Norway Chess and Shjarjah Masters 2023: Highlights with analyses by Giri, Erigaisi, Cheparinov, Oparin, Nguyen and others, videos by Rogozenco, "Special" on Hikaru Nakamura, opening videos by Sokolov, King and Ris, 11 repertoire articles and much more.
In my article, I would like to present a nice and practical variation against the 2...d6 Sicilian. We are talking about 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 and now 4.e5!?
This variation in the Sicilian was employed for the first time in 1930 by Vistinietzki. Following, it was taken up by greats like Tartakower, Keres and Larsen (to name but a few). Nowadays, top GMs like J. van Foreest, Artemiev, Nakamura and Mamedov have used it several times. Even ex-world champion Vishy Anand has played it with success. With 58% White's score is also very presentable!
With the early e5-break, White's main idea is to split Black's structure and activate their own forces quickly. Often, following up with the d4 advance opens the position and gives White dynamic piece play. Black quickly gets to feel pressure in the centre, especially when facing White's threat Bb5+. Black must be careful not to run into White's dynamics. In many lines, we can see that the advance of the a-pawn is a main idea for White to create weaknesses in the enemy camp, especially when Black plays ...a6, allowing the move a5, which fixes his structure and leads to nice endings for White. All in all, 4.e5!? leads to promising positions which are easy to play for White in practice!
In the diagram, refraining from capturing on e5 is not advisable for Black. After moves like 4...Nfd7 or 4...Ng4 the advance of White's e-pawn is already justified. They take on d6 followed by the central advance d4, opening the position and giving their pieces active play. If after 5.exd6 exd6 6.d4 Black takes on d4, their d6-pawn will be an isolated weakness. All this is shown in the game Ljangov,P - Georgiev,T 1-0.
4...dxe5 5.Nxe5 leads to the starting position of this article:
I will examine Black's continuations A) 5...Qc7, B) 5...e6, C) 5...Nbd7, D) 5...a6 as well as E) 5...g6 and others (5...Nfd7/5...Qd6/5...Bd7).
A) 5...Qc7
The problem with this queen move is that it allows 6.d4!. White gets a huge advantage in development, helping to create a strong attack, with useful and powerful follow-up moves like Bf4 and 0-0-0. Another problem for Black is Nb5, making use of the weak d6-square. White has so many active moves, creating massive problems in Black's camp - see the game Paehtz,E - Wagner,D 1-0.
B) 5...e6
After this, White will fianchetto his Bf1 and try to weaken Black's queenside by running his a-pawn up the board. To keep the pressure, he should not exchange too much material. In Sredojevic,I - Jakhari,A 1-0 White kept the Ne5 on the board and managed to fix Black's structure by a4-a5 which gave him the much easier play, particularly regarding the endgame.
C) 5...Nbd7
In this variation White will not retreat the Ne5, but support it with 6.d4!. If Black exchanges on e5, White gets a very comfortable endgame with a better pawn structure. Otherwise, White's bishops will develop to f4 and c4 increasing the pressure, with very active play. All this is shown in the game Mamedov,R - Li,C 1-0.
D) 5...a6
Ruling out White's Bb5+ or Nb5. White continues 6.a4 to gain space on the queenside and possibly fix Black's pawns there with a5. After 6...Qc7, Black's queen doesn't control d4 anymore, making 7.d4 another idea. The game Braun,C - Lubbe,M 1-0 saw 6...Nbd7 when White again has the option to play 7.d4 gaining space to activate his pieces and taking advantage of Black's slow development.
E) 5...g6 and others (5...Nfd7/5...Qd6/5...Bd7)
Here we will discuss four different moves. After 5...g6 White can play 5.Bc4 which forces Black to lock in Bc8 with 5...e6, followed by 6.Bb5+. 5...Nfd7 will lead to a big advantage in development for White. After 5...Qd6 White has easy development, and will probably also get the better structure on the queenside. A good try for Black is 5...Bd7
preparing ...Nc6. Still, White gets the pair of bishops, giving them the easier position. All the options mentioned above are thoroughly examined in the annotations on the game Mamedov,R - Bologan,V . 1-0.
Conclusion: I really like the idea of 4.e5!? because we get into positions which are unknown for Black. White's practical chances are also very good, underlined by their score of 58%! The main idea of this variation is to split Black's structure and to activate the Nf3. After 5...Nbd7 and 5...Qc7 White's d4 advance can be particularly powerful, as we can see in the games Braun,C - Lubbe,M 1-0 and Paehtz,E - Wagner,D 1-0. There are also positional variations in which White targets Black's weak enemy queenside pawns, trying to fix them with a4-a5 and make their structure vulnerable - especially in the endgames. For Black, I like the sideline 5...Bd7 best, with the idea of ...Nc6, allowing them to develop fast with chances to equalise.
We can conclude that this weapon against the 2...d6-Sicilian will take Black into unknown waters and pose them practical problems from the beginning. White's setups are quite easy, they get dynamic and powerful play, whereas Black must be very much on their guard. I wish you a lot of fun with this interesting variation - let's crush the 2...d6-Sicilian!
You can find the complete article with all games and analyses by Christian Braun in the new ChessBase Magazine #215!
