11/6/2015 – Ever been to a tournament all by yourself? Players often feel handicapped
when there is no coach to guide them at times of
crisis. However, help is at hand! IM Nisha Mohota explains how Robert
Ris's 60 Minutes lesson, Attacking the Semi-Slav with g3, bailed
her out in a difficult situation. Casually watching it before an important
game left ideas in her mind and helped her find killer moves.
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Attacking the Semi-Slav with g3
Review
Having a coach during a tournament is a luxury which cannot be enjoyed by most chess players. It is very useful to get last-minute tips from our trainers who can sometimes show us some unusual lines which can take our opponents out of their comfort zones. I have often found myself uncomfortable during a tournament with my opponent’s repertoire. In the absence of a coach to help me in such situations, I use ready-to-follow DVDs to come out of my confused state of mind. The short duration of these one hour videos help me prepare a new variation overnight. I have a very positive result whenever I consult such easy-to-use material.
Last year, I was playing a strong international open in my own city, Kolkata. The tournament was a nightmare which I would really like to forget. In the first eight rounds, I did not win a single game! In the ninth round, I was paired against a young boy whom I had drawn a couple of months back. I had no good weapon against his Semi-Slav at that time. That morning I remembered that I had a ChessBase 60 Minutes: Attacking the Semi-Slav with g3 by Robert Ris, which I had yet to watch! Although I did not even pay full attention to the one-hour video during my preparation due to a bad mood, its audio-visual effect did leave behind ideas in my mind and helped me win a nice game! Thanks to Ris, this game was a silver lining in an otherwise difficult tournament!
I was white against KS Raghunandan and it was the right time for me to give the final blow. When I spotted this sweet little move, it did bring a satisfaction within! Can you spot it?
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Move
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Elo
Players
1.e4
1,184,215
54%
2421
---
1.d4
958,932
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
286,327
56%
2441
---
1.c4
184,722
56%
2443
---
1.g3
19,884
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,598
54%
2428
---
1.f4
5,953
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,906
50%
2384
---
1.b4
1,790
48%
2378
---
1.a3
1,250
54%
2406
---
1.e3
1,081
49%
2409
---
1.d3
969
50%
2378
---
1.g4
670
46%
2361
---
1.h4
466
54%
2382
---
1.c3
439
51%
2425
---
1.h3
289
56%
2420
---
1.a4
118
60%
2461
---
1.f3
100
47%
2427
---
1.Nh3
92
67%
2511
---
1.Na3
47
62%
2476
---
Please, wait...
1.d4d52.c4c63.Nf3Nf64.Nc3e65.g3My new weapon! Thanks to Robert Ris!Nbd76.Bg2dxc47.e47.0-0This was there on the DVD but I confused the move order.7...b58.e5Nd59.Ng5I remembered some ideas but I did not know any exact position, so I was thinking and playing.Be710.Qh5g611.Qh6I had seen this idea in the morning but somehow remembered that 0-0 and Bb7 were already somewhere inserted, when and how I was not sure...Bf812.Qh3Be713.Qh6Bf814.Qh3Be715.Nce4Bb716.0-0Now I transposed to the position in the DVD!Qb617.Nd6+Bxd618.exd6Qxd4This was the first deviation from Robert's analysis, but White is already winning! This itself speaks highly of the analysis provided by Ris.19.Nxe6fxe620.Qxe6+Kd8 Here I had to think which move first: Bg5 or Bh3.21.Bg5+Finally, I decided to make this developing move.Kc822.Bh3This is also good for White but not completely winning.22.Rfe1I didn't find a win here but Houdini shows that this was completely winning.Ba622...N5f623.Rad1!Qg723...Qb624.Bh3Qb725.Qe8+Rxe826.Rxe8#24.Bxd5cxd525.Qxd5 The black king is too weak.Bb726.Qxb5+-22...Kb8!I think this was a nice move.22...Qg723.Rfe1Ba624.Be7N5b625.Bf6+-22...N5b623.Bf6+-23.Qxd7Bc824.Qxc6Bxh325.Rfd1Qe426.Qxd5Qxd527.Rxd5± The last few moves were forced.Kc8?I really enjoyed the end.27...Bd7±I would have had to work very hard to win this.28.Rc5+Kd7?28...Kb729.Rc7+Ka6+-29.Rc7+Kxd630.Bf4+Ke631.Re1+Kd532.Rd1+Ke633.Rd6+Kf5
Making the next move really did make me happy!34.f3!What a nice position to get in one's own game, (especially when a win is evading a person throughout a tourney)! Now White threatens double mate with Rc5 and Rf7!Rac835.Rf7#It always feels so nice to checkmate the opponent! 1–0
To date, I have a score of 3.0/3 using Robert’s DVD on the Semi-Slav! All I had to do was to invest an hour watching what the author had to say. This also explains my faith in him and his recommended lines. I feel these one-hour videos are very useful in general and we should keep such handy DVDs with us. We never know when they might be useful! The 60 Minute video lessons are my friends in need, and therefore they are my friends, indeed!
