C40-C43:

2 Nf3 - Various Black replies

Written by GMs Nigel Davies, Tony Kosten, Victor Mikhalevski & Olivier Renet
Last updated Wednesday, April 20, 2011

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his eBook covers the replies to 2 f3 apart from 2...c6: mainly the Petroff and
Philidor's Defences, but there are also the very rare lines like the Latvian and Elephant

Gambits.
All the game references highlighted in blue have been annotated and can be downloaded in
PGN form using the PGN Games Archive on www.chesspublishing.com.

Contents

1 e4 e5 2 f3
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2...d6
2...f6 3 xe5 (3 d4 xe4 4 d3 d5 Petroff 3.d4 [C43]) 3...d6 4 f3 xe4 Petroff 3.Nxe5
(3.Nc3, 3.Bc4) [C42]
2...f5 Latvian/Elephant Gambits etc. [C40]

3 d4
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3...exd4
3...f6 4 c3 bd7 5 c4 Philidor - Hanham & 3...f5 [C41]

4 xd4 f6 5 c3 g6

Philidor Defence 3...exd4 [C41]

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Latvian/Elephant Gambits etc. [C40]

Last updated: 27/01/08 by Tony Kosten

1 e4 e5 2 f3 f5

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The Latvian Gambit
White needs to know what he's doing against 2...d5!?, the Elephant Gambit. After 3 exd5
d6 4 d4 e4 5 e5 f6 he should play 6 b5+ (Less good is 6 c4 as in Topholm,P
Pape,R/Correspondence 1988 (12))
The Damiano Defence with 2...f6 allows 3 xe5! after which 3...fxe5 (3...e7 is relatively
best but after 4 f3 xe4+ 5 e2 White has a large lead in development) 4 h5+ e7
(4...g6 5 xe5+ e7 6 xh8 wins material) 5 xe5+ f7 6 c4+ d5 7 xd5+ and
White has three pawns for the piece and a continuing attack.
2...e7 aims to strongpoint e5 in the same way Black does this in the Philidor Defence.
After 3 c3 c6 4 d4 d6 5 c4 (5 a4 a5 6 e2 c7?! lost a lot of time for Black in
Nikolenko,OSadiku,B/Berlin Summer Open 1995 (25)) 5...g4 6 dxe5 dxe5 7 h3
h5 8 g4 g6 9 g5 f6 10 e3 d7 11 h4 was preferable for White in Adams,M
Radjabov,T/Tripoli LBA 2004 (44), but Black still has a game here.

3 xe5
Critical.
For 3 c4 fxe4 4 xe5 d5 see Guido,FHector,J/Geneva Open, Switzerland 1989 (33).
3 c3 fxe4 4 xe5 f6 5 g4 is very interesting as in Gamboa,N
Karklins,A/Philadelphia 1995 (8).

Another sharp continuation is 3 d4 fxe4 4 xe5 f6 5 g5 d6 6 c3!? but after 6...dxe5 7

dxe5 xd1+ 8 xd1 h6 9 xf6 gxf6 10 d5 d7 the onus was still on White to
justify his play in Pietrusiak,BHector,J/Linkoping, Denmark 1984 (37).

3...f6 4 d4

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The traditional mainline.
4 c4 is Leonhardt's Variation, and is one of White's most dangerous tries: 4...fxe4 5 c3
f7 6 e3 c6 7 d3! Budovskis' idea, refusing the pawn and playing for the attack. (7
xe4 d5 8 g5 is the main alternative where White takes a pawn and tries to hang on
to it.) 7...exd3 8 xd3 d5 9 0-0 c5 (9...d6 is the most popular alternative, when 10
e1 e7 11 exd5! cxd5 12 b5 leads to a clear white advantage) 10 b4!? see
Rosenstielke,MMelchor,A/cr V World Ch. final email 2005.

4...d6 5 c4 fxe4 6 c3

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White can also try Bronstein's 6 e2 in order to prevent 6...g6 because of 7 h5, but the
text move also seems strong.

6...g6 7 f3! exf3

5

7...e7 8 fxe4 Black had insufficient compensation in Rajlich,VLapshun,Y/Manhattan CC

1999 (21).

8 xf3 c6?! 9 b5!

and Black didn't have a good reply in Kosten,ARuggeri Laderchi,G/email 2001 (26).

