Download PGN of April ’24 Nimzo and Benoni games
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Nimzo-Indian: 4 Qc2 h6 [E32]
4 Qc2 h6!?:
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What’s this? Clearly the move ...h6 has some value, but to spend a tempo on it so early seems provocative to say the list.
At the Candidates tournament, however, Gukesh almost magically found a way to make it work for Black - see Abasov, N - Gukesh, D for details!
As an aside, this wasn’t the only time in the Candidates that Gukesh found a way to make an early ...h6 work. As Black against Vidit, he tried 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d3 a6!? 5 0-0 h6!?. Vidit spent a considerable amount of time on his fifth and sixth moves, no doubt wondering if there was some kind of punishment for Black's early pawn moves. Eventually Vidit settled for standard moves, but after 6 a4 Bc5 7 Be3 d6 8 Nbd2 0-0 9 c3 Re8 10 b4 Bxe3 11 fxe3 Be6 Gukesh reached a comfortable position, enjoyed a clear time advantage, and later went on to win in convincing style. A great example of practical opening preparation at the elite level.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 Qc2 0-0 5 Nf3 d6 [E32]
4 Qc2 0-0 5 Nf3 d6:
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This Qc2 Nimzo position was reached in two recent games between Ding Liren and Vincent Keymer (note that it can also be reached via 4 Nf3 d6 5 Qc2 0-0, and indeed this was the move order used in the two games).
In the first game Ding chose 6 Bd2, and the game continued 6...b6 7 e4 c5! 8 a3 Bxc3 9 Bxc3:
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Here Keymer’s 9...cxd4! 10 Nxd4 e5! looks like a good, concrete solution for Black - see Ding Liren - Keymer, V for analysis.
6 e3!? was Ding’s choice four days later, against the same opponent. The plan of e3 and Bd3 looks like a reasonable choice against ...d6. In effect, White is playing an e3 Nimzo while preventing the doubling of the c-pawns with Qc2. Keymer responded with 6...e5!?:
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This move is extremely rare; I’ve found only one earlier game with it. Typically, Black has responded with a variety of moves such as 6...b6, 6...Nbd7, 6...Nc6, 6...Qe7 and 6...Re8. Keymer’s choice offers a gambit, but Ding chose to decline the offer with 7 Bd2!, a clever response which a allows White to meet 7...e4? with 8 Nxe4!. After 7...Re8 8 Be2 a5 9 a3 Bxc3 10 Bxc3 e4 11 Nd2 d5 a reversed French Advance structure was reached - see Ding Liren - Keymer, V for analysis.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 a3 Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 c5 6 f3 [E24]
4 a3 Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 c5 6 f3 d6 7 e4 Nc6 8 Be3 b6 9 Bd3 e5:
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9...e5 is popular and looks very natural. Judging by the evidence, however, Black might well be better off starting immediate counterplay against the c4-pawn, with 9...Na5, which we’ve studied before. A recent game continued 10 Ne2 0-0 11 0-0 (11 d5! might be even better) 11...exd4 (11...Ba6! is critical) 12 cxd4 cxd4 13 Nxd4 Nxd4 14 Bxd4:
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This type of position typically favours White. Both sides have pawn weaknesses, but White has the bishop pair and the unopposed bishop on d4 is particularly strong, as beautifully demonstrated in Kashlinskaya, A - Brzezina, P, a crushing win for White.
Nimzo-Indian 4 e3 b6 5 Nge2 [E44]
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 b6 5 Nge2 Ne4 6 Qc2 Bb7 7 h4!?:
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7 h4 is a novelty in a well-known position. The merits of 7 h4 aren’t immediately obvious, but the pawn move does gain space on the kingside and it’s actually useful to prevent ...Qh4. As an example, in the main line 7 a3 Bxc3+ 8 Nxc3 Nxc3 9 Qxc3 d6 10 b3 Qh4! is quite effective for Black, as we saw in Erigaisi,A-Rapport,R/Wijk aan Zee 2023.
After 7...0-0 8 a3 Bxc3+ 9 Nxc3 Nxc3 10 Qxc3 d6:
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we reach a typical position where h2-h4 certainly doesn’t look out of place - see the notes to the recent game Putrenko, K - Postny, E.
Queen’s Indian: 4 Nc3 Bb4 5 Bg5 [E13]
4 Nc3 Bb4 5 Bg5 h6 6 Bh4 Bb7 7 e3 g5 8 Bg3 Ne4 9 Qc2 Bxc3+ 10 bxc3 d6:
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This is an old line, in which the theory hasn’t changed in many years. The critical line has always been 11 Bd3 f5 12 d5 Na6!, and modern engines pretty much confirm that Black is fine in these complex positions. In a recent game, White instead chose 11 Nd2, and Black responded with 11...Nxg3! 12 hxg3 Nd7:
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The exchange on g3 is playable against 11 Bd3, so it certainly makes sense here. Black’s position already looks appealing, See Omonov, A - Vokhidov, S for analysis of this and also 11 Bd3.
Till next time, John
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