James Mansson’s Chess Blog

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 →

One question in a range of openings is what happens if Black simply copies White’s move? Sometimes, of course, this is not especially good, e.g. 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c5 3 cxd5, but sometimes it is (arguably) the strongest approach, e.g. 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 – a formidable drawing weapon at super GM level. Continue reading →