White might be planning to play c4 later, but often 2.Nf3 is a prelude to the Colle or, more commonly these days, the London System.
Black usually replies with something standard such as 2...Nf6 or 2...e6.
But Black can take advantage of the lack of immediate pressure on his centre by putting immediate pressure on White's centre with 2...c5.
This has been played by many grandmasters, and scores a very healthy 50% in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database - only 2...c6, with 48%, comes close to matching this.
Despite its success, the move is not something White sees often - it is only sixth-most popular in Mega20.
The first question to consider is whether White can get an advantage by accepting what is effectively a Reversed Queen's Gambit.
A) 3.dxc5!?
Vladimir Kramnik is among those who have played this move, and many of the old masters, including Pillsbury, Lasker, Alekhine, Capablanca and Flohr, tried it from time-to-time, so it should be taken seriously. Black's most-popular response is 3...e6, after which White can try to hold on to the extra pawn.
Yury Piskov (2550) - Magaram Mogomedov (2450)
Capelle-la-Grande 1994
4.b4!?
It is well-known that for Black to try to play this way in the Queen's Gambit proper, ie 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 b5?!, is doubtful, but the question is whether the addition of 2.Nf3 makes a significant difference.
4...a5 5.c3 axb4 6.cxb4 b6
Black continues to pressurise White's queenside. It is not even a sacrifice as 6.cxb6?! Bxb4+ 7.Bd2 Qxb6 was good for Black in Ignatz von Popiel - Georg Marco, Trebitsch Memorial (Vienna) 1915, although the game was eventually drawn.
7.e4!?
This move, which is the choice of the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10, seems to have been grandmaster Piskov's new idea in keeping, at least for a while, the extra pawn.
The main alternative is probably 7.Bb2, the point being that Black cannot follow-up 7...bxc5 8.bxc5 with 8...Bxc5?? as that loses to 9.Bxg7. Instead Svetlana Petrenko (2207) - Khanim Balajayeva (2130), EU women's championship (Chakvi, Georgia), 2015, continued 8...Nf6 9.e3 (9.Qc2 Qa5+) Bxc5 10.Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 Nbd7, when Black had a slight edge thanks to her extra central pawn and pressure against a2.
7...bxc5 8.Bb2
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| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
8...cxb4!?
This looks greedy, and Piskov must presumably have had this position on the board in his preparation, but it works out well.
9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.Bxd7+ Qxd7
White now played a move, after which the game was agreed drawn, but what was the move?
Mega20 has 11.Be5??, but that does not just look weird, it is an outright blunder as 11..dxe4 is winning for Black, eg 12.Nfd2 (12.Qxd7+?? loses a piece to 12...Nxd7) Nc6 13.Bb2 f5, when Black is two pawns up.
11.Ne5 makes more sense, although the engines reckon Black has an edge after 11...Qb5 or 11...Qb7.
At any rate, White's 4.b4!? was not a great success.
**********
A less-popular, but less-weakening, way to try to hold on to the pawn is 4.Be3.
Admittedly this blocks the e2 pawn, but White can develop his light-square bishop via g2, from where it may exert pressure on Black's centre in conjunction with the pawn-thrust c4.
Most popular now is 4...Na6, but the engines like a move played by Spanish international master Juan Mellado Trivino: 4...Nf6!?
The idea is to calmly get on with development, and fight for the central squares.
Igors Rausis (2520) - Mellado Trivino (2465)
Mondariz (Spain) 1998
5.c3!?
Threatening to tighten his hold on the pawn with b4.
A serious alternative is 5.c4, which can be met by 5...Na6 (other moves are clearly possible), whereupon 6.Nc3 Bxc5 7.Bxc5 Nxc5 led to draws in Predrag Nikolić (2605) - Yasser Seirawan (2610), World Cup (Barcelona) 1989, and Chao B Li (2703) - Jinshi Bai (2568), Chinese Team Championship 2018.
5...a5
The engines prefer 5...Be7 or 5...Qc7, not worrying about b4. For example, after 5...Be7 6.b4, they give 6...0-0 7.Nbd2 Qc7 8.g3, when both Stockfish10's 8...e5 and Komodo10's 8...Ng4 look promising.
6.c4!
The engines like this sudden switch to a more-aggressive use of the c pawn.
6...Na6 7.Nc3 Nxc5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.cxd5 exd5
White has given Black an isolated queen's pawn, and must have a slight edge, but the weakness seems well-defendable.
