[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Veresov - Richter Attack"]
[Black "1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D01"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 {After this move we reach the so-called Veresov-Richter
attack. It has some similarities with the London System and the Trompowsky,
but in my opinion, it is much less sound. Sometimes the knight on c3 is placed
even worse than on b1. Let's take a look at some lines.} d5 {Trompowsky-like
play is completely harmless here} 3. Bg5 ({Surprisingly this has about 5000
games in the database, although White has almost no compensation for the pawn:
} 3. e4 $2 Nxe4 4. Nxe4 dxe4 5. Bc4 (5. Be3 Nd7 6. f3 e6 $1 7. Qe2 exf3 8. Nxf3
b6 $17) 5... Nc6 6. c3 e5 $1 $17 {0-1 (42) Huber,E (2144)-Grandelius,N (2641)
Karlsruhe 2017}) 3... h6 $5 {I decided to start with this move to define
White's bishop's placement immediately.} (3... Nbd7 {is also perfectly fine
here.}) 4. Bxf6 (4. Bh4 Nbd7 {In my opinion White is fighting for equality in
all lines.} 5. e3 {Actually I was unable to find any reasonable plan for White
here. Everywhere it is White who fights for equality.} (5. Qd3 {is well met by}
c5 6. e4 (6. O-O-O $2 c4 $1 7. Qf3 g5 8. Bg3 g4 9. Qf4 h5 $17 {White's queen
is in trouble.}) 6... dxe4 7. Nxe4 Qa5+ 8. c3 cxd4 9. Nxf6+ Nxf6 10. Qxd4 e5
11. Qd3 Be6 $15 {Black has wonderful development and the initiative.}) (5. f3
c5 $1 {After 5.f3 this is even stronger.} 6. e4 dxe4 7. dxc5 e6 8. Nxe4 g5 9.
Bf2 Nxe4 10. fxe4 Bxc5 11. Bxc5 Nxc5 $15 {White has no compensation for his
bad structure. The pawn on e4 is weak and serves Black as a target.}) (5. Nf3
e6 6. e4 $2 {White loses a pawn without any compensation.} g5 7. Bg3 Nxe4 8.
Nxe4 dxe4 9. Ne5 {0-1 (43) Pogromsky,M (2416)-Jakovenko,D (2710) Sochi 2017} (
9. Nd2 f5 $1 {No need to worry about one check.} 10. h4 (10. Qh5+ Ke7 $17)
10... f4 11. Bh2 Nf6 $15 {1/2 (40) Gormally,D (2499)-Fier,A (2592) London 2014}
) 9... h5 $1 {Gaining space and closing the kingside.} 10. h4 g4 11. Bc4 Nxe5
12. Bxe5 f6 13. Bf4 Bd6 $17) 5... e6 6. Nf3 c5 7. Be2 Be7 8. O-O O-O $15 {
1/2 (28) Mihok,O (2515)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2704) Germany 2016}) 4... exf6 {
Now it turns out that the knight on c3 is clearly misplaced, as the only sound
plan for White here is to undermine Black's center by c2-c4.} 5. e3 (5. e4 $6 {
doesn't work well here.} Bb4 $1 6. exd5 Qxd5 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Be2 Qa5 9. Qd2 Bf5
10. O-O Nc6 $15 {Black is just better here. He has the bishop pair and the
d4-pawn can be a target.}) 5... c6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. Qf3 {A typical plan. White
wants to play Nge2, g4, h4 etc to gain space and to play on the light squares.
However, he is unable to execute it.} (7. Nf3 {is an alternative, but Black
can be very happy after} g6 8. O-O (8. e4 $6 dxe4 9. Nxe4 f5 10. Ned2 Bd6 11.
O-O O-O {with an excellent position for Black.}) 8... f5 9. Ne2 Bd6 10. c4 dxc4
11. Bxc4 O-O {Black has the bishop pair and a solid position.}) 7... g6 $1 {
Black is preparing f5 and h5.} 8. h3 (8. g4 {is premature due to} h5 $1 9. gxh5
Rxh5 $15) 8... h5 9. e4 {otherwise Black will play f5, totally refuting
White's strategy.} (9. g4 {is not good here because of} Nb6 $15) 9... dxe4 10.
Qxe4+ (10. Nxe4 {is well met by} f5 $15) 10... Be7 11. O-O-O Nb6 $36 {[%cal
Ge8f8,Gc8e6,Ga7a5] Black has the two bishops, no weaknesses and very
comfortable play here. Against 3.Bg5 my suggestion is a quick 3...h6!. After 4.
Bxf6 exf6 we reach a Trompovsky structure where White's knight on c3 is just
misplaced. After 4.Bh4 Black just continues with 4...Nbd7 followed by c5! with
excellent counterplay in the center and on the queenside.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Veresov - Richter Attack"]
[Black "1.d4 d5 2.Nc3"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D00"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "24"]

{[%evp 0,24,20,20,20,20,9,3,20,12,-12,-14,13,10,9,-10,3,-4,0,22,22,33,40,17,14,
16,30]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 {The most logical move.} e6 $5 {Black has a
number of reliable options here. For instance 3... a6, 3...c5 or 3...g6. But I
don't see any reason to deviate from the basic concept, as it seems that Black
is absolutely fine} 4. Nb5 {The main point. Otherwise Black just plays 4...
Bd6 or even 4... Bb4.} (4. e3 {allows 4...Bb4!} Bb4 $1 (4... Bd6 {is possible.}
5. Nf3 {The main move but harmless.} ({Here I found an interesting setup for
White.} 5. Qf3 $5 {This occurred in a few dozens of games, but mainly among
club level players.} O-O (5... c5 6. O-O-O Nc6 7. g4 $1 {with some pressure.})
6. g4 c5 7. g5 (7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. O-O-O c4 9. g5 Ne8 10. e4 b5 $1 $132) 7... cxd4
(7... Ne8 8. h4 Nc6 9. Nge2 Bxf4 {1-0 (47) Shadrin,A (2092)-Boyko,I (1896)
Ekaterinburg 2018} (9... cxd4 10. exd4 b5 $17)) 8. exd4 Ne8 9. h4 Nc6 10. O-O-O
Bd7 11. h5 $13 {The position is highly unclear, but I suppose players like
Richard Rapport and Baadur Jobava would revel in it!}) 5... O-O 6. Bd3 Bxf4 7.
exf4 b6 8. Ne2 Ba6 $11 {1/2 (19) Cordova,E (2602)-Kovalyov,A (2602) San
Salvador 2016}) 5. Nge2 (5. Bd3 c5 6. dxc5 Nbd7 $15 {followed by Nxc5 with an
excellent position.}) 5... O-O 6. a3 Be7 $5 7. Nc1 b6 {It is important not to
play c7-c5 immediately because Black wants to meet Nb5 with c6 later.} 8. Nb5
Na6 $15 {c7-c6 is coming. White is lacking harmony.}) (4. a3 Bd6 5. e3 Bxf4 6.
exf4 O-O 7. Nf3 b6 $15 {We will take a look at this structure in the London
System chapters, but in a better version for White, as his knight is misplaced
on c3 here.}) 4... Na6 {With the pawn still on c7 those Nb5 lines are just
harmless.} 5. e3 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. h4 $5 {The only try to develop some
initiative. Otherwise Black will execute his plan without any hurdles. In this
position, if Black plays a random move, White can start some kingside play.
But Black has the powerful} (7. Be2 Nh5 $5 8. Be5 f6 9. Bg3 c6 10. Nc3 g6 $1 {
A typical useful move and prophylaxis at the same time.} (10... Nc7 $4 11. Bxc7
Qxc7 12. g4 $18) 11. Bxa6 (11. a3 Nc7 12. O-O Nxg3 13. hxg3 b6 14. e4 Bb7 $15)
11... bxa6 12. O-O c5 $15 {The "spoiled" pawn structure is not important here
as Black has two bishops and the better control of the center.}) ({Maybe the
safest option is} 7. h3 {Here Black has two different plans:} c6 $5 {First we
kick the knight and then we play c5.} (7... Ne4 $5 8. Nd2 Nxd2 9. Qxd2 c6 10.
Nc3 c5 11. Be2 Bd7 12. O-O Rc8 13. Nb5 Bxb5 14. Bxb5 Bd6 $11 {Black exchanges
the dark-squared bishops and then will improve his knight's position. The
position looks equal.}) 8. Nc3 c5 9. Be2 Bd7 10. O-O Rc8 11. a3 Nb8 12. dxc5
Bxc5 13. Bd3 Bc6 14. Ne2 Bd6 $11 {Black's plan is to prepare e5. At the same
time it is hard for White to open the center with the c4 or e4 breaks.}) ({
Harmless is} 7. Bd3 {After} c6 8. Nc3 Nb4 9. h3 Nxd3+ 10. cxd3 b6 11. O-O Bb7 {
Black was already slightly better in the game Rapport, R - Giri, A, Wijk aan
Zee, 2019. He has a pair of bishops and a good control of the center.}) 7... c6
(7... Bd7 $2 {is good for White after} 8. h5 c5 9. a4 $1 {The knight on a6 is
misplaced}) 8. Nc3 Qa5 $1 {Black starts his own counterplay. White has no time
to develop an initiative because the Ne4 threat is too annoying. After casting,
the pawn on h4 will be rather misplaced} (8... c5 $5 9. h5 h6 10. Ne5 $132 {
is double-edged}) 9. Bd3 (9. Nd2 c5 10. Nb3 Qb6 $15 {looks quite good for
Black.}) (9. a3 Ne4 {is promising, too.}) 9... c5 10. O-O Nb4 11. Be2 Nc6 12.
a3 (12. Ne5 {is well met by} Nd7) 12... a6 {Black has a very comfortable
position and it is White who should think about equality. Generally speaking
the move 2.Nc3 is just bad. White has two different setups: 3.Bg5 and Bf4, but
against both of them, Black is more than OK. Against 3.Bf4 you should remember
to just finish development without pushing c5 too quickly. Black's counterplay
is directed against the misplaced knight on c3 via Bb4 or c6, Qa5.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Trompowsky"]
[Black "1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 h6 , 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.c3!?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "36"]

{[%evp 0,36,20,20,20,2,32,17,17,10,10,2,32,16,34,3,71,67,86,19,73,3,51,-19,56,
11,42,-12,42,-13,-20,-5,-56,0,-19,-24,-24,-24,-28]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 {
This was a critical line in the Informator's time. At present, with Stockfish
being the main judge, it's been out of fashion for quite some time already.
White builds a strong center, but Black has the two bishops and various
possibilities to undermine it.} h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. c3 {The most popular choice
in top-level games, but Black has at least a few reliable options} (5. Nf3 d6
6. Nc3 (6. c3 {is harmless} g6 7. Nbd2 Bg7 8. Bd3 Nd7 9. O-O O-O 10. Re1 e5
$132) 6... g6 7. Qd2 Bg7 8. O-O-O Qe7 9. g3 a6 10. Bg2 b5 $36 {The position is
complicated, but I would definitely prefer Black.}) 5... d6 (5... c5 $5 {
A rare move, although perfectly playable} 6. Nf3 $1 {The critical move for the
evaluation of 6...c5.} (6. e5 $6 Qd8 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Bd3 d5 9. O-O g5 $1 {
Again it turns out that Black plays a very much improved French defence} 10.
