RichterRauzer [B60B69]

Written by GM John Fedorowicz, GM Tony Kosten & IM Richard Palliser

Last updated Sunday, 17 July 2011

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9zpp+-zppzpp0
9-+nzp-sn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

he Richter is kind of like the Najdorf's little brother. For those of us not able or
confident enough to deal with the Najdorf's complexities this is an opening that is
rich in tactical possibilities but also retains a measure of solidness and sanity.

White develops his queenside quickly, aiming to castle long, followed by pressure

on the dfile, and a possible kingside pawn advance. The capture on f6, when it creates
doubled fpawns, is a constant possibility.
I aim to bring you up to date on the ideas of this opening both old and new.
All the game references highlighted in blue have been annotated and can be downloaded in
PGN form using the PGN Games Archive on www.chesspublishing.com.

Contents

1 e4 c5 2 f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 xd4 f6 5 c3 c6 6 g5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9zpp+-zppzpp0
9-+nzp-sn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

6...e6
6...d7 7 e2 Rauzer 6...Others [B60], 7 d2 Rauzer 6...Bd7 7 Qd2 [B61]
6...b6 Rauzer 6...Others [B60]

7 d2
7 b5 Rauzer Various White 7th moves [B62]

7...a6
7...e7 8 0-0-0 0-0 9 b3 (9 f4 xd4 10 xd4 a5 Rauzer 9 f4 Nxd4 & 9...h6 [B645] 9 f3
xd4 10 xd4 Rauzer White plays f3 Blackexchanges on d4 [B63]) 9...b6 10 f3
d8 Rauzer with 7...Be7 8 Qd2 0-0-9 Nb3 [B63]

8 0-0-0

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+p+-+pzpp0
9p+nzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

8...h6
8...xd4 9 xd4 e7 Rauzer 7...a6, ...Be7 & ...Nxd4 [B66]
8...d7 9 f4 (9 f3 Rauzer with 9 f3 [B67]) 9...b5 Rauzer with 9 f4 [B67], 9... e7 Rauzer
8...Bd7 9 f4 Be7 [B689]

9 e3
9 xc6 bxc6 10 f4 Rauzer 8...h6 9 Nxc6 bxc6 10 Bf4 [B66]
9 f4 d7 10 xc6 xc6 Rauzer with 8...h6 9 Bf4 [B66]

9...e7
Rauzer with 8...h6 9 Be3 [B66]

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Rauzer 6...Others [B60]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 d7

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9zpp+lzppzpp0
9-+nzp-sn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
Black wants to get going on the qside as soon as possible. This variation has a shaky
reputation. Others:
6...b6?! This was Fed's pet line for many years, but he gave it up because of 7.e3!
(7.b3 e6 8.d2 (8.e2 Kaufman,LHoover,N/Saint Paul USA 2000, 8.e2
Hamdouchi,HXu Jun/Hyderabad IND 2002) 8...e7 (8...a6 9.xf6 gxf6 10.0-0-0
Tiviakov,SConquest,S/Saint Vincent ITA 2000) 9.xf6 (9.0-0-0 0-0 transposes to
[B63]) 9...xf6 10.xd6 e5 Hracek,ZAvrukh,B/Batumi GEO 1999.) 7...xb2?!
this is extremely dangerous, 8.db5 b4 9.d2 c5 (9...xe4 10.a3+ winning,
Yemelin,VJobava,B, Abu Dhabi UAE 2003) 10.b1! White is almost winning by
force, see 7 Be3! analysis/2009.
6...g6!? 7.xf6 exf6 the black structure is shattered but Black hopes to be able to play a
later ...f5 and use his darksquared bishop, 8.b5 (8.c4 is more popular) 8...d7
9.0-0 g7 Adamson,RGurevich,D/Las Vegas USA 2005.
6...a5?! this ambitious move strikes me as being quite dubious, 7.b5 d7 8.b3 d8
9.a4!? Ganguly,SPalit,S/Calcutta IND 2004.

7.e2
Theory considers this best, and it is supposed to be the way to pressurize Black's setup.
7.d2 is covered in [B61].

7...e6
7...a6 8.0-0 (8.xf6!? gxf6 9.0-0 e6 10.h1 c7 11.h5 g7 12.f4 f5 13.xc6 bxc6 14.exf5 exf5 15.e1+
f8 16.d3 e6 17.ad1 d5 18.e2 and White was doing well in de la VillaUbilava
Palma 1992) 8...e6 9.d3 White doesn't have much. 9...e7 10.ad1 0-0 11.g3
c7 12.h1 h8 13.f4 g8 14.xe7 cxe7 15.b3 c6 16.d3 b5 17.h3 h6
18.d4 b7 19.a3 ad8 20.g3 f6= Stefansson,HZubarev,A/Las Vegas USA
1999 It was similar to a Scheveningen. Black was solid.
7...a5 I don't trust this at all. 8.xf6 gxf6 9.0-0 xd4 (9...0-0-0? Looks like suicide! 10.d5
e6 11.b3 a4 12.c3 b4 13.b5! Cutting off the Q's retreat to b6. 13...d5 The only
way to save the Q. 14.a3 d6 15.exd5 e5 16.xd7+ xd7 17.dxe6 xe6 18.h5 g8
19.ad1 d6 20.b5 g5 21.xd6+ xd6 22.xd6+ Shahade,GThorhallsson,T/Elbow
Beach BER 2001, 9...g8!?) 10.xd4 c8 11.d5 (11.a4! gaining space, and trying to
exchange bishops, Hracek,ZHeberla,B/Czech Rep CZE 2004) 11...c5 12.d2 a5
13.c3 h5 14.b4 a7 15.a4 g7 16.fd1 f8 Black's position is disgusting. 17.b5
c6 18.h1 d8 19.f4 xd5 20.xd5 e6 21.d2 h4 22.h3 Kudrin,S
Paschall,W/Port Erin HUN 1999 Black's opening was a dismal failure.

8.db5 b8 9.a4 a6 10.a3 c7

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+pwql+pzpp0
9p+nzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9P+-+P+-+0
9sN-sN-+-+-0
9-zPP+LzPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
11.0-0
11.e3?! A tad greedy 11...b8 12.0-0 e7 Now it's a normal Sicilian with the knight on a3
looking weird. 13.c4 b6 (13...b5! 14.axb5 axb5 15.d2 b4 16.b5 d8 is fine for Black)
14.f4 e5 15.d4 xc4 16.xc4 xc4 17.xc4 b5 18.axb5 axb5 19.d3 b4
20.e2 c6 21.f3 e5 22.e3 d5= Fedorowicz,JGurevich,D/Seattle USA 2000
Black's development is lagging and White has control of the afile.
11.xf6 gxf6 12.h5 is interesting.

11...e7 12.c4 a5?!

12...e5!? Makes more sense.
5

13.xf6 gxf6 14.e3 c8?

A useless move.
14...c6 returning from the rim was wise

15.h1 b6 16.c1 h5 17.f4 f8 18.b1 b4 19.d1 e7 20.d3 b5?

Black had to wait.

21.axb5 axb5 22.cd5!+

Stefansson,HNavrotescu,C/Cappelle La Grande FRA 2000.

Rauzer 6...Bd7 7 Qd2 [B61]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 d7 7.d2

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9zpp+lzppzpp0
9-+nzp-sn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0
9tR-+-mKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
The standard Rauzer move, preparing long castles.

7...c8
The solid 7...h6 8.xf6 gxf6 9.0-0-0 xd4 10.xd4 a5 11.f4 (11.c4!? Shirov,A
Dreev,A/Spanish Team Championship 2010) 11...c8 may have been
underestimated, 12.b1 c5 13.d3! White wants to keep his queen active along
the third rank. (13.d2 see Andriasian,ZAsrian,K/Armenian Championship,
Yerevan 2008) 13...g7 14.f5 h5 15.e2! Najer,EMalakhov,V/Russian Team
Championship 2009.

8.f4!
8.0-0-0 xd4 9.xd4 a5 10.f4 the critical test, (10.e3 a6 11.f3 e5 is seen in
Makropoulou,MMatnadze,A/Athens GRE 2003.) 10...xc3! (10...e5 11.fxe5
(11.d3 xc3 transposes) ) 11.bxc3 e5 12.c4 (12.d3 McShane,L
Bjerring/Gelsenkirchen 1999, 12.b4) 12...d5 Smeets,JGashimov,V/Melody Amber
(blindfold), Nice 2010.

8...xd4

8...g4!? 9.h3 b6 10.xc6! Solak,DMiroshnichenko,E/Turkish Team Championship

2010.

9.xd4 a5

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+kvl-tr0
9zpp+lzppzpp0
9-+-zp-sn-+0
9wq-+-+-vL-0
9-+-wQPzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-+PzP0
9tR-+-mKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
10.e5! dxe5
10...xc3?! 11.bxc3 d5 (11...e4 12.xe4! A dubious exchange sac/2009) 12.exd6! looks
logical and strong. Black's queen and knight are in no shape for attack, Shabalov,A
Van der Weide,K/Willemstad AHO 2003.

11.fxe5 e6 12.0-0-0 c6 13.b5! xb5 14.exf6 c6!

Alsina Leal,DDreev,A/Barcelona 2009.

Rauzer Various White 7th moves [B62]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.b5

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9zpp+-+pzpp0
9-+nzppsn-+0
9+L+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
This is an attempt to avoid theoretical lines, but should cause Black no worries.
7.d3!? a6 8.0-0-0 d7 (8...e5 9.g3 h6 10.f4! Zelcic,RKozul,Z/Bled SLO 2001.) 9.f4
Forster,RSadler,M/Calicut 1993 (by transposition from a Najdorf).

7...b6
In my opinion the best try.
7...d7 8.xc6 (8.a4 This nonsensical move proves nothing. 8...a6 9.xc6 xc6 10.xc6+ bxc6
11.f3 h6 12.xf6 xf6 13.xf6 gxf6 Groszpeter,ABu Xiangzhi/Paks HUN 1999,
Black's wall of pawns give good play.) 8...bxc6 9.f3 h6 10.h4 e5 11.f5 xf5
12.xf5 e7 13.0-0-0 d7 14.f3 0-0 15.xf6 xf6 16.h4 Fontaine,R
Nezar,M/Bescanon FRA 1999.

8.xf6
Planning to sacrifice.
8.e3 is standard these days, 8...c7 9.g4!? Haznedaroglu,KNakamura,H/World Team
Championship, Bursa 2010.

8...gxf6 9.d5?! exd5 10.exd5 a6 11.xc6+ bxc6

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9+-+-+p+p0
9pwqpzp-zp-+0
9+-+P+-+-0
9-+-sN-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
12.e2+ e6
12...e7 13.xc6 c7 14.0-0-0 b7 15.he1 xc6 16.dxc6 Groszpeter,AGalianina
Ryjanova,J/Pardubice CZE 1999.
12...d7 13.dxc6+ c7 14.0-0-0 b8 15.b3 g8 16.b1 c5 17.he1 xg2 Roschina,T
Gershon,A/Biel SUI 2001.

13.xe6 fxe6 14.xe6+ e7 15.0-0 f8 16.fe1 e8 17.e3 g8 18.ae1

cxd5

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+rmkr+0
9+-+-vl-+p0
9pwq-zpQzp-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-tR-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9+-+-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
Martinez,MYermolinsky,A/Chicago 1999.

10

Rauzer White plays f3 Black exchanges

on d4 [B63]
Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 e7 8.00-0 0-0
8...xd4 9.xd4 0-0 10.b1?! (10.f3 transposes) 10...xe4! (10...a6?! transposes into a bad
line, Jakovenko,DMantovani,R/Saint Vincent ITA 2001) 11.xe4 xg5 12.xg5
xg5 13.xd6 is Demchenko,AMiroshnichenko,E/Moscow Open 2008.

9.f3

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-trk+0
9zpp+-vlpzpp0
9-+nzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+P+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
This move has replaced 9 f4 as the mainline. Black has been struggling to find the correct
plan.

