Instead Black gets on with his own development with 3...Bf5.
As in the Veresov, ...Bf5 cries out for the response 4.f3, and that has been the choice of Baadur Jobava, Hikaru Nakamura, Arkadij Naiditsch and many other grandmasters.
This move scores a much-higher percentage in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database than the marginally more-popular 4.e3.
The main line after 4.f3 continues 4...e6 5.g4 Bg6 6.h4, when opinion sharply divides.
Baadur Jobava (GM 2716) - Robert Hovhannisyan (GM 2611)
EU Championship (Yerevan, Armenia) 2014
6...h6
Almost as popular is 6...h5 - grandmasters have played both moves. For what it is worth, the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer the text.
7.e3 a6
Sooner or later, in many lines of the Jobava-Prié, Black feels the need to spend a tempo on ...a6.
8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 c5!?
The capture 9...Bxd3 is more-or-less automatic in a somewhat similar position in the Caro-Kann Classical, and was played by Ian Nepomniachtchi in a 2014 World Rapid Championship loss to Baadur Jobava. The text is preferred by Stockfish10, but Komodo10 rates the two moves equally.
10.Nge2
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
10...Bxd3
The engines prefer 10...Nc6. Spanton (1908) - Koby Kalavannan (2100), Southend 2016, continued 11.Qd2 b5 12.a3 Qa5 13.Kf2!? Qb6 14.Bxh7 Nxh7 15.Kg2 cxd4 16.exd4 Be7, when the engines slightly prefer Black (½–½, 38 moves).
11.cxd3!?
We have seen this idea before (part three of the series).
11...cxd4 12.Nxd4 Nbd7
12...Nc6!? 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.d4 is probably nothing for Black to worry about.
13.Nde2 e5 14.Bg3 Bd6 15.d4 0-0 16.Qb3!?
Jobava ups the stakes. More solid was 16.0-0.
16...Qe7 17.Bh4 exd4?
Better is 17...Bb4. The text loses a pawn
18.Nxd5 Qe5 19.Nxf6+ Nxf6 20.Nxd4
White is a pawn up. Black tries to win it back with …
20...Nd5 21.Nf5 Nxe3
… but 22.Nxe3 Rfe8 23.0-0-0 is winning for White.
Instead the game saw ...
22.Qxe3?? Qxb2
… when Black is slightly better, although the game was drawn.
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