The Reversed Kan Sicilian

There have been some months now since I had anything on 1.a3. I cannot promise this will be the last entry but right now I am not aware anything more of any importance missing.

1.a3 Nf6 2.e3 e5 3.c4

This position obviously can also arise from the move-orders 1.c4 e5 2.e3 Nf6 3.a3 or 1.e3 e5 2.c4 Nf6 3.a3.

3...d5!?

This enters an Open Sicilian position a move down and looks a bit too optimistic. However, the normal result of a correctly played Open Sicilian is a small advantage to White. It could well be that losing a tempo only leads to equality - which is an excellent result for Black.

4.cxd5 Nxd5 (Dia)

Now we have a Reversed Kan Sicilian on the board. With reversed openings it can sometimes be hard to say whether White has an extra move or Black has one less. But in this case it’s quite clear: White has got a free move. How can he best use it?

5.Nf3!?

a) I am confident that if this variation should ever become popular, 5.b4 would be one of the first moves to receive serious attention. So far I could find no practical examples.

b) 5.Qc2 is the main line in the comparable reversed position but could be too quiet to achieve anything against modest development by Black:

b1) 5...Bd6 6.Bd3 Qg5 7.Ne2 c6 8.Ng3 Bc7 9.0–0 Nd7 10.Nc3 N7f6 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.b4 h5 13.Bb2 Bh3 14.gxh3 h4 15.Be4 (15.Ba6) 15...hxg3 16.Bxd5 and White was clearly better in Rodriguez Lopez-Castillo Martinez, Mislata 2000.

b2) 5...Nc6 6.Nf3 a6 7.Nc3 Be7 8.Be2 0–0 9.h4 h6 10.b4 Be6 11.Bb2 Nxc3 12.Bxc3 Bf6 =+ Sattari-Cheparinov, Dos Hermanas Internet Blitz 2004.

5...Bd6

a) 5...Nc6 6.Nc3 (6.Bb5) 6...Be6 7.Qc2 a6 8.Be2 Be7 9.0–0 Qd7 10.b4 0–0 11.Bb2 Bf6 12.Na4 Qe8 13.b5 axb5 14.Bxb5 Bd7 (14...e4) 15.Nc5 Ncb4 16.axb4 Bxb5 17.Rxa8 Qxa8 18.Ra1 += W.Paulsen-Flechsig, Leipzig 1879.

b) 5...Nd7 6.Qc2 c6 7.Nc3 N5f6 8.Bc4 Bd6 9.b4 0–0 10.Bb2 Qe7 11.Ng5 Nb6 12.Ba2 g6 13.h4 Bf5 14.Nce4 Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Rad8 16.h5 Nd7 17.g4 Bxg4 18.hxg6 hxg6 19.Nc5 with a clear advantage to White in Schmittdiel-Medunova, Liechtenstein 1994.

6.Qc2

This is the normal Kan move but doesn't appear very threatening and may allow Black to reach an acceptable position with modest play. However, if Black plays modestly White's long-term advantages - in particular his central majority - may become an important factor. Alternatives include:

a) By parallel from the reversed lines, 6.Bc4 Nb6 7.Ba2 should be an important line.

b) 6.d3 Nc6 7.b4 a6 8.Bb2 Be6 9.Nbd2 0–0 10.Nc4 f6 11.Be2 Re8 12.0–0 Bf8 13.Rc1 Qd7 14.Qc2 Rad8 15.Rfe1 = Kunte-Suvrajit, Atul 2006.

c) 6.Nc3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 (7.dxc3 0–0 8.e4 a5 9.Bc4 a4 10.0–0 Bg4 11.h3 Bd7 12.Bg5 += Eichler-Baumgartner, Austria 2000) 7...0–0 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 c5 10.d5 Nd7 11.Bb2 Nf6 12.Bc4 a6 13.a4 Bf5 14.0–0 Rb8 15.a5 += Steinitz-Rosenthal, Vienna 1873.

d) 6.e4 Nb6 7.d4 exd4 8.Qxd4 0–0 9.Bd3 Nc6 10.Qc3 Re8 11.Bg5 f6 12.Be3 Ne5 =+ Symeonidis-Panagiotopoulos, Nikea 2004.

