A QUESTION ABOUT THE KALASHNIKOV

 

David asks:

I'm given to understand you wrote a monograph on the Kalashnikov, way back in the dark ages of the early '90s. I recently ran into a novelty of sorts in that defense, which left me wholly at a loss. See, here's what happened:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Be7 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 Be6 9.Nd5 Rc8 10.Be3 Bg5 11.f4!?

When I saw this move, I thought "That can't possibly be right." ... but on giving it some thought, I found myself not certain how to deal with it. I tried to think logically about it -- why did the move strike me as so terrible? Well, it weakened White's kingside and invited me to isolate his e-pawn, plus it left his e3-Bishop unprotected with a chance that wacky tactical hijinks could ensue. So how could I take advantage of that? It seemed like there was nothing for it but to take the pawn and then apply pressure to f4. So:

11...exf4 12.Nxf4 Qf6 13.Qd2! (Forced, I grant you, but still pretty strong) and suddenly I realized I'd accomplished nothing -- White's position was extremely solid, his pieces were better-coordinated than mine, and I was going to have a hard time going after the e4-pawn because White could put his plan into practice (i.e., put pressure on the d6-pawn) long before I could even get started with mine.

So where did I go wrong, and what's the right response to 11.f4 anyways?

 

Silman replies:

The move 11.f4 deserves a question mark. You were right to condemn it at first glance, but you failed to point out its main positional flaw (Other than the weakening of the e4-pawn. I think you alluded to the tactical one -- the weakness along the a7-g1 diagonal -- but you failed to make use of it).

11.f4 is a self-defeating move because it creates a hole on e5. Your Knight will eventually live there and this will be sufficient to ensure Black a nice position. However, if you use this along with the tactical flaws, you can do better than simply nice.

Let's analyze: 11.f4? exf4 12.Nxf4 and now Black has:

A) 12...Qa5+

This is the simplest choice. Nonetheless, it s quite good!

13.Qd2

Or 13.Bd2 Qe5 wins material since 14.Qf3 Nf6 is absolutely horrible for White.

Even worse is 13.Kf2? Nf6 when White can safely resign!

13...Qxd2+ 14.Bxd2 Nf6 15.Nxe6

Moves like 15.Be3 Nxe4 or 15.Bd3 Ne5 are simply disgusting for the first player.

15 Bxd2+ 16.Kxd2 fxe6 17.Bd3 0-0 18.Rhf1

18.Nc2 Ng4 is strong.

18...Ne5 and Black has an obvious positional advantage.

B) 12...Nf6

This is a bit more fun than 12...Qa5+.

13.Nxe6

The more restrained 13.Bd3 is met by 13...Bxf4 (Stops the White Knight from hopping into d5. However, if you don't quite like this, then 13...Qa5+ 14.Bd2 Qc5 15.Nd5 Bxd2+ 16.Qxd2 Bxd5 17.exd5 Ne5 makes Black's positional superiority more than obvious) 14.Bxf4 Ne5 15.Qd2 Qb6 and White is facing some serious problems.

13...Qa5+ 14.Qd2

14.Bd2 amounts to the same thing after 14...Qxd2+.

14...Qxd2+ 15.Bxd2 Bxd2+ 16.Kxd2 fxe6 17.Bd3 0-0 and we've transposed into the variation from line A (above).

C) 12...Bxf4

A bit surprising, but White will have serious trouble keeping body and soul together.

13.Bxf4 Nf6 14.Qxd6?

A silly move since it just adds to White's development woes. A saner try is 14.Bd3, though Black's advantage is crystal clear after 14...Ne5 15.Qd2 Qb6 16.Rd1 (16.Be3?? Qxb2!) 16...0-0.

14...Qb6 15.Qd3 Rd8

This appears to be completely decisive. Also fun is 15 0-0 16.0-0-0 Rfd8 17.Qb3 Rxd1+ 18.Qxd1 Nb4 with a raging initiative.

16.Qb3 Qa5+ 17.Qc3 Nb4!

Far stronger than the very favorable endgame that results after 17...Qxc3+ 18.bxc3 Nxe4.

18.Rd1

Or 18.Be2 Nxe4 19.Qxg7 Nd3+ 20.Kf1 Qc5! 21.Qxh8+ Kd7 22.Qxd8+ Kxd8 and White will soon be mated.

18...0-0!

BLOOD WILL FLOW

Black is now primed and ready to hunt bear. White has no defense. Here's a fun Fritz variation:

19.Bd2 Bg4 20.Be2 Bxe2 21.Kxe2 Nxe4 22.Qxb4 Qh5+ 23.Ke3 Rfe8 and it's the end of the world as White knows it.