Bb5 Bd7 $15) (6. d5 {is not dangerous:} exd5 7. exd5 Na6 8. Nf3 Nc7 9. Be2 Be7
10. O-O O-O $11 {Black's bishop's pair compensates White's space advantage.})
6... cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 (8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Bd3 d6 10. O-O e5 {Probably the
most important position in the line 6...c5.} 11. d5 {This move is suspicious
without the knight on c6. Now Black achieves easy play after Bg4 followed by
Nbd7.} (11. Nb3 exd4 {It is a good moment to determine the structure and open
the position.} 12. Rc1 Nc6 13. Bb5 Bd7 14. Nfxd4 Nxd4 15. Bxd7 Nxb3 16. Qxb3
Bc5 $11 {The position is dead equal}) (11. Nc4 {looks more active than 11.Nb3,
but now the d4-pawn is actually hanging.} exd4 12. a3 Bc5 13. b4 Bb6 14. Nxb6
axb6 15. Bb5 Nc6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Qxd4 Qxd4 18. Nxd4 Bd7 (18... c5 $5) 19.
Rfd1 Rfd8 20. Nc2 Be6 {This endgame looks slightly better for Black, as the
bishop is better than the knight. 0-1 (41) Constantinou,P (2276)-Rodshtein,M 
(2676) Hastings 2015}) 11... Bg4 12. Qb3 a5 13. a3 Bxd2 14. Nxd2 Nd7 $132 {
The position is still double-edged, but with a knight on c5 Black has nothing
to worry about.}) 8... O-O 9. Bd3 d6 10. O-O Nc6 11. Bb5 ({White also tried} 
11. Bc2 {, but after} Bxc3 $1 12. bxc3 e5 13. Rb1 b6 14. h3 Ba6 15. Re1 Rac8
16. Ba4 Na5 $15 {Black's pieces are better developed 1/2 (37) Plichta,K (2335)
-Moranda,W (2599) Zgierz 2018}) 11... Bxc3 $1 {It is important to exchange the
knight before pushing e5.} 12. bxc3 e5 $11 {The black pieces are arranged
harmoniously and have nothing to fear in the following middlegame}) 6. Bd3 e5
7. Ne2 g6 8. O-O Bg7 9. f4 Qe7 {White tries to attack, but that's a hard task
without his dark-squared bishop. White has two plans: To attack by f4-f5 or to
transfer the knight from b1 to f3.} 10. f5 (10. Nd2 O-O 11. Nf3 {Black has
various options and comfortable play.} c5 $5 (11... Nd7 12. Qd2 c5 $5 (12...
exd4 $6 {is premature:} 13. cxd4 c5 14. Rae1 cxd4 15. Nexd4 Nc5 16. Bc4 $14 {
1/2 (26) Laznicka,V (2676)-Mchedlishvili,M (2607) Germany 2016}) (12... b6 13.
f5 Bb7 $13) 13. Rae1 a6 14. b4 cxb4 15. cxb4 b5 16. Rc1 Rb8 17. Rc7 {The
control of the c-file does not give White any benefits.} Qd8 18. Rfc1 exd4 19.
R7c6 Nb6 20. Nexd4 Bb7 21. R6c2 Nc4 $15 {1/2 (50) Pert,R (2457) -Wells,P (2487)
England 2011}) 12. dxc5 (12. fxe5 dxe5 13. d5 c4 $1 {An important resource.
Black does not allow c3-c4} 14. Bc2 Nd7 $15 {The position looks like a quite
comfortable Gruenfeld for Black.}) 12... dxc5 13. Bc4 (13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. fxe5
Rd8 15. Qb1 c4 16. Bc2 Nc6 17. Qc1 Kg7 18. Qf4 Nxe5 19. Nd4 Qg5 20. Rad1 Qxf4
21. Rxf4 Bd7 $15 {0-1 (49) Villar Nieves,A (2202)-Saric, A (2577) Split 2015})
13... Nd7 $132 {with good chances for Black. White has a temporary initiative,
but Black's bishop pair guarantees a long-lasting advantage.}) 10... O-O $1 {
It is important to castle before developing the knight to d7.} ({I played this
position with Black against Kindermann and made an inaccuracy here instead:} 
10... Nd7 $6 11. fxg6 $1 (11. Qb3 $2 gxf5 $1 12. Rxf5 O-O 13. Rf2 Qg5 14. Na3
Nf6 15. Nc4 Rb8 $15 {White's attack on the kingside is not dangerous and Black
is just better. 0-1 (42) Kindermann,S (2509)-Eljanov,P (2741) Germany 2017})
11... fxg6 12. Nd2 Nf6 13. Qb3 $36 {and Black has some problems castling.}) 11.
Nd2 (11. fxg6 {This idea is less strong now than after 10...Nd7?!} fxg6 12.
Qb3+ Kh7 13. Rxf8 Qxf8 14. Na3 Nd7 15. Rf1 Nf6 16. Nc4 Qe7 17. Qa3 Qe6 $15 {
Black stops all the threats and threatens to finish his development with the
better position.}) 11... Nd7 12. Nc4 $1 {White has some trumps thanks to his
space advantage, but is struggling due to his disharmony, especially the
passive positions of his knights). In a high-quality correspondence game White
managed to maintain the balance thanks to smart maneuvers.} (12. Qb3 Kh7 (12...
gxf5 $1 $15 {is a good improvement}) 13. Rae1 Nf6 14. Kh1 b6 15. Ng1 g5 16. Nc4
g4 {Black's idea is h5-Bh6} 17. Ne3 c6 18. Qd1 h5 19. Ne2 Bh6 20. Nc1 Rg8 21.
Bc2 Ba6 22. Rg1 g3 23. h3 Bxe3 24. Rxe3 Ng4 25. Rf3 Nf2+ {0-1 (25) Miton,K 
(2604)-Olszewski,M (2529) Poland 2018 A very nice example of how Black can
take the initiative in this line.}) 12... Nf6 13. Ne3 c6 14. Qe1 exd4 $5 ({
Black's position is safe and it's not necessary to force play. However, the
overall evaluation is far from clear} 14... Bd7 $5 15. Qg3 Kh7 16. Bc2 Rae8 17.
Rad1 h5 18. Kh1 Bh6 $132 {I would prefer Black here.}) 15. Nxd4 Nxe4 16. Ng4
gxf5 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. Rxf5 Rae8 $13 {1/2 (67) Burghoff,A (2573)-Nyvlt,Z (2459)
ICCF email 2007} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Trompowsky"]
[Black "1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 h6, 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.Nc3"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "47"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. Nc3 {White's ideal setup is to
play Qd2, f4, Nf3 and 0-0-0. It's a dream scenario of course, and Black has
enough resources to spoil it.} Bb4 {The most solid move.} (5... d6 $5 {is also
not bad, but at least White maintains a strong center and some hope for an
initiative.} 6. Qd2 c6 7. O-O-O e5 8. d5 Be7 9. Kb1 O-O 10. g3 $13) 6. Qd3 $5 {
Not the main move, but the only way I found to get a decent position for White.
} (6. Qd2 {is the main line according to the database.} d5 $1 7. e5 Qd8 {
This is a fantastic version of the French Defence for Black. White is fighting
for equality already.} 8. a3 Be7 $1 {There is no need to exchange our strong
bishop.} 9. f4 c5 {It is very hard for White to keep his center intact without
the dark-squared bishop.} 10. dxc5 (10. Nf3 $6 a6 11. Ne2 Nc6 12. c3 Bd7 {
I believe that Black should be more than happy with his position. White's
pieces look silly.}) 10... Bxc5 11. Nf3 Nc6 12. Bd3 (12. h4 {is useless} a6 13.
Rd1 b5 $17 {0-1 (33) Kazhgaleyev,M (2561)-Akopian,V (2680) Aubervilliers 2002})
12... Bd7 13. f5 a6 14. O-O-O Qc7 15. fxe6 Bxe6 16. Rhe1 O-O-O $15 {0-1 (36)
Mamedyarov,S (2743)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2730) Dubai 2014}) (6. a3 {was a
favorite move of Chinese grandmaster Zhang Zhong. This seems strange to me
because White gets an inferior pawn structure and nothing in return.} Bxc3+ 7.
bxc3 d6 {As usual after the exchange of the bishop, we place our pawns on the
dark squares.} 8. Bd3 e5 9. Ne2 Nc6 10. O-O O-O 11. Bc4 Na5 12. Ba2 Be6 13.
Bxe6 fxe6 14. Qd3 Qg5 15. g3 b6 $15 {If someone is better it should be Black.
0-1 (50) Zhang, P (2616)-Wang, Y (2736) Jinzhou 2009}) 6... d5 (6... d6 {
is also a playable alternative.} 7. O-O-O O-O 8. Kb1 b6 $5 (8... a6 {is
dangerous:} 9. Nf3 b5 10. g4 $40) 9. e5 Qd8 10. f4 Bb7 11. Nf3 dxe5 12. fxe5
Bxc3 13. Qxc3 c5 14. Be2 Qe7 15. Qe3 Rc8 16. Rhf1 {White has some initiative:
1/2 (54) De Carlos Arregui,I (2343)-Knoll,H (2430) ICCF email 2015}) 7. O-O-O (
7. e5 {is inaccurate due to} Qd8 8. a3 Be7 9. Qg3 O-O 10. Nf3 c5 $15) 7... O-O
8. Kb1 $1 c5 $5 {A nice way to simplify the position and equalize.} ({Very
dangerous is} 8... Bxc3 9. e5 $1 {We can see the point of 8.Kb1 here} Qxf2 10.
Qxc3 $44) 9. exd5 cxd4 10. Qxd4 ({White can try to keep the queens on the board
} 10. Ne4 {but after} Qe7 11. Qxd4 (11. d6 {is nothing after} Bxd6 12. Nxd6
Qxd6 13. Qxd4 Qxd4 14. Rxd4 Nc6 $11) 11... exd5 12. Nc3 ({very dangerous is} 
12. Qxd5 $2 Nc6 13. Bd3 Rd8 14. Qh5 Ne5 15. Nf3 Nxd3 16. Rxd3 Rxd3 17. cxd3 Be6
18. Nd4 Qd7 $1 $17) 12... Bxc3 13. Qxc3 Bf5 14. Bd3 Rc8 15. Qd2 Bxd3 16. Qxd3
Nc6 $132 {this is not the kind of isolani position where Black is struggling.})
10... Qxd4 11. Rxd4 Bxc3 12. bxc3 exd5 13. Rxd5 {Let's evaluate the arising
position. White is a pawn up, but Black can develop quickly and start
attacking the weakness on c3. Black's plan is quite simple: Be6, Nd7-b6, Rc8.
It seems impossible to keep the extra pawn. It is probably not so easy to play
for a win for Black, but I think that he is not risking anything and his play
is easier.} (13. Ne2 {Is not much of an improvement} Be6 14. Nf4 Nc6 15. Rd2
Rad8 $11) 13... Be6 {Black has enough compensation thanks to his better
development and the spoiled pawn structure on White's queenside} 14. Rd6 (14.
Rd2 {is met by} Nd7) (14. Rb5 {looks tempting, but Black can ignore the pawn
on b7 and continue with} Nd7 15. Nf3 (15. Rxb7 $6 Nc5 16. Rb4 Rfd8) 15... Nb6
16. Nd4 Rac8 $132) 14... Nd7 15. Ne2 Rac8 16. Nf4 Nb6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 {Even this
exchange should not bother us, because now Black's rook on the f-file is quite
active and the king can join the game quickly via f7-e7.} 18. f3 Kf7 19. Kb2
Rc5 20. Bd3 Na4+ 21. Kb3 Ke7 22. Rd4 Nxc3 23. Re1 Nd5 24. Ra4 {1/2 (24)
Boehmer,M (1950)-Schuster,U (2100) GER email 2013} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Trompowsky"]
[Black "1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.Nd2"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D00"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "36"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. Nd2 {This is considered to be the most flexible move.