9...xd4 10.xd4 a6
10...a5 11.d2 d8 12.b1 b6 This looks mighty passive. 13.h4 b7 14.e1 ac8
15.d3 a6 16.g4 xd3 17.xd3 (17.cxd3!? looks stronger) 17...b5 18.d2 b4
19.e2 d7 20.a3!? Moreno,JNorris,A/Mondariz ESP 2000 Strange idea, but it
works!
10...d7 11.b1 a5 12.d2! The d5 trick gains an important tempo. 12...h8 13.h4
fd8 14.h5 ac8 15.e2?! Letting Black off the hook (15.h6!? looks good for White)
11

15...xd2 16.xd2 h6 17.e3 b6 18.d4 e5 19.b5 xb5 20.xb5 d5= Myo

NaingDwyer,D/Bandar Seri Begawan BRU 2001

11.h4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-trk+0
9+p+-vlpzpp0
9p+-zppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-wQP+-zP0
9+-sN-+P+-0
9PzPP+-+P+0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
11...b5
11...c7 12.b1 b5 13.d2 b4 14.e2 b8 15.g4 a5 16.d4 a4 17.d3 e5 18.f5 xf5
19.gxf5 a3 20.b3 d5 21.hg1 h8 22.h5 fd8 23.h6 Benjamin,JGulko,B/Seattle
USA 2000.

12.b1
This position is very difficult for Black.
12.xf6?! Giving Black a break. 12...xf6 13.xd6 xd6 14.xd6 b7 15.d1 e5
16.d3 fc8 17.b1 h5 18.f2 c7 19.d2 f4 20.e2 d8 21.a3 a5 Reinaldo
Castineira,RTyomkin,D/Lisbon POR 2001 White's forces are a bit tangled.

12...b7
12...a5!? 13.d2 threatening the d5 idea forces Black's hand: 13...b4 14.e2 e5 15.c1
e6 16.g4 fc8 Black is doing well, Pelletier,KAn,Z/Halkidiki 2003.

13.d2
Alternatively:
13.g4 c7 (13...c8 14.d3 c7 (14...d7!? Timofeev's idea, Dominguez Perez,L
Dreev,A/Sabadell 2008) 15.e3 fd8 16.e2! a standard regrouping, the knight
may come to d4 or even join in the attack via g3, see Svidler,PWells,P/Bunratty
2009) 14.d2 From here White's queen keeps an eye on c2 and controls Black's
central breaks. In addition White has the knight e2 to d4 maneuver. (14.e3!? White
can leave the queen on d4 as long as c2 can be defended. 14...fc8 Black has to
arrange some sort of central break, but how? 15.g5 d7 16.h5 b4 Black realizes how
12

desperate the situation has become, but it's too late. 17.h6 gxh6 18.gxh6 f6 19.g1+ f8
20.xb4 ab8 21.xd6 e7 22.d4 e5 23.xd7+ Drazic,SMantovani,R/Bratto ITA
2002) 14...fd8 (14...d5?! is met strongly by 15.e5! e8 16.xe7 xe7 17.e2) 15.e2
e5 Black threatens the d5 push, but White's reply puts an end to that notion.
16.xf6! xf6 17.g5 e7 18.c3 White angles for a bishops of opposite color
middlegame with the light squares being more important than the dark. 18...c5
19.d3 f8 (19...b4 20.d5 xd5 21.exd5 a5 22.h5 a4 23.h4 is good for White) 20.e2
ad8 21.g3 Bologan,VObodchuk,A/Poikovsky RUS 2002 White has all the
chances.

13...c7!?
Under the circumstances this is best, but Black continues to struggle for counterplay.
13...c8 14.d3 GM Bologan plays these positions very well for White. 14...d7 (14...d5
15.e5 d7 16.xe7 xe7 17.f4 c5 with some play) 15.a3 (15.xe7 xe7 16.e2!?
Dominguez Perez,LIvanchuk,V/Capablanca Memorial, Havana 2010) 15...b6
16.e2 f6 Solving one problem, but weakening e6. 17.e3 c4 18.xc4 xc4
19.d4 d7 20.b3 a8 21.c5 c8 22.d3 Bologan,VZvjaginsev,V/Belfort
FRA 1999.

14.e2
The knight heads for d4.

14...ac8 15.d4

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+-trk+0
9+lwq-vlpzpp0
9p+-zppsn-+0
9+p+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-zP0
9+-+-+P+-0
9PzPPwQ-+P+0
9+K+R+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
15...fd8 16.d3
If you're playing Black things look under control, but as usual there is no clear plan. White's
Nd4 keeps an eye on central breaks.

16...b6!?
13

Black's best try, but it doesn't change the situation. Black can't do anything active.
16...d5? 17.e5! is a typical trick
16...e8?! 17.g4 f6 18.e3 d5 19.e5! xe5 20.f4 d6 21.g5 Bologan,VYe
Jiangchuan/Beijing CHN 2000.

17.e3 c7 18.g5
18.g4!? d7 19.g5 e5 20.h5 d5 21.g6 Should favor White, but Black has some tricks.

18...b6 19.e2 c7 20.g4 e5!?

Black can't afford to wait any longer. This position is very important to the theory of this
line.

21.f5 d5 22.xe7+ xe7 23.exd5 xd5 24.e3?!=

Fedorowicz,JTyomkin,D/Guelf Pro Am 2002, Black can play 24...h6 when White must
part with the bishop on g5.
24.a5!? is stronger, when the bishop pair gives White the better game.

14

Rauzer with 7...Be7 8 Qd2 0-0 9 Nb3

[B63]
Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 e7

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqk+-tr0
9zpp+-vlpzpp0
9-+nzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0
9tR-+-mKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
7...b6!? 8.0-0-0!? (A good alternative to 8.b3 e7 (8...a6 9.0-0-0 is [B66], see
Kriventsov,SGulko,B/Seattle USA 2002) 9.f3 0-0 In this line Black's counterplay is
woefully slow. 10.0-0-0 a6 11.e3
a) 11.h4 d8 12.h5 Hariharan,VNeelotpal,D/Chennai IND 2004
b) 11.g4 a5 Shahade,JGulko,B/Philadelphia USA 2001 (11...c7 Greenfeld,A
Avrukh,B/Haifa ISR 2000)
11...c7 12.g4 d8 13.g5 d7 14.h4 White's pawn storm is rolling, 14...b5 Svidler,PXu
Jun/Shanghai CHN 2001, 15.f2! to stop Black's ...c5.) 8...xd4 (8...e7 9.f3 a6
10.g4?! xd4 11.xd4 xd4 12.xd4 h5! This ruins white's pawn structure. 13.gxh5 xh5
14.xe7 xe7 NolsoeHoelzl Bled Ol 2002) 9.xd4 xd4 10.xd4 a6 11.f3 d7
12.a4! Now white's N starts to cause problems. 12...c6 13.b6 d8 14.c4 e7
15.a5 c8 16.b4!

15

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+k+-tr0
9+p+-vlpzpp0
9p+lzppsn-+0
9sN-+-+-vL-0
9-tR-+P+-+0
9+-+-+P+-0
9PzPP+-+PzP0
9+-mK-+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
16...d5 17.xc6 bxc6 18.b7 Kasparov,GMchedlishvili,M/Bled SLO 2002 Black has
problems protecting his pawns.
7...h6!? 8.xf6 gxf6 Adams,MGarcia Ilundain,D/Cala Galdana ESP 2001.

8.0-0-0 0-0 9.b3 b6

9...a6 Draghici,GBayon Fernandez,R/Cala Galdana ESP 1999, 10.xf6 gxf6

10.f3
10.g4 a6 11.g1?! Aguilar,AKrush,I/Buenos Aires ARG 2003.

10...d8

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+ltr-+k+0
9zpp+-vlpzpp0
9-wqnzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-+P+-+0
9+NsN-+P+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
11.b5
11.b1 c7 (11...a6? Rd8 and a6 is a bad mixture 12.e3 c7 13.f2! d7 14.h4 b5
15.g5!? (15.g4 Pushing up the guys looks good too.) 15...f6 16.e3 ce5 17.g4 b8
18.g5 b6 19.g1 ec4 20.d4 Dambacher,MVan der Weide,K/Rotterdam NED
16

2000 White attack is first.) 12.f4 a6 13.e2 b5 14.f3 b8 15.e1 b4 16.e2 b7

17.ed4 xd4 18.xd4 bc8 19.d2 h6 20.h4 (20.h4? xe4!) 20...a5 21.e5 dxe5
22.xb7 xb7 23.xf6 xf6 24.fxe5 e7 Kalashnikov,KIonov,S/Smolensk RUS
2000 White hasn't done much.

11...d7 12.e1
12.e3 d8 13.5d4 f8 14.g4 e5 15.xc6 bxc6 16.g5 e8 17.a5 c7 18.h4 e6 19.h5
b8 20.c3 c8 21.g6 b8 22.f4 f6 23.gxh7+ h8 Maiorov,O
Fomichenko,E/Krasnodar RUS 1999 Black is very active ...d5 ideas are on the
agenda.

12...a6
12...d8 13.g4 (13.h4 a5?! Black allows his qside to be clamped. How can this be right?
14.a4 e5 15.g3 (15.c4!? Clamping all over the place!) 15...e8 16.e3 d5 17.h3 d4
18.d2 b4 19.b1 b6 20.xd7 xd7 21.c3 xb5 22.axb5 xb5 23.f1 a4
Nunn,JPelletier,Y/Luebeck GER 1999) 13...b6?! Black develops while White
attacks. Doesn't seem fair! (13...a6 14.5d4 c7?! looks too slow (14...a5!?) 15.h4 b5
16.xc6 xc6 17.d4 The knight keeps an eye on things. 17...c7 18.b1 b7
19.c1 c8 20.h2 Jamrich,GDembo,Y/Budapest HUN 2001 White can attack
for free. Black has nothing to do.) 14.h4 b7 15.5d4 xd4 16.xd4 c8 17.b1
a6 18.c1 dc7 19.g5 d7 20.h2 d5 21.e5 c5 22.h5 Anand,V
Tissir,M/Shenyang CHN 2000
12...a5?! This move leaves a gaping hole on b5 from which Black cannot recover. 13.a4!
With this move White takes control of the queenside. Black has only the b4 point for
attempted play. 13...b4 14.b1 e5 Black's lack of play is a common occurrence in
this variation. 15.c3 a6 16.c4 c7 17.e3 c6 18.e2 d5?! Shabalov,A
Fishbein,A/Seattle USA 2002, Black shouldn't open the position while so far behind
in development. (18...d8!? 19.xc7 xc7 20.g4 was a saferlooking try)

13.5d4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+-+k+0
9+p+rvlpzpp0
9pwqnzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+N+-+P+-0
9PzPP+-+PzP0
9+-mKRwQL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

17

13.e3 d8 14.5d4 xd4 15.xd4 c7 16.g4 (16.f2!? intending to meet 16...d5 with 17
e5 is a try) 16...d5 17.g5 h5 18.h4 g6 19.h3 d8 20.e2 d7 21.exd5 exd5
22.xd7 xd7 23.d4 d6= Svidler,PIskusnyh,S/Smolensk RUS 2000.

13...c7 14.h4
14.g4 e5 15.b1 d8 16.c1 fd7 17.f4 (17.g5!?) 17...c4 18.g5 b5 19.h4 c5 20.d3
(20.g6?! Golovchenko,GMelnikova,Y/Serpukhov RUS 2004 should be met by
20...fxg6) 20...b7 21.g6 (21.h5!? White can afford to take his time. Black's play isn't
very threatening.) 21...f6 22.gxf7+ xf7 23.xc5 dxc5 Nijboer,FVan der
Weide,K/Leeuwarden NED 2001.
14.b1 b5 15.xc6 xc6 16.g4?! White doesn't pay attention and gives Black a chance.
(16.d4! This looks great for White. Where does Black's queen retreat to? It's the
usual routine. Where is Black's counterplay? If Black plays ...e5 then Nf5 is
aggravation. 16...c7 The Nd4 sits in the center making life difficult for black.
17.g4 d5 (17...e5 18.f5 d8 19.c1 Is no fun either) 18.e5 is ugly) 16...e5!? The
best and only chance. 17.c1 c7 18.d3 e6 19.h4 a5! Black is faster now, gaining
time from the poorly placed knight on b3. 20.xa5? White misses Black's point.
(20.g5 d7 21.f4 deserves a look, White has to try something drastic) 20...xa2+! Now
it's brutality on the queenside. 21.xa2 b4 22.xb4 ca7 Cheparinov,I
Kotronias,V/Linares ESP 2002.

