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Sicilian Defence: Rossolimo, 3...e6 4.Bxc6

Grischuk–Shirov, Tal Memorial 2006 · Areshchenko–Zhigalko, European Team Championship 2013 · 7:54 · ECO B30

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In this video

Game 1: Alexander Grischuk (2710) vs Alexei Shirov (2720)

Tal Memorial 2006, 14 November 2006 · White won (1-0) · 51 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. 5...Ne7The first move after the opening line0:28
  2. 19...Nxe7The queens come off1:26
  3. 46.Nc5White stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:39
  4. 48...Ke7The evaluation moves from +2.43 to +4.343:52
  5. 50...Nxd7The evaluation moves from +6.21 to +7.324:02
  6. 51.b7White wins after 51 moves4:04

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Alexander Areshchenko (2720) vs Sergei Zhigalko (2694)

European Team Championship 2013, 15 November 2013 · Black won (0-1) · 45 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. 5...Ne7The first move after the opening line4:31
  2. 27.Rxf1The queens come off6:08
  3. 37...h4The evaluation moves from −1.41 to −2.937:00
  4. 39.Rg4+The evaluation moves from −1.61 to −2.91, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here7:08
  5. 41...Kd7The evaluation moves from −2.73 to −4.427:20
  6. 45...Nf5Black wins after 45 moves7:40

Evaluation

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

About these games

White's 4.Bxc6 gives up the bishop at once to leave Black with doubled c-pawns, and 5.d3 keeps the centre closed so that White's knights can work against the weak c5 and c6 pawns. Black gets the bishop pair and extra central pawns, and usually builds a centre with ...e5 and ...d6.

Grischuk–Shirov became sharp after 6.Qe2 Qc7 7.Ng5 and the f4 break. White sacrificed a knight with 12.Nxf7, regained material with 13.Bxd6 and 14.Bxf8, and won the c5 pawn with 16.Qxc5. The queens came off with 19...Nxe7, leaving a knight-and-bishop endgame against Black's broken queenside. White's advantage grew from +0.61 at 25.b4 to +3.03 at 40.gxh4 as the d-pawn advanced. After 43.d6 the score fell from +3.18 to +1.96, but after 46.Nc5 White stayed more than two pawns ahead. Following 48...Ke7 it jumped from +2.43 to +4.34, and 51.b7 ended the game: White won.

Areshchenko–Zhigalko took a different route: instead of attacking the c-pawns, White pushed 6.h4, 7.h5 and 8.h6. Black answered with ...d6 and ...e5, castled, broke with 15...f5 and gave up the light-squared bishop with 19...Bxf3. White was slightly better at +0.83 at 20.Nxf3. After the queens came off with 27.Rxf1, Black's rook took pawns with 30...Rxg3 and 35...Rxa2. At 39.Rg4+ the score moved from −1.61 to −2.91, and after 41...Kd7 it reached −4.42. Black then captured the knight with 43...Kxb8. Black won after 45...Nf5.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Grischuk vs Shirov, Tal Memorial 2006
  3. 4:13Game 2: Areshchenko vs Zhigalko, European Team Championship 2013

The opening line

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. d3

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