Download PGN of January ’23 d-Pawn Specials games
The Trompowsky: 2...e6 3 e4 h6 4 Bxf6 Qxf6 5 c3 d6 [A45]
A fairly popular response to 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 remains 2...e6 3 e4 h6 4 Bxf6 Qxf6 5 c3 d6, but after 6 Bd3 Nd7 7 Ne2 Black tends to fianchetto on the kingside rather than go 7...Qd8 8 0-0 Be7:
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This is though, of course, a pretty solid approach, against which White opted for the thematic 9 f4, going on to win a fairly instructive encounter in Petrov, N - Kostenko, P.
The Trompowsky: 2...g6 3 Bxf6 exf6 4 c4 d5 [A45]
In his popular and excellent as well as detailed repertoire for Black with the King’s Indian, Gawain Jones recommends both 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Bg5 g6!? and 2 Bg5 g6, after which 3 Bxf6 exf6 4 c4 d5 is an important follow-up:
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Yes, White can gain time against the queen, but 5 cxd5 Qxd5 6 Nc3 Qd8 is very solid for Black, as we’ll see in Petrov, N - Demchenko, A.
The Jobava-Prié Attack: 3...c5 4 e4 [D00]
1 Nc3 isn’t our normal starting move, but after 1...d5 2 d4 Nf6 3 Bf4 play was back in familiar waters in Williams, S - Townsend, MP. There 3...c5 4 e4!? dxe4 (Black can very much also go 4...Nxe4 5 Nxe4 dxe4, against which Hans Niemann had a shocker at the World Rapid, as we’ll see in the notes) 5 dxc5 Nbd7 saw a pretty critical line being debated before Black introduced the useful novelty 6 Bb5 e5!, intending 7 Bxe5 Bxc5:
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The Ginger GM exchanged on f6 here and while Black may be OK in any case, I suspect 8 Bd6!? is likely a better try.
The Jobava-Prié Attack: 3...a6 [D00]
Meeting 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Bf4 with 3...a6 at least rules out any Nb5 issues. Black can also, of course, then expand with 4 e3 b5, after which 5 h4!? was all very modern in Erigaisi, A - Carlsen, M.
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I’m not totally sure that the champ’s 5...h5 was best here and ultimately Carlsen had to dig fairly deep to keep his talented opponent at bay.
The London System: 2...g6 3 Bf4 Bg7 4 c3 0-0 5 h3 d5 6 e3 [D02]
1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 c3 g6 is a slightly unusual move order from both sides, but after 4 Bf4 Bg7 5 h3 0-0 6 e3 c5 7 Nbd2 the play was very much London style in Tabatabaei, M - Sjugirov, S.
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As we’ve seen before, 7...Nc6 8 dxc5! is quite a critical line and while 7...cxd4 8 exd4 Nc6 is fairly solid for Black, Tabatabaei has shown a way forwards for White, as we’ll see. He also impresses after 7...Qb6 8 Qb3 c4!? 9 Qa3 followed by b2-b3 in our main game.
The London System: 2...Nf6 3 Nf3 e6 4 e3 c5 5 c3 Bd6 [D02]
After 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 d5 3 Bf4 c5 4 e3 e6 5 c3 Bd6 most people go 6 Bg3, but in Carlsen, M - Ding Liren no less, the triple world champion preferred 6 Bb5+!? Nc6 7 Bxc6+ bxc6 8 Bxd6 Qxd6:
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Here Gata Kamsky quite likes 9 Nbd2, but after both that and Carlsen’s 9 Qa4 0-0 10 0-0 Black should be OK - with care.
The Colle: 3...c5 4 dxc5 [D04]
Quite a critical line from both sides after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e3 is 3...c5 4 dxc5 (one more modest approach is Vincent Keymer’s 4 Be2), after which Black should really go 4...e6 rather than 4...Qa5+ 5 Nbd2 g6 6 a3! Qxc5 7 b4 Qb6 8 c4 Bg7 9 Bb2:
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White’s early queenside expansion is a pretty useful asset and Black was ultimately rather crushed in Niemann, H - Tabatabaei, M.
Will we have more Carlsen games to enjoy and learn plenty from next month?
Until then, Richard
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