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98_D70 - Anti-/(NEO-)Grünfeld (3.f3) // Goglidze Neo-Grunfeld Defense (D70) = = = = = = = = = = = = Kaufman, Larry. Sabotage the Grunfeld: A Cutting-Edge Repertoire for White based on 3.f3. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2014. ISBN 978-9056914400. PB 176pp. List $24.95. Sabotage the Grunfeld takes as its tabiya the position after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3. 3.f3 has been a popular anti-Grunfeld weapon in recent years, but Black also retains the possibility of transposing into a Samisch King’s Indian. Kaufman covers both eventualities in this book. Chapter One is an overview of important games in the history of 3.f3 from both Grunfeld and KID persepctives. The chronological ordering of the games, while entirely logical from a historical perspective, tends to obscure the theoretical value (if any) of the games in question. Black players might mine these games for ideas that are no longer trendy, but ultimately I find the chapter to be superfluous, perhaps serving to fill out what might otherwise be a thin volume indeed. Chapter Two covers what Kaufman calls “Third Move Offshoots,” or those responses to 3.f3 that are neither 3…d5 nor 3…Bg7 (heading for the Samisch). 3…e5, 3…Nc6, 3…e6 and 3…c5 are all discussed. Kaufman’s analysis of 3…Nc6 is of particular interest, as it is the move he recommended in the Grunfeld part of his 2012 Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White. There he thinks that the move leads to equality; here, he hedges his bets a bit, saying that “the line remains quite playable for Black, if not fully equal.” (49) The ‘mainline’ of the 3.f3 Grunfeld is discussed in Chapter Three. After <3…d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Be3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0> we reach something of a theoretical crossroads. click for larger view Opening Explorer Avrukh recommends <9…f5>, while Svidler prefers <9…Qd6> in his chess24 video series. click for larger view Opening Explorer I spent some time comparing Kaufman’s analysis with Svidler’s, and I found – keeping in mind that Svidler’s full analysis remains unavailable from chess24 – that Kaufman’s work was not inferior to Svidler’s. While they recommended different moves at various points, there was no notable disagreement save one case where Kaufman refuted, in a manner of speaking, one of Svidler’s variations. (Note that Svidler’s videos went live after Kaufman went to press.) What if Black chooses to transpose to a King’s Indian? Chapter Four covers Samisch systems where Black plays …c7-c5. The ‘Dzindzichashvili Gambit’ (<6.Be3 c5 7.dxc5>) is not recommended for White, as Kaufman believes that Black can always achieve full equality if the gambit is accepted. (117) He includes analysis of the line in case readers might try the line with Black, and champions the very rare 10.Be3 after <7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bxc5 Nc6>. I suspect that it is not coincidental that Komodo also prefers <10.Be3> in this position; more on this shortly. White should therefore refrain from accepting the Dzindzi Gambit and rather play 7.Nge2 after 6.Be3 c5; or, better, she should consider playing 6.Nge2 if she wants to avoid simplifying lines. After 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.d5 Black can (following Bojkov’s new book) play 8…Qa5, transposing to drawish positions that resemble the Accelerated Dragon. 6.Nge2 c5 7.d5 is to be preferred. Black’s other options in the Samisch are discussed in Chapter 5. While 6.Be3 and 6.Nge2 seem to transpose to one another (as the two moves will be played one after another in most games) Kaufman seems to give something of an argument for the latter order here. Against the Byrne, White should play c4-c5, following Schandorff. Against the Panno, Kaufman recommends 9.Rc1, a move he analysed at length in NIC Yearbook 91 and that Schandorff also promoted. The slight argument for playing 6.Nge2 first comes into play when Black counters with 6…e5, as this allows White the option of both 7.Bg5 and 7.Be3. The chapter concludes with a recent (February 2014) game where Kaufman won against 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 e5?!, where “White should be better off here than in the Classical with his pawn already on f3.” (160). Sabotage the Grunfeld is one of the first chess books to fully and publicly integrate computer analysis into its text. All responsible