Does anyone play this line around here? I've been looking into it, as I've been playing the Qc2 line and I'm finding it "so-so"...
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Na3
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I've tried it out, but found more use as far as a psychological advantage of using Qa4+, winning the pawn. I know the queen has to retreat, but the opponent usually is frustrated with the simple check and winning the pawn.
The Qc2, then Na3 seems to give black ample time to protect the pawn, which is redundent to me, because you throw out your pawn in order to gain their pawn, but then not take it.
Qc2 is in the Dynamic Reti book I have. It was his suggested move, that's why I tried it. But, I had frustrating problems from black by doing so. SO, I guess this GM knows something I don't?
It may be, perhaps, having the queen retreating loses tempo and lets black establish for in the center?
1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 dxc4
3. Na3
What do the books say about 3.Na3 ?
1982 Viacheslav Osnos - "The idea of this rarely played move consists of creating pressure on e5, having at some stage played Nxc4."
1998 Angus Dunnington - "I prefer 3.Na3, not only because it is in the spirit of the Reti, but also because White is then regaining the pawn on his own terms, as the prepared pattern of development is relevant only to this opening."
1999 Eric Schiller - " White loses time regaining the pawn via 3.Na3, but once it is captured, White enjoys strong knights at f3 and c4. Looking at the diagram, we see that White has a significant lead in development. If we mentally remove the Black c-pawn we see that White can later occupy the center with d4 and e4, while Black has nothing more than a potential, and difficult to achieve, ...e5.
2004 Nigel Davies - "...neither 3.Na3 nor 3.Qa4+ give White anything and the roads to equality are quite well mapped out."
2010 Neil McDonald - "White can only count on a very minimal advantage after 3.Na3 or 3.Qa4+."
2018 Adrien Demuth - "3.Na3 a6! 4.Nxc4 b5! Unfortunately e5 is not safe, and we have to find an ugly square for our knight."
It seems a shame that the most recent books about the Reti have chosen to disregard this important line. Look in any database to see the statistics for 3.e3 and 3.Na3 are nearly identical. The comment by Davies has been disproved in databases.
a) 3...a6 4.Nxc4 b5
a1) 5.Nce5 "Looks agressive but allows Black to continue the chase with 5...f6 6. Nd3 e5. The knight is a liability on d3, the pawn on e4 cannot be comfortably defended and d4 is already under Black's control."
Akbaev vs Bezgodov
a2) 5.Ne3 is best
Danailov vs Bernard
"The knight is surprisingly useful here. It is certainly not in the way because White's hypermodern bishops are heading for g2 and b2, so there is no need to free the center pawns just yet. In the following game White managed to put his unconventional knight to good use. First both side completed their development:
5.Ne3 Bb7 6.g3 Nd7 7.Bg2 Ngf6 8.O-O e6 9. b3 c5 10.Bb2 Be7
11.Rc1 O-O 12.Rc2 Rc8 13.Qa1 Qb6 14.Rfc1
"This is exactly the type of position with which Reti players should feel comfortable. Thus far White has been content to simply to put his pieces where he wants them, safe in the knowledge that Black's committal play in the early opening pointed to the present set-up of Black's forces. Of course Black is OK, but waiting while the white pieces patiently slot into place in preparation for a step up in pace is not to everyone's taste." (Dunnington)
Notable/Recent games in the 3...a6 line
Hillarp Persson vs Rasmussen
Wojtaszek vs. Rublevsky
b) 3...c5
c) 3...c6
Gurevich vs La Rota
d) 3...e5 aims directly for the Na3
Alvarez Ibarra vs Pina
4.Nxc4 Nc6
4...b5? is almost a respectable alternative
Krogius vs Karasev
5.b3
5.Nce5 is occasionally tried
Feustel vs Mortensen
Bilek vs Keres
5...e5 6.Bb2
Additional/Recent games in the 3...c5 line
Danailov vs Twardon
Kochyev vs Taimanov
Huebner vs Garcia Palermo
Malakhov vs Ionov