I've also been looking at 17.g5 and have been finding the same. I don't see how white can break through after:

MarinFan wrote on 09/14/06 at 10:25:54:


Good post, MarinFan. I now like 19...Nc5 better than 19...Nb6 as I'm finding 20.Qf1 to be strong for white. I think getting rid of white's light squared bishop is an important strategy here. 

After 17.g5 d4 18.Nxd4 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Nc5 20.Qe2 Ne4 21.Bxe4 Bxe4 22.Nf3 Qh5: If white moves his knight then I like exchanging queens, softening white's attack. And after 23.Bc5, I like exchanging pieces with 23...BxN; e.g. 24.QxB QxQ 25.RxQ Rfc8, and as in the Sicilian Dragon Yugoslav attack, I don't think white's extra pawn counts for much, especially with black's knight on c4 and white's bishop being bad. Black may want to play g6 and Kg7 and possibly h6 and/or h5, and with black's pawns all on light squares, he will have few weaknesses to be attacked in his position. A possible line I was looking at goes: 26.Bf2 Rc7 27.Rfd3 g6 and I think an exchange of rooks favours black here as I don't see how white can break through.

Due to an amazing freak winter storm (which was accurately predicted by the weather service), my Christmas break began two days early, and I don't even have any finals to grade!

(That's because the students haven't taken any yet.  Uggh.)

Anyway, presuming the winter storm that has shut down the entire state of Colorado persists, I may have some time to analyse this position.  With ....Qh4 on the board, I definitely prefer White.  We'll see how whiteatak and his team of computers do, but I was placing my hope on a timely ...f6.  I just couldn't figure out the timing before school caught up with me.

Regarding 17.g5: After 17...d4 18.Nxd4 Bxc3 19.bxc3, Shredder likes 19...Ndb6, the knight being ready to jump to c4 or d5. After 20.Nf3, black can force a series of exchanges with 20...BxN 21.RxB QxQ 22.RxQ NxB, with a possible continuation being 23.Rexe3 Rac8 24.Rh3 g6 25.Rh4 Kg7, and it looks to me like black's pressure on white's weak pawns probably provides sufficient compensation for white's extra pawn.

As it's been a long time since many of us have thought about this game, I thought it might help to provide a few links to earlier analysis:

The last move by White (16.Qe1) was made back on September 9:  
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/360/#368 ;
 
The line 14...Na5 15.Rg3 Nc4 16.Qe1 was suggested in this post: 
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/270/#283

iirc, 16...Qh4 was first suggested in the post:
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/315/#322

After 16.Qe1 Qh4:

17.g5 was discussed in the following posts:
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/390/#393

http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/390/#395
and other posts on the same page (#394, #398)

17.Bd4 (much more extensively analyzed than 17.g5) was discussed in the following posts:
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/345/#352

http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/360/#362
and other posts on the same page (363, 364, 370, 373, 374)

http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/375/#377
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/375/#386
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/375/#389
and other posts on the same page (381-384, 387-388)

http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/390/#395
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/390/#399
and other posts on the same page (396-397, 400-401)

http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/405/#406
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/405/#409
http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152709519/405/#413

Hi Ostap,

Would you like to continue this game sometime this month? If so, my move is 16...Qh4. Let's see if white can break through from this position. I say white can't. But let's see...

Regards,

Whiteatak...

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 11/12/06 at 04:20:43:



Sure, I'd be happy to continue your game for you from this position. I'm sorry you don't have much time for chess. I understand about your being busy and all. As I mentioned, I've spent dozen of hours analyzing this position with Shredder and have my analysis saved on my hard drive. So, if there's no one who strongly objects to my taking over Smyslov's side from the game, I'd be happy to do that. I'd be very open to suggestions from people regarding what moves to make.

I admit that black's path to equality is narrow from this position, but I'm reasonably confident that black can hold. My move would still be 16...Qh4 from this position. It's a "disruptive move" as one poster pointed out. I'm also leaning towards thinking that 15.Bd4 was the stronger move. 

I now think Nijboer's 11.Nb3 gives black a tough game, as Kramnik's 11.Qf2 seems to do as well, in which white's space advantage gives black a tough defensive task to slog through. I'm now thinking that the Vacuum Cleaner Variation (9...Nxd4) might be black's objectively strongest move; I very much doubt that black is lost from that position, plus it must be an easier position for black to prepare for. I'd still play 9...0-0 against non-masters I think though, as it gives black greater winning chances.

Cheers,

Whiteatak shredder

Whiteatak shredder, Ostap and all:

Now that the school year is fully under way again, I have no personal time for chess.  So if you want to continue the game from the position I gave you, please feel free.  I was kind of stuck for good ideas before I got swamped, and haven't really looked at it in a couple of months now.

I'll be glad to help out whenever I get the chance, but I may not get that chance until June.  (I will have graded my last test and turned in all my paperwork for the year by then, barring an inordinate number of snow days.)

Keano wrote on 10/11/06 at 08:28:15:

I remember you said this when we were discussing choices for White's 15th/16th move (now over a month ago!).  Who knows?  You may be right!  Taking into account recent events, however, I'm wondering if you just enjoy disagreeing with the majority opinion.  

As for the correctness of 15.Rg3 Nc4 16.Qe1 (vs. an alternative such as 15.Bd4), I hope we will eventually get a chance to test this out in this thread!  What do you say, Smyslov_Fan?  Will we be continuing this game at some point?