I recently had a frustrating rapid game in this variation and decided to look into the theory of it. It turns out that I didn't play the key move in this initial position: 4..Nc6, instead playing 4..Nf6 and not challenging white's opening, resulting in formulaic development with a lasting advantage to white.
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 The key move, immediately attacking the d pawn and prompting c3, which isn't a very useful move for white in the attempt to get an advantage. [4...Nf6 5.c3 Bg4 6.Qb3 Qb6 7.Qxb6 axb6 8.Na3 slightly better for white (NCO)] 5.c3 Nf6 [5...g6 6.Bf4 (6.Nf3 Nh6 7.h3 Bf5 8.Bxh6 Bxh6 9.Bxf5 gxf5 10.Nbd2 Qc7 = (NCO)) 6...Bg7 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Nbd2 Nh5 (8...Bf5 9.Bxf5 gxf5 10.Qb3 Qd7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 0–0 unclear (NCO)) 9.Be3 Qd6 10.0–0 Nf4 11.Bxf4 Qxf4 equal (NCO); 5...Qc7 This move appears to be in its infancy and is being tried a lot at grandmaster level, with many new ideas being tried by both sides. Lordachescu lost to the quite substantially lower rated Anna Zatonskih. Baadur Jobava drew against Zhang Pengxiang. Vallejo Pons had trouble, losing to Degraeve. Sasikiran beats a much lower rated player. In a heavyweight clash, Dreev loses to Svidler. Dreev beats Semeniuk. There is a 1994 win by Anand with black. 6.Ne2 (6.h3 e6 7.Ne2 Bd6 8.Bg5 Nge7 9.Nd2 f6 10.Be3 Nf5 11.0–0 e5 12.Bxf5 Bxf5 13.c4 Nb4 14.c5 Bc2 15.Qc1 Be7 16.a3 Bd3 17.axb4 Bxe2 18.Re1 Bh5 19.Nb1 0–0 20.Nc3 Bf7 21.Nb5 Qb8 22.dxe5 fxe5 23.Bf4 Bf6 24.Bg3 Rd8 25.Ra3 a6 26.Nd6 Rxd6 27.cxd6 Qxd6 28.Rc3 Qe6 29.Rc7 e4 30.Rxb7 d4 31.Qf4 Re8 32.Rb8 Bg6 33.Rc1 h6 34.Rxe8+ Qxe8 35.Qb8 Qxb8 36.Bxb8 Bg5 37.Rc6 Bf7 38.Ba7 d3 39.Be3 Bb3 40.Bxg5 hxg5 41.Rd6 Kf7 42.Kf1 Ke7 43.Rd4 Kf6 44.Ke1 Ke5 45.Rd8 g4 46.hxg4 Kf4 47.Kd2 1–0, Deraeve (2557) - Vallejo Pons (2677), 2005; 6.Nd2 I would like to find out if Svidler is the first to play this. 6...g6 7.h3 Bg7 8.Ngf3 Nh6 9.0–0 Bf5 10.Be2 0–0 11.Re1 Bd7 12.Nf1 Nf5 13.Bd3 Rfe8 14.N1h2 Nd6 15.Ng4 Bxg4 16.hxg4 Qc8 17.g5 Qg4 18.g3 Nc4 19.b3 Nd6 20.Bf4 Rac8 21.Rc1 Qd7 22.Kg2 Nf5 23.b4 a6 24.a4 f6 25.b5 axb5 26.Bxb5 Nd6 27.Bxd6 Qxd6 28.Qb3 Red8 29.Re3 Na5 30.Qb1 Rc7 31.Rce1 Kf8 32.Re6 Qa3 33.Rh1 Kg8 34.gxf6 exf6 35.Nh4 Qb3 36.Qe1 Qxc3 37.Re8+ Rxe8 38.Qxe8+ Bf8 39.Bd7 Qb4 40.Nxg6 Kg7 41.Nxf8 1–0, Svidler (2733) - Dreev (2689), 2004 This was a blitz game in the final of the 2004 ACP