The Winning Academy 36: The most important piece in the Maroczy Structure

by Jan Markos
7/15/2024 – The Maroczy structure - named after Hungarian star Geza Maroczy (pictured) - is one of the most popular setups against the Sicilian: White has pawns on e4 and c4 which guarantee a space advantage. Black, on the other hand, has a solid position and good counter-chances, often based on breaking through with ...b5 or ...d5. Jan Markos takes a closer look at this structure, focusing on the role of the "inconspicuous hero" of these positions. | Photo: Cuba News

In this video course, kings will play a role of strong and active pieces. We will explore how Kings can be helpful in defence and prophylaxis, or even in attack!

I like the Maroczy structure from White's perspective. White's e4 and c4 pawns secure him a nice spatial advantage, and the burden of proof is on Black. To get equal chances, he needs to play actively, trying to create strong counterplay. After Black's timid play, White is often almost automatically better.

Unfortunately, I am a 1.d4 player, and therefore I never had a chance to get this structure in my own games.

However, I have spent many hours with my pupils analysing different aspects of this structure. And after some time, I discovered one inconspicuous hero. A piece that often decides the outcome of the opening.

Let me introduce you to this unsung hero, the c3-knight. Very often the destiny of this piece foretells the overall result of the opening phase of the game.

Let us have a look at a few examples.

***

In the first one, Bacrot has shown brilliant positional understanding.

Bacrot-Tiviakov, Wijk aan Zee 2006, White to move:

Optically, White is doing very well. All his pieces are nicely centralised. But how to proceed? Most of my pupils try to push 18.c5, but after 18…bxc5 19.bxc5 Bxd5 20.Rxd5 Rfc8 Black seems to hold, E.g. 21.Rcd1 Qe6 and the e4-pawn is also weak.

Bacrot chose a different (and much deeper) plan. He understood that his advantage is based on the strong d5-knight and asked himself: “What should I do to discourage Black from exchanging it?”

And he played 18.b5!. Now after 18…Bxd5 19.cxd5 the white rook enters c6, and Black can barely tolerate it there. However, its exchange would lead to a strong passed pawn on c6.

Therefore, Black tried to organize some counterplay on the kingside: 18…f5!? 19.exf5 Rxf5 But now White transferred his knight to an even better square: 20.Nb4 Bf7 21.Nc6.

Black's queenside pawns are in a grave danger. White plans a2-a4-a5, exchanging one of the pawns and taking the second one. The resulting passed pawn then will decide the game.

White won effortlessly.

Here's the complete game:

