Reply #11: Hess - Areshchenko, Round 2

[Jack Rabbit]

Alexander Areshchenko
Photo: ChessBase.de (Germany)


Robert Hess - Alexander Areshchenko
Zürich Chess Club Jubilee Open.Round 2
Zürich, 11 August 2009

Spanish Sicilian Game: Canal Defense

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nc6 4.0-0

• If 4.Bxc6+ bxc6 5.0-0 then:
• If 5...e5 6.c3 then:
• If 6...Nf6 7.Re1 Bg4 then:
• If 8.h3 Bh5 9.d4 cxd4 10.cxd4 Nd7 11.Be3 Be7 12.Nbd2 then:
• 12...exd4 13.Bxd4 0-0 14.Qc2 c5 15.Bc3 Re8 16.Qd3 Bf8 17.Nc4 Nb6 18.Nfd2 Bg6 is equal (Shaposhnikov-Alekseev, Aeroflot Op, Moscow, 2006).
• 12...0-0 13.Qa4 Qc7 14.Rac1 Rfc8 15.Rc2 Qb7 16.Rec1 c5 17.dxc5 dxc5 18.Qb3 Qc6 is equal (Aagard-Gelashvili, Ol, Torino, 2006).
• 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 Nd7 10.Be3 Be7 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.Bxd4 0-0 13.h3 Be6 14.Nf1 Re8 15.Bc3 Nb6 16.Nd4 Bd7 is equal (Jakovenko-Alekseev, Aeroflot Op, Moscow, 2007).
• If 6...f5 7.exf5 Bxf5 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 e4 then:
• 10.Nfd2 Nf6 11.f3 d5 12.fxe4 Bxe4 13.Nxe4 dxe4 14.Nc3 Be7 15.Nxe4 0-0 16.Ng5 Qd5 17.Qd3 Rad8 18.Be3 gives White the advantage in space (Lastin-Gasanov, City Op, Moscow, 2007).
• 10.Qc2 Rc8 11.Ng5 Ne7 12.f3 exf3 13.Qb3 Qb6 14.Qf7+ Kd7 15.Nxf3 Be6 16.Qf4 Nd5 17.Qg3 g5 18.Bxg5 h6 19.Bh4 Ne3 gives White an extra pawn and Black more space (Ovetchkin-Tiviakov, Euro Ch, Dresden, 2007).
• If 5...Bg4 then:
• If 6.h3 Bh5 7.Re1 then:
• 7...e6 8.d3 Nf6 9.Nbd2 Nd7 10.Nf1 Be7 11.Ng3 Bg6 12.b3 0-0 13.Bb2 Re8 14.Nh2 Bh4 15.Ne2 e5 16.Nf3 Be7 17.Ng3 Nf8 18.c3 Ne6 19.d4 f6 20.Nh4 Bf7 21.Nhf5 Bf8 22.Ne3 is equal (Kritz-Wang Yue, Op, Gibraltar, 2008).
• If 6.d3 Nf6 then:
• 7.Nbd2 e5 8.Nc4 Be7 9.Ne3 Be6 10.Ng5 Bc8 11.Nf5 h6 12.Nh3 g6 13.Nxe7 Qxe7 14.f4 Bxh3 15.gxh3 exf4 16.Bxf4 Nh5 17.Bd2 Rb8 18.Qf3 Rb7 19.Rae1 Qe6 20.Bc3 0-0 21.Re2 Kh7 22.Rg2 f5 23.Rgf2 Rbf7 24.Qg2 d5 25.exd5 cxd5 gives Black an advantage in space (Djingarova-Baginskaite, OlW, Torino, 2006).
• 7.c3 e5 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nbd2 Be7 10.Qa4 Qc7 11.d4 exd4 12.cxd4 Nd7 13.b3 a5 14.Bb2 0-0 15.Rac1 Rfe8 16.Rfe1 Bf8 17.Qc4 Qb7 18.Qc2 a4 19.Nh4 axb3 20.axb3 f6 gives Black more space and White more freedom (Bologan-Leitão, IT, Pamplona, 2001-02).

