Too Many Plates…

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.O-O Bd6 7.Bb2 O-O [diagram]

As hard it might be to believe, for decades Colle players managed to stop all three of these ideas using the continuation 8.Nbd2 Qe7 9.Ne5 cxd4 10.exd4 Ba3.

Let’s examine how this magic is possible.
 

The Queen and the Lever

Black is not advised to get around this problem by resolving the lever himself with an early …cxd4.  Doing so will just lead to a bad IQP position (e.g., 8.Nbd2 cxd4  9.exd4 Qc7  10.a3 e5?!  11.dxe5 Nxe5  12. Nxe5 Bxe5  13.Bxe5 Qxe5  14. Re1).
 

Luring the Knight

You might be thinking: Well gee!  If 8.Nbd2 Qe7 9.Ne5 cxd4 10.exd4 solves all of White’s problems, what’s the problem?

Prie.  Prie is the problem.  The resourceful French GM could not leave us C-Z players in peace.

Other Options

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.O-O Bd6 7.Bb2 O-O [diagram] White has tried a3, c4, or Ne5 99% of the time.

8. c4 side-steps all these tactics and brings us to an odd version of the Queen’s Indian Defense.

In this variation of the Queen’s Indian, White normally plays c4 and d4 very early, and Black eventually plays …c5 and …d5. At that point White immediately exchanges a central pawn (in pretty much all lines). Unfortunately, White cannot do that here because he was so late playing his c-pawn forward. Instead, Black will be the one initiating the first pawn exchange. Black is fine after both 8…cxd4 9.exd4 b6 or 8…dxc4 9.bxc4 b6.

I suggested 8. Ne5!? in Zuke ‘Em because the move shuts down any chance of …e5, is novel enough to catch many off guard, and even stops …Ne4 because the d1-h5 diagonal is now open.  (E.g., 8…Ne4?  9.Bxe4! dxe4 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.Qg4!)

So, what do we do? Do we use a less ambitious line and accede to dull equality when Black brings his A game? Do we just throw this opening away and go find another one that allows Black to equalize if he knows what he is doing? Do we give up on chess and take up knitting?

No. First we turn the board around.
 

The Solution

Now, what opening does this look like?

The answer is:  Nothing.  It doesn’t look like anything…except perhaps an odd concoction of 2 parts Tartakower Defense to 1 part vodka.

Okay, so that didn’t help.  But what if we play 7….dxc4! 8.Bxc4 a6 [diagram]

Still not sure what I’m getting at?

Okay, let’s throw in 9.Bd3 b5 [diagram]

And now, perhaps, it has become more clear…the position looks a lot like a Meran variation of the Semi-Slav where the c-pawn has not moved [or a reversed QGA where Black hasn’t played …c5.]

Compare the position after an extremely important main line of the Semi-Slav (1.d4 d5  2.c4 c6  3.Nc3 Nf6  4.Nf3 e6  5.e3 Nbd2  6.Bd3 dxc4  7.Bxc4 b5  8.Bd3 Bb7  9.0-0 a6 [diagram, left]) to the position after we start with the first several moves of the Colle-Zukertort (1. d4 Nf6  2.Nf3 d5  3.e3 e6  4. Bd3 c5  5. b3 Nc6  6.O-O Bd6  7.Bb2 O-O) and then play 8.dxc5! Bxc5 9.a3 Bd6 10.b4 [diagram, right]

The differences are:

• White has not blocked his Bishop with c3, as Black does in the Meran with c6.

• White has developed his Bishop whereas Black has developed his Knight.

• White has used his extra move to castle.

The more you know about the Meran system, the more important and exciting the differences become.

Most obviously, the open diagonal complicates Black’s life because the cardinal rule of the Meran system is that White should always, always, always advance the e-pawn immediately after Black plays …a6 (corresponding to the position in the diagram above).  However, with the Q-bishop eyeing the center, the e-pawn push has to be reconsidered.  [Note that White can play b5 to undermine the knight’s defense of e5.]