6...0–0 7.b4

White has also tried:
a) 7.d3 Re8 8.Nbd2 Bf8 9.Be2 a5 10.b3 a4 11.b4 c5 12.bxc5 Na6 13.Bb2 was very good for White in Bouhallel-Weemaes, Belgium 2003.

b) 7.Bc4 Be6 (7...Nb6 8.Ba2 Qe7 9.h4 N8d7 10.Ng5 Nf6 11.Nc3 Kh8 12.Ne2 e4 13.f3 Nbd7 14.fxe4 c5 15.d4 gave White the advantage in Bosboom-Ellenbroek, Enschede 1993) 8.Qb3 c6 9.Nc3 Nd7 10.d4 Rb8 11.e4 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bg4 13.Be2 c5 14.d5 b5 =+ Pantsulaia-Dzagnidze, Istanbul 2006.

7...Nd7

Or 7...Bg4 8.Bb2 Nd7 9.Be2 Kh8 10.d3 f5 11.Nbd2 Qe7 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 N7f6 = Bouhallel-Marchadour, Avoine 2006.

8.Bb2 Re8 9.Bc4 N7f6 10.d3 c6 11.Nbd2 Bg4 12.Ng5 h6 13.Nge4 Bf8 14.h3 Bh5 (Dia)

So far the play has looked rather calm and positional. Now White decides to use his active pieces, his central majority and his delayed castling in a kingside attack.
15.g4 Bg6 16.Rg1 Nxe4 17.dxe4 Qh4 18.Rg3 Rad8 19.Nf3 Qf6 20.h4

It's becoming clear that White's attack is very dangerous.

20...Qd6?

This fails for tactical reasons - the pin in the b1-h7 diagonal can be neutralized. After 20...Nb6 White's attack still seems promising but nothing is really decided.

21.h5 Bh7 22.g5 b5

Now 22...Nb6 is met decisively by 23.g6.

23.Bb3 hxg5 24.Nxg5 Be7 25.Nxh7 Nb6 26.Rg6 Qd3 27.Bxe5 Bxb4+ 28.axb4 Rxe5 29.Qb2 Kxh7 30.Qxe5 fxg6 31.hxg6+ Kh6 32.Rd1 Qxb3 33.Rxd8 Qxb4+ 34.Kf1 1–0 Kjartansson-Baldursson, Reykjavik 2006.

Love Not Returned

I can understand why I score badly when I am tricked into opening variations that I don't like and have not prepared. It's more surprising when the same happens in my favorite variations.

As far back as I can remember I have had a weak spot for the Kan variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6!? Or actually for three sub-variations that can arise from it:

a) 4.Nc3 b5 5.Bd3 Bb7












b) 4.Bd3 Bc5 5.Nb3 Ba7












c) 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4












I cannot recall exactly when I first saw saw these variations but they must have been among of the first Sicilian variations I came across.

Unfortunately these very variations seem to be weak spots in my chess understanding. I have played them in a few tournament games with catastrophic results and my blitz results have not given me any reason to give them a new chance.

I cannot say exactly why my score is so miserable. It's hardly the variations' fault as they according to MegaBase 2008 score very well for Black. It more likely is due to the fact that those bishops in the long diagonals - normally pointing towards White's king - tempt me to play for a king's attack with moves like ...h5 and ...Nf6-g4 when patient consolidation and queenside play are called for.

Maybe some day I will find the time to write a repertoire book based on these lines - just for myself. In the meantime I will start posting a few annotated games here.

What's the Kan Variation?

I recently noticed this upcoming book on the Sicilian Kan from Everyman:

Judging from its title I expect the book to examine the variation 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 (Dia) which is what I call the Kan variation.

This expectation is even more reasonable because Everyman offers another older book, called 'Sicilian Kan' by Emms which I used to own and which treated this very line.

Yet I am not entirely certain as the publishers offer no moves and there is some confusion between the Sicilian lines Paulsen, Kan and Taimanov. I know for a fact that quite a few players and authors would call this 4...a6 line the Paulsen variation. And that indeed makes sense as Wilfried (not Louis as far as I know) Paulsen played the line a long time before Ilia Kan and with quite modern ideas. His stronger brother Louis probably contributed to the development of the line but himself preferred 4...Nf6 (generally followed by a quick ...Nc6) and 4...Bc5 (now known as the Basman-Sale variation).

