Dear Mr Silman,
With white I like to use the Yugoslav Attack with 9.Bc4 against the Dragon.
That is why I do not like to play the Maroczy Bind against the Accelerated
move order and instead prefer 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3
Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0-0 8.Bb3. The
problem is that not everybody wants to cooperate. My opponents have mostly
played 8...a5 here
and it is this variation that I would like to discuss with you (knowing your
expertise in the Accelerated Dragon).
THE EXCITING
UOGELE VARIATION
A recent Informant shows
the game Nataf -Stanojoski, Batumi 1999 which
went 8...a5
9.0-0!? (Nataf`s
punctuation) 9...a4
10.Nxa4! Nxe4 11.Nb5! Ra6! 12.c4! d6 13.Qe2!
Nf6 14.h3! N Be6 15.Rad1! and
here white, modestly making 5 (!) strong
moves deserving an exclamation mark in a
row, got the upper hand according to Nataf,
without black making a single inaccuracy!
In my opinion too, this variation looks unpleasant
for black after 11...Ra6.
GOOD FOR
WHITE
A few months ago in a weekend
tournament my FM opponent played 11...d6
instead of 11...Ra6 "!". After 11...d6 Nataf
gives “12.Bb6!?
Qd7 13.Re1 Qf5 14.Nc7 Rxa4 15.Bxa4 Bxb2 16.g4!
Qe5 17.Rb1 Bc3 18.Re3! f5 19.f3 with
a clear advantage for White,” which
is exactly how the game went with the exception
that FM Hurme came up with the over-the-board
improvisation 18...Bd2! (my
punctuation) instead of Nataf’s weak
18...f5. I replied 19.Rxe4
Qxe4 20.Bxc6 bxc6 21.Qd2 when
black should have at least a draw after taking
on g4 with the queen(or even with the bishop).
The computer thinks white should play 18.f4
Qxf4 19.Nd5 Qe5 20.Rxe4 Qxe4 21.Nxc3 but
it still looks unpleasant for white: after
all, he will lose the g4 pawn and then black
will have three pawns for the piece. Is this
variation playable for white and if not,
then what should he play after 11...d6??
CAN BLACK FIND SALVATION
WITH 11…d6?
JOHN DONALDSON REPLIES:
Dear Santul,
You raise many interesting questions. First, Harry Hurme definitely put Nataf's
suggestion of 18.Re3 (after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6
3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Bb3 a5 9.0–0
a4 10.Nxa4 Nxe4 11.Nb5 d6 12.Bb6 Qd7 13.Re1 Qf5 14.Nc7 Rxa4 15.Bxa4 Bxb2 16.g4
Qe5 17.Rb1 Bc3) out of business with 18...Bd2!. 
NATAF’S
18.Re3 IS REFUTED BY 18…Bd2!
Clearly 18.f4 is a better
try for an advantage. In the line you give,
which seems more or less forced, play might
continue (after 1.e4
c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7
6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Bb3 a5 9.0–0
a4 10.Nxa4 Nxe4 11.Nb5 d6 12.Bb6 Qd7 13.Re1
Qf5 14.Nc7 Rxa4 15.Bxa4 Bxb2 16.g4 Qe5 17.Rb1
Bc3 18.f4 Qxf4 19.Nd5 Qe5 20.Rxe4 Qxe4 21.Nxc3) with 21...Qf4 when 22.Qe1 leads
to an ending with Black having three pawns
for a piece. For example 22...Ne5 (or
similar play after 22...Qg4+ 23.Qg3) 23.Qg3 and
I would prefer White with the extra piece as
it is not easy for Black to mobilize his pawns
and Nd5 can be irritating.
DONALDSON
PREFERS WHITE
The only other game I could
find that tested Nataf's suggestion varied
with 16.Nd5 (instead
of 16.g4!). Moreno-San Segundo, Spanish Team
Championship 1999, continued 16...e6
17.f3 exd5 18.fxe4 dxe4 19.Rb1 Be5 20.c4 Qg5
21.Rb3 Bg4 22.Qc1 (superior,
but still good for Black, is 22.Qb1) and now
instead of the game continuation 22...Bf4,
Black could have played 22...Qxc1
23.Rxc1 Nd4 23.Bxd4 Bxd4 24.Kf1 Ra8 with
a winning advantage for Black. Clearly 16.Nd5
is not worth repeating.
16.Nd5 IS
NOT WORTH REPEATING
Santul Kosmo also asks:
I would also like to know what you consider the best move for black after 1.e4
c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Bb3
a5 9.0–0 a4 10.Nxa4 Nxe4 11.Nb5 (I have seen
somebody recommend the immediate exchange sacrifice 11...Rxa4 in Chess Informant
but I really don’t trust it).
LOOKING
FOR AN ANTIDOTE TO 11.Nb5
JD: I
don't entirely trust 9...a4. It says something
that Uogele (8...a5) regulars Wojtkiewicz and
Malakhov answer 9.0-0 with 9...d6 (or
in the case of Wojt 9...Nxd4 10.Bxd4 d6 to
avoid 9...d6 10.Ndb5). This line is solid but
I think White is a little better.
Note that you don't necessarily have to play 12.c4
after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4
g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Bb3 a5 9.0–0 a4 10.Nxa4!
Nxe4 11.Nb5! Ra6. Bologan has tried 12.Re1 with
success.
And finally, Santul Kosmo
asks:
I also saw a correspondence game Gonzales Rabago-Gil. Menendez 1999 in the
Informant with the variation 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3
Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Bb3 a5 9.f3 (this
is how I used to play). The game continued 9...d5
10.Bxd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 f5 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.Nb6 Rb8 14.Qxd8 Rxd8 15.Rxd1 Rxd1+
16.Kxd1 Bxb2 17.Nxc8 Rxc8 18.exf5 gxf5 19.Ke2 which
in Gonzales Rabago’s opinion gives white a big advantage. To me however,
this does not seem obvious. What do you think?
JD: The
line you quote is mildly annoying for Black,
but the variation is irrelevant since Black
can improve early. This has been known since
the game Ivanchuk-Zsusza Polgar, Amber (blindfold!)
1994, where Black inserted 16...fxe4. After 17.Nxc8
Rxc8 18.fxe4 Bxb2 19.Ke2 Be5 Black
was doing fine. White has tried to improve
with 18.b3 but
after 18...exf3
19.gxf3 a4 20.Ke2 Kf7 21.Kd3 Be5 22.h3 Bd6 the
players soon agreed to a draw in Polzin-Vogt,
Austrian Team Championship 1998. Note the Bishop
redeployment (Bg7-e5-d6) to cover the queenside
is a characteristic idea in this variation. 
16...fxe4!
IS EQUAL
In summary, I would stick
with 9.0-0 (9.f3 isn’t as strong) and
try the endgame with a piece for three pawns
(after 11…d6). In the case of 11…Ra6,
White can vary from the usual 12.c4 with 12.Re1!?.
These lines should give you a good chance to
emerge with a small advantage, which theoretically
speaking is the best you can hope to do against
8...a5.
Santul, thank you for your excellent questions. I well remember Harry Hurme,
as well as Timothy Binham and Markku Henttinen, from tournaments I played in
Norway and Sweden in the late 1970s. I am glad to see Harry is still playing.
IM John Donaldson
|
