Hey everyone. I have become bored, atleast for the moment, with 1.e4 so I have decided to create an ambitious 1.d4 repertoire for myself! Most of the lines I have picked are theoretical and strong, and look very appealing, but I am not sure how I want to handle the Grunfeld. I am looking for something that is relatively mainline, and that gives me a lot of space and/or an initiative. From what I have seen, it seems like white has a lot of ways to achieve these goals, yet somehow black's defensive play always looks very convincing - even at WC level.

The exchange variation looks the most natural to me, and may be the strongest, but I have also heard that it is a theoretical monster, so I was thinking perhaps it would be wise to play something else. I sort of like the idea of playing 4.Qb3!? instead of the usual 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 because in some lines white can avoid the early Bg4 ideas. I think I saw a nice game a while back where Carlsen beat Dominguez in this line. Does anyone have experience with it?

What do you guys recommend? Remember, I am a 'mainline' type of guy, so please don't recommend quirky stuff like 4.h4!?.

I think you might like the Rb1 pawn sac line in the Exchange Var-its the line I use too should I face the Grunfeld :)...too lazy to post it up atm though x]

Other than that line I really don't know much about the Grunfeld...Im using this line cause its recommended in Starting Out 1.d4...White gets some nice pressure in this line though and often ends up getting the pawn back (usually Black's e or b pawn)

Good luck with 1.d4 btw :) I like mainlines too btw lol

LavaRook:  Is this the pawn sac line you're talking about?

Yep, BigTy  for the diagram xD

The line LavaRook recommended has been scoring so well for White that most of the top Grunfeld players are trying 9...b6 or 9 ...Nc6; in my TWIC database of games in the last three years with 9 ... cxd4 White is overperforming his Elo by 35 points while Black underperforms by 14, a 50-point spread.  It's been scoring 55% for White.  So you would need to know those lines, too.

If it's space you want, the Makogonov is pretty interesting:  4 Nf3 Bg7  5 e3 0-0  6 b4, often followed by 7 Qb3 and 8 Bb2.  It's not going to yield a huge edge, but Black has to know what he is doing and the play isn't so much the normal Grunfeld stuff Black wants, so maybe he is out of his comfort zone.  Recent years show it with excellent results for White in limited games, but the Elo performance is virtually flat, so it could be a good second line to play against a player you expect to beat.

The most important thing is that you feel comfortable in the positions that result from the opening you choose.  The best way to find out, and to learn the lines, is just to play them as often as you can, blitz, slow, unrated, turn-based, every chance you get.  Save the game scores and check against the databases later to see where you go off track, and you've learned it a bit deeper.

Hmm... What about trying the Neo-Gruenfeld or the Accelerated Russian?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. That 8.Rb1 line of the exchange does look appealing, especially considering there is some literature on it (2 books I can think of). The only thing is, if memory serves me right, it is also a hugely theoretical line. Of course theory has never stopped me from playing what I have wanted to in the past, mostly because many players my level don't know enough theory to punish me for going out of book after 10 or so moves, so I will definitely try it out in some blitz games.

The Accelerated Russian (4.Qb3) has been a line that has interested me for a while. Can someone explain the pros/cons of this variation compared to the normal Russian variation? I might try some of the other lines too, like 4.Bf4, but I would rather avoid g3 setups unless I were a Catalan player, and I am not.

The obvious difference is White retains the option of developing the Ng1 elsewhere, but this can only be in a narrow range of cases, so the popularity of 4 Qb3 (nearly = to 4 Nf3 Bg7  5 Qb3 in my recent games database) must be based on saving the tempo for other moves, or less established theory, or perhaps both.

Both lines show a higher success rate and ratings performance for White than most Grunfeld lines.

I've looked at both from time to time over the years, but never felt comfortable with them.  That's a matter of personal taste and style, of course.  I do better with lines where I feel I understand the strategies, and I don't "get" the Russian Variations. 

Your mileage may vary! 

Roman Dzindzichashvili recommends this line in "Roman's Lab - Butchering the Gruenfeld" as an alternative to the standard exchange.

Interesting Reb, I hadn't checked that out.  He did say that it was not necesarily the very best way to play but that it was a solid way to gain an advantage with white without significant risk and can be learned without too extensive memorization of lines. 

Hey dude.  I faced the same question when building a sound yet ambitious repertoire with 1.d4 2.c4.  Grunfeld is not so popular so I decided to reserve my theoretical energies for the KID/Benoni complex. (4 Pawn Attack is my choice!)

So against Grunfeld I settled on a hybrid of the Qb3 "Russian" system and the Exchange.  More details here: http://katar.weebly.com/2/post/2010/06/grunfeld-romanishin-variation.html

Romanishin played this way in the 1970s, and he is basically a demi-god of opening innovation in the 1.d4 2.c4 openings.  See what you think.  Also, look into the Exchange variation with 5.Bd2.  Peace out.  EDIT: i guess i'm too late with this comment.  What did you decide on?

Thanks for the suggestions. I decided on the Exchange variation with 8.Rb1. I am learning it slowly because I am busy with school and don't have a lot of time to play or study chess at the moment. I am still open to other options though if this one doesn't work out so good. I have had mixed results in blitz, often depending partially on how well me or my opponent knows the line we go into. I wish more people would play the Gruenfeld as black, it definitely leads to an interesting, albeit theoretical, game. The nice thing about this line is that when both players get out of book early (which often happens in blitz at least) white's position seems to be a lot easier to play.