Your opening play as white is a bit passive (3.Bc4?!, 4.d3?!), it doesn’t put black under any pressure or restrict his options. In the Sicilian, Black is often aiming to get in the pawn break d5 and with your bishop on c4 then his 4…d5! gains a tempo (it forces your bishop to move again) and here he already has at least an equal position and is maybe even a little bit better. You should never play Bc4 in the Sicilian when black can play d5 in a single move (often supported by the e6 pawn), that’s why you don’t often see this move in Sicilian positions unless black plays an early d6 (as in the Sozin variation for instance).

Your opponents 7…Bd6 is a mistake (better is 7…Be7) that loses a pawn to 8. Nxd5 when black doesn’t seem to have much compensation for the pawn. After your 8.Bg5 though the position is probably about equal. Note also that the discovered attack (here 11…Bh2+), when a bishop takes the king rook pawn revealing an attack on another piece, is one of the most common tactics in chess (see JoshSpecht’s analysis of my blitz game in the Stonewall Attack for instance) and you should get familiar with it.

After 11…Bh2+ you should have probably taken back with the Knight since after black plays 12…Qxd5 you can play Bxf6 doubling the kingside pawns. Then as white if you managed to swap off all the major pieces, the knight end game with black’s king side weakness and white’s pawn majority on the queenside would be very hard, probably impossible, for black to defend (note that knights are preferable to bishops when attacking a permanent weakness, because they are not restricted to attacking only squares of one color).

After 15.cxd4 black has an isolated pawn on d4 as you mention in your video. But an isolated pawn is not a weakness unless the opposing side can attack it. Here the black pawn on d4 is strong because it’s hard to attack and it cramps the white position giving black a space advantage. In fact your 16.g3 shows this up since after black’s …Rc8 white’s c2 pawn is much weaker than black’s d pawn.

After 17.Bf4?? and the resulting exchanges the white position is objectively lost even without the later blunder of the rook. Instead of 20…f5 black should play 20…Re8 with the threat of …Re2 dominating both open files and threatening to establish both the rooks on the seventh rank. Then, white can never the challenge the black rooks since the pawn ending after they get swapped off is easily winning for black.

I hope some of these comments are useful!

Originally posted by Rob

quote:
Your opening play as white is a bit passive (3.Bc4?!, 4.d3?!), it doesn’t put black under any pressure or restrict his options. In the Sicilian, Black is often aiming to get in the pawn break d5 and with your bishop on c4 then his 4…d5! gains a tempo (it forces your bishop to move again) and here he already has at least an equal position and is maybe even a little bit better. You should never play Bc4 in the Sicilian when black can play d5 in a single move (often supported by the e6 pawn), that’s why you don’t often see this move in Sicilian positions unless black plays an early d6 (as in the Sozin variation for instance).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rob Bc4 in that game was perfectely playable and it often leads to little known variations of the sicilian defense, white has several options after black's d5 move, white can either take on d5 and then play Bb3, white can also play Bb5+ followed by d4, white can even play Bb3 right away without taking on d5 etc, I do agree with you that the move 4.d3 is not as good as 4.Nf3 or even 4.e5 would have been, but 4.d3 is playable as well

note: it is just another way of playing against the sicilian defense where you have to face the drawback that your opponent might know enough chess to play e6, Ne7 and push for d5 right away, but this is played by several IMs and GMs today, IM Axel Batchman, GM Fabiano Caruana also plays this a lot, GM Roman Dzindzichashvilli plays it too, Roman teaches this line with Bc4 in two of his videos

1. Roman's forum: volume 23 'Grand prix and Reti Opening'
2.Roman's Lab: volume 33 'Crushing lines for white'

very good videos by the way!

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.

-I will come clean. I did not read the reviews by any IMs and did not handle it will. I intended to play closed Sicilian pure and simple: g3 then Bg2 were my intended next moves but I forgot them and had to think of something.
-I really did not spend enough time thinking through the implications of Bc4... seemed like a good developing move and targeted d4 so I figured it was good. I assumed, without really counting, that I had enough force on d4 to stop it. I did not really count until he played it. I will be counting the next time.

-Play, post, learn, play better

interesting video

DeepNf3 is right of course 3...Bc4 is a perfectly playable (or at least legal) move and in fact on my database there are many examples of this little known line. White has only managed 37% success (that's about 2-1 in favour of black or only little bit worse than 1.f3), but hey some people like a bit of a challenge in the opening and of course with such a move you are taking your opponent out of book.

Hi there,
just some notes...

DeepNf3:
Don't mix up variations. I think i haven't seen those videos from Roman, but I have watched several of him. You mentioned the Grand-Prix and of course Bc4 is perfectly playable after i.e. Blacks g6 in the Grand-Prix or those Dragon lines. But after e6 Black wants to play d5 and will always manage to establish d5 and therefore White will lose a tempo. In the GPA White firstly plays f4 and if Black still comes up with e6 White will eventually try to trade his light-squared bishop for a knight on c6 by playing Bb5. After g6 the position changes, if Black still plays e6 his dark squares become a little weak on the kingside...
I also have to mention the other video you referred to. I think i have seen it ("Crushing Lines for white") and there were afaik only some other Openings analyzed. Iirc it was the French, Aljechin, Pirc and Caro-Kann... Maybe there was a different video with the same title, but I'll ask my friend, who has those DVDs.

roq:
Don't be too foolish to trust any statistics. I agree with you, that the opening wasn't best and there is a better way to play for white, but you don't have to forget that most databases that you can get stats from are played on a very high level. The real point why the choice is wrong isn't that the grandmasters tend to win that position with Black, its more that Black can make mostly natural moves to get an advantage. Of courseyou mentioned that plans, but the story about the stats isn't that appropriate in my point of view, because it lacks of the real nature of the game...
The Kings Gambit also hasn't got a good reputation either. On the highest level it is White that fights for a draw, but on club level it is a major weapon...

hptchess:
I truly respect that you chose to show a lost game of yours. I see many guys around here that only show up won games, where their opponents blunder a piece, but still call them strong opposition. It is very hard to criticize any games here, because of the variety of time limits. Your opponent played quite well and so this is a game, that one can learn from. But my advice for you is the following: Don't trust every evaluation of chessmaster. It is clear, he is better than you, well he is far more better than I am, but there is one problem with computers. They don't have any intelligence. The move he recommendes in a bad position might be that way, that costs the opponents the most moves to win. But hey, maybe this line is so easy to find and easy to win...
If the computer has the choice between being one pawn down in a lost endgame or an exchange down with practical chances, where the best line favours the opponent a bit more, then Chessmaster decides for being one pawn down.
What I want to say is, that you really have to understand the game. Search for your chances, if you're already in a bad position search for moves that keep most material on the board and keep your pawns intact so you can fight for the rest of the game. Computers aren't good because every single one of their moves is correct, they are because almost none of their moves are incorrect.