4...Bd7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.c3 a6 7.Ba4

• If 7.Bf1 Bg4 8.d3 e6 9.Nbd2 Be7 10.h3 Bh5 11.g4 Bg6 12.Nh4 Nd7 13.Ng2 then:
• If 13...h5 14.f4 hxg4 15.hxg4 then:
• 15...Qc7 16.Nf3 0-0-0 gives Black pressure on the h-file, which he exploited in order to win (Anand-Carlsen, Amber Blind, Nice, 2009).
• 15...Bh7 16.Nf3 g5 17.f5 Nde5 18.Nxe5 Nxe5 19.Ne3 Bg8 20.Bg2 is equal (Larsen-S. B. Hansen, Danish Ch, Esbjerg, 1997)
• If 13...e5 then:
• 14.Nf3 h5 15.g5 Nf8 16.d4 cxd4 17.cxd4 exd4 18.Nxd4 Nxd4 19.Qxd4 Bxg5 20.Bxg5 Qxg5 21.Qxd6 is equal (Zhong Zhang-Atakisi, Ol, BLed, 2002).
• 14.f4 exf4 15.Nxf4 Bh4 16.Re2 Nde5 17.Rg2 0-0 18.Be2 Bg5 gives Black a small advantage in space (Benjamin-Yermolinsky, US Ch, Seattle, 2000).
• If 13...0-0 14.f4 h6 then:
• 15.Qf3 Bh7 16.Qg3 Kh8 17.Nf3 b5 18.h4 Qc7 19.f5 Nde5 20.Bf4 Rae8 is equal (Kuba-Movsesian, Euro ChT, Izmir, 2004).
• If 15.Nf3 Bh7 then:
• If 16.f5 Nde5 17.Nf4 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 then:
• 18...Bg5 19.Qd1 Re8 20.Bg2 g6 21.Rf1 exf5 is equal (Reinderman-Tiviakov, Corus B, Wijk aan Zee, 2000).
• 18...Bh4 19.Re2 Kh8 20.Qg2 Qe7 21.Be3 Rae8 is equal (Hillarp Persson- Zolotukhin, Euro Ch, Budva, 2009).
• If 16.Qe2 then:
• 16...Qc7 17.Qf2 Rae8 18.f5 Nde5 19.Bf4 Nxf3+ 20.Qxf3 gives White the advatage in space, but Black has room to expand on the Queen's wing (Popovic-Vuckovic, Serbia-Montenegro ChT, Herceg Novi, 2005).
• 16...Kh8 17.Qf2 Qc7 18.Bd2 Rae8 19.Rad1 b5 20.f5 Nde5 is equal (Leko-Movsesian, Ol, Istanbul, 2000).
• If 7.Bxc6 Bxc6 8.d4 Bxe4 9.Bg5 then:
• If 9...Bd5 10.Nbd2 e6 11.c4 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 cxd4 then:
• If 13.Qxb7 Qc8 14.Qb6 Qc5 15.Qb7 Qc8 then:
• 16.Qf3 Be7 17.Nb3 h6 18.Bf4 Ra7 19.Nxd4 Rc7 20.c5 Rxc5 21.Rac1 Nd5 22.b4 Nxb4 23.Bd2 Nd5 24.Nf5 0-0 25.Qxd5 Bf6 26.Qxd6 White remains a piece to the good (C. Hansen-Reinert, Danish Ch, Aarhus, 1981).
• 16.Qb6 Qc5 17.Qb7 draw (Yurtaev-Oll, Agzamov Mem, Tashkent, 1981).
• 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Qxb7 Be7 15.Qc6+ Kf8 16.Nf3 e5 is equal (Sebag-Bu Xiangzhi, TMatch, Cannes, 2004).
• 9...d5 10.Nbd2 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 cxd4 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.c4 dxc4 14.Nxc4 e6 15.Qxb7 Rb8 16.Qxa6 Qd5 17.Qa4+ Qb5 18.Qxb5+ Rxb5 is equal (Leitão-Morovic, IT, Poikovsky, 2001).
• 9...Bc6 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.d5 Bd7 12.Nbd2 Qc7 13.b4 0-0-0 14.a4 e6 15.Nc4 cxb4 16.cxb4 Kb8 is equal (Orlov-Areshchenko, Euro Ch, Dresden, 2007).

7...b5 8.Bc2 e5

• 8...Bg4 9.d3 e6 10.Nbd2 Be7 11.h3 Bh5 12.Nf1 0-0 13.Ng3 Bg6 14.Nh4 d5 15.Nxg6 hxg6 16.e5 Nd7 17.d4 cxd4 18.cxd4 Qb6 19.Be3 Rfc8 20.Rc1 Na5 is equal (Aveskulov-Atakasi, Mindsports Rapid, Beijing, 2008).

9.d4

• 9.h3 Be7 10.d4 0-0 11.d5 Na5 transposes into a variation of the Chigorin Defense to the Spanish Grand Royal Game.

9...cxd4 10.cxd4 Bg4 11.Be3

• If 11.d5 Nd4 12.Bd3 Bxf3 13.gxf3 then:
• 13...Nd7 14.Be3 Qf6 15.Be2 Be7 16.Nc3 0-0 17.Kh1 Rfc8 18.Rg1 h6 19.Rc1 Nf8 20.f4 b4 21.Bg4 bxc3 22.bxc3 Nde6 23.dxe6 Nxe6 is equal (Magem-Tiviakov, Ol, Istanbul, 2000).
• 13...Nh5 14.Be3 Be7 15.Kh1 Bg5 16.Rg1 Bf4 is equal (Beradze-Nyzhnyk, EU ChU12, Sibenik, 2007).

11...exd4!?

