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Normal Topic ..h6/..Nh5 in the QGD Exchange (Read 3808 times)
MNb
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Re: ..h6/..Nh5 in the QGD Exchange
Reply #2 - 10/05/16 at 01:40:13
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Looks neat. I don't entirely trust IM Cox' recommendation 8...Nh5 (see your first comment) 9.Bxe7 Qxd7 because 10.O-O-O Nb6 11.h3 g6 and 12.Kb1 is a very useful waiting move.
That idea doesn't work after 8...h6 9.Bh4 Nh5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.O-O-O as Black just proceeds with Be6 12.Kb1 Be6 13.h3 O-O-O and 14...Kb8 anyway.
Instead of Sorin-Hoffman you might be interested in


Eman,J (2231) - Velez,R (2186)
VEN/MAV/F01 ICCF, 20.04.2015



½-½

  

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LeeRoth
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Re: ..h6/..Nh5 in the QGD Exchange
Reply #1 - 08/14/16 at 23:14:05
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For the beginning moves, see the previous post:

After 11.Nge2, at least in my database, Black has never played the immediate 11..g6.  I'm guessing it might be due to 12.b4, when the b-pawn is immune due to 12..Qxb4 13.Bxg6.  Not sure, but its a difference with lines w/o ..h6.  In any event, Black plays 11..Nb6 When White can castle on either side.   

Kingside castling doesn't seem as testing.  Play is different than in the lines w/o ..h6 (since Black doesn't play ..g6), but the move ..h6 doesn't seem out of place in these lines.  For example 12.0-0 0-0.   White can pursue a minority attack or central expansion.  Leko tried 13.Rab1 against Adams, but after 13..a5 TN 14.Qb3 Qd8 15.Na4 Nxa4 16.Qxa4 the queenside attack was too slow to cause Black any great difficulties.  Better seems to be Navara's 13.Rae1, with the idea Nc1-b3, f3, e4.  After some mistakes by Navara, Adams won a nice game, but the result really doesn't say anything about the opening variation.               

On to queenside castling. . In the variation w/o ..h6, Black meets 10.Nge2 with 10..g6 11.0-0-0 Nb6, when White either plays Ng3 or h3/g4 to prevent Black's ..g6/..Ng7/..Bf5 idea and then attacks on the queenside.  With ..h6, as noted above, the immediate ..g6 isn't played.  There seems to be no point in White playing Ng3, which can be met by ..Nxg3 when having the pawn on ..h6 is useful for Black, or in White playing h3/g4, which just gives Black a target for counterplay with ..h5. 

IMHO, White should instead aim for central expansion:  11.Nge2 Nb6 12.0-0-0 (if 12..Bg4 works, then 12.h3 first, may be more accurate) 12..Bd7 13.Kb1 0-0-0 14.Nc1 g6 15.Rhe1 Kb8 16.Nb3 Ng7 17.f3! or 11.Nge2 Nb6 12.h3 Bd7 13.0-0-0 0-0-0 14.Kb1 Kb8 15.Nc1 g6 16.Rhe1 Ng7 17.f3 as in the games Sorin-Hoffman, Buenos Aires 1999 and Lazarev- Gomez Esteban, Elgoibar 1999.  Both these games are now dated and Marin, for one, has suggested some improvements for Black in both games, but White's play seems relatively straight-forward and, even if Black can equalize, I think I'd rather play White in these lines than Black.





Thoughts, anyone? 

  
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LeeRoth
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..h6/..Nh5 in the QGD Exchange
08/14/16 at 22:35:11
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I thought I'd start a new thread to discuss ..h6 in the QGD Exchange Variation with ..Nh5.  For now, limiting the discussion to the main lines where White plays Qc2 (rather than get involved in the different move order issues).  So, after the standard moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.Qc2 Be7 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3, Black chooses 8..h6 9.Bh4 Nh5 instead of 8..Nh5, and play continues 10.Bxe7 Qxe7.  

11.Nge2 is the most popular continuation, but what about 11.0-0-0 with the idea of playing for Nf3.  Without ..h6, this is a main try that is recommended by Kaufman and mentioned as an alternative by Schandorff.  With ..h6, the line is different since after 11.0-0-0 Nb6 12.h3 the move 12..g6 doesn't work, see Schandorff-Lund, Borup, 2008.) So Black continues 12..Be6 13.Nf3 0-0-0 14.Kb1 Kb8 15.Rc1 (15.Ne5 also looks interesting; due to ..h6, the Ne5 is hard to kick with ..f6) 15..Nf6 16.Na4.  Thinking that this must be a key position.  

Harikrishna played 16..Ne4!? against Gelfand, at Wijk 2014, which Marin calls a new approach to the opening.  (16..Nxa4 had previously been thought to favor White, although this could be debated, I suppose) Gelfand at some point developed what Marin terms a "micro-initiative" and eventually won the ending, but not sure that White actually keeps an edge here.  Maybe, but its hard to say, and I don't trust the engine evaluation in these positions.  

In any event, Adams chose not to repeat 16..Ne4!?  Earlier this year at Wijk, he played 13..Nf6 against Tomashevsky.  Tomashevsky played for central expansion with Nf3-d2-b3, Rhe1, f3, and seemed to have a slightly better position, but the game petered out to an uneventful draw, although perhaps influenced by the tournament situation.







Next post .. 11.Nge2    

  
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