Download PGN of March ’16 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games
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4...Bf5 Slow Slav [D12]
Our first game is Nakamura - Topalov, where in a solid variation of the Slow Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Nxg6 hxg6) White played the unusual 8.Rb1!?, which worked wonders in the game as White achieved the dream position with fast queenside play:
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White was better at this point, but I suggest an early improvement for Black in the notes, which might allow him to equalise. While I cover all White's 8th move options in my analyses, it's not all good news for Black - check out the game for my tip on which move can give White a small edge! Personally, I would recommend Black goes for 5...a6 or 6...Be4 if he wants to park the bishop on f5.
Soultanbeieff Variation of the Main Line Slav [D16]
The Soultanbeieff Variation (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 e6) was Svidler's main defence to 1.d4 in this tournament, as it gives Black an extremely solid position in the standard line 6.e3 c5 7.Bxc4 Nc6 8.0-0 cxd4. Svidler achieved a very comfortable draw against Karjakin's 9.Nxd4 in the first round, so in the third round game Nakamura - Svidler, White looked to put pressure on Black from the following IQP position:
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However, Svidler proved to be extremely well prepared and only left his preparation on move 26 (!), in a position where he was already better. In the end Nakamura saved the draw from a difficult position, but it is clear the opening was a success for Black. I checked virtually every reasonable option for White, but it seems that Black is fine in all cases (although in a few cases one has to remember concrete engine moves). If this ends up being a dead end for White as my current analysis suggests, then we might see a lot more e3 setups from White.
Or you can do what Aronian did in Aronian - Svidler, and prepare an unusual pawn sacrifice:
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White has just played 14.Bc1, daring Black to grab material with 14...Nxc3. It does not feel trustworthy at all, but despite my best efforts I haven't found more than sufficient compensation for White in that line. In the game Svidler declined the offer, but was suffering for much of the game after Aronian's rook lift before White overpressed and lost. In any case, there's more room to explore after Aronian's 10.Be3 and I think it could work well in at least one game.
The Blackburne Variation with 6...Nbd7 7.c5 c6 [D37]
The one variation of the Blackburne QGD I've yet to cover here is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 c6, but it has become popular recently, based on the following rediscovery:
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Black has just played 10...h6!, waiting for White to play 11.Bd3 before going for 11...Ba6, so that Black can effectively gain the move ...h6 for free if White exchanges on a6. This first came to my attention after an Adams game in last year's London Classic, but in Giri - Aronian White actually managed to generate some pressure with the interesting idea of doubling his own f-pawns. However, I show in the notes that Black is not forced to play ball and has a few plans that allow him to gradually equalise. On that note, we can now say that the entire Blackburne QGD is covered on ChessPub... at least until the top GMs introduce some more fresh ideas in their games.
The 4...Nbd7 Hybrid QGD [D37]
If you don't like suffering from White's space advantage in the above Blackburne line, you might be interested by Anand's chosen weapon in the Candidates - the 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7, which is not as explored as the alternatives but proves quite tricky for White in terms of the possible transpositions. In Aronian - Anand the former World Champion borrowed a fresh idea in 5.Bf4 dxc4 6.e3 b5! which is new to our site:
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In this position Anand showed his preparation with the improvement 13...Nxc3!, equalising fairly comfortably by later bringing his bishop to a4 (stopping a later Rfd1). Currently I think both sides can be satisfied with this whole line, in that White can achieve a small edge with perfect play, but Black manages to hold the position without much trouble if he is well prepared - a bit like the Marshall Gambit or Berlin Wall! Of course, there is always the 5...Bb4 I covered previously if you wish to play for a win as Black.
After this game, the other players appreciated that it would not be realistic to try and outprepare Anand in this line, so Giri and then Topalov went for 5.Qc2!? to just get a game. But it actually offers decent chances for an edge, although in Topalov - Anand Black got out of the opening without any problems:
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This structure arose in the game and while White has the bishop pair, his c1-bishop is stuck behind the pawn chain, and Black even ended up with the better side of the half-point after a surprising decision by Topalov later in the game. You should also check the notes for some detailed analyses of Anand's draw with Giri, but my conclusion is that Black is fine in this line with accurate play. So it seems that 4...Nbd7 is here to stay, and it can be recommended as a surprise or back-up line.
The Anti-Meran with 9...b5 [D46]
With the game Nakamura - Giri we return to what might be called the current main line of the Semi-Slav, namely 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 b5. The Semi-Slav proved a good choice for Giri in this tournament, allowing him to draw comfortably against Aronian, Nakamura and Karjakin using his fantastic preparation. Our featured game is a good illustration:
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Giri has just played 18...Ne5, a move new to over-the-board play. This line is very sharp and I do apologise in advance for the forest of variations in my notes - but in such razor-sharp lines, it is essential to memorise certain details as many of the key moves are not so easy to explain verbally. For what it's worth, I think 19.Bg5!? is worth a try for a game, but in all cases Black manages to maintain the balance if he remembers all his preparation. Of course, in such wild lines there is always room for deeper analysis, but personally I think this variation of the Semi-Slav has never been in a better theoretical state.
The 6.Nc3 Catalan [E06]
After that excitement, we have another Giri game in Giri - Topalov, but this one is a quiet Catalan instead, namely the variation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Nc3, which I covered quite recently, but here I give a general overview of the options for Black - and it turns out quite a few of them equalise. However, Topalov's play in the game gave White an opportunity:
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This position would be fine for Black if he sacrifices a pawn in one of two ways (check the notes for the precise moves), but in the game Topalov played 11...Rd8?!, giving the opportunity for White to achieve his positional objective in such structures of exchanging the dark-squared bishop for a knight with 12.Bg5!. After that chance was missed, the game never left the bounds of equality.
That's the Candidates out of the way! I hope that you can improve your game from studying the full annotations, and soon I will give you my thoughts on various 'open tournament' weapons for both sides! Also, this was my first ChessPub update as a Grandmaster, I just had to mention it somewhere! Max
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