
an incorrect piece sacrifice:15...h4 ♗xc3+ 10.♕xc3 g5 11.♗g3 ♘e4
_._Qi._.
16.♗xc7?! (perhaps sacrificing the 12.♕a3 ♘c6 Also interesting is
Ii._Ki.i
other way was better: 16.♗e5!? f6 the immediate 12...h5!?N 13.♖c1
17.♕b3 fxe5 18.♕xb7 g4 and here ♘c6 14.♘e5?! (with ...♘c6 this
r._._._R
the black king is more exposed) move does not work; already 22.h4 ♘xe5? Firouzja misses his
16...♕xc7 17.♘xg5 ♕d7 18.♘xe4 necessary was 14.h3!? ♘xg3 15.fxg3 chance: 22...fxg4! 23.hxg5 ♖xe5!
♗xe4 19.♗xe4 ♖xe4 Shankland- f6∞ and both sides have several 24.dxe5 ♘xe5 25.♕c2 ♕a6+ 26.♔d1
Vidit, Biel blitz 2019. weaknesses) 14...♘xe5 15.♗xe5 hxg5!. 23.dxe5 ♖xe5 24.hxg5
f6! 16.♗g3 (16.♗xc7? ♖c8 17.♗xd8 hxg5 25.♖h5 ♕b4 26.♖xg5+
Ts.dT_M_ ♖xc1+ 18.♔e2 ♖xd8) 16...h4 ♔f7 27.b3?! 27.♕b3. 27...♕f4
jJj._J_. 17.f3⊡ (17.♗xc7 ♖c8) 17...hxg3 28.♕xf5? The losing mistake.
._._._._ 18.fxe4 ♗xe4 19.hxg3 c6 20.♗d3 White still holds after 28.♕c3
_._JnLjJ ♖e8 21.♔f2 ♕d7 22.♔g1 ♔g7⩲ ♕xg5 29.♕xe5 ♕xg4+ 30.f3 ♕g2+
._.iS_._ Urkedal-Bok, Online Olympiad 31.♔d3 with a highly probable
rapid 2020. perpetual check. 28...♕xg5
q._Bi.b.
29.♕xg5 ♖xg5 30.♖g1 ♖g8 31.f4
Ii._.iIi
r._.k._R T_.d.tM_ ♖e6 32.♔d3 ♖ge8 33.♖g3 ♖e4
jJj._J_. 34.♖h3 ♔g7 35.g5 d4 36.exd4
An important improvement, ._S_._.j ♖xf4 37.♔c3 ♖d8 38.♖e3 ♖d7
White will save his ♗g3 by f2-f3. _._J_Lj. 39.♖d3 ♖g4 40.♔c4 ♖xg5 41.♔c3
14...♕e7 This is the advantage ._.iS_._ ♖gd5 42.♖g3+ ♔f7 43.♖g4 ♔e7
of the move ...♖e8: now the 44.♖e4+ ♔d8 45.♖h4 ♔c7 46.a4
q._.iNb.
weakness of the black king is b6 47.♔c4 ♔b7 48.♔c3 a5
Ii._.iIi
not so dangerous. Also possible 49.♖e4 b5 50.axb5 cxb5 51.♔d3
is 14...h4 15.f3!? ♘d6! (but not
r._.kB_R ♖5d6 52.♔c3 ♔b6 53.♔d3 a4
15...hxg3 16.fxe4 ♗xe4 17.♗xe4 12...♘c6 is a quite aggressive 54.bxa4 bxa4 55.♔c4 a3 56.♔b3
dxe4 18.0‑0 and here the ♘e5 continuation. This move also ♖xd4 57.♖e1 ♖d3+ 58.♔a2 ♔b5
is very strong) 16.♗xf5 ♘xf5 supports the pawn attack with 59.♖b1+ ♔a4 60.♖c1 ♖d2+
17.♗f2 ♘d7∞. 15.♕xe7 ♖xe7 ...h5-h4, and in case of ♗d3 and 61.♔a1 ♔b3 62.♖b1+ ♖b2 63.♖c1
16.0‑0‑0 f6 16...h4 17.f3 ♘d6. ♘d2, White has to reckon with ♖a2+ 64.♔b1 ♖ad2 65.♔a1 ♖d1
17.f3 fxe5 18.fxe4 ♗xe4 19.♗xe4 ...♖e8 and ...♘xd4. 13.♗b5 In 66.♖b1+ ♖xb1+ 67.♔xb1 ♖d1#
dxe4 20.h4! An important move, case of 13.♖c1 or 13.♗d3 Black will 0-1
strengthening the ♗g3. 20.♗xe5?! play 13...h5. 13...♘e7 14.♘d2 c6
♘d7 21.♗g3 h4⩲. 20...exd4 15.♗d3 ♘xd2 16.♔xd2 ♗xd3 Samuel Shankland 3
21.♖xd4 ♘c6 22.♖d5 ♘b4 17.♕xd3 ♕a5+ A precise move. Levon Aronian
23.♖xg5+ ♖g7 24.♔d2?! 24.♗f4. In case of 17...♘g6 18.♔c2∞, after Opera Euro Rapid Prelim 2021 (7)
24...♖d8+ 25.♔e2 ♘d3 26.♗f4 his king hides on the queenside, 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘f3 d5
c6 27.g4 ♖xg5 28.hxg5 hxg4 White can start an attack against 4.♘c3 ♗b4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.♗g5
29.♖g1 ♔g7 30.♖xg4 ♔g6 Black Black’s king with full force. h6 7.♗h4 0‑0 8.e3 ♗f5 9.♕b3
could have obtained a slightly 18.♔e2 18.♔c2 c5! 19.h4 c4 ♗xc3+ 10.♕xc3 g5!? 11.♗g3 ♘e4
better endgame by capturing the 20.♕e2 ♕a4+! and White cannot 12.♕a3 If 12.♕xc7 ♘c6! (worse
open file: 30...♖h8!?⩲. 31.♖h4 hide from the checks except is 12...♕xc7 13.♗xc7 ♘c6 14.♗b5