So don't try to exchange the bishop on f4. If you exchange queens after that you're lost, but you mentioned taking with the pawn. That might have been better, but the deficits that arise of the broken pawnstructure around your king with queens on the board may cause you severe problems in the later game. So if you have to choose between losing a pawn for nothing without any counterplay, or having your king really really naked, search for another move that leaves the opponents strong pieces where they are and try to do the very best of your situation without defecting your position that much. Of course the mistake was already g3, but Bf4 finally lost the game...

hope there was something in this for you...

so long,
Eulenkadaver

I am not just writting stuff here out of nowhere, I am a chess trainer and I also used to be an active tournament player when younger, I also sell chess related material (I have watched all Roman DVDs, his whole collection is valued at about $600.00, I own all his videos/DVDs), it does not matter if black can play d5, those variations are perfectly playable even when black can play d5

note: you even try to argue with me about the Roman DVDs I refered to in my post, I am holding those two DVDs in my hand right now as I am writting, if you have not watched and don't even own the DVDs yourselve why are you arguing out of nowhere?, not only that, I don't even have to look at the DVDs to know all these variations, this is something i studied long time ago way before I looked at any Roman DVD

answering to trying to talking about the sicilian dragon, I am a sicilian player (paulsen system player, and Dragon player(regular and accelerated), I have played and still play most sicilian systems, believe me when I say that Bc4 variation against e6 is playable, ofcourse not in the way hptchess played it

here: is it played or is it not?

[Event "Buenos Aires op"]
[Site "Buenos Aires"]
[Date "1968.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Bibiloni, Jorge Jaime"]
[Black "Miana, Elias T"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B20"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "1968.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ARG"]
[Source "ChessBase"]