authors check their analysis with chess engines, of course, but Kaufman – one of the authors of Komodo – takes this a step further by citing specific numerical engine evaluations in the text. As he explains it in the Introduction to the book, Virtually everything in this book has been checked by the two strongest engines at the time of writing, Houdini 3 and (at a later stage) 4, and Komodo, for at least 15 minutes per position, usually more. […] I tend to favor Komodo’s analysis over Houdini both because I better understand where the scores are coming from, and because I believe that Komodo’s evaluations are on average a bit more realistic in human terms. […] Komodo seems to ‘like’ the white side of most of the recommended lines in this book more than Houdini, correctly so in my opinion as the lines in question do score well for White in human practice. (8-9) Setting aside the danger of confirmation bias, I worry that the inclusion of bare numerical evaluations is more marketing fodder than it is useful information. Kaufman does not tell us which version of Komodo has spit out the evaluation in question, nor does he mention the ply depth of the analysis or the hardware used. (He cites Komodo TCEC in the bibliography, but nowhere else.) There is also the remote possibility that Komodo might not always be right. As I played through the analysis in the book, Komodo and Houdini churning away, I was struck by how many times Kaufman recommended Komodo’s first move. At times I wondered whether some of the differences in Kaufman and Svidler’s analysis came down to the engine they were using as they worked. Readers can feel confident that Kaufman’s work in Sabotage the Grunfeld is both thorough and accurate. He wrangles with most of the literature in the variation, although – curiously – he cites Avrukh in the Bibliography but not in the text, and Schandorff’s books are not cited. The analysis is unbiased and comprehensive, and Kaufman tends to provide enough verbal guidance to assist his non-master readers. Players looking for a new weapon against the Indian Defenses would do well to consider buying this book. The author is an American Grandmaster. http://chessbookreviews.wordpress.c... = = = = = = = = = = = = http://schach.chess.com/blog/Scheve... = = = = = = = = = = = = 38 games, 1939-2017 akiba82's favorite games 101 games, 1863-2001 ANNOTATED - ENGLISH 6 games, 1851-1976 Cambridge Sprngs 49 games, 1919-2021 carlsenfinali 17 games, 1999-2008 Checkmate: Checkmate Patterns Based on the book "The Big Book of Chess" by Eric Schiller, here are the checkmates that I found on pages 88-98. Back Rank Mate: A rook moves to the back rank, while the king is trapped by the pawns. click for larger view Anastasia's Mate: A rook moves to check the king, while the knight covers escape squares. click for larger view Anderssen's Mate: A rook moves to the back rank corner, protected by a pawn, which is in turn defended by the king. click for larger view Arabian Mate: A rook, protected by the knight, moves to check a king in the corner. click for larger view Blackburne's Mate: One bishop gives check, protected by a knight that covers one flight square, while the other bishop covers the other escape squares. click for larger view Boden's Mate: One bishop moves to check the black king, which is hemmed in by its own pieces and cannot flee because of white's other bishop. click for larger view Damiano's Mate: The queen gives checkmate, protected by the pawn. click for larger view Knight Corner Mate: Use the knight to give check, while the rook stands guard on the file, and the pawn prevents the king from moving forward. click for larger view Cozio's Mate: The queen delivers the checkmate, attacking the enemy king while the queen is guarded by its own king. click for larger view Damiano Bishop Mate: The queen goes directly in front of the king, guarded by the bishop. click for larger view David and Goliath Mate: A mere pawn checkmates the king, protected by the other pawn. Black's own pieces prevent its escape. click for larger view Double Bishop Mate: The bishop moves to atttack the king along the long diagonal. click for larger view Dovetail Mate: The queen checks the king, protected by the pawn. click for larger view Epaulette Mate: Move the queen two squares in front of the enemy king, whose flanking rooks prevent any escape. click for larger view Greco's Mate: The queen goes to the right edge of the board. The king's escape is cut off by the other bishop. click