The Winawer Report (TWR), Issue 02 January 10, 2002 Entire contents Copyright © 2002 by John C. Knudsen, all rights reserved. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-* To subscribe: http://www.correspondencechess.com/knudsen/ To unsubscribe: http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/unsubscribe.php?Winawer Public archive: http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/pubarchive.php?Winawer *-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Contacts Editor/Publisher: ICCF IM John C. Knudsen knudsenjohnc@hotmail.com Assistant Editor/Publicity: Rick Massimo mahlesh@home.com Book Review Editor: John Pugh John.Pugh2@btinternet.com WebWatch Editor: Paul J. Comeau xshakespearessonx@hotmail.com *-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Submissions: Reader submissions are always encouraged! TWR welcomes articles and games submitted free of charge, and proper credit will be given on all accepted submissions. For articles, plain text (with a margin of 40-50 characters) is preferred. For the games contained therein, PGN or Chessbase format is preferred. For articles, please submit in English. Email submissions to the editor, who will respond promptly. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Advertisements: Small text advertisements with URL or email address are welcomed - contact the editor for rates. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-* SPAM Policy: You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to it - TWR does not practice SPAM. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Table of Contents Laboratory Recent Games in PGN Book Corner WebWatch *-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Laboratory By John C. Knudsen Some players swear by Euwe's move 10. Kd1 in the Poisoned Pawn variation. In the following game, Black comes up with a TN on move 21(!). But that's not very important. What is important is to realize that most database games in this line have many inferior moves in them - and this represents an opportunity for dedicated Winawer types, like me. Never rely solely on databases for research! In preparing for the following game, I checked the databases, but also Watson's "Play The French" and Jon Edwards' "The Chess Analyst" - the former for the basic theory, the latter to see how Tony Albano wins so many games as White in this variation. Once in a while, diligent research and some imagination results in a fairly decent game. Soentges,K (2469) - Knudsen,J (2485) [C18] IECC vs. CCN Friendly, Bd. 1, Game A IECC-51 vs CNN-1, 01.04.2001 [John C. Knudsen] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Kd1!? Euwe's move - A favorite of Tony Albano and Jon Edwards from the USA. 10...Nbc6 11.Nf3 dxc3 12.Ng5 Nxe5 [12...Rxg5 13.Bxg5 Qxe5 14.h4 Qd4+ 15.Kc1 (15. Qd3 Qc5 16.h5 e5 17.h6 Bg4+ 18.Kc1 0-0-0 19.h7 Bf5 20.Qg3 Rh8 21.Bxe7 Nxe7 22.Qxe5 Rxh7 23.Rxh7 Bxh7 24.Bd3 Bg6 25.Bxg6 fxg6 26.Rb1 Qc4 27.Kd1 Nc6 28.Qe6+ Kc7 29.Ke1 b6 30.Rd1 1-0 Szieberth,A-Kecskes,G/HUN 1995/EXT 2000 (30)) 15...Bd7 16.Rb1 Qe5 17.Bb5 Nd8 18.Bd3 b6 19.Rb4 Bc6 20.Kb1 Bb7 21.f4 Qd6 22.Qh8+ Kd7 23.Qxc3 Ndc6 24.Bb5 Rc8 25.Qg7 Kc7 26.Qxf7 Kb8 27.Bxe7 Nxe7 28.Re1 Qc5 29.Rb2 Rc7 30.Qf8+ Rc8 31.Qf6 Nf5 32.Bd7 Rf8 33.Qe5+ Ka8 34.Qxe6 Nd6 35.Qe7 Rxf4 36.Qe8+ Bc8 37.Qh8 Rf2 38.g4 Rh2 39.h5 Rg2 40.h6 Rg1 41.Rxg1 Qxg1+ 42.Ka2 Qc5 43.Qf8 1-0 Albano,A-Jarvis,J/corres ICCF/m 1989/ Megacorr (43)] 13.f4 [13.Bf4 13...Qb6 14.Bxe5 Rxg5 15.Bxc3 Bd7 (15...Qxf2 16.Bb5+ Bd7 17.Rf1 Qc5 18.Qxf7+ Kd8 19.Qf8+ Kc7 20.Qf4+ Kd8 21.Qxg5 Qxc3 22.Rb1 Bxb5 23.Rxb5 Qa1+ 24.Ke2 Qh8 25.Rxb7 Qe8 26.Rxe7 