Scarblac wrote on 10/02/19 at 12:36:07:
In 2006, John Cox's "Starting Out: 1.d4!" came out. It famously advocated the most ambitious, main line, theoretical lines as used at the time by top players, based on 1.d4 and 2.c4:
- The Bayonet against the King's Indian
- The Modern Main Line (h3/Bd3) against the Benoni
- 4.Qc2 against the Nimzo
- 7.Nf3 / 8.Rb1 in the exchange Grunfeld
- g3/Bg2 and 10.Rb1 against the Benko
- The Exchange QGD with Nge2
- Nc3 and Nf3, 6.Ne5 against the Slav
- The Botvinnik System against the Semi-Slav
And so on. Just all the most ambitious lines.
What would a similar repertoire in 2019 look like? Most of those lines are not seen as the most challenging at top level anymore, as far as I know, most of the sharpest stuff seems too analyzed by computers.
I think the Benko is now the line with g3 and Kg2 followed by 12.a4 (or is it? I haven't looked for a while) but find it hard to think of the rest.
A tentative reply from a Grand Patzer:
- Some early Nf3, h3, Be3 line against King's Indian
- f4 and Bb5+ against the Benoni (Taimanov variation)
- 3.Nf3 d5 vs. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6, with perhaps 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 b6 to follow.
- early Be3 (without Nf3) in the exchange Grunfeld, or maybe some early h4 line
- g3/Bg2 and 12.a4 against the Benko
- The Exchange QGD with or without Nge2
- some early e3 line against the Slav
- some anti-Meran line against the Semi-Slav
Just my two cents of course