Philidor's Defence 3...exd4 [C41]

Last updated: 12/05/09 by Victor Mikhalevski

1 e4 e5 2 f3 d6
Philidor's Defence is solid, but can be passive.

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3 d4 exd4 4 xd4 f6
The obvious reply to the immediate 4...e7 is to gain space with 5 c4 (though for some
reason White chose 5 d3 in Djuric,SPegorari,P/Cutro 1999 (18).)

5 c3 e7

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7

The Antoshin Variation with is playable, if solid.

5...g6 is Larsen's Variation, and is more risky. 6 e3 g7

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7 d2 White plays in 'Yugoslav Attackstyle', he intends castling long, playing h6, then
h4h5 with a quick mate. (7 f3 bd7 8 d2 h6 looks a bit passive to me and in fact
turned out badly for Black in Sermek,DFominich,A/Dhaka Open 2002 (30).) 7...0-0
8 0-0-0 e8 (8...c6 9 f3 xd4 10 xd4 e6 is the alternative.) 9 f3 c6 10 g4 (10 b3 is
an interesting move that was played in Prasad,DSaravanan,V/New Delhi IND 2001
(26). White prevents exchanges and makes it difficult for Black to play a later ...c7
c5 because of the pressure on the d6 pawn.) 10...a6 11 e2 e5 12 g5 h5 13 f4
g4 14 g1 put Black in terrible trouble in Rytshagov,MMeijers,V/Mezezers
zonal tourn., Latvia 2000 (34).

6 e2
6 f4 0-0 7 d2 a6 8 f3 b5 gave Black good counterplay in Mrdja,MScalcione,M/Reggio
Emilia ITA 2003 (19)
6 g3 tries to clamp down on d5, 6...d5! TK felt this was the best move 17 years ago when
he wrote his book on the Philidor, and his opinion hasn't changed since. 7 e5 g4!?
(7...e4 Zaitsev's move is rarer, 8 xe4 dxe4 9 g2 Almasi,ZNisipeanu,L/Heviz HUN
2008) 8 g2 0-0! 9 f4!? (9 0-0 is analysed in Rizouk,AArgandona Riveiro,I/San
Sebastian 2007) 9...c5 10 de2 d4 11 d5 Anand,VMorovic Fernandez,I/Santiago
CHI 2009.

6...0-0 7 0-0 e8 8 e1
I prefer 8 f4

8...c5!?

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Black weakens the pawn on d6 and the d5square but can Black really take advantage of
these factors? In compensation Black gains space and a freer game
8...c6 looks reasonable, aiming to exchange a pair of knights.
8...a6 9 f1 h6 10 b3! and Black suffered from cramp in the game Ivanchuk,V
Urban,K/Team tournament, Poland 2002 (39)

9 f3 c6 10 f4 g4 11 h3 h5 12 c4 a6 13 a4
Ivanchuk,VAronian,L/Monte Carlo MNC 2006.

Philidor Hanham & 3...f5 [C41]

Last updated: 25/04/07 by Olivier Renet

1 e4 e5
Recently Black has been trying to reach a Philidor via 1...d6 2 d4 f6 3 c3 (For 3 d3 e5 4
c3 c6 5 f3 g6 6 0-0 g7 see Smirin,IBologan,V/Debrecen 1992 (60)) 3...e5 when
White's main independent try is 4 dxe5 (After 4 f3 bd7 Black gets what he wants)
4...dxe5 5 xd8+ xd8 6 g5 (6 f3 d6 7 c4 e6 8 xe6 fxe6 was fine for Black in
Van Beers,EVan Houtte,T/Belgium 2000 (28)) 6...e6 7 f4 exf4 8 f3 h6 9 xf4
bd7 10 0-0-0 c6 was OK for Black in Degraeve,JKasparov,S/Bethune Open,
France 2002 (24) but he still needs to be careful.