blitz. The ACP seems to have been another grandmaster chess association that has faded away. The most up to date Wikipedia entry is: "As of March 2005, the ACP's President is French Grandmaster Joel Lautier. Its secretary is Bartlomiej Macieja, its Treasurer Almira Skripchenko, and its Deputy Treasurer Pavel Tregubov. Also on the ACP board are Igor Glek, Anna Hahn, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Heine Nielsen and Yannick Pelletier. It has over two hundred other members, including such prominent players as Viswanathan Anand, Péter Lékó, and Judit Polgar, but not including Garry Kasparov. Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov were once members, but withdrew in December 2004 saying "we disagree with the politics and most of the decisions of the ACP Board."" It was apparently intended as a trade union for players, but with Kramnik on the board, this seems impossible given the level of manipulation at world championship level.; 6.Bg5 Nf6 7.Nd2 Bg4 8.Ngf3 e6 9.Bh4 Bd6 10.Bg3 Bh5 11.Bxd6 Qxd6 12.0–0 0–0 13.Re1 Rab8 14.a4 Qc7 15.Qb1 a6 16.Ne5 Rfe8 17.h3 Bg6 18.Bxg6 hxg6 19.Qd3 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Nd7 21.Qd4 Rec8 22.Re3 Qb6 23.Qxb6 Nxb6 24.h4 Kf8 25.g3 Ke7 26.b3 Rc7 27.a5 Nd7 28.c4 Rbc8 29.Kg2 Nb8 30.Ra4 Rd8 31.f4 Nc6 32.Rd3 Rcd7 33.c5 f6 34.Nf3 d4 35.exf6+ gxf6 36.Nd2 e5 37.Ne4 Rd5 38.fxe5 Rxe5 39.Nd6 Rxc5 40.Nxb7 Rc2+ 0–1, Illescas Cordoba (2590)- Anand (2715), 1994) 6...Bg4 7.Qb3 a) 7.h3 Bh5 8.g4 Bg6 9.Bf4 Qd7 10.f3 e6 11.h4 Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.h5 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Nge7 15.Nd2 0–0 16.0–0–0 Rab8 17.Kb1 b5 18.h6 g6 19.Qe3 Nc8 20.Qf4 Qe7 21.Nc1 Nb6 22.Nd3 Rfc8 23.Rhe1 a5 24.g5 Qf8 25.Rc1 Nd7 26.Nb3 Rd8 27.Re2 a4 28.Nbc5 Nxc5 29.Nxc5 Ne7 30.Qc7 Rbc8 31.Qb6 Rb8 32.Qc7 Rbc8 33.Qb6 Rb8 34.Qc7 Rbc8 35.Qa7 Qe8 draw, Pengxiang (2613) - Jobava (2601), 2005; b) 7.f3 Bd7 8.Bf4 e5 9.Bg3 (9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.0–0 Bd6 11.Kh1 Ne7 12.Na3 a6 13.Nc2 0–0 14.Ned4 Rac8 15.Ne3 Nxd3 16.Bxd6 Nxb2 17.Qb3 Qxd6 18.Qxb2 b5 19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.Rad1 h6 21.Re2 Qc5 22.Rd3 Ng6 23.Nb3 Qe7 24.g3 Ne5 25.Nxd5 Qd6 26.Rd4 Bc6 27.Nf4 Bxf3+ 28.Kg1 Qb6 29.Rf2 Bb7 30.Nd2 Qc6 31.Nd5 Ng4 32.Rf3 Re1+ 33.Nf1 Rce8 34.Qd2 Qc5 35.Rf5 R1e5 36.Rxe5 Nxe5 37.Qg2 Nc6 0–1, Sameniuk (2456) - Dreev (2639), 1999) 9...Bd6 10.Na3 a6 11.Nc2 Nge7 