Chess Evolution: QGD Exchange (part five)

WHITE'S continued successes in the variation 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 led blacks to try radical alternatives to the main line.

Hans Berliner - Bobby Fischer

Western Open (Bay City, Michigan) 1963

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5!? 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3

Position after 6.bxc3

White has a powerful centre. The generally accepted remedy for this is for Black to attack the centre with ...c5, force exchanges and keep the centre under restraint. One result of this is that Black usually acquires a 2-1 queenside pawn-majority that might become an asset in an ending.

6...c5 7.Nf3

After 7.d5!? exd5 8.exd5 White gets a passed pawn but Black can immediately blockade it with 8...Bd6. The text is generally regarded as a more-promising approach.

7...cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+

Black can force more exchanges with 9...Qa5?! 10.Rb1 Bxd2+ 11.Bxd2 Qxd2+ 12.Kxd2. However, with queens off the board, the white king is well-placed in the centre to support White's central pawn-majority.

10.Qxd2 0-0 11.Bd3 b6 12.0-0 bb7 13.Rfd1 Nc6!?

Provocative. Subsequent games saw Black play 13...Nd7.

14.Qb2

Critical is 14.d5!?, when both 14...Na5 15.dxe6 fxe6 16.Rac1 and 14...exd5 15.exd5 Nb8 16.Rac1 Nd7 (the d5 pawn is untouchable, eg 16...Bxd5?? 17.Bc4 or 16...Qxd5?? 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qc2+) seem good for White.

14...Qf6 15.Rac1 Rfd8 16.Bb5 Rac8

Black has successfully restrained White's centre. Berliner now makes an ill-judged attempt to relieve the tension.

17.Ne5? Nxe5 18.dxe5 Qf4 19.Rxc8 Rxc8 20.Qd4 g5

White threatened a back-rank mate but now he is simply worse thanks to having an inferior pawn-structure.

21.f3 g4 22.Be2 gxf3 23.gxf3 Kh8 24.Kh1 Ba6! 25.Qf2?

Black is only slightly better after the engines' 25.Qd7!?, eg 25...Rg8 26.Qd2 Qxd2 27.Rxd2 Bxe2 28.Rxe2 Rc8.

25...Bxe2 26.Qxe2 Qxe5

Black is a pawn up and has the more-active queen (0-1, 53 moves).