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The line that caught my eye for this month’s update was one in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted which can arise via separate move orders, either 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.0-0 a6 or 3...a6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.O-O Nf6. As with many openings it has been re-evaluated with the arrival of high-power computers, and after the further 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.h3 Bh5 the move 9.Re1 is starting to replace the older 9.Qe2. This has not previously been covered here, so now’s the chance!
Black should clearly develop his kingside but where should he put the f8 bishop? It turns out that e7 is probably the best square and then there are further decisions to be made. There’s no doubt that White has the more comfortable game because of his space advantage, but extending this with a subsequent g2-g4 is going to be risky. It looks like an interesting fighting line for Black, which may be why Kirill Alekseenko has been attracted to it.

Download PGN of July ’25 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games

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Queen’s Gambit Accepted 3...a6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.O-O Nf6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.h3 Bh5 9.Re1 Bd6 [D22]

When Black first faces 9.Re1, he might be tempted to play the standard answer to 9.Qe2, namely 9...Bd6:

I think this might be what happened to Jonah Willow in Maksimenko, A - Willow, J, but this is not a good idea. After 10.g4 Bg6 11.e4 Black’s position is very bad indeed.

In fact, his best practical chance may be 10...Nxg4, which I found in a game from a tournament I played in during my carefree youth, Henttinen, M - Kallai, G. Alekseenko also tried this in one game, but it was a blitz game and never repeated.

I suggest avoiding 9...Bd6 like the plague.


QGA 3...a6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.O-O Nf6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.h3 Bh5 9.Re1 Bb4 [D22]

There hasn’t been much practical experience of 9...Bb4:

it seems better than 9...Bd6 but not that much better. Black was doing OK in Nabaty, T - Greenfeld, A, but perhaps only because White didn’t play 10.a3. Here too I don’t see much future for Black.


QGA 3...a6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.O-O Nf6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.h3 Bh5 9.Re1 Be7 [D22]

This brings me to Black’s main move which is 9...Be7:

which Alekseenko plays a lot in blitz and very occasionally at longer time limits. Black has no immediate plans to challenge White’s central pawn duo, but at least he avoids being quickly crushed by them.

The most obvious line is 10.g4 Bg6 11.e4:

when Black should castle (11...0-0) before the pawns go any further forward and expose his well centralized king on e8. White then has a choice about how to proceed, the main possibilities being 12.a3 (Schnepp, G - Antal, G), 12.Bb3 (Shikerov, S - Baburin, A) and 12.Bf1 (Khademalsharieh, S - Alekseenko, K). Black’s position seems reasonable, at least in a practical game, but he needs to time his counterplay well.

White can also try quieter approaches, and I liked his play in Can, E - Noritsyn, N

Black should have played 13...Na5 in this one to avoid the horrors that befell him.

Finally, there’s 10.b3 (Glibrant, T - Miranda Mesa, E), which aims for simple development for the time being whilst hoping to inhibit Black’s pawn breaks. It seems, however, that Black has time to then regroup with 11...Bd6 and there are other good approaches I mention in the notes.

It seems that 9.Re1 presents new challenges for Black, who needs to know exactly what he’s doing to get a playable position. At the same time I think he has good fighting chances, and there’s not much theory at this point.


See you next month! Nigel

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