for larger view Hook Mate: The rook slides over to the e-file so that it attacks the king. The knight protects it, and the pawn cuts off the remaning flight square. click for larger view Corner Mate: The rook moves to the corner, protected by the bishop. click for larger view Legal's Mate: The knight moves into a position to check the king. The bishop is guarded by the other knight, and the enemy pieces block the king's escape. click for larger view Lolli's Mate: The pawn can guard the queen on the checkmating square. click for larger view Max Lange's Mate: The queen moves to checking position next to the king, defended by its bishop. click for larger view Minor Piece Mate: White gives check with the bishop, and the knight covers the king's escape squares. click for larger view Morphy's Mate: The bishop gives check on the long diagonal. The rook and pawn insure that the king cannot escape. click for larger view Reti's Mate: THe bishop goes to the edge of the board, giving check while guarded by the rook. click for larger view Opera Mate: The rook checkmates on the back rank; it has the bishop as a protector. click for larger view Pillsbury's Mate: The rook moves over to the g-file to give check to the king, who can't get to the the corner because of the bishop. click for larger view Queen and Pawn Mate: The pawn acts as a guardian to protect the queen as it checkmates the king. click for larger view Smothered Mate: The king is surrounded by its own forces, but cannot escape from the knight check. click for larger view Note: I have disallowed smothered mates in this collection because I already have a collection: Game Collection: Checkmate: Smothered. Suffocation Mate: The knight checks at e7, and the bishop covers the escape squares. click for larger view Swallow-Tail Mate: The queen takes up a position directly in front of the king, defended by the bishop. click for larger view Corridor's Mate: The queen delivers the checkmate on the edge of the board. A rook would do the job just as well. click for larger view Mighty Queen Mate: The queen moves to the back rank, and checkmates all by itself, since the pawn blocks the king's escape. click for larger view In order by mate listed, original mate, then date. 51 games, 1475-2013 Colle-Zukertort System 4 games, 1924-1990 French Defense: MacCutcheon Variation The MacCutcheon Variation of the Classical French Defense (C12). Also known as the McCutcheon Variation. Encyclopedia of Chess Openings Nomenclature: C12(a) French: MacCutcheon Variation 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 C12b French: MacCutcheon, Wolf Gambit: 5.Nge2 C12c French: MacCutcheon (minor 5.Bd3 line): 5.Bd3 C12d French: MacCutcheon, Exchange Variation (non-Bogoljubov): 5.exd5 C12e French: MacCutcheon, Bogoljubov Variation: 5.exd5 Qxd5 [6.Bxf6 gxf6 7.Qd2 Qa5] C12f French: MacCutcheon, Advance Variation (non-5. ...h6 lines): 5.e5 C12g French: MacCutcheon, Advance Variation (minor 5. ...h6 lines): 5.e5 h6 C12h French: MacCutcheon, Chigorin Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.exf6 C12i French: MacCutcheon, Grigoriev Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.exf6 hxg5 7.fxg7 Rg8 8.h4 gxh4 9.Qg4 C12j French: MacCutcheon, Bernstein Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.Bh4 C12k French: MacCutcheon, Janowski Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.Be3 C12l French: MacCutcheon, Olland Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.Bc1 C12m French: MacCutcheon, Tartakower Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Nfd7 C12n French: MacCutcheon, Lasker Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 C12o French: MacCutcheon, Duras Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3 Ne4 8.Qg4 Kf8 9.Bc1 C12p French: MacCutcheon, Extended Lasker Variation: 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3 Ne4 8.Qg4 g6 33 games, 1885-2008 mariofrisini's favorite games 7 games, 1935-1986 MKD's Sicilian Defense White 499 games, 1840-2016 Pirc by Morin Morin’book about Pirc 5 games, 1973-2015 studiare scacchi con Magnus Carlsen in origine By Mikhalchishin and Stetsko 152 games, 2001-2016 The Games of J. R. Capablanca 54 games, 1906-1938 The Ragozin Complex A guide for White and Black 7 missing Games 198 games, 1925-2016 The Ragozin Complex A guide for White and Black 8 missing Games 197 games, 1925-2016 The Stonewall Attack - Soltis 19 games, 1882-1992 Thematical Games 19 games, 1896-2010 World champions plays English Opening 56 games, 1911-1969