A Rock-Solid Chess Opening Repertoire for Black Viacheslav Eingorn First published in the UK by Gambit Publications Ltd 2012 Copyright © Viacheslav Eingom 2012 The right of Viacheslav Eingom to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordancewith the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No partof this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without prior permission of the publisher. In particular, no part of this publication may be scanned, transmitted via the Internet or uploaded to a website without the pub­ lisher's permission. Any personwho does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage. ISBN-13: 978-1-906454-31-9 ISBN-10: 1-906454-31-0 DISTRIBUTION: Worldwide (except USA): Central Books Ltd, 99 Wallis Rd, London E9 5LN, England. Tel +44 (0)20 8986 4854 Fax +44 (0)20 8533 5821. E-mail: [email protected] Gambit Publications Ltd, 99 Wallis Rd, London E9 5LN, England. E-mail: [email protected] Website (regularly updated): www.gambitbooks.com Edited by Graham Burgess Typeset by Petra Nunn Cover image by WolffMorrow Printed in Great Britain by the MPG Books Group, Bodmin and King's Lynn 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Gambit Publications Ltd Managing Director: Murray Chandler GM Chess Director: Dr John Nunn GM Editorial Director: Graham Burgess FM GermanEditor: Petra Nunn WFM Webmaster: Dr Helen Milligan WFM Contents Symbols 4 Bibliography 4 Introduction 5 Part 1: 1 e4 e6 7 1 French Satellites 9 2 King's Indian Attack 16 3 Exchange Variation 27 4 Advance Variation 33 5 Tarrasch Variation 50 6 Steinitz Variation 66 7 Classical French 80 Part 2: 1 d4 e6 90 8 The Nimzo-like 2 c4 i.b4+ 3 tiJc3 93 9 The Bogo-like 2 c4 i.b4+ 3 tiJd2 109 10 The Bogo-like 2 c4 i.b4+ 3 .li.d2 118 11 Transposition to the Sicilian 133 12 Transposition to the English 144 13 2 tiJf3 c5 3 e3 155 14 Rare 2nd and 3rd Moves after 1 d4 e6 164 Part 3 15 Should Black Play l...e6 vs Flank Openings? 173 16 The X-Files 177 lndex of Variations 189 Symbols " cupture + check ++ double check • checkmate I! brilliant move I good move I? interesting move 'll dubious move ., bad move 'l? blunder Ch championship (n) nth match game 1-0 the game ends in a win for White lf2.1f2 the game ends in a draw 0- I the game ends in a win for Black (1-0, 63) White went on to win on move 63 (etc.) Bibliography Nikita Vitiugov: TheFrench Defence: A Complete Black Repertoire; Chess Stars 20 10 Neil McDonald: How to Play Against 1 e4; Everyman 2008 John Watson: Dangerous Weapons: The French, Everyman 2007 Oleg Stetsko: Frantsuzskaya zashchita: Klassicheskayasistema; Moskva Astrel - AST 2004 Boris Avrukh: GrandmasterRepertoire 1 d4 Volume Two; Quality Chess 20 10 Ilia Odessky: Nevozmozhnoe nachalo ( 1 d4 e6 2 c4 b6!? ); Russian Chess House 2005 Sverre Johnsen and Vlatko Kovacevic: Win with the London System; Gambit 2005 Introduction The appeal of a 'universal' defence is easy to understand. By playing the same move against both 1 e4 and 1 d4, Black reduces his workloadand can use some move-order subtleties to make it harder for White to reach his preferred systems. Our focus here is on 1 e4 e6 and 1 d4 e6, but we also brieflydiscuss how best to answer White's other options on move 1. The French Defence, I e4 e6, is clearly the backbone of the repertoire. It is a popular opening with a long history, and a list of adherents that includes several of the all-time greats. After 1 d4, the reply l...e6 is less common, and normally used as a way to transpose to standardopening lines. If White replies 2 e4,then obviously we have a French Defence, but if White refrains from this central ad­ vance, he must take into account that Black might follow up with 2 ...f5, 2 . d5, 2 ...b6, 2 ...c5 or 2 ... lbf6.If Whitehas a highly rigid repertoire (as many club-level players do), then thismight give him an immediateprobl em, and lead to a rash decision. In this book, we shallonly investigate transpositional ideas when they are particularly attractive, and focus more on independent lines, where Black tries to takes full advantage of the unique possibilities presented by the move l ...e6. We shall examine a wide varietyof ideas and variations, and in some cases little-investigated opening positions arise after the firstfew moves. I would like the make the following general points about the repertoire: • The repertoire based on l...e6 lays the foundation for multi-opening prepara­ tion. Chess-players often consider