Keep It Simple 1.d4: A Solid and Straightforward Chess Opening Repertoire for White 9789056918675, 9056918672

Table of contents :
Keep It Simple, 1.d4
Copyright
Contents
Explanation of symbols
Preface
Building a 1.d4 repertoire
Part I. Black's classical/symmetrical set-ups: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3
Introduction and overview
Chapter 1. Anti-Chigorin: 2...Nc6
Chapter 2. Rare lines: 2...c5
Chapter 3. The Tarrasch Defence: 2...c5 3.c4 e6
Chapter 4. Grünfeld Reversed - Black takes on d4 without 5...Nc6: 2...Nf6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 cxd4 5.0-0
Chapter 5. Grünfeld Reversed - Black takes on d4 with 5...Nc6: 2...Nf6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 cxd4 5.0-0 Nc6
Chapter 6. Grüfeld Reversed - Black does not take on d4: 4...Nc6 5.0-0
Chapter 7. Catalan - Introduction and sidelines: 2...Nf6 3.g3 e6
Chapter 8. Catalan - Closed Variation: 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4
Chapter 9. Catalan - Open Variation: 6...dxc4
Chapter 10. Black stops c2-c4: 2...Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 b5
Chapter 11. ...Bf5 set-ups - Introduction and early deviations: 2...Nf6 3.g3 Bf5
Chapter 12. ...Bf5 set-ups - Main line: 4.Bg2 c6 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3
Chapter 13. ...Bg4 set-ups - Introduction and early deviations: 2...Nf6 3.g3 Bg4
Chapter 14. ...Bg4 set-ups - Main line: 4.Bg2 c6 5.c4
Part II. Black's ...g7-g6 based set-ups: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3
Introduction and overview
Chapter 15. King's Indian: 3...Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.0-0 d6 6.b3 e5
Chapter 16. King's Indian: other 6th moves
Chapter 17. Grünfeld sidelines: 3...d5
Chapter 18. Grünfeld: 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 dxc4
Chapter 19. Grünfeld: 6...c6
Chapter 20. Black invites a Benoni: 3...c5
Chapter 21. Move orders with 1...g6: 1.d4 g6
Part III. Black's flexible set-ups: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3
Introduction and overview
Chapter 22. Queen's Indian - Introduction and sidelines: 2...b6 and 2...e6 3.g3 b6
Chapter 23. Queen's Indian - Main line: 3...b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 Be7. 6.c4 0-0 7.Nc3
Chapter 24. The extended fianchetto 3...b5
Chapter 25. 3...c5 - Introduction and sidelines
Chapter 26. 3...c5 - Main lines: 4.Bg2 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.0-0 Qb6 and 6...Bc5
Chapter 27. Move orders with 1...e6: 1.d4 e6
Part IV. Black's sharp and offbeat defences
Introduction and overview
Chapter 28. Benoni sidelines: 1.d4 c5 and 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5
Chapter 29. Anti-Benko: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 b5
Chapter 30. Schmid Benoni: 1 .d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 g6
Chapter 31. Dutch Defence - Classical and rare lines: 1.d4 f5
Chapter 32. Dutch Defence - Stonewall: 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 d5
Chapter 33. Dutch Defence - Leningrad: 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 g6
Chapter 34. Old Indian and Wade Defence: 1.d4 d6
Chapter 35. Odds and ends - 1.d4 others
Index of names
Bibliography
Author's biography

Citation preview

(Reprocessed with Scan Tailor, 2019-12-22)

Keep It Simpie: 1 . d4

C hristof Sielecki Keep It Simple: 1.d4 A Solid and Stra ightforward Chess Ope n i ng Reperto i re for Wh ite New I n Chess 2019

© 201 9 N ew I n Chess Publi shed by N ew In Chess, Alkmaar, The N etherlands www. newi nch es s .corn Al l rights reserved. No part of th i s book may be reprod uced , stored in a retrieva l system or tra n smitted i n a ny form or by any means, electron ic, mechan ical, photo­ copying, record i ng or otherwise, without the prior written perm i ssion from the pu bl ish er. Cover design: Vol ken Beck Su pervis ion: Peter Boel Editing and typesetti ng: Fra n k Erwich Proofrea d i ng: J oe Petrol ito, Den n i s Keetman Production: Anton Sch ermer H ave you found any errors in this book? Please send you r rem arks to ed [email protected] nchess.com . We wil l col lect a l l releva nt corrections on the Errata page of our website www. newi nchess .com and i m p l e­ ment them i n a possi bl e next ed ition. I S B N : 978-90-569 1 -867-5

Contents ExP-lan ation of sxm bol s Preface B u i l d i ng a i .da..ua2erto i re Part I Black's classical/sy,mmetrical set-ues: 1.d�_Q5 2. � f3 I ntrod uction ChaP-ter 1 Anti-Ch i gori n : 2 . . . 'd c 6 ChaP-ter 2 Rare l i nes: 2 . . . c 5 ChaP-ter 3 The Ta rrasch Defence: 2 . . . CS-3-� e6 ChaP-ter � G ru nfeld Reversed - Black takes on d4 without 5 . .. 'd c6: 2 .. . 'd f6 3�gll5-.4.:....©. . _g2 cxda.. 5&.Q ChaP-ter 5 G ru nfeld Reversed - Black takes on dA with 5 . . . 'd c6: 2 . . . 'd f6 3�g3.£5 . _g2 cx d4_5 . o - o 'd c6 A.:...j;: ChaP-ter 6 G ru n feld Reversed - Black does not take on d4,;,_4... 'd c6 SQ:Q ChaP-ter 7. Catala n - I ntroduction and s ideli nes: 2 . . . 'd f6 3:g3 e6 ChaP-ter 8 Catalan - C losed Va riation : 4..:....;J_J. g;?._;JJ._£ 7_5.0-0 o-o 6.cA ChaP-ter 9 Catalan - OP-en Variati on : 6 . . . dxc4 ChaP-ter 10 B l ack stoP-s c2 -�: 2 ... 'd f6 3:g3 e6 4.:....� _g2 b5 ChaP-ter 11 . . . � _J5 set-uP-s - I ntroduction and earlx deviations: 2 . . . 'd f6 3:g3-� .

fs

ChaP.ter 12 . . . }J._J5 set- uP-s - M a i n l i ne: �.:.... � _g2 c6 5.� e6 6. 'd c3 ChaP.ter 13_. . �-M set-uP-s - I ntrod uction and early, d eviations: 2 . . 'd f6 3 gJ_J;. .

_ .

�

gi1, ChaP.ter 1�_. _. � _g4 set-UP-S - M ai n l i ne: � j;: g2 c6 5 .�. .:...

_

Part II Black's ... g]_:g6 based set·UP.S: 1.d� � ffi 2. � f3_gfU�l3 I ntrod uction . _g2 o-o 5.0-0 d 6 6. b3..�5 ChaP.ter 15 King's I nd i a n : 3.:.:..:.... � ..s7-4.:...j;: ChaP.ter 16 King's I nd ia n : other 6th moves ChaP.ter 17. G ru nfeld s ideli nes: 3 . . d 5 .

ChaP.ter 18 G runfeld: �.:...�-g��-g7_ 5.o-o o-o 6.cA, dx� ChaP.ter 19 G ru nfeld: 6 . . . c6 ChaP.ter 20 Black i nvites a Benoni: 3.:..:..:.f5 ChaP.ter 21 M ove orders with l .. .g6: i .d�_g§. Part Ill Blade's flexible set-uP.s: 1.d� � f6 2. � f3�:13 I ntrod uction ChaP.ter 22 Queen's I nd i an - I ntroducti on and s ideli nes: 2 .. b6 and 2 ... e6 3:g3 b6 .

ChaP.ter 23,_Queen 's I n dian - M a i n l i ne: } .. b6 �.:....� _gL§;..J27_5.o-o j;:..£7. 6.� o-o ChaP.ter 2� The extended fianchetto 3 . . b5 .

ChaP.ter 25-3.:..:.5.:.f - I ntrod uctio n and sideli nes

_

ChaP.ter 26

J.

.

. c5 - M a i n li nes: A..:....� _g2 cxd4_5. 'd xdA 'd c6 6.o-o V!!! b6 and 6 . . .

ChaP.ter 2 7. Move orders with l. e 6 : i .d4 e6 . .

Part IV BlackJs share and offbeat defences I ntrod uction ChaP.ter 28 Beno n i s idel i nes: i .da...f 5 and L d4 'D f6 2. 'd (3...fS ChaP.ter 29 Anti-Benko: l .dA 'll f6 2. 'd f3...fS.J .dsJ25 ChaP.ter 30 Sch m id Beno n i : 1 .dA 'll f6 2. 'll fus.J.ds_g§ ChaP.ter 31 Dutch Defence - C lassical and ra re l i nes: 1 .daJS ChaP.ter 32 Dutch Defence - Stonewa l l : i .d4J5 2. '21 f3 'll f6 3�g3 e6 4.:....� _g2 d s ChaP.ter 33 Dutch Defence

-

Len i n grad: i .daJs 2. 'd f3 'd f6 3:g3_g2

ChaP.ter 3f!I. Old I ndian and Wade Defence: i .d4 d 6 ChaP.ter 35 Odds and end s - l .d4 oth ers I ndex of na mes Bibl iogra P- h Y. Author's biogrnP-hY.

Explanation of symbols The chessboard with its coordinates:

8 7 6 s 4 3 2 I a

b

c

d

�

King

J!!

Q ueen

g

Roo k Bishop

e

f

g

h

Kn ight Wh ite stands s l ightly better Black stands sl ightly better Wh ite stands better Black stands better +­

Wh ite has a decisive advantage

-+

Black has a decisive adva ntage balanced pos ition good move

!!

excel lent move

�

bad move

??

bl under

!�

interesti ng move

�!

du bious move

Preface Welcome to Keep it Simple: 1.d4 I Keep it Simple: 1.e4

was released i n 20 1 8. Right after the release, people a sked me if

a s i m i lar book for l .d4 was a future project, and h ere it i s ! Thi s book outl i nes a com plete repertoi re fo r Wh ite based on i .d4. Before we d i scuss some poi nts of th e repertoi re, I 'd l i ke to explai n the ' Keep It Sim­ ple' approach. Most o pen ing boo ks n owadays have reached enormou s complexity, often com pri s i ng of several volu mes, tota l l i ng 1 000+ pages. Th i s depth of a na lys i s i s usefu l fo r very strong players, but not s o m uch for amateu r players. I felt that it must be possible to 1Keep It S i m ple' i n stead, bei ng more practica l than scientific i n the choices. White does not get an adva ntage a nyway agai nst the main l i ne de­ fences-for exam ple the d rawi ng percentage in top level correspondence chess speaks for itself. My main ' K I S ' guidel i nes are: ·The chosen l i nes are si mple to learn ; · I t m ust b e pos s i ble to fi nd you r way i f you forget yo u r l i nes; ·Choose l i nes that may not be most critical , but u ncomfo rtable for the oppo­ nent.

Com p i l ing th e reperto i re accord i ng to these gu idel i nes has led to a very classical, sound and rel iable repertoi re. You wi l l get good endgames freq uently, or pos itions with long-term assets l i ke the bi shop pair. You won't get u n sound ga mbits or tricky l i nes that can be refuted - all l i n es are playa ble u p to a very h igh l evel. I n fact, most of the repertoire has been played by top players, at least occa sion a l ly or i n q u icker ti me controls. The l i nes chosen share many com mon themes and ideas and a re therefore easy to learn as a whole. You wi l l see many concepts m u lti ple ti mes, which makes it easier to learn the m . The repertoi re a l so i nc l udes many new dangerous ideas that will su rprise you r oppon ents early on. I 'd l i ke to address one poi nt a bout the term 'Simple'. There are some l i n es i n th e book that are n ot s i m ple i n the sense that there i s no complexity i n the play. Some­ times the o n ly way to pose problems i s to enter com plex pl ay, and it i s part of ches s i m provement to accept challenges at l ea st i n some l i nes. It i s i m portant to em phasize that o u r repertoi re ch oi ces wi ll often get opponents out of th eir main­ stream theoretical knowledge and therefore we enter more com plex situations with a head sta rt, bei ng on our home tu rf. Com pared to

Keep It Simple: 1. e4,

I m ade one change i n the structure of the book.