192
 Survey NI 27.2

♖fc8 15.♗xc6 bxc6 16.♗a5 ♖ab8 f6 24.♗xf6 ♘xf6 25.♕xg5+ ♕g7

17.b4⩱ and White keeps an extra 26.♕xf6 ♕xf6 27.♖xf6 ♖xe3 T_._.tM_
pawn, Grischuk-Sethuraman, 28.♖af1⩱ with a pawn up and good jJ_.dJ_.
Astana tt 2019) 13.♕xd8 ♖fxd8 winning chances. 23...f6 24.♗xf6 ._._._.j
14.♗e2 ♖ac8 15.0‑0 h5! (the key to ♕xf6 25.♕xf6 ♘xf6 26.♖xf6 _.sJ_Lj.
Black’s defence) 16.h4 g4 17.♘e5 ♖xe3 27.♖g6+ ♔h7 28.♖xg5 .q._S_._
♘b4 18.♗f4 f6 19.♘d3 ♘c3 Ding ♖g8 29.♖xg8?! Still better was
_.[Link].
Liren-Aronian, Palma de Mallorca 29.♖e5 ♖d3 30.♖e7+ ♖g7 31.♖ae1⩱.
I_._BiIi
2017. 12...♘d7!?N A novelty from 29...♔xg8 30.♔f2 ♖d3 31.g4?
Aronian. Earlier, 12...♖e8, 12...h5 White could have kept an equal
r._._Rk.
(Bok), 12...♘c6 (Firouzja) were position with 31.♖e1 ♖xd4 32.♖e7 The black queen moves out of the
seen. ♖d2+ 33.♖e2 ♖d3. 31...♖xd4 pin on the d5-pawn in advance,
32.♔g3 ♖d3+ 33.♔h4 ♖d2 34.h3 preventing the ♗g3-e5-d4
T_.d.tM_ ♖xb2 35.♔g5 d4 36.♖d1 c5 manoeuvre at the same time. 16.c4
jJjS_J_. 37.h4 ♖xa2 Now the b-pawn will Either now or after ♖d1, c3-c4 is
._._._.j run. In addition, White’s g- and the planned move. The defensive
_._J_Lj. h-pawns are not the best runners method with the exchange
._.iS_._ as a rook can fight them from the of bishops is also possible:
side. 38.h5 b5 39.h6 b4 40.♖e1 16.♖ad1 ♖fd8 17.c4 dxc4 18.♗xc4
q._.iNb.
b3 41.♖e8+ 41.♔g6 ♖a6+. transposing to the game position
Ii._.iIi
41...♔f7 42.h7 ♖h2 43.h8♕ ♖xh8 after 18.♖ad1 16...dxc4 17.♗xc4
r._.kB_R 44.♖xh8 c4 45.♔f5 c3 46.g5 b2? ♖fd8 17...♗e6!?. 18.♖ad1 18.♘d4
13.♗d3 By transposition (...♖e8 Winning would have been 46... ♗g6 19.♖ad1 ♖ac8 20.♘b3 b6.
and ...♘d7), a similar position c2! 47.g6+ ♔g7! 48.♖c8 b2 49.♖c7+ 18...♖xd1 18...♗e6 19.♗xe6 ♕xe6
arose after 13.♘d2 (allowing ♔f8 50.♖c8+ ♔e7 51.g7 b1♕. Now, 20.♘d4 ♕f6 (20...♕xa2 21.f3 ♘xg3
the exchange of only one piece, in case of checks on the 8th rank, 22.hxg3 b6 23.g4∞ looks scary) 21.f3
but delaying his development) we could get the same position as ♘xg3 22.hxg3 b6 23.g4 ♖d7 24.♘f5
