Download PGN of September ’24 1 e4 e5 games
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Petroff Defence, Cochrane Gambit 4.Nxf7?! [C42]
I must be allowed one crazy line per update, so here we go with the Cochrane Gambit! Modern engines hover around the ‘-1’ evaluation, but of course it can still pose problems for Black in practice. Following the pretty logical 4...Kxf7 5.Nc3 g6 6.d4 c6 7.f4:
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7...d5 would have conquered the light squares and left White facing an uphill struggle, but instead 7...Qa5? already left White better in Villar Nieves, A - Rodriguez Melian, J and he came out on top in this last-round encounter.
Four Knights 4...Bd6 5.d3 0-0 6.a3 [C48]
Black quickly ended up in trouble in this seemingly innocuous-looking line in the high-profile clash Duda, J - Keymer, V. From the position below:
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I am already not a fan of Vincent’s choice of 6...h6?! when White has delayed castling, and this was immediately exploited with 7.h3 intending g2-g4. Instead 6...Nd4 intending ...c6, Bc7 and ...d7-d5 seems to be the most logical and best solution.
Giuoco Piano: 5.Nbd2 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.c3 a6 [C54]
White played an interesting plan in a standard Giuoco Piano position in Sosa, T - Woelk, T. Following 8.Bb3 Re8 9.h3 Be6:
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White avoided the trade of bishops with 10.Ba4!? b5 11.Bc2 and the d2-knight which usually is transferred to the kingside instead temporarily went to b3 to enable a4-a5, later returning to the kingside and leaving White better on both sides of the board. Sosa later lost control in the time scramble and was slightly fortunate to have his draw offer accepted at the end.
Two Knights: 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc3 [C56]
This line which is mostly trendy at lower levels saw a big upset at the recent Sants Open. Black chose the most solid option of 8...Qd7 in Biswas, A - Diaz Perez, M:
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This should be completely fine but the seemingly dry resulting positions should not be underestimated - after 9.Nxe4 Be7 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Nxd4 I would prefer the main 12...Bd7! after which nothing seems too threatening to Black’s position if he is well-prepared.
Spanish 3...a6 4.Ba4 Bc5 5.0-0 Nge7 6.c3 [C70]
This 4...Bc5 line seems to have exploded in popularity in recent months, possibly since it was adopted by Hikaru Nakamura at the Candidates tournament. White followed one of those games with 6...Ng6 7.d4 Ba7 8.Bg5 f6 9.Be3 0-0 10.Re1 Kh8 11.Nbd2 in Fischer, D - Baklan, V:
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Here Hikaru had previously played 11...exd4 but mixed up his prep just a few moves later against Nepomniachtchi. Instead 11...d6 was clearly normal but the position remains irregular and challenging to play for both sides, and it was the GM playing with the black pieces who blinked first by unfavourably releasing the tension against his Swiss opponent.
Spanish Deferred Steinitz: 4...d6 5.0-0 [C72]
In our first game Volokitin, A - Shankland, S we see Black choose the main approach with 5...Bd7 which was met with the logical but slightly out-of-fashion 6.d4:
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Probably this counts as a safe option which leads to less complicated positions than the alternatives 6.c3 and 6.c4, since 6...Nxd4 seems very solid for Black whilst in the game, 6...Nf6 7.Nc3 b5 8.dxe5 led to a symmetrical structure with only a slight pull for White. Despite that, Volokitin weaved some magic in the endgame and came away with the full point.
Instead in Italy, Black chose violence with 5...Bg4 6.h3 h5 in Dobrovoljc, V - Chia, Y:
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This can lead to complete craziness if White takes the piece with 7.d4 b5 8.Bb3 Nxd4 9.hxg4 hxg4 10.Ng5. Instead 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.d4 is a safer though less ambitious approach, although still leading to more complex structures than we saw in the previous game. In this case White was better for much of the game but Chia managed to drum up some counterplay in the ending and the h-pawn which he pushed on move 6 eventually turned out to decide the game.
Spanish, Yurtaev Variation: 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2 d6 8.d4 [C78]
We finish with one of my own games from a recent event in Tenerife. Black chose 8...Bb6 (The rare 8...Ba7 would perhaps be my recommendation) 9.a4 Bb7! 10.Be3 exd4 11.cxd4 Nb4 12.Nbd2:
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Here Black should take the opportunity to grab the bishop pair before White can retreat with ...Bb1. Despite being allowed to do this in the game, I soon entered a structure which I completely misevaluated and was lucky that my opponent did not take his chances for a well-timed ...f5 break, eventually giving me the win in Grieve, H - Espinoza Palomino, W.
All the best, Harry
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