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Nc2 An interesting attempt to fight for the opening advantage - white wants to keep as many pieces on the board as possible! Bg7 8.Be2 Nd7 9.Bd2 Nc5 10.0-0 0-0 A well known theoretical position. Deserves attention also 10...a5!? preventing white's next move. 11.b4 That pawn sacrifice is also standard for that type of position. Ne6 Taking control of another important square 'd4'. Too dangerous would be to accept the challenge: 11...Bxc3?! 12.Bxc3 Nxe4 13.Bb2 as you can see in 1-0 Svidler,P-Tiviakov,S/ EUCup 18th Chalkidiki 2002 [Tsesarsky] 12.Rc1 Another logical option here is: 12.Rb1 12...Ned4 Black may also exchange some queen-side pawns before occupying the central square ''d4'': 12...a5 13.a3 After 13.b5 Ncd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Be3 e5 black is close to equality 13...axb4 14.axb4 Ncd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.Be3 Nxe2+ 17.Qxe2 Bd7 18.Rfd1 Ra3 19.Nd5 Ba4 20.Rd3 Rxd3 21.Qxd3 1-0 Tseshkovsky,V-Ovetchkin,R/Azov 1996/CBM 056 ext (38) 13.Nxd4 Nxd4 14.Be3 Nxe2+ This exchange is the most popular move in the position. In my opinion, 14...e5 is at least not worse. 15.Qxe2 The valuation of this position is very important for the 7.2 variation. As the latest practice shows, white's advantage is usually too small and black may neutralize the pressure by accurate play. However, in this game Sergei (who is a great expert of the Maroczy) couldn't solve his problems. Be6 The most natural and quite the best move. Black completes development and takes control of 4. The passive strategy leads to an inferior position: 15...b6 16.Rfd1 Bb7! 17.Bd4! 1-0 Nielsen,P-Lie,K/Drammen 2005/CBM 105/[Mikhalevski,V] (50) Premature would be also some ''drastic'' move: 15...f5 16.exf5 Rxf5 17.Rfd1 Bxc3? 18.Rxc3± a5 19.b5 b6 20.h4 Qc7 21.Bh6 Re5 22.Re3 Be6 23.Qb2 Bxc4? 24.f4+- 1-0 Nogueiras,J-Alvarez,J/Holguin City 2002/CBM 089 (24) 16.Nd5!N       A very important improvement of white's previous play. White avoids the simplification of the position which could follow after 7xc3 and takes advantage of his space advantage. 16.Rfd1 Bxc3 17.Rxc3 Qc7 18.c5 Qc6 19.f3 Rfc8 20.Rdc1 dxc5 21.Rxc5 Qd7 22.Rxc8+ Rxc8= ½-½ Gustafsson,J-Comas Fabrego,L/Sant Lluis ESP 2005/The Week in Chess 565 (45) 16...Qd7 16...Bxd5 17.cxd5 17.exd5 Qd7 18.Rfd1 b6 19.Bd4 Bxd4 20.Rxd4 17...Qd7 18.Rc2 18.b5 a6 19.a4 axb5 20.Qxb5 Qxb5 21.axb5 Rfc8= 18...Rfc8 19.Rfc1 a6 20.h3 17.Rfd1 b6?! tuto èo? !!!!! 18.b5!       An important strategical decision. The point is that after exchanging the knights black cannot exploit the weakness of the 'c5' spot. On the other hand, white gets a clear plan of improvement which is connected with an a2-a4-a5 advancement and delivering the knight to c6. f5 Sergei is trying to make his pieces more active, but this leads to additional weaknesses. It's hard to recommend any useful move for black after 18...Rfc8 19.a4± 19.exf5 Rxf5 Black's position would be very hard after 19...Bxf5 20.Bd4 20.Bg5?! Rae8 ∆21.Nxe7+ Kh8 22.Re1 h6 23.Bh4 Rf6 20.c5!? bxc5 21.Bxc5 20...e5 21.Be3± 20.Nb4 White's play is very logical and strong - black couldn't do with a statement of 6 for a long time. Bf7 21.Nc6± Re8 22.Qd3 White shouldn't hurry - black has no counterplay. The immediate breakthrough was premature: 22.c5? bxc5 23.Rxc5 Rxc5 24.Bxc5 a6 25.a4 Bb3 26.Rb1 Bd5 22...Rc8! Black finds the only reasonable defensive idea - now the exchange sacrifice at c6 is actual. 23.Qe4! The 4 is not vulnerable in the center! At the same time, it puts a strong pressure on 7 and protects the 6 once again. Rc7 24.a4 White has a clear plan of queen-side attack, while black's pieces are very passive. h5 Maybe it was better to offer an immediate exchange by 24...Qe6!? 25.h3 Deserved a serious attention also 25.c5!? bxc5 26.Bxc5 Bf6 27.Be3± with a clear advantage of white. 25...Qe6 This is the best decision - in the endgame black has more practical chances of survival. 26.Qxe6 Bxe6 27.Re1 Bc8 The most resistable. 27...Kf7?? 28.Nd8++- Even worse would be: 27...Bf7 28.a5 But not 28.g4?! hxg4 29.hxg4 Rf6 30.Bg5 Re6 31.Rxe6 Bxe6 32.Bxe7 Rd7 33.f3 d5 and black gets some counterplay. 28...bxa5 29.Bxa7 Rxa7 29...Kf8 30.Bb6 Rb7 31.Bd8 Bf6 32.Nxa5+- 30.Nxa7 Bd4 31.Rxe7 Rxf2 32.Kh1 a4 33.Nc6 Bc5 34.Nd8+- 28.a5 bxa5 Here the exchange sacrifice could hardly help black: 28...Rxc6 29.bxc6 Rxa5 30.Bd2 Re5 31.Rxe5 Bxe5 32.Bc3 Bxc3 33.Rxc3+- 29.Bxa7 Kf7 30.Bb6 That natural move is probably not the best one,since it allows the exchange sacrifice. After 30.Nd8+! Ke8 31.Bb6 Rd7 32.Ne6 Be5 33.Nc7+ Kf7 34.Bxa5+- white's position should be winning. 30...Rxc6 31.bxc6 a4 Now white should play very accurately,since black's passed 4 is quite strong! 32.Red1 Deserved a serious attention 32.Ra1!? giving the exchange back Bxa1 33.Rxa1 Be6 34.Rxa4 Rf4 35.c7 Bd7 36.f3± but keeping a good winning chances due to 7. 32...a3 Possible was also: 32...Bb2 33.Rc2 a3 34.Bd4 Bxd4 35.Rxd4 Rc5± 33.Bd4 Bxd4 34.Rxd4 Be6? Sergei has probably overlooked white's excellent answer! Necessary was: 34...Rc5 35.Ra1 35.Rd3 a2 36.Ra3 d5 37.Rxa2 dxc4 38.Rxc4 35...Rxc6 36.Rxa3 e5± and it's still not easy to convert the extra exchange into a full point.
Please,find the winning continuation
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Bacrot,E2717Tiviakov,S26691–02006B37Corus2