11.0-0-0?!
Trying to generate quick pressure on the isolani, but White's king proves vulnerable, despite the absence of queens.
11...Bf5! 12.Bxc5
'Normal' development starting with 12.g3? runs into 12...Nb3+! 13.axb3 Rc8+ 14.Bc5 Bxc5 15.Kd2 Bxf2, with a winning advantage for Black.
12...Bxc5 13.e3 Rc8 14.Bd3
Not 14.Kd2? Bb4+ 15.Ke2 Rc2+ 16.Nd2 Rxb2 etc.
14...Bxe3+ 15.Kb1 Rc1+ 16.Rxc1 Bxd3 17.Ka1 Bxc1 18.Rxc1 Ke7 19.Rc7+ Kd6 20.Rxb7
White has restored material equality, but after …
20...Rc8
… Black had activated his rook, to go along with his more-active king and minor piece, and he went on to win in 51 moves.
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B) 3.c3
Grabbing the pawn on c5 and trying to hold on to it tends to not work out very well.
At club level, especially if White wants to play the London System, 3.c3 is common. Black usually replies 3...e6 or 3...Nc6. The former is slightly more popular, and has been played by Magnus Carlsen, so it seems a good place to start.
Wesley So (2815) - Magnus Carlsen (2832)
Chess.com Speed blitz (2017)
4.Bf4
Entering the London is overwhelmingly the first choice, and is especially likely at club level.
4...Bd6!?
Black has a wide choice at move four, but I have chosen to concentrate on the text as it was Carlsen's choice, and has the added advantage of being less well-known than the more-popular 4...Nc6 and 4...Nf6.
5.Bg3
White helps Black's development if he plays 5.Bxd6 Qxd6, and anyway London System players are usually reluctant to give up their dark-square bishop without very good cause.
However, 5.e3 is a known idea in these sorts of positions, as 5...Bxf4 6.exf4 gives White good central control. Nimzowitsch, who had a strong positional feel, met 5.e3 with 5...Nc6, when he had this position in 1920. That game ended in a draw, but 5...Nc6 is Stockfish10's choice, and it puts the onus back on White to decide what to do about the face-off between the dark-square bishops. Delaying a decision further with 6.Nbd2!? is problematic as White ends up with doubled pawns and an isolani after 6...Bxf4 7.exf4 cxd4.
5...Nf6 6.e3 0-0 7.Nbd2
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| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
7...Qc7!?
An interesting moment. Both players have been making normal moves, and it would not have been a surprise to see 7...Nc6. But then the engines like the reply 8.Bb5!?, and so does Carlsen - he has played it six times as White. Carlsen must rate the move highly because he stuck with it despite losing the first two of those six games.
After 8.Bb5!?, the main line runs 8...Ne7!? 9.Bd3!?, which the engines reckon is nothing special, but White scores very well in Mega20. Black's second-most popular move is the provocative 8...a6!?, whereupon 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Qa4 is a little tricky to meet.
8.Bd3 Nbd7
Note that 8...Nc6?!, which at first glance might seem more palatable now White has spent a tempo on Bd3, runs into 9.dxc5.
9.e4?!
Opening lines in the centre when you have not castled, but your opponent has, is something most club players would shy away from. So knows not to do that, as a general rule, but must have thought he had found an exception.
Later in the same tournament, on the same day, the players reached the same position, and this time So played the normal 9.0-0. The game continued 9...b6 10.e4 Bxg3 11.hxg3 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Bb7 with a fairly equal position, which was eventually drawn.
It therefore seems the point of playing e4 early may be to deny Black the equalising option ...Bb7. But Black has other ways to at least equalise.
9...cxd4!
The immediate ...dxe4 is also reasonable as, after 10.Nxe4, Black has 10...Nxe4 11.Bxe4 Nf6 with what looks like equality.
10.cxd4 dxe4 11.Nxe4?!
It seems that gaining a tempo by flicking in the zwischenzug 11.Rc1 is better, but the position is still good for Black.
11...Nxe4 12.Bxe4 Nf6 13.Bd3 Qa5 14.Ke2
Not 14.Qd2?? Bb4, and if 14.Nd2, then Black has several pleasant options including 14...Rd8 15.0-0 Bxg3.
14...Rd8 15.Bh4!?
The engines suggest immediately getting queens off with 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2, but prefer Black after 16...b6.
