Author: Anthony Cozzie
Date: 15:05:10 12/10/04
Go up one level in this thread
On December 10, 2004 at 15:02:11, Vasik Rajlich wrote: >On December 10, 2004 at 11:24:40, Anthony Cozzie wrote: > >>[d]r3k2r/pppqb1pp/1nn1bp2/4p3/8/2NP1NP1/PP1BPPBP/2RQ1RK1 b kq - >>>>white definitely has some things here: >>>>-> one central pawn more >>>>-> pressure on the semi-open c-file (d3 is protected by e2, c7 is not protected, >>>>if you play c7-c6, white has the simple plan of b4-b5 - creating a weak pawn in >>>>some way or other) >>>>-> general pressure against the black queenside (Bg2->c6/b7, Ne4-c5->b7, Rxc6 is >>>>often a motif if it cripples blacks pawn structure and wins e5 - not in this >>>>specific position, but after an active move such as f6-f5). >>>> >>>>positionally speaking, white is a bit better here; compare this with all open >>>>sicilians which typically are either fast wins for white or long wins for black >>>>- either white crashes through with his initiative, or he suffers from his >>>>positional "error" (3.d4 cd4 is nice in principle for black). >>>> >>>>cheers >>>> martin >>> >>>Yes - in fact white might be more than a little bit better. Black has really >>>misplayed this - castling queenside goes really badly with .. Be7 and especially >>>.. Nb6, while castling kingside goes badly with .. f6 (.. f5 is appropriate in >>>that case). Black should castle kingside here just to avoid getting crushed. >>> >>>In general, computers don't understand the Sicilian. (This is a reversed >>>Sicilian of course.) They constantly think white (here black) is better, and >>>from what I've seen white scores extremely well in comp-comp Sicilians. As far >>>as what eval terms are missing from the evaluations - that's hard to say. Maybe >>>more weight needs to be given for the extra central pawn (as black always has in >>>the Sicilian). Martin is right about the queenside play but it's hard to say >>>what feature is responsible for it. Maybe it's just that extra central pawn. Or >>>maybe something like: if one side has an extra central pawn, you can forgive him >>>for having less space and being less mobile. >>> >>>Vas >> >>I hope you and Martin don't mind if I try to get a bit of a free chess lesson >>here :) >> >>Thinking about this as a sicilian has helped me a lot, and White has all the >>usual sicilian ideas (Rxc6, a3-b5, etc). In fact this looks very much like a >>Yugoslav Dragon with colors reversed, except that usually in such positions the >>Knight would be on e7 and the Bishop on b6. However, I have also seen people >>get setups like this with White in the dragon (Be2 + Nb3). At any rate, this >>creates more questions than answers for me: >> >>1) White is usually better in the Sicilian, so why isn't Black better here? >> >>2) Vasik criticizes Bh3, but Bh6 is a very standard move in the Dragon for >>White. >> >>3) Admittedly white has the halfopen c-file, but black has g5-h5-h4, just like >>White in the Dragon. >> >>Secondly, if Black castles Kingside, I am really not seeing a White advantage >>there either. I would simply play Rab8, Nd4, c6, Rfe8, establishing a strong >>central knight that can't be kicked by e3 because white's d3 pawn would then >>become very weak (something that Zappa doesn't really understand). What can >>White do against this fairly simple plan? After Nb5 I play a6, which is a good >>move for me anyway as it helps prevent b4-b5, and after Ne4-c5 I happily trade >>my bad Be7. >> >>Lastly, what is so great about White's extra center pawn? To me it seems like >>Blacks f6+e5 is as strong or stronger than White's e2-d3. >> >>anthony > >Anthony, > >first of all, I _always_ play the Dragon so the following may not be 100% >objective, but anyway .. > >when black plays the Dragon (ie. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. >Nc3 g6), white has two major ways to play: > >a) castle queenside and attack on the kingside with f2-f3 and h2-h4-h5, this >targets black's biggest weakness (the weakened kingside) and is ultra-sharp > >b) castle kingside and play gradually for Nd5, this exploits the slightly weak >d5 square and is more quiet > >In the case of (a), white can play it with Bf1-c4-b3 (this is the sharpest), or >he can leave the bishop on f1. In Will's position, if black castles queenside >(.. 0-0-0) as in the game, we have the latter situation. This would normally >happen in the real Dragon after 6. Be3 Nc6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. 0-0-0 Bd7 (a >very underrated move). In this position, white simply cannot afford to play a >move like Nb3. This move not only invites a7-a5-a4 but also makes it easier for >black to play .. b5 - a move which normally can only be played as a pawn >sacrifice. On top of this, white usually won't play Be2. (Actually he might, to >support f3 and prepare g2-g4, but it's rare.) Finally, in Will's position, black >is down an additional tempo for being black instead of white. Put these three >points together in an ultra-sharp position where many variations hinge on a >single tactical point and I'd be surprised if black can survive. > >As for .. Bh3 in that game - going back to the position in the above normal line >after 9. .. Bd7, one variation runs 10. h4 Rc8 11. Kb1 Ne5 and now the move 12. >Bh6 is weak due to 12. .. Bxh6 13. Qxh6 Rxc3 and black has a strong initiative. >Nobody allows this with white. In Amateur's game on ICC, white could have had a >far better version of this. (Ie. a4-a5 for free.) Generally, white shouldn't >play Bh6 if it means allowing black to respond with .. Bxh6 Qxh6 Rxc3 bxc3 - the >queen must stay on d2 to prevent this. (This is sometimes not true if white has >developed his bishop to b3 - but with the bishop on f1 or e2 it's pretty much >always true.) > > >Now, to plan (b) - white castling kingside. Here, everything is slower and white >will often play Nb3. The plan you gave is actually quite a common one and there >is nothing wrong with it. White will usually play f2-f4 rather than f2-f3 (as >Amateur did with colors reversed), to stop .. Ne5 and discourage .. Na5 due to >threat of e4-e5 - but it's not a huge deal and you could probably find some >games where white played f2-f3. If black plays as you suggest, it might go 12. >.. 0-0 13. a3 Rab8 14. Ne4 Nd4 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Qc2 c6 17. Nc5. White is >pleasant but the game continues. > >You might find it interesting to fire up Arena and dig up some games in the >classical dragon and just play through them to look at the standard plans, and >also to look at statistics. Generally, in the Sicilian, once white loses the >initiative, black is already better. I've heard it explained that the reason is >that black has an extra central pawn - so the move 3. d4 is a sort of positional >gambit. > >Anyway - hope this is semi-readable ... > >Vas Well, I looked through a few games and it does seem that _either_ Nb3 or Be2 is enough to seriously dampen White's winning chances. The question is how to explain this to Zappa. It seems that extra central pawns really are quite important, so perhaps I will start there. Sorry to blow a hole in your nice game, Will. In the end, a win is a win, though :) anthony
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