White delays the development of his kingside knight for some time in order to
have the option to play f2-f4 first. Here the move order is important. If
Black wants to start with} c5 {then it's better to not include 3...h6 4. Bh4} (
{The reason is that} 3... h6 4. Bh4 c5 $6 {is not good now because} ({Now it's
better to play} 4... d5 {first} 5. e3 ({Now it's connected with a pawn
sacrifice where White is hardly fighting for an advantage:} 5. e4 g5 6. Bg3
dxe4 7. h4 g4 8. Be5 Nc6 {can only be dangerous for White.}) 5... c5 6. c3 Nbd7
{transposes to the main line}) 5. e4 $1 {could be dangerous for Black.} cxd4 6.
e5 g5 7. Bg3 $44) ({Also possible is} 3... d5 {, but I don't see any reason to
give White an extra possibility.} 4. e4 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. Ngf3 g6) 4. e3 ({
Now it doesn't work as Black has a counterblow:} 4. e4 $2 cxd4 5. e5 Qa5 $1 $17
) (4. Ne4 $6 {is also not good} Qb6 $1 {As it often happens when the general
principles of the game are violated, the concrete lines are favoring the
another side.} (4... Qa5+ 5. Bd2 Qb6 6. Nxf6+ gxf6 7. d5 Qxb2 8. e3 $44 {
There is no need to enter such complications. Even if objectively Black is ok,
his position looks scary.}) (4... d5 $6 5. Bxf6 (5. Nxc5 Bxc5 6. dxc5 Nbd7 {
White has the bishop pair and some chances to fight for an advantage.})) 5.
Nxf6+ (5. Bxf6 {is just bad} gxf6 6. Nxf6+ Ke7 7. dxc5 Qxb2 8. Ne4 Qb4+ 9. Nd2
Qxc5 10. Ngf3 Bg7 $15 {Black's king is quite comfortable in the center and it
is not clear what White's compensation for his ruined structure and Black's
bishop pair is.}) 5... gxf6 6. Bxf6 Qxb2 $1 {The point of Black's play.} 7. Nf3
(7. Rb1 Qc3+ 8. Qd2 Qxd2+ 9. Kxd2 Rg8 10. e3 cxd4 $15 {with a better position})
7... Qc3+ 8. Nd2 Rg8 9. h4 (9. Rb1 Rg6 10. Rb3 Qa5 11. Bh8 {funny move} d5 $17
{The position is unbalanced, but Black clearly has the upper hand.}) 9... cxd4
10. Rh3 Qc7 11. c3 dxc3 12. Rxc3 Nc6 $17 {It is not clear why White sacrificed
the pawn.}) 4... d5 (4... h6 {it is possible to start with this move as well,
but then we allow some extra possibilities for White, so I recommend you the 4.
..d5 move order.} 5. Bh4) ({Another option is} 4... cxd4 5. exd4 Be7 6. Ngf3 b6
7. Bd3 Bb7 8. c3 d6 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Re1 O-O {With a solid position for Black.})
5. c3 h6 {Now it's time to define the dark-squared bishop's position.} ({After
} 5... Nbd7 6. Ngf3 h6 {White has the extra option} 7. Bf4 {, where Black's
knight on d7 is misplaced and interferes with our plan to play 7. ..Bd6.}) 6.
Bh4 ({It makes no sense to play} 6. Bf4 Nc6 7. Ngf3 Bd6 {as Black has just an
extra tempo (h6) compared to the main lines of the London System with a knight
on c6. For instance} 8. Bg3 O-O 9. Bd3 Bxg3 $5 10. hxg3 Qd6 {It's clear that
Black is just fine.}) 6... Nbd7 $5 {In my opinion the most flexible setup.
White generally has two main ideas: 1) build an outpost on e5 and support it
with f4 and 2) break in the center with e4 at a good moment. Here Black has
enough resources to counter both ideas} ({Some exemplary lines:} 6... Nc6 $6 7.
Ngf3 Be7 (7... Bd6 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O b6 10. e4 $1 $36) 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O b6 10.
Ne5 $1 Bb7 11. f4 $36 {In both cases White's dreams come true}) 7. Bd3 {
now everything is ready to play 8.f4 but...} (7. f4 {is logical and principled,
but Black has enough resources to withstand White's ideas.} cxd4 {It is the
right time for this exchange, before developing the bishop on f8. Now
depending on White's reply we can choose between Bd6 or Bb4.} 8. cxd4 (8. exd4
Bd6 $1 {here White experiences some inconveniences defending the f4 pawn. If
White's knight was on f3, he would have Ne5.} 9. Nh3 {A sad necessity.} Qb6 $5
{I think it is good to provoke Rb1} 10. Rb1 Qc7 11. g3 b6 (11... Rb8 $5 12. Bd3
b5 13. O-O O-O $15) 12. Bd3 Bb7 13. Qe2 O-O-O 14. O-O Kb8 $15 {At some point
Black will prepare g5 with nasty threats on the kingside.}) 8... Qb6 9. Rb1 Bb4
$1 {fighting for the key square e4} 10. Ngf3 Ne4 11. Bd3 O-O 12. a3 Bxd2+ 13.
Nxd2 Ndf6 14. O-O Bd7 $11 {Black quite harmoniously finished his development
and can now occupy the c-file and prepare Bb5.}) (7. Ngf3 {transposes to the
next chapter.}) 7... e5 $1 {We are just in time to play this move before White
pushes f4.} (7... Bd6 $6 8. f4 $1 O-O (8... cxd4 9. cxd4) 9. Ngf3 b5 10. a3 $36
) (7... Be7 $6 8. f4 $14) 8. Ne2 Be7 ({Less clear is} 8... Bd6 9. Bc2 $1 (9.
dxe5 {This move gives White nothing.} Nxe5 10. Bb5+ Kf8 11. Bxf6 (11. O-O g5
12. Bg3 Qe7 $15) 11... Qxf6 12. Nf4 Ng4 $1 13. Qe2 Bxf4 14. exf4 Qe6 $11) 9...
O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. c4 dxc4 13. Nxc4 {and White has some
pressure.}) 9. O-O O-O 10. Bc2 {the most flexible move. White needs to play
very precisely as the position is very double-edged.} ({In a top GM game White
was unable to exploit Black's lack of harmony} 10. Bg3 exd4 11. exd4 Re8 12.
dxc5 Nxc5 13. Bb5 Bd7 14. Bxd7 Qxd7 15. Nd4 Nfe4 16. N2f3 Bf6 $132 {The
position is typical for the Tarrasch French. Black has an isolated pawn, but
all his pieces are quite active and this fully compensates for it. 0-1 (47)
Vitiugov,N (2722)-Svidler,P (2765) St Petersburg 2017}) 10... b6 (10... Re8 $6
11. Ba4 $1 $14 {Quite an unpleasant idea, which you should keep in mind.}) 11.
dxe5 (11. Bg3 exd4 12. exd4 Re8 13. Re1 Bb7 $11 {Black successfully finished
his development and has nothing to worry about}) 11... Nxe5 12. Bg3 Bd6 13. e4
$1 {White should hurry, otherwise Black will finish his development, achieving
a comfortable game} (13. Re1 $6 Bb7 14. Nf4 Re8 $11 {is just fine.}) 13... Ba6
14. Re1 Ng6 {White has several choices here, but none of them leads to an
advantage.} (14... Bc7 $5 {seems a bit risky, but is tactically justified.} 15.
exd5 (15. f4 $6 Nd3) 15... Nxd5 16. Bxe5 (16. Nf1 Rb8 $11) 16... Bxe5 17. Be4 (
17. Nf3 Re8 $11) 17... Rc8 18. Nf3 Nf4 $1 $11 {and the tactics work in Black's
favour}) 15. Nf1 (15. f4 $6 Bxe2 $1 16. Qxe2 Bxf4 17. Bxf4 Nxf4 18. Qf3 Ng6 19.
e5 Nh7 $15 {Black bravely took the pawn and will try to hold it. I can't find
full compensation for White.}) (15. exd5 {The game is quite sharp in this line.
} Bxg3 16. Nxg3 Nxd5 {Here Black has enough counterplay after both and} 17. Be4
(17. Nde4 Ngf4 18. Nf5 g6 $1 19. Qg4 (19. Nxh6+ $2 Kg7 20. Ng4 f5) 19... Bc8 $1
{and White is losing material.}) 17... Ndf4 $1 18. Nf3 ({It is quite risky to
grab the exchange.} 18. Bxa8 Qxa8 19. f3 Qc6 $1 {to cover the a4-square first.
White is in big danger} 20. Kh1 Nd3 $40 {Black has more than enough
compensation for the exchange.}) 18... Qxd1 19. Raxd1 Rad8 $11) 15... Bxg3 16.
Nexg3 Re8 17. exd5 Rxe1 18. Qxe1 Qxd5 $11 {Logical and precise play by both
sides ends in a logical result: The game is absolutely equal.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Trompowsky"]
[Black "1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.Nf3"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D03"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "34"]

{[%evp 0,34,20,20,20,-1,26,26,10,-2,24,-10,34,2,-1,-5,27,-5,0,-3,36,-39,-14,
-28,25,-4,-2,-10,18,18,46,49,18,11,20,4,-4]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. Nf3 h6 $5 {
Now it seems that this inclusion restricts the white player's options.} ({
in case of the immediate} 3... c5 {White has some interesting possibilities} 4.
d5 $5 {is quite an interesting try.} (4. Nc3 $5 cxd4 (4... d5 5. e4 $1) 5. Qxd4
Nc6 6. Qh4 {It is hard to say whether White has a real chance for an advantage,
but in any case Black should be seriously prepared in this line.} h6 (6... Bb4
7. e4 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 h6 9. Bd3 $14 {1-0 (34) Andreikin,D (2722)-Karjakin,S 
(2767) Tashkent 2014}) 7. e4 Bb4 8. Bd2 d5 9. e5 $13) 4... Qa5+ {is probably
the best way to react.} (4... exd5 5. e3 Be7 6. Nc3 h6 (6... Nc6 7. Nxd5 (7.
Be2 O-O 8. O-O d6 9. Rb1 Be6 (9... Ne4 $1) 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nxd5 {1-0 (42)
Dzagnidze,N (2432)-Maric,A (2394) Fuegen 2006}) 7... O-O 8. Bxf6 Bxf6 9. c3 $14
) 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. Qxd5 $14 {1/2 (49) Cicak,S (2568) -Timman,J (2578) Germany
2011}) 5. Bd2 ({White can sacrifice a pawn for some initiative} 5. c3 $5 Nxd5
6. e4 Nf6 7. e5 Ne4 8. Nbd2 Nxd2 9. Nxd2 $1 {The knight is heading to d6.} Qc7
10. Nc4 Nc6 11. Nd6+ Bxd6 12. exd6 Qa5 13. Qg4 $44 {I believe that White has
more than enough for the pawn in this line 1/2 (22) Vazquez Igarza,R (2573)
-Baklan,V (2600) Benasque 2017}) 5... Qb6 6. c4 {is another pawn sacrifice}
exd5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 (7... d6 $6 8. Nc3 g6 9. e4 Bg7 10. Bd3 O-O 11. h3 a6 12. a4
Qc7 13. O-O $16 {White reached a wonderful version of the Modern Benoni 1-0 
(45) Moradiabadi, E (2539)-Megaranto, S (2492) Doha 2006}) 8. e4 Nc7 9. Bc4 $5
{also looks promising} (9. Bc3 Qe6 (9... Qg6 10. Bd3 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. e5 Qh6
13. Nbd2 $36 {1-0 (42) Berkes,F (2671) -Vavulin,M (2583) Batumi 2018}) 10. Bd3
Nc6 11. O-O Be7 12. Bxg7 Rg8 13. Bc3 d6 $13 {The position is double-edged, but
it is harder to play for Black because of his king in the center.}) 9... Be7
10. Nc3 O-O 11. O-O $44) 4. Bh4 (4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. e4 {transposes to 3.e4.}) 4...
c5 5. e3 ({The move} 5. d5 $6 {is not so dangerous here} g5 $1 {We can see in
this line why 3...h6 is so useful.} 6. Bg3 exd5 7. e3 Nc6 8. Nc3 {Black has
two options to reach a decent position.} d6 $5 {this is the easiest way to play
} (8... g4 9. Nh4 (9. Ng1 Qa5 10. Qd2 Bg7 11. Rd1) 9... Qa5 10. Qd2 d6 11. Bd3
Be6) 9. Nxd5 Nxd5 10. Qxd5 Be6 11. Qd2 Bg7 12. c3 d5 $15) (5. e4 $2 {is just a
blunder} g5 6. Bg3 Nxe4 $17) ({It also doesn't make much sense here to play} 5.
