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Naturally, openings are important
at the higher levels of the game, and finding
systems that suit your personal tastes is a virtual
must. In my case (as White), I was looking for
space gaining systems that retained a nice balance
of safety and sting. At first I went for a bit
more sting than safety, and as I got older I
went for safety over sting!
My theoretical progression in
the MODERN BENONI shows this in a clear way.
In late 1980 I spotted an interesting, largely
untested, idea that put great pressure on Black.
After a good deal of home brewing, I was ready
to give it a go.
Silman-G Sanchez
San Jose 1981
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Bf4
a6 8.e4 b5 9.Qe2!? (My
opponent, a strong master, had never seen this
before. After a long think, he reacts with an
immediate mistake.) 9...Bg4?? (Believe
it or not, the game is now over!) 10.e5! (Winning
on the spot.) 10...Bxf3
11.gxf3 Nh5 12.exd6+ Kd7 13.Bh3+ f5 14.Qe6 mate.
I couldn't have asked for more
than that! This game was followed by wins over
deFirmian (given earlier), McCambridge, and many
more unsuspecting victims.
Silman - McCambridge
USA, 1982
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Bf4
a6 8.Nf3 b5 9.Qe2 (Another
deep think. McCambridge wasn't familiar with
this line either.) 9...Nh5
10.Bg5 f6 11.Be3 Bg4 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 Nd7 14.g4
Ng7 15.Qg3 Qe7 16.Bg2 0-0-0 17.0-0 (White
has come out of the opening with an enormous
advantage.) 17...h5
18.b4! h4 (Taking on
b4 gives the White Knight access to d4 [and from
there, c6] after 19.Ne2.) 19.Qf3
cxb4 20.Nb1 Ne5 21.Qe2 Ne8 22.Bb6 Rd7 23.Nd2
f5 24.f4 Nf7 25.Nb3 Bg7 26.e5 dxe5 27.Rac1+ Nc7
28.Nc5 exf4 29.Qf2 Rxd5 30.Nxa6 Bc3 31.Nxc7 Rd2
32.Qxd2 Bxd2 33.Nd5+ Bxc1 34.Nxe7+,
1-0.
I never lost a game with this
line, but its popularity eventually grew and
the correct methods of dealing with it became
common knowledge. This forced me to look for
a new anti-Benoni weapon, and I turned my attention
to the following quiet but subtle (and therefore
deadly) variation.
Silman-C Mar
San Jose, 1983
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 ed 5.cd d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Bg5 Bg7
8.e3 h6 9.Bh4 0-0 10.Nd2 (Heading
for the c4-square and also preventing 10...g5
11.Bg3 Nh5.) 10...Nbd7
11.Be2 a6 12.a4 Re8 13.0-0 Rb8 14.h3 (It's
surprisingly difficult for Black to create active
play from this position.) 14...g5
15.Bg3 Ne5 16.Qc2 Qe7 17.Rfe1 Bd7 18.a5 g4 19.hxg4
Nfxg4 20.Na4 Qg5 21.Nf1 Qg6? (Black's
position was uncomfortable, but now he finds
himself snuffed out with no chance to fight back.) 22.Qxg6
fxg6 23.Nb6 Bf5 24.f3 Nf6 25.e4 Bc8 26.Bxe5!
dxe5 (Black loses material
after 26...Rxe5 27.Nc4.) 27.Ne3
Nd7 28.Nec4 Nb6 29.Nb6 Bf8 30.Rec1 Kf7 31.Bd1! (Making
sure every piece reaches its optimal square.) 31...h5
32.Ba4
(A comic position. Black's
pieces on c8 and b8 are entombed and helpless.) 32...Rd8
33.Kf2! (As usual,
I always try to deny my opponent counterplay.
This move prevents ...Bf8-h6-e3+.) 33...h4
34.b4! (Breaking
through and ending Black's resistance. Now
34...cxb4 35.Rc7+ followed by 36.Rac1 is more
than the enemy position can handle.) 34...Bh6
35.Rxc5 Bf4 36.Rc7+ Kf6 37.Bd7!,
1-0. A pleasing finish.
In chess, yesterday's flavor becomes
today's reject. When my 7.Bg5 system was theoretically
tamed, I settled into classical main lines, with
good success.
Silman-Hodges
Santa Barbara, 1987
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Nd2
Nbd7 8.e4 Bg7 9.Be2 0-0 10.0-0 a6 11.a4 Re8 12.Qc2
Nh5 13.Bxh5 gxh5 14.Nd1 Rb8 15.a5 b5 16.axb6
Nxb6 17.Ne3 Bd7 18.Rd1 Bd4 19.Nf3 Qf6 20.Ra3
h4 21.h3!!
(The start of a very deep
sacrificial idea that even the almighty Fritz
fails to appreciate.) 21...Bxh3
22.gxh3 Qxf3 23.Rxd4! cxd4 24.Ng4! Rec8 25.Qd2
d3 26.Qg5+ Kh8 (On
26...Kf8, White retains a winning attack with
27.Bf4 Nc4 28.Nh6.) 27.Be3
Nd7 (Another try
was 27...Rc4, though White still retains a
clear plus with 28.Rxd3 f6 29.Nxf6.) 28.Bd4+
f6 29.Nf6 Ne5 (The
last chance was 29...Rc1+ 30.Qxc1 Nxf6 31.Kh2
Rg8, though the endgame after 32.Bxf6+ Qxf6
33.Qc3 Qxc3 34.Rxc3 Re8 35.f3 Rb8 36.Rxd2 Rxb2+
37.Kg1 is not exactly fun for Black.) 30.Ng4
Rb7 31.Nxe5 Rg7 32.Nxf3,
1-0.
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