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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0 (Read 27155 times)
Paul Cumbers
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #12 - 08/17/10 at 12:02:00
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Glenn Snow wrote on 08/16/10 at 09:21:08:
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Most White 15th moves seem to be actively answered by 15...f5.  One exception might be 15.Be3 because of the idea of 16.Qc1, but 15.Be3 Nf4 appears OK for Black.  Going back to 15.Be3 f5 16.Qc1 it's hard for me to believe that after 16...f4 17.Bd2, Black could really be worse but so far that's what my computer is telling me.  Possibly this is similar to King's Indian lines where analysis engines underestimate Black's attack until it's too late?


Looking a little deeper this looks pretty bad for White.  Unfortunately not only am I a little slow, so is my computer.  So is there anything wrong with 14...O-O?

One of Black's ideas behind deferred castling is to be able to play ...Rg8! in the event of Bxh5 gxh5. So after 14...O-O, now is a good time for White to try 15.Bxh5! gxh5 without having to worry about an immediate ...Rg8. Then 16.Ne2! awakens the rook on a3. If 16...Qxe4, White has 17.Ng3 and Nxh5. Alternatively 16...f5 17.Rg3 Kh8 (17...f4 18.Rf3! wins a pawn in view of 18...Be5? 19.Bxf4 Bxf4 20.Nxf4 Rxf4 21.g3) 18.Bg5 Qxe4 19.Nf4 with a strong attack.
  
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Glenn Snow
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #11 - 08/16/10 at 09:21:08
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Most White 15th moves seem to be actively answered by 15...f5.  One exception might be 15.Be3 because of the idea of 16.Qc1, but 15.Be3 Nf4 appears OK for Black.  Going back to 15.Be3 f5 16.Qc1 it's hard for me to believe that after 16...f4 17.Bd2, Black could really be worse but so far that's what my computer is telling me.  Possibly this is similar to King's Indian lines where analysis engines underestimate Black's attack until it's too late?


Looking a little deeper this looks pretty bad for White.  Unfortunately not only am I a little slow, so is my computer.  So is there anything wrong with 14...O-O?
  
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #10 - 08/16/10 at 08:57:29
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After, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.h3 a6 9.a4 Nbd7 10.Bd3 Nh5 11.O-O Ne5 12.Be2 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Qh4 14.Ra3,

Black could try reverting to 14...O-O!? which seems less exciting, but still leads to interesting positions.  With Ra3 replaced by Re1, Watson has written that Black's position is dubious because "Ra3! is a good move for White at some point, and also because a5 is effective in some lines".  However, in this exact position, Black may just be alright although I'll admit I haven't explored it enough to be sure.

Most White 15th moves seem to be actively answered by 15...f5.  One exception might be 15.Be3 because of the idea of 16.Qc1, but 15.Be3 Nf4 appears OK for Black.  Going back to 15.Be3 f5 16.Qc1 it's hard for me to believe that after 16...f4 17.Bd2, Black could really be worse but so far that's what my computer is telling me.  Possibly this is similar to King's Indian lines where analysis engines underestimate Black's attack until it's too late?
  
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Hoppers
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #9 - 07/06/10 at 10:11:04
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Thanks Markovich!  So once again it is the age old dilemma of how to win with black.
  

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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #8 - 07/05/10 at 21:34:12
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Hoppers wrote on 07/05/10 at 11:25:32:
Hi Paul,
           I agree re the ideas behind Ra3.  It reminds me very much of the KID line played in Yusupov-Kasparov, Yerevan Olympiad 1996: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 Nf3 0-0 6 Be2 e5 7 0-0 Nc6 8 d5 Ne7 9 Ne1 Nd7 10 Be3 f5 11 f3 f4 12 Bf2 g5 13 a4 a5 14 Nd3 b6 15 b4 axb4 16 Nxb4 Nf6 17 Ra3!? 

I have had an identical idea in my own practice.  After playing a typical ...g3 pawn sac, white played hxg3 hxg3 Bxg3 Nh5 f4! sacrificing the pawn back, but introducing the rook to the defence of the kingside.

Even if the Dufek novelty is strong, I thought black was currently okay (again according to chesspublishing) after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 h3 Bg7 8 Nf3 0-0 9 Bd3 b5 10 Bxb5 Nxe4 11 Nxe4 Qa5+ 12 Nfd2 Qxb5 13 Nxd6 Qa6 14 N2c4 Nd7 15 0-0 Ne5!?, as opposed to 15...Nb6 leading to the infamous 2Rs and 4 vs. Q+4 ending.

This of course shouldn't inhibit further analysis of the Dufek idea though!  Smiley


Yeah, Black is supposed to be O.K. after 15...Ne5!, and I've drawn one cc game from here myself, but Black's winning chances are close to nil, and the draw requires precision. 
  

