Anand's seconds, Part two
As mentioned earlier today (yesterday by the time I finish this post), Anand's four seconds for the match, starting in about nine hours, are Peter Heine Nielsen, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Radoslaw Wojtasek and Surya Shekhar Ganguly. In this post, I'll take a look at their repertoires, with an eye to seeing how in particular they might help Anand battle Kramnik.
(1) Peter Heine Nielsen (FIDE Rating: 2662):
With White, Nielsen plays all four major moves, but prefers 1.d4 above the rest. After 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6, Nielsen plays all three main moves (3.Nf3, 3.Nc3 and 3.g3) in fairly equal proportion. Against the Semi-Slav, he goes down the main lines and plays the Anti-Moscow Gambit with 6.Bh4.
When he plays 1.e4, he plays conventional main lines. Interestingly, he doesn't seem to have had much OTB experience against the Petroff, but whatever might be lacking in his White games is made up when he has Black - see below. His experience vs. the Sveshnikov is pretty slim (one Bg5 Qa5+ Bd2 Qd8 draw); in the few relevant games, he generally chose 3.Bb5 or 3.Nc3 followed by Bb5. As for the Berlin, he hasn't faced it in 17 years.
With Black, Nielsen meets 1.e4 with both 1...c5 and 1...e5. Based on his recent track records, it's unlikely that Kramnik will play 1.e4 or meet that move with 1...c5, so let's concentrate on Nielsen's 1...e5 repertoire. He plays 2...Nc6 most often, but he's a regular exponent of the Petroff as well, choosing the main line with 6...Nc6. In the Ruy, he plays both 3...a6 (heading for both the Closed Main Line and the Marshall) and 3...Nf6, the Berlin. His record with the Berlin is pretty good, though not great, and he hasn't played it since 2005. Still, it's likely that his years of playing it will put Anand in good stead if Kramnik uses it.
Against 1.d4, Nielsen plays a bit of almost everything: King's Indian, Nimzo-Indian, QGD (possibly his main opening), Slav and Semi-Slav.
(2) Rustam Kasimdzhanov (FIDE Rating: 2672):
With White, Kasimdzhanov plays both 1.e4 and 1.d4, with a slight preference for the former. In his 1.e4 games, his record against the Berlin isn't very good - he's -1 in 8 games - and in five of the eight games he avoided the Berlin Endgame. Against the Petroff, he does go for the main lines, though without particular success - 50% against his fellow GMs. Against the Sicilian with 2...Nc6, Kasimdzhanov generally avoids the Sveshnikov and plays 3.Bb5, with good results.
With 1.d4, he is willing to play both the QID and the Nimzo-Indian. As for his record and experience against the Slav and Semi-Slav, he has done extremely well against the former (+7 =4 against strong opposition) but had mediocre results against the latter. He generally played 5.e3, only taking up 5.Bg5 in 2007, so in comparison with Anand, Kramnik and even Heine Nielsen he's a Johnny-come-lately to that opening. (But see below.)
With Black, Kasimdzhanov meets 1.e4 with 1...e5 and 1...c5 with equal frequency. He has never played the Berlin, preferring the Closed Main Lines and the Marshall. Against 1.d4, he, like Heine Nielsen, has a diverse repertoire: the KID, Nimzo/Queen's Indian, QGD and nowadays, the Semi-Slav. As with 5.Bg5 against it, this entered his repertoire just last year, but with Black his results have been excellent - three wins (including one against his fellow second Wojtaszek) and four draws (including one against Kramnik).
(3) Radoslaw Wojtaszek (FIDE Rating: 2599)
Wojtaszek is a "lefty" in chess, with a strong preference for 1.d4 (and 1.Nf3 comes in second). At the Nimzo/Queen's junction, he primarily plays 3.Nf3. Against the Semi-Slav, he has only played 5.Bg5, so far without much success (+0 -3 =3 against players > 2450).
With Black against 1.e4, he's a Sicilianista, with an occasional Caro-Kann and still more occasional French. 1...e5 almost doesn't exist for him - only 8 games in Mega, only one of which occurred after 2001. (On the other hand, it was a win with Black over Volokitin in the Gajewski Gambit of the Ruy Lopez.) Against 1.d4, he always plays 1...Nf6, and after 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 goes for both the Modern Benoni and the Queen's Indian. After 3.Nc3 he generally goes for the Nimzo-Indian, but even here he sometimes braves the Modern Benoni.
(4) Surya Shekhar Ganguly (FIDE Rating: 2603)
Ganguly, like Rauzer, Fischer and Weaver Adams, believes that 1.e4 is "best by test". He used to play the Scotch from time to time, but now seems a Ruy specialist. He has a terrific record against the Berlin, mostly attained against sub-2500 players and using the sideline 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Ba4. He has faced the Sveshnikov Sicilian many times, and here too his score is very good but based largely on beating up on (relative) weakies. There he used to prefer 9.Bxf6, but since 2004 his main move has been 9.Nd5.
With Black, Ganguly has a very strong preference for 1...e5 against 1.e4, and his main line is the Moeller against the Ruy (3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5). Against 1.d4 he plays both 1...Nf6 and 1...d5. When using the former, he goes for the Gruenfeld and Benko Gambit; when the latter, the QGA (which Anand used to play - with very poor results - against Kramnik in the early 2000s).
Superficially, then, Heine Nielsen and Kasimdzhanov make obvious sense not only by strength but their repertoires as well. We'll see as the match progresses if Wojtaszek and Ganguly fit in the same obvious way, but even if they don't I'm sure Anand will put them to good use. They are young and will have a lot of energy for the misery Anand is bound to put them through in the match. And Ganguly, as a fellow Indian with Anand, may help him feel more at home (though for Anand, it's plain that in the main he experiences the rain in Spain).