Robert Ris, in an attacking mode! This picture taken by Alina L'Ami in the 2014 Cafe Batavia International tournament shows Robert "congratulating" his friend Jorden van Foreest for his first IM norm. In only one and a half year, Jorden is already a full-fledged GM!
Robert Ris: Attacking the Semi-Slav with g3
The Semi-Slav with 5.g3 offers White a simple but dangerous weapon to fight one of Black's most popular options against 1.d4. Rather than emphasizing the loads of theory, the 60 min DVD thoroughly explains typical plans for White to develop his pieces effectively while keeping an eye on tactical traps. The first part features a comprehensive overview on setups where Black declines the challenge by not taking on c4. The second part shows how to successfully deal with the sharp variations after ...dxc4. All in all, it should be understood that by approaching the Semi-Slav in Catalan style, White has all the chances to play for the initiative from the very beginning. Let your bishop on g2 do the job!
Nisha MohotaNisha Mohota became India’s youngest WIM in 1995 and India’s fourth WGM in 2003. Since February 2011 she has been a full IM – her highest ever Elo rating was 2416. She has represented India in 25 countries, playing for India in the 2004, 2008 and 2010 Olympiads. Her first love, chess, helps her continue her other passion: writing, photography and travelling.
As we can in the picture clearly see, he knows how to attack this opening.
Finally a expert who is tough enough to attack this opening.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, KO!
Frits Fritschy 11/7/2015 12:17
Nisha,
You are right, I mixed things up!
Still, without Bb7 and 0-0 inserted, 9... h6 is interesting and so thinks my ol' Fritz10, who is suffering from serious mood swings (between +1 an -1) over the positions both after Nxe6 and Nge4. Always interesting to let your engine run for more than a minute over positions like this, play the moves suggested, and then let it run again!
Nisha Mohota 11/6/2015 09:36
Hi Karbuncle and Frits Fritschy! I will not get into details of 9.Ng5 h6 here. But as I mentioned in my game comments, I messed up the move order in the opening but transposed to Ris's video position after a couple of moves. Robert gives 7.o-o, as mentioned by me in my game.
Frits Fritschy 11/6/2015 05:22
Karbuncle,
There is hardly a certain draw with 10 Nxe6, as black seems to be doing pretty well according to the databases. Maybe Ris has found something for white there, but for some reason I think he will not reveal this here.
But why do you think black has the advantage after 10 Nge4 b4? There is only one game with 10... Qb6. Engines say it's about equal after 10... b4, but I wouldn't trust that in a position like this - practice needed.
BeFreeBusy 11/6/2015 05:16
Puzzle was bit too easy, since I spotted f3 immediately thinking "it ain´t this one for sure, so what else..." :D
Karbuncle 11/6/2015 10:49
After 9.Ng5 h6, what's white going to do? Take the draw with the sac on e6, or give black the advantage with 10. Nge4 b4?
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