Subscribe

Italian Game: Hungarian Defence

Howell–Hebden, 101st ch-GBR 2014, Aberystwyth · Areshchenko–Jobava, TCh-ESP Div Honor 2017 · 8:18 · ECO C50

Open on YouTube ↗

In this video

Game 1: David Howell (2650) vs Mark Hebden (2554)

101st ch-GBR 2014, Aberystwyth, 30 July 2014 · White won (1-0) · 60 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
  16. 16.
  17. 17.
  18. 18.
  19. 19.
  20. 20.
  21. 21.
  22. 22.
  23. 23.
  24. 24.
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
  27. 27.
  28. 28.
  29. 29.
  30. 30.
  31. 31.
  32. 32.
  33. 33.
  34. 34.
  35. 35.
  36. 36.
  37. 37.
  38. 38.
  39. 39.
  40. 40.
  41. 41.
  42. 42.
  43. 43.
  44. 44.
  45. 45.
  46. 46.
  47. 47.
  48. 48.
  49. 49.
  50. 50.
  51. 51.
  52. 52.
  53. 53.
  54. 54.
  55. 55.
  56. 56.
  57. 57.
  58. 58.
  59. 59.
  60. 60.

Key moments

  1. 4.d4The first move after the opening line0:23
  2. 21.Nxe2The queens come off1:34
  3. 42.Rexe4White stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:19
  4. 57...Kf6The evaluation moves from +3.18 to +4.794:36
  5. 60.g5White wins after 60 moves4:49

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

Game 2: Alexander Areshchenko (2652) vs Baadur Jobava (2687)

TCh-ESP Div Honor 2017, 17 August 2017 · Black won (0-1) · 41 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
  16. 16.
  17. 17.
  18. 18.
  19. 19.
  20. 20.
  21. 21.
  22. 22.
  23. 23.
  24. 24.
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
  27. 27.
  28. 28.
  29. 29.
  30. 30.
  31. 31.
  32. 32.
  33. 33.
  34. 34.
  35. 35.
  36. 36.
  37. 37.
  38. 38.
  39. 39.
  40. 40.
  41. 41.

Key moments

  1. 4.O-OThe first move after the opening line5:12
  2. 22.Nxd5The evaluation moves from +0.41 to −1.676:28
  3. 33.Qa6The evaluation moves from −1.27 to −2.477:22
  4. 38.Qc6The evaluation moves from −1.58 to −4.23, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here7:48
  5. 41...Ne5Black wins after 41 moves8:05

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

About these games

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Black plays 3...Be7 instead of the more active ...Bc5 or ...Nf6, keeping the e5-pawn solidly protected and avoiding sharp lines but leaving the bishop on a modest square. White can open the centre at once with d4 or build slowly with castling, d3 and Re1. Black aims for ...d6 and ...Nf6, then frees the position later.

Howell–Hebden began 4.d4 d6 5.dxe5 dxe5, exchanging into a symmetrical structure with an open d-file. White put a rook on d1 at move 10 and manoeuvred the knight to c4. Black pushed 18...f5 and the queens came off with 21.Nxe2, leaving Black with an isolated e4-pawn. White's edge grew slowly, from +0.55 after 18...f5 to +1.32 after 33...Re6. With 41.Bxe4 White won the pawn and simplified, and after 42.Rexe4 stayed more than two pawns ahead in a rook-and-bishop endgame. After 57...Kf6 the score rose from +3.18 to +4.79, and White won after 60.g5.

Areshchenko–Jobava took the slow route 4.O-O, 5.d3 and 6.Re1, with no early central break. Black regrouped with ...Re8, ...Bf8 and ...Ng6, then struck with 13...d5 and 14...e4. The tactics turned on 22.Nxd5, which moved the score from +0.41 to −1.67. Black took the b- and c-pawns, 33.Qa6 dropped it from −1.27 to −2.47, and 38.Qc6 from −1.58 to −4.23 as Black's kingside pawns advanced. Black won after 41...Ne5.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Howell vs Hebden, 101st ch-GBR 2014, Aberystwyth
  3. 4:58Game 2: Areshchenko vs Jobava, TCh-ESP Div Honor 2017

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7

See every video from this position →