1-0 Albano,A-Pierson,R/corres USA 1989/ Megacorr (26)) 16.Bf6 Rg8 17.f3 (17.Qh4 Nf5 18.Qh7 Ne7 ½-½ Albano,A-Miller,N/corres ICCF/m 1989/ Megacorr (18)) 17...Rc8 18.Rc1 Ba4 (18...Qe3 19.Qd3 Nf5 20.g4 Qh6 21.Bd4 Ng3 22.Rg1 Qxh2 23.Bxa7 Rc4 24.Bg2 Ba4 25.Bf2 Nf5 26.Qd2 Nd6 27.Bf1 Rf4 28.Rg2 Qh1 29.Qxf4 Qxf1+ 30.Be1 Qxg2 31.Qxa4+ Ke7 32.Bh4+ f6 33.Qf4 Qh1+ 34.Be1 e5 35.Qe3 d4 36.Qb3 Rc8 37.c4 b5 38.c5 Nc4 39.Rxc4 ½-½ Sontges,K-Hansen,M/corr 1992/MegaCorr2 (39)) 19.Bxe7 Qd4+ 20.Qd3 Qxd3+ 21.Bxd3 Kxe7 22.g4 Rc3 23.Kd2 d4 24.h4 Bc6 25.Rh3 Rxa3 26.h5 Ra5 27.h6 Rag5 28.Rg1 Rh8 29.f4 Rgg8 30.g5 Kd6 31.Ra1 a6 32.Rh4 Kc5 33.Rh5 Kb6 34.h7 ½-½ Sontges,K- Bruderle,K/corr 1992/MegaCorr2 (34); 13...f6! Uhlmann's idea (Watson). 14.fxe5?! fxg5 15.Qh5+ Kd8 16.Bxg5 Qc5! Moles. Black will untangle with Bd7 and Kc7; in the meantime, White's King and dark squares are exposed (Watson). 17.Qh4?! 17.h4 is better; 17...Bd7 and now: A) 18.Qf7 Rxg5 19.hxg5 (19.Qf3 Rf5 20.Qg3 Qf2 21.Qxc3 Rc8 22.Qd2 Qxd2+ 23.Kxd2 Rf2+ 24.Ke1 Rcxc2 25.g4 Nc6 26.Bd3 Rb2 27.g5 Nxe5 28.Bb1 Ba4 0-1 Monzie-Renguaine,P/corr 1991/ Megacorr (28)) 19...Qe3 0-1 Kirstein- Leisebein,P/Canada 1986/Megacorr (19); B) 18.Rh3 Kc7 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.Rxc3+ Bc6 21.Rf3 Raf8 22.Kc1 Rh8 23.Qg5 Qxg5+ 24.hxg5 Rfg8 25.Rf7+ Kd8 26.Rf6 Ke7 27.g6 Rh5 28.Rf7+ Ke8 29.Bd3 Rxe5 30.Kb2 Rg5 31.g4 Rf8 32.Raf1 Rxf7 33.Rxf7 Rxg4 34.Rf6 Bd7 35.Be2 Rg5 36.Bf3 Kd8 37.Rf8+ Kc7 0-1 Thorn Leeson, J-Kleij,C/corr 1988/Megacorr (37); C) 18.Bd3 Kc7 19.Rf1 Raf8 20.Qe2 Nc6 (20...Rxf1+ 21.Qxf1 Be8 22.Ke1 Nc6 23.Qf2 d4 24.Bf4 Qd5 25.g3 Bh5 26.Be2 Qe4 27.Kd1 d3 28.cxd3 Qh1+ 29.Qe1 Bxe2+ 30.Kc2 Nd4+ 31.Kxc3 Qd5 32.Qb1 Kb8 33.Ra2 Bh5 34.Kb2 Rc8 35.Ka1 Nb3+ 36.Kb2 Qd4+ 0-1 Giuricza,G-Schuster,M/ corr 1992/Megacorr (36)) 21.Rxf8 Rxf8 22.Be3 d4 23.Bh6 Rh8 24.Bg5 Ne7 25.g4 Nd5 26.Qh2 Rf8 27.Qg3 Ne3+ 28.Ke2 Nxc2 0-1 Wiiala,K-Abenius,J/corr Sweden 1988/ Megacorr (28); D) 18.Rb1 Kc7 19.Qf3 Nc6 20.Rb3 d4 21.Qe4 Raf8 22.Bf6 Rg3 23.Be2 Re3 24.Qf4 Na5 25.Rb4 Nc6 26.Rb3 Na5 ½-½ Bergmann,M-Descovich,J/email 1997/ Megacorr (26); E) 18.Qh7 18...Rxg5 19.hxg5 Nf5 20.Qh3 Kc7 21.g4 Ne3+ 22.Kc1 Rg8 23.g6 Rxg6 24.Bd3 Rxg4 0-1 Zichichi-Pascual/corr 1979/MegaCorr2 (24) 17...Rxg5! Recommended by Watson in "Play The French", first edition, p.153. [17...Bd7 18.Rb1 Bc6 19.Rb4 Kd7 20.Bxe7 Qxe7 21.Qd4 Rg5 (21...b6 22.Qxc3 Rac8 23.Qd4 Rcf8 24.g4 Rf3 25.h4 Rxa3 26.g5 Rf8 27.Bd3 Rf4 28.Qxf4 Ra1+ 29.Ke2 Rxh1 30.g6 Rh3 31.Kf2 Rh1 32.Rd4 a5 33.Kg2 1-0 Boesenberg,E-Tucci,A/email 1997/MegaCorr2 (33)) 22.h4 Rg3 23.h5 Qg5 24.Qf4 Rh8 25.h6 Rg4 26.Qxg5 Rxg5 27.h7 Ke7 28.Rh6 a5 29.Rbh4 Be8 30.Rh3 Rxe5 31.Rxc3 Rh5 32.Rh3 Rxh3 33.Rxh3 e5 34.c4 d4 35.Bd3 Bc6 36.Bf5 Kf6 37.g4 Kg5 38.Ke2 Be8 39.Kd3 Bg6 40.Ke4 d3 41.Kxd3 Bxf5+ 42.gxf5 Kxf5 43.c5 1-0 Boesenberg,E- Priebe,R/email 1997/MegaCorr2 (43)] 18.Qxg5 Kc7 19.Bd3 Bd7 20.Qf4? This contributes little or nothing to the position. 20. Qh4 is a better idea: 20... Nc6 21.Rf1 Rg8 22.Qf2 d4 23.Re1 Kc8 24. Qe2 a6 25.h4 Qf8 26.Kc1 Qh6+ 27.Kb1 Qxh4 28.Ka2 Na5 29.g3 Qe7 30.Rab1 Qc5 31.Rb4 Bc6 32. Qf2 Bd5+ 33.Kb1 Nc6 34.Qf7 Ne7 35.Be4 a5 36.Bxd5 axb4 37.Qxe6+ Kb8 38.Be4 Rd8 39.Ka2 d3 40.Bxd3 Rxd3 41.cxd3 Qf2+ 42.Kb3 Qxe1 43.Qxe7 ½-½ Marcinkiewicz,J-Pascual Gras,E/ corr ICCF 1983/MegaCorr2 (43)] 20...d4=+ 21.Rb1 21.Re1 is better: 21...Nd5 22.Qg3 Rf8 23.h4 Ne3+ 24.Kc1 Kb8 25.Qg6 Qxe5 26.g3 Bb5 27.Rb1 Bxd3 28.cxd3 Qd5 29.Qg7 Rd8 30.Qe7 Rd7 31.Qe8+ Rd8 32.Qe7 Rd7 33.Qe8+ Rd8 34.Qe7 ½-½ Pareja Perez,J- Matamoros Franco,C/Ceuta 1993/EXT 97 (34) 21...Nd5!N If 21...Rg8? 