Phil Adams wrote on 06/05/09 at 12:55:07:


Something that has piqued my interest is playing Qxd5 instead of taking the IQP in certain move orders, as white may end up in an inferior version of the 4...Qxd5 Tarrasch, where ...a6 is always useful anyway.

In fact, if black plays with Qxd5 in mind he can just as easily play 3...h6 (which has its pros and cons).

That IQP position doesn't particularly scare me anymore after closer examination, you're right. 

dom's improvement in the Universal for white may be the last thing that black needs to address, he seems fine elsewhere. Both 10.... Ncxe5/Ndxe5 need careful scrutiny.

I'm reasonably comfortable with 3...a6, and I'll probably start another thread examining 3...h6, which has its merits as well (the Universal System is particularly impotent in that variation, but it is also not as ambitious in some variations).

Stigma wrote on 06/03/09 at 19:16:02:


Right, white's approach doesn't work against 3...Be7, but it does against 3...a6.

However, white immediately gets a good Universal against 3...Be7, because the Be7 is actually misplaced in the 8...g5 positions.

...a6 is only useful if it helps ...b5, the problem is I can't make ...b5 work very well without giving up the c5 square. Black's light squared bishop really struggles to make itself useful.

Normally we reach that position mentioned with white to move, and black not  having ...a6 in. So is ...a6 helpful, or harmful?

It's those small little details that make all of chess.

@Phil Adams: thanks for games and ideas for Black in the line (always useful to know experienced player point of view) 

BPaulsen wrote on 06/02/09 at 03:30:26:


A few years ago when I used to play "serious" correspondence chess (mainly in BCCA events) my main black weapons against 1 e4 were the MacCutcheon against 3 Nc3 and 3...a6 against 3 Nd2. I scored very well with the former (possibly because many of the positions are hard for computers to understand!) but most of my games with the latter ended in draws.

My general aim in playing 3...a6 was to try to reach IQP positions with a full set of minor pieces and my king's knight on its best square - f6. Alternatively I intended to gain space with c5-c4 and b7-b5, as suggested in Shereshevsky's wonderful "Soviet Chess Conveyor".

I still believe 3...a6 is fully playable. It has an excellent pedigree and the statistics certainly speak in its favour - there are over 2200 games in Megabase, with Black scoring a healthy 48%.

Watson's "Dangerous Weapons - the French" supplies many new ways of handling 3...a6 for Black which I wish I had been aware of before - I might have had more decisive games with it.

I've attached my games. My only win was against the strong corres player Keith McLaughlin, and I'm still quite pleased with it. It is an example of the competing pawn majorities that can arise from many openings and that used to be assessed as clearly in White's favour: White: queenside majority 3-2 vs Black: kingside majority 4-3; nowadays we know it depends on the specifics, and Black's extra centre pawn can often give him the edge.

@BPaulsen: OK...I add some variations from my data. what I think best lines for White.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 a6!?  (search on forum for Kalle99 posts about Kiriakov playing the line)

A) 4.Bd3! 

A1) 4...Nf6 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Ngf3 c5 7.c3 Nc6 8.oo (8.a3 g5! and not 8...Qb6 transposing to "Rozentalis-Legky,Capelle 2002"
where Rozentalis played for an improved Korchnoi gambit with a3-a6 inserted) g5 (8..Be7 9.a3!?   
"Rendle-Karlsson,Gibraltar 2008" (chesspublishing february 2008) ; 8...Qb6 9.a3 ; 8...b5 9.dxc5 Ndxe5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Nb3! Nxd3 12.Qxd3 Be7   
and a solid grip on dark squares. For example: 13.Qg3 oo 14.Bh6 Bf6 15.Bf4 where White threatens Bc7 and can play Rfe1
to build an attack) 9.dxc5! g4 10.Nd4 Ndxe5!?  (10...Ncxe5 "Wells-Jones,Herefors 2006" 11.Bc2 Bxc5 12.f4 gxf3ep 13.Nxf3 Ng4
14.Bf4 e5!? 15.Re1) 11.N2b3! Nxd3 12.Qxd3 e5 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Qg3 Qc7 15.Qh4 (Dom) the idea is to deny Black kingside 
castle, because 15...Bg7 16.Bh6 oo? 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qg5+ Kh8 19.Qf6+ Kg8 20.f3 and Black cannot afford opening f line for a rook)


A2) 4...c5 5.dxc5 Bxc5 (5...Nf6 6.Qe2 Nc6 7.Ngf3 (7.e5 Nfd7 and Nxc5= to follow) Bxc5 8.e5 Nd7 9.Nb3 and White has
an excellent d4-blockade game ) 6.Ngf3 Nc6 (delay Nf6 or Nge7; 6...dxe4 7.Nxe4 wins tempo attacking c5 bishop) 7.oo Nge7 (7...Nf6 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Nb3 Be7 10.Re1 +=
or 7...Nb4 8.Be2 Nf6 9.e5 Nd7 10.Nb3 Be7 11.Re1 Qc7 12.c3 Nc6 13.Bf4 +=) 8.c3 oo 9.Re1! novelty of game 
"Speelman-Schussler,Salonique 1988"  9...Ng6 10.exd5 exd5 (10...Qxd5 11.Nb3 Ba7 12.Bxg6! hxg6 13.Qxd5 exd5 14.Be3 +=)
11.Nb3 Be7 12.h3 Bf6 13.Be3 Re8! +=


B) 4.Ngf3 c5 5.dxc5 (5.Bd3 c4) Nf6 (5...Bxc5 transposes to A2) "A Zapata vs S Peric, 2002"  6.Bd3 dxe4=


C) 4.c3 c5 5.Ngf3 Nc6 6.Bd3 Nf6 7.e5 (7.exd5 exd5 8.oo cxd4= good game for Black because no isolated pawn for Black) Nd7
8.oo g5 see A1)

Black cannot avoid to play Nge7 in isolated pawn position in the c5-main line:  3...c5 4.exd5 exd5 (or the Mariotti line
4...Qxd5 which is the other main line) 5.Bb5+ Nc6 6.Ngf3 Bd6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.oo Ne7 hence the system with a6.

I will look this evening at home if I can search more information from my data...

Because line is one valid system for Black I can only argue White need only some good theorical preparation.

First sub-line, with the slow Bd7-Bb5 is one of off-beat line, great postional players will like....if I were White, I will not try 4.e5, because you can have space advantage and no good bishop if Black succeed echanging "bad" bishop....but if your like Wade variation for White (advance without a6) maybe you can try it.

Second sub-line is typical of isolated pawn game. You can play it either side with success.

Third/four  sub-line....play 7.e5 in third subline to transpose and play universal system closed variation with tempo less (a6)  for Black. Maybe 9.dxc5 (d4 blockade stategy) is valid.