Ukrainian knights

This week I pay tribute to the chess grandmasters from Ukraine, led by Vassily Ivanchuk, many times a candidate for the world championship. Ukraine occupies an honourable place in the history of chess, for example winning the gold medals in the chess Olympiad of 2010, held in one of the World Chess Federation’s favourite venues, Khanty-Mansisk in Siberia. Ivanchuk played an interesting role in last year’s world championship qualifier in London. Blessed with extraordinary creativity, yet almost equally erratic, Ivanchuk seemed headed for a disaster, based on his ability to lose on time in promising positions. Nevertheless, he played a pivotal role in deciding who should challenge Viswanathan Anand for the world championship, when he defeated both Carlsen and Kramnik, the leading contenders, in the closing rounds. The game I have chosen to illustrate his style was taken from the recently concluded Tradewise Masters, held in Gibraltar.
 
Vassily Ivanchuk-Alexandr Hilario Takeda dos Santos Fier: Gibraltar Masters 2014; Semi-Slav Defence
 
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 Nc3 c6 5 e3 Nbd7 6 Qc2 The old main line used to be 6 Bd3 dxc4 7 Bxc4 b5.