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Dear Readers, after a few years absence I am back again here on Chess Publishing. As usual I will try to update you with any new developments in the Caro-Kann, Scandinavian, Pirc/Modern and Alekhine.
For this month I found eight interesting games, mainly in the Caro-Kann and Pirc. This is not a surprise, as after all the Caro-Kann enjoys huge popularity, while the Pirc has always been a good choice if you are going for a win at all costs.

Download PGN of March '15 1 e4 ... games

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Caro-Kann Classical 4...Bf5 mainline [B19]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.0-0-0 Be7 13.Kb1 0-0 14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.Qxe4 Nf6 16.Qe2 Qd5 17.Be3:

This main line of the Capablanca system, or to be more precise one of the main lines, was seen in two recent games:

17...Ng4 Wei Yi-Rodshtein Gibraltar 2015 and 17...Qb5 Van Foreest-Soors Batavia (GM) 2015.

it seems that both moves are playable and Black didn't face any problems in either game.


Caro-Kann Advance 3...Bf5 Short System 5...Nd7 6.0-0 Bg6 [B12]

Next we will deal with the fashionable 3.e5 line in a few games. First, we have two interesting tries from Jobava.

3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Nd7 6.0-0 Bg6 7.Nbd2 Nh6 8.Nb3 Nf5 9.a4 Rc8 10.a5 Bh5!?:

was his first try in Grischuk - Jobava, Tbilisi 2015, but not successful one, as White seized the initiative rather early in the game.


Caro-Kann Advance 3...Bf5 Short System 5...Nd7 6.0-0 f6!? [B12]

The second one from the same event was more interesting, and rather rare, 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Nd7 6.0-0 f6!?:

Jobava's convincing win still poses a lots of questions, as despite his early success this line is by no means solid, see Svidler - Jobava.


Caro-Kann Advance 3...Bf5 4.h4 Qc7!? [B12]

Then we have another Advanced Caro-Kann, but this time in the 4.h4 line, answered by 4...Qc7 !?:

A rare continuation but an interesting one, as seen in Reshef - Motylev European Ch Jerusalem 2015, in which Black quickly seized the initiative. However, once again things are not that simple.


Caro-Kann Advance 3...c5 4.c4 [B12]

And the game that closes the Caro-Kann section for this month is another Advanced line but this time after 3.e5 c5!? 4.c4:

A well known line, and this time we saw it in Schroeder - Kazhgaleyev Moskow 2015. Black didn't show full equality in this line, and was badly beaten.



Pirc Defence 4.Bg5 [B07]

The last two very interesting and sharp games are in the Pirc/Modern.

First we deal with 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bg5:

This aggressive line occurred in Stojanovic - Cvetkovic, which was played recently in Plovdiv, and I must say that the Black position didn't look bad at all.


Modern 4.Be3 a6 [B06]

Finally, we came to the Bundesliga game Almasi - Rapport, a duel between two strong Hungarian players in the popular set up 1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Be3 a6 5. Qd2 Nd7 6.0-0-0 b5 7.h4 h6:

White's naked aggression contrasts with his opponent's subtle use of his pawns. An important game, enjoy a positional lesson from the Hungarian Prodigy.



I hope you will enjoy this month's issue, till next month, best wishes Milos.

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