Matemax wrote on 01/27/11 at 16:32:12: TopNotch wrote on 05/23/10 at 02:41:09: Black faces unpleasant problems in the a4, Bc4, Ba2 intending Qe2 followed by Rd1 lines. Could you recommend games to look at from White's perspective in this line? Sure thing.
Amonatov, F - Ponkratov, P 2009; Amonatov,F - Voinov, A 2008; Shaposhnikov, E - Zablotsky, S 2008; Amonatov,F - Zablotsky, S 2007 [These games represent a more modern and accurate interpretation for black in the 'Lion', whereby he shows a good understanding of the nuances of the position, as exemplified by his retention of the light squared Bishop on the the important c8 - h3 diagonal for as long as required. This stratagem is well founded, the ramifications of which are explored a bit further in the next paragraph. Nevertheless as the above cited games hopefully have shown, white still retains much the better chances].
Ivanov, A - Manik, M 1993(Highly instructive and important game); Manik, M - Klemanic 1994 (Manik was sufficiently impresed that he changes sides at the first opportunity....); Manik, M - Valach, B 1995.....and never....; Manik, M - Mihalik, M 1995...looks back; Vajda, L - Markus, R 2002; Movsesian, S - Pribyl, J 1997 [These key games, in particular Ivanov - Manik, clearly illustrate why Black players should keep the light sqaured bishop on the c8 - h3 diagonal once White retains the typical and often deadly manoeuvre of Nh4 to f5 or g6. Study these gems carefully and commit the tactical motifs to memory, they occur time and again in these Hanham structures and are vital to White's success. [ Motwani, P - Rowson, J 1995 further reinforces the themes highlighted in this paragraph and will repay study].
Dreev, A - Minasian, A 2008 [Very important game, which makes Bologan's alternative suggestion of 8...h6 look quite dubious. I can't explain why there are so few eamples of Dreev's treatment in the databases, as it looks highly unpleasant for Black].
I hope this post has been informative.
Regards,
Toppy
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