***

In the second example, Bent Larsen was contemplating which pieces to keep on the board and which to exchange.

Larsen-Sorensen, Denmark 1989, White to move:

For many club players, 19.Nd5 is an automatic move here. After all, what might possibly be wrong with centralising the knight? However, after 19…Bxd5! Black gets some counterplay because he is having a knight against the “bad bishop”.

Larsen was careful to avoid this scenario. He got rid of his bad bishop first: 19.Bg4! Rcd8 20.Bxd7! Rxd7. Now the jump to d5 is possible without adverse strategical consequences: 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.Rxd5.

The resulting heavy pieces middlegame is very unpleasant for Black, as his rooks lack both space and activity. White won soon, combining the play on both sides.

Here's the complete game:

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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 c5 4.e4 d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nc6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.Be3 0-0 9.0-0 Bd7 10.Rb1 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bc6 12.Qd3 a5 13.b3 Re8 14.Rfd1 Nd7 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Rd2 b6 17.Qe3 Qc7 18.Rbd1 Rac8 19.Bg4 Rcd8 tu 20.Bxd7 Rxd7 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.Rxd5 Red8 23.h4 f6 24.a4 e6 25.Rb5 Rb8 26.h5 Rb7 27.Qh3 Re7 28.Qg3 Rd7 29.Qg4 Re7 30.Rd3 Qb8 31.hxg6 hxg6 32.Rh5 Qg8 33.Rg3 Kf7 34.Rh6 Ke8 35.Rxg6 Qf7 36.Qf3 Kd7 37.e5 1–0
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Larsen,B2580Sorensen,J22851–01989B38DEN-ch

***

The importance of the white knight was very well understood by Malakhov in the following example.

Dvoirys-Malakhov, Russian Championship 2003, Black to move:

Black is very active. But how to convert his initiative into something tangible?

Most club players would try to keep their g7-bishop alive, as it is both an attacking and a defensive piece. However, the c3-knight is vital for White. It guards the …b7-b5 break and might jump once to d5.

Therefore, Malakhov played simply 17...Qxc3! 18.Qxc3 Bxc3, neutralizing the strong knight. After 19.Rxc3 fxe4 20.fxe4 b5 it was rather obvious that White's pair of bishops does not compensate for his structural weaknesses.

However, Dvoirys defended actively and well, and was able to hold the game.

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Be2 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bg7 9.Be3 0-0 10.Qd2 Be6 11.0-0 Qa5 12.b3 12.Rac1 or 12.Rab1 is probably more flexible. 12...a6 13.f3 Rfc8 14.a4 Dvoirys decided to prevent black's possible b7-b5 thrust. 14.Rac1 b5 15.Nd5 Qxd2 16.Bxd2 Nxd5 17.cxd5 Bd4+ 18.Kh1 Bd7= Gurevich,M-Van der Weide,K/Bundesliga 1998 14...Nd7 15.Rfc1N 15.Bd4 Bxd4+ 16.Qxd4 Qb4 16...Qc5!? 17.Rab1 Nc5 18.Qe3 Nd7 19.Kh1 Nf6 20.f4 Qc5 21.Qg3 1-0 Kosteniuk,A-Milman,L/Philadelphia 2003 (33) 15.Rac1 Nc5 16.Qc2 Qb4 17.Bd1 f5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Qb6 19...b5 20.Re1 1-0 Anisimov,P-Delorme,L/Artek 2000/CBM 78 ext (28) 15...Qb4 16.Qc2?! This is not the best place for the queen. 16.Rab1 16...f5! Typical strike against white's solid pawncentre. 17.Rab1 Qxc3 17...Nf6?! 18.Qd1 fxe4 19.fxe4∞ 18.Qxc3 Bxc3 19.Rxc3 TUTO - èiernymi - Maroczy koncovka fxe4 20.fxe4 b5 White's pawnstructure is under pressure. 21.Bg5 21.axb5 axb5 22.Rbc1 b4 21...bxc4 22.bxc4 Kf7 23.Rb7 Rc5! The best place for black's rook. From the 5th rank it can attack white's numerous pawn weaknesses. 24.h4 Ke8 25.Bf3 Rac8 26.Ra7 Ra5 26...Bxc4? 27.Bg4 R8c7 28.Ra8+ Kf7 29.Rf3+ Kg7 30.Bxe7
Try to find the best continuation for white.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Dvoirys,S2555Malakhov,V2696½–½2003B36RUS-ch 56th8

