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Sicilian Defence: Kan, 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Be7

Leko–Topalov, Sparkassen Dortmund 2002 · Aronian–Jumabayev, 43rd Olympiad 2018 · 8:18 · ECO B42

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In this video

Game 1: Peter Leko (2722) vs Veselin Topalov (2745)

Sparkassen Dortmund 2002, 20 July 2002 · Black won (0-1) · 61 moves

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

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Key moments

  1. 7.O-OThe first move after the opening line0:32
  2. 21.Rxd8+The queens come off1:34
  3. 50.Ke1The evaluation moves from −0.66 to −1.663:59
  4. 51.Bxf3Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here4:04
  5. 61...Ra2Black wins after 61 moves4:56

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Levon Aronian (2780) vs Rinat Jumabayev (2605)

43rd Olympiad 2018, 25 September 2018 · White won (1-0) · 40 moves

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

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Key moments

  1. 7.Qg4The first move after the opening line5:28
  2. 34...Kg7White stays more than two pawns ahead from here7:38
  3. 35...Qa4The evaluation moves from +2.53 to +4.187:42
  4. 40.Ba7White wins after 40 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 5.Bd3 Bc5 Black's bishop hits the knight on d4, and 6.Nb3 Be7 brings it back to a safer post, so Black accepts a loss of time in return for White's knight having left the centre. White can build a Maroczy-type bind with c4 or try to gain space on the wing. Black aims for a flexible hedgehog set-up with ...d6, ...b6 and ...Bb7 behind the pawns.

Leko–Topalov went 7.O-O d6 8.c4 into a hedgehog. Black played ...Bf6 and ...Be5 to trade the dark-squared bishops, completing it with 16...Bxd4. After 19.e5 dxe5 the queens came off with 21.Rxd8+ at 0.00. White's c-pawn advance won material on the queenside, but Black's king and knights became active. The turning point came after 50.Ke1, when the score fell from −0.66 to −1.66. Following 51.Bxf3 exf3 (−2.73) Black stayed more than two pawns ahead, and 53.Kd1 dropped the score again to −3.70. Black's rook took the f2-pawn, and Black won after 61...Ra2 at −5.34.

Aronian–Jumabayev took a different route with 7.Qg4 g6 8.Qe2, using the queen to provoke a weakening before castling. Unlike Game 1, White did not build a Maroczy bind. Instead White gained queenside space with a4-a5 and Na3-c4-b6, then opened the position with 15.c4, reaching +1.40 by 16...Ngf6. After the trades the c-pawn became passed. 34.c7 left White more than two pawns ahead, 35...Qa4 pushed the score from +2.53 to +4.18, and White won after 40.Ba7.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Leko vs Topalov, Sparkassen Dortmund 2002
  3. 5:05Game 2: Aronian vs Jumabayev, 43rd Olympiad 2018

The opening line

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Be7

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