14...e5
14...xd4 15.xd4 h6 16.d2 h7 17.g4 f6 18.e2 c5 19.b1 c7 20.c1 d7 21.g5
Kudrin,SFishbein,A/US championship 2002.

15.b1 b5 16.g4 d5 17.xf6 gxf6

17...xf6 18.g5 e7 19.f4

18.f4 g6 19.f5 f4 20.g5 e5 21.g3 h8 22.g6+

Anand,VAvrukh,B/Haifa ISR 2000, Black's game is an absolute shambles.

18

Rauzer 9 f4 9...Nxd4 & 9...h6 [B645]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 e7 8.00-0 0-0 9.f4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-trk+0
9zpp+-vlpzpp0
9-+nzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNPzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
9...xd4
In this line Black strives for active piece play.
9...h6 10.h4 e5 [B64] 11.f5! xf5 12.exf5 exf4 Shirov,ALugovoi,A/Keres Memorial,
Tallinn (rapid) 2011.

10.xd4 a5

19

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+-trk+0
9zpp+-vlpzpp0
9-+-zppsn-+0
9wq-+-+-vL-0
9-+-wQPzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
11.c4
The critical line, but White has two strong alternatives:
11.b1!? is Fed's favourite, 11...h6 12.h4 d8 (12...e5 13.d3 exf4 14.xf4 e6 15.e2
ac8 16.d5 xd5 17.exd5 c5 18.f3 fc8 19.he1 a4 20.g3 f8 21.e2 b5?
(21...a5 22.b3 with a minimal edge according to Peter Wells.) 22.e3 5c7 23.d4
d7 24.h5+ Kaidanov,GFinegold,B/Salt Lake City USA 1999, f5 and d3 is on
White's agenda.) 13.d3 e5 (13...d7 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 c6 16.f4 is the main
alternative) 14.e3 g4 15.df1! and White won brilliantly, Shirov,A
Damljanovic,B/Canada de Calatrava ESP 2006.
11.e5 White gets some space, but the e5 pawn needs attention. This is a safe way to try for
a win whilst keeping the draw in hand. 11...dxe5 12.xe5 xe5 13.fxe5 d5
14.xe7 xe7 15.d3 b6 16.e4 (16.he1 b7 17.xh7+ xh7 18.d7 xg2 19.xe7 a5
20.g1 c6 21.f1= Solak,DSherbakov,R/Belgrade YUG 2000.) 16...b8 17.he1
b7 18.d7 (18.b5 xe4 19.xe4 c6 20.d6 fc8 21.c4 and Black never quite
equalised in Sadvakasov,DMiroshnichenko,E/Dubai UAE 2006.) 18...xe4
19.xe4 c6 20.b5! fd8 21.d6! Black had to defend very accurately for a
significant time in Motylev,AMiroshnichenko,E/German Bundesliga 2008.

11...d7
11...d8!? is quite an unusual approach, but one which I predict may be about to soar in
popularity, 12.e5 dxe5 13.xe5 b4 14.b5 h6 15.a3!? (15.xd8+ xd8 16.d1 d7
equalised in Caruana,FJobava,B/Reggio Emilia 2010.) 15...a5 16.h4 a6 17.e2
b6 18.a4!? Kasimdzhanov,RSanikidze,T/Turkish Team Championship 2010.
11...h6 12.h4 e5 13.fxe5 dxe5 14.d3 g4 15.xf6 xf6 16.df1 ac8 (16...h4!?
Bezgodov,AGulko,B/New Delhi IND 2000) 17.b1 Leko,PKhalifman,A/New
Delhi IND 2000.

12.e5

20

12.he1 c6 13.b3 (13.f5 b5 14.b3 b4 15.e2 a4! 16.b1 xb3 17.axb3=) 13...fe8 14.e5
White is content with a draw. 14...dxe5 15.xe5 xe5 16.fxe5 d7 17.xe7 xe7
18.g3 c8 19.e3 f8 20.e2 ec7 21.d4 d7 22.c3= Polgar,JAnand,V/Wijk
aan Zee NED 2000.

12...dxe5 13.fxe5 c6 14.d2

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+-trk+0
9zpp+-vlpzpp0
9-+l+psn-+0
9wq-+-zP-+-0
9-+LwQ-+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPvL-+PzP0
9+-mKR+-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
14...d7
14...c5!? is risky, Vuckovic,BTodorovic,G/Kopaonik SCG 2005.

15.d5 d8 16.xe7+ xe7 17.he1 fd8

17...b6!? 18.f1! fd8 19.g4 ac8!? Caruana,FBaramidze,D/Mitropa Cup, Olbia
2008.

18.g4 f8
This knight is the only defender

19.d3!

21

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-tr-snk+0
9zpp+-wqpzpp0
9-+l+p+-+0
9+-+-zP-+-0
9-+-+-+Q+0
9+-+L+-+-0
9PzPPvL-+PzP0
9+-mKRtR-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
19.f1!? Preserving the bishop pair 19...g6 20.b4 xd1+ 21.xd1 c7 22.d4 d5
23.d6? (23.c3! xa2 24.b3 is the point) 23...c6 24.d2 xa2 Medvegy,NVan
der Weide,K/Groningen NED 1999.

19...xd3!?
I prefer this. For the exchange Black gets a safe king and good activity.
19...d5!? 20.b4 (20.e4!) 20...d8 21.d6 Pinter,GDembo,Y/Budapest HUN 1999
Black looks passive.

20.cxd3 d7?!
When Fed was analyzing the variation some time ago he felt that 20...c5+!? was best.
When White's bishop shows up on d6 it's very annoying.

21.b4 g6 22.d6 f5 23.e2

Iordachescu,VCampos Moreno,J/Linares ESP 2000.

22

Rauzer 7...a6, ...Be7 & ...Nxd4 [B66]

Last updated: 09/11/10 by Richard Palliser

1 e4 c5 2 f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 xd4 f6 5 c3 c6 6 g5 e6 7 d2 a6 8 00-0 xd4 9 xd4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+p+-+pzpp0
9p+-zppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-wQP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
9...e7 10 f4
10 f3 b5 11 b1 a5?! This gets Black into trouble. (11...b7 or, 11...0-0 look ok) 12 e5 dxe5
13 xe5 b7 14 d2 b6 15 e3 a5 16 d2 b6 17 e3 a5 18 c4! Black's
queen on a5 is nonfunctional. 18...0-0 19 xe6! Taking advantage of the offside
queen, 19...b4 (19...fxe6 20 xe6+ f7 21 b6 b4 22 d4+) 20 b3 fe8 21 f4
xc3 22 bxc3 xc3 23 d4+ Naiditsch,AWells,P/Pulvermuele GER 2000.

10...b5 11 xf6
Probably the most critical.
11 h4 b7 12 h3!? Murey is a very creative player, but I don't have much faith in this
idea. 12...c7 13 xf6 gxf6 14 a4 b4! This nice resource puts the h3 idea into the
dumpster. (14...bxa4 15 xa4+ c6?! (15...c6 looks safer) 16 c4 b6 17 f5 d7
18 a2! Preparing c4 18...f8 19 b1 h6 20 fxe6 fxe6 21 b5!+ Murey,J
Malakhov,V/Cappelle La Grande FRA 2000) 15 a2 a5 16 b1 c8 17 b5+ f8
18 d3 d5 19 exd5 xd5 20 c1 f5 Baklan,VSvidler,P/Brussels BEL 2000,
Black is very active.

23

11 e2 b7 12 f3 0-0!? Black sacrifices his dpawn to get his king to safety, (although,
as we've seen of late, Kacheishvili's 12...c8 is also quite viable.) 13 xf6!? (13 e5!?
Shirov,AMamedyarov,S/German Bundesliga 2009) 13...xf6 14 xd6 xc3!
(14...a5!? 15 e5 xf3 16 gxf3 ad8 17 c5 c8 18 e3 b4 19 exf6 bxc3 20 fxg7!
(20 b1 Landa,KMalakhov,V/Novokuznetsk 2008) 20...cxb2+ 21 b1 with a slight
edge, Yemelin,VDreev,A/Moscow Open 2009.) 15 xd8 returning the pawn, (15
bxc3 a5 16 b2 ac8 17 b4 xb4+ 18 cxb4 c4 is balanced) 15...xb2+ 16 xb2
fxd8 17 d3 f8 18 hd1 e7 should be drawn, Grandelius,N
Huschenbeth,N/Pardubice 2009.

11...gxf6

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqk+-tr0
9+-+-vlp+p0
9p+-zppzp-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-wQPzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
12 e2
12 b1 c7 13 e3!? This treatment looks like a good try. 13...b7 (13...d7!? Keeping an
eye on the e6 point is advisable.) 14 d3 c5 15 h3 c6 16 h6 0-0-0 17 he1
dg8 18 g3 b7 19 f5 Black's rook placement is strange and white is breaking down
the f7e6 complex. 19...d8 20 e2 Adams,MStefansson,H/Reykjavic ISL 2003.
12 g3!? I like White's approach here. I'm not saying White did something earth moving, but
it's better than going into unclear weird theory. 12...c7 13 f5 c5 14 fxe6 fxe6 15
d2 e5 16 h3 b7 17 he1 c8 18 b1 c4 19 e3 f7 20 f1 c7 21 d3
hc8 22 e2 f8 23 f4 Govedarica,RVuckovic,B/Lazarevac YUG 1999
12 e5!? Another theoretical move that Black shrugs off. 12...d5 13 e2 (13 b1 b7 14 f5!?
This move has more bark than bite. 14...fxe5 15 xe5 f6 16 g3 e7 17 fxe6 fxe6 18 e2
h5! An important move that prevents g4 and he1. 19 f3 0-0-0 20 h4 b4 21 e2 e5 22
c1 b8 23 b3 c7= Anand,VKramnik,V/Wijk aan Zee NED 2000.) 13...b7!?
(13...c7? 14 xd5! Ganguly,SDreev,A/Spanish Team Championship 2009, 13...d7!)
14 h5 0-0 15 d3 b4 16 e2 c8 17 exf6 xf6 18 xb4 c7 19 d2 a5 20 d4
a6 21 g3+ h8 22 c3 e5 23 fxe5 xe5= Ashley,MYermolinsky,A/Connecticut
USA 2000, Black's king is safer, but it's no big deal.
12 d3 is a calm approach, 12...c7 13 e3 d7 14 b1 c5!? Gashimov,V
Mamedyarov,S/FIDE Grand Prix, Elista 2008.
24

12 f5!? on the current evidence this is looking quite critical, 12...c7 13 b1 c5 14 d2

Jakovenko,DKononenko,D/European Club Cup, Plovdiv 2010.

12...c7
12...b8!? 13 h5?! b4 14 e2 a5 forking a2 and h5, Jobava,BDreev,A/Barcelona
2008.

13 f5

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+k+-tr0
9+-wq-vlp+p0
9p+-zppzp-+0
9+p+-+P+-0
9-+-wQP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+L+PzP0
9+-mKR+-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
13 f3!? b7 (13...b8!? Hebden,MWells,P/Jack Speigel Memorial, Southend 2009) 14 f5
c8 Sutovsky,EPredojevic,B/Subotica 2008.

13...c5
13...h5? Defending against h5, but weakening the g6 point. 14 fxe6 fxe6 15 f3 b7 16
b1 c5 17 d3 0-0-0 18 e2! Going after e6 hoping to create light square
weaknesses. 18...e5 19 d4 d7 20 he1 c8 21 g3 c4 22 g2 c7 23 h3
Black's clearly on the defensive, Dolmatov,SPoluliakhov,A/Russia (ch) 1998.