12.0–0 h5 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Bxe5 Bxe5 15.f4 Bd6 16.Ncd4 h4 17.Kh1 Rh6 18.b4 Kf8 19.Qd2 Re8 20.f5 Ng8 21.Nf4 Nf6 22.Rac1 b5 23.a3 Kg8 24.Bb1 Bc8 25.Bd3 Bb7 26.h3 Re5 27.Rf2 Qe7 28.Rcf1 Bc7 29.Re2 Ne4 30.Bxe4 dxe4 31.Qe3 Bb6 32.Rd2 Bxd4 33.Rxd4 Rxf5 34.Rfd1 Qg5 0–1, Gonzalez (2423) - Sasikiran (2668), 2004; 7...Bxe2 8.Bxe2 e6 9.Na3 a6 10.Bf4 Qd7 11.Nb1 Na5 12.Qc2 Bd6 13.Bg3 Ne7 14.Nd2 Rc8 15.Nf3 Ng6 16.0–0 Nc6 17.Qd2 Qc7 18.Bd3 Nf4 19.Bc2 Nh5 20.Rfe1 0–0 21.Qg5 Nf6 22.Qh4 h6 23.Ne5 Rfd8 24.Rac1 Qe7 25.Qh3 Qf8 26.Bf4 Rc7 27.Re3 g5 28.Bg3 Qg7 29.Ng4 Nxg4 30.Qxg4 Bxg3 31.Qxg3 Rdc8 32.Rd1 b5 33.f4 b4 34.fxg5 hxg5 35.Bd3 bxc3 36.bxc3 Nb8 37.Rf1 Re7 38.Qg4 f5 39.Qe2 Rce8 40.Re1 1–0, Zatonskih (2432) - Iordachescu (2603), 2006] 6.Bf4 [6.Bg5 Bg4 7.Ne2 e6 8.Qc2 Bxe2 9.Qxe2 h6 10.Bh4 Qb6 11.Bg3 Be7 12.0–0 0–0 13.b3 Rac8 14.Nd2 a6 15.a4 Qd8 16.Rac1 Re8 17.Kh1 Bd6 18.f4 Ne7 19.Nf3 Nf5 20.Ne5 Be7 21.Rc2 g6 22.Be1 h5 23.h3 h4 24.Bxf5 exf5 25.Bxh4 Ne4 26.Be1 Bh4 27.g4 fxg4 28.hxg4 Kg7 29.f5 Rc7 30.Kg2 Bxe1 31.Qxe1 Qg5 32.Qc1 Qxc1 33.Rcxc1 gxf5 34.Rxf5 f6 35.Nd3 Rxc3 36.Rxc3 Nxc3 37.Nf4 Re4 38.Kf3 Kh7 39.Rxf6 b5 40.Rxa6 Rxd4 41.Ra7+ Kg8 42.a5 Rb4 43.g5 Rxb3 44.Ne6 b4 45.Kf4 Ne2+ 46.Ke5 Re3+ 47.Kf6 Rf3+ 48.Kg6 Nf4+ 49.Nxf4 Rxf4 50.Ra8+ Rf8 51.Rxf8+ Kxf8 52.a6 b3 53.a7 b2 54.a8Q+ 1–0, Topalov (2640) - Ivanchuk (2710), 1994] 6...Bg4 [6...g6 Stellwagen tried this against Timman quite recently. 7.Nd2 (7.Nf3 Bf5 8.Bxf5 gxf5 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Qxb6 axb6 11.Na3 Rg8 12.Nb5 Kd7 13.0–0 e6 14.b3 Be7 15.Rfd1 Rgc8 16.Ne5+ Nxe5 17.Bxe5 Ne4 18.Rd3 h5 19.a4 h4 20.g3 hxg3 draw, King - Speelman, 2003. This is not the only time they appear to have used this variation as a lever for a draw.) 7...Bg7 8.Ngf3 Nh5 9.Be3 Qd6 10.0–0 0–0 11.Re1 Rb8 12.Nb3 b5 13.Qd2 b4 14.Bh6 bxc3 15.bxc3 Bxh6 16.Qxh6 Qf6 17.Ne5 Rb6 18.g3 Ng7 19.f4 Nf5 20.Bxf5 Bxf5 21.g4 Bc8 22.h3 Nxe5 23.Rxe5 Qc6 24.Nc5 Qb5 25.Rae1 Qc4 26.Nb3 Qxc3 27.R5e3 Qb4 28.Rxe7 Be6 29.Qh4 Ra6 30.f5 gxf5 31.Qg5+ Kh8 32.Re2 Qc3 33.Qf6+ Kg8 34.gxf5 Bxf5 35.Qxa6 Bxh3 36.R7e3 1–0, Timman (2607) - Stellwagen (2524), 2005] 7.Qb3 Qd7 [7...Qc8 8.Nd2 e6 9.Ngf3 Be7 10.0–0 0–0 (10...Bh5 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 0–0 13.Rfe1 Bg6 14.Bf1 Nd7 15.Bg3 Nb8 16.a4 Rd8 17.a5 and the old geezers call it a day in King - Speelman 2004 Staunton Memorial.) 