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The Essential Centre-Counter 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5
I am very pleased this month to be able to present some extracts from my forthcoming book on the Centre-Counter. There is no opening quite like it and my researches show that 2....Qxd5 is perfectly playable at any level. It is in fact, a very good weapon for the average player to achieve good results with and it's relatively easy to master. Rivas Pastor,M (2424) - Gonzalez Merino,F (2171) [A06]
[Click here to
follow along on an interactive JavaScript board] 1.Nf3 d5 2.e4? I think White is seriously underestimating his opponent. 2.Nf3 might be a good move for Blitz but with ample time for reflection Black should be delighted to see this move. 2...dxe4 3.Ng5 Bf5!
In general, if we can play ...Bc8-f5 we will! 4.Nc3 There are independent 'hacking' lines after 4 Bc4 all of
which are poor: 4.Bc4 e6 5.g4 (5.h4 h6 6.g4 hxg5! 7.gxf5 exf5 4...Nf6 5.Qe2 5.Bc4 carries on in the same free-thinking but ultimately rubbishy style. With due care, Black just obtains a very good position indeed: 5...e6 and now
5...Nc6 6.Qc4? Zero respect. Perhaps 6.Ngxe4 Nxe4 7.Nxe4 Nd4! 8.Qd3 Qd5 9.f3 0-0-0
is the best that White can do, but what sort of advert is this for 2 Nf3? Black has a clear advantage in development and much the easier game. 6...e6 7.Ngxe4 Nxe4 8.Nxe4 Qd4!
With simple, clear ideas, Black has revealed White's play as artificial. In particular, I would draw your attention to the use of the d4 square; Black often puts either a knight or his queen there to jam up the works. 9.f3 0-0-0 10.c3 Qxc4 11.Bxc4 Ne5 12.Be2 c5! Nailing down the pawn on d2. 13.b3 Be7 14.Nf2 Nd3+ I like 14...Rd7 intending to double up. 15.Nxd3 Bxd3 16.Rf1 e5 17.Rf2 Bg5 18.Bxd3 Rxd3 19.Re2 f6 20.a4 Rhd8 21.Ra2
White's passive development is comical but I can see that Rivas intends to ride out the storm and win later on. However, the strategy of waiting for the opponent to make a mistake is a losing one; ceding the initiative deliberately at an early stage, even to a much weaker player is just ridiculous. 21...Bh4+ 22.Kd1 Rxc3 23.Rc2 Rxb3 24.Rxc5+ Kb8 That's it! Black is a pawn up for nothing. Goodnight Charlie! 25.Rc4 Bg5 26.Kc2 Rbd3 27.h4 Bf4 28.h5 Bg5 29.Rce4 R3d5 30.Rc4 R8d6 31.Kd1 a6 32.Kc2 b5 33.axb5 axb5 34.Rg4 Rc5+ 35.Kd1 Ra6! 36.Rxg5 Ra1 0-1 I hope I've shown that 2 Nf3 is tricky and nothing else.
Sticking to his guns with 3...Bf5! and keeping an eye on d4 ensures Black an
excellent game. On to Part Two of: The Essential Center-Counter [Index of IM Andrew Martin's columns]
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5...Bg6 6.h4 h6
