The Fashionable Caro-Kann Vol.1 and 2
The Caro Kann is a very tricky opening. Black’s play is based on controlling and fighting for key light squares. It is a line which was very fashionable in late 90s and early 2000s due to the successes of greats like Karpov, Anand, Dreev etc. Recently due to strong engines lot of key developments have been made and some new lines have been introduced, while others have been refuted altogether. I have analyzed the new trends carefully and found some new ideas for Black.
Both of the first two days of the 9th Hainan Danzhou Super Grandmaster tournament had witnessed rounds end with three draws and a decisive result. In the third round, however, this was turned upside down – three games finished decisively while only one finished in a draw. In fact, had Jan-Krzysztof Duda not messed up in a completely winning position against Vladimir Fedoseev, all four games would have finished with a clear winner.
The beneficiary of Duda's faltering wasn't only Fedoseev, who saved half a point, but also Duda's co-leader from round two, Bu Xiangzhi, who managed to take the sole lead in the tournament after winning his game against Le Quang Liem.
It seemed that, in round three, Duda had come to the board with only one intention — to annihilate the enemy king. In a Semi Slav, the Polish number one went straight for the kill. With the white pieces, he not only came up with an opening novelty but also thrust his kingside pawns forward on the first available opportunity.
Which wing should I be playing on? When do I need to watch for counterplay? Flank attacks are an important theme in every game. FM Lilov will teach you how to employ a range of techniques to perfection!
Kings castled on opposite wings and the ensuing middlegame was a bloody one. Fedoseev had his queen on the wrong side of the board and this made Duda's attack look a lot more dangerous. It didn't take long before Duda's forces unleashed themselves on the black monarch and a series of sacrifices followed.
Here, Duda continued his attack with the brilliant 29.Ng6+! and after 29...fxg6 30.Rg7+ Nf7, he gave up another exchange with 31.Rxf7+! Continuing energetically after being down a whole rook, he had almost caught Fedoseev’s king in a mating net. Had it not been for a timely queen sacrifice by the Russian grandmaster, his king would have been doomed to death.
Here, white just threatens too many things. Fedoseev decided to bail out with 39...Qxh5 but this, too, did not look very promising as after 40.Qxh5, white's h-pawn begins to look quite dangerous. But despite all of his advantages, Duda was unable to break through his opponent’s ironclad defence in this endgame. After trying for more than five hours, the Polish GM decided to sign the truce.
The Semi-Slav: A GM guide for the tournament player
The Semi-Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6) can arise via various move orders, has decided World Championships, and is one of Black's most fascinating replies to 1 d4. Magnus Carlsen's second, Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen explains in detail what this opening is all about.
Fedoseev pulled out a miraculous draw against Duda in the third round | Photo: Official website
Meanwhile, Duda's co-leader, Bu Xiangzhi found himself in a much better position against GM Le Quang Liem after the Vietnamese GM messed up badly in the opening. On the seventh move in a Symmetrical English, Le Quang Liem came up with the novelty, 7...Nh5 and shed a pawn soon afterwards. This was followed by a queen exchange and after a few minor skirmishes, Bu succeeded in converting the game without much discomfort.
Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.
Le Quang Liem clearly had an off day in round three | Photo: Official website
Having lost and drawn in the first two rounds, the Indian number three registered an emphatic win over GM Samuel Shankland in round three, breaking the American grandmaster’s streak of 62 unbeaten games.
Shankland took to Facebook to voice his sorrow
A couple of rounds ago, Vidit’s own long unbeaten streak of 40 games was broken with a loss against the Polish GM Jan Krzysztof Duda. With this win, Vidit has climbed up to the joint third place on the leaderboard.
In the game, Vidit acquired an early advantage with the white pieces in a Slav Defence and was dominating out of the opening.
All trumps are in Vidit's hands in this position. It is he who has the space advantage, the two bishops and control over the a-file, which is, practically, the only open file on the board. Here, Shankland played 29...Kf8, allowing Vidit to take over the initiative with the bishop manoeuvre Bc7-d6. Shankland fought tooth and nail to hold his position together over the next few moves but the cramped position he was in only got worse with each passing move. On his 46th turn he made his final error.
Vidit had opened another front of attack here with 46.g4. Shankland's response 46...Qa8 allowed Vidit to win two pawns and even liquidate into a queen endgame after 47.Bxe7 Nxe7 48.Qxe7 Qxa6 49.Qxe6+ followed by 50.Qxf5. The game went on for a few more moves but the outcome of the game was never in doubt.
The Fashionable Caro-Kann Vol.1 and 2
The Caro Kann is a very tricky opening. Black’s play is based on controlling and fighting for key light squares. It is a line which was very fashionable in late 90s and early 2000s due to the successes of greats like Karpov, Anand, Dreev etc. Recently due to strong engines lot of key developments have been made and some new lines have been introduced, while others have been refuted altogether. I have analyzed the new trends carefully and found some new ideas for Black.
Third time is a charm, they say. And so it was for Vidit Gujrathi who won after a loss and a draw in the first two rounds | Photo: Official website
The all-Chinese battle between Wei Yi and Yu Yangyi resolved in a surprise win for the latter. Yu Yangyi had essayed the Petroff Defence with the black pieces, an opening he had side-stepped in the previous round against Bu Xiangzhi. The position had remained equal all through the game. Wei had an extra pawn in the game but his crooked pawn structure rendered the position equal.
Until this point, it was all hunky-dory for Wei Yi. The computer suggests giving up the pawn here with 36.Rd1. But Wei Yi played 36.Bxf5 and after 36...Kxf5, lost two pawns back to back. And it wasn't long before he decided to throw in the towel.
A World champion's guide to the Petroff
The great popularity of the Petroff Defence at the highest level has attracted general attention as strong players employ this opening with great success and with both colours. Unfortunately, the opinion of the Petroff as a sterile drawish opening seems to be firmly implanted in many minds. The author tries to dispel these myths and examines the most popular lines and provides a large number of ideas that will enable you to play Petroff successfully, with either colour.
Wei Yi went down surprisingly fast in an equal looking endgame against Yu Yangyi | Photo: Official website
