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Exchange Slav with an early ...Nc6/...Bf5 [D10]
To start off with, I have an opening bomb to share - in the Exchange Slav with 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Bf4, the move 5...Bf5 (trying to reach the promising lines in my first update with 6.e3 e6, where Black benefits from delaying/avoiding ...Nf6) is already inaccurate because of 6.e4!, which is the 5...e5 variation with a very useful extra tempo:
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In 5...Bf5 6.e4!? Analysis I demonstrate why this is better for White. Finally, I should point out that White can avoid all of the move order tricks with an early ...Nc6 in this update by playing 3.Nc3 and only after 3...Nf6 4.cxd5, but that allows 3...e6 and in particular 3...dxc4 which I've already shown to be quite playable for Black.
Exchange Slav with 4...Nc6 5.Bf4 e5 [D10]
The first position I'll be covering in detail in this update is the one below:
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This hasn't been played in a lot of games, but a number of strong GMs have played it and after analysing it in a lot of detail, I think it gives Black a good game and in practice White usually messes up early. So it could certainly be called a 'dangerous weapon' (to borrow from the Everyman book series) and also leads to much more direct play than other lines of the Exchange Slav.
Our first game, Naiditsch - Burg, is hardly a perfect game, but the lines are not easy to play for either colour and aren't really explored, which is why it is hard to find games featuring the best lines for both sides. Also the notes give a good indication of the more common tries after 6.dxe5 d4 7.Ne4 and how fertile the variation is for an individual interpretation.
Still, I think the best line for Black is 7...Bf5! and now Grandadam - Lampert showcased a trap White has been constantly falling into:
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White usually plays 8.Nd6+ here but Lampert showed why Black is already better after this move. There have been a bunch of engine games with 8.Ng3, which is probably best, but Black has several ways to equalise after 8...Be6 9.Nf3 - I'll let you pick your favourite from the notes.
We finish our coverage of this line with the recent game Bogner - Bu from Qatar, where Bogner played 6.Bxe5 instead to reach this position:
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Black doesn't have any problems here either though, which makes me wonder why this 5...e5 variation isn't more common. In the actual game Black even gained the better chances in the endgame and went on to win. My advice for White would be to use the 3.Nc3 move order if you want to play the Exchange.
New (or future) subscribers might be wondering why I haven't covered the Exchange lines with an early Nf3 yet. There are two reasons: first, delaying Nf3 has been more popular recently, and second, I think the lines with an early Nf3 are pretty harmless and they have also been covered previously on ChessPublishing and in other sources, so I don't have as much new analysis to add there.
Alatortsev Variation with 5.Bf4 Nf6 [D35]
The other variation I'm analysing in detail for this update is the Alatortsev Variation (3...Be7) which aims to avoid the pure Exchange Variation with 3...Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5. Ruslan has already covered the 3...Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 variation is detail but 5...Nf6 is new to the site:
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Admittedly this update won't cover the 6...0-0 variation, after 6.e3, but in any case the 6...Bf5 system (which I believe is called the Ubilava Variation) is a lot more trendy (and probably better). We start with Laznicka - Colovic which deals with White's rare tries - in the game Black soon obtained the advantage after insipid play by White.
If White wants to try and refute the line, he will play 7.Qb3, and after 7...Nc6 he has a choice:
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A practical disadvantage of this line is that White can basically force a draw with 8.Qxb7, but if that's acceptable for Black then I don't see any real issues for him. Aronian - Kramnik ended in a White win after Kramnik went astray in a typically very sharp position (after 8.g4 Bxg4 9.Qxd5 Qc8), but if Black is well prepared he can enter these sharp lines with confidence.
In fact, Black isn't even forced to enter these lines as instead of Kramnik's 10...0-0 he can play 10...Nf6!:
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I've analysed the ensuing complications in 10...Nf6!N Analysis and you could win against even a very strong player if you are better prepared than them in this line.
White can also shirk the complications with 8.a3, but that gives Black quite comfortable play after 8...Na5, as I demonstrate in 8.a3 Analysis.
Finally, we get to what I consider to be White's most dangerous try, namely the fashionable 7.Nge2 of Reinderman - Fridman:
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White's basic idea is to play Ng3 followed by Bd3 to take the f5-square for his knight. Although 7...0-0 feels more natural to me, I haven't found a clear route to equality after 8.Rc1!? (instead of Reinderman's 8.Ng3) whereas I don't like the passive feel of 7...c6, but Black seems to equalise in one particular line! So perhaps the truth is that White's position is easier to play, but with best play Black should be fine. In any case, the game petered out to equality very quickly.
Blackburne Variation with 6...c5 [D37]
Obviously it would be a crime not to at least mention the World Championship Match, where Carlsen twice relied on the Queen's Gambit Declined. I won't cover Game 3 with 6...Nbd7 as almost the entire game was seen before in Tomashevsky-Riazantsev (which was analysed by Ruslan in the archives). But Carlsen's 9...Re8!? in the old main line was a nice idea that gave him fairly comfortable equality:
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I've analysed this in some depth and I don't see how White obtains a durable edge. The idea of supporting ...e5 and ...d4 is simply very logical, see Anand - Carlsen.
With this update I've gone a long way towards giving you a Black repertoire based on the QGD and next month I'll complete the 'repertoire' as well as catch up in developments in the Semi-Slav, Catalan and others!
Merry Christmas in advance and I'll see you next year with more goodies! Max
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