nestor wrote on 07/26/23 at 10:00:56:

Ah yes, the old Fischer move-the-bishop-back-and-forth line (by transposition). I also recalled Leko playing it.

(The 2020 ECO had seven columns on it, all ending with equal, unclear or with compensation.)

After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Bf4, Khalifman doesn't like 5...Nf6 6.Nb5 e5 7.Bg5 and instead goes for 5...d6. The difference is that after 6.Nb5 e5 White has to go 7.Be3, and Khalifman claims this is a better Sveshnikov for Black than the version with the B on g5. He provides quite a lot of analysis to back this up (which I haven't looked at yet!).

Standard: 90min + 30sec increment per move starting from move 1
Firouzja, Alireza (2618) - Alekseev, Evgeny (2639)
3rd International Stars Cup 2019 (Anzali Free Zone, Iran), 15.02.2019
1.e4 [%clk 1:30:14] c5 [%clk 1:30:55] 2.Nf3 [%clk 1:30:36] e6 [%clk 1:31:03] 3.d4 [%clk 1:30:58] cxd4 [%clk 1:31:29] 4.Nxd4 [%clk 1:31:20] Nc6 [%clk 1:31:43] 5.Nc3 [%clk 1:31:42] a6 [%clk 1:32:02] 6.g3 [%clk 1:29:08] d6 [%clk 1:28:52] 7.Nxc6 [%clk 1:29:31] bxc6 [%clk 1:29:11] 8.Bg2 [%clk 1:30:00] Bb7 [%clk 1:22:38] 9.O-O [%clk 1:25:30] Nf6 [%clk 1:15:11] 10.Na4 [%clk 1:20:10] Qc7 [%clk 1:00:59] 11.c4 [%clk 1:14:33] c5 [%clk 1:00:01] 12.Qe2 [%clk 1:10:55] Be7 [%clk 0:56:54] 13.b3 [%clk 1:11:17] O-O [%clk 0:55:25] 14.Bb2 [%clk 1:11:39] Nd7 [%clk 0:54:31] 15.Rad1 [%clk 1:07:26] Rad8 [%clk 0:48:21] 16.f4 [%clk 1:00:49] Bc6 [%clk 0:39:38] 17.Nc3 [%clk 0:57:32] Bf6 [%clk 0:39:53] 18.Nb1 [%clk 0:57:10] Bxb2 [%clk 0:38:47] 19.Qxb2 [%clk 0:57:32] Bb7 [%clk 0:38:23] 20.Qd2 [%clk 0:52:13] Nf6 [%clk 0:23:43] 21.Nc3 [%clk 0:52:13] Kh8 [%clk 0:19:57] 22.h3 [%clk 0:47:16] Rd7 [%clk 0:17:18] 23.g4 [%clk 0:45:59] Rfd8 [%clk 0:14:40] 24.g5 [%clk 0:42:22] Ng8 [%clk 0:15:04] 25.f5 [%clk 0:40:03] Ne7 [%clk 0:13:59] 26.Qf2 [%clk 0:30:03] exf5 [%clk 0:09:15] 27.exf5 [%clk 0:28:32] Bxg2 [%clk 0:09:41] 28.Kxg2 [%clk 0:26:57] Qc6+ [%clk 0:10:06] 29.Kh2 [%clk 0:26:25] f6 [%clk 0:10:06] 30.gxf6 [%clk 0:26:25] gxf6 [%clk 0:10:06] 31.Nd5 [%clk 0:17:21] Nxd5 [%clk 0:10:28] 32.cxd5 [%clk 0:17:34] Qb5 [%clk 0:08:50] 33.Rg1 [%clk 0:09:13] Re8 [%clk 0:04:00] 34.Rde1 [%clk 0:08:50] Re5 [%clk 0:04:24] 35.Qh4 [%clk 0:05:50] Rf7 [%clk 0:04:45] 36.Rxe5 [%clk 0:03:02] dxe5 [%clk 0:05:14] 37.Qc4 [%clk 0:02:27] Rd7 [%clk 0:03:33] 38.h4 [%clk 0:01:42] Qb4 [%clk 0:02:23] 39.Kh3 [%clk 0:01:09] Qb5 [%clk 0:00:55] 40.a4 [%clk 0:00:41] Qb6 [%clk 0:00:37] 41.Rc1 [%clk 0:00:31] Qd8 [%clk 0:00:44] 42.Rd1 [%clk 0:00:41] Qb6 [%clk 0:00:42] 43.Rd3 [%clk 0:00:37] Qd6 [%clk 0:00:47] 44.a5 [%clk 0:00:33] Kg8 [%clk 0:00:32] 45.Rg3+ [%clk 0:00:33] Rg7 [%clk 0:00:32] 46.Rxg7+ [%clk 0:00:44] Kxg7 [%clk 0:01:02] 47.Kg4 [%clk 0:01:03] Kf8 [%clk 0:01:06] 48.Kf3 [%clk 0:01:14] Ke8 [%clk 0:01:19] 49.Ke4 [%clk 0:01:02] Kd8

Does Semkov book or Khalifman base cover Cheparinovs bases new line where white met Nc6 with Bf4 preventiong Qc7?

Kerangali wrote on 07/24/23 at 21:20:34:

I notice that 10...Bb7 (which has apparently scored the best) was preferred and given as leading to "unclear" in ECO (2021), as it was once upon a time in Bob Hübner's B80 monograph.

(Okay, I doubt anyone has ever called him Bob.)

Kerangali wrote on 07/30/22 at 13:03:08:



The line is given in The Taimanov Bible by Thinkers Publushing. It says White has a small edge no more.

Hello, how does Semko address this old problem line in the g3 Taimanov:
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 a6 (or else Bf4 and Ndb5).
Now White hurries to play Re1 with Black's King still on e8:
7.Bg2 d6 8.0-0 Bd7 9.Re1 (Semkov ToC ends there).
The quick d6/Bd7 plan is Delchev's idea (I think) to avoid tricks with e5/dxe5/Rxe5/Bxc6+. However, it somewhat fails in view of:
9...Be7 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.Qd4 Nf6 12.Nd5 and Black has to play 12...Bxd5 with a sad position.
Delchev knew the line, but it was never addressed in previous Delchev/Semkov books. How is it tackled in this new book by Semkov?

Paddy wrote on 06/26/22 at 15:32:39:


The first sentence of the second paragraph omits the A in Attack. That is all I noticed and I suggest that everyone check for themselves and make up their own mind.

If I were contemplating the Scheveningen as Black, my first concern would be the Keres attack. I'm sure there are some die-hard Scheveningen players who are prepared. Semkov notes that his move order avoids the Keres attack and I think that is a significant plus.

I think the author's combination of Taimanov and Scheveningen makes a lot of sense. From what I have seen, the text and variations are promising. 2...e6 has the advantage of sidestepping the Rossolimo, Moscow, and Carlsen variations.

I'm currently playing double-king pawn openings. If I were to go back to the Sicilian, I would probably go back to my old work-horse, the Classical. However, that is not what I would recommend to someone who is starting from scratch. The Najdorf is very sharp and theory-laden. Other variations have other issues. I think this book might be just the ticket.

FreeRepublic wrote on 06/26/22 at 13:11:35:

The sample available at Forward Chess (the Preface) contains a worryingly large number of errors. It looks as if the publication was rushed for some reason.