1. c4 This eBook provides a full repertoire based on 1.c4. White stays within the territory of the English Opening or the Reti Opening if Black replies with a d5 setup. I rarely recommend a transposition to a main line 1.d4 opening. If I do so, I believe it is clearly the best option and requires little work. There will never be a position where you need a huge theoretical work in addition to this publication - it suffices as a standalone roadmap of the opening. This intro gives a brief overview of everything. The most principled reply is 1... e5 .This is the largest chunk of the whole repertoire. The symmetrical 1... c5 enjoys a solid reputation. My choice is 2. g3 after which 2... g6 3. ♗g2 ♗g7 4. ♘c3 ♘c6 is the most common sequence. 5. a3 initiates queenside play, going for a later b4. Black is very solid in these lines, still White manages to set some problems in positions that stay complicated for a long time. With 1... e6 Blacks signals he is ready for a Queen's Gambit. We go for 2. g3 again, but after the most common 2... d5 3. ♗g2 ♘f6 4. ♘f3 ♗e7 5. O-O O-O we avoid the mainline Catalan with 6. b3 . White has chances for a small edge in a very safe position. He will play for two results in many cases. The Slav players will often go for 1... c6 We reply 2. g3 d5 3. ♘f3 ♘f6 4. ♗g2 after which taking the pawn with 4... dxc4 is the most critical, leading to sharp play. Less forcing lines like 4... Bf5 or 4...Bg4 pose White little problems. In those variations White normally just keeps a comfortable position. The most frequently played move against 1.c4 is actually 1... ♘f6 , but it will often transpose to other parts of this eBook, depending on Black's choice of pawn setup in the centre to be taken on the following moves. The most important standalone options for Black are 2. g3 g6 3. ♗g2 ♗g7 for a KID setup, or ( 3... d5 for a Grunfeld style of play. The KID setup often resembles the Reversed Closed Sicilian Structures after 1.c4 e5 and is therefore quite solid. The Grunfeld setup seems promising for White currently, with a quick h4 being a key idea.) After 1... g6 it will transpose to a different line depending on the next moves. Often we will get a reserved Sicilian, for example after 2. g3 ♗g7 3. ♗g2 e5 The move 1... b6 requires to change our setup, as 2.g3 doesnt work well here. However, after 2. e4 White has good prospects for a plus. The Dutch players go for 1... f5 quite often. Black has three main setups, of which the Stonewall and Classical shouldn't equalize for Black. The Leningrad approach with ...g6 will transpose to a Reversed Closed Sicilian again. 2. g3 is the repertoire choice against 1...e5. Now Black has a variety of lines to choose from. The most important are the Closed Siclian Reversed lines and the Reversed Dragon after 2... ♘f6 3. ♗g2 d5 4. cxd5 ♘xd5 5. ♘c3 ♘b6 6. ♘f3 ♘c6 7. O-O ♗e7 Here 8. ♖b1 is a tricky line that sets some pitfalls for Black and gives chances to keep a small edge.
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1...e5 is the most principled reply. Black occupies the centre with a pawn, as White 'failed' to do the same thing on move 1. We will fianchetto our bishop almost all of the time in this proposed repertoire. The bishop helps to control d5 and the long diagonal. White's play will usually be focused on the queenside. Moves like b4 or prep moves for this kind of play are commonplace. With his next moves Black chooses the line. We have 5 Chapters in total to provide details of the play. Chapter 3 features the options for Black which avoid Nc6 or Nf6 on move 2. Most important are ...d6/g6/f5 setups and 2...c6, after which I suggest 3.Nf3, leading to interesting play. Chapter 4 is about 2. g3 Nf6 with Black avoiding the Reversed Dragon (Chapter 5 ). Most important lines are 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.Nc3 Bc5 or ...c6 4.Nf3, similar to 2...c6 3.Nf3. Chapter 5 examines the Reversed Dragon. 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 features rather concrete play following 5.Nc3 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 and now 8.Rb1. This requires some study time, but will often catch Black players unaware. This is the 'open' variation of the Reversed Sicilian, but Black of course has a bunch of options to keep it closed. Those lines occur frequently in practice, but don't require as much memorization compared to the Reversed Dragon. See the subsequent chapers for the details. Chapter 6 starts with 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 and now Black avoids g6/d6 setups, which are presented in Chapter 7. The most importat setup of Chapter 6 is the Reversed Grand Prix with f5, but after 4. Nc3 Nf6 5.e3 White is comfortable. Chapter 7 deals with the Reversed Closed Sicilian. Black plays Nc6 and follows with a d6/g6 setup. 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 This is the most frequent position of this line. Here I suggest 5.Rb1 to quickly start action on the queenside.
1. c4 e5 2. g3 This chapter deals with Black avoiding a knight move here on move 2. 2... c6 2... d6 is quite flexible. Black most often wants to play f5 later. 3. ♘c3 ( 3. ♗g2 is fine of course, but I have an interesting suggestion later which requires to delay the bishop move. ) 3... f5 ( 3... g6 transposes to 2...g6; 3... ♗e7 4. d4 f5 transposes to 3...f5 4.d4 ) 4. d4! (Now 4. ♗g2 is the routine move, for example 4... ♘f6 5. d3 ♗e7 6. e3 O-O 7. ♘ge2 c6 8. O-O ♗e6 9. b3 ♘bd7 10. ♗b2 ♕e8 11. f4 ♕h5 12. ♕d2 with roughly equal, complicated play.) 4... ♗e7 5. ♗h3⁉ An unconventional move but it has some points. 5... ♘f6 ( 5... exd4 6. ♕xd4 This structure is favourable for White, a later Nd5 will be trouble for Black. The bishop on h3 will need another tempo but the structure is more important here. ) 6. ♘f3 e4 7. ♘h4! The point of Bh3 7... g6 8. ♗h6 and White was better in Jovanic,O (2547)-Hopman,P (2347) Cappelle-la-Grande 2013 2... g6 3. ♗g2 (Of course 3. d4⁉ is good as well, but we need to know 3.Bg2 anyway as it might arise from 1.c4 g6. 3... d6 4. ♘c3 ♘d7 5. ♗g2 ♗g7 6. ♘f3 ♘gf6 ) 3... ♗g7 This position often arises from 1... g6. 4. ♘c3 d6 5. d3 f5 ( 5... ♘c6 leads to the Reversed Closed Sicilian. ) 6. ♖b1 White will get his typical queenside play here, very much in the style of the Reversed Closed Sicilian. It will often transpose in case of ...Nc6. a) 6... ♘f6 7. b4 O-O 8. ♘f3 ( 8. e3 ♘h5! is a bit awkward for White. ) 8... h6 ( 8... ♘c6 9. O-O transposes to the Closed Sicilian Reversed which is covered in another chapter. ) 9. O-O g5 10. b5 ♔h8 11. ♗a3 ♘bd7 12. ♘d2 a6 13. ♕b3 axb5 14. cxb5 ♘b6 15. ♗b4 ♕e8 16. a4+/= 0-1 (37) Harikrishna,P (2727)-Ponomariov,R (2714) Beijing 2014 b) 6... a5 7. a3 ♘f6 8. b4 axb4 9. axb4 O-O 10. ♘f3 h6 ( 10... ♘c6 11. b5 ♘e7 12. O-O h6 again transposes to the Closed Sicilian Reversed. ) 11. O-O g5 12. ♗b2 ♕e8 13. ♖a1 ♖xa1 14. ♕xa1 f4 15. ♕a5 ♕f7 16. b5+/= 2... h5 Very crude, but White should react to it. Of course, you can just go 3.h4, but very strong is 3. ♘f3! e4 4. ♘h4 ♗e7 ( 4... c6 5. d3± ) 5. ♘c3 ♘f6 ( 5... ♗xh4 6. gxh4 ♕xh4 7. d4± White has fantastic compensation here. He has a lead in development, pressure against the pawn on e4 and the bishop pair. ) 6. d4+/= White is at least slightly better here or after 6.Nf5.( 6. ♘f5+/= ) 2... d5 3. cxd5 a) Now 3... ♘f6 should just be answered with 4. ♗g2 (as 4. e4? c6! gives Black good play.) b) 3... c6 The Smith-Morra a tempo down is too optimistic. Just develop and enjoy the pawn. 4. dxc6 ♘xc6 5. ♗g2 ♘f6 6. ♘c3+/= c) 3... ♕xd5 4. ♘f3 Here Black is worse in all lines but it remains playable for him. c1) 4... e4 5. ♘c3+−
c2) 4... ♗b4 5. a3 ♗a5 ( 5... e4 6. axb4 exf3 7. ♘c3 ♕h5 8. d4 ) 6. b4 ♗b6 7. ♗b2+/= c3) 4... ♘c6 5. ♘c3 ♕d8 6. ♗g2+/= This is Black's best option. White has a good Reversed Dragon obviously, but Black is still not going to lose in a couple of moves. 2... f5 3. d4 Most principled. ( 3. ♗g2 is also fine and might arise after 1...f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e5. ) a) 3... e4 4. ♘c3 ♘f6 ( 4... ♗b4 5. ♗d2 Important: avoid the doubled pawns when White has a pawn on d4 already. c4 will be very weak in this case, so just avoid that scenario. 5... ♘f6? 6. ♘xe4 1-0 (62) Lee,M (2399) -Brooks,M (2451) ICC INT 2010 ) 5. ♘h3 ♗b4 6. ♗d2+/= White will play the knight to f4 and often tries to break wth f3. Black often feels overextended. b) 3... exd4 4. ♕xd4 ♘c6 5. ♕e3+ ♗e7 6. ♘c3 ♘f6 7. ♗g2+/= White is better in this structure. A knight coming to d5 is very annoying for Black. The queen will go back to d2, followed by b3, Bb2 and Nh3. 2... ♗c5 3. ♗g2 ♘f6 4. ♘c3 3. ♘f3 3. ♗g2⁉ This is not THAT bad, but I dislike giving Black that much space early on. 3... d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. ♕b3? This IS bad, however! ( 5. d4 e4 is what I was referring to earlier (Black has more space). ) 5... ♘f6 6. ♘c3 ♘c6! 7. ♘xd5 ♘d4↑ This is a very questionable line for White that you should avoid falling for. 3. d4 This is very reasonable and for example recommended by M. Marin in his book about the English Opening. My suggested alternative is a bit less memorization heavy, but if you dislike it for some reason, then 3.d4 is the way to go. 3... e4 3... d6 4. ♘c3 ♘f6 5. ♗g2+/= This is a very rare move order. It will transpose to some Old Indian in most cases. A sample move order: 5... ♗e7 6. O-O O-O 7. e4! ( 7. d4 e4! is quite reasonable for Black. ) 7... ♗g4 8. d4+/= I know it's not a very 'English' type of position, but rather a 1.d4 position. On the other hand White has good control and more space. It is easy to play, but you should not underestimate Black's solidity. 4. ♘d4 d5 4... ♘f6 5. ♗g2 is covered in another chapter. 4... ♕b6 5. e3 ♘f6 6. ♘c3 d5 7. ♕c2 ♗d7 d5 was hanging for tactical reasons (due to the loose bishop on c8) 8. a3 ♗e7 9. b4 O-O 10. ♗b2+/= This is a slight improvement over 10.Bg2 in Hammer,J (2701)-Tari,A (2553) Fagernes 2016. White is more active here and has chances to attack on the queenside and in the centre.
5. cxd5 ♕xd5 5... cxd5 6. d3 ♘f6 7. ♘c3 ♗c5 8. dxe4 ♘xe4 ( 8... dxe4 9. ♗e3 O-O 10. ♗g2+/= ) 9. ♗e3 O-O 10. ♗g2 1-0 (25) Grigoriants,S (2603)-Tari,A (2521) Berlin 2015. In those lines Black's development is not great and he has nothing to compensate for it. 6. ♘c2 ♘f6 7. ♘c3 ♕h5 7... ♕e5 8. ♗g2 ♗e7 9. ♘e3 I think this is better than ( 9. O-O O-O 10. f4 exf3 11. ♖xf3 c5 12. ♘e3 ♘c6=/+ 0-1 (41) Grandelius, N (2649)-Giri,A (2790) Stavanger 2016 ) 9... ♘a6 ( 9... O-O? 10. ♕a4 ) 10. a3 O-O 11. b4∞ This is an interesting position. I am not sure if White is better, but it is leading to a complicated game for sure. 8. ♘e3 White intends Qc2 to put pressure on e4. 8... ♗c5 8... ♗h3 9. ♕b3 This looks good for White. A sample line: 9... b6 10. ♕a4 ♗xf1 11. ♖xf1 ♕e5 12. f4 exf3 13. ♖xf3 b5 14. ♘g4! A tactic which is easy to miss! 14... ♕xg3+ 15. hxg3 bxa4 16. ♖e3+ ♗e7 17. ♘xf6+ gxf6 18. b3± And Black will not entangle himself here anymore. 9. ♕c2 ♗xe3 10. fxe3 ♕e5 10... ♗f5 seems to be no improvement. 11. ♗g2 ♕g6 12. ♕b3 O-O ( 12... b6 13. ♕a3+/= ) 13. ♕xb7 ♘bd7 14. ♕xc6+/= Black has some compensation, but it isn't enough. 11. ♗g2 ♗f5 12. O-O O-O 13. b3 13. b4+/= is also fine. 13... ♘bd7 14. ♗b2 ♕e6 15. ♖xf5 ♕xf5 16. ♘xe4+/= This was the game Anand,V (2791)Adams,M (2745) Shamkir 2015. White has great play for the exchange. He's got a full centre coming, two excellent bishops and of course a pawn. The white side is much easier to play here and Anand went on to win a fine game.
1. c4 e5 2. g3 ♘f6 3. ♗g2 This chapter deals with Black avoiding the Reversed Dragon of the next chapter. 3... ♘c6 3... h6 A strange-looking move but it played by some world class players. Black is bascially waiting for White to play Nc3 so that ...Bb4 is a sensible reply. ...h6 will come in handy most of the time. 4. ♘f3⁉ I like this move which is rarely played. (There is nothing wrong, of course, with something like 4. ♘c3 ♗b4 5. e4 ♗xc3 6. bxc3 O-O 7. ♘e2 d6 8. d3 which also seems comfortable for White. ) 4... e4 ( 4... ♘c6 5. O-O and ...h6 looks quiet useless now. 5... ♗c5 6. ♘xe5! is an important point.) 5. ♘d4 ♘c6 ( 5... d5 6. cxd5 ♕xd5 7. ♘c2 ♕h5 This is pretty much comparable to the early ...c6 lines, but here Black has h6 instead of c6. White should benefit here. 8. ♘e3+/= Now 8... ♗h3 9. ♕b3 ♗xg2 10. ♕xb7 ♗xh1 11. ♕c8+ ♔e7 12. ♘f5+ is a funny line. ) 6. ♘c2 d5 7. cxd5 ♕xd5 8. ♘c3 ♕e5 9. O-O ♗f5 10. d4 exd3 11. exd3 O-O-O 12. ♗xc6 bxc6 13. ♗f4+/= and here, I prefer White. This line with 4. Nf3 is not explored at all, but seems reasonable. There is nothing wrong with the more standard play (4.Nc3) either. 3... c6 4. ♘f3 a) 4... d6 5. ♘c3 ♗e7 6. O-O O-O 7. e4! We have already briefly checked this via 2... c6.( 7. d4 e4⁉ ) b) 4... e4 5. ♘d4 d5 ( 5... ♕b6 6. ♘c2 d5 7. cxd5 cxd5 8. d3 ♘c6 9. O-O ♗f5 10. ♘c3 ♖d8 Black's centre seems rather vulnerable here. 11. b4⁉ Nice dynamic play! 11... ♘xb4⁉ 12. ♖b1± Black is in big trouble here. The centre in this line looks overextended.) 6. d3 ♗c5 ( 6... ♗b4+ 7. ♘c3 ♕e7 8. O-O dxc4 9. ♘xe4 ♘xe4 10. dxe4± 1/2-1/2 (58) Gajewski,G (2646)-Erdos,V (2616) Germany 2016; 6... exd3 7. cxd5 ♘xd5 8. ♕xd3 ♗e7 9. O-O O-O 10. ♖d1+/= 1-0 (41) Lenderman,A (2582)-Homa,S (2331) Wheeling 2014. White is a bit better with an extra pawn in the center. In the long run White wants to play e4 and f4. ) 7. ♘b3 ♗b4+ 8. ♗d2 ♗xd2+ 9. ♕xd2 dxc4 ( 9... exd3 10. cxd5+/= ) 10. dxc4 ♕e7 11. ♘c3 O-O 12. ♕e3 ♖e8 13. ♕c5 ♘a6 14. ♕xe7 ♖xe7 15. O-O-O+/= 1-0 (54) Giri,A (2768)Balogh,C (2660) Germany 2015. White is a bit better here. e4 is slightly vulnerable, the king is closer to the action and he is quicker on the d-file. It is not the end of the world for Black but White has the easier game. 3... ♗c5 This natural move is very reasonable for Black. Compared to other Bc5 lines he retains the option to place a pawn on c6 to prepare ...d5. 4. ♘c3 O-O ( 4... d6 has little independent value. Natural moves like 5. e3 O-O 6. ♘ge2 c6 7. O-O ♗e6 8. d4 ♗b6 9. b3 ♕d7 10. ♗a3 gave White a nice edge in Dvalishvili,P (2450)-Rozhkov,V (2275) Moscow 2010.; 4... ♘c6 5. a3 transposes to the main line of this chapter. ) a) Now 5. ♘f3 is an alternative to my selected move 5.e3. 5... ♘c6 ( 5... e4 6. ♘g5 ♗xf2+ 7. ♔xf2 ♘g4+ 8. ♔g1 ♕xg5 9. ♘xe4 ♕g6 10. d3+/= It's a bit murky, but White holds the long term assets (bishops, centre pawns.) 6. O-O d6 7. e3 with interesting play. There are lots
of alternatives in the English, which makes it attractive for the pratical player who wants to vary his play. b) 5. e3 is my recommendation to stay similar to other lines. Black seems to be ok here though - 5.Nf3 probably is the theoretically more challenging move. 5... c6 The idea of this move order. Other moves transpose or pose no problems to White.( 5... ♘c6 6. ♘ge2 transposing to play similar to the main line, but without a3, which is not essential for White.; 5... ♖e8 6. ♘ge2 ♗f8 7. O-O c6 8. d4 d6 9. b3+/= ) 6. ♘ge2 d5 7. cxd5 ♘xd5 ( 7... cxd5 8. d4+/= exd4 9. exd4 ♗b6 10. ♗g5 ) 8. ♘xd5 cxd5 9. d4 exd4 10. ♘xd4 This position should be ok for Black. 10... ♘c6 is interesting now. 11. ♘b3 b1) 11... ♗b6 12. ♕xd5 ♕xd5 13. ♗xd5 ♖d8 14. ♗e4=/∞ Black has compensation here, just as in the alternative with Bxc6. ( 14. ♗xc6 bxc6 15. ♗d2 a5 16. ♗c3 a4 17. ♘d2=/∞ ) b2) 11... ♗b4+ This conservative move gives White a small plus. 12. ♗d2 ♗f5 13. O-O+/= 4. ♘c3 ♗c5 4... ♗b4 is a solid alternative for Black. 5. e4 This controls d5 very reliably and White intends to play on the flanks (b4,f4 ideas).(It is very important to avoid 5. e3⁉ ♗xc3 6. bxc3 e4 This type of position is tough to play and not that good in the first place.; 5. ♘d5⁉ however, is a very decent alternative. ) a) 5... d6 6. ♘ge2 ♗c5 7. h3 (Not 7. O-O⁉ due to 7... h5! ) 7... ♗e6 8. d3 with ideas of f4 later on. b) 5... O-O 6. ♘ge2 d6 7. O-O ♗c5 8. d3 ♘d4 9. h3 c6 10. ♔h2 ♘e8 11. ♘xd4 ♗xd4 12. ♘e2 ♗b6 13. d4 Just a non-forced sample line. White is slightly better in this position due to his space advantage. 4... ♗e7 5. ♘f3 (Not 5. e3 because of 5... d5! , an idea we will see later with the bishop on c5. ) 5... O-O 6. d4+/= 4... g6 A rare move in this positon. Both sides have countless move orders in the English. 5. ♖b1 a5 6. a3 ♗g7 7. d3 d6 8. ♘f3 O-O 9. O-O and we reached the Reversed Closed Sicilian again. 5. a3 The natural 5. e3 gets hit by the surprising 5... d5! 6. cxd5 ♘b4 and Black get's the pawn back with decent play. There is the same idea with ...f5 instead of ...Bc5 being played. In this case White is slightly better due to the weaknesses induced by ...f5 - here, Black is very solid in comparison. 5... a6
5... a5 This seems slightly less convincing to me. 6. e3 O-O 7. ♘ge2 ♖e8 8. O-O d6 ( 8... ♗f8 9. d4+/= ) 9. b3 ♗g4 10. h3 ♗h5 11. ♗b2 ♗a7 12. d3+/= The weakness on b5 seems helpful for White. He has good prospects of gaining space slowly with b4 and/ or d4. 6. e3 O-O 7. ♘ge2 d6 8. O-O ♗a7 9. d4 9. d3 ♘e7 Is also possible. Quite clearly this is not a very concrete position, so there is some scope for creativity. 10. b4+/= 9... exd4 9... ♖e8 10. h3 h6 11. b4 exd4 12. exd4 ♗f5 13. ♗e3 ♕c8 14. g4 ♗h7 15. ♘g3+/= 1-0 (62) Krush,I (2465)-Kosteniuk,A (2553) Chess Supersite INT 2016 10. exd4 h6 11. h3 ♘e7 12. b4 c6 13. c5 White has more space, but Black is quite solid, obviously. The ...Bc5 lines are very sound for Black, White can only hope for a small plus if Black plays well. It is advisable to study some master games for these structures to get a better feeling for the plans. This is more important here than learning moves by heart.
1. c4 e5 2. g3 ♘f6 3. ♗g2 d5 4. cxd5 ♘xd5 5. ♘c3 ♘b6 Almost universally played as the alternatives are questionable. 5... ♗e6 6. ♘f3 ♘c6 7. O-O! ( 7. d4⁈ ♗b4! ) a) 7... ♗e7 8. d4! Now White is always slightly better due to the better centre and the good bishop on g2. 8... exd4 9. ♘xd4 ♘xd4 ( 9... ♘xc3 10. bxc3 ♘xd4 11. cxd4 c6 12. ♖b1+/= ) 10. ♕xd4 ♘xc3 11. ♕xc3+/= b) 7... ♘b6 8. d4! Otherwise, Black would get away with the inaccurate 5...Be6. The arising complications are favourable for White. 8... exd4 ( 8... ♘xd4 9. ♘xe5± ) 9. ♘b5 ♗c5 This requires some nice moves by White. Other tries by Black are better for White without much effort needed. 10. ♕c2 ♗c4 11. ♗f4! ♖c8 ( 11... ♗xb5 12. ♕xc5 ♕d5 13. ♕a3± ) 12. b3 ♗xb5 13. ♕xc5 ♗xe2 14. ♖fe1 d3 15. ♘e5 This is more or less winning already. There are some other possibilities along the way, but the most important thing here is to remember the d2-d4 idea. 5... ♘xc3 6. bxc3 This is nice for White. A very good trade the of b-pawn against the d-pawn and a nice Bishop on g2. Let's have a look at a sample line. 6... ♗d6 7. ♖b1 c6 8. ♘f3 O-O 9. O-O ♘d7 10. d3 ♘f6 11. ♕c2 ♕e7 12. ♘d2 ♗a3 13. ♗xa3 ♕xa3 14. ♖b2 ♕d6 15. ♖fb1+/= 1-0 (34) Kalinitschew,S (2485)-Krasnici,H (2248) Berlin 2002 6. ♘f3 6. e3 is an interesting move you may check out if you want a fighting alternative to my main line. I considered to analyze it in detail here, but decided that I liked the 8.Rb1 idea even more. 6... ♘c6 7. O-O 7. ♖b1⁈ is already possible here as well. I am not completely sure if there is any advantage in delaying castling. One point may be that ...g5 ideas don't make much sense with the King still on e1. However, I'd be thrilled if Black played ...g5 after 8.Rb1, so there is not much of a point point in avoiding this scenario. 7... ♗e7 7... ♗e6⁈ 8. d4! we have already checked this via 5... Be6. 8. ♖b1 This is a tricky move that poses Black some problems without risking anything at all. Play might become very sharp, but White might still return to more restrained play if he desires to do so. 8. a3 or 8. d3 are the alternatives.