13...♖e8 (Black did not dare to play in the game but the black king can ♖ad8 25.♖xd7 ♖xd7 with equality,
13...♘xd2!?) 14.♘xe4 ♗xe4 15.f3 reach c3, which decides the game. but Black’s position is not easy to
♗g6 16.♗e2 c6 17.h4 ♕f6 18.♔f2 47.g6+ ♔e7 48.♖b8 c2 49.g7 play, e.g. 26.♕b1∞ Cheparinov-
♖e6 19.hxg5 hxg5 20.♖ae1 ♖ae8 b1♕ 50.g8♕ c1♕+ 51.♖xb1 Salomon, Batumi Ech tt 2019.
and the weakness of the black king ♕xb1+ 52.♔e5 d3 53.♕e6+ ♔d8 19.♖xd1 ♖d8 20.♖xd8+ ♕xd8
is compensated by the weakness of 54.♕d6+ ♔c8 55.♕c6+ ♔b8 21.♘d4
the e3-pawn, Tabatabaei-Blübaum, 56.♔d4! d2 56...♕b6+? 57.♕xb6+
Zürich 2019. 13...♖e8 14.♘d2 axb6 58.♔xd3. 57.♕d6+ ♔b7 ._.d._M_
♘df6 15.♘xe4 ♗xe4 16.0‑0 ♗xd3 58.♕e7+ ♔b6 59.♕d8+? 59.♕c5+ jJ_._J_.
17.♕xd3 ♘e4 18.♗e5 c6 It was would still have kept the balance. ._._._.j
possible to do without the move 59...♔a6 60.♕c8+ ♔a5 61.♕c5+ _.s._Lj.
...c7-c6 for now: 18...♕d7!? 19.f3 ♕b5 62.♕xa7+ ♔b4 63.♕e7+ .qBnS_._
♘d6∞ 19.f3 ♘c5? Spectacular, but ♔a4 64.♕a7+ ♔b3 65.♕f7+ ♔b2
_._.i.b.
useless. It was necessary to cover 0-1
I_._.iIi
the f5-square: 19...♘d6⇆. 20.♕f5!
_._._.k.
T_.dT_M_ 21...♗g6?N This position had
jJ_._J_. The pawn takes on c3 already been seen, but the short
._J_._.j 10.bxc3 time control plays tricks on Black;
_.sJbQj. 21...a5! 22.♕b2 (22.♕b1 ♘xg3
._.i._._ Alexander Grischuk 4 23.♘xf5 ♘xf5 24.♕xf5 ♕d1+
_._.iI_. Wesley So 25.♗f1 b6) 22...♘xg3 23.hxg3 ♗d7
PRO League Stage 2020 (5) 24.♕c2 ♕b6 25.♗d5 ♔f8 26.♕c4
Ii._._Ii
1.d4 ♘f6 2.♘f3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.♘c3 ♘e6 27.♗xe6 ♗xe6 28.♘xe6+
r._._Rk. ♗b4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.♗g5 h6 7.♗h4 fxe6 Aronian-Wojtaszek,
20...♕e7 21.f4! ♘e4 22.fxg5 hxg5 0‑0 8.e3 ♗f5 9.♗e2 ♘bd7 10.♕b3 Heraklion Ech tt 2017; 28...♕xe6
23.♖f3?! After 23.♕g4! with the ♗xc3+ 11.bxc3 c5 12.dxc5 g5 29.♕c5+ ♔g7 30.♕xa5⩱. 22.f3
idea ♖f5 and ♖af1 Black’s position 13.♗g3 ♘xc5 14.♕b4 ♘fe4 a5?! Both players did not notice
could become critical, e.g. 23... 15.0‑0 ♕e7 the threat, otherwise Black would