Nc3 cxd4 6. Nxd4 (6. Qxd4 $6 Nc6 {A very important difference is that White
does not have the square h4 for his queen.}) 6... Qb6 $1 {an important resource
} 7. Qd3 (7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Nb3 f5 (8... d5 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Be7 11. Qe2 f5
12. Nc3) 9. e3 Bg7 10. Bd3 (10. g4 Qc6 $17) 10... h5 11. O-O d5 12. Ne2 Nc6 $15
) (7. Nb3 d5 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 {Black is just in time to play}
Be7 $15) 7... Qxb2 8. Rb1 Qa3 9. Ndb5 Qa5 10. Bg3 {looks scary for Black, but
in fact after} Nd5 11. e4 Nxc3 12. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 13. Nxc3 b6 14. Nb5 Na6 $15 {
Black is better.}) (5. c3 {transposes to the main lines since White usually
plays both e2-e3 and c2-c3.}) 5... d5 {Black has a lot of options, but we are
sticking to our concept.} (5... Qb6 {is another option, but after} 6. Nbd2 Qxb2
7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Bd3 $44 {I would prefer to have White.}) 6. Nbd2 Nbd7 7. c3 Bd6
8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O {Now it's forced as Black wants to play e5 already.} ({
For instance} 9. Qe2 e5 $1 {and Black is more than ok.}) 9... b6 {now with the
square e5 safely covered by Black, White has only one active idea - to play e4.
Otherwise Black just prepares Ne4 by means of Bb7 and Qc7, with the better
position.} ({It's very dangerous to play} 9... e5 $6 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5
Bxe5 12. f4 $1 Bc7 13. e4 $40) 10. Re1 ({Black has easy equality in all lines.
For instance} 10. Qe2 Bb7 11. e4 (11. Rad1 {is safely met by} Qc7 $11) 11...
dxe4 12. Bxe4 (12. Nxe4 {leads to immediate simplifications after} Be7 13.
Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 $1 $11) 12... Qc7 13. Bxb7 Qxb7 14. Nc4 Be7 15. Rfe1 (
15. a4 {is a possible plan, but Black is in time to play} Rac8 16. Rfe1 cxd4
17. Nxd4 a6 $11) 15... a6 16. dxc5 Bxc5 17. Bg3 b5 18. Na5 Qb6 19. Nb3 Rfd8 20.
Rad1 Be7 $11 {The game is equal.}) ({The immediate} 10. e4 {is well met by}
cxd4 11. cxd4 (11. Bxf6 {was tried in a high-level game, but I don't see the
point of giving Black the bishop pair.} Qxf6 12. cxd4 dxe4 13. Bxe4 Rb8 14. Nc4
Qe7 $15 {White has no compensation for the isolated d-pawn 0-1 (68) Jones,G 
(2665)-Meier,G (2646) Tromsoe 2014}) 11... dxe4 12. Bxe4 Rb8 (12... Ba6 $5 {
is an interesting option} 13. Re1 Rc8 14. Qa4 Nb8 15. Ne5 Qe8 $1 $11) 13. Re1 {
Now Black has a number of options, but the evaluation is about equal in any
case.} Be7 $5 {I like this simple approach} (13... a5 $5) 14. Bg3 Nxe4 15. Nxe4
Rb7 16. Nc3 Nf6 17. Ne5 Nd5 18. Nc6 Qd7 19. Ne5 Qd8 $11) 10... Bb7 11. e4 ({
The following game is a good example of how White can end up in a bad position
after passive play} 11. a4 $6 Qc7 12. Qb1 a6 (12... Nh5 $5 {is an interesting
idea as well.}) 13. Bg3 Bxg3 14. hxg3 e5 $1 {The rule is that if Black is in
time to push e5, his position is just better.} 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Qxe5 17.
Ra3 Rfe8 18. b4 c4 19. Be2 Re7 20. Nf3 Qc7 21. Nd4 Rae8 22. Bf3 Re5 23. Ra2 Bc8
24. Qd1 Bd7 25. a5 b5 26. Rd2 Qd6 27. Nc2 h5 $17 {Black eventually lost, but
it wasn't a logical outcome at all 1-0 (92) Fedoseev,V (2661)-Leko,P (2723)
Moscow 2014}) 11... dxe4 12. Nxe4 ({If} 12. Bxe4 {, then Black plays the
standard move} Qc7 $1 13. Bxb7 Qxb7 $11) 12... Be7 13. dxc5 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Nxc5
15. Bxb7 Nxb7 16. Qxd8 (16. Bxe7 {White can keep the queens on the board, but
this doesn't change the evaluation of the position.} Qxe7 17. Qe2 Rfd8 $11)
16... Bxd8 17. Bg3 Bf6 $11 {White has 3 against 2 pawns on the queenside, but
Black's pieces are very active. It is not easy for White to start pushing his
pawns. The objective evaluation of the position is equal.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "London - Move Orders and Idea"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "14"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,14,20,20,20,14,20,20,20,12,12,18,19,17,10,-1,3] The London System is
a highly transpositional opening. Different move orders often change the
positional ideas and provide additional options for both sides. Sometimes, it
is very difficult to spot the difference between two apparently similar move
orders. Subtle move orders, solid positional justification, and rich positions
make the London popular even at the highest level. In this chapter, I will try
to provide a clear explanation of the different move orders and the positional
ideas behind them. The first basic position arises after} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6
3. e3 {I could hear the reader asking "Why should White start in this way? For
example, is it possible to play Nf3 or c2-c3 before e3?" Of course, such a
question would be very relevant. The chosen move order, however, is the most
flexible one. Sooner or later, regardless of Black's choice, every London
player will make the moves d4, Bf4, and e3. Without these 3 moves, the London
is impossible. Depending on Black's reaction, White can speculate with all
other moves. In the theoretical survey, I examine the following scenarios: 1)
White delays Nf3 2) White delays Bd3 3) White delays Bg3 in response to ...Bd6
4) White goes for c2-c4 with a bishop on g3 5,) White goes for c2-c4 after
exchanging the dark-squared bishops Of course, at this early stage of the game,
the abovementioned considerations look quite abstract. Let's go a little bit
further.} d5 4. Nd2 ({If White intends to opt for c2-c4, he shouldn't delay
Nf3. The usual move order is} 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Bxd6 (5. Bg3 {As I have pointed
out in the introduction to this chapter, White can execute the advance c2-c4
with a bishop on g3. At the same time, White is advised to keep his knight on
b1, when planning to play c2-c4. In this way, he can put more pressure on
Black's center by means of Nc3. In the theoretical part, I offer a simple
antidote against the plan with c2-c4. Black completes the kingside development
with} O-O {and answers} 6. c4 {with} c5 {White has different options here but
none of them leads to an advantage. In his great book about the London System,
GM Nikola Sedlak suggests} 7. cxd5 ({In a case of} 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. dxc5 Bxc5 {
We have a well-known theoretical position which arises from QGD where White
has wasted time on Bf4-g3.}) 7... exd5 8. Nc3 {, thus putting pressure on
Black's center. My analysis shows that Black should go for} ({Given the fact
that White has wasted time for Bf4-g3, the transition into IQP is not
dangerous for Black} 8. dxc5 Bxc5 {[%cal Gb8c6,Gd5d4] It turns out that Black
is just in time to prepare the advance d5-d4 with ...Nc6.}) ({Making the third
move with the bishop by playing} 8. Bxd6 {is already too much. After} Qxd6 9.
dxc5 Qxc5 {[%cal Gb8c6,Gf8d8,Gc8g4] Black has a perfectly comfortable version
of IQP thanks to his superior development. Later on, he can follow with
natural moves like...Nc6, Rd8, and Bg4.}) 8... c4 $1 $146 {With a structure
typical for the Ragozin Variation. I like Black's chances here: White's bishop
can't come to the b1-h7 diagonal and Black has a simple plan - to push his
queenside majority.}) 5... Qxd6 6. c4 {This line is more challenging since
White didn't waste time on Bg3. In this case, I already suggest} O-O ({In my
opinion, the move} 6... c5 {is not so effective here. White can play} 7. cxd5
Nxd5 ({This time} 7... exd5 {is not so good. White can respond with} 8. dxc5
Qxc5 9. Be2 Nc6 10. O-O {Compared to the line with 5.Bg3, White has an extra
tempo in this version of IQP.}) 8. e4 Ne7 9. Na3 {keeping some initiative.}) 7.
Nc3 {At this point, the clearest way to achieve equality is} dxc4 8. Bxc4 c5 {
In my analysis, I prove that Black has no problems to neutralize White's piece
play.}) 4... Bd6 {This is the best move order for Black. In my opinion,
Black's first moves should always be ...Nf6, ...e6, ...d5, ...Bd6, and ...0-0.
After making these moves, depending on White's setup, he will follow with
c7-c5 or b7-b6. Before, Black was playing ...c7-c5 as early as on move 4. In
many systems, however, the early ...c7-c5 gives White additional possibilities
related to Bb5+. When refraining from early c7-c5, Black does not put pressure
on the center which makes the advance c2-c4 more attractive. Nevertheless,
this is something that we can accept since Black equalizes without problems.
In this position, White already must take an important decision. Now, we shall
take a look at the different possibilities:} 5. Bg3 {This is the main
continuation which fits into the spirit of the London System. White opens the
way of the f2-pawn and keeps firm control of the important e5-square. His
general strategy is to develop a kingside initiative which is based on the
strong e5-knight. Later on, via different move orders, White usually plays
Ngf3 - Ne5, Bd3, c2-c3, 0-0, and f2-f4, thus obtaining a Stonewall structure
with a dark-squared bishop being on g3, instead of c1. When White delays the
move Ne5, he usually wants to play Bd3, Qe2 and e3-e4.} ({Some players try to
make use of the fact that the knight is still on g1 and opt for} 5. Bxd6 Qxd6
6. f4 {, thus reaching a seemingly favorable Stonewall structure with
dark-squared bishops being exchanged. Black's active queen, however, gives him
additional possibilities. In the theoretical section, I suggest the following
concept} c5 7. c3 cxd4 $1 {You should always consider this exchange when White
cannot recapture with the e-pawn. Now, the open c-file will make Black's
queenside play very effective.} 8. cxd4 O-O 9. Bd3 b6 $1 {[%cal Gc8a6] Another
key move. Black prepares the exchange of the light-squared bishops via a6.
This exchange is highly favorable for Black in the Stonewall structure.} 10.
