"Mainstream" Daring Defences

1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bg5

This is an irritating move order for fans of the Leningrad Dutch as 3...g6 4 Bxf6 exf6 isn't very appetising for Black. In my game with a Russian IM I played 3...e6 and managed to find a way to generate counterplay in what is normally a rather dull line. Alas, when he offered me his queen I didn't take it. Have a look at Kirsanov-McDonald, AUG01/04.

Leningrad Mainline 7...Nc6 8 d5 Na5

One of the critical decisions Black has to make in this variation is whether to throw in the move ...e7-e5 or stick exclusively to the plan of attack on the c4 square. You can find a thorough analysis of both options in the game Madeukwe-McDonald, AUG01/03.

Leningrad Mainline 7...Nc6 8 d5 Na5- but with colours reversed!

Three rounds after the game above I was paired with the Indian WIM B.Thipsay. I was in the mood to play the Dutch again, but unfortunately there was the little problem that I was White! It was then that I hit on the slightly crazy idea of playing 1 a3!? hoping to entice my opponent into playing a reversed Dutch.

To be honest it was a bit embarrassing playing 1 a3 and I was relieved when we had made the first five or six moves and it was less obvious to any passers-by how the game had started. Still, it worked perfectly- White got the Dutch he wanted and managed to justify 1 a3 by using it to support a queenside advance with b2-b4. Have a look at McDonald-B.Thipsay, AUG01/02.

Leningrad Mainline 7 Nbd2 Qe8- (but with colours reversed!)

I guess playing 1 a3 once can always be blamed on a fingerslip, but in my next game with White I couldn't resist trying for the Dutch again. It happened to be against GM Praveen Thipsay- the husband of B.Thipsay! Now 1 a3 against a GM appears ridiculous, but Mr. Thipsay always plays 1 e4 as White and the King's Indian as Black- therefore I reasoned that he would have no experience in the Dutch. In effect, he would arrive at the board and find that he had prepared for the wrong colour and what's more would be in an unfamiliar opening! Of course, his wife would have told him I played 1 a3 against her but I had already opened twice with 1 e4 in other games in the tournament. Well it turned out I was wrong as he played an immaculate opening and thanks to some mistakes of various sizes I was soon in big trouble. You can see what happened in McDonald-P.Thipsay, AUG01/01.

So the question is whether any 'Daring Defenders' out there are willing to play 1 a3? Any feedback would be most welcome.

At the same tournament as the above games Thomas Rendle- who is also a great fan of the Dutch- faced an unusual variation of the Staunton. In fact it is so rare that it isn't even mentioned in Steffen Pedersen's book on the Dutch! The conclusion is that it is a poor move, but surprise is always a valuable factor. Have a look at Barron-Rendle, AUG01/10.

Well now it's time to say goodbye to the Dutch and wheel in the Grünfeld.

Dutch

Grünfeld

The 5 Qb3 Russian System

In sharp opening systems getting the move order right is essential. For example take the well known position in the Hungarian Variation after

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 a6 8.Qb3 b5 9.e5 Nfd7

Now you might think that 10 e6 fxe6 11 Be3, 10 Be3 c5 11 e6 and 10 h4 c5 11 e6 are all equally valid attacking continuations for White. In fact two of them lead to unclear play while the other one looks dubious for White! Would you know which one to avoid- or perhaps more importantly- if you were Black would you know how to exploit the inaccurate move order? Strong players are still being caught out by this line. Have a look at Arakelov-Zakharstov, AUG01/07, for the details.

Exchange Variation with 7 Bc4 and 8 Ne2

The Seville Variation 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 0-0 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Be3 Bg4 etc. has been heavily analysed. Therefore it is no wonder that some players have been looking at offbeat ideas to avoid it. Perhaps the most interesting is Svidler's favourite 10...Bd7!? This was the way Smyslov played it in the early days of the Grunfeld before the 'superior' 10...Bg4 was discovered, though he exchanged pawns on d4 first. Of course, chess is a fight, not a theoretical exercise, so if you can get your opponent out of his comfort zone by surprising him it doesn't matter if objectively it isn't the best move! Thus with 10...Bd7 Ivan Sokolov held a comfortable draw as Black against the arch Grunfeld killer Kramnik in a recent game. You can find this game in the notes to a fine win by one of the best young players in the Netherlands in Van der Werf-Nijboer, AUG01/09.

Exchange Variation 7 Nf3, 8 Rb1

Here we see in action GM Avrukh, who might be considered the World's leading expert on the 9...b6 line as both White and Black- see for example his draw with Kasparov. He wins a nice game by carrying out the thematic idea of Black's system: seizing control of the c4 square after ...Ba6 and the exchange of light-squared bishop. As you can see from the examples in the analysis to this game, 9...b6 is frequently seen among strong players. However, whereas the 9...cxd4 10 cxd4 Qa5+ 11 Bd2 Qxa2 line is being analysed right to the death there is still scope for creativity after 9...b6: if you play someone you want to beat he won't get a draw or a win against you based just on his memory!

Have a look at Pogorelov-Avrukh, AUG01/06.

This variation has been hotly contested among the world elite ever since Kramnik began to demonstrate the dangers facing Black in the endgame. The current opinion is that in the mainline Black has enough counterplay to hold the draw, but cannot hope to win- indeed if White wishes he can completely kill off the game. Drawing is better than losing, but not surprisingly, ambitious young players are trying to find ways to complicate the game and create winning chances as Black. In the first game featured here Black tries to round-up White's passed pawn, but it goes badly wrong and he is defeated in impressive style. Have a look at Van Wely-Nijboer, AUG01/05.

Black is much more successful in the second game- he makes a dubious looking pawn sacrifice which seems to stand up in all variations! If this is true then Black has a very useful weapon in his armoury against this system. You should look closely at Szeberenyi-Borisek, AUG01/08.