@15
"The Grunfeld makes no sense to me. Couldn't tell you what to do from either side."
++ The strategic aim of the Grünfeld Indian Defense is to win the endgame based on the queen's side pawn majority a7-b7 vs. a2, i.e. an outside passed pawn.
For white the aim is to attack the black king based on the strong center d4-e4,
the absense of Nf6 to defend the king and the weakening by the move g6.
That's only in thr Exchange Variation. You also have the Russian Variation (4.Nf3), 4.e3, 4.Bg5, etc. And not all Grunfeld wins for Black are in the endgame. First Black must chip at the center.
When I say it makes no sense, I am not talking 10,000 foot level. Anybody can tell you 10,000 fot level analysis.
There are 5 types of pawn center:
Closed - Multiple files locked - common in the Advanced French and Classical King's Indian
Mobile - One side, usually White, has a central pawn mass that is not blocked, other side tries to prove over-extension while the side with the pawns wants to roll you over - Alekhine and Grunfeld most common.
Static - a single file is blocked with available pawn breaks - Orthodox QGD, for example.
Open - at least 1 fully open file - Petroff, exchange French, etc.
Dynamic - Anything else - typically amorphous pawn structures - Najdorf, Benoni, etc.
This was all in month 2 of a 13 month online course from about 10 years ago on a site I believe was chessmasterschool.com.
I cannot assess positions correctly in positions dealing with the mobile pawn center. Like in the Grunfeld Exchange, White often gets a passed d-pawn on d5 or d6. If I have White, that pawn is weak and drops - not immediately, but in like, 20 more moves. If I have Black, that pawn is a monster and wins the game for White.
Based on that, in case you cannot tell, I hate the Alekhine too. I can deal with the other four types of center fine. It's just the mobile center that I hate, regardless of which side of it I am on.
Based on the OP diagram, it looks like he plays the Sicilian Dragon.
Yeah, the early Bc4 lines can be very troublesome against the Dragon.
Its actually very bad situation because it can mess up his ability to even get into the Dragon.
Here is sample line:
Sometimes, white can play a quick e5.
Than end up with Knight on e5 attacking f7 vs. on g5 attacking f7.
If black plays the move e6 which they most likely would have to do in the above position, it isn’t the most ideal set up for Dragon.
Another example:
White line is bad because it is weaker version of Grand Prix Attack.
Black does equalize fairly quickly in the above line, but it really butchers the Sicilian Dragon normal set up. I can see why the OP would be annoyed.
I remember facing lines like the above was I was Intermediate player.
I don’t know if the OP will like my answer on how to deal with Early Bc4 lines.
The way I did it was to actually not play Sicilian Dragon.
I played the Sicilian Khan variation.
‘It’s the e6 + a6 line.
I played Dragon against everything else, but vs. Early Bc4 lines. The only solution I came up with was Kan. It was highly effective though.