The 1 .e4 version i ncluded 30 com plete ga mes to s h owcase typical m i dd legame ideas and plans. For the 1 .d4-version, I decided i n stead to conti n ue many l in es

deeper than it would be strictly necessary for open ing study pu rposes on ly. Thi s deeper look gives you th e necessa ry i n sight o n how to proceed after th e i n itial ope n i ng moves . There a re some variati ons easily goi ng beyond move 20. Th i s does not mean that you need to learn a l l these moves by heart, but havi ng seen the key ideas u nfold after the fi rst moves is val uable and wi l l add to you r a rsena l of m id­ dlega m e plans. I also decided to cover some sideli nes in more detai l , when I felt th at the play is particu larly i nstructive in the m . The fi n a l i mportant point I need to mention i s that

Keep It Simple: 1.d4

oped fi rst as a n on l i ne, interactive book on the platform

was devel­

. chessable.com. On

www

the website, you can learn the moves based on text and videos . Th i s product was released in J une 201 g . The book you are now read i ng has the same content, only adj u sted to fit the fo rmat better. Based on th e feed back of Chessable u sers , I have added some l i nes that were played ri ght after the release or that I s i m ply fo rgot i n i­ tia l ly - havi n g h undreds of readers before the book goes i n print i s excel l ent qual ity assurance! So j u st one more thi ng. Always remember: ' Keep It S i m ple for you , make it d ifficult for your opponents !' Christof Sielecki Dinslaken, Germany

October 2019

Building a 1.d4 repertoire Wh at's the m a i n d ifference between bu i lding an open i n g repertoi re based on 1 .e4 and one based on i .d4 ? There a re mostly two key poi nts. The fi rst one i s the topic of •move orders'. I n a repertoi re sta rti ng with i . d4, move orders a nd transpositions are of para mou nt i m portance, wh i le th ese concepts a re less domi nant in 1 .e4-based repertoi res. I guess it i s best to expla i n th i s poi nt with an exam ple. If yo u sta rt with 1 .e4, right after B l ack's reply on move one, you most of the time know what open ing you wi l l play. I f they choose 1 . . c51 it i s a Sici l ian and i t won 't transpose to a Caro-Kan n a ny .

more. I f th ey play 1 . . . e5, you know that you won 't play a French Defence. This a l so means that you r options aga i n st Black's defences h ave very l ittle dependence on one another. For exa m ple: you d i s l i ke you r choice aga i n st the French and want to change you r l in es . Th i s has n o relevance for th e rest of yo u r repertoi re, as th ere are no or very few connections between you r l i nes. Now, com pare this to th e i .d4 u n iverse. After i .d4, Black might play the i m­ men sely popular flexi ble move 1 . . . 'd f6. N ow, co ntra ry to, fo r exam ple, i .e4 e6, you don't know yet what ope n i ng you are goi ng to pl ay. Black might i ntend to play . . . g7-g6 n ext, or . . . e7-e61 or even . . . d7-d5, wh ich he cou ld have done a l ready on move one. He m ight i ntend to play the moves ... e7-e61 . . . d7-d 5 and . . . 'd f6, but he has va riou s move orders to do so. Sta rti ng with 1 . . . d5, 1 .. e6 or 1 ... 'd f6 is a l l .

poss i ble and perfectly sound. Yo ur m ove selection early on, even on move two, i s relevant for many d ifferent openi ngs th at m ay a rise. Every choice needs to fit, m a k­ i ng s u re th at you get •yo u r' l i nes a nd that yo u a re not bei ng tricked i nto someth ing you did n ot want to play i n the fi rst place. Of cou rse, th i s works both ways: choos­ i ng you r move orders correctly might l ead you r opponent into u n kn own territory, givi ng you a n advantage. Let's d i scuss the second d ifference between 1 .e4-ba sed and 1 .d4-based repertoires. The character of the play i s often slower at the very begi n n i ng, wh ich gives added flexibil ity to both sides. There a re exceptions, of cou rse, but there a re many open­ i ngs th at don't l ead to an early confrontation with i n th e 1 .d4- u niverse, but rather have the cha racter of a ' set-u p' that featu res a slower development of the action. It i s not uncom mon th at the fi rst exchanges only h appen after some moves, while early captu res are very usual i n i .e4 l i nes. Due to th i s less forced natu re of the play, you need to look at more bl ack options i n the i n itial moves . Th i s i s the main rea­ son why th i s book h as more pages than the i .e4 version. N ow let's tal k a bout some specifi c li nes. If we go back to move one after i .d4, it is clear that we al ready have opened u p the bi shop on cl. But what a bout th e bi shop on f1 � The bishop developm ent on fi i s actual ly the most i mportant deci sion that Wh ite h as to take i n the next moves. You may play the e-pawn soon and develop it on the starti ng diagonal, or yo u may play an early g2-g3 and fi anchetto the bi shop. My i n itia l concept was to go for the fi rst a pproach and play main l i nes i n the

Queen's G a mbit and Ki ng's I nd i a n , for exam ple. H owever, I needed to stop these plans rather q u ickly. The move orders were very tricky and goi ng for a more m a i n l i n e a pproach a l so i nvites m a ny sharper openings, l i ke th e Ben ko G a mbit or the M odern Benon i . Th en I checked the idea of playi n g with a ki ngside fi anchetto. This approach i s used in one of the most popular and famous d4-repertoi res created by G M Boris Avrukh. Avrukh 's repertoi re has four vol u mes, tota l l i n g more than 1 500 pages . Th i s a l ready suggests th at the fia nch etto approach i s rath er com plex as wel l . A closer i nspection, however, led to the concept fo r

Keep it Simple: 1.d4.

I n oticed

th at many l i nes are com plex for one reason : the early move c2-c4, which is usually played on move hNo. Bl ack has m a ny option s based on the c4-pawn to steer the game into his territory, fo r example l ines l i ke the Queen's Gam bit Accepted or th e Catalan with 1 .d4 d s 2.c4 e6 3. 'd f3 'Ll f6 4.g3 dx4. What if we j ust don't play c2-4 early on, but rather delay th i s move u nti l we play it 'on our terms' ? I wondered if it is possi ble to basica l ly play the sequence of L d4, 2. 'Ll f3, J.g3, 4. � g2, 5.CH:> and i n most cases 6.c4, pretty much regard l ess of Bl ack's moves? I had seen some im­ pressive games by Kra m n i k with thi s approach, and he knows what he i s doing! If th i s cou ld be the standard set-up, it wou ld be much easier to handle the ea rly move orders . I n th i s case, you wou ld on ly need to learn the exceptions, i n stead of com­ pletely different approaches to each and every defence B lack m ay pl ay. Th i s idea fasci nated me and I wondered what d rawbacks th i s approach m ight h ave ? My con clu sion after a thorough analys i s is: Black has some i deas to exploit o u r

move order, but none of them put us i n a ny danger. Bl ack gets close to eq uality or equal izes with best play i n some l i nes, but th i s shou ld not discou rage us too m uch. The i m portant poi nt to real ize i s : we a re playi n g a sl ightly offbeat move order. Black might have seen some idea against our move order, but he won't be a specialist! I f we know exactly what to do and h ave some new ideas to pose prob­ lems, it does not m atter at a l l that the more m a i n strea m move order is 'su pposed to be better'. We want to fight on our ground. Not on the ground the opponent chooses. I 'd l i ke to emphasize th at th i s repertoi re does not consist solely of s idel i nes. I a m coveri n g main l i nes i n t h e Catal an, G ru nfeld and t h e Dutch, fo r exa mple. We wi l l also reach very well-tested main-l ine ground i n th e Tarrasch Defence o f th e Queen 's G a m bit (by tra n s pos ition) or the Queen 's I ndian. This i s very usefu l knowledge that wi l l benefit you a lot i n the l ong ru n , as you l earn com mon ly-played stru ctu res and strategies th at wi l l i m prove you r overal l understa n d i n g of closed open i ngs . Th is way it is m uch easier to later expand your repertoi re or replace some parts of it. Contra ry to a pure s idel i ne repertoi re (th i n k of the Col le System for example) , you learn concepts close to m a i n- l i ne openi ngs th at wi l l be very valu­ able in th e long term. The l i nes may easi l y fit i nto other move orders if you des i re to do so l ater. You are not 'stuck' i n some th eoretical backwater that yo u need to com pletely abandon at some point beca use you want to broaden you r chess knowl­ edge and get more variety in you r m idd l egames.

A fi nal poi nt that can be val u able i n the long ru n : ou r standard set-up i nvolves a q u ick kingside fia nchetto after we have started with

i

.

d4. The l i nes analysed i n the

book a re an excellent fou ndation to add 1 . 'd f3 to you r repertoi re at a later stage, a s there are many pos s i ble tra n s position s to l i nes already covered here. I n m y own practice, I have frequently reached l i nes featu red i n the book via move orders l i ke i . '21 f3 d s 2.g3 'd f6 3- �. g2 c6 4.d4 j;; fs 5.4 or

i . 'd f3

'd f6 2.g3 g6 J.b3, which wi l l

very often tra nspose to o u r Anti-Ki ng's I n dian approach. The m a i n added option th at you wo uld need to check is 1. 'd f3 c5, after wh ich there is no overlap to K I S i .d4.

PART I

Black's classical/symmetrical set-ups: i.d4 ds 2. �f3

lntrodudion and overview 1.d4 ds

l

Part I dea l s with B l ack's set-ups i nvolving the early move . . . d 7-d5, playi ng i n clas­ si ca l fashion. I am presenti ng these l i nes sta rti n g with the most com mon move order of i .d4 d s, but of course Bl ack m ay a l so choose move orders l i ke i .d4 'd f6 2 . 'll f3 ds or i .d4 e6 2. '.21 f3 'll f6 3-g3 d s. Our tas k aga i n st these move orders i s not

d ifficu lt, as we wil l play 2. 'll f3 and 3- g3 anyway u n less we m ust react to a s pecific l i ne, l i ke i .d4 c5 or i .d4 'll f6 2 . '.21 f3 c5, wh ich req u i res a non-fianchetto a pproach. Th i s is d i scu ssed in the ' B u i l d i n g a i .d4 repertoi re' part at the start of the boo k. With 1 . . . d 5 Black signal s h i s i ntention to play aga i n st the Queen's Gambit. He has a

very wide range of possi ble variati ons to choose from i n case of 2.c4, but as men­ tioned i n the i ntrod u ctory text we won 't com ply. I need to emphasize that on a conceptual l evel playi ng c2-4 at some poi nt i s al­ most mandatory. We need to increase the press u re on Black's centre and c2-c4 i s the reasonable way to d o it. Our repertoi re con cept i s to sti l l play c2-c4, but do it later. As a ru l e of th u m b for our reperto i re, keep in m i n d : aga i n st . . . d7-d 5- based set­ ups we want to play c2-c4. Our ap proach i s only a bout delayi ng the move unti l we play it on our terms. 2.�f3

As expected , we play 2. 'd f]. Th i s prevents some l i nes s pecific to 2.c4, i n particular the Q ueen 's G a m bit Accepted . It i s not so easy to play aga i n st thi s open i ng and B lack often chooses his l ine of defence , kn owi ng it better than we do. You don 't face the QGA frequently, so often yo u w i l l not be a s wel l prepared a s you r oppo­ nent. The QGA is off the table in our repertoi re. Another i m portant reason fo r delayi ng c2-c4 are cases related to l ater captu res on c4, i n partic u l a r i n the Slav De­ fence and th e Cata l a n . Before we have a look at the chapters, I 'd l i ke to d i scuss one particular move order ch oice. After 2 . "21 f6, my recommendation is to play ].g]. With th i s m ove, we are sticki ng .

.

to the repertoi re concept of delayi ng c2-c4. Th i s parti cu lar move order deci sion i s probably the most controversial one i n the whole repertoi re. Let's loo k a t th e pros and con s com pared to the main l i ne move J.c4. After J.c4, Black has a wide choice. H e ca n play a Slav with J. .. c6. It is possi ble to play g3-based set- u ps agai nst thi s openi ng, but it i s a com plicated affa i r. After J.C4 c 6 4.g3, B lack m i ght take on c4, with an unclear ga mbit, for exam ple. White may play l i nes l i ke 4. � c2 and 4. mb3, but these don't featu re ki ngside fianchettos a l l of the time. Black may also play the QGA aga i n with J.C4 dx4, which req u i res us to learn qu ite a bit of theo ry. There a re also no reason able l i nes i n the QGA i n wh ich White plays with a fi anchetto. On the contrary, th ere are l i n es with White getting an I Q P, which is very u n usual for our repertoi re. Don 't get me wron g: I am not sayi ng that th i s is bad for White, but you need to be much more versatile in term of structures agai nst th i s l i ne. Of cou rse, B lack may play J.C4 e6 and afte r 4.g3 he h as a wider ra nge of l i nes aga i n st the Cata­ lan com pared to our m ove order. We are tal ki n g about 4. . . g b4+ and, most i m por­ ta ntly, 4. . . dx4, which req u i res an enormous effort to study. Aga i nst this l i n e, 5. 'Ma4+ i s a ' Keep it S i m ple' sol ution, but I thi n k Black eq ualizes too effortlessly. It is l i kely that a player who plays 4 ... dxc4 knows these l i nes and I found noth i n g there to play fo r. S o 5. :B. g2 mu st b e the c ritical m ove, b u t now Bl ack has more than half a dozen l i nes that are playable and need to be stud ied . In particular, 5 ... a6 and 5 ... 'd c6 are tricky to handle. So we see that {obviou sly) 3.c4 is not a bad m ove, but it al lows lots of complexity with Black choos i n g the l i ne. Now, with 3.g3 we stay on

ou r territory. What a re the d rawbacks of 3.g3 ? There a re three arguments agai nst this move order. The fi rst one i s the most aggress ive idea J . c5. Black j ust handles the game .

l i ke a G runfeld with reversed colours and attacks the centre. As expla i ned before, we h ave c2-c4 on the agenda, so it i s only n atu ral that Black plays the same pawn break. I agree that J . . c5 is a good choice for Black, but he needs to know it wel l . These l i nes a re di scussed i n Chapters 4 to 6 . The seco nd argu ment i s that Black i s very sol id i n t h e . . . c7-c6 set-ups that are us u­ a l ly combi ned with . . Ji. fs or . . 'Ji, g4. Th i s m ight be true, but sol id does not mean it .

