saubhikr wrote on 02/26/09 at 17:43:12:
Due to the fact that 3.Nd2 c5 Tarrasch was played twice in Topalov-Kamsky match, will the variation be more popular now ?
What do you think ?
Though the result was 0-2, you may not blame the opening for that. In game 2, it was black who was winning, I think.
I think it is worth clarifying some issues here.
First, the 3...c5 variation has never really gone away. French specialists have continued to play it, even though it has not been seen much at the highest levels in recent years. It will always remain a principled reply to 3 Nd2
Second, the 3...c5 Tarrasch is not monolithic. Play in the two main branches (...Qxd5 or IQP) is very different.
In the Qxd5 line, Black has a good structure but it's a semi-open game, often with Open Sicilian-like sharpness and very concrete play in the late opening and middlegame. It is unwise to go into these lines unless well prepared. Also, it is necessary to be comfortable in endgames with the typical pawn formation of white 3-2 queenside majority vs black 4-3 kingside majority.
In the IQP lines, Black has the worse structure for the endgame and must be prepared to suffer if he can't achieve anything in the middle game. Still, as Kortchnoi showed, the endings are often tenable if a player has studied them and knows which piece exchanges to avoid.
GM Jaan Ehlvest wrote in The Story of a Chess Player: "This is the kind of position where you cannot get help from FRITZ. To play these positions well you must study in depth such games as those in the aforementioned match between Karpov and Korchnoi as well as those in another famous match between Spassky and Petrosian in 1969, where Spassky played the Tarrasch defense. The Russian-American GM Anatoly Lein is also a big specialist in how to handle the isolated pawn. It is not easy to handle – this is why Karpov and Kasparov often avoided these kinds of positions throughout their careers. On the other hand it is true that these positions are for lazy boys. You are not in danger ever as long as you know the general rules of handling them. In the 1974 match, Korchnoi drew all his games against Karpov in the French, and immediately lost two crucial games when he tried to surprise Karpov with another opening."
A propos the IQP line, it might be significant that long-time French specialists Vaganian and Lputian seem to have now (or at least for the time being) abandoned the old main of the 3...c5 IQP (3 Nd2 c5 4 exd5 exd5 5 Nf3 Nc6 6 Bb5 Bd6 and ...Nge7) in favour of the one-time Bareev favourite 5...Nf6 6 Bb5+ Bd7.