***

In the last example, Garry Kasparov will show us how to handle the queenside knight!

Kasparov-Kasimdzhanov, Europe-Asia rapid 2001, White to move:

In this standard position, many club players would again play 14.Nd5, assuming that the knight belongs to the centre. However, that would allow Black to exchange it and equalize. The theoretical line continues 14…Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Nxd5 16.cxd5 Bd7 with a fully acceptable play for Black, as his queenside is without weaknesses.

Therefore, white players are trying to find an alternative path for their knight. Some tried to find an advantage after 15.Na4, forcing 15…Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Nd7. However, Kasparov had a different maneuver in mind. He played 14.Ne2!?, and after 14…Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Nd7 he transferred the knight to the kingside with 16.Nf4. The game continued 16…Nc5 17.Be2 a5 18.h4 with a small edge for White. He is prepared for an active play on the kingside.

Although Kasimdzhanov later equalized, in the end Kasparov won.

Here's the complete game:

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.f3 Nxd4 7...Bg7!? 8.Be3 0-0 9.Qd2 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Rc1 Qa5 12.Be3 12.Be2 -mainline. 12...Rfc8 If we'll compare this position with position in this game, we'll find - Black has one tempo more!Why? Because instead of 3 tempi: d4,4-d2 and 3 White spent 4: 2, 1-e3,3xd4,4-e3. First of all, maybe one tempo in this position is not so important, White has steady space advantage in both cases. Second, White can play 12.2 - see above.. 13.b3 a6 13...Nd7 14.Nd5 Qxd2+ 14...Qd8 15.Be2 ½-½ Lanzani,M-Cebalo,M/Milan ITA 2000 (29) 15.Bxd2 Bxd5 16.cxd5 a6 ½-½ Sax,G-Cebalo,M/Bled 2000/EXT 2001 (16) 14.Na4 Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Nd7 16.Bd3 Rab8 17.f4 f5 This type of position we'll see later during this game analysis. 18.Nb6 Nxb6 19.Bxb6 Bd7 20.Rhf1 Bf6 21.g3 ½-½ Ghitescu,T-Ostojic,P/Olot 1974/EXT 99 (21) 8.Qxd4 Bg7 9.Be3 0-0 10.Qd2 Be6 11.Rc1 Qa5 12.Bd3 12.b3 Rfc8 13.Nb5!? 13.Nd5 Qxd2+ 14.Kxd2 Nxd5 15.exd5 Bd7= 1-0 Krejci,J-Kurochkin,V/Moravia 1996/EXT 98 (47) 13.Be2 Nd7 14.0-0 a6 15.Nd5 Qxd2 16.Bxd2 Bxd5 17.exd5 Bd4+ 18.Kh1 Kg7 19.Bg5 Bb2 20.Rc2 Bf6 21.Be3 Rc7 22.Rfc1 a5= 0-1 Panov,V-Geller,E/Skopje 1967/MCD (53) 13...Qxd2+ 14.Kxd2 Nd7 15.Nd4 Nc5 16.h4 a5 17.h5 Bd7 18.Be2 0-1 Kortschnoj,V-Anand,V/London 1994/CBM 42 ext (51) 12.Nd5 -mainline. 12...Rfc8 13.b3 13.Nd5 Qxd2+ 14.Kxd2 Nxd5 15.cxd5 Bd7= 13...a6 13...Nd7 14.Nd5 Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Bxd5 16.exd5 Ne5 17.Be2 a5 18.g4 a4 19.b4 a3 20.f4 Nd7 21.Kd3 Bb2 22.Rc2 1-0 Rossmann,H-Hanasz,W/Zinnowitz 1975/EXT 2000 (42) 14.Ne2 Except of this rare move, 3 can jump to a4 or d5(mainline) with the same idea: to exchange and to recieve space advantage. 14.Na4 -most popular continuation. Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Nd7 16.f4 f5 17.Rhe1 17.exf5 Bxf5 18.Bxf5 gxf5 19.Nb6 Nxb6 20.Bxb6 Rc6= ½-½ Kaplan,J-Tarjan,J/Los Angeles 1974/EXT 98 (25) 17.Nb6 Nxb6 18.Bxb6 Kf7 19.Rhd1 Rc6 20.Be3 Bb2 1-0 Korneev,O-Merino Garcia,R/Albacete 2000/CBM 78 ext (40) 17...Kf8 17...Rc6 18.Bf2 18.Nc3 Rac8 19.Bf2 Kf8 20.exf5 Bxf5 21.Nd5 ½-½ Mc Clelland,S-Perelshteyn,E/New York 1998/EXT 99 (54) 18...Re8 18...Nc5? 19.Nxc5 dxc5 20.exf5 gxf5 21.Bxc5± 1-0 Liebert,H-Rossmann,H/Potsdam 1974/EXT 98 (28) 19.Nc3 19.exf5 Bxf5 20.Bxf5 gxf5 21.Nc3 Kf7 19...Nc5= 17...Rc7 18.Nc3 Bxc3+ 19.Rxc3 Nf6 20.exf5 Bxf5 21.Bd4 Kf7 ½-½ Timoscenko,G-Ivanov,A/Ashkhabad 1978/MCL/ (70) 17...Kf7? 18.g4± 18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Be2 h5 20.Bf3 Rc7 21.Nc3 e6 ½-½ Polugaevsky,L-Timman,J/Hilversum 1973/MCD (21) 14.Nd5 Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Nxd5 16.cxd5 Bd7= 14.0-0 b5 15.Nd5 Qxd2 16.Bxd2 Nxd5 17.cxd5 Bd4+ 18.Kh1 Bd7= 0-1 Rawlinson,A-Doss,J/Dallas 2000/EXT 2001 (65) 14...Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Nd7 16.Nf4 Nc5 17.Be2 a5 18.h4! It is not so easy to find proper plan, position of Black is passive. than 18.Nd5?!= Bxd5 19.cxd5 19.exd5= 19...a4! 20.Bxc5! 20.b4? Nb3+‼ 21.axb3 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 a3! 0-1 Polgar,J-Antunes,A/Yerevan 1996/EXT 97/[Makarichev] (58) 20...axb3 21.axb3 Ra2+ 21...dxc5 22.f4= 22.Rc2= 18...Na6 18...a4 19.b4 Na6 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Rb1 18...h6!? 19.g4 19.Rb1 Nb4 20.a3 Nc6 21.Nxe6 fxe6 TUTO 22.f4 White has pair of and space advantage, but Black can play on the dark squares. Kf7 23.h5 Nd4 24.Bd3 e5 Black tries to build blockade on the dark squares. 25.f5 g5! Good sacrifice! 25...gxf5 26.exf5 a4 27.b4 Nb3+ 28.Ke2± 26.h6! White refuses to take a in view of 26.Bxg5?! Bf6 27.Be3 Rg8 with sufficient counterplay on the g-line. 26...Bf6 27.g4 Nf3+ 28.Ke2 Nd4+ 29.Kf2 e6?       Serious mistake. Right was 29...a4 30.b4 Rc7 Or 29...Rc6 30.Rh5?       Kasparov doesn't use his opponent's mistake. Why? Maybe in rapid game he has thought about some plan and played too fast? It was necessary to play 30.Bxd4! exd4 31.fxe6+ Kxe6 32.e5 dxe5 33.Bxh7! not 33.Bf5+? Kf7 34.Bxc8 Rxc8 35.Rhe1 Kg6 33...Rh8 34.Bf5+± 30...Rc7! Kasimdzhanov recognizes his mistake and repair his game! on c7 protects on 7. Badly was 30...Rg8? because of the same tactical operation, like on previous move: 31.Bxd4! exd4 32.fxe6+ Kxe6 33.e5 dxe5 34.Bxh7± 31.a4 Now badly is 31.Bxd4 exd4 32.fxe6+ Kxe6 33.e5? because 7 is protected! 31.Bxg5 Bxg5 32.Rxg5 Kf6 33.Rh5 33.Rg7?! Rxg7 34.hxg7 Kxg7 34...Rg8! 35.Rh1 Rxg7 36.Kg3 Nxb3 37.Rh6+ Kf7 38.Rxe6 h5 35.g5 exf5 36.exf5 Nxf5! 37.Be4 Rf8 38.Bxb7 Nd4+ 33...Rg8 34.Kg3 34.Rg1 Rg5 35.Rxg5 Kxg5 36.b4 axb4 37.axb4 34...b5 34...exf5 35.exf5 d5 36.a4 Rg5 With sufficient compensation in all noted variations because of blockade on dark squares. 