.

is easy to pl ay. I am confident that our l i nes wi l l pose p roblems that are not easy to solve for B l ack. I n most cases, he wil l have to figure it out over the boa rd , wh ich wi l l prove to be difficu lt i n many s ituations. Chapters

ll

to 1 4 cover these l i nes.

There is a thi rd approach aga i n st our early g2-g3: to play a q u i ck . . . b7-b5, stopping c2-4 fo r the moment. Th i s set- u p i s recom mended i n some i mportant books, so we need to check it. I believe that th i s approach i s actua l ly tricky for Bl ack to handle and Wh ite has good chances to press fo r an advantage. Th e ... b7-b5 set-u p i s exam­ i ned i n Chapter 10. After l i sting these l i nes, I 'd sti l l l i ke to n ote that most players below master level wi l l res pond to 3-83 in s i m i lar s pi rit to their response to 3.c4. They won 't have any special reply ready, but rath er stick to a set-up they know a nyway. It is most l i kely fo r a Slav pl ayer to play 3 . . . c6 and for a Queen's Gambit Decl ined pl ayer to go

3- e6. ..

N ow, let's have a loo k at th e various moves and the chapters that cover them .

ChaP-ter 1: 2 �c6 ...

Black i s hoping for 3.c4, tra n spos i ng i nto a C h i gori n Defence that most of the time a ri ses after 1 .d4 d s 2.c4 'Ll c6 3- 'd f3- As usual in o u r repertoi re, we delay the c2-4 move and play 3-g3 fi rst. Th i s l i n e gives Wh ite good chances to ga i n an advantage, in parti c u l a r against the more a m b itious 3

. ..

Ji. g4. The pos itions m ight get a b it

•

mu rky, but we a re better for s u re. The Anti-Chigorin i s covered in Chapter 1 .

ChaP-ter 2: 2

...

c5

Th i s i s a rare move, but an i m portant one for us to check. N ow, J.g3 i s not very convi ncing (please see the d ed i cated chapter for deta i ls) , which on ly leaves 3.c4. After 3.4, Black most of the ti me plays 3 . . . e6, which i s the Tarrasch Defence. The Tarra sch is covered in Chapter 3, wh i le Chapter 2 conta i n s offbeat tries for Black l i ke 3 ... cxd4 and 3 . . . dx4.

Th i s i s the Tarrasch Defence to the Queen's Gambit.

suggest playing the m a i n

l i n e 4.cxd 5 exd 5 5.g3 agai nst it, wh ich featu res a fi anchetto set-up and keeping th i s i n l i ne with o u r repertoi re concept. Th i s i s the m a i n l i ne aga i n st the Ta rrasch , pro m i s i n g Wh ite a s light adva ntage. The Tarrasch is a n i m po rta nt open i ng to study becau se you m ight get it on the board via lots of move orders. For exam ple, yo u frequently see Black starting with a n early . . . e7-e6, . ,� e1 and . .

.

..

o-o,

only to later

play . . . c7-c5 and we tra nspose to the com mon Tarrasch I Q P structu re. The Ta rrasch is covered in Chapter 3-

The 3 . . . c5 l i ne i s one of Black's most act ive respo nses to our preferred move order. H e i s bas ica l ly stati ng: 1You fa i l ed to play you r c-pawn , so I a m goi ng to do it!' The game wi l l now resemble the G ru nfeld Defence with colo u rs reversed , but there i s a twi st. Let's com pare with the Gru nfeld after l . d4 'd f6 2.c4 g6 3. 'd c3 ds. After 4.cxd5 'd xd5 5.e4, Black is able to play 5 . . 'd xc3 6.bxc3 and attack the centre quickly .

with . . . c7-c5. I n our l i ne with reversed colours, B lack has not played . . 'D c6 yet. Th i s .

i s a s ign ificant d i fference, beca use it i s not d es i rable to retreat t h e knight to a pas­ sive sq uare l i ke b6 for Black or b3 in our ca se with reversed colou rs.

Therefore, it i s very i m portant to avoid 5 . 'LJ xd4 e5 6. 'd b3, a s this i s exactly the sce­ nario descri bed a bove. We need to retreat to a less than ideal square and B lack man ages to play the e-pawn to es in one move. By castl i ng fi rst, we ask Black abo ut his i ntentions. The most popu l a r move for Black here i s actu a l ly 5 . 'LJ c6, l ead i n g to .

.

the attractive proper reversed Gru nfeld l i nes after 6. 'd xd4 es 7. 'd xc6 bxc6 8.c4. Th i s is the move most pl ayers wou ld choose if they don't know theory from here, a s it is the most natu ral move. Th i s is covered in Ch apter 5. Wh at's critica l then � Th eoreticians recommend sophi sticated moves l i ke 5 . . . h 6 or 5 . . Ji. d7. I agree that these moves are fine and Black has good chances to eq ual ize .

with th em. However my poi nt i s : fi rstly, it i s very u n l i kely to get these l i nes on the boa rd , un less you regu la rly play master-level pl ayers that a re heavily prepared . Sec­ ondly, the a ri s i n g positions m ight offer B l ack equal chances, but we are sti l l on ou r territory and wi l l know th e d eta i l s m uch better. You a re sti l l able to outplay weaker opponents and h ave a sound position aga i n st stronger ones. I have played th i s move order with J.g3 i n many bl itz games a n d the sop h isticated l ines never ap­ peared , a s fa r as I can remem ber. At the cl u b l evel, you will get l i nes with . . 'LJ c6 .

{Chapter 5) most frequently, and these are fun to play for Wh ite.

Th i s i s the most freq uently-met set-up at the c l u b l evel, as

. . .

'd c6 i s a very n atu ral

move. H owever, the analysi s i n Chapter 5 shows th at Black does not h ave a n easy game at a l l . I n the Grunfeld structures , a tem po matters m uch more and White has excel l ent chances of getti ng an advantage.

Black may decide to not ca ptu re on d4, but rather keep the tens ion i n the centre with moves l i ke 5 . . JJ. f5, 5 . . . JJ. g4 or most i m portantly 5 . . . e6. The most i mportant .

part of th i s cha pter is 5 . . . e6 6.c4 dx4, after wh ich I suggest the active move 7 . 'd e5. Th i s l i ne wi l l net you m a ny wi n s, as it i s very tricky for Black to play aga i n st it.

ChaP-ter z: 2 � f6 3:13 e6 ...

F i rst of a l l , it i s probably usefu l to defi ne wh at the 'Catalan' actually is. Th e Catalan i nvolves the moves d2-d4, c2-c4 and g2-g3 on th e white s ide, wh i le Black plays . . . d 7-d 5, . . . e7-e6, . . . 'd f6 and em phasizes the devel opment of the ki ngs ide with moves l'k 1 e

. ..

'7' �.

•

e? an d . . o-o. .

An early combination of the moves . . . e7-e6 and . . . c7-c5 i n stead would l ead to the Reversed G ru nfeld (Ch a pters 4-6) or even the Tarrasch (Cha pter 3) . A way to even transpose out of Pa rt I of th e book i s an early . . . b7-b6, wh ich leads to Chapter 22 o r 2 3 o n the Q ueen 's I n d i a n . I t sou nds complicated at fi rst, but you wi l l j u st play the

normal system moves of castli ng and c2-4 i n any case. N ow, with 4. J;, g2, we are delaying the move c2-4 a nd avoid many com plex l i nes i n the process, most n ota bly 4.c4 dxc4, which requ i res a significant effort to l ea rn . Aga i n , please n ote that we are only delayi ng c2-4 for move order reasons - thi s move i s fi rmly o n o u r agend a . N ow Black has many possible set- u ps . The good news i s that we a re go ing to play o-o and c2-c4 next aga i n st a l l of th em, u n less they stop us by playi ng . . . b7-b5 (Cha pter 10) . Ch apter 7 deals with the si del i nes that B lack may play, mostly i nvolving an early . . :Ji. d6, . . . 'd bd7 and . . . c7-c6. .

i.

With 6 . . . c6 or 6 . 'll bd7, Bl ack chooses the Closed Catalan, avoiding the capture on . .

C4· The captu re on C4 lead s to the Open Catalan, wh ich is d i scu ssed in C ha pter 9 .

The Closed Catalan i s very frequently seen a t the c l u b level, becau se Black often does not have a s pecific preparation for the Catalan, but wi l l rather play what they had i ntended to play against a conventional Queen's Gam bit. The good news for us is that the Closed Catalan is a d ifficult l i ne to play for Black. M any obvio u s a p­ proaches l ead to very una ppea l i n g positions for Black and even the best l i nes from Black's poi nt of view are a lot easier for White to hand le.

l l l

After 6 . dx4, we h ave reached the main l i ne of the Catalan at the profes sional . .

level. Black captu res the pawn, bei ng ready to return it at a proper moment. I sug­ gest playing White's m a i n reply 7. � c2, wh ich wi l l regai n the pawn quickly i n al­ most all cases. Black has reasonable chances to eq u a l i ze, but it i s not easy to do and there are many ways for B l ack to go wrong.

l l l

Th i s i s one of Black's ideas to exploit o u r a pproach of delayi ng c2-4. With the early . .. b7-b5, Bl ack stops c2-4 for the moment and gai n s space on the q ueen side. Th i s set-up has been recom mended in some popul a r books and s hou ld be taken seriou sly. It is not a line somebody wou l d j u st thi n k of over the boa rd, but rather the prod uct of home preparation, most l i kely helped by the repertoi re books. We therefore should have somethi ng prepa red, and I bel ieve that Black's game i s not easy to conduct after my recommendation of playi ng a q u ick a2-a4.

Com b i n i n g . . . d7-d5 and . . . ,JJ. f5 i s a very popular set- u p fo r B l ack. One point to take note of is that Black has many move orders to enter a . . . ;, f5 set-up. For exam ple, it i s very com mon for Black to sta rt with

J.

.

. c6, followed by

. ..

•r£. f5. They also m ay play

i .d4 ds 2. 'd f3 c6 and . . 1J. fs next. Aga i n st th i s l i ne, we need to a lter our move order .

s l i ghtly and avoid the early o-o, but s h ould play c2-c4 one move ea rlier tha n usual. Please see Chapter 1 1 for d eta i l s on this s u btle point.

Black's most popular set- u p con nected with . Ji, fs i s the pawn triangle with c6/d5/ . .

e6, wh ich leads to the main l i ne of the

...

}J. fs-com plex. Here, Black's m a i n moves

a re 6 . . . Ji, e?, 6 . . . h6 or 6 . . . ·'21 bd7. Th ey are an swered with the same seq uence of moves: 7. � b3

•1.

b6 8.c5 "'xb3 9.axbJ. Th i s q ueen less middlegame leads to a fasci­

nating struggle. Th i s structu re is the rea son why om itti ng castl i ng makes sense. I bel ieve th at s u perior knowledge of these positions wi l l pose Black some problems that a re not easy to solve. Plea se see Chapter 1 2 for more deta i l s .

Th i s i s a very natural development scheme fo r Black and so mewh at s i m i lar i n na­ tu re to

� fs set-ups at fi rst sight. B lack may play an early

. . . •

move orders. S i m i l a r to the

. ..

� g4 with various

... •

$;. fs set-ups, Black often plays a n ea rly . . . c7-c6 and

on ly then develops the b i shop, for exam ple, J c6 and ..

. . .

JJ. g4 next i s a com mon .

move order. We use the same general approach a s aga i nst the ea rly

. . .

JJ. fs set-ups, playi ng

c2-4 before castli ng. The most com mon and natu ral m ove sequence of i .d4 ds

2. 'll f3 'd f6 3.g3 }i, g4 4. �. g2 c6 5.c4 i s d i scussed i n the next chapter, wh i le Chapter 1 3 d i scu sses less frequently seen move orders and idea s by Black.

Th i s i s the most com mon ly-seen scen ario after a n early .. §1. S4 by Black. Black .

combi nes . . . � g4 with an early . . 'd f6, . . . c7-c6 and most of the time . . . e7-e6 soon .

after. Th is is aga i n com pa rable to the main l ine of the . Ji, fs set-up. A difference ..

compared to

.

