Log in  
Sign up

Play online chess!

From	Message
blake78613 08-Jun-09, 12:23	Najdorf English Attack I was looking at some grandmaster games after. 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be3 e5 7 Nb3. What I noticed in these games that Black almost never plays ...Qc7. In almost every other line of the Najdorf ..Qc7 is frequently seen. I am not just talking immediately, obviously Black's biggest priority is fighting for control of the hole at d5 with his light squared bishop. But looking into the middle game, the Queen mostly stays on d8. I have decided that d8 must be a pretty good spot for the queen. Helps control the d8-h4 diagonal after the f6-knight is eventually forced to move, and supports the d5 pawn break. Am I right about this, and what specifically makes this different from other Najdorf variations? One final thought, often the Queen goes to c7, to stop White from playing B-c4, perhaps B-c4 is just not a threat in this variation.
chess4him 10-Jun-09, 06:24	MCO-14 to the rescue I just signed up for a Najdorf tourney and expect to come across your lines. MCO-14 (p.263, col. 33, note m) displays two games where 7...Qc7 have given white the edge. First is Smirin-Kuczynski, Moscow Ol. 1994, second is Stefansson-Gausel, Moscow Ol. 1994. Both games from the same tourney! That is: 7...Qc7 8 a4 Be7 9 a5 0-0 10 Be2 Nbd7 (10...Nc6 11 Bb6 Qd7 12 Nd2 d5 13 Nxd5 Nxd5 14 exd5 Qxd5 15 0-0 Be6 16 c3, advantage white in first game) 11 0-0 b5 12 axb6 Nxb6 13 Qd3 Bb7 14 Nd2 Rac8 15 Nb3 Nc4 16 Bc1 h6 17 Rd1 and advantage white in second game. Good stuff Blake! joe
blake78613 10-Jun-09, 14:30	thank you chess4him. Interesting that MCO 15 does not even mention 7...Qc7 or those games. The trunk line for the English attack (page 248 cols 1-6) is given 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5Nc3 a6 7 Nb3 Be6. After 7 Be6 there is note (a) that says: "7...Be7 is fine if Black follows quickly with ...Be6 transposing into the column. it is important to cover the d5 square." In Col 2 Black does play 10...Qc7, the line follows Karjakin-Nunn, Amsterdam 2006 and ends up with an edge for White. In col 3 Black plays 12...Qc7 but only after an exchange on d5 leaves a White pawn on d5.
chess4him 10-Jun-09, 20:23	The "d5" struggle, or 7...Qc7?! I was once instructed that a lot of the Sicilian Defense, and frankly most other defenses as well, struggle with the domination of the center squares, notably e4-5 and d4-5. The d5 thrust by black is certainly a goal in the Sicilian defense as taught to me by a local master. It seems sensible that you find this true in your study. The Queen away from the protection and struggle for d5 does seem to allow white to gain advantage. So, maybe a mark such as 7...Qc7?! joe

GameKnot: play chess online, Internet chess league, free online chess games database, monthly chess tournaments, chess teams, chess clubs, online chess puzzles and more.