Ideas Behind The Jobava-Prié

THE most popular move at the highest levels after 1.d4 d5 or 1.d4 Nf6 is 2.c4.
This is far from being the case in club chess.
In my last 100 games with the black pieces that opened 1.d4 d5, a list that stretches back to late 2017, 2.c4 was played just 41% of the time.
It used to be that the most serious alternative to 2.c4 was a Colle with 2.Nf3, 3.e3 and 4.Bd3.
The Trompowsky (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) and Pseudo-Trompowsky (1.d4 d5 2.Bg5!?) became popular in the 1990s, until it was largely replaced by the London (1.d4, 2.Nf3 and 3.Bf4) and more recently the New London (1.d4 and 2.Bf4).
At the same time the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.e4!?) had its dedicated followers, and the Veresov , aka the Richter-Veresov, (1.d4, 2.Nc3 and 3.Bg5) enjoyed a burst of popularity in the early years of this century.
Today there is a (relatively) new kid on the block: 1.d4, 2.Nc3 and 3.Bf4.
I have been calling it the Barry Attack, and in some quarters it is known as the New Veresov, but I think it is fair to say that the name Jobava-Prié  is becoming generally accepted.
This honours Georgian grandmaster Baadur Jobava and his French counterpart Éric Prié.

The main starting position of the Jobava-Prié

Note that White can be sure of getting this position in the vast majority of games, whether Black meets 1.d4 with 1...d5 or 1...Nf6, as in each case White's follow-up of 2.Nc3 threatens to establish a classical centre with 3.e4.
The oldest game in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database featuring the basic Jobava-Prié tabiya after 3.Bf4, is James Mason - Max Weiss, Vienna 1882.
The Austrian Weiss, presumably caught by surprise, replied 3...a6, which looks like a duffers' move, except it has subsequently been played by those well-known non-duffers Carlsen, Caruana, Svidler and Nakamura.
Mason - Weiss continued 4.e3 e6 (Svidler and Nakamura preferred 4...Bf5) 5.Bd3!? c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Nge2?! Nc6 with a position that was at least equal for Black (but 1-0, 35 moves).
More than 20 years pass before a second 'Jobava-Prié' appears in Mega20, and a further 25 years before the third game.
Alexander Alekhine seems to have been the first superstar to use the opening, but today's adherents include Carlsen, Nakamura, So and Rapport.
In some ways the Jobava-Prié can be thought of as a queenside Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4).
One of the main ideas of the Italian Game is to attack the square f7 if Black gets careless. Similarly, one of the main ideas of the Jobava-Prié is to attack c7 if given the chance.
Naturally there are major differences. A white capture on f7 usually involves either a check or a fork of rook and queen, whereas a capture on c7 will often involve a check and a fork, but this time of rook and king.
A white attack in the Italian Game can often be countered by a well-timed ...d5, with the d pawn being supported by the queen and king's knight.
The counter ...e5 in the Jobava-Prié is less likely to be successful, not least because it will probably be supported by a lone knight at best.
In this series I plan to look at ideas in the Jobava-Prié for White and Black.