11.Ne5 Bh5 12.Bg5 (12.Qc2 Bd6 = (NCO); 12.Rfe1 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Nd7 14.Qc2 Bg6 = (NCO)) 12...Nd7 13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.f4 f6 15.Nef3 Bf7 16.Rae1 Qc7 = (NCO); 7...Na5 this interesting looking alternative worked for GM Leitao against GM Kritz 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qc2 g6 10.Nf3 (10.Nd2 Bg7 11.Ngf3 Nh5 12.Be3 Qc7 13.0–0 0–0 14.Rfe1 Nc6 15.Qb3 e6 16.a4 h6 17.Qd1 Rad8 18.Rc1 Nf4 19.Bf1 g5 20.h4 f6 21.g3 Ng6 22.hxg5 fxg5 23.c4 Qd6 24.cxd5 exd5 25.Qb3 Kh8 26.Qxb7 Rb8 27.Qa6 Rb6 28.Qd3 Rxb2 29.Qc3 Ra2 30.Bb5 Nce7 31.Ne5 Bxb5 32.axb5 Nxe5 33.dxe5 Bxe5 34.Bd4 Bxd4 35.Qxd4+ Kg8 36.Ne4 Qg6 37.Nc3 Raxf2 38.Rxe7 R2f5 39.Rce1 h5 40.Nxd5 h4 41.R7e3 Kh7 42.Ne7 1–0, Morozevich (2718) - Grischuk (2702), 2002) 10...Bg7 11.Nbd2 Rc8 12.h3 0–0 13.0–0 Nh5 14.Be3 Nc4 15.Nxc4 dxc4 16.Be2 Nf6 17.Ne5 b5 18.Nxd7 Qxd7 19.a4 a6 20.axb5 axb5 21.Qd2 Nd5 22.Bh6 e6 23.Ra5 Ra8 24.Rfa1 Bxh6 25.Qxh6 Qb7 26.Qc1 Rxa5 27.Rxa5 Ra8 28.Qa1 Rxa5 29.Qxa5 h5 30.Bf3 Kg7 31.g3 h4 32.Qd8 hxg3 33.fxg3 Qa7 34.Bxd5 Qa1+ 35.Kh2 exd5 36.Qxd5 Qxb2+ 37.Kh1 Qc1+ 38.Kg2 Qd2+ 39.Kf1 Qxc3 40.Qe5+ Kh7 41.Qd5 Kg8 42.Qxb5 Qf3+ 43.Ke1 Qxg3+ 44.Ke2 Qd3+ and white resigns as black will take the d4 pawn and retain his c4 pawn: Krtiz (2534) - Leitao (2564), 2004] 8.Nd2 e6 9.Ngf3 Bxf3 [9...Bd6 10.Bg3 Bxf3 11.Nxf3 Bxg3 12.hxg3 a6 13.Kf1 Qc7 14.Re1 Na5 15.Qc2 Nc4 16.Kg1 h6 17.b3 Na5 18.c4 Nc6 19.c5 Rd8 20.a3 Rd7 21.b4 Re7 22.Qb2 Nd7 23.Bc2 0–0 24.Rh4 Rfe8 25.Bb3 Nf6 26.Ne5 Nxe5 27.dxe5 Nd7 28.Ba4 Rf8 29.Bxd7 Qxd7 30.Qd4 f5 31.exf6 Rxf6 32.Rf4 Ref7 33.Rxf6 Rxf6 34.f4 Qc6 35.g4 Qd7 36.Re5 Qf7 37.g3 Kh8 38.Kg2 Qg6 39.Qd1 Qf7 40.Qd3 Qc7 41.Qd4 Qf7 42.a4 Kg8 43.b5 axb5 44.axb5 Qd7 45.Qd3 Kh8 46.Re1 Rf8 47.g5 Rf5 48.gxh6 d4 49.hxg7+ Kxg7 50.Re4 Rd5 51.g4 Kg8 52.Kg3 Qh7 53.c6 bxc6 54.bxc6 Qh1 55.Rxe6 Qg1+ 56.Kh3 Qh1+ 57.Kg3 Qg1+ 58.Kf3 Qh1+ 59.Ke2 Qg2+ 60.Ke1 Qg1+ 61.Kd2 Qf2+ 62.Qe2 Qxf4+ 63.Kd1 Rd8 64.c7 Qxc7 65.Rg6+ Kh8 66.Qe6 1–0, Short (2660) - Ehlvest (2610), 1998] 10.Nxf3 Bd6 11.Bxd6 Qxd6 12.0–0 [12.Qxb7 Rb8 13.Qa6 0–0 with compensation for the material (NCO)] 12...0–0 13.Rae1 Rab8 [13...Nd7 14.Qc2 g6 15.Re3 Qf4 16.Rfe1 Rab8 17.Qe2 Rfc8 18.h3 Rc7 19.Nh2 Ne7 20.Ng4 Kg7 21.Rf3 Qg5 22.Bb5 Nc6 23.Rxf7+! Interesting chess. This leads to a long and torturous death for black. 23...Kxf7 24.Qxe6+ Kg7 25.Qd6 Qd8 26.Bxc6 Rxc6 27.Qe7+ Kh8 28.Qf7 Rc7 29.Re7 Qg8 30.Qf4 Qf8 31.Rf7 Qg8 32.Nh6 Qd8 33.Qe3 Rbc8 34.Re7 Qf8 35.Nf7+ Kg8 36.Qe6 Rc6 37.Nd6+ Kh8 38.Rxd7 1–0, Yudasin (2538) - Benjamin (2563), 2005] 14.Ne5 b5 unclear position (NCO).