. � fs, however, i s the versati l i ty of the middlegames. Th e .

. . . :Ji. fs-com plex i s a l l abo ut playing a n early � b3, wh i l e the . .. �. g4- l i nes have some more variety. I thi n k th at Bl ack has a solid pos ition, but there are sti l l many pitfa l l s a n d ideas that we can try. A s u rprisi ngly d a n gero u s a pproach is to take o n d 5 i n many l i nes - please see Chapter 1 4 fo r more i nformation .

Black starts with 1.d4 ds, but it transposes out of Part A I 'd l i ke to mention some less com m on move o rders that sta rt with l .d4 d s, but actually transpose i nto other parts of the book. Ld4 ds 2. 'd f3 g6? ! - th i s is a n i m preci se move that should be exploited by J.c4. Th i s l i ne i s covered i n Chapter 2 1 via a different move order. l .d4 d s 2. 'd f3 '21 f6 J,g3 g6 - th i s wi l l transpose i nto one of th e G ru nfeld Chapters (1 7-1 9) . 1 .d4 d s 2 . 'd f3 e 6 J,g3 fs or 1 .d4 d s 2. 'd f3 c6 3.g3 e6 4. j;; g2 fs - th i s tra nsposes i nto a D utch Stonewa l l (Chapter 32) . l .d4 d s 2. -i'.J f3 'd f6 3.g3 b6 - this wi l l very l i kely tra n s pose to the Queen's I nd ia n after a seq uence l i ke 4. j;; g2 j;; b 7 5.0-0 e6 6.c4 ,1;. e7 7.cxd5 exd 5 8 . 'd c 3 o-o 9. d es '

wh ich i s covered i n Chapter 23-

,

CHAPTER 1

Anti-Chigorin: 2

...

�cG

1.d4 ds 2. �f3 �c6

Thi s move sign a l s Black's i ntention to play a Ch i gorin Defence to the Queen's Gambit. We w i l l not oblige and play 3-g3, wh ich l eads to an i nterest i n g and at ti mes rather sharp fight if Bl ack gets aggres sive ea rly on. 3·13

Thi s fits perfectly with our general repertoi re a pproach and happen s to be an

excel l ent move, rega rdless of general concept con s i derations. After J.g3, Black u su­ ally plays either J. . $; g4 or 3 . . . �. fs, covered u nder A and B below. Someti mes, .

B lack d ecides to play J. .. d f6 fi rst. After 4. ;Ji, g2, Black has a choice of possible '

transposition s: i f he plays 4 . . �. g4 or 4 . .

...

�. fs, we wi l l tra n s pose i nto l i nes A or B.

•

After 4 ... e6, we reach a l i ne that i s covered i n Chapter 7 on Cata l a n sideli nes vi a 1 .d4 d s 2. 'd f3 'LJ f6 J.g3 e6 4 . r£, g2 'd c6. .

A) 3 . A g4 .

.

Th i s l i ne often lead s to sharp play. Black q u ite freq uently elects to castle q ueen side, a n uncommon sight i n i .d4 d s open i ngs.

4. A 12 N ow, Black most of the time pl ays for q ueens ide castl i n g with 4 . . . � d 7 ( l i n e Al ) . I n­ stead 4. . . e6 (A2) , 4 . . 'd f6 (A3) and 4. . �. xf3 (A4) are calmer options, usually lead­ .

. .

i ng to an ed ge (or more) for White.

Al ) 4••• ff d7 Th i s i s the most popu l a r move for B l ack. It i s the most princi pled one, goi ng for ...o-o-o and, on a very good d ay, checkm ate Wh ite i n caveman style with . . . h5-h4,

. . � h3 etc. It is advi sable to study th i s l i ne ca refu l ly, beca use Black's attacking i d ea .

m i ght be crude, but it i s also very dangerous if you a re careless. Fortunately, White i s a lot q u i cker if you play the aggressive ideas s uggested i n this repertoi re.

5.0-0 Th i s i s the most aggressive move, preparing to play c2-c4 next. Th e l i nes wi l l be

messy most of the ti me, but they are good for White. I bel i eve th i s whole com plex i s a case of 'fight fi re with fi re'. Black i nitiated h and-to-hand combat, but we a re well-eq u i pped for the ens u i ng com pl icati ons.

Al l) 5

...

0-0-0

6.C4 Th i s i s according to our basic set-u p actually, but it i s not so obvious th at it i ndeed works here. Black has some pressure on the d-fi l e after q ueen side castl i ng. As we wi l l see, White opts for aggress ive cou ntermea s u res against Black's attacki ng

ideas.

An 1) 6 dxC4 ...

Th i s was the move that I was afra id of before I had a c l oser loo k at it. After some deeper a n alys i s , I am s u re th at Wh ite is s u bsta ntially better here as wel l . But one th i n g i s clea r: it is not an i ntu itive so l ution, so it's not easy to co me up with it over the board . Fortun ately, the most critica l po int is right now, on move remember the key idea, the rest is possi ble to work out over the board . 1· � bd2

7.

O nce you

Th i s i s s u rprisi ngly strong. I don't see a ful ly sati sfactory sol ution for Black aga i n st it. We need to check some l i nes to better u nderstand th e benefits of 7. 'Ll bd2. 7 �xd4 ••.

By fa r the most l i kely move to be played . 1 ) Th e d i rect central cou nterstri ke 7 . . . e5 fa i l s to i m press: 8.dxe5 :ii, xf3 9 .exf3 'Ll xe5 10.f4 'd c6 1 1 . 'l!':¥ a4, with a strong attack for White; 2) 7 .. .f6 covers th e es-sq uare and prepares the pawn push: 8. '21 xc4 es g. � a4 e4 {9 . . . exd4 10.b4 {don 't waste a ny time with s low moves !) 1 0 . ...�. xb4 1 1 . � bi , and we open the b-file aga i n st Black's ki ng) 1 0.d5 {the next blow, forcing the black q ueen to d s)

lO .

. .

� xd 5 1 i . '2l e3 �e6 1 2 . '2l xg4 exf3 l J ,� xf3 B. d4 1 4. � b3 � xb3 1 5.axb3

.�. d6 1 6. 'd e3- Black i s s u bstantially worse, but man aged to avoid i m med iate d efeat in Petenyi-Tari, Antalya 20 1 7. 8.�xd4 ffxd4 9· t! 34 We are j u st playi ng for the attack on Black's ki ng. Defend i ng aga i n st our on s l a ught i s not easy at all. 9···C3 Th i s fa i ls, but not to s i m ple means. 1) g . . j;; d] 1 0. � C2 .�. bs .

i s met by a very attractive refutation : 1 1 .a4 j), a6 1 2 . b4 (a great move!} 1 2 . . . � xa 1 l J b5. Th e bishop on a6 won 't g o anywhere. Th i s mea n s that w e have effectively only s acrificed an exchange for a m u rderous attack. I ' l l show a n ice l i n e to i l l u strate the possi bi l ities: 1 3 . . . � xb5 1 4.axb5 � a5 1 5. 'd xc4 fgxb5 1 6 �J4. .

•

Th i s looks a bit l i ke some game from the i gth centu ry. Black never got around to develop his ki ngside and i s com pletely l ost. Some more move s ? 1 6 . . . i! d4 i 7. 'd es 'd h 6 1 8. g cl c6 i g . 'El xc6, and White cra shes th rough ; 2 ) g . 'd f6 io .e3 '@'c5 i 1 .b4 (aga i n thi s move. We a re open i ng up the position very . .

q u ickly aga i nst Black's ki ng} 1 1 . . . cxb3 1 2 . 'll xb3 � b6 1 3- .�. b2, and Black won 't s u r­ vive th i s attack.

1 0. � C4 A xe2

H ave we go n e too far? No, th i s pos ition i s actually a l ready wi n n i ng with prec i se play!

1 1 . - b5 The ki l ler move.

1 1 ...

XC4 1 2.

xb7+ rn d7 1 3.b3 �d3 1 4. A �

d6

Black need s to cover c6.

1 5. A a3 20. g d3

b6 16. g fd1 + A xd1 1 7. g xd1+ ltle6 18. g xd8

xb7 19. Axb7 � h6

'

'

Wh ite wi l l wi n a l l the q ueen side pawns a nd the game. This i s a very long l ine and it is good to know it, but it's not strictly n ecessa ry. I n the l i nes after 5.0-0 o-o-o 6.c4 dxc4 7. 'd bd2, Wh ite has a very dangerous attack and th i s attack wi l l be much eas­ ier to cond uct than it i s for Black to d efend. If you forget some d eta i l of th i s anal­ ysi s , it wo n't mean that you wi l l lose the game. Black has a m uch harder task to solve - yo u need to keep i n mind th at he does n ot know the l i nes befo rehand. I f h e d i d , h e wou l d n 't h ave entered them i n the fi rst pl ace!

A112) 6...e6

l l l

7.c5 Th i s move has never been pl ayed i n

Megabase 2019,

but it i s strong and gives

Wh ite a dangerous attack. The i dea i s to play b2-b4 next, even as a pawn sacrifice. We don't h ave a ny game examples, so I wi l l examine some sensi ble looki ng moves.

7... h5 Th i s i s probably the most l i kely move to be played. 1 ) 7 . . . f6 (Black covers es and prepares futu re . . . e6-e5 or . . . g7-g5 advances) 8.b4 {don't wa ste time with preparing th i s move. We wi l l get an excellent position after B lack ta kes - a n d he has l ittl e choice) 8 . . . '2i xb4 9 . '2i c3 'd e] 10. B. b1 '2i bc6 l l . � a4

(thi s flows very natural ly. J ust getting pieces near the black king i s a good plan) 1 1 . . . � b8 1 2. B. b3 gs (th i s i s not best, but it shows how cl ose Black i s to disaster) 1 3. '2i xg5 fxg5 14. j;; xg5 ·�· a8 1 5. B. fb1 ;;; b8 1 6 .e4. White has a wi n n i ng attack. We have A LL the pieces i n the attack, which i s i m possible to with stand. There a re many attractive l i nes to fi n i s h the game from here, one bei ng the followi ng: 1 6 ... dxe4 1 7 . JJ. xe7 j;; xe7 1 8. g xe4. N ow, 1 9 . B. xb7 is the d eadly threat. Black has no defence aga i n st it; 2) 7 . . . :£. e1. I dou bt th at this move wi l l be pl ayed by a human player, but it i s sug­ .

gested by the engines. It i s d i rected aga i n st the b2-b4 idea. 8. g e3 (you should avoid 8.b4 j;; xf3 9.exf3 'd xd4! , showi ng th e idea of 7 . . JJ. e1) 8 . . :£. f6 9 . 'd bd2 {th i s .

.

.

slower approach o f su ppo rti ng the centre i s enough fo r some adva ntage. Black can't avoid b2-b4 in the long run anyway)

g . . 'd ge7 .

lo.h3 � xf3 1 1 . '.E.Jxf3 'd fs

1 2 . � d2, and White is fi n a l ly ready fo r the b2-b4 idea. Black n eeded to lose a lot of ti me to prevent the qu ick b2-b4, and d i d n 't get an attack goi n g i n th e fi rst place. Wh ite's b2-b4-b5 wi l l be on the board soon and B l ack has no c l ea r cou nterplay. Of co urse Wh ite now plays

8.b4 Axf3 More or less forced. We were th reate n i n g b4-bS and '21 es.

9.exf3 Th i s move and 9 . JJ. xf3 are of about equ a l strength.

9

..

. � xb4

Black wa nts a pawn for h i s m i sery - very u nd erstandable. After 9 . . e5 1 0. � a4, Wh ite is j u st far too quick with th e attack. The relatively best .

l ine th at I can see for Black i s sti l l terri ble for h i m : lo . . . @ b8 l i .dxe5 'o xe5 1 2. '&xd7 'd xd7 1 3

.

r£. b2. Black i s a l most lost fro m a strategic poi nt of view. We have strong

•

bishops, m uch more space and natural plans l i ke 'd b1 -d2-b3-d4.

1 0. � c3 � c6 1 1 .

a4

O u r plan i s the s i m ple � b1 and � b5.

11 e5 1 2. g b1 •••

Sti l l th i s move! I don't see how Black saves h i m self. I ' l l show two attractive l i nes, but won 't present a l l pos s i bl e moves. I f you h ave some free time, it's fu n to look at more of these l i nes!

1 2... ia xd4 1 2 . . . exd4. I did not have th e patience to wait, but I guess th i s i s probably ' mate i n x' territory ! I am s u re it wi n s q u ickly at least: l 3- � b5 b6 1 4. cxb6 axb6 l 5. '& a6+ ·�· b8 1 6 . �. f4 (th reatening 1 7. B. xb6#!) 1 6 . . . �. d 6 1 7. }J. h3, and it's goi ng to be over soo n ! .

.

