1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5
Black's chief alterative is 3... c5!? which is definitely better than its reputation as "playing the French a tempo down." It is somewhat beyond the scope of this article, but I thought I'd mention that I think Boleslavsky's prescription is likely still best, if more complicated than he supposed:
4. dxc5
I am not attracted to the recently fashionable 4. c4!? cxd4 (4... Nc6!? 5. dxc5 d4!? was Tal's interesting attempt in the stem game)
5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Nxd4 dxc4 7. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 8. Kxd1 bxc6 9. Bxc4 Bf5 when, as Karpov notes, Black may have "noticeable pawn weaknesses on the queen's flank" but once he posts his Knight on d5 he will "cement the position," the result of 1-0 Shabalov, A-Pavlovic,M/Bad Wiessee open 2006 (57) notwithstanding.
4... e6
(a) 4... Nc6 5. Bb5 e6 6. Be3 Nge7 7. c3 Nf5 8. Bd4 Bd7 9. Bxc6 Bxc6 10. Nf3 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 a5 12. b4 axb4 13. cxb4 b6 14. cxb6 Ra4 15. a3 Qa8 16. O-O Bxb4 17. axb4 Rxa1 18. Qc5 f6 19. Nd4 Bd7 20. exf6 gxf6 21. Qd6 Qc8 22. Nf5 exf5 23. Qxf6 Qd8 1-0 Areshchenko,A-Khenkin,I/Eppingen GER 2006.
(b) 4... Qa5+ 5. Nc3
5. Be3
Worth a look as an alternative is 5. Qg4!? but Black can annoy you with 5... h5!?
5... Ne7
(a) 5... Qc7 6. Nf3 Bxc5 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8. Nc3 a6 9. Qd2 Ne7 10. O-O-O
(b) 5... Nh6!? can transpose, but why not 6. Bxh6! in true caveman fashion? White will eventually open up the game with c4 and Black's King will not find a happy home.
6. c3 Nf5 7. Bd4 Bd7
(a) 7... Qc7 8. Bd3 Bxc5 9. Bxc5 Qxc5 10. Bxf5 exf5 11. Nf3 was Boleslavsky's original analysis.
(b) 7... Nxd4!? 8. cxd4 b6 9. b4 a5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Qa4 Kotronius, e.g.: 11... Qg5 12. Ne2 Qxg2 13. Rg1 Qxh2 14. Nd2
8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Qd2 (also possible is 9. a3!? a5 10. Be2 g6 11. O-O
) 9... f6 10. exf6
Not as good is 10. b4!? a5 11. exf6 gxf6 12. b5! Ncxd4 13. cxd4 e5 14. Nc3 e4 (14... exd4!)
15. g4!? Ne7 16. Ng1 Bxg4 17. Qf4 f5 18. h3 Bh5 1-0 Nijboer,F-Glek,I/Groningen NED 1997 (56) which led to a very messy game.
10... gxf6 11. Be3 Rg8 12. Na3 a6 13. Nc2 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Qe7 15. b4 e5 16. O-O-O!? Rg6 17. Kb1 Bh6 18. Qe2 Be6 19. Nh4 Rg5 20. g3 a5 21. f4 Bg4 22. Qd2 exf4 23. Re1 Re5 24. Bd3 axb4 25. cxb4 O-O-O 26. Bf5+ Rxf5? 27. Rxe7 Nxe7 28. h3! d4 29. hxg4 1-0, Iordachescu-Prakash, Calcutta 2000
4. h4!?
The Caveman approach. White threatens to make life miserable for Black's Bishop while gaining ground on the kingside.
4... h5
Black's most common response, which prevents White from trapping the Bishop or driving it back with g4. There are two chief alternatives:
a) 4... h6
This seems less good than 4...Qb6 (see below) but is similar. I just wonder why Black plays this move if he intends to retreat to d7 with the Bishop?
