Queen's Pawn Game
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5!?
This has been played by Magnus Carlsen at blitz, and the move scores a respectable 55% in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database.
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| There are 1,903 examples of the position in Mega25 - how should Black respond? |
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3...Be7
The move 3.Bg5!? goes back to at least 1892, when Emanuel Lasker played it in what appear to have been simuls. His first opponent replied 3...f6, but Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 prefer the text and 3...Nf6.
4.Bxe7 Qxe7 5.c3
This is the commonest continuation, but the engines suggest 5.Nbd2 or 5.c4!? If, after 5.c4!?, Black replies 5...Qb4+, the engines reckon White gets a slight edge with 6.Qd2, whatever Black tries.
5...Nf6 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.e3 Nc6
Seeking a quick ...e5, but 7...Nbd7 was a more sure way of achieving this.
8.Bd3
White can stop ...e5 with 8.Bb5!?
8...e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Qxe5 11.Nf3 Qh5 12.Qc2 Re8
The engines give an apparent-novelty in 12...Bh3!?, more-or-less forcing 13.Bf1, claiming a slight edge for Black.
13.0-0-0!?
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| Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the game? |
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Black has the only pawn on the fourth rank, and an uncompromised king's position, but White's pieces are well-coordinated, and the black queen could become a target for White's kingside pawns. The engines give Back a slight edge.
13...Bg4
This may be new. Known is 13...c5, while the engines reckon ...Bh3!? is still good.
14.Be2 Bf5 15.Bd3 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 c6 17.h3 Ne4 18.Qc2 Qg6!?
The engines agree this is best. It anticipates the move g4, and gives the option of ...Qf6 to pressurise the white knight and the f2 pawn.
19.Rhg1 Qf6 20.Rdf1 b5 21.Nd2 Rad8 22.Nxe4 dxe4 23.Rd1 Qg6
Better is 23...Rd3!, when White cannot win a pawn as 24.Rxd3?! exd3 25.Qxd3? is met by 25...Qxf2.
24.Qe2?!
White should probably have played 24.Rd4, or 24.Rxd8 Rxd8 and either 25.Rd1!? or 25.a4.
24...Rd3 25.g4?
The engines come to regard 25.Qg4!? as best, but give Black at least a slight edge after 25...Qd6 or 25...Qf6.
25...Red8 26.Rgf1?!
And here they prefer 26.f3.
26...Qe6 27.Kb1 g6
The engines reckon this is unnecessary, but averting a possible back-rank mate seemed a sensible precaution to me as White can do little active.
28.Rg1 Kg7 29.Rh1 Qd5
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| What should White play? |
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30.Rxd3
The move White has been trying to avoid. Slightly better, according to the engines, is 30.Rc1, but there seems no good answer to 30...Rd2, followed by pushing queenside pawns to open lines against the white king.
30...exd3 31.Qd1 d2 32.Rg1 c5 33.b3
This is the engines' top choice, but White's position is completely lost. Indeed White is almost in zugzwang as neither the queen nor the rook can move, eg 33.Rg3? allows a quick mate starting 33...Qd3+ 34.Ka1 Qf1!
33...a5 34.Kb2 Qd3 35.g5 a4 36.a3 Qd5 37.b4 cxb4 38.axb4 Rc8?!
Black is still winning after this, but much better are 38...a4+!? and 38...Qd3.
39.Rg4?!
White keeps the game going, for a while, with 39.Qc2, although Black should win smoothly enough, eg 39...a3+!? 40.Ka1 Qe5 41.Qxd2 Rxc3 42.Qd4 Qxd4 43.exd4 Rxh3, when Black's advantage is roughly the equivalent of being a rook up, according to the engines, but it is a rook-and-pawn ending, which should give White hope.
39...Qd3 40.c4?!
Again it was possible to get down to a lost, but not quite completely hopeless, rook-and-pawn ending, ie 40.Rd4 Qxc3+ 41.Ka2 Qc2+ 42.Qxc2 Rxc2+ 43.Ka3.
40...bxc4 0-1
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