Sicilian Defence: Rossolimo, 3...e6 4.O-O — Part 2 of 2
Caruana–Gelfand, FIDE Grand Prix Paris 2013 · Van–Vachier-Lagrave, FIDE Grand Swiss 2023 · 7:18 · ECO B30
Position as text
FEN:
In this video
Game 1: Fabiano Caruana (2779) vs Boris Gelfand (2764)
FIDE Grand Prix Paris 2013, 30 September 2013 · White won (1-0) · 45 moves
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Key moments
- 5.d4The first move after the opening line0:26
- 28...exf4The evaluation moves from +0.35 to +1.732:12
- 40...Qh4White stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:12
- 43...Rf6The evaluation moves from +3.54 to +6.133:26
- 45.Rg2The evaluation moves from +5.92 to +7.693:34
- 45.Rg2White wins after 45 moves3:34
Evaluation
Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.
Game 2: Nguyen Thai Dai Van (2618) vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2727)
FIDE Grand Swiss 2023, 1 November 2023 · Black won (0-1) · 44 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
- 5.Re1The first move after the opening line4:00
- 18.Nd2The evaluation moves from +1.42 to −0.384:52
- 26.Nfd4The evaluation moves from −0.14 to −2.82, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:32
- 32...Rxd7The queens come off6:05
- 44...Bc4Black wins after 44 moves7:05
Evaluation
Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.
About these games
After 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O, Black develops the king's knight to e7 so that a capture on c6 can be met by ...Nxc6, which keeps the pawn structure intact. The knight often goes on to g6, where it watches e5 and f4. White chooses between opening the centre at once with d4 and the slower Re1, c3 and d4, which can lead to a French-style structure once Black plays ...d5.
Caruana–Gelfand went 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Qb6 7.Nxc6 bxc6, leaving Black with broken queenside pawns. White built pressure with c4, Rb1 and b4–b5, and after 21.Bxb6 had won a pawn. The turning point was 28...exf4, which moved the score from +0.35 to +1.73. After 29.gxf4 f5 30.exf5, White got a passed d-pawn with 32.cxd5. From 40...Qh4 White stayed more than two pawns ahead. The pawn advanced with 43.d6, which took the score from +3.54 to +6.13 after 43...Rf6, then 44.d7. After 45.Rg2 (+7.69), White won.
Nguyen–Vachier-Lagrave took the slower route with 5.Re1 Ng6 6.c3 and 8.d4. Black's 9...d5 and White's 10.e5 produced a French-style centre. Black broke it open with the knight sacrifice 18...Nxe5 19.dxe5 d4, after White's 18.Nd2 had already turned +1.42 into −0.38. The decisive error was 26.Nfd4, which dropped the score from −0.14 to −2.82, and 28...Be3+ followed. The queens came off with 32...Rxd7. Black's active rooks and bishops then won the d3-bishop, and Black won after 44...Bc4. Unlike Game 1, where White attacked Black's weak pawns, here Black's piece activity decided the game.