Qe2 Nc6 {[%cal Gc6b4]} 11. a3 Bb7 12. Ngf3 Ne7 {[%cal Gf6e4] This is a very
important move in the Stonewall structure. By opening the way of the b7-bishop,
Black is fighting for the e4-square. His next move will be ...Ne4. The
eventual exchange on e4 favors Black since the d5-square becomes available for
the knight or the bishop. Furthermore, the e4-pawn would give Black a lot of
space. Meanwhile, Black should always fight for the c-file.}) ({The move order
based on the delay of Bg3 is getting very popular recently.} 5. Ngf3 O-O 6. Bd3
({Another approach is to postpone the move Bd3 by playing} 6. c3 {In the
London System, the delay of Bd3 is always designed against Black's plan to
exchange the light-squared bishops via a6. White wants to take on a6 at once,
without wasting time for Bd3. At this point, Black's most precise move order
seems to be the one starting with} b6 {With this move, Black makes sure that
he can answer 7.Bd3 with 7...Ba6. A possible continuation would be} 7. Bg3 c5 {
White cannot delay Bd3 forever. Whenever he goes for this move, Black answers
with ...Ba6.}) {In order to understand the idea of delaying Bg3, we should
imagine that Black follows the same concept as against the systems with Bg3.
For example, after} 6... c5 ({Black's precise reaction is} 6... b6 {[%csl Rd3]
[%cal Gc8a6] preparing to exchange the light-squared bishops via a6. It is
important to point out that this exchange can be executed with or without the
inclusion of ...Bxf4. The structure arising after ...Bxf4 exf4 is the
so-called Rubinstein structure (Rubinstein used it very often). Such a
structure is far from being one-sided. White has good control of the e5-square
and can put pressure on the e-file. On the other hand, Black enjoys a better
pawn structure as well as a space advantage on the queenside.}) 7. c3 {the move
} Qc7 $6 {does not work very well compared to the systems with Bg3. Obviously,
the idea of 7...Qc7 is to follow with ...Nbd7 and ...e6-e5. In this position,
however, White can play} 8. Bxd6 {This move works now since White didn't spend
time on Bg3. After} Qxd6 9. Ne5 b6 10. f4 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. g4 {, White
retains some initiative on the kingside. At the same time, Black's counterplay
is not obvious.}) 5... O-O 6. Ngf3 {This is the most frequently used move
order. White already starts thinking about the key e5-square. At the same time,
he still delays Bd3, thus making the exchange via a6 unfavorable for Black.} ({
If White decides to further postpone Nf3, then Black is winning the battle for
the e5-square -} 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Qc7 $1 {This is a new concept which is
advocated by the World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Black is already planning to
take the advantage in the center by playing e6-e5 on the next move.} 8. Ngf3
Nbd7 {This is the idea. White can no longer play Ne5 and Black is ready to
proceed with e6-e5. Recent practice has shown that White cannot fight for an
advantage in this position. Moreover, he must be precise in order not to find
himself under pressure.}) 6... c5 7. c3 b6 {We have already seen this position
via another move order. Black's strategy is clear - wait for Bd3 and answer it
with ...Ba6. If White continues to delay Bd3 with the natural 8.Ne5, then
Black has another useful waiting move - 8...Qc7.} ({The concept with} 7... Qc7
{works even with a knight on f3 (As you probably remember, had White played
Bd3 instead of Bg3, the Qc7-ideas do not work well because of Bxd6 followed by
Ne5). Nevertheless, with the knight being on f3, White has an additional
option at his disposal -} 8. Ne5 {At this point I propose} Nbd7 9. f4 ({
Whenever White plays} 9. Ndf3 {Black should answer it with} Ne4 {, thus
solving all the problems.}) 9... Ne4 $1 {This time, Black makes use of the
fact that White has postponed the move Bd3. A very instructive line would be}
10. Bd3 Nxd2 11. Qxd2 Nf6 $1 {Black won the battle for the e4 square and has
the better game. After putting his knight on e4, Black has to chase away
White's strongest piece by means of ...f7-f6. Later on, we will start playing
on the queenside. A thematic idea would be to gain space by playing ...c5-c4
followed by ...b7-b5-b4.}) *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "London System"]
[Black "White delays Nf3"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "28"]

{[%evp 0,28,14,22,20,22,27,26,21,18,26,5,13,15,40,11,21,32,40,11,11,2,34,28,33,
28,28,47,54,14,34]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 ({The move order is not so relevant in
this line} 2... d5 {usually transposes to our main line.} 3. e3 (3. Nc3 e6 4.
Nb5 {transposes to the Veresov-Richter.}) 3... e6) 3. e3 d5 4. Nd2 Bd6 5. Bg3 {
I always had the feeling that White can hardly fight for an advantage with
such sluggish play. Besides not fighting for the center, White is moving the
same piece again - something that you will have a hard time explaining to your
pupil. Nevertheless, it is generally considered to be his best chance.} (5.
Bxd6 Qxd6 6. c4 {With the knight on d2 this advance is usually harmless, and
here is not an exception.} ({Another option is} 6. f4 {White immediately goes
for the Stonewall structure, thus making use of the fact that the knight is
still on g1. It turns out, however, that Black is well prepared to meet this
setup. The most precise reaction seems to be} c5 7. c3 cxd4 $1 {You should
always consider this exchange when White cannot recapture with the e-pawn. Now,
the open c-file will make Black's queenside play very effective.} 8. cxd4 O-O
9. Bd3 b6 {[%cal Gc8a6] With this move, Black prepares the exchange of the
light-squared bishops via a6. This exchange is highly favorable for Black in
the Stonewall structure.} 10. Qe2 Nc6 {[%cal Gc6b4]} 11. a3 Bb7 12. Ngf3 Ne7 {
[%cal Gf6e4] Another key move. Black prepares ...Ne4 on the next move.} 13. Ne5
Ne4 14. O-O f6 15. Ng4 Rac8 $15 {Black is already slightly better thanks to
the e4-knight and his well-coordinated pieces.}) 6... O-O 7. Rc1 c5 (7... b6 $5
{is possible as well}) 8. dxc5 Qxc5 9. Ngf3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Qe7 11. O-O b6 $11 {
White has no immediate way to fight for the initiative. Black will just finish
development and occupy the c-file.}) (5. Ngf3 {transposes to the next chapter.}
) 5... O-O 6. Bd3 ({If White wants to postpone Bd3 by means of} 6. c3 c5 7.
Ngf3 {, we can transpose to the main line...} b6 {[%emt 0:00:10] See Chapter 9}
({... but our idea works here as well:} 7... Qc7 $5 {The only difference is
that White has an extra option} 8. Ne5 Nbd7 9. Ndf3 (9. f4 {White is not fully
prepared for this typical advance} Ne4 $1 10. Bd3 {0-1 (47) Youssoupov,M (2233)
-Riff,J (2476) Chartres 2017} Nxd2 $5 11. Qxd2 Nf6 $15 {Black won the battle
for the e4 square and has the better game.} 12. Qc2 $6 c4 $17) 9... Ne4 $5 {
Not the only move, but the most straightforward.} 10. Nxd7 Bxd7 11. Bd3 h6 12.
Be5 Rfd8 $11)) 6... c5 (6... b6 {is also possible, transposing to the main
line:} 7. Ngf3 $1 {We reached one of the main lines of the London System, but
against the Bg3 plan Black has a simpler way to equalize.} (7. e4 {does not
pay any dividends here.} dxe4 8. Nxe4 Bb7 9. Qe2 (9. Nxd6 $2 Bxg2) 9... Nxe4
10. Bxe4 Bxe4 11. Qxe4 Nd7 $11)) 7. c3 Qc7 $1 {by means of this idea Black is
winning the key battle for the e5 square.} 8. Ngf3 (8. dxc5 {is another try to
punish Black, but as the analysis shows our position is just fine after:} Qxc5
9. Ngf3 Nbd7 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 ({Also harmless is} 11. Bxe4 Bxg3 12. hxg3 h6
13. Qe2 Rb8 14. Bc2 {and here} b5 $1 {Maybe a bit more precise and ambitious.
Black prevents long castle.} ({The young Russian GM played} 14... b6 15. O-O-O
$5 {Interesting idea.} (15. Nd4 {leads to an equal game after:} Bb7 16. f3 Qe5
17. Qxe5 Nxe5 $11 {1/2 (65) Najer,E (2670)-Lomasov,S (2553) Moscow RUS 2018})
15... Bb7 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. Qd2 {The position is about equal although White has
some slight initiative and chances to organize an attack on the kingside. Our
counterplay on the queenside is a bit slow.}) 15. Ne4 (15. O-O-O $2 {Now it's
simply bad due to} b4 $1 16. Nb3 Qc7 $17) (15. O-O {is harmless} Bb7 $11) 15...
Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Nf6 17. Qe5 {Now it's White who is looking for exchanges and
equality.} Qxe5+ 18. Nxe5 Bb7 $11) 11... Nxe4 12. Bxe4 Bxg3 $1 13. hxg3 Nf6 14.
Qe2 {This position occured in three grandmasters games in 2018. Black played
14...h6 in all of them, which is absolutely OK. But my suggestion, 14...Rd8,
is a bit more precise in my opinion.} Rd8 $1 {Black does not allow 0-0-0} ({
After} 14... h6 {White has an extra option:} 15. O-O-O (15. Ne5 Nxe4 16. Qxe4
Rd8 17. O-O (17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Kxd1 Qxf2 19. Kc1 Qf5 20. Qd4 Qg5+ 21. Kb1 b6 {
and Black won in 0-1 (40) Tristan,L (2465)-Perez Ponsa,F (2542) Caba 2018})
17... Bd7 18. Rad1 (18. Rfd1 Be8 19. Nd3 Qb6 {1/2 (38) Tello Chavez,I (2319)
-Perez Ponsa,F (2548) Batumi 2018}) 18... Be8 {1/2 (18) Berkes,F (2671)
-Bindrich,F (2602) Batumi 2018}) 15... e5 $1 (15... Bd7 $5) 16. Nxe5 Nxe4 17.
Qxe4 Re8 18. f4 Be6 {My engine says that Black has enough compensation, but
from a human point of view it's not completely clear.}) 15. Bd3 h6 16. O-O-O
Bd7 17. Ne5 Ba4 18. Rde1 Rd6 19. Rh4 Be8 20. Bc2 Rad8 {White has no attack and
thus has to think about equalizing.}) 8... Nbd7 9. O-O (9. Qc2 {does not make
much sense.} e5 {is our main idea.} (9... h6 $5 {was successfully tried by the
Spanish top GM Vallejo Pons} 10. Rd1 Bxg3 11. hxg3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5
Qxe5 $15 {1/2 (30) Zhou, J (2617)-Vallejo Pons,F (2694) China 2018}) 10. dxe5
Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Nf3 Bxg3 13. hxg3 h6 14. c4 Be6 15. O-O Rfd8 $11 {
1/2 (36) Vachier Lagrave,M (2779) -Dominguez Perez,L (2739) chess.com INT 2018}
) (9. Bh4 $6 {Moving the bishop for the third time is really too much!} b6 10.
g4 $6 {Such an all-in play is totally unwarranted. Black has a variety of good
moves.} (10. Qe2 Bb7 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Bxe4 14. Qxe4 Rae8 $1 {
A very dangerous position for White.} (14... e5 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. O-O-O Nxf3
17. Qxf3 $11 {1/2 (64) Pakleza,Z (2497)-Mista,A (2589) Zgierz 2018}) 15. Bg3 (
15. O-O f5 $36) 15... f5 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. Qe2 e5 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. O-O Qd3 $15
) 10... Bb7 {This is the lazy way to meet 10.g4, but it is good enough as well.
} (10... Nxg4 $5 {Cold-blooded and strong.} 11. Bxh7+ (11. Rg1 f5 12. Ng5 Ndf6
13. h3 Nh6 $17) 11... Kxh7 12. Ng5+ Kg8 13. Qxg4 cxd4 14. Rg1 $1 {Actually the
only move. Otherwise, White is just lost.} (14. exd4 $2 e5 15. Rg1 Nc5 $19)
14... Nf6 15. Qg2 Ne8 $1 16. exd4 f6 17. Ngf3 Ba6 $17 {White's attack is over
and his position is strategically compromised.}) 11. Bg3 Ne4 $5 (11... e5 12.
g5 Ne4 (12... e4 $5) 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Bxe4 dxe4 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Nc4 f6 17.
