Yearbook 138

New In Chess Yearbook, which appears four times a year, contains the latest news in chess openings. Each issue brings you dozens of new ideas on the cutting edge of modern chess opening theory. Have a look at what this issue has to offer.

Forum
The Forum section contains a lot of material from the Tata Steel Chess Tournament which ended just before our deadline. You can find hot ‘Tata’ contributions by Han Schut, René Olthof and Frank Erwich, besides an impressive analysis by young player Artem Odegov, an SOS line versus the Najdorf employed by Nakamura against MVL no less than 10 times in the chess.com Speed final (written by Peter Boel) and a baffling opening discovery by new grandmaster Max Warmerdam who was also the second of Tata winner Jorden van Foreest.

From Our Own Correspondent
Our GM correspondent Erwin l’Ami dives deep into five openings again with the help of correspondence chess games. You’re getting the latest on the English Attack vs the Najdorf, a new path for Black in a difficult King’s Indian/Benoni hybrid, a sharp attacking game with the Shirov/Shabalov Slav, a new blow for the Blumenfeld Gambit, and another blow for a much-applauded Bobby Fischer idea for Black in the Benoni.

Reviews
Glenn Flear sees Magnus Carlsen’s influence on opening theory grow and grow. He reviews two books on variations named after the World Champion: Carlsen’s Neo-Møller by Ioannis Simeonidis and The Carlsen Variation by Carsten Hansen – the inventor of which variation, by the way, is ‘close by’! Flear also takes a look at an impressive tome on a very obscure variation: The Exhilarating Elephant Gambit by Jakob Aabling Thomsen and Michael Agermose Jensen, and first but not least at a French opening – another novelty in the Yearbook! It’s called Jouez la Française and it’s by GM Manuel Apicella.

Surveys

1.e4 openings
Sicilian Defence - Najdorf Variation 6..d3 - Olthof
Sicilian Defence - Scheveningen Variation 6..e2 a6 - Szabo
Sicilian Defence - Sveshnikov Variation 7..d5 - Bosch
King’s Fianchetto - 4..e3 Variation - Vilela
French Defence - Advance Variation 6..d3 - Jones
French Defence - Tarrasch Variation 3....f6 - Tzermiadianos
Caro-Kann Defence - Early Divergences 2..f3 - Ponomariov
Caro-Kann Defence - Fantasy Variation 3.f3 - Ilczuk and Panczyk
Caro-Kann Defence - Exchange Variation 4..d3 - Rodi
Caro-Kann Defence - Advance Variation 4..c3 - Stohl
Ruy Lopez - Berlin Defence 4.d3 - Saric
Ruy Lopez - Early Divergences 4...f5 - Ris
Italian Game - Giuoco Piano 6.b4 - Krykun
King’s Pawn Openings - Scotch Gambit 5.e5 - Kuljasevic

1.d4 openings
Queen’s Gambit Declined - Early Divergences 4...a6/3 ...a6 - Olthof
Slav Defence - Exchange Variation 6..f4 a6 - Fogarasi
Slav Defence - Meran Variation 5.b3 - Sokolov
Tarrasch Defence - - Semi-Tarrasch 4..f3 c5 - Ikonnikov
Queen’s Gambit Accepted - Central Variation 3.e4 - Flear
Nimzo-Indian Defence - Rubinstein Variation 5..d2 - Ikonnikov
Grünfeld Indian Defence - Exchange Variation 7..c4 - Gledura

Others
English Opening - Symmetrical Variation 3.g3 d5 - Timman
Réti Opening - Réti Gambit 4...dxc4 - Adams
Opening - Early Divergences - Lukacs and Hazai