I n fact, now m y engine sh ows ' M ate i n l ]', which seem s l i ke a lot of moves, given how bad Black's position looks .

1 3 . ftxa7 ftc6 1 4. A h3+ ia e6 1 5. A gs A e7 1 6. it) � dx� 1 7. A xe6+ ftxe6 1 8. fta8+ md7 19. g fd1 + m e& 20. Bxd8+ A xd8 21 . g xd8# I got a bit carried away with th i s l i ne, but it's fun ! Th i s whole con cept with b2-b4 looks great for Wh ite and makes the whole l ine look very d u b i ous fo r Black.

A1 2) 5 ... A h3

The only serious alternative to . .o-o-o, and pro bably the better move. We sti ll get a .

comfortable advantage, though.

6.C4 A :xg2 7. mx12 e6 8.

-

a4 � ffi

8 . . 0-0-0 9.c5. Please take note of this idea. We a re prepa ring a q u ick b2-b4-b5 to .

get a dangerous attack. We play i n a very s i m i la r way aga i n st 5 . . 0-0-0 6.c4 e6 with .

7.c5!. 9 . �C3

A e7 10. A gs

Wh ite i s s l ightly better h ere. We have more space and Bl ack i s sti l l not fu l ly organized.

A good plan i s to go .§. fd 1 next, i ntend i ng 'd es.

Ai3) 5... h5 If Black has these kind of plans, he usually castles q ueenside fi rst. Sti l l , I 'd l i ke to know what to do aga i n st the caveman approach.

6.C4 Stri ke i n the centre and play c2-c4 aga i n st d s - the usual reci pe. I ' l l show some l i nes that feature key motifs .

6...e6 7 . � C3 N ote th at 7 . � a4 does n ot work, d u e to 7 . . g xf3 8 . �, xf3 '.21 xd4. This i s possi ble be­ .

.

cau se B l ack has not castled yet and a7 is sti l l d efended.

7 . 0-0-0 .

.

B lack has the alternative 7. . . dxc4.

8.bl There are some oth er good moves, such as 8. � a4 or 8. 'd es. But the most ag­ gressive move i s most fitting to the •fight fi re with fi re' attitud e you need to d i s play aga i n st early attacks such a s 5 . . . h5. After 8.b3, B lack has some moves avail able, but no satisfactory one: 8 . .. Ji. xf3 (l et's have a look at th i s try to grab the d4-pawn) .

9 �. xf3 'r:lxd4 10 �. xb7 B. b8 1 1 �. g2 cxb3 1 2.axbl Wh ite has enormous press u re . •

. •

. •

on the q ueenside now and a clear adva ntage. I a m stopping here, because there i s n o clear m a i n l i n e from here and you need to cut i t at some point. We are a pawn down, but u se you r engines to explore a bit more if you have dou bts about the com pensati on, as it wi l l be helpfu l to better understa nd the dynam ics of these

position s.

8. fta4 m b8 1 ) 8 . . . 'd ge7 9 . 'd es (aga i n th is move i s very strong, probably even already win n i ng) 9 . 'd xe5 10. 'i?Mxa7 'll 5c6 1 1 . � a8+ 'd b8 12. 'd bs 'll ec6 1 3- �.f4, and Wh ite has a fan­ . .

tastic attack that shou ld win q u ickly; 2) 8 . . . dx4 9 . 'd es (we h ave seen this ki l l i n g idea before) 9 . . 'd xe5 1 0. � xa7 � xd4 .

1 1 . j;; xb7+ '�·d7 1 2. � xd4+. J ust one q u ick way to end the game after Black has blun­ dered with 8 . . . dxc4.

9.ocd5 exd5

l l

l

1 0. � xd5 A n i ce s hot!

1 0...

xd5

1 0 . ...�. xf3 l l . ,�.xf3 '. 2J e5 1 2. �xd7 '.d xf3+ l J.exf3 B. xd 7 14. '2lc3 _gxd4 1 5. ,�,f4 . White keeps a strong i n itiative even after the q ueen trade.

1 1 . � es Th i s wins i m med i ately fo r Wh ite.

Th i s i s a rather u n pri ncipled move, but sti l l a move you m ight meet aga i n st players who j u st play without any particular opening preparation.

5.0-0 �f6 When ever Black com bines an early . . �. g4 and .

.

. .

. 'll f6 in the Ch igori n-style l i nes,

yo u need to con s ider the reply :21 es. As we wi l l see, this motif is a key i n the fol­ lowi ng I i nes. The alternative 5 . .. h 5 doesn 't qu ite fit with 4. . . e6, but it is i m porta nt to not play ti m id ly aga i n st thi s early aggression. 6.c4 (always go for c2-c4, i ncreasing the pres­ sure on the centre) 6 . . . dxc4 7. � a4 � d7 8. 'd CJ. I 'd l i ke to show one very i mportant idea for these . . o-o-o li nes: 8 . 0-0-0. .

. .

l l l

Th i s move loses i m med iately. 9 . 'd es 'll xe5 10. �xa7, and Wh ite wins q u ickly. The key l i ne is 10 . . 'd c6 11. .

�

a8+ 'll b8 1 2. ,�. xb7 m ate!

6.C4 As usual: the d s-pawn n eeds to be attacked with c2-c4.

A21) 6 .. � e7 .

Black antici pates a possible 1i, gs, but neglects the control of the es-sq uare.

7· -t'} es As mentioned: a key idea fo r Wh ite.

7. A hs 8. -t'} c3 o-o 9.cxd5 -t'} xd5 ..

After 9 .. . exd 5 10. 'd xc6 bxc6 1 1 . � a4, B l ack i s aga i n sufferi n g with h i s pawn wea knesses. 1 o. � xc6 bxc6

1 1 . � 84 B lack is stuck with dou bled c-pawns and has no compensation fo r th i s structu ra l deficit.

A22) 6... � d6 7. � c3 o-o 8.cxd5 Wh ite gets some advantage by concrete pl ay.

1 ) 8 . . 'd xd5 9.h3 ,1'. h s 10.e4. Wh ite b u i l d s u p a nice pawn centre and Bl ack has l ittle .

cou nterpl ay; 2) 8 . . . exd 5

g.

j;; gs � e] (the d s-pawn was u nder pressure, so th i s pin h ad to be bro­

ken) 10. 'll es. Wh ite has a comforta ble advantage and wi ll damage Black's structu re with 'd xc6.

A3) 4••• � ffi Th i s pos ition i s reached surpri s i n gly often, given that White has s i m ple mea n s to gai n a su bsta ntial advantage.

5. � e5 A fs Here, Black may a l so play 5 . . . e6, but h e i s i n trouble after 6.c4. The re i s no adequate a ntidote to th e s i m ple '@' a4 idea. I 'd l i ke to mention that 6. -2l xg4 'd xg4 7.e4 i s also a lot better fo r Wh ite.

6.C4 e6 7. ft34 And Wh ite i s a lot better.

A4) 4··· A xf3 5. A xf3 � f6 Th i s approach was suggested by S i mon Wi l l ia m s i n h i s Chigori n . Black's idea is to get in a q u ick . . . e7-e5.

Chessbase DVD

o n the

6.C4 The most active move. I th i n k Black i s fi n e after someth ing slow l ike 6.o-o es.

6. e5 ..

The c ritical m ove, and i n the spi rit of the Chigo ri n . 1 ) 6 . . . dxc4 7. 'd c 3 � d7 (instead, 7 . . . e6 8 . j;; xc6+ bxc6 9 . wg a4 i s also better fo r Wh ite) 8 . d 5 'd es 9 �, g2 e6 10 �. f4 'd g6 l i .dxe6, and White opens u p the position .

•

.

•

for th e bi shop pai r; 2) 6 . . . e6 7. 'd c3, and now the captu re on C4 lead s to l i ne l above.

7.cxd5 � xd4 8. J\ g2 J\ b4+ 9. � c3

H ere, 9 . ,:£, d2 ,:£, xd2+ 10. "21 xd2 'd xd5 1 1 .e3 is a l so fi ne and l eads to a n ed ge. 9··· � xd5

10 . .\\ d2

Th i s pawn sacrifice i s only tem pora ry.

1 0... c6 1 1 . � xd5 A xd2+ 1 2.

xd2 cxd5 13.e3 � e6 14. A xd5

Wh ite i s s l ightly better afte r the capture on f3, but th i s stil l looks a lot more rel i a ble for B l ack than the l i nes with 0-0-0.

a) 3... A fs

l l. l

Com pared to 3 . �; g4, th i s i s the more con servative a pproach by B lack. A typical . .

idea is to follow u p with . . . 'd b4, tryi ng to m i s place the wh ite kn ight on aJ

4. $\ g2 e1 ) 4... � b4 5. � a3 e6 6.o-o h6 B lack has the alternative 6 . . . .�. e]. 7. "21 es (we play i n the same way after 6 . . . h 6 . Wh ite's i dea i s t o kick th e kn ight with c2-c3 and force i t to a6) 7 . . . f6 8 . 'd f3. I n h i s N ew I n Chess Yearbook 128 Su rvey, G M Gonda recommends 8.g4, but I a m not convi nced a bout th i s l i ne. After the s i m p l e retreat, I am h appy with White's posi­ tio n , a s . . . f7-f6 is not a useful move for Black. We may try to play for e2-e4 ( 'll d2 first) or harass the bishop with 'd h4.

7. � e5 Looki ng at the c6-sq u a re. We'd l i ke to play c2-c3 and fo rce the a n noyi n g kn ight to a6.

7... � f6 8.C3 � a6 9.

b3

c8 1 0.C4

Wh ite enjoys a n ice i n iti ative on the queen s ide. };. f4 and g ac1 a re u sefu l moves to conti n ue with.

82) 4...e6 5.0-0 tO b4 U s u a l ly, B lack starts with 4

. . .

'd b4, rathe r than goi n g 4 e6 fi rst. White may try to . . .

exploit that, b ut it i s u nclear if th i s i s better tha n j u st tra nsposi ng with 6. 'd a3

-

I

recommend the tra n s pos iton.

6. -t) a3 And t h i s position we have exa m ined via the 4 . ' .d b4 move order. .

.

e3) 4. -t) f6 5.0-0 e6 ..

B lack did not bother with the kn i ght sortie . . :21 b4, but now we have a n easy game .

with standard moves.

6.C4 e31 ) 6 §J. e1 7. -t) C3 o-o 8. -t) es ...

B lack i s u nder some press u re here, and Wh ite has easy moves to fol low u p with . N ote that you don't need to take o n c6 qu ickly 'k f4 and B. c1 are usefu l moves to .

play fi rst.

832) 6... dXC4

•

l l

l l l

7. � bd2 I l i ke th i s s i m ple sol ution . We rega i n the pawn with a nice central advantage. Black can 't hold the c4-pawn or grab the d4-pawn , as we wi l l see.

7. b5 ..

A terri ble move, but l et's check why trying to h old on to the pawn fa i l s . After 7 . . 'd xd4 8 . 'd xd4 � xd4 9 . ;ii. xb7 � b 8 .

a n d real i stic cha nces of a qu ick win .

8.34 a6 9. � h4 And Bl ack is lost on move 9 .

1 0 . §i.

c6+, Wh ite h a s a h uge adva ntage

Conclusion O u r overa l l a pproach to play g2-g3 fi rst a n d opt for a later c2-c4 pawn push is an excel l ent and very dangerous l i ne aga i n st B lack's attem pt to reach a C h i gori n Queens's G a mbit. Th e l i nes with to them.

. . .

:£. g4 wi l l get rather sharp, so pay extra attention

.

CHAPTER 2

Rare lines: 2 c5 ...

1 .d4 ds 2. � f3 c5

Th i s i s an i nteresting move order for Black that I h ave played myself as a s u rprise weapon. It is not played very freq uently, but is very relevant for our repertoi re, as the usual g2-g3-ba sed rec i pe is so mewhat problematic to play.

3·C4 I recommend playing the main l i ne aga i n st 2 . . . c5 and avoi d i n g 3-83- I tried to make

it wo rk, but there is one specific l i ne that made me decide aga i n st it. I need to emphasize that I don't th i n k Black i s better after ].g3, but it is not a l i ne that I l i ke to recom m end i n a repertoi re l i ke th i s . Let's briefly check: the only problem l i ne i s ].g3 cxd4 4. g g2 � a5+! - p l ease also com pare with 1 .d4 ds 2. 'd f3 g6 J.C4 'd f6 4.cxd 5 iJ. g7 5. � a4+ !, wh ich i s pa rt of our reperto i re fo r Wh ite (see Chapter 2 1 ) . N ow after 4 ... � a5+ ! , we need to sacrifice a pawn . I checked 5.c3 and 5. g d2 '!¥& b6 6.c]. I n both cases, I th i n k White has enough for the pawn , but I am not very keen on reco m m en d i n g centra l pawn sacrifices. Giving away a central pawn is a very critical d eci sion and not for everyone. G iven th at 3-C4 is actu a l ly not th at much of an effo rt to study, and s l i ghtly better for Wh ite, I decided to go for th i s approach. I bel ieve it is actua l ly s i m pler i n th i s case to play the m a i n l i ne, a s you don't place th e burden of any early pawn sacrifice on yo urself. Th at bei ng said, feel free to explore the gam b it l i n es mentioned: they are fu n to analyse. N ow after J.c4, Black most of the ti me plays 3 . . . e61 which lead s to the Tarra sch De­ fence. Th i s i s covered i n Chapter J. We need to check Black's alternatives on move th ree. Black may ta ke the pawn on d4 or c41 which i s covered under A and B.