1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 e6 3. Nc3 a6 (3... Nc6 4. Nf3 (4. a3 Nf6 5. d3 (5. Ba2 d5 6. f3
d4 7. Nce2 d3 8. cxd3 Ne5 9. Bc4 a6 10. a4 Nxd3+ 11. Bxd3 Qxd3 12. Nh3 Be7 13.
O-O O-O 14. Nf2 Qd7 15. d3 b6 16. Bd2 Bb7 17. Bc3 Rfd8 18. Qc2 Rac8 19. Rfd1
Qc7 20. h3 Nd7 21. b3 Bd6 22. Qb2 f6 23. Rac1 Qb8 24. d4 cxd4 25. Nxd4 Nc5 26.
Qa2 Bf4 27. Rc2 Be3 28. b4 Nxa4 29. Qxa4 e5 30. Kf1 exd4 31. Bd2 Bxd2 32. Rcxd2
Qe5 33. Qb3+ Kh8 34. Nd3 Qb5 35. Kf2 Qc4 36. Qb2 Qc3 37. Qa2 Qc4 38. Qb2 Qc3
39. Qa2 Qc7 40. Qb2 Qd6 41. Rc1 h6 42. g3 Rxc1 43. Nxc1 f5 44. exf5 Qd5 45. Qb3
Qxf5 46. Kg2 Rc8 47. Qd3 Qf8 48. Ne2 Qxb4 49. Nxd4 Rf8 50. g4 Rd8 51. Kf2 a5
52. Qe3 a4 53. Ke1 a3 54. Nc2 Qb1+ 55. Kf2 Rxd2+ 56. Qxd2 Qb3 57. Nd4 Qb2 58.
Ke3 Ba6 59. f4 Qb1 60. Ne6 Qb3+ {
0-1 Bahram,N (2175)-Eriksson,J (2385)/Stockholm 1998/CBM 68 ext}) 5... d5 6.
exd5 exd5 7. Ba2 Be7 8. Nge2 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. Ng3 Qd7 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bxf6
Bxf6 13. Qd2 b5 14. Nh5 Be5 15. Rae1 b4 16. axb4 cxb4 17. Nd1 Bg4 18. Ng3 Bxd1
19. Qxd1 Bxb2 20. Qf3 Bc3 21. Rc1 Rad8 22. Nf5 Nd4 23. Nxd4 Bxd4 24. c4 bxc3
25. Qf4 Bf6 26. Rc2 Rfe8 27. Bb1 Rb8 28. d4 Bg5 29. Qg3 Bd2 30. Qd3 Qb5 31.
Rxd2 cxd2 32. Qh7+ Kf8 33. Qh8+ Ke7 34. Qxg7 Qxf1+ {
0-1 Bradaric,R (2210)-Stevic,H (2400)/Kastel Stari 1997/CBM 57 ext}) (4. f4 d6
(4... Nge7 5. Nf3 d5 6. exd5 exd5 7. Bb5 a6 8. Bxc6+ Nxc6 9. O-O Be7 10. Kh1
O-O 11. d4 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Qd6 13. Nce2 Bg4 14. Qd3 Rac8 15. c3 Rfe8 16. Bd2 Bf6
17. Rae1 Rcd8 18. Ng3 Nxd4 19. cxd4 Bd7 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. Rc1 Bb5 22. Qc3 Qb6
23. Be3 Bd7 24. Qd2 Be7 25. Rc2 Bb4 26. Qc1 Qe6 27. Bf2 Bb5 28. h3 Bd3 29. Rc7
Bc4 30. Rxb7 Ba5 31. Qc2 Qc8 32. Qa4 Be1 33. Rc7 Qb8 34. Qd7 Rf8 35. Bxe1 Bb5
36. Qe7 Qb6 37. Bb4 Qb8 38. Qxf8+ {
1-0 Charevitch,A-Novikova,A/Litohoto 1999/CBM 72 ext}) (4... Na5 5. d3 b6 6.
Nf3 Bb7 7. O-O Nxc4 8. dxc4 Nf6 9. Qe1 Be7 10. e5 Ng4 11. Qg3 f5 12. h3 Bxf3
13. Qxf3 Nh6 14. Rd1 Qc8 15. a4 a5 16. Nb5 O-O 17. Ra3 Qc6 18. Rad3 Rad8 19.
Qxc6 dxc6 20. Rxd8 Rxd8 21. Rxd8+ Bxd8 22. Na7 Nf7 23. Nxc6 Kf8 24. g4 g6 25.
Kg2 Ke8 26. Kg3 Kd7 27. Na7 Be7 28. Nb5 Nd8 29. c3 Nc6 30. Na3 Ke8 31. Nc2 Kf7
32. Ne1 Kg7 33. Nd3 Kf7 34. Be3 Ke8 35. h4 Kd7 36. h5 Ke8 37. hxg6 hxg6 38. Ne1
Kf7 39. Nf3 Ke8 40. Kh3 Bf8 41. Ng5 Bh6 42. Nxe6 fxg4+ 43. Kxg4 Nxe5+ 44. fxe5
Bxe3 45. Nc7+ Kd7 46. Nd5 Bc1 47. Nf4 Bxf4 48. Kxf4 Ke6 49. Ke4 g5 {
1/2-1/2 Parkin,J (2140)-Tomic,B (2151)/Aviles 2000/CBM 77 ext}) (4... Be7 5.
Nf3 Nf6 6. d3 Na5 7. O-O Nxc4 8. dxc4 d6 9. b3 b6 10. Re1 Bb7 11. e5 Bxf3 12.
Qxf3 Nd7 13. Nb5 O-O 14. Rd1 dxe5 15. Qb7 Bf6 16. Rxd7 Qb8 17. Qxb8 Raxb8 18.
Bb2 exf4 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Nxa7 Kg7 21. Nb5 Kg6 22. Rad1 h5 23. Rc7 e5 24. Rd6
e4 25. Rcc6 e3 26. Nc3 Kf5 27. Rxf6+ Ke5 28. Rfd6 Rfd8 29. Rd5+ Rxd5 30. Nxd5
f5 31. Rxb6 Re8 32. Kf1 Rg8 33. Rb7 h4 34. Re7+ Kd6 35. Rd7+ Ke5 36. Nc3 h3 37.
Rd5+ Kf6 38. gxh3 f3 39. Rd3 f4 40. Nd5+ Ke5 41. Nxe3 fxe3 42. Rxe3+ Kf4 43.
Re7 Rg2 44. a4 Rxc2 45. Rc7 Ke3 46. Re7+ Kf4 {
1/2-1/2 Cortizo Vazquez,E-Losada Gallego,J/Orense 2002/CBM 89 ext}) (4... a6 5.
d3 Nge7 6. Nf3 d5 7. Bb3 g6 8. a3 Bg7 9. O-O O-O 10. Kh1 b5 11. Ne2 dxe4 12.
dxe4 c4 13. Ba2 Qxd1 14. Rxd1 e5 15. Rb1 f5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. fxe5 fxe4 18. Bg5
Nc6 19. Ng3 Nxe5 20. Nxe4 Bf5 21. Re1 Ng4 22. Nc3 Bxc2 23. Ra1 Bf5 24. Re2 Rae8
25. Be7 Bxc3 26. bxc3 Rf7 27. Rae1 Bd3 28. Re6 Nf2+ 29. Kg1 Ne4 30. R6xe4 Bxe4
31. Bc5 Bc6 32. Rxe8+ Bxe8 33. Bb1 Bc6 34. Bc2 Rd7 35. Bd4 Rxd4 36. cxd4 a5 37.
Kf2 b4 38. Bb1 b3 39. Ke3 Bxg2 40. Kd2 Bd5 41. Kc3 Kg7 42. Kd2 Kh6 {
0-1 Wainer,D (2110)-Lafuente,P (2418)/Buenos Aires 2002/CBM 90 ext}) 5. Nf3 a6
6. a3 Qc7 7. O-O Nf6 8. d3 b5 9. Ba2 Be7 10. Bd2 O-O 11. Qe1 Nd4 12. Rc1 Bd7
13. Qg3 Nxf3+ 14. Rxf3 c4 15. f5 e5 16. Bh6 g6 17. Bxf8 Rxf8 18. Rcf1 Nh5 19.
Qg4 Nf6 20. Qh3 Bc8 21. g4 g5 22. Qg2 Bb7 23. h3 d5 24. Qe2 cxd3 25. cxd3 Bxa3
26. Nxd5 Bc5+ 27. Ne3 Qa5 28. Ra1 Qb4 29. Kh2 Bd4 30. Rb1 Qd6 31. Rff1 Rc8 32.
Rfc1 Rxc1 33. Rxc1 Qb6 34. Nd1 Bg1+ 35. Kg3 Bd4 36. Qc2 Ne8 37. Nc3 Nf6 38. Qb3
Qc7 39. Nxb5 {1-0 Quiring,J-Milord,F/Winnipeg 1997/CBM 60 ext}) (4. Nge2 Nf6 5.
d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 d6 7. O-O a6 8. a4 Be7 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Be2 Re8 12.
Nb3 b6 13. Bf3 Bb7 14. Qe1 Rac8 15. g4 h6 16. h4 Nd7 17. g5 hxg5 18. hxg5 Nb4
19. Rf2 d5 20. Rh2 f5 21. Bh5 Red8 22. exf5 exf5 23. Bg6 Bxg5 24. fxg5 Ne5 25.
