Download PGN of March ’25 d-Pawn Specials games
The Trompowsky: 2...Ne4 3 Bf4 d5 4 e3 Nc6 [A45]
For a long time after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 Ne4 3 Bf4 d5 4 e3 the move 4...Nc6!? had a rather shady reputation. It does, of course, block the c-pawn, but nowadays we know that Black (and White - think the Jobava-Prié!) can sometimes get away with such an approach. Here 5 Nd2 g5 reveals the main idea, after which 6 Bg3 Nxg3 7 hxg3 e5! was a clear improvement over the older 7...Bg7.
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And the grandmaster sitting behind the black pieces was Mr ChessPublishing, Tony Kosten no less! At this stage he enjoyed effective counterplay and White was forced to play well to maintain the rough balance in Ceschia, I - Kosten, A.
The Trompowsky: 2...Ne4 3 h4 Nxg5 4 hxg5 [A45]
Once I’d spotted a crisp attacking win by Mr 3 h4, Igor Miladinovic, it was too hard not to cover it, so do enjoy White’s energetic play in Miladinovic, I - Baradaran Tamadon, A. In the notes to the game we’ll see a few other recent examples of 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 Ne4 3 h4, while the Iranian FM opted for 3...Nxg5 4 hxg5 d5, whereupon 5 e3 g6 6 c4!? was thematic if also ambitious from Miladinovic, who stood better after 6...c6?! 7 cxd5 cxd5 8 Nc3 Nc6 9 f4!:
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This is an ideal h4 Trompowsky scenario for White. The g5-pawn rather cramps the black position and it’s far from easy for Black to obtain effective counterplay.
The Trompowsky: 2...c5 3 Bxf6 gxf6 4 d5 Qb6 5 Nd2 [A45]
IM Peter Large was the star of England’s gold-medal-winning over-65 team in Prague, where he even gave 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 c5 3 Bxf6 gxf6 4 d5 Qb6 5 Nd2!? a spin, remembering 5...f5 6 Rb1:
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I was delighted to see Peter inspired by The Tricky Tromp to play this line. Unfortunately though the Trompowsky let him down to an extent as this was one of only two games he didn’t win en route to a superb 7/8. That said, after 6...Qg6 7 e3 d6 8 Ne2 White was undoubtedly better in Large, P - Cocozza, M.
The Trompowsky: 2...d5 3 Nd2 c5 [D00]
It’s rare to see Ivan Cheparinov worse out of the opening, let alone losing in 21 moves, but that’s what happened after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 d5 3 Nd2 c5 4 dxc5 e6 5 e4:
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This leads to rich and sharp play after 5...Bxc5 6 e5 Qb6, but 5...h6 6 Bh4 Nc6 was preferred in Heberla, B - Cheparinov, I, where 7 exd5 exd5 8 Nb3 gave White chances for an edge and here Black lashed out with 8...g5!?.
The London: 2 Bf4 Nf6 3 e3 Bg4 [D00]
Magnus Carlsen was a convincing winner of this year’s Chessable Masters and in this update we’ll see his two encounters with the Jobava-Prié against Andrey Esipenko, as well as 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4 Nf6 3 e3 Bg4!? 4 f3:
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Here 4...Bd7! looks like a decent enough, independent option for Black, rather than 4...Bh5?! 5 g4 Bg6 6 h4, which already favoured White in Carlsen, M - Yu Yangyi.
The London: 2...Nf6 3 Nf3 e6 4 e3 Bd6 [D02]
After 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4 Nf6 3 e3 e6 4 Nf3 Bd6 White doesn’t by any means have to retreat to g3, with 5 Nbd2 0-0 6 Bd3 a fairly topical choice. After 6...c5 7 dxc5! I suspect that Black should recapture on c5, since 7...Bxf4 8 exf4 Qc7 9 g3 is fairly pleasant for White:
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Here 9...a5!? followed by ...Na6 should likely be tried, since 9...Qxc5 10 0-0 b6 11 Qe2 saw White taking control en route to an instructive victory in Olafsson, H - Josse, M.
The Colle-Zukertort: 3...e6 4 Bd3 c5 5 b3 Nc6 6 Bb2 Be7 [D05]
1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 e3 e6 4 Bd3 c5 5 b3 Be7 6 0-0 Nc6 7 Bb2 0-0 has a slightly passive, if also solid reputation for Black. One of the main lines continues 8 Nbd2 b6 9 Ne5 Bb7 10 a3, which is sensible prophylaxis against ...Nb4:
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Here 10...Rc8 is fairly standard, while 10...a6 can either be met with 11 f4 or the calm 11 Qe2, which soon led to White taking control in Yusupov, A - Svanda, P.
Let’s hope we have more instructive meistering with our favourite games to enjoy next month!
Until then, Richard
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