The Gruenfeld Defense -3- (D80)

Last time we went on in the Exchange Variation and reached the following Tabiya position:

                                                                                                   From here on White has a wide choice of 12th move possibilities. Most frequently are played 12. Bf4 and 12.Qd2

So what are the main strategies in this position? Simply said, White will try to attack on  king side, Black on queen side cause of his pawn majority. Important for both sides is not to lose the fight in center!

Here an example how the 3 main strategies could become executed:

So, we have seen how Black became successful. He neutralized the center, controlled the white king side initiative and won on queen side with his pawn majority. Of course that doesn`t always work.Sometimes white may stop the queen side pawn majority and win on King side.

After all, it is a complex position with chances for both sides