What's New (March 2003 update)
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Hi Everyone! Here's where we take a look at the most exciting Nimzo, Queen's Indian and Modern Benoni games from last month. |
Remember, if you have any opinions, ideas or questions, please either make yourself heard at the Forum (the link above on the right) or email me at JohnEmms@ChessPublishing.com.
To download the March '03 Nimzo and Benoni games directly in PGN form, click here: 
Nimzo Indian Classical Variation (4 Qc2)
We kick off this month with another look at the line 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 0-0 5 e4!?
            
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We've studied this line a few times before and in many ways it's White's most logical move - he immediately occupies the centre. On the other hand, he falls behind in development. Often the games from this line are extremely sharp, and the encounter El Gindy-Pavlovic, Linares 2003 is no exception.
Nimzo Indian 4 e3 b6
This is a line which is still favoured more at club level, although it does have some supporters at GM level, including the likes of Victor Korchnoi and Curt Hansen. The game Galicek - Bernasek, Lahucovice 2003 begins 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 b6 5 Nge2
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This move is perhaps the most testing response to 4...b6. If Black plays passively, then he could simply wind up handing over the bishop pair for no tactical or structural compensation. The two most popular moves for Black here are 5...Ba6 and 5...Ne4, but in this game Black is successful with 5...Bb7!?.
Nimzo Indian/Queen's Indian Hybrid (3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 b6)
A real treat here as GM Chris Ward kindly lets us have an extract from his forthcoming book Nimzo Indian Kasparov Variation (Everyman Chess). The game he annotates is Wells - Gustafsson, Herzliya 2000, in which White adopts the increasingly popular 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 Nc3 Bb4 (Of course this position could also be reached via the Nimzo-Indian move order 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 b6) 5 Bg5 Bb7 6 Nd2!?
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This knight retreat has proved troublesome for Black and here Wells scores a another convincing victory with White. However, in the game Degerman-S.Ivanov, Sweden 2003, Black strikes back with a relatively fresh idea: 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 c4 b6 4 Nc3 Bb7 5 Bg5 Bb4 6 Nd2 h6 7 Bh4 c5 8 a3 Ba5!?
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Instead of simply exchanging on c3, Black delays this capture for a more convenient time. This plan is, of course, very double-edged.
Queen's Indian 4 e3
The game Palliser - Broomfield, British League 2003 is a good illustration of the difficulties Black can face in this seemingly modest line for White. Following 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 e3 (Many players use the Colle move order to transpose to the e3 Queen's Indian) 3...b6 4 Bd3 Bb7 5 0-0 c5 6 c4 Be7 7 Nc3 0-0?! 8 d5!
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White already has an edge and subsequently Palliser was able to build on this to win a fine game.
Modern Benoni: Modern Classical Variation
Ljubojevic - Topalov, Monte Carlo (blindfold) 2003 sees us taking a further look at the well established Modern Classical Variation: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 c5 4 d5 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 h3 Bg7 8 Nf3 0-0 9 Bd3
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Now Topalov has been known to favour the pawn sacrifice 9...b5, but here he chooses the less committal 9...a6 10 a4 Re8 11 0-0 Nh5. This approach, preventing an early Bf4 by White, has become popular since John Watson advocated it in his book The Gambit Guide to the Modern Benoni.
Modern Benoni: Black plays an early ...a7-a6
I'll leave you with the game Crouch - Povah, Portsmouth 2003, which begins 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 4 d5 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 Nc3 g6 7 e4 a6 8 a4 Bg4 9 Qb3!?
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In some ways this is a critical test of an early ...Bg4, but results with this move haven't been particularly encouraging from White's point of view (White has scored only 45% on my database. Black can opt to sacrifice a pawn (as in this game) and he certainly seems to get very good compensation. I think the ball is back in White's court here.
Till next time,
John Emms