14 xc5 dxc5 15 hf1

15 fxe6 fxe6 16 h5+ This was once big theory, but White never achieved much. 16...f8
17 e5 This is the megatheory, but Black looks to be ok. 17...f5 18 g4 a7 19 hg1
g8 20 gxf5 xg1 21 xg1 exf5 22 d5 h4 23 f6 g7 24 d1 e7 White is
overextended, Sarkar,JYermolinsky,A/Philadelphia USA 1999.

15...a7 16 a4 b4 17 b1 d7 18 xd7 xd7 19 d2 h5 20 c4 c7 21 b3

exf5 22 exf5 d6=
White didn't get anything out of the opening, Topalov,VKramnik,V/Monaco MNC 2000.

25

Rauzer 8...h6 9 Nxc6 bc6 10 Bf4 [B66]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 a6 8.00-0 h6 9.xc6
9.xf6

gives Black the 2 bishops

Bagaturov,G/Vlissingen NED 1999.

for

nothing,

9...xf6

Meulblok,W

9...bxc6 10.f4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+-+-+pzp-0
9p+pzppsn-zp0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+PvL-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
This is very fashionable at the moment, White strengthens Black's centre, but gains play on
the dark squares and a lead in development.

10...d5 11.e3 a5

26

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9+-+-+pzp-0
9p+p+psn-zp0
9wq-+p+-+-0
9-+-+PvL-+0
9+-sN-wQ-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
In 'Experts vs the Sicilian' Peter Wells thinks that this is Black's best try.
Alternatives:
11...b4 12.a3 xc3!? (12...a5 13.e2 0-0 14.e5 xc3?! Handing White the bishop pair.
(14...d7!?) 15.xc3 e4 16.e3 f6 17.f3 fxe5 18.xe5 g5 19.xg5 xg5
20.he1 d7 21.d3 Degraeve,JApicella,M/Bescanon FRA 1999) 13.xc3 xe4
14.xg7 f6 Black swaps the bishoppair for a potentially strong centre, 15.xf6
xf6 16.e5 e7 and now Wells recommends 17.g4 e.g. (but 17.d4 g8 18.f3 d7
19.g4 also looks promising: White has the bishop pair) 17...g8 18.f3 a5! Baklan,V
Cvek,R/Austrian Bundesliga 2008.
11...e7 12.e2

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqk+-tr0
9+-+-vlpzp-0
9p+p+psn-zp0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+-+PvL-+0
9+-sN-wQ-+-0
9PzPP+LzPPzP0
9+-mKR+-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
(12.h4!? I don't know if this is necessary. Perhaps White should wait on h4. 12...a5
13.e2 c5 14.g3 d4 15.a4 b4 16.b3 d7 17.f3 a5 18.d2 b7 19.b1 g6
20.f4 (20.e5!? looks interesting) 20...c5 21.e5 xa4 22.xf6 xf6 23.e5 c6
24.exf6 a4 25.d6 c8 Groszpeter,AWang Rui/Gyula HUN 2000, strangely
enough Black's king is the safer of the two.) 12...0-0 13.h4! (13.g3 h8 14.c7
d7 15.e5 b7 16.exd5 (16.h3 White has g4g5 ideas. Black might have to play
...g8 at some point.) 16...cxd5 17.d4 e8 18.d3 d7 19.e1 f6 20.g4 xe5
21.xe5= Nisipeanu,LIvanchuk,V/Las Vegas USA 1999 White's heavy pieces
aren't attacking.) 13...d7 14.g3 h8 15.c7! A frequent theme in this variation is
queen misplacement, Vachier LagraveKempinski/Bundesliga 2010.
27

12.e2 dxe4
This is a critical pawn grab.
12...b4 13.e5 both attacking and defending (c3), the power of this piece is the key to this
variation, 13...e7!? 14.f4 0-0 15.g3 e8 Ismagambetov,ACvek,R/Pardubice
CZE 2005, when 16.exd5 cxd5 17.f5! is best.

13.g3!

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9+-+-+pzp-0
9p+p+psn-zp0
9wq-+-+-+-0
9-+-+pvL-+0
9+-sN-+-wQ-0
9PzPP+LzPPzP0
9+-mKR+-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
White threatens c7 and keeps an eye on g7.
13.xe4?! d5 14.xd5 cxd5 15.d6+ xd6 16.xd6
13.c4!? This is a highly original idea. White is fighting against a possible closure of the
center by d5. 13...f5! 14.g4 (14.f3!? suggested by Gofstein) 14...xg4 15.b6
xf4+ 16.b1 d7 17.xd7 xd7 18.d1+ e7 19.xc6= Nataf,I
Gershon,A/Mermaid Beach Club 1999 its perpetual check.

13...d5 14.xd5! cxd5 15.b1

See Carlsson,PErnst,T/Goeteborg SWE 2005.

28

Rauzer 8...h6 9 Be3 [B66]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 a6 8.00-0 h6 9.e3 e7

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqk+-tr0
9+p+-vlpzp-0
9p+nzppsn-zp0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-vL-+-0
9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
Alternatives:
9...d7 10.f3 b5
a) 10...c8 11.g4 (11.xc6! When black has to capture with a piece then white should
exchange. 11...bxc6 12.xa6 Black has no compensation as white's queenside is too
solid.) 11...e5 After this black gets good chances. 12.d3 b5 13.he1 e7 14.b1
c7 15.h4 b7 16.g5 hxg5 17.hxg5 h5 18.f4 c4 19.xc4 xc4
Kazhgaleyev,MEfimov,I, ClermontFerrand FRA 2003 White's coordination gives
a slight pull.
b) 10...h5?! White's pawn isn't on h4 yet so playing for g4 is possible. 11.b1 e7
12.d3 a5 13.h3! h4 14.f4 c8 15.f2 c7 16.he1 b5 17.f3 b4 18.a4 d5
19.exd5 xd5 20.b6 xb6 21.xb6 b7 22.e4 f5 23.e5!+ Svidler,P
Landenbergue,C/Internet ICC 2000.
c) 10...c7 11.b1 b5 12.d3 (12.xc6! is best) 12...e7 13.g4 Korneev,O
Leminski,H/Barcelona ESP 2004
11.xc6! (11.b1 e5 (11...xd4 12.xd4 b4 13.e2 e5 Black should only play this only
when he can get the freeing ...d5 in. 14.e3 a5 15.c1 c7 16.g4 e7 17.h4 b8 18.h3 a4
19.g5 hxg5 20.xd7+ xd7 21.hxg5 h5 22.d3 Spraggett,KOdachowski,A/Montreal
CAN 2001 Black's king has safety issues.) 12.d3 c7 13.g4 (13.he1 b8 14.f4! also
has much to recommend it, Vallejo Pons,FCaruana,F/Wijk aan Zee 2009) 13...b4
14.ce2 b8 (14...d5 15.f4 d6 16.exd5 xd5 17.xe5 xe5 18.e4 b8 19.xd5 exd5 20.f4
29

xd4 21.xd4 Wang RuiNi Hua/Shenyang CHN 1999 White has a nice positional
pull.) 15.c4 c8 16.b3 fd7 17.g3 b7 18.c2 c5 I like White's position. It

seems to me that Black will be going on a mass retreat shortly. 19.e2 e7 20.h4 g6
21.f4 Dworakowska,JMainka,R/Koszalin POL 1999 White has an overwhelming
position.) 11...xc6 12.e2!? Heading to d4 from where the knight has a panoramic
view.
a) 12.g4!? I prefer putting the knight on d4 first, but this isn't bad. 12...c8 13.d3
Sometimes the bishop gets bothered by Nd7 to e5 or c5. (13.e2!? xe4?! This
doesn't work to white should play 13 Ne2. 14.fxe4 xe4 15.g3 xc2+ 16.xc2 xc2
17.xc2 White's pieces will be too much for black to cope with.) 13...d5!? 14.e5 d4!?
(14...d7?! 15.d4) 15.xd4 xd4 16.exf6 gxf6 17.e4 e7 18.b1 f8= Bar
Rohit 41st World Junior Goa 2002 Black can drum up play on the dark squares.
b) 12.b1 e7 (12...d7 13.e2 d5? with zero development and his king still in the
middle this is asking for trouble, Luther,TAbergel,T/Cappelle la Grande FRA
2003) 13.e2! White does the typical knight redeployment with a good game,
Johannessen,LBrynell,S/Malmo SWE 2003.
12...c7 (12...e5 Preventing white's knight from hopping into the strong central d4 point, but
leaving d5 vulnerable. 13.c3! This natural move clamps down on the d5 push.
13...e7 14.b1 b8 15.g4 b4 16.d5 xd5 17.exd5 b5 18.h4 xf1 19.dxf1 Zezulkin,J
Jaworski,M/CZE 2002 White threatens g5 followed by f4 when black's king has no
safe house anywhere on the board., 12...d5 This looks like black's best try as far as I
can tell. 13.e5 d7 14.f4 g6 15.d4 c7 16.h4 h5 This looks like some kind of French
defense. At least the position is locked. White must have an edge, but black is alive.)
13.b1 (13.d4 b7 14.d3 Nunn,JChandler,M/Solingen GER 2001) 13...b7
(13...d5 14.e5 d7 15.f4 b4 16.d4 b8?! (16...g6!? At least trying to slow White
down.) 17.f5 c5 18.d3 d7 19.hf1 a4 20.fxe6 xe6 21.f2 Adams,M
Bellin,R/Kilkenny IRL 1999 White's attack is too far along, while Black is playing
for cheapos.) 14.h4 c8 15.h3 h5!? (15...d5 16.e5 d7 17.f4 h5 is another try) 16.d4
d7 17.g5! Creating development problems. 17...g6 18.h1 d5 19.exd5 xd5
20.f4 b7 21.b3 g7 22.d6 Kasparov,GKramnik,V/Frankfurt GER 1999
Black's king is stuck in the middle.
9...a5!? 10.b3 (10.f4!? looks more challenging.) 10...xb3+ 11.cxb3 e7 12.f3 b5
13.b1 b7 14.h4 d5! 15.f2 b8 16.exd5 xd5 17.d4 0-0 18.d3 d8 19.a1
e5 20.xd5 xd5= Vasquez,RDlugy,M/Internet ICC 2000 After Black achieved d5
he was fine.
9...c7 10.f3 b8 11.b1 e7 12.g4 e5 13.h4 b5 (13...fd7 14.g2 b5 15.f4 b4 16.a4 c6
17.b3 White's N's are clogging Black's counterplay. 17...b7 18.g5 hxg5 19.hxg5 xh1
20.xh1 g6 21.d3 Anand,VBacrot,E/ Bastia FRA 2001, Black's king lacks a safe
house.) 14.d3! I prefer this over 14Qg2 14...b4 15.ce2 fd7 16.g5 h5 17.f4 xd3
18.cxd3 g6 19.f5 e5 20.b3 c5 21.g3 xb3 22.axb3 a5 23.d4 Stefansson,H
Thorfinnsson,B/Reykjavik ISL 1999 White has a dangerous initiative
9...xd4 10.xd4 b5 11.e3 (11.d3 b7 (11...a5 12.b1 b4 13.e2 e5 14.e3 e6 15.c1
d5!? looks alright) 12.f3 e7 13.b1 0-0?! Black is better off delaying this. 14.h4 b4
15.e2 e5 16.e3 d5 17.exd5 xd5 18.g3 a5 19.b3 fc8 20.xh6! Furhoff,J
Enquist,G/Skelleftea SWE 1999 Black's position fell apart fast.) 11...d7 12.e5 dxe5
13.xe5 e7?! This lets White develop a nice initiative. (13...b8 14.xb8+ xb8
30

15.xf6 gxf6 16.e4 c6 17.xf6+ e7 18.h5 g8 19.f3 g5 20.f4 h5 21.h4 e5 22.d3

h6+ 23.b1 gave Black good play in ChristiansenJudasin New York Open 1990)

14.g3 b4 15.xf6 xf6 16.e4 b8 17.xf6+ gxf6 18.g7 f4+ 19.b1 f8

20.xa6!+ Hermansson,EEnquist,G/Skelleftea SWE 1999.