It is not merely the pressure on e5 that matters here.  The availability of Bxf6! if Black pushes his e-pawn to e4 can be critical (e.g., 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.O-O Be7 7.Bb2 O-O 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.a3 Qe7 10.b4 Bd6?! 11.Nbd2 e5? 12.c4 e4 13.Bxf6! when …Qxf6 drops a pawn and 13…gxf6 is even worse, weakening the pawn structure, blocking the queen’s access to the K-side, and still not allowing Black to keep material equality: 13…gxf6 14.cxd5 exf3 (14…exd3 15.dxc6 bxc6 16.Nd4) 15.dxc6 fxg2 16.Kxg2 and Black cannot pause to recapture due to the threat of Qh5.)

Being able to develop the bishop instead of the Q-knight is useful in that White has the flexibility of playing Nc3-b5 or Nc3-a4 should it be needed.  In the normal Meran Black cannot bring out the bishop early as it incites an advantageous e-pawn advance.

While the above two points are probably more or less obvious, what is not obvious is the bone-crackling importance of castling.  Indeed, Black typically must leave his king stuck in the middle for quite a while, for the opening tends to demand more active play.  He just does not have the time to develop his bishop and castle.  This difference is truly profound.

If Black had been castled, this whole variation folds since the rook would be protected.  Indeed, in all other variations of the Meran, this threat remains just that—a threat.  If White knows what he is doing, Black cannot actually pull this off with advantage.  However, now that castling has occurred, the b-march becomes a viable refutation in several lines.
 

Analysis

[Note: Colle-Zukertort players can get away with only studying a fraction of the analysis here if they use a slightly less ambitious move order.  See Recommendation section at the end of this article.]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.O-O Bd6 7.Bb2 O-O 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.a3 [diagram]

Other developing plays should not turn out well for Black. 9…Bd7 cannot be right, and retreating the bishop early does not help Black since White would then not use a move on b4, instead getting a nice game by simply preparing c4 with Nbd2.  Black certainly cannot push through ...e5-e4 with such a quick retreat (9...Bd6?! 10.Nbd2 e5 11.c4 e4? 12.Bxf6).

However, retreating without playing …e4 is no picnic either.  For example 11…Bc7 leaves Black gasping to keep all his pieces and pawns safe after 12.cxd5 Qxd5 (…Nxd5 leaves Black even worse as his game resembles the waiter in Goodfellas who is forced to dance as Joe Pesci shoots at his feet.)  The bishop on c7 is just too much of a pain to defend while White feints at other targets (like the h7-pawn, the e5 pawn, and Black’s Queen).

White has an easy time attacking Black’s position with some permutation of Qc2, Rac1, Rfd1, b4, and either Ne4 (threatening Black’s critical f6-Knight) or Be4 (threatening the pinned Knight.)

One creative idea for Black is 9…Qc7, planning…Ne5: 10.Nbd2 Bd6 11.c4 Ne5!?  At the end of the day, though, the Queen’s exposed position on the c-file is too great a liability.

As for non-developing moves, …a6 and …a5 come to mind, as they stop the b-pawn from advancing.  9…a5 has to be bad as it gives up the b5 square: (9…a5 10.c4 with Nc3-b5 to follow when convenient).

The moves we will analyze, then, are the developing moves 9…Qe7 and 9…b6 as well as the prophylactic move 9…a6.

Since this line is nearly an utter novelty, we are more or less working from scratch here.

9…Qe7

9…Qe7  10.b4 Bb6 

As a rule for these variations, Black should not retreat the Bishop to d6.  In this particular case the problem comes from a possible fork on e4.  This fork allows White to push the c-pawn (rather than the b-pawn) with great advantage: 10…Bd6?! 11.Nbd2 e5 12.c4, and 12…e4 is met by 13.Bxf6! Qxf6 (…gxf6?! 14.dxc6) 14.Bxe4 dxe4 15.Nxe4.

