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Sicilian Defence: Taimanov, 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 (English Attack setup) — Part 1 of 2

Caruana–Svidler, Norway Chess 2014 · Akopian–Giri, Qatar Masters Open 2014 · 7:34 · ECO B48

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In this video

Game 1: Fabiano Caruana (2791) vs Peter Svidler (2753)

Norway Chess 2014, 4 June 2014 · White won (1-0) · 39 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. 8...Be7The first move after the opening line0:36
  2. 38...Bd5The evaluation moves from +1.73 to +5.21, and White stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:02
  3. 39.Rc8White wins after 39 moves3:04

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Vladimir Akopian (2657) vs Anish Giri (2776)

Qatar Masters Open 2014, 4 December 2014 · Black won (0-1) · 53 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. 8...Bb4The first move after the opening line3:40
  2. 33.Nf4The evaluation moves from −0.07 to −1.525:38
  3. 38.Qxd5The evaluation moves from −1.06 to −3.76, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here6:02
  4. 52.Qa6The evaluation moves from −7.69 to −9.817:12
  5. 53...Ra5Black wins after 53 moves7:20

Evaluation

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

About these games

After 8.O-O-O White has castled long with the bishop on e3 and queen on d2, ready to follow with f3 and a kingside pawn storm with g4-g5, the English Attack setup. Black keeps a flexible Taimanov structure with pawns on a6 and e6 and the queen on c7, and aims for queenside counterplay with ...b5-b4 and central pressure, often with ...Ne5 hitting f3 and c4.

Caruana–Svidler, Norway Chess 2014, went 8...Be7 9.f3 b5 10.Kb1 Ne5 11.g4. Black pushed 11...b4 and struck in the centre with 13...d5, while White opened the g-file with 15.g5 and took on g7 with 17.Rxg7. After the sacrifice 18.Nxe6 the score was +0.40. The turning point was 19...Bf6, which moved the evaluation from −0.01 to +1.10: 20.Bg6+ Nxg6 21.Bxc7 won Black's queen. White reached +2.09 at 28.Qxe5, was more than two pawns ahead from 38...Bd5, and White won after 39.Rc8.

Akopian–Giri, Qatar Masters 2014, chose 8...Bb4 with ...Ne5 and ...b5. Instead of waiting, Black sacrificed with 16...Nxf3 17.Qxf3 Bxe4 and took the rook with 18...Bxh1, collecting pawns for the piece. White's attack peaked around 30...Qd8, which moved the score from −2.65 to −0.05, but 38.Qxd5 swung it from −1.06 to −3.76. Black's rooks and bishop then hunted the king, reaching −9.81 at 52.Qa6, and Black won after 53...Ra5. Unlike Game 1, Black's counterattack in the centre came first.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Caruana vs Svidler, Norway Chess 2014
  3. 3:13Game 2: Akopian vs Giri, Qatar Masters Open 2014

The opening line

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. O-O-O

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