This doesn't really explain why the 4...Nc6 variation (Dia) quite confusingly is occasionally called the Paulsen variation. The explanation may be that Louis Paulsen reached an important position from that variation repeatedly via the 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 move-order. Can it be that he after 2...e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 feared 5.Nb5!?

So, what about the Taimanov variation then? Well, first of all it's worth noting that Taimanov early in his career played a lot of 4...a6 games. Then, around 1971 he started playing 4...Nc6 - usually followed by ...Nge7, ...Nxd4 and ...Nc6. This system - which now is rather rare - was what Taimanov himself called the Taimanov variation. What I don't really know is why the entire 4...Nc6 system is more and more frequently called the Taimanov system. It's a quite confusing situation and occasionally forces writers to distinguish between the Taimanov variation (where Black usually plays an early ...Qc7) and the 'pure Taimanov' (with ...Nge7).

Still not confused? Then take into account the hybrid variation below, which can equally well arise from 4...a6 5.Nc3 Nc6 and 4...Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 (Dia).


Is it a Kan, a Paulsen or a Taimanov? Well...I find 8129 games in MegaBase 2008, 1159 from the 4...a6 move-order and 6540 from the 4...Nc6 move-order (and obviously some from other move-orders too) ...so maybe it's a Taimanov.

Anyway, the move that interests me the most is 4...a6. That is also clearly the move that Hellsten has played the most, so I expect to buy the book as soon as it's available.

Svein Johannessen RIP

It was with sorrow that I two days ago was informed that International Master Svein Johannessen had passed away.

Svein was the first Norwegian player of international strength and would easily have become an GM if tournament opportunities in the 1950s and 1960s had been more like what they are today. During long periods of his life Svein was part of the inventory in Oslo Schakselskap's playing venues in Bogstadveien 30 - mostly to be found playing blitz or looking up games or studies in old chess magazines. His play was always refreshingly free from routine moves and schematic thinking - even in his old years with the clock ticking away a little too quickly. I picked the game below partly because the opening interests me but I also think it's quite typical of his style of play:

James Aitken - Svein Johannessen, Tel Aviv ol (Men) B-final 1964

1.e4

Svein's opponent in this game was somewhat past his prime but had some 25 years earlier taken a few nice scalps from world class opposition.

1...c5

Although the Norwegian Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5) to some extent became Svein’s trademark variation, he had a very varied repertoire, and always seemed more comfortable in the semi-closed and semi-open games.

2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6!?

This is the Kan variation - an opening for which I have always had a soft spot. Unfortunately my score with it is rather catastrophic and a very good reason for me to avoid it in serious games.

5.Nc3 Qc7

Opening terminology can be quite confusing. If Black here plays ...Nc6 and ...Nge7 the line is often called the Taimanov variation.

Another option which has fascinated me lately is 5...b5!?, possibly followed by ...Qb6, attacking the knight on d4, and only after Nb3, to play ...Qc7 (or even ...Qb8). It can occasionally be very hard to tell who has lost or won a tempo, as White frequently withdraws his d4-knight voluntarily in order to keep some pressure in the open d-file.

6.g3

This modest-looking move is third in popularity after 6.Bd3 and 6.Be2 and quite logical as there are some tactical shots in the h1-a8 diagonal.

6...b5

Around the time when this game was played, Svein experimented with other moves at this point:

a) 6...Bb4 7.Nde2 Ne7 8.a3 Bc5 9.Bg2 Nbc6 10.0–0 0–0 11.Kh1 Rd8 12.Nf4 b5 13.Nd3 Ba7 14.a4 bxa4 15.Rxa4 Bb7 16.Bf4 d6 = Gaprindashvili-Johannessen, Reykjavik 1964.

b) 6...Nf6 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.Nb3 (8.0–0 Be7 9.Kh1 0–0 10.Be3 d6 11.f4 Bd7 12.Qe2 Rac8 13.Rad1 b5 = Duraku-Johannessen, Varna 1962) 8...Be7 9.0–0 0–0 10.Qe2 d6 11.f4 Bd7 12.Be3 Rac8 13.g4 d5 14.exd5 Nb4 15.dxe6 Bxe6 =+ Czerniak-Johannessen, Belgrade 1962.

