RivertonKnight wrote on 01/31/19 at 01:42:22:


The book is not even released yet ¡ 

lg wrote on 01/29/19 at 13:27:17:


Thanks lg....I have noticed that Schmidt has been playing the Alekhine's a lot in ICCF recently. I will also check out Pavlov's game..

Tony (and Seeley): As far as I remember we have agreed it is annoying. But did we conclude more than that?
After 7.Ng5 e6 8.Qf3 Qe7 (was 8...0-0 refuted?) 9. Ne4 dxe5 10.dxe5 !? (the irritating move) h6 11.Nf6+ Kf8 12.Qc3!
I think that 12...Nc6; 12...N6d7 and 12...Nd5 (and even 12...Na6) appears to hold - see CC games.I like less 12...N8d7.
I am not saying that a more extensive study will not conclude that they are bad for black but for the moment "the extensive study" still needs to be done.
Most of the games with 12...Nc6 show the typical weakeness of Black on the black squares (which althought is typical of the whole Alburt line).
One interesting line is 12...Nc6 12.Be3 Nd7 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.f4 b6 15.Nd2 Bb7 16.0-0-0 Ne7 (the exact sequence of Black's 14th to 16th may be different)  17.Ne4 Qc6 and then the interesting piece sacrifice18.Nc5!? which illustrates what I said.
Pavlov, a very good CC player draw one gamed and lost another (not sure it was because of the opening) in this line. Also, Black does not need to allow this.

MW: I think that the Alekhine is reliable (do not agree with the main view that it is only good for blitz or rapid).
At least this is what I see in recent CC games.
One interesting line, the Kengis, and not clear why it has disappeared from normal games, has been topical in CC
(see the games by Schmidt).

The line is 5...g6 6.Bc4 c6 7.0-0 Bg7 8.Re1 0-0 9. Bb3 Nd7 (a move criticized on account of a game Kasparov-Adams and a "mistake" according to Taylor; the "normal Kengis move is 9...Be6 which appears to be Ok and, in my opinion, even preferable to 9...Nd7) 10.Nf3 b5 !? (note that Black is giving a pawn after Bxd5 and Nc3).
You see several games with this variation in CC  (the usual line in "normal" games is 10...Nf6 which has been played by Baburin, etc) with 11.Bxd5 or 11.a4.
One sees Black holding very easily.

There are a few players (not CC) that once in a while play 4...g6 (and thus would not to have something prepared after 7.Ng5 and 10.dxe5; waiting to see a game on this

Two more comments:

I)  7.Ng5 e6 8.Qf3 Qe7 9. Ne4 the main current good engines are coming back to 9...h6. The line that has
"refuted" this move is 10.exd6 cxd6 11.Bf4 e5?! 12.Be3 f5 13.Qg3!; however,
engines simply consider 11...d5 (!?) 12.Nd6+ Kf8 (further weakening the Black squares) with almost equality but with an apparent ugly position for Black. Even Pavlov has played this in a very recent CC game

ii) In the irritating variation, perhaps after 9.dxe5 h6,
the move 10.Be3 (instead of 10.Nf6+) could be considered and analysed

Finally, I saw that only a few number of pages are dedicated to this variation (including 8.f4) in Kornev's book on this variation, I wonder what he has in mind for Black

I will check recent CC games in that long line with that critical Qc3! move. Last I looked and saw in that thread is that we all agreed it was annoying, and I couldn't find anything. I hope I am wrong or remembering incorrectly!

Curious is the fact that a few years ago (not more than 2) I asked the editor of chess stars whether something on the Alekhine was planned and the answer was "No! who plays the Alekhine?"

The only article i know by Korned on the Alekhine, is on the White side, and based on o eof game of his in the line 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 Nc6.

The proposed repertoire is atractive to me.
I wonder what he planes against the 4PA, allowing the main line and then the choice is on the 9th Black move (which I guess will be 9...Be7) or will he suggest an earlier deviation as recent books do?

Tony: I remember your "irritating line" but it appears to me that this is Ok for Black, no? Recent correspondence games follow this variation and I have not seen Black losing, because of the opening.

Can it not transpose to the line 4. Cf3 dxe5 5. Cxe5 g6 later ¿ I remember seeing this line in a repertoire book a few years ago. But I forgot by whom...

I am quite interesting in what he recommends in the main line of 5...cxd6 Exchange. Lately I see mostly 5...exd6.

http://chess-stars.com/resources/contents_play_Alekhine.pdf

It looks like he recommends the sharp 5...cxd6 in the Exchange. Shouold be fun