A) 3 . cxd4 4.cxd5 .

.

Al) 4· ·· � f6 Th i s position may also ari se via the less co mmon move order i .d4 d s 2 . 'd f3 c 5 3-C4

'd f6 4.cxd 5 cxd4.

5 · f) xd4 H ere, 5. �xd4 � xd 5 6. 'd c3 � xd4 7. 'd xd4 i s the most freq uently-played l i ne. As mentioned before, I h ave played th i s 2 . . . c5 va ri ation once as Black and d i d not feel too scared of th i s approach. One add itional issue fo r Wh ite is that Black has th ree different l in es on move seven - 7 . . . a6, 7 r£. d 7 and 7 . . . e5 - and each one req u i res a .. •

unique reply by White. I felt that 5. 'LJ xd4 i s also q uite d angerous and easier to han­ d le.

5 ··· f) xd5 Black may also play 5 . . . �xd 5 6. 'd c3 � a s 7. 'd b]. Th i s trans poses to Ld4 ds 2. 'a f3 C5 3-C4 cxd4 4.cxd5 � xd 5 5· 'LJ C3 � as 6. 'LJ xd4 'd f6 7. 'll b3.

6.�

Al l ) 6. 'il f6 7. A b5+ A d7 8. 8e2 ..

We a i m fo r swift development, trying to exp loit the open fi les q u i ckly.

8 . e5 ..

A rad ical attempt, but weaken i ng the l i ght squ a res i s ri s ky. 1 ) 8 . a6 9 . � xd7+ � xd7 1 o. 'd b3 e6 1 l.O-o. We wi 1 1 cont i n ue with moves I i ke 'd c3, . .

.�. f4 and putting the rooks on th e open fi les. Black does not have an ea sy defensive ta sk. N ote that . . . a7-a6 has weakened some crucial squares, i n pa rticular b6 of cou rse;

2) 8 . � b6 .

.

g.

:£. xd7+ 'd bxd7 10. 'd b3. We wi l l gai n time with ji, e3 and enjoy a u se­

•

ful i nitiative on the q ueenside.

9. � f5 Th i s m u st be critical . I nstead, 9 . 'd f3 was played by Anish G i ri aga i n st Peter Svid ler i n 20 1 7, but fs looks l i ke a m uch more tem pting s q uare.

9...g6 1 0. � h6 An odd square, but th i s knight i s extremely annoyi ng fo r Black. We are i n uncharted waters, and there a re many l i nes possi ble. I 'll show one that i s i nteresting: 1 0 . . . �a 5+ l 1 . 'd c3 g xb5 1 2 . '!Ylxb5+ 't¥Mxb5 1 J 'd xb5 \d a6 1 4.f3, and Black has some

problems dea l i ng with the active knights. A1 2)

6... it) b4

Th i s looks a bit more active for Black, rather than j u st retreati n g to f6, but Wh ite re­ ta i n s a comfortable edge here. Please note that B l ack is th reatening to ta ke on d4, so you can't j u st play 'any move'.

7· A bs+ A d1 7 . . . 'd 8c6 8.o-o es. Bl ack accepts a structural weakness, but there was no great sol ution ava i lable (th e pos ition after 8 .. . ;Ji, d7 9. -2\ f3 i s also qu ite u n comforta ble fo r Black. The kn ights a re sta n d i ng o n each other's toes a n d d evelopm ent i s bad) . 9.

'.2l xc6 bxc6

10.

Ji. a4, and White has an excel lent long-term ta rget on c6.

8. A C4 Avo i d i ng fu rther trades. Tem pting the bi shop to d 7 mostly took care of the ... �xd4 th reat.

8. .. it) 8c6 9. it) xc6 it) xc6 1 o.o-o e6 1 1 . � C3 A e1 12. A e3

And Wh ite enjoys a n ice advantage. We have more space and some options: play­ i ng on the open fi les i s a s i m p l e idea, wh i l e goi ng for fa-f4 and playing on the ki ng­ side seems even more d angerous.

A2) 4••• - xd5 Th i s looks a bit naive, but it i s not that bad for Bl ack. M a medyarov pl ayed it i n some rapid games, so you ca n 't j ust refute i t ea s i ly.

5 · � c3

as 6. � xd4 � ffi 7.13

Th i s i s the most cha l lengi ng move. The bi shop wi l l be wel l-placed on the long d i agon a l . We need to acknowledge that Black lost some ti me with the q ueen , but

the stru ctu re i s enti rely sym metrical . We need to prove that the more-active pieces mean someth i ng and pl ay very concretely.

7. e5 8. � b3 Bc7 9· A g5 ..

Th i s i s the most aggress ive move, tryi ng to wea ken the d 5-sq uare by captu ring on f6. There i s a l so the s i m ple idea of playing ,g cl soon, op posi n g th e bl ack q u een . 9

.

. A b4 .

l l i

B lack at l east makes s u re there i s no knight com i ng to d 5 soon.

1 0. � xffi

Avrukh recom mended playing 10. � cl here, but taking on f6 seems more powerfu l to me.

1 0 A xC3+ •..

B lack wants to avoid 1 0 gxf6 1 1 . B cl . . . .

1 1 .bxc3 gxf6 1 2. ftd2 Stockfi sh assesses th i s position as about eq ual, but I don't ever see Bl ack getti ng a safe king. O ne sample l i n e goes as follows:

12 . "c6 .

.

Th i s i s probably not the optimal defence, but otherwise Wh ite has easy moves l ike

.�. g2, o-o and then we'l l see where Black i ntends to pl ace the king. 13. g d1 M ate on d8!

13 . .0-0 .

14. 1l g1 It i s i m po rtant to keep i n m i nd that .;;. g 1 i s not a concession here at all. ,;£. g2 m ight be a u sefu l tem po a nd g3-g4, i nten d i n g .;;. g3, looks even sca ri er. B) 3 .dXC4 ..

Th i s position a l so freq uently arises via the Queen's Gambit Accepted : L d4 d s 2.c4 dxc4 3- 'lJ f3 c 5.

4.e4 Wh ite has some decent altern atives at t h i s point, i n partic u l a r 4.d5. Thi s is rather complicated tho ugh , a nd not clearly superior to 4.e41 which i s qu ite easy to play.

4...cxd4 5.

xd4

xd4 6. � xd4

l

Wh ite tries to prove th at the s u perior d evelopment co u nts fo r somethi ng. I bel ieve that Wh ite i nd eed reta i n s a s l ight advantage.

a1 ) 6 . A d7 7. A xC4 � c6 8. A e3 ..

N ow our bas ic set-up i s to play with fa-f3 and '21 d2 (ai m i ng for 'd C4 or '21 b3-C5 later) , keeping th e king in th e centre with � fa or � e2. We h ave some space adva n­ tage and cha nces to press o n th e q u een side.

8. �f6 9.f3 e6 1 0. � xc6 A xc6 1 1 . � d2 ..

A typical l ine. Wh ite i ntend s to conti nue with 'd bJ or Si, e2 followed by 'd c4 and has an easy, comfortable game.

B2) 6 ...a6 7. A xC4 es A rather rad ical approach that weakens d s and keeps the a2-g8 d i agonal wide open. It i s better to play . . . e7-e6, which would lead to s i m i la r positions as after 6 i n stead o f 6 . . . a 6 .

. . .

Ji. d 7

•

.l

8. � b3 I n stead , 8. 'd f3 a l so seems to be a bit better for Wh ite, but I th i n k it i s more l ogical to stay close to the main battleground on the q u eenside. I also l i ke to keep the op­ tion of coveri ng e4 with fa-f3, making the centre very stable.

8... � f6 g. � c3 A b4 1 0. A d2 The best reply, not m i nd i ng B l ack's idea of grabbing e4.

10

•••

A xC3 1 1 . A xC3 � x� 1 2. A xes

And we rega i n the pawn with a nice edge d u e to the bi shop pair.

Conclusion The rare l i nes J dxc4 and 3 cxd4 are not terri ble for Black, but White i s able to ..

. . .

mai nta i n at least a s m a l l adva ntage or some i n itiative.

CHAPTER 3

The Tarrasch Defence: 2 . c5 3.c4 eG .

.

1 .d4 ds 2. �f3 c5 3·C4 e6 Th i s i s the most pop u l a r move at th i s poi nt, tra n s posing to the Tarrasch Defence of the Queen's Gam bit. We don't m i nd th i s tra nsposition as the Ta rrasch can be reached via m u lti ple move orders of o u r repertoi re, for exa mple i .d4 ds 2. '21 f3 '.21 f6 3-83 e6 4 �, g2 c 5 .

•

4.cxd5 exd5 5.13

5.0-0 'd

c6 6.c4 .�, e] 7.cxd 5 exd5.

The fi anchetto i s the m a i n l i ne aga i n st the Ta rrasch Defen ce. It i s i m portant to understa nd that the Tarrasch i s more of a set- u p rather th a n a concrete stri ng of moves.

Black's

set-up

co nsists

of

the

moves

. . . d7-d 5/ . . . c7-c5/ . . . e7-e6/ . . . 'd f6/ . . . 'd c6/ . . . :B. e7 and . . .o-o. The parti cular move order is rather flexible - we wi l l see transpos itions to the Tarrasch from many chapters . The usual pawn structu re that we wi l l reach i s a black I sol ated Queen Pawn ( I Q P) . Bl ack enjoys easy development, but the pawn i s a long-term l i a b i l ity. The IQP wi l l ari se after Wh ite takes on c5 or B lack trades on d4. These two scenarios share the same struct u re, but req u i re a s l i ghtly d ifferent approach. N ow, Black mostly plays 5 ... 'd c6, but we also need to check a d iffe rent move order sta rti ng with 5 . . . 'd f6, i n wh ich Black delays . . . 'll c6 for a wh i le. Th i s scenario mostly occu rs when th e Tarrasch i s reached via tra n s position, for example after 1 .d4 d 5 2. 'd f3 'd f6 3.g3 e6 4. §i. g2 � e7 5.0-0 o-o 6.4 c5 7 .cxd 5 cxd 5.

Li ne A covers th e mostly-pl ayed version of th e Tarrasch with an early 'd c6, wh i l e l i ne B shows the altern ative a n d less popul a r version without 'd c6.

A) 5 'fi c6 6. A g2 'fi f6 ...

6 . . . c4 i s a n a m bitious idea that i s u sed i n some Ta rrasch l i nes, tryi ng to gai n space on the q ueenside. Th i s is a prematu re vers ion: 7.0-0 � b4 ( B lack may a l so play 7 . . . 'd f6 : 8. 'd e5 (a key idea to remem ber. Aga i n st a n early . . . c5-4, it is prom i s i ng to pressure the black pawn s with 'll e5 and b2-b3) 8 . . 1J, e7 .

g. 'd xc6

bxc6 1 0 . b3 cxb3

(B lack needs to accept an i nferior pawn structure) l l .axb3, with a comfortable game for Wh ite. 1', a3 will trade the bishop, exposing th e d ark-sq uare weaknesses, i n par­ ticular c5, even more) .

7 . . JJ. b4 l ooks a bit odd, but Bl ack antici pates 'd c3 and i nten d s to captu re on c3 at .

the right moment. As we will see, this will n ever material ize with the right respon se. 8.b3 (Wh ite may a l so play 8. 'a c3 h ere, wh ich a lso leads to some advantage. Th e l i nes a re somewhat tricky, though. O u r choice i s eas i er to learn and sti l l good fo r Wh ite) 8 . . . cxb3 (B lack ca n 't support t h e pawn o n c4 and has to take. Th e resu lting structu re is at least sl ightly better for Wh ite, as Bl ack has the potential weakness on

d s and Wh ite has useful pressure on the open fi les as wel l)

9 . W¥xb3 'd

ge7 10. 'd c3

o-o 1 1 . );. a3 (tryi ng to trade th i s bishop m akes sen se, a s the dark sq u a res i n Black's

camp a re rather weak)

l 1. .

.

a5 1 2 . ;;;. fcl . We h ave good pressure on the q u een side i n

th i s position. A n idea to take note o f i s playi ng e2-e3 to relocate the f3-kn ight. I t wou ld b e n i ce o n d 3 or f4, for exam ple.

