James Mansson’s Chess Blog

The Double Fianchetto System is similar to the Hedgehog System in its basic philosophy of establishing a solid set-up, with the potential to counter-attack should White over-extend. The basic position arises after 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 b6 3 g3 Bb7 4 Bg2 c5 5 0-0 g6, although as with the Hedgehog, there are various different routes to that position. Although, as noted, this line has similarities to the Hedgehog, there are a couple of crucial differences, based on Black choosing to develop his king’s bishop with …g6 and …Bg7, rather than …e6 and …Be7. These can be summarised as:

• The bishop is more active on g7 as opposed to e7.
• The d5 square is weaker, and White can offer safely move a knight there, as …e6 is then less attractive both because Black has played ….g6, and also because as the bishop is on g7, it is less well placed to defend the d6 pawn.

These differences give the line its distinctive character. Continue reading →

After 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 Nc3, an important option for Black is 3…d5. This is different to 3…Nc6 4 g3 d5, discussed in the previous post, in a couple of important ways:

• After 3…d5, White cannot play 4 d4 effectively, because there is no Black knight on c6. In contrast, after 3…Nc6 4 g3 d5 5 d4, the knight on c6 gives White various possibilities: 5…dxc4 6 d5 hits the knight, while 5…cxd4 6 Nxd4 dxc4 is met by 7 Nxc6, leaving Black with a weakened pawn structure.
• After 3…d5, as opposed to 3…Nc6 4 g3 d5, Black is not immediately threatening …e5, while White has not committed himself to g3. This makes 3…d5 4 cxd5 more promising for White than 3…Nc6 4 g3 d5 5 cxd5.

Therefore, White meets 3…d5 with 4 cxd5 and after 4…Nxd5, he has an important choice to make. Continue reading →