Opening Focus 3

IN round three at Menorca I had white against a 1678.
The game can be seen at M3 but here I want to focus in detail on the opening, which as a general rule I take to last until one side has connected rooks.

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3

This relatively quiet line was popularised by world champion Anatoly Karpov. Slightly more popular is the aggressive 4.f4, which scores 58% in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database, six percentage points more than the text.

After 4.f4 the most-frequent line in Mega22 runs 4...Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Bd3, when opinion is evenly split between 6...Na6 and 6...Nc6. My main analysis engines Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1 prefer the latter, but reckon White is better.

4...Bg7 5.Be2

A more-aggressive posting for the light-squared bishop is 5.Bc4, after which 5...0-0 6.0-0 allows 6...Nxe4!? 7.Nxe4 d5, when the engines reckon 8.Bd3 dxe4 9.Bxe4 slightly favours White. Black can also try the relatively unpopular 5...Nxe4!?, when 6.Bxf7+!? Kxf7 7.Nxe4 Rf8 seems to keep White's advantage to a minimum while 6.Nxe4 Bd3 7.dxe4 Bxe4 comes close to being equal, according to the engines.

5...0-0 6.0-0 c6

This is the main move but popular alternatives include 6...Bg4, 6...Nc6 and 6...Nbd7.

The text fights for control of d5 (the move ...d5 may come later), prepares queenside expansion with ...b5 and opens a diagonal for the black queen.

7.a4

This deals with the second point in the previous notes and prepares further expansion with a5.

7...a5

This, 7...Qc7 and 7...Nbd7 are roughly equally popular.

8.h3!?

Now the black light-square bishop will face difficulties finding an active square.

8...Qc7 9.Be3 Nbd7

Black has got in all three options mentioned at move seven, but the engines reckon White is on top

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10.Qd2

For a long time the engines prefer 10.Nd2!?, continuing 10...e5 11.dxe5 Nxe5!?, claiming an advantage for White after both 12.f4 and 12.Qe1!?

After the text White has connected rooks and has more space in the centre. Black will require at least two moves to connect rooks but is solid. Stockfish14.1 reckons White has the upper hand, while Komodo12.1.1 allows White a slight edge.