2 f3 d6 3 d4

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3...f6
After the immediate 3...d7 White can play 4 c4 c6 (4...e7 5 dxe5 wins material a recent
example being Banikas,HSofronie,I/Kubbeli Salon, Turkey 2002 (6), 4...h6 is also
bad because of 5 dxe5 dxe5 6 xf7+ as in Skatschkov,PKrovelstschikov,A/Tomsk
Open, Russia 2001 (14)) 5 0-0 e7 6 dxe5 dxe5 7 g5! (Better than 7 e2 as played
in Fischer,RFine,R/New York Blitz 1963 (10)) 7...h6 (7...xg5 8 h5 gets a useful
pair of bishops) 8 e6!! fxe6 9 xh6 b6 10 h5+! f8? 11 f4!! 1-0, was the
dramatic conclusion of A. MendeM.Tyrtania, 2nd Bundesliga 1987/8. After
11...d4+ 12 h1 xc4 13 d2 d4 White wins quickly with 14 fxe5+ f6 15
xf6+ e7 16 f7+ d8 17 g5+ e8 18 e7#
10

The ultraaggressive 3...f5!? gets played occasionally, a recent example being 4 c3 exd4
5 xd4 fxe4 6 xe4 f6 7 xf6+ xf6 8 c4 c6 as in Rguez,J
Ruiz,D/Correspondence, 1993 (19).

4 c3
The critical test of the 3...Nf6 move order (and part of the reason why Black has switched
to 1...d6) is 4 dxe5 xe4 5 d5 c5 6 g5 e7 7 exd6 xd6 8 c3 when 8...a6
(8...0-0 9 0-0-0 xd5 10 xd5 was also better for White in Velimirovic,D
Sekulic,V/Bijeljina, Yugoslavia 2001 (33)) 9 0-0-0 e6 10 xe7 xe7 11 e5 and
White had the initiative in Keitlinghaus,LGretarsson,H/Iceland 1997 (26).

4...bd7 5 c4
5 g4!? early g4thrusts occur in many openings but this one has only come to the fore in
recent years, 5...g6 6 g5 h5 7 e2!? g7 8 e3 c6 9 d2 0-0 10 0-0-0 with a Pirc
type position, Smerdon,DGagunashvili,M/Cappelle la Grande FRA 2007.

5...e7

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Saveilly Tartakover used to play the Philidor with the idea of advancing his kingside
pawns. In this position Black could implement this plan (and stop sacrifices against
f7) with 5...h6 after which 6 0-0 c6 (6...e7 7 e2 0-0 leads to normal Philidor
positions but with Black having played ...h7h6 rather early see Pozzo,S
Person,A/World Youth Championships, Spa 2001 (15)) 7 a4 e7 8 e2 c7 9 h3 g5
with doubleedged play in prospect in the game Luyckx,WVerheyen,N/Belgian
Interclubs 1999 (15).

6 0-0
6 xf7+ is interesting but perhaps too speculative see Rabinovich,IIlyin
Zhenevsky,A/Moscow 1922 (23).

11

6...0-0 7 e1
For the standard 7 a4 c6 8 a2 b6 9 e2 a6 see Motwani,PRowson,J/Dundee 1995 (31).

7...c6 8 a4 b6
I don't like the move 8...a5 which rules out the possibility of a queenside pawn expansion
based on ...b7b5 see Plaskett,JO'Connell,K/Hastings Challengers 1991 (21).

9 d5

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. The immediate advance of the dpawn is critical, trying to capture the d5 square before
Black plays ...b7 and/or ...a6 with the idea ...b5.
9 g5!? a6 10 xf6 xf6 11 d5 leads to a hybrid structure resembling the FrancoBenoni,
Bologan,VEljanov,P/Wijk aan Zee NED 2007.
9 a2 b7 10 h4!? was the game Morrison,CRuck,T/Koszeg, Hungary 1999 (23) when
Black could have unleashed wild complications with 10...xe4!?

9...cxd5!
a) 9...b7 10 dxc6 xc6 11 b5! is a clever trick: 11...b7!? (11...xb5 12 axb5, perhaps best
is 11...c8 12 xc6 xc6 13 e2 h6) 12 h4! a6 (12...xe4? 13 xe4 xh4 14 xd6) 13
xd7! xd7 14 f5 fd8 (14...b5 15 axb5 axb5 16 xa8 xa8 17 xb5 xe4 18 xe7+ xe7
19 xd6 b7 20 xe5 xg2 21 d6) 15 g5 intending f3. White has good attacking
chances, and Black can't achieve ...d5.

10 xd5 b7
This is close to equal. As a general rule, one outpost isn't usually enough to win the game,
compare with the Sicilian Defence, Chadaev,NKazhgaleyev,M/Moscow RUS
2007.

12

Petroff 3 Nxe5 & others (3 Nc3, 3 Bc4)

[C42]
Last updated: 20/04/11 by Victor Mikhalevski

1.e4 e5 2.f3 f6

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Petroff's Defence has an excellent reputation as a drawing weapon.

