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Saturday, January 10, 2009
What Happened Before?
To my eyes today's position looks a bit strange yet it's cropped up in the games of some fairly tasty players ... but how do we get there from the starting position?
For those who want it there's a clue in the comments box.
The white pawn on c6 and black pawns on a6 and a4 are a big clue - that's the pattern that arises after some sequence going x.d5 a6 x+1.Ba4 b5 x+2.dxc6 bxa4.
Psakhis, Lev, Advance and other Anti-French Variations, Batsford 2003: he gives a game Polgar, J v Kramnik, Dos Hermanas 1997, in which 6.O-O was played and writes:
A considerably more popular move is 6.c4, which, astonishing though it may seem, leads to a draw practically by force.
I make no comment on the claim, I merely report it....
Re: Jack's note above, similar patterns also occur in some Loepz sidielines, and - on the kingside - in various openings which involve Bg5, e.g the MacCutcheon French with 6.Bh4 or (less rare) the Botvinnik Semi-Slav with 9.gxf6.
11 comments:
In the diagram position it's White to play his/her tenth move.
I think I recognise the IFE when I see it and I specifically think I recognise a variation with 4...Nc6 which Psakhis reckons leads to a forced draw.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd6 6.c4 dxc4 7.d5 a6 8.Ba4 b5 9.dxc6 bxa4 seems to do the trick.
Would it be an exchange French by any chance...? ;)
Richard
Correct on the first two points EJH. No idea about the Psakhis thingy ... though I reckon if he did say that he's since been proved wrong.
Jack Rudd has it. :-)
as does Richard :-) :-)
The white pawn on c6 and black pawns on a6 and a4 are a big clue - that's the pattern that arises after some sequence going x.d5 a6 x+1.Ba4 b5 x+2.dxc6 bxa4.
Psakhis, Lev, Advance and other Anti-French Variations, Batsford 2003: he gives a game Polgar, J v Kramnik, Dos Hermanas 1997, in which 6.O-O was played and writes:
A considerably more popular move is 6.c4, which, astonishing though it may seem, leads to a draw practically by force.
I make no comment on the claim, I merely report it....
Re: Jack's note above, similar patterns also occur in some Loepz sidielines, and - on the kingside - in various openings which involve Bg5, e.g the MacCutcheon French with 6.Bh4 or (less rare) the Botvinnik Semi-Slav with 9.gxf6.
(Or, rather, 9.exf6.)
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