Opening Originals: Strong Sidelines for Club Cats by Lowinger Daniel

Author:Lowinger, Daniel [Lowinger, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2015-10-21T16:00:00+00:00

Black’s totally discombobulated army and woefully misplaced king simply cannot handle the coordinated onslaught of White’s remaining three pieces. It is not hard to see at a glance that in a few short moves, at a minimum, White will not have to make much effort to find a fork that picks off Black’s rook or knight, when his attack would continue.

20.hxg5 hxg5 21.Bh5+

Ardeleanu has spotted the winning concept, though amazingly the interjection of 20.hxg5 hxg5 has diluted the power of the assault. I will not bother to spit out reams of computer analysis here demonstrating the point; the essence of it is that the h6-square is a useful additional flight square for Black’s king.

21…Nxh5 22.Rxe8 Kxe8 23.Re1+ Kd8??

Giorgi commits the fatal error, going the wrong way with the king. After 23…Kf7, his chances to hold are much better.

24.Nxd5 cxd5 25.Qxd5+ Qd7 26.Re8+!!

This is almost certainly what Kacheishvili missed (and who would not!). Perhaps he was expecting 26.Qxa8? Bd4+, when Black suddenly turns the tables. After the forcing move played in the game, it is lights out.

26…Kc7

26…Kxe8 27.Qg8+ and mate next move.

27.Re7 Ng3 28.Rxd7+ 1-0

Conclusion

Despite what some folks claim, the Accelerated Dragon is included in the repertoires of many strong and respected players. More than that, it is trotted out for important and high-profile contests. On the other hand, it is not played with the kind of frequency that makes it easy for someone to memorize complex and tactically nuanced replies. As a king pawn’s player, the problem for me becomes how to find a reply that is both strong and repeatable, yet economical with respect to memorization.

7.Nxc6 achieves these aims. It is aggressive and challenging: a misstep for Black is costly. Even very strong players, like IM Mortel, risk finding themselves in dismal positions right out of the opening. Black needs to show precision, playing energetically to find dynamism. In the main line, my recommendation 9.Bd4, rather than the main move 9.f4, makes that a more difficult goal for Black to achieve, as White emphasizes immediate piece play and the neutralization of Black’s dynamic Dragon bishop.

Variation Guide:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5

8…Nd5: games 46, 47, 48

8…Ng8 9.f4: game 49

8…Ng8 9.Bd4 Nh6: game 50

8…Ng8 9.Bd4 f6: game 51

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