10.f3
Solidly defending e4, otherwise:
10.f4 xd4 (10...d7 11.b1 (11.d3 b5 12.h3 xd4 13.xd4 c6 (13...b4 14.e2 e5
15.e3 a5 16.b1 e6?! (16...0-0 17.g4 exf4 18.xf4 e6 19.b3 d5 20.e5 e4 21.xe4 dxe4
22.d4 c5 23.e2 xd4 24.xd4 c5 25.xe4 a5 26.e3 c3 27.d3 c7 28.d6 fc8
followed by a4 gives Black good chances.) 17.b3 d5 18.f5 dxe4 19.fxe6 exd3

20.exf7+ xf7 21.xd3 b5 22.xb5 axb5 23.c1 Furhoff,JFors,T/Skelleftea

SWE 1999 Black's pawns are very weak.) 14.b1 b4 (14...c7?! Black wants to get
e5 in, but White comes first. 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 d7 17.e3 c8 18.e2 heading to h5
with a strong attack) 15.e2 a5 (15...xe4? 16.xe4 xe4 17.g3) 16.g3 h5!?
Fighting against the Nh5 idea. 17.e2 h4 18.xf6 gxf6 19.h5 b6 20.f5 c5
21.e5! This important novelty casts a shadow on 13...Bc6 21...xe5 22.g4 0-0-0
23.he1 c5 24.g7! Magomedov,MIsaev,J/Dushanbe 1998 Black's small center
is collapsing.) 11...b5 12.d3 0-0 (12...c7 13.h3 xd4 14.xd4 b4 (14...c6
15.de1 b4 16.d1 e5 17.f2 b7 18.e3 a5?! (18...d7 is a better try) 19.hg1 a4
20.g4 b3?! (20...d7 This still looks ok.) 21.cxb3 a3 22.h4 Rigo,ZLancz,O/Nove
Zamky SVK 1999) 15.e2 e5!? This gives Black good play. 16.e3 b7 17.g4 c6
18.g3 0-0 19.fxe5 dxe5 20.xh6 xe4 21.xe4 xe4 22.he1 g6 Nouro,M
Kovalevskaya,E/St Petersburg RUS 1999 This takes care of Black's kside.)
13.xc6?! This allows Black pressure on e4. 13...xc6 14.e5 dxe5 (14...d5!?)
15.fxe5 d5 (15...d7 looks good too) 16.xd5 xd5 17.xh6 xe5 18.de1 d5
19.hf1 f5 20.f4 f6 21.e2 ae8= Zezulkin,JLerner,K/Koszalin POL 1999)
11.xd4 This game was a good test. The players blasted down the main line. 11...b5
12.e3 c7 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 d7 15.e4 b7 16.d6+ xd6 17.exd6 g5
18.xg5 hxg5 19.xg7 h7? Theory doesn't even consider this. (19...h4!? 20.d4
c8 21.f2 h6 22.h4 e5 23.h3 g4 24.e3 f8 25.g3 f5 26.xe5 e4 27.xe4! fxe4 28.g3

with a winning position in WahlsLagunov Germany 1996, 22...g4 is a suggested

improvement. To me Black looks very shaky.) 20.c3 f5 21.h3 c5 22.g1 e4
23.e5+ Timoshenko,GTyomkin,D/Budapest HUN 1999
10.h3 xd4 11.xd4 b5 12.xf6?! Mixing h3 with Bxf6 looks terrible. 12...gxf6 13.d3
b7 14.f4 a5 15.b1 b4 16.e2 c5 17.f5 e5 18.c1 a5 19.e2 a4 20.b5+ f8
21.c4 c8 22.b3 a3 Joecks,CLerner,K/Hamburg GER 1999 Black has all the
activity.

10...xd4
This is best at this point
10...d7 This is a bit slow, very often this bishop winds up on e6, so this amounts to a
waste of time. 11.g4 c7 (11...b5 12.h4 c8 13.d3!? Mongontuul,BHou Yifan/FIDE
Women's World Ch., Nalchik 2008) 12.h4 xd4 13.xd4 b5 14.h3! b4 15.e2
31

c8 16.b1 e5 17.e3 Stefansson,HRamos Aguilar,J/Las Palmas ESP 1999

White's game plays itself.

11.xd4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqk+-tr0
9+p+-vlpzp-0
9p+-zppsn-zp0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-wQP+-+0
9+-sN-vLP+-0
9PzPP+-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
11.xd4 b5
a) 11...a5 12.b1 Normal looking, but slow. (12.f2!?) 12...e5 13.e3 e6 14.g4
b5 15.d5 xd2 16.xf6+ gxf6! This structure allows Black to undermined White's
kside. 17.xd2 h5 18.g1 d7 19.g5 fxg5 20.xg5 ag8 21.e3 xg1 22.xg1
g5 23.d1 c6 Monokroussos,DDlugy,M/Internet ICC 2000
b) 11...e5?! As a rule when White's knight is covering d5 this is incorrect. 12.e3
a5 (12...e6 13.b1 c8 14.h4 Shahade,GPerelshteyn,E/New York USA 2001)
13.f2 c7 14.g4 b5 15.b1 b7 16.h4 c6 17.d5 b7 18.xe7 xe7
19.h3!+ Shabalov,ABurnett,R/Philadelphia USA 2000 White's attack is out of
control.
12.b1 b8 (12...a5?! 13.e3! showing why Qa5 is inaccurate 13...b8 14.e5 dxe5 15.xe5 b7
16.e4 d7 17.d3 d5 18.g3 h5 19.b8 d8 20.b6 d7 21.c3 De la Villa
Garcia,JAndrade,L/Mondariz Balneario ESP 1999 Black's pieces are scattered all
over the place.) 13.a7 b7 14.e3 b4 (14...c7 15.g4 Bologan,V
Obodchuk,A/Poikovsky RUS 2003) 15.e2 e5 16.c1 b8 17.c4! If Black can't
get in d5 it's big trouble. Black's qside demonstration doesn't look like much.
17...a5 18.g4 e6 19.xe6 fxe6 20.h4 d7 21.f4 c7 22.g5 hxg5 23.hxg5
Blehm,PTyomkin,D/Paget Parish BER 2001.

11...b5
11...e5 12.d3 e6 13.b1 b5 14.h4 c8 15.g4 a5 16.d5 xd5 17.exd5 d7 18.h2
Now we see the problem. Black has zero counterplay. 18...d8 19.f4 xg4 20.e2
xe2 21.xe2 e4 22.xe4 Iordachescu,VTomescu,V/Porto San Giorgio ITA
1999.

12.b1 b7!?

32

12...a5 13.h4 (13.e5 dxe5 14.xe5 Black's queen is out of play, but White is unable to take
advantage, Ibarra Jerez,JDaskevics,V/Halkidiki GRE 2003.) 13...b4 14.e2 e5
15.d3 e6 With the typical Rauzer play.

13.h4 c8 14.e2
14.d2 d5 Blehm,PPerelshteyn,E/Bermuda BER 2002.

14...d5 15.exd5 xd5 16.xd5 xd5 17.xg7 f6 18.g4 xa2+!

A nice way to force a draw.

19.xa2 a5+ 20.b1 xb2 21.xb2 c3+ 22.a2 xc2+= 23.a1 c3+
24.a2 c2+
Kasparov,GKramnik,V/Frankfurt GER 1999.

33

Rauzer 8...h6 9 Bf4 [B66]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 a6 8.00-0 h6 9.f4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+p+-+pzp-0
9p+nzppsn-zp0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-sNPvL-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-zPPzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
9...d7 10.xc6 xc6 11.f3

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9+p+-+pzp-0
9p+lzppsn-zp0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+PvL-+0
9+-sN-+P+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
Otherwise:
11.e1 This was popular in the mid to early eighties. GM's Benjamin, Wilder and I had a
lot of success vs GM Dlugy. Presently it isn't considered dangerous. 11...e7
(11...a5 I've always thought this line to favor White, but here Black gets good play.
34

12.c4 e7 13.b3 d8 The main problem with Black's game is that castling must
be delayed or the queen must retreat. All this due to the d5 trick. 14.f3 b5 15.d2
(15.a3!? a2 can be a good retreat square) 15...b4 16.e2 d5 17.e5 d7 Now White's
b3bishop becomes a real concern. 18.g3 c7 19.d4 f8 I believe this is forced.
(19...b7? 20.f4 g6 21.xe6 fxe6 22.xg6+ f8 23.f5+) 20.f4 c5 Getting rid of the d4
knight one way or another is a good idea. 21.xc6 xc6 Galliamova,A
Kosteniuk,A/Moscow RUS 2001.) 12.h4 (12.e5 h5 13.e3 c7 is the old theory, but
is nothing for White, see Azarov,SZhigalko,A/Minsk BLR 2005, 12.f3 with English
Attacklike play, Alekseev,EIvanchuk,V/FIDE GrandPrix, Nalchik 2009)
12...a5?! (12...c7!? 13.e5 d5 is one alternative (13...dxe5 14.xe5 a5 is another) )
13.f3 d8 14.c4 b5 15.b3 c7 The d5 trick is on again so the queen must drop
back. 16.g4 a5 17.a3 d7 18.e3 preventing ...c5, 18...b8 19.g5 a4 20.a2 b4
21.axb4 xb4 22.g6 b8 23.gxf7+ xf7 24.hg1 Jakubowski,KWerle,J/Litohoto
GRE 1999.

11...d5
11...a5 12.b1?! (12.c4! is best) 12...d8 13.d3 e7 14.he1 d7 15.f1 e5 16.f2
0-0 17.e3 d7 18.g4 f6 19.d4 xd4 20.xd4 c5 21.ed1 Stocek,J
Chernyshov,K/Presov SVK 1999 White can pile on d6.

12.e1 b4 13.a3 a5 14.d2

This safe move shouldn't cause Black too much grief.
14.exd5 xd5 15.b4 xf4 16.xd8+ xd8 17.h4 (17.e2 White abandoned this line in the
early 90's. The Black pieces work well while the White queen lack's points of attack.
17...xe2+ 18.xe2 0-0 19.d3 f6 20.e2 fc8 21.b1 b5 22.e4 a5! Minasian,A
Sargissian,G/Yerevan ARM 1999 Black has gotten a nice initiative.) 17...0-0 18.e3
(18.h2 b5? This loosens the pawn structure for no good reason. (18...e7 with a5
ideas) 19.e3 f6 20.xf4 xc3 21.e3 a1 22.g4+ Ninov,N
Zontakh,A/Lazarevac YUG 1999) 18...d5 American GM Max Dlugy has been one
of the leaders in the 8...h6 variation since the early eighties. 19.xd5 xd5 20.d3
a5 21.b5 e7 22.c4 ac8 23.e2 b6 Sadvakasov,DDlugy,M/Liepaja LAT 2001
White's king is looking a bit chilly.
14.b4 b6 15.exd5 xd5 16.e5 0-0 17.h4 d7?! Theory considers this inferior.
(17...e3+ 18.b2 g5 19.d4 c6 20.xd8 fxd8 21.d3 and either 21...d7 or
(21...d5 are fine for Black) ) 18.xd8 xd8 19.d6 c6 20.xf8 xf8 Blalock,R
Santos,L/Algarve POR 1999.

14...d4

35

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqk+-tr0
9+p+-+pzp-0
9p+l+psn-zp0
9vl-+-+-+-0
9-+-zpP+-+0
9zP-sN-+P+-0
9-zPPvL-+PzP0
9+-mKRwQL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
15.e5 d7 16.e2 xd2+ 17.xd2 xe5 18.xd4 f6 19.xc6 xc6
20.d3 0-0 21.e4 fd8=
Grischuk,AKlimov,S/St Petersburg RUS 1999 Black's position is going to be a tough nut
to crack. His king is safe and the pawn structure compact. The 3 to 2 majority with
the bishop vs knight is a long way off.

