A middlegame lesson by Ivan Sokolov: The king on f8

by ChessBase
8/14/2022 – An experienced trainer, Ivan Sokolov just helped Uzbekistan to win the Chess Olympiad in Chennai. In his FritzTrainer series for ChessBase, he showcases a pragmatic style, focusing on general ideas rather than on specific lines. In a section focused on positions where Black has not castled but placed his king on f8, Sokolov analyses a game between Fabiano Caruana and Daniel Naroditsky. Out of a French Defence, Caruana never lets go of the initiative, and achieves a remarkable victory. | Photo: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club
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A strong initiative

An experienced trainer, Ivan Sokolov has worked with the Iranian team for a number of years, helping the likes of Alireza Firouzja and Parham Maghsoodloo to develop their talent. More recently, he was hired as captain of the youthful Uzbek team which impressed by taking home gold medals from the record-breaking Chess Olympiad in Chennai.

In his FritzTrainer series for ChessBase, Sokolov showcases a pragmatic style, focusing on general ideas rather than on specific lines. Doubtlessly, the lessons presented are immensely instructive for club players and experienced masters alike.

In volume 2 of his 4-part series on middlegames, the Dutchman explores four key themes from practical play — what to trade and what to keep, open files, creating crises and cases in which the king defends itself on f8.

In the section devoted to the king on f8, Sokolov looks at a game between Fabiano Caruana and Daniel Naroditsky from the 2017 US Chess Championship. Nariditsky plays the French Defence with black and places his king on f8 as early as on move 8. Caruana focuses on making the most of the initiative and ends up getting a remarkable, instructive victory.

