Practical Considerations

My forth game was against a Thai FM and quite complicated as long as it lasted:
Sv.Johnsen - Pitirotjirathon
BCC Thailand Open (4)
1.d4 g6!
This is one of the relatively few opening moves against which I don't play the London System.
2.e4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Bg5!?
I was looking at this attacking system against the Pirc a few days ago. It probably is a little less motivated against the Modern.
4...c6
Probably lines with an early ...c5 are more critical.
5.Qd2 Qa5 6.Nf3
A more popular move is 6.f4, e.g. 6...b5 7.Nf3 b4 8.Nd1 Nf6 9.Nf2 0–0 10.Bd3 c5 11.e5 Nd5 12.Be4 cxd4 13.Nxd4 e6 14.0–0 dxe5 15.fxe5 Ba6 16.Rfd1 Bb7 17.Ng4 with a clear advantage to White in Stojanovic-Nurkic, Sarajevo 2007.
6...Bg4 7.Bc4!?
This is a bit provokative. Safer is 7.Be2, when the miniature Yermolinsky-Adu, Las Vegas 2000 went: 7...Nd7 8.0–0 h6 9.Be3 g5 10.Rfe1 a6 11.Rad1 Rc8 12.a3 e6 13.Nb5! Qxd2 14.Nxd6+ +-.
7...Bxf3
White's point is that 7...b5 can be met by 8.Nxb5!? (here 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Qf4+ Nf6 10.Bxf6 also is possible) with the idea 8...Qxd2+ 9.Kxd2 cxb5? 10.Bd5 +-. A better try is 9...d5 when 10.Bb3 as well as 10.Nc7+ are possible (and quite unclear).
8.gxf3 Qb4!? (D)
This appears to be a new move.
a) 8...b5 can still be met by 9.Nxb5!?
b) 8...e6 9.Bb3 Nd7 10.h4 h6 11.Bf4 d5 12.0–0–0 0–0–0 13.exd5 cxd5 14.h5 g5 15.Bh2 Ne7 16.Qd3 a6 17.Rhe1 was unclear in Goossens-Safranska, Rhone 2008.
9.b3!
This is an extremely ugly move (in case you didn't notice!) but White is ahead in development and probably can afford to play so as he will follow up with a3 and b4 in most cases.
9...Nd7
Still 9...b5 10.Nxb5!? is playable.
10.a3 Qa5 11.b4 Qc7 12.Rd1 Ngf6 13.Bb3 0–0 14.0–0 e6 15.Kh1 Nh5?!
I agree with my opponent's criticism of this move as it helps me bring an attacker to the kingside. But I don't like his suggestion 15...h5 any better. After 16.Rg1 Nh7 17.Bh6 White must be clearly better.
16.Ne2 Rfe8 17.Ng3 Nhf6
Probably 17...Nxg3+ 18.hxg3 f6 19.Bh6 Nf8 20.c4 is safer but White's bishop-pair and extra space ensures him of clearly better chances.
18.c4 h5?! 19.Rg1 Kh8 (D)
Here my somewhat higher rated offered a draw and I was a little ashamed to accept. From a purely chessic point of view this of course is a mistake as White must be clearly better. But more practical considerations applied. I was very tired and had difficulties calculating clearly.
½–½

After 6 rounds I have 3.5 points. I have not calculated my Elo performance but I believe it must be roughly as expected. I don't know how much Internet access I will have for the next three days and after that I may have to do with a very slow connection.

Bukhuti Gurgenidze 1933-2008

A few weeks ago I learned from a Chessbase article that chess legend Bukhuti Gurgenidze was dead. Although a very strong player he was more noted as an original chess thinker and a trainer for several women world champions. Below is a game he played in one of the opening lines that are named after him. Actually he didn't play it very frequently himself but his student Nona Gaprindashvili did.

Honfi - Gurgenidze, Kislovodsk 1968
1.e4 g6
Gurgenidze also played the Caro Kann version of his defence: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 g6!? 4.e5 (4.h3!? Nh6 5.Nf3 f6 was a Gaprindashvili specialty) when 4...h5 may be better than 4...Bg7. However, when he played that opening he seemed to prefer another pet variation: 3...b5!?
2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6
This is the characteristic move of the Gurgenidze system.
4.f4 d5
In contrast to many other lines of the Modern, Black immediately claims a foothold in the centre.
5.e5 h5! (Dia)

I met this defence in one of my first tournament games and was convinced that Black had gone mad. But only 10 moves later I was very happy to accept a draw offer; I simply could find no active plan.
6.Nf3 Nh6!

Black is breaking all the rules but he has a plan: He wants to block White's pawns on the dark squares in order to gain total dominance of the light squares.

7.Be3 Bg4 8.Be2 e6
Quite frequently Black tries to hold back this move as ...Nd7-f8-e6 can be an interesting option.
9.Qd2 Nd7 10.0–0–0 b5 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 h4 13.Bf2 (Dia)


13...Bf8
This move occurs surprisingly frequently in this system - the bishop is biting on granite and needs to change diagonal to find active opportunities. Consequently Black has been investigating move-orders where the bishop never leaves f8. I already have mentioned the Caro-Kann version. A paradoxical option is the so-called 'Accelerated Gurgenidze' 1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 d5?!?. Black's idea is that while he loses a tempo on ...d6-d5 he saves two by not playing ...Bf8-g7-f8. As far as I know it's now considered close to refuted but I will have to check that more closely.
14.Ne2 Nf5
This knight is the pride of Black's position.
15.Kb1 Nb6 16.Bg4 Nc4 17.Qe1 a5 18.Bxf5 gxf5 19.Ng1 Bb4 20.Qe2 a4 21.Nf3 (Dia)

21...Bc3!
Even modern software needs some thinking time to appreciate this move. It's easier for Black than for White to bring his troops to the queenside.
22.bxc3 Qe7 23.Be3 b4
There is no way to stop Black opening the b-file against White's king.
24.Qe1 b3 25.cxb3 axb3 26.Bc1 Rxa2 27.Rd2 Qa7 0–1