Rh8+ Kxh8 26. Qh4+ Kg8 27. Qh7+ Kf8 28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Qxg7+ Kd6 30. Qf6+ Kd7 31.
Bxf5+ Ke8 32. Bf4 {1-0 Faust,H-Meier,H/Pizol 1998/CBM 64 ext}) (4. a4 Nge7 5.
d3 (5. Nge2 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. Ng3 O-O 8. d3 d5 9. Ba2 a6 10. f4 dxe4 11. Ngxe4
Nf5 12. Kh1 Qe7 13. Ne2 b5 14. N2g3 Bb7 15. axb5 axb5 16. Nxf5 exf5 17. Nc3 Nb4
18. Re1 Qd7 19. Re5 Bxe5 20. fxe5 Nxa2 21. Rxa2 Rxa2 22. Nxa2 Qd5 23. Qf3 Qxa2
24. Qxb7 Qb1 25. h3 Qxc1+ 26. Kh2 Qf4+ 27. Kg1 Qxe5 {
0-1 Nielsen,M (1544)-Nielsen,M (2086)/Copenhagen 2002/CBM 89 ext}) 5... d5 6.
Ba2 g6 7. Bg5 d4 8. Bf6 Rg8 9. Nce2 Qd6 10. f4 e5 11. Bg5 h6 12. fxe5 Nxe5 13.
Bf4 Bg7 14. Qd2 Be6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Bxe5 Qxe5 17. Nf3 Qd6 18. O-O O-O-O 19.
a5 Rgf8 20. Kh1 g5 21. h3 Nc6 22. Rfb1 Rf7 23. Qe1 Rdf8 24. Nd2 Nb4 25. Rc1 Rf2
26. Nf3 R8xf3 27. gxf3 Qh2# {
0-1 Deus Filho,J-Disconzi da Silva,R (2336)/Americana 1999/CBM 73 ext}) (4. d3
Nf6 (4... g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Bf4 d6 7. Qd2 e5 8. Bg5 Nge7 9. Bh6 O-O 10. h4 Rb8
11. a4 Nd4 12. h5 Bg4 13. hxg6 Nxg6 14. Bxg7 Nf4 15. Nxd4 cxd4 16. Nd5 Kxg7 17.
Nxf4 exf4 18. Qxf4 f5 19. Qh6+ {1-0 Tobiasz,M-Gondko,K/Laczna 2002/CBM 89 ext})
5. Bg5 (5. Bf4 d6 6. a3 (6. Nge2 a6 7. a4 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg3 Bd7 10. Qd2 Rc8
11. Ba2 Nb4 12. Bb1 d5 13. e5 Nh5 14. d4 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Nc6 16. Re1 Qb6 17. a5
Qc7 18. Nd1 cxd4 19. Nxd4 Nxe5 20. c3 Nc4 21. Qd3 g6 22. b4 e5 23. Nb3 Be6 24.
Ba2 Rfd8 25. Nd2 e4 26. Qe2 Ne5 27. Nxe4 dxe4 28. Bxe6 fxe6 29. Qxe4 Bf6 30. f4
Nf7 31. Rc1 Rd6 32. Nf2 Bxc3 33. Re2 Rc6 34. Rd1 Bg7 35. Kh2 e5 36. f5 Rc4 37.
Qb1 Rc1 38. Qe4 Rxd1 39. Nxd1 Qc6 40. fxg6 hxg6 41. Qg4 Rd8 42. Nf2 Nh6 43. Qh4
Rf8 44. Nd3 Rf5 45. Qd8+ Kh7 46. Nc5 Qb5 47. Qd2 Ng4+ 48. Kh3 Bh6 49. Qe1 Ne3
50. Rxe3 Bxe3 51. Qxe3 Qxb4 52. Ne4 Qxa5 53. g4 Rf1 54. Ng3 Rf4 55. Ne4 Qd8 56.
g3 Rxe4 57. Qxe4 Qe7 58. g5 b5 59. Qh4+ Kg8 60. Qe4 Qxg5 61. Qa8+ Kh7 62. Qxa6
Qf5+ 63. g4 Qf3+ 64. Kh4 Qh1+ 65. Kg3 Qd5 66. Qa7+ Kh6 67. Qe7 e4 68. Qf8+ Kh7
69. Qe7+ Kg8 70. Qe8+ Kg7 71. Qe7+ Qf7 72. Qxe4 Qc7+ 73. Kh3 Qc5 74. Qa8 g5 75.
Qa1+ Kf7 76. Qa2+ Kf6 77. Qf2+ Qxf2 {
1/2-1/2 Buecker,S (2346)-Meyer,P (2359)/Germany 2001/CBM 82 ext}) 6... a6 7.
Ba2 g6 8. Qd2 Bg7 9. Bh6 O-O 10. h4 Qe7 11. Nge2 Re8 12. Ng3 Qf8 13. Bxg7 Qxg7
14. h5 g5 15. h6 Qg6 16. O-O-O b5 17. f4 gxf4 18. Qxf4 e5 19. Qh4 Be6 20. Rdf1
Nd7 21. Nd5 Ra7 22. Rf5 {
1-0 Eskandary,J (2110)-Buchholz,K/Dresden 2001/CBM 84 ext}) (5. Nh3 d5 6. Bb3
dxe4 7. dxe4 Qxd1+ 8. Kxd1 Be7 9. f3 O-O (9... b6 10. Be3 Bd7 11. a4 O-O-O 12.
Ke2 a6 13. Rhd1 Be8 14. Rxd8+ Bxd8 15. Rd1 Bc7 16. f4 Na5 17. Ba2 h6 18. Nf2
Bc6 19. e5 Nd7 20. Nfe4 Rd8 21. h4 Nf8 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. g4 Ke7 24. Nd2 Nd7
25. Nc4 b5 26. axb5 axb5 27. Nd2 Nb7 28. Nce4 Ba5 29. c3 c4 30. Bd4 Nb6 31. f5
exf5 32. gxf5 Nd5 33. Kf3 Bb6 34. Bb1 Bxd4 35. cxd4 Na5 36. Nc5 b4 37. Be4 c3
38. bxc3 bxc3 39. Ndb3 Nc4 40. Bxd5 Bxd5+ 41. Ke2 Nb2 42. Nc1 f6 43. Ke3 h5 44.
Kf4 Bg2 45. Ne4 c2 46. Ng3 fxe5+ 47. dxe5 Kf8 48. Kg5 Bd5 49. Nxh5 Be4 50. Nf4
Nc4 51. Ng6+ Ke8 52. Kf4 Bd5 53. e6 Na5 54. Ne5 Nc6 55. Ng4 Ke7 56. Ne3 Nb4 57.
Ke5 Bf3 58. Kd4 Kf6 59. Kc5 Nc6 60. Kd6 Ne7 61. Nxc2 Nxf5+ 62. Kd7 Nxh4 63. Ne3
Bh5 64. Nd5+ Ke5 65. Nd3+ Kxd5 66. Nf4+ Ke5 67. Nxh5 Ng6 68. Nxg7 Nf8+ {
1/2-1/2 Buecker,S (2346)-Torrecillas Martinez,A (2372)/Martinenc 2001/CBM 80ext
}) 10. Be3 b6 11. Nf4 Bb7 12. Ke1 Rfd8 13. Kf2 Nd4 14. Bxd4 cxd4 15. Nb5 a6 16.
Nc7 Rac8 17. Ncxe6 fxe6 18. Nxe6 Kh8 19. Nxd8 Rxd8 20. Rhd1 Bd6 21. g3 g5 22.
h3 Nh5 23. Kg2 Be5 24. c3 d3 25. Bd5 Bxd5 26. Rxd3 Bxg3 27. Rxd5 Bd6 28. Kf1
Nf4 29. Rd2 Be7 30. Rxd8+ Bxd8 31. Rd1 Be7 32. Rd7 Bc5 33. b4 Be3 34. e5 Kg8
35. e6 Kf8 36. Rxh7 Bd2 37. Ra7 Bxc3 38. Rxa6 Bd4 39. a4 Ke7 40. a5 bxa5 41.
bxa5 Nxh3 42. Rb6 Nf4 43. Rb7+ Kxe6 44. a6 Nd5 45. Kg2 Nf6 46. Kg3 Kf5 47. a7
Bxa7 48. Rxa7 Kg6 49. Ra5 Nh5+ 50. Kf2 Nf4 51. Ra8 Kf5 52. Rd8 Ne6 53. Rd5+ Kf4
54. Ra5 Nc7 55. Ra7 Nd5 56. Ra4+ Ke5 57. Ra5 Ke6 58. Kg3 {
1-0 Buecker,S (2346)-Gallego Martinez,R (2298)/Martinenc 2001/CBM 80 ext}) 5...
Be7 6. Nf3 (6. Nge2 O-O 7. Bb3 d6 8. O-O Na5 9. Ng3 Nxb3 10. axb3 Bd7 11. Nh5
Nxh5 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Qxh5 g6 14. Qh6 f5 15. exf5 gxf5 16. Rae1 Qf7 17. Re3
Kh8 18. Ne2 f4 19. Rf3 e5 20. Qxd6 Qg7 21. Qxc5 Rac8 22. Qd6 Rc6 23. Qb4 Rxc2
24. Re1 Bc6 25. Kh1 Rg8 26. Ng3 Bxf3 27. gxf3 fxg3 28. fxg3 Rxh2+ {
0-1 Roettger,F-Hellwege,W (2070)/Dresden 2001/CBM 84 ext}) (6. f4 h6 7. Bxf6