8... a5 This is the most reliable move it seems. Black, of course, can try many other things. 8... O-O 9. b4! The point of Rb1. a) 9... f6 10. b5 ♘d4 11. a4 White makes quick progress on the queenside! 11... a5 ( 11... ♔h8 12. a5 ♘xf3+ 13. ♗xf3 ♘d7+/= ) 12. e3 ♘xf3+ 13. ♗xf3 Here White is better. Let's check some moves to get a feeling for the position. a1) 13... ♖b8 14. ♕b3+ ♔h8 15. d4 exd4 16. ♖d1 d3 17. ♘d5 ♘xd5 18. ♗xd5 c6 ( 18... ♕e8 19. ♕xd3+/= ) 19. ♗c4+/= a2) 13... ♗f5 14. ♕b3+ ♔h8 15. ♗xb7! An easy decision. White has great play for the exchange. 15... ♗xb1 16. ♕xb1 ♖c8 17. ♗e4 g6 18. ♗b2 ♗b4 19. ♖d1+/= This is much more comfortable for White. He has got a pawn, the better structure and the pair of bishops for the exchange. b) 9... ♗f5 10. b5! ♘d4 ( 10... ♗xb1⁈ 11. bxc6 loses immediately) 11. d3 ♘xf3+ 12. ♗xf3 ♖b8 13. ♗e3+/= with quick queenside play. c) 9... e4 Black tries to solve his problems tactically, but it won't equalize. 10. ♘xe4 c1) 10... ♗f5 11. ♕c2 ♗xb4 ( 11... ♘xb4 12. ♘f6+ is an important trick 12... ♗xf6 13. ♕xf5± ) 12. ♗b2 ♖e8 13. ♘h4 ♗g4 14. ♖fe1 ♗e6 15. ♗xg7 ♔xg7 16. ♖xb4 ♘xb4 17. ♕b2+ f6 18. ♕xb4+/= c2) 10... ♘xb4 11. a3 ♘c6 12. ♕c2+/= Two cental pawns vs none are good for a small edge at least. d) 9... ♘xb4⁈ 10. ♘xe5 e) 9... ♗xb4? 10. ♘xe5 f) 9... a6 This is probably best once Black has reached the position after 8...0-0 9 b4. It is a small concession though, weakening the queenside slightly. 10. a3! This a rare case where the restrained a3 is better. Slow play by White is promising now. A key idea is getting a knight to c5.( 10. a4 ♗f5 11. b5 axb5 12. axb5 ♘d4 13. d3 ♗g4= ) 10... ♗e6 11. d3 f1) 11... f5 12. ♗b2 ♗f6 13. ♘d2 ♘d5 14. ♘xd5 ♗xd5 15. e4 fxe4 16. ♘xe4+/= (This is better than 16. ♗xe4 of Predke,A (2491)-Paravyan,D (2421) Loo 2014. White has great pieces and the better chances.) f2) 11... f6 12. ♘e4 ♖b8 13. ♗b2 ♔h8 14. ♘c5 ♗xc5 15. bxc5 ♘d5 16. ♕c2 ♕d7 17. ♖fd1 ♕f7 18. d4± 1-0 (85) Agrest,E (2587)-Ahlander,B (2429) Sweden 2014 8... f6 This fortifies e5 but alsoweakens the e6-square. 9. d4 ( 9. b4⁈ has been tried here as well, but I couldn't quite make it work.)
a) 9... ♗f5 10. e4 ♗g4 11. d5 ♘d4 12. b4+/= ( 12. ♕d3 c5 13. ♘d2 O-O 14. b3+/= ) b) 9... exd4 10. ♘b5 ♗f5 11. ♗f4! The important move to remember. 11... O-O 12. ♖c1 ( 12. ♗xc7 is interesting as well.) 12... d3 13. ♗xc7 dxe2 14. ♕xe2 ♕d3 15. ♘fd4 ♕xe2 16. ♘xe2 ♗d3 17. ♘bc3 ♘c4 18. ♖fd1 ♘xb2 19. ♖d2 ♖ac8 20. ♘d5 ♖fe8 21. ♘ef4+/= A very long line with some possible deviations earlier. It is important to remember 9.d4 and the Bf4/ Rc1 idea. White is slightly better after f6 due to the weakened e6 square. 8... ♗e6 This might lead to wild complications. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you can still chicken out! 9. b4 ( 9. d3 is the chicken out move, with a3 to follow. It will often transpose to 8.a3 lines.) 9... e4 That's the point. Meek moves are just better for White.( 9... a6 10. a3+/= ; 9... f6 10. b5 ♘d4 11. e3 ♘xf3+ 12. ♕xf3+/= ) 10. ♘xe4 ♗xa2 11. ♖b2 ( 11. ♖a1⁈ is also viable.) a) 11... ♘xb4? This normal looking move is a mistake. 12. ♖xa2 ♘xa2 13. ♗b2 White has great play here. 13... ♘b4 14. ♗xg7 ♖g8 15. ♗a1 ( 15. ♕a1⁈ ) 15... ♘4d5 16. ♕c2 a5 17. d4 ♘b4 18. ♕c1 ♘d7 19. ♕h6 ♘f8 20. ♘e5 c6 21. ♗f3 ♖a6 22. ♗h5 and White was winning in Jones,G (2615) -Fodor,T (2491) England 2016 b) 11... ♗d5 12. ♘c5 ♘xb4 ( 12... O-O? 13. e4 ♗c4 14. d3 ♗b5 15. ♗e3 can't be Black's best bet. ) 13. ♖xb4 ♗xc5 14. ♖g4 This is fun to analyze. I strongly suggest you fire up your engine and explore it yourself for a while. White has a strong attack here. b1) 14... h5 15. ♖xg7 ♗xf3 ( 15... ♕f6 16. ♖g5!± ) 16. exf3 ♗d4 The rook is trapped!( 16... ♕f6 17. d4!± ) 17. ♗a3 c5 Only move already.( 17... ♗xg7? 18. ♕e2+ ♔d7 19. ♗h3+ f5 20. ♗xf5+ ♔c6 21. ♖c1+ ♗c3 22. ♖xc3+ ♘c4 23. ♕xc4+ ♔b6 24. ♖b3+ ♔a5 25. ♕b5# ) 18. ♕c2 ♗xg7 19. ♗xc5 f5 again the only move! 20. ♕xf5 ♕f6 21. ♕e4+ ♔f7 22. ♕xb7+ ♔g6 23. f4↑ White quite clearly has good play here. I decided not to go much further, as we are on move 23 already. Again, I suggest to invest some time on your own to explore. It's fun and you learn more than by just clicking through moves. b2) 14... O-O 15. ♗b2 g6 16. ♕c1=/∞ White has enough for the pawn at least. I wouldn't like to defend this for Black, but maybe some people are willing? 8... g5 This is the sharpest option, but I think it is quite good for White. 9. d3 a) 9... g4 10. ♘d2 ♗e6 11. b4! ♘d5 12. ♗b2 ♘dxb4 13. ♕a4 ♕d7 14. ♘c4 The engine improvement over ( 14. ♗a1 , which wasn't bad either after 14... ♖b8 15. a3 ♘d5 16. ♘xd5 ♗xd5 17. ♗xd5 ♕xd5 18. ♖fc1 O-O 19. ♕xg4+ ♔h8 20. ♕f5 f6 21. a4 ♕a2 22. ♘f3 ♕xa4 23. ♖c4 ♕a2 24. ♖bc1 ♖g8 25. ♘xe5 ♘xe5 26. ♗xe5 fxe5 27. ♕xe5+ ♖g7 28. ♖xc7 ♕a3 29. ♖1c3 ♕b4 30. ♖xe7 1-0 (30) Jones,G (2642)-Sachdev,T (2404) Reykjavik 2015 ) 14... f6 15. ♗a3 a5 16. ♗xb4 ♘xb4 17. ♕xd7+ ♔xd7 18. a3 ♘c6 19. ♖xb7± I feel that White's play on the queenside is too quick here. Black never gets something really going with ...g5. b) 9... h5 10. ♕d2⁈N A real computerish move! But it is strong!
b1) 10... g4 11. ♘h4 ♗xh4 ( 11... ♗e6 12. ♗xc6+ bxc6 13. ♘e4+/= ) 12. gxh4 ♕xh4 13. ♘b5 ♕e7 14. ♕g5 f6 15. ♕g6+ ♔d8 16. f4=/∞ b2) 10... f6 11. h4 g4 12. ♘e1 ♗e6 13. ♘c2 ( 13. ♗xc6+ bxc6 14. b3 ) 13... ♕d7 14. b4+/= In all those lines Black's play on the kingside is going nowhere while White grabs the initiative. 9. d3 9. b3 This is a modest alternative, for example: 9... O-O 10. ♗b2 ♗e6 11. d3 f6 12. ♘d2 ♕d7 13. ♘c4 ♘d5 and it's about equal. 9... O-O 9... ♗e6 leads to the same kind of game. 10. ♗e3 ♘d5 ( 10... O-O 11. ♖c1 ) 11. ♘xd5 ♗xd5 12. ♕a4 O-O 13. ♖fc1 ♖e8 14. a3 ♗f8 15. ♕b5 It is easier to play White here. 15... a4 16. ♘g5 ♗xg2 17. ♔xg2 h6 18. ♘f3 ♕c8 19. ♖c2 ♖a5 20. ♕c4 ♕e6 21. ♕xe6 ♖xe6 22. b4 ♖a8 23. ♗c5 ♗d6 24. b5 ♘a5 25. ♘d2 b6 26. ♗b4 ♔f8 27. ♖xc7 ♔e8 28. ♗xd6 ♖xd6 29. ♖b4 ♖d5 30. ♖xa4 ♖xb5 31. ♖b4 ♖c5 32. ♖xc5 bxc5 33. ♖a4 1-0 (33) Tomashevsky,E (2740)-Cori,J (2489) Moscow 2012 10. ♗e3 ♗e6 11. ♖c1 ♘d5 11... ♔h8 a) 12. a3 f5 13. ♘a4 ( 13. ♗xb6 I am sceptical about this capture in these structures. 13... cxb6 14. ♘d2 ♖c8 15. ♘b5 ♗c5 16. ♘c4 ♕e7= And Black was OK in Wang,H (2717)Tomashevsky,E (2728) Huaian 2016 ) 13... f4 14. ♗c5 It's also around equal here, but I still prefer that to taking on b6. b) 12. d4 An entirely different approach. 12... exd4 13. ♘xd4 ♘xd4 14. ♗xd4 c6 15. ♕d3+/= And I slightly prefer White. Black's queenside has some weaknesses, White is a bit quicker in development and has a centre pawn. It's not much, but something to play for. 12. ♘xd5 ♗xd5 13. ♕a4 f6 13... ♖b8 14. ♕b5 ♖e8? 15. ♘xe5 ♗xa2 16. ♘xc6 bxc6 17. ♕xa5 ♖xb2 18. ♗xc6 ♗b4 19. ♕a7 ♖f8 20. ♗f3 ♗d5 21. ♕d4 1-0 (21) Hou,Y (2663)-Efroimski,M (2331) Bilbao 2014 14. a3 ♕d7 15. ♖c3+/= Black is very solid here, but I still slightly prefer White.
1. c4 e5 2. g3 ♘c6 3. ♗g2 f5 The Reversed Grand Prix Attack. Other options in this position are mostly just transpositional. 3... ♗c5 4. ♘c3 Now delaying ...Nf6 or going for ...Nge7 would avoid a transposition. a) 4... d6 5. e3 a6 6. ♘ge2 ♗a7 7. ♖b1 Not the only option of course, but it is important to avoid an early 0-0, as ...h5 is very serious. ( 7. O-O⁈ h5 8. h4 g5! shows the dangers for White.) 7... h5 8. h4 ♘f6 9. b4 ♗e6 10. ♘d5 ♖b8 11. a4 and White was slightly better in Petursson,M (2520)-Fedorchuk,S (2635) Berlin 2015. b) 4... ♘f6 5. a3 transposes to an earlier chapter. 3... g6 transposes to the Closed Sicilian Reversed . 3... ♘f6 transposes to 2...Nf6 3.Bg2 Sc6 . 3... d6 is discussed in the chapter about the Closed Sicilian Reversed . 4. ♘c3 ♘f6 5. e3 5. d3 ♗b4! is quite reasonable for Black. 5... d5⁈ The brutal solution but there are some alternatives. 5... g6 This is one of the better options for Black, getting back to the setup of a Closed Sicilian. 6. ♘ge2 ♗g7 7. d3 O-O 8. O-O d6 9. ♖b1 with a type of position we are familiar with. 5... ♗c5⁈ This move is just not working well for Black. 6. ♘ge2 d6 ( 6... e4 is the better option, still Black fails to equalize. 7. d4 exd3 8. ♕xd3 g6 9. b3+/= ) 7. d4 ♗b6 8. b4!± and Black is in trouble. 5... ♗b4 White is ready now for Nge2, so ...Bb4 is nothing to worry about. 6. ♘ge2 O-O ( 6... e4 7. d4 O-O 8. O-O+/= ) 7. O-O ♗xc3 is not a move you are happy to make but the alternative doesn't convince either.( 7... d6 8. ♘d5 ♘xd5 9. cxd5 ♘e7 10. d4 e4 11. ♕a4 c5 12. dxc6 ♘xc6 13. ♕b3+ d5 14. ♘f4± ) 8. ♘xc3 d6 9. d4 e4 10. f3 exf3 11. ♕xf3 ♗d7 12. b3 ♖b8 13. ♗b2 ♕e8 14. ♖ae1± This was the game Granda Zuniga,J (2663)-Caruana,F (2801) Tromso 2014. Quite a surprise to see Caruana play in this position. He got away with a draw out of this unattractive setup. 5... e4 This seems quite playable for Black but opening the centre gives White some advantage. 6. d3 ♗b4 ( 6... exd3 7. ♕xd3+/= ) 7. ♘e2 a) 7... ♘e5 8. dxe4 fxe4 9. O-O ♘f3+ 10. ♔h1 ♖f8 ( 10... O-O? 11. ♘xe4! ) 11. ♘xe4! ♘xe4 12. a3 ♗e7 13. ♘f4 ♘fg5 14. h4±
b) 7... d5 8. O-O dxc4 ( 8... exd3 9. cxd5 dxe2 10. ♕xe2± ) 9. dxe4 fxe4 10. ♕xd8+ ♘xd8 11. ♘xe4 ♘xe4 12. ♗xe4 c6 13. ♖d1+/= 6. ♘xd5 ♘xd5 7. cxd5 7. ♗xd5? ♘b4 is not a good idea. Black gets far too much activity. 7... ♘b4 8. d3 Returning the pawn will lead to a small edge for White. 8... ♘xd5 8... c6 This leads to positions that are similar to the main line but with Black being slightly less flexible. Some sample moves: 9. ♕b3 ♘xd5 ( 9... a5 10. ♗d2 ♘xd5 11. ♗xd5 ♕xd5 12. ♕xd5 cxd5 13. ♗c3 e4 14. ♘e2+/= ) 10. ♘f3 ♗d6 11. e4 fxe4 12. dxe4 ♘f6 13. O-O ♕e7 14. ♕c2+/= 8... ♕f6 suggested by the engine, but it doesn't solve Black's problems. 9. ♘e2 ♕a6 10. O-O ♘xd3 11. ♕c2+/= Quite often Black's move ..f5 just leaves weaknesses behind. This is one of those cases. 9. ♘f3 ♗d6 9... ♗b4+ 10. ♗d2 ♗xd2+ 11. ♕xd2 ♕d6 12. O-O O-O 13. e4 ♘e7 14. d4+/= 1-0 (50) Kramnik,V (2799)-Bartel,M (2674) Dortmund 2012 CBM 150 (Marin,M) 10. O-O ♘f6 10... O-O? 11. ♕b3 ♗e6 12. ♘d4! is a neat trick to remember. 11. ♕b3 ♕e7 12. e4+/= White has slightly better chances is this position. ... f5 has weakened Black's kingside and he still needs time to get castled. 12. ♘d2+/=
1. c4 e5 2. g3 ♘c6 3. ♗g2 g6 The Closed Sicilian Reversed. This is quite a solid option for Black against the English Opening. However, it is well established that Black has no problems whatsoever in the Closed Sicilian after 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 and an extra tempo is quite helpful for the queenside play, leading to a comfortable situation for White. 3... d6 is a related idea. 4. ♘c3 ♗e6 ( 4... f5 5. ♖b1 ♘f6 6. b4+/= with a very likely transposition to a main line position, but with Black being committed to a setup with ...f5 and without ...a5.) 5. d3 ♕d7 6. ♖b1 Just like in the main line. White also has other setups of course, like 6.e4 for example. 6... g6 7. b4 ♗g7 8. b5 ♘d8 9. ♘d5 This knight is quite annoying for Black, therefore he usually kicks it with ... c6, which gives us the open b-file. ( 9. e4+/= is a decent alternative again. ) 9... c6 10. bxc6 bxc6 11. ♘c3 f5 12. ♕a4+/= White has good prospects on the queenside. 4. ♘c3 ♗g7 5. ♖b1 I suggest this line with the idea of going for a quick b4. White has some options here, in fact. Other lines that I like are 5. e4 and 5. e3 , lead to different types of positions. In particular the Botvinnik setup with e4 leads to positions where White has very good control and chances for a small edge. All those lines are playable with little knowledge of concrete moves. If you study lots of games with these structures, you will be able to vary your play and make your game more flexible. 5... a5 Making sure that the a-file is opened after a later b4. 5... f5 6. b4 ♘f6 7. d3 O-O 8. b5 ♘d4 ( 8... ♘e7 9. ♕b3 ♔h8 10. e3 c6 11. ♘ge2 d5 12. bxc6 bxc6 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. ♗a3+/= Quite a typical scenario. Black is somewhat overextended here. ) 9. e3 ♘e6 10. ♘ge2 d6 11. O-O g5 12. f4+/= This is quite a long sample line which is not completely forced, of course. It is important to remember the f4 push in response to g5. This stops Black's ambitions on the kingside. Most of the time a capture by Black is answered non-symmetrically, so exf4 wiht gxf4 and vice versa. This rule of thumb comes from years of experience with these structures. It won't be right 100% of the time, but it makes sense to check out the 'normal' move first and only lean towards the other recapture if something is clearly wrong with the standard play. 5... d6 6. b4 a6 7. d3 f5 8. e3 ♘f6 9. ♘ge2 O-O 10. O-O ♘e7 11. ♕b3 ♔h8 12. a4 g5 13. f4+/= 1-0 (40) Moutousis,K (2405)-Prasad,D (2415) Manila 1992. Again the f4 move which is the key idea here. 6. a3 d6 7. b4 axb4 8. axb4 ♘f6 8... f5 is also possible of course. 9. b5 ♘ce7 10. e3 ( 10. d3 ♘f6 11. ♘f3 O-O 12. O-O h6 is also very much possible. In fact, there are move orders that lead into this position that are hard to avoid as you don't manage to play e3/Nge2 - see the 1.c4 e5 2.g3 d6 move order of Chapter 3 for an example of this. So we should have a look how it might continue. 13. ♗b2 ♗e6 14. ♖a1 ♕d7 15. ♘d2 c6 16. ♕c2 ♔h7 17. ♘a4 and White was slightly better in Ivanchuk,V (2726)-Vitiugov,N (2725) Berlin 2015. It is very much recommended to study this position type by going through as many master games as possible. Learning moves by heart does not
help here, learning the middlegame ideas does.) 10... ♘f6 11. ♘ge2 O-O 12. O-O c6 13. d3 ♗e6 14. ♕b3+/= and White's play on the queenside seems more realistic to me than Black's on the kingside and in the centre. Black can easily overextend here. 9. d3 O-O 10. b5 ♘e7 10... ♘d4 11. e3 ♘e6 12. ♘ge2+/= is also comfortable for White. 11. ♘f3 11. e3⁈ d5! does not work out well! An important idea to remember. 11... h6 To prepare ...Be6. 12. O-O ♗e6 13. ♗b2 ♕d7 Not the only move of course. I give an overview of some alternatives: 13... ♘d7 14. ♘d2 c6 15. ♖a1 a) 15... d5 16. ♕b3 ♖xa1 17. ♖xa1 dxc4⁈ ( 17... e4⁈ 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. dxe4 dxc4 20. ♕c2+/= ) 18. ♘xc4+/= 1-0 (40) Vaganian,R (2625)-Kuzmin,A (2415) Nabereznye Chelny 1988 b) 15... ♕c7 16. ♕b3 ♘c5 17. ♕c2 ♕d7 18. ♗a3+/= 13... ♕c8 14. ♖a1 ♖xa1 15. ♕xa1 ♗h3 16. ♕a5 ♗xg2 17. ♔xg2 ♘d7 18. ♗a3+/= In all those lines White has some play on the queenside without any risk. 14. ♖a1 ♗h3 14... ♖ab8 15. ♕b3 ( 15. e4+/= ) 15... ♗h3 16. c5 ♗xg2 17. ♔xg2 g5 18. ♘a4 ♘g6 19. b6+/= And White has good play on the queenside again. This time with a rather direct approach. 15. ♕b3 15. e4+/= This move comes into consideration as well. After the bishop on g2 has been traded, this central bind gets more attractive. 15... ♗xg2 16. ♔xg2 ♕e6 17. ♘d2 ♘d7 18. ♖xa8 This is very safe. 18. ♖a3⁈ is a bit more challenging. 18... f5 19. ♖fa1 ♖xa3 20. ♕xa3 Here, there is a bit more tension in the position. White is better on the queenside, but Black has some counterchances. I think it is roughly equal, but still a fighting position.
18... ♖xa8 19. ♖a1 ♖xa1 20. ♗xa1 f5 21. ♕a3 ♘c5 22. ♘a4 ♘d7 23. ♗c3= Black is alright here. Still it is a good position to play for White if you like to poke around with zero risk.
