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Réti Opening, Capablanca’s System, 5 h3, 6 d4 [A07]
First of all, we continue on from last month’s exploration of Réti structures and move-orders. After 1 Nf3 d5 2 g3 Bg4 3 Bg2 e6 4 0-0 Nf6 and now the idea 5 h3 Bh5 6 d4 has been played several times by Maxime Vachier Lagrave. White's setup with an early d2-d4, coupled with the inclusion of 5 h3 Bh5, is new for this site. Vachier-Lagrave, M - Bluebaum, M continued with 6...Nbd7 7 c4 c6 8 cxd5 exd5:
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The position is sharper than it looks, and with 9 Qb3 Qb6 10 Qe3+, the pressure on the e-file means that White can hope to profit from Black's slight lag in development.
Meanwhile in Eljanov, P - So, W, the same setup was employed following 1 Nf3 d5 2 g3 Bg4 3 Bg2 c6 4 0-0 Nd7 5 h3 Bh5 6 d4 e6 7 c4, but now Wesley So varied with 7...Be7, avoiding MVL’s line above.
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Eljanov appeared to be well prepared for this, however, and with 8 Nc3 dxc4 9 b3!? offered an interesting positional pawn sacrifice.
Réti Opening, Anti-Slav Gambit, 4...dxc4 [A11]
In contrast to some of the quieter lines of the Réti, with the move-order 1 c4 Nf6 2 g3 c6 3 Bg2 d5 4 Nf3 White is allowing, or inviting, the sharp anti-Slav gambit 4...dxc4. In Adams, M - So, W the players entered one of the mainlines with 5 0-0 Nbd7 6 Na3, and now 6...Nb6 7 Qc2 Be6 8 Ne5. White’s last move has been scoring well recently:
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Here Black essayed 8...h5!? - an uncommon move, but one which Wesley So had played in a 2016 rapid game. Adams replied with the new move 9 b3, again (as in the Eljanov-So game above) offering a real gambit in order to open lines.
In Dubov, D - Anton Guijarro, D, following 4...dxc4 5 0-0 Nbd7 6 Na3, Black varied with 6...b5!?. This is a very rare move, hanging onto the pawn for now, and provoking White to take action along the h1-a8 diagonal:
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Dubov responded with 7 Nd4 a6 8 d3, preferring open lines over material. White followed up aggressively with 11 Nxb4!?, sacrificing a piece to try and exploit Black's backward development.
Neo-Catalan 5 0-0 Nbd7 6 Qc2 [A13]
Aronian, L - Naiditsch, A opened with the Neo-Catalan 1 c4 e6 2 g3 d5 3 Bg2 Nf6 4 Nf3 dxc4. This approach has proven to be quite solid for Black in recent high-level encounters, especially when White spends time going after the c4-pawn with 5 Qa4+. Aronian therefore tried 5 0-0, which is a tricky move, hinting at a 'real' gambit and/or angling to regain the c4-pawn with Nb1-a3xc4.
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Indeed, after 5...Nbd7 6 Qc2 c5 7 Na3 White could recapture the c4-pawn with the knight, without worrying about ...Bf8xa3. Black was outplayed over the next few moves, giving Aronian a clear lead in development which he exploited in instructive fashion. Black should look to more flexible earlier moves such as 5...a6.
Symmetrical English 1 c4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 e5 4 e3 Nf6 [A34]
1 Nf3 c5 2 c4 Nc6 3 Nc3 e5 is an important variation which has been championed by Vachier Lagrave, Grischuk and others from the Black side. In Aronian, L - Vachier-Lagrave, M, play continued 4 e3 Nf6 5 d4 and now 5...e4 is the move of choice at the top level. With 6 d5 exf3 7 dxc6 dxc6 8 Qxd8+ Kxd8 9 gxf3, MVL repeated the line that secured him a comfortable draw against Aronian at the 2015 London Chess Classic.
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The earlier Aronian-MVL game (and the engine evaluation) had given the impression that Black was comfortably equal. Aronian had looked deeper, however, and found that the position is a little easier for White to play. Starting with the improvement 13 Ne4!, he managed to outplay his opponent in the subsequent struggle.
Symmetrical English 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 g3 d5, 7 Ng5 [A34]
In the common symmetrical line 1 c4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 g3 d5 5 cxd5 Nxd5 6 Bg2 g6, Black is very solid in typical mainlines, so White has been looking for ways to generate more dynamic play. One of these is the move 7 Ng5 which is met by 7...e6, asking White to justify the tempi spent move the knight around.
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Now a topical continuation is 8 d3 Bg7 9 Nge4 which was introduced by Svidler in the 2016 Candidates. The current mainline there, however, leads to a forced draw (!) that has been played out in several games (see the June 2016 Update on this site), including Svidler-Gelfand in this month’s Zurich tournament.
Instead, in the game Nepomniachtchi, I - Anand, V, White tried the immediate 8 Nge4!? but this was met with the principled 8...f5, leading to a space advantage for Black. Nepomniachtchi nevertheless managed to generate some play, and even went on to win the game.
Pure Symmetrical, 5 e3 e5 Botvinnik System [A36]
Nakamura, H - Svidler, P began with 1 c4 g6 2 Nc3 c5 3 g3 Bg7 4 Bg2 Nc6 5 e3 and now with the setup 5...e5 (rather than the tame 5...e6) 6 Nge2 Nge7 7 0-0 0-0, Black signifies his intention to go for a fighting game:
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This clash of structures is more often seen at club/master level than at the elite level, and so this is a good chance to see how the top players proceed. The game contained instructive moments connected with good vs. bad bishops, and some surprising tactical points.
I hope you enjoy this Update!
Until next month, David.
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