ForumPosition SearchText SearchMy ProfileRepertoireSite InfoGuests InfoHelpLinks
This month I found some sharp and important games in the English Defence and the Grunfeld, some interesting move orders, and more. The Grunfeld is going strong as a viable, and one of the very best, openings against 1.d4 while the English Defence has a role for those who want to play uncompromising chess, playing for a win with Black.

Download PGN of June ’24 Daring Defences games

>> Previous Update >>


English Defence 1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 3.a3 Nf6 4.Nc3 d5 [A40/E12]

We have three games inside so let us get started:

In the game Sarana, A - Ivanisevic, I 18th ch-SRB 2024 Senta SRB, White played one of the best lines 3.a3 and Black responded in a clever way, in my opinion, with 3...Nf6 4.Nc3 d5!? planning to play a Petrosian line Queen's Indian, an interesting transformation, I also analyzed some of the positions from a Queen's Indian.


In the game itself Black held the upper hand most of the time.


English Defence 3.e4 Bb7 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.Ne2 g6 [A40]

In Van Wely, L - Tabatabaei, M TCh-FRA Top 16 Haute 2024 Chartres, after 3.e4 Bb7 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.Ne2 Black responded with the sharp 5...g6 and we arrived at this unusual set up, which is attractive to players who play for a win at any cost:

This game is fascinating from a positional point of view, and it is a complex struggle indeed


English Defence 3.e4 Bb7 4.Bd3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 [A40]

I am not very fond of including these Blitz games in a theoretical article but I am doing it as they serve as a base to analyse some of the positions more deeply. So, Harsha, B - Hungaski, R Titled Tue 4th Jun, is the same as game 2 but the move 4...Bb4+ was played and after 5.Bd2 Bxd2 6.Qxd2 f5, I thought that White can pull out an edge somehow, but it is actually not sure.

Black did not have any problems in the game.



Neo-Grünfeld Defence 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.0-0 Nb6 9.e3 e5 10.d5 e4 [D76]

We will analyze four games here, with diverse types of positions, from the Fianchetto to the sharp Hungarian line

Liu, Zhaoqi - Shankland, S FIDE World Corporate GpB New York USA is a Fianchetto Grunfeld, one of the main lines, but we can get there from many different move orders, but I will use this one: 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nf3 Nb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.e3 0-0 9.0-0 e5 10.d5 e4!? An interesting way of managing this position, it is a known line but not analyzed as much as it should be, I did not find anything spectacular for White. Black can find compensation for a sacrificed pawn.

In the game Black pulled out a nice rook maneuver to gain the initiative.


Neo-Grünfeld Defence with ...c6, 7.Qb3 a5 [D78]

Here we have another important line that I have already analyzed, but it deserves a serious look. This time Black played better and I added some of my thoughts on this position. Svane, R - Arabidze, M Titled Tue 25th Jun started 3...c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Qb3 a5 Complex stuff but for those who like this type of chess it is a particularly important system.

Black had a fine game all the way.


Neo-Grünfeld Defence with ...c6, 7.Nc3 dxc4 8.e4 [D78]

Here we look at a White gambit that has started to become increasingly popular in recent times. It was thought that such a gambit is not effective against a bishop on g7, compared to some positions in the Catalan where the bishop is on e7, but we will see that the situation is complex and that theory evolves fast. Aravindh, Chithambaram VR - Amin, B TCh-FRA Top 16 Haute 2024 Chartres FRA, started as in game 5 but then came the move 7.Nc3 dxc4 8.e4:

It was a complicated game and White finally prevailed.


Grünfeld Defence 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Bh4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 [D91]

I did not see this line for a long time and when I saw this game of Loek I decided to give it a deeper look, as this old stuff deserves another try. In Van Wely, L - Vitoux, C, TCh-FRA Top 16 GpA 2024 Chartres FRA, after 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Bh4 we have the Old Main line that deserves a fresh look:

White did not achieve much from the opening, but the endgame itself was good and interesting to analyze.


Grünfeld Defence, Russian 7.e4 a6 8.e5 b5 9.Qb3 Nfd7 10.e6 [D97]

Here we have very sharp line against the Hungarian Russian system that is not analysed much. Indjic, A - Vakhidov, J, UzChess Cup Challengers Tashkent UZB,started 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 a6 8.e5 b5 9.Qb3 Nfd7 10.e6 fxe6 11.Be3 Nf6 12.h4!?:

In the game Black equalized without any problems but what about other unexplored possibilities? It is not a greatly analyzed position so I tried to add some stuff to spice it up a bit, and there are some unanswered questions here.



Till next month, Best wishes Milos.

>> Previous Update >>

If you have any questions, either leave a message on the Daring Defences Forum, or subscribers can email me at support@chesspublishing.com.