1. c4 c5 The Symmetrical English. Quite often 'symmetrical' in chess signals that the play is very solid or even boring if both players don't want to spice it up. In our case White has a fundamental decision to make right on move 2. 2. g3 This is the move that is consistent with the repertoire as a whole. Note that Black also may start with 1...Nf6, after which we need to go 2.g3 to be ready for all the transpositions. Then 2... c5 goes back to the Symmetrical English. The same applies for 1...g6, after which 2.g3 c5 leads back to 1.c4 c5 lines. The huge alternative is 2. ♘f3 with the idea to play for d2-d4 very soon, most often right on move three or four. 2... ♘c6 (Or 2... g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. ♘xd4 ♘c6 5. e4 , which transposes to the Accelerated Dragon Maroczy Bind. This is a good opening for White, but it is quite theoretical. ) 3. d4 cxd4 4. ♘xd4 with open, far more concrete play. I decided against this for the repertoire presented here, mostly for two reasons. 1. It is very complex, so it would have required far too much coverage. 2. There are many move order issues, the most serious being 1... Nf6 and 1...g6. which need to be addressed in a much more sophisticated way as well. We play the English with some sort of 'setup' approach - the Nf3/d4 Symmetrical is the 'move-bymove' approach to test Black's concrete knowledge of lines... this means that we also have to know many more concrete lines. 2... g6 The main alternative is 2... ♘f6 3. ♗g2 and now 3... d5 sees Black trying to grab the initiative in the centre. It leads to interesting play and is covered in Chapter 10 . (Alternatives like 3... e6 often just transpose or are not very promising for Black. They are dealt with in Chapter 11 .) 3. ♗g2 ♗g7 4. ♘c3 ♘c6 The centre is tough to open with both sides controlling d4/d5 reliably. Therefore we go 5. a3 trying to get play on the queenside. Black has solid responses to this approach, but it still contains some interesting ideas that will be presented in Chapter 9 .
1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. ♗g2 ♗g7 4. ♘c3 ♘c6 The knight clearly belongs to c6 here, but of course Black might start with 4... ♘f6 after which we play just like in the main line. 5. a3 ♘c6 6. ♖b1 with a transposition. 5. a3 Going for b4, an idea we also play for in other lines. I felt that this is consistent with our repertoire and not worse than the alternatives. In fact, I believe Black can equalize here with precise play no matter what White is doing - this is what happens with solid main lines. It does not mean Black has an easy task as we will see below! Some alternatives as an overview: Now 5. ♘f3 can't be bad of course. Here Black has good chances to equalize with many moves like 5... d6 ( 5... e6 ) or 5. e3 White tries to play Nge2 and a quick d2-d4. The problem is that the simple 5... e6 6. ♘ge2 ♘ge7 7. d4 cxd4 8. ♘xd4 ♘xd4 9. exd4 d5 or similar lines are just dead equal. 5. e4 leads to a closed game with slow manoeuvres. Black has no problems here. In our repertoire starting with 5.a3 we will often transpose to 5.e4 or 5.e3 setups when the circumstances are favourable. 5... e6 is probably the main line. The non-forced nature of the positions give Black many more options of course. 5... ♘h6 Black emphasizes his control over d4, but the knight does won't have that much to do on f5 with a pawn on e3. Let's have a look at a sample line. 6. ♖b1 a5 7. e3 ♘f5 8. ♘ge2 d6 9. O-O O-O 10. b3 e5 11. ♗b2 ♗e6 White has good control here over d5 and b5. Possible plans may involve a longterm d2-d4 anyway or even f2-f4. Note that Black has no pawn breaks which is very comfortable for White to improve his position. 12. ♖c1+/= 5... ♘f6 Natural enough, but White has chances for a small pull here. 6. ♖b1 a5 This seems best.(Allowing b4 with 6... O-O 7. b4 d6 8. d3 is a little something for White. Let's look at some more sample moves: 8... ♘d7 9. ♗d2 ♘de5 10. ♘h3 ♗g4 11. f3 ♗f5 12. ♘f2 ♕c8 13. ♘d5 ♖e8 14. O-O ♖b8 15. b5 ♘d8 16. e4 ♗d7 17. ♘e3 f6 18. f4 ♘ef7 Some moves from the game Hodgson,J (2640) -Arkell,K (2481) London 2000. A nice example that a slow buildup can still lead to an overwhelming position quickly.) 7. d3 O-O 8. ♗d2 d6 9. ♘f3 ♗d7 10. O-O ♖b8 11. ♘b5 (If you need a draw really, really, REALLY badly, you can go for 11. ♘e1 ♘e8 12. ♘c2 ♘c7 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 ♘xb4 15. ♘xb4 cxb4 16. ♖xb4 b5 17. cxb5 ♘xb5 18. ♘xb5 ♖xb5 19. ♖xb5 ♗xb5= With the most boring position ever. (But still a rather good try if you need a draw no matter what!) .) 11... ♘e8 12. b4 axb4 13. axb4 ♘xb4 14. ♗xb4 cxb4 15. ♖xb4 ♘c7 16. ♘fd4+/= And White is a bit better due to his superior structure. 5... e5⁈ The Botvinnik setup is a solid as it gets, however it is just not a good choice in this particular position. 6. b4!
a) 6... cxb4 This is almost suicidal. 7. axb4 ♘xb4 8. ♗a3 ♘c6 9. ♘b5 ♗f8 ( 9... ♘ge7 10. ♗d6± ) 10. ♗d6 ♗xd6 11. ♘xd6+ ♔f8 12. ♗d5 ♘h6 13. ♘f3± b) 6... d6 This is still quite playable for Black, but White enjoys a good game. He has managed to play b4 quickly and still has the option to go e3 and Nge2 (compare with 5.Nf3 e5 for example). We now have a look at a classic game from this position: 7. ♖b1 ♘ge7 8. e3 O-O 9. d3 ♖b8 10. ♘ge2 ♗e6 11. b5 ♘a5 12. ♗d2 b6 13. O-O ♘b7 14. e4 Blocking the center, but White has more space and the black knight on b7 is not a happy camper. 14... ♔h8 15. ♕c1 f5 16. ♗g5 ♕e8 17. ♗xe7 ♕xe7 18. exf5 ♗xf5 19. ♘d5 ♕d7 20. ♕d2 ♘a5 21. ♘ec3 ♖be8 22. ♘e4 This was Kasparov,G (2740)-Karpov,A (2700) Seville 1987. Yes, somehow Karpov stumbled into this line in a World Championship Match! 5... b6 This enjoys a deservedly sound reputation. 6. e3 (Now 6. b4 is possible of course. 6... ♗b7 7. ♖b1 d6 8. ♘f3 ♕d7 leads to play similar to 5...e6. However, going 6.e3 instead has some nice points.) a) Here Black has the radical 6... ♗xc3 7. bxc3 ♗b7 (Or 7... f5 8. d3 ♘f6 9. ♘h3 ♗b7 10. O-O ♕c7 11. f3 O-O-O 12. e4+/= It is crucial to remember the d3/e4 setup. This gives White a good grip in the center without weakening the structure.) 8. e4 d6 9. d3 again this setup. 9... ♕d7 10. ♘e2 O-O-O 11. ♘f4 e6 12. O-O ♘a5 13. ♖e1 ♔b8 14. a4 And White was slightly better in Gurevich,M (2607)-Schlosser,P (2564) France 2008. b) 6... e6 This allows the tricky 7. d4⁈ ♘ge7 (Now 7... cxd4 8. exd4 ♗xd4 9. ♘b5 is far to risky for Black! ) 8. d5 and White is better c) 6... ♗b7 7. ♘ge2 ♘f6 ( 7... e6 8. d4 is also comfortable ) 8. O-O O-O 9. b4 d6 10. ♖b1 ♕d7 11. d3 ♘e5 12. e4 and White has more space and the slightly better chances. 5... a6 The symmetrical reply! 6. e3 This is surprisingly tricky for Black. (I tried 6. ♖b1 ♖b8 7. b4 cxb4 8. axb4 b5 9. cxb5 axb5 when analysing, but could not get anywhere. It's super solid, of course, and hard to pose any real problems for Black. ) a) 6... e6 This natural move is nicely met by 7. b4! Now White either has a comfortable slight edge or excellent gambit play. 7... ♘xb4 ( 7... d6 8. ♘ge2+/= This is nice for White as ...a6 is a useless move for Black here that just weakens the queenside.; 7... cxb4 8. axb4 ♘xb4 9. d4+/= with very nice compensation for White ) 8. axb4 cxb4 9. ♘ge2 bxc3 10. ♘xc3 ♘e7 11. d4+/= And White enjoys excellent play here, for example: 11... O-O 12. ♗a3 d6 13. O-O ♖b8 14. ♘e4 d5 15. ♗d6 with some advantage. b) 6... ♖b8 This makes some sense. Black tries to use ... a6 in order to push ...b5. The following is not forced, but a very logical sequence. 7. ♘ge2 b5 ( 7... d6 8. O-O ♘f6 9. d4+/= ) 8. cxb5 axb5 9. O-O ♘f6 10. d4 cxd4 11. ♘xd4 ♘xd4 12. exd4 O-O 13. ♖e1 d6 ( 13... b4 14. ♕b3! ) 14. ♗g5+/= Here I'd prefer White slightly because of his play on the efile and ideas like Na2-b4-c6. 6. ♖b1
The immediate 6. b4⁈ does not convince completely. 6... ♘xb4 7. axb4 cxb4 8. d4 bxc3 9. e3 ♘e7 10. ♘e2 d5 11. cxd5 ♘xd5 12. ♗a3 White is not without compensation here, but it is not enough unfortunately. 6... ♘ge7 6... a5 7. e4 With Black commited to ...a5 this is somewhat better here than on move five. Black still is very close to equality though.( 7. e3 ♘ge7 8. ♘ge2 d5 9. cxd5 exd5= ) 7... ♘ge7 8. ♘ge2 O-O 9. O-O d6 10. d3 Now the weakened b5 square is nice for White, for example after 10... ♘d4⁈ 11. ♘xd4 cxd4 12. ♘b5+/= 7. b4 d6 7... cxb4 8. axb4 d5 9. b5 ♘e5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. d4 ♘c4 12. e3+/= White's superior structure gives him a small plus. 8. ♘f3 8. e3⁈ ♘e5⁈ is very irritating. 8... O-O 8... b6 9. O-O ♗b7 10. e3 O-O 11. ♕b3 d5 12. d3 is an alternative line. Black should be equal, but there is still a full board of pieces - it is not a dead position by any means. 9. O-O b6 10. e3 ♗b7 11. ♕b3 ♕d7 11... d5 12. d3= The normal move, but there is also the interesting ( 12. cxd5 exd5 13. bxc5 ♗a6 14. cxb6 ♘a5 15. ♕b4 ♗xf1 16. ♗xf1 axb6 17. d4 ♖b8 18. a4=/∞ White has very nice play. It is not very likely that you will get this precise position, but it serves to show that in those slow openings there are still complicated options possible. ) 12. ♗b2 ♖ac8 13. d3= This is probably about equal, but as written above already, there haven't been any trades and all pieces are still on the board. Here, the real battle is delayed until a later stage of the game. Possible plans for White include to try to play d3-d4 (Rfd1 comes to mind) or to try to trade the dark squared Bishops.
1. c4 c5 2. g3 ♘f6 3. ♗g2 d5 Black opens up the centre. This is a very ambitious and interesting line. 4. cxd5 ♘xd5 5. ♘c3 ♘c7 Clearly the best option. Black keeps the knight and intends to increase his central presence with ...e5 for a reversed Maroczy bind. 5... ♘xc3 6. bxc3 is a structural change that is beneficial for White. 6... g6 7. ♖b1 a) 7... ♗g7? 8. ♖xb7! is a useful trick to remember.( 8. ♗xb7 ♗xb7 9. ♖xb7 ♕d5 10. ♕a4+ ♘d7 11. ♖c7 is also good, but not necessary. ) b) 7... ♕c7 8. ♘f3 ( 8. ♕a4+ is also fine 8... ♘c6 9. ♗xc6+ ♕xc6 10. ♕xc6+ bxc6 11. ♘f3 ♗g7 12. ♗a3 c4 13. ♖b4+/= ) 8... ♗g7 9. O-O O-O 10. d4+/= with a Gruenfeld type of position where Black has a suboptimal setup. Bf4 comes with tempo, for example. 5... e6? This looks normal, but it is just a mistake. 6. ♘xd5 exd5 7. ♕b3 ♘c6 ( 7... c4 8. ♕b5+ ) 8. ♕xd5 ♕xd5 9. ♗xd5 ♘b4 10. ♗e4 f5 11. ♗b1± as in Gelfand,B (2685)Kramnik,V (2710) Sanghi Nagar 1994. Quite a bad slip by Kramnik in the opening. 5... ♘b6 This is a bad square for the knight. 6. d3 e5 7. ♘f3 ♘c6 8. a4! A good move to exploit the unlucky piece on b6 8... ♗e7 9. a5 ♘d7 10. ♘d2 ♖b8 11. ♘c4+/= And White has excellent play on the queenside and pn the long diagonal. 6. ♘f3 This is my main recommendation, but I'd like to point out an interesting alternative. 6. ♕a4+ This is a very concrete approach. The somewhat surprising fact is that Black is almost forced to sac a pawn now. Let's have a look: 6... ♗d7 This is the pawn sac. Other moves are just better for White.( 6... ♕d7 7. ♕xd7+ ♘xd7 8. ♘f3 e5 9. d3 ♗e7 10. ♘d2 ♖b8 11. ♘c4 ♘e6 12. ♗d2+/= White has some other option along the way, but in general Black has a coordination issue here. White is for choice.; 6... ♘d7 7. ♘f3 g6 8. d4 ♗g7 9. dxc5 O-O 10. ♗e3 This happendend in Ponomariov,R (2743)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2717) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013. Black is almost lost here already. ) 7. ♕b3 ♘c6 ( 7... ♗c6⁈ is worse. 8. ♗xc6+ ♘xc6 9. ♕xb7 ♕d7 10. ♘b5 ♖c8 11. ♘f3 ♘xb5 12. ♕xb5+/= Black has some compensation, but not enough.) 8. ♕xb7 ♘d4 The only move to pose problems.( 8... ♖b8⁈ 9. ♕xc6 was the end of some blitz games that I have played over the years. ) 9. ♕e4 g6 ( 9... ♗f5? 10. ♕xf5 ♘xf5 11. ♗c6+ ♕d7 12. ♗xd7+ ♔xd7 13. b3± ) 10. ♕b1 ♗g7 ( 10... ♖b8 is worse, I think. 11. e3 ♘c6 12. ♘ge2+/= ) 11. e3 (Don't be too greedy. 11. ♗xa8⁈ ♕xa8 12. f3 ♘a6↑ ) 11... ♘c6 12. ♘ge2+/= This is the critical position of this Qa4+ line. White is better if Black does not know/find this. The position is certainly not to everybody's taste. I think that White is a bit better here as I doubt that Black has full compensation. However, I understand that you may dislike to defend a bit with White for a pawn. Therefore, I explored the lines that are now my main recommendation. These should suit almost everybody. Still, Qa4+ is a tricky alternative! 6... ♘c6 7. a3! This move is primarily directed against the Reversed Maroczy Bind with ...e5. White prepares a quick b4 which fits well with other lines in the repertoire.
7... e5 7... g6 8. h4⁈ This is the logical alternative. White has not castled yet, so let's use this fact.( 8. b4⁈ does not work well here. 8... cxb4 9. axb4 ♘xb4 10. ♕a4+ ♘c6 11. ♘e5 ♗g7 12. ♘xc6 bxc6 13. ♗xc6+ ♗d7= ) 8... h6 Black has to react in some way to the pawn push. (Ignoring it with 8... ♗g7 9. h5 O-O 10. hxg6 hxg6 11. d3↑ is just far too risky.; 8... h5 is more solid, but I still like White after something like 9. d3 ♗g7 10. ♗e3 b6 11. ♘g5 Note that the insertion of h4/h5 gave White this nice outpost as playing ...f6 is much harder now for Black due to the g6 pawn/square.) 9. d3 ♗g7 10. ♗e3 ♘e6 ( 10... ♘d4 11. ♘e4 ♘ce6 12. ♖c1 b6 13. b4+/= ) 11. ♘a4 ♗d7 ( 11... O-O 12. ♖c1 and Black has a hard time with the c5-pawn. ) 12. ♖b1 ( This is premature: 12. ♘xc5 ♘xc5 13. ♗xc5 ♗xb2 14. ♖b1 ♗c3+ 15. ♘d2 b6 16. ♗e3 ♗g7 17. ♘c4= ) 12... b6 13. b4 with interesting play. Stockfish evaluates it as equal, but I like White's chances here. It is for sure a good position to fight for a win. 8. b4 That's the point! White directly undermines the bind structure. I like this much more than playing slow moves against the Maroczy Bind Reversed where White can very easily drift into a passive situation. 8... f6 This is probably best. Let's check some alternatives. 8... cxb4 9. axb4 a6 ( 9... ♗xb4? 10. ♘xe5 ♘xe5 11. ♕a4+ ♘c6 12. ♗xc6+ bxc6 13. ♕xb4 is excellent for White. ) 10. b5 axb5 11. ♖xa8 ♘xa8 12. ♘xb5 ♕a5 ( 12... e4 13. ♘g1 f5 14. ♘h3+/= Quite an unconventional position. I think Black is overextended here. ) 13. ♘c3 ♘b6 14. O-O ♗e7 15. ♕c2 O-O 16. d3+/= White has the slightly better chances due to the pawn structure. The b-pawn is rather a weakness than an asset. 8... a6 9. bxc5 ♗xc5 10. ♗b2 f6 ( 10... O-O? 11. ♘e4 is very uncomfortable for Black ) 11. O-O O-O 12. e3 ♗a7 13. ♘e2 ♕e7 14. d4+/= with a pull in Braga,C (2420)-Nogueira,I (2280) Sao Paulo 1997. 9. ♖b1 cxb4 9... ♗e7 10. bxc5 ♗xc5 11. O-O O-O 12. ♕c2+/= White has the better play here on the queenside. There also are chances to use the extra cental pawn in the longterm (e3-d4 under the right circumstances). 10. axb4 a6 11. O-O ♗e7 12. b5 axb5 13. ♘xb5 ♘xb5 14. ♖xb5+/= This happened in Meier,G (2641)-Timofeev,A (2677) Havana 2009. White went on to win this game in 29 moves. I think White is just slightly better, but it is not so easy for Black to handle. All in all, with 6. Qa4+ and the 7. a3 line we have two interesting options against Black's ...d5 setup.
1. c4 c5 2. g3 This chapter is about Black's options besides ...g6 (Chapter 9) and ...Nf6/...d5 (Chapter 10 ). Most of those are transposing into some other Chapters, other ideas are mostly related to transpose into some type of second-rate hedgehog. Let's have a look at some concrete moves. 2... ♘f6 2... ♘c6 3. ♗g2 e6 4. ♘c3 ♘f6 5. ♘f3 d5 is the first of many ways to transpose into a Tarrasch/Semi-Tarrasch position. Please see the separate Chapter on this line for more information. 3. ♗g2 e6 3... ♘c6 4. ♘c3 a) 4... e6 5. ♘f3 (It is very important to avoid 5. e4⁈ d5 6. exd5 exd5 7. ♘xd5 ♘xd5 8. ♗xd5 ♘b4∞ ) 5... d5 again is the Tarrasch/Semi-Tarrasch. b) 4... d6 5. a3 g6 6. ♖b1 ♗g7 7. b4 transposes to Chapter 9 c) 4... g6 5. a3 ♗g7 6. ♖b1 again Chapter 9 3... g6 4. ♘c3 ♗g7 5. a3 ♘c6 6. ♖b1 and again... there are countless move orders here. 4. ♘f3 ♘c6 4... d5 5. cxd5 exd5 (Or 5... ♘xd5 6. O-O ♘c6 7. d4 for the Semi-Tarrasch ) 6. d4 and it's a Tarrasch again. 4... ♗e7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 d5 is yet another move order to the doctor's defence. A tricky move here is 4... a6 It's good to know that 5. ♘c3! is better than ( 5. O-O b5⁈ and this is quite ok for Black. ) 5... ♕c7 is not the only move obviously. With ...a6 Black signals his intentions towards the hedgehog, so ...Qc7/...d6/...Be7 will be played in some order. 6. OO ♗e7 7. b3 ( 7. d4 cxd4 8. ♕xd4+/= is also fine for White. ...Qc7 is quite premature here.) 7... O-O 8. ♗b2 ♘c6 9. d4 cxd4 10. ♘xd4 d6 11. ♖c1 ♘xd4 12. ♕xd4 ♖b8 13. ♖fd1+/= is a typical sequence leading to a slightly better position for White. 4... b6⁈ is yet another try to go for some type of hedgehog. It is mistimed though. 5. ♘e5 d5 6. ♕a4+ ♘bd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. ♘c3 Black's centre is under serious pressure already. A sample line: 8... ♗b7 9. d3 ♗d6 10. ♘c4 ♗c7 11. ♘e3 and White wins the d5 pawn. 5. O-O ♗e7 5... d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. d4 ♗e7 is a Tarrasch again. 6. d4 cxd4 7. ♘xd4 O-O
7... d5 8. ♘c3 O-O 9. cxd5 exd5 10. b3+/= leads to a line from the Tarrasch that is rather favourable for White.( 10. ♗e3+/= is also good, of course.) 8. ♘c3 a6 8... d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. b3+/= 8... ♕b6 9. ♘db5 more active than Nb3. 9... a6 10. ♗e3 ♕a5 11. ♘d6+/= 9. ♗f4! White will be better after many moves, but it's useful to remember this very strong option. Black has a very hard time now. 9... ♘xd4 9... ♕b6⁈ 10. ♘b3 ♖d8 11. c5 ♕a7 12. ♗c7 ♖f8 13. ♘a4+− This position is quite nice. 9... ♖e8 a waiting move after which White is better in some ways. a) 10. ♘xc6 dxc6 ( 10... bxc6 11. e4 d6 12. e5± ) 11. ♕xd8 ♗xd8 12. ♖fd1± b) 10. ♖c1± 10. ♕xd4 d6 11. ♕d2 ♕c7 12. ♖ac1 ♖d8 12... ♗d7 13. c5! is a key idea to remember! 13. ♖fd1± White has a great position here. Black's attempts to get a hedgehog are not fully satisfactory for him. The early g3 basically prevents the mainstream hedgehog setup which is not an easy one to get an advantage against, if possible at all.
1. c4 c6 2. g3 almost mandatory, as we need to address the 1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 c6 move order as well. However, in this concrete position there are many alternatives. 2. d4 d5 Going for a Slav with tons of lines available. If you have some ideas there why not transpose? 2. ♘f3 d5 3. e3 is a very respectable system for White. White delays d2-d4 or omits it altogether, depending on Black's reply. This is my main recommendation as a possible alternative to my main choice. 2. e4 All of a sudden going to a e4 style position. This can be a nice option to vary your play. 2... d5 3. ♘f3 ♘f6 4. ♗g2 This is the Reti Gambit. There are some theoreticians who believe that White never can be better, because d5/c6 limits the Bishop. I never understood that reasoning to be honest. If this is so important, why isn't the Closed Catalan great for Black then? Anyway, the following lines are quite concrete. Let's check the overview. 4... dxc4 Taking this pawn is the most critical move. It leads to sharp and very complicated play which is discussed in Chapter 15 . Alternatives are 4... ♗f5 or Black may also develop the Bishop with 4... ♗g4 .These two options are discussed in Chapter 13 . White retains good chances for a small edge. Chapter 14 is dedicated to 4... g6 , which is amove that leads to quiet play where White can play for a small edge. 4... e6 for a Triangle setup will be discussed in the chapter about 1.c4 e6 mover orders .