Bxf6 8. e5 Be7 9. Ne4 d5 10. exd6 Bxd6 11. Ne2 O-O 12. Qd2 Be7 13. O-O Na5 14.
Qe3 Qc7 15. N4g3 Bd7 16. c3 Nxc4 17. dxc4 Rae8 18. Rad1 Bc6 19. a3 b6 20. b4
Bb7 21. b5 a5 22. Nc1 Rd8 23. Nd3 Bf6 24. Nf2 g6 25. Ng4 Bg7 26. Ne5 Rxd1 27.
Rxd1 Rd8 28. Rd2 Rxd2 29. Qxd2 Bxe5 30. fxe5 Qxe5 31. Qd8+ Kg7 32. Qxb6 Qe1+
33. Nf1 Qe4 {0-1 Koch,A (2110)-Karger,F (2168)/Dortmund 2001/CBM 85 ext}) 6...
d6 7. O-O O-O 8. Bb3 a6 9. a4 Rb8 10. Re1 Qc7 11. Qd2 b5 12. axb5 axb5 13. Ne2
Rd8 14. Ng3 d5 15. e5 Nd7 16. Bxe7 Nxe7 17. d4 c4 18. Ba2 Ra8 19. c3 Ra5 20.
Qc2 Qa7 21. Bb1 g6 22. Rxa5 Qxa5 23. Qd2 Nc6 24. Qh6 Nf8 25. Nh5 gxh5 26. Ng5
Qc7 27. Bxh7+ Nxh7 28. Nxh7 f5 29. Nf6+ {
1-0 Peric,M (2069)-Batarelo,Z (2210)/Zadar 2000/CBM 79 ext}) 4... Nge7 (4...
Nf6 5. d3 d5 6. Bb5 d4 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Ne2 Qc7 9. O-O Bd6 10. Bg5 Nh5 11. Re1
h6 12. Bh4 e5 13. Ng3 Nxg3 14. Bxg3 Bg4 15. c4 O-O 16. h3 Bh5 17. Bh2 Qe7 18.
g4 Bg6 19. Qa4 Rac8 20. Bg3 Bh7 21. Kg2 g6 22. Rh1 f5 23. gxf5 gxf5 24. Rae1
fxe4 25. dxe4 Qf6 26. Nd2 Rc7 27. Ref1 Qg5 28. Qd1 Rg7 29. Rhg1 Bg6 30. h4 Qe7
31. h5 Be8 32. Kh1 Qg5 33. Bh2 Qxh5 34. Qxh5 Bxh5 35. Rxg7+ Kxg7 36. Rg1+ Kh7
37. Rg2 Be2 38. Kg1 a5 39. Rg3 d3 40. Rh3 a4 41. Rh5 Kg6 42. Rh3 Rb8 43. Rg3+
Kf6 44. b3 axb3 45. axb3 Ra8 46. Nf3 Ra1+ 47. Kg2 Ra2 48. Kh3 d2 49. Nxd2 Rxd2
50. Re3 Rd3 51. Rxd3 Bxd3 52. f3 Bc2 53. Kg4 Bxb3 54. f4 exf4 55. Bxf4 Bxf4 56.
Kxf4 Bxc4 {0-1 Hirneise,L-Hammer,K/Rommelshausen 2002/CBM 89 ext}) (4... g6 5.
d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 d6 (6... Bg7 7. Nf3 Nge7 8. O-O O-O 9. Be3 a6 10. a3 Qc7 11.
Qd2 Ne5 12. Be2 N7c6 13. Na4 b5 14. Nb6 Rb8 15. Bc5 Re8 16. Bd6 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3
Qxb6 18. Bxb8 Qxb8 19. c3 Bb7 20. Rfd1 {
0-1 Kesre,O-Aydogdu,E/Izmir 2002/CBM 90 ext}) 7. Be3 a6 8. Qd2 Bg7 9. O-O-O Na5
10. Be2 b5 11. Rhe1 Bb7 12. f4 Nf6 13. e5 dxe5 14. fxe5 Nd7 15. Bg5 Qc7 16.
Ndxb5 axb5 17. Nxb5 Nb3+ 18. Kb1 Nxd2+ 19. Bxd2 Qb6 {
0-1 Tupolev,K (2205)-Larichev,D/Novosibirsk 2002/CBM 89 ext}) 5. d3 (5. a3 Nd4
6. Nb5 Nxb5 7. Bxb5 a6 8. Bc4 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Be2 Nc6 11. c3 Be7 12. d4
cxd4 13. Nxd4 O-O 14. Be3 Bf6 15. O-O Re8 16. Re1 Na5 17. Qc2 Bd7 18. Bd3 g6
19. Bf1 Rc8 20. Rad1 Qc7 21. Bd3 Nc4 22. Bxc4 Qxc4 23. Qd2 Bg7 24. Nc2 Ba4 25.
Bd4 Bxc2 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Qxc2 Bxd4 {
0-1 Hummel,V-Neubert,G/Dresden 2001/CBM 84 ext}) 5... a6 6. a4 Nd4 7. O-O d5 8.
Ba2 Nxf3+ 9. Qxf3 d4 10. Ne2 Bd7 11. Bg5 Qb6 12. a5 Qd6 13. Bf4 Qc6 14. c3 dxc3
15. bxc3 Ng6 16. d4 Nxf4 17. Nxf4 Qc8 18. Nh5 c4 19. Qg3 Qc6 20. Nxg7+ Bxg7 21.
Qxg7 O-O-O 22. Rfe1 Rdf8 23. Qf6 Rhg8 24. Bb1 h5 25. Bc2 Qc7 26. Re3 Bc6 27.
Rg3 Rg4 28. Rxg4 hxg4 29. Qg7 Qd8 30. Qxg4 f5 31. Qe2 Kb8 32. f3 Qg5 33. Rd1
Bb5 34. Qd2 Qd8 35. Qf4+ Ka8 36. Ra1 fxe4 37. Qxe4 Qg5 38. Qe2 Re8 39. Be4 e5
40. d5 Rh8 41. Qf2 Rh6 42. Rd1 Qd8 43. Qc5 Rd6 {
1-0 Morin,Y (2215)-Bartsch,B (2330)/Cannes 1995/CBM 46 ext}) (3... Ne7 4. Qf3 (
4. Qh5 Nbc6 5. d3 g6 6. Qh4 Nd4 7. Qf6 Rg8 8. Bb3 Nec6 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Bg5+
Be7 11. h4 f6 12. Be3 Rb8 13. Nce2 Nxb3 14. axb3 f5 15. Nf3 b6 16. Nf4 Bf6 17.
c3 a5 18. Kd2 Ba6 19. Kc2 Ke7 20. Rae1 Bb5 21. Bd2 fxe4 22. Rxe4 Kf7 23. Ng5+
Kg7 24. g4 Ne5 25. Rhe1 h6 26. Ngxe6+ dxe6 27. g5 hxg5 28. hxg5 Nf3 29. gxf6+
Kf7 30. R1e3 e5 31. Rxf3 exf4 32. Bxf4 Rbe8 33. Rfe3 Kxf6 34. Rxe8 Bxe8 35. Bc7
a4 36. bxa4 Bxa4+ 37. b3 Bd7 38. Bxb6 Rc8 39. Re4 Be6 40. Ra4 Rb8 41. Ra6 Kf5
42. Bxc5 Bxb3+ 43. Kd2 Be6 44. Bd4 g5 45. Ke3 Re8 46. Kf3 Rd8 47. Ra5+ Kg6 48.
Ke4 Bc8 49. Re5 Bb7+ 50. Ke3 Bc8 51. Re7 Bh3 52. c4 Bg2 53. c5 Rc8 54. Kd2 g4
55. Ke3 Bf1 56. Re5 Rc6 57. Bc3 Rf6 58. Be1 Rf3+ 59. Ke4 Rxd3 60. c6 Rd6 61. c7
Rc6 62. Ba5 Ba6 63. Kd5 Kf6 64. Rh5 Kg6 65. Kxc6 Kxh5 66. Bc3 Bc8 67. Kd6 Kg6
68. Ke7 Kf5 69. Kd8 Ba6 70. Bb4 Ke4 71. Bd6 {
1-0 Johnsen,S (2170)-Popovic,D (2263)/Belgrade 2001/CBM 82 ext}) 4... a6 5. a3
b5 6. Ba2 Bb7 7. d3 Ng6 8. Bf4 Nc6 9. Nge2 Be7 10. Bg3 Nce5 11. Bxe5 Nxe5 12.
Qg3 Ng6 13. O-O Bf6 14. h3 Be5 15. f4 Bc7 16. Rf2 O-O 17. Raf1 d5 18. exd5 exd5
19. d4 c4 20. b4 a5 21. Nxb5 axb4 22. Rf3 Bb8 23. Rb1 Nh4 24. Re3 Nf5 25. Qf2
Nxe3 26. Qxe3 Re8 27. Qf3 bxa3 28. Nxa3 Qe7 29. Ng3 Rxa3 {
0-1 Lehr,H-Pietrek,G/Dresden 2001/CBM 84 ext}) 4. a4 (4. a3 b5 (4... Qc7 5. Nf3
Nc6 6. d3 Nf6 7. h3 Be7 8. O-O b6 9. Bg5 Bb7 10. Bh4 h6 11. Bg3 d6 12. Qd2 g5
13. Nh2 O-O-O 14. f3 Rdg8 15. Rab1 Nh5 16. Ne2 Nd4 17. Bf2 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 Bf6
