Download PGN of September '14 Nimzo and Benoni games
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Nimzo-Indian 4 Nf3 Bxc3+, 6 g4 [E21]
Last month we looked at 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 Nc6 5 Nf3 d6 6 g4!? (see the notes to Mamedyarov - Ivanisevic, Tromso 2014). This month we turn our attention to another g4 by White: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 d6 6 g4!?
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If anything this 6 g4 looks more dangerous than the 6 g4 in the Zurich Variation as Black has lost some resources with the exchange of his dark-squared bishop. See Naiditsch - Meier, Baden Baden 2014, for analysis.
Nimzo-Indian/Queen's Indian Hybrid 5 Bg5 h6 6 Bh4 g5 7 Bg3 Ne4 [E13/E21]
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 b6 5 Bg5 h6 6 Bh4 g5 7 Bg3 Ne4:
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Black normally chooses the 6...g5 move order as a way of avoiding the line 6...Bb7 7 Nd2 line. The question is, does White have anything better than transposing into main lines? In Vallejo Pons-Aronian, Bilbao 2014, the Spanish GM tried something different with 8 Qd3 f5 and now the novelty 9 h4!?, but Aronian's response proved to be more than adequate.
Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3 0-0 5 Nge2 [E46]
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 0-0 5 Nge2 d5 6 a3 Bd6 7 c5 Be7:
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In general Black's theoretical standing and results are good in this line. Cruz - Svetushkin, Linares 2014, is something of a rarity in that it's unusual to see a game where Black gets into so much difficulty early on.
Modern Benoni: 7 Nge2 [A65]
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 Nge2:
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Many thanks to Chris for providing in-depth annotations to Ward - Hebden, which won the best game prize at the 2014 British Championship.
Modern Benoni: Old Classical Variation 9...Re8, 10...Nbd7 [A77]
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 c5 4 d5 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 Nf3 g6 7 Nd2 Bg7 8 e4 0-0 9 Be2 Re8 10 0-0 Nbd7:
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The main continuation here remains 11 a4 Ne5 12 Qc2, but 11 h3 is another viable option, enabling White to meet ...Ne5 with f2-f4. A critical line is 11...a6 12 a4 g5 13 Nc4 Nxe4 14 Nxe4 Rxe4 15 Nxd6! - see Dreev - Panarin, St Petersburg 2014, for analysis.
Modern Benoni: Fianchetto Variation 9...Re8 [A62]
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 c5 4 d5 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 Nc3 g6 7 Bg2 Bg7 8 Nf3 0-0 9 0-0 Re8:
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Finally this month, here is a couple of quick wins for Black, just to remind us all of the Modern Benoni's attractions.
In Yanayt - Huschenbeth, Greensboro 2014, White chooses the non-committal 10 h3 and Black reacts with the typical 10...Ne4 11 Nxe4 Rxe4. Black is soon fine and then seizes the advantage when White makes a common mistake of expanding too quickly. That said, White does have some chances of an advantage in this line - see the analysis for details.
Modern Benoni: Fianchetto Variation 11 Nd2 Main Line [A64]
Rosenkilde - Jepson, Borup 2014, doesn't bring anything new to the table, but it's a good example of how Modern Benoni players can benefit when their opponent's knowledge of the opening is a bit patchy. 10 Nd2 a6 11 a4 Nbd7 12 Nc4 Ne5 13 Na3 Nh5 14 e4 f5!:
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This is only very slightly different from a critical mainline position, but the differences are enough to swing the assessment firmly Black's way.
Till next time, John
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