7.0-0

Al ) 7... /J. e7 The main move by a m i le, but Black has tried many i nferior moves . I t's not

necessary to cover all of the m , but it i s u sefu l to know some ideas. I n my expe­ rience, it happens q uite often th at B l ack plays i nto the Tarrasch by accident, i n par­ ticular aga i n st our choice of move order. People who play L d4 d s 2.4 e6 3- :2) c3 c5 go for the Tarrasch i ntenti onally, but many pl ayers, in pa rticular at club level, play . . . c7-c5 i n combination with . . . d 7-d5 without rea l izing wh at they wi l l get on the boa rd . They wi l l often play a s u s pect l i ne that can be p u n i shed severely, so it's worth checki ng out some of these deviations.

8.dxc5 A xes I am not s u re wh at the motivation behi n d 8 . . . o-o is, to be ho nest. Bl ack i s i n trouble after the obvious

9 '£. e3, .

•

and we keep the pawn !

1 1 . � xd4. I see no com pensation for Black.

9·83

g . . 'Q g4 .

10. :Ji, d4 'd xd4

Th i s l i n e has become very popu lar i n recent years . Wh ite plans a n expa n sion on the q ueenside with b2-b4, forc i n g a com m itment by the c5-bishop. It is very i m po rta nt to understand that Wh ite is not a i mi ng for 'd bd2-b3-d4, but rath er wa nts to use the kn i ght on c3 to attack the weakness on ds. An additiona l poi nt is that g gs is sti ll possi ble, so you don't h ave to play .'Ji. b2 i n all cases . Wh ite has ach i eved excellent res u lts with this a pproac h , so it was a natu ral candidate for th i s repertoi re. An added bon u s is that Black's best reply is not obviou s at a l l . Routi ne moves q u ickly lead to very comfo rtable positions for Wh ite.

Al l ) 9··· � �

Th i s enjoys the best theoretical reputation, but i s n ot a n obvious move at a l l .

1 0. � fcfa I th i n k th i s straightfo rward move i s best. Wh ite ch a l l enges the i ntruder i m mediately and sta rts forcing play. After the altern ative 1 0. b4 g e] 1 1 . g b2 g f6, we see one idea of . . . 'd e4: the relocation of the bi shop. White might stil l be a bit better i n th i s l i ne, but I prefer the d i rect sol ution .

1 0 fs •..

Th i s looks l i ke Black's best bet. 1 ) 1 0 . . . 'd xd2 1 1 . 'd xd2 (1 i . W!'xd2 isn't bad either, but 1 1 . 'd xd 2 has an i nteresting

point I 'd l i ke to show) 1 1 . . . 0-0 1 2. b4 (12. 'll b3 j;, b6 1 3. JJ. xd 5 iJ. h 3 gives Bl ack good com pensation and s h ould be avoided) 1 2 . JJ. b6 ( 1 2 . . . j;, d4 1 3- g a2. We don't m i nd .

.

th i s m ove at all. It p repares JJ. b2, and the rook might be l i fted to d2 later) 1 3- 'd b3 � f6 1 4. g a2.

Th i s is the point I mentio ned . A set-u p with � d2 and j;, b2 is h i gh ly desirable and prepared with th i s elegant move. Wh ite has a n noying p ressure aga i nst the I QP; 2)

lo ...

j;, f5 1 1 . 'd xe4 JJ. xe4 1 2 . JJ. xe4 dxe4 1 J. gc2. i o . . . JJ, f5 allowed this seq uence,

givi ng Black a wea k pawn on e4. Wh ite is better now, for exa mple i n the following l i ne: i 3 . . . !¥Me7 1 4. 'll c3 e3 1 5. �. xe3 JJ. xe3 1 6 . '2l d 5, and Wh ite wins a pawn, because

Black can't take on fa n ow. 1 6 . . . i, xfa+ i 7. 1! xfa .

N ow the q u een h as no good square. I f the queen moves on the d-fi le, B. d1 is going to be devastati ng, and 17 ... � e5 1 8. B. f5 doesn 't h e l p either. 1 1 . � X�

I d i dn't fi nd anythi ng too clear after the more com plicated l i nes start i n g with 1 1 . 'll bJ The issue with 1 1 . 'd b3 is the line 1 1 . . . � b6 1 2. 'd c3

j;; e6 1 3- 'd a4 d4!, which

seem s satisfactory for B l ack. Fortunately, the captu re on e4 l eads to a small advan­ tage i n my opi n ion. 11 dx� • ••

The move l 1 . . .fxe4 i s too am bitious: 1 2. b4 ,�, b6 1 3. 'd c3 ,�, e6 1 4. 'd a4. We wi l l get the i m portant bi shop on b6, secu ri ng some advantage.

12.

xd8+ 'i) xd8 13. 'i) c3 A e6 14.14

A key part ofWhite's play. We should attack the pawn ch a i n i m med i ately.

14.. g6 1 5.gxfs gxf5 1 6. * f4 .

' '

I t h i n k Wh ite i s slightly better here. We h ave more active pos s i b i l ities, for exam ple on the queen side based on moves l i ke 'd bs, B. cl and b2-b4. Another i dea worth noting is playi ng '�· h 1 and conti n u i n g with fa-f3 next. That opens the l ong d i agon al

and gets u s c l oser to attacking the fs- pawn , which i s more exposed than the e2pawn . Black has many possible moves now, so I 'd l i ke to stop at th i s poi nt. It is a n i nteresting position to explore further, together with a h uman or s i l ico n partner.

A12) 9. .0-0 i o.b4 .

1 0 $\ b6 ••.

The more active bishop post. Com pared to th e l i ne with the ea rly . . . a7-a6 and . .

. ;;. a], Black i s savi ng a tem po, but the bi shop is fa r more exposed on b6, in pa r­

ticular to 'd a4 ideas. The 'd a4 plan i s yet anoth er argument i n favour of playi ng

the bl -kn ight to c3. B lack m ay also p l ay 10

. . .

§i. e1, wh ich looks a bit pass ive. We'll get a n ice advantage

without any problems: 1 1 . 'a c3 (aga i n , play th i s fi rst! 1 1 . .� b2 would al low . . . 'd e4 and

. . .

� f6. Th i s i s not the end of the world, but I 'd rather keep Black's pieces pas­

sive) l l .. . � e6 1 2. � b2 .S. c8 1 3. g c1 �d 7 14.e3 g fd8 1 5. 'a e2.

We keep d4 n i cely controlled and h ave 'Q f4 next - a very comfortable position for Wh ite.

1 1 . � c3 Playin g th i s fi rst keeps the ;t, gs option.

1 1 h6 . ••

1 1 . . .§. e8 1 2. ,£, gs (Black ignored the p i n , so we are happy to play th i s) 1 2 . . ,£, e6 .

.

1 3-bs (we need to play th i s fi rst. 1 J. j;; xf6 � xf6 14. '21 xd 5 g xd 5 i 5. �xd5 leads nowhere, d ue to 1 5 . . . .§. xe2) i3 . '21 as i4.e3 (secu ri ng the e-pawn ) . N ow, B l ack can't .

.

prevent the seq u ence starting with Q xf6 and he i s i n trouble.

1 2. A b2 g e8 13. -t') 84 JJ. c7 14. ll c1 With an excel lent position for Wh ite. Black i s passively pl aced and we have m u lti ple ideas to increase the p ress u re, such as 'd c5 or 'i!!t c2 to prepare � fd 1 .

A13) 9 . a6 1 0.b4 JJ. a7 1 1 . -i') C3 ..

l l i

As mentioned , we want to attack the I Q P d i rectly. It is best to play the knight now, i n stead of Ji. b2, and sti l l h ave the option to pin with 1i, gs. I n fact, B l ack need s to react to th i s th reat. 11 d4 •••

1 ) l l .. o-o 1 2. §1. gs. Black ignored Wh ite's idea and is in grave trouble now. Wh ite .

th reatens to take on f6 and d s, wi n n ing the central pawn . 1 2 . . . d4 l J. 'd e4. Black's kingside wi l l be s h attered now, giving White a clea r advantage; 2) 1 1 . . . h6 1 2. �. b2 (eventual ly, the b i shop settles on b2, but only after h aving pro­ voked the move . . . h7-h6) 12 . .

.

0-0

l J.e3 (n ow, the idea is to play 'll e2 next, followed

by 'a f4) 1 3-. . d4 (th i s princi pled move needs to be checked, of cou rse. After 1 3 . j;: fs 14. 'd e2, Wh ite has a n i ce advantage. 'd f4, � b3 and a rook to d1 are easy .

.

fol low-u p moves) 1 4. 'd xd4 'd xd4 l 5.exd4 .�. xd4 1 6 .

,•,

d2. White i s better here, be­

cause B l ack is not able to d evelop the c8-bishop easi ly.

1 2. 'fi a4 o-o 13. � b2

.l

Wh ite i s better as the d4-pawn i s rather weak after a potential 'd c5.

A14) 9 a5 . ..

Stopping b2-b4 once and for a l l , but wea kening the q ueenside beyond repa i r. Wh ite

i s better now with more th an one l i ne, but the one I s uggest seems very con­ vinci ng.

10. f!C2 � b6 After th e move 1 0 . . �. e], we get the fo l l owi ng: .

.

l l . B. d 1 o-o

1 2. 21 CJ. I know it

sou nds harsh, but t h i s is close to a wi n ni ng pos ition . White threatens e2-e4 al­ ready, and n either I nor the engi nes see a way for Black to mai ntain a playa ble posi­ tion.

n . � gs B lack has huge problems to keep ds. Let's check o ne l i ne.

n .. h6 1 2. Axf6 ftxffi 13. � c3 A e6 14. ftb3 ffd8 .

Sad , but it was a dou ble attack on b6 and ds.

1 5. � � g a6 1 6. g fd1

With a l a rge advantage for White.

A.2) 7 cxd4 . ..

Th i s capture i s premature, but a rather common occu rrence.

8. � xd4 Th i s position or the one after 8

. .

.

:�. e]

9 . 'd c 3

often a ri ses fro m d ifferent move or­

ders, e.g. L d4 'd f6 2. 'd f3 e6 }g3 c5 4. g g2 cxd4 5.0-0 'd c6 6. 'd xd4 d s 7.c4 g e] 8.cxd5 exd 5

9.

'd e}

A21 ) 8 JJ. e7 9· � c3 O·O ...

i o. A e3 Con s idered to be best here. White a l so scores wel l with alternatives li ke 10 . b3. Th e move to avo id i s 10. fi. gs, as thi s gives B l ack the opportun ity to play 1 0 . . . . h6, after which he has noth ing better than retu rn i n g to e3, givi ng Black th e usefu l . . . h 7-h 6 move. To com pare, we should have a brief look at the l i ne 1 .d4 d s 2. 'd f3 c5 J.C4 e6 4.cxd 5 exd 5 5.g3 'D c6 6. fi. g2 'Ll f6 7.0-0 fi. e] 8. 'D c3 ( I recommend dxc5 here) which is the trad iti onal main l i ne of the Tarrasch . H ere,

9. .

.

o-o 9 . �

gs,

cxd4 10. 'd xd4 h 6

1 1 . � e3 i s Bl ack's best reply. The ea rly capture o n d 4 bas ica l ly mea n s that Black i s

playi ng th i s mai n l i ne, but without the usefu l move . . . h7-h6. Th i s seems l i ke a rather m inor poi nt at fi rst, but closer i n spection shows that the conseq u ences are severe. One i mportant poi nt i s that . . . h7-h6 prevents a later j;; gs, p i n n i ng the kn i ght. Th i s could be releva nt i n particular after a ... g e8/ ... � f8 seq uen ce, wh ich is very com mon. Now, why does White play 9.

�. e3, a n gling for

9

.

9.

J;. gs i n the main l i n e then ? Why not

. . . cxd4 1 0. 'd xd4 ? The issue i s 9 . . . 4! , which gives Black a d e­

cent game. Back to the pos ition on the board. The b i shop move to e3 covers the d4-kn ight and helps to control the blockade sq uare. I s uggest aiming for a set-up with B. c1 / � b3 and B. fd 1 i n m ost cases, putti ng i m med iate pressu re on Bl ack's I Q P. Black now usually plays a com bination of th e moves . . . g e8, . . . �. f8 and . . . �. e6/g4, . . . � d7. I f .

yo u remem ber th e general set-up with g c 1 / � b3/ g fd 1 , you should b e fi ne. There i s one s ituation where � a4 i s even stronger, and we need to look at some s a m ple l i nes. 10 ji e8 •••

1 ) lO . . � e6 1 1 . g c1 'gd7 1 2. � b3 JJ. h3 1 3. B. fd 1 (the standard set-u p has been com­ .

pleted) 1 3 . . . g xg2 i 4. � xg2.