5. g4! Bd7
The soundest retreat, preventing White's e6 idea and planning a Black set-up akin to the French Advanced Variation with e6, Qb6 and c5, when White's kingside expansion might seem out of place. But White can foil this plan. It is important to note that amateurs often go wrong here, allowing White to get in an e6 advance, which stifles Black's development and weakens critical squares. For example:
(a) 5... Be4? 6. f3 Bg6 7. h5 Bh7 8. e6! fxe6 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Qd6 11. f4 Nf6 12. Nf3 Nbd7 13. Qg6+ Kd8 14. Ne5 1-0 Gelashvili,T-Nauryzgaliev,A/Turin ITA 2006 (14))
(b) 5... Bh7?! 6. e6! fxe6 7. Bd3 Nf6
No better is 7... Bxd3 8. Qxd3 Qd6 9. f4! Nf6 10. Nc3 Kd8 11. Nf3 Nbd7? (11... Kc8)
12. Ne5! Nxe5 13. fxe5 Qc7 14. exf6 exf6 15. Bd2
1-0 Niebling,F-Davydov,M/Freudenstadt 1996 (49)
8. Bxh7 Nxh7 9. Qd3 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Qb6 11. Nc3 c5?
(a) also losing is 11... Qxb2? 12. Rb1 Qa3 13. Rxb7
(b) relatively best is 11... Nd7 12. Qg6+ Kd8 13. Nf3
12. Na4! Qc6 13. Qg6+ Kd8 14. Nxc5 Nf6 15. Nf3 Nbd7 16. g5 Nxc5 17. gxf6 exf6 18. dxc5 d4 19. Rh3 Qxc5 20. Nxd4 Qb6 21. O-O-O Rc8 22. Ba5 1-0 Niebling,F-Heyland,W/Frankfurt 2000 (22)
6. Nd2!
Kramnik's important novelty, essayed in the last game of his title defense against Leko where he needed a win to retain his title. The idea is to make Black pay for ...c5. Similar, but not as persuasive, is 6. Be3 e6 7. Nd2 c5! 1-0 Firman,N-Krysztofiak,M/Warsaw 2005 (39)(and not 7... Qb6 8. Nb3 1-0 Firman,N-Tishin,D/Alushta 2006 (27)).
6... c5
Better may be 6... e6!? 7. Nb3 a5 8. a4 Na6 9. Be3 Qc7 10. Nf3 h5!? 11. gxh5! Rxh5 12. c3?! (12. Bxa6!? Rxa6 13. Nc5)
12... Ne7 13. Bd3 Nf5 14. Qe2 Qb6 15. Nbd2!? c5 (15... Qxb2 16. O-O Qxc3 17. Rfc1 Qb4 18. Rcb1 Qe7 19. Bg5 f6 20. exf6 gxf6 21. Rxb7 fxg5 22. Ne5
)
16. Ng5 Rh8 17. Ndf3 g6 18. Kf1 cxd4 19. Nxd4 Nc5 20. Bb5 Qc7 21. Nxf5 gxf5 22. Bf4 Rc8 23. Rd1 Bxb5 24. axb5
0-1 Kurnosov,I-Ivanchuk,V/Kusadasi TUR 2006 (57)
7. dxc5 e6 8. Nb3 Bxc5
Another try is 8... Nc6 9. Nf3 (9. f4!?)
9... Qc7 10. Qe2 Na5 11. Be3 (11. Nfd4!)
11... Nc4!? (11... Nxb3=)
12. Bd4 Ne7 13. c3 Nc6
1-0 Kosteniuk,A-Gunina,V/Samara 2005 (85)
9. Nxc5 Qa5+ 10. c3 Qxc5 11. Nf3 Ne7 12. Bd3 Nbc6 13. Be3 Qa5 14. Qd2 Ng6 (14... O-O-O!?) 15. Bd4! (The Boleslavsky theme again!) 15... Nxd4 16. cxd4 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 Nf4 18. Rac1 h5 (18... Nxd3 19. Kxd3) 19. Rhg1 Bc6 20. gxh5 Nxh5 21. b4 a6 22. a4 Kd8 23. Ng5 Be8 24. b5 Nf4 25. b6 Nxd3 26. Kxd3 Rc8 27. Rxc8+ Kxc8 28. Rc1+ Bc6 29. Nxf7 Rxh4 30. Nd6+ Kd8 31. Rg1 Rh3+ 32. Ke2 Ra3 33. Rxg7 Rxa4 34. f4 Ra2+ 35. Kf3 Ra3+ 36. Kg4 Rd3 37. f5 Rxd4+ 38. Kg5 exf5 39. Kf6 Rg4 40. Rc7 Rh4 41. Nf7+ 1-0 Kramnik,V-Leko,P/Brissago 2004 (41).
