Download PGN of June ’16 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games
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The Slow Slav with 4...Bg4 [D11]
The first game of the update, Inarkiev - Shirov, is quite relevant as I found some new ideas since my last analysis of the 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Nc3 e6 7.Nh4 line to revitalise it as a dangerous try for White:
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Since my last update White has been scoring very well from this position, and Inarkiev managed to get a good position despite not playing perfectly from this point. In any case, it will be interesting to see how Black will return the ball into White's court in the future.
Main Line QGA with 7.Bb3 [D27]
Admittedly I didn't cover the 7.Bb3 variation in the main line QGA previously, but in Mamedyarov - Dominguez, the big QGA expert plays his pet 7...Be7 system, which I believe just equalises.
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Eventually the above position arose in the game, which you might recognise as also potentially arising from other move orders in the QGA! Anyway, Black is completely fine here and doesn't need to know too much, meaning 7.Bb3 is rendered toothless as far as I'm concerned.
Semi-Tarrasch with 6.cxd5 [D32]
While my recent game Illingworth - Charles is not that theoretically relevant, I included it to demonstrate how what you will face at a club level in your games can vary from the theory played at a Grandmaster level. For example, let's take the following position from the game:
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Now most players play 11.b3, and it was my original intention, but I came up with the tricky 11.Qc2!? which gave me a big advantage very quickly. Despite some inaccurate play later, I managed to win the game.
Blackburne QGD with 6...Nbd7 [D37]
It's not the first time that I covered Caruana's favourite 7...Ne4 move, but with Nakamura - Caruana I update my old coverage with some new games:
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For instance, I had not covered the game's 8.Be2 or 8.h3 previously, and the notes give an indication of just how rich the positions are to play. Theoretically Black is doing just fine.
Ragozin with ...h6 [D38]
Next up we have a speciality from the Anand camp, in the form of the 7...Bf5 played in Kovalenko - Wojtaszek:
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This seems a smart choice if you want to start playing the Ragozin quickly, as the idea is very simple (to place the bishop on the dream diagonal) and I can't see an iota of an edge for White. Keep your eyes open for more developments in this nascent line!
Semi-Tarrasch Main Line with 11.Rc1 [D41]
I have covered the Semi-Tarrasch before for ChessPublishing, but I noticed that Harikrishna and Kramnik both played it a lot recently, so it was hard not to cover it again when I saw the nice game Giri - Harikrishna which featured the trendy 11.Rc1.
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This was the turning point of the game, as Black took on d5 but then faced the typical kingside attack and couldn't hold out. Had Black declined the pawn in the right way, he still could have kept an okay position. Well, 11.Rc1 seems a much more challenging try than 11.Bc4, but I have presented the routes to equality here as well.
Cambridge Springs 7.Nd2 [D52]
For the first time in 2016 I take a good look at the Cambridge Springs, inspired by the game Wojtaszek - Navara from the European Championship, where Wojtaszek came up with a fresh approach in 7.Nd2 Bb4 8.Rc1!?:
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However, Black managed to equalise in the game by returning the sacrificed pawns. I also found some improvements for Black over analysis in the Archives, and I'm now convinced that Black manages to equalise in this whole opening complex. But I am sure Queen's Gambit players will come back with some new ideas!
The Orthodox Variation of the QGD [D64]
I noticed that the coverage of the Orthodox QGD, with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 0-0, was relatively sparse on the site, so I took the opportunity to explore the ideas of this old system in detail in Wojtaszek - Mamedyarov:
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There are so many options for both sides from here that it's hard to know where to even begin, but my general conclusion is that fianchettoing the queen's bishop at some point is the way for Black to equalise, whether with ...b6/...Bb7 or ...dxc4/...a6/...b5/...Bb7. In any case, it seems that it is generally smart to insert ...h6 at some point, though we have to be careful that Bf4 doesn't move order us into a bad version of the Blackburne. Anyway, it's a long journey, but do check the notes for a lot of new interpretations of the variation!
I suppose this much material will keep you busy for the whole month! Next time I will be back with more goodies, showing the important Queen's Gambit games of late and demonstrate where the theory is going to develop in the future. Max
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