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 The key move, immediately attacking the d pawn and prompting c3, which isn't a very useful move for white in the attempt to get an advantage. [4...Nf6 5.c3 Bg4 6.Qb3 Qb6 7.Qxb6 axb6 8.Na3 slightly better for white (NCO)] 5.c3 Nf6 [5...g6 6.Bf4 (6.Nf3 Nh6 7.h3 Bf5 8.Bxh6 Bxh6 9.Bxf5 gxf5 10.Nbd2 Qc7 = (NCO)) 6...Bg7 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Nbd2 Nh5 (8...Bf5 9.Bxf5 gxf5 10.Qb3 Qd7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 0–0 unclear (NCO)) 9.Be3 Qd6 10.0–0 Nf4 11.Bxf4 Qxf4 equal (NCO); 5...Qc7 This move appears to be in its infancy and is being tried a lot at grandmaster level, with many new ideas being tried by both sides. Lordachescu lost to the quite substantially lower rated Anna Zatonskih. Baadur Jobava drew against Zhang Pengxiang. Vallejo Pons had trouble, losing to Degraeve. Sasikiran beats a much lower rated player. In a heavyweight clash, Dreev loses to Svidler. Dreev beats Semeniuk. There is a 1994 win by Anand with black. 6.Ne2 (6.h3 e6 7.Ne2 Bd6 8.Bg5 Nge7 9.Nd2 f6 10.Be3 Nf5 11.0–0 e5 12.Bxf5 Bxf5 13.c4 Nb4 14.c5 Bc2 15.Qc1 Be7 16.a3 Bd3 17.axb4 Bxe2 18.Re1 Bh5 19.Nb1 0–0 20.Nc3 Bf7 21.Nb5 Qb8 22.dxe5 fxe5 23.Bf4 Bf6 24.Bg3 Rd8 25.Ra3 a6 26.Nd6 Rxd6 27.cxd6 Qxd6 28.Rc3 Qe6 29.Rc7 e4 30.Rxb7 d4 31.Qf4 Re8 32.Rb8 Bg6 33.Rc1 h6 34.Rxe8+ Qxe8 35.Qb8 Qxb8 36.Bxb8 Bg5 37.Rc6 Bf7 38.Ba7 d3 39.Be3 Bb3 40.Bxg5 hxg5 41.Rd6 Kf7 42.Kf1 Ke7 43.Rd4 Kf6 44.Ke1 Ke5 45.Rd8 g4 46.hxg4 Kf4 47.Kd2 1–0, Deraeve (2557) - Vallejo Pons (2677), 2005; 6.Nd2 I would like to find out if Svidler is the first to play this. 6...g6 7.h3 Bg7 8.Ngf3 Nh6 9.0–0 Bf5 10.Be2 0–0 11.Re1 Bd7 12.Nf1 Nf5 13.Bd3 Rfe8 14.N1h2 Nd6 15.Ng4 Bxg4 16.hxg4 Qc8 17.g5 Qg4 18.g3 Nc4 19.b3 Nd6 20.Bf4 Rac8 21.Rc1 Qd7 22.Kg2 Nf5 23.b4 a6 24.a4 f6 25.b5 axb5 26.Bxb5 Nd6 27.Bxd6 Qxd6 28.Qb3 Red8 29.Re3 Na5 30.Qb1 Rc7 31.Rce1 Kf8 32.Re6 Qa3 33.Rh1 Kg8 34.gxf6 exf6 35.Nh4 Qb3 36.Qe1 Qxc3 37.Re8+ Rxe8 38.Qxe8+ Bf8 39.Bd7 Qb4 40.Nxg6 Kg7 41.Nxf8 1–0, Svidler (2733) - Dreev (2689), 2004 This was a blitz game in the final of the 2004 ACP blitz. The ACP seems to have been another grandmaster chess association that has faded away. The most up to date Wikipedia entry is: "As of March 2005, the ACP's President is French