Laznicka's World Open Weapon by GM Magesh and GM Arun
In the recently concluded World open, Grandmaster Viktor Laznicka came out with flying colors winning the tournament with a clear half point lead. The best part for the Czech Grandmaster was his 6/6 start that allowed him to relax in the last three rounds where he just needed three draws to clinch the World Open title by half a point.
One can assume such a success does not come without huge hurdles along the way. For Laznicka, the two important black games that he managed to convert into a full point against very strong opposition were definitely the critical ones that gave him the edge over the strong contingent of Grandmasters.
The Chebanenko Slav is an opening we have discussed a few times in our columns, but given the frequency of its occurrence at the top level and its success rate, we are forced to go back and discuss the opening again.This week we will take a look at how Laznicka used this opening weapon with great success. Our first game is the 4th round game where Laznicka faced the strong Grandmaster Alexander Shabalov with the black pieces.
Even the best of the pack make some serious opening errors, so just be ready to grab them and make use of them, and of course it would really help to not make such mistakes yourself. Hopefully these games have helped our readers with their understanding of the Chebanenko.