31...Rg8 32.Rhh1 Re8 33.Rhd1 Ra8 34.Bd2 Rc6 35.Bc3 Rb6 In my opinion, much better is 35...Rc7 - to continue to protect on 7. White hasn't any active plan, and the game will be drawn. 36.Bxd4!? exd4 37.e5 Bxe5?± Much better was 37...dxe5 38.fxe6+ 38.c5 Rc6 39.fxe6+ Kxe6 40.b4 axb4 41.Rxb4 Rxc5 42.Bxh7 38...Rxe6 38.fxe6+ Ke7 38...Kxe6? 39.Bxh7 Rh8 40.Bf5+ Kf6 41.h7+- 39.Ke2! Not 39.Bxh7? Rh8 40.Bf5 Rxh6 39...Rf8 40.Rf1 Bf4 On 40...Rxf1? goes 41.Kxf1! or 41.Rxf1 Rxb3 42.Rf7+ Kxe6 43.Rxh7 Rb2+ 44.Kf3 Rb3 45.Ke4 Rb2 46.c5! 46.Kf3 Rb3 47.Ke4= 46.Rc7 Rf2 46...dxc5 47.Bc4+ Kd6 48.Rg7 Bf6 49.Rf7 49.Rg6 Ke7 49...Be7 50.h7 Rh2 51.Kf5 Rh6 52.Rg7 Rh3 52...Rf6+ 53.Kxg5!+- 53.Kg6+- 41...Kxe6 42.Bxh7 d5 43.c5+- 41.Bf5 Rh8 42.Kd3 Be5 43.Be4 Bf4 44.Bf5 Be5 45.Kc2! Bf4 46.Rbd1 Be3 47.Be4 Kxe6 48.Bd5+ Kd7 49.Rf7+ Kc8+- Domination. 50.Rg7 White also can implement another, slow plan: 50.Rd3 Kb8 51.Kd1 Ka7 52.Ke2 Ka6 53.Kf3 Bc1 54.Ke4 Bb2 55.Kf5 Bc1 56.Kf6 Bf4 57.Rg7 Rf8+ 58.Ke7 Rh8 59.Kf7+- 50...Bf4 50...Kb8 51.Be4 d5 52.Bxd5 Rxh6 53.Rxb7+ Kc8± 51.Rxd4 Be5 52.Rd3 Rf8 53.Rxh7 Rf2+ 54.Rd2 Simplier wins 54.Kd1+- 54...Rxd2+ 55.Kxd2 Rxb3 56.Re7 Rh3 57.h7 b6 58.Be4 Kd8 59.Rb7 Bd4 60.Bf5 Ke8 61.Rd7 Be5 62.Rb7 Bd4 63.Bg6+ Kd8 64.Bh5 Ra3 65.Rxb6 Kc7 66.Rb5 Rxa4 67.Rxg5 Rb4 68.Kd3 Bb2 69.Rxa5 Kd7 70.Ra8 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kasparov,G2838Kasimdzhanov,R27041–02001B36EUR-ASIA m 30'11

***

If you want to master the Maroczy structure from White's perspective, you should consider the fate of your c3-knight. Here are some guidelines that you might find handy over the board.

  1. The Nc3-d5 move is by no means obligatory. Sometimes it it useful to postpone this jump, or take a different route, E.g. via e2 or a4.
  2. If Black already played ….b7-b6 or …b7-b5, the knight on d5 might be more stable, as its exchange would create an outpost on c6.
  3. Be aware that sometimes Black might want to play the seemingly illogical …Bg7xc3 exchange.
  4. A major pieces middlegame is usually good for White.
  5. If possible, please avoid the White's light-squared bishop vs. Black's knight scenario.

Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!

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Jan Markos is a Slovakian chess author, trainer, and grandmaster. His book Under the Surface was the English Chess Federation´s 2018 Book of the Year. His last book, The Secret Ingredient, co-authored with David Navara, focuses on the practical aspects of play, e.g. time-management over the board, how to prepare against a specific opponent, or how to use chess engines during the training process. Markos was the U16 European Champion twenty years ago. At present he helps his pupils from several countries to achieve similar successes. Apart from focusing on the royal game, he is also the author of several non-chess books, focused on critical thinking, moral dilemmas, and phenomenology.

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