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This update is all about interesting shortcuts in the Queen's Gambit! Among other things is coverage of some new Semi-Slav and QGA lines for ChessPub, Also featured are surprising knight moves in the Main Line Slav and Exchange QGD, Kramnik's recipe to a Catalan sideline, an early queen move in the Semi-Slav and more! I've particularly emphasised the explanations of key ideas and plans for this update, so you have some strategic rules of thumb to guide you through the middlegames arising in our lines.

Download PGN of February ’16 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games

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Slow Slav with 4...e6 [D11/31]

Surprisingly, the independent options that arise after the move 4...e6 in the Slow Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3) haven't been covered before on ChessPublishing, however with this move gaining some traction at a high level, such as in the recent game Giri - Ding Liren, it's time we drew some rules of thumb regarding the move orders:

  1. If White plays a quiet move such as 5.b3 or especially 5.Nbd2, the move ...c5 becomes an interesting option to change the structure.
  2. In the case of b3 setups, it is quite interesting to Stonewall with ...Ne4 and ...f5, with the point that White is committed to a very specific setup (which is not considered the most dangerous).
  3. If White plays for the e4 break with Bd3/0-0/Nbd2(Nc3), it is quite interesting to go for a ...b6/...Bb7/...Be7 setup, which is very solid for Black.
  4. In the lines where both sides fianchetto their queen's bishop, White should meet ...Bd6 with Nbd2 to enable Ne5, whereas after ...Be7, White can play Nc3 as he doesn't need the extra support for Ne5.

For the detailed analyses, you'll have to check the game!



Main Line Slav with 8.Ne5 [D18]

If you are looking for an easy system to play against the Main Line Slav, with a couple of strategic traps that the opponent can walk into, then you may like to play (after the standard moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4) the variation with 8.Ne5!?, playing to take over the centre with a later f3 and e4:

The main point of this system is to play against Black's light-squared bishop, so that it will be stuck on g6 hitting a g2-f3-e4 pawn chain. Of course, if Black strikes back in the centre in time with ...c5 or ...e5, his position will be fine, but in Korobov - Ivanov, Black failed to anticipate the strategic danger, even after breaking with ...e5, and White went on to win.



Main Line QGA with 7.b3!? [D28]

It can make a lot of practical sense to counter a sideline with a strong shortcut in turn, as in this way you are able to reduce your time studying variations you will not face all that often, and also minimise the chance of reaching a position where, regardless of the theoretical evaluation, the opponent has a lot more experience than you. True, the QGA is hardly a sideline, but it is not seen anywhere near as much at a high level as the Slav or QGD.

That in mind, after the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6, why not give 7.b3!? a go?

White's idea is simply to develop with Bb2 and Nbd2, with a very harmonious piece placement, and if Black tries to play ...b5, we will play a4 and secure the c4 outpost for our knight. Black must be very accurate to neutralise White's positional pressure, as you can learn in Vitiugov - Lintchevski, and you can be sure he will not know it as well as the currently trendy 7.dxc5 variation, or one of the sharper lines.



Exchange QGD with 6...Na6 [D36]

The modern trend in the Exchange QGD (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5) is to meet 5...c6 with 6.Qc2, in order to avoid the Short Variation with 6.e3 Bf5. But one option that this move provides Black is 6...Na6, hoping to gain a tempo on the c2-queen with a later ...Nb4:

It was the recent game Carlsen - Bruzon that inspired me to look at this line (a new one for ChessPub), but we can conclude that 7.e3 is critical and good for White, so long as he meets ...g6 with Qd1!. In the actual game, Black had a narrow route to equality, but when he missed it, White went on to win a positional masterpiece all Exchange QGD devotees should review.


Main Line Ragozin 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 [D38]

We have looked quite extensively at the trendy line of the Ragozin (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6) in the past, but I wanted to bring your attention to a recent development in the 7.Qa4 variation, namely that after 7...Nc6 8.e3 0-0 9.Be2 dxc4 10.0-0 Bd7 11.Bxc4, Aronian has demonstrated that Black can equalise in similar fashion to the Lasker QGD with 11...Bxc3! 12.bxc3 Rfd8:

Black has the simple plan of ...Qe7, ...Na5 and ...c5 to equalise the game, and the arising endgame in Navara - So was also just equal. This line appears to be a dead end, and there is not much for Black to know.



Semi-Slav Moscow Variation with 7.Qb3 [D43]

In the game Aronian - Giri we take a look at the variation 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 and now the shortcut 7.Qb3!?, which we haven't looked at on the site in a while:

I think this is a very reasonable alternative to 7.e3, and Black has to be a bit careful to equalise the game. The key thing to remember from Black's perspective is when to time the move ...Qe7 - it can even be played in the diagram position above as prophylaxis against e4, if you are after a 'counter-shortcut'!



Anti-Meran Semi-Slav with 6...b6 [D45]

It has been a while since the position after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 b6 was covered on ChessPub, but is this sideline really worse than the standard 6...Bd6? The game Adhiban - Dreev makes a good case that it is, with Adhiban playing very directly in the position below:

Here White played 15.e4!?, sacrificing more material for an initiative to win a nice game, however I believe Black is objectively fine if he has done his analysis at home. Instead, I think 15.Bb5! is the most promising continuation, when White will have more than enough compensation for the pawn. Black may also play more quietly on move 9, but I've demonstrated in my notes that White has an advantage there as well.



Closed Catalan with 6.Nc3 [E06]

A shortcut that I have suggested for White previously on ChessPub is the variation 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.g3 0-0 6.Bg2, a hybrid Catalan with the knight on c3, but recently Kramnik showed the strength of the response 6...dxc4 7.Ne5 Qd6! in the game Svidler - Kramnik:

Black's idea is to play ...Qa6, clearing the way for central play with ...Rd8 and ...c5. In the game we had an equal endgame that Kramnik managed to splendidly outplay his opponent from, but I think this represents a dead end for White, and I don't think we'll see more of this sideline at a high level.



That's all for this update, now I will be back soon with the next update! Max

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