[Event "Jovanovic - Rapport: Jovanovic Rapport"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/vI8XSlbZ/9ikBZRPL"] [Result "*"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B06"] [Opening "Modern Defense: Pseudo-Austrian Attack"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/chessentialsBLOG"] [UTCDate "2020.02.12"] [UTCTime "22:32:37"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/vI8XSlbZ/9ikBZRPL"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 { In the following game, we will see a very cool variation examined in the Austrian Attack: Main Line with 7 e5 chapter, involving an exchange sacrifice, played by a very strong Hungarian Grandmaster, rated above 2700, Richard Rapport. His opponent was a well-known Croatian Grandmaster (the one I personally know very well), Zoran Jovanović, who plays the Modern himself, so it is not surprising that the deep theoretical battle ensued. } 1... g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 a6 5. Nf3 b5 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. e5 c5 8. Be4 Rb8 9. Be3 b4 10. Ne2 Nh6 11. dxc5 Ng4 12. Bg1 dxe5 13. c6 Ndf6 14. Qxd8+ Kxd8 15. Ba7 Kc7 16. Bxb8+ Kxb8 { So far we have been following the main recommendation of the repertoire, so for more details, I refer you to the variation with 8 Be4 and 9 Be3. It is important to note that the move 9...b4 had to be included, in order to remove the knight from the c3 square, because the bishop on e4 is now not defended. } 17. Nd2 { In the repertoire, we considered only the best move 17 h3, which is far from obvious. White's move is just a tactical mistake and now Black almost immediately gets significantly better position. } 17... exf4 { The simplest solution! } (17... Ne3 { Threatening Nxe4 and Nxg2 was perfectly possible. The point is that the g4 square is not under White's control, so he can't really play Kf2. } 18. Kf2 { The reason why Ne3 doesn't work after 17 h3, but here is it nos sufficient because of } 18... Nfg4+ 19. Kf3 f5 { And Black is winning. }) 18. Bd3 { White does not dare recapture the pawn. } (18. Nxf4 { Jovanović decided against recapturing the pawn (which is one of the points of Ne2) and it hindsight, it is probably a wise decision because Bh6 is very strong. } 18... Bh6 { And now Black's pieces are just too active. If he tries moving the knight, he loses because of the vulnerability of the bishop on e4, while e5 is also a thraet. } 19. O-O { Probably the best reply. } (19. Nd3 Bxd2+ 20. Kxd2 Nxe4+ { And black wins. }) 19... Rd8 20. Bd3 e5 { And White } 21. h3 Ne3 { And White has insourmountable problems. }) 18... e5 { Now Black has a very strong center and a clear target in the form of the c6 pawn. } 19. a3 { A desperate try to create some counterplay. } 19... e4 { Decisive tactical blow! White's position collapses like a house of cards. } 20. Nxe4 Nxe4 21. Bxe4 Bxb2 22. Rb1 bxa3 { And the a-pawn is just too strong. For the player of Rapport's caliber, the rest is a matter of technique! } 23. O-O g5 24. Nc3 Ka7 25. Rxb2 axb2 26. Rb1 f5 27. Bd5 Re8 28. h3 Nf6 29. Rxb2 Re3 30. Rb3 Nxd5 31. Nxd5 Rxb3 32. cxb3 Be6 33. Ne7 Kb6 { And here Jovanović finally decided to resign - the endgame is just completely lost (Kc7-Kd6 will win the c6 pawn, while b3 is also hanging). A fantastic game and a fantastic variation of the Modern Defence! } *