1. c4 c6 2. g3 d5 2... e5 A rare transposition to 1...e5. 2... g6 3. ♗g2 ♗g7 4. ♘c3 ♘f6 5. e4 This leads to the King's Indian section of the repertoire. 3. ♘f3 I don't like 3. ♗g2 e5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. d4 e4 This is actually a somewhat controversial position - I have met players who like White here. I personally just hate to have the g2 Bishop stare at the e4 pawn. 3... ♘f6 This is the most popular move, only later deciding what to go for. Black, however, may also make a decision right away. Quite often it eventually turns out o be to the same thing, as ...Nf6 is a rather natural move. 3... ♗g4 4. ♗g2 a) 4... ♘f6 5. ♘e5 transposes to 3...Nf6 4.Bg2 Bg4 5.Ne5. b) 4... ♘d7 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. ♘c3 e6 7. ♕b3 ♕b6 ( 7... ♘gf6 8. ♕xb7 ♘c5 9. ♕c6+ ♘fd7 This is a tricky line that I recently encountered in a Blitz game. I forgot the best reply and got into trouble. White should play 10. ♘b5! ♖c8 11. ♘d6+ ♗xd6 12. ♕xd6 ♕a5 13. b4! ♕xb4 14. O-O And White has avoided losing the queen and is slightly better.) 8. ♕xb6 axb6 9. ♘d4 ♘gf6 10. h3 ♗h5 11. ♘db5 ♖c8 12. d3+/= Note that the doubled pawns are weak in the long run and more importantly the h5 Bishop doesn't have any scope. Often g4 and f4 will happen later, limiting that piece even further. c) 4... e6 This is a very sound setup for Black. White won't get much against it. 5. cxd5 This is the most direct move.( 5. O-O is the alternative with the idea of keeping the tension. It's the one to play if you feel that 5.cxd5 is too stale for you. ) 5... ♗xf3 This is the best move, I think. ( 5... exd5 In this structure White enjoys chances for a small edge. 6. O-O ♘f6 7. d3 ♗e7 8. ♕b3 ♕b6 9. ♕c2 O-O 10. ♘c3 ♘bd7 11. e4 This is what White is aiming for. He has a central/kingside majority and will try to gain space based on it. Here's a sample line to show what White is aiming for. 11... dxe4 12. dxe4 ♖fe8 13. ♗e3 ♕a5 14. ♘d4 ♘e5 15. h3 ♗d7 16. f4 ♘c4 17. ♗f2± Black didn't play well, but it was for illustrative purposes regarding White's setup.) 6. ♗xf3 cxd5 7. O-O ♘c6 8. ♘c3 ♘f6 9. d4 (Or 9. d3 ♗e7 10. ♗d2 O-O 11. a3 ♖c8 12. ♗g2 a6 13. ♖c1 This is equal, I guess. I prefer to play this with d4 instead of d3. ) 9... ♗e7 10. e3 O-O 11. ♗d2 ♖c8 12. ♕e2 ♘e8 13. ♖fd1 ♘d6 14. ♖ac1 ♕d7 15. ♗e1 ♖c7 16. ♗g2 ♗f6 The last couple of moves were not forced of course. This is the type of position you get after 5.cxd5 Bxf3. White enjoys the two bishops, but the position is closed. You need to try to slowly open the position in order to make use of it. Black is super solid here, so be patient. 3... ♗f5 4. ♕b3 ♕b6 ( 4... ♕c8 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. ♘c3 e6 7. d3 ♘c6 8. ♗g2 ♘f6 transposes to the main line with 3... Nf6 and then Bf5. )
a) 5. cxd5 ♕xb3 6. axb3 cxd5 ( 6... ♗xb1? 7. dxc6! ♗e4? 8. ♖xa7‼ ♖xa7 9. c7 and White wins! A funny opening trap that has claimed many victims.) 7. ♘c3 e6 8. ♘b5 ♔d8 9. ♖xa7 ♖xa7 10. ♘xa7 ♗b4 11. ♗g2 ♘e7 12. ♘b5 ♘bc6+/= White has won a pawn, but it's not the strongest pawn ever. So it's tempting to set this trap, but probably just 5.d3 with a likely transposition is better. b) 5. d3 will very likely transpose to the main line with 3...Nf6 first. 4. ♗g2 ♗f5 4... ♗g4 This natural move is fine, but Black has to know what he is doing. Some continuations that look perfectly normal lead to severe Problems. 5. ♘e5 a) 5... ♗f5⁈ This gets Black into some trouble - quite surprisingly, as ...Bf5 looks perfectly normal. 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. ♘c3 ♘bd7 ( 7... ♘c6 This is the best move here which limits the danger of Black's position. White has just a slight advantage. 8. ♘xc6 bxc6 9. d3 e6 10. O-O ♗e7 11. ♕a4+/= And White is slightly better due to his superior structure.; 7... e6 8. ♕a4+ ♘bd7 9. g4 transposes to 7...Nbd7 ) 8. ♕a4 e6 9. g4 a1) 9... ♗c2 A cool move, but it leads to a better ending for White by force. 10. ♘xf7 a11) 10... ♔xf7 11. ♕xc2 ♘xg4 12. ♘xd5! ♗c5 ( 12... ♕h4 13. ♕c7! is a very important point! ) 13. ♘e3 And White is a lot better, though it is still a bit murky. a12) 10... ♗xa4 11. ♘xd8 ♖xd8 12. ♘xa4 ♘xg4 13. ♗h3 The aforementioned endgame which is very unattractive for Black. a2) 9... ♗g6 10. h4 a6 The toughest defence.( 10... h6 Not a move Black wants to make! 11. ♘xg6 fxg6 12. g5 Black will get wiped out quickly here.; 10... ♗c2 11. ♘xf7 We already know this motive. White is better.; 10... ♗d6 11. d4 And Black has no good move against the h4-h5 threat. He is close to lost already. ) 11. ♘xd7 ♕xd7 12. ♕xd7+ ♔xd7 13. h5 ♗c2 14. g5 ♘e4 15. ♗xe4 ♗xe4 16. f3 ♗c2 17. d3 d4 18. ♘e4 A pretty long line, but quite forced. White is better in this endgame, the key ideas being Bf4-e5 and, of course, using the weird spot c2 of the black bishop. b) 5... ♗h5? This basically will come to the same thing as ...Bf5, there is just a little difference. 6. cxd5 cxd5 ( 6... ♘xd5 This is possible now, as there is no fork compared to Bf5 earlier, but White is just more comfortable. He enjoys the better centre with the c-pawn traded aginst the d-pawn without any concessions. 7. ♘c3 e6 8. O-O ♘d7 9. ♘f3+/= Retreating is best here, keeping pieces on with Black having less space. ) 7. ♕a4+ ♘bd7 8. ♘c3 e6 9. g4 ♗g6 10. h4± Transposes to 5...Bf5. c) 5... ♗e6! This is the best move for Black. 6. cxd5 ♗xd5 A good way for Black to activate the bishop. 7. ♘f3 Of course, White avoids the trade.White will win time on this bishop soon.
c1) 7... e5 8. ♘c3 e4 ( 8... ♗xf3 9. ♗xf3 ♘bd7 10. O-O White has a slight edge due to the bishop pair and the two cental pawns. ) 9. ♘g5 e3 It's good to know that is tricky to treat that line correctly over the board. 10. dxe3 ♗xg2 11. ♕xd8+ ♔xd8 12. ♖g1 ♗d5 13. ♘xd5 cxd5 14. ♘xf7+ ♔e7 15. ♘xh8 g6⁈ 16. b3 ♘c6 17. ♗b2 ♗g7 18. ♘xg6+ hxg6 White is clearly better. c2) 7... c5 8. ♘c3 ♗c6 9. O-O e6 ( 9... ♘bd7 This may lead to a very similar setup. 10. ♖e1 ♖c8 11. e4 e5 12. d3 ♗e7 13. a4 O-O 14. ♘d2 ♘e8 15. ♘c4 That's the setup to remember. It is easy to play White here. 15... ♘c7 16. ♗h3 ♗f6 17. ♕b3 b6 18. ♘b5 ♖a8 19. ♗d2 ♖e8 20. ♘cd6 ♖e7 21. ♘f5 ♖e8 22. ♘bd6 ♖e6 23. ♖ec1 ♗g5⁈ 24. ♘xf7 1-0 (24) Gonda, L (2544)-Pelletier,Y (2571) Zuerich 2015 ) 10. ♖e1 ♘bd7 11. e4 e5 ( 11... c4 12. b3 cxb3 13. ♗b2! bxa2? 14. d4!± is a good line to remember!) 12. d3 ♗e7 13. a4 O-O 14. ♘d2 ♖e8 15. ♘c4 ♗f8 16. f4 b6 17. g4 1-0 (29) Wang,H (2722) -Ma,Q (2366) Hefei 2010. Black is very passive and will very likely be bulldozed quickly now. 5. ♕b3 This is to be preferred over the former main line 5.cxd5. 5. cxd5 This is the traditional main line. 5... cxd5 6. ♕b3 ♘c6! This is the big issue! Other moves are very comfortable for White, but this pawn sac is very annoying. 7. ♕xb7 ♗d7 8. ♕b3 e5 And this is no comfortable position to play for White! 5... ♕b6 5... ♕c8 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. ♘c3 e6 8. d3 ♘c6 9. ♗f4 ♗e7 10. O-O O-O 11. ♖ac1 ♕d7 This is a very logical sequence. ( 11... ♘h5 12. ♗e3 ♕d7 13. ♘d4+/= ) 12. e4! ( 12. ♘e5 ♘xe5 13. ♗xe5+/= This is less forceful, but also slightly better for White. e2-e4 is the main idea.) 12... dxe4 13. dxe4 ♘xe4 14. ♖fd1 ♕c8 15. ♘xe4 ♗xe4 16. ♘e5 ♗xg2 17. ♔xg2 White gets a better ending now, pretty much regardless of what Black does. 17... ♖d8 18. ♖xd8+ ♗xd8 19. ♕f3 ♗f6 20. ♘xc6 bxc6 21. b4± Defending this position with Black is tough. 6. d3 e6 6... ♕xb3 7. axb3 e6 8. ♗e3 leads to the main line. (Instead 8. ♘h4 ♗g6 9. ♘xg6 hxg6 10. O-O+/= is also fine for White.) 6... dxc4 7. ♕xc4 e5 8. O-O ( 8. ♘xe5⁈ ♕a5+ ) 8... ♘bd7 9. ♘bd2+/= White is just slightly better. His structure is superior and some of Black's pieces are badly placed like the queen on b6. 7. ♗e3 ♕xb3 7... dxc4 8. ♕xc4 ♕xb2 This looks very risky... and in fact that's what it is! 9. ♗d4 ♕b4+ 10. ♘bd2 ♕xc4 11. ♘xc4 ♘bd7 12. ♖b1± Black is in huge trouble now. 1-0 (50) Demuth,A (2541) -Reshef,O (2425) Llucmajor 2016 8. axb3 a6 9. ♘c3
9. ♘h4 ♗g6 10. ♘c3+/= is also a fine way to play. 9... h6 10. cxd5 exd5 10... cxd5? 11. ♘b5 11. ♘d4 ♗h7 12. ♘c2 ♘bd7 13. b4 ♖c8 14. ♘a4 ♗d6 15. ♘c5+/= White is better here. He has pressure on the queenside and Black's bishop on h7 is useless. In the long run White may go e2-e4 and f2-f4 to expand. 1-0 (35) Wang,Y (2716)-Lu,S (2595) Danzhou 2015
1. c4 c6 2. g3 d5 3. ♘f3 ♘f6 3... g6 This early ...g6 is a tricky option for Black. He is on the diagonal first, so b3 by White won't work. He also intends to play e7-e5 to gain control of the centre. 4. ♗g2 ♗g7 5. ♕a4⁉ The key move, intending c4xd5. 5... ♘d7 ( 5... dxc4 6. ♕xc4 e5 7. d3+/= This is a Reversed Dragon position where the combination of ...c6 and ...Bg7 is not ideal. White is slightly better.; 5... d4 6. O-O e5 7. d3 ♘e7 8. b4+/= 1-0 (41) Pap,G (2538)-Delchev,A (2622) Plovdiv 2012. This looks like a decent Reversed Benoni. ) 6. cxd5 a) 6... cxd5 7. ♘c3 ♘f6 8. O-O O-O 9. d3 White is slightly better due to the misplaced knight on d7. 1-0 (44) Loginov,V (2610)-Ivanov,S (2490) Kstovo 1994 ( 9. d4 b6 10. ♗f4 ♗b7 11. ♖fc1+/= ½-½ (51) Kramnik,V (2777)-Carlsen,M (2850) Berlin 2015. This is fine for White as well. ) b) 6... ♘b6 7. ♕b3 cxd5 8. O-O ♘f6 9. d4 O-O 10. ♘c3 ♘e4 11. ♗f4 ♘xc3 12. ♕xc3 1-0 (30) Van Wely,L (2664)-Dranov, A (2443) Germany 2015. White has a slight advantage due to the poorly placed knight on b6. 4. ♗g2 g6 5. b3 I like this double fianchetto, but White has other ideas as well. 5. ♕a4 is also interesting and very likely leads to the positions shown after 3...g6. 5... ♗g7 6. ♗b2 O-O 6... ♕b6 This is quite a tricky move! Black has ...Ng4 and ...dxc4 in store. The coming line is useful to know. 7. ♕c2 ♗f5 ( 7... ♘g4⁉ 8. c5! ) 8. d3 dxc4 9. ♕xc4 ♘g4? This move does not work, but it might look scary if you have never seen the line before. 10. ♗xg7 ♕xf2+ 11. ♔d2 ♕e3+ ( 11... ♖g8 12. ♗d4 ♕xg2 13. ♘c3 White wins as h2-h3 is such a terrible threat. ) 12. ♔c3 is the only move. 12... ♖g8 13. ♗d4 ♕xe2 14. ♘bd2 ♕xg2 15. ♖ae1 White is winning due to the threat 16.Rhg1 Qh3 17.Ng5. 7. O-O At this point Black has played about every move that doesn't lose material. I will show some examples for the most popular ones. This whole system does not look too dangerous for Black, but White has a small edge in every line. The main reason is that White has more ideas regarding possible changes of the structure. He may play on the queenside with b4 later, or go for d3/e4 in the centre. White also quite frequently gets the bishop pair because the c8-bishop is often traded on f3 for the lack of a better job. 7... ♗g4 The most popular move, but there are tons more. 7... ♗f5 8. d3 ♕c8 ( 8... ♘bd7⁉ The f5 Bishop is an issue now. 9. ♘d4 e6 10. ♘d2 White is in very good shape. ) 9. ♖e1 ♗h3 10. ♗h1 Keeping more pieces on the board. 10... h6 11. ♘bd2 ♘bd7 12. ♖c1 ♕d8 13. ♕c2 White is slightly better here because he has some more options than Black. 7... a5 8. d3 b5 ( 8... ♘a6 9. ♘bd2 a4 10. ♗c3 having b4 in mind. 10... axb3 11. axb3 b6 12. b4 ♗b7 13. ♕c2 c5 14. bxc5 bxc5 15. ♖fb1 And White was a lot better in Timman,J (2575)-
Giri,A (2701) Leiden 2011. Timman won a nice game in this duel of the Dutch No 1s of the 70/80s and of today respectively.; 8... ♘bd7 9. ♘bd2 ♖e8 10. d4 is slow but prevents e5 which makes sense. 10... a4 11. ♕c2 With a slight edge due to the space advantage.) 9. ♘bd2 ♕b6 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. ♖c1 ♘c6 12. ♘e5 White is slightly more comfortable here as Black's pawns are more of a weakness than a strenght in the long run. This position was reached in one of my games that had some interesting moments, so I quote the full game: 12... ♗b7 13. ♘xc6 ♗xc6 14. ♘f3 ♖fc8 15. ♕d2 ♗b7 16. ♗d4 ♕d8 17. a3 ♗f8 18. ♘e5 ♘e8 19. ♗h3 ♖xc1 20. ♖xc1 ♕d6 21. ♘d7 ♕xa3 22. ♗c5 b4 23. ♘xf8 ♔xf8 24. ♕h6+ ♔g8 25. ♗xe7 ♘g7 26. ♗f6 ♘e8 27. ♗d4 ♖d8 28. ♖c7 ♕xb3 29. ♗e6 1-0 (29) Sielecki,C (2390)-Van der Werf,M (2443) Netherlands 2011 7... ♘bd7 8. ♕c2 ♖e8 9. ♘c3⁉ This is Mihail Marin's move recommended in his English book series and it is quite strong, but the simple 9.d4 is not bad either. ( 9. d4 takes it into a Fianchetto Gruenfeld where White is very slightly better. ) a) 9... e5 10. cxd5 ♘xd5 ( 10... cxd5? 11. ♘b5± ) 11. d3 With a reversed Dragon structure that is a bit more comfortable for White. 11... ♘xc3 12. ♗xc3 ♕e7 13. ♖fe1 ♘f8 14. ♕b2 h5 15. b4 ♗g4 16. h3 ♗d7 17. e4 ♖ad8 This was played in Kern,G (2340)-Schaefer,M (2408) Germany 2015, in a team event that I also played in. Now 18. d4 is slightly better for White, as both players agreed after the game. b) 9... a6 10. d4 White should take the centre before ...e5 is played. He's a bit better due to his space advantage. c) 9... dxc4 10. bxc4 e5 This is surprisingly solid for Black. 11. d3 ♘c5 12. ♖fd1 ♕c7 13. ♖ab1 ♗f5 14. ♘h4 ♗e6 15. ♗a3 ♗f8 16. ♘a4 ♘fd7 17. ♘c3 ♘f6 18. h3 1-0 (57) Mamedov,R (2639)-Mekhitarian,K (2589) Arlington 2015. I don't see any advantage for White here. It's still a playable position with all the pieces on the board though. Therefore, there is no reason to worry. If you dislike the structure, you may play d4 earlier. 7... dxc4 I always thought this is just a strategicially dubious decision. I was quite surprised to see Magnus Carlsen play it against Levon Aronian in Stavanger 2016. 8. bxc4 c5 ( 8... ♕b6⁉ 9. ♕c2 ♗f5 10. d3 ♘a6 This unconcrete play is just leading to a bad position, as Black has traded the d-pawn vs the b-pawn and needs to show something for that. Just putting pieces out doesn't cut it. 11. ♘bd2 ♘b4 12. ♕b3 ♘a6 13. ♕a3± ) 9. d3 ♘c6 10. ♘e5! This move is essential to make the bishops effective. a) 10... ♘xe5 11. ♗xe5 ♘e8 12. ♗xg7 ♔xg7 13. ♘c3 ♖b8 14. ♕a4! Black is in serious trouble on the queenside now. ( 14. a4+/= was played in Radjabov,T (2734)-Gelfand,B (2743) Beijing 2014. The queen move is even stronger. ) b) 10... ♘d4 11. e3 ♘f5 12. ♕c2 ♖b8 13. ♘d2 ♘d7 14. ♘ef3 e5 15. a4 a5 16. ♘e4 b6 17. ♘c3+/= White has good prospects due to the holes on b5 and d5. ½-½ (64) Giri,A (2737)Negi,P (2662) Linares 2013
c) 10... ♘a5 This was the World Champion's choice in the aforementioned game. 11. ♕c1 ♕c7 12. ♘d2 ♘e8 13. f4 ♘d6 14. ♗c3 ♖b8 15. ♕a3 b6 16. ♗xa5 bxa5 17. ♘b3± with a huge advantage for White. Aronian won convincingly in just 31 moves. 7... ♖e8 8. ♕c2 ♘a6 ( 8... ♘bd7 transposes to 7...Nbd7.; 8... ♗f5 9. d3 ♘bd7 The combination of ...Bf5 and ...Nbd7 is most often dubious. 10. ♘d4 e5 11. ♘xf5 gxf5 12. ♘d2 ♘f8 13. ♗h3± ) 9. a3 ♘h5 10. ♗xg7 ♘xg7 11. d4 ♗g4 12. ♘bd2 ♖c8 13. ♕b2 f6 14. e4 ♕d7 15. ♖fe1 ♖cd8 16. ♖ad1+/= This was a game of mine: Sielecki,C (2386)-Delemarre,J (2455) Netherlands 2011. White has the better center and some advantage. 7... b6 8. d4 (There is nothing wrong with 8. d3 , but Black signalling that he wants to put the bishop on b7 should encourage White to play more actively in the centre. ) 8... ♗b7 9. ♘c3 ♘bd7 10. ♕c2 ♕c7 11. ♖ac1 ♖ac8 12. ♖fd1 ♕b8 13. ♘e5 e6 14. ♘xd7 ♘xd7 15. e4 dxe4 16. ♘xe4+/= 1-0 (43) Hamdouchi,A (2309)-De Val,D (2151) Nova Gorica 2004 7... ♕b6 8. ♕c2 ♗f5 9. d3 ♘a6 10. ♘bd2 ♘b4 11. ♕b1 a5 12. a3 ♘a6 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. ♗d4 ♕b5 15. ♕b2+/= 1-0 (49) Muter,D (2225)-Eames,R (2312) Hinckley Island 2009. White has the better piece coordination here. He might play on the c-file or consider e2-e4, according to circumstances. 15... ♖ac8 8. d3 ♘bd7 8... ♗xf3 9. ♗xf3 Whenever Black takes on f3 White has chances to make use of the bishop pair in the long run. 9... e6 ( 9... ♘bd7 10. ♘d2 e5 11. e3⁉N ♖c8 12. ♕c2 ♖e8 13. ♖ab1 ♗f8 14. a3 I prefer White here because he has chances to open up the position slowly in order to do something with the bishop pair. Black is very solid though.) 10. ♘d2 ♘bd7 11. ♕c2 ♕e7 12. ♗g2 ♖fd8 13. a3 a5 14. d4 b5 15. a4 b4 16. ♖ac1 ♕f8 17. ♕d3+/= 1-0 (30) Dzindzichashvili,R (2550)-Schmidt,W (2505) Buenos Aires 1978. This position will favor White after it opens up more. 9. ♘bd2 ♖e8 9... a5 10. a3 ♖e8 is also popular and leads to almost the same position. 10. h3 making sure to get the bishop pair. 10. ♘e5 This is approach is too simple to net anything. 10... ♘xe5 11. ♗xe5 ♕d7 12. ♘f3 ♗h3 13. ♕c2 ♗xg2 14. ♔xg2 ♘h5 15. ♗xg7 ♘xg7 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. ♖ac1 ♖ac8 18. ♕b2= 10... ♗xf3 11. ♘xf3 e5 12. cxd5 cxd5 12... ♘xd5 13. ♘d2+/= 13. ♘d2