11.Nbd2 e5

Other moves give White a great game after simply 12.c4.  11…Rd8 is Black’s best alternative, leading to sharp, wide-open play where it appears each of White’s minor pieces is just a little more useful than their Black counterparts. (e.g., 12.c4 e5 13.cxd5 Rxd5 (13…Nxd5  takes away defense of h7 and fails to even temporarily give more support to e4: 14.b5 Na5 (14…Nxe3?! does not yield adequate compensation) 15.Qc2 g6 16.Bxe5) 14.Qc2 Bg4 15.Bc4 Rdd8 16.Rac1 Rac8 17.Rfd1

12.b5

With the Bishop on b6, the fork in the note to Black’s10th does not work, so White plays in a manner similar to the 4-queen line, knowing his castled position means that Black has to blink first.

While Black has some significant weaknesses, the real issue is that he has trouble activating his pieces (in particular his queen) to get any compensation for his wrecked pawn structure.  White can either play for c4 or Nd4 to consolidate his advantage.

The most obvious thing to check is Black’s possible play down the open g-file:

16…Kh8 17.Qd3 (taking away e4 from the black queen and making room on d1 for the f1-rook, which in turn makes room for White’s king) 17…Rg8 18.Rfd1 Bg4 (…Bh3 19.g3 and Black has no way to make use of the weak light squares.) 19.c4 Rad8 (19…Qe4  20.Kf1) 20.Rac1 Bxf3 21.Bxf3 d4 22.exd4 Rxd4 (…Bxd4  23. Qf5) 23.Qc2

If Black is not going to try to make something of the g-file immediately, he might try stopping (or discouraging) the c4 play.  16…Be6 and 16…Rd8 are the most obvious tries at that, but they each end up putting the Q-bishop in an awkward position.  16…Be6 blocks the qQueen in even more than she already is, while 16…Rd8 can be met by 17.Nd4, threatening to fork the queen and rook.  17…Bd7 blocks the rook that was just moved to the d-file while 17…Bb7 looks dumb and in fact is rather a blunder due to 18.Bd3!  with the threats of Nf5 and Qg5.

An inventive try is to first feint with 16...Be6 and then after 17.c3 (allowing Qa4, adding a supporter to c4 while hitting c6) switching back to the g-file play: 17…Kh8 18.Qc2 Rg8 19.g6, and once again Black’s queen is hard to activate.

Given the problems Black has in activating his queen, he might try 16…Qe4 immediately, but the queen does not have many safe squares to go to, and I think in general poses little threat.  White should just prepare to push c4 with 17.Rc1.  If Black tries to discourage this with 17…Rd8, White can ignore him and play 18.Bd3 Qg4 19.c4 dxc4 20.Rxc4 Qxc4 21.Bxc4 Rxd1 22.Rxd1, and the two Bishops do not make up for Black’s pawn structure.  Note that picking on the a-pawn after 17.Rc1 backfires: 17…Bc4 18.Rb1! Bxa3?! 19.Nd4, and Black’s position begins to crumble due to a host of threats.

9…b6

9….b6  10.b4 Be7

As described in the last variation, the Bishop almost never belongs on d6.  In this case the problem is that it then blocks the queen from d5 and d3.  The first is significant because the queen might want to recapture on d5 to add support to the knight on c6 [which can become rather fragile in this variation].  The second is significant because playing the bishop to e7 will generally force White to give support to his own bishop by way of Qe2.  In addition to these points, the bishop is here vulnerable to a knight landing on either c4 or e4.  As White can push either of these pawns, such a landing is quite likely.

A sample line after 10…Bd6 is 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.c4 Qe7 13.Rc1, with the basic plan of pressuring the knight on c6 with cxd5, Qa4, Bb5, and perhaps Nd4.  The knight doesn’t have many good places to run, and the queen cannot defend it without allowing a self-pin.  Black can play 13…Nd7 to give the knight an “out” square on e5, but after 14.cxd5 exd5 15.Qb3, the d5-pawn becomes high –maintenance.

11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.c4 [diagram]

But now imagine that Caissa gave Black a free move, so that he could play …c5 before White played e4…then imagine that White responded with b3 (which he has a TERRIBLE record with (5 wins, 11 draws, 16 losses!!!), even without Black having the free move!