Th i s i s one of th e positions where Black wou l d love to have . . . h7-h6 a l ready played - j;; gs is an i m portant idea now, i ncreasing the pressure on the I QP; 2) 10 . . . 1J. S4 (against early . . . .©, g4 sorties, I recommend always playi ng h2-h3, which turns out to be u seful) 1 1 .h 3 j;; e6 1 2. B. c1 '!id7 l J. �· h2. The engines even prefer l J.g4, but the si m ple king move is fi ne. One idea that I 'd l i ke to show is the fol lowing: 1 3 . . . B. fe8 14.f4 B. ac8 1 5. � fa.

The idea i s to take on e6 and continue with e2-e4, open ing u p th e position fo r the bishop pair.

1 1 . Ji c1 Th i s u n iversally-usefu l move should be played fi rst before a ny other com m itment.

11

• ••

Am

An alternative i s 1 1 . . . j;; e6 1 2. � b3 � d7 ( 1 2 . . . 'd a s 1 3- � C2 'd C4 1 4. ,©, gs i s one l i ne where JJ. gs comes i n handy. We play E. fd 1 next, with enormou s pressure on the I Q P. Another i m portant idea is to play '21 f5 at the ri ght moment) 1 3- B. fd l . Aga i n , we have usefu l pres s u re aga i n st the I Q P.

1 2. fta4 Here, this move is even stronger than the u sual � bl

1 2... � d7 Th i s move i s Black's resou rce aga i n st � a4 i n the pos ition with the extra move . . . h 7-h6. Here, it fa i l s com p l etely d ue to a tactic. If . . 'JJ, d7 does not work, Bl ack i s .

short of a good reply.

1 3. � xd5 � xd5 1 4. A xd5 Wh ite j u st grabbed a pawn . The only move worth checking now i s i4 . . . 'll e1, but it fa i l s m i serably.

1 4... � e7

1 5. A xf7+ m xfJ 1 6.

b3+ m g6

After 1 6 . . . '� f6 1 7 . .;;. fd 1 , Wh ite's attack i s d ead ly, with '21 bs being the i m m ed i ate th reat.

17. � e6 A xe6 1 8.

xe6+

H ere's the d ifference of the h-pawn ! B lack does not h ave . '� h7 and gets check­ .

.

mated .

1 8 ... m hs 19.

·

fJ+ m g4 20.

f3+ � h3 21 .

·

hs#

It i s not com pletely i m possi ble to get that i n a game - fi ngers crossed !

A22) 8.. A cs .

Th i s looks more active than 8 . . ;Ji, e], but it has mu lti ple d rawbacks. .

9. � xc6 bxc6 10. 8C2 Th i s i s the most d i rect way to tackle 8 . � c5. Black can't move the bi shop aga i n as . .

c6 is u nprotected . 10 ftb6 11. � c3 •..

We are th reatening 1 2 . '21 a4 now. 11 /J. e1 12.e4 •••

With an excel l ent position for White. Note th at B lack ca n 't play 1 2 . . . d4 n ow: 1 3. -21 a4 � bs 14. B. d 1 , and d4 d rops because of 14 . . . c5 l 5.e5. Yes, it's a strong bi shop on g2 !

A23) 8 ... ft b6 9. � xc6 It looks l i ke we are helping Black with fixi ng the I Q P struct u re, but the res u lting c6/d5 form atio n i s sti l l weak and wi l l be attacked q uickly.

9. . bxc6 1o. � c3 IJ. e1 .

l l i l

1 1 .� Th i s i s even stronger than 1 1 . '21 a4, a s pl ayed i n the classic game Rubi nstei n-Salwe, Lodz 1 908. This is one of the games every player should study - R u b i n stei n ex­ ploited the black pawn and square weaknesses s uperbly.

1 1 dx� 12. � xe4 • ••

Wh ite i s better d u e to the su perior pawn structu re. Moves l i ke Y!M c2 and ,�, e3 are effective fol low-ups.

A3) 7 . A e6 ..

B lack delays the d evelopment of the kingside. The poi nt to remem ber about th i s a pproach is to not take o n c5 if Black i s a b l e to recapture with the bi shop from f8, savi ng a tempo o n the usual ;Ji. f8-e]Xc5 seq uence. I n other word s,

. . .

:Ji. e7 is the

move that sign al s we should ta ke on c5.

8. � C3 A31) 8 h6 ...

Taking the waiti ng game to the extreme. Thi s is a q u ite rare l i ne, but it is relevant to our normal approach of taki ng on c5 and playi ng a2-a3 and b2-b4 next. Th i s posi­ tion may a l so arise after 7 . . . h 6 8. 'll c3 §1. e6.

9.a3 g c8 Sti l l playi ng the tempo game with the bis hop on f8 . The 9 . c 4 adva nce does n ot wo rk wel l here: 10.b3 cxb3 1 1 . � xb3- N ow, t h e pressure . .

on b7 and d s i s very serious. Black actu ally has no reasonable move to d efen d b7.

1 0. � e3 C4 It was tough to sti l l wa it - c5 was attacked.

n . � es I n stead, 1 L b3 'd as! i s a l ot worse.

l i.

N ow Wh ite i s clearly better, as we have m u lti ple ideas that a re tough to defend

aga i n st. The tactical idea is 'd xc4, fo l l owed by d4-d5. Th i s opens up the ga me very favoura bly for the bi shops. Another dangerous plan is based on h2-h 3/fa-f4 and g3-g4, attacking on the ki ngside.

A32) 8.. Ji c8 .

B lack keeps waiti ng. After 8 . . . �. e?, we ta ke on c5, getting a good version of th e .

m a i n l i ne.

9. A gs Th i s i s very awkwa rd to meet fo r Black.

9... A e1 An other move for B lack i s 9 . h6, but after 1 0. g xf6 � xf6 l l .e4, Black wi l l wonder i f ..

delaying th e ki ngside developm ent paid off.

1 0.dxc5 O·O 1 0 . . �. xc5 1 1 . !Ji, xf6 �xf6 1 2. 2l xc4. Black may a l so play 7 . . a5, a wa itin g move, esta b l i s h i ng s u pport for a futu re kn i ght .

j u m p to b4: 8.cxd5 'll xd 5

9. 'll bs. A strong move! We use the weakened bs-square and have ideas with e2-e4 and j;; f4 next. White i s comforta bly better.

8. � es

Th i s i s one reason why 7. 'd a3 makes sense. The d-pawn remai n s protected now, compared to a s itu ation with a kn i ght on d 2 .

8. � e6 9.e3 ..

Wh ite bol sters th e centre and i ntends a set- u p with � e2 a nd B. d i . It's good to know that 9 . 'd xc6 bxc6 looks excel lent at fi rst s ight, but these pawn weaknesses a re not easy to exploit, d ue to the wrong position of the kn ight on a3 for this stru c­ tu re. Keeping the ten sion for the moment i s better.

9 . dXC4 .

.

The most G ru nfeld-l i ke solution i n th i s position, goi n g fo r activity.

1 o. � xc6 bxc6

1 1 . 1 C2 I n a d uel of two Russ i a n hopefuls for World Cham pion s h i p titles between Gory­ ach kina and Artemiev, played in S kopje 20 1 7, Wh ite chose 1 1 . � e2, which was also good for a n advantage. The engines s u ggest 1 1 . !Wc21 which makes even more sense to me. We will w i n at least one of the c-pawns and the structu re on th e bl ack q ueenside rem a i n s weak.

Conclusion The theo retica l ly most challenging l i ne in t h i s chapter is C 1 1 after which we need to be preci se to retai n a small p u l l . Other sideli nes a re not convincing for Black, but

we s h ould be aware of the early . . . c7-c6 ideas (play b2-b3 fi rst, then c2-4) and h ave a look at the rare, but tricky l i ne A .

CHAPTER 1 8

Griinfeld: 3. . . d5 4. it g2 .It g] 5.0-0

o-o

6.c4 dxc4

1 .d4 � f6 2. � f3 g6 3.g3 ds 4. A g2 A 17 5.0-0 o-o 6.C4 dxC4

Black i s not able to hold th is pawn . We wi l l win it back q u ickly. Bl ack's m a i n idea with th e capture is to open up the position and attack th e d4-pawn either with piece press u re ( . . . ".2! c6) or with a q u ick . . . c7-c5.

7. � a3

The way to get the pawn back safely. H ere, Wh ite has no other decent alternative, so let's play the wel l-esta b l i sh ed main l i ne. N ow, Bl ack has a fu ndamental choice regard ing the ca ptu red pawn . H e can either let Wh ite ta ke on c4 o r push the pawn to c3, provoking bxc3.

A) 7· · ·C3 8.bxc3 c5

Black has retu rned the pawn on c3 and now attacks our central pawn . One key idea fo r Black is to u se the wea kened c4-sq uare. I n many l i n es after the trad itiona l main move 9 .e3, B lack plays idea s l i ke . 'd f6-d 5-b6 and . . 'd as to make use of th i s . .

.

sq u are. I am recommend i ng a more recent idea that looks to be prom i s i n g for Wh ite.

9. 1l e1 Th i s i s fashiona ble at the moment, and for good reason . Wh ite i ntends to play e2-e4 i n one move and occu py the centre with th e idea l pawn duo.

9. 'i) c6 ..

The most straightforward and most popu l a r move. The kn ight i s clearly pl aced best on c6, and th erefore it is played fi rst. l)

g..

.

� a 5. BI ack i s tern pted to q u ickly play the rook to d8, but th i s does n ot work

out a l l that wel l : i o. g b2 B. d 8 1 i .e4 'd c6

1 2 . � bl Wh ite is j u st better here, with a huge centre and easy play ahead. We h ave d c4 com i ng, and p u s h i ng the d-pawn is on th e agenda as wel l ;

'

2 ) 9 . . . 'd d s 1 0 . � b2 'd c 6 1 i .e4. I decided to cover th i s l i n e via the move order 9 . . '21 c6 10. j;; b2 '21 ds 1 i .e4. .

10. A b2 Al ) 1 0... . b6 Th i s l ooks n at u ral and i s the most pop u l a r move by fa r.

1 1 . � C4

a6 12. � cd2

Wh ite has a l so tried 1 2. 'd ce5 and th i s i s i nd eed a fine alternative. I prefer 1 2. d cd 2 '

though . It i s more cons i stent with the plan to i n sta l l a broad centre.

12 g d8 •••

B lack has tried the pawn sacrifice 1 2 . . . e5, but it i s not fu l ly correct: 1 3- 'a xes 'tJ xe5 1 4.dxe5 'd g4 1 5>2i e4 (th i s cou nterattack i s th e right recipe a ga i n st 1 2 . . . e5. Please avoid the greedy 1 5.f4 'd e3, wh ich i s awfu l for Wh ite) 1 5 . . . 'd xe5 1 6. 'd xc5. I don 't see enough com pensation for a pawn. Note that the knight often has a usefu l post on d4 here ( 'd c5-b3-d4) .

13.� We h ave accompli shed our strategic goa l , and Wh ite i s s l ightly better i n my opin­ ion. Th i s i s maybe a l so a m atter of preference: a class ical pl ayer l i kes to h ave a class ical pawn centre. The wh ole l i n e with 9 . B. el i s sti l l rather fres h , and therefore we don't h ave many game exa m ples to rely on. I ' l l s h ow some moves of a recent game:

13 . � g4 1 4. ftb3 e6 ..

15.a4 Th i s i s LeelaZero's suggested i m provement on 1 5. j), f1 , a s played i n H a ri a-Howell, London 20 1 8. H a ria's move was good enough to d raw aga i n st the 250 points rati ng favou rite.

15 ...

·

b6 1 6.

a3

Th i s is the idea of 1 5.a4. White avoids the q ueen trade and now has 'd c4 ideas aga i n . As mentioned before, I prefer Wh ite d u e to h i s central adva ntage.

A2) 1 0 � ds 1 1 .� •••

M am edyarov played l l . �c2 at the Candidates 201 8 aga i nst G ri sch u k. Th i s move

also seems fi ne, but I l i ke th e more straightforward central pawn push.

11

• ••

'i) b6

1 2. Il b1 Th i s i s a u sefu l move. I t covers b2 and allows Wh ite to play d4-d 5 and c3-c4 next.

1 2... cxd4 B lack shou ld d efi n itely i nsert this trade, a s we wi ll see. 12 . . ;b: g4 l J.d5 'd es 14.c4. N ow, the move 1 2. ,;: bi m akes perfect sense! White a l ­ .

ready enjoys a s u bsta ntial advantage. It i s pro bably best fo r Black to trade now, but

the res u lti ng position is no fu n for h i m : 1 4 . . -:.21 xf3+ 1 5. ,�, xf3 g xf3 1 6. � xf3 ;� xb2 .

1 7 . ,g xb2. We enjoy a n i ce central s pace adva ntage, and the awkward pos ition of the b6-knight does not hel p Black either.

13.cxd4 $\ g4 14.d5 $\ xb2 1 5. g xb2 'i) e5 Th i s i s better for B l ack than th e com parable pos itio n with c-pawns on the board. He has some cou nterplay on the open file at least.

1 6.

b3