15...Bd7 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Qd2 Qxd2+ 18.Nxd2 f5
White has succeeded in ensuring he is not the only one with a structural weakness, and he has got queens off, but Black's bishop-pair is strong (0-1, 38 moves).
**********
C) 3.e3
After 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5, the move 3.e3 is very popular at all levels.
It is particularly suitable for Colle players, but is the end of the line for London System players as white's dark-square bishop gets shut in.
Black's most-popular replies are 3...Nc6 and 3...Nf6. There are more games with the former in Mega20, but the latter scores a better percentage, was Anand's choice when he reached this position, and is frequently played by former Russian champion Sergey Volkov.
It also fair to say that while one can be fairly certain the king's knight belongs on f6, it is possible the queen's knight might want to go to d7 or a6, rather than to c6, if, for example, White plays dxc5.
Sergey Kayumov (2450) - Djurabek Khamrakulov (2524)
Uzbekistan Championship (Tashkent) 2009
4.b3
White is setting up a Colle-Zukertort, a sub-system of the Colle that has largely supplanted the regular Colle, which would normally see c3 being played here.
After 4.c3, the well-established main line runs 4...e6 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nbd2 Bd6!? (a more-aggressive posting of this bishop than is normally advisable if White had played Bg5) 7.0-0 0-0 8.dxc5!? (White plans e4, but he does not want to be saddled with an isolated d pawn after ...cxd4, so first he captures on c5) Bxc5 9.e4.
Black's moves have been easy to find so far, but here it is useful to know that the main move is 9...Qc7, fighting for the e5 square and supporting the possible manoeuvre ...Nh5-f4, after which White usually plays 10.Qe2, reinstating the threat to play e5.
Now the main move is 10...h6, but I like the engines' choice of 10...b6!?, which is also popular with grandmasters. White now usually follows through with his threat by playing 11.e5, when 11...Ng4! allows White to play a Greek Gift sac, but it works out to Black's advantage: 12.Bxh7+ Kxh7 13.Ng5+ Kg8 14.Qxg4 Qxe5 - material is level and the black king's position has been slightly weakened, but Black dominates the centre and has the bishop-pair.
Accordingly, in several games White has resisted sacrificing on h7 and instead played 12.b4 Be7 13.Re1 f6 14.exf6 Bxf6, when Black's central pawn-duo is probably a strength rather than a weakness - Black has won all four games to reach this position in Mega20.
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| Position after 4.b3 - how should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
4...cxd4!
More popular is 4...Nc6, but the text is recommended by Larry Kaufman in The Chess Advantage In Black And White, and scores a better percentage in Mega20.
The point is that 4.b3 freed the b2 square for White's dark-square bishop. But if White replies to 4...cxd4! with 4.exd4, which he nearly always does, the bishop will be blocked by its own pawn fixed on d4.
If White avoids this by playing 4.Nxd4?!, then 4...e5 5.Nf3 Nc6 gives Black a classical centre that is not easily undermined.
5.exd4 Nc6 6.Bb2
Nearly always played - the point is that although the bishop is blocked by the fixed d pawn, it can support a knight going to e5.
6...Bg4 7.Be2 e6
Kaufman recommended 7...Bxf3!?, the idea being to "thwart White's strategy of [playing Nbd2 and] bringing a knight to e5." However, White can get around this by playing Nbd2 at move six, after which a transposition to this game is likely.
8.0-0 Bd6 9.Nbd2
The game reached this position by a different move-order (it began 1.Nf3 c5), but for clarity's sake I have used the most-frequent sequence.
9...0-0 10.Ne5
White has succeeded in planting a knight on e5, but it is far from clear this does him any good.
10...Bxe2 11.Qxe2 Qb6!?
More popular is 11...Rc8, but it may be the rook is better left for the moment on a8, where it supports pressure down the a file. Indeed, the engines like 11...a5 12.a4 Qb6, marginally favouring Black.
12.Ndf3 Rad8
The engines reckon Black is better after 12...a5.
13.Rad1 Nd7 14.Rd3 h6 15.Nxd7!?
This may seem strange at first glance, but the move is quite liked by the engines, although they prefer 15.Nxc6.
White could have tried 15.a3, preventing a knight fork on b4 and so freeing the white queen's rook. The engines then give 15...Ndxe5 16.Nxe5 Qa6, with ...Rc8 and play against White's slightly rickety queenside pawns to come.