13. ♖c1⁉ This move is also interesting. It is not really necessary to memorize all these lines as both sides have so many options. But it makes sense to have seen many possible examples to get a better feeling for the positions. 13... ♕a5 ( 13... e4 This doesn't work out at the end. 14. dxe4 dxe4 15. ♘d2!N e3 16. ♘c4 exf2+ 17. ♖xf2 ♘e4 18. ♗xe4 ♗xb2 19. ♗xb7 ♗xc1 20. ♗xa8 ♗g5 21. ♕d5+/= ) 14. a3 ♕b6 15. ♕c2 ♗h6 16. e3 d4 17. g4∞ With a messy situation in Libiszewski,F (2514)-Fernandez Fernandez,J (2016) San Sebastian 2015. 13... ♖c8 14. ♖c1 ♕a5 15. a3 ♕b6 16. b4 a5 17. ♕b3+/= This improves on Qa4 of the mentioned Blitz game below. The g6-setups are very solid for Black. You cannot expect to get a substantial advantage with White all that often, but you will frequently get comfortable situations that are easier to play for White as you have more ideas for active play than Black does. 17. ♕a4 axb4 18. axb4 ♗f8 19. b5 ♖xc1 20. ♖xc1 ♗c5 21. ♖f1 ♘h5 22. d4 ♗xd4 23. ♗xd4 exd4 24. ♗xd5 ♖xe2 25. ♘c4 ♕f6 26. ♕a8+ ♔g7 27. ♕xb7 ♘c5 28. ♕c6 ♕g5 29. ♕xc5 ♘xg3 30. ♕xd4+ ♔g8 31. ♗xf7+ ♔f8 32. ♕d6+ ♔g7 33. ♕xg3 1-0 (33) Bacrot,E (2720)-Safarli,E (2649) Dubai 2014 Blitz
1. c4 c6 2. g3 d5 3. ♘f3 This one is going to be the most complicated chapter of the whole repertoire. Many lines of the presented repertoire can be played based on 'feeling' and general strategic understanding, but not this one! Please make sure to study the upcoming lines and add your own ideas or that of your computer. It will pay off! 3... ♘f6 3... dxc4 Black may also take on move 3. In most cases this is just a transposition to 4...dxc4. 4. ♗g2 a) 4... ♘f6 transposes to the main line. b) 4... b5 5. O-O ♗b7 6. a4 e6 ( 6... ♘f6 is the main line again.) 7. d3⁉ cxd3 8. ♘e5 b4 ( 8... dxe2 9. ♕xe2± ) 9. ♘xd3 ♘f6 10. ♘d2 ♗e7 11. ♘c4+/= White has good compensation here with two strong knights and pressure on c6/c5 in the long run. c) 4... g6 5. ♘a3 ♕d5 6. ♕c2 ♗e6 7. ♕c3 looks a bit strange, but it has a concrete idea. 7... ♘f6 8. O-O ♗g7 9. ♘d4 This is the mentioned point. 9... ♕d6 10. ♘xe6 ♕xe6 11. ♕xc4+/= d) 4... e6 5. O-O ♘f6 leads to the main line again, while 5...b5 is checked via the 4...b5 move order. e) 4... ♘d7 5. O-O ♘b6 ( 5... ♘gf6 is the main line once again.) 6. ♕c2 ♕d5 ( 6... ♘f6 7. ♘a3 leads to the main line.) 7. b3⁉ cxb3 8. axb3 ♘f6 9. ♘a3 ♗e6 ( 9... g6 10. ♘c4 ♘xc4 11. bxc4 ♕d8 12. ♗b2 ♗g7 13. ♗d4+/= White has excellent compensation here, with the open a- and b-file it looks like a Benko/Volga Gambit on steroids.) 10. ♘c4 ♘xc4 11. bxc4 ♕xc4 12. ♕b1 ♗c8 ( 12... ♕b3 13. ♗b2± ) 13. d3 ♕e6 14. ♕c2 ♘d5 15. e4 ♘b4 16. ♕b1 ♘a6 17. d4± White gets a fantastic position here. 4. ♗g2 dxc4 5. O-O White has tried some other moves here (5.Qc2, 5.Na3), but nowadays it seems clear that 5.0-0 is the way to go. Now Black has some options at his disposal and unfortunately none of them is easily dispatched, they are all complicated. 5... ♘bd7 5... b5 This move is very principled, just keeping the pawn.This move enjoyed a dubious reputation for a long time, but an improvement for Black has changed that view. I now offer two ways for White that I like against this line. a) 6. a4 ♗b7 7. b3 a1) 7... cxb3 This is the old, dubious way to play. White gets very nice play for the pawn now. 8. ♕xb3 a6 9. ♗a3 ♘bd7 10. ♖c1 Black has a hard time to untangle in this position. 10... ♖c8 ( 10... ♕b6 11. ♘c3 ♖b8 12. d4 e6 13. ♗xf8 ♔xf8 14. e4 g6 15. e5 ♘d5 16. a5 ♕d8 17. ♘e4+/= ) 11. axb5 axb5 ( 11... cxb5 12. ♘g5 shouldn't be allowed by Black.) 12. ♘c3 e6
13. ♗xf8 ♖xf8 14. d4 ♕b6 15. e4 ♔e7 16. e5 ♘d5 17. ♘xd5+ cxd5 18. ♕b4+ ♔d8 19. ♖xc8+ ♔xc8 20. ♕e7+− 1-0 (30) Maletin,P (2563)-Krutko,A (2440) Nizhnij Tagil 2008 a2) 7... b4! This made ...b5 interesting again for Black. 8. ♘e5⁉ This is an interesting new approach for White.( 8. bxc4 This is entirely uncritical. 8... c5 9. d3 e6 10. ♘bd2 ♗e7 11. ♘b3 a5 12. ♗b2= 1-0 (57) Nakamura,H (2776)-Anand,V (2797) Zuerich 2015 ) 8... cxb3 ( 8... ♕d4? 9. ♘xc4 ♕xa1 10. ♗b2 ♕a2 11. ♕c2± This is quite bad for Black. The queen is trapped and White has many targets to attack, c6 being the most obvious. ) 9. ♕xb3 e6 10. ♗b2 ♗e7 11. a5 ♘d5 12. ♖c1 O-O 13. d4 ♕e8 14. ♘d2=/∞ 1-0 (41) Carlstedt,J (2440)Sandipan,C (2574) Germany 2016. White has compensation for the pawn. b) 6. d3 This is a different way of giving up a pawn for compensation. 6... cxd3 7. ♘e5 ♗b7 8. ♘xd3 e6 9. a4 b4 10. ♕c2 ♗e7 11. ♘d2 O-O 12. ♘c4 (In the stem game it went like this: 12. ♘b3 ♘bd7 13. ♗e3 ♘d5 14. ♗c5= 1/2-1/2 (43) Tkachiev,V (2660)-Pelletier,Y (2558) Drancy 2016 ) 12... ♘bd7 13. ♖d1 ♖c8 14. ♘de5 ♖c7 15. a5=/∞ And White has enough play for the pawn for sure. 5... ♗e6 Supports the pawn, but delays castling for a while. I think White has very good chances for an advantage here. 6. ♘a3 ( 6. ♘g5 This is not as good as it seems at first. 6... ♗d5 7. e4 h6! 8. exd5 hxg5 9. dxc6 ♘xc6 10. ♘a3 e6 11. ♘xc4∞ This is playable for White, but I think my main suggestion is stronger.) a) 6... ♕d5 a1) 7. d3 This is already quite promising for White. 7... cxd3 8. ♘g5 ♕d7 9. ♘xe6 ♕xe6 ( 9... dxe2! 10. ♘xg7+ ♗xg7 11. ♕xe2=/∞ This is what Black should go for.) 10. ♕xd3 ♘bd7 11. ♘c4 g6 12. ♘a5± This is awful for Black. 1-0 (40) Hausrath,D (2529)-Nyback,T (2575) Germany 2006 a2) 7. h4! This leads to a safe advantage for White. 7... g6 ( 7... ♘bd7 8. ♘g5 ♕d6 9. d4 cxd3 10. ♗f4± Black will probably resign before move 20. ) 8. ♕c2 ( 8. ♘g5 is also fine of course. 8... ♕d7 9. ♕c2 ♗d5 10. ♘xc4 ♗xg2 11. ♔xg2 ♗g7 12. d4 O-O 13. e4+/= ) 8... ♗g7 9. ♘g5 ♕d7 10. ♘xe6 ♕xe6 11. ♕xc4+/= White has the two bishops and the better centre in the future. His position is very nice. b) 6... ♗d5 This is better than ...Qd5. 7. ♕c2 b5 ( 7... ♗e4 8. ♕xc4 ♘bd7 9. ♕b3 ♕b6 10. ♕d1 e6 11. ♘c4 ♕c7 12. d3 ♗xf3 13. ♗xf3+/= With a standard edge in Hausrath,D (2448)Potkin,V (2518) Pardubice 2003.) 8. b3 cxb3 9. axb3 White has compensation for the pawn here and Black needs to be careful. 9... g6 ( 9... e6 10. d3 ♗xf3 11. ♗xf3 ♘d5 12. ♗b2 a5 13. ♖fc1+/= I like White here with his lead in development, the two bishops and some pressure. ) 10. ♗b2 ♗g7 11. d3N O-O 12. e4 ♗e6 13. ♘d4 ♗d7 14. e5+/= 5... g6 6. ♘a3 ♗g7 ( 6... b5⁉ mixing ...g6 and ...b5 is not a good idea. 7. ♘e5 ♕c7 8. d4 ♗b7 9. b3+/= cxb3? 10. ♕xb3 e6 11. ♘xb5 ; 6... ♕d5 7. ♕c2 ♗e6 8. h4!+/= We know this position already from 5...Be6.) 7. ♘xc4 If White gets into a position like this he can be very
satisfied. He has two central pawns vs one without any concessions. Note that with White having played a4 this is a different thing as he HAS made a concession, namely the weakening of the b4 -square. 7... O-O 8. b3 ♘d5 9. d4 c5 10. ♗b2 cxd4 11. ♘xd4 ♘a6 12. ♖c1 ♘ab4 13. a3 ♘a6 14. b4± 1-0 (69) Aronian,L (2797)-Harikrishna,P (2727) Beijing 2014 5... e6 6. a4 White prevents ...b5 and wants to regain the pawn. a) 6... ♘bd7 7. ♕c2+/= Getting the pawn back soon. b) 6... ♕d5 7. ♘a3 ♘bd7 ( 7... e5 8. ♘g5⁉ ♕d4 9. d3+/= cxd3? 10. ♕b3+− A funny line to remember.) 8. ♘e1 ♕c5 9. d4 cxd3 10. ♘xd3 This Ne1 and d4/d3 motiv is important to notice. It is a good way to play in many situations where Black has moved the queen to d4 early on. 10... ♕e7 11. e4+/= White has good compensation here. c) 6... ♘a6 7. ♘a3! ( 7. ♕c2 ♘b4 8. ♕xc4 e5⁉ should be avoided.) 7... ♗xa3 ( 7... ♕d5 8. ♘e1 ♕c5 9. d3 cxd3 10. ♘xd3+/= Again this idea.) 8. bxa3 ( 8. ♖xa3⁉ Is also very plausible.) 8... ♘c5 9. ♖b1 ♕a5 10. ♖b4 c3 11. dxc3 O-O 12. ♕c2 and White went on to take down his strong opponent in Hillarp Persson,T (2596)-Dreev,A (2660) Helsingor 2009. It's a strange position though due to the wrecked pawns. If you dislike that, 8.Rxa3 looks fine as well. 5... ♗f5 combining ...Bf5 and ...dxc4 seems risky to me. The following lines show that Black needs to be careful. 6. ♘a3 a) 6... e5 7. ♘xc4 ( 7. ♘xe5⁉ ♗xa3 8. bxa3 ♕d4 ) 7... e4 8. ♘fe5 a1) 8... ♗c5 9. d4⁉ A move to remember! 9... ♗xd4 ( 9... ♕xd4⁉ 10. ♕xd4 ♗xd4 11. ♘d6+ ♔f8 12. ♘exf7 and it's time to resign for Black.; 9... exd3 10. ♘xd3 ♗xd3 11. ♕xd3 ♕xd3 12. exd3 O-O 13. ♘a5± Black is in trouble here, his queenside is crumbling.) 10. ♗f4 White threatens Nxf7! and this cannot be prevented, not even with... 10... O-O 11. ♘xf7! ♖xf7 12. ♘d6+/= Half of Black's pieces are hanging and he will be worse after White has regained the material. a2) 8... ♘bd7 9. d4 exd3 ( 9... ♗e7? 10. ♕b3± Again b7 and f7 are targets.) 10. ♘xd3 ♗e7 11. ♕b3 ♘b6 So far we are following the game Movsesian,S (2695)-Tregubov,P (2611) Loo 2013. 12. ♘f4 O-O 13. ♖d1+/= White has play with his better development and active pieces. b) 6... ♕d5⁉ This is far too much liberty taken by Black. 7. ♘g5! b1) 7... ♕c5 8. d4 This is winning already for White. 8... cxd3 ( 8... ♕b4 9. ♗d2 ♕xb2 10. ♘xc4 ♕c2 11. ♕xc2 ♗xc2 12. ♘e5+− ) 9. ♕b3+− b2) 7... ♕d4 8. d3 cxd3 9. ♕b3 dxe2 10. ♖e1 ♘bd7 11. ♕xf7+ ♔d8 12. ♘e6+ ♗xe6 13. ♕xe6±
b3) 7... ♕d8 8. ♘xc4 h6 9. ♘f3± ( 9. ♘xf7⁉ Also very tempting! 9... ♔xf7 10. ♕b3↑ with a tremendous attack! I didn't analyze it any further as the simple 9.Nf3 is enough to prove that 6...Qd5 is bad. ) c) 6... b5 7. b3 cxb3 ( 7... e5⁉ 8. bxc4 e4 9. ♘h4!N ♗g4 10. d4! exd3 11. ♕xd3± ) 8. ♕xb3 ( 8. axb3+/= is also fine.) 8... e6 9. d3 a6 10. ♗b2 ♗e7 1/2-1/2 (50) Pigusov,E (2570)Budnikov,A (2535) Reykjavik 1994 11. ♘d4N O-O 12. ♘ac2 ♖a7 13. ♘b4+/= Note that combining ...b5 with ...Bf5 makes the light squares/pawns on Black's queenside easier targets. The Bishop on f5 doesn't do anything in the current position. 6. ♘a3 6. ♕c2⁉ is a good alternative here. 6... ♘b6 7. ♘e5 7. ♕c2⁉ is also fine and will lead to the main line by transposition very likely. 7... ♗e6 7... ♕d4 This looks a bit scary at first, but White has a tactical shot. 8. ♘exc4! ♘xc4 9. ♕a4 ♕d7 ( 9... ♗e6? 10. ♗xc6+ ♘d7 11. ♗b5± ) 10. ♕xc4 g6 11. d4 ♗g7 12. ♖d1+/= 1-0 (36) Jakovenko, D (2747)-Potkin,V (2610) Yaroslavl 2014. A standard position with White having an extra pawn in the centre. The knight will come to the nice c4-square soon. 8. ♕c2 ♕d4 The only principled move. 8... g6 just giving the pawn back gives White the usual edge. 9. ♘axc4 ♘xc4 10. ♘xc4 ♗g7 11. ♖d1 O-O 12. d4 ♕c8 13. e4+/= 1-0 (68) Karjakin,S (2760)-Kramnik,V (2783) Zuerich 2015 8... h5⁉ This looks a bit crazy at first, but it is not that bad! 9. h4 ( 9. ♘axc4⁉ ♘xc4 10. ♘xc4 h4= This is fine for Black. ) 9... ♕d4 10. ♘f3⁉ (Of course, White could play just like in the main line, but I think the insertion of h5 and h4 rather helps Black, so I looked for an alternative. Here are some moves that show what might happen if White played like in the main line. 10. ♘xc6 bxc6 11. ♗xc6+ ♔d8 12. ♘b5 ♕c5 13. ♗xa8 ♘xa8 14. a4 a6 15. d4 ♕c6 16. ♘c3 ♘c7 Here I'd like to play e4 and possibly f3, but this weakens the king even more. The inserted moves h4/h5 change the position here quite a bit. ) 10... ♕e4 11. ♕d1=/∞ This is a completely new position. White will sac a pawn with b3 and get good compensation. 9. ♘xc6 bxc6 10. ♗xc6+ ♔d8 This seems to be best, but I wouldn't rule out that some super computer proves otherwise. I think White has good chances in any case. Black might be equal somewhere, but it will always be interesting to play. 10... ♘fd7 11. ♗xa8 ♘xa8 12. d3 An important point - Black can't take on d3.
a) 12... ♘ab6 13. dxc4 ♕c5 ( 13... ♗h3? is also not working too well. 14. ♖d1 ♕c5 15. ♕e4 e6 16. ♗e3± 1-0 (21) Prusikin,M (2541)-Pacher,M (2403) Merlimont 2011; 13... ♘xc4? 14. ♖d1 ♕c5 15. ♖xd7 ♔xd7 This was Valsecchi, A (2482)-Basso,P (2466) Spoleto 2016. 16. ♗e3! improves on the game with a winning position. 16... ♕c6 17. ♖c1 ♘e5 18. ♕d1+ ) 14. ♗e3 ♕c6 15. f3 is better for White as the queenside pawns are very dangerous. b) 12... ♗h3 13. dxc4! Stockfish suggests this move - and it is very strong! 13... ♗xf1 14. ♗e3 ♕e5 15. ♖xf1 e6 16. c5! The 16... ♕f5 ( 16... ♗xc5? 17. ♗xc5 ♘xc5 18. b4± ) 17. ♕c3 ♗e7 18. ♕xg7 ♗f6 19. ♕h6 ♗xb2? 20. ♘c4 ♗e5 21. ♖d1+− 10... ♗d7 11. ♗xa8 ♘xa8 12. ♘xc4 It's important to remember that White is doing very OK here from a materialistic point of view. 'Normal' moves are fine here. 12... ♘b6 13. ♘xb6 ( 13. d3⁉ ) 13... ♕xb6 14. d3 ♘d5 15. e4 ♘b4 16. ♕c3 e6 17. ♗e3 ♕b7 18. a3 ♘c6 19. d4+/= 1-0 (35) Brunello,S (2537)-Korneev,O (2573) Otranto 2011 11. ♘b5 ♕c5 12. ♗xa8 ♕xb5 12... ♗f5 13. ♕c3 a) 13... ♘xa8 14. ♕a5+ ♘c7 15. ♘xa7 One of those moves that are best known beforehand. Not difficult right here, but easy to overlook in earlier calculations. 15... ♕xa5 ( 15... e6 16. b4 ♕xa5 17. ♘c6+ ♔d7 18. ♘xa5 ♗xb4 19. ♘xc4± A good ending for White. Two pawns and a rook vs. two minor pieces is fine as Black's pieces do not coordinate very well. ) 16. ♘c6+ ♔e8 17. ♘xa5 ♗e6 18. b3 cxb3 19. axb3± Again, a good ending for White. b) 13... ♕xb5 14. a4 ♕d7 ( 14... ♘xa4 15. ♕d4+ ♗d7 16. ♕xa7± ) 15. ♗g2 ♕c7 This was played in Sadorra,J (2577)-Holt,C (2534) Houston 2013. 16. b3! would have been very strong now. 16... cxb3 17. ♕xb3 e6 18. ♗b2+− This attack is decive for White. 12... ♘xa8 13. a4! a6 14. d4 ♕c6 15. ♖d1! A very nice point, getting d4-d5 on the agenda. 15... ♔e8 ( 15... axb5 16. d5 ♘xd5 17. axb5 ♕b7 18. e4± ) 16. ♘c3 ♘c7 17. f3 ♗c8 18. e4 e5 19. ♘e2± Always keep in mind Black cannot castle anymore and White has good chances to get the c-pawn in the long run. This is just fine from a material point of view. 13. ♗g2 ♗d7 13... h5 This doesn't seem to work ultimately. 14. a4 ♕b3 ( 14... ♕d7 15. a5 ♘c8 16. ♖d1 h4 17. d3 Also looks very scary for Black.) 15. ♕xb3 cxb3 16. e4± ♗d7 17. a5 ♘c4 18. d3 ♘e5 19. d4 ♘d3 20. ♖a3+− 1-0 (41) Medvegy,Z (2552)-Csonka, B (2354) Zalakaros 2013 14. b3 Aronian's move and probably the strongest. I checked the alternatives 14.Rd1 and 14.a4 and didn't find much. 14... e5 This seems best, Black needs to develop the kingside at some point.
14... e6 15. bxc4 ♕xc4 16. ♕xc4 ♘xc4 17. ♖b1 ♘b6 18. ♗b2 ♗d6 19. e4 is slightly better for White. 15. ♖b1 cxb3 16. ♖xb3 ♕xe2 17. ♗a3 This happenend in Aronian,L (2830) -Andreikin,D (2709) Khanty-Mansiysk 2014. Of course, you can analyze further from here. If you feel that your opponents are able to play like that up to this point you should dig deeper yourself. I'd like to point out that White risks very little in this position as Black's king is in constant need of help. Also note that Black had to sidestep tons of pitfalls to get here, so you will pick up plenty of points due to earlier missteps.
1. c4 e6 Black is ready for a Queen's Gambit Declined setup. 2. g3 Unsurprisingly, we go 2.g3 again. 2. ♘c3 is the main alternative, going for a Queens Gambit after 2... d5 3. d4 If you feel comfortable with the QGD, this is not a bad option. Note that this way of playing has implications for 1.c4 Nf6 as well - here you need to go 2.Nc3 then, which leads to different play after 2....e6 or ...c5. 2... d5 3. ♗g2 ♘f6 3... dxc4 There are three chapters about ...e6 setups. Chapter 18 deals with Black's setup without Be7 in which Black usually captures on c4. 4. ♘f3 ♗e7 4... c5 Chapter 17 is about the Tarrasch and Semi-Tarrasch . These lines are more of a setup than a concrete move order. They might be reached via 1...e6, 1...c5 or 1...Nf6. I decided to group it with the other ...e6 setups. 5. cxd5 exd5 ( 5... ♘xd5 is the Semi-Tarrasch.) 6. d4 is the Tarrasch. 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 This is dealt with in Chapter 19 . White goes for a double fianchetto, leading to a low risk game with chances to play for a small advantage. Note that 6. d4 leads to a main line Catalan and is a serious option to expand your repertoire with.
