| Aug-01-11 | | MartijnvanWingerden: Where GM Soffer did go wrong is 18...Nxb4? Black got a excellent pawn chain on the Queen side, but after Nxb4 white got the simple answher Rfb1!. The pawns will fall one by one. Better was Nb8 because of Nc2 (if black plays Qc7 then Nc2, after Nb8 black can double with Qa7. Then it looks like black can hold the pawn chain, en play for a draw. |
 |
Aug-01-11
 | | Gilmoy: If 18..Nb8 is right, then <17..Na6> is already wrong: two tempi for absolutely nothing. But if Black tries to defend the overextended a3, e.g. 17..Qa7, then his minors are lifeless: Bb7 is as bad as a B can get, and his N has no squares like a bad punch line: even after his choice of Nd7 or Na6-Nc7, where does it go next? The plan of Nd7-Ra8-Nf8-g5-Ng6 is surely too slow. And if Black ever wants Nd7, he must pay a tempo to defend e6 from White's Nc4, e.g. Kf7. And maybe he needs a 2nd tempo Qa6 to stop the retort Nc4xb5! and c6 forking (with the hilarious point Rc8 cxd7! and White gets his Q back). Meanwhile, White can quietly quadruple on a3 with Rb1-b3, Rd1-d3, Nd4-c2, so it's doomed. The bigger threat is that White pretends he's doing this, e.g. Nd4-Rd1-d3, but really he plans to bust through, e.g. Nxb5,c6,e6 if available, else f3-e4-Rad1. <26..Nxc5> produces a thoroughly strange 4P-v-4P imbalance. |
|
|
 |
GM Akobian's Official Site
|
|
|