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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #7 - 07/05/10 at 11:25:32
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Hi Paul,
           I agree re the ideas behind Ra3.  It reminds me very much of the KID line played in Yusupov-Kasparov, Yerevan Olympiad 1996: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 Nf3 0-0 6 Be2 e5 7 0-0 Nc6 8 d5 Ne7 9 Ne1 Nd7 10 Be3 f5 11 f3 f4 12 Bf2 g5 13 a4 a5 14 Nd3 b6 15 b4 axb4 16 Nxb4 Nf6 17 Ra3!? 

I have had an identical idea in my own practice.  After playing a typical ...g3 pawn sac, white played hxg3 hxg3 Bxg3 Nh5 f4! sacrificing the pawn back, but introducing the rook to the defence of the kingside.

Even if the Dufek novelty is strong, I thought black was currently okay (again according to chesspublishing) after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 h3 Bg7 8 Nf3 0-0 9 Bd3 b5 10 Bxb5 Nxe4 11 Nxe4 Qa5+ 12 Nfd2 Qxb5 13 Nxd6 Qa6 14 N2c4 Nd7 15 0-0 Ne5!?, as opposed to 15...Nb6 leading to the infamous 2Rs and 4 vs. Q+4 ending.

This of course shouldn't inhibit further analysis of the Dufek idea though!  Smiley
  

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Paul Cumbers
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #6 - 07/03/10 at 19:48:18
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AlanG wrote on 07/03/10 at 12:11:00:
Another idea for White is to play 16.a5 followed by Na4, Nb6 then either Nxc8 and g3 or Nc4.

I think this works against both 15...Nf6 and 15...Nf4.

Good plan. However, I reckon it's more effective against 15...Nf4 than it is against 15...Nf6:

(a) 14.Ra3 Be5 15.Re1 Nf6 16.a5 (I prefer your 16.Ne2!) 16...Bd7! (at this point my idea of 16...g5 17.Na4 g4 18.g3! Qxh3 19.Bg2 Qh5 20.Nb6 Rb8 21.Nc4 Nd7 22.Bf4 Qg6 gives White more than enough compensation for a pawn; and the other idea 16...h5 17.Na4 Ng4 18.Bxg4 hxg4 19.Nb6 Bd4 [19...gxh3?? 20.g3 h2+ 21.Kh1 1-0] 20.Be3! sees Black draw a blank) 17.Na4 Bb5 18.Nb6 Rd8 with no problems for Black.

(b) 14.Ra3 Be5 15.Re1 Nf4 16.a5, and here I think Black should go all in with a knight sac on h3 either now or very shortly (before it's too late)! If he hesitates unduly, then your idea for White looks strong, e.g. 16...Bd7 17.Na4 Bb5? 18.g3! Nxh3+ 19.Kg2. So play could go something like 16...Nxh3+!? 17.gxh3 Qxh3 18.Bg2 Qh2+ 19.Kf1 h5 with a very unclear position. Does Black have adequate compensation? It's hard to say. Maybe Dufek can show that White is better, or maybe he underestimated Black's chances. Who knows...
  
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #5 - 07/03/10 at 18:32:43
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Markovich wrote on 07/02/10 at 14:31:43:
This, for what it's worth:

[Event "Teplice op"]
[Site ""]
[Date "2009.06.18"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Chmelik Jiri"]
[Black "Kulovana Eva"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2140"]
[BlackElo "2293"]
[ECO "A70"]
[Annotator ""]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.h3 a6 9.a4 Nbd7 10.Bd3 Nh5 11.O-O Ne5 12.Be2 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Qh4 14.Ra3 Be5 15.Bg4 Bxg4 16.Qxg4 Qxg4 17.hxg4 Nf6 18.f3 Bd4+ 19.Kh2 Nd7 20.a5 O-O-O 21.Ne2 Be5+ 22.Kg1 Rdf8 23.b4 f5 24.gxf5 gxf5 25.f4 cxb4 26.Rb3 Bg7 27.Rxb4 fxe4 28.Be3 Rf7 29.Rc1+ Kb8 30.Rc6 Rc8 31.Ba7+ Kxa7 32.Rxc8 Nf6 33.Nc3 e3 34.Kf1 Nh5 35.Na4 Nxf4 36.Nb6 Nxd5+ 37.Kg1 Nc7 38.Re4 Bc3 0-1

Thanks for the game. I'd be surprised if 15.Bg4 is Dufek's intended follow-up to 14.Ra3, as Black will no doubt be thankful to see his problem piece exchanged off. It doesn't look significantly different to Bg4 on move 14 anyway (as has been played). I suspect the White player in this game suddenly realised that Black's 14...Be5 carried the threat of 15...Bxh3 16.gxh3 Qxh3 17.Re1 Bh2+ 18.Kh1 Bg3+ 19.Kg1 Qh2+ 20.Kf1 Qxf2#, and was anxious to block the bishop sac.

