French Defense The Solid Rubinstein Variation by Hannes Langrock Foreword by John Watson 2014 Russell Enterprises Milford CT USA French Defense The Solid Rubinstein Variation © Copyright 2014 Hannes Langrock ISBN: 978-1-941270-05-9 All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Published by: Russell Enterprises, Inc. PO Box 3131 Milford, CT 06460 USA http://www.russell-enterprises.com [email protected] Cover design by Janel Lowrance Editing and proofreading by Peter Kurzdorfer Printed in the United States of America Table of Contents Bibliography Signs and Symbols Foreword by John Watson Introduction Chapter 1: A Natural and Popular Line Chapter 2: Kasparov’s 7.c3 Chapter 3: Other Seventh-move Options Chapter 4: White Maintains the Pin with 8.Bh4 Chapter 5: White Relinquishes the Pin – 8.B×f6 and 8.Be3 Chapter 6: Khalifman’s Recommendation: 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bd3 Chapter 7: White’s Idea of Castling Queenside Chapter 8: Fianchetto Systems Chapter 9: Other Lines Chapter 10: French Advance 4.c3 Chapter 11: French Advance: White Does Not Play 4.c3 Chapter 12: King’s Indian Attack and Chigorin’s 2.Qe2 Chapter 13: The Exchange Variation Chapter 14: Sidelines Index of Variations Bibliography Books: Khalifman, A., Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4. Book VI (Chess Stars 2005) Khalifman, A., Opening for White according to Anand 1.e4. Book VIII (Chess Stars 2006) Vitiugov, N., The French Defence. Reloaded (Chess Stars 2012) EBooks: Watson, J., Play the French, 4th edition (Everyman Chess 2012) Williams, S., Attacking Chess: The French: A dynamic repertoire for Black (Everyman Chess 2011) Databases: Mega Database 2014 (Chessbase) Periodicals: ChessBase Magazine 115 (Chessbase, 2006) ChessBase Magazine 118 (Chessbase, 2007) Signs & Symbols 1-0 White wins 0-1 Black wins ½-½ Draw agreed + check # mate ! a strong move !! a brilliant or unobvious move ? a weak move, an error ?? a grave error !? a move worth consideration = an equal position White is slightly better White has a clear advantage +– White has a winning position Black is slightly better Black has a clear advantage –+ Black has a winning position ∞ an unclear position with compensation ol Olympiad m match ch championship wch world championship corr correspondence game (D) see the next diagram Foreword In an age in which books about even minor chess openings abound, Hannes Langrock has a knack for finding interesting and neglected variations to write about. I first noticed Langrock’s analysis in his lively column From the Sidelines on the ChessCafe website. Among other things, he extensively analyzed the rare but respectable English Defense, adding numerous new ideas in the process. His The Modern Morra Gambit was, remarkably, the first thorough work about an opening that has been played in thousands of master games. Still more surprisingly, the book you have in your hands deals with an opening which, in spite of its popularity (over 15,000 games in MegaBase), has never been the subject of a detailed study. This, in spite of its use by various world champions (among them Lasker, Petrosian, Karpov, Anand, and Kramnik), and numerous elite grandmasters. The Rubinstein Variation surrenders the center by …d×e4, so it has often been thought of as a passive opening. The charm of this book is that, without making any extravagant claims, Langrock convinces the reader that Black need not be content with a disadvantage in space, but can make an early pawn break (usually …c5) to fully equalize the central situation. There is a huge practical difference between a sound but cramped position, in which you are under nagging pressure, and one in which you have room in which to freely maneuver your pieces. Although I’ve written about the French Defense for many years, I never realized that Black could take such active measures in the Rubinstein Variation without significant drawbacks. This book is an eye-opener, and even top grandmasters might find that they have underestimated Black’s resources in important positions. As is the case with the best books, the author himself has played the opening, and he includes numerous excerpts from his own games. French players will be