Download PGN of May ’16 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games
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The 4.g3 Slav [D11]
Do you love the Catalan so much that you want to play it against absolutely everything? Well, this was the foundation of Avrukh's famous 1.d4 GM Repertoire, but the old thinking was that you couldn't really fianchetto against the Slav and fight for an edge. But the old masters were wrong! Now tell me, could the position below really be worse than what you'd get from the standard main lines against the Slav?
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I'm not saying that White is automatically better, and in Rodshtein - Rublevsky Black did go on to win, but White missed a key opportunity to take control with 17.Ba3!. My recommendation for Black transposes to a line of the Fianchetto Grünfeld - which is not exactly what Black wanted to play against 1.d4, but a bit of flexibility never hurt anyone's chess.
The Exchange Slav with 8.Qb3 [D14]
I have mainly focused on the version of the Exchange Slav where White delays Nf3, and I may well return to it in a later update, but of course we should not forget the old-school version, which if Aronian - Vachier Lagrave is anything to go by, may not have completely lost its teeth:
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This position was the result of a forced sequence, and ultimately the game ended in a draw, but I have an idea that can tip the scales slightly in White's favour. I would meet Aronian's system (a new one to ChessPublishing) with 9...Bxc3, but there's definitely room for further discussions in those middlegames, and I could see this line being repeated at a high level in the near future. It's certainly more enterprising than Li Chao's 8.Bd3 against Carlsen!
Carlsen's Crafty Closed Catalan Counter [D30/E08]
The early subscribers might be reminded of Paul Motwani's alliteration - but let's learn how Carlsen won the key last round game in Norway Chess against a former second of his in Carlsen - Eljanov:
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White's whole strategy, which started with 9.a4, played against the natural development of the c8-bishop, and by the time the bishop woke up, it was already being traded for a knight, and this imbalance gave Carlsen enough scope to outplay his opponent. But theoretically speaking, the idea is not so dangerous, and even allowing White to advance the a-pawn shouldn't perturb Black as long as he times his central counterplay correctly.
QGD - The Janowski Variation 3.Nc3 a6 [D31]
As every Polish schoolboy knows, David Janowski was not just one of the strong old masters of the early 20th century, but also has a couple of openings named after him, including the following variation, played in Aronian - Carlsen:
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Now before you choke on your bagel in involuntary laughter, I should note that Carlsen played the more respectable 3.Nf3 a6 in some blitz games previously, and even against Hammer in Norway Chess two years ago. White has to be quite accurate to prove any advantage at all, but Aronian was very well prepared even in this sideline and showed how White can take the initiative and not let Black get his solid position. I also covered 3.Nf3 a6, but I don't see a clear route to an edge here, though a Catalan approach is rather appetising.
The Main Line Tarrasch 9.dxc5 [D34]
Would you like to know how you can get positions such as the following against the Tarrasch Defence?
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Granted, it isn't normally this good as it was in Bacrot - Berelowitsch from this year's Bundesliga, but certainly the setup White played for is very dangerous, and if Black doesn't see the danger immediately, he will end up in a strategically dodgy position while White just puts his pieces on natural squares. Black needs to go for a pawn sacrifice right away, which gives him enough compensation to maintain the balance, and even if you already saw it in Tarrasch/Ntirlis's GM Repertoire, you might like to note a fresh idea tried since then!
The g3 Semi-Tarrasch [D41]
I've previously written about this small trend of g3 against the Semi-Tarrasch, with Svidler being the latest top GM to give it a go, but Kramnik showed some good preparation in Svidler - Kramnik with a variation that's new to ChessPub:
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This is just like the 6.e4 Semi-Tarrasch, but with the White fianchetto instead! Black's queenside development is incredibly straightforward after normal moves, so Svidler tried 13.a4, but Kramnik reacted well and equalised, going on to win when Svidler became too creative and later missed a trick. Anyway, I'm not sure we will see that much of this g3 anymore given the simplicity of Kramnik's setup, and maybe the Semi-Tarrasch's popularity will thus continue to grow?
The Short Endgame in the Exchange QGD [D35]
I've previously sung Black's praises in the Short endgame favoured in Carlsen - Kramnik, but in the game Carlsen revealed a big novelty found by his second Hammer: 12.Ne2!
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I tried my best to find a route to equality for Black, but in all cases White kept a positional advantage. The main problem for Black is that after Ng3 and placing a knight on f5, Black's kingside structure will be completely fixed, making it a lot easier to make queenside play work in the future. In the game it didn't even get to that, with White winning in a very crushing manner. Maybe this will be the last word on the Short endgame, but at the very least I don't see many people wishing to repeat such suffering.
Classical QGD with an early Qc2 [D53]
For our final game, we take a surprising system in the QGD, where White combines Qc2 with Bxf6, trying to benefit from not having played e3. To be honest, I don't see it catching on as Black can play precisely the response White is trying to nullify:
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Although the Texas-based player went on to win in Onischuk - Shankland, Black had absolutely no problems out of the opening. There is one interesting line where White can charge the kingside pawns up the board, but it is quite easily avoided.
Well, that's my May update done! The next month is a little bit quieter in terms of tournaments, though the European Championship is underway and already I've found a few interesting games from there I wish to cover next time! And questions/requests as always are welcome. Max
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