1. c4 This Chapter is about the Tarrasch and Semi-Tarrasch. These lines are part of the Queen's Gambit complex and this is the reason why I decided to cover them via the 1.c4 e6 move order. However, both are more of a setup than a concrete line - there are countless move orders possible. In both lines Black plays the moves d5, e6, c5, Nf6, Nc6, Be7 - in the Tarrasch Black answers cxd5 with exd5, usually leading to IQP positions. In the SemiTarrasch Black will take on d5 with the knight. In the case of the Semi-Tarrasch there is a further divide: White has played an early Nc3 or not. Not having Nc3 played is considered favourable for White, as we will see below. In fact, in our repertoire we should generally get the Semi-Tarrasch with the knight not committed, but there is at least one move order where we don't manage that. So I decided to cover both cases - it's useful to know anyway. 1... e6 The move order that reaches the Semi-Tarrasch with a knight on c3 is the following. 1... c5 2. g3 ♘f6 3. ♗g2 ♘c6 4. ♘c3 e6 5. ♘f3 ( 5. e4⁈ d5! is not good, as shown in the 1.c4 c5 chapter.) 5... d5 6. cxd5 ♘xd5 7. O-O ♗e7 8. ♘xd5 The classical approach. There are some other lines, but this is rather simple to learn and should preserve a small edge. a) 8... ♕xd5⁈ A rarity for good reason. 9. d4! ♘xd4 ( 9... cxd4 10. ♘xd4± ) 10. ♘xd4 ♕xd4 11. ♕c2 White has excellent compensation here, for instance: 11... O-O 12. ♗e3 ♕f6 13. ♗e4 h6 14. ♗xc5± b) 8... exd5 9. d4 O-O 10. dxc5 ♗xc5 11. ♗g5 b1) 11... f6 This is not a move that Black loves to play. It weakens many squares in the centre and around the king. 12. ♗d2 ♗e6 13. e3 ♕d7 14. ♗c3 ♖ad8 15. ♗d4 ♘xd4 16. ♘xd4+/= With a very comfortable situation for White. He has good control and clear targets to play against. b2) 11... ♕b6 12. ♖c1 eyes the active bishop. 12... d4 ( 12... ♗e6 13. ♕c2 ♗d6 14. ♗e3 ♕d8 15. ♘g5± ) 13. ♕c2 ♗d6 14. ♘d2 ♗e6 15. ♘c4 ♗xc4 16. ♕xc4+/= White has the pair of bishops and a particularly strong piece on g2. b3) 11... ♕d7 12. ♘e1⁈ A key idea to remember. The knight has a useful square on d3, looking at the f4 and c5 squares. 12... d4 ( 12... ♖e8 13. ♘d3 ♗b6 14. ♗d2 ...Qg4 was an idea! 14... ♕d6 15. ♘f4 ♗g4 16. h3 ♗f5 17. ♘xd5 ♗xh3 18. ♗xh3 ♕xd5 19. e3+/= ) 13. ♘d3 ♗b6 14. a4 ♕f5 15. ♗d2 ♗d7 16. b4+/= 1-0 (66) Topalov,V (2707) -Hansen,C (2613) Istanbul 2000. White has good play on the queenside. 2. g3 d5 3. ♗g2 ♘f6 4. ♘f3 c5 5. cxd5 exd5 5... ♘xd5 This is the Semi-Tarrasch without a knight on c3. White has good play in this line. 6. O-O In the next couple of moves Black goes ...Be7, ...Nc6 and ...0-0, with various move orders. White's play is quite similar in all cases. Let's have a look. a) 6... ♗e7 7. d4
a1) 7... cxd4 8. ♘xd4 O-O 9. ♕b3 ♘a6 ( 9... ♘c6 10. ♘xc6 bxc6 11. ♖d1+/= ) 10. ♖d1 ♘c5 11. ♕f3+/= White is better here due to his better bishop on g2 compared to the Black piece on c8. a2) 7... ♘c6 8. dxc5 ♗xc5 is discussed below via a different move order. a3) 7... O-O 8. dxc5 a31) 8... ♘c6 9. a3 ♗xc5 10. b4 ( 10. ♕c2+/= is also fine.) 10... ♗e7 11. ♗b2 ♗f6 12. ♕b3+/= White has a very comfortable position here. a32) 8... ♗xc5 9. a3 ♘c6 ( 9... a5 10. ♕c2 ♗e7 11. e4 ♕c7 12. ♕e2 ♘f6 13. ♘c3+/= ) 10. b4 ♗e7 11. ♗b2 ♗f6 12. ♕b3+/= leading to the same position as above. b) 6... ♘c6 7. d4 this is very similar to the lines above and often just transposes after a subsequent ...Be7. b1) 7... cxd4 8. ♘xd4 ♗d7 9. e4 ♘f6 10. ♘c3+/= White has more space. b2) 7... ♘f6 8. dxc5 ♕xd1 9. ♖xd1 ♗xc5 10. ♘c3 ♗d7 11. ♘g5 ♗e7 12. ♗e3± is an excellent 'Catalan gone wrong for Black' position. The knight heads towards c5/d6. b3) 7... ♘b6 8. dxc5 ♕xd1 9. ♖xd1 ♗xc5 10. ♘c3 ♗d7 11. ♗f4 f6 12. ♖ac1 ♗e7 13. ♘d2± And again we get an excellent Catalan type of position. Black is under massive pressure on the queenside. ( 13. ♗c7+/= 1/2-1/2 (31) Xu,J (2527)-Lu,S (2619) Xinghua 2016 ) b4) 7... ♗e7 is the most frequently played move actually. 8. dxc5 ♗xc5 9. a3 O-O 10. b4 ♗e7 11. ♗b2 ♗f6 12. ♕b3+/= is something already covered above. White has more space, a great Bishop on g2 and easy moves to make (Rd1 etc). The Semi Tarrasch without Nc3 being played is just a good line for White. 6. d4 ♘c6 6... c4⁈ is strategically interesting for Black, but seems mistimed here. 7. O-O ♗e7 8. b3 cxb3 9. ♕xb3 O-O 10. ♘c3 ♘c6 11. ♗g5 ♘a5 12. ♕b5 a6 13. ♕d3+/= White is slightly better here. He has got the better pawn structure and potential pressure on d5 and on the queenside. Now 13... b5? was a slip due to 14. ♗xf6 ♗xf6 15. ♘xd5+− 1-0 (30) Ehlvest,J (2586)-Kovaljov,D (2274) Tallinn 2011 7. O-O ♗e7 7... cxd4⁈ is premature. Black fixes the pawn structure too early and allows White an easy setup. 8. ♘xd4 ♗e7 ( 8... ♕b6 9. ♘xc6 bxc6 10. ♘c3 ♗e7 11. ♘a4 ♕b5 12. ♗e3 O-O 13. ♖c1 is a true classic of anti-IQP/hanging pawns play: Rubinstein,A-Salwe,G Lodz 1908. Rubinstein went on to win a model game. ) 9. ♘c3 (Not 9. b3⁈ ♘xd4 10. ♕xd4 ♘e4∞ ) 9...
O-O 10. b3+/= We will discuss this position via the main line move order.( 10. ♗e3+/= is also fine, of course.) 8. ♘c3 A move order to be avoided: 8. b3⁈ ♘e4! 9. ♗b2 ♗f6 and Black's pressure is mounting too quickly. White only has dull equality here. 10. ♘c3 ♘xd4 11. ♘xd4 ♗xd4 12. ♕c2 ♗xc3 13. ♗xc3 O-O 14. ♗xe4 dxe4 15. ♕xe4= 8... O-O 8... c4⁈ 9. b3 cxb3 10. ♕xb3+/= is similar to 6...c4 and slightly better for White. 9. b3 Instead the main lines are 9. ♗g5 and 9. dxc5 I recommend going for 9.b3 here because in addition to being interesting it avoids move order issues. After 1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.b3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.d4 Nc6 9.Nc3 White is committed to this line. 9... ♘e4 Black immediately tries to use White's loose knight. He may also just develop, but this does not challenge White much. 9... ♗g4 10. dxc5 ♗xc5 11. ♗b2 ♖e8 (Or 11... a6 12. ♖c1 ♗a7 13. h3 ♗h5 14. e3 ♖e8 15. ♘e2 ♘e4 16. ♘f4 ♗xf3 17. ♕xf3± ) 12. ♖c1 ♗f8 13. h3 ♗h5 14. e3 (Or 14. ♘b5 ♘e4 15. ♘bd4+/= as in Giri,A (2696) -Swinkels,R (2485) Amsterdam 2012 ) 14... ♘e4⁈ 15. ♘xe4 ( 15. ♘xd5 ♕a5 is fine for Black.) 15... dxe4 16. ♕xd8 ♖axd8 17. ♘d4 ♘xd4 18. ♗xd4+/= and White enjoys the better side of this ending. He will play for two results. 9... ♖e8 10. ♗b2 cxd4 11. ♘xd4 ♗c5 12. ♘xc6 bxc6 13. ♘a4 ♗d6 14. ♖c1+/= is a typical sequence as well. White has good control of the dark squares d4/c5 and enjoys an edge. 9... cxd4 10. ♘xd4 ♖e8 11. ♗b2 ♗g4+/= is very similar to 9...Bg4 and fine for White. 10. ♗b2 ♗f6 This is an important parting of the ways. 11. ♘xe4 This is a 'keep it simple' option. White risks nothing and still has some chances to play for a small edge. If the capture on e4 is 'too simple' for you, I can recommend 11. ♘a4⁈ This leads to quite complicated play where Black has to know his lines well or needs to find them over the board, which is tricky. I have decided against a detailed coverage of this line for the repertoire, simply for space/time reasons. Still, if you dislike my suggestion of 11.Nxe4, here's where to look for a more 'move-by-move' approach.
11... dxe4 12. ♘d2 ♗g4 This seems best, which is not easy to determine over the board neither is it frequently known, as 11.Nxe4 is not believed to be as critical as 11.Na4 and is therefore studied less. 12... ♗xd4 This looks quite normal, but it does not equalize completely. 13. ♗xd4 cxd4 ( 13... ♘xd4 14. e3 ♘e6 15. ♘xe4+/= ) 14. ♘xe4 ♕e7 (Or 14... ♖e8 15. ♕d2 ♗f5 16. ♘c5 ♕e7 17. ♖ac1+/= with handy pressure on the queenside in Tal, M-Pachman,L Sarajevo 1966.) 15. ♖c1 ♗g4 16. ♖e1 ♖ac8 17. ♕d2+/= and again White has a risk-free pull on the queenside/long diagonal. 12... e3⁈ An aggressive move, but it does not work. 13. fxe3 cxd4 14. ♗xc6 bxc6 15. ♘e4 ♗g5 16. ♕xd4± 13. ♘xe4 ♗xd4 14. ♗xd4 ♘xd4 That's the point of ...Bg4 - exert pressure on e2. 15. f3 ♗f5 15... ♗d7 16. e3 ♘f5 17. ♘xc5 doesn't work for Black. 16. e3 ♗xe4 forced again. 17. exd4 ♗c6 18. dxc5 And Black still has to be precise to equalize. 18... ♕a5 19. ♕c2 ♖ad8 20. ♖fd1 ♖fe8 21. ♕f2 g6 22. ♗f1 ♖e5 23. ♗c4 ♖de8! and Black is OK in this position. This whole line is a completely risk-free option against the Tarrasch. It's a good practical weapon that will win games without losing many, if any at all. 11.Na4 is the way to go if you want to play this in a sharper way.
1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. ♗g2 The most frequently played move is the natural 3... ♘f6 but Black has some alternatives. The most important one is probably 3... dxc4 , which is quite similar to 4... dxc4 as discussed in the main line. 4. ♕a4+ Let's get the pawn back by simple means. a) 4... c6 5. ♕xc4 b5 6. ♕b3! This is the best square. The queen leaves the c-file. ( 6. ♗xc6+? ♘xc6 7. ♕xc6+ ♗d7 8. ♕c2 ♖c8 9. ♕d1 ♕c7 is a terrible idea.) 6... ♗b7 7. ♘f3 ♘d7 If Black goes ...Nf6 here, we would transpose to 4...dxc4. 8. d4 a6 9. ♘e5 Immediately making use of the diagonal. 9... ♘e7 10. O-O ♘f5 11. ♖d1 ♘xe5 12. dxe5 ♕b6 An interesting position with some options for White. 13. ♘d2 ( 13. ♗e3⁉ ♘xe3 14. ♕xe3 ♕xe3 15. fxe3 ♗e7 16. ♘c3∞ White has enough play for his terrible structure. I think it is about equal, but there is still play left.) 13... ♘d4 14. ♘c4 ♘xb3 15. ♘xb6 ♘xa1 16. ♗g5 ♖b8 17. ♘d7 ♖c8 18. ♘b6= The game ends in a threefold repetition. However, there is still a lot to explore in this line. b) 4... ♗d7 5. ♕xc4 ♗c6 6. ♘f3 This is very comfortable for White. Black does not have the c-pawn involved in the fight for the centre, so White is likely to manage an ideal centre with pawns on d4 and e4 later. c) 4... ♘d7 5. ♕xc4 c5 ( 5... ♘gf6 6. ♘f3 leads to the main line.) 6. ♘f3 now most of the time Black just plays ...Nf6 to transpose to the main line, but sometimes he tries to benefit from omitting the move. c1) 6... b6 7. ♘d4! initiates a forced sequence that is good for White. 7... ♘e5 8. ♘c6 ♘xc4 9. ♘xd8 ♖b8 10. ♘c6 ♗b7 11. O-O ♖a8 All forced up to this point. 12. d3 ♘d6 13. d4 and the game opens up favourably for White. 13... cxd4 ( 13... ♘e7 14. ♘xe7 ♗xg2 15. ♔xg2 ♗xe7 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. ♗f4+/= A very nice structural edge for White.) 14. ♘xd4 ♗xg2 15. ♔xg2+/= And White has a very nagging edge here. He is quicker on the crucial open files, the knight on d6 is misplaced and c6 is weak. c2) 6... a6 7. ♕b3! ♖b8 ( 7... b5? 8. ♘d4! ) 8. d4 And White is better. Now 8... cxd4 9. O-O ♘c5 10. ♕d1 d3 was played in Wang,Y (2718)-Barsov,A (2460) Abu Dhabi 2016. Now 11. ♘c3 Would have been fantastic for White, as 11... dxe2? 12. ♕xe2± leads to a winning attack for White (please check with your engine if you have doubts). c3) 6... ♘gf6 is the aforementioned transposition. Black has an offbeat option in 3... g6⁉ This often allows White to enjoy a small edge, but leads to complicated play. 4. ♘f3 ♗g7 5. O-O ♘e7 (After 5... ♘f6 at this point, White just answers with natural development and should be slightly better. Blocking the diagonal helps White a little bit, I think. 6. d4 O-O 7. ♘c3 ♘bd7 8. ♗f4 dxc4 9. e4+/= ) 6. d4 ♘bc6 ( 6... O-O is just a different move order leading to the same thing. 7. ♕c2 ♘bc6 8. e3 transposes to 6...Nbc6 ) 7. e3 Modest, but necessary. The d4-pawn needs support. 7... O-O ( 7... dxc4 8. ♘bd2+/= ) 8. ♕c2 a5 ( 8... b6 9. ♖d1 ♗b7 10. b3+/= 1/2-1/2 (40) Giri,A (2752)-
Kasimdzhanov,R (2700) Rosmalen 2014 ) 9. ♖d1 b6 10. b3+/= This setup, just like in the Giri-Kasimdschanow game above, is easy to play for White and slightly better for him due to the better pawn presence in the centre. It remains complicated though. 3... c6 4. ♘f3 dxc4 5. O-O is discussed via a 1.c4 c6 move order. See Chapter 15 for details. 3... f5 leads the Stonewall and is discussed in Chapter 24. 4. ♘f3 3... d4 Black takes more space in the center. White will now get a Benoni with one or two extra tempi - one for being White, one because Black most likely needs to play e6-e5, losing an additional tempo. I am not a huge fan of playing a Reversed Benoni, but two tempi are really nice for White. 4. ♘f3 a) 4... ♘c6 5. O-O ♘f6 6. d3 ♗e7 7. ♘a3 (Or 7. e3⁉+/= ) 7... O-O 8. ♘c2 a5 9. b3 e5 10. a3 ♖e8 11. ♖b1 and White gets b4 in with complicated play. b) 4... c5 5. e3 ♘c6 6. exd4 cxd4 7. O-O ♘f6 8. d3 ♗d6 9. ♘a3 ( 9. ♗g5⁉ ) 9... e5 ( 9... OO 10. ♘c2 e5 11. b4? ) 10. c5 ♗xc5 11. ♘c4 ♘d7 12. ♖e1 O-O 13. ♘fxe5 ♘cxe5 14. ♘xe5 ♘xe5 15. ♖xe5± 1-0 (111) Giri,A (2784)-So,W (2762) Wijk aan Zee 2015 This position is very nice for White. d4 is weak and his pieces are much better (Bg2!). It's tough to analyze the first moves of those Benoni structures as both sides have many options. One thing to remember is that the side with less space in the Benoni (here White) benefits from pieces trades. If you can trade two minor pieces, for example, you are usually ok. 4. ♘f3 dxc4 The most critical move here. 4... c6 5. O-O ♘bd7 ( 5... ♗e7 we will cover this move in Chapter 19.; 5... dxc4 transposes to Chapter 15.) 6. b3 ( 6. d4 leads to a Catalan.) 6... ♗d6 7. ♗b2 O-O 8. d4 ♖e8 9. ♘bd2 b6 ( 9... e5 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. dxe5 ♘xe5 12. ♗xe5 ♗xe5 13. ♘xe5 ♖xe5 14. ♘c4! An important move. This setup is more challenging than just going Nf3-d4. Nc4 attacks the pawn instead of blockading it. 14... ♖e8 15. ♘e3 ♗e6 16. ♕d4+/= ) 10. ♕c2 ♗b7 11. e4 dxe4 12. ♘xe4 ♘xe4 13. ♕xe4 ♘f6 14. ♕c2+/= and White enjoys a typical small Catalan edge. It's strongly recommended to study some games with this structure, as it might also arise 'accidentally' from other move orders. 4... c5 is one way to the Tarrasch - see Chapter 17 . 4... ♗e7 is Chapter 19 . 5. ♕a4+ No fancy stuff - let's get the pawn back. 5. O-O is also interesting, if you like to explore an alternative. 5... ♘bd7 This is the most popular move, but the alternatives are very viable and need to be checked carefully.
5... c6 6. ♕xc4 b5 7. ♕b3 This seems to be the best square, getting away from the c-file. 7... ♗b7 8. O-O ♘bd7 9. d4 A very logical sequence. Now Black either tries to speed up ...c5 by going ...a6 or he plays ...Be7 to prepare castling. Good news for White: Ne5 is going to be the response and the play is quite similar. a) 9... ♗e7 10. ♘e5 ♘xe5 ( 10... ♕b6 11. ♗e3 ♕c7 12. ♘xd7 ♕xd7 13. ♘d2+/= This is a typical line that is good for White. Black has a hard time getting in ...c5. ) 11. dxe5 ♘d5 (Or 11... ♘d7 12. ♘c3 O-O 13. ♖d1 ♕c7 14. ♗f4 ♖fd8 15. ♕c2 ♕b6 16. ♘e4+/= as played in Sargissian,G (2679)-Houska,J (2372) Douglas 2015. White is better due to possibilites of Bg5 mostly, exposing the weakened dark squares. ) 12. ♘c3 O-O 13. ♘xd5 exd5 14. ♖d1 ♗c5 15. ♗e3 ♗b6 16. a4+/= And again, White was better in Anand,V (2785)-Meier,G (2632) Dubai 2014. He's got pressure in the centre and against Black's pawns. b) 9... a6 10. ♘e5 ♘xe5 ( 10... ♕b6 11. ♗e3 A move to remember. The bishop is useful to control c5. 11... c5 12. ♘xd7 ♘xd7 13. d5+/= Now Nakamura played 13... e5? leading to a disaster after 14. a4 b4 15. ♘d2 ♗d6 16. ♘c4 ♕c7 17. f4± 1-0 (47) Carlsen,M (2864)Nakamura,H (2784) Moscow 2013.) 11. dxe5 b1) 11... ♘d7 12. ♘c3 ♕c7 (It's far too risky to take the pawn. 12... ♘xe5? 13. ♗f4 ♘g6 14. ♖fd1 ♕c8 15. ♗g5 f6 16. ♘e4 fxg5 17. ♘xg5+− This is a winning attack - try to defend it against the computer with Black, it's a fun experience. ) 13. ♗f4 c5 14. ♘e4 b11) 14... ♗xe4 15. ♗xe4 ♖c8 16. ♕a3!+/= With good play against the queenside. An improvement compared to ( 16. ♖fd1 of Macieja,B (2583)-Kovalyov,A (2617) Mashantucket 2014 ) b12) 14... ♘xe5⁉ 15. a4 b4 This was reached in Agrest,E (2599)-Grandelius,N (2536) Sweden 2012. Now 16. a5! is excellent for White, for instance: 16... ♗xe4 17. ♗xe4 ♖d8 18. ♕a4+± b2) 11... ♘d5 12. ♘c3 ♗e7 White has a pleasant choice now. b21) 13. ♖d1 ♕c7 14. ♘xd5 cxd5 ( 14... exd5 15. e4+/= ) 15. ♗e3 O-O 16. ♖ac1 ♕d7 17. ♗c5+/= with a small, convienient edge. b22) 13. ♘e4⁉ leads to more complicated play. 13... ♕c7 14. ♘d6+ ♗xd6 15. exd6 ♕xd6 16. e4 ♘b6 17. ♖d1 ♕e7 18. ♕c3 O-O 19. b3+/= with good play for the pawn in Maletin,P (2567)-Yudin,S (2546) Kirov 2012. 5... ♗d7 This is a very solid option for Black. 6. ♕xc4 c5! ( 6... ♗c6⁉ 7. O-O ♘bd7 8. d3 ♗e7 9. ♕c2 O-O 10. ♘c3 ♖e8 11. e4 b6 12. d4+/= as played in Ghosh,D (2520)Aravindh,C (2504) Pune 2015. Black should put the c-pawn to use, which he failed to do here.) 7. ♘e5 ♕c8 8. O-O ♘c6 9. ♘xd7 ♕xd7 This is Black's idea. He gives up the bishop pair, but retains good central control. 10. ♘c3 ♗e7 11. ♕a4 ♖c8 12. d3 O-O 13. ♗e3 ♖fd8 14. ♖ac1+/= This was the game Nakamura,H (2814)-Eljanov,P (2717) Baku 2015. I still call
this slightly better for White due to the two bishops - but they are not easy to use here because Black is very well-coordinated. Patience is key in this position. 6. ♕xc4 c5 6... a6 7. ♕b3! Important prophylaxis. The queen has to move anyway, so better do it right away to avoid getting hit with tempo. 7... c5 8. a4! White wants to get the a-pawn up to a5 to have a bind on the queenside. 8... ♖b8 ( 8... ♗d6 9. d3 ♖b8 10. a5 ♗c7 11. ♗d2 O-O 12. O-O ♘d5 13. ♘c3+/= this is the mentioned bind structure. Black is restricted and 13... b5 14. axb6 ♖xb6 15. ♕a3 gives White an excellent structural advantage. ) 9. a5 ♗d6 10. d3 ♘d5 11. ♘c3 ♗c7 12. O-O ♘xc3 13. ♕xc3 O-O Again White managed to get a5 played. This was Naiditsch,A (2702)-Papin,V (2575) Plovdiv 2012. Now 14. ♗g5 f6 15. ♗e3± would have led to a substantial advantage. Black will probably lose a pawn on the queenside in the long run. 7. ♕b3! ♖b8 Or 7... ♗d6 8. O-O O-O 9. d3 ♖b8 10. a4 leading to the main line by transposition. 8. a4 b6 This move is important. Black is in time to prevent a5. Instead 8... a6 9. a5+/= is comfortable for White again. 9. d3 ♗d6 10. ♘a3 a6 But not 10... O-O⁉ 11. ♘b5! 11. ♘c4 ♗c7 12. ♗d2 ♗b7 13. O-O O-O Black played very precisely to reach this position. It is still a bit easier to play White though. Some examples: 14. e4 14. ♕a3 is also interesting. 14... ♘d5 ( 14... b5 15. axb5 axb5 16. ♘a5 ♗d5 17. b4 c4∞ with an interesting, complicated position.) 15. e4 ♘e7 16. b4+/= with a slight edge for White. 14... b5 15. axb5 axb5 16. ♘a5 ♗a8 17. ♕a3 ♗b6 18. b4= This complicated position is roughly equal. Black's play is very solid in this line, given that he is very precise. White retains chances for an edge if Black slips (which happens quite often). Otherwise a complicated position arises with all the pieces on the board.