36

Rauzer with 9 f4 [B67]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 a6 8.00-0 d7 9.f4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9+p+l+pzpp0
9p+nzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNPzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
9...b5
One of the most popular and reliable variations in the Rauzer.
Alternatively, 9...h6!? Black intends to play a further ...g5 to gain control of the e5square.
10.h4 (10.xf6 xf6 11.f3 d8 Rahal,MVidarte Morales,A/Paretana ESP 1999)
10...g5 11.fxg5 g4 12.e2 (12.xc6!? the old main line which should perhaps once
again become the new one. 12...xc6 13.e2 e5 14.g3! g6 15.hf1! Carlsson,P
Huerga Leache,M/Malaga 2008.) 12...ge5 13.f3 (13.g3?! hxg5 Hebert,J
Arnett,D/New York USA 2000) 13...e7 14.hg1! Ziatdinov's strong move, see
Kogan,AMamedov,N/Sort ESP 2006.

10.xf6
White doubles the black pawns at the cost of the bishop pair.
Others:
10.xc6 xc6 11.e3
a) 11.d3 b4 (11...e7 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5 d7 14.xe7 xe7 15.e4 xe4 16.xe4 xe5
17.c3 f6 18.d6+ f8 19.d4 g6 20.c8 f7 21.d6 e7 22.c8 f7 23.d8+ g7
24.hd1 Sutovsky,EBlehm,P/Ohrid MKD 2001, with proper play Black will be

37

able to consolidate his pawn plus.) 12.e2 b6 13.xf6 gxf6 14.b1 h5 (14...a5
15.g3 (15.f5 e5 16.g4 g8 17.h3 a4 18.g3 c5 19.e2 h6 20.he1 e7 21.c4
Shetty,RMurugan,K/Calcutta IND 2000.) 15...h5 16.e2 c5 (16...a4!?) 17.f5 h4
18.h5 e5 19.hf1 a4 20.xf6+!! xf6 21.b5 c8 22.xc6+ xc6 23.b5
Fedorchuk,STukmakov,V/Lausanne SUI 2000.) 15.f5 (15.hf1 a5 16.c4 This looks
loosening. 16...c5 17.f3 g8 18.g3 d8 19.c1 g7 20.ff1 a4 21.f5 e5 22.g1 h4 23.g4 a3
Enders,PBaklan,V/Tegernsee GER 1999., 15.he1 c8 16.c1 a5 17.f5 h6 18.e2
xc1 19.xc1 e5 20.c3 e7 21.cxb4 axb4 22.c4 c7 23.c2 b7 24.ec1 d4 25.d3

Solleveld,MAtalik,S/Groningen NED 1999, e4 is a nice target and Black's king is

very cozy.) 15...h6 16.e1 e5 17.c4 e7 18.b3 ag8 19.g3 h4 20.h5 g5
21.g4 c8 22.e2 b5 23.xb5 axb5 Morovic Fernandez,IKozul,Z/Solin CRO
1999, Black gets a big attack on the afile.
b) 11.e1 h6 (11...e7 12.e5 (12.xf6 xf6 13.e5 e7 14.exd6 xd6 15.f5 e7 16.fxe6 fxe6
17.e4 f4+ 18.b1 0-0 19.d3 a5 20.h4 ae8 21.e2 Guseinov,KSmirnov,A/St
Petersburg RUS 2000, White has the better structure.) 12...d5 13.xe7 xe7
14.e4 dxe5 15.fxe5 0-0 16.d3 f4 17.f1 g6 18.g3 h4 19.xh4 xh4
20.g3 f5 21.de1 ac8= Salas,CYermolinsky,A/Istanbul TUR 2000.) 12.xf6
xf6 13.g3 e7 14.g2 b7 15.f5 e7 16.fxe6 fxe6 17.f1 b4 18.b1 c8 19.d2
a4 20.b3 c7 21.f2 xb3 22.axb3 a5 23.b1= Matulovic,M
Vuckovic,B/Belgrade YUG 2001.
c) 11.e5 dxe5 12.e1 c7 13.xf6 gxf6 14.h4 e7 15.f5 exf5 16.e2 c8 17.a3
e4 Raguz,IMadl,I/Pula CRO 1999, White doesn't have enough for the sacrificed
material.
11...e7 12.xf6 xf6 13.e5 e7 14.exd6 xd6 15.e4 xe4 16.xe4 0-0 17.d3 g6
18.h4 f6 19.df1 (19.g3 fd8 20.h5 f8= Schmidt Schaeffer,SAtalik,S/Boblinger
GER 2000.) 19...fd8 20.g4 (20.h5 f8 21.hxg6 hxg6 22.g4 g7 Santo Roman,M
Palac,M/Cannes FRA 2000.) 20...f8 21.f5 exf5 22.gxf5 g7 23.c3 b4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-tr-+k+0
9+-+-+pvlp0
9p+-+-wqp+0
9+-+-+P+-0
9-zp-+Q+-zP0
9+-zPL+-+-0
9PzP-+-+-+0
9+-mK-+R+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
24.c4 g5 25.hxg5 xg5+ 26.b1 f6 27.h4 bxc3 28.xf6 xf6= Smirin,I
Palac,M/Batumi GEO 1999.
10.e1 xd4 11.xd4 b6 12.d2 (12.d3 b4 13.d1 c6 14.xf6 gxf6 15.e3 a7 16.g4 e7
17.f5 c5 18.f3 e5 19.h6 c7 Morrison,WFedorowicz,J/World Open 2001, the h6
knight is misplaced.) 12...b4 13.d1 a5 14.e3 c6 15.c4 c5 16.xd6+ xd6

38

17.xd6 xe4 18.d4 d5 19.xf6 gxf6 20.b1 e7 21.e2 a7 22.d1 d8

23.g3 Breznik,KGrosar,K/Ljubljana CRO 2000.
10.xb5 axb5 11.dxb5 b4! This move takes the air out of White's idea, 12.xf6
(12.xd6+ xd6 13.xd6 xa2+ 14.xa2 xa2 White is clearly on the defensive.)
12...gxf6 13.a3 a2+ 14.xa2 xb5 15.b4 e7 BaileyFedorowicz Brantford
Canada 2002.

10...gxf6

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9+-+l+p+p0
9p+nzppzp-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-sNPzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
11.b1
11.xc6 xc6 12.e1 The point of White playing e1 in this variation is to set up d5
ideas.
a) 12.d3 b6 13.he1 h5 14.b1 0-0-0 15.e2 b8 16.c4 bxc4 17.xc4 xe4+
18.a1 d5 19.c3 b4 20.e2 Heymann,USudakova,I/Warsaw POL 2001.
b) 12.e3!? This move was popular in the mid seventies, but fell out of favor.
12...e7! an established way to prevent any problems with d5, 13.d3 a7
(13...h5!? 14.b1 a7 15.h3 c5 with good play on the dark squares in Gashimov,V
Kotronias,V/World Team Championship, Bursa 2010) 14.e1! This looks preferable
to the h3 alternative. White keeps the d5 ideas alive. (14.h3 b4 15.e2 c5
16.f5 e5 17.g3 a5 18.h5 h6+ 19.b1 g5 20.g4 (20.f3 e7 21.h4 e3 22.h3
d4 Black has dark square business going.) 20...e7 21.h4 h6 22.h3 Torre
Gheorghiu Manila 1976) 14...c8?! I know the point of this line is to delay e7 with
the hope the bishop can find a more active post. ( Here Black should bite the bullet
and play 14...e7!? 15.b1 (15.f5 c5 16.fxe6 fxe6 17.b1 The e2 to f4 maneuver
follows pounding on e6 while looking at d5.) 15...b4 16.e2 c5 with a reasonable
Rauzer position.) 15.d5 g7 Is the bishop so wonderful here? 16.g3 f8 17.e3
h5 18.he1 h4 19.g4 Black's forces are uncoordinated and the dark square
counterplay is non existent, Brkic,AKozul,Z/Bled SLO 2002.
12...h5 (12...b4 13.d5 a5 14.d3 g7 15.f5 xd5 16.exd5 e5 17.b5+ White's lightsquared play is
better than Black's on the dark squares. 17...e7 18.a4 b6 19.d3 Anka,E
Yrjola,J/Helsinki FIN 2000., 12...a7!? we've seen this move numerous times, mostly
39

from black side Rauzer hero Zdenko Kozul, Fluvia Poyatos,JAloma

Vidal,R/Barcelona ESP 2004) 13.b1 h6?! 14.g3 b4 15.d5 a5 16.g2 0-0
17.e3 b6 18.xd6 ad8 19.xd8 xd8 20.e2 c5 Black is very active and
can look forward to darksquared play, Acs,PKozul,Z/Ohrid MKD 2001.
11.g3 This looks too slow to bother Black. 11...b6 12.f3 0-0-0 13.h3 h5 14.b1 b8
15.e2 c8 16.f5 h6 17.f4 d5 18.exd5 e5 19.c3 e7 Ziatdinov,R
Fedorowicz,J/San Francisco USA 2000.

11...b6
11...b4 12.ce2 b6 13.f5 (13.e1 a5 14.h4 e7 15.xc6 xc6 16.f5 c8 17.d2 c5
Holzke,FBaklan,V/Hamburg GER 1999., 13.xc6 xc6 14.f5 e5 15.g3 c5 Black
prevents Bc4 when White gets lightsquared play, Najer,EMiton,K/Moscow RUS
2004) 13...xd4 (13...e5!? in my opinion this will save Black a lot of time.) 14.xd4
e5 15.f3 Efimenko,ZAndreev,E/Kramatorsk UKR 2003.

12.xc6
12.ce2 h5 13.xc6 xc6 14.f5 e5? usually White has to work for control of d5, 15.c3
c8 16.d5 xd5 17.xd5 Balinov,IKozul,Z/Charleville FRA 2000.
12.f3 0-0-0 13.g3 b8 14.f5 c8 15.fxe6 (15.h3 g7 16.e1 he8 17.fxe6 fxe6 18.e2 e5
19.fd4 d5 20.exd5 xd5 21.g2 d6 22.f2 f5= Sedlak,NDamljanovic,B/Subotica YUG
2000.) 15...fxe6 16.h3 g7 17.e2 d5 18.d3 dxe4 19.xe4 f5 Black's bishop pair
gives good play. 20.f4+ c7 21.xc7+ xc7= Govedarica,R
Damljanovic,B/Belgrade YUG 2000.

12...xc6

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+-+-+p+p0
9pwqlzppzp-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-+PzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+K+R+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
13.e1
13.f5 is examined in Milen Petrov analysis/2009.

