Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4/2...g6/3. Nc3/3...d5

Grünfeld Defence 3...d5 · Grünfeld Defence This is the classic, and most common, starting position of the Grünfeld Defence, although d5 can be delayed if White has delayed e4 which typically happens if Nf3 is played at some stage. Most notably, the famous Game of the Century by Bobby Fischer originated from the Grünfeld Defence. The Grünfeld Defence often becomes incredibly sharp and tactical due to Black quickly striking at White's vulnerable center. Unlike the King's Indian Defence, where Black immediately fianchettoes the king bishop, here Black immediately plays 3...d5 to stop e4 (at least temporarily) and challenge White's occupation of the center. White has a range of choices, the main one is to exchange the pawns on d5 and follow up with e4 in order to displace Black's pieces. During the 1920s, European chess was in revolution, with the entry of the Nimzo-Indian Defence into mainstream opening theory. The masters of the day termed this the "Modern style". Then, in 1922, a well-known master named Ernst Grünfeld came up with a new system that started bashing the great masters of the day, including Kostic, Sämisch, Colle, and Alekhine (who famously threw his king across the room in frustration after losing to it). This came to be known as the new "hypermodern" style, and Grünfeld, true to hypermodern tastes, showed in pure form how the previously accepted classical dogma could be wrong, and that a pawn center could be an object of attack as well as a boon. The main battleground of philosophies is the Exchange Variation, 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3. White's pawn center gains space, but Black has excellent play along the long, dark diagonal from a1 to h8, and can eventually target d4 with moves like ...Bg7, ...Rd8, ...c5, ...Nc6, and occasionally ...Qa5. Eventually he may also bring a bishop to fianchetto on the other diagonal, targeting e4. The more classical moves are /4. Nf3/, /4. Bf4/, and /4. Qb3/, which are more conservative ways to fight Black's system. The pawn center still remains, but Black's counterplay is still adequate. The most positional move is /4. Bg5/. Theory table 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4 5 6 7 8 Exchange Variation cxd5Nxd5 e4Nxc3 bxc3Bg7 Bc4O-O Ne2Nc6 +/= Nadanian Variation cxd5Nxd5 Na4Bg7 e4Nb6 Be3O-O Nf3Bg4 = Brinckmann Attack Bf4Bg7 e3c5 dxc5Qa5 Rc1Ne4 cxd5Nxc3 +/= Russian System Nf3Bg7 Qb3dxc4 Qxc4O-O e4Nc6 Be2Bg4 = Stockholm Variation Bg5Ne4 Bh4Nxc3 bxc3dxc4 e3Be6 Qb1b6 = Lutikov Variation f3Bg7 e4dxe4 fxe4c5 e5Nh5 +/= Schlechter Variation, Makogonov Variation e3Bg7 =/= References Grunfeld Defence de Firmian, Nick. Modern Chess Openings, 15th Edition. New York, NY: Random House, 2008.