Then we would have, after 10. --- c5  11.b3 Bd6 12.Bb2 O-O the reversed version of the position shown.  Starting with a variation that already sees Black trouncing White and then giving Black a free move should certainly lead to more than an adequate position.

9…a6

It might look like Black is merely behind a bit in development. Looks can be deceiving.

The more you look at Black’s position, the worse it becomes:

• The a8-rook, c5-bishop and c6-knight currently have no defenders at all, and the f6-knight ties down Black’s own queen because taking with the g-pawn often invites an attack.

• Black’s undefended pieces can easily come under attack in several ways. If (or should I say when) the c-file opens, a rook on c1 hits both the bishop and the knight.  A pawn traipsing to b5 or (more often) d5 hits the knight. A knight on e4 hits the bishop while a bishop on e4 not only hits the knight but can pin it to the rook.  The a8-rook will remain undefended until Black plays Bb7, at which point the bishop is undefended.

• Black’s minor pieces have a hard time finding good spots.  The c6-knight simply has nowhere good to go in general (e7 might make sense, but it cuts communication between the queen and the f6-knight).  Black’s a8-rook currently protects the a6-pawn and later will be needed on the b-file.  Black would prefer to have his queen on the d-file to protect and advance the isolated d-pawn he likely will have.  This means both bishops will likely get in the way if they move off the c-file (since playing …Be7 removes the only decent square for the knight.)

• Until Black connects his rooks, he’d prefer not to open up files, since he will likely just be giving them to White.  However, he cannot solve his space issues without opening up said files.

The worst thing for Black is not that he has all these problems, but rather that White can exploit them so well with the natural plan of pushing his c-pawn.  This will open up files for White’s rooks to grab, leave the a6-pawn prone to attack, and force Black to exchange on d5.  This last point is rather significant – if Black captures with a pawn, he has a very bad IQP; if he captures with a knight then e4 (and c4) are available.

A standard option for White is Bxf6, which can give White access to the central light squares as well.  White’s d2-knight obviously can take advantage of these light-square weaknesses, but White’s other knight can as well by hopping to g5, threatening Black’s K-side, and then jumping back to e4.

One thing to keep in mind is that White’s only problem is that his knights are not as active as they could be, so any plan for Black that lets him put his knights on better squares must in general be considered suspect.

The least important thing for Black is holding onto his a-pawn.  If Black could somehow trade that pawn for fixing all his other problems, he’d likely be okay since White’s a-pawn would be difficult to hold.
 

Black Develops

First we’ll discuss lines where Black attempts to develop or play normal-looking moves to extricate himself. The basic idea in all these lines is a pawn stroll to c4 and then d5.

11…Qe7

In some fictional world where Black will have time to put his pieces on good squares, this move makes sense.  It clears d8 for a rook, protects the bishop on c5, gives protection to the b7 square, and puts Black one step closer to connecting his rooks.  It also sets up the same attack on a3 that White has on a6.

11…Qe7 12.c4 bxc4 (12…b4  13.a4 gives White the c4 square and means he does not have to worry about a rook on b8 pressuring his b2-bishop; 12…dxc4 frees the e4 square: 13.bxc4 Bb7  14.Ng5!) 13.bxc4 Rb8 (as discussed earlier, dropping protection from the a-pawn is generally better than having White dominate the important squares.  After 13…Bb7 14.cxd5 Nxd5 (…exd5 15.Rfc1 Bd6 16.Bc2 Rfc8 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Qd3 g6 19.Qxd5, though Black has some compensation) 15.Ne4 and Black will have to block protection of the a-pawn anyway since the bishop is too fragile on b6; 15…Bd6? simply loses 16.Nxd6 Qxd6 17.Ng5! and 17...g6 is not available due to 18.Qh5!) 14.Rfb1! Rd8 (…a5  15.Qd1! and Black has a hard time dealing with the threats posed by Qc2 and then Qc3 combined with cxd5 and Bxf6.) 15.cxd5 exd5 and White should just pick up the a-pawn.