3.xe5
White can offer a gambit with 3.c4 xe4 4.c3 when the critical test is acceptance with
4...xc3 (For 4...f6 5.xe5 see Benjamin,JCarter,G/London Amateur Ch., 1975
(19)) 5.dxc3 f6 as in Moody,DIppolito,D/USA Open 1994 (17).
With 3.c3 White invites transposition into a Four Knights Game with 3...c6, though
Black can also play 3...b4, for example 4.xe5 0-0 5.e2 e8 6.d3 xc3 7.dxc3
xe4 8.f4 d6 9.0-0 d7 when White's chances were marginally better because of
his bishop pair in Shirov,AAkopian,V/Linares 1995 (49).

3...d6 4.f3
Adventurous players might want to consider the Cochrane Gambit with 4.xf7 xf7 5.d4,
when the critical line is 5...c5! (For 5...e7 see Nalbandian,TPerl,J/Batumi GEO
2003 (32), whilst 5...e8 is covered in Blazkova,PSzuveges,N/Adelaide 2003 (27))
6.c3!? (6.dxc5 c6! was good for Black in Short,NShirov,A/Dubai UAE 2002
13

(15), whilst 6.c4+ d5 wasn't clear in Stellwagen,DSmirnov,I/Heraklio 2002 (39))

6...cxd4 7.c4+ e6 8.xe6+ xe6 9.xd4 c6 (9...c7 10.a4 Williamson,H
Taylor,S/Corr. 2003 (22)) 10.c4+ d7 11.f4 a5 12.0-0-0 and White had
compensation for the sacrificed piece in Sulskis,SRytshagov,M/Tallinn EST 2004
(19).

4...xe4 5.d4

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The main line, though there are a number of interesting sidelines:
a) 5.c4!? gains space and makes it difficult for Black to play ...d6d5, for example 5...c6
a) 5...c6 6.c3 f5 7.d3! xc3 8.dxc3 xd3 9.xd3 e7 10.0-0 0-0 11.d4 once
again with pressure for White in Balashov,YMaciejewski,M/Miedzybrodzie 1991
(19).
b) 5...e7 6.c3 (6.d4 g4 7.e2 0-0 8.0-0 c6 9.b3 gave White a pull in Dvoirys,S
Prokopchuk,E/Moscow RUS 2002 (39)) 6...g5 7.e2 0-0 8.0-0 c6 9.d4 e8?!
10.d5 was slightly better for White in Nisipeanu,LMotylev,A/Bucharest 2001
(24)
c) 5...g6 6.d4 (6.d3!?) 6...g7 7.d3 f6 8.0-0 0-0 9.c3 e8 10.h3 c6 11.e3 e7
proved to be very solid in Dvoirys,SHort,V/Hoogeveen NED 2002 (25)
d) 5...d5 6.c3 c5 7.d4 b4 8.d2 (8.b3!?) 8...xd2 9.xd2 0-0 10.cxd5 d7
(10...e8+!?) 11.a3 e8+ 12.e2 left Black under pressure in Keres,P
Keller,D/Zurich 1959 (39)
e) 5...e6!? 6.b3 a6!? 7.d4 d5 8.c5 axc5! 9.dxc5 xc5 gave Black good
compensation for the piece in Dvoirys,SBezgodov,A/Hoogeveen 2002 (40)
6.d4 (6.c3 xc3 7.dxc3 e7 8.d3 g4 9.e4 0-0 10.c2 h6 11.e3 was quite promising for
White in Stefansson,HSokolov,I/19th International Open, Reykjavik 2000 (25))
6...d5 7.c5!? g4 8.b5 f6 9.c3 xf3 10.xf3 xd4 11.0-0 led to complex play
in Dvoirys,SMamedyarov,S/Moscow RUS 2004 (55)
b) 5.d3 looks artificial but poses some problems for Black. For example after 5...d5
(5...f6 6.0-0 e7 7.c3 g4 8.c2 was a neat way to develop White's bishop in
Nouro,MKoskela,N/ShakkiNet tourn., Helsinki, Fi 2000 (26)) 6.e2! (This is the
most unpleasant move for Black, but 6.0-0 e7 7.e1 was tried in Westerinen,H
Pihlajasalo,H/FIN 2001 (21)) 6...e7 7.0-0 d6 (7...c5 8.e1 xe2 9.xe2 gave
14

