Veresov
1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5 h6!?
Asking White: do you really want to give up the bishop-pair, and speed Black's development, for the sake of doubling pawns?
4.Bh4 c5 5.e3 e6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0
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| Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position? |
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The position is typical of the type that often arises in the Veresov, although this exact setup only occurs five times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database. Stockfish18 and Dragon1 reckon Black is at least equal.
9.Re1 b6 10.Bf1!?
This retreat may be a novelty, but the engines are fine with it.
10...Bb7 11.Nb1!?
But they are not so happy about this, suggesting moves such as 11.h3, 11.Rc1!? and 11.a3.
11...Ne4!? 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.c3 Rad8 14.Nbd2 f5!?
This is probably OK, but Black needs to be careful about the number of black pawns accruing on light squares.
15.Bb5!
Moving this bishop for the third time, but the move is the top choice of the engines.
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| How should Black respond? |
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15...Nb8!?
Avoiding a swop of bishop for knight, followed by Ne5. But the engines reckon that is no big deal, one of their lines running 15...Rc8!? 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Ne5 Be8, although after 18.Nxe4 fxe4 there is a sharp divergence of opinion, with Stockfish18 giving White a slight edge, while Dragon1 prefers Black.
16.Ne5 Qh4?!
The engines reckon 16...a6!? 17.Ba4 Qc7 keeps White's advantage to a minimum.
17.Qe2
Possibly slightly stronger is the engines' 17.Nxe4 fxe4 18.Rf1!?
17...Qf6 18.f4!?
Fixing the centre. The engines also like 18.Nxe4.
18...Kh7 19.Rf1 Nd6 20.Bd3 Rg8 21.a4
The engines suggest immediate kingside play with 21.g4!? or 21.Ndf3.
21...c4!?
The engines prefer 21...g6, 21...Qe7 or 21...Nc6.
22.Bc2 a5 23.Rf3 Nf7 24.Nxf7!?
Probably stronger is increasing the pressure with 24.g4 g6 25.Rh3.
24...Qxf7 25.Rh3 Rh8 26.Nf3 Kg8 27.Ne5 Qf6
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| How should White proceed? |
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28.Qh5
Even stronger is 28.g4, or preparing it with 28.Kf2 and Rg1, according to the engines.
28...Bc6 29.Nxc6?
The engines reckon this throws away almost all of White's advantage, which, according to them, would have remained substantial after, say, 29.Qe2.
29...Nxc6 30.Rg3 Ne7 31.Qe2 Kh7 32.Rh3 g6 33.Qe1 Rb8 34.Rf3 Rb7 35.Rf2 Rhb8 36.Ra2!? Ng8 37.Qe2?!
The engines reckon White should initiate queenside play with 37.b3 or 37.Qa1!?, eg 37.Qa1!? Qe7 38.b3 cxb3 39.Bxb3 Nf6 40.Bc2, albeit they give Black a slight edge.
37...h5 38.h3!?
The engines are OK with this, even though after ...
38...h4
.... White has a weak hole at g3.
39.Qf3 Rg7 40.Kh1 Nh6 41.Ra1 Rg8 42.Rg1 Kh8 43.Rgf1!? Qe7 44.Qe2 Rb8!?
Continuing to play on the kingside, eg with 44...Nf7, may well be better.
45.Bd1!? Ng8 46.Qc2 Nf6 47.Bf3 g5?!
But here the engines much prefer queenside play with 47...b5!?
48.fxg5 Rxg5 49.b3!?
The engines agree this is best.
49...Qc7 50.bxc4
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| How should Black recapture? |
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50...dxc4?
This lets White open lines for White's better coordinated pieces. Instead, 50...Qxc4 51.Be2 Qc7 52.Rf4 Rc8 holds the balance, according to the engines.
51.e4 f4?
As so often happens, a mistake is immediately followed by another. However, even after, for example, 51...Re8 52.Qd2 Qg7 53.Qf4, Black is in big trouble, one line running 53...Qh6 54.exf5 exf5 55.d5, with an advantage for White worth much more than a minor piece, according to the engines.
52.e5 Nh7 53.Bg4 Rxg4!?
Desperation.
54.hxg4 Ng5 55.Qg5 Rg8 56.Qh6+ Nh7 57.Rxf4 h3!? 58.Qxh3 Qg7 59.Rf7 Qg6 60.R1f6 Qd3 61.Rxh7+!? 1-0
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