1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. ♗g2 ♘f6 4. ♘f3 ♗e7 The most classical setup, usually signaling that Black is aiming to defend the Catalan main line. 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 6. d4 This leads to the main line Catalan. This opening enjoys an excellent reputation for combining solidity with chances to play for a win. It is however outside of the focus of this repertoire as we try to stay within English/Reti territory. Objectively speaking, this transposition is probably the most testing for Black, so a way to go is to learn the lines presented here and maybe the Catalan at a later stage if you feel the need or are just interested in broadening your knowledge. 6... c5 A principled reaction, putting the c-pawn into the game. Black has a number of alternatives though. 6... d4 Grabbing space in the center and going for a Reversed Benoni. 7. e3 It is important that White has not played Bb2 ery likely. The bishop is misplaced once a pawn comes to d4, so I will avoid this scenario during this repertoire. 7... c5 ( 7... ♘c6 This move was recently played against a fellow Chess24 contributor. 8. exd4 ♘xd4 9. ♗b2 ♗c5 10. ♘e5! c6 11. ♘c3 ♕d6 12. ♖e1 ♗a3 13. ♗xa3 ♕xa3 14. ♘e2 ♖d8 15. ♘xd4 ♖xd4 16. ♕c2± White has played the opening excellently in Lubbe,N (2490)-Skytte,R (2412) Kolding 2016. He enjoys a serious advantage already and won quickly. Look at the poor guy on c8! ) 8. exd4 cxd4 9. ♖e1 ♘c6 10. d3 A good moment to take stock. The position is a Reversed Modern Benoni where Black's setup is not very testing, at least he is ages away from a central pawn roller or any other concrete threat. White has played the not very essential move b3, but this actually can be used to good effect in some cases. A key thing to remember is that trading one or even better two pairs of minor pieces favours White, as he has less space. In particular the c1-bishop is completely useless in most cases. a) 10... ♘e8 Going for ...f6 and ...e5. 11. a3 a5 12. ♘e5 ♘xe5 13. ♖xe5 f6 14. ♖e1 e5 15. f4⁉ White has to play actively and attack the centre. 15... ♗d6 ( 15... exf4 16. ♗xf4+/= ) 16. ♕h5 g6 17. ♕f3+/= I prefer White here, with some pressure on the centre. He also enjoys the great piece on g2. b) 10... ♖e8 11. ♘e5 Going for trades, as explained above. ( 11. ♘a3? This should be avoided! 11... ♗b4 12. ♖e2 e5 13. ♘c2 ♗c3 14. ♖b1 ♗f5 That's pretty awful for White.; 11. ♗a3⁉ This is a decent move, making use of the b3 tempo. ) 11... ♘xe5 12. ♖xe5 ♕c7 13. ♖e1 e5 14. ♗a3 ♗f5 15. ♗xe7 ♖xe7 16. ♘a3 ♖ae8 17. b4 I think this position is about equal, but it is still interesting to play for both sides. The plan c5 and Nc4-d6 is an option for White here. c) 10... ♘d7 11. ♘a3 e5 12. ♘c2 a5 13. a3 Note that b3 proved to be useful here, as otherwise Black would have had ... a4. 13... f6 14. ♖b1 ♘c5 15. b4 axb4 16. axb4 ♘a4 17. ♗d2 ♗f5 18. b5 ♘b8 19. ♘fxd4! A very nice shot! 19... exd4 20. ♗xb7 ♖a7 21. ♗d5+ ♔h8 22. ♘xd4 ♗xd3 23. ♘e6 ♕c8 24. ♖a1 ♗xc4 25. ♕g4 ♗b4 26. ♗xb4 ♗xd5 27. ♗xf8 ♗xe6 28. ♖xe6 1-0 (28) Nikolic,P (2623)-Szabo,K (2508) Budva 2009. A very nice display of White's chances in this line.
6... b6 This deservedly enjoys a solid reputation. 7. ♗b2 ♗b7 8. cxd5 Staying in line with the approach after 6...c5. ( 8. e3∞ This is a more complex alternative, leading to play with more pieces on the board and a more fluid pawn structure.It's a good alternative to my recommendation, but requires more study time.) a) 8... exd5 This leads to a slow manoeuvring game and maybe later to hanging pawns for Black. The game would get dynamic quite quickly 9. d4 ♘bd7 10. ♘c3 ♖e8 11. ♖c1 a6 ( 11... c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. ♘e1 ♘b6 14. ♘d3+/= ) 12. ♘e5 ♗d6 13. ♘d3 And White is slightly better, but Black is very solid obviously. b) 8... ♘xd5 This is more dynamic as it keeps the b7-bishop on an open diagonal. 9. d4 ♘d7 ( 9... c5 10. dxc5 ♗xc5 11. a3 a5 12. ♘bd2+/= We see this type of position a couple of times in this line. White is very slightly better due to Black's weakened queenside. ) 10. ♖e1 b1) 10... c5 11. e4 ♘5f6 12. ♘c3 cxd4 13. ♘xd4 White is better here, an important point is that 13... ♘e5 14. ♕e2! is possible! 14... ♗c5 15. ♖ed1 ♕e7 ( 15... ♗xd4 16. ♘b5 ♗xf2+ 17. ♕xf2 ♕b8 18. ♘d6 ♘fd7 19. g4! a5 20. ♕g3 ♘g6 21. ♘xb7 ♕xb7 22. e5± A line by the engine which is not very intuitive, but it seems very strong.) 16. ♘a4 Again, with some edge for White. b2) 10... ♘5f6 11. ♘c3 c5 12. e4 cxd4 13. ♘xd4 just transposes to 10...c5. 6... c6 This setup is quite popular at the club level, but it is just better for White. 7. ♗b2 ♘bd7 8. d3 ( 8. d4+/= transposes to the Closed Catalan and is a good choice as well.) 8... b6 9. e4! ( 9. ♘bd2+/= is also fine, but e4 is more powerful. ) 9... ♗b7 ( 9... dxe4 10. dxe4 ♘xe4⁉ 11. ♘d4+− ) 10. e5+/= With a very nice space advantage for White due to the e5pawn. 6... ♘bd7 7. ♗b2 c6 ( 7... b6 8. cxd5 ♘xd5 9. d4 ♗b7 transposes to 6...b6. ) 8. d3 This transposes to 6...c6. 6... a5 This is a move to be ready for. I think that only the best move in this position gives White some advantage. 7. ♘c3! This is a good move as the knight cannot be kicked successfully with ...d4.( 7. ♗b2 a4 seems fine for Black. ) a) 7... d4 8. ♘b5 ♘c6 ( 8... c5 9. e3 ♘c6 10. exd4 cxd4 11. ♖e1+/= With a nice Benoni because the knight on b5 is very active.) 9. e3 e5 10. ♗b2 ( 10. exd4 e4⁉ should be avoided.) 10... ♗c5 11. exd4 exd4 12. ♖e1+/= I know I mentioned that I don't want to play Bb2 against the d4-pawn, but here it makes some sense as it pressurizes the pawn that is not covered by c5 or e5, but just by pieces. b) 7... c6 8. ♗b2 ( 8. d4 b6 9. ♗b2 ♗a6⇆ ) 8... ♘bd7 ( 8... d4 9. ♘a4+/= And Black has no desirable move.) 9. ♕c2 b6 10. d3 ♗a6 11. e4+/= Note that again a d3/e4 approach is effective here. The bishop on a6 is not th at well-placed now, as c4 is covered. 7. cxd5
7. ♗b2 d4! As mentioned, I don't like this scenario. 7. e3 is the way to go if you want an 'unclear' game with all the pieces on the board. The suggested capture on d5 leads to a game where you most likely never lose and win a couple of games without any risk. 7... ♘xd5 7... exd5 8. d4 leads to the Tarrasch Defence, which is examined in another chapter. 8. ♗b2 ♘c6 8... ♗f6 9. d4 cxd4 10. ♘xd4 ♘c6 11. ♘xc6 bxc6 12. ♕c1 And White had a comfortable slight edge in Himanshu,S (2420)-Rahman,Z (2500) Delhi 2015 8... b6 9. d4 ♗b7 10. dxc5 ♗xc5 We already saw this structure via 6...b6. 11. ♘bd2 ♘d7 12. a3 ♘5f6 13. b4 ♗e7 14. ♘d4 This is the classic game Botvinnik,M-Donner,J Amsterdam 1963. Botvinnik won a model game using a knight as an outpost on c6. 9. d4 cxd4 9... b6 10. dxc5 ♗xc5 11. a3 a5 12. ♘bd2 ♗a6 13. ♘e4 ♗e7 14. ♖c1+/= White is very slightly better here as Black's pawns are slightly exposed and White is a bit better mobilized. 9... ♗f6 10. e4! ♘db4 11. a3 ♘a6 12. e5 ♗e7 13. ♘bd2 cxd4 14. ♘c4+/= This was nice for White in Ramirez,A (2586)-Bryant,J (2398) Phoenix 2015. He has a lot more space. 10. ♘xd4 ♗d7 10... ♘xd4 11. ♕xd4 ♗f6 12. ♕d2 ♗d7 ( 12... ♘f4 13. gxf4 ♕xd2 14. ♘xd2 ♗xb2 15. ♖ab1 ♗f6 16. ♖fd1+/= Black still has problems here, as c8 is just awful compared to g2.) a) 13. ♗xd5 This leads to a position that White will never ever lose, but probably also never win if Black plays correctly. 13... exd5 14. ♖d1 ♖c8 15. ♘c3 ( 15. ♗d4 ♗xd4 16. ♕xd4 ♕a5 17. ♘d2 ♖c2= ) 15... ♗c6 16. ♘xd5 ♗xb2 17. ♕xb2 ♗xd5 18. e4 ♗xe4 19. ♖xd8 ♖fxd8 This very logical sequence was played in Kramnik,V (2783)-Nakamura,H (2776) Zuerich 2015. White has basically no chances to break this fortress. b) 13. ♘a3 13... ♗c6 14. ♘c4+/= This is my suggestion. White still has a slight pull without any risk. 10... ♗f6 11. ♘xc6 bxc6 12. ♗xf6 ♕xf6 13. ♘d2+/= White is comfortably better here. It is important to remember that 13... ♘c3⁉ is bad due to 14. ♘e4! with a very desirable trade of knights for White. 11. ♘c3 ♘xc3
11... ♗a3 A bit of a shocker, but it isn't all that good. 12. ♗xa3 ♘xc3 13. ♘xc6 ♗xc6 This was played in Djuric,S (2535) -Flear,G (2495) France 1992. 14. ♕c2 This is the improvement. 14... ♗xg2 15. ♔xg2 ♕d5+ 16. e4 ♘xe4 17. f3 ♘f6 18. ♗xf8 ♖xf8 19. ♖fd1+/= And White has won the exchange. However, there is still some work ahead to convert this advantage. 12. ♗xc3 ♖c8 13. ♖c1 ♘xd4 13... ♗a3! This is a better defence for Black. 14. ♖b1 ( 14. ♖c2 This does not lead to much. 14... ♕e7 15. ♘xc6 ♗xc6 16. ♕d4 f5 17. ♗a1 ♗xg2 18. ♖xc8 ♖xc8 19. ♔xg2 ♗c5 20. ♕c4= ) 14... ♗e7 15. ♕d2 ♘xd4 16. ♗xd4 ♗c6 17. ♖fd1 ♗xg2 18. ♔xg2 ♕d5+ 19. f3 Black should hold this position, but still I think White may try a bit without risking anything. 14. ♕xd4 ♗f6 15. ♕d3 ♗xc3 16. ♖xc3 ♖xc3 17. ♕xc3 ♕b6 18. ♖c1 h6 19. ♕e5 ♗c6? This was based on a miscalculation. 20. ♗xc6 ♖c8 21. ♖c4 bxc6 21... ♖xc6 22. ♕b8+ ♔h7 23. ♖xc6 bxc6 This leads to a lost endgame for Black which is hard to prove in an opening survey. Please check yourself for details. A sample line goes like this ( 23... ♕xc6 24. ♕xa7 is no fun either.) 24. ♕xb6 axb6 25. a4 c5 26. ♔g2 ♔g6 27. ♔f3 ♔f6 28. ♔e4 ♔e7 29. ♔d3 ♔d6 30. ♔c4 ♔c6 31. e4 f5 32. exf5 exf5 33. h4 g6 34. f3 h5 35. f4 ♔c7 36. ♔b5 ♔b7 37. a5 bxa5 38. ♔xc5 ♔a6 39. ♔c6 ♔a7 40. ♔b5+− 22. ♖g4 g5 23. ♕f6 ♕d8 24. ♕xh6 f6 25. h4 This was Van Kampen,R (2615)-Wojtaszek,R (2741) Germany 2016. To sum it up: this complex of the Reti is a low risk approach for White. He has chances for an edge, but risks little in the process. A good alternative is the Catalan with 6.d4.
1. c4 Chapters 21-25 deal with 1...Nf6 (very popular, but highly transpositional) and rare moves by Black. Let's get a quick overview. 1... ♘f6 Chapter 24 is dedicated to 1... f5 .Compared to the regular Dutch after 1.d4 f5 White has some additonal options. Note that after a Leningrad style play with ...g6 we mostly transpose to 1.c4 e5 territory. 1... b6 is dealt with in Chapter 23 . It is a tricky move that makes our usual 2.g3 unattractive, but after 2. e4 White has good chances for an edge. 1... g6 has no independant value after our standard play with 2. g3 .After ...c5 or...e5 by Black we will transpose to lines we have covered previously. 1... ♘c6 and more obscure moves are discussed briefly in Chapter 25. 2. g3 It is important to understand that this move is the only one consistent with the rest of the repertoire. If White plays 2. ♘c3 instead, Black has some options to move order us out of our repertoire. 2... e6 is just one of them. Now 3.g3?! d5! is too late and 3. e4 is a good line, but not something you can force after 1.c4 e6. There are similar issues with 2.Nc3 c5 by the way. Note that of course 2.Nc3 is not a bad move, it just does not harmonize well with the choices in the other setups. 2... g6 2... e5 2... c5 2... e6 Instead Black might play any other sensible pawn move to transpose to earlier chapters. 2... c6 transposes to lines that were covered in previous chapters. 3. ♗g2 and now we have a split of chapters. Chapter 22 is devoted to 3... d5 ,the Grunfeld style move. I believe White has good chances here for an edge. The second option is 3... ♗g7 for a King's Indian setup. Chapter 21 discusses this popular way of playing. There are many possible transpositions to 1.c4 e5 again.
1. c4 ♘f6 This is actually Black's most popular move! However, it very often transposes to other systems once Black plays a pawn in the center. 2. g3 As explained in the intro this is consistent with our repertoire. 2. ♘c3 is the main alternative, leading to lines not examined in our repertoire. 2... g6 In this chapter we deal mostly with the King's Indian setup. There are tons of transpositions here. 2... d5 Grünfeld type play in examined in Chapter 22 . 2... c5 leads to 1.c4 c5 2... e5 This is the Reversed Sicilian 2... e6 3. ♗g2 d5 leads to 1.c4 e6 play 2... c6 3. ♗g2 d5 4. ♘f3 leads to the Reti Gambit which we examined via 1.c4 c6 3. ♗g2 ♗g7 By far the most common move, but here and on the next couple of moves Black always has the option of playing ...c6. 3... c6 a) Now 4. b3⁉ is possible, trying to transpose to Chapter 14 4... ♗g7 5. ♗b2 O-O 6. ♘f3 d6 ( 6... d5 transposes to Chapter 14. 6...d5 is actually the most common move. ) 7. d4 and we have transposed to some slightly offbeat form of the Fianchetto King's Indian. 7... ♕a5+⁉ 8. ♕d2 ♕xd2+ 9. ♘fxd2 d5 10. ♘c3 ♖d8 11. e3 ♘a6 12. O-O ♗e6 13. ♖fd1 ♖ac8 14. a3 This was played in Giri,A (2776)-Nataf,I (2534) Montpellier 2015. White was very slightly better and went on to win. b) 4. ♘c3 d5 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. d4 ♗g7 7. ♘f3 transposes to a super solid Fianchetto Grünfeld where Black is considered to be ok. c) 4. e4 One reason for this to be my recommendation is that Black may play ...c6 on move three, four or five! And the only good identical idea that is playable on any of those moves is e4, so you only need to remember one approach - on c6 play e4! 4... d5 consistent. (Quite often Black returns to KID territory with 4... d6 5. ♘c3 ♗g7 6. ♘ge2 O-O We will examine this type of position later in this chapter. ) 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. e5 ♘fd7 7. d4+/= And White is better due to his space advantage. Black's bishops don't have any decent scope. 4. ♘c3 O-O Again 4... c6 5. e4! d6 6. ♘ge2 will be covered later. 5. d3 The 'English' move.
5. d4 leads to a King's Indian Fianchetto system. This is a very serious option here, also because the spirit of this line fits many English Opening players. White is trying to press with little risk. I can heavily recommend you to study this line as a possible expansion of our repertoire. 5... c6 (Against 5... d6 I like to point out that now 6. e3 is a line that can be played almost without any move-by-move knowledge. This can be a useful alternative to check out. Of course, 6.Nf3 is the big main line move. ) 6. e4 It is important to note that Black does not get a Fianchetto Grünfeld any more. 5... d6 Again 5... c6 is possible. 6. e4 d5 ( 6... d6 see below. ) 7. cxd5 cxd5 8. e5 ♘fd7 9. d4 is a type of position we have already seen via 3...c6. 9... ♘b6 10. ♘ge2 ♘c6 11. O-O ♗g4 12. h3 ♗xe2 13. ♘xe2 e6 14. b3+/= 1-0 (48) Roiz,M (2644) -Smirin,I (2639) Beersheba 2007. White enjoys a comfortable game with more space and the pair of bishops. 5... c5 6. a3 ♘c6 7. ♖b1 is a transposition to 1.c4 c5. 6. ♖b1 This is consistent with our repertoire. 6. ♗g5⁉ is an alternative move recently employed by Magnus Carlsen in a rapid game. 6... ♘bd7 7. ♕d2 c6 8. ♗h6 e5 9. ♘f3 ♖e8 10. ♗xg7 ♔xg7 11. O-O a6 12. ♖ac1 ♘f8 13. ♖fd1 played in Carlsen,M (2850)-Jones,G (2623) Berlin 2015. It's about equal here. 6.Bg5 is nothing special, but certainly playable if you like to leave theory early. 6... a5 6... c6 This makes a lot of sense as White cannot answer routinely here. 7. e4! This is again the reply to ...c6.( 7. ♘f3 d5 is awkward, as 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. d4 ♗f5 makes the rook on b1 look very silly. ) 7... e5 8. ♘ge2 This type of position is quite difficult to analyze, as there are so many possible moves for both sides on every turn. The best way to study here is to pick some master games and play them carefully trough. Try to explore possibilities and check your own analysis with the engine. I'll show you some ideas now that should be the starting point for your own work. a) 8... ♗e6 9. O-O ♕d7 (It's important to see that 9... d5⁉ is not good at all for Black! 10. exd5 cxd5 11. ♗g5± And Black cannot hold his centre. ) 10. b4 White's play is based on this move or f2-f4. In fact, both are possible here. ( 10. f4⁉ leads to very complicated play. Black now has a range of moves like 10...a5, Na6 etc. An important point is 10... ♗h3⁉ 11. f5+/= which is at least slightly better for White, probably even more. ) 10... b5 Black should stop the b-pawn probably. 11. cxb5 cxb5 12. f4 ♗g4 13. f5+/= and I prefer White here - it's a very complicated situation though. b) 8... a6 This is a popular option as well. 9. O-O b5 10. a3 ♗e6 11. b3 This looks rather slow for White, but it has some points that took me a while to understand. Black can't easily play ...d5 or any other pawn advance. In the meantime, White goes for f4 to increase central pressure. I guess it is an equal position, but certainly not a boring one. 11... ♘bd7 ( 11... d5? 12. exd5 cxd5 13. ♗g5± )
b1) Or the immediate 12. f4∞ which is a bit more forcing. 12... bxc4 13. bxc4 ( 13. dxc4 exf4 14. gxf4 ♘g4 15. ♘a4 ♘c5 seems to be OK for Black. ) 13... ♘c5 14. f5 ♗d7 15. h3 ♕a5 16. g4 And here Black has to be careful not to be crushed on the kingside. He is fine according to the engine, but again we have a good and interesting position to play. b2) 12. h3∞ Intending to build up with Be3 first. 6... c5 7. a3 transposes to 1.c4 c5 . 6... e5 7. b4 ♘c6 8. b5 ♘e7 9. ♘f3+/= Transposes to the Reversed Closed Sicilian . 7. a3 e5 8. b4 Or 8. ♘f3 if you dislike 9... c6 below. Now 8... c6 9. O-O ♖e8 can be answered with 10. ♗g5 , playing against the ...d5 idea. 8... axb4 9. axb4 ♘c6 9... c6 10. e4 ( 10. ♘f3 d5! is fine for Black ) 10... ♗e6 11. ♘ge2 d5 This leads to an endgame with roughly equal play. 12. exd5 cxd5 13. ♗g5 dxc4 14. dxc4 ♕xd1+ 15. ♖xd1 ♗xc4 16. ♗xb7 ( 16. ♗xf6 ♗xf6 17. ♗xb7 ♖a3 18. ♗d5 is a sample line in which Black has equalized. 18... ♗e7 19. b5 ♗xe2 20. ♘xe2 ♖a5 21. ♖b1 ♖c8 22. ♗g2 ♖c2 23. ♘c1 ♖c5 24. b6 ♖ab5 25. ♖xb5 ♖xb5 26. b7 e4 27. O-O ♖xb7 28. ♗xe4 ) 16... ♖a7 17. ♗g2 ♘bd7 18. b5 and it is equal again. 10. b5 ♘e7 11. ♘f3 And again, we transpose to the Reversed Closed Sicilian. In some of the lines we see that Black gets quite decent play if we stay within the English Opening. However, these positions are not boring and instead interesting to play. If you dislike my main line, please check out the alternatives that I mentioned.
1. c4 ♘f6 2. g3 d5 or 2... g6 3. ♗g2 d5 4. cxd5 ♘xd5 5. ♘c3 , leading to the same position. 3. cxd5 ♘xd5 4. ♗g2 g6 This leads to a position in 'Grünfeld style'. 4... e5 or instead 4... c5 are possible transpositions to lines examined earlier. 5. ♘c3 ♘b6 5... ♘xc3 This is just as popular as ...Nb6, but I think White has an easier job here than after the retreat. White's structure with the extra cental pawn is better and with White not being committed in the centre yet it is more difficult for Black to get play compared to the proper Grünfeld. 6. bxc3 ♗g7 I think White is better here in two lines. I actually prefer a) 7. ♖b1 ♘c6 (Not 7... O-O? 8. ♖xb7! ; It's possible to play 7... ♘d7 but normal development gives White a small edge. 8. ♘f3 O-O 9. O-O ♘b6 10. ♕c2 ♗d7 11. d3+/= ) 8. ♘f3 O-O 9. O-O b6 10. ♕c2+/= White will occupy the centre with pawns eventually. b) 7. h4⁉ posing more concrete problems. 7... h6 ( 7... h5 8. ♖b1 ♘c6 9. ♘h3 O-O 10. O-O ♕d7 11. d4 b6 12. ♘g5+/= The knight is annoying on g5 and it is tough to expel. ) 8. ♖b1 ♘c6 9. d4 O-O 10. ♘f3 ♘a5 This is not the only line, but I wanted to show an important idea. 11. ♘e5+/= With h4/h6 inserted it is much tougher to play f6. 6. d3 ♗g7 7. ♗e3 ♘c6 Instead 7... O-O⁉ is surprisingly risky for Black. 8. h4! Black has to react now. If White just gets h4-h5 involved his attack will become irresistable. a) 8... h6⁉ 9. ♕d2 ♔h7 ( 9... h5! is better but inconsistent. ) a1) Now an interesting idea is 10. f4 h5 11. g4⁉ ♘8d7? ( 11... ♗xg4! 12. ♗xb7 ♘8d7 13. ♗xa8 ♕xa8 14. ♖h2 ♘d5∞ ) 12. gxh5 gxh5 13. ♘e4± as in Vogel,R (2439)-Bartel,M (2271) Doha 2015. a2) 10. h5! is even better. 10... g5 11. f4 gxf4 12. gxf4 c6 13. ♘f3± Black's king position is insecure and he is behind in development. White is a lot better. b) 8... h5 That's better than ....h6, but still it is not not a walk in the park. 9. ♕d2 c6 ( 9... ♖e8⁉ 10. g4⁉ A very nice idea to remember! 10... hxg4 11. h5 ♘c6 12. hxg6 fxg6 13. ♗h6+/= ; 9... ♘c6 10. ♗xc6! bxc6 11. ♗h6+/= And with Black's pair of bishops traded White is very comfortable.) 10. ♗h6+/= White is better anyway, but now Dvirnyy,D (2541)Henseler,J (2093) Legnica 2013, saw 10... ♗g4? after which Black is in huge trouble already. 11. f3 ♗f5 12. g4 ( 12. e4± was played in the game and also fine for White.) 12... hxg4 13.
fxg4 ♗xg4 14. h5 ♕d4 15. hxg6 fxg6 16. O-O-O ♘8d7 17. ♘f3 ♗xf3 18. ♗xf3+− and White wins with precise play. 8. ♘f3 I don't like 8. ♕d2 ♘d4! , but 8. ♗xc6+ is an interesting option. 8... bxc6 9. ♕d2 h5 ( 9... h6 10. ♘f3 ♗g4 11. O-O+/= ) 10. ♘f3 ♗g4 ( 10... ♗h3 11. ♘g5 ♗g2 12. ♖g1 ♗d5 13. f3+/= 1-0 (30) Short,N (2692) Salem,A (2536) Al Ain 2012 ) 11. ♘g5 ( 11. ♖c1 ♕d7 12. ♘e4 ♗xf3 13. exf3= ) 11... h4 12. f3 ♗c8 13. g4∞ Play is quite unconventional and the position is interesting to explore. However, I think that 8.Nf3 is objectively just better. 8... O-O 9. ♕d2 e5 Instead 9... ♖e8⁉ allows a strong attack for White. 10. ♗h6 ♗h8 11. h4 An excellent position for White. It's just an easy and dangerous attack! Let's have a look at some more moves. a) 11... ♘d4 12. h5 ♘xf3+ 13. ♗xf3 c6 14. hxg6 a1) 14... hxg6 15. ♔f1± ( 15. O-O-O± ) a2) 14... fxg6 15. ♘e4± b) 11... ♘e5 12. ♘xe5 ♗xe5 13. h5± c) 11... e5 12. h5 ♘d4 13. hxg6 hxg6 14. ♘e4 f6 15. ♗f8± Nice play in Gordon,S (2527)Howell,D (2597) Halifax 2009. White is a lot better. (Instead 15. O-O-O ♖e7 16. ♔b1 ♗e6 17. ♘xd4 exd4 18. ♖h2 ♖h7 19. ♖dh1+− already wins according to the engines. ) 10. h4 h5 is almost forced. Ok, Black has avoided immediate accidents on the kingside, but White just plays strategically now. 10... ♗g4 11. ♘h2 ♗e6 12. h5+/= 10... ♘d4 11. h5 ♗g4 12. hxg6 hxg6 13. ♘h2 ♗c8 14. O-O-O± 11. O-O ♘d4 12. ♗g5 f6 13. ♗h6+/= White has a Reversed Dragon structure with Black being weakened on the kingside. This is no immediate problem, but the f/g/h pawns won't go back anymore. Black's king safety and pawn structure is a long term issue. All in all, I think White can be very happy with his chances in the Grünfeld style English.