Qg4 {1/2 (39) Naiditsch,A (2702)-Vocaturo,D (2607) Antalya 2017}) 12. Qe2 Nxd2
13. Qxd2 e5 $17 {Black is strategically winning. The pawn on g4 is completely
pointless.}) ({The move} 9. Bxd6 {fails to create problems for Black. Black is
doing completely fine after} Qxd6 10. O-O e5 11. e4 ({After} 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12.
Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Nf3 Qe7 $15 {Black is already slightly better due to his space
advantage.}) 11... exd4 12. cxd4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Nf6 $11 {Lie, K -
Urkedal, F, 2017}) (9. Qe2 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 $15) 9... Bxg3 {
is an immediate equalizer.} (9... b6 {Carlsen's choice is not bad as well.
Keeping more pieces on the board gives Black more chances to play for a win.}
10. e4 (10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Re1 Bb7 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Qc7 {0-1 (70)
Kindermann,S (2502)-Adams,M (2727) Germany 2017} (13... Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Bxe4 15.
Rxe4 Rfd8 $11)) 10... Bxg3 11. hxg3 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Bb7 13. Qe2 Rfd8 {1/2 (37)
So,W (2815)-Carlsen,M (2832) chess.com INT 2017}) 10. hxg3 e5 11. e4 (11. dxe5
Nxe5 {The position is equal, but probably only Black can play for a win here.})
11... dxe4 12. Nxe4 exd4 13. cxd4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Nf6 $11 {After a short and
typical battle for the center, both sides have exhausted all resources. The
position is simply equal.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "London System"]
[Black "The plan without Bg3"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "28"]

{[%evp 0,28,26,26,27,27,27,24,24,24,24,30,31,10,38,-21,7,-36,-31,-26,-26,-38,
-38,-46,-26,-25,-25,-25,-18,-13,-14]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 d5 4. e3 Bd6
5. Nbd2 {By delaying to move Bg3, White tries to win a tempo for the purposes
of the development. At the same time, he is inviting Black to enter the
so-called Rubinstein structure which arises after ...Bxf4. Such a structure is
far from being one-sided. White has good control of the e5-square and can put
pressure on the e-file. On the other hand, Black enjoys a better pawn
structure as well as a space advantage on the queenside. Of course, at this
point, Black is not forced to clarify the structure and he can simply follow
with} O-O 6. Bd3 ({Sometimes, White postpones the move Bd3. Such an approach
is directed against Black's idea to exchange the light-squared bishops via a6.
White would like to take on a6, without wasting time with Bd3.} 6. c3 b6 7. Bg3
({In a case of} 7. Bd3 {Black can take on f4 first or play ...Ba6 immediately
- both options are reliable.} Bxf4 ({An inaccuracy would be} 7... c5 $6 {
since after} 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. e4 {White can make use of the unprotected a8-rook.
}) (7... Ba6 {Usually, this move is desirable when White has already played
Bd3.} 8. Bxa6 Nxa6 9. Bg5 {Creating a pin along the diagonal h4-d8 is the only
way to put some pressure on Black's position.} ({After} 9. O-O c5 {[%cal Ga6b8,
Gb8c6] Black is doing fine. Later on, he will follow with Nb8-c6.}) 9... c5 10.
O-O Be7 11. Ne5 {Preventing ...Nd7 and preparing f2-f4.} ({The attempt to open
the position by means of} 11. Qe2 Nb8 12. e4 {fails to bring an advantage.
Black is just in time to coordinate his forces. A typical sequence would be}
dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Nd7 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Rad1 Nf6 17. Qe2 Rfd8 18. Ne5
Rac8 $11 {with an equal position.}) 11... Nb8 {[%csl Gc6][%cal Gf6d7]} 12. f4
Nfd7 $11 {A thematic move in such positions. Black exchanges the dark-squared
bishops and is ready to drive the knight back by means of f7-f6. In a
long-term, he will be playing on the queenside.}) 8. exf4 Ba6 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10.
O-O c5 11. Ne5 Qc7 {Without bishops, White does not have enough resources to
generate any pressure. After improving the position of his a6-knight, Black
will start playing on the queenside. For instance:} 12. Re1 Nb8 13. Rc1 Nc6 14.
b4 Rac8 $11 {With a comfortable equality.}) 7... c5 $5 {Black has enough
useful moves to make while waiting for Bd3.} 8. Bd3 {White cannot delay this
natural move forever.} ({After} 8. Ne5 {Black has another useful move} Qc7 $5 {
The play may continue} 9. Bd3 Ba6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. f4 Nb8 $11 {[%cal Gb8c6,
Gc6e7,Gf6e4,Gf7f6] Black does not have any problems in this position. Without
light-squared bishops, White cannot develop a kingside initiative. Black's
next task is to fight against the e5-knight. Usually, this is achieved by
means of ...Nc6-e7 followed by ...Ne4 and ...f7-f6. Of course, in a long-term,
Black plays on the queenside.}) 8... Ba6 ({As usual, when the a8-rook is not
protected, Black should avoid} 8... Qc7 $6 9. e4 $1) 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Qe2 {
In his great book, Nikola Sedlak mentioned that White has some pressure here
after} Nb8 ({Better is} 10... Nc7 $5 11. Bh4 ({Now,} 11. e4 {is pretty
harmless due to} dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 cxd4 $11 {with a complete
equality.}) 11... Be7 12. Ne5 Qe8 $1 {[%cal Gf6d7] Another instructive way to
cover the c6-square and prepare ...Nd7.} 13. O-O Nd7 $11 {Black does not face
any problems in this position.}) 11. e4 {Of course, his evaluation is correct.}
) ({Black is doing fine after the less ambitious} 6. Bxd6 Qxd6 7. c4 c5 8. dxc5
Qxc5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 10. Bc4 Qd6 $11 {1/2 (29) Carlsen,M (2832)-Anand,V (2786)
Leuven 2017}) 6... b6 $5 {I faced this move myself against IM Drnovsek this
year. I already knew that this is a very solid way to deal with the London
System, but it wasn't well known as normally Black starts with ...c5 earlier,
which gives White additional opportunities.} ({One point of this move order is
that the Qc7 idea now doesn't work properly:} 6... c5 7. c3 Qc7 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9.
Ne5 $1 $14 b6 10. f4 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. g4 $36 {With good attacking
prospects on the kingside.}) 7. Qe2 ({An alternative would be} 7. O-O {Here
again Black can take on f4 first or play Ba6 immediately. I would probably
prefer the first option.} Bxf4 (7... Ba6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Qe2 Nb8
$11) 8. exf4 c5 9. c3 Ba6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. Qe2 Nb8 12. Ne5 Qc7 $11 {Without
bishops White has no attack.}) (7. Ne5 {This move was recently played in the
game Tang, A - Carlsen, M, 2018. The World Champion demonstrated how Black
should react.} c5 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. c3 Ba6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. O-O Qb7 {Very often,
b7 is the perfect square for the queen in this structure.} 12. Ng4 Be7 13.
Nxf6+ Bxf6 {A pair of knights, as well as light-squared bishops, are already
exchanged. White has no attacking prospects on the kingside while Black is
ready to start building his play on the queenside.} 14. Nc4 Be7 15. Ne5 f6 16.
Nc4 Qd7 17. Nd2 e5 18. Bg3 cxd4 19. exd4 e4 $15 {At this point, Black is
already slightly better. Later on, Magnus managed to win.}) 7... Bb7 {After
provoking 7.Qe2, Black can develop his bishop on b7. The thing is that if
White doesn't go for e3-e4, the queen is badly placed on e2. Later on, after
the eventual f2-f4, White will be forced to put his queen on f3.} (7... Bxf4 $5
{was also a reliable option. Although it's a slightly better version for White,
the margin of safety in Black's position is very high.} 8. exf4 c5 9. c3 a5 $1
{This is a thematic way to exchange the light-squared bishops when White's
queen is on e2. At the same time, by playing a7-a5, Black gains space on the
queenside.} 10. O-O Ba6 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. Ne5 Qc7 {[%csl Gb7][%cal Gc7b7] The
queen is heading towards the b7-square. Being on b7, her Majesty escapes all
possible oppositions, controls the important e4-square, and prepares the
advance b6-b5-b4.} ({Another thematic move is} 12... Nc7 {[%cal Gc7e8,Ge8d6]
with the idea to bring the knight to d6 via e8. The game may continue} 13. Rfd1
cxd4 14. cxd4 Nce8 15. Rac1 Nd6 {Although Black's position looks slightly
passive, I don't see any idea for White to break through.} 16. Rc6 Rc8 17. Rdc1
Rxc6 18. Rxc6 Nf5 19. Ndf3 Ne7 20. Rc2 Qb8 $11) 13. Rac1 Qb7 14. Rfe1 ({
The "aggressive"} 14. g4 $6 {is well met by} Ne8 $1 {[%cal Ge8d6,Gf7f6] As I
have already pointed out, without the light-squared bishop, White cannot
create a kingside attack.} 15. h4 Nd6 16. Ndf3 f6 17. Nd3 Rae8 $15 {Black is
already better. He can follow with ...Ne4, c5-c4, and b6-b5-b4.}) 14... Rac8
15. Ndf3 Nb8 {The most obvious way to equalize is to bring the knight closer
to the center} (15... Ne4 $5 {is also fully justified.} 16. h4 ({The
complications after} 16. Ng5 {are clearly in Black's favor. For example:} cxd4
17. cxd4 f6 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20. Nc4 Rd8 $1 21. Qxe4 Qxe4 22. Rxe4
Rc8 23. Ne3 Rc1+ 24. Nf1 Kf7 $15 {Black's better pawn structure gives him an
advantage.}) 16... Nc7 17. h5 {White's only constructive idea is to weaken
Black's position by means of h5-h6. In such structures, you shouldn't allow it.
} h6 18. c4 ({After} 18. g4 Ne8 19. g5 hxg5 20. fxg5 N8d6 $15 {Black is in a
full control.}) 18... Ne8 $132 {The knight will reach the d6-square. Black
enjoys perfect coordination.}) 16. Ng5 Nc6 17. Nexf7 (17. Qe3 h6 18. Ngxf7 Rxf7
19. Nxf7 Qxf7 20. Qxe6 Qxe6 21. Rxe6 Kf7 $11) 17... Rxf7 18. Nxf7 Qxf7 19. Qxe6
Qxe6 20. Rxe6 Kf7 21. f5 (21. Re3 a4 {Black is at least Оk here.}) 21... g6
22. Rd6 Ke7 23. Re6+ Kf7 $11) (7... c5 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. e4 $36) 8. h4 $5 {
I found this over the board. Not necessarily the best move, but clearly the
one which poses some practical problems. While building some foothold for a
later kingside attack, I'm keeping all my options open.} ({Black has a
comfortable game after} 8. c3 c5 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. Ne5 Ne4 $132) ({Another
normal move is} 8. O-O {when Black has many ways to equalize but we can
implement one of our key ideas:} c5 9. c3 Qc7 $1 10. Ne5 Nc6 {The moves 9...
Qc7 and 10...Nc6 are designed to put pressure on e5. In this position, White
can feel the drawbacks of delaying Bg3. It is important to point out that
whenever White supports his e5-knight by} 11. Ndf3 {Black should immediately
go for} Ne4 $11 {[%cal Gf7f6] followed by ...f7-f6.}) (8. Ne5 c5 9. c3 Qc7 $1
$11) 8... c5 (8... Ne4 9. O-O-O $36) 9. c3 Nc6 $1 {Preparing the key move ...