15...Rxd7 16.c4 Bb8 17.c5!?
The engines agree this is a good time for White to push past (with tempo).
17...Qc7 18.a3 b6 19.b4 bxc5 20.bxc5
The engines prefer the double-edged 20.dxc5, continuing 20...e5 21.Nh4 d4 22.Qg4 g6 23.Re1 with an edge for White.
20...Re8 21.g3 f6 22.Rad1 Na5 23.Nh4 Nc4 24.Qh5 Rdd8 25.Bc1 Qf7
This offer to exchange queens relieves the pressure on Black's position, and the game was drawn after 46 moves.
**********
D) 3.c4
This is White's most-popular continuation. It is also the sharpest, which means it will not appeal to all 1.d4 players - certainly not at club level, at any rate.
Black's usual response is 3...e6, but after 4.cxd5 exd5 5.g3, the game is transposing to the heavily theoretical Schlechter-Rubinstein System against the Tarrasch.
I am recommending the engines' choice, 3...dxc4, which has a better percentage score in Mega20.
Péter Lukács (2465) - Zoltán Németh (2355)
Hungarian Championship 1989
4.e3
The main move, but 4.d5!?, not worrying about quickly getting the pawn back, is also popular. I then like the engines' choice, 4...Nf6, which has been played by Alexei Shirov and other strong GMs. The next few moves are well mapped out for both sides, viz: 5.Nc3 e6 6.e4 exd5 (Capablanca once, in a very unlike-Capablanca move, gave up a knight by 6...Nxe4?! 7.Nxe4 exd5, giving him three pawns and the centre for a piece, but he lost) 7.e5!? (this has been played by Kasparov and Karpov, but Capablanca, now on the white side, preferred 7.exd5).
After 7.e5!?, Black usually plays 7...Nfd7, but also popular, and much preferred by the engines, is 7...Ne4!? Then the main line goes 8.Qxd5 Nxc3 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.bxc3, and now I am recommending a speciality of the Spanish grandmaster Jordi Magem Badals: 10...Nc6 11.Bxc4 Be6 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Ng5 Ke7. Magem Badals has had this position four times (in Mega20), beating players rated 2653 and 2545, and drawing with players rated 2490 and 2468.
Alexandr Fier (2653) - Magem Badals (2564), Barcelona Casino 2009, continued: 14.f4 h6 15.Ne4 Kd7 16.Be3 b6 17.Ke2 Be7 18.Rhf1 Rhd8 19.Rf3 Ke8 20.Raf1 Rd5, which the engines reckon is level, although Magem Badals went on to win.
4...cxd4 5.Bxc4!
The most-precise move. Often seen is 5.exd4, but then 5...Be6!? proves annoying. The main line runs 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.Qa4 Qd7 10.Bxc4 Bxc4 11.Qxc4 e6 12.0-0, when the engines reckon Black is at least equal.
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
5...Qc7!
Gaining a tempo on the bishop. Try to avoid what happened in a 1997 Finnish game between two unrateds: 5...dxe3?? 6.Bxf7+ 1-0.
6.Qb3 e6 7.exd4 Nc6!?
More popular is 7...Nf6, but the text, which introduces the threat of ...Na5, may be better, although often the two lines transpose.
8.Nc3 Nf6 9.0-0 Bd7
Now ...Na5 is a serious threat as White cannot avoid an exchange of minor pieces by interpolating a check to the black king.
10.Bd3 Be7 11.Be3 0-0 12.Rac1 Rfd8
A later game, Mikhail M Ivanov (2457) - Mihajlo Stojanovic (2522), Verona 2006, saw 12...Rad8?!, which may be a case of the wrong rook, although Black did go on to win.
13.a3 Be8 14.Rfd1 Ng4
The more-conventional 14...Rac8 also seems fine.
15.Qc2 g6!?
Better may be 15...h6.
16.Qe2 Nxe3 17.fxe3
Black, with his bishop-pair, is slightly better, according to Stockfish10, but Komodo10 prefers White. The game was decided when a surprising tactical error gave Black a pawn to go with the bishops.
**********
CONCLUSIONS
When White plays the non-forcing 2.Nf3, after 1.d4 d5, Black can immediately fight for the initiative with 2...c5. This will put many whites on the back foot, leading them to play passively.
If White knows some theory, a sharp tussle can ensue, with play that should suit the tactically orientated player.
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