[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anti Slav 4...dxc4 5.0-0"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A11"]
[Annotator "Axel Smith"]
[PlyCount "20"]
[EventDate "2007.04.04"]
[Source "Quality Chess"]
[SourceDate "2013.02.01"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 {A useful semi-waiting move. Black wants to
develop the bishop to g4, but} (3... Bg4 4. c4 c6 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Ne5 {gives
White some initiative on the queen side. Hence Black waits until White has
spent a tempo at 0-0 before he plays ...Bg4.}) 4. c4 $1 {Not participating in
Black's plans.} dxc4 {The most consequent and critical move. Other moves
transposes to other lines.} 5. O-O (5. Na3 b5 {are fine for Black, so White
starts with a useful move to see how Black plays. 5.0-0 is main move according
to the Reference-database, but Openings for Black according to Karpov doesn't
mention it. That's good! If White manages to pick up the c4-pawn, he has a
healthy advantage with an extra centre pawn. Black has several options here.})
5... Nbd7 {Played in most top games, planning to defend the pawn with ...Nb6.}
(5... Bf5 6. Na3 e5 $5 (6... b5 7. b3 $1 cxb3 8. Qxb3 {A position where I am
not sure how to continue.} ({Or} 8. axb3 $5) 8... e6 9. d3 {Planning Ne5.
Black has no good answer! All moves that stops Ne5 allows Nd4.} Nbd7 10. Nd4
$14) (6... Qd5 7. b3 cxb3 8. Ng5 {Qxb3 next. This looks better than normal -
with Bf5 somewhat loose and b7 undefended.}) (6... e6 7. Nxc4 {Good for White.
Smith-Hole, Norwegian Team Championship 2009 1-0.}) 7. Nxc4 (7. Nxe5 $2 Bxa3 8.
bxa3 Qd4 $17) 7... e4 8. Nfe5 Bc5 (8... Nbd7 9. d4 $14 {White tries to open up
before Black has castled. Bf4 and Qb3 are normal moves.}) 9. d4 $1 $146 Bxd4 (
9... exd3 10. Nxd3 $36) (9... Qxd4 $2 10. Qxd4 Bxd4 11. Nd6+ Kf8 12. Nexf7 $1
$18) 10. Bf4 {Threatening Nxf7 followed by Nd6+ and Qxd4.} O-O (10... Bxe5 11.
Bxe5 $44) 11. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 12. Nd6 c5 13. Nxf5 $16) (5... b5 $6 6. a4 {White's
main point is that this should be good, but it's not so clear!} Bb7 7. b3 cxb3
({After} 7... b4 8. bxc4 {, the engine claims that it's equal, but for me it
looks good for White with the centre pawns and all pieces on the board.}) 8.
Qxb3 a6 {Only one strong player has played this position, so it's not much
help to get there.} 9. Ba3 {White wants to exchange dark squared bishops and
stop Black's castling.} Nbd7 10. Rc1 {Preferred by engine. White threatens by
others Nd4 and Ng5 followed by Bxc6.}) (5... Be6 $6 6. Na3 {White plans Ng5 or
b2-b3.} Qd5 (6... h6 7. Qc2 Qd5 (7... g6 8. Nxc4 Bg7 9. b4 $5 $14 {
Grandelius-Dubov, Olomouc 2009.}) 8. Qc3 $1 {Threatens Nd4.} Ne4 9. Qe3 Nd6 10.
Nd4 $14) (6... Bd5 {This was Smith-Kristensen, Copenhagen Chess Challenge 2010.
} 7. Qc2 $146 b5 8. b3 {Very good compensation.}) 7. d3 {Logical, when White
saved a tempo by not playing Qc2.} cxd3 8. Ng5 Qd7 9. Nxe6 Qxe6 (9... dxe2 10.
Qxe2 Qxe6 11. Qxe6 fxe6 $14 {looks good.}) 10. Qxd3 {White has good
compensation, for example:} Na6 11. Rd1 Nb4 12. Qc4 $1 $14 {If Black exchanges,
Na5 will be very annoying.}) (5... e6 6. a4 $5 {To play Na3xc4 next.} (6. Qc2
$6 {was Smith - Henrik Olsson, Mragel Open 2009. I don't like Qc2, since I
want to take back on b3 with the queen without losing tempo.}) 6... Na6 (6...
Nbd7 7. Na3 $1 $146 Bxa3 8. Rxa3 a5 {To keep the pawn, Black needs to play ...
