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Four Knights 4.Nd5!? [C47]
It was nearly two years ago I last looked at this funky option - our game here Boyer, M - Song, E continued to the same position with 4...Bc5 5.c3 Nxe4 6.d4 exd4:
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Here Mahel deviated with 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.Qe2+ Kf8 which seems like a good solution for Black to the whole system. White was very lucky to come out on top in the complications.
Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 a5 [C54]
The high-profile clash Aronian, L - Erigaisi, A at the World Cup soon came back to normal paths after6.0-0 d6 7.Re1 0-0 8.Nbd2 Be6 9.Bb5:
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Here most people have played the nice manoeuvre ...Qb8-a7, which usually encourages White to trade the bishops with Nf1/Be3 when a very balanced position is reached. Instead Arjun played more ambitiously with 9...Ba7!? followed by the typical ...Ne7-g6, and gave a model demonstration of Black’s chances in a key structure that arose.
Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 [C54]
In the first round of the Open section I decided to try this aggressive variation for the first (and possibly last!) time. A key tabiya was reached after 6...h6 7.Bh4 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.0-0 g5 10.Bg3 0-0 11.Re1 Nh7 in Grieve, H - Li, H:
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Here the game continued down a logical line with 12.h3 h5 13.d4 h4 14.Bh2 g4, although I would recommend Black to include ...Qf6 before this direct action. I had a good position out of the opening but was lucky to pick up the full point after a time scramble in a crazy position.
Yurtaev Variation: 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3 Bb7 [C78]
The incredible feat of preparation I alluded to in the introduction occurred in Abdusattorov, N - Mishra, A in Round 2 of the Elite section. Play is still well-known after 12.Re1 0-0 13.Be3 exd4 14.cxd4 Nb4:
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Here Nodirbek went for 15.Bg5!? which seems like a good direction, but the later cryptic 18.Re3!? was the move that got Mishra thinking. Unfortunately for him, he followed the stem game Grischuk-Lazavik completely, allowed Nodirbek to demonstrate the improvement and lost without much fight in the ending.
Yurtaev Variation 5...Bc5 6.Bxc6!? [C78]
The all-English clash McShane, L - Maroroa Jones, G headed down less theoretical waters with this sideline. Play continued logically with 6...dxc6 7.d3 Qe7 8.Nbd2 Bg4:
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A fascinating position resulted where White’s attack on the queenside proved to be more decisive than Black’s corresponding kingside play, and Luke eventually prevailed.
Closed Spanish 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 d6 9.Bd2 [C84]
We covered this seemingly trendy line in the recent game Fressinet-Adams. Here in Sokolovsky, Y - Boruchovsky, A Black played with 9...Be6, but faces a tough decision after 10.Nc3:
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Allowing this now that White does not need to worry about ...Na5 seems slightly inaccurate, and after 10...Qd7 11.Nd5 he probably had to play the difficult 11...Bd8. Instead White won a miniature, but with some instructive themes along the way.
Spanish 9...Be6!? [C92]
This rare sideline offers White two decent options, which I cover in reasonable detail. The game Magold, F - Coicev, M saw the sensible 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.d4 Qe8!?:
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Here White played the logical but mistaken 12.Qb3?! and after 12...d5! the lack of pieces for White on the kingside turned out to be the deciding factor after a brutal attack.
Spanish, Smyslov Variation 9...h6 10.d4 Re8 [C93]
Finally we return to the Smyslov variation, which Black continues to use to play for a win to good effect. After 11.Nbd2 Bd7, White played the curious 12.a3!? in Schmider, N - Cornette, M:
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There is some positional danger for White on the light squares after 12...a5 but he reacted well with 13.d5! Nb8 14.a4 when a typical position was reached. In particular, the manoeuvre of Nh2-g4 in an ensuing structure is worth taking note of.
Merry Christmas! Harry
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