Download PGN of January '12 1 d4 d5 games

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QGD Exchange Variation - 3...Be7 4 cxd5 exd5 5 Bf4 [D31]

Nakamura - Aronian: Last year we witnessed a principled theoretical dispute between Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian in the 5. Bf4 variation of the Queen's Gambit:

Hikaru won two games out of three but the actual score could have been quite the opposite if Levon had exploited all his chances... In this game Black obtained a comfortable edge but failed to cause more serious problems.

Nakamura - Aronian: Hikaru refused to push his K-side pawns forward here, and instead chose a cautious set-up. However, Levon was equal to the task and gained the advantage with a series of concrete and strong moves. Later Black missed several promising options and, even though White's play was also far from perfect, he eventually prevailed thanks to his material advantage.

Aleksandrov - Negi: Black's concrete approach led to a rather unusual position in which he has two bishops against two knights but where his pawn structure is ruined and his king has no pawn shield:

Here White came up with a novelty, Black reacted in a tempting but in reality dubious way, which in actual fact brought him total success! This line is currently under investigation and discussion will certainly be continued.

QGD Exchange Variation with Nf3 [D36]

Grover - Zherebukh: Sahaj Grover came up with a rather poisonous set-up for White and then crushed his opponent with a highly impressive attack!

QGD Ragozin System [D38]

Gustafsson - Efimenko: Accurate play helped Black to get a good position in a line which recently caused him some problems. However, later he failed to find the best reply to White's sudden play in the center.

Koneru - Hou: The Ragozin Defence served Hou Yifan very well in her last World Title match. Here she came up with an ambitious but rather risky plan involving 8...c4!?:

followed by 9...g5 and 10...Ne4, and outplayed her tough opponent in a very complex battle!

QGD Lasker's Defence Mainline 9.Rc1 [D56]

Jakovenko - Gelfand Dmitry Jakovenko demonstrated fantastic opening preparation here. First of all, his novelty came along as early as ... move 37! However, he had probably analysed the ensuing rook ending up till move 50 or so - Black appeared to be fine but in fact his connected queenside passers were dominated by White's well coordinated play in the center.

Mamedyarov - Fridman The surprising K-side pawn assaults in Lasker's Defence are still on stage and still pose problems for Black:

Objectively he should be fine but in practice White is often able to obtain a real advantage. Here Black's reaction was probably not best, but he eventually escaped thanks to stubborn defence and his opponent's slight inaccuracies.

Till next month, Ruslan

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If you have any questions, then please post a message at the 1 d4 d5 Forum, or subscribers can email me at ruslan@chesspublishing.com.