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From Hikaru Nakamura's last-minute win in Stavanger to new repertoire ideas for the Caro-Kann, Sicilian or Nimzo-Indian to Part 5 of Karsten Mueller’s video series "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge":
Over 7 hours of video playing time with Ivan Sokolov, Daniel King, Jan Markos, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh and many more! World-class chess explained in video: Dorian Rogozenco shows two wins of Hikaru Nakamura from Norway Chess 2023, including the decisive last-round game against Fabiano Caruana – Sharjah Masters 2023: Analyses by tournament winner Arjun Erigaisi as well as Ivan Cheparinov, Grigoriy Oparin, Thai Dai Van Ngyuen and Samvel Ter-Sahakyan – “Special” on Hikaru Nakamura: exclusive collection of 19 encounters with detailed commentary from 2007 to 2023 – Action in the centre: Christian Braun's Anti-Sicilian recipe 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5!? - "Nakamura's strategy in practice": Mihail Marin sheds light on the US American's skills, incl. two interactive videos and a large collection of exercises – Rossolimo á la Carlsen: Daniel King recommends the cutting-edge 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e5!? for Black. - "Basic Knowledge" Part #5: Karsten Mueller reveals tips and tricks in the endgame with two pawns against one. incl. two interactive training videos and much more!
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Norway Chess 2023: With a win in the final round against Fabiano Caruana, who was leading until then, Hikaru Nakamura won the tournament n Stavanger. Analyses by Anish Giri, Michal Krasenkow and Igor Stohl. Dorian Rogozenco shows two of Nakaumura’s wins in video.
Sharjah Masters 2023: Arjun Erigaisi took undivided first place with 6.5 out of 9, followed by seven players with 6 out of 9. The tournament winner comments on two of his best games. Plus analyses from Grigoriy Oparin, Ivan Cheparinov, Thai Dai Van Nguyen and Samvel Ter-Sahakyan.
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Alvar Alonso Rosell presents an active concept for Black against the Catalan, with which one can put one's stamp on the game early on - and that by a transition to the Dutch!
Ivan Sokolov examines the highly topical variation 11.h4!? in the Semi-Tarrasch, especially Giri's novelty 13.Rh3 against Praggnanandhaa from the Chessable Masters. Robert Ris uses three new games by Richard Rapport to examine what White can hope for in the Vienna Game with 5.Qf3. And Daniel King gives a recommendation for the sideline 3...e5 against the Sicilian Rossolimo Variation - which has already been tested at the highest level!
Ivan Sokolov: Semi-Tarrasch
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 0–0 11.h4!?
Robert Ris: Vienna Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Qf3
Daniel King: Rossolimo Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e5
From the Alekhine Defence to the Huebner Variation in the Nimzo-Indian - ChessBase Magazine #215 offers 11 opening articles with new ideas for your repertoire!
Grigorians: Alekhine Defence 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4
Postny: Caro-Kann Fantasy Variation 3.f3 Qb6
Braun: Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5
Quintiliano: Najdorf Poisoned Pawn Variation II
Papp: French Winawer 5.Bd2 (Part II)
Ris: Two Knights Defence 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 d5!?
Szabo: Vienna Game 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4
Hera: Petroff 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.c4
Kuzmin: Slav Defence 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4
Schandorff: Tarrasch Defence with 5.e3 and 7.g3
Edouard: Nimzo Indian 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nf3
"With engine help in Kasparov's footsteps" – Rainer Knaak presents eight traps from tournament practice - from the Caro-Kann to the King's Indian. You can see three of them demonstrated in the video!
The 2023 World Women's Championship between defending champion Ju Wenjun and her challenger Lei Tingjie was decided in the last round. Play through the final game together with Robert Ris!
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In a game of chess, very different emotions can influence decision-making to one's disadvantage. How can this be prevented? Jan Markos gives you a concrete guide and reveals which practical trick has often helped him himself!
Strategy expert Mihail Marin sheds light on the skills of the US American, who is known and feared above all as a very concrete player. Incl. two interactive videos and a large collection of exercises!
37 games peppered with many training questions await you in Oliver Reeh's tactics contribution! Solve his four favourite combinations move by move together with the IM from Hamburg in the interactive video format with feedback function!
In the introductory video, our expert presents the most important techniques. Then it's your turn in two interactive training videos! In addition, Dr Karsten Mueller provides a contribution with endgame highlights by Hikaru Nakamura (video introduction + analyses).
Order now in the ChessBase Shop – Single issue € 21.90!
Try out ChessBase Magazine now! Order the ChessBase Magazine taster package!
Read ChessBase Magazine for 6 months (= 3 issues) for the special price of only € 44.90 € (instead of € 65,70 for buying them individually). As a thank you, you will also receive 3 months ChessBase Premium Membership free of charge.
*Bonus for new subscribers only, i.e. there was no CBM subscription for 12 months!
Save twice with ChessBase Magazine: For the annual subscription to ChessBase Magazine you’ll pay only € 109.90 per year (compared to € 131.40 for the 6 individual issues).
* Bonus only for new subscribers, i.e. there was no CBM subscription for 12 months! As a new subscriber you will receive the original ChessBase USB stick with 128 GB
