http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8153

Caruana-Tikknanen, 10/05/12 is another game in the Fianchetto Grünfeld, except 11. Qc2 a4 12. Rd1 Bf5 13. Qe2. Then how about 17...h6 with the idea ...f5? And why not 22...Ndb6 instead of 22....Qa8?

Gilchrist is a legend wrote on 03/19/12 at 21:59:14:


I assume you mean 14...Na5.

Just looking at the position casually, is 15...Rxd4!? a reasonable exchange sac?  Hmm, maybe not...the pressure down the a2-g8 diagonal and the c-file looks difficult to deal with, almost forcing 16.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 17.Kh1 Bc5, which is not the most desirable move here!  I suppose in your game 17...Qe7!? might be a possible improvement, keeping an eye on the f7-square and getting out of the way of a future e4-e5.  Hmm, the whole line looks interesting...I'll take a closer look at it in the future.

I don´t wanna start a new thread, because it´s another line recommended by Avrukh:

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Bc4 Bg7 8.
Ne2 Nc6 9. O-O O-O 10. Be3 Qc7 11. Rc1 b6 12. f4 e6 13. Ng3N Rd8 14. f5 cxd4 15.
cxd4 Bxd4 16. Bxd4 Rxd4 17. Qe2 Qd6 18. fxg6 hxg6 19. Nh5 gxh5 20. Qxh5 Ne5 21.
Rc3 Qc5 22. Rg3+ Kf8 23. Qh8+ Ke7 24. Qf6+ Kd7 25. Bxe6+ fxe6 26. Rg7+ Kc6 27.
Kh1 Bd7 28. Rg5 Rf8 0-1

Avrukh recommends in GM9 p.242ff the setup 10. ...Qc7 plus ...b6 against the 7.Bc4 system. Due to time pressure I just skimread the lines and was a bit surprised otb, that it´s quite risky to handle this subsystem.

My questions:
1. 13... Rd8 looks natural, but is there a better answer?
2. Is it too risky to take on d4? Otb I just thought, okay show me, I´ll hold it.
3. 19. Nh5 - should lead to a draw, but 19.e5! and 19.Qf2!? are even better with good winning chances for white

I used houdini to analyse my game, but what I need more is understanding. In general: would you give your Bg7 for a pawn (d4) or is it too risky? Which setup would be more suitable?

11. Qe2 Be6 is already a big problem I find to prove an advantage. I think 11. Qc2 Black has even more choices. I almost stopped playing this line as White because I lose most of my games, at least in blitz.

I am not sure how White can gain an advantage in the 10. Re1 a5 line anymore. Are there any new ideas to rectify an advantage here?

This position looks solider for Black than with 13...c6. So in addition to 13...c6, White has to contend with 13...Qc8.

Just noticed Round 2 of the tournament in Wijk aan Zee, a game Nyzhnyk-L'Ami with the game continuing 10. Re1 a5 11. Qe2 Be6 12. Nd2 Nb4 13. Rd1 Qc8 instead of the commoner 13...c6. The game continued 14. a3 Na6 15. Rb1 c6 and Black's position looks fairly solid. Perhaps this avoids the idea with the two bishops as described previously, 13. Rd1 c6 14. a3 N4d5
15. Nce4 Bf5 16. Nc5 e5 17. dxe5 Qe7 18. Nd3 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Qxe5 20. Nf3 Qe7.