ChessPub Forum - Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid

(UTC)

Latest Updates:

- - -

ChessPub Forum › Chess Publishing Openings › Nimzo and Benonis › Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid

(Moderator: proustiskeen)

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

Pages: 1

Topic Tools

Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid (Read 5476 times)

F22 Senior Member Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 306 Joined: 07/16/09 Gender:	Re: Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid Reply #5 - 09/22/11 at 02:25:21	Post Tools	Print Post
	BPaulsen wrote on 09/21/11 at 22:47:10: Unless I'm just off my rocker I'm pretty sure 5...d5 is supposed to be a straightforward equalizer aside from other attempts. The Qc7/a6/Qxc4 pawn sacrifice is theoretically okay, but practically not that much fun (black's the one dodging bullets and white usually doesn't have any problem drawing even if black keeps the pawn). No you are right 5. ... d5 is a perfectly valid option. Back then for some reason I liked the queen move better. Now looking at this again I tend to prefer 5. ... Bb4+ to the other two options. After 6. Nc3 Ne4 we are back in Nimzo and after 6. Bd2 Be7 Black scores really well. Also Topalov played this line against Aronian in 2008 M-Tel Masters.


	IP Logged

F22 Senior Member Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 306 Joined: 07/16/09 Gender:	Re: Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid Reply #4 - 09/22/11 at 02:11:44	Post Tools	Print Post
	Smyslov_Fan wrote on 09/21/11 at 12:58:31: Black does have other options beyond 5...Qc7. He could try 5...Bb4 and play as in a Bogo-Indian or he could play 5...d5. Both of those probably transpose to lines covered adequately by Avrukh though. I doubt that 5. ... Bb4+ would transpose to Avrukh b/c Black has taken on d4 with the c-pawn.


	IP Logged

BPaulsen God Member Offline I Love Light Squares! Posts: 1702 Location: Anaheim, CA, USA Joined: 11/02/08 Gender:	Re: Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid Reply #3 - 09/21/11 at 22:47:10	Post Tools	Print Post
	Unless I'm just off my rocker I'm pretty sure 5...d5 is supposed to be a straightforward equalizer aside from other attempts. The Qc7/a6/Qxc4 pawn sacrifice is theoretically okay, but practically not that much fun (black's the one dodging bullets and white usually doesn't have any problem drawing even if black keeps the pawn).

	2288 USCF, 2186 FIDE. FIDE based on just 27 games.
	YIM AIM IP Logged

Smyslov_Fan God Member Correspondence fan Offline Progress depends on the unreasonable man. ~GBS Posts: 6902 Joined: 06/15/05	Re: Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid Reply #2 - 09/21/11 at 12:58:31	Post Tools	Print Post
	Black does have other options beyond 5...Qc7. He could try 5...Bb4 and play as in a Bogo-Indian or he could play 5...d5. Both of those probably transpose to lines covered adequately by Avrukh though.


	IP Logged

Smyslov_Fan God Member Correspondence fan Offline Progress depends on the unreasonable man. ~GBS Posts: 6902 Joined: 06/15/05	Re: Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid Reply #1 - 09/21/11 at 12:53:42	Post Tools	Print Post
	This is an English type of position that is quite unambitious from White's perspective. Black is considered to have equal chances almost immediately. The line you give, with 6...a6, shows one of the more popular ways to play it. I haven't found any book that delves into this line, but you can find annotated games with this line. Most of the top-flight games I've found were either rapid or blitz games. For instance, Kasparov beat Kramnik in 2001 in a blitz game, and Leko has been on the Black side a couple of times in blitz and rapid games. Here's a game that I would consider as a good model for both sides: Download game in pgn format


	IP Logged

F22

Senior Member

Offline

I Love ChessPublishing!

Posts: 306
Joined: 07/16/09
Gender: Male

Catalan-Benoni-English Hybrid
09/21/11 at 11:31:48

Post Tools

Print Post

Recently I decided to play the Benoni against the Catalan: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 (I fancy my chances against Avrukh's recommendations) but then a number of players continue with: 4. Nf3 according to old notes here I Black should adopt a Paulsen setup with: 4. ... cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qc7 6. Nc3 a6.

But I am drawing a blank as to why this appealed to me back then and what Black's optimal play is (d6 & b6 classic hedgehog; avoid b6 to manage b5 in one move or avoid d6 to get d5 in one move). Anyone familiar with this line?

What literature is out there for Black after 5. Nxd4?

IP Logged

Pages: 1

Topic Tools

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

Bookmarks:

« Board Index ‹ Board Top