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Nimzo-Indian Defence – Ragozin Variation

have agreed to the loss of ‘just’ a 18.♖ac1 dxc4 19.♖xc4 h5 20.♗d6 15.0‑0 ♖e8 16.♖ad1N A novelty
pawn with 22...♘xg3 23.♕xc5 ♘h5 ♘xd6 (20...b6⩲) 21.♖xc5 ♘e4 by Giri. Previously, 16.♖fd1 had
24.♕xa7. 23.♕a3? 23.♕b1!. 22.♖xc8 ♖xc8 23.♕d4 (23.♕xb7 been played, which is probably
23...♘xg3 24.♕xc5 ♘h5 25.e4 b6 ♘c3) 23...♕xd4 24.♘xd4 ♗g6 more logical since the ♖a1 may be
26.♕d5 ♕e7 26...♕xd5 27.♗xd5 De Waele-Lammens, Belgium needed on c1 or b1 and the ♗e2
♔f8. 27.♕c6 ♕f6 28.♕xf6 ♘xf6 tt 2019/20. 17.♕a3?! Grischuk can hide on f1 from the threat
29.♔f2 Perhaps White could have plays moves that are usually made ...♘e4-c3 which is hanging over
exploited the offside position of in such positions, but this one White’s head.
the ♗g6 with 29.♘c6!? ♔f8 30.♘a7 does not work here; 17.♕d4!?.
♘d7 31.♘c8⩱. 29...♔f8 30.♔e3 17...♖e8?! Unfortunately, ._TdT_M_
♔e7 31.e5 ♘h5 If 31...♘d7 Firouzja misses a chance to jJ_._J_.
32.♘c6+⩱, pushing the king gain an advantage, which is ._._.s.j
back. 32.g3 ♘g7 33.♗d3 ♘e6! not uncommon for top-level _.sJ_Lj.
Eliminating into a drawn pawn tournaments over the past year, .q._._._
endgame. 34.♗xg6 fxg6 35.♘xe6 due to the short time controls;
_.[Link].
♔xe6 36.♔d4 a4 37.a3 h5 38.♔e4 17...♘a4! 18.c4 (18.♘d4 ♘axc3
I_._BiIi
h4 39.gxh4 gxh4 40.f4 h3 41.♔d4 19.♗f3 ♗g6 20.♗xe4 ♘xe4)
b5 42.♔c5 g5 43.fxg5 ♔xe5 18...♘ac3. 18.♖ac1 h5?! The
_._R_Rk.
44.♔xb5 ♔f5 45.♔xa4 ♔xg5 wrong move-order. 18...b6! 19.c4 16...a5 17.♕a3 ♕b6 18.c4
46.♔b4 ♔f4 47.a4 ♔f3 48.a5 ♔g2 ♕f6 20.♖xd5 (20.cxd5 h5!) dxc4?! White’s main problem is
49.a6 ♔xh2 50.a7 ♔g1 51.a8♕ 20...♗e6. 19.c4 ♕f6?! 19...b6 the c3-square: 18...♘ce4! 19.cxd5
h2 52.♕g8+ ♔h1 53.♕d5+ ♔g1 20.♕b2!. (19.♘d4 ♗g6 20.♖b1 ♕c5 21.♕xc5
54.♕g5+ ♔h1 55.♕f4 ♔g1 ♖xc5 22.♖xb7 dxc4) 19...♘c3⇆.
56.♕g4+ ♔h1 57.♕f3+ ♔g1 ._T_T_M_ 19.♖d6 ♖c6 20.♖xc6 Giri had a
58.♕f4 h1♕ 59.♕c1+ ♔h2 _J_._J_. nice tactical solution here: 20.♘e5!
60.♕xh1+ ♔xh1 ½-½ ._._.d._ ♘ce4 (20...♖xd6? 21.♘xc4)
j.sJ_LjJ 21.♖xc6 bxc6 22.♘xc4 ♕b4
