ErictheRed wrote on 09/14/21 at 00:00:04:


I see. Makes sense. Thanks!

After 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Qa5 8. Rc1, the mainline by far is 8...dxc4 and continues 9. Bxc4 Qxc5 10. Bb3. 

This position is recommended by Svidler and Avrukh, although Avrukh reaches this position via 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Rc1 dxc4 8. Bxc4 0-0 9. Nf3 Qxc5 10. Bb3. 

Anyways, going back to the original move-order, why isn't 8...Nbd7 (to capture on c5 with the Knight instead of the Queen) played more often? It's both the engine's choice (recommending either Na6 or Nbd7 over dxc4) and scores very well (looking at Lichess's master database at least).

Is the reason for its unpopularity the fact that White can force a queen trade to try and "kill" any fun with 8...Nbd7 9. Qa4 Qxc5 10. b4 Qc6 11. Qxc6? The resulting middlegame doesn't seem dead to me.

Or is it simply for ease of learning? As 8...dxc4 in the 5. Bf4 lines can transpose into 4. Bf4 lines?

What do you all think?