Category Archives: Bundesliga 2012-13

Bundesliga 2012-13 Rd13,GM Berkes F(HUN)

TWIC 961

The Be3 exchange variation continues to be popular and now 9.Nd2!? is the latest wrinkle. Black’s queen sacrifice has been played more than once but I don’t see the appeal.

Berkes,F (2679) – Baramidze,D (2615) 
Grunfeld Exchange 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Nd2 [D85]
Bundesliga 2012–13 Schwetzingen GER (13), 05.04.2013


Position 1

Black has made a queen for RN+P sacrifice and now the question is how should white arrange his forces. The next few moves are critical. What do you recommend for white?


White to Play
13…0-0

Bundesliga 2012 13 Rd 13-Horvath,P

TWIC 931

Horvath P played some simple chess to score a nice win. The plan was simply to push the kingside pawns to gain space.

Horvath,P (2434) – Bulski,K (2547) 
Grunfeld 5.Bd2[D85]
Bundesliga 2012–13 Schwetzingen GER (13), 05.04.2013


Position 1

Black’s position looks solid but look harder. What do you recommend for white?

White to Play

29…h6

Bundesliga 2012–13 Rd13-IM Galyas, M(HUN)

TWIC 961
IM Galyas had a tough battle with GM Nielsen in rd13 of the latest Bundesliga action.

More on Nielsen

Nielsen,PH (2662) – Galyas,M (2423) 
Dutch Leningrad 7…c6 8.Rb1[A88]

Bundesliga 2012–13 Schwetzingen GER (13), 05.04.2013

Position 1

Black has been hanging tough in a fierce fight. Now the QBN have a chance to out-duel the QR considering that white’s king is looking a bit loose and the passed c-pawn is a potential powerhouse. What do you suggest for black now?

Black to Play

33.Qe3

Bundesliga 2012–13 Rd15-GM Rapport(HUN)

TWIC 961
GM Rapport scored 2.5/3 in rds 13-15 of Bundesliga play. Here is one of his wins.

22…Ne8

Rapport started the attack going with 23.g4 from a harmless looking position, bypassing the center altogether in true Reti style.

Here is the feature game.


Rapport,R (2621) – Zwanzger,J (2326) 
Reti vs Tartakower [A14]
Bundesliga 2012–13 Schwetzingen GER (15), 07.04.2013


Position 1
White is all lined up against black’s king and ready to strike. What do you recommend for white?

White to Play

31…cd

Bundesliga 2012–13 Rd12-IM Galyas M(HUN)

TWIC 958
1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 d5 5.Bg2 c6 6.b3 Bd6 7.Bb2 0–0 8.0–0 Qe7 9.Qc1 b5!?(diagram) 

9…b5


9…b5 is a dynamic ways to treat the Stonewall Dutch. The plan has been popularized by GM Moskalenko. Black will follow with ..a5 and a general queenside assault on the queenside. 

In the feature game, IM Galyas plays a model game after some inaccurate white play.

Kayser,Fe (2183) – Galyas,M (2423) 
Dutch Stonewall 9.Qc1 b5[A90]
Bundesliga 2012–13 Baden Baden GER (12), 17.03.2013


Position 1
Black is a pawn up with a strong outside passed pawn but white is threatening f3 with counterplay against the doubled e-pawns. How should black continue?

Black to Play

26.Qe3

Bundesliga 2012–13 Rd11-IM Galyas M(HUN)

TWIC 958
3.e5 b6 4.c3 Qd7 5.Nf3 Ne7 6.Na3 h6!?(diagram)


6…h6

Hungarian Super-IM Galyas(FIDE high 2487-2010 Fide) used the 3..b6 sideline to duck away from a theory battle. Galyas now has branched into coaching and is a regular contributor to Sakkvilag, the Hungarian chess magazine.

Photo by Diana Mihajlova  Chessbase


Diaz,Joa (2176) – Galyas,M (2423) 
French Advance 3…b6[C02]
Bundesliga 2012–13 Baden Baden GER (11), 16.03.2013


Position 1
Black is on the attack but the breakthrough on the 2nd rank has been stopped. How should black continue now?