the initial order of moves exclusively as a way to restrict the opponent's possibilities, forgetting that thereby they them­ selves become a stationary target. In the era of computers and free exchange of theoretical information, such a view of opening strategy looks like an anachro­ nism. If we are willing to play a variety of structures and variations, and even wholly differentopenings, then our opponent's choices will be more difficult, and in this repertoire we shall make extensive use of this. • The variations recommended (the French Defence as well as lines arising after 1 d4 e6) are rather stable and allow a variety of interpretations, and this en­ hances the reliability of the opening repertoire as a whole for Black. In a ma­ jority of potential 'problem lines', two or more options are discussed. Some 6 A ROCK-SOUD CHESS OPENING REPERTOIRE FOR BLACK additional options remain off-screen, so they can be considered as a strategic reserve- for example, Dutch formations, although possible, are almost absent from this book. Most readers will no doubt have experience with other open­ ings, and may well be able to put this knowledge to use when they see an op­ portunity to transpose to lines of, e.g., the Nimzo-Indian, Dutch or Queen's Gambit that appeal to them. • Themodem study of theopening is a serious matter. One should not get car­ ried away with trying to make an idea work and lose one's objectivity. Assess­ ments must, with only rare exceptions, be based on concrete proofs or examples. In the book we discuss some opening variations in considerable de­ tail and, where it is both possible and expedient, give preference to less well­ known continuations. • Since I am presenting a repertoire for Black, I only recommend lines if I con­ sider them playable for Black, and the reader can consider all quoted varia­ tions to be quite satisfactoryby default-if this is not the case, then I make this very clearin the text. In some cases the assessment 'unclear' is given; this sug­ gests that I suspect the position is also acceptable for Black, but that more de­ tailed investigation is needed before this can be stated with certainly or a more precise assessment given. Part 1: 1 e4 e6 The French Defence, whose main sys­ repertoire should not be made need­ tems arise after 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 (D), is lessly elaborate, and rather than play­ one of the most complex chess open­ ing every line and tackling every ings, with an extreme wealth of strate­ structure, a player has to make some gic content. choices. In this book I present my rec­ ommendations according to the fol­ lowing structure: • In Chapter 1 we discuss all continu­ ations (with the exception of the King's Indian Attack) in which White avoids the move 2 d4. We also cover the rare variation 2 d4 d5 3 ..td3. These sidelines are not dan­ gerous for Black, but they occur in practice every now and then, and it makes sense to be ready for them. • Chapter 2 is devoted to the popular set-up known as the King's Indian The position in the diagram serves Attack, which in the French can be as jumping-offpoint for several dif­ introduced by 2 'ii'e2 or 2 d3. ferent continuations (the clarifying 3 • The Exchange Variation, 3 exd5 exd5, the blocking 3 e5, and the two exd5, is considered in Chapter 3. main lines, 3 liJd2 and 3 l2Jc3), but it One cannot hide the fact that this represents only the visible tip of an can lead to drawish and rather te­ enormous opening iceberg. The ques­ dious positions. However, both play­ tion of how to construct an opening ers have ways to spice up the game, repertoire is sometimes answered by and I shall be looking closely at Black in the simplest way: meeting ways for Black to create winning both 3 l2Jc3 and 3 liJd2 with 3 ...dxe4. chances against an opponent who This saves a good deal of effort, but plays 'resolutely' for a draw. also deprives Black of much of the • The move 3 e5 (Chapter 4) defines variety of French Defence possibili­ the Advance Variation. This is the ties and ideas. On the other hand, a firstchapter in the book where Black II A HOC'K·S0/.11> Cm:ss OPENING REPERTOIRE FOR BLACK hMII hi .. l�f llfl'illllll uponlng pn,b- This overview of our French De­ 11111"; th•• llnat l .. �·� 4 �·.l hl11 my fence repertoire sounds straightforward •·huh·ll h11111. enough, but within these variations • I h11 htll'llll�·h, ·' �\d2 (Chupter 5), lies a great variety of pawn and piece 111�..