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Réti Gambit [A11]

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.0-0:

Make no mistake, this is a very important line. Given the huge number of Slav Defence players around today Black is quite likely to meet the Réti with this ...c6 set-up. And White's sharpest line involves delaying b2-b3 and offering his c4 pawn as a gambit; in this way he will have the option of bringing his queen out to b3 or a4 when Black develops his Queen's Bishop.

Is this gambit sound? That I don't know. In my book on the Réti I recommended 5.Qc2, but the nonchalant 5.0-0 may well be White's best. This is the move I've played in my own games but after some negative experiences I became a bit disillusioned with the line.

The critical position arises after 5...Nbd7 6.Qc2 Nb6 7.Na3 Qd5 when 8.b3 seems to give White just about enough compensation:

In Grandelius - Kuipers White was doing fine until his sense of danger deserted him late in the game. Davies - Haslinger was not a particularly good effort on my part but provides a nice illustration of 8...Bf5.

I can't say I've done particularly well on the White side of this line as the highlight was probably my game against Michael Adams in which I tried 8.Nh4. In this game I had enough play, but my appetite for this variation diminished considerably after the Pert game given in the notes.

However, it seems that White can do a lot better with 8.Ne1, which at first sight looks like a very strange way to play after sacrificing a pawn:

Black then has four replies which I examine in approximate order of strength; 8...Bf5 is dealt with in Marin - Ris, 8...Qf5 fares little better in Pantsuaia - Sundararajan whilst the two better moves, 8...Qe6 and 8...Qd4 are examined in Marin - Laxnicka and Zueger - Gagunashvili respectively.

Finally this month there's the game Radjabov - Smeets, an electrifying game with 7.a4 which follows a critical line from an earlier Chesspublishing.com update:

Games like this show that the Réti can be a very dangerous weapon in the right hands.

That's all for this time, see you next month. Nigel Davies

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