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Sicilian Defence: Richter-Rauzer, Classical — Part 2 of 2

Ivanchuk–Anand, Linares 1998 · Caruana–Vishnu, chess.com IoM Masters 2017 · 6:46 · ECO B63

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In this video

Game 1: Vassily Ivanchuk (2740) vs Viswanathan Anand (2770)

Linares 1998, 7 March 1998 · Black won (0-1) · 27 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. 9.f3The first move after the opening line0:38
  2. 20.Qd1Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here1:29
  3. 21.Nd5The evaluation moves from −2.32 to −5.021:34
  4. 23.Kxc2The evaluation moves from −5.21 to −7.041:44
  5. 27...Rc1Black wins after 27 moves2:06

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Fabiano Caruana (2799) vs Prasanna Vishnu (2543)

chess.com IoM Masters 2017, 25 September 2017 · White won (1-0) · 55 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. 9.Nb3The first move after the opening line2:44
  2. 42.Qa8+The evaluation moves from +4.73 to +2.135:25
  3. 44...Qf7+White stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:38
  4. 46...Kg7The evaluation moves from +2.58 to +5.195:48
  5. 55...Kd5The evaluation moves from +7.26 to mate in 2 for White6:32
  6. 55...Kd5White wins after 55 moves6:32

Evaluation

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

About these games

Castling on opposite wings defines this Classical Richter-Rauzer. With 7.Qd2 and 8.O-O-O White prepares pressure on the d6-pawn and a kingside pawn storm. Black, castled short with the Be7 and Nf6 guarding the king, answers with queenside pawn moves and play on the c-file, so the line often becomes a race between the two attacks.

Ivanchuk–Anand, Linares 1998, went 9.f3 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 a6 11.h4 b5. White pushed the h-pawn to h5 while Black brought the bishop to b7 and rooks to c8 and d8. After 17...e5 and 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 the score was already −1.40, and from 20.Qd1 Black stayed more than two pawns ahead. The turning point was 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.exd5 Rxc2, which took the evaluation from −2.32 to −5.02; after 23.Kxc2 Qxa2 it stood at −7.26. Black brought the second rook in with 24...Rc8+, added the bishop with 25...Bxf4+ and, after 26...Qxb2+ and 27...Rc1, Black won.

Caruana–Vishnu, IoM Masters 2017, took the quieter 9.Nb3. Black chose 9...a5 and 10...d5, and White gained space with 12.e5, f4, g4 and 18.f5, reaching +3.00 at 18...f6. Black's exchanges brought the score back to +0.40 by 23...Qxc6, but White kept pushing the h-pawn to h6. A later d4 led to queen and rook play around Black's exposed king; after 46...Kg7 the evaluation jumped from +2.58 to +5.19, and White won after 55.Qxf6+. Unlike Game 1, the attack here came from White's kingside pawns rather than Black's sacrifice on c2.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Ivanchuk vs Anand, Linares 1998
  3. 2:15Game 2: Caruana vs Vishnu, chess.com IoM Masters 2017

The opening line

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O

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