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The GRUNFELD
DEFENSE is one of those annoying openings that
usually demands a lot of memorization. Since
my memory had burned out in my early 20s, I
always tried to find lines that relied more
on understanding and less on reams of analysis.
I enjoyed the g3 Systems for a while, but eventually
embraced a rare line (see the Yermolinsky game)
that wasn't respected at all among international
players.
Silman - Dunne Correspondence, 1991
1.d4 Nf6
2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.g3 0-0
7.Bg2 c5 8.0-0 Nxc3 9.bxc3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nc6 11.Rb1 (I
was never much into postal play, but gave it
a try in 1991. I had a very good opinion of 11.Rb1
[having won a few games with it in normal tournament
play], and wanted to see if any cracks appeared
in the harsher climate of correspondence.) 11...Nxd4
12.cxd4 Bxd4 13.Qa4 Bg7 14.Rd1 Qe8 15.Qa3 (White
gets tremendous positional pressure for the sacrificed
pawn.) 15...e5
16.Be3 Qe6 17.Bc5 Re8 18.Qa4 Bf8 19.Bd5 Bd7 20.Qc4
Qf5 21.e4 Qf6 22.Rxb7 Bxc5 23.Qxc5 (After
methodically increasing the pressure, White finally
regains the pawn while retaining a significant
positional plus.) 23...Rad8
24.Qxa7 Be6 25.Qa3 h5 26.h4 Bxd5 27.exd5 e4 (A
pawn to the good, the rest of the game turns
into an exercise in pure technique.) 28.Qe3
Re5 29.Rb6 Qf5 30.d6 Qe6 31.Ra6 Kh7 32.Rd4 Rd7
33.Kg2 Kg7 34.a4 Kh7 35.a5 Kg7 36.Ra4 Qd5 37.Rb6
Rxd6 38.Rxd6 Qxd6 39.a6 Qc6 40.Ra3 Rf5 41.a7
Qa8 42.Rb3, 1-0.
Silman
- Yermolinsky
World Open, 1991
1.d4 Nf6
2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3
Bg7 7.Qa4+!? (I
had a lot of success with this strange move.
It took my opponents out of their book and into
areas where I was far more experienced.) 7...Bd7
8.Qa3 b6 9.Be3 c5 10.Rd1 cxd4 11.cxd4 0-0 12.Bd3
Nc6 13.Ne2 a5 14.0-0 Nb4 15.Bb1 Rc8 16.Qb2.
I've achieved a minimal edge in the opening,
but after some truly horrendous play I end up
with this seemingly hopeless position:
In the old days I would have
folded, but here I spotted a very nice drawing
possibility: 72.e5!! (This
forces a draw.) 72...Rg3+
73.Kh2 fxe5 74.fxg5 Rxg5 75.Kh3 Rh5 76.Ra6
Rh8 77.Rb6 Kd7 78.Ra6 Rh5 79.Kg4 Rh8 80.Kh3
e4 81.Ra4 Re8 82.Kxh4 Kc6 83.Kg3 Kb5 84.Ra2
e3 85.Kf3 Kc4 86.Ke2, 1/2-1/2.
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