Alexander Grischuk 5 ._I_S_._ 23.♕xa5 ♕xa5 24.♘xa5⩱. 20...bxc6
Alireza Firouzja q._.iNb. 21.♗xc4 ♘ce4 22.♘e5 Allowing
Chessbrahmin May 2020 (2.2) the exchange of bishops, with
I_._BiIi
1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘f3 d5 4.♘c3 a further simplification of the
♗b4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.♗g5 h6 7.♗h4
_.rR_.k. position. Maybe interesting was
0‑0 8.e3 ♗f5 9.♗e2 ♘bd7 10.♕b3 20.♖xd5?! Now virtually winning 22.♘d4!? ♗d7 23.♕d3∞. 22...♗e6
♗xc3+ 11.bxc3 c5 12.dxc5 g5 would have been 20.♗e5! ♖xe5 23.♖c1 ♗d5 24.♗xd5 cxd5
13.♗g3 ♘xc5 14.♕b4 ♘fe4 21.♘xe5 ♕xe5 22.♖xd5 ♕f6 23.f3. 25.♘c6! White needs to move the
15.0‑0 ♖c8 20...♗e6 21.♖dd1 ♗f5? 21...b6!. knight to d4 to control the weak
22.♖d5?! Again missing 22.♗e5!. f5-square. 25...♔h7 26.♕xa5?!
._Td.tM_ 22...♗e6 23.♖dd1 ♗f5? 23...b6!. Probably Anish missed 28...d4!,
jJ_._J_. 24.♖d5?! Threefold repetition, otherwise he would have preferred
._._._.j again missing 24.♗e5! ♖xe5 26.♘d4!?. 26...♕xa5 27.♘xa5 ♖a8
_.sJ_Lj. 25.♘xe5 ♕xe5 26.♖d5 ♕f6 27.f3. 28.♗c7 d4!
.q._S_._ ½-½
_.[Link]. T_._._._
I_._BiIi Anish Giri 6 _.b._J_M
r._._Rk. Parham Maghsoodloo ._._.s.j
PRO League KO Stage 2020 (3) n._._.j.
A more recent move than 15...♕e7, 1.♘f3 d5 2.d4 ♘f6 3.c4 e6 ._.jS_._
as it were inviting White to play 4.♘c3 ♗b4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.♗g5
_._.i._.
♖d1, but it White’s next move h6 7.♗h4 0‑0 8.e3 ♗f5 9.♕b3
I_._.iIi
that may be the reason for his ♗xc3+ 10.bxc3 ♘bd7 11.♗e2
difficulties: 16.♖fd1?! A typical It is dangerous to take on b7,
_.r._.k.
but imprecise move. Better was which will be answered by 11...c5 29.exd4 ♘d5 30.♘b3 ♖xa2
16.♗e5. 16...a5!N A novelty from with the threat of 12...♕a5. 11... 31.♗g3 f5 32.♘c5?? Necessary
Firouzja. Also not bad was the c5 12.dxc5! Logical – White has was 32.f3 ♘ec3 33.♖e1 ♘e2+ 34.♔h1
earlier try 16...♖e8 17.c4 (17.♖ac1 two bishops and needs space. 12... ♖b2↑, winning back the d4-pawn.
♕b6 18.♖xd5 ♗e6⇆) 17...♕f6 g5 13.♗g3 ♘xc5 14.♕b4 ♖c8 Black has the initiative, but due