22.Rg1 b6 23.Ke2 1-0 Comas Andreu,J-Arizmendi Martinez,Y/ corr 1995/Megacorr (23) 22.Qf7 Rd8 Clears the way for the King to return home, protects the Bishop, and keeps an eye out on the Pawn on d4 - a multi-purpose move. 23.Qg7 Kc8 24.Qg3 Ne3+ 25.Ke2 Bc6! 26.h4 Bxg2 Time to cash in some chips. 27.Rhg1 Bc6 28.Rb4 a5 29.Rbb1 Ng4!-+ 30.Ke1 Nxe5 31.Rf1 Nxd3+ 32.cxd3 Qxa3 Since White has no tactical play, grabbing Pawns is the way to win! 33.Rf7 Qd6 34.Qxd6 Rxd6 35.h5 e5 36.Ra1 a4! This is better than 36...b6. White cannot stop the avalanche of pawns on the Queenside. 0-1 If you have a theoretical novelty that you would like to share with our readers, please send it along! Recent Games In PGN Here is the main database update, which contains recent higher level Winawer games in PGN format, ECO codes C15-C19: http://www.correspondencechess.com/knudsen/twr/twr02db.zip Here is a collection of 40 Winawer games played by ICCF IM Kristo Miettinen, in PGN format, ECO codes C15-C19 (thanks Kristo!): http://www.correspondencechess.com/knudsen/twr/twr02sp.zip Here are the annotated games and other games from this issue in PGN: http://www.correspondencechess.com/knudsen/twr/twr02a.zip ----------------------------------- ***Please visit our advertisers*** ----------------------------------- Correspondence Chess News (CCN): http://ccn.correspondencechess.com Subscribe to CCN-Plus: http://ccn.correspondencechess.com/ccnplus.htm The Annual Correspondence Chess Yearbook (CCYB): http://correspondencechess.com/yearbook/ The printed book, Essential Chess Quotations, from iUniverse: http://www.correspondencechess.com/knudsen/quoteb.htm Chess coaching services: http://www.correspondencechess.com/knudsen/coaching.htm ----------------------------------- Book Corner By John Pugh John.Pugh2@btinternet.com Books and CD ROMs on the Winawer French With the vast proliferation of chess literature over the last few years it is surprising that there have been relatively few dealing with the Winawer. The only book in English which deals exclusively with this opening is French Winawer by Neil McDonald, published by Everyman Chess in 2000. This book consists of 48 complete games annotated in detail by the author covering all the main variations. The author states "My aim in writing this book was to present a collection of interesting games in the Winawer and to try to assess their impact on the state of theory." The book is not and does not claim to be comprehensive, which would have required several times the book’s 144 pages. McDonald, an International Grandmaster, is one of the better chess authors around today, and his notes have a good mix of variations and explanations. There is a 14-page introduction which explains the main ideas and strategies of the opening illustrated by a further eight complete games. The book has no discernible bias for Black or White and is an essential addition to the library of any player who plays the Winawer with either colour. The only other recent book to cover the Winawer in any detail is The Main Line French: 3 Nc3 by Steffen Pedersen, published by Gambit in 2001. This book covers the Rubinstein and Burn variations, the Classical (including the Steinitz) and various odds and ends as well as devoting 96 pages to the Winawer. Pedersen’s style of writing (as in most Gambit opening books) is more variation-based than McDonald’s book, cutting off most games in the early middlegame, when an assessment can be made. This book is the first of two volumes to be published; the second, covering the Tarrasch, Advance and other variations of the French, by the same author is due this spring. Pedersen writes, "I