Photo: Spectrum Studios / Saint Louis Chess Club

 
Caruana1–0Naroditsky
ch-USA 2017
Saint Louis USA06.04.2017
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qa5!? With this relatively rare line, Black aims to initiate immediate queenside play (grabbing space on that flank) while his king attempt to defend the kingside on his own. 6...Ne7 is the main move here. 7.Bd2 Qa4 8.Qg4 Kf8
Black entrusts his king the task to defend itself. 8...g6 is played less often, since the weakened dark squares are difficult for Black to deal with. One nice example is a game played by former world champion Anand, as White, versus one of the biggest supporters of this line, the Bosnian GM Nikolic. 1-0 (35) Anand, V (2765) - Nikolic, P (2630), Groningen 1997. 9.Nf3 A pawn sacrifice 9.h4! Caruana opted for this move a year later against Lenderman. 9...b6 9...Ne7 9...Qxc2 is, in fact, not very dramatic, and can be played by Black. White does have good play, though. 10.dxc5 Shirov, a brilliant attacker, immediately opened up the position in a previous encounter. 10.Rc1 Qg6 11.Qxg6 11.Qh4 Ne7 12.c4 Qe4+ 11...hxg6 12.c4 Advantage in development is, by definition, of temporary nature. You need to act quickly! Ne7 13.cxd5 Nxd5 13...exd5 14.Rxc5 14.Rxc5 Bd7 10...Nc6 11.Be2 Nh6 12.Qh3 Qf5 13.Qh4 preventing an immediate queen exchange seems better than what was seen in the Sirov - Sjodahl game. 13.Qxf5 Nxf5 14.0-0 f6 15.exf6 gxf6 16.c4 d4 17.Bd3 Nfe7 18.Ne1 Kf7 19.f4 Bd7 20.Rb1 Rab8 21.Be4 h5 22.Nd3 Nd8! 23.Ba5 Bc6= 1/2-1/2 (54) Shirov, A (2630) - Sjodahl,P (2413) Sweden 2018. 13...Qe4 14.Qxe4 dxe4 15.Ng5
15...Nxe5 16.Nxe4 White has the bishop pair and better development. 10.c4!
Caruana reacts very well, as he tries to make the most of his advantage in development. 10...Ne7 11.Bd3 dxc4 Underestimating White's plan. Black is behind in development, and opening up the position looks like a risky decision. 11...Nbc6 gives White an andvantage after 12.0-0 Ba6 13.dxc5
13...Bxc4 13...bxc5? is wrong due to 14.Bb4! dxc4 14...cxb4 15.axb4 15.Bxc5+- 14.cxb6 axb6 15.Rab1 b5 16.Bb4 11...Ba6 12.dxc5 Bxc4 13.0-0 Nbc6 Development is necessary for Black here 13...bxc5? neglects development and ends bad for Black after 14.Ng5! h6 15.Qh5 g6
16.Nxe6+! fxe6 17.Bxg6+- Nxg6 17...Kg7 18.Qh4!+- Nxg6 18...Ng8 19.Qg3+- 19.Bd3= 19.Bh5 19.Qf6+ Kh7 20.Qf7# 18.Qxg6 and White wins Bxf1 19.Qf6+ Kg8 20.Qxe6+ Kf8 21.Qf6+ Kg8 22.Qg6+ Kf8 23.Bxh6+ 14.cxb6 14.Ng5 h6 15.Qh5 g6 16.Nxe6+? fxe6 17.Bxg6 Kg7 14...axb6 15.Rab1 and we have transposed to the 11... Nbc6 line b5 16.Bb4 12.dxc5 Using the pin along the fourth rank! 12.Be4 Nbc6 13.0-0 Nd5 14.dxc5 c3! 15.Be3 f5! 16.Bxf5 Qxg4 17.Bxg4 Nxe3 18.fxe3 Ke7 12...bxc5 12...Nd7 trying to complete the development may look more logical for Black, however White keeps an initiative after 13.Be4 The following sequence now looks more or less forced: 13.cxb6 axb6 14.Qxc4 leads to a slightly more pleasant ending for White after Qxc4 15.Bxc4 Bb7 16.Be2 Bxf3 17.Bxf3 Rc8 18.0-0-0 Nxe5 19.Be2 13...c3
14.Bxc3 Bb7 14...Nxc5 15.Bb4 15.Ng5 Bxe4 16.Nxe4 Ng6 16...Nxc5 17.Bb4 17.0-0 Ndxe5 18.Bxe5 Nxe5 19.Qf4 Due to the black king's weakness, White keeps the initiative. 13.Ng5!
This wins an exchange. 13.Be4 Nbc6 14.0-0 was another option for White. 13...h6 13...Nf5? loses to 14.Qf3! The light-squared diagonal is weakened for Black. 14.Bxf5 exf5 15.Qf3 Qc6 14...Nc6 15.Bxf5 exf5 16.Qd5 Be6 17.Qd6+ Ne7 18.Nxe6+ fxe6 19.Bg5 Qe8 19...Re8 20.Rb1+- 20.Qxe6 Ng6 21.Qxf5+ Qf7 22.Qh3+- White has a much better pawn structure. 14.Nh7+ Rxh7 15.Bxh7 Bb7 16.0-0 There is no objective compensation for Black. He is just worse. Nbc6?
Keeping his Bb7 locked up - this proves to be a crucial mistake. 16...Bd5! with ...Nbc6 to follow was the only way to struggle on 17.Rab1! Black's pieces now lose their coordination. Ba6 Or 17...Nd8 18.Be3 Rc8 19.Rfd1
19...Bd5 20.Be4 c3 21.f3 Bxe4 22.Qxe4+- Qxe4 23.fxe4 18.Be3 Qa5 19.Rfd1! Black cannot stop the penetration of the white rooks. Nxe5 19...Nd5? 20.Bxh6+- 20.Qg3 f6 20...N7c6 21.Bxh6+- 20...N5c6 21.Rd7+- with Bd2 or Be4 to follow 21.Rd6 Bc8 22.Rbd1
White has a winning attack. 22...Nd5 22...Nf7 23.Be4 e5 24.Bxh6+- 24.Bxa8? Nxd6 24...gxh6 25.Rxf6 23.Bf4! Rb8 23...Nxf4 24.Rd8++- Kf7 25.Bg8+ 24.Bxe5 fxe5 25.Qxe5
Nothing has been solved for Black. White's deadly attack simply continues. In a lost position, Black tries a tactical trick (which turns into a blunder). 25...Qd2 26.Rd8+ Kf7 27.Bg8+ Kg6 28.Qe4+ Kf6 29.Qf3+ Kg6 30.Rxd2 1–0

In this video series, it's all about understanding middlegame strategies better. Pawn structures, manoeuvres and concepts are being shown through model games. New: now also available as stream!

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