White a slight lead in development in Zarnicki,PSzmetan,J/Rosario ARG 2001

(23)) 8.d1 d8 9.e1+ e7 10.c3 c6 11.e2 and Black had problems completing
his development in Giaccio,APierrot,F/Villa Martelli ARG 2001 (26).
c) 5.c3 is becoming very popular, 5...xc3 (For 5...f6 6.d4 e7 7.d3 see Naiditsch,A
Koneru,H/Wijk aan Zee NED 2003 (28)) 6.dxc3 e7 (6...c6 7.f4 f6!? Karjakin,S
Ivanchuk,V/Foros 2008) 7.f4 Preventing Black from playing ...d7e5 in some
lines, (7.e3 0-0 8.d2 (8.d3 see Bakhandi,KOza,N/Sacramento USA 2002)
8...d7 9.0-0-0 Topalov,VGelfand,B/Linares ESP 2010) 7...0-0 8.d2 d7 9.0-00 c5 10.h4
a) 10.b1!? with sharp play in prospect in the game Shirov,A
Morozevich,A/Moscow 2002
b) 10.e3 e8 11.c4 e6 trading pieces, 12.xe6 xe6 13.h4 (13.b1
Ivanchuk,VKosteniuk,A/Cap d'Agde FRA 2008) 13...d7 14.d5 Anand,V
Kramnik,V/Wijk aan Zee 2008
10...f6 11.g5 h6 12.f3! White's intention are perfectly clear: he wants to play g4 and try
to prepare the break with g5 (12.d3 was Topalov,VBacrot,E, Wijk aan Zee NED
2006) 12...b8!? 13.g4 b5 14.d3! see the fantastic game Rublevsky,S
Shirov,A/Sochi RUS 2006.

5...d5 6.d3

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6...c6
A less frequently played alternative is 6...d6 after which 7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 c6 9.cxd5 (9.c2
a6! 10.a3 g4 11.e5 xe5 12.dxe5 ac5 13.f3 leads to a dangerous exchange
sacrifice, 13...xd3 14.xd3 c5 15.d4 b3 16.xg4 xa1 17.h6 g6 18.c3
b6+ 19.f2 the most popular continuation, (19.h1 is rare, Jakovenko,D
Kramnik,V/Dortmund GER 2009) 19...fe8 20.f4 c7 21.e2 e6 22.b4 (22.f1
see Navara,DTimman,J/Carlsbad CZE 2007) 22...d8! Bacrot,E
Kramnik,V/Dortmund GER 2009.) 9...cxd5 10.c3 xc3 (10...e8 is worth
considering see Topalov,VGelfand,B/Melody Amber (Rapid), Monaco 2 2002
(18)) 11.bxc3 g4 (11...c6 12.h3! prevented Black from playing ...g4 in Morovic
15

Fernandez,ISmall,G/Philadelphia USA 2002 (22)) 12.b1 d7 (12...d7 13.h3 was

good for White in Cijs,PDellaValle,M/Correspondence Game, 1999 (18)) 13.h3
h5 14.xb7! for a long time it was considered very dubious to take the b7 pawn,
but now concrete analysis shows that Black is in difficulty in many lines, 14...b6
15.c2 xf3 (15...g6?! 16.g5 (16.xg6 hxg6 17.g5! Kovacevic,A
Skatchkov,P/Zadar CRO 2004) 16...c8 17.xf7! xf7 18.xh7+ h8 19.g6!
Edouard,RLibiszewski,F/ La Roche sur Yon FRA 2007) 16.xh7+ h8 17.gxf3
h4! (17...g6 Alavkin,AFrolyanov,D/Ishevsk RUS 2005, when 18.d2! is strong.)
18.f5 g6 19.g4 f5 it looks like White's bishop is simply trapped, but... 20.f4!
ae8! 21.f3 g5! with a dangerous attack in Bournival,BIppolito,D/Peabody
United States 2007.
Black can also play 6...e7 7.0-0 f5 as in Korneev,OPerez,R/Albacete, Spain 2000 (28)
(7...c6 transposes back into the main line)

7.0-0
7.c3 is extremely rare, 7...xc3 8.bxc3 Leko,PGelfand,B/Miskolc HUN 2010, when
8...d6 looks best.