Grandmaster Joel Lautier. Its secretary is Bartlomiej Macieja, its Treasurer Almira Skripchenko, and its Deputy Treasurer Pavel Tregubov. Also on the ACP board are Igor Glek, Anna Hahn, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Heine Nielsen and Yannick Pelletier. It has over two hundred other members, including such prominent players as Viswanathan Anand, Péter Lékó, and Judit Polgar, but not including Garry Kasparov. Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov were once members, but withdrew in December 2004 saying "we disagree with the politics and most of the decisions of the ACP Board."" It was apparently intended as a trade union for players, but with Kramnik on the board, this seems impossible given the level of manipulation at world championship level.; 6.Bg5 Nf6 7.Nd2 Bg4 8.Ngf3 e6 9.Bh4 Bd6 10.Bg3 Bh5 11.Bxd6 Qxd6 12.0–0 0–0 13.Re1 Rab8 14.a4 Qc7 15.Qb1 a6 16.Ne5 Rfe8 17.h3 Bg6 18.Bxg6 hxg6 19.Qd3 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Nd7 21.Qd4 Rec8 22.Re3 Qb6 23.Qxb6 Nxb6 24.h4 Kf8 25.g3 Ke7 26.b3 Rc7 27.a5 Nd7 28.c4 Rbc8 29.Kg2 Nb8 30.Ra4 Rd8 31.f4 Nc6 32.Rd3 Rcd7 33.c5 f6 34.Nf3 d4 35.exf6+ gxf6 36.Nd2 e5 37.Ne4 Rd5 38.fxe5 Rxe5 39.Nd6 Rxc5 40.Nxb7 Rc2+ 0–1, Illescas Cordoba (2590)- Anand (2715), 1994) 6...Bg4 7.Qb3 a) 7.h3 Bh5 8.g4 Bg6 9.Bf4 Qd7 10.f3 e6 11.h4 Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.h5 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Nge7 15.Nd2 0–0 16.0–0–0 Rab8 17.Kb1 b5 18.h6 g6 19.Qe3 Nc8 20.Qf4 Qe7 21.Nc1 Nb6 22.Nd3 Rfc8 23.Rhe1 a5 24.g5 Qf8 25.Rc1 Nd7 26.Nb3 Rd8 27.Re2 a4 28.Nbc5 Nxc5 29.Nxc5 Ne7 30.Qc7 Rbc8 31.Qb6 Rb8 32.Qc7 Rbc8 33.Qb6 Rb8 34.Qc7 Rbc8 35.Qa7 Qe8 draw, Pengxiang (2613) - Jobava (2601), 2005; b) 7.f3 Bd7 8.Bf4 e5 9.Bg3 (9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.0–0 Bd6 11.Kh1 Ne7 12.Na3 a6 13.Nc2 0–0 14.Ned4 Rac8 15.Ne3 Nxd3 16.Bxd6 Nxb2 17.Qb3 Qxd6 18.Qxb2 b5 19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.Rad1 h6 21.Re2 Qc5 22.Rd3 Ng6 23.Nb3 Qe7 24.g3 Ne5 25.Nxd5 Qd6 26.Rd4 Bc6 27.Nf4 Bxf3+ 28.Kg1 Qb6 29.Rf2 Bb7 30.Nd2 Qc6 31.Nd5 Ng4 32.Rf3 Re1+ 33.Nf1 Rce8 34.Qd2 Qc5 35.Rf5 R1e5 36.Rxe5 Nxe5 37.Qg2 Nc6 0–1, Sameniuk (2456) - Dreev (2639), 1999) 9...Bd6 10.Na3 a6 11.Nc2 Nge7 12.0–0 h5 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Bxe5 Bxe5 15.f4 Bd6 16.Ncd4 h4 17.Kh1 Rh6 18.b4 Kf8 19.Qd2 Re8 20.f5 Ng8 21.Nf4 Nf6 22.Rac1 b5 23.a3 Kg8 24.Bb1 Bc8 