Download PGN of June ’25 1 e4 e5 games
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Vienna Game: 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qa4!? [C26]
We start with a game from the Superbet Chess Classic which saw White playing in Reversed Scandinavian style in Caruana, F - Deac, B:
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Even though Fabi admitted after the game that White is slightly worse with best play, this definitely succeeded in getting an interesting game. 5...Bb4 is best and I provide some brief analysis there for Black, but after 5...Bc5 I do like White’s chances, and he had the slightly better of a hard-fought draw.
Two Knights: 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Nd7 [C56]
There was an impressive win for Black at the recently concluded Cambridge International Open in Clarke, B - Fava, L. Black played the rare but trendy 6...Nd7:
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After 7.0-0 Be7 I recommend investigating the interesting 8.c3!?, whilst in the main line 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxd4 Nb8 10.Nc3 0-0 White needs to keep preventing ...c5 with 11.Qf3, although I quite like Black’s chances here too. In the game 11.f4?! c5 was already a step in the wrong direction and Black won a powerful game.
Scotch Game: 4...Qf6 5.Nxc6 Bc5 [C45]
White showed a powerful idea during the recent French Team Championships. There are many options along the way, but play continued down one of the main lines with 6.Qf3 bxc6 7.Nd2 d6 8.Nb3 Bb6 9.a4 a5 10.Bd2 Qxf3 11.gxf3 Nf6 12.Rg1 g6 in Chigaev, M - Fedorchuk, S:
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And there followed the exchange sacrifice 13.Rg5 h6 14.Rxa5! and White won a model game with the bishop pair in compensation. The line has still resulted in several draws in correspondence chess, but the resulting position looks very tough for Black to handle practically.
Scotch Four Knights 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 d5 9.cxd5 Bg4!? [C47]
Black’s choice here is still frequently seen, although the simplifications that occur do not necessarily make Black’s task of making a draw any easier! Following 10.f3 Bh5 11.Bg5:
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11...Qd6 could be an interesting direction to look in, otherwise after the main line 11...cxd5 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.Nxd5 Qxb2 14.Rb1 Bc5+ 15.Kh1 Qe5, Black’s task looks slightly unpleasant after the 16.Re1! of Nakamura, H - Gukesh, D and it proved too much for the World Champion to handle.
Scotch Four Knights 4.a4!? [C47]
Returning to Cambridge, Fava showed more interesting preparation against a legend of English chess in Fava, L - Adams, M. 4...Be7 wouldn’t be my recommended response, and after 5.d4!? exd4 6.Nxd4 0-0 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5:
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8...Ne8 would still be acceptable, whilst 8...Nd5 was a slightly dubious pawn sacrifice. White played well for a long time but finally fell to a nice tactical shot from Adams when he was just within reach of a draw.
Giuoco Piano 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 [C54]
Time to talk about some structural themes by jumping back to So, W - Praggnanandhaa, R from the Budapest Olympiad. Play continued 7.a4 Ba7 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.h3 Be6:
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The subscriber request was about the ...fxe6 (and fxe3) structures and the advantages of this for both sides. I look at a few cases, but this game was a model example for White with 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.b4 Qe8 12.Ra2! giving White good chances on the queenside whilst also having plenty of firepower to deal with any pressure down the f-file.
Spanish 3...Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 [C64]
Returning to Norway Chess, and a typically creative approach in the opening by Black in Wei, Y - Erigaisi, A. After 6...Nd5 7.0-0, Black has the only move 7...Be7!:
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This seems kind of acceptable for Black to me with ...d6 coming next, and perhaps not what a lot of Ruy Lopez players aim for out of the opening. 6.0-0!? is an interesting alternative worth investigating, however.
Spanish, Breyer Variation 10.d4 Nbd7 11.c4!? [C95]
We finally reach a main line Spanish to finish, but I am quite liking White’s chances in this line of the Breyer as of late. There are many options, including the game route of 11...c6 12.Qc2 a5!?:
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Play became pretty symmetrical with White having a slight initiative in Vachier-Lagrave, M - Tabatabaei, A which proved enough for the full point in this case. I don’t see anything fully appealing for Black, but 12...Bb7 looks like a safer direction to me.
Until next month, Harry
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