Bishop sacrifice on g4 – part 1. | CHESS AT THE BAG OF CATS

A few week ago I played an interesting game in Isle of Man that featured a bishop sacrifice on g4. This is obviously not a general theme in just any position, but I will give two examples of how this sacrifice can be an excellent idea for Black in situations where Black’s dark squared bishop is fianchettoed, as usually occurs in the King’s Indian and the Sicilian Dragon. I will start with an example from the Dragon and then give an example from the King’s Indian. I believe it is important to recognize this kind of theme at the board and to be constantly aware of the possibility in situations where it matters. Let’s start with how it can look in the Dragon:

   [Event "Dortmund-A"]  [Site "Dortmund"]  [Date "1989"]  [White "Psakhis, Lev"]  [Black "Tolnai, Tibor"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "B76"]  [WhiteElo "2585"]  [BlackElo "2480"]  [Annotator "Tiger"]  [PlyCount "59"]  [SourceDate "2011.03.24"]   1. e4 {This game is no longer theoretically important, but it well illustrates  how a positional sacrifice on g4 (when White has pawns on g4-f3-e4) makes  White's position difficult to play.} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3  g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. g4 Bxg4 $5 {This sacrifice is of a  positional character. The point is that White will be left with a knight and a  passive white squared bishop, whereas Black keeps the fabulous fianchetto  bishop. Still, White is leading on points and it is not clear that Black's  compensation is enough.} ({Gawain Jones, the great Dragon expert, has played}  9... Be6 {lately, so I presume that's the main line.}) 10. fxg4 Nxg4 {By  giving up the light squared bishop (which was anyway the least active of  Black's minor pieces) Black nets two pawns and puts an end to White's pawn  storm on the kingside. Not a bad bargain.} 11. Bg1 ({The are two more ways for  White to try to claim some advantage:} 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Be2 Nxe3 13. Qxe3 e6  $1 (13... Rb8 14. O-O-O e6 15. Bc4 d5 16. Bb3 {and it is hard for Black to  break down White's defences.}) 14. O-O-O d5 15. Na4 {and White is able to  activate the knight.}) (11. Nb3 {has the best reputation, when} a5 12. a4 d5  13. exd5 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Qxd5 16. Rg1 Rfd8 {is at least a bit  better for White.}) 11... e6 12. h4 h5 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Be2 Bh6 15. Qd3 Ne5 {  This position seems to be a success for Black since basically all White's  minor pieces are passive, whereas Black's pieces dominate the board.} 16. Qg3  Rb8 17. b3 Qa5 18. Rd1 (18. Rh3 {would have kept some advantage for White})  ({and} 18. Bd4 Rb4 19. Rd1 Bg7 {is unclear.}) 18... Bg7 19. Rxd6 {You might  think that this is the beginning of the end for Black, but the last move in  fact makes it harder for White to defend since Black is now able to exchange  one of the few pieces that helped White control the situation on the queenside  (Rd1).} Rbd8 $1 20. Rxd8 Rxd8 {Black has only a pawn for a bishop, but White's  coordination is very bad. Next White has to come up with a way to meet Ne5-g4.}  21. Kf1 Rd2 22. Rh3 Ng4 (22... Qa3 $5) 23. Qb8+ $6 ({White had to play} 23. Nd1  Qxa2 24. Bxg4 hxg4 25. Qxg4 Qa6+ (25... Qxc2 $6 26. Nf2) 26. Rd3 Rxc2 27. Qh3 {  with some advantage.}) 23... Kh7 24. b4 $2 {After this mistake Black is much  better. It is very possible that Psakhis was low on time here, or I doubt he  would have played such a bad move.} (24. Nd1 {or}) (24. Rf3 {was better.})  24... Qa3 25. Qxa7 $2 Qc1+ 26. Kg2 Bxc3 27. Rxc3 Rxe2+ 28. Kg3 Qe1+ 29. Kf3  Qf1+ 30. Kg3 {0-1 Not a perfect game from Psakhis, but I assure you: it is not  easy to play the White side of this position. One moment you are happily  throwing your pawns at the Black king, expecting them to make contact at any  moment. Then, suddenly, those pawns are gone and you have to spend the next  ten-fifteen moves trying to get some semblance of coordination between your pieces.  It is a tough transition to make for a human mind.}

My game from Isle of Man will be published on Thursday.