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Sicilian Richter-Rauzer 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Bb5
After a long period that saw a decline in popularity, the Richter-Rauzer has come back into fashion in the last 3-4 years. The rare 7.Bb5!? has been a hot sideline lately, with White avoiding a huge amount of theory and driving the game into less explored territories. His main idea is to exchange his light-squared bishop for Black's knight, making it easier for him to strike with e4-e5 at a later point.
Before coming to Black's main option in the diagram position, I would like to have a look at the rare 7...Qb6
which does deserve some attention. In the correspondence game Hauser,S - Pheby,I 1/2 White now tried the rather weird 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Na4!? followed by 10.0-0, which led to a complicated middlegame with opposite castling. Alternatively, he can test 8.Qd3, which is the modern approach against 7...Bd7, or 8.Be3 Qc7 9.g4. In both cases there is only limited practical experience and proving White's advantage is not that easy.
After Black's main move 7...Bd7, White has two choices.
A) 8.Bxc6
The old main line which has not been abandoned but is for sure less popular than 8.Qd3. After 8...bxc6 White continues 9.Qf3, creating the threat of e5. In the game Morgunov,D - Shengelia,D 0-1 Black prevailed in a complicated battle, but White's play can be improved upon. Probably the best choice for Black is to play 9...e5 (with or without ...h6) 10.Nf5 Bxf5 11.Qxf5 Qd7, when the position is more or less balanced, but still quite interesting.
B) 8.Qd3
White develops his queen to d3 and prepares long castling whilst keeping his options open for his light-squared bishop. The normal reaction is 8...h6 9.Bh4, and here Black has tried a number of moves.
B1) 9...Qb6
In the game Ragger,M - Sanal,V 1-0 Black tried to solve his problems in the ending (queenless middlegame might be more accurate) by taking on d4 after 10.0-0-0. In my opinion White keeps better chances, with practically little risk, and grandmaster Ragger scored a flawless victory.
B2) 9...g5!?
This well-known concept is, in my opinion, one of Black's best choices. In the game Sychev,K - Soumya,S 1-0 play continued with 10.Bg3 Nh5. In the battle that followed Black had the better chances for most of the game but failed to win and even lost. I think that 10.Bxc6 is a better option for White, stopping Black from playing Ne5. More tests will be needed for a fair assessment of the variation with 9...g5.
B3) 9...Ne5
This move was tried by Anton Guijarro in his recent game in the Bundesliga Dragnev,V - Anton Guijarro,D 1-0. Black avoids Bxc6 and prepares the exchange of the light-squared bishops. Now 10.Qh3! is the strongest, stopping any ideas involving ...g5. The game was more or less balanced with chances for both sides. In my opinion, this is Black's best option against 8.Qd3.
B4) 9...Be7
This, followed by ...0-0, is Black's main choice. In my opinion White gets a comfortable advantage in the position after 10.0-0-0 0-0 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Nb3. In the game Lagarde,M - Nevednichy,V 1-0 Black countered the threat of e5 by 12...d5. After 13.e5 Nh7 (13...Ne8 is borderline better but still White keeps a solid plus) 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Qe3.
White has a solid grip on the dark squares. As long as Black does not get to play ...c5, White should be better.
In the final game of this survey, Grobler,D - Schlenther,M 1/2, Black avoided the inclusion of ...h6/Bh4 and played 8...Be7 immediately, which was followed by 9.0-0-0 0-0 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Nb3 a5.
Here White sacrificed an exchange: 12.Bxf6 (12.e5!? Nd5 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.exd6 Qxd6 14.Qc4 also looks pleasant for White) gxf6 13.Qg3+ Kh8 14.Rxd6!?.
White gets excellent compensation, and his position is preferable.
Summary: 7.Bb5 is an interesting sideline which I suspect will gain even more popularity. In the old main variation with 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Qf3 White is fighting for a small advantage. In the modern line with 8.Qd3 he poses more problems and Black must be well prepared to face this. In most of the lines I feel that White is in the driver's seat and I haven't found a clear path to equality for Black. Black can get good fighting chances with 9...Ne5 (Dragnev,V - Anton Guijarro,D 1-0) or 9...g5 (Sychev,K - Soumya,S 1-0) but White still seems slightly preferable.
Download full articles with all games and analyses (for ChessBase 14/15/16).
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Download full articles with all games and analyses (for ChessBase 14/15/16).
Click on the image to load the PDF file
Download full articles with all games and analyses (for ChessBase 14/15/16).
Click on the image to load the PDF file
Download full articles with all games and analyses (for ChessBase 14/15/16).
Click on the image to load the PDF file
Download full articles with all games and analyses (for ChessBase 14/15/16).
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