Nb6 and stop a4-a5.} 9. Qc2 Nb6 10. b3 $1 $44 {with Rxb3, Ba3 and Rfb1 coming.}
) 7. Na3 Bxa3 8. Rxa3 {Rc3 is next move now.} (8. bxa3 {is also played,
Hillarp-Dreev 2009 1-0. Tiger said he liked his move.}) 8... Nb4 {White
doesn't get the pawn back. I am scared...} 9. a5 $1 (9. Rc3 $6 b5 $1 {is not
what I want.}) 9... O-O 10. b3 cxb3 11. Qxb3 $44 {The bishop pair and Black's
passive bishop should give enough compensation.} Na6 (11... Qe7 12. Ra4 c5 13.
Ba3 {To take on b4 with the rook!} Nfd5 14. e4 b5 $1 15. axb6 Nxb6 16. Rxb4 $14
{Wins the pawn back, with a nice pawn centre.}) 12. Bb2 Nd5 13. Rc1 f6 14. Ra4
$44 {This seems to be a standard move. White will advance in the centre, and
meet a possible ...c5 with d2-d4.}) (5... Qd5 6. Nc3 {Looks dubious for Black.}
) (5... g6 6. Na3 Qd5 7. Qc2 b5 (7... Be6 8. Qc3 $14 {A standard move. ...Ne4
is impossible and Nd4 or Ne5 threatens.}) 8. b3 $1 cxb3 9. axb3 $36 {Black's
queen is exposed.}) 6. Na3 (6. Qc2 Nb6 7. a4 a5 8. Na3 {is the mainline. The
reason to choose 6.Na3 is not that it's better in any way, just that it's
probably less studied by the opponent.}) 6... Nb6 (6... b5 7. Nd4 $18) 7. Qc2 {
Black has two main moves, both equally important.} Be6 (7... Qd5 $1 {The idea
is to play ...Bf5 next move. White has to create a threat.} 8. b3 (8. Ne1 {is
more logical in the variation  with 6.Qc2, where a2-a4 and ...a5 are included,
since White often continues with d3, planning to make pressure on the b-file
with Qb3.}) 8... cxb3 (8... Bf5 9. Qb2 (9. bxc4 Qxf3 $1 $11) 9... cxb3 10. axb3
{White's plan is d2-d3 followed by e2-e4. Black does probably need to retreat
with the queen to d8.} e6 11. d3 Qd8 12. Nc4 Be7 13. Be3 {Threatening Rxa7,
which he has no satisfactory defence against!} (13. e4 {is also possible, with
good compensation.}) 13... O-O 14. Rxa7 Rxa7 15. Bxb6 Qa8 16. Bxa7 Qxa7 17. Ra1
{Black looks quite okay here.}) 9. axb3 {White simply plans Nc4 and b3xc4 with
a strong centre.} Be6 $5 {Wins a tempo, but the bishop is clumsy on e6.} (9...
g6 10. Nc4 $44 {is also possible. If Black takes, White plays b3xc4, d2-d4 and
e2-e4. Pantsulaia - Wang Yue 2006 0-1}) 10. Rb1 g6 (10... O-O-O $2 {looks
horrible.}) 11. d3 {White plans Nc4, Bb2 and Ng5. I am a bit sceptical to this
concept, but the engine likes it moderately.} Bg7 (11... Rd8 $2 {This stops
e2-e4, but leaves a7 undefended and delays castling.} 12. Nc4 Bg7 {
Grandelius-Kuipers, Corus C 2010. White should have played} 13. Ra1 {with a
pleasant advantage.}) 12. Nc4 O-O {White should have nice compensation, but
it's difficult to find something constructive.}) 8. Ng5 Bg4 {Never played 
(January 2010), but logical since it's the main move without a2-a4 and ...a5
included.} (8... Qd7 {is another move, which plans ...Bf5.} 9. b3 $1 cxb3 10.
