Download PGN of July ’24 Nimzo and Benoni games
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Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3 0-0 5 Bd3 d5 6 a3 Bxc3+ 7 bxc3 dxc4 [E49]
4 e3 0-0 5 Bd3 d5 6 a3 Bxc3+ 7 bxc3 dxc4 8 Bxc4 c5 9 Ne2 Qc7 10 Bd3 Nc6 11 f4 b6 12 0-0 Bb7 13 Ng3:
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11 0-0 e5 is the main line, but we're starting to see more and more of 11 f4, which prevents ...e5. Even though engines suggest that Black is fine in the resulting positions, it’s become apparent that they are not so easy to play over the board. In a recent game against Gukesh, Anish Giri played the previously recommended 11...Ne7!, after which White, after the strategically desirable advance 14 e4!, is forced to sacrifice a pawn following 14...cxd4 15 cxd4 Qc3! 16 Ra2! Qxd4+ 17 Kh1:
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Engines slightly prefer Black's position, but it's worth noting that in practice White has scored well. Giri was out of preparation here but came up with a creative defensive idea 17...Rad8 18 Rd2 Qe3! - see Gukesh, D - Giri, A for analysis.
Nimzo-Indian Saemisch: 4 a3 Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 c5 6 e3 0-0 7 Bd3 Nc6 [E29]
4 e3 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 c5 7 Bd3 Nc6 8 Rb1!? d6 9 Ne2 e5 10 0-0 Re8:
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8 Rb1!? is an interesting idea that we’ve previously considered. The rook move has been tried more than once by Grischuk and Sarana, and now we can add Caruana to the list. Rather than going for the typical ...b6 plan, his opponent, Bogdan-Daniel Deac, chose ...d6 and ...e5. In the diagrammed position, White has more than one option. Caruana chose 11 f3 b6 12 e4!, and following 12...cxd4 13 cxd4 Nxd4 14 Nxd4 exd4 15 Bg5!?:
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he was able to put Black under some uncomfortable pressure - see Caruana, F - Deac, B for details.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 g3 0-0 5 Bg2 [E20]
4 g3 0-0 5 Bg2 d5 6 Nf3 dxc4 7 0-0 Nc6 8 Re1 Rb8 9 a3 Be7 10 e4:
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We’ve considered 10 Qa4! before, aiming simply to regain the pawn on c4. The queen move is objectively stronger than 10 e4. However, we've seen previously that it's not easy in practice for Black to defend against this typical Catalan gambit where White takes the initiative in the centre. The recent game Petursson, M - Bellia, F was a case in point. Black didn’t react in the most precise manner, and following 10...b5 (10...Na5! is stronger) 11 Bf4 h6 12 d5!:
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Petursson enjoyed a strong initiative and went on to win in convincing style.
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Exchanging on c3 and then going for a ...d6/...e5 set-up is a perfectly reasonable alternative to the Catalan-style ...d5. In the diagrammed position, White has tried several moves. 9 c5 has been the most popular choice, and was played in a recent game, but 9...e4! proved to be a strong response - see Santiago, Y - Vokhidov, S for analysis of this and also the challenging 8 Qd3!?.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 Qc2 d6 [E32]
4 Qc2 d6 5 e3!?:
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Black sometimes plays 4...d6 with the intention of transposing to 4...0-0/...d6 lines while avoiding the critical 4...0-0 5 e4. However, committing to ...d6 so early also gives White extra options, and one of these is 5 e3. We've already seen in a similar line (4...0-0 5 Nf3 d6) that e3 can be a challenging response by White. After 5...0-0 6 Bd3! White plans to develop the knight to e2, and Black needs to tread carefully here. In the recent game Bogner, S - Stijve, T, he failed to do so, and after 6...e5 (6...c5 7 Nge2 d5! may be Black's best bet here) 7 Nge2 Re8 8 0-0 Nc6? 9 Nd5!:
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Black was already in big trouble.
Queen’s Indian: 4 a3 Bb7 [E12]
4 a3 Bb7 5 Bf4 d5 6 cxd5 exd5:
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This fresh a3/Bf4 hybrid against the Queen’s Indian continues to attract interest at grandmaster level. In the Petrosian Variation, Black usually recaptures on d5 with the knight. However, 6...Nxd5 7 Bg3 demonstrates one the points of the hybrid system. By delaying Nc3, White ensures that the knight will have to retreat after e2-e4.
From a structural point of view, recapturing with the e-pawn isn’t ideal, and White has chances of an edge here. There’s nothing wrong with 7 Nc3, transposing to the Petrosian Variation, but 7 Qa4+! looks even more promising and led to a convincing win for White in the recent game Kantor, G - Pribelszky, B.
Till next time, John
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