Subscribe

Sicilian Defence: Richter-Rauzer, 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O h6

Shirov–Kramnik, Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee 1998 · Batista–Ivanchuk, Capablanca Memorial Elite 2016 · 8:58 · ECO B66

Open on YouTube ↗

In this video

Game 1: Alexei Shirov (2710) vs Vladimir Kramnik (2790)

Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee 1998, 21 January 1998 · White won (1-0) · 52 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.

Key moments

  1. 9...Be7The first move after the opening line0:40
  2. 18.bxc3The queens come off1:19
  3. 43...Rd8White stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:26
  4. 45...e4The evaluation moves from +2.52 to +4.263:36
  5. 49...Rf8The evaluation moves from +4.15 to +5.703:56
  6. 51...Kh7The evaluation moves from +6.04 to +7.164:06
  7. 52.Bd3White wins after 52 moves4:09

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Lazaro Bruzon Batista (2681) vs Vasyl Ivanchuk (2710)

Capablanca Memorial Elite 2016, 11 June 2016 · Black won (0-1) · 57 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.

Key moments

  1. 9...Qc7The first move after the opening line4:48
  2. 25.Rxg6The queens come off6:02
  3. 46.Re7+Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here7:48
  4. 53.Ke1The evaluation moves from −5.40 to −6.828:22
  5. 56.Re6The evaluation moves from −7.17 to −5.588:38
  6. 57...Ke3The evaluation moves from −5.72 to −7.448:45
  7. 57...Ke3Black wins after 57 moves8:45

Evaluation

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

About these games

After 8...h6 Black asks the g5-bishop to commit, and 9.Be3 keeps it on an active diagonal pointing at the queenside. With White castled long, the usual plan is f3 followed by a g4-h4 pawn storm against the black king. Black keeps the d6/e6 centre and looks for counterplay with ...b5 and pressure on the c-file towards the white king.

Shirov–Kramnik went 9...Be7 10.f3 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 e5, fixing the centre. After 14.h4 Qa5 15.a3 b5 16.g4, Kramnik gave up the exchange with 16...Rxc3, and 18.bxc3 took the queens off before 18...d5 opened the position. White's edge grew to +1.45 at 24.Rhe1. A series of exchanges starting with 32.Rxc5 left White with two bishops against a rook, and the score was +0.29 at 39.Bf2. The white king then marched to a6, and from 43...Rd8 White stayed more than two pawns ahead. After 45...e4 the score went from +2.52 to +4.26 as the d-pawn ran to d6. White won after 52.Bd3.

Bruzon Batista–Ivanchuk began 9...Qc7 10.f3 Rb8, meeting g4, h4 and g5 with ...b5 and ...Ne5-c4 instead of exchanging on d4 and playing ...e5 as in the first game. White stood at +1.24 at 14.Bd3, but the attack faded to −0.36 by 19.Rhg1, and the queens came off at 25.Rxg6. Here White gave up the exchange with 30.Rxf6, regaining it with 32.Bxf8, yet Black's bishop and passed f-pawn proved stronger in the ending. At 46.Re7+ the score went from −1.69 to −2.88, and the f-pawn reached f3, costing White the knight. Black won after 57...Ke3.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Shirov vs Kramnik, Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee 1998
  3. 4:18Game 2: Bruzon Batista vs Ivanchuk, Capablanca Memorial Elite 2016

The opening line

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O h6 9. Be3

See every video from this position →