axb3 g6 (10... Bg4 $5 {Marin-Dreev 2009} 11. Nc4 $146 Nxc4 12. Qxc4 e6 13. Bb2
{White's position seems preferable with Ra5 and Rfa1 next.}) 11. Nc4 $1 Nxc4
12. bxc4 Bg7 13. Ra3 $146 {White has enough compensation, but probably not
more. The rook can disturb on the third rank, and later White may play Ba3 and/
or Nxe6.}) (8... Qd4 $6 9. Nxe6 fxe6 {This is always nice compensation. The
best way for White to get his pieces out seems to be} 10. Rb1 {followed by b3.}
) 9. Nxc4 Bxe2 10. Ne5 Bh5 {Back to 10...Bh5. In Radjabov-Smeets, Corus 2009,
this position was reached with the a-pawns moved. I think that game is a
better version for White, since b6 is an additional weakness. Radjabov played
12.b4, like in the other games that has reached that position. Here, I have to
find something else.} (10... Bxf1 $2 {is not so good.} 11. Kxf1 Qd4 12. Ngxf7 {
White threatens Nf3 followed by Nxh8.} Nc4 13. Nf3 Qc5 {Setting up a
discovered attack.} 14. Kg1 $1 Kxf7 15. d4 {White's attack is almost winning,
according to the engine.}) *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anti Slav 4...dxc4 5.0-0 ¤bd7"]
[Black "6.¤a3 with 10.¦e1"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A11"]
[Annotator "Axel Smith"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2007.04.04"]
[Source "Quality Chess"]
[SourceDate "2013.02.01"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. c4 $1 dxc4 5. O-O Nbd7 6. Na3 Nb6 7. Qc2 Be6
8. Ng5 Bg4 9. Nxc4 (9. f3 {is recommended by Mihail Marin.}) 9... Bxe2 10. Ne5
Bh5 11. Re1 {The engine's first choice and a logical developing move. White
threatens 12.Qb3 with +1 (the x-technique). If Black answers with 12...e6,
White wins with 13.Nexf7 - thanks to the rook on e1.} h6 {The engine's first
choice, but with a clear disadvantage: the bishop loses it's retreat square on
g6.} (11... e6 {The most natural move.} 12. Bf3 $1 {White sacrifices on f7 and
wins.} Bg6 (12... Bxf3 13. Nexf7 $18) 13. Bxc6+ $1 bxc6 14. Qxc6+ Nfd7 (14...
Nbd7 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. Nxf7 Kxf7 17. Qxe6#) 15. Ngxf7 ({Not} 15. Nxg6 $2 Qxg5
$1) 15... Bxf7 16. Nxf7 Kxf7 17. Qxe6#) (11... Qc7 {The idea is to avoid Nxf7
with a fork. Black can develop with ...e6 next move.} 12. d4 e6 13. Bf4 Bd6 14.
Nexf7 $1 {White wins.} Bxf4 (14... Bxf7 15. Nxe6 $18) 15. Nxe6 $18) (11... Nbd7
{The last serious option. It prepares ...e6.} 12. d4 e6 13. Nexf7 $5 {One of
the top options for the engine, so it should be tested for sure. (Here, I
later noticed that it would have been possible to leave the engine on for a
short time, and it would have chosen 13.Nexf7. Anyway, I think it's much more
developing to analyse by your own.)} (13. Bf3 {is preferred by the engine.}
Nxe5 14. Bxh5 Ng6 15. Bxg6 hxg6 16. Rxe6+ Be7 {The engine gives some advantage
for White, but it often misevaluates isolani positions. I can't see why it
should be different here.}) 13... Bxf7 14. Qb3 {Black is much worse compared
to the line starting with 6.Qc2 Nb6 7.a4 a5 8.Na3 Be6 etc! With a pawn on a5,
Black would have been able to develop the dark squared bishop to a safe square
with ...Bb4, closing the b-file, winning a tempo on the rook and killing
White's play.} Be7 (14... Qa5 15. Rxe6+ Bxe6 16. Qxe6+ Be7 17. Qf7+ Kd8 18. Bf4
$1 $18 {(The position from the fifth example.)}) (14... Qe7 $2 15. Qxb7 $16 {
White has a few pawns and an ongoing initiative.}) (14... Nd5 15. Bxd5 $18 {
White wins with the most natural developing moves. (I see no reason to leave
those moves, it will just waste time and energy when preparing.)}) (14... Qb6
15. Rxe6+ Bxe6 16. Qxe6+ Be7 17. Qf7+ Kd8 18. Ne6+ Kc8 19. Qxe7 Re8 20. Qf7 $16
{Looks fantastic for White. (The engine only gives +0,65 but I disagree, and
don't think it's necessary to look deeper.)}) 15. Nxf7 Kxf7 16. Rxe6 Nd5 (16...