25.Bd3 Bb7 26.h3 Re5 27.Rf2 Qe7 28.Rcf1 Bc7 29.Re2 Ne4 30.Bxe4 dxe4 31.Qe3 Bb6 32.Rd2 Bxd4 33.Rxd4 Rxf5 34.Rfd1 Qg5 0–1, Gonzalez (2423) - Sasikiran (2668), 2004; 7...Bxe2 8.Bxe2 e6 9.Na3 a6 10.Bf4 Qd7 11.Nb1 Na5 12.Qc2 Bd6 13.Bg3 Ne7 14.Nd2 Rc8 15.Nf3 Ng6 16.0–0 Nc6 17.Qd2 Qc7 18.Bd3 Nf4 19.Bc2 Nh5 20.Rfe1 0–0 21.Qg5 Nf6 22.Qh4 h6 23.Ne5 Rfd8 24.Rac1 Qe7 25.Qh3 Qf8 26.Bf4 Rc7 27.Re3 g5 28.Bg3 Qg7 29.Ng4 Nxg4 30.Qxg4 Bxg3 31.Qxg3 Rdc8 32.Rd1 b5 33.f4 b4 34.fxg5 hxg5 35.Bd3 bxc3 36.bxc3 Nb8 37.Rf1 Re7 38.Qg4 f5 39.Qe2 Rce8 40.Re1 1–0, Zatonskih (2432) - Iordachescu (2603), 2006] 6.Bf4 [6.Bg5 Bg4 7.Ne2 e6 8.Qc2 Bxe2 9.Qxe2 h6 10.Bh4 Qb6 11.Bg3 Be7 12.0–0 0–0 13.b3 Rac8 14.Nd2 a6 15.a4 Qd8 16.Rac1 Re8 17.Kh1 Bd6 18.f4 Ne7 19.Nf3 Nf5 20.Ne5 Be7 21.Rc2 g6 22.Be1 h5 23.h3 h4 24.Bxf5 exf5 25.Bxh4 Ne4 26.Be1 Bh4 27.g4 fxg4 28.hxg4 Kg7 29.f5 Rc7 30.Kg2 Bxe1 31.Qxe1 Qg5 32.Qc1 Qxc1 33.Rcxc1 gxf5 34.Rxf5 f6 35.Nd3 Rxc3 36.Rxc3 Nxc3 37.Nf4 Re4 38.Kf3 Kh7 39.Rxf6 b5 40.Rxa6 Rxd4 41.Ra7+ Kg8 42.a5 Rb4 43.g5 Rxb3 44.Ne6 b4 45.Kf4 Ne2+ 46.Ke5 Re3+ 47.Kf6 Rf3+ 48.Kg6 Nf4+ 49.Nxf4 Rxf4 50.Ra8+ Rf8 51.Rxf8+ Kxf8 52.a6 b3 53.a7 b2 54.a8Q+ 1–0, Topalov (2640) - Ivanchuk (2710), 1994] 6...Bg4 [6...g6 Stellwagen tried this against Timman quite recently. 7.Nd2 (7.Nf3 Bf5 8.Bxf5 gxf5 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Qxb6 axb6 11.Na3 Rg8 12.Nb5 Kd7 13.0–0 e6 14.b3 Be7 15.Rfd1 Rgc8 16.Ne5+ Nxe5 17.Bxe5 Ne4 18.Rd3 h5 19.a4 h4 20.g3 hxg3 draw, King - Speelman, 2003. This is not the only time they appear to have used this variation as a lever for a draw.) 7...Bg7 8.Ngf3 Nh5 9.Be3 Qd6 10.0–0 0–0 11.Re1 Rb8 12.Nb3 b5 13.Qd2 b4 14.Bh6 bxc3 15.bxc3 Bxh6 16.Qxh6 Qf6 17.Ne5 Rb6 18.g3 Ng7 19.f4 Nf5 20.Bxf5 Bxf5 21.g4 Bc8 22.h3 Nxe5 23.Rxe5 Qc6 24.Nc5 Qb5 25.Rae1 Qc4 26.Nb3 Qxc3 27.R5e3 Qb4 28.Rxe7 Be6 29.Qh4 Ra6 30.f5 gxf5 31.Qg5+ Kh8 32.Re2 Qc3 33.Qf6+ Kg8 34.gxf5 Bxf5 35.Qxa6 Bxh3 36.R7e3 1–0, Timman (2607) - Stellwagen (2524), 2005] 7.Qb3 Qd7 [7...Qc8 8.Nd2 e6 9.Ngf3 Be7 10.0–0 0–0 (10...Bh5 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 0–0 13.Rfe1 Bg6 14.Bf1 Nd7 15.Bg3 Nb8 16.a4 Rd8 17.a5 and the old geezers call it a day in King - Speelman 2004 Staunton Memorial.) 