• Black's new move is an improvement over one played almost 60 years ago.
• 11...Be7 12.d5 Nb4 13.Bb3 a5 14.Nc3 a4 15.a3 axb3 16.axb4 0-0 17.Rxa8 Qxa8 18.h3 Bd7 19.Nd2 Ne8 20.Qe2 gives White the initiative against Black's pawn weaknesses on the queenside.(Andric-Gligoric, Yugoslav Ch, Sarajevo, 1951).

12.Bxd4

• The game is equal.

12...Be7 13.Nc3 0-0 14.a3 Rc8 15.Qd3 Bh5

• If 15...Re8 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 then:
• 17.Rac1 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 d5 19.Qd3 Bxc3 remains equal.
• 17.e5 Nxe5 18.Qxh7+ Kf8 19.Nd4 g6 20.Nd5 Bg7 remains equal.

16.Bb3 Nd7 17.Bd5

• 17.Bd1 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Nc5 19.Bxc5 dxc5 20.Nd5 Bf6 remains equal.

17...Nc5!?

• Black looks for ways to throw his less experienced opponent off balance.
• 17...Nde5 18.Nxe5 dxe5 19.Be3 Qd6 20.Rac1 Qg6 remains equal.

18.Qe3!

• Black might have been hoping for 18.Bxc5!? dxc5 19.b3 Re8 20.e5 Bg6 leaving Black with a queenside majority.

18...Re8

• 18...Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Bg5 20.Qh3 g6 21.b4 gives White the initiative.

19.b4 Bxf3 20.Bxc6 Rxc6 21.Qxf3 Ne6!?

• Blackl again looks for ways to prove White is green.
• 21...Nb3 22.Rad1 Nxd4 23.Rxd4 Bf6 24.Rd3 is equal.

22.Rad1!?

• This time Black has better luck.
• 22.Ne2 Bg5 23.Rad1 Qe7 24.Bb2 Bh4 25.Ng3 gives White the advantage in space.

22...Rc4 23.Ne2

• The game is equal.

23...Qa8 24.Qe3 Bg5 25.Qg3!?

• The e-pawn is too important to be left unprotected.
• If 25.Qf3! then:
• 25...Bh6 26.Qd3 Rec8 27.h3 d5 28.exd5 Qxd5 remains equal.
• 25...d5 26.e5 Rd8 27.Rd3 Bh6 remains equal.

BLACK: Alexander Areshchenko
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WHITE: Robert Hess
Position after 25.Qe3g3

25...Qxe4!

• Don't stare a gift horse in the mouth. Saddle it up and ride away into the sunset.
• 25...a5!? 26.f3 then:
• If 26...axb4 27.axb4 d5 28.exd5 Nxd4 29.Nxd4 Rxd4 then:
• 30.Qxg5 Rxe1+ 31.Rxe1 h6 32.Qf5 Rxd5 33.Qc2 remains equal.
• 30.Rxd4 Be3+ 31.Rxe3 Qa1+ 32.Qe1 Qxd4 33.Kf2 remains equal.
• 26...d5?! 27.exd5 Nxd4 28.Nxd4 Rxd4 29.Rxd4 Be3+ 30.Rxe3 Rxe3 31.Rd1 gives White an extra pawn.

26.Bc3?!

• White misses the line that keeps his hopes up.
• If 26.Ba1 Rc2 27.Nc3 then:
• 27...Qf4 28.Ne4 Qxg3 29.hxg3 Be7 30.Nxd6 Rd8 31.Nf5 Rxd1 gives Black the more active game, but White has chances to fight back.
• 27...Qf5!? 28.Ne4 Kf8 29.Nxd6 Qf4 30.Qxf4 Bxf4 31.Nxe8 gives White the exchange.

26...Qc2!

• Also good is 26...d5! 27.f4 Bh6 28.Be5 Qf5 29.Qf3 Re4.

27.Rxd6 Re4 28.f4?

• White misses his last chance to save the game.
• If 28.Kf1! Bf4 29.Qd3 Qxd3 30.Rxd3 then:
• If 30...Bc7 31.h3 Nf8 32.f3 Re3 33.Rxe3 Rxe3 34.Rd1 is equal after 34...Ne6.
• 30...Bxh2? 31.g3! Nf8 32.Nd4 Rxe1+ 33.Bxe1 Rd8 34.Kg2 wins the Black Bishop.

28...Nxf4!

• Black wins.
• 28...Rxe2 29.Rxe2 Qxe2 30.fxg5 Qe4 31.Qe5 is equal.

29.Rd2 Nxe2+ 30.Rexe2 Qc1+ 31.Kf2

BLACK: Alexander Areshchenko
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WHITE: Robert Hess
Position after 31.Kg1f2

31...Qxd2!!

• Any other move loses, the Queen sacrifice nails down the game.

32.Rxd2

• 32.Bxd2 Rxe2+ 33.Kf1 Bxd2 34.Qd3 Bc1 35.g3 Rxh2 is an easy win for Black.

32...Bh4 0-1

• 33.Qxh4 Rxh4 leaves Black up by an exchange and a pawn.
• Mr. Hess resigns.