Download PGN of November '15 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games
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Slow Slav with 4...Bf5/6...Bg6 [D12]
The Slow Slav has featured a lot in these updates, because it continues to be very trendy and I think for good reason! Since we looked at the 4...Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 variation last month, it is logical that we continue with 6...Bg6 and see what is new there. While I like the simplicity of the 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Bd3 variation played by Carlsen, my attention was drawn to the move 7.Qb3, which I noticed in the games of many strong Russian GMs recently:
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Well, you are used to this idea with the extra move f3 (as happens with 6...Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3) but I think it gives White as good a chance of an edge as any of the other options. First in the old game Khismatullin - Dreev I get all the less common lines out of the way, including why 7...Qb6 isn't as good as 7...Qc7 and why after 8.Nxg6 hxg6 I think White needs to play 9.g3 to hope for any advantage.
Speaking of 9.g3, in the game Khairullin - Artemiev from this year's Russian Championship, White showed very nice technique to obtain an advantageous position:
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Here White found the nice manoeuvre 15.Bf1! and then Bb5 to establish a small plus with the bishop pair. I think Black should have avoided this symmetrical structure in favour of the Carlsbad one with 12...exd5. There are some strategic ideas to understand with the bishop on g2 instead of the usual d3 square, however I believe if White is accurate with his move order and understands the strategic middlegame, he comes out with a very small edge. In any case, these lines deserve more testing, especially as I haven't found a line where Black equalises comfortably (although as usual in the Slav his position is always solid).
Soultanbeieff Variation with 6.e3 [D16]
In the Main Line Slav, the Soultanbeieff Variation (5...e6) has become nearly as fashionable as the main line 5...Bf5. It's a system that requires a very flexible approach as you allow White to choose the nature of the position, however White has been at a dead end in the sharp 6.e4 lines for a few years now, so attention has shifted to 6.e3.
Now in my analysis in Melkumyan - Adams I made a startling discovery that after 6...c5 7.Bxc4, Black's most accurate move order might be to play 7...cxd4, the idea being to avoid the 7...Nc6 8.0-0 cxd4 9.Nxd4!? variation of the game:
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This move is new to the site, but has gained a lot of momentum in GM games in the last few years, and while Black could probably handle the opening better than he did in the game, I haven't found any line where Black is able to completely neutralise White's initial pressure. If you try 8...Be7 instead of 8...cxd4, White can play 9.Qe2 and again recapture on d4 with the knight, obtaining an early initiative.
However after 7...cxd4 Black either will transpose into the exd4 lines if White plays 8.exd4, or he gets extra options if White now tries 8.Nxd4. However, this is all quite unexplored so we will have to wait further tests, but all in all this is fairly exciting news for White, who had been struggling to reap dividends in this variation not so long ago.
QGA McDonnell Variation [D20]
I picked the game Li Chao-Andreikin for this update based on a request from a subscriber to cover the 3.e4 e5 variation of the QGA to provide a more or less complete 'repertoire' for White in this line. To be honest, most of these 3...e5 lines are already covered very well in the Archives (I didn't find any major improvements on the analysis there), but I did notice that the 4.Nf3 Bb4 5.Bd2 variation (or 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Bb4 6.Bd2 which can transpose) was a quite fertile ground for investigation and therefore I mainly tried to get to the bottom of what was happening in the following position:
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Most people play 8.0-0 in this position, but then Black has time for 8...Qf6, where White has a really hard time proving an edge. Li Chao's specialty 8.Nb3 takes all the sting out of the ...Qf6 option, however if Black develops naturally he should come out of the opening with equality. In the actual game Andreikin played a little too ambitiously and White won in a very neat technical effort! A key element of playing these positions successfully with either colour is to be able to evaluate resulting endgames correctly and then have a good deal of patience when you cross that bridge.
The Vienna with 6...h6 [D39]
Quite recently I did a fair bit of work on the Vienna sideline with 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 h6 instead of the main line 6...c5, and I've concluded that it is quite a straightforward system that offers good chances for Black to equalise. The key decision basically comes in the following position from Huber - Horvath:
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This position is not new to ChessPublishing, with Scherbakov covering it in a previous game, however I have updated the coverage with some games and my own ideas, and I think if Black plays 12...Bd7! he can eventually equalise. Of course, when you play a sideline as Black, you usually have to accept that you will need to be quite accurate to maintain the balance and this variation is no exception - after all you do give White a lead in development and chances for a kingside attack with his e5-pawn - however I think with best play Black can neutralise White's initiative and equalise.
The g3 Semi-Tarrasch [D41]
Sometimes it is hard to know in which section a particular opening variation belongs! While the Semi-Tarrasch with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.g3 technically comes under this section, more often it arises via. a Symmetrical English! Ultimately I decided the endgame shown below was interesting and trendy enough to deserve some coverage:
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This has been seen a lot at top level recently as a way to hold a draw as Black. There's no doubt that White's position looks better, but Black has a plan of ...Rb8 and ...b6 to liquidate and hold his position, which doesn't have any weaknesses. So in Ding - Wei, White showed a nice approach with 12.a4!, stopping Black's queenside fianchetto, and then played a nice new idea starting with 14.Be3 that ultimately won him the game. However I managed to find a route to equality, so it looks like strong players will continue to successfully employ this endgame line as Black in the Symmetrical English.
Cambridge Springs with 8.Rc1 [D52]
One of the theoretically important games in the recent European Team Championship was Tomashevsky - Ipatov, where in the trendy 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Rc1 variation of the Cambridge Springs, White played the novelty 13.Rxe2!:
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White's idea was to go ahead with a kingside attack by means of e4-e5, when a key difference compared to previous games is that White can quickly swing the rook into the attack with Re3-h3 (or g3)! Having analysed this position as well as Black's alternatives earlier, I have to say that Black now has some difficult questions to answer, and my feeling is that this variation may become a rarity in elite praxis again, unless Black is able to come with a completely new approach to the position in turn (which I have yet to unearth).
The Kovalyov System in the Closed Catalan (9...Na6) [E06]
Many of you probably have at least one variation in your repertoire that isn't played by many GMs, but you are determined to show the world that it is actually a decent system. The game Kasimdzhanov - Kovalyov is a good example of this, with Canadian GM Anton Kovalyov being by far the leading exponent on the Closed Catalan with 9...Na6:
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This position is new to ChessPublishing and I think a lot of players will not be aware of it as most Catalan players assume the queen's knight has to go to d7. Black's general idea is that now e5 is not so effective in many positions because d7 has been vacated for the king's knight, but if White doesn't play e5 then ...c5 is an effective way to open up the centre, when dxc5 can be met with ...Nxc5 bringing the knight on the rim into the game again. I haven't found a clear route to an edge for White, although Black has to be accurate after both 10.a3 and Kasimdzhanov's 10.Rd1, which gave him a small edge in the game (though Black held the draw).
One nice feature of the line from a practical viewpoint is that after 10.a3 you can choose between 10...c5 and 10...dxc4 depending on the type of position you are after - with 10...c5 you are basically holding a symbolically worse position, whereas the 10...dxc4 option is more complicated (and risky) but is more likely to catch out your opponent.
That's my update for November, now for December I have something special planned to round up what's been a very exciting year in the chess world! Max
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