b) 4... Qb6 (the most logical if Black intends a French Advanced formation) 5. g4 Bd7 (5... Be4? 6. f3 Bg6 7. h5 Bxc2 8. Qxc2 Qxd4 9. f4 is White's main "trap" in this line for the unwary)
6. c4! (the best way to challenge Black's French set-up) 6... dxc4
The chief alternative 6... e6 allows 7. c5! which gives White a powerful bind on the position: 7... Qc7 8. Nc3 b6 9. b4 Bc8 10. Rb1 h5 11. gxh5 Ne7 12. h6 gxh6 13. Bd3 Ba6 14. Nge2?! (14. b5! cxb5 15. Nxb5 Bxb5 16. Bxb5+ Nd7 17. cxb6 (17. Qa4 bxc5 18. dxc5 Qxe5+? 19. Ne2)
17... axb6 18. Qb3)
14... Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Nd7 16. h5 1-0 Vasiukov,E-Deviatkin,A/Moscow 2002 (51)
7. Bxc4 e6 8. Nc3 c5!? (better 8... Ne7 9. Nge2 Na6 10. h5)
9. d5! Ne7 10. d6 Nec6 11. f4 Nd4 12. Rh3 Nbc6 13. Bd2 Nb4 14. Rc1 a6 15. a3 Nbc6 16. Na4 Qa7 17. Bf1 h5?! (17... b6 18. b4!?)
18. Nxc5 hxg4 19. Qxg4 Rc8 20. Rhc3 Nf5 21. h5 Rh6 22. Nf3 Rd8 23. Ng5 Bc8 24. Nxa6! bxa6 25. Rxc6 Bd7 26. Rxa6 Qd4 27. Qf3 Qd5 28. Qxd5 exd5 29. Rc7 Nxd6 30. exd6 Bxd6 31. Rxd7! 1-0 Rodrigues,J-Morais,G/Portugal 2002 (31)
5. Bg5!?
This is the full-bore Caveman approach. A more circumspect idea is to play a slower positional game:
5. c4 e6
(You might see 5... Bxb1?! 6. Rxb1 e6 (perhaps GM Seirwan didn't notice at first that 6... Qa5+? 7. Bd2 Qxa2 8. Rh3! e6 9. c5 loses the Queen)
7. a3 Nd7 8. Nf3 g6 9. Bg5 Be7 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Bd3 Rc8 12. O-O Kf8 13. Rc1 Rxc1 14. Qxc1 Kg7 15. Qf4 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 Nh6 17. Rc1 Qb6 18. b4 Re8 19. Rc3 Re7 20. Rc8 Ng8 21. g4 hxg4 22. h5 f5 23. exf6+ Ndxf6 24. Qe5 g3 25. Rxg8+ Kxg8 26. Qxf6 gxf2+ 27. Kg2 Qc7 28. Qxg6+ Kf8 29. Qf6+ 1-0 Spassky,B-Seirawan,Y, London 1982.
6. Nc3 Nd7 7. cxd5 cxd5 8. Bd3
Also interesting is 8. Bg5!? Qb6
Dangerous is 8... Be7 9. Qd2 Bxg5 10. hxg5 Rc8 11. Be2 (
11. Nb5!)
11... Bg6 12. Nb5 Rc2 13. Qb4 Qxg5 14. Nf3 Qxg2 15. Rg1 Qh3 16. Nd6+ Kd8 17. Nxb7+ Kc7
18. Qd6+!! Kc8 19. Ba6 Rc7 20. Nc5+ Kd8 21. Ng5 Qf5 22. Ngxe6+ fxe6 23. Nxe6+ Qxe6 24. Qxe6 Ne7 25. Rxg6 Rc6 26. Qxc6 Nxc6 27. Rxc6 1-0 Ivanov,A-Renaissance SPARC/Harvard Cup4 1993.