194
 Survey NI 27.2

to the limited material White A) 10...♗a5 11.0-0 c6 12.♕xb7!? 12...♗xc3+ 13.bxc3 13.♕xc3
has good chances of holding the (12.♘e5 ♕b6 ½-½ (26) Giri- ♕xc3+ 14.bxc3 ♖fc8 15.♘d4 ♗g6
draw. 32...♘ec3 33.♖e1 f4 34.♘e6 Navara, Shamkir 2019) 12...♖b8 (15...♗h7 16.c4 ♖xc5 17.♘b3 ♖c7
fxg3 35.hxg3 ♔g6 36.♔f1 ♘b4 13.♗xf6 (13.♕xc6 g5 14.♘xg5 18.cxd5 ♘xd5 19.♗f3 ♘7f6 20.♗g3
37.♘c5 ♘c2 38.♖e6+ ♔f7 39.f3 hxg5 15.♗xg5 ♖b6 16.♕a4 ♗xc3 ♖cc8 and Black should be fine)
♘xd4 40.♖xh6 ♘d5 41.♘e4 ♘e3+ 17.bxc3∞) 13...♘xf6 (13...♖xb7?! 16.c6 bxc6 17.♗a6 ♖cb8 18.♘xc6
42.♔g1 g4 43.♖d6 ♖xg2+ 44.♔h1 14.♗xd8 ♗xc3 15.bxc3 ♖xd8 ♖b6 19.♘e7+ ♔h7 20.♗e2 ♗e4
♘xf3 45.♘g5+ ♔e7 46.♖e6+ ♔d7 16.♖fc1 ♖b2 17.♗f1) 14.♕a6 ♖xb2 21.f3 ♖e8 22.fxe4 ♖xe7 23.exd5 g5
47.♖h6 ♖g1# 0-1 15.♘a4! followed by 16.♘c5䩲; and the white pawns will fall like
B) 10...♕e7 was played by ripe fruit. 13...♘e4 14.♘d4 ♗h7
Grischuk (as Black!) against 15.♕b4 ♕xc5 16.♖c1 ♖fc8 17.0-0
A Grischuk specialty Benjamin Bok in the 2019 FIDE ♘e5 18.♗e7 ♕xb4 18...♕c7!?.
9.♗
9. ♗e2 ♘bd7 10.♕
10.♕b3 World Cup to advance to the next 19.cxb4 ♘c3 20.♗f3 ♖c4 21.b5?!
round. 21.♗d1 ♖ac8 22.♖a1. 21...♖ac8
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa 7 11.dxc5 ♕a5 11...a5 12.0-0 ♘xc5 22.♗b4 ♘xf3+ 23.gxf3 ♗d3
Levon Aronian 13.♕d1 ♗xc3 14.bxc3 ♘ce4 15.♖c1 24.♖fe1 ♘xb5! 25.♖xc4 ♗xc4
New In Chess Classic 2021 (11) ♖c8 16.♘d4 ♗d7 (16...♗h7) 17.c4 26.♘f5 ♖e8 27.a4 ♘c7 28.♖c1
1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘f3 d5 4.♘c3 dxc4 (17...g5 18.♗g3 ♕e7 19.cxd5 ♖e6?! 28...♔h7!. 29.h4?! 29.e4!.
♗b4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.♗g5 h6 7.♗h4 ♖xc1 20.♕xc1 ♘xd5䩲) 18.♗xc4 29...♘e8 30.a5 ♔h7 31.♔h2 ♖c6
0-0 8.e3 ♗f5 9.♗e2 ♘bd7 10.♕b3 g5 19.♗g3䩲 b5? 20.♗xb5! ♘c3? 32.♘d4 ♖c7 33.♖b1 ♗a6 34.♔g3
This move-order with 9.♗e2 first (Grischuk-Firouzja, Internet blitz ♘f6 35.♔f4 ♘d7 36.e4?! dxe4
is a Grischuk specialty! 2020) 21.♗xd7! ♘xd1 (21...♕xd7 36...♖c4 37.♘f5 dxe4 38.fxe4
22.♕d3 ♘xa2 23.♖xc8 ♕xc8 ♘f6. 37.fxe4 ♘c5 38.♔e3 ♘d3
T_.d.tM_ 24.♘f5) 22.♗xc8 ♘b2 23.♘c6 39.♗d6 ♖c3 39...♖c4 40.f3 ♖a4
jJjS_Jj. ♕d3 24.♘e7+ ♔g7 25.♗e5 ♘c4 41.♗b8 ♖xa5 42.♗xa7 40.♔d2?
._._.s.j 26.♗d4 ♖d8 27.♖fd1. 12.a3 40.♘b5! should have kept the
_._J_L_. 12.♗xf6 ♘xf6 13.♘d4 ♗d7 14.0-0 balance. 40...♖c4! 41.♔xd3 41.♔e3
.l.i._.b ♗xc3 15.bxc3 (15.♕xc3 ♕xc3 is met by 41...♘xf2, netting a
16.bxc3 ♖fc8 Grischuk-Aronian, second pawn. 41...♖b4+ 42.♔c2
_Qn.iN_.
Internet blitz 2020) 15...♕xc5 ♖xd4 43.e5 ♖xh4 44.♔d2 ♖a4
Ii._BiIi
16.c4 (16.♕xb7 ♖fb8 17.♕a6 45.♔e3 g5 46.♗b4 ♔g6 47.♔e4
r._.k._R ♘e4) 16...dxc4 17.♗xc4 (17.♕xc4 ♖a2 48.♗c5 ♖xa5 49.♗xa7
10...c5 One of the ways to deviate ♖fc8 18.♕xc5 ♖xc5 19.♗f3 ♖b8) ♗b5 50.♗d4 ♗c6+ 51.♔d3 ♔f5
from the standard 10...♗xc3+ 17...b5 18.♗e2 ♖fc8 Grischuk- 52.♗c3 ♖xe5 53.♗xe5 ♗e4+ 0-1
11. bxc3 – see the previous heading. Aronian, Internet blitz 2020.