Qb6 17. Rxf6+ $8 Kxf6 $8 18. Qf3+ $8 Kg6 $8 19. Bh3 $8 Qa5 $8 20. Qe4+ Kf7 $8
21. Qe6+ Kf8 $8 22. Qxd7 {Looks very good for White. +0,4 according to engine.
(In this line, I have apparently avoided verbal comments but just noticed that
it's mostly "only-moves".)}) 17. Bxd5 cxd5 18. Qxd5 Nf6 $8 19. Qb3 Kg6 {Equal
according to the engine. Looks easier to play with White.} (19... Kf8 20. Bf4
Qd7 21. Rae1 {Nice long term compensation with Black's rook on h8, and
possibly more than that.}) 20. h4 $36 (20. Qd3+ Kf7 21. Qb3 $11 {Repetition.}))
(11... Nbd5 12. d4 {Bf3 is still strong against ...e6, so Black has problems
developing.}) (11... Qc8 {Defends the e6-square and walks out of the fork on
f7. Black plans to develop with ...e6 next move. (A quite logical move which
is not given by the engine.)} 12. Qb3 $1 e6 13. Bh3 $1 $16 {Threatens to
capture on f7. There is no defence!}) 12. Ne4 {The bishop has lost it's
retreat square on g6.} e6 {White has to continue with active moves. The engine
gives Nxf6 and Nxc6, transposing to each other.} ({(Only after having finished
the analyses of 12...e6, it's time to go back and check Black's deviations. I
see two natural alternatives.)} 12... Nxe4 13. Qxe4 {Threatens g3-g4.} Nd7 14.
b4 {The idea is b4-b5.} a6 15. Bb2 $36 {Black is three moves from castling.}) (
12... Qc7 {Seems strange to walk into Bf4.} 13. d4 $14) 13. Nxc6 {This move
order seems slightly more accurate since Black is punished harder if he
recaptures on f6 with the queen.} (13. Nxf6+ gxf6 14. Bxc6+ {gives perpetual.})
(13. Nc5 {is equal according to the engine, but it doesn't seem to be in the
spirit of the position.}) 13... bxc6 14. Nxf6+ gxf6 {(From this point it's
easy to follow the engine's line, since there are many "only-moves".)} (14...
Qxf6 15. Bxc6+ Kd8 16. Bxa8 Nxa8 {Black has two pieces for a rook, but a weak
king. The engine claims +0,9. (Since only one move gives an advantage it makes
sense to analyse further.)} 17. Qd3+ $1 Kc7 18. Qa6 $1 {The pawn on a7 falls.
Can't Black defend with} Bc5 {? No,} 19. d4 {+4 feels reassuring.}) 15. Bxc6+
Nd7 16. Qf5 $1 Bg6 $8 17. Rxe6+ Be7 (17... fxe6 18. Qxg6+ Ke7 19. b3 $1 {White
is a rook down, but the engine indicates some advantage. (It might be okay to
stop here, but I felt that the next few moves may be quite critical.)} Kd6 {
(The position from the fourth example.)} (19... Qe8 20. Ba3+ Kd8 21. Qxe8+ Kxe8
22. Bxf8 Rc8 $8 23. Bxd7+ Kxd7 24. Bg7 Rhe8 25. Bxh6 $14 {(The position from
the third example.)}) 20. Bxa8 (20. Bg2 $6 Ne5 $8 21. Qe4 Rc8 $8 22. d4 Ke7 23.
Ba3+ Kf7 24. Bxf8 Kxf8 25. dxe5 f5 {I don't like this position.}) 20... Qxa8
21. Bb2 Ke7 22. Rc1 {Threatening Rc7.} Qb8 (22... Qb7 {The engine gives many
moves for White, all with some initiative.} 23. h3 $36 {Gives the king a
escape square much later. White threatens Rc3-d3 now.}) 23. Rc6 Ne5 24. Bxe5
Qxe5 25. Rc8 {Threatens mate in two.} f5 26. d3 $1 {To stop a check with ...
Qe1-e4 later.} f4 $8 27. gxf4 $1 Qb5 28. Ra8 $16 {Looks good. I can't see how
Black should escape, since} Qf5 $2 {is met by} 29. Qe8+ Kf6 30. Qxf8+ $1 Rxf8
31. Rxf8+ Kg6 32. Rxf5 $18) 18. Qxf6 Rg8 $8 19. Re1 {It's not realistic
doubling - but for sure one should check Re1 and Re3 to see whether they make
any difference.} Kf8 $8 20. Qf4 Rc8 $8 21. Qxh6+ Rg7 {White's best is to take
perpetual. Since 11.Re1 is a novelty, it doesn't seem probable that Black
would find all these moves over the board. If he does, a draw is okay. It's
also possible to play 22.d4 with a slightly worse position.} *

