I have a question on the Bg4 Slav line. After 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. Nc3 the simple and obvious Qxb3 followed by e6 is not even mentioned by Avrukh. There are also few games for this. However, I just can't figure out why. What's so bad about Black's position? The weak a7 pawn can be defended with a6 and the Bf5-Bc2 maneuver seems annoying to White.

exigentsky wrote on 03/28/09 at 01:40:23:


It looks a bit like a Meran, but I think part of the point of white's move order (without Nc3 in) is that after 6...b5 7.Bd3 e6 8.a4 b4 no knight on c3 is attacked and something like Nb1-d2-c4 will be pretty quick.

On the other hand without a quick b5 in (e.g. 6...e6) this looks more like a queen's gambit accepted, where white took two moves for Bf1-d3xc4 and black takes two moves for c7-c6-c5 (assuming that he will play that. On the other hand, can black do without b5 or c5, not really can he?

I guess this may be a case of "a GM would work it out on his own, let's concentrate on the really critical stuff". I admit I at first thought the book was too variation heavy and too light on explanations, but the more I worked with it the more I liked the variation heavy content.

@exigentsky: Thanks for sharing your ideas on this sharp line of the Catalan. BTW, it seems to me that it is only used in correspondence or freestyle games. Probably because Black risks so much by grabbing pawns instead of developing pieces.

14. Bf4 O-O 15. Rac1 Nb6 16. Qg4 Kh8 17. Bg5 f5 18. exf6 gxf6 and here 19.Nxf6 is a nice discovery.

14. Bf4 c3 seems to me to be not so much a problem as White can go for 15.Qg4 without too much risk. 15...g5 16.Bxg5 cxb2 17.Rab1 cannot be bad since Black is way underdeveloped.

And yet I noticed that recent games rather went 14. a4 Qb3 which is not in the book. Results were mixed but White should have enough compensation after 15.Be3. Corr World Champion Mikhail Umansky has faced 13...Qb5! twice now (in 2004 and 2007) and both times he went for 14.a4.

(I posted my #239 in this thread before reading your #238 but I hope it still helps...)

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 03/27/09 at 21:07:36:

I'm afraid I'm not getting your question fully.
- In case of the QGD move order 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Sf3 (this is Avrukh Vol.1), White plays the natural Sf3 first. I don't see what 3.g3 would improve here.
- If Black plays the Indian move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 then 3.g3. This is what Avrukh announced for Vol. 2. Here, 3.g3 effective rules out the Queen's Indian 3...b6. Black has 3....Bb4+ of course, or 3...c5 if he definitely wants to avoid the Catalan. But that's it.

Btw, in response to Markovich's comments about the complexity of opening preparation for young, developing students:

I agree completely with you.

This isn't just a matter of taste, the developing student needs a solid base from which to understand the subtelties that are abound in many specialty books.

emary wrote on 03/27/09 at 13:18:09:


With the greatest respect, emary, do we not here tax poor Aagaard with more than one editor can be expected to do?  He has already produced this very fine book, and we can hardly expect him to write a concordance for any given class of player.  I would think it would be up to each player to figure out what, and how much, of it he should thoroughly study.  For example if there is someone in your area who plays the Albin, study up on the Albin.  Personally I would advise booking up quite thoroughly on the QGA analysis, since that is some of the sharpest stuff in the book.  Also the Chigorin stuff.

emary wrote on 03/27/09 at 13:18:09:


I await Jacob's answer with interest.

I have a young chessfriend rated about 2150 who is just taking up 1.d4 and I advised them to study up on Schandorff in preference to Avrukh.  Both books are excellent, but the depth and sophistication of Avrukh's repertoire seems to me to demand more of anyone who takes it up.  I think it's much easier for developing players to play straightforward, attacking chess than to engage in positional maneuvers. 

It would not surprise me if someone came back here and said, "It depends on your taste," but I personally would disagree.

I think volume 2 is out in July, at best June. It is a lot of work for Boris, but he is getting through it in a decent pace.

About the previous extensive message. I agree with most aspects of it, this is a very nuanced repertoire and at a very high level - for both colours, which is why it is so hard to prove an edge.

About missing lines - an update covering some of them will be up on our website next week, I hope. It is not my first priority, but it is high on the list.

About the lines not being critical. I have heard this various places about the 4.e3 Slav, but this is simply ignorance. Peter Heine Nielsen commended us on this choice, of anticipating that this was becoming the main move and would be so for some time to come. Sure 4.Nc3 is sharper, but is the sharpest line the most critical? I would think the 'best' line is the most critical, and at the moment 4.e3 sets Black more objective problems.

Another comment on the various reviews (including Watson's, which in many ways was brilliant and very interesting) is that many reviewers miss that after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 we are back in the Catalan after the main move 3...d5. The is no Nimzo/QID complex coming. However, 3...Bb4, 3...b6?! and 3...c5 will be covered in the second volume.

So will every other move that does not transpose to 1.d4 d5. It will be as big a book, and it will be good, from what I have seen. Actually, excellent!

Jacob Aagaard