Exercise 1 Exercise 2 Exercise 3

Ts.dT_M_ T_.d.tM_ ._Td.tM_

jJj._J_. jJj._J_. jJ_._J_.
._._._._ ._S_._.j ._._._.j
_._J_LjJ _._J_Lj. _.sJ_Lj.
._.iS_._ ._.iS_._ .q._S_._
q._BiNb. q._.iNb. _.[Link].
Ii._.iIi Ii._.iIi I_._BiIi
r._.k._R r._.kB_R r._R_.k.
position after 13...h6-h5 position after 12...♘b8-c6 position after 16.♖f1-d1
How can White save his ♗g3? What is the best move for Find the best move for Black.
White here?
(solutions on page 251)

195
Reviews

Forward Thinking
by Glenn Flear
In the old days, a mono­ Dmitry Kryakvin
graph was something you The Modern French Defence 1
read whilst moving pieces Chess Stars 2020
around a chessboard. Then
along came computers, the Dmitry Kryakvin’s two-
ubiquitous ChessBase and volume work lays out a
our addiction to analysis pragmatic repertoire, and
engines. For many, the is ideal for those who
age of videos and DVDs are looking to steer away
led inexorably to the once from the main lines. In
cherished chess set being fact I should really write
placed to one side to gather repertoires, as he offers two
dust. recommendations for Black
Now, into the third decade – one seeking equality, the
of the present century, other a complicated struggle
playing, studying, or just – against each of White’s
Englishman Glenn
watching are all readily major options. So forking
Flear lives in the done online with modern out twice (as there are two
south of France. For media offering greater volumes) doesn’t seem
every Yearbook he and greater choice. I can that expensive if one gets a
reviews a selection now examine the works in double portion!
of new chess opening my review section using The author himself describes
books. A grandmaster
Forward Chess on my his work as ‘An alternative
telephone, or interact and French Defence...’ as
and a prolific chess
get rapid stats feedback with many of his suggestions
author himself, Flear’s Chessable. What next? are essentially ‘reasonable
judgment is severe but Looking forward, I think sidelines’. He has thus
sincere, and always that the chess world is generally steered clear of
constructive. going to evolve even further what his confrères have
in directions that were already put into print, as
unimaginable only a short well as avoided getting
time ago. Still, it’s already bogged down with too much
an exciting time if you like theoretical baggage. The
to do your chess thing in reader looking to spruce up,
any way possible, and even beef up, or even completely
(occasionally!) with a board! shake up, his way of playing
A cautionary note is perhaps the French should certainly
worth adding here, as find a bunch of new weapons
whatever the future holds here.
for chess fans, there is no The author has found plenty
easy shortcut to learning the of room to explain the plans
openings properly. So please and get involved in the fine
read on (or should I write detail. A consequence of
‘click on’?)... being diligent, perhaps, but
also a result of examining
lines that don’t require
endless game segments to

234