19. Ng4 Nf4 20. Qe1 Be7 21. Bg3 h5 22. Ne3 Bf6 23. Qd2 Bd4 24. c3 Bxe3+ 25.
Qxe3 d5 26. Ba2 Nxh3+ 27. Kh2 Nf4 28. e5 Rg7 29. Bxf4 gxf4 30. Qxf4 Qe7 31. Rf2
Rhg8 32. d4 c4 33. Rh1 Rg5 34. Kg1 Rf5 35. Qd2 h4 36. Qh6 Bc6 37. Qxh4 Qxh4 38.
Rxh4 Rfg5 39. g4 Ba4 40. Kg2 Bd1 41. Kg3 Kd7 42. Bb1 Ke7 43. Bc2 Bxc2 44. Rxc2
Kd7 45. Rh7 Ke8 46. Rch2 Kf8 47. a4 Ke7 48. Rh8 Ke8 49. Rxg8+ Rxg8 50. f4 Kf8
51. Rh5 Ke7 52. f5 exf5 53. Rxf5 a5 54. Rf6 Rb8 55. Rd6 b5 56. Rxd5 bxa4 57.
Rxa5 Rxb2 58. Rc5 a3 59. Rxc4 Ke6 60. Ra4 a2 61. c4 Rd2 62. Ra6+ Ke7 63. d5 Rc2
64. Kf3 Rc3+ 65. Ke2 Rxc4 66. Rxa2 Re4+ 67. Kf3 Rxe5 68. Ra5 Kd6 69. Kf4 f6 70.
Ra6+ Ke7 71. Ra5 Kd6 72. Ra8 Kxd5 73. Ra5+ Kd4 74. Ra6 Re1 75. Rd6+ Kc5 76.
Rxf6 Rf1+ 77. Kg5 Rg1 78. Kh5 Kd5 79. g5 Ke5 80. Rf8 Ke6 81. Kh6 Ke7 82. Rf2
Rh1+ 83. Kg7 Rg1 84. Kg6 Ke8 85. Rf5 Ke7 86. Rf3 Ke8 87. Kh6 Rh1+ 88. Kg7 Rg1
89. g6 Rg2 90. Rf8+ Ke7 91. Rh8 Rg3 92. Rh6 Rg2 93. Kg8 Kf6 94. g7+ Kg5 95. Kh7
{1-0 Bubka,S-Schoen,A/Rowy 2000/CBM 78 ext}) 5. Ba2 Qg5 (5... Bb7 6. d3 Nc6 7.
Nh3 Nd4 8. O-O Nf6 9. e5 Ng8 10. Ng5 Qc7 11. f4 Nh6 12. Nce4 Be7 13. c3 Ndf5
14. Qe2 O-O-O 15. Bd2 f6 16. Nf3 Nf7 17. d4 h5 18. c4 Qc6 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 20.
cxb5 axb5 21. dxc5 Qxc5+ 22. Kh1 h4 23. b4 Ng3+ {
0-1 Jacob,K (2051)-Ivanov,M (2465)/Bad Woerishofen 2000/CBM 75 ext}) 6. Qf3 Nc6
7. Nge2 Qf6 8. Qxf6 Nxf6 9. d3 Bb7 10. Bf4 O-O-O 11. h3 d6 12. Nd1 d5 13. f3
Be7 14. O-O h6 15. Nf2 g5 16. Bh2 h5 17. c3 g4 18. f4 gxh3 19. Nxh3 dxe4 20.
dxe4 Nxe4 21. Rad1 c4 22. Bb1 Bc5+ 23. Kh1 Nd2 24. Rfe1 Nxb1 25. Rxb1 Rd2 26.
Bg1 Bxg1 27. Nhxg1 Ne7 28. Red1 Rhd8 29. Rxd2 Rxd2 30. Kh2 Nf5 31. Kh3 Be4 {
0-1 Lopez,A-Azmaiparashvili,Z (2655)/Oviedo 1993/CBM 38 ext}) (4. Nf3 b5 5. Be2
Bb7 6. d3 Nc6 7. Bg5 Be7 8. Bxe7 Ngxe7 9. Nd2 Ng6 10. Bh5 Nf4 11. Qf3 Qg5 12.
g4 Nd4 13. Qe3 Nxc2+ 14. Kd1 Nxe3+ 15. fxe3 Nxh5 16. gxh5 Qxh5+ 17. Kc2 Rc8 18.
d4 cxd4 19. exd4 b4 {0-1 Cunningham,J-Belcher,N/Bermuda 2002/CBM 86 ext}) 4...
b6 (4... Nc6 5. Nh3 (5. f4 Na5 (5... Qc7 6. d3 Nge7 7. Nf3 Nb4 8. Qe2 g6 9. f5
Nec6 10. f6 Ne5 11. O-O Nxf3+ 12. Rxf3 Bd6 13. Bh6 Bxh2+ 14. Kh1 Bd6 15. Nd5
Nxd5 16. exd5 Bf8 17. Bxf8 Rxf8 18. Qe3 h5 19. Re1 Qd6 20. Qh6 b6 21. Rfe3 Kd8
22. dxe6 dxe6 23. d4 cxd4 24. Rd3 Qc5 25. Qf4 Ra7 26. Rxd4+ Rd7 27. Rxd7+ Kxd7
28. Rd1+ Ke8 29. b4 Qf5 30. Qc7 {
1-0 Richardson,B-Vercauteren,D/Viborg 1996/CBM 55 ext}) (5... Nge7 6. e5 d5 7.
exd6 Qxd6 8. d3 Ng6 9. Nge2 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Be3 Na5 12. Ne4 Qc7 13. Ba2 b6
14. N2g3 f5 15. Nc3 Kh8 16. Qh5 Bf6 17. Nge2 Rd8 18. Rf3 Nf8 19. Rh3 g6 20. Qh6
Nc6 21. Bf2 Ne7 22. Bh4 Ng8 23. Bxf6+ Nxf6 24. Qg5 Ng4 25. Rg3 Kg7 26. h3 Nf6
27. Re3 Re8 28. Re1 Bb7 29. Ng3 h6 30. Qh4 Qc6 31. R1e2 Rad8 32. Re5 b5 33.
axb5 axb5 34. Nf1 Ra8 35. Bb3 c4 36. dxc4 bxc4 37. Ba2 N8d7 38. Rb5 Ba6 39.
Rbe5 {0-1 Pruess,M (1870)-Rahls,P (2265)/Bad Woerishofen 2000/CBM 75 ext}) (
5... g6 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. d3 Nge7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe1 d5 10. Ba2 b5 11. f5 b4 12. Ne2
exf5 13. Qh4 h5 14. Bg5 f6 15. Be3 fxe4 16. dxe4 c4 17. Rad1 b3 18. cxb3 Nb4
19. Bb1 cxb3 20. exd5 Nbxd5 21. Nf4 Qe8 22. Nxd5 Nxd5 23. Bc5 Be6 24. Rfe1 Rd8
25. Nd4 Nc7 26. Bxf8 Kxf8 27. Nxe6+ {
1-0 Deus Filho,J (2087)-Gisclan,H (2269)/Serra Negra 2002/CBM 88 ext}) (5... d6
6. Nf3 Nf6 7. d3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe1 d5 10. Bb3 Rb8 11. Nd1 b5 12. c3 c4 13.
axb5 axb5 14. Bc2 cxd3 15. Bxd3 dxe4 16. Bxe4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Bb7 18. Qc2 Qc7 19.
b3 Rfd8 20. Ne1 Rbc8 21. Be3 Nb4 22. Qe2 Nd5 23. Qxb5 Nxe3 24. Nxe3 Bc5 25. Qe2
Qb6 26. N1c2 Be4 27. Nd4 Bxd4 28. cxd4 Rxd4 29. Rac1 Rcd8 30. Rc3 Bd3 31. Rxd3
Rxd3 32. Re1 Rxb3 33. Kf2 Rb2 {
0-1 Cortizo Vazquez,E-Rodriguez Lopez,R (2273)/Orense 2002/CBM 89 ext}) 6. Ba2
c4 7. d4 Rb8 8. Nf3 b5 9. axb5 axb5 10. O-O b4 11. Ne2 d5 12. e5 Be7 13. Bb1 h5
14. Bd2 Nh6 15. Nc1 Nf5 16. Qe1 Nc6 17. c3 Qb6 18. Bxf5 exf5 19. Qg3 g6 20. Ne2
Na5 21. Rae1 Nb3 22. Be3 Be6 23. Ng5 Kd7 24. Qf3 Ra8 25. Nc1 Na1 26. Nd3 Nc2
27. Nc5+ Kc7 28. Rc1 b3 29. Ncxe6+ fxe6 30. Bf2 Bxg5 31. fxg5 Ra2 32. Rb1 Rha8
33. h3 Qc6 34. g4 hxg4 35. hxg4 Rh8 36. Kg2 Qd7 37. gxf5 gxf5 38. Kg3 Qg7 39.
Kf4 Raa8 40. Rh1 Kd7 41. Rxh8 Rxh8 42. Rh1 Rh7 43. Rxh7 Qxh7 44. Qg2 Ke8 45. g6
Qh6+ 46. Qg5 Qh2+ 47. Kf3 Qh3+ 48. Bg3 Qf1+ 49. Bf2 Ne1+ {
0-1 Mohd,S-Thiraparkbpaisit,W/Genting 1995/CBM 47 ext}) (5. d3 Nf6 6. Bd2 (6.
Bg5 Be7 7. Qd2 h6 8. Bxf6 Bxf6 9. Nge2 Rb8 10. O-O Nd4 11. a5 Nxe2+ 12. Qxe2
Bd4 13. Nd1 O-O 14. c3 Be5 15. f4 Bc7 16. Ne3 Bxa5 17. f5 f6 18. Rf4 Bc7 19.