11…Re8

This move makes sense if Black figures d8 is the best square for the queen.  It at least makes the option of …d4 more critical.  In response, White should grab the c-file.

11…Re8 12.c4 bxc4 (12…dxc4?! 13.bxc4 b4?! 14.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Be4) 13.bxc4 Rb8 14.cxd5 exd5  15.Rac1! Rxb2 (…Qd6 leaves the queen overworked: 16.Bxf6! gxf6 17.a4) 16.Rxc5 Qb6 17.Rfc1 Ne7 18.Qd1 Bf5 19.Bxf5 Nxf5 20.Qa4

11…Bb7

This takes a major step toward connecting the rooks and Black is more prepared now against a bishop coming to e4, but now Black has no b-file play.  Black should plan on exchanging his d-pawn and then hoping to throw a spanner in the works with …b4.

11…Bb7 12.Rfd1 White wants to push the queen off the d-file.  His general plan is to make use of the Ng5 move (after Black exchanges …dxc4), feinting at an attack on the K-side while transporting his knight to e4.  However, with the queen still on d8, this attack is harder to pull off since the d-file will be open at that point, so if White’s queen departs for the attack, she leaves the bishop on d3 en prise. 12…Qb6 (12…Qe7 13.c4 dxc4 14.bxc4 b4 15.Ng5! e5 16.Nge4 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 bxa3 18.Nxc5 axb2 19.Qxb2 Qxc5 20.Qxb7 leaves White better off.  There might be improvements somewhere, but White should still come out the better.) 13.Rab1 Rfd8 14.c4 b4 15.cxd5 Rxd5 16.Nc4 Qc7 17.a4 and Black’s pieces need to find breathing room.  Black can try to dominate the d-file, but the results are probably not what he was looking for: 17…Rad8 18.Rbc1 Qd7 19.Ne1! feinting at Qg4-h4 after Bxf6.  After 19…Qe7 20.h3, Black’s pieces are practically frozen by the need to defend his pieces from the looming Bxf6+Be4+Qc2 idea.
 

Prophylactic Lines

Black can try to anticipate the problems/lines in the last section, but doing so gives White other opportunities.

11…h6

This more or less permanently removes the Ng5 threats.  Surprisingly, it might be Black’s best.

11…h6 12.c4 bxc4 (even after Black has played …h6, stopping the Ng5-e4 idea, he still does not want to take with the d-pawn since the e4-square is still vulnerable: 12…dxc4 13.bxc4 b4 14.Ne4) 13.bxc4 Rb8 14.cxd5 exd5 (14..Rxb2?! 15.dxc6 Qc7 16.Rfc1 Qxc6 17.Rc4) 15.Rac1! (Better than Rfc1 because now after Bxf6 Qxf6 one rook is not stuck defending the other) 15… Rxb2 (15…Qd6 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.a4 Ne5 18.Nxe5!! fxe5 19.e4 Rb2 20.exd5 Qxd5 21.Rfd1 [21.Ne4!? is fun but ultimately not as good]) 16.Rxc5 Qd6  17.Rfc1 Bd7  18.Qd1 Ne7  19.h3 and White still has an advantage.

11…Rb8

This option anticipates the opening of the b-file by simply moving the rook there immediately.  However, afterward Black has very few ways to improve his position because White has four different pawn breaks to use (a4,b4,c4, and e4) while Black has none.  Black’s c6-knight is stuck where it is because Black wants to respond to a4 by exchanging pawns and then playing Nb4.  The c8-Bishop should not go to b7, as then c4 becomes potent.  White also has the simple solution of grabbing a bunch of good squares with b4, Nb3, and Ne5.

With that in mind, I recommend 12.Rfd1.  White can then decide to break after Black’s response or play other small improving moves [like h3.]
 

Damage Control Options

In addition to the above lines, Black might decide to repair the problems in his positions rather than pose any threat to White.  He can successfully do this without material loss, but White comes out with much the better position.