7...e7
After the aggressive 7...g4 White should play 8.c3 (8.c4) 8...e7 9.e1 f5 10.b3 (10.bd2
featured in Westra,RVan Kemenade,R/British Rapidplay, Leeds, Engl 2000 (17).)
10...0-0 11.bd2 a5 12.c2 c6 13.b4 a6 14.b1 the latest fashion,
Morozevich,AWang Yue/Nice FRA 2009.

8.c4

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9r+lwqk+-tr0
9zppzp-vlpzpp0
9-+n+-+-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+PzPn+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tRNvLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
8.c3!? is becoming popular, 8...f5 (8...f6 this retreat is too passive, 9.h3 b4?! 10.b5+!
Black soon fell for a classic trap, see Nisipeanu,LMista,A/Warsaw POL 2005, 8...f5
9.e2! White may gain an advantage if his able to attack the d5 point with c4,
Grischuk,AGelfand,B/Bastia 2003, 8...xc3 might be strongest, 9.bxc3 0-0 10.h3
Najer,ENielsen,P/playchess.com INT 2004) 9.e1 This a key move in this line
16

Black can't simplify the position so easily now. 9...b4 10.e3 xc3 (10...0-0 11.xe4
dxe4 12.xe4 e8 13.xf5! with full compensation for the queen, Svidler,P
Topalov,V/Monaco 2004) 11.bxc3 0-0 12.c4! White needs to play with a lot of
energy, see Nisipeanu,LIordachescu,V/Tusnad ROM 2005.
8.e1 g4 9.c4 f6 10.c3!? is a critical pawn sacrifice, that has been presumed to be OK
for Black ever since the early KK matches, 10...xf3 (10...xd4!? A relatively rare
line, which was tested at the top level by Karpov, Gelfand and Gashimov, however.
11.cxd5 xf3 12.gxf3 c5 13.d6!? (13.dxc6 xc6 Radjabov,TGashimov,V/Sochi RUS
2008) 13...xd6 14.b5 with the initiative, Gashimov,VSmeets,J/Nice FRA 2010)
11.xf3 xd4 12.d1 e6 13.cxd5 (13.f5 Radjabov,TGelfand,B/Medias ROU
2010) 13...xd5 14.b5+ c6 15.xd5 cxb5 16.b3 the mainline, (16.f4 xf4
17.xe7+ f8 see Naiditsch,AKramnik,V/Dortmund 2008., 16.a4!? 0-0! Gashimov,V
Gelfand,B/Linares ESP 2010) 16...0-0 17.e3 c5! any exchange is useful, 18.ad1!
Svidler,PGelfand,B/Moscow RUS 2009.

8...b4
For 8...f6 9.h3 0-0 10.c3 see Leko,PAdams,M/Einstein Candidates K.O. tourn 2002
(45).

9.e2
Another option for White is 9.cxd5 after which 9...xd3 10.xd3 xd5 11.e1 f5
12.e5 g6 (12...0-0-0?! looked rather dubious in Ulibin,MMiton,K/Genf 2002 (42))
13.g4? xf2! won quickly for Black in Thao,LPourkashiyan,A/Tehran IRI 2002
(16).
There's also 9.e1 xd3 10.xd3 c6 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.b5+ d7 13.b3 0-0 14.c3
(14.f4 b6 15.e5 b7 16.c3 e6 gave Black counterplay in Peng Xiaomin
Motylev,A/Shanghai 2001 (42)) 14...xc3 15.bxc3 f6 16.g5 xg5 17.xg5 when
White had a slight initiative in Sadvakasov,DKarpov,A/Astana KAZ 2004 (39).

9...0-0

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-trk+0
9zppzp-vlpzpp0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-snPzPn+-+0
9+-+-+N+-0
9PzP-+LzPPzP0
9tRNvLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

17

Black has an interesting alternative in 9...e6, for example 10.c3 (10.c5 c6 11.b5 f6
12.xc6+ bxc6 13.a4 d7 was very comfortable for Black in Al Modiahki,M
Iordachescu,V/Dubai UAE 2004 (31).) 10...0-0 11.e3 (11.e5 f6 12.f3 h8 13.b3
was Sammalvuo,TIordachescu,V/Calvia ESP 2004 (47)) 11...f5 12.c1 dxc4
13.xc4 c6 14.e5 xc3 15.bxc3 d5 16.f3 e6 17.d2 and White's slight
initiative was nothing to write home about in Kotronias,VMotylev,A/Moscow RUS
2004 (61).

