White is a pawn down but the following bishop maneuver, typical in this French structure, will yield him a strong initiative.
19.Bc1!
Heading for the a3-f8 diagonal, where there is no black counterpart.
19...g6
Preparing 20... Nh7 in order to swap the strong knight on g5.
20.Ba3 Nh7 21.Nf3!
A logical retreat, by which White retains the knight for future attacking purposes and leaves its counterpart badly placed on h7.
21...Qd8 22.Qd2 Kd7?! 23.Rfb1 Nf5 24.Bc5 Kc6
In order to construct some kind of fortress on the queenside.
25.Qc1!+-
It is the queen's turn to exploit the a3-f8 diagonal.

⚫️#660 (Strategy-Black to Move)
🔸Raaste,E
🔸Yemelin,V
🔸St. Petersburg, 1996

Black is better thanks to his space advantage and more actively placed pieces. He now launches a strong bishop maneuver that will step up the pressure.
36...Be7!
Intending ...Bd8-b6 in order to seize the g1-a7 diagonal.
Also interesting was 36...Kh7!? intending ...Bh6, but the text is more aggressive.
37.N1d2
It is not easy for White to improve his pieces; e.g. 37.Qe2 Bd8 38.Ne3? Bxe4
37...Bd8 38.Kg1 Bb6 39.Qe2 Kg7
In such a superior position, Black has time for a few useful moves.
40.Nh4 Qd8 41.Ng2 Ng5!-+
Before White plays h3-h4.

⚫️#661 (Strategy-Black to Move)
🔸Ree,H
🔸Portisch,L
🔸Wijk aan Zee, 1968

Unity Chess Multiple Choice 661
public poll

A: e5 – 8
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 53%
@mehrchess77, @EhsanKhoeini, @soheil_hooshdaran, Nikhil, sana, @RichardPeng, Michael, Zhenrui

B: g6 – 5
👍👍👍👍 33%
@amirch_76, Vincent, @Sophia_Peng, @AryanLeekha, Sanjana

C: b6 – 2
👍👍 13%
Morteza, @chessnoob

👥 15 people voted so far.

⚪️#662 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Kramnik,V
🔸Gelfand,B
🔸Belgrade, 1997

Unity Chess Multiple Choice 662
public poll

A: Qc1 – 8
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 53%
Morteza, @hosssein_G, @soheil_hooshdaran, Nikhil, @YaminiG, @RichardPeng, @AryanLeekha, Michael

B: Bg4 – 6
👍👍👍👍👍 40%
@EhsanKhoeini, Vincent, sana, @Sophia_Peng, Zhenrui, Sanjana

C: Qb1 – 1
👍 7%
@chessnoob

👥 15 people voted so far.

❇️ Today is birthday of Bassem Amin!!
Egyptian chess grandmaster

🌺 🌹🌷🌸💐☘️🌹 Happy birthday Bassem 👏👏👏👏
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@unitychess

Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Mikhail Gurevich and Aleksandr Khalifman. USSR, late 1980s?

@UnityChess

Alexander Alekhine v. Karel Hromadka, 1st round, Prague, 5th December 1942.

@UnityChess

In the 1930s Frank Marshall captained the US team to four gold medals at four Chess Olympiads.

@UnityChess

#Sokolov_chess_quotes_002

❇️ Ivan Sokolov
Dutch chess grandmaster
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@unitychess

#about_Sokolov

❇️ Ivan Sokolov
Dutch chess grandmaster

🔰Ivan Sokolov is a Dutch chess grandmaster. Sokolov won the 1988 Yugoslav Championship and in 1995 and 1998 the Dutch Championship. Before earning the GM title, he became a FIDE Master in 1985 and an International Master in 1986.

🔘 Born: June 13, 1968
🔺Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina
🔘Title: Grandmaster
🔘FIDE rating: 2573
🔘Peak rating: 2706 (January 2004)

🔰Ivan Sokolov was born on the 13th of June 1968 in Bosnia (formerly Yugoslavia). Awarded the GM title in 1987 and Yugoslav Champion in 1988 he was 1st= at Portoroz 1987, 1st= in Belgrade and 1st= in Saltsjöbaden. He also played on the Yugoslav Olympiad team in 1988. He now represents the Netherlands in Olympiads and various other team championships.

♦️ A memorable game by Sokolov👇
🔹Ivan Sokolov vs Jan Timman
🔹Sigeman and Co (1997), Malmo SWE, rd 6, Jun-??
🔹Gruenfeld Defense: Exchange Variation (D85)

♦️Review and download PGN file👇
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@unitychess

▪️ Ivan Sokolov vs Jan Timman, Sigeman and Co (1997)
▪️ PGN format
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@unitychess

🔸FIDE World Junior Championships U20 2018
🔸Round 1
⚪️Karthikeyan,Murali (2605)
⚫️Pigeat,Alexandre (2347)
🔸1-0