Qc7.} ({It seems that the standard idea of exchanging the light-squared
bishops via a6 does not work very well here. For example, after} 9... a5 10.
Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Ne5 Ba6 12. Bxa6 Nxa6 13. h5 $36 {White retains his kingside
initiative.}) ({My opponent played} 9... Qc7 {As we know, ...Qc7 is a good
idea in general. Nevertheless, Black does not execute it via the best move
order. The game followed} 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Ne5 Nbd7 12. Ndf3 {not the best
move} ({Stronger would have been} 12. f4 Ne4 13. Rg1 $1 {Very unusual and
strong here.} cxd4 14. exd4 Nxe5 15. fxe5 Qe7 16. Bxe4 dxe4 17. g3 $14 {
White retains some advantage.}) 12... Ne4 13. Nxd7 Qxd7 14. O-O-O $13 {The
position remains unclear but it is slightly easier to play with White. Later
on, I managed to win.}) 10. Ne5 (10. h5 Qc7 $1 {The most consistent.} (10...
Bxf4 {also looks Ok, but there is no need to complicate matters.} 11. exf4 Qd6
12. g3 (12. h6 g6 13. g3 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Rfe8 15. Nxc6 Bxc6 16. O-O-O e5 17. fxe5
Rxe5 18. Qf1 $13) 12... cxd4 13. Nxd4 (13. cxd4 Nb4 $15) 13... Nxd4 14. cxd4
Qb4 15. O-O-O {This position is very unclear.}) 11. h6 g6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13.
O-O-O e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 $15 {Black is already slightly better. He
enjoys a strong pawn center and has chances to organize a queenside attack. At
the same time, White's active play on the opposite wing is over.}) 10... Qc7
11. Nxc6 (11. Ndf3 Ne4 $132) 11... Bxc6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Nf3 (13. f4 cxd4 14.
cxd4 Ne4 $15) 13... Nd7 14. h5 e5 $11 {Black managed to gain control over the
e5 square and equalized comfortably.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "London System"]
[Black "1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 d5, 4.e3 Bd6 5.Bxd6!?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "28"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 d5 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bxd6 {This line became relatively
popular thanks to grandmaster Tamir Nabaty.} Qxd6 (5... cxd6 {Not bad also but
a little bit passive. Nabaty was able to reach an advantage after:} 6. c4 dxc4
7. Bxc4 O-O 8. Nc3 a6 9. O-O b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. a3 Nbd7 12. e4 Rc8 13. Re1 {
White's position is preferable 1-0 (59) Nabaty, T (2692)-Seul, G (2402)
Douglas 2018}) 6. c4 O-O (6... c5 {Another principled try, but I believe that
Black has some practical problems after 7.cxd5.} 7. cxd5 (7. Nc3 {is harmless}
dxc4 $1 8. Bxc4 O-O 9. Nb5 {Otherwise Black just finishes his development and
equalizes with ease.} Qe7 10. dxc5 Qxc5 11. Rc1 Nc6 12. O-O (12. Qd6 Qb6 $5 13.
Qa3 a6 14. Nc3 (14. Nd6 Nb4) 14... Rd8 $11) 12... Rd8 $11 {and Black is fine.})
7... Nxd5 8. e4 (8. dxc5 {gives White nothing.} Qxc5 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Rc1 Qe7
$11) 8... Ne7 9. Na3 {is Nabaty's choice, but I don't think it is critical. I
like the following game a lot.} (9. e5 $5 {The most promising try.} Qd8 $1 (
9... Qb6 $6 10. Bd3 Nbc6 11. Nbd2 $14 {White's position seems promising.}) 10.
Bd3 {Black's problem is that 0-0 is bad due to Bxh7!} cxd4 11. O-O Nbc6 12.
Nbd2 Ng6 13. Re1 O-O {We reached the critical position. I analyzed it a lot,
but somehow still have the feeling that White is slightly better and that's
why I suggest 6...0-0!} 14. Rc1 $1 {This move is bothering me. White is ready
to meet Nf4 with Bb1 and also stops a possible b6-Bb7} (14. g3 {stops Nf4 but
weakens the kingside as well} f6 $1 15. Bxg6 {After anything else Black is
just fine} hxg6 16. Ne4 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 fxe5 18. Qg4 {Looks ugly for Black, but
it is not that bad. White will lose time by taking on g6 and we can finish
development and enter an endgame.} Bd7 19. Qxg6 Qe8 20. Qxe8 ({Keeping the
queens on the board is just bad:} 20. Qg4 $2 Bc6 $17) 20... Bxe8 21. Nc5 Bh5 $5
22. Rxe5 Rf5 23. Rae1 (23. Rxf5 exf5 {is more than ok for Black.}) 23... Rc8
$132 {The endgame is quite sharp. I think that Black has at least equal
chances.}) 14... Nf4 15. Bb1 f6 {the only way to create some counterplay} 16.
g3 Ng6 17. Bxg6 hxg6 18. Ne4 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 fxe5 20. Qg4 Bd7 21. Qxg6 Qe8 {
This position is not so different from the one I analyzed after 14.g3, but
White is a tempo up (Rc1) and although the engine doesn't think Black is worse,
playing it over the board is not so easy.}) 9... O-O 10. Nc4 Qf4 11. dxc5 Qxe4+
12. Be2 Na6 13. Rc1 Nxc5 14. Qd6 b6 $1 {very nice piece sacrifice} 15. Qxe7
Nd3+ 16. Kd2 Nf4 17. Ne3 Ba6 18. Bxa6 Rfd8+ 19. Ke1 Nxg2+ 20. Ke2 Nf4+ 21. Kf1
Qxf3 22. Rg1 Rac8 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Ke1 h6 25. Rg3 Qh1+ 26. Bf1 Qe4 $4 {
Until this moment the Russian grandmaster played inspiredly and achieved a big
advantage. Unfortunately, he went astray now and lost. 1-0 (51) Nabaty,T (2690)
-Rakhmanov, A (2655) Batumi 2018.} (26... Rc1+ $1 {was strong enough} 27. Kd2
Rxf1 28. Nxf1 Qxf1 $17)) (6... dxc4 $6 {can be met by} 7. Nbd2) (6... b6 $6 {
is also not my taste.} 7. cxd5 $1 exd5 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Rc1 a6 10. Bd3 $14) 7. Nc3
dxc4 $1 {It seems that this move should equalize without many hurdles.} (7...
b6 $5 {looks logical, but it seems White has some slight edge here.} 8. cxd5 $1
{is critical.} (8. Rc1 Ba6 (8... dxc4 $5 {was still possible.}) 9. Qa4 c5 10.
Be2 Bxc4 $1 (10... Rc8 11. cxd5 Bxe2 12. Kxe2 exd5 $13 {Very creative play by
the Israeli GM, but objectively Black should be OK. 1/2 (65) Nabaty,T (2661)
-Paichadze,L (2580) Heraklio 2017}) 11. Bxc4 dxc4 12. Qxc4 Nbd7 $11) 8... Nxd5
(8... exd5 9. Bd3 c5 10. O-O Bg4 11. Be2 Nbd7 12. h3 $14 {The pawn structure
is favourable for White 1-0 (43) Matlakov,M (2689)-Zhigalko,S (2656) Berlin
2015}) 9. Nxd5 Qxd5 (9... exd5 10. Rc1 c5 11. b3 Bg4 12. Be2 Nd7 13. O-O Rfe8
14. h3 $14 {Again we see this structure in which I think White is better. He
can transpose to hanging pawns or isolani at the right moment.}) 10. Qc2 Qa5+
11. Qd2 Qxd2+ 12. Kxd2 {We can see similar endgames in the Queen's Gambit
Declined with 5. Bf4. In my opinion, Black still needs to work hard to
equalize.} Bb7 (12... Rd8 13. Bd3 Bb7 14. Rac1 $14) 13. Rc1 Rc8 14. Ne5 $14) (
7... c5 $6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. dxc5 Qxc5 10. Be2 $14 {White has a free advantage -
just a better pawn structure for nothing.}) 8. Bxc4 c5 {White can try
different setups here, but the margin of safety in Black's position is huge.}
9. O-O {The most logical move.} (9. dxc5 {White hopes for some slight
initiative in this symmetrical structure, but with careful play, Black can
equalize easily.} Qxc5 10. Qd4 Qe7 $5 {There is nothing wrong with the queens'
exchange, but we could try to win some tempi by playing Rd8 or Nc6} 11. Rd1 b6
12. O-O {is a logical move, but doesn't give White any advantage.} (12. Qd6 {
This time we are forced to exchange queens, after which we just develop and
exchange all rooks on the d-file.} Qxd6 13. Rxd6 Bb7 14. O-O Nc6 15. Rfd1 Rad8
16. Rxd8 (16. Nb5 {is useless due to} a6) 16... Rxd8 17. Rxd8+ Nxd8 $11 {
, with a dead equal endgame.}) 12... Bb7 13. Ne5 Nc6 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Qd6 Qb7
$1 {the exchange can give White some slight advantage due to his control of
the d-file.} 16. Ba6 $1 {Otherwise Black will take the initiative.} Qxa6 17.
Qxc6 Rac8 $11 {With an equal position.}) (9. Nb5 {White is trying to win some
tempi, but later we will have a6 and the knight must go back. Also with the
king still on e1, we will have the additional option Qb4+ in some lines.} Qe7
10. dxc5 Qxc5 11. Rc1 Nc6 12. Qd6 (12. O-O {is harmless} Rd8 $11) 12... Qb6 $5
{trying not to allow Nd6} 13. Qa3 a6 14. Nc3 (14. Nd6 {is well met by} Nb4 $1)
14... Rd8 $11 {Black has nothing to worry about.}) 9... Nc6 10. dxc5 (10. Nb5 {
We already know that this move does not bring White any benefits.} Qe7 11. dxc5
Qxc5 12. Rc1 Rd8 $11) 10... Qxc5 11. Bd3 (11. Qe2 {gives us time to finish
development.} Bd7 12. Rfd1 Ne5 {Freeing the square c6 for the bishop.} 13. Nxe5
Qxe5 $11) 11... Rd8 (11... Ne5 $6 12. Ne4 $1 {, and it is not so easy for
Black to develop his d7-bishop.}) 12. Qe2 Bd7 13. Rac1 Rac8 14. Ne4 Qe7 $11 {
Black is fully developed and some exchanges will follow soon.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "London System"]
[Black "White plays a quick c4"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[PlyCount "44"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 d5 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bg3 O-O 6. c4 {Also rather popular
nowadays, as none other than Magnus Carlsen played it (in a rapid game, but it
was the World Rapid Championship). Besides Magnus, it was played by Nikola
Sedlak, who wrote two excellent books about the London System.} c5 (6... dxc4 {
is possible, but I failed to find equality after:} 7. Bxc4 b6 8. Nc3 Bb7 9. Qc2
Nbd7 {and then not} 10. Rd1 $5 ({but} 10. e4 $1 Bb4 11. e5 Nh5 12. O-O-O $36 {
It seems to me that White has good chances to organize an attack on the
kingside.}) 10... Rc8 11. a3 h6 12. Bh4 Be7 13. O-O Nd5 $11 {1/2 (39) Berkes,F
(2645) -Erdos,V (2585) Calimanesti Caciulata 2016}) 7. cxd5 (7. Nc3 Nc6 (7...
cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bc4 Bxg3 12. hxg3 Nxc3 {
does not equalize immediately since White has a little trick:} 13. Qc2 $1 Ne4
14. Qxe4 Qa5+ 15. Kf1 $14) (7... dxc4 8. Bxc4 $5 (8. dxc5 {Magnus played this
and beat Yakovenko, although the latter had an excellent position.} Bxc5 9.