10.c3 f5
The artificial looking 10...b6 deserves attention because it was tried by Vladimir Kramnik.
But after 11.e1 b7 12.e5 it looks to me as if White had the initiative in
Fernandes,ADutreeuw,M/Istanbul Olympiad, Turkey 2000 (18).

11.a3 xc3 12.bxc3 c6 13.e1

13.cxd5 xd5 14.e1 transposes.

13...e8 14.cxd5
14.f4 dxc4 15.xc4 d6 16.xe8+ xe8 17.g5 and White had a small but clear
advantage in Grischuk,AAdams,M/Europa Cup, Greece 2002 (43).

14...xd5 15.f4
The attack on c7 will be slightly annoying for Black over the coming moves.

15...ac8

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+r+r+k+0
9zppzp-vlpzpp0
9-+n+-+-+0
9+-+q+l+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9zP-zP-+N+-0
9-+-+LzPPzP0
9tR-+QtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
A modern tabiya for this line.
15...d6 also proved to be quite solid for Black in Kasparov,GKarpov,A/Rapid match,
New York 2002 (28).

18

16.h3
16.a4!? is unusual, 16...d7 Anand,VKramnik,V/Mexico City MEX 2007, when
17.ab1 f5 18.g3 is best, as in Shirov,AGelfand,B, Monte Carlo 2003.
16.d3 White's idea is to exchange the lightsquared bishops to prepare an advance of the c
and dpawns. 16...d7 17.b1 b6 18.d5 (18.b5 is a temporary exchange sacrifice,
18...xb1 19.xb1 f6! 20.d1 Timofeev,AWang Yue/Ningbo CHN 2010) 18...xd3
19.xd3 xa3 Kramnik's move seems fine for Black, see Leko,P
Gelfand,B/Moscow RUS 2009.
16.g3 the idea behind this move is to protect the bishop to prepare 17.c4. 16...f6 17.c1
h6 18.c4 a5 19.d5 Ivanchuk,VGelfand,B/Monaco MNC 2011.

16...e4
16...h6 17.d2 (17.g4 this aggressive idea was recently introduced by Jakovenko, 17...g6
18.f1 d6! Grischuk,AIvanchuk,V/Linares ESP 2009, 17.c1!? f6 18.b2 with
pressure, Akopian,VGashimov,V/Novi Sad SRB 2009.) 17...d7 (17...a5 is also
good, 18.f3 (18.f1 b3 Shirov,ASmeets,J/Wijk aan Zee NED 2010) 18...d7
19.e4 Shirov,AGashimov,V/Sestao ESP 2010.) 18.c4 d6 19.d2 xf4
20.xf4 e4 and Black was doing fine at this stage in Kasparov,G
Motylev,A/Moscow RUS 2004 (76).

17.e3
17.c1!? White protects the bishop on f4 and thus prepares c4. 17...a5 18.e3!? with
advantage, Anand,VKramnik,V/Wijk aan Zee NED 2010.
17.d2 xg2 18.g4 h1 19.f3 h4 20.e4!? Shirov,AKramnik,V/Wijk aan Zee NED
2010.

17...a5
Kramnik's move seems best.
17...f6 18.d2 f5 19.f3 White's space and active pieces give him a pull, Socko,B
Frolyanov,D/Dresden GER 2007.

18.d2 g6 19.a4
with a small plus, Timofeev,AWang Yue, Nizhniy Novgorod RUS 2007.

19

Petroff 3 d4 [C43]
Last updated: 21/10/09 by Victor Mikhalevski

1 e4 e5 2 f3 f6 3 d4

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvl-tr0
9zppzpp+pzpp0
9-+-+-sn-+0
9+-+-zp-+-0
9-+-zPP+-+0
9+-+-+N+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tRNvLQmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
3...xe4
The usual reply.
A less commonly played alternative is 3...exd4 after which 4 e5 e4 (4...d5 5 xd4 is good
for White see Alekhine,ACruz,A/Lisbon 1941 (20)) 5 xd4 d5 6 exd6 xd6 7
c3 c6 (7...f5 8 g5 f6 9 f4 c6 10 a4 put Black under pressure in the game
Stein,LSakharov,Y/Ukrainian Ch. Match, Kiev 1960 (26)) 8 f4 e6 (8...f5 is the
book move) 9 e3 d7 10 0-0-0 0-0-0 11 a4! was very awkward for Black in
Motwani,PBuchi,M/European Jnr Ch 1980 (14).