11…Ne7

Many of Black’s headaches come from the knight being attacked, so he moves it immediately with the further plan of …Ng6 (freeing up the e7 square) when possible.  The basic idea for White in these lines is to just pick up the a-pawn because the knight’s retreat makes it more reasonable to assume he can support his own a-pawn march (or at least get some other concession from it.)

Another motif in this variation is White promenading a knight to c6.

11…Ne7 12.c4 bxc4 (12…dxc4 makes winning the a-pawn too easy for White.)

13.bxc4 Ng6 (13…dxc4 is not to be suggested, especially with the e7-square taken up by Black’s knight. The black queen is too easily harried and Black has a hard time at least making White break a sweat to pick up the a-pawn.  For example, 14.Nxc4 Bb7 15.Rfd1 Bd5 16.Ncd2) 14.Rfc1 Qe7 (14…Be7 also lets Black keep material equal, but White totally dominates the Q-side after 15.cxd5 Nxd5 16.Rab1 a5 17.Nb3 a4 18.Nbd4, with Nc6 looming) 15.Nb3 Bd6 16.cxd5 exd5 (16…Nxd5 is less natural.  If Black plays his knight to d5, he cannot play it to e4: 17.Na5 Bd7 18.g3 Bb5 with Nc4 likely.) 17.Na5 Ne4 18.Nc6 Qe8 19.Nb4

11…Be7

This option seems to make less sense as it leaves neither the queen nor the c6-knight particularly good squares.  One problem Black has here is even after he puts his queen on a5, he cannot really take on a3 since someone has to stay back to watch the knight.  If Black has to retake …gxf6, he can find himself in a hot mess pretty fast.

It’s hard to say what the best option is, but I think the line I give below at least illustrates some key points in this variation.

11…Be7 12.c4 bxc4 13.bxc4 Rb8 14.Rab1 Qa5 (This is a reasonably safe spot for the queen and hold the a6-pawn) 15.cxd5 exd5 16.h3 h6  Note that Black cannot take the pawn: 16…Bxa3? 17.Bxf6! leaves Black down because 17…Rxc1?? loses to 18.Ng5!  This last move (16…h6) does not quite fix this completely, but it helps.  17.Rfc1 Bd7  The best move, but not a happy one to have to play.  18.Bc2!  A multi-purpose move which secures the b3 square for the knight while threatening Qd3.  18…Rfc8!  Black needs to get his other rook past the d8-square so his queen can go back there.  19.Nb3 Qd8  20.Bxf6 Bxf6  21.Qd3  And White will pick up the d-pawn.
 

Recommendation

Note that the 9…a6 line appears to be more sprawling (by a wide margin) than the other two lines put together.  They are also more demanding in terms of the advantages they require White to know how to utilize.  While I suggest all strong players adopt 8.cxd5!, for most Colle-Zukertort repertoire players, especially those at the class level, I recommend not using it.

Instead, I recommend 8.a3!? and then if Black plays anything other than 8…b6 or 8…dxc4, you can transpose into the 8.dxc5! line with 9.dxc5!  In other words, I’m saying that White has been unduly crushed by 8.a3 Qe7 all these years simply because he never played 9.dxc5!

Of course, you don’t have to transpose if Black doesn’t threaten anything.  For example after 8…a6 you can just play 9.Nbd2.  This means you would not have to prepare for the 9…a6 and 9…b6 lines described in this article, as you will never find yourself in them.

If Black responds with 8…b6 or 8…cxd4, then he cannot stop White from setting up the standard C-Z stonewall formation without significant concession.  Even if Black plays accurately, White should have an initiative and a small theoretic advantage.
 

[The author would like to thank John Dowling and Wane Inkpen for their helpful remarks during the writing of this article.]

Zuke 'Em The Colle-Zukertort Revolutionized Forget everything you ever thought you knew about the Queen Pawn's Game! Learn it in a week, play it for a lifetime. "...the Zuckertort is a perfect opening for non-masters... once you get it down, will reward you with many brutal muggings of the opponent." - Jeremy Silman (Reviews, Excerpts and Comments Here.)

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