I don't know about "best" I mean you're talking about move 4...
My choice? 4.Bc4
But im sure other moves like:
4. Nf3
4. Nc3
4.Qa4+ would all work.
What's the best way to play against this line? (in the QGA)
I assume you are uncomfortable having an isolated dpawn if you are not happy with Bxc4. If you play mainlines 1.d4 followed by c4 you have to be prepared to play such positions i think it comes with the package. its an unbalanced position where you can outplay your opponent and its quite fun to have the isolated dpawn when you learn it well
gingerninja2003 wrote:
Although I have scored relatively well against this side-line, I usually end up with positions i'm unhappy with so I have come to the forums so I could see a range of options to play against it.
If you don't like facing this then don't play 3.e3, but instead 3.Nf3 or 3.e4! which GM practice seems to show to be the most effective move. However, if you still do want to play 3.e3 then 3...e5 4.Bxc4 is obviously correct as IMBacon pointed out, and then you have an isolated queen's pawn position.
I once lost against this in the final round of a major tournament, where I had to win as black to win the tournament outright but a draw was no good ..... something like equal first with three or four others. I wouldn't play 3 ... e5 again. I think white played 4. Bxc4.
4. de might be ok for white .... the K-pawns might be stronger than black,s Q-pawns. As white, I prefer 3. Nf3.
You can sidestep all of this by not playing 3. e3. It is not necessary to play that move that early anyway.
Just play 3. N.f3 first - also preventing e5 - and play e3 later.
Geseldier wrote:
You can sidestep all of this by not playing 3. e3. It is not necessary to play that move that early anyway.
Just play 3. N.f3 first - also preventing e5 - and play e3 later.
It's not necessary but playing it earlier avoids some other stuff. It seems that 3...e5 has basically been refuted at GM level, hence 3.e3 is in fact better than 3.Nf3.
my137thaccount schreef:
Geseldier wrote:
You can sidestep all of this by not playing 3. e3. It is not necessary to play that move that early anyway.
Just play 3. N.f3 first - also preventing e5 - and play e3 later.
It's not necessary but playing it earlier avoids some other stuff. It seems that 3...e5 has basically been refuted at GM level, hence 3.e3 is in fact better than 3.Nf3.
What other stuff are you trying to avoid?
In the databases there are hardly any (recent) GM games with white playing 3. e3; in fact, 3. N.f3 is more than 3 times as common (Chessbase 2019), which seems a clear indication of the preferred move according to latest theory. I'm curious, what lines refute blacks 3. ... e5 move? And is there any way for black to punish whites 3. N.f3?
This game, though it ended in a draw, is supposed to be the refutation of 3...e5:
The problem with 3.Nf3 is that black has 2 extra options, both of which are avoided with 3.e3:
my137thaccount wrote:
This game, though it ended in a draw, is supposed to be the refutation of 3...e5:
The problem with 3.Nf3 is that black has 2 extra options, both of which are avoided with 3.e3:
That's interesting, since the book that convinced GM Smerdon to play the QGA suggests a different line for black:
Plugging it in Stockfish gives the same evaluation as the given game, but to my (amateur) eye it looks like black has more natural play here. What do you think?
@gingerninja2003 -- I used to play the QGA as black. The 3...e5 lines tend to lead to early Queen trades IIRC. I don't think GM "refutations" and Stockfish evaluations are very important for our level of play, but if IQP positions and endgame grinds are not to your taste you may want to consider a different opening, or at least avoid 3.e3.
d0su wrote:
my137thaccount wrote:
This game, though it ended in a draw, is supposed to be the refutation of 3...e5:
The problem with 3.Nf3 is that black has 2 extra options, both of which are avoided with 3.e3:
That's interesting, since the book that convinced GM Smerdon to play the QGA suggests a different line for black:
Plugging it in Stockfish gives the same evaluation as the given game, but to my (amateur) eye it looks like black has more natural play here. What do you think?
@gingerninja2003 -- I used to play the QGA as black. The 3...e5 lines tend to lead to early Queen trades IIRC. I don't think GM "refutations" and Stockfish evaluations are very important for our level of play, but if IQP positions and endgame grinds are not to your taste you may want to consider a different opening, or at least avoid 3.e3.
I have to admit I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable about this, though I'd certainly be interested in finding out the answer. I agree with you that the line you gave looks nicer for black; the game Nyback vs Genov which I found in the database does make white's task look quite easy though, but that's just one game and there are a few other GM games in that line that led to draws. I'd be interested to hear what the titled players have to say as IMs pfren and poucin usually have something useful to say about such lines.
my137thaccount wrote:
d0su wrote:
my137thaccount wrote:
This game, though it ended in a draw, is supposed to be the refutation of 3...e5:
The problem with 3.Nf3 is that black has 2 extra options, both of which are avoided with 3.e3:
That's interesting, since the book that convinced GM Smerdon to play the QGA suggests a different line for black:
Plugging it in Stockfish gives the same evaluation as the given game, but to my (amateur) eye it looks like black has more natural play here. What do you think?
