New in Chess 9/1988 [antikvár]

SI Sicilian Defence l.e4 c5 The indestructable Dragon It is quite remarkable that one of Black's most trustworthy and popular set-ups in the Sicilian Defence, namely 2 d6, 4 'Lif6 and 5 5ic6 (or moves 2 and 5 in reverse order) goes without a commonly accepted name. Sometimes It is called the Classical Variation but usually a name is attached only to White's various ways of meeting it. Of course preferences in opening theory fluctuate but for many decades now the most important of White's 6th move options has been 6.ÍLg5, the Rauzer or Richter-Rauzer Variation. Black has many ways to combat this move, which start with 6 e6. The alternative 6 Ad7 was tried a few times by Jeroen Plket in recent tournaments, with varying results. Against Tal he drew a very well-played game (SI 27.4) which would suggest that 7.ie2 may be less dangerous for Black than many people thought. Piket fared less well against the older move 7.1'd2 in a game against Riemersma (SI 27.8). Riemersma sacrificed a pawn to obtain an irritating initiative In a major pieces + opposite coloured bishops middlegame. Objectively this may not be so bad for Black but it certainly seems unpleasant in practical play. In the past ten years 6 e6 7.#d2 a6 8.0-0-0 h6 has become one of the most popular ways to counter the Rauzer Variation. Of late theory has concentrated on White's reply 9.É.e3. In the correspondence game Morozov-Arkhangelsky (81 29.2) the players explored relatively new territory in this line as did Fedorowicz and Diugy (SI 29.2) in the 1987 US Championship. The latter game in particular offers many new problems (especially for Black). Interesting In the 8 i.d7 line is Marja-novic-Kozul (SI 30.12) where White improves upon the game Sax-Piket, Lugano 1987 (YB/8). The Boleslavsky Variation has regained much popularity since 7.&f3 came into fashion. Black cannot easily become aggressive and indeed has to play carefully to avoid falling into a passive position. In loseliani-Piket (SI 25.3) Black embarked on a plausible freeing manoeuvre involving an early d6-d5 but could not completely overcome his opening problems. .1 1 ' I . i , , The indestructability of the Dragon has been demonstrated once again. The game Short-Olafsson,