Obviously, Shapiro himself found an improvement. 2008 he played 16.f3 h6 against Lavrentyev and drew pretty easy.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Sc3 c6 4.Sf3 dxc4 5.a4 Lb4 6.e3 b5 7.Ld2 a5 8.axb5 Lxc3 9.Lxc3 cxb5 10.b3 Lb7 11.bxc4 b4 12.Lb2 Sf6 13.Ld3 Sbd7 14.0–0 0–0 15.Sd2 Dc7 16.f3 h6 17.Lc2 Tfd8 18.Te1 Ta6 19.De2 Tda8 20.La4 Lc6 21.c5 e5 22.Lxc6 Dxc6 23.dxe5 Sd5 24.Se4 a4 25.Dc4 a3 26.Ld4 De6 27.Tad1 Sf8 28.La1 Sc3 29.Dxe6 Sxe6 30.Sxc3 bxc3 31.Tc1 Tc6 32.Txc3 Txc5 ½–½

Markovich wrote on 08/17/10 at 14:39:26:


You´re right to prefer 15....Qc7. I played it recently in a corrchess game and after 15.Sd2 Dc7 16.Lc2 Tfd8 17.f3 h6 18.Te1 Lc6 19.Kh1 Db6 the game was equal, 19....e5 should have been the  same. 15.Sd2 is one of the better variations of White, but the noteboom (main line!) is generally no problem for black, so "better" means: White had some pressure and got a draw without being in danger of losing. After two years corrchess playing the noteboom I firmely believe that´s the best White can get if he does not deviate within the first 4-6 moves!

Hello everybody!What do you think about 4.cd?Are there any lines for black to avoid classical exchange variation of queen's gambit declined?Maybe after 4...ed 5.Nf3 5...Nd7 is playable to avoid both Bg5 and Bf4?Or it doesn't make any sense?
Thx,Keerik.

cma6 wrote on 08/17/10 at 02:50:13:


Analysis on the Meran is equally as dense as analysis on 5. Bg5. Calling 5. Bg5 "too analyzed" is funny given that fact.

As for whether 5. Bg5 leads to anything - that's an entirely separate subject.

The Noteboom is an excellent practical choice for black against a white player who is not 100% theoretically prepared and/or doesn't feel at home in sharp, unbalanced positions. The point is that black gets the advantage on the queenside, usually 2 connected passed pawns, and white has to show his compensation or he might even be worse. I'm not sure about the Noteboom's current status, but the last article I've seen (Pelletier in CBM ca. 3 years ago) found an advantage for white in one of the main lines.

So I guess for 9 out of 10 players it's a good idea to avoid it.

The e4 gambit is very dangerous. If black takes the pawn and doesn't know his stuff he won't even make it out of the opening. If he is booked up you still have decent compensation. I've only seen it from the black side, but I assume it's pretty easy to get into for white.
The declined gambit (4.  e4 Bb4) is okay for both sides. Depending on the source white either gets a normal opening advantage or equality in a position untypical of a semi-Slav.

I don't like 4.e3 f5 for black because white gets promising active play with 5.g4!? fxg4?! [AFAIR Nh6 is better] 6.Qxg4 Nf6 7.Qg2. Of course white can also transpose into a normal Stonewall.

What to do against d4 d5 c4 e6 Nc3 c6? Play e3 and go to a meran. However black can play f5 in that variation. Or Nf3, but i have the feeling that the Nootenboom is a really hard nut to crack. Or go for the immediate e4?