4 d3
An interesting alternative is 4 dxe5!?, for example 4...d5 5 bd2 c5 This retreat was
introduced by the oldest GM Andre Lilienthal back in 1938!
a) 5...e7?! 6 xe4 dxe4 7 xd8+ xd8 8 d4 d7 (8...c6?! strikes me as passive,
Ivanchuk,VWang Yue/Sochi RUS 2008) 9 f4 was clearly better for White in
Ponomariov,RGreenfeld,A/Ohrid MKD 2001.
b) 5...xd2 6 xd2 c5 7 d3 0-0 8 0-0 f6 9 c4 gave White promising attacking
chances in Glek,ITimoshchenko,G/Lido Estensi, Italy 2002 (23).
6 b3 e6 7 bd4 xd4 8 xd4 c5! Jakovenko,DWang Yue/Nanjing CHN 2009.

20

4...d5
Black also has the surprising 4...c6!? 5 dxe5 (5 0-0 d5 6 c4 g4 7 cxd5 xd5 8 e1 f5 9 h3 h5
was messy in Davies,NEvans,P/Liverpool Open 2004 (78),, whilst 5 d5 f6 6 dxc6 e4
7 cxb7 xb7 8 e2 exf3 gave Black at least equality in Tiviakov,SBellia,F/Saint
Vincent ITA 2003 (26)) 5...d5 (5...c5 6 c3 xd3+?! 7 xd3 d6 8 f4 dxe5 9 xe5 left
Black under serious pressure in Rublevsky,SIordachescu,V/Tripoli LBA 2004 (35))
6 exd6 xd6 7 c3 e7 8 f4 e6 9 d2 d7 10 0-0-0 0-0-0 11 e3! proved to be
rather unpleasant in Rublevsky,SMotylev,A/Ajaccio FRA 2004 (46).

5 xe5
Here too White can play 5 dxe5, for example 5...e7 6 0-0 c5 7 e2 0-0 8 e3 as in
Romanishin,OArkhipov,S/Tbilisi 1986 (30).

5...d7

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9zppzpn+pzpp0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+psN-+-0
9-+-zPn+-+0
9+-+L+-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tRNvLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
5...e7 6 0-0 0-0 7 c4 f6?! 8 c3 gave White the initiative in Short,N
Tempone,M/World Junior Ch., Mexico 1981 (25).

6 xd7
This exchange of knights doesn't seem to promise White much so he could investigate the
alternatives:
a) 6 e2 e7 7 xf7!? xf7 8 h5+ is quite dangerous for Black see Ninov,N
Olcayoz,T/Kubbeli Salon, Turkey 2002 (12).
b) 6 c3 xe5?! (6...xc3 is more solid) 7 dxe5 b4 8 0-0 is a dangerous pawn sacrifice
that won quickly for White in Oral,TRozentalis,E/Montreal, Canada 2001 (15).
c) 6 0-0 xe5 7 dxe5 c5 8 c3 c6 gave Black a very solid game in Rozentalis,E
Turov,M/Quebec, Canada 2001 (25).

6...xd7 7 0-0 d6

21

7...e7 8 c3 0-0 9 c2 d6 and Black has good counterplay as in Enders,P

Yusupov,A/Germany 1994 (17).

8 c4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqk+-tr0
9zppzpl+pzpp0
9-+-vl-+-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+PzPn+-+0
9+-+L+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tRNvLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
8 h5!? f6 9 e1+ f8 10 e2 g4 11 g3 f6 led to a brilliant Black victory in Can,E
Jussupow,A/Dresden GER 2007.

8...c6 9 cxd5
9 c3!? 0-0 10 cxd5 cxd5 (10...xc3 11 bxc3 cxd5 is safest, transposing to the mainline.) 11
xd5 Guseinov,GKarpatchev,A/Dresden GER 2007.

9...cxd5 10 c3 xc3 11 bxc3 0-0 12 h5 g6 13 xd5 c7 14 h6

14 f3 led to a theoretical draw in Alekseev,EJakovenko,D/Elista RUS 2008.

14...fd8
A side line.
14...fe8 is much more popular.

15 h4
15 g5 is met by 15...xh2+ 16 h1 d6 17 c4 f8 Guseinov,GKramnik,V/Baku AZE
2009.

15...e6 16 g5
Anand,VKramnik,V/Nice FRA 2009.

22