9. Qd2
Also good is 9. Bb5!? Ne7 10. Nge2 Nc6 11. O-O Rc8 12. Rc1 a6 13. Bd3! Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Be7 (14... Qxb2 15. Rb1 Nb4 16. Qf3)
15. Nxd5!! (This sacrifice may be too ambitious--a safe alternative is 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Na4)
15... exd5 16. e6 Qd8 (16... Nf6 17. exf7+ Kxf7 18. Nf4 Rhf8 19. Qf5 Kg8 20. Ng6
)
17. exf7+!? Kxf7 18. Qf5+ Nf6 19. Nf4 Nxd4 20. Qg6+ Kg8 21. Rxc8 Qxc8 22. Re1 Ne4 (22... Qf8! 23. Bxf6 Qxf6 24. Qe8+ Bf8 25. Nxd5 Qd6 26. Re5 Kh7)
23. Nxd5 Bxg5 24. hxg5 Qe6 25. Nf6+ 1-0 Sax,G-Lako,L
9... Rc8 10. Rc1 Ne7 11. a3 Nc6 12. Nge2 Qb3 13. Ng3 Bg6 14. Be2 Nb6 15. O-O Nc4 16. Bxc4 Qxc4 17. Rfd1 Qb3 18. Nce2 Be7 19. Bxe7 Nxe7 20. Rxc8+ Nxc8 21. Rc1 Ne7 22. Rc7 Qb6 23. Qc3 Kd8 24. Rc5 Kd7 25. Nf4 Nc6 26. b4 a6 27. Nxg6 fxg6 28. Ne2 Rf8 29. Qg3 a5 30. Qxg6 Ne7 31. Qxg7 Rg8 32. Qf7 axb4 33. axb4 Qxb4 34. Nf4 Qb1+ 35. Kh2 Qf5 36. Qxf5 Nxf5 37. Nxh5 Rh8 38. Nf6+ Kd8 39. h5 Nxd4 40. Rc3 b5 41. g4 b4 42. Rd3 Nc6 43. g5 Nxe5 44. Rb3 Ke7 45. Kg3 Rc8 46. Rxb4 Rc3+ 47. Kg2 Nf3 48. Rb7+ Kd6 49. g6 1-0 Yagupov,I-Anastasian,A/Linares ESP 2000.
8... Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Ne7 (9... Rc8 10. a3!? Qc7 11. Nge2 Qc4 12. Qd1!? Ne7 13. Bg5 Nf5?! 14. Rc1! Nb6? 15. Na4! Qxa4 16. Qxa4+ Nxa4 17. Rxc8+ Kd7 18. Rd8+ Kc7 19. b3 Nb2 20. O-O 1-0 Djurhuus,R-Hole,O/Moss NOR 2006) 10. Nf3 (and not here 10. Bg5 f6! 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Bd2 Kf7!? 13. Nge2 Ng6 14. g3 Bd6 15. Nb5 Bb8 16. Bb4 a6 17. Nd6+ Bxd6 18. Bxd6 Qb6 19. Ba3 Qa5+ 20. Qd2 Qxd2+ 21. Kxd2 Rac8
0-1 Ivanchuk Vassily (UKR)-Karpov An/Tilburg 20 1993 (52)) 10... Nc6 11. O-O Be7 12. Bg5! a6 13. Rac1 Nb6 14. Ne2 Qd7 15. Nf4 Nc4 16. b3 Na3 17. Rfd1 Rc8 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Rc5 Rc7 20. Rdc1 g6 21. Ng5 Rd7?
22. Rxc6!! bxc6 23. Nxg6 fxg6 24. Qxg6+ Kd8 (24... Kf8 25. Rxc6!)
25. Rxc6 and the threat of Nxe6+ cannot be met. 1-0 Short,N-Johannessen,L/Turin ITA 2006 (25). A brilliant game by the British star, which turns the h4 line into a more aggressive version of his patented Short System.
5... Qb6
Who could resist this logical move? After all, White appears to have forgotten about his weakness at b2. On other moves, White can follow the typical pattern suggested above, but Black will have difficulty developing his kingside due to the stifling influence of the Bishop at g5.
6. Bd3!!
Basically a Rook sacrifice which can only be proven sound (if sound it is!) through deep computer analysis.
Playable, but hardly consistent, is 6. b3!?
6... Bxd3
The real test may be 6... Qxb2!? 7. Bxf5 Qxa1 (7... e6 8. Nd2 exf5 9. Ne2 Bb4 10. Rb1)
8. e6 g6 (8... Nh6 9. Bxh6 (9. exf7+ Nxf7 10. Nf3)
9... Rxh6 (9... gxh6? 10. exf7+ Kd8 (10... Kxf7?? 11. Qxh5+ Kg8 12. Qg6+ Bg7 13. Be6+ Kf8 14. Qf7#)
11. Ne2 e5 12. O-O)
10. exf7+ Kd8 (10... Kxf7 11. Nf3 Kg8 (11... e6 12. Ng5+ Ke7 13. Bh3)
12. Ng5)
11. Nf3 e6 12. O-O exf5 13. Qe2)
9. Bd3 Nh6 10. Nf3!? and in all of these lines White certainly has enough for the Exchange but it is still a fight.
7. Qxd3 Qxb2?
But who can resist a full Rook? Black can revert to a French set-up, but he has problems in where to put his King after:
7... e6 8. Nd2!
