Download PGN of February ’22 d-Pawn Specials games
The Trompowsky: 2...Ne4 3 h4 c5 4 d5 [A45]
We begin, as so often, with 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 and see that Simon Williams is making hay with 2...Ne4 3 h4!?, as recommended on his latest Killer Tromp release. In a recent edition of Titled Tuesday, the Ginger GM must have been delighted to see 3...c5 4 d5 Qb6 5 Nd2 Nxg5 6 hxg5 Qxb2 appear:
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Yes, this is a rather greedy choice by Black and after 7 g6! White was quickly doing extremely well in Williams, S - Bethke, R.
The Trompowsky, Vaganian Gambit: 2...c5 3 d5 Qb6 [A45]
It was fitting to see a Vaganian Gambit, 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 c5 3 d5 Qb6 4 Nc3 Qxb2 5 Bd2 Qb6 6 e4, appear in the Armenian Championship, less so Black winning. So what went wrong for White? Well, after 6...e5 7 f4 d6 the latest engines agree with Eric that White should begin to squeeze with 8 f5!. Instead, 8 Rb1 Qc7 9 fxe5?! dxe5 10 Nf3 a6 already looks quite pleasant for Black:
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He even managed to get his queen’s knight around to d6 and won a surprisingly one-sided encounter in Petrosian, TL - Gabuzyan, H.
The Torre Attack: 2...g6 3 Bg5 Bg7 4 Nbd2 d5 [A48]
After 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 Bg5 Bg7 4 Nbd2 the modern preference is for ...d6 and/or ...c5 set-ups, but in Brunello, S - Abdumalik, Z, the Kazakhstani GM makes a decent case for 4...d5 5 e3 Nbd7 6 Bd3 0-0 7 0-0 Re8:
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This, of course, lines up ...e5 and you might remember 8 c3 e5 9 e4!? being topical a few years back. The men’s captain in Gibraltar’s Battle of the Sexes, though, preferred 8 Re1!?, countering in turn.
The Colle Anti-KID: 3 Nbd2 [A48]
1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 Nbd2 remains slightly in vogue with the elite and isn’t always met by 3...d5 or standard Pirc/Modern formations. Indeed, 3...Bg7 4 e4 0-0!? (4...d6 is certainly safer) 5 e5 Nh5 might already be said to be pretty ambitious from both sides:
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Unfortunately for Black, after 6 g4! Nf4 7 Ne4 d5 8 Ng3 Ne6 9 Nf5! he never appeared to be able to equalise and was blown away in Vidit, S - Grandelius, N.
The London System: 2...g6 3 Bf4 d5 4 e3 Bg7 [D02]
It’s a rare choice after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 d5 3 Bf4, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with 3...g6 when 4 e3 Bg7 5 Be2 0-0 6 Nbd2 c5 7 c3 saw White managing to make do without h2-h3 in Duda, JK - Caruana, F.
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7...b6 8 Ne5 Nfd7 was all pretty sensible from both sides and now 9 h4!? was seen, soon leading to an edge for White before he was outplayed in a pretty complex middlegame.
The London System: 3...c5 4 Nf3 Nc6 5 Nbd2 [D02]
1 d4 Nf6 2 Bf4 d5 3 e3 c5 4 Nf3 Nc6 5 Nbd2 is very much a modern London move order from both sides. Black, of course, has a few options here, including 5...Nh5!?, as Dubov has utilised. However, in Dubov, D - Aronian, L, he found himself on the other side of the board, trying 6 Be5 e6 7 c4!:
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This was pretty sensible and logical, but after 7...cxd4 8 cxd5 Qxd5! 9 Bc4 Qd8 Black remained both solid and all set to acquire the bishop-pair, with a comfortable game.
Another option in the modern non-...e6 tabiya is, of course, 5...Bg4 when 6 c3 e6 7 Qb3 is critical:
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Here we’ve mainly focussed on 7...Qc8, which Boris Gelfand continues to uphold, but 7...Qb6 was preferred in Erigaisi, A - van Foreest, L.
Dare I say there may well be more Londons to enjoy next month?
Until then, Richard
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