Download PGN of July ’21 d-Pawn Specials games
The Trompowsky: 2...c5 3 Bxf6 gxf6 4 d5 f5 [A45]
Black normally meets 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 c5 3 Bxf6 gxf6 4 d5 with 4...Qb6, but 4...f5 and if 5 c4 Bg7 cannot be totally ridiculous of course. Moreover, after 6 Nc3 Bxc3 7 bxc3 e5! Black’s set-up appears to be a decent one:
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White can aim to restrain and blockade Black’s central pawns, but he has Nimzo-style weaknesses of his own and Black’s position just looks quite comfortable, as we’ll see in Duda, JK - Saric, I.
The Trompowsky: 2...Ne4 3 Bf4 c5 4 f3 Qa5+ 5 c3 Nf6 6 d5 Qb6 7 Bc1 [A45]
After 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 Ne4 3 Bf4 c5 Baadur Jobava is still dabbling in 4 e3!?, as we’ll see, but most still go 4 f3 Qa5+ 5 c3 Nf6 6 d5 when 6...Qb6 7 Bc1 e6 8 e4 continues to look fairly attractive for White:
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At any rate, 8...exd5 9 exd5 d6 10 c4 Be7 11 Bd3 obtains a grip on the position and one which can quickly become more than just a pleasant edge, as we’ll see in Tristan, L - Kretov, E.
The Trompowsky: 2...g6 3 Bxf6 exf6 4 e3 [A45]
Of course the principled reaction to 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 g6 must be 3 Bxf6 exf6 4 e3 whereupon 4...h5!? was a typical blitz ploy in Tristan, L - Kim, S:
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I fear that 5 g3 was a pre-move and Black soon obtained the upper hand after 5...h4 (there’s good reason why White normally prefers to play h2-h4 himself in such positions) 6 Bg2 d6 before being outplayed despite a very promising opening.
The Trompowsky: 2...d5 3 e3 e6 4 Nd2 c5 [D00]
Many 2600+ players continue to meet 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 with 2...d5 when 3 e3 e6 4 Nd2 is a Torre-like approach from White. After 4...c5 5 c3 Be7 6 Bd3 Nc6 I would simply transpose to that opening rather than go in for the ambitious 7 f4!?:
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Of course White is after a souped-up version of a Torre, but 7...h6 8 Bh4 Qb6! looks a bit awkward for him. Instead, the anti-positional but ambitious 7...c4!? 8 Bc2 b5 initially favoured White in Agdestein, S - Hammer, JL, a complex and eventful game which ended up as a draw.
The London: 2...c5 3 e3 cxd4 4 exd4 Nc6 5 c3 Bf5 [D00/B13]
One solid and important test of the modern move order 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4 is 2...c5 3 e3 cxd4 4 exd4 Nc6 5 c3 Bf5:
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Aron Nimzowitsch’s 6 Nf3 e6 7 Qb3 Qd7 8 Nbd2 f6! continues to hold up well for Black, so Jan-Krzysztof Duda recently preferred 6 Nd2 and White makes a decent case for the simple 6 Bd3 in Berkes, F - Tabatabaei, M. There the Hungarian London expert smoothly outplayed his young Iranian opponent before going astray when presented with a tempting-looking sacrifice.
The London: 2...Nf6 3 Nf3 c5 4 e3 Nc6 5 Nbd2 cxd4 6 exd4 Bf5 [D02]
One of the players of the past month has been Aleksandra Goryachkina, who has not only qualified for the Russian Superfinal, but also defended the fashionable 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Bf4 c5 4 e3 Nc6 5 Nbd2 cxd4 6 exd4 Bf5 when White really has to go 7 Bb5 in a bid to prove any advantage:
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Now 7...e6 8 Ne5 Qb6! 9 c4! dxc4 saw Black going on to triumph in Saduakassova, D - Goryachkina, A, although I’m still not so sure that Black is equal after 10 Bxc6+ bxc6 11 Ndxc4.
Black also has 7...Rc8!?, although after 8 Ne5 he should prefer David Navara’s 8...Qb6 to the meek 8...Bd7 of Nihal, S - Kovalenko, I, where the rising Indian star certainly impressed en route to tournament victory in Belgrade.
There may well be more from the World Cup next month! Until then, Richard
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