11.Ne5 Bh5 12.Bg5 (12.Qc2 Bd6 = (NCO); 12.Rfe1 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Nd7 14.Qc2 Bg6 = (NCO)) 12...Nd7 13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.f4 f6 15.Nef3 Bf7 16.Rae1 Qc7 = (NCO); 7...Na5 this interesting looking alternative worked for GM Leitao against GM Kritz 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qc2 g6 10.Nf3 (10.Nd2 Bg7 11.Ngf3 Nh5 12.Be3 Qc7 13.0–0 0–0 14.Rfe1 Nc6 15.Qb3 e6 16.a4 h6 17.Qd1 Rad8 18.Rc1 Nf4 19.Bf1 g5 20.h4 f6 21.g3 Ng6 22.hxg5 fxg5 23.c4 Qd6 24.cxd5 exd5 25.Qb3 Kh8 26.Qxb7 Rb8 27.Qa6 Rb6 28.Qd3 Rxb2 29.Qc3 Ra2 30.Bb5 Nce7 31.Ne5 Bxb5 32.axb5 Nxe5 33.dxe5 Bxe5 34.Bd4 Bxd4 35.Qxd4+ Kg8 36.Ne4 Qg6 37.Nc3 Raxf2 38.Rxe7 R2f5 39.Rce1 h5 40.Nxd5 h4 41.R7e3 Kh7 42.Ne7 1–0, Morozevich (2718) - Grischuk (2702), 2002) 10...Bg7 11.Nbd2 Rc8 12.h3 0–0 13.0–0 Nh5 14.Be3 Nc4 15.Nxc4 dxc4 16.Be2 Nf6 17.Ne5 b5 18.Nxd7 Qxd7 19.a4 a6 20.axb5 axb5 21.Qd2 Nd5 22.Bh6 e6 23.Ra5 Ra8 24.Rfa1 Bxh6 25.Qxh6 Qb7 26.Qc1 Rxa5 27.Rxa5 Ra8 28.Qa1 Rxa5 29.Qxa5 h5 30.Bf3 Kg7 31.g3 h4 32.Qd8 hxg3 33.fxg3 Qa7 34.Bxd5 Qa1+ 35.Kh2 exd5 36.Qxd5 Qxb2+ 37.Kh1 Qc1+ 38.Kg2 Qd2+ 39.Kf1 Qxc3 40.Qe5+ Kh7 41.Qd5 Kg8 42.Qxb5 Qf3+ 43.Ke1 Qxg3+ 44.Ke2 Qd3+ and white resigns as black will take the d4 pawn and retain his c4 pawn: Krtiz (2534) - Leitao (2564), 2004] 8.Nd2 e6 9.Ngf3 Bxf3 [9...Bd6 10.Bg3 Bxf3 11.Nxf3 Bxg3 12.hxg3 a6 13.Kf1 Qc7 14.Re1 Na5 15.Qc2 Nc4 16.Kg1 h6 17.b3 Na5 18.c4 Nc6 19.c5 Rd8 20.a3 Rd7 21.b4 Re7 22.Qb2 Nd7 23.Bc2 0–0 24.Rh4 Rfe8 25.Bb3 Nf6 26.Ne5 Nxe5 27.dxe5 Nd7 28.Ba4 Rf8 29.Bxd7 Qxd7 30.Qd4 f5 31.exf6 Rxf6 32.Rf4 Ref7 33.Rxf6 Rxf6 34.f4 Qc6 35.g4 Qd7 36.Re5 Qf7 37.g3 Kh8 38.Kg2 Qg6 39.Qd1 Qf7 40.Qd3 Qc7 41.Qd4 Qf7 42.a4 Kg8 43.b5 axb5 44.axb5 Qd7 45.Qd3 Kh8 46.Re1 Rf8 47.g5 Rf5 48.gxh6 d4 49.hxg7+ Kxg7 50.Re4 Rd5 51.g4 Kg8 52.Kg3 Qh7 53.c6 bxc6 54.bxc6 Qh1 55.Rxe6 Qg1+ 56.Kh3 Qh1+ 57.Kg3 Qg1+ 58.Kf3 Qh1+ 59.Ke2 Qg2+ 60.Ke1 Qg1+ 61.Kd2 Qf2+ 62.Qe2 Qxf4+ 63.Kd1 Rd8 64.c7 Qxc7 65.Rg6+ Kh8 66.Qe6 1–0, Short (2660) - Ehlvest (2610), 1998] 10.Nxf3 Bd6 11.Bxd6 Qxd6 12.0–0 [12.Qxb7 Rb8 13.Qa6 0–0 with compensation for the material (NCO)] 12...0–0 13.Rae1 Rab8 [13...Nd7 14.Qc2 g6 15.Re3 Qf4 16.Rfe1 Rab8 17.Qe2 Rfc8 18.h3 Rc7 19.Nh2 Ne7 20.Ng4 Kg7 21.Rf3 Qg5 22.Bb5 Nc6 23.Rxf7+! Interesting chess. This leads to a long and torturous death for black. 23...Kxf7 24.Qxe6+ Kg7 25.Qd6 Qd8 26.Bxc6 Rxc6 27.Qe7+ Kh8 28.Qf7 Rc7 29.Re7 Qg8 30.Qf4 Qf8 31.Rf7 Qg8 32.Nh6 Qd8 33.Qe3 Rbc8 34.Re7 Qf8 35.Nf7+ Kg8 36.Qe6 Rc6 37.Nd6+ Kh8 38.Rxd7 1–0, Yudasin (2538) - Benjamin (2563), 2005] 14.Ne5 b5 unclear position (NCO).
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