Also good is 8. Nc3!? Nd7 9. Nf3 Ne7 10. O-O
8... Ne7
Dangerous is 8... Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. Qxa3 Bxa3 11. Rh3!? (11. Rxb7)
11... Bf8 12. Rxb7 Nd7 (12... c5 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Rc3 Na6 15. Ngf3)
13. Ne2 Ne7 14. Nb3 c5 15. Nxc5 Nxc5 16. dxc5 Nc6 17. Rc7 Nxe5 18. Rb3 Nd7 19. Be3 e5 20. c3 (20. Rbb7 Rd8 21. c6)
20... d4? 21. cxd4 exd4 22. Bxd4 Rh6 23. Nf4 a5 24. a4 Be7 25. Bxg7 Rh7 26. Bd4 Bxh4 27. c6 Nf8 28. Re3+ 1-0 Kislinsky,A-Grinev,V/Kyiv open 2006
9. Ngf3 Qa6 10. c4 Nf5 11. O-O Bb4 12. a3
White was also successful with 12. b3 Nd7 13. Rfd1 c5 14. a3 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 O-O 16. cxd5 cxd4 17. Nxd4 Nxe5 18. Nxf5 exf5 19. d6 f6 20. Qd5+ Rf7 21. Rac1 Nc6 22. Bf4 g6 23. b4 Qb6 24. b5 Ne5 25. Bxe5 fxe5 26. Rc7 Raf8 27. Qe6 1-0 Aveskulov,V-Morchiashvili,B/Istanbul Univers 2006.
12... Bxd2 13. Nxd2 Nd7 14. b3 c5 15. dxc5 Nxc5 16. Qf3 Qc6 17. b4 Nd7 18. Rfe1 Nb6 19. cxd5 Nxd5 20. Ne4 b6 21. Rac1 Qd7 22. Red1 O-O 23. Qxh5 (23. Nc3)
23... Rfc8 24. Nc3 Rc4 25. Nxd5 Rxc1
26. Nf6+!! gxf6 27. Bxc1 Qe7 28. g4 Ng7 29. Qh6 Ne8 (29... fxe5 30. Bg5)
30. Bb2 Rd8 31. Re1 fxe5 32. Bxe5 f6 33. Bb2 e5 34. g5 Qe6 35. Qg6+ Kh8 36. gxf6 Nxf6? (36... Qg8 37. Qxg8+ Kxg8 38. Rxe5)
37. Rxe5 Rd1+ 38. Kg2 Qc6+
39. Re4!! 1-0 Arzumanian,G-Vedmediuc,S/Kharkiv 2006. A brilliant game!
8. e6!!
When I first saw this game and this move I was really blown away. Here White is about to lose a Rook and he does nothing about it! The idea, though, is to completely stymie Black's development and potential counterplay, so that when he finally does grab the Rook there will be no pieces to help rescue his Queen, which perishes like a mastodon fallen into a pit. An incredible conception and one clearly developed with plenty of computer analysis.
8... fxe6
At least two other lines need to be thoroughly worked out if you are going to play this way, and I've hardly touched the surface here:
a) 8... Qxa1 9. Qb3 b5 (9... fxe6 10. Nf3!!)
(9... Qxd4 10. Be3!! Qe4 11. Qxb7 Qxe6 12. Qxa8 Qe5 13. Nf3 Qb2 14. O-O) 10. Nf3 (10. Ne2 a5 11. O-O a4 12. Qa3 fxe6 13. Nd2 Qxf1+ 14. Nxf1) 10... Nf6 11. O-O Ne4 12. exf7+ Kd8 13. c3 a5 14. Ne5 a4 15. Nxc6+ Nxc6 16. Qxd5+ Kc7 17. Na3!
b) 8... f6 9. Bd2 (One interesting fantasy variation might go 9. Ne2!? fxg5 10. hxg5 Qxa1 11. Qb3 b5 12. O-O Na6 13. Nbc3 Qxf1+ 14. Kxf1 Nc7 15. Nf4 O-O-O)
9... Qxa1 10. Qb3 Qxd4 11. Be3! Qe5 12. Qxb7 Qxe6 13. Qxa8 d4 14. Qxb8+ Kf7
9. Nf3 Nd7 10. O-O Qxa1 11. Qb3
Closing the trap. The Queen cannot escape, and Black's material compensation hardly makes up for his positional defects.
11... e5!? 12. Nc3 Qxf1+ 13. Kxf1 e4?
13... Rb8 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 e6 16. Ne2 is still a fight.
14. Ne5! Nxe5 15. Qxb7!
after 15...Rd8 16.dxe5 White wins the c-pawn and has a winning initiative.
1-0