I think 15.Re1! is an improvement on 15.Bg4, since 15...Bxh3? 16.gxh3 Qxh3 17.Bg2! Qh2+ 18.Kf1 doesn't work for Black now, and the "bad bishop" on c8 remains.
  
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #4 - 07/03/10 at 12:11:00
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Another idea for White is to play 16.a5 followed by Na4, Nb6 then either Nxc8 and g3 or Nc4.

I think this works against both 15...Nf6 and 15...Nf4.
  
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #3 - 07/02/10 at 19:13:26
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AlanG wrote on 06/30/10 at 21:57:15:
After 15...Nf6, 16.Ne2 could be a problem.

For example: 16...g5 17.g3 Qxh3 18.Bg2 Qh5 19.f4 gxf4 20.gxf4 Bxd4 21.Nxd4 Qxd1 22.Rxd1 cxd4 23.Rxd4 +/-

I think you're right.  Sad

White can play in a similar way against 16...0-0 as well, i.e. 17.g3 Qxh3 18.Bg2 Qh5 19.f4 Ng4 20.fxe5 Qh2+ 21.Kf1 Nxe5 22.Nf4 Bg4 23.Qd2! g5 (23...Nc4 24.Qc3 Nxa3 25.bxa3 looks good for White) 24.Kf2! and the threat of Rh1 sends Black packing.

I can see now that the rook on a3 performs a very useful defensive role along the 3rd rank - fortifying the sensitive h3 & g3 squares. White is preparing to push Black back with g3, Bg2, f4 without allowing dangerous sacs on h3/g3.

After 16.Ne2, maybe Black's best is the retrograde 16...Nd7, but this is a sign that it's all gone wrong for him. The problem bishop on c8 is as bad as ever.

Backing up a bit, perhaps Black should try 15...Nf4 (instead of 15...Nf6). Undecided
  
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #2 - 07/02/10 at 14:31:43
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This, for what it's worth:

[Event "Teplice op"]
[Site ""]
[Date "2009.06.18"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Chmelik Jiri"]
[Black "Kulovana Eva"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2140"]
[BlackElo "2293"]
[ECO "A70"]
[Annotator ""]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.h3 a6 9.a4 Nbd7 10.Bd3 Nh5 11.O-O Ne5 12.Be2 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Qh4 14.Ra3 Be5 15.Bg4 Bxg4 16.Qxg4 Qxg4 17.hxg4 Nf6 18.f3 Bd4+ 19.Kh2 Nd7 20.a5 O-O-O 21.Ne2 Be5+ 22.Kg1 Rdf8 23.b4 f5 24.gxf5 gxf5 25.f4 cxb4 26.Rb3 Bg7 27.Rxb4 fxe4 28.Be3 Rf7 29.Rc1+ Kb8 30.Rc6 Rc8 31.Ba7+ Kxa7 32.Rxc8 Nf6 33.Nc3 e3 34.Kf1 Nh5 35.Na4 Nxf4 36.Nb6 Nxd5+ 37.Kg1 Nc7 38.Re4 Bc3 0-1

  

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AlanG
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Re: Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
Reply #1 - 06/30/10 at 21:57:15
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After 15...Nf6, 16.Ne2 could be a problem.

For example: 16...g5 17.g3 Qxh3 18.Bg2 Qh5 19.f4 gxf4 20.gxf4 Bxd4 21.Nxd4 Qxd1 22.Rxd1 cxd4 23.Rxd4 +/-
  
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Benoni - Modern Main Line: Nh5 without 0-0
06/30/10 at 18:37:16
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Jiri Dufek has recently shared some opening novelties he discovered while preparing the Rybka4 Book:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6459

His novelty in the Modern Benoni caught my eye: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nf3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 7.e4 Bg7 8.h3 a6 9.a4 Nbd7 10.Bd3 Nh5 11.O-O Ne5 12.Be2 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Qh4, and now Jiri claims that "14.Ra3! looks very unpleasant for Black." (White has tried 14.Be3, 14.Bxh5, and 14.Bg4, but ChessPublishing.com shows that Black is holding his own here).

OK, so what's the big idea for White?? I don't see it, and unfortunately there's no supporting analysis.

As far as I can tell, Black has good play after 14.Ra3 Be5 15.Re1 Nf6! - his ideas include g5-g4 or h5 & Ng4. What am I missing?
  
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