(1) Peter Heine Nielsen (FIDE Rating: 2662):
With White, Nielsen plays all four major moves, but prefers 1.d4 above the rest. After 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6, Nielsen plays all three main moves (3.Nf3, 3.Nc3 and 3.g3) in fairly equal proportion. Against the Semi-Slav, he goes down the main lines and plays the Anti-Moscow Gambit with 6.Bh4.
When he plays 1.e4, he plays conventional main lines. Interestingly, he doesn't seem to have had much OTB experience against the Petroff, but whatever might be lacking in his White games is made up when he has Black - see below. His experience vs. the Sveshnikov is pretty slim (one Bg5 Qa5+ Bd2 Qd8 draw); in the few relevant games, he generally chose 3.Bb5 or 3.Nc3 followed by Bb5. As for the Berlin, he hasn't faced it in 17 years.
With Black, Nielsen meets 1.e4 with both 1...c5 and 1...e5. Based on his recent track records, it's unlikely that Kramnik will play 1.e4 or meet that move with 1...c5, so let's concentrate on Nielsen's 1...e5 repertoire. He plays 2...Nc6 most often, but he's a regular exponent of the Petroff as well, choosing the main line with 6...Nc6. In the Ruy, he plays both 3...a6 (heading for both the Closed Main Line and the Marshall) and 3...Nf6, the Berlin. His record with the Berlin is pretty good, though not great, and he hasn't played it since 2005. Still, it's likely that his years of playing it will put Anand in good stead if Kramnik uses it.
Against 1.d4, Nielsen plays a bit of almost everything: King's Indian, Nimzo-Indian, QGD (possibly his main opening), Slav and Semi-Slav.
(2) Rustam Kasimdzhanov (FIDE Rating: 2672):
With White, Kasimdzhanov plays both 1.e4 and 1.d4, with a slight preference for the former. In his 1.e4 games, his record against the Berlin isn't very good - he's -1 in 8 games - and in five of the eight games he avoided the Berlin Endgame. Against the Petroff, he does go for the main lines, though without particular success - 50% against his fellow GMs. Against the Sicilian with 2...Nc6, Kasimdzhanov generally avoids the Sveshnikov and plays 3.Bb5, with good results.
With 1.d4, he is willing to play both the QID and the Nimzo-Indian. As for his record and experience against the Slav and Semi-Slav, he has done extremely well against the former (+7 =4 against strong opposition) but had mediocre results against the latter. He generally played 5.e3, only taking up 5.Bg5 in 2007, so in comparison with Anand, Kramnik and even Heine Nielsen he's a Johnny-come-lately to that opening. (But see below.)
With Black, Kasimdzhanov meets 1.e4 with 1...e5 and 1...c5 with equal frequency. He has never played the Berlin, preferring the Closed Main Lines and the Marshall. Against 1.d4, he, like Heine Nielsen, has a diverse repertoire: the KID, Nimzo/Queen's Indian, QGD and nowadays, the Semi-Slav. As with 5.Bg5 against it, this entered his repertoire just last year, but with Black his results have been excellent - three wins (including one against his fellow second Wojtaszek) and four draws (including one against Kramnik).
(3) Radoslaw Wojtaszek (FIDE Rating: 2599)
Wojtaszek is a "lefty" in chess, with a strong preference for 1.d4 (and 1.Nf3 comes in second). At the Nimzo/Queen's junction, he primarily plays 3.Nf3. Against the Semi-Slav, he has only played 5.Bg5, so far without much success (+0 -3 =3 against players > 2450).
With Black against 1.e4, he's a Sicilianista, with an occasional Caro-Kann and still more occasional French. 1...e5 almost doesn't exist for him - only 8 games in Mega, only one of which occurred after 2001. (On the other hand, it was a win with Black over Volokitin in the Gajewski Gambit of the Ruy Lopez.) Against 1.d4, he always plays 1...Nf6, and after 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 goes for both the Modern Benoni and the Queen's Indian. After 3.Nc3 he generally goes for the Nimzo-Indian, but even here he sometimes braves the Modern Benoni.
(4) Surya Shekhar Ganguly (FIDE Rating: 2603)
Ganguly, like Rauzer, Fischer and Weaver Adams, believes that 1.e4 is "best by test". He used to play the Scotch from time to time, but now seems a Ruy specialist. He has a terrific record against the Berlin, mostly attained against sub-2500 players and using the sideline 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Ba4. He has faced the Sveshnikov Sicilian many times, and here too his score is very good but based largely on beating up on (relative) weakies. There he used to prefer 9.Bxf6, but since 2004 his main move has been 9.Nd5.
With Black, Ganguly has a very strong preference for 1...e5 against 1.e4, and his main line is the Moeller against the Ruy (3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5). Against 1.d4 he plays both 1...Nf6 and 1...d5. When using the former, he goes for the Gruenfeld and Benko Gambit; when the latter, the QGA (which Anand used to play - with very poor results - against Kramnik in the early 2000s).
Superficially, then, Heine Nielsen and Kasimdzhanov make obvious sense not only by strength but their repertoires as well. We'll see as the match progresses if Wojtaszek and Ganguly fit in the same obvious way, but even if they don't I'm sure Anand will put them to good use. They are young and will have a lot of energy for the misery Anand is bound to put them through in the match. And Ganguly, as a fellow Indian with Anand, may help him feel more at home (though for Anand, it's plain that in the main he experiences the rain in Spain).
Posted by Dennis Monokroussos on
Tuesday October 14, 2008 at 2:17am