40

13...a7!?
This is the speciality of Bosnian GM Zdenko Kozul. The point is that on d5 Black blocks
exd5+ with ...e7.
13...e7 14.d3 (14.f5 c5 (14...b4 15.e2 e5 16.g3 h5 17.h4 f8?! (17...c5 looks ok)
18.c4 c8 19.e2 e7 20.xh5 c5 21.b3 h6 22.h3 a5 23.g4 a4 24.xf6+
Yoos,JKhassanov,M/Brantford CAN 1999.) 15.fxe6 (15.d3 a5 (15...e5?! the
queen looks nice here, but leaves the queenside unprotected, 16.f2 g8?! A
complete waste of time. (16...c5!? Sometimes swallowing your pride is necessary.)
17.he1 b4 18.e2 a5 19.f4 a4 20.c4 a3 21.d3 xh2 22.b6 Nijboer,F
Alekseev,E/Hoogeveen NED 2002 Black's position is seriously uncoordinated.)
16.e2 e5 17.g3 f8 18.h4 h6 19.hf1 a4 20.c3 a3 21.b3 d8 22.f2=
Charbonneau,PKrush,I/Montreal CAN 2001.) 15...fxe6 16.d3 d7 17.f1 ag8
18.f2 g5 19.e2 hg8 20.f1 e5 when White can't hit e6 Black is fine, 21.f4
a5 22.g3 b4 23.g1 a4 24.f3 a3 25.g1 xg1 26.xg1 Bojkovic,NMadl,I/Halle
GER 2000.) 14...h5 (14...a5?! I don't like to weaken the light squares like this. 15.f5 b4
16.e2 e5 17.g3 c5 18.e2 c8 19.b3 0-0 20.c4 h8 21.he1 g8 22.h5 e8 23.h6
b6 24.h5 Adams,MKozul,Z/Belgrade 1999.) 15.f5 b4 (15...c5 16.f1 b4 17.e2
e5 18.c1 a5 19.b3 b6 20.c4 DEEP FRITZDEEP JUNIOR/Cadaques ESP 2001.)
16.e2 e5 17.g3 h4 18.f1 b7 (18...c5 19.e3 a5 20.c4 xe4 21.d5 xd5 22.xd5
c6 23.e2 Perunovic,MDamljanovic,B/Valjevo YUG 2000, in return for the
sacrificed pawn White gets lightsquared control.) 19.d2 a5 20.c4 a4 21.e2 a5

22.he1 c5 23.b3 a3= Ivanovic,BDamljanovic,B/Belgrade YUG 2000, White's

king must beware.
13...c5 14.d3 d7 15.f1 b4 16.e2 a5 17.f5 e5 18.b3 h5 19.h4 e7 20.c4
Fressinet,LAcs,P/Charleville FRA 2000.
13...0-0-0 14.d3 b4 15.e2 d5 16.g3 dxe4 17.xe4 (17.xe4 e7 18.e2 b8 19.d2 hg8
20.f3 b5= Belotti,BTukmakov,V/Mendrisio SUI 1999, Black is solid.) 17...xd1+
18.xd1 f5 19.xc6 xc6 20.d4 g8 21.d1 e7 22.a7 d8 23.xd8+ xd8
24.d4+ Orak,LTukmakov,V/Pula CRO 2000, Black has everything covered and
White has backrank trouble.

14.f5

41

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+kvl-tr0
9tr-+-+p+p0
9pwqlzppzp-+0
9+p+-+P+-0
9-+-+P+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-+PzP0
9+K+RwQL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
14.d3 h5 (14...c7 15.f5 e5 16.h4 e7 17.h6 b4 18.d5 xd5 19.exd5 a5 20.g7 f8 21.xh7 d8
22.h4 a4 23.g7 b3 24.cxb3 axb3 25.a3 Nataf,IKozul,Z/Istanbul TUR 2000., 14...a5?!
loosens b5 for no good reason, Jedryczka,KKozul,Z/Panormo GRE 2001) 15.h4
g7 (15...h6!? An interesting way to defend h6. Previously we've seen 15...g7 or
15...e7. One of the points of this variation is to leave the bishop on f8. Later on
Black might have the option of ...g7 or ...h6 placing the bishop on a more active
diagonal. The danger of the rook on h6 is it could windup out of play. 16.f5 c5
17.he1?! White waited too long. 17 fe6 fe6 18 Rhe1 with d5 ideas looks good for
White. 17...e5!? 18.e2 c7 Black loads up on c2 thus preventing a rook recapture on
d5 19.d2 b4 20.d5 xd5 21.exd5 Black is ok here, but the Rh6 looks out of it. 21...a5
22.f1 h7 Almasi,ZTopalov,V/Monaco MNC 2002) 16.hf1 c5 17.f5 e5 18.f3
c7 19.g3 f8 20.a3? This hands Black a readymade attack (20.e2!?) 20...a5
21.e2 b4 22.axb4 axb4 23.c1 a4 Kotronias,VKozul,Z/Leon ESP 2001.

14...h5
14...c5 15.d3 h6
a) 15...a5 16.e2 h6 17.f1 e5 18.g3 e7 19.f3 g8 20.e2 was Benjamin
Kozul Lucerne 1997, with a slow, but effective buildup for White
b) 15...b4 16.e2 e5 (16...h6!? David,AKozul,Z/Istanbul TUR 2003) 17.g3 h5
18.h4 a5 19.e2 e7 20.xh5 a4 21.g4 a3 22.c4 c7 23.b3 was BorrissKozul
Munich 1993, Black has zero activity.
16.fxe6 fxe6 17.d5 f7 18.b4 a7 19.c3! Zelcic,RKozul,Z/Bled SLO 2000.

15.d3
15.fxe6 fxe6 16.d3 g7 17.f1 e7 18.e2 h4 19.f2 h5 20.f4 e5 21.e2 g4
22.f1 c5 23.de1 d7= Palac,MKozul,Z/Pula CRO 1999.
15.h4 e7 16.e2 (16.fxe6 fxe6 17.e2 c5 18.f3 a5 19.he1 d8 20.h3 d7 21.e5 fxe5 22.e4
b6 23.g3 a4 24.g7 f8 25.xh5 a3 26.b3 Rajlich,VBalogh,C/Budapest HUN
1999.) 16...c7 17.d4 d7 18.e2 e5 19.b3 a5 20.xh5 f8 21.d3 e8 22.d2
b4 23.c1 b5 24.c4 bxc3 25.dxc3 xc3 26.xc3 d8 27.g4 Breder,D
Kozul,Z/Bled SLO 2001, White's bishop is outofplay after this.
42

15...b4
15...a5 16.fxe6 fxe6 17.f1 b4 18.d5? White is attacking from long distance so how can
this possibly work? 18...exd5 19.exd5 xd5 20.xf6 g8 21.g6+ xg6 22.xg6+
f7-+ Paramos Dominguez,RPalac,M/Skopje MKD 2002.

16.e2 e5 17.h4 e7
17...e7 18.g3 h6 19.xh5 c5 20.he1 a5 21.b3 b5 22.xb5 xb5 23.f1 a4
24.e3 xe3 25.xh8 axb3 26.cxb3 f2 Tiviakov,SKozul,Z/Bugojno BIH 1999.

18.g4
18.g3 c5 19.xh5 d8 20.g4 a5 21.hf1 Kotronias,VDamljanovic,B/Leon ESP 2001.
A typical Rauzer situation. White is up on material, but Black is working on the dark
squares.

18...a5 19.gxh5 a4 20.h6 h7 21.hg1 e3 22.g8+ d7 23.e1 b7

24.g1 xg1 25.dxg1 xh6
Svoboda,SManik,M/Presov SVK 2001.

43

Rauzer with 9 f3 [B67]

Last updated: 17/07/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 a6 8.00-0 d7 9.f3!?

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9+p+l+pzpp0
9p+nzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-+0
9+-sN-+P+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
This line continues to give Black a massive headache. With e4 defended Black's
counterplay is controlled.

9...e7
A natural move, but there are many others:
9...c8 10.b1
a) 10.xc6 xc6 (10...xc6 11.h4 a5!? This makes more sense than pushing on the
queenside. 12.b1 h6 13.e3 h5 14.e2 e7 15.d5 xd2 16.xf6+ xf6= Bubalovic,D
Kozul,Z/Bizovac CRO 2001.) 11.b1 e7 (11...b5 12.e2 b7 13.d4 h6 14.xf6 xf6
15.a4 bxa4 16.b4 e7 17.xa6 xa6 18.xa4+ d7 19.xa6 e7 20.b5 Smirin,I
Kozul,Z/Solin CRO 1999, White has a safe clear pawn.) 12.h4 b5 (after 12...0-0
13.e2 d5? 14.e5 d7 15.f4 Black is in one horrible looking French Defense position,
Kritz,LKozul,Z, Istanbul TUR 2003) 13.d3 0-0 14.e2 d7 15.g3 c5 16.e2
f6 17.f4 b7 18.f1 b6 19.e3 Luther,TKozul,Z/Nova Gorica SLO 2000,
Black's position is discombulated.
b) 10.h4! This is White's best. Black's counterplay is lagging. 10...h6 11.e3 h5!?
This puts an end to the pawn storm and forces White to play in the center. 12.b3
b5 13.f2 c7 14.b1 b8 15.g5 e5 16.f4 eg4 17.f3 b4 18.e2 e7
19.g3 a5 This push becomes ineffective as Black can't pryopen the queenside.
44

20.d2 g6 21.c4 c6 22.d3 0-0 23.e2 Escaping the pin, now e5 and f5 ideas
are on the agenda. 23...d5 24.exd5 xd5 25.xg6! Shirov,A
Damljanovic,B/Batumi GEO 1999.
c) 10.e3 xd4 11.xd4 b5 12.g4 c6 13.g5 d7 14.h4 b4 15.b1?! (15.e2 keeps
b1 for the king.) 15...a5 16.a3 d5= Socko,BBlehm,P/Warsaw POL 2001.
10...e7 11.h4 h6 (11...h5!? 12.xc6 (12.de2 e5 13.g3 b5 14.d3 b6 15.he1 b4 16.ce2
a5 17.c1 b5 18.f4 xd3 19.xd3 g4 20.xe7 xe7 21.e5 xd3 22.exd6+ Nijboer,F
Peek,M/Amsterdam NED 2001, Black's king is in bad shape.) 12...xc6 13.d3
(13.e2 b5 14.f4 c8 15.d3 c6 16.e1 b6 17.g3 b4 as is usual in this line Black
struggles for a plan. 18.he1 e5 19.h3 f8 20.f2 Mrdja,MPantaleoni,C/Saint
Vincent ITA 2000.) 13...b5 14.he1 b4?! after this Black is in serious trouble.
(14...a5!? is the best chance) 15.e2 b6 16.f4 a5 17.e5! dxe5 18.g6 fxg6
19.xf6 gxf6 20.xg6+ f8 21.xd7+ Shabalov,AFedorowicz,J/Seattle USA
2000.) 12.e3 h5! Best play in this variation. It took a long time to figure it out, but
the mission was accomplished, 13.xc6 (13.d3 e5 14.he1 b5 15.a3 b8 16.f4 c4
17.xc4 bxc4 18.a2 Pavlovic,MDamljanovic,B/Subotica YUG 2000, White
defends b2 easily then can play for a central break.) 13...xc6 14.e2 (14.f4 d5 15.e5
d7 16.e2 b5 17.d4 xf1 18.dxf1 b8 Black has a solid game here, but no active
play, Korneev,OSpraggett,K/Seville ESP 2004) 14...d5!? This worked out
reasonably well for Black. For a change! It's also Black's last chance for anything
decent. 15.e5 d7 16.f4 b5 (16...g6 17.d4 xh4 18.d3 g8 19.g4 hxg4 20.h2 h8=
Spraggett,KChandler,M/Santo Antonio POR 2001.) 17.g3 g6 18.g2 (18.c1 xf1
19.hxf1 b5 Black has all the play here. White is in no shape for the g4 break,
Predojevic,BKozul,Z/Sarajevo BIH 2004) 18...xe2 19.xe2 c7 20.d3 c5
21.c3 d7 22.xc5 xc5 23.d1 b5 White has no way to open the position. 24.f1
e7= Ponomariov,RTopalov,V, Leon ESP 2003 Black didn't get any active play,
but was solid like a rock.
9...c7 10.b1 b8?! It's hard to see the point of this move. 11.f4 b5 12.xc6 xc6
13.xf6 gxf6 14.d3 (14.e1!? e7 15.d3 Is a big difference over the game.) 14...b4
15.e2 h5 16.e1 a5 17.h4 a4 18.xf6? White's greed gives Black the better
game. 18...g8 19.g3 g7 20.g5 f8! 21.xh5 h8 22.f3 c5 Filipenko,A
Kozul,Z/Nova Gorica SLO 2000, White was a bit greedy, now Black gets an attack
on the dark squares.
9...b5 10.xc6 xc6 11.e2! this idea causes Black great problems. Where can Black
generate any type of distraction? (11.d3 is less effective, Sedlak,N
Thorfinnsson,B/Reykjavik ISL 2004) 11...e7 12.d4 b7 13.h4 0-0 14.b1 c8
15.d3 (15.g4 c7 16.d3 e8 17.c3?! White would be better off not touching his
queenside. 17...g6 18.h2 e5 19.c2 c8 20.e3 g7 21.dg1 h8 22.h5+ Feher,G
Bromberger,S/Miercurea Ciuc ROM 2000, White's attack is rolling.) 15...d7
(15...c7 16.g4 fd8 17.e3 d5 18.e5! d7 19.f4 b6 20.e2 c4 21.c1 Blehm,P
Arutunian,D/Yerevan ARM 1999.) 16.f4 c5 17.xe7 xe7 18.e3 c7 19.h5
fe8 20.h6 g6 21.xb5 axb5 22.xb5 c6 23.xd6 Nijboer,F
Hoeksema,E/Rotterdam NED 1999, Black's king is looking mighty airy.
9...h5 10.f4 e7 11.e2 b5 12.f3 c8 13.xc6 xc6 14.he1 b4 15.xf6 gxf6 16.e2
a5 17.b1 h4 18.d4 a8 19.f2 c5 20.d2 f8 21.g4 b6 22.f3 b7

