Shak and Awe - The Power Play of Mamedyarov

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Shak and Awe - The Power Play of Mamedyarov
Compiled by trh6upsz

Shak and Awe - The Power Play Technique of GM Mamedyarov

The key to the Shak and Awe is in a rapid and often early advance of one or more central pawns to the fifth and even sixth rank, keeping them mobile as long as possible. The goal is twofold:

1) To disrupt the harmony of the opponents position, often splitting the board in two.

2) Make way for the advance of the pieces for (usually) a direct attack on the opposition monarch.

It is essentially a Power Play line-clearing and square-clearing method. GM Mamedyarov has a high propensity for mobile centers as a means to the ends of line and square clearing. In a way it is a mobius-strip hypermodern idea - controlling rather than occupying the center.

It may be as simple as advancing e5 to make e4 a square for a piece – or a full advance of three central pawns, with one often moving to the 6th or even 7th rank. Shak has more games as White with a pawn on d6 than any other player I have studied!

While other attacking players such as Alekhine, Geller and Ivanchuk have used this idea - and line/square clearing are of course common strategic and tactical themes - GM Mamadyerov has taken it to an entirely new level of science and art!

Because it requires an initiative to execute, it is almost exclusively a White technique. As you can see in the games I have gathered, Shak-and-Awe may be conducted pianissimo or fortissimo; largo or presto.

The technique ‘resonates' for me because of a lesson I was once given by a Senior Master on the QGA – "If you can play d5 without immediate and serious consequences to your position, do it, as it effectively dynamites Blacks position."

Finally, the Shak and Awe is a kissing cousin to the Spassky Battery motif… and they overlap often in GM Mamedyarov's games.

1
Mamedyarov vs Navara, 1999
(A48) King's Indian, 52 moves, 1-0
2
Mamedyarov vs N Mamedov, 2001
(A40) Queen's Pawn Game, 28 moves, 1-0
3
Mamedyarov vs C Marcelin, 2003
(D41) Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch, 50 moves, 1-0
4
Mamedyarov vs Kosteniuk, 2003
(D44) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 49 moves, 1-0
5
Mamedyarov vs A Timofeev, 2004
(D45) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 34 moves, 1-0
6
Mamedyarov vs R Vasquez Schroeder, 2004
(B30) Sicilian, 51 moves, 1-0
7
Mamedyarov vs D Reinderman, 2005
(A81) Dutch, 29 moves, 1-0
8
Mamedyarov vs S Kristjansson, 2005
(D76) Neo-Grunfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O Nb6, 38 moves, 1-0
9
Mamedyarov vs E Najer, 2005
(E17) Queen's Indian, 24 moves, 1-0
10
Mamedyarov vs S Ernst, 2005
(D24) Queen's Gambit Accepted, 31 moves, 1-0
11
Mamedyarov vs R Kempinski, 2006
(A16) English, 34 moves, 1-0
12
Mamedyarov vs Ivanchuk, 2007
(D43) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 35 moves, 1-0
13
Mamedyarov vs Anand, 2007
(E15) Queen's Indian, 30 moves, 1-0
14
Mamedyarov vs Nepomniachtchi, 2008
(D47) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 23 moves, 1-0
15
Mamedyarov vs Karpov, 2008
(E20) Nimzo-Indian, 33 moves, 1-0
16
Mamedyarov vs Karjakin, 2008
(D44) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 33 moves, 1-0
17
Mamedyarov vs Eljanov, 2008
(E20) Nimzo-Indian, 26 moves, 1-0
18
Mamedyarov vs E Alekseev, 2008
(E20) Nimzo-Indian, 25 moves, 1-0
19
Mamedyarov vs B S Shivananda, 2009
(D83) Grunfeld, Grunfeld Gambit, 39 moves, 1-0
20
Mamedyarov vs Shirov, 2009
(D70) Neo-Grunfeld Defense, 73 moves, 1-0
21
Mamedyarov vs Svidler, 2009
(C69) Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation, 29 moves, 1-0
22
Mamedyarov vs Morozevich, 2010
(D85) Grunfeld, 35 moves, 1-0
23
Mamedyarov vs A Pashikian, 2010
(D44) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 29 moves, 1-0
24
Mamedyarov vs Ivanchuk, 2010
(A79) Benoni, Classical, 11.f3, 48 moves, 1-0
25
Mamedyarov vs Le Quang Liem, 2010
(D11) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 53 moves, 1-0
26
Mamedyarov vs G Sargissian, 2011
(D31) Queen's Gambit Declined, 45 moves, 1-0
27
Mamedyarov vs A Brkic, 2012
(D45) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 32 moves, 1-0
28
Mamedyarov vs Giri, 2012
(D11) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 21 moves, 1-0
29
Mamedyarov vs Areshchenko, 2012
(D85) Grunfeld, 29 moves, 1-0
30
Mamedyarov vs Karjakin, 2012
(E15) Queen's Indian, 53 moves, 1-0
31
Mamedyarov vs A R Saleh Salem, 2013
(D85) Grunfeld, 29 moves, 1-0
32
Mamedyarov vs Caruana, 2013
(A57) Benko Gambit, 27 moves, 1-0
33
Mamedyarov vs Kramnik, 2013
(C46) Three Knights, 60 moves, 1-0
34
Mamedyarov vs Vocaturo, 2013
(D72) Neo-Grunfeld, 5.cd, Main line, 27 moves, 1-0
35
Mamedyarov vs Ponomariov, 2013
(D10) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 34 moves, 1-0
36
Mamedyarov vs Aronian, 2013
(E62) King's Indian, Fianchetto, 39 moves, 1-0
37
Mamedyarov vs Potkin, 2014
(D11) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, 35 moves, 1-0
38
Mamedyarov vs A Donchenko, 2014
(A00) Uncommon Opening, 37 moves, 1-0
39
Mamedyarov vs P Koykka, 2015
(A85) Dutch, with c4 & Nc3, 25 moves, 1-0
40
V Artemiev vs Mamedyarov, 2016
(D03) Torre Attack (Tartakower Variation), 31 moves, 0-1
41
Mamedyarov vs Ponomariov, 2016
(E12) Queen's Indian, 47 moves, 1-0
42
Mamedyarov vs Y Hou, 2017
(E20) Nimzo-Indian, 32 moves, 1-0
42 games

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