Black to Play

31.Rb2

Bundesliga 2012–13 Rd12-GM Medvegy(HUN)

TWIC 958
GM Medvegy,Z won this game by not attempting to do much except for creating a solid but unbalanced position. White began a bit passively on the queenside and then turned to outright aggression on the kingside.

GM Medvegy,Zoltan
Photo chessbase


This game illustrates the following middlegame themes

  • defense against aggressive line opening play
  • consolidation of P+
  • exploiting weak pawns
  • endgame transition for defense and consolidation
Here is the feature game.

Polischuk,V (2312) – Medvegy,Z (2561)
Caro-Kann 4…Bf5 11.Bd2 [B19]

Bundesliga 2012–13 Hamburg GER (12), 17.03.2013

Position 1
White has sacrificed a kingside pawn for the attack and has begun to push on the g-file. What do you recommend for black?

Black to Play

22.g5

Bundesliga 2012-13 Rd12-GM Erdos,V(HUN)

TWIC 958
GM Erdos played a strong and consistent strategic game beginning with 6.Bxf6!?, saddling black with doubled pawns for the strong bishop. The real prize was the hole on d5 which Erdos exploited in textbook style.

5….g6



GM Viktor Erdos
Photo Wikimedia


Here is the feature game.
Erdos,V (2637) – Khenkin,I (2655) 
English Symmetrical Double Fianchetto[A30]
Bundesliga 2012–13 Baden Baden GER (12), 17.03.2013


Position 1
White has the better structure and the b6/d5 outposts for the knight. What do you recommend for white now?

White to Play

27…Re7

Bundesliga 2012-13 Rd10,GM Rapport(HUN)

TWIC 955

GM Rapport won a long hard endgame in the Bundesliga, rd10. The endgame is of particular interest.

Rapport,R (2621) – Zaragatski,I (2460) 
4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 [A28]
Bundesliga 2012–13 Bremen GER (10), 24.02.2013


Position 1
Some complex middlegame play has led to the following tense and unbalanced position. White has won a pawn but then ending is not straight forward.

White to Play

31…b6


A systematic assessment of the position is required to understand the needs of each side.

For white:
A simple pawn count is not enough to asses the position. Although white is a pawn ahead the problem is that there are two sets of doubled pawns. 

  • The doubled f-pawns are not weak and do a good job of protecting the king. However, the broken structure makes them immobile and the kingside will have trouble producing a passed pawn
  • The doubled c-pawns are also not weak. They are part of a group of three and can easily protect each other.
  • The bishop is a strong piece compared to the knight as play is spread out over the whole board.

For black:

  • Ra2 and Ne2 are very active and spread chaos behind the ranks. The knight attacks c3 and holds up the f-pawns.
  • Ra8 is not active
  • The pawn structure is sound and white’s rooks have trouble penetrating black’s position.
  • The a-pawn is potentially very useful as a source of counterplay but for now …a5 is not possible.
What do you recommend for white?


Position 2

The position has simplified down to a complex RB-RN ending.

White to Play

41…Nc4

Now is a good time to absorb the flavor of the position. The ending favors white because
  • The play is spread out over the whole board which favors the long-range bishop.
  • The knight is unstable on e5(the f4 advance is easy to prepare)
  • White’s pawns are easy for the king to defend and the doubled f-pawns are not weak.
  • Black’s passed a,c pawns are easy to defend against as black is poorly placed to support their advance.
What do you recommend for white?

Bundesliga 2012–13 Rd9-GM Medvegy Z(HUN)

TWIC 955
Medvegy fought back from a poor position but ultimately lost a tough endgame battle with many interesting points.

Medvegy,Z (2561) – Bulski,K (2547)
English Anti-Grunfeld[A16]
Bundesliga 2012–13 Eppingen GER (9), 23.02.2013

Position 1
Black is a pawn up and has just advanced on the kingside with 34…g5. What do you recommend for white?

White to Play

34..g5