Rh4 Kh7 20. Rf1 d5 21. Bb3 dxe4 22. dxe4 exf5 23. exf5 c4 24. Nxc4 Re8 25. Qg4
Re7 26. Na3 Qe8 27. Nc2 b5 28. Kh1 Bb6 29. Nb4 Bb7 30. Be6 a5 31. Nd3 Be3 32.
Rh3 Bg5 33. Rg3 h5 34. Rh3 h4 35. Rxh4+ Bh6 36. Nf4 Bc8 37. Re1 Bxe6 38. fxe6 {
1-0 Buecker,S (2346)-Serra Pages,J (2188)/Martinenc 2001/CBM 80 ext}) 6... Be7
7. Nge2 Rb8 8. Nf4 O-O 9. O-O d6 10. Re1 b6 11. Rc1 Nd4 12. Nce2 Nc6 13. Nc3
Ne8 14. Re3 g6 15. Nce2 Nc7 16. Ng3 b5 17. axb5 axb5 18. Ba2 Ra8 19. Bb1 d5 20.
c3 f5 21. exf5 exf5 22. d4 c4 23. Ngh5 Bd6 24. Rh3 Ne7 25. Qe2 Ra1 26. Re1 Rf7
27. Ng3 Bd7 28. Nf1 Qa8 29. Rf3 Qa4 30. Nh3 Ne6 31. Bh6 b4 32. Re3 bxc3 33.
bxc3 Rf6 34. Bg5 Nxg5 35. Nxg5 Qa3 36. f4 Nc8 37. g3 Nb6 38. Qg2 Bf8 39. Nf3
Rd6 40. h4 Na4 41. Ne5 Nxc3 42. Qc2 Qb4 43. Qxc3 Rxb1 44. Rxb1 Qxb1 45. Re1 Qb7
46. Ra1 Be6 47. Qe1 Rb6 48. Nh2 Kg7 49. Kg2 Bb4 50. Qd1 Bc3 51. Rc1 Rb2+ 52.
Kh3 Qb3 53. Qg1 Bd2 54. Ra1 Be3 55. Qf1 Bxd4 56. Nhf3 Qc2 57. Nc6 Bc5 58. Rd1
Qf2 59. Qxf2 Rxf2 60. Ng5 Bg8 61. Rb1 h6 62. Rb7+ Kf6 63. Ne5 hxg5 64. hxg5+
Ke6 65. Rg7 c3 66. Rxg6+ Ke7 67. Nd3 Rd2 68. Nxc5 c2 69. Nb3 Be6 70. Rg7+ Kd6
71. Ra7 d4 72. Ra6+ Ke7 73. Ra7+ Kd8 {
0-1 Buecker,S (2341)-Nijboer,F (2559)/Hertogenbosch 1999/CBM 73 ext}) (5. Nf3
Nf6 6. d4 d5 (6... cxd4 7. Nxd4 Qc7 8. Nf3 Bb4 9. Qd3 b6 10. Bd2 Ng4 11. Qe2
Bc5 12. O-O Nd4 {
0-1 Vaquero Talavera,J-Rodriguez Lopez,R (2299)/Cala Mendia 2001/CBM 85 ext})
7. exd5 exd5 8. Be2 c4 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Ne5 Be7 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. O-O O-O 13. f3
h6 14. Bh4 Ne8 15. Bg3 Bf6 16. b3 Qb6 17. Bf2 cxb3 18. cxb3 Nd6 19. g4 Bg5 20.
Kh1 f5 21. Bg3 f4 22. Bf2 Bf7 23. Rg1 Bg6 24. Bd3 Bxd3 25. Qxd3 Qxb3 26. h4 Be7
27. Rac1 Qc4 28. Qd1 a5 29. Qe1 Rae8 30. Qe6+ Kh8 31. Ne2 Qxa4 32. g5 Nc4 33.
gxh6 Bf6 34. hxg7+ Bxg7 35. Qg6 Re7 36. Rg5 Rf6 37. Qh5+ Rh6 38. Qg4 Ne3 39.
Qc8+ Kh7 40. Nxf4 Qxd4 41. Nh3 Qf6 42. f4 Nc4 43. Rgg1 Rg6 44. Ng5+ Kh6 45. f5
Qb2 46. Qg8 Rxg5 47. hxg5+ Kh5 48. Qh7+ {
1-0 Schuessler,M-Ludwig,I/Dresden 2001/CBM 84 ext}) 5... Nf6 6. Nf4 Be7 7. d3
O-O 8. O-O b6 9. Be3 Bb7 10. Nh5 Nb4 11. Nxf6+ Bxf6 12. Bb3 d5 13. Bf4 Rc8 14.
e5 Bg5 15. Qg4 Bxf4 16. Qxf4 Qc7 17. Na2 Nc6 18. Rae1 d4 19. c3 Rfd8 20. Nc1 b5
21. axb5 axb5 22. c4 bxc4 23. Bxc4 Na5 24. b3 Rb8 25. h4 Bd5 26. Qg3 Nc6 27. h5
h6 28. f4 Ne7 29. Qf2 Nf5 30. g4 Ne3 31. Rxe3 dxe3 32. Qxe3 Bxc4 33. dxc4 Ra8
34. Nd3 Rd4 35. b4 Ra3 36. Rd1 Qd8 {
0-1 Pogosjan,V-Kochyev,A (2455)/St Petersburg 1995/CBM 46 ext}) (4... Qc7 5. d3
Nc6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 d6 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 O-O 11. Ba2 Nb4 12. Bb3
Bd7 13. Be3 Rfe8 14. f3 d5 15. Qd2 dxe4 16. Nxe4 Nbd5 17. c3 Nxe3 18. Nxf6+
Bxf6 19. Qxe3 Rad8 20. Ne2 Bh4 21. g3 Be7 22. Kg2 Bc6 23. Rad1 Bc5 24. Qc1 Rxd1
25. Bxd1 Qe5 26. Qf4 Qe3 27. Qxe3 Bxe3 28. Bc2 Rd8 29. Rd1 {
1/2-1/2 Roque,R-Brodie,H/Winnipeg 1997/CBM 60 ext}) (4... d6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Bd2
Nc6 7. Nge2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Ng3 Rb8 10. Ba2 b5 11. axb5 axb5 12. f4 d5 13.
Kh1 c4 14. e5 Ne8 15. Nce2 f6 16. exf6 Nxf6 17. d4 Ra8 18. b3 Bd7 19. bxc4 bxc4
20. Bc3 Bb4 21. Bb1 Rxa1 22. Bxa1 Ne7 23. c3 Bd6 24. Bb2 Qb6 25. Qc1 Ra8 26.
Ng1 Nf5 27. N3e2 Be8 28. h3 Ne4 29. Bxe4 dxe4 30. g4 Ne7 31. Ba1 Bc6 32. h4 Nd5
33. Nh3 Ra2 34. Re1 Ba3 35. Qd1 Ne3 36. Qb1 Qxb1 {
0-1 Buecker,S (2341)-Bosch,J (2433)/Hertogenbosch 1999/CBM 73 ext}) (4... Ne7
5. Qh5 Nbc6 6. f4 Nd4 7. Kd1 Nec6 8. Nf3 g6 9. Qg5 Be7 10. Qh6 Nxf3 11. gxf3
Nd4 12. f5 Bg5 13. Qh3 d5 14. Ba2 exf5 15. Qg3 f4 16. Qg2 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Be7 18.
d3 Qc7 19. Ng5 f6 20. Nf7 Rf8 21. Nh6 Bd7 22. Ng8 Bc6 23. Rf1 Bd6 {
0-1 Tupolev,K (2218)-Chigvintsev,A (2414)/Novosibirsk 2001/CBM 83 ext}) 5. Nf3
Bb7 6. Qe2 Nc6 7. O-O Qc7 8. d3 Bd6 9. h3 Nge7 10. Be3 Ng6 11. Rad1 Rc8 12. Ba2
Nge5 13. Ne1 Nd4 14. Qh5 Ng6 15. g3 Qc6 16. Rd2 Kd8 17. f4 f5 18. Nf3 Nxf3+ 19.
Qxf3 h5 20. h4 Ne7 21. Bb3 Ng8 22. Nd1 Nf6 23. Nf2 Be7 24. Rfd1 Kc7 25. Qh1 Ng4
26. Qf3 Rcd8 27. Re1 Nf6 28. Rde2 fxe4 29. dxe4 Nxe4 30. Nxe4 Qxe4 31. Qxe4
Bxe4 32. Bf2 Bf5 33. Bc4 a5 34. c3 Bf6 35. Rc1 d5 36. Bb5 d4 37. cxd4 Bxd4 38.
Rce1 Bg4 39. Rc2 Bxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Rd4 41. Re5 Rhd8 42. Ke3 Bf5 43. Re2 R8d5 44.
Rxd5 exd5 45. Kf2 Re4 46. Rd2 Kd6 47. Kg2 c4 48. Kf2 Kc5 49. Ba6 Bg4 50. Bb7
Rd4 51. Ke3 Rxd2 52. Kxd2 Bd7 53. Kc3 Bxa4 54. Bc8 b5 55. g4 b4+ 56. Kd2 hxg4
57. Bxg4 d4 58. h5 Bc6 59. Bf5 c3+ 60. Kc2 cxb2 61. Bd3 Kd6 62. Kxb2 Be8 63.
Kb3 Bxh5 64. Kc4 Bd1 65. Kxd4 Bb3 0-1

