Download PGN of May ’23 Nimzo and Benoni games
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Nimzo-Indian: 4 Qc2 0-0 5 e4 d5 [E32]
4 Qc2 0-0 5 e4 d5 6 e5 Ne4 7 Bd3 c5 8 a3 Bxc3+ 9 bxc3 cxd4 10 cxd4 Qa5+ 11 Kf1:
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Van Foreest is renowned for choosing unusual, lesser explored lines, often with great success. Within a repertoire for White, there’s certainly an argument to add 8 a3 to 8 Nf3, which is in danger of being theoretically solved. Early a2-a3 lines used to be popular before 8 Nf3 took over as the main line. It’s been a number of years since this was the case, which means a2-a3 may be viewed as a surprise weapon!
11...Nc6 has previously scored well for Black, and we’ve covered this in numerous earlier games. Nakamura instead chose 11...Bd7. Following 12 Ne2 f6! 13 Bxe4 dxe4 14 exf6 Rxf6 Black was okay, but Van Foreest had achieved his objective of reaching a sharp, lesser-explored position, and he soon gained an advantage. See the notes to Van Foreest, J - Nakamura, H.
4 Qc2 0-0 5 e4 d5 6 e5 Ne4 7 Bd3 c5 8 Nf3 cxd4 9 Nxd4 Nd7 10 Bf4 Qh4 11 g3 Qh5 12 0-0 g5 13 cxd5:
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The move orders in this main line are quite complicated, and in the recent game Davtyan, A - Kovalev, V, Black used this fact to his advantage. Kovalev tried 13...Nxc3, a move we haven’t covered before (13...Bxc3 remains the most popular choice, and 13...gxf4 is the main alternative). After 14 bxc3 gxf4 15 dxe6 Nxe5! 16 exf7+ Rxf7 17 cxb4 Bh3! Black’s position was full of life and Kovalev soon won with a nice combination.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 Qc2 d5 5 cxd5 exd5 6 Bg5 h6 [E35]
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 d5 5 cxd5 exd5 6 Bg5 h6 7 Bh4 0-0 8 e3 Bg4!?:
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Castling is seen as a solid alternative for Black to the sharp lines with an early ...g5, and we’ve seen numerous examples of 8...c5 9 dxc5 Be6. The rare 8...Bg4!?, however, was tried in a recent game. After 9 h3 Bh5 10 Bd3 c5! Black was able to fully justify the bishop move and White was actually under some early pressure - see Yu Yangyi - Sevian, S for details.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 f3 d5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 c5 [E25]
4 f3 d5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 c5 7 cxd5 Nxd5 8 dxc5 Qa5 9 e4 Ne7 10 Be3 0-0 11 Qb3 Qc7 12 Bb5 Nec6 13 Ne2 Na5 14 Qb4:
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It’s been a while since we’ve looked at what could be considered the old main line for 4 f3 (5...Be7 6 e4 dxe4 7 fxe4 c5 has been a line of interest more recently). 14...e5 is the main line here, but 14...Nbc6 was tried with success in two recent games. After 15 Qa4 Ne5 (threatening ...a6) 16 Bd4 Ng6 17 0-0 e5,
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by inducing Bd4, in effect Black has achieved ...Nc6-e5-g6 without any loss of time. Black’s chances in this strategically imbalanced position seem reasonable - see Baum, J - Stefansson, H for analysis.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 g3 [E20]
4 g3 0-0 5 Bg2 d5 6 Nf3 dxc4 7 0-0 Nc6 8 Re1!?:
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This rook move, preparing e4, is the most recent development in this line, and it’s been played on numerous occasions by Mamedyarov in blitz and rapid events. It certainly gives Black some new problems to solve, and it will be interesting to see if it catches on. After 8...Rb8 9 a3 Be7 10 Qa4! Bd7 11 Qxc4 b5! 12 Qd3 White successfully gained an edge in Mamedyarov, S - Sevian, S. See the notes to this game for analysis of alternative options.
Queen’s Indian: 4 g3 Ba6 5 Qc2 [E15]
4 g3 Ba6 5 Qc2 c5 6 d5 exd5 7 cxd5 Bb7 8 Bg2 Nxd5 9 0-0 Be7 10 Rd1 Nc6 11 Qf5 Nf6 12 e4:
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The 5 Qc2 gambit line in the Queen’s Indian continues to be a critical challenge to 4...Ba6, even if many of the lines are in danger of being analysed out.
Earlier we covered 12...d6 in Giri,A-Carlsen,M/Wijk aan Zee 2023, where White was ultimately successful. In a more recent game, Ding Liren chose the more popular 12...g6 and trusted Black’s chances in the well analysed main line, with good reason it seems. See Deac, B - Ding Liren for analysis.
Modern Benoni: 6 Nf3 g6 6 Bf4 Bg7 [A61]
6 Nf3 g6 6 Bf4 Bg7 7 Bf4 Bg7 8 e3 0-0 9 h3:
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In recent years the Modern Benoni has been a rare guest at elite-level chess, so it’s of interest when someone is brave enough to play it, as Richard Rapport did recently. In this well-known position Rapport chose 9...Ne8, planning ...Nd7-e5, and the game continued 10 Be2 Nd7 11 0-0 Ne5. This is an idea we’ve seen before from Indjic, with Black willing to recapture on e5 with a pawn. See So, W - Rapport, R for details.
Till next time, John
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