delighted that Langrock supplements his Rubinstein analysis with extensive coverage of White’s second- and third-move alternatives to 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 and 3.Nd2. Thus, the book provides a complete repertoire for Black versus 1.e4. It includes a fascinating solution to the Advance Variation (3.e5), namely, 3…c5 4.c3 Bd7 5.Nf3 a6!?, with which the author has again had considerable experience on the black side. He also advocates an unusual Hedgehog-like structure versus the King’s Indian Attack, and provides original analysis of some underrated lines of the Exchange Variation. Throughout, Langrock draws upon his own games to illustrate key variations. The average tournament and online player will appreciate Langrock’s straightforward, no- nonsense style. He keeps the complexity of the analysis within bounds, and highlights relevant details without drifting into obscure page-long analytical byways. General themes are clearly presented within the context of illustrative games. Langrock is the type of chess writer who enjoys the richness of the chess itself, and doesn’t pad his work with stories or opinions. The result is a book that covers a broad swath of material in a modest number of pages. I’m sure that you will be well-rewarded for its study, and come out with a useful new weapon in your chess arsenal. Enjoy! John Watson San Diego May 2014 Introduction 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3/Nd2 d×e4 4.N×e4 Nd7 (D) This is the starting position of the Rubinstein Variation of the French Defense. It is named after Akiba Rubinstein (1882-1961), who played it in several games between 1907 and 1912 – a time in which the Polish chess master was one of the strongest players in the world and a serious candidate to take the world championship title away from Emanuel Lasker. The Rubinstein Variation is a very solid opening, and I would like to introduce a few key ideas to the reader by showing Rubinstein’s first two games with it, both played at the Karlsbad tournament in 1907. Rubinstein won this tournament ahead of Maróczy, Nimzowitsch, Marshall, Spielmann, Tartakower, Chigorin and others. (1) Maróczy – Rubinstein Karlsbad 1907 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 d×e4 Black seems to give up the center, but this is not really true, as he will soon fight for it again, usually with the move …c7-c5. 4.N×e4 Nd7 Akiba Rubinstein Black prepares …Ngf6, developing a piece and also challenging White’s centralized knight. If White then exchanges on f6, Black intends to recapture with the d7-knight. 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.N×f6+ N×f6 7.Bd3 c5! (D) This is a basic move in the Rubinstein French. In addition to fighting for the center, it also increases the prospects of Black’s dark-square bishop, which will now also have access to the c5-square instead of being restricted to e7 or d6. 8.d×c5 B×c5 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bg5 (D) 10…Be7?! It is easy to criticize this move more than a hundred years after Rubinstein played it. He wants to develop his queen to c7 without allowing his f-pawn to be doubled. Today we know that 10…Be7?! is unnecessarily passive as Black is doing fine after 10…b6! 11.Qe2 Bb7 12.Rad1 Qc7 13.B×f6 g×f6. This line will be discussed in Chapter 1 of this book. 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.Rad1 As a result of Black’s inaccuracy on move 10, White is probably a bit better now. But it is very difficult to make something out of this, as Black is very solid. 12…Rd8 13.c4 With this move White gains space, but also weakens squares on the d-file and restricts his own light- square bishop. 13…Bd7 14.Bd2 Rac8 15.Bc3 Be8 16.Qc2 h6 17.Ne5 Nd7 Exchanging White’s active knight. 18.N×d7 B×d7 19.Qe2 Bc6 20.Qg4 Bf8 21.f4 (D) 21…R×d3!? An interesting decision, Black gives up the exchange for one pawn and a super-strong centralized bishop. The logical plan of doubling rooks on the d-file is also good enough, though. There is no need to be afraid of the f-pawn’s advance as White doesn’t have a convincing way to improve his attack after 21…Rd7 22.f5 e5 23.f6 Rcd8. 22.R×d3 Be4 23.Rd2 23.Rd4 is met with 23…Bc5. 23…Q×c4 24.Rfd1 Bd5 (D)