@gingerninja2003 -- I used to play the QGA as black. The 3...e5 lines tend to lead to early Queen trades IIRC. I don't think GM "refutations" and Stockfish evaluations are very important for our level of play, but if IQP positions and endgame grinds are not to your taste you may want to consider a different opening, or at least avoid 3.e3.
I have to admit I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable about this, though I'd certainly be interested in finding out the answer. I agree with you that the line you gave looks nicer for black; the game Nyback vs Genov which I found in the database does make white's task look quite easy though, but that's just one game and there are a few other GM games in that line that led to draws. I'd be interested to hear what the titled players have to say as IMs pfren and poucin usually have something useful to say about such lines.
9...O-O seems simpler.
AlphaZeroDark30 wrote:
my137thaccount wrote:
d0su wrote:
my137thaccount wrote:
This game, though it ended in a draw, is supposed to be the refutation of 3...e5:
The problem with 3.Nf3 is that black has 2 extra options, both of which are avoided with 3.e3:
That's interesting, since the book that convinced GM Smerdon to play the QGA suggests a different line for black:
Plugging it in Stockfish gives the same evaluation as the given game, but to my (amateur) eye it looks like black has more natural play here. What do you think?
@gingerninja2003 -- I used to play the QGA as black. The 3...e5 lines tend to lead to early Queen trades IIRC. I don't think GM "refutations" and Stockfish evaluations are very important for our level of play, but if IQP positions and endgame grinds are not to your taste you may want to consider a different opening, or at least avoid 3.e3.
I have to admit I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable about this, though I'd certainly be interested in finding out the answer. I agree with you that the line you gave looks nicer for black; the game Nyback vs Genov which I found in the database does make white's task look quite easy though, but that's just one game and there are a few other GM games in that line that led to draws. I'd be interested to hear what the titled players have to say as IMs pfren and poucin usually have something useful to say about such lines.
9...O-O seems simpler.
I think the point is to avoid Bg5 stuff, which, looking at some games with 9...O-O, seems to cause black some major irritation.
QGA players have made a long-term commitment to navigating an extremely complex opening which will give them equality with many pitfalls for White along the way. In a world where White faces the Slav or Semi-Slav QGD almost every time, this plays right into Black's hands. Black has only two main paths to equality, and this is one of them. It really takes a while to master the QGA, and Black should expect many losses before the clouds begin to part and the sky opens up.
my137thaccount wrote:
AlphaZeroDark30 wrote:
my137thaccount wrote:
d0su wrote:
my137thaccount wrote:
This game, though it ended in a draw, is supposed to be the refutation of 3...e5:
The problem with 3.Nf3 is that black has 2 extra options, both of which are avoided with 3.e3:
That's interesting, since the book that convinced GM Smerdon to play the QGA suggests a different line for black:
Plugging it in Stockfish gives the same evaluation as the given game, but to my (amateur) eye it looks like black has more natural play here. What do you think?
@gingerninja2003 -- I used to play the QGA as black. The 3...e5 lines tend to lead to early Queen trades IIRC. I don't think GM "refutations" and Stockfish evaluations are very important for our level of play, but if IQP positions and endgame grinds are not to your taste you may want to consider a different opening, or at least avoid 3.e3.
I have to admit I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable about this, though I'd certainly be interested in finding out the answer. I agree with you that the line you gave looks nicer for black; the game Nyback vs Genov which I found in the database does make white's task look quite easy though, but that's just one game and there are a few other GM games in that line that led to draws. I'd be interested to hear what the titled players have to say as IMs pfren and poucin usually have something useful to say about such lines.
9...O-O seems simpler.
I think the point is to avoid Bg5 stuff, which, looking at some games with 9...O-O, seems to cause black some major irritation.
Bg5 is nothing to fear, and everything White plays will annoy Black. Playing Black against 1. d4 is tough but navigable. I much prefer 9...O-O in this position (or even 9...Nc6). After 9...O-O 10 Bg5 h6, Black has gained an escape square for the king while weakening the pin, which can be broken with g5 (a move many weaker players will have difficulty executing).
The QGA is not for the faint of heart, but I love the opening since I almost always get one of two positions that are equal, and when I don't, it's often because White has fallen into a trap.
Sorry I accidentally overwrote my earlier post, but my point was that there's no need to play 10.Bg5 as 10.Re1 first makes Bg5 actually have bite. h6 would simply be met with Bh4.
my137thaccount wrote:
Sorry I accidentally overwrote my earlier post, but my point was that there's no need to play 10.Bg5 as 10.Re1 first makes Bg5 actually have bite. h6 would simply be met with Bh4.
In which case Black has gained a flight square, while White's Bh4 is doing very little that can't be stopped by ...g5. The result is a relatively equal middlegame, which is fine for Black since drawing every game wins the world title (though if White is 2100 and Black is 2700 that's not a threat).
Although I have scored relatively well against this side-line, I usually end up with positions i'm unhappy with so I have come to the forums so I could see a range of options to play against it.