45

23.c1 a5 Bonanno,AHitzgerova,G/Milan ITA 2000, Black does well to get into a

normal Bxf6 gxf6 Rauzer.
9...b8 10.g4 b5 11.e3 xd4 12.xd4 b4 13.e2 e5 14.a7 b7 15.e3 e6 16.b1 a5
17.g5 d7 18.f4 g6 19.h4 a4 20.h5 Gunnarsson,JDamaso,R/Leon ESP 2001,
Black's development is lagging.
9...a5?! An experiment due to fail. I see a hasty retreat in this queen's future. 10.e3! g4,
g5 is on White's mind, as is menacing the Qa5 with Qf2 ideas (10.h4!? h6 11.e3 xd4
12.xd4 Inarkiev,EDel Rio Angelis,S/Istanbul TUR 2003) 10...b5 11.xc6 xc6
12.b1 e7 Yet another problem for Black. Castling is met by Nd5 shots. 13.g4 c8
14.d3 d7 15.g5 c5 16.h4 b4 17.e2 a4 18.d4 b5 19.h5 0-0 20.f4
Korneev,ODamaso,R/Santo Antonio POR 2002 White's pawn storm is more
dangerous than anything Black can muster.

10.h4
10.e3 b5 11.g4 xd4 12.xd4 e5 13.d2 b4 14.d5 xd5 15.exd5 a5 16.b1 0-0
17.d3 f5!?= Soltanici,RArutunian,D/Litohoto GRE 1999, Black can get
counterplay on the ffile. Pawns on f3 or e4 are potential targets.
10.g4!? If Black's ...h5 after White's h4 catches on and is ok for Black then this becomes an
important alternative. White threatens the pawn storm in a different way. 10...h5
(10...c7 11.h4 e5 12.e3 b5 13.g2 b4 14.ce2 Is interesting.) 11.gxh5 Not much
choice here. 11...xh5 (11...xh5?! Doesn't accomplish much. 12.h4 h8 13.ce2 b5
14.g3) 12.xe7 xe7 13.de2 g5 14.g1 (14.xd6 xd6 15.xd6 e5 16.g2 e7
17.dd1 ag8 Is fine for Black. It's the normal Sicilian compensation with a strong
knight on e5 and activity.) 14...e5 15.e3 c8 16.xg5 c4 17.g1 f6!? Now
white has some tactical tries. 18.e5 h6 19.f4 dxe5 20.e4 f6 21.2c3 e7
22.b1? Lane,GWells,P/Torquay ENG 2002, after this Black is much better,
(22.fxe5! h7 23.d4 c7 24.h4 White has a strong attack.)
10.b1 0-0 11.h4 b8!? the point of this is to play ...c8 first then ...e5, see Shabalov,A
Kozul,Z/Calvia ESP 2004.

10...h6!

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqk+-tr0
9+p+lvlpzp-0
9p+nzppsn-zp0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNP+-zP0
9+-sN-+P+-0
9PzPPwQ-+P+0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

46

This idea is starting to look so good we might see people switching back to 9 f4!
Alternatives:
10...c8?! This allows White to capture on c6 immediately. 11.xc6! If White can force
Black to recapture with a piece on c6 then he should. The follow up would be the
usual Ne2 to d4 routine. (11.g4 e5 (11...h5 12.gxh5 xh5 13.g1 xd4 14.xd4 c6!?
15.xe7 xe7 16.g5 similar to the game mentioned above, LaneP Wells British
Championship Torquay 2002, 16...f6 17.e5 h6 18.f4 f6 19.exf6 gxf6 20.xh5 xh5
L'Ami,EJens,J/Dieren NED 2002, with alert defense Black should be somewhat
better) 12.e3! White's g5 is on it's way. 12...h6? Violating the chess rule... "don't
weaken yourself on the side you're being attacked on." This amounts to a wasted
move since it doesn't discourage g5. 13.e2 b5 14.a3 White breaks the above
mentioned rule as well, but to secure the Nc3. 14...c7 15.g5 h5 16.f4 c4
17.xc4 xc4 18.f5 a5 19.fxe6 fxe6 20.gxh6 gxh6 (20...b4!? was the only try)
21.g2!+ Chow,AElkins,J/Chicago USA 2002 ) 11...xc6 12.g4 b5 (12...a5
13.b1 b5 14.d3 b4 15.e2 e5 16.g3 e6 17.b3 b6 18.e3 b7 19.g5 d7 20.f5 f8
21.f4 g6 22.d4! Sax,GHtun Lynn Kyaw/Istanbul TUR 2000.) 13.e2! This

redeploying the knight causes black the most problems. 13...h6 14.e3 e5!? Black
prevents Nd4,but gives white other pleasant choices. 15.g3 (15.c3!? a5 16.b1
e6 17.d5 xd2 18.xd2 One way or another White will acquire the bishop pair.)
15...e6 16.b1 h5 17.g5 d7 18.f4!? Opening up the position makes sense. (18.f5
f8 19.f2 g6 20.e3 Is another decent try.) 18...exf4 19.xf4 g6 20.e2 c5
21.d4 Nemeth,MMaximov,D/Balatonlelle HUN 2002 White will have xe6,
taking the bishop pair at the very least.
10...c7 11.b1 h6!? I guess it makes sense to send the bishop back to e3 before playing
h5. (11...xd4 12.xd4 from this dominating central post the white queen keeps an eye
on important matters. 12...b5 13.g4 b8 14.d2 c6 15.e2 b7 16.d4 h5 17.gxh5 xh5
18.h3 c8 19.e2 b4 20.g2 a5 21.f4 b7 22.g3 h8 23.h5 Zubarev,A
Kalygin,S/Alushta UKR 2000.) 12.e3 h5 This forces White to play in the center
which is one good thing. White's play when g4 is allowed has become very routine.
13.d3 this doesn't look too frightening. As long as Black keeps an eye on White's
e5 break then things are under control: (13.xc6!? xc6 14.g5 So,W
Sasikiran,K/New Delhi 2011.) 13...e5!? (13...b5?! runs into the usual plan 14.xc6
xc6 15.e2 e5 16.g5 White's going to gain light square control.) 14.g5 (14.f4?! Too
fast 14...eg4 15.g1 b5 Black should be ok here. White's rook on h1 and bishop on g1
look weird.) 14...b5 Checkout the game ShabalovFedorowicz USA championship
2000. In that game white blasted through in the center with a well timed e5. I feel if
black keeps that break under control the position will be ok. 15.f4 (15.he1 b4 16.ce2
a5 17.g3 g6! keeping the knights out of f5, and preparing ...e5, see Beshukov,S
Jens,J/Hoogeveen NED 2003) 15...c4!? Walks the highwire. (15...eg4 Keeping a
wary eye on e5. 16.hf1 b7 17.de1 b6 18.f3 b4 19.d1 e5!? Mista,A
Czarnota,P/Trzebinia POL 2002 No more e5 ideas for white so black is alive and
well.) 16.xc4 xc4 17.e5 b4 forced 18.exf6 bxc3 19.fxg7 g8 20.xc3 xc3
21.bxc3 f6 22.h6 f7 Looks pretty good for black.
10...xd4 11.xd4 a5 12.b1 c6 13.d2 c7 14.e2 h6 15.e3 d5 16.e5 d7 17.f4
h5 18.d4 Lanka,ZHeinbuch,D/Castrop Rauxel GER 1999.

47

10...b5 11.xc6 xc6 12.g4 (12.d3 h6 13.e3 d7 14.f2 c7 15.b1 e5 16.e2 b7 17.b6
c6 18.d4 c8 19.c1 h5 20.he1 b4 Black is searching for active counterchances.
21.g3 Beshukov,SConquest,S/Hastings ENG 2001.) 12...h6 (12...a5 13.b1 h6?!
Unless this is well timed black should avoid this push. 14.e3 d7 15.f2 c8 16.g1
b4 17.e2 d5 18.d4 dxe4 19.xc6 xc6 20.fxe4 Mongontuul,BPina,S/Bled SLO 2002
Black's king is in bad shape..) 13.e3 b4 14.e2 a5 15.b1 e5 16.g3 d5 17.f5
f8 18.h3 d4 19.g5 White's initiative is out of control. 19...hxg5 Stefansson,H
Jandovsky,V/Pardubice CZE 2000.
10...h5!? I'm sticking to my guns on this idea or 10...h6 11 Be3 h5. One or the other. As of
March 16th 2003 it seems that I was right! Just joking of course. 11.c4?! Doesn't
this just expose the bishop and give Black time? 11...a5! This does several things.
In addition to attacking the bishop it puts and end to the annoying xc6, then e2 to
d4 idea, see Weinzettl,ECabrilo,G/Belgrade YUG 2002.

11.e3 h5! 12.g5

Black has gained an important tempo.
12.b1 e5 This may save an important tempo over the above (12...c7!? followed by
e5 which looks reasonable. I've been working on this line. 13.d3 e5 14.he1 b5
15.f4 b4 16.ce2 c4?! (16...eg4! Black is fine after this. The kingside is under
control and white's e5 break is done for awhile.) 17.xc4 xc4 18.g3 Black
doesn't
have
anything
active.
18...b8
19.a1
Shabalov,A
Fedorowicz,J/Millenium Chess Festival Virginia Beach Exhibition game 2003 I took
black in this game to practice this line. Shabalov plays very well in this variation.
White's play is easier to see than Black's.) 13.g5 b5 14.e1 b4 15.ce2 a5 16.g3
b6 17.e2 c8 18.f1 c4 19.e3 xe3 20.xe3 Black's qside demonstration
is a bust. 20...b8 21.a6 c7 22.g3 0-0 23.h6 Stefansson,H
Damljanovic,B/Leon ESP 2001.

12...c7
12...e5! 13.e1!? (13.b1 c7 transposes to the mainline) 13...c7 Ledger,D
Avrukh,B/European Club Cup, Plovdiv 2010.

13.b1 e5

48

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+k+-tr0
9+pwqlvlpzp-0
9p+-zppsn-+0
9+-+-sn-vLp0
9-+-sNP+-zP0
9+-sN-+P+-0
9PzPPwQ-+P+0
9+K+R+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
14.f4
Loosening White's position up, but since the g4 pawn storm is prevented White has to try
this.

14...eg4
Black's knights prevent all kinds of stuff.
14...c4? 15.xc4 xc4 16.e5

15.g3 b5
Black has matters under control.

16.g2 b4 17.ce2 f2 18.e5 c8 19.exf6 gxf6 20.h6 xh1 21.xh1

xh6
Naiditsch,AAcs,P/Wijk aan Zee NED 2003 White doesn't have anything for the exchange.

49

Rauzer 8...Bd7 9 f4 Be7 [B69]

Last updated: 08/03/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 e6 7.d2 a6 8.00-0 d7 9.f4 e7

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqk+-tr0
9+p+lvlpzpp0
9p+nzppsn-+0
9+-+-+-vL-0
9-+-sNPzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
10.f3 b5 11.xf6
11.e5!? b4 12.exf6 bxc3 13.xc3 gxf6 14.h4 d5 Heinemann,TChandler,M/Solingen
GER 2001 [B68].

11...gxf6

50

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqk+-tr0
9+-+lvlp+p0
9p+nzppzp-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-+PzP-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
12.d3
12.b1

12...b6?!
12...a5 is best, 13.b1 b4 14.e2

13.he1
Kutuzovic,BJankovic,A/Bizovac CRO 2001.

51