...maybe even your car is checkered, thats of no point for this discussion!




Of course he can play it, he can go a3 as well, but all I said is that is it harder for white to get an advantage there. You started critizising that line and now you are trying to defend it...



I'm not argueing out of nowhere, man! I own some of them and a friend of mine owns others. We swapped them and so I have seen some more. But I already said, maybe I havent seen exactly those you mentioned. I definitely have watched a tape about the Grand-Prix (where some lines transpose to the closed sicilian) and there Roman recommends Bb5 and after e6 he is happy to take the knight out and leave Black with a bad bishop... It the lines where black played an early e6 and a6, so white couldnt play Bb5 any more, he recommended either going into the Paulsen by playing d4 or going into the closed sicilian by playing g3. Maybe there is another tape where he is presenting some new ideas, including Bc4...
Then I have watched a tape that is called "Crushing Lines for White" and it didnt touch the sicilian. Maybe there is another part of it, but don't blame me for Romans choice to give two different tapes the same title... As I already said, I wasn't sure if we are talking about the same tape, but I got suspicious and thought it would be good to mention it...



Yes, it is playable. White doesnt lose the game after that, but if you're in the beginning of learning an opening then you shouldn't start out with a complicated line that only retains equality. It's nice to get the opponent out of book, but only if you are the one with a better positional understanding.
Actually he didn't even want to play it, so this discussion is going to the garbage anyway.



Yes it is, I haven't argued against that. I actually played 1.b4 for several years and got stuck at about 1600. After I dropped that line I managed to get 300 points in two years after being almost ten years at 1600. Of course it is played and it is playable, but no matter what the statistics say, b4 is a bad choice.

Have a nice day!

quote:
Yes it is, I haven't argued against that. I actually played 1.b4 for several years and got stuck at about 1600. After I dropped that line I managed to get 300 points in two years after being almost ten years at 1600. Of course it is played and it is playable, but no matter what the statistics say, b4 is a bad choice.

Have a nice day!
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So what are you trying to pull here?

it is obvious that we are at whole different levels to what chess is concerned, I was a master FIDE rated by the time I was 17 (I am old now), ofcourse your understanding of the game is too limited to understand non of what I am stating here or anywhere else

'my car was checkered so were the US Navy comands I served on'

have a nice day!

Ok, you made me laugh... I'll take that as a christmas present...

You seem to lack of self-esteem, if you get pissed off that easily, where there was actually no offense...
So I will end this, leaving you with the feeling of a winner of a battle where there shouldn't have been one...