1. c4 This Chapter deals with the Fianchettos 1..g6 and 1...b6. 1... b6 The move 1... g6 enjoys quite a good reputation here. However, with the way we play the English (2.g3, 3.Bg2 against almost all setups) it is a purely transpositional move with no independant value. Black will commit the e- or c-pawn in the next moves and transpose to something already discussed. 2. g3 ♗g7 3. ♗g2 and now or very soon ...e5 or ...c5 will determine the transposition. 2. e4 We should avoid 2. g3 ♗b7 3. ♘f3 ♗xf3 4. exf3 c5 here. It is not THAT bad for White, but I see little incentive for going this way. 2. d4 ♗b7 3. ♘c3 e6 4. a3 is a line I recommend if you don't mind to transpose to d4 style positions. My main move 2.e4 however is not worse at all than this transposition. 2... ♗b7 3. ♘c3 e6 By far the most common move. 3... c5 is not played often, but it can't be that terrible. 4. g3 Staying within our standard setups. ( 4. ♘f3! is actually the best move. White will get a good version of a Hedgehog. If you feel comfortable with that type of position, this is to be preferred to slow play with g3. 4... d6 5. d4 cxd4 6. ♘xd4+/= ) 4... g6 5. ♗g2 ♗g7 6. ♘ge2 ♘c6 7. O-O e6 8. d3 ♘ge7 9. ♗e3+/= 3... e5 is an interesting try for Black. a) 4. g3 This allows the tricky 4... f5⁉ ( 4... ♗c5 5. ♗g2 d6 6. ♘ge2+/= ) 5. ♘f3⁉N This probably leads to an edge for White, but it is quite murky. If you dislike it, go for 4.Nf3 below. 5... fxe4 6. ♘xe5 ♘f6 7. ♗g2 ♗b4 8. ♘g4 O-O 9. O-O ♗xc3 10. dxc3 d6 11. ♗g5+/= b) 4. ♘f3 4... ♘c6 5. g3 ( 5. d4⁉ exd4 6. ♘xd4 ♗b4⇆ is fine for Black!) 5... ♗c5 6. ♗g2 d6 7. a3 a5 8. d3 ♘ge7 9. O-O O-O 10. ♘h4+/= And White was slightly better in Kramnik,V (2803)-Morozevich,A (2760) Moscow 2013 4. ♘ge2 is quite a sophisticated move. White wants to play g3 later, but avoids 4.g3 f5!, which is ok for Black. 4. ♘f3 ♘f6 5. ♗d3 is a good alternative for White that I only discarded for the repertoire because it is quite far away from what we usually play. 4. d4 ♗b4!= is important to remember. The natural occupation of the centre is fine for Black here. 4... ♘f6
4... c5 is similar to 3...c5 above. 5. g3 ( 5. d4! cxd4 6. ♘xd4+/= ) 5... ♘c6 ( 5... h5 6. d4! ) 6. ♗g2+/= 4... ♗b4⁉ This can't be a challenge of White's setup. 5. a3 ♗xc3 6. ♘xc3 ♘e7 7. d4 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 and now 9. f3+/= would have been better than ( 9. e5 in Stark,L (2409)Rozentalis,E (2584) Stockholm 2016.) 4... f5⁉ Without a tactical idea this move just weakens Black's position. 5. exf5 exf5 6. d4 ♘f6 7. d5+/= 5. d3 d5 5... c5 After this White retains 6. g3 d5 7. exd5 exd5 8. ♗g2 ♕d7 9. ♘f4 dxc4 10. ♗xb7 ♕xb7 11. O-O ♗e7 ( 11... cxd3? 12. ♖e1+ ♗e7 13. ♘fd5 This is a key tactic here and useful to remember. 13... ♘xd5 14. ♕f3 ♘c6 15. ♘xd5± ) 12. ♘fd5! ♘xd5 13. ♕f3 O-O 14. ♘xd5 ♔h8 15. dxc4+/= With Bd2-c3 to come White is comfortably playing for two results. 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e5 ♘fd7 7... d4 This loses a pawn for insufficient compensation. 8. ♕a4+ ♕d7 ( 8... ♘c6⁉ 9. exf6 dxc3 10. ♕e4+ ) 9. ♘xd4 ♘c6 10. ♘xc6 ♗xc6 11. ♕c4+/= 8. d4 c5 9. f4 ♘c6 10. ♗e3 This position is quite unusual for our repertoire. The good news is: White is just better! 10... cxd4 10... ♖c8 11. g3 cxd4 12. ♘xd4+/= 11. ♘xd4 ♘xd4 11... ♗c5 also does not improve Black's position. a) 12. ♘xc6⁉ is better for White due to tactics. 12... ♗xc6 13. ♗b5 ♗xb5 14. ♘xb5 O-O ( 14... ♗xe3 15. ♘d6+ ♔e7 16. ♕xd5± ) 15. ♗xc5 bxc5 16. ♕xd5 ♖b8 17. O-O-O± b) 12. ♗b5+/= is also fine if the line above is still too murky for you. 12. ♗xd4 ♗c5 13. ♗e2! This seems best here. 13. g3+/= is also slightly better for White, but a bit trickyer to handle. 13... O-O 14. ♗g2 f6! ( 14... ♘b8?+− 15. O-O ♘c6 16. ♗xc5 bxc5 17. ♕xd5 ♕b6 18. ♕b3 ♖fd8 19. ♕xb6 axb6 20. ♖fd1 h6 21. ♘d5 ♘a5 22. ♘xb6 ♖xd1+ 23. ♖xd1 ♖b8 24. ♘d7 1-0 (24) Pomes Marcet,J (2393)-Buho Torio,C Cala Galdana 1999) 15. ♗g1! fxe5 16. ♗xd5+ ♗xd5 17. ♕xd5+ ♖f7 18. O-O-O and again, White is better.
13. ♗b5 O-O 14. ♗xd7? This is something to avoid. 14... ♕xd7 15. O-O ♖ac8 16. ♖f2 ♗xd4 17. ♕xd4 ♖c4= And Black was fine in Siebrecht,S (2463)-Khenkin,I (2632) Osterburg 2012 13... O-O 14. O-O White has the better structure here and Black's bishop on b7 is miserable. Some more moves to illustrate this: 14... ♕e7 15. ♗xc5 ♕xc5+ 16. ♖f2 ♖ad8 17. ♘b5 ♕e7 18. ♘d6± and White can be very happy here.
1. c4 f5 Going Dutch! Not something we need to be particularly afraid of, but it helps to check out some details. In fact, Black has three main setups to choose from: 1.The Stonewall with e6/d5 and c6 most of the time. 2.The Leningrad with g6 and d6 3.The Classical with e6, Be7, d6. We are very happy about the Stonewall, as not having played d4 yet is helpful for White. We'll get an edge here and sometimes even a lot more if Black plays imprecisely. The Leningrad setup will most likely just transpose into 1.c4 e5 territory, as we go for the standard setup with g3 and Rb1 later and Black playing d6/e5 is very natural. Against the Classical I recommend to play 2. g3 . This is consistent, but there is a nice offbeat alternative that I want to present briefly. 2. b3⁉ e5 ( 2... ♘f6 3. ♗b2 g6 4. ♗xf6 exf6 5. ♘c3+/= is nice for White. ) 3. ♗b2 d6 4. d4 with interesting play. German GM Klaus Bischoff has played some good games with 2.b3. Check out his games for further guidance. This move might be a nice surprise weapon or a good alternative in Blitz and Rapid games. 2... ♘f6 2... e5 3. d4 transposes to 1.c4 e5 3. ♗g2 g6 Going for the Leningrad, which is the most respectable here. 3... e6 With this move Black wants to go for a Stonewall or a Classical Dutch. 4. ♘f3 ( 4. ♘c3⁉ d5 is not a good idea. d5-d4 ideas are in the air to harrass the knight and we don't want to play d2-d4 here. Please see the suggested play against the Stonewall to understand why avoiding d2-d4 is good here.) a) 4... ♗e7 Black remains flexible about what to do with his d-pawn. 5. O-O O-O ( 5... d6 6. d4 O-O 7. b3 is just a transposition.) 6. b3 d6 The Classical Dutch setup. ( 6... d5 would create a Stonewall. This is discussed via the 4...d5 move order. ) 7. d4 I suggest to just go into a main line Dutch here. There is little point in allowing Black to play ...e5 if we can prevent that and be better with little effort. 7... ♘e4 ( 7... ♕e8 This idea is seen often in the Dutch. I just want to mention it here to show a good antidote for this and similar situations. 8. ♗b2 ♕h5 9. ♘c3 ♘bd7 10. e3 c6 11. ♘e2+/= This e3/Nc3-e2 is what I meant. Black's setup seems fairly pointless here. ) 8. ♗b2 ♗f6 9. ♘bd2 ♘c6 10. ♘e1 This is a key move. White is just better now - at least I don't see how Black gets normal play. Ne1 should also be considered if Black plays other moves than ...Nc6/...Bf6, which, however, are very natural. 10... ♘c5 This move was recommended by GM Simon Williams in his book "The Killer Dutch", but I think White is better in more than one way. ( 10... d5 11. e3 ♗d7 12. ♘d3 ♗e8 13. ♖c1 ♕e7 14. ♘b1⁉± A nice idea in Horvath,C (2509)-Castaldo,F (2417) Arvier 2012. White has a comfortable Stonewall here, as Black lacks concrete play and has a weak centre. f3 is also on the cards.; 10... ♘xd2 11. ♕xd2 e5 Looks natural, but White has a concrete line that leads to a dreadful ending for Black. 12. ♗d5+ ♔h8 13. ♗xc6 bxc6 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. ♕xd8 ♖xd8 16. ♘d3 ♖e8 17. f4 e4 18. ♗xf6 exd3 19. ♗e5 dxe2 20. ♖fe1 ♔g8 21. ♗xc7± Not a nice day in the office for Black. ) 11. e3 a5 12. f4 Powerful, but the line given by Williams with ( 12. a3 ♘d7 13. ♘d3 e5 14. d5 ♘e7 which he calls unclear is just better for White after a normal move like 15. e4± White has more space, better pieces etc. Where is Black's
counterplay? And what was the point of going Ng8-f6-e4-c5-d7 after all...) 12... ♘a6 13. a3 d5 14. ♘d3 b6 15. b4± This was played in Moradiabadi,E (2570)-Horvath,J (2538) Vaujany 2015. Black's position is already falling apart. b) 4... d5 The Stonewall. This Opening is not that bad at all against 1.d4, but with the d-pawn still on d2 it is somewhat questionable. 5. O-O b1) 5... ♗d6 Black omits ...c6 which is an interesting idea. 6. ♘c3 O-O ( 6... c6 7. d3 O-O 8. e4 transposes to 5...c6 which is discussed later. ) 7. d3 dxc4 ( 7... c6 again transposes.; 7... ♘c6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. e3 a6 10. b3 ♘e7 11. ♗b2 c6 12. ♕c2+/= A nice setup to remember. White is very flexible here. He might still go e4, but Ne2-f4 also looks nice. ) 8. dxc4 ♘c6 9. e4 e5 10. exf5 ♗xf5 11. ♗e3 ♔h8 12. ♘g5+/= And White is better with his play on the light squares. b2) 5... ♗e7 6. b3 ♘c6 (Of course, Black still can go ...c6, but this leads to problems... 6... OO 7. ♗b2 c6 8. d3 ♕e8 9. ♘bd2 ♕h5 10. e4 fxe4 11. dxe4 dxe4 12. ♘e5± ) 7. ♗b2 ( 7. d4 ♘e4 8. ♗b2 h5⁉ 9. ♘c3 h4 10. ♖c1 hxg3 11. hxg3 ♗f6 12. e3 g5 was quite a cool way to play the opening in Spraggett,K (2538)-Rapport,R (2716) Caleta 2015. White is ok here, but the main move is better I think. Black should not get a knight on e4 that easily. ) 7... O-O ( 7... d4 8. e3 e5 9. exd4 exd4 10. ♘a3+/= ...f5 is quite wrong in this Benoni structure. Black has a lot of weaknesses on the e-file.) 8. e3 a5 9. ♘c3 ♘e4 10. ♘b5 ♗d7 11. d3 ♘d6 12. ♘c3+/= And White was much better in Agrest,E (2671)-Rosberg,S (2345) Sweden 2007. Agrest is a player whose games in the English Opening should be watched out for. b3) 5... c6 6. d3 White would like to break with e2-e4 here - something that is very tough to do if the pawn was on d4 as in the normal Stonewall. b31) 6... ♗e7 7. b3 O-O 8. ♗b2 a5 9. ♘c3 ♘a6 10. e3 ♘c5 11. ♕c2 ♗d7 12. ♘e5 ♗e8 13. ♘e2± 1-0 (47) Jakovenko,D (2732)-Sandipan,C (2583) Gibraltar 2016. An excellent example of White's play in this line. He controls the centre with pieces and is very flexible with his pawn breaks. b32) 6... dxc4 7. dxc4 Simple and strong, but I quite like the engine's suggestion of( 7. d4⁉ All of a sudden, this is Catalan where Black has taken the c4-pawn, but with the extramove. However, ...f5 is not a great extra move! A funny sample line: 7... b5 8. a4 a6 9. e4! ♘xe4 10. ♘e5± And Black is in huge trouble.) 7... ♕xd1 8. ♖xd1 ♘bd7 9. ♘d4 ♔f7 10. ♘c3 g6 11. e4± This was played in Ragger,M (2689)-Bern, I (2314) Norway 2016. White can be quite happy here obviously because Black's position has some weaknesses that won't go away easily. b33) 6... ♗d6 7. ♘c3 O-O 8. e4 This is the most frequently arising position once Black has opted for the Stonewall setup. White is a lot better here, as seen in the following lines. 8... dxe4 ( 8... fxe4 9. dxe4 dxe4 10. ♘g5 e5 11. c5 ♗e7 12. ♕b3++− ) 9. dxe4 e5 ( 9... ♗b4 10. exf5 ♕xd1 11. ♖xd1 exf5 12. ♗d2 ♖e8 13. a3 ♗f8 14. b4+/= ) 10. ♕b3 ♕b6 ( 10... ♔h8 11. exf5± ) 11. ♕c2 ( 11. ♘b5? ♗c5 should be avoided!) 11... fxe4 12. ♘g5± And this looks very grim for Black.
3... e5 4. d4 We know this from 1.c4 e5 already. Still, I give you some moves to illustrate what happens in this line. 4... e4 ( 4... ♗b4+ 5. ♗d2 ♗xd2+ 6. ♕xd2 d6 7. ♘c3 O-O 8. e3+/= ) 5. ♘c3 ♗b4 6. ♗d2 This is important! Do not allow the doubling of the c-pawns. 6... a5 ( 6... ♗xc3 7. ♗xc3 d5 8. b3+/= ) 7. ♘h3+/= White is a bit better here. His structure and development are better than Black's. A well-timed f3 is an important idea. 3... d6 4. ♘c3 e5 5. d4 ♗e7 6. b3⁉ is an interesting idea to keep the tension. ( 6. ♘f3 e4 is what Black hopes for. ) 6... O-O 7. ♗a3⁉ threatening dxe5. 7... e4 8. ♘h3+/= White has saved some time here by going Nh3 immediately instead of Nf3-g5-h3. He should have a slight edge here. 4. ♘c3 ♗g7 5. d3 We choose an 'English'-setup. 5. d4 just transposes to the main line of the Dutch. If you have something ready here that you like... go for it. 5... O-O 6. ♖b1 This is how we also played against the Closed Sicilian Reversed . 6. e4+/= is a good alternative, as is 6.e3. 6... a5 7. a3 e5 8. ♘f3 8. b4 axb4 9. axb4 c6⁉ 8... d6 9. O-O And we transpose to 1.c4 e5 territory.
1. c4 Now we get to the point where some really obscure lines are left to check. In fact, you may argue that they don't NEED to be checked but I still like to have a look at them and have some fun dismantling bad lines. 1... g5 Wacky, but I want to mention it because far too many players react to it with routine moves instead of going for a refutation. 1... d5 2. cxd5! The obvious move, but still many strong players refused to play it. White has an easy way to an advantage now. a) 2... ♘f6 3. d4! ( 3. e4 c6 might also be fine for White, but I prefer the clean play of the main line. ) 3... ♘xd5 ( 3... g6 4. ♕a4+± and Black does not get the pawn back! ) 4. ♘f3! This is important to know. ( 4. e4⁈ ♘f6 5. ♘c3 e5 is fine for Black! ) 4... g6 5. e4 ♘b6 6. h3! to prevent any Bg4 ideas. Now White has an excellent Grunfeld style position where Black did not manage to trade on c3. In fact the knight is misplaced on b6. b) 2... ♕xd5 3. ♘c3 ♕a5 4. ♘f3 White is just better with simple moves. He's got more of the centre and better development. A sample line to illustrate the dangers is: 4... ♘f6 5. d4 ♗f5 6. ♘e5 c6? 7. ♕b3+− and White wins. 1... d6 This will transpose to some 1.c4 e5 structure almost all of the time, as ...e5/f5/g6 type of moves will follow. 1... ♘c6 Developing the knight. This can't be that bad for Black. One option is 2.d4 now, which will transpose to 1.d4 style play where White has good chances for a plus (Chigorin, Tango etc). However, staying within the English Opening is possible as well. 2. ♘c3 (Or 2. g3 , which will transpose elsewhere (Most likely into the Closed Sicilian Reversed) or gets answered with 2... d5⁈ 3. cxd5 ♕xd5 4. ♘f3 ♗g4 5. ♗g2 e5 6. ♘c3 ♕d7 This seems quite playable for Black. With 7. h3 ♗h5 8. g4 ♗g6 9. ♘h4+/= White will retain a slight plus, but it might not be everybody's cup of tea. If you dislike this, 2.Nc3 is your move. ) 2... e5 3. g3 ♗b4 We don't get this position from 1.c4 e5, as we play 2.g3 and 3.Bg2, so there is no knight to pseudo-pin. Not a big deal though, play is normal enough - so in the rare case you might get it from 1... Nc6 you won't be out of your comfort zone. Some more moves: 4. ♘d5! ( 4. ♗g2 ♗xc3⁈ 5. bxc3 d6 6. d3 f5 is one point of Black's move order. This is playable for White, but not much to my liking. ) 4... ♗c5 5. ♗g2 ♘f6 6. e3+/= I think White is slightly better here. As mentioned, I wouldn't worry too much about this obscure move order. Checking some games from this position however does not hurt of course - you can never spend too much time on studying middlegames in the English! 1... b5 Well, let's win a pawn... 2. cxb5 a6 3. bxa6 ( 3. e4 axb5 4. ♗xb5 ♘f6 5. ♘c3± is also strong. ) 3... ♗xa6 4. ♘f3 ♘f6 5. g3± Black has no compensation. He lacks the clear Benko play because White has not committed himself in the center at all. 1... a6 Well, it looks wierd, but some natural moves actually transpose to some quite respectable lines.
a) 2. ♘c3 e6 3. e4 ( 3. d4 d5 This line was played by Alekhine and some other great players. It is not that bad for Black either. 4. cxd5 exd5 5. ♗f4+/= White has still a slight edge.) 3... c5 leads to a playable Sicilian for Black. b) 2. g3 b5 3. ♗g2 c6 4. b3+/= is one way to gain a slight edge. Black's position looks strange and White is better. c) 2. d4 2... b5 3. e4 ♗b7 4. d5+/= This is the most convincing line probably. Black's bishop is weird on b7. Most likely you'll never get 1...a6, but if you do... don't allow some transposition into a 'real' opening. 2. d4! Of course - no lame stuff like 2.g3 please! 2... ♗g7 This was the idea of ...g5 when it was first played in the 70s occasionally. Instead 2... h6 3. e4 ♗g7 4. h4 g4 5. ♘c3± is just better for White. 3. ♗xg5! This just refutes the whole line. 3. ♘c3 c5 is not that clear at all. 3... c5 the only way to try to justify this play. Get something going with ...Qb6/...Qa5. 4. ♘f3 ♘c6 4... cxd4 5. ♘xd4 ♕b6 6. ♘b5 ♗xb2 7. ♘1c3± and Black won't survive this for very long. 4... ♕b6 5. ♘c3 ♕xb2 ( 5... cxd4 6. ♘d5+− ) 6. ♗d2! This is an important point! 6... ♕b6 ( 6... cxd4 7. ♖b1 dxc3 8. ♖xb2 cxb2 9. e3+− Black does not have enough for the queen. ) 7. d5 d6 8. e4± with an overwhelming position for White. The missing b-pawn actually helps to prevent any ...b5-play while not having a g-pawn is terrible for Black's king in the long run. 5. d5! ♗xb2 6. ♘bd2 ♗xa1 7. ♕xa1 ♘d4 8. ♘xd4 cxd4 9. ♕xd4 f6 10. e4± and White has more than enough for the exchange. This position is objectively bad for Black and even worse to play in a practical game.