7.Bg2 Bb7 8.0–0 Nf6 (Dia)

9.a3?!

This slow move isn’t really necessary. More to the point is 9.Re1!

a) 9...b4 10.Nd5! demonstrates White’s tactical point. After 10...exd5 11.exd5+ Kd8 12.Bg5 Bc5 13.Nf5 h6 14.Bxf6+ gxf6 15.Qg4 Kc8 16.Qg7 White had plenty of compensation in Vesselovsky-Hrivnak, Ceske Budejovice 1997.

b) Probably 9...d6 10.a4 b4 (10...bxa4 11.Nxa4 Be7 12.Bd2 0–0 13.Nb3 Nc6 14.Be3 Nd7 15.Qd2 Nce5 16.Na5 Nc4 17.Nxc4 Qxc4 18.Nb6 Nxb6 19.Bxb6 Rfc8 = Unzicker-Mariotti, Milan 1975) 11.Nd5! is of greater theoretical interest: 11...exd5 12.exd5+ Kd8 13.Bg5 Nbd7 14.Qe2 Qb6 15.c3 Ne5 16.a5 Qc5 17.Nc6+ Kc8 18.Be3 and White was winning in Smirin-Gelfand, Sverdlovsk 1987. The game concluded 18...Qb5 19.Bh3+ Nfd7 20.Bxd7+ Kxd7 21.Nxe5+ Kc8 (21...dxe5 22.c4) 22.c4 1–0 .

9...d6

Now the game merges with other lines where Black has played an earlier ...e6. 9...Nc6!? could be an attempt to take advantage of White’s slow 9th move.

10.Qe2

Probably White should consider one of the alternatives in order to fight for an advantage:

a) 10.f4 Nc6 11.Nb3 Be7 12.Be3 0–0 13.Qe2 Na5 14.Nxa5 Qxa5 15.Rfd1 Qc7 16.Rd2 Rfd8 17.Rad1 += Panov-Kotov, Moscow 1946.

b) 10.Re1 Be7 11.a4 (11.g4?! h6 12.h4 g6 13.g5 hxg5 14.hxg5 Nh5 15.Nde2 Nc6 16.Be3 Ne5 =+ Mueller-Bologan, Oakham 1992) 11...b4 12.Na2 0–0 13.Bg5 Nbd7 14.Qd2 a5 15.Nb5 Qb6 16.c3 Nc5 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Nd4 bxc3 19.Nxc3 Rab8 unclear Topalov-Short, Dortmund 1997.

10...Nbd7

The game Koskinen-Barda, Jonkoping 1958 which continued 10...Be7 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.f4 0–0 13.f5 e5 14.Nb3 Nb6 15.Na5 Rac8 16.Rad1 Ba8 17.Bg5 Nbd7 18.Nb3 h6 19.Bc1 Nb6 and an unclear position may be of some historical interest to Norwegians.

11.Nb3 Be7 12.f4 Rc8 13.Be3 0–0 14.Kh1

14.Rfd1 Rfd8 15.Rac1 Nb6 16.Na5 Ba8 17.h3 d5 18.e5 Nfd7 19.Na2 Nc4 20.Nxc4 Qxc4 21.Qxc4 bxc4 was unclear Holeksa-Zajic, Prague 1968.

14...Nb6 15.Na5 Ba8 16.Rad1

After 16.Bxb6 Qxb6 17.Nb3 Rfd8 Black seems a little more comfortable thanks to his bishop-pair.

16...Na4 17.Nxa4 bxa4 18.Qxa6 Nxe4 (Dia)

Now it’s obvious that Black has won the opening duel. This is the kind of central majority he normally can only dream about - even in the Sicilian.

19.c4?!

19.c3 would have been somewhat better.

19...Rb8 20.c5

Black’s tactical point was 20.Rb1 Nd2! 21.Bxd2 Bxg2+ 22.Kxg2 Rb6 which traps the queen.

20...Nxc5 21.Bxc5 Bxg2+ 22.Kxg2 Qxc5 23.Nc4 d5 24.Nd2 Rxb2 25.Qxa4 Qe3 26.Qa5 Bd8 0–1