What of the Challengers?
Make life difficult for the Sicilian! 2.b3 is a thoroughly venomous but still solid kind of "Anti-Sicilian". No matter what setup black chooses, the bishop on b2 will always be unpleasant for him.Today we'll take a look at the Challengers section of Tata Steel Chess this week as it hasn't been the focus of ChessBase's daily round-up shows.
The game in question will be a strategic masterpiece by Erwin L'Ami vs Anton Smirnov in round two.
But first: What did the seasoned English IM Simon Ansell see but not play in this position?
Black to play — Try your moves!
This week's show
Lawrence is on-demand this week and free for a limited time. You can register a free 90-day account and will gain access to this and many more shows from a variety of authors.
This DVD gives you the key to start out with the French Defence. GM Yannick Pelletier is a specialist of this opening, and believes that the most efficient way to understand its ideas, plans, and typical structures is to study classical lines.Lawrence is live most Tuesdays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET / 12 Noon EST)
| 1.e4 | 1,172,273 | 54% | 2421 | --- |
| 1.d4 | 951,243 | 55% | 2434 | --- |
| 1.Nf3 | 283,163 | 56% | 2440 | --- |
| 1.c4 | 182,996 | 56% | 2442 | --- |
| 1.g3 | 19,775 | 56% | 2427 | --- |
| 1.b3 | 14,397 | 54% | 2427 | --- |
| 1.f4 | 5,920 | 48% | 2377 | --- |
| 1.Nc3 | 3,834 | 50% | 2384 | --- |
| 1.b4 | 1,765 | 48% | 2379 | --- |
| 1.a3 | 1,228 | 54% | 2405 | --- |
| 1.e3 | 1,074 | 49% | 2409 | --- |
| 1.d3 | 958 | 50% | 2378 | --- |
| 1.g4 | 667 | 46% | 2361 | --- |
| 1.h4 | 457 | 53% | 2378 | --- |
| 1.c3 | 436 | 51% | 2426 | --- |
| 1.h3 | 283 | 56% | 2419 | --- |
| 1.a4 | 115 | 60% | 2464 | --- |
| 1.f3 | 96 | 46% | 2431 | --- |
| 1.Nh3 | 91 | 66% | 2508 | --- |
| 1.Na3 | 42 | 62% | 2482 | --- |
Please, wait...
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Ne5 Bf5 7.cxd5 Qxb3 8.axb3 Nxd5 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Nxd3 Na6 11.Bd2 e6 12.Ke2 Be7 13.Na3 0-0 14.Nc4 c5 15.Rxa6 bxa6 16.dxc5 Rfc8 17.b4 f6 18.e4 Nc7 19.Bc3 Nb5 20.Ra1 Rc6 21.e5 Bd8 22.Nd6 Rb8 23.f4 h5 24.g3 Nc7 25.Ke3 f5 26.Bd2 Kf8 27.Kd4 g6 28.Ne1 Nb5+ 29.Nxb5 axb5 30.Rxa7 Rcc8 31.Nc2 Ra8 32.Rd7 Be7 33.Ke3 Ke8 34.Rd6 Bxd6 35.exd6 Kd7 36.Nd4 Ra2 37.Bc3 Ra1 38.Nxb5 Rh1 39.h4 Rg1 40.Kf2 Rd1 41.Nd4 Ra8 42.Ke2 Rg1 43.b5 Rxg3 44.Bb4 Rg2+ 45.Kd3 Rxb2 46.c6+ Kc8 47.Nxe6 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
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- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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| L'Ami,E | 2606 | Smirnov,A | 2604 | 1–0 | 2020 | | 82nd Tata Steel Challengers 2020 | 1.5 |
Please, wait...
Follow along with Lawrence and try your own moves
Previous shows on-demand
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Lawrence Trent's latest
Read a review of Trent's previous FritzTrainer on the "Bombastic Bird's Opening"!
Welcome to the Bombastic Bird's, a revolutionary repertoire for one of the most enterprising and underrated openings in chess theory (1.f4). In this series, IM Lawrence Trent uncovers a number of groundbreaking theoretical novelties and new ideas that will soon have scorners of this romantic system regretting they ever doubted its soundness.
Solution to the puzzle
SHOW29.♕g7+!
Links