Bxc4 a6 10. O-O b5 11. Bd3 Bb7 12. Qe2 Nbd7 13. Rad1 Qb6 14. e4 Nh5 15. e5 Nxg3
16. hxg3 Rfd8 17. Be4 Be7 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Ne4 Nc5 {1-0 (53) Carlsen,M (2840)
-Jakovenko,D (2704) Doha 2016} (19... Nb6 $5 $15)) 8... cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bxg3 10.
hxg3 {with some initiative.}) 8. dxc5 (8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. Bxd6 Qxd6
11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. Be2 Rd8 $11) 8... Bxc5 9. a3 {this is a transposition to a
Queen's Gambit where White wasted time on Bf4-g3. It's clear that it's
impossible to fight for an edge this way.} Be7 $5 10. Qc2 (10. Bd3 dxc4 11.
Bxc4 Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 b6 $11) 10... Qa5 11. Nd2 Qb6 $1 12. Be2 d4 13. Na4 Qd8 14.
b4 Bd6 $13) (7. Bxd6 {is not very challenging} Qxd6 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. dxc5 Qxc5
10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. Rc1 Qe7 $11 {We reached a symmetrical structure where Black
is fully developed 1/2 (26) Nguyen, N (2629)-Malakhov, V (2713) Doha 2016})
7... exd5 (7... Nxd5 $6 {is not very good due to} 8. dxc5 $1 Bxc5 9. Bc4 Nc6
10. O-O b6 11. a3 Bb7 12. b4 $14 {White has an easy game and some initiative.})
8. Nc3 {Sedlak won after this move, but Black has} ({After} 8. dxc5 {Black is
in time to prepare the d4-break.} Bxc5 9. Be2 Nc6 10. O-O d4 11. Qc2 Qe7 $11 {
Some exchanges will follow and the position will be equal.}) 8... c4 $1 {
With a structure typical for the Ragozin Variation. I like Black's chances
here: White's bishop can't come to the b1-h7 diagonal and Black has a simple
plan - to push his queenside majority.} (8... Nc6 {is not completely equal
after:} 9. Be2 Bxg3 10. hxg3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Qb6 12. Qb3 $1 $14 {1-0 (60) Sedlak,
N (2608) -Mastrovasilis,A (2518) Valjevo 2018}) 9. Bh4 $1 {The best try to
disrupt Black's harmony.} (9. Ne5 {is just bad and after} Bf5 $15 {Black is
slightly better.}) (9. Be2 {is an attempt to put some pressure on d5, but
Black can be happy after:} a6 $1 10. Ne5 (10. a4 {does not allow b5 but
weakens the queenside too much.}) 10... b5 11. Bf3 Bb7 $15) 9... Be7 (9... Be6
$5 {is not bad either} 10. Be2 Nc6 (10... Nbd7 11. O-O Qa5 12. Nd2 $36 {
[%cal Gf2f4,Gf4f5] The idea f4-f5 is not easy to meet.}) 11. O-O a6 12. a4 h6
13. b3 Qa5 14. Rc1 {needs further investigation. The game is quite sharp here.
Those of you who like such positions can try to dig deeper, but my preference
is 9...Be7.}) 10. Be2 Be6 (10... a6 {is also playable. After} 11. a4 Nc6 12.
O-O Be6 13. b3 Qa5 14. Qc2 $13 {the position is double-edged with chances for
both sides. In my opinion 10...Be6 leads to clearer positions. We can try to
play b5 without losing time on a6. You can see more details on these options
further down.}) 11. O-O Nc6 {The position is similar to a Ragozin or Tarrasch
Defence, but in a very good version for Black} 12. Rc1 (12. b3 $5 {is well met
by} Qa5 13. Qc2 b5 $132) 12... a6 {The position is complex, but strategically
Black has clearer play and White needs to continue very energetically} (12...
b5 $5 {As I already mentioned, this idea is in the air.} 13. Ne5 (13. Nxb5 {
doesn't look critical} Rb8 14. Qa4 Bd7 15. Nc3 Nxd4 16. Qd1 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 Rxb2
$11 {Black can't keep the extra pawn and soon massive exchanges will happen.})
13... Qb6 14. Bf3 Rad8 15. b3 Ba3 $1 {looks a bit risky but is tactically
justified} 16. Nxc6 (16. bxc4 {leads to crazy complications which seem to
favor Black.} Nxe5 17. dxe5 dxc4 18. Qc2 Bxc1 19. exf6 Bd2 20. fxg7 Kxg7 $15)
16... Qxc6 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Rc2 $13 {Both sides have their trumps.}) 13. Ne5 (
13. a4 $6 {starting with this move gives Black some extra options like Na5})
13... Rc8 14. a4 (14. f4 {is well met by} Ne4 $1 15. Bxe7 Nxc3 16. Bxd8 Nxd1
17. Rfxd1 Rfxd8 $15 {Black has a clear plan, on the other hand, it is not so
clear what White should do. I believe that White is on the defensive side
already.}) 14... Qb6 15. f4 Ne4 $1 {Again this idea is quite strong.} 16. Nxc6
(16. Bxe7 {is inaccurate.} Nxc3 17. bxc3 Nxe7 $15 {In this structure Black is
better. The knight on e5 will be kicked by f6 and Black can put pressure on e3
or install a piece on e4. The a4-pawn can be a weakness in some endgames as
well.}) 16... Bxh4 17. Ne5 Nxc3 18. bxc3 Rc7 $1 {A very strong positional move.
Black is overprotecting the b7-pawn in case of Rb1 but also preparing to meet
f5 with Bd7.} 19. Bf3 ({In case of} 19. Rb1 {Black can play} Qa5 20. Qc2 Be7
21. f5 Bd7 22. Nxd7 Rxd7 23. Bf3 Rb8 $132 {Again it is somewhat easier for me
to spot Black's plan.}) 19... f6 20. f5 $1 {White is forced to play
energetically again in order to keep the balance.} fxe5 (20... Bxf5 $5 {
is possible as well.} 21. Bxd5+ Be6 22. Qf3 Qd6 23. Bxe6+ Qxe6 24. Ng4 $13 {
Black is not worse, but somehow I prefer 20...fxe5 with more harmonious play.})
21. fxe6 e4 $1 {An important resource.} 22. Bg4 Qd6 {The e6 pawn is not going
anywhere, and in the meantime, Black can organize his counterplay on the
queenside. Black is not at any risk in this position, although probably White
is not risking too much either.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1bqkb1r/pppn1p2/4p2p/6p1/3Pp3/6B1/PPPN1PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 0 9"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{How Black should continue?} 9... f5 $1 {no need to worry about one check.} 10.
Qh5+ {is actually bad} Ke7 $17 {and Black is much better} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqkb1r/ppp2pp1/5p1p/3p4/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 0 5"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{White just played 5.e4?!, how Black should react?} 5... Bb4 $1 {This pin is
quite unpleasant for White.} 6. exd5 Qxd5 {Black's position seems already
better.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3p4/3P1B2/2N1P3/PPP2PPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 0 4"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{This is one of the main tabyas in Veresov. What is the best scheme of
development for Black?} 4... Bb4 $1 {4...Bd6 is possible, but with the text
move, Black is fighting for the initiative. The threat Bxc3 followed by c5,
Ne4, Qa5 is quite unpleasant. White is forced to play Nge2, and then his
pieces lack harmony.} 5. Nge2 O-O 6. a3 Be7 $1 {Black already provoked 5.Nge2
and now can safely return to e7. White's pieces are strangely placed, and I
already prefer to be Black.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2rk1/pp3pp1/2nppq1p/1B6/1b1PP3/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R2Q1RK1 b - - 0 11"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{What is the best move for Black in this position?} 11... Bxc3 $1 {This move
can be strange for understand at first. The point is that we need to do
something in the centre. The most natural idea is e6-e5 followed by Bg4, Re8,
etc... The problem is that immediate 11...e5 allows 12.Nd5!} 12. bxc3 e5 $1 {
Black has a decent position.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnb1k2r/pppp1pp1/4pq1p/8/1b1PP3/2N5/PPPQ1PPP/R3KBNR b KQkq - 0 6"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{6.Qd2 is the main move according to the database. Do you remember how Black
should face it?} 6... d5 $1 7. e5 Qd8 8. a3 Be7 $1 {We already saw this
maneuvre (Bb4-e7). Black forced e5 and now has a perfect version of French
Defence.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnb2rk1/ppp2pp1/4pq1p/3p4/1b1PP3/2NQ4/PPP2PPP/1K1R1BNR b - - 0 8"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Black to move.} 8... c5 $1 {White plans to play e4-e5 followed by pawn pushes
on the kingside. So it is essential to attack the centre immediately and not
give White time to start an attack.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 7"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqkb1r/pp1p1ppp/4pn2/2p3B1/3PP3/8/PPPN1PPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 0 4"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{4.e4 was a mistake. Can you find how you can punish White?} 4... cxd4 $1 5. e5
Qa5 $1 $17 {Black has a big advantage} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 9"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqkb1r/pp1p1ppp/4pn2/2p3B1/3PN3/8/PPP1PPPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 0 4"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{4.Ne4 is an ambitious, but not a very good move. The position is very sharp,
and it is important to know how you should continue. Black to move.} 4... Qb6
$1 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 8"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1bqkb1r/pp1n1pp1/4pn1p/2pp4/3P3B/2PBP3/PP1N1PPP/R2QK1NR b KQkq - 0 7"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{This is an important position for our repertoire. How Black should continue?} 
7... e5 $1 {Black is just in time to play 7...e5, before White pushes f4.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 10"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1rb2rk1/pp1n1pp1/4pn1p/2q5/8/2P2NP1/PPBNQPP1/R3K2R b KQ - 0 14"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{What Black should play in this position?} 14... b5 $1 {Important move! Black
is ready to met 0-0-0 with b4} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 11"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2rk1/ppqn1ppp/3bpn2/2ppN3/3P1P2/2P1P1B1/PP1N2PP/R2QKB1R b KQ - 0 9"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{How Black should react to the ambitious 9.f4} 9... Ne4 $1 {Black should hurry
with this move, before White plays Bd3.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 12"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnb1k2r/pp3ppp/3qpn2/2pp4/2PP4/2N1PN2/PP3PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 0 7"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{What is the easiest way for Black to equalize?} 7... dxc4 $1 8. Bxc4 O-O *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 13"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbq1rk1/pp3ppp/3b1n2/2pp4/3P4/2N1PNB1/PP3PPP/R2QKB1R b KQ - 0 8"]
[PlyCount "7"]

{What is the best setup for Black here?} 8... c4 $1 {With a structure typical
for the Ragozin Variation. I like Black's chances here: White's bishop can't
come to the b1-h7 diagonal and Black has a simple plan - to push his queenside
majority.} 9. Bh4 {the best try to disrupt black's harmony} Be7 {9...Be6 is
not bad either.} 10. Be2 Be6 11. O-O Nc6 {The position is similar to a Ragozin
or Tarrasch defence, but in a perfect version for black} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 14"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbq1rk1/p4ppp/1p2pn2/2pp4/3P1P2/2PB1N2/PP1NQPPP/R3K2R b KQ - 0 9"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{What is the best plan for Black in this structure?} 9... a5 $1 {preparing the
exchange of the light-squared bishops via a6} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Test 15"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "GM Pavel Eljanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2rk1/pp2nppp/3Qp3/2n5/2N1q3/5N2/PP2BPPP/2R1K2R b K - 0 14"]
[PlyCount "7"]

{What is the best move for Black in this sharp position?} 14... b6 $1 {Very
precise piece sacrifice} 15. Qxe7 Nd3+ 16. Kd2 Nf4 17. Ne3 Ba6 $1 {Rd8 is
coming. Black has a huge advantage} *