It's not clear to me that having a3 in should be of benefit to White (and books don't seem to think it is).

Greetings,

Rubinstein's system (4.e3) may seem slow and quiet but it isn't draw-ish.

White prepares e3-e4-e5 and the Bc1 comes into its own - whether on g5 or on the a1-h8 diagonal (b2 and Bb2) or the a3-f8 diagonal (Ba3 - after ...,Bxc3; bc). Between that and the Q/B battery on the b1-h7 diagonal, White's positional play is nothing to be sneezed at.  

Since I prefer bishops to knights, I'm very happy facing the Nimzo-Indian. Personally, I've enjoyed a solid plus score with the Rubinstein - albeit that both my own and my opponents' grading aren't much, nor the quality of games.

Kindest regards,

Dragan Glas

kylemeister wrote on 02/04/09 at 17:31:57:


Thanks for the input.  Pardon me for being so dense.  Is this a subtle jab indicating i don't yet understand the intricacies of this line?  That much is certainly true!  

Or, are you curious yourself about the players who chose this line?  In a review of a QID book Randy Bauer said: 

"For example, the authors spend more time than usual on the seemingly pedestrian 4.e3.  They note that two seemingly very different chess superstars, the dynamic Paul Keres and the positional Vasily Smyslov, both adopted the variation in the 1950s."

Perhaps there is much more to this line than the poor statistics and drawish "feel" indicate.  Maybe it is a great practical weapon.  But, somehow I just don't see many tactical brilliancies coming from a this position:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.e3 Bb7 5.Bd3 d5 6.O-O Bd6 7.Nc3 O-O

TN wrote on 01/30/09 at 23:13:15:


Thanks.

This line seems relatively simple to learn as white.  But in truth, I was just lucky my opponent played so passively.  It seems that if black has any idea how to play against this... a simple setup with d5, Bd6 and the b6 fianchetto gives him a superior Tartakower QGD where white's C1 bishop is doing nothing and black's d6 bishop is more active than on e7.  Black seems to have an easy road to a draw if he so wishes.

MilenPetrov wrote on 01/30/09 at 16:17:44:


I thought about that, but I really like the Bf4 QGD and my Benoni lines.  After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 black can play d5, c5 or Bb4+.  This means i would have to know 2 formations against each of the QGD, Benoni, and Bogo.  This seems like much more work.

with the openings youplay vs Qgd and benoni I think you may as well play 3 nf3 andnot allow the Nimzo. But it seems to boil down to whether you prefer the f3 nimzo or the a3 qid, dont forget the bogo indian as well- what would you play against that?

I need help deciding if I should allow the NID or the QID as white.  I play both Nf3 and Nc3 vs. the QGD and nearly all of black's defenses.  This choice will not affect the rest of my repertoire.  At my level (1750ish USCF and improving fairly quickly), very few play the QID.  I had my first taste of this opening in my last tourney.  To give you an idea of the poor quality of our level of play, the game is here:  http://www.mrfixitonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=7520.  I'm looking for a white system that is a tad more agressive and less drawish.

The goal of my repertoire is to aim for strategically rich positions with moderate tactics.  As black I play the Ragozin QGD and I am learning the black side of the NID.  I defend the open games (2 knights defense and fianchetto lopez), but I simplify the f4/d4 gambits (early d5). I play 1.d4 aggressively vs. the QGD (5.Bf4), but I am more cautious vs. the Benoni (Nf3 and h3), etc.  As white I cherish a space advantage and as black I'm stubborn about staking my claim in the center. Any thoughts would be appreciated on the merits of these lines for players in the 1800-2200 range.


Petrosian QID:  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3
These lines appeal since i get the same Nc3/Nf3 formations I use vs. everything else.

Kasparov NID:  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3
The early Nc3 and Nf3 avoid transposition difficulties within the rest of my repertoire.

Open Samisch NID: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3
This would break from my general desire to play Nf3/Nc3, but I do like a big center.