could easily have written a whole book on each of the first three parts (Rubinstein/Burn, Classical and Winawer). "Hence, in many lines, I have ruthlessly cut down on non-relevant lines and endeavoured to give the most important lines for both sides." On the whole, this book is more useful for the White player, but as the most recent book on the Winawer, many Black players will also find it essential reading. The only other recent book on the Winawer is Franzosisch Winawer Band 1: 7.Qg4 0-0 by Stefan Kindermann and Ulrich Durr. Unfortunately, this book is in German, although I understand that an English version is to be published. It covers the variation 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 0-0 in 342 pages and great detail. IM John Watson gives a favourable review of the book on the Chess Monthly Web site (http://www.chess.co.uk under "book reviews"). If, as the title suggests, there is more to come from the authors, this could be the Winawer Bible/s of the future. The final book I wish to mention is Play the French by John Watson, the latest edition of which was published in 1996. This is a repertoire book for the French player, and 96 of its 224 pages cover the Winawer. Watson always gives excellent value for the money, with much hard work and original analysis going into his books. Not without reason is this book considered indispensable by many French players even though it's somewhat dated. With most players owning computers, opening CD-ROMs are becoming increasingly important. About a year ago, Chessbase published two CD-ROMs covering the French by Knut Neven, one of which, French with 3.Nc3, covers the Winawer. Neven is a correspondence player of master strength who plays the French himself regularly. The CD covers roughly the same material as Pedersen’s book, with excellent database texts explaining the main variations of the Winawer and Winawer Themes and Plans. The CD-ROM contains a total of 44,700 French games, of which about 1,000 are annotated by Neven and others. In my own play the main source for games in the Winawer (or any other opening) is Megabase by Chessbase. The 2002 edition has just been published, with more than 2 million games. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can bring to the screen a list of all the games played from any position you care to think of, which you can then play through. Megabase can be kept updated through a subscription to Chessbase Magazine (CD-ROM), which every couple of months updates with more than 1,000 top games, about half of which are annotated by top players. The only trouble with this is that you have to organise tons of material yourself, which is where well written books like McDonald’s and Pedersen’s come in. Books refered to: Franch Winawer by Neil McDonald. Everyman Chess. 148 pages. £14.99 $19.95 ISBN 1-85744-276-8 The Main Line French: 3.Nc3 by Steffen Pedersen. Gambit. 256 pages. £15.99 $22.95 ISBN 1 901983 45 5 Play The French by John Watson. Everyman Chess. 224 pages. ISBN 1-85744-101-X French with 3.Nc3 (CD ROM) by Knut Neven. Chessbase. £17.95 WebWatch By Paul J. Comeau xshakespearessonx@hotmail.com Greetings and Happy New Year, Web Watchers! Thanks very much to those who sent me links for future articles. Keep them coming! We’ve got several treats for you this time around. http://www.chesspublishing.com All I can say about this site is wow! The layout is clean and nice, the content is well organized, and everything one could ever want about the French Defense, and several other openings, is available with a single click. The main window first