Download PGN of November ’21 d-Pawn Specials games
The Trompowsky: 2...Ne4 3 h4 d5 [A45]
I’m uncertain if Krikor Mekhitarian is a subscriber or a fan of Ginger GM, but he tried 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 Ne4 3 h4!? three times in a recent Titled Tuesday event, the same line as advocated on the new The Killer Tromp, presented by Simon Williams himself and which features a special contribution from Julian Hodgson no less. All of Mekhitarian’s opponents plumped for the solid 3...d5, but after 4 Nd2 they avoided the main line:
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Normal would be 4...Bf5 and White shouldn’t fear the alternatives, as we’ll see in Mekhitarian, K - Lavrov, M, where 4...h6 5 Nxe4 dxe4 6 Bf4 Nc6?! 7 e3 quickly left White with a sizeable advantage.
The Trompowsky: 2...Ne4 3 Bf4 c5 4 f3 Qa5+ 5 c3 Nf6 6 Nd2 [A45]
We haven’t considered 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 Ne4 3 Bf4 c5 4 f3 Qa5+ 5 c3 Nf6 6 Nd2 cxd4 7 Nb3 for a while, so I’ve taken the chance of correcting that state of affairs with Uruci, E - Nyysti, S, where Black went in for a solid set-up with 7...Qd8 8 cxd4 d5 9 e3 e6:
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It may not equalise, however, or at least I quite like White’s set-up after 10 Rc1 Bb4+ 11 Kf2, but perhaps he shouldn’t then rush with g2-g4, as we’ll see, and certainly Uruci’s king landed up in huge trouble after some fine play from Nyysti.
Barry Attack: 4...Bg7 5 Nb5
We have a modern move order with 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bf4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 Nb5 Na6 5 e3 Bg7 (1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 Bf4 Bg7 5 Nb5 Na6 would be the traditional Barry route to the position) 6 Nf3 0-0 7 h3:
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Here 7...Ne4!? still looks quite critical to me, as we’ll see, although Bartel, M - Adhiban, B makes a decent enough case for the solid 7...c6.
Jobava-Prié Attack: 3...g6 4 e3 a6 [D00]
White again begins with the modern London route in De Seroux, C - Lubbe, M, namely 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bf4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 e3, only for Black to avoid 4...Bg7 in favour of 4...a6. Here I still quite like the bold 5 h4 Bg7 6 h5!?, but 5 Be2 Bg7 6 h4 is preferred in the game and then 6...c5 7 dxc5 Qa5 8 Qd2 Qxc5 9 0-0-0! 0-0!?:
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The resulting play isn’t perfect, but is quite instructive for showing how both sides should aim to handle these sharp opposite-side castling situations.
Jobava-Prié Attack: 3...Bf5 4 f3 [D00]
Grigory Oparin had an excellent result at the FIDE Grand Swiss, tying for second, but didn’t do so well in the subsequent Lindores Abbey Tal Memorial blitz event, despite trying 1 d4 d5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bf4 Bf5 (we’ll also explore this month developments after 3...e6) 4 f3 e6 5 g4 Bg6 6 h4 h5 7 g5 Nfd7 8 e3:
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White initially scored quite well in such positions, but nowadays Black rarely falls for allowing a strong clamp on the position after 8...c5? 9 Nb5. The best response is probably 8...Bb4!, as played of late by Nils Grandelius, and Oparin, G - Stefanova, A makes a decent case for the preliminary 8...a6.
London System: 3...Bf5 4 c4 [D02]
Quite a trendy line in 2021 has been 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Bf4 Bf5, which even received a few tests in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. White has generally responded with the critical 4 c4, after which we’ll consider both 4...e6 and Black’s alternatives to that in Xiong, J - Abasov, N.
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There 5 Qb3 Nbd7 6 Nc3 Bd6 7 Bxd6 cxd6 wasn’t overly impressive and Black found himself a pawn down and pretty much lost after just 16 moves. As such, I suspect that either Nakamura’s 5...Nc6 6 Nbd2 Be7!? or Giri’s 5...dxc4!? 6 Qxb7 Be4 is a better try.
Here White also has 5 Nc3, the regular choice of Matthias Bluebaum and Gata Kamsky, but 5...Bb4 6 cxd5 Nxd5!? 7 Bd2 0-0 didn’t seem especially impressive for White in Kamsky, G - Postny, E.
Will we see any Londons in the world championship match? We’ll soon know!
Until next month, Richard
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