Download PGN of December ’22 1 e4 ... games
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Modern Defence, 3.Nf3 d6 4.c3 [B07]
The modest 4.c3 line is one that I have considered for a while to carry a fair amount of venom. In Sethuraman, S - Nakamura, H the American grandmaster is unbothered by this, and proceeds to set up a KID structure, regardless of a missing tempo here or there. For me the interesting opening action picks up after 6...0-0:
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A reasonable way to play here looks to be 7.0-0 followed by Re1, while after the game’s 7.d5 Nb8 8.c4 I believe Black gets a perfectly acceptable game either without ...e5 (my default choice) or with Nakamura’s 8...e5. The game was quite exciting but Nakamura never gave the impression of being in serious danger.
Pirc Defence, 150 Attack [B08]
Things started from the Modern order 1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 5.Nf3 Nf6, only now entering Pirc territory. While a variety of setups are available for White, Kantor, G - Jacobson, B saw the extremely direct 6.Qd2 0-0 7.Bh6 c5 8.Bxg7 Kxg7:
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I’ve previously looked at this position with a serious view to finding equality for Black, which is a thankless task (even without worrying about 8.h4 as well!) but White, despite not continuing in the most critical way as assessed by engines, manages to generate tremendous practical difficulties for his opponent while staying safe. His method: 9.dxc5 dxc5 10.Qxd8 Rxd8 11.e5 Nfd7 12.e6!? which is a pawn sacrifice much more familiar to us in Pirc/Modern middlegames.
Caro-Kann Defence, Endgame Variation with 5...Nf6 6.Nbd2 g6 [B10]
Returning to the theoretical intrigue of 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 dxe4 4.dxe4 Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Nf6 6.Nbd2 g6, the German player Reuker played a couple of games in the second half of 2022 that are worth adding to our previous discussions. While I still like 7.Ne5 on a stylistic level (maybe not as much as deviating with 6.Nfd2 though!), Black’s reply of 7...Bh6!? made a reasonably strong impression. (In particular it looks better and less artificial than 7...Nbd7 8.Nd3 h5 as mentioned by me in the past.)
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The dogma of this line is that Black would like to trade dark-squared bishops and White light-squared bishops, which is a good rule to live by (although not without its exceptions.) The Croatian grandmaster with his 7th move was heading as directly as possible for his desired trade, but ironically his dark-squared bishop turned out to be incredibly strong later in Reuker, J - Zelcic, R.
Caro-Kann Defence, Two Knights Variation 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 6.d3 [B11]
While our next game doesn’t deal with cutting-edge theory (quite the opposite, certainly from the White side) it is nevertheless an amazing example for the kind of thing Black wants in this line. After 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 it is not that common for us to look at moves other than 6.Be2 or 6.g3, although some (such as McShane’s 6.Qg3) are not harmless. So let’s swing to the other end of the spectrum and look at Rapport, R - Gukesh, D in which White proceeded with 6.d3 Nd7 7.a3 Ngf6 8.g3:
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All of these neutral moves might, in an ideal world, help White to head towards a long and preferably peaceful bishop-pair grind. However, starting with 8...h5! Gukesh was able to take control of the initiative and of the dark squares in exemplary fashion, to the extent of getting an objectively winning position at move 20.
Caro-Kann Advance, Short System with 5...Ne7 6.0-0 c5 [B12]
If I have a bias in my game picks for this column, it would be towards games from English players in the 2350-2500 range: my frequent opponents and therefore people it pays to keep an eye on! Thus, I present to you Clarke, B - Yuffa, D from the recent El Llobregat tournament. The game started with 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.0-0 c5 7.c4 Nbc6:
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Here I (and others) have spent a decent amount of analytical effort on 8.dxc5, perhaps to the exclusion of 8.Na3 which is not without its points. After 8...a6 9.dxc5 the play can develop analogously, but not without differences. The game quickly became completely irrational, and when the dust cleared the Russian-turned-Spanish GM was the last one standing.
Caro-Kann Advance, Short System with 5...Nd7 6.0-0 a5!? [B12]
It isn’t that often these days that we get to talk about genuinely fresh approaches in the Short System, but I think this game might be an exception. Pavel Eljanov, with a very small handful of others, has championed this system based off the idea of not allowing White to play Nbd2-b3 quite so easily. Like many others, his opponent in Kryvoruchko, Y - Eljanov, P went for 7.a4:
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I’m sure more top players will be debating in the months to come whether or not it is actually best, but White’s reaction and the continuation of 7...f6 8.Be3!? seem like quite a reasonable first guess to me. However, I suspect that following 8...fxe5, White should recapture with the knight. After taking the other way and chasing the f5-bishop a bit too enthusiastically, White lost in instructive fashion.
Caro-Kann Defence, Advance Variation with 4.h4 h5 5 Bd3 [B12]
I promised last month that we would take a look how the world champion handled this line, as while it may not be the absolute most critical it is still quite topical. He started with 4...h5 5.Bd3 Bxd3 6.Qxd3 e6 (not checking on a5) 7.Nf3 (not 7.Bg5, interestingly) and now 7...Qa5+:
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With the knight blocking the f-pawn and unable to access e2, it’s unlikely that either b4 or c3 would be particularly successful for White here. Play instead continued 8.Nbd2 Nh6 9.0-0 Nf5 10.Nb3 and, with reference to my earlier analysis based off Dragicevic-Fernandez (see the April 2022 update), I further analyse the move Magnus played and the one I consider best, 10...Qb5. A couple of minor inaccuracies followed in the late opening, testament to how difficult it is to remember the theory of this line. See Praggnanandhaa, R - Carlsen, M.
Caro-Kann Defence, Korchnoi Variation with 6.Be3 [B15]
Finally for something a little different. A few games recently have tested the minor line 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6 exf6 6.Be3, testing Black’s flexibility and understanding of the line rather than just an ability to push the h-pawn when it’s threatened. I quite like this idea as well as the way it was played by the young French talent in Maurizza, M - Schmidek, E. An interesting moment arose after 6...Bd6 7.Bd3 Nd7 8.Ne2:
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Here Black chose 8...f5, exploiting a small tactical feature of the position and bringing the knight out to f6, where its responsibilities are more immediately apparent than on f8. Nevertheless, over the course of the next few moves it becomes clear that Black’s also made it less easy for themselves to castle. I hope to see more games in this line before too long.
Happy New Year, Daniel
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