asks you to enter as a guest or as a registered user, which requires a simple password. I entered as a guest but subscribing is very simple and costs only 18 dollars per year. I am trying to steer readers towards those sites that do not have subscription costs; I only looked at those things that I could gain access to as a guest. But what a treasure trove I found! Even as a guest, the wealth of information available is enough to make any player interested in theory start to drool. The French Defense section is maintained by British grandmaster Neil McDonald, often regarded as one of the greatest living theorists in the study of the French, and his introduction is both warm and eager. McDonald’s passion for the French is evident, and he tries to convey this same passion to his readers. Once inside the French Defense section, you have the option of what variation you would like in-depth information on, and the pull-down at the top of the screen lists seven "main-line" variations and a selection for sidelines, including some unusual gambits for White. Once inside the Winawer section, there is a wealth of information about sub-variations, including the much-favored Poisoned-Pawn Variation and the somewhat obscure variation that McDonald describes as the "Winawer Declined". In addition to providing a wealth of information from his own pen, McDonald encourages readers to submit games they have collected and annotated themselves. McDonald then adds his own comments to the contributor’s analysis. Overall, this site has one of the best treatments of the Winawer that I have found recently. For questions to GM McDonald or to contribute games to his articles, email him at: neilmc@chesspublishing.com http://www.chessplayer.com (http://www.chessplayer.com/french.htm) Maintained by IM Georgi Orlov, Chessplayer has much to offer novice and intermediate players. Along with numerous products for sale to players of all levels, Chessplayer’s instructional pages have volumes of information to offer to the novice and intermediate player. The French Defense page includes a section on the Winawer and quotes by Bobby Fischer, but the example provided is of the Classical Variation. This page would serve as a good introduction to players new to the French, and intermediate players can take advantage of many of the other resources on the site, but serious Winawer players may wish to look elsewhere. You can contact the site owners at: chessstar@foxinternet.net for questions about their site or to order products from their catalogue. http://home.mira.net/~fludy/ Winckelmann-Reimer Gambit Home Page Many thanks to C. Z. Gonzales for submitting this site! The Winckelmann-Reimer Gambit is "a very aggressive counter to the Winawer Variation of the French Defense," says the page’s introduction. All I can say is: Bookmark this site; you will be here often. The page offers detailed analysis of the gambit on a level seldom seen outside of printed books. There is a page for book reviews covering several gambit counters to the Winawer, and the reviews were of very high quality, providing analysis of the books' positive and negative aspects. There is a page for downloads of numerous games in a variety of formats, including .PGN and .CBV (which is ChessBase archive format). The site owner maintains an outline of his intentions for expanding and developing the site, and he encourages contributions from readers. Contact him at: fludy@mira.net That’s all for this issue, but keep your suggestions coming in. As always, you can submit sites to me for review at xshakespearessonx@hotmail.com