Download PGN of May ’22 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games
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Slav Triangle: 4...e6 5.Nbd2 c5 [D30]
A subscriber asked me for my opinion on the line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6. This was my own remedy against the Slow Slav for a while, but I could never fully equalise for Black, particularly in the line 5.Nbd2 c5 which was the focus of my analysis in the game Sarana, A - Geller, J as requested by the interested subscriber: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c6 4.Nbd2 Nf6 5.e3 c5 We reach the position of interest via a slightly different move order. 6.cxd5 exd5 7.b3 Nc6 8.Bb2 cxd4 9.Nxd4:
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These positions are objectively playable, but I am not particularly enthused about our prospects in OTB games. As such, I would highly recommend anyone who wants to try 4...e6 in the Slow Slav to investigate the main line 5...Nbd7. I have provided a solid amount of analysis in that direction too.
QGD: 4...h6 5.g3 [D37]
Gukesh, D - Suleymanli, A featured the slightly offbeat system 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 h6 and Gukesh adopted the move I have previously advocated 5.g3 This is a normal move and it has become a very popular reaction to 4...h6, but far less expected was that Gukesh would play g3-g4 just two moves later!! 5...Bd6 6.a3!? A clever waiting move!
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At this point, a solid move would have been something like 6...b6 but then White would be better after 7.Bg2 Bb7 8.Nd2. Suleymanli chose the natural 6...0-0 but he was faced with the very unpleasant surprise 7.g4! The shock to his system manifested in the immediate error 7...Nxg4? which gave White a decisive advantage.
QGD, Vienna Variation: 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5 10 Bb5+ Nbd7 [D39]
In Vachier Lagrave, M - Aronian, L, MVL deviated from his main repertoire by playing 1.d4 rather than 1.e4! However, it didn’t work out so well for him: 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 Starting off as a Nimzo, but quickly transposing to a Ragozin... 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bg5 dxc4 ...and then transposing the Vienna! 6.e4 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4 7...h6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 has been the modern interpretation of the line. There is nothing wrong with the old main line, but perhaps it requires more brute force memorisation. 8.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Bb5+ Nbd7 11.Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12.Ke2 A rare move, but not a particularly good one:
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12...Qb2+ 13.Qd2 Qxd2+ 14.Kxd2 gxf6 This ending doesn't look promising at all for White so it is quite surprising to have seen it at such a high level. Since the game ends so beautifully, I will provide it in full: 15.Rac1 0-0 16.Rc7?! Black is already slightly better after this active but relatively aimless move. 16...Rd8 17.Ke3 Nb6 18.Nb3 f5! 19.Bd3 Rb8 20.f4?! Probably underestimating Black's next move. 20...e5!? 21.fxe5 f4+ 22.Kd2 Be6 23.Kc3?! Making matters even worse. 23...Rbc8 24.Rxc8 Rxc8+ 25.Kd4? Na4!:
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Right in the centre of the board, the king is caught in a mating net! White resigned.
Semi-Slav, Botvinnik Variation: 12.Be2 [D44]
The sharpest game of the month was Erigaisi, A - Shirov, A. No points for guessing what the opening was, as Shirov has been playing the Semi-Slav, Botvinnik Variation for his whole career! 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6 Bb7 12.Be2 A rare move. While Shirov is a leading expert in the lines he plays, it is easy for his opponents to target a specific line in preparation. 12...Nxf6 13.Bf3 Be7 14.g3:
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A novelty, but it is the engine's top choice. The point is that the immediate 14.0-0 allows 14...Qc7 15.g3 0-0-0. 14...Qb6, 14...Nd5 is a good alternative. 15.0-0 0-0-0 16.Qe2 Qxd4 17.Rfd1 Qc5 18.h4 Rhg8 19.Rxd8+ Bxd8 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Ne4 Qe5 22.Nxf6 Qxf6 23.h5 Rd8 24.a4 c3! The game does not get any less messy from here, as you can expect from the Botvinnik. Eventually, it was Erigaisi who showed the better calculation, but he already gained a practical advantage by carrying out the opening moves in blitz speed.
Semi-Slav, Anti-Meran Variation: 8...dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 [D46]
So, W - Rapport, R featured the more solid Delayed Meran: 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 and here Rapport chose the sideline 9...a6 This is a variation I used to play myself, when I was coached by Hungarian IM Tibor Karolyi many years ago. I wonder if Rapport shared the same files as me, as the Hungarian databases famously circulated between coaches Hazai, Lukacs and co.! 10.a4 The two other main moves are the direct 10.e4 and 10.Rd1. I’ve analysed all of these lines in great depth as I was curious to see how the line holds up. My conclusion: 9...a6 is a great alternative to the main lines! 10...c5 11.Rd1 Qc7 Alternatively, Black is absolutely fine after 11...cxd4 12.exd4 Qc7 13.Qe2 b6. 12.Ne4 Nxe4 13.Qxe4 Nf6 14.Qh4 cxd4 15.Bd3 e5!?:
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Rapport is happy to sacrifice a pawn to reach a more drawish position. Keeping the tension with 15...h6 was also possible. 16.exd4 e4 17.Bxe4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Qd7 The queen is coming to f5 with a very solid position for the sacrificed pawn. Wesley did not push too hard as it was clear to him that Black's compensation was adequate. The game ended peacefully.
Semi-Slav, Meran Variation: 8...Bb7 9.0-0 a6 10.e4 c5 11.d5 c4 [D47]
The game Rapport, R - Vachier Lagrave, M illustrates the interconnectedness of certain openings; in this case, the QGA and the Semi-Slav: 1.Nf3 The common move order for the position reached on move 11 is: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.0-0 a6 10.e4 c5 11.d5 c4 12.Bc2 Qc7 1...d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 a6 6.Bb3 c5 7.Nc3 b5 8.e4!? Bb7 It should be noted that the Semi-Slav transposition was by no means forced as 8...cxd4 was also a viable option. 9.d5 c4 10.Bc2 Nbd7 Rapport's opening choice is in large part psychological. Black has another very tempting option 10...exd5 but without any preparation on the black side, you feel uncertain about your prospects in such unknown territory! 11.0-0:
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And here we have it, a transposition from the quiet QGA to the sharp Semi-Slav, Meran Variation. Curiously, both players began thinking around here, where there is already a large body of theory! In general, Black is holding up very well in this line, so it is no surprise that MVL came out of the opening comfortably. 11...Qc7 12.dxe6 fxe6 13.Ng5 Nc5 14.e5 Qxe5 15.Re1 Qd6 16.Qxd6 Bxd6 17.Be3 0-0 18.Rad1 Be7 19.Bxc5 Bxc5 20.Nxe6 Rfc8= There have been nearly 300 games from this position and 23815 visits according to the cloud server. The position is obviously fine for both sides, but the game ended abruptly as Rapport made an uncharacteristic blunder on move 28.
Catalan Main Line: 7.Qc2 b5 8.a4 Bb7!? [E06]
One of the recent trends in the Catalan is 4...Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 b5 8.a4 Bb7!? as in So, W - Nepomniatchtchi, I:
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To my surprise, we have not covered it yet! Clearly this was on me, as it hardly existed as a defence before I was the annotator for this column... 9.axb5 a6 10.bxa6 The other critical line is 10.Nc3 axb5 11.Rxa8 Bxa8 12.Nxb5 Bd5 13.Bf4 c5. 10...Nxa6 11.Qxc4 Bd5 12.Qc3 c5 13.Be3 The most challenging line. 13...Ne4 14.Qe1 Nb4 15.Rxa8 Qxa8 16.Nc3 Nxc3 17.bxc3 Nc2 18.Qd2 Nxe3 19.Qxe3 Good preparation from So. Black must be patient in order to achieve equality, but it is also not clear how this should be executed. I have shown that Black equalises with 19...h6 while Nepo’s 19...cxd4 is also OK. The position is definitely equal and, for engines, easily drawn. On the other hand, the fact that So managed to beat Nepo in this game shows that the defence is not 100% trivial for Black. In any case, let’s see what comes of this line in the future. Many top players will be happy to prove their defensive skills in this simplified middlegame, but I’m sure lots of club players will wince at the thought!
Catalan Main Line: 7.Qc2 b5 8.Ne5 [E06]
Another game which directly related to Nepo’s Catalan preparation was Fedoseev, V - Nakamura, H. Instead of 8.a4, Fedoseev chose 8.Ne5:
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This should be familiar to my readers, as it was played in Carlsen - Nepomniatchtchi, World Championship 2021, game 6. 8...Nd5 9.a4 c6 10.Nc3 f6 11.Nf3 b4 And this is the alternative I provided in the aforementioned game. 11...Qd7 was played by Nepomniatchtchi. 12.Ne4 Ba6 13.Nc5 Bxc5 14.dxc5 Nd7 15.e4 b3 16.Qd2 c3 17.bxc3 Bxf1 18.Bxf1 Nc7 19.Qd6:
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We have followed my analysis to the World Championship game 6 all the way to here, where I commented "I guess that this position was in Magnus's file, and there's probably a whole lot more to discover." Well, this first test went Black's way, but we should wait for more games to appear in order to establish the conclusion!
Until next time, Justin
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