Kajand (1897) vs SenseiDanya (1825)

1785Episode 20 · 0-1

During the gameIn the review

  1. Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, 6.Bg5 Nbd7
  2. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6
  3. 6. Bg5 Bg5, the most dangerous line Opening Not yet played against the speedrun, and considered the most dangerous line against the Najdorf: the bishop goes to its most active square, usually followed by f4. Taking on f6 is a positional threat that would wreck Black's structure, and there are two main ways to meet it - reinforce the knight from d7, or push e6 so that the queen can recapture.
  4. 6... Nbd7 A move that was refuted and came back Opening His main move, which has had a resurgence in recent years. In the review: it used to be all the rage, then fell out of favour because of the bishop to c4, which was treated as the refutation, until ideas with the queen on b6 revived it. Now it counts as a main line alongside the e-pawn move. He has played it over the board once, beating Ray Robson at the 2011 US Championship, and the one time he faced it with White, against Mackenzie Molner, he lost - Black won both.
  5. 7.f4
  6. 7... Qc7 Cramped now, uncoiled by move 15 Opening A good general move, bringing the queen to the semi-open file and coordinating the pieces; the queen to b6 is possible too, and h6 will come at some point. Playing the Najdorf means being comfortable in cramped positions, but often by move 15 the position uncoils and the pieces find better squares.
  7. 8.Qf3 h6
  8. 9. Bh4 A brilliant game can still be lost General The bishop drops back to h4, answering the question h6 asked. In his own White game against Molner he took on f6 instead, then tried the f-pawn push to shut out the bishop. Its positional drawback is clear: e5 becomes very weak, and Molner's queen went to c5 eyeing it. He went for broke with a pawn sacrifice in the centre and a knight on b5, trying to open the d-file, and later a rook to d5 skewering the queen to a pawn - the queen is the worst defender of a piece. But Molner found a beautiful rook move to a4, pinning a pawn, which shut down White's play, and outplayed him in the end. You can play a brilliant game and still lose - and that is why he plays the Najdorf from both sides. The retreat to h4 has since gone out of fashion, he adds; taking on f6 is still the main line.
  9. 9... g5 A gambit to reach e5 with tempo Opening A very interesting gambit, not well known and very dangerous. The knight on d7 really wants the beautiful outpost on e5, and this is more typical of the Najdorf than people realise. When he analysed it years ago with some Dutch friends who are now all grandmasters, it was not well known, and they concluded the pawn push was very strong; it has stood the test of time. Black uncoils, gets the knight to e5 with an attack on the queen, and plays a lot of moves with tempo. In the review he checks current theory for the gambit accepted: the queen goes to c5, forking knight and bishop, and when the bishop drops back to e3 to cover both, the knight comes to e5 hitting the queen. The queen is placed on a pin square deliberately, because the bishop on e3 is now very vulnerable to the knight jump to g4. It is the knight from e5 that goes there, which seems odd. After the bishop retreats to g1, the bishop to h6 develops and stops White castling long. The method of comparison explains the choice of knight: ask what squares White gains in one position that he lacks in the other. With the other knight gone from f6, White gets d5 and a nasty threat against c7. Logic says leave the knight on its outpost, but the knight on f6 has to defend d5. That is why memorisation matters in the Najdorf - these things are hard to find on demand.
  10. 10.Bg3 gxf4 11.Bxf4
  11. 11... e5 One pawn push that pins and forks Tactics The pawn pins and forks bishop and knight, and a piece is won. Black also gets a beautiful pawn chain.
  12. 12.Ndb5 axb5 13.Nxb5
  13. 13... Qc6 A queen square nobody can chase her from Piece play The knight should be taken, and now the question is where the queen goes. Two moves are tempting and neither is good. The check on a5 may come from the false belief that it wins the bishop, but the opponent can move a piece away and block the check at the same time, with the bishop to d2. Taking on c2 should set the alarm bells ringing: the queen would be alone in the middle of White's position, the rook comes to c1, and when the queen moves on White gets a fork on c7. Still good for Black at the end, but there is no need for any of it. Put the queen on a square where it is nearly unassailable and also doing something - c6, pressing on e4, keeping its eye on c2 and the knight, and standing sentinel over c7. Black is simply a piece up.
  14. 14.Be3
  15. 14... Be7 A piece up, develop before grabbing Strategy Taking the pawn could be considered, but up a piece he is not a fan of being overly greedy; completing development comes first. Play it simple and safe - nothing wrong with being cautious. The king can stay in the centre for now; it does not owe anybody anything. Asked in the review why not the d-pawn push: White has a tactic, taking on d5 and bringing the queen in, with the typical knight jump to c7. So there was no need to be cavalier about opening the centre, which is why development came first.
  16. 15.Bd3
  17. 15... b6 Calculation and intuition together General Viewers suggest moving the knight to free the bishop, but that would leave the other knight loose; he prefers the fianchetto, out of principle. He is constantly balancing conceptual reasoning and calculation - calculating, but also using intuition for small judgements like not wanting a knight left unprotected. Maybe the knight move will turn out to have been better. He is playing the percentages: erring on the side of caution pays more often than not. The bishop to a6 does not lead anywhere because of a4, and he does not want to open the a-file for White.
  18. 16.O-O
  19. 16... Bb7 No castling long into a knight fork Strategy Certainly no castling long: the knight lands on a7 with a fork. The king stays in the centre.
  20. 17.a4 Nc5
  21. 18. Nc3 Assess the threat, not just the pawn General Immediately assess the threat rather than tunnel on the pawn: White is threatening the bishop to b5. Castling would bring more problems after a5. Taking on d3 is decent, but it opens the c-file for White's counterplay.
  22. 18... Kd8 Step the king off the pin Strategy Defend against the pin in the most minimal way: it only exists because the king is on e8, so the king steps to d8. The d6 pawn is a robust membrane against any rook on d1, the king is as safe as it gets there, and it can go on to c8 later. Moves like this give people grief because they look flimsy, but they are perfectly justified. If White pushes b4, the knight loses its support and Black takes on d3. Only once the king had stepped off the pin did Black take on e4, he says in the review.
  23. 19.Rad1
  24. 19... Ncxe4 Up a piece, the position has to open sometime Strategy The pawn can be taken now. If White takes on f7 at the end, Black has a battery against g2. All the pieces are deployed, and at some point it is fine to take a small risk. Chess is tit-for-tat: a piece up, the position has to be opened eventually, and that means concessions. In the review: if White takes on f7, the knight comes to g5 hitting g2, and after the queen covers from f2 a fork on h3 removes the pawn so that the queen mates on h1.
  25. 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 21.Bxe4 Qxe4 22.Bxb6+
  26. 22... Kd7 The king square that leaves nothing hanging Tactics The king has to escape, and to the right square: e8 walks into the queen taking f7. This is one of two good moves, and if White gives the check, the king steps back to e8, where f7 is no longer hanging.
  27. 23.Qh3+ Ke8 24.Rxf7 Kxf7 25.Rf1+ Kg7 26.Qg3+ Bg5
  28. White lost on time
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