Download PGN of September ’16 1 d4 d5 2 c4 games
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Baltic Defence 5.Bg5 [D06]
While I don't think much of the pure Baltic (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Bf5), I think it is a much more feasible option after 2.Nf3, with the following position arising in Lalith, B - Kuzubov, Y:
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Those of you who subscribe to the D-Pawn Specials section might recognise this as a position from the London System with colours reversed! You can check the game for the key move giving White an advantage, but I think White had simpler routes to an advantage earlier. Furthermore, I would prefer 4...Bb4 to the current trend of 4...Nf6, but that is a subject for another update!
Tarrasch Defence with 9.dxc5 [D34]
In the game Efimenko, Z - Savchenko, B we see a nice move order trick via. a 1.Nf3 move order to lure the opponent into a Catalan (or Tarrasch as it transpired in the game), but it is not enough to know the assessment of a variation, you should also understand it! For instance, let's take the following position from the game:
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What do you think of the sequence played in the game, 10...a6 11.Bb2 Qd6 ? Actually, I think that all of these moves might not have been the most precise - and I recommend that you check my notes for the improvements, including what I'd consider to be the more critical tries against the Tarrasch (when you are already committed to g3).
Exchange QGD Main Line with Nf3 [D36]
Recently I put some work into the old main line of the Exchange QGD, since I think it is a little under-rated and also Black has experienced slight problems in some of the trendier lines, as I've discussed previously. While Navara, D - Hansen, S was played last year, I think it's an important game for demonstrating Black's chances in the 11.h3 g6 variation:
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The arising position is equal, as Black doesn't have much trouble defending his backward c6-pawn (his only weakness, we might add) and his pieces are fairly active. But to test your feel for the position, what would you play if White goes 23.Na4? For what it's worth, I covered basically all White's options with Nf3 in my notes, so the game serves as a stand-alone repertoire for Black.
Blackburne with 6.Qc2 [D37]
Nakamura played two relevant games in the Blackburne Variation at the Sinquefield Cup, and I'd like to start with Nakamura, H - Topalov, V, where Black played a queen sacrifice early on to reach this position:
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How would you assess Black's compensation? Of course, Black has alternatives before this position (especially 7...Qa5 and 9...exd5), which I cover for those interested in playing 6.Qc2 or who are not willing to sacrifice their queen. Anyway, look at the game to see if your evaluation of the position was correct!
Blackburne with 6.e3 c5 [D37]
I have focused more on the trendy 6...Nbd7 in the Blackburne (and even played it recently), but recently 6...c5 has seen a revival thanks mainly to Nakamura's efforts. In fact, his draws with Karjakin and Giri convinced Aronian that the way to go in Aronian, L - Nakamura, H was to head for a queenless middlegame:
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Black has just captured a knight on d5 and naturally the bishop on f4 is attacked. What will you do about it? You can check the game for an overview of the recent developments in this line, as well as the one equalising line I found for Black against Aronian's 8.Bd3!?.
The Anti-Moscow Gambit with 10.h4 [D43]
The Anti-Moscow Gambit went out of fashion for a while, but it may be due for a revival as in Nakamura, H - Ding, L, White scored an impressive victory:
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Such is the nature of the position that here Ding made the only mistake of the game, but it was enough to lose outright. Can you do better as Black? For the record, I've covered the alternatives for both sides after 10.h4 in some depth too. There are so many engine games in this line that one has to do a gigantic amount of work with the computer to get to the bottom of the variation, but I hope that my ideas and explanations provide a good starting point for your investigations. If more relevant games are played I'll definitely return to this variation.
The Anti-Moscow Gambit with 10.e5 [D44]
Naturally open tournaments are a very different kettle of fish to round robins, and as the previous game also demonstrated, what is equal to the engine may not always be so easy for a human to defend over the board. In the case of Salem, A - Fedoseev, V, White employed a committal but very interesting idea of 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Ne1:
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Which way would you castle as Black? In the game Black made the wrong choice and got crushed, but with correct play Black will equalise - study my notes and you will be ready!
Orthodox QGD with 7...Nbd7 [D60]
I did cover this variation last month, but both the games played in the Sinquefield Cup with this variation were quite relevant and therefore I'm examining it more thoroughly in the game Ding, L - So, W. It was a very interesting choice by So given that Aronian had easily equalised against 8.Rc1 in the previous round, but Ding played 8.Be2 instead and after some inaccuracies by both sides, the following position was reached:
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White's position looks pleasant with the knight on d6, but how might White (to move) capitalise? On another note, I am surprised that Black did not flick in a quick ...a6 in the game, since the inclusion of ...a6/a4 generally seems to favour Black in this variation - indeed, in the game White reached the d6-knight via b5.
Open Catalan 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Rd1 [E05]
I've noticed that often players below the GM level struggle a bit against the Catalan - at least I know I did before I started writing this section! This is probably due to not having so much experience in the arising position as the Catalan tends to be much more popular at the highest levels. In any case, the game Kuzubov, Y - Omar, N featured a sideline of 9.Rd1 and the problems it can pose if Black is not prepared:
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This is the critical position - can you tell me what move Black should play? You will find the answer in the notes, as usual. In the game Black went in the wrong direction and was handily beaten.
Closed Catalan with 10...a5 [E11]
I covered the 10...a5 variation of the Closed Catalan in one of my early ChessPub updates, but since then many new games were played, and perhaps the most interesting of those was the recent So, W - Giri, A from the Sinquefield Cup, since there Black showed how effective a Stonewall approach can be:
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White has nothing in this position and in the game he even ended up worse after the inaccurate 14.Ba3?!. How would you punish it as Black though? White's earlier alternatives also lead nowhere, so this variation still presents a big challenge for Catalan advocates (which is why many just avoid it with Bf4 earlier).
That's all I have to share right now, I hope you liked